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The Battalion
Thursday
jQ^p October 5, 1995
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STRANCE DAYS
Strong performances get lost in film's chaotic, dominating backdrop
By Michael Landauer
The Battalion
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Angela Bassett stars as Lornette "Mace" Masson, who is constantly bail
ing out the troubled Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) in Strange Days.
It’s certianly strange,
but it seems like it takes
days to get through.
Strange Days, a chaotic
mystery set in the final
days of the century,
throws a lot in the audi
ence’s face — eerie tech
nology, plot twists and so- ■■■■■■■■■■■■
cial paranoia. But unfor
tunately, the film is full of cliches and
chokes to death on its powerful backdrop.
Ralph Fiennes plays Lenny Nero, a for
mer Los Angeles cop who has become a sort
of crack dealer of the future. But instead of
peddling drugs, Nero sells a piece of tech
nology called Payback or “clips.”
The “clips” are 30-minute segments of
people’s lives captured on a digital record
ing. Those who “get wired” can experience
the event as if they were there. Nero de
scribes his product as “a piece of someone’s
life straight from the cerebral cortex.”
The technology is amazing. The movie
opens during one of Nero’s clips, which is
confusing and more than alittle distressing.
But director Kathryn Bigelow spends a lot
of time making audiences understand how
Playback works.
Bigelow was not so thoughtful in explain
ing the chaotic surroundings on the eve of
the millenium.
Streets are filled with tanks and police
officers in riot gear. The movie often comes
Strang#
Starring Ralph Fienn
Angela Bassett and
Juliette Lewis
Directed by Kathryn
Bigelow
Rated R
★★ (m*t of five)
to a screeching halt as the
main characters drive
through police checkpoints.
At one point, two girls are
seen mugging a man dressed
as Santa Claus on the street
as the police spend their
time merely posturing.
The chaos presents a
timely and extreme portrait
of the futility of the police
and the abuses of power.
Although tension has nev
er been portrayed in such massive detail, it
becomes too much.
With so much go
ing on as the city of
Los Angeles pre
pares for the new
century, it is hard for
the audience to stay
focused on the turbu
lent plot.
With such strong
performances from
Fiennes and Bassett,
the plot could have
been electrifying.
A clip falls into
Nero’s hands that
could play a large
part in the chaos and
racial tension that is
mounting in the 20th
century’s final days.
A prominent
African-American
rap star and political leader has been exe
cuted, and the murder weaves itself into
Nero’s life through a cleverly-spun web of
relationships.
Nero must choose between helping himself
out of his addiction and doing something that
can make a difference in the community.
But ultimately it just isn’t enough. The
insanity and social unrest swallows the
promising plot whole.
If it were possible to set the movie
against a more controlled environment, the
clever technology and strong performances
would be more easily appreciated.
As it is, this movie is just strange.
Strange Days is set in the last couple days of the century amid an often
violent celebration.
Original songs and old favorites bring fans 'friendly' feelings
By Amy Collier
The Battalion
It seems like people just
can’t get enough of Friends,
so Reprise Records took ad
vantage of the craze and pro
duced a soundtrack for the
popular television series.
The album is a compilation of a va
riety of names in the music industry,
which means it never has a dull mo
ment — just like the show.
Of course, the soundtrack wouldn’t
be complete without the theme song
from Friends, “I’ll Be There For You,”
by The Rembrandts — so it starts with
it and ends with it. However, this is
the worst part of the soundtrack.
The song was somewhat entertaining
when it first came out, but after listen
ing to it a few times, The Rembrandts’
whiny voices get annoying. The song
can only be tolerated when it’s accompa
nied by the Friends cast dancing around
making idiots of themselves at the be
ginning of the show.
But sandwiched between the two
versions of the theme sonfe are a wide
variety of singles that save the album.
k.d. Lang’s “Sexuality” is by far
the best song on the soundtrack. It’s
a slow, beautiful single that fits per
fectly with the show’s recurring sexu
al themes.
Lang’s voice is sensuous and seduc
tive as she sings, “How bad could it be
if you should lose yourself in me? /
How bad could it be if you amuse your
self with me? / Release yourself upon
me / Unleash your sexuality on me.”
Hootie & the Blowfish contribute
a soulful and inventive song with “I
Go Blind.” Of course, the song does
have a repetitive chorus like the much
overplayed “I Only Wanna Be With
You,” but it’s more creative than the
popular single.
Lou Reed, former lead singer of the
Velvet Underground, has a song on the
soundtrack which reaches out to slack
ers in despair in “You’ll Know You
Were Loved.”
Although his voice lacks inflection,
Reed offers creative lyrics that save
the song like, “Underachievers of the
world unite / You have nothing to lose
except your fight / Together we can
perhaps pass the night / And you’ll
know you were loved.”
The biggest name on the
soundtrack is R.E.M. The
band sings a drab song called
“It’s a Free World Baby.”
The song is boring and de
pressing as Michael Stipe
sings, “I can’t feel anything / I
gave too much away.” Stipe
sounds like this isn’t the favorite song
he has ever sung.
Besides the album being full of orig
inal, creative songs by big names in
the music industry, there are some
“oldies” that make it even better.
The Pretenders proves it still has a
knack for making good songs for
soundtracks like “Walking on Sun
shine” from Secret of My Success and
“Everyday is Like Sunday” from Boys
on the
Side. The band brings a pleasant sur
prise to the compilation with a remake
of “Angel in the Morning,” originally
by Juice Newton.
Lead singer Chrissie Hynde, who
will guest star on the series this sea
son, has a voice that resembles New
ton’s, but it is much more beautiful,
making the song more emotional than
the original version.
Even “In My Room,” a Beach Boys’
classic, is included on the album.
Grant Lee Buffalo, the artist who
debuted with Mighty Joe Moon last
year, creates a new and different
version of the well-known classic.
He adds a funk sound to the song
with his talent for distorting
his guitar.
Between most of the songs,
variety is added to the compila
tion with excerpts from the
show. The added bonus reminds
die-hard Friends fans of the
funniest moments of the show and
why it is one of the most popular pro
grams today.
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345-26"'
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725 - B UNIVERSITY 260-2660
Tickets go on sale Sunday, Oct. 8 from 4-6 p.m.
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
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MON.
TUES.
OCT. 8
OCT. 9
OCT. 10
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MON.
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Please look for our schedule in the Battalion on Monday & Thursday.
( 13 E cz: I-H <5^ CSPglLL.)
fKKilE NIGHT
Every Thursday
.99t Pitchers
with Student I.D.
500 S. Texas, Bryan 823-4338
Tack Auction
A tack sale is coming to your area on
October 9th
There will be saddles from
Billy Cook, Herford, Rico, Texas Saddlery and more!!
For all your tack and western supply needs - be there.
Viewing begin at 6:00 p.m. sale starts at 7:00 p.m.
located at the Bryan VFW Hall on 2818
Bring in your used saddles for trade-ins.
For more information call: 409-825-4111 or 409-258-3093
C. Curie -Txs. 11470 V.A. Gilbreath - Txs. 7309
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ONLY QUALITY NAME BRANDS
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Disposable Contact Lenses Available
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SAME DAY DELIVERY ON MOST LENSES.
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Suite 101
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Study in
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stria.
Come to TAMV^j
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MSC, or from 3 - 4pm in Room 404
Rudder.
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