Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 38

DKTROIT FRKR PKICSS I WWW.FUKKP.COM 4E TUKSPAY. OCT. 25. 2005 Carny JUDITH MARTIN A iMJtLJ A. I rf' i 1 Bort Lahr, left, Ray Bolger, Judy Garland and Jack Haley in "The Wizard of Oz." The soundtrack was remixed for 5.1 Surround.

Emily King, 27, left, and Erin Hoard, 22, both of Kalamazoo, wait with Jamie Alexander, 21, right, of Sterling Heights at the Palace. Longtime fans gush over return of U2 Rock show feels like a family reunion Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio 'Wizard of Oz' looks even better BY KIM SILARSKI I Ki I'RLSSM'K WKIll.R It's been a long-distance love affair since 2001, the last time U2 and their ardent local fans got together for a sold-out show at the Palace of Auburn Hills. But the flame burned just as brightly as ever Monday, as evidenced by the concert's family-reunion feel, the sing-alongs that began with the very first tune and the audience's palpable, passionate reaction to Bono's every kick and clap. Near the end of the show, the charismatic front man who has been in the news lately for his poverty relief efforts even got most of the attendees to hold up their cell phones to "turn this place into the Milky Way," as he put it. He then urged them to text-message their names to the number 86483, the home of his group, One: The Campaign to Make Poverty History.

Here's what some of what those concertgoers had to say about U2 on Monday: Jen Nason, 38, Rochester Hills: "I've been a fan since I sat in the fourth row at the Fox in the mid-'80s. I love some of their older, edgier stuff. But for the most part, they have remained true to themselves. They're a little less college rock, a little more mainstream, but the quality of their music is consistent." John Hoyle, 46, Sheffield, England: "I've never been much of a fan, but this is fantastic. Bono's presence is awesome." Michael Doyle, 44, Grosse He: "We saw U2 on our honeymoon in Ireland in 1987, totally by accident.

This band is one of fs film is freakish BY JOHN MONAGIIAN lltlt HUSSSI'U IAI.WRIIIR "Firecracker" proudly wears its inspirations on its sleeve. The murder story, set in a carnival stopped in Kansas, mines the creepy code of Tod Browning's "Freaks" with the small-town menace of "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks." It is one of the most visually arresting films I've seen 'Firecracker outffour this year. stars So where does Not rated; it go wrong? Just violence, sexual about any time situations, the characters 7:30 St Pen, thdr Main Art mouths. Theatre, Indeed, if Royal Oak. "Firecracker" 'i 0 had been made as minutes $10 a silent film, it could have been a modern classic.

But with its la bored dialogue and wildly un even performances, it just a curio, though a fascinating one well worth seeing tonight at the Landmark Main Art Theatre. Writer-director Steve Bal- derson is barnstorming the country with "Firecracker," fielding audience questions about the movie's bizarre mystery plot, loosely based on a murder in his Kansas hometown 50 years ago. Shifting between high-con trast black and white and garish carnival colors, "Firecracker" opens with a slow-motion shot of small-town streets in turmoil. As we glide into one backyard, we see dirt spit from the mouth of a metal shed. This is the story of a mother and her two sons: one sensitive and sweet, the other a sadistic brute.

Both are drawn to the ex otic Sandra, who performs at the carnival and entertains men in her trailer. The woman is played in both parts by Karen Black, the offbeat character actress still best known for "Five Easy Pieces" and "Nashville" decades ago. You can see why Black, now in her mid-60s, was attracted to the role, playing both a Godfearing old woman and a scarlet seductress with a gruesome scar on her inner thigh, which is hinted at but mercifully not shown. Black is so good in the movie that she makes the others look like the amateurs they are. Everyone suffers through Balder-son's tin ear for dialogue, especially Susan Traylor, who had potential as the local law enforcer.

In a making-of documentary, Balderson admits that he is more of a visual stylist than a writer. My favorite idea here is how a dead body is successfully transported from backdoor to shed with the help of white sheets hanging out to dry. It's this kind of kooky moment that will likely draw me back to the Main tonight, just to see how a live audience reacts to it. Contact freelance writer JOHN MONAGHAN atmadjohn AMC FOP'JM 30 566 254.6461 AMC LAU" El PARK 1U 462.6200 I'PM'MGHAM PALLADIUM GOOOPiCH CANTON 7 714 444 J46 JP SOVTHGATE 20 PHOENIX WCST RIVER SHOWCASE WEST LAND 714 26 it60 SHOPES THEATRE Mt6 'VMUU stap timm 21 313 240 4i9 STAP GPATIOT 91.J42Q STAP JOHN 244 STAR SOUTHFIELD 244 12 I2il UA CQMUfRCI 244 9ttf iotll STAP GPfAT LAKES STAP PQOHfSTER 244 bJ 23M) STAP TAY! 09 734 it! 2200 CCI WW St nflilR Of NO iCCIPTO Wedding date rivals theirs Dear Miss Manners: My boyfriend and I announced our engagement four months ago. We have not set a date yet but told everyone that it would probably happen in the fall of 200G.

My fiance's closest sister was happy for us when she heard the news but also a bit jealous. She has been living with a man for 10 years and very much wants a family, but he has yet to commit. Much to everyone's surprise, she suddenly announced that she, too, was getting married and the wedding would be this January! I am very upset because I feel that she is being inconsiderate by not waiting for my fiance and me to set our date. What is the proper etiquette, if any, that she should have followed? Gentle Reader: Are you suggesting that since she has waited 10 years for a husband and children already, she might as well wait another year so that you can have the spotlight all to yourself? Or rather, that she should do so out of courtesy to the poor relatives who might face the hardship of attending two weddings in a single year? Miss Manners finds it imprudent of you to have brought up the question of jealousy. Let us assume that your prospective sister-in-law is getting married because she wants to, as you acknowledge, and because the gentleman is willing, which you oddly fail to acknowledge but is surely a prerequisite.

Let us also assume that she sees her marriage as living her life, rather than trying to top yours, and that she wishes you and her brother well, which she has indicated. Miss Manners is hoping to hear that you can manage to behave as if you had the same attitude. Dear Miss Manners: At a recent ordination, due to dehydration, lack of sleep, a lengthy bus ride, incense and a long period of kneeling, I fainted during the litany of the saints. Coming to a few moments later, I found myself the subject of concerned atten tions from my family and a few individuals in neighboring pews. My mother and I went to the back of the basilica, where I recovered quickly.

Though, of course, looking after one's well-being by drinking water, putting one's head down, are necessary, I am curious about the etiquette for such situations and for fainting in general. Gentle Reader: Fainting is a time-honored way of freeing oneself momentarily from the restrictions of etiquette. MISS MANNERS' column on behavior and etiquette appears in the Free Press on Sundays and Tuesdays. Today's test Do you know about Oct. 25 in history? 1.

In 1760, who succeeded whom asking of England? Edward II George II George III William IV 2. In 1854, the English "light brigade" charged what army? Greek Russian Syrian Turkish 3. In 1929, who was convicted of taking a $100,000 bribe? Fall Ickes Stanton Stevenson Wallace Wirtz 4. In 1962, what U.S. delegate showed pictures of Soviet missile bases in Cuba? Fall Ickes Stanton Stevenson Wallace Wirtz ANSWERS 1.

George III succeeded his grandfather, George II. 2. Russian, in the Crimean War. 3. Albert B.

Fall, former Interior secretary. 4. Adlai E. Stevenson. WARNLRBROS.

PARAMOUNT in romantic, disastrous "Titanic TERRY LAWSON KIWBV3 fXtXHStS minutes of deleted scenes and an ending I actually preferred. 'Bewitched' In a summer filled with theatrical misfires, the most disappointing might have been the big-screen remake of "Bewitched" (, Columbia-TriS-tar, with Nicole Kidman as the good witch Isabel, who conveniently gets a job playing the good witch Saman-tha in a new TV version starring an actor looking for a good vehicle, played by Will Farrell, as her husband Darren. Got that? Good, forget it, because it simply doesn't work, no matter how clever it must have seemed to someone. But this bad dream is accompanied by good news: The release of "Bewitched: The Complete Second Season" $39.95) on DVD. It features all 38 episodes from 1964-65 on five discs, especially the ones that introduced Paul Lynde as Sam's wacky Uncle Arthur.

As with the first box, this is being released in the original black-and-white and a colorized version, though why a color option can't be a single set is beyond my technological expertise. 'Upstairs Downstairs' has been thoughtful enough to compile very episode of the greatest soap opera in TV history, "Upstairs, Downstairs," into a complete and comprehensive "Collector's Edition Megaset" (, It contains all 68 episodes, on 24 discs, of the British drama exploring the lives of the upper-crust Bellamy family and their servants beginning in 1903 and ending after the 1929 stock market crash. The set comes with the 13 episodes of the 1979 spinoff "Thomas and Sarah." Also new from is a "Horatio Hornblower Collector's Edition" (, $79.95) collecting all 8 of the rousing seafaring adventures; and the 14-disc "Romance Collection 2" (, containing the original "Hornblower" film, and the television versions of "Vanity Fair," "Nicholas Nickleby," "The Flame Trees of Thika," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," "The Mayor of Casterbridge" and "The Great Gatsby," the last of which is far superior to the theatrical versions. Contact TERRY LAWSON at 313-223-4524 or lawson a RLGINAH BOONt Detroit Free Press the best ever. Within three chords, you know it's a U2 song.

Anyone can relate to this band." Kevin Conrad, 34, Lansing: "You can take it for granted, but U2 has one of the more impressive careers in rock 'n' roll. Unlike the Rolling Stones, people are still interested in their new music." Sinan Atmaca, 33, Detroit: "This is the most memorable show, because it's my first one. I have been a fan for 20 years, and I have sympathy for the Irish people. This music is gorgeous, beautiful. "And my son is here, 18 months old, the youngest U2 fan." Ted Simpkins, 44, Holland: "Bono is a real word-smith.

When he speaks, you don't know what he's talking about. So you listen 10 times more closely. Then you realize he's mostly talking about God. Either that, or an 18-year-old girl. Maybe they're the same thing." Casey Weiher, 26, Toledo: "Even thought their style is pretty much the same, they are still making good music.

I started watching them on MTV when I was 12 or 13." Stephanie Linehan, 25, Toledo: "Their humanitarian efforts really impress me. They are so genuine." Thorn Gulock, 46, Royal Oak: "I've been a fan since 1978. And my wife is a U2 groupie. I love the intensity of their live shows. I've seen them probably six times." Sam Frontiera, 22, Grand Rapids: "This is the best show I've ever seen.

U2 has been my favorite band since seventh grade." 1 1 it in. iMroit txtt Prr The Detmll News "IN3.CHTFUL AND NTHRALLIIia." SECIIOrl EIGHT CHECK tlm WMCTOflK UMNO iMOtKUTIOH V-V. I 4 i' iHi Ytl i i -t i i i it i i (i 1 1 it! 'In Mu'w Pdik Oi SDUIHbAlf CIHFMA 20 734.2(14 34 ti200 10 7 Milt SMOWCASl WtSIUKO TAVtOR Bitoo I Ha 7 loti 80UF AHUANOU K840 SUUtHHHD BOO AWjAN'jI, MI)9 WfS1 fcriry VSB CiNTK 2tWfttt bS2 amitL Will r-1 nen was a b0V) grow. ing up in a household where movies were considered sinful, it was decided that a special TV broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz" might not in fact send me straight to hell. So I was allowed to stay up on a school night to see it.

The next day, talking with a classmate, he told me it was too bad I wasn't allowed to go to theaters: There, when Dorothy goes to Oz, he said, the movie turns to color! It sure does, and many years later I was lucky enough to see it when it was painstakingly restored and shown in a few theaters in advance of a special evening Turner Classics devoted to it. That version, long available on DVD, is so visually gorgeous it almost pains me to inform you that in a comparison test, there is no doubt the new 3-disc "Collector's Edition" (, Warner, $49.92, but look for discounts in the $35 range) is a decided improvement. A half-decade is a lifetime in DVD transfer technology, and not only is the color resolution even more radiant, the film's soundtrack was remixed for 5.1 Surround to impressive effect. The extras from the two-disc package have been preserved, and some, like the commentary and the deleted scenes, improved. But there are loads more now, the most significant of which are four rarely-seen silent films based on L.

Frank Baum's stories and characters. The packaging comes with a reproduction of the program from the premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in 1939. 'Titanic' As a film reviewer, I was not as impressed by James Cameron's "Titanic" as the filmgoing public, who made the 1997 film the biggest box office success in history $1 billion worldwide and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts Sciences voters who awarded it 11 Oscars. Yet I can't deny that the long-awaited 3-disc "Special Collector's Edition" (, Paramount, $29.99) is a 4-star affair. The new high-definition transfer is almost too good.

It reveals the digital effects, state of the art in 1997, to be less than convincing today. Both of the new sound mixes, a dts 6. 1 Surround and 5.1 Dolby Surround are knockouts, and will be especially admired by those who get weepy at the sound of James Horner's score. There are three new commentaries, the most interesting of which, predictably, is the screen-specific, info-packed tour by director Cameron. There are no less than 45 pod night, and good luck.

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