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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1995)
The Battalion • Page 3 Tuesday • August 1, 1995 Expensive production fails with lot that doesn't hold Movie Review Wa terwoHd Starring: Kevin Cost ner, Tina Majorino, Dennis Hopper Directed by Kevin Reynolds Rated PG-13 Playing at Schulman 6 ★★★ (out of Five) By Wes Swift he Battalion an >s, The reason for the hype on Wcl- \erworld, Kevin Costner’s newest 1m, is that the budget-busting P>175 million production just may send Costner’s once-burgeoning career to a watery grave. But actually, if you disregard the big price tag, Waterworld is n’t a half-bad flick. , In Waterworld, the polar ice caps have melted, covering the earth with water. People live on floating, man-made “atolls” and are under the constant threat from the Smokers, a band of cig arette-sucking pirates led by the Deacon (Dennis Hopper). Dirt is a precious commodity, and the only hope in people’s lives lies in a mythical place called Dryland. Costner plays the Mariner, a sea-going drifter who scavenges the ocean floor for goods he can trade. One step higher on the evolutionary ladder, the Mariner is a "mutation” adapted for his watery lifestyle with gills and webbed feet. His fishy physique gains him a few enemies during a trading excursion to a nearby atoll. The mariner lands in jail and re ceives a death sentence. Before the the mariner meets his maker, the Smokers raid the atoll, looking for Enola (Tina Majorino), a young girl who can shed light on the mys tery of Dryland. But before the pirates snag the her, Enola and her mother, Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) free the Mariner and escape while the Smokers continue to pursue. Waterworld, as one might ex pect, is a breathtaking film. Filmed entirely on or under wa ter, the movie has been billed in a press release as “the most am bitious production in the history of cinema,” and, production-wise, it delivers. The film’s big-name cast turned in solid performances. Costner is believable as an action star. Tina Majorina’s Enola is fan tastic, mixing the child-like atti tude with the fireball courage needed to stand up to the Mariner. Dennis Hopper puts in his same over-the-top perfor mance that audiences expect. However, the strong produc tion and good act ing are wasted on a watered-down plot. The filmmakers try to rely on out standing scenery and hope the story line can keep from drowning, but it doesn’t. The writers resort to movie cliches that would kill less visual, movies. This is no more apparent than in the token, irrelevant romance between the Mariner and He len. The film doesn’t need the relation ship, but it’s there anyway. More of the pro duction money should have gone to a search for better writers. It would have made the film a lot more en tertaining. Ultimately, Water- world’s scenes swim, but its story sinks. The Net offers chilling, eerie adventure Angela Bennett (Sandra Bullock) has her life erased when she stum bles onto the Internet path of people plotting to control "the Net." By Jay Robbins The Battalion The Net gathers many of the troubling questions raised by “information age” dependence on computer systems and ties them into a fresh, gripping plot. Lonely freelance computer hacker Angela Bennett stum bles into a dark corner of the world’s computer systems. The terrorist group whose conspira cy she accidentally uncovers deletes all traces of her identi ty, from drug prescriptions to the deed to her house. Suddenly, she no longer exists. Sandra Bullock plays Ben nett, a shy, introverted computer programming analyst who works out of her house and rarely leaves it. Just before taking her first vacation in six years, Bennett receives a program from one of her clients that allows a fright ening level of access to highly secured systems. Movie Review The Net Starring Sandra Bul lock, Jeremy Northam and Dennis Miller Directed by Irwin Winkler Rated PG-13 Showing at Holly wood 16, Schulman 6 ★★★1/2 (out of five) Bennett knows better than to snoop where she doesn’t belong, but she unwittingly taps into a shocking plot to take control of the government’s computer net works. And the Praetorians, the group that wrote the program, will do whatever it takes to make sure Bennett cannot re veal its plans. The Net gets off to an unfor tunately slow start. The film spends too much time setting up the story, perhaps because of fears that audi ences might not un derstand the comput er concepts without extensive, simplistic explanation of “the Net.” The movie is also weighed down by the secondary storyline of Bennett’s loneliness, and by a long, unnec essary romantic episode. But after The Net finally gets on-line, audiences can quit fidgeting and really enjoy the film. Bullock turns in a solid and believable performance as a computer nerd who clicked on the wrong icon. The Net allows Bullock to stretch her acting talents fur ther than before, though Angela Bennett still will remind view ers of Bullock’s Speed and While You Were Sleeping roles. Comedian and satirist Dennis Miller plays the surprisingly subdued Dr. Alan Champion, Bennett’s former psychiatrist and one-time lover, who tries to pull Bennett out of the limbo the Praetorians cause when they erase her computer identity. British stage actor Jeremy Northam, in his first major American screen role, inspires highly believable unease as he slowly cuts Bennett off from everything and everyone who ever knew her. Despite good performances, the screenplay gives only Bul lock enough air-time and depth to really develop her character beyond being a “good guy” or a “bad guy,” a shortfall that leaves the movie a little flat. The Net may predict a real danger facing the modern com puter-run world. The idea is the most fascinat ing part of the film, and audi ences leave with a satisfyingly eerie question, “What if someone did take control of the net?” .smm & tamands Presents Larrj Strnri LIVE IN CONCERT Friday, Autjust 4th Tickets: *5 General Admission Doors Open at 6:00 pm _ Tickets on sale now at Denim & Diamonds, yj and Lavender’s Boot City. ^ T© P© [LOST Student Appreciation Night Every Wednesday Free Pool w/ college ID 7 pm-1 am Happy Hour 4-7 pm M-F $1.00 Draft $1.25 Longnecks $2.00 Chuggers $1.75 Well OPEN DART TOURNAMENT Every Ttiesday starting at 8:00 p.m $5 entry fee • Double elimination • 1st, 2nd & 3rd place prizes • Bud Light Chuggers $2.00 ^WinnJDixi^^hoppin^^enter^^exa^Ave^^^^^64-8664j Doux Chene Apartments The living is estsy & so is the rent! Limited spaces available. Come see our complex and our new white walls! 1401 FM 2818, College Station 693-1906 *See On-Site Manager for details. Offer expires 07-31- 95. O WEDNESDAY NIGHT RETRO NIGHT - Music From The 80's SOt Well, Wine, Draft, Longnecks, & Shots of Schnapps - 6-iO pm O THURSDAY NIGHT NEON KNIGHTS CONTEST - Best Male Body S0t Well, Wine, Draft, Longnecks, & Shots of Schnapps -6-10 pm O FRIDAY NIGHT LARRY STEWART - Live in Concert Tickets $S General Admission. Doors Open at 6 pm.- O SATURDAY NIGHT BIKINI & BOOTS CONTEST SOt Well, Wine, Draft, Longnecks, & Shots of Schnapps -6-10 pm DENIM & DIAMONDS Reminds you to always drink responsibly. Ask our Front Door Staff About Designated Driver Program. 160O-B S. COLLEGE BRYAN TX 823-2707 .>l<vssiim Hof’s Harvest Fun Continues This Weekend European Harvest Lunch & Wine-Food Seminar Noon - Sat & Sun •It»in our Pickers dub for an elaborate Furopean-style Harvest Luncheon in >Icssinn Hof’s Vineyard Lrove. Enjoy Cheeses. Hreads. Soups. Salads & Fresh Veggies. After lunch, participate in a personal seminar with a 31essina Hof wine expert who will teach you the art of correctly pairing food and wine. ONLY Slo FOK EVERYTHING! Reservations: (400) 770-3418 The EBonarrigo Revival Don’t .Miss The F'un This Saturday Night. Come see Master Winemaker Paul Bonarrigo revive his lOGOs rock band. The Rrookwootls. Classic tunes. Vintage groupies. A lot less hair. A hit more laughter. You’ll find tuit if Paul's singing is as good as his wine. As Paul said. "The older ■ get. the better I used to he." ONLY SIO ($12/gate) 31 iisit* starts at O PM Deli opens at 7 PM 4545 Old Del in lice Road, Rryan XjillijMiiiij 1 if r 11 -* to you by Designer Events More Information: (400) 770-3410