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RUCE EWMAN KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS SAN FRANCISCO id you think I was homosexual after watching the There is a long silence. Javier Bardem waits. The question is not without its little complexities. Does the Spaniard, who plays exiled Cuban novelist and poet Reinaldo Arenas in the film Night want you to think he is really gay? Or is he filled with machismo-fueled rage at journalists incapable of distinguishing between his talent and his sexuality? Julian Schnabel, former bad boy of the New York art world and director of Night Falls (scheduled to open Friday in the is seated to right in a San Francisco restaurant. He volunteers that actor Gary Oldman thought the film left no room for doubt.

thought for sure he was a Schnabel says, his obvious pleasure in towering performance rendering the jig effectively up. Then Bardem mentions his girlfriend about 27 times. Though homosexuality was the reason for his dispossession from Cuba he arrived in the United States in 1980 as part of the infamous Mariel boat lift of the and committed suicide at 47 after contracting AIDS the film treats his sex life with considerably more discretion than he did. guy lived through the whole Cuban revolution and was an emblem of Schnabel says. by the nature of his existence he was a stain on Politically, shirt looks surprisingly brown in the film, particularly in newsreel footage that shows him sputtering like Hitler against enemies of the revolution such as artists and gays.

Arenas, of course, was both, a protean figure whom Schnabel has likened to Walt Whitman. Reinaldo created, and what he gave me to work the director says, like some kind of bolt of lightning that can illuminate a whole The memoir from which the film is adapted was published in 1993, three years after Arenas died. But Schnabel and his fellow writers, Cunningham and Lazaro Gomez Carriles, have also incorporated samplings from the work, such as Parade The film is composed as a kind of tone poem. Schnabel burst onto the New York art scene only a few years after Arenas was released from El Morro prison, where he kept himself alive for two years among an inmate population no less homophobic than the regime that put him there by writing letters to the wives and girlfriends of his cellmates. unconventionality ended up being the very thing that insulated him against capitalist oppressors.

have total he says. fact is, because I can live off my paintings, not sitting around the Bel Air Hotel waiting for somebody to offer me a job so my life can go Bardem had been dieting on nothing but boiled chicken for four months in order to play Arenas convincingly. you have a role like this, you have to die for he says. cannot complain. This movie was really on the limit of a lot of Schnabel had cast Bardem on the basis of his performance in earlier films such as and even though the actor had never worked in an English-language movie before.

3E, Monday, February 19, 2001 Life, etc. 3 HE EWS BSERVER ONDAY EBRUARY 19, 2001 But he bowed out of touring in favor of a replacement drummer, Jimmy Bower. Bower was in the chair for C.O.C.’s homecoming show at The Ritz last month, which seemed like old times in many ways. Woody Weatherman played the same lacerating lead guitar, and Pepper Keenan let the evening go by without some caustic political commentary. He dedicated a snarling version of the 1991 C.O.C.

anthem With A to incoming President Bush. Back on the drums, Bower kept a steady enough backbeat. But he match frenzied style of playing a style that has a lot to do with why Mullin is currently missing in action. Chronic back problems brought on by years of flailing may have put a permanent end to touring days. While C.O.C.

continues to tour, Mullin remains at home in Raleigh and undergoing treatments at Duke Hospital. can still play, I just go out on the Mullin says. actually broke my back about five years ago, unbeknownst to me, and developed into degenerative arthritis. I sit still for too long, got me on steroids. workable.

But apparently, it is gonna get Even if Mullin fully recovers, however, there seem to be even larger issues standing between him and the rest of the group interpersonal ones. Mullin gave his first public hint of dissatisfaction in the March issue of Metal Edge magazine, which had some unusually candid quotes in a C.O.C. feature. Mullin professed disappointment in both the music and apolitical lyrics of Volume and claimed to enjoy playing guitar in his new band Brown much more. When questioned further about it, Mullin speaks even more directly now.

than anything, I wanna be with C.O.C. Mullin says. enjoy company anymore, although I love Mike and Woody like brothers. But all better off now being on the road with somebody who wants to be there. It would make no sense, me schlepping around being unhappy and making them all unhappy, From the road, Keenan declined to return phone calls to comment about the situation with Mullin.

But Mullin has plenty more to say about the group. just kinda disappointed in C.O.C.,” Mullin continues. a shame, because the label is really behind the band. I just think they made the album they made God, weird to talk about C.O.C. in terms of but how I feel about things now.

I did make a minor contribution to this record, sure. But there a lot of freedom in the atmosphere. It a very fun album to make. used to be like the burliest, meanest guy on the block. And now, it kinda reminds me of a wino, sitting outside Mary Tavern, with no teeth screaming at you that gonna kick your ass.

got no teeth anymore, like Raleigh Hatchet. become all the things I want it to be. I would love to contribute and still do stuff with those guys, I just think they want to do the same kinda stuff I do. want C.O.C. to be a lot heavier, more adventurous lyrically and Oddly enough, current music with Brown is not particularly heavy or adventurous.

lineup is centered on Mullin, C.O.C./Cry of Love producer John Custer, guitarist Mikey Ross and the old Veldt rhythm section of bassist Des White and drummer Marvin Levy. The music is pure mainstream pop, closer to Creed or Lenny Kravitz than C.O.C.’s walloping combination of Black Sabbath metal and Black Flag punk. not doing Brown because I wanted C.O.C. to be a pop Mullin says. compare the two.

doing Brown now because Custer and Mikey are my best friends, always wanted to play with them and this is the funnest thing done in my life. We can go in all sorts of different directions with One unexpected direction is Caitlin Cary, the former Whiskeytown player, with whom Brown recently recorded a song. Brown is also putting out a five-song mini-album of its own next month, through Redeye Distribution. That will be a lot homier than the major-label environs of C.O.C.’s last few recordings, one of which even picked up a Grammy nomination. Right now, though, that seems to suit Mullin just fine.

kinda cool, going back to the old- school D.I.Y. thing Mullin says. a lot of work, but fun. If Brown works out, cool. If not, cool, too.

But for too long, C.O.C. has not been fun anymore. certainly not supposed to be about making Staff writer David Menconi can be reached at 829-4759 or ETAL ONTINUEDFROMPAGE 1E Apparently, he has touched a nerve. taken to calling Great Britain the island of frustrated he said lightly. bananas there.

Their tabloids ran with it, and some of the questions got pretty insulting. Finally on BBCI had to ask, sex is like only a big deal to the guy who is not getting any.) interview ended But behind all the nudge-nudge, wink-wink banter the nurses in the operating room were all asking Meloy where they could get one, he said his idea addresses something a real problem. In a major study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 1999, 43 percent of women and 31 percent of men reported sexual difficulties. For decades, doctors have been implanting a device into the spinal canal of patients whose pain has not been cured by other treatments. The gizmo sends electrical impulses into the spinal cord, effectively blocking signals from the rest of the body that the brain would interpret as pain.

It changes the perception of pain, making it easier to tolerate, Meloy said; most patients describe a buzzing sensation. When he implants the device, the doctor tries to stimulate the exact spot that corresponds to the area of the body in pain, a process of trial and error. put the electrode where you think it will help, turn on the power and ask where they feel a said. Then one day, he apparently missed. And she loved it.

It was just a funny story what I did at work today until a gynecologist friend stopped laughing and told Meloy, dysfunction is a widespread problem if got a therapy, something you need to So now starting to puzzle through how, exactly, the gizmo might work. As it is now, the device has a beeper-sized battery and a generator that last five or six years; patients can adjust how much stimulation getting with a hand-held remote control after the surgery. The whole thing runs about $15,000, he said, not including the surgery to put it in. Not very marketable. you generally run into people who are having orgasms Meloy said drily.

He want to create a Woody Allen- esque Orgasmatron; he envisions a device triggered a few times a day at most, a far less powerful and much cheaper option. It might work to have it charged by body heat, he suggested. Steven Herman, who studies urology and psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center and helps men with sexual dysfunctions, said he thinks good that people are working to find solutions and treatments. the reason you have sex is not just to have an said. a serious problem for people who consistently have difficulty having one, he said, but if people could solve all their sexual problems with an electronic device, they already would have there are vibrators and electronic devices that men sometimes use to produce semen samples, he said.

Meloy is hopeful that the gadget would work to correct a problem, rather than being needed every time. Now drawing up a research proposal, looking for funding and hoping to recruit people to participate in trials later this year. Given the overwhelming response, he said, not worried about finding funding. not worried about the recruiting either. staff, the entire adult female population of the British Isles, and even reporters have Staff writer Susan Kinzie can be reached at 829-4760 or ELOY ONTINUEDFROMPAGE 1E son the critic.

What do you say when someone does something so generous as create a work for you? A feel extremely fortunate. just an incredible opportunity and experience to have a composer sitting there right with you to ask questions or say, is really difficult this way. Would you be open to this understanding of a musical piece is enhanced by having a composer with When you sing a piece that has been sung before, the challenge is making it your own. Is the challenge the same with a piece premiering? A job change whether a song been sung or not. In the end I find I have to find something within myself that connects with the character.

my job no matter how old or young the music You also have the reputation for looking for challenging songs. A think just looking for interesting ways to express myself musically. I remember hearing a colleague talk to high school students once. They were asking him about music they want to play and wondered why he wanted to play it. He said and this really resonated with me was really interested in always learning something new about life or music, having some sort of new awareness or revelations.

For me new experiences going to teach me behind the title of your new CD, Hide Their A a translation of a line from cantata 199. I think a real truthfulness to these pieces, that they speak without aggression or artfulness. I just thought the idea of goodness coming in the form of something not feeling anything but righteousness was a really nice Is it ever a difficult landing to go from performing around the world to being a mom in the suburbs? A a way getting easier. I now feel more settled about the balance balance, that word is too comfortable the relationship between the two. I think my work benefits from family.

My life is all wrapped up in one. not too big. But hard being away, getting that connection over the phone and when I get home, picking up where we left They say children like the sound of their voices. Do you sing to your children? A no. Other than singing lullabies when they were babies.

I sing a phrase stuck on in the kitchen, my son says, stop I think it sounds too loud. But no, they hear my voice and sit and smile and listen to Staff writer Adrienne M. Johnson can be reached at 829-4751 or PSHAW ONTINUEDFROMPAGE 1E Tough life of Cuban artist Javier Bardem ALMOST FAMOUS Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Jason Lee and Philip Seymour Hoffman. (R.) Morrisville: Park Place. ANTITRUST Ryan Phillippe andTim Robbins.

(PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. BILLY ELLIOT Jamie Bell, Julie Walters and Gary Lewis. (R.) Chapel Hill: Chelsea. BRING IT ON Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford and Gabrielle Union. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge.

CAST AWAY Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Timberlyne. Durham: Carmike 7. Garner: Towne Square.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande. ANGELS Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. CHOCOLAT Juliette Thivisol, Alfred Molina, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp and Lena Olin.

(PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Chelsea, Lumina. Durham: Willowdaile. Raleigh: Colony. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi give outstanding performances in Ang extravagantly praised martial-arts epic, a love fu fantasy with dazzlingly acrobatic (though absurdly exaggerated) fight scenes.

But the romantic drama at the heart of the film is talky and less than compelling, the story is somewhat sloppily structured and the movie, while certainly entertaining and technically proficient, is far from the original, revolutionary work of art some have claimed. In Mandarin with English subtitles. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Carolina. Durham: Carolina, Willowdaile.

Garner: Towne Square. Raleigh: Rialto DOUBLE TAKE Orlando Jones, Eddie Griffin. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Durham: Carmike 7, Wynnsong. Raleigh: Carmike 15.

DOWN TO EARTH In this remake of the 1978 Warren Beatty movie Can (itself a remake of Comes Mr. Chris Rock plays a comedian (stretch) who dies and returns to Earth in the body of a rich, rotund Manhattan mogul. The scarce laughs only remind us that the rest of the movie is so lame. With Frankie Faison, Regina King, Mark Addy, Chazz Palminteri and Eugene Levy. Directed by Chris and Paul Weitz, the brothers behind (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads.

Chapel Hill: Plaza. Durham: Carmike 7, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande, Mission Valley DR.

HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS Jim Carrey. (PG.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. DUDE, MY CAR? Zero stars Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. THE NEW GROOVE Animated.

(G.) Cary: Crossroads. Durham: Carmike 7. THE FAMILY MAN Nicolas Cage Leoni. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge, Raleighwood. FINDING FORRESTER Sean Connery, Rob Brown.

(PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Varsity. Durham: Willowdaile, Wynnsong. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande.

THE GIFT Cate Blanchett, Keanu Reeves, Hilary Swank, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi and Katie Holmes. (R.) Morrisville: Park Place. HANNIBAL The sequel to multi-Oscar-winning Silence of the have the suspense or the psychological battle of wills that made its predecessor a hit. Lushly directed by Ridley Scott a dull, convoluted horror movie, with various parties in search of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, reprising his role). The Clarice Starling character, played by Julianne Moore in a cold, sour performance, is relegated to a very minor role.

With Gary Oldman, Giancarlo Giannini and Ray Liotta. (R.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Lumina, Timberlyne. Durham: Willowdaile, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande, Mission Valley. HEAD OVER HEELS Zero stars Monica Potter moves into a New York apartment with four models and strikes up a romance with her neighbor (Freddie Prinze who just might be a killer. An appalling excuse for a movie, filled with disgusting, smutty masquerading as romantic farce. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads.

Durham: Wynnsong. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande. LEFT BEHIND: THE MOVIE Kirk Cameron and Brad Johnson. (PG-13.) Durham: Wynnsong.

Raleigh: Carmike 15. MEET THE PARENTS Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, James Rebhorn and Owen Wilson. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge, Raleighwood. MEN OF HONOR Cuba Gooding Robert De Niro and Charl- ize Theron. (R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge.

MISS CONGENIALITY Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Morrisville: Park Place. BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? George Clooney, John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads.

Chapel Hill: Varsity. Raleigh: Grande. 102 DALMATIANS Glenn Close, Depardieu. (G.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge, Raleighwood. PAY IT FORWARD Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt.

(PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. THE PLEDGE Jack Nicholson, Benicio Del Toro, Patricia Clarkson, Sam Shepard, Aaron Eckhart, Robin Wright Penn, Helen Mirren, Vanessa Redgrave, Mickey Rourke and Harry Dean Stanton. (R.) Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Grande. PROOF OF LIFE David Morse, Meg Ryan, Russell Crowe.

(R.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. QUILLS Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix and Michael Caine. (R.) Durham: Willowdaile. RECESS: OUT This feature film adaptation of the TV cartoon centers on six friends who band together to stop a bitter former school nefarious scheme to eliminate summer vacation. The boxy, prosaic animation is unappealing, and the plot is ridiculous and a bit too complicated.

But this crisply paced, intelligently written adventure is breezy, wholesome family entertainment that manages to endorse both education and the joy of being a kid. (G.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Lumina, Timberlyne. Durham: Willowdaile, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square.

Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande REMEMBER THE TITANS Denzel Washington, Will Patton. (PG.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. REQUIEM FOR A DREAM Darren Aronofsky directed and co-wrote, with Hubert Selby this harrowing descent into drug addiction hell, based on 1978 novel. It follows four characters whose bad predicaments grow progressively, horrifically worse. A brutal, unrelentingly bleak movie that is nonetheless mesmerizing because of com- mand of innovative film techniques.

With Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans and a fearless, heartbreaking Ellen Burstyn. (Not rated.) Durham: Carolina. RUGRATS IN PARIS: THE MOVIE Animated. (G.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge, Raleighwood. SAVE THE LAST DANCE Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas.

(PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Plaza. Durham: Carmike 7, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place.

Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande. SAVING SILVERMAN In this crass, stupid comedy, two buddies (Steve Zahn and Jack Black) try to rescue their best friend (Jason Biggs) from his vile (Amanda Peet) by abducting her and pretending dead. The crude jokes range from gross to ridiculous. With Amanda Detmer, R. Lee Ermey and Neil Diamond.

(PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Plaza. Durham: Carmike 7, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande, Mission Valley.

SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich. (R.) Durham: Carolina. Raleigh: Colony. SNATCH Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro and Dennis Farina. (R.) Cary: Crossroads.

Chapel Hill: Plaza. Durham: Wynnsong. Raleigh: Grande. SWEET NOVEMBER In this combination movie of the week, an egocentric advertising man (Keanu Reeves) falls in love with a waifish free spirit (Charlize Theron) who has a strict habit of dating a different man every month. A movie that be more artificial if every object on the screen had been molded from plastic, and especially true of the wooden Reeves.

(PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Timberlyne. Durham: Willowdaile, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place.

Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande, Mission Valley THIRTEEN DAYS Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood and Steven Culp. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Timberlyne. Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande.

TRAFFIC Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Don Cheadle, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid. (R.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Chelsea, Lumina. Durham: Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Grande, Mission Valley. VALENTINE Zero stars Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton and Jessica Capshaw. (R.) Durham: Carmike 7, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Mission Valley. VERTICAL LIMIT Chris nell, Robin Tunney, Scott Glenn and Bill Paxton. (PG-13.) Raleigh: Blue Ridge. THE WEDDING PLANNER Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey.

(PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Lumina, Plaza. Durham: Willow- daile, Wynnsong. Garner: Towne Square. Morrisville: Park Place.

Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande. WHAT WOMEN WANT Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Lauren Holly, Delta Burke, Bette Midler and Valerie Perrine. (PG-13.) Cary: Crossroads. Chapel Hill: Timberlyne. Durham: Wynnsong.

Morrisville: Park Place. Raleigh: Carmike 15, Grande, Raleighwood. The Carolina Theatre has canceled one of two showings of set for Tuesday. The movie will only show at 7p.m. change nowplaying and wire service critics rate movies from one to four stars.

to stars Chris Rock..