le Battalion A GGIELIFE Page 5 » Friday, January 22, 1999 I atch WThe Thin Red Line Jtarring: Sean Penn and Nick Nolte pirected by Terrance Malick Playing at Hollywood 16 l/ie Thin Red Line does not end with a climactic battle. It does not have a point-of-view lahacter or protagonist. It does ^Biave a compelling, linear plot. Jhis is why The Thin Red Line ftrillnniss most audiences. ^ftfter a 20 - year, Garbo-esque die, Malick’s return to filmmak- igts among the most well-pho- )g»aphed, yet elusive films of the Bp ~H'he movie is loosely based on init'S Jones’ novel From Here to ttetinity and is the story of Charlie Jornpany during the battle of ktadalcanal during World War II. J'hink of The Thin Red Line not i a movie but as a visual poem, re :inematography is breathtak- Gg’ but the film, like Malick’s last |hovie, 1978’s Days of Heaven, is ^)tionally distant. [he Thin Red Line is a combina- lon of several different voice-overs the film together. At times mm ^ ' Prtoto,Courtesy or TwENTierHCeNTUurPoK Sean Penn stars as Sgt. Welsh in the war drama The Thin Red Line. Malick creates a remarkable pic ture, similar to the power and mad ness of Apocalypse Now, but Line often feels disjointed and jumpy. Even though the film is nearly three hours long, it could have benefitted from either a lengthen ing (some characters are needlessly thrown into the mix, especially George Clooney’s ridiculous and gratuitous appearance near the end of the movie) or a drastic shorten ing. Far too often the film recites philosophical voice-over after voice-over that become stale. Con sequently, The Thin Red Line feels too arty and pretentious. This film will undoubtedly be compared to Saving Private Ryan, but the two are completely differ ent. Spielberg’s film, although cliched, pushes audiences’ buttons and gets them involved, whereas Malick’s pushes viewers away. Despite the weakness of Line, it doesn’t bow to the almighty emo tion and moves in unexpected di rections that make it superior to /?yan. (Grade: B + ) — Jeff Schmidt ;kle with onsidersiti: mmies”coi: rofessional vn personal: Varsity Blues Starring James Van Der Beek and Jon Voight Directed by Brian Robbins Playing at Hollywood 16 some time , , , , e some fun be backup quarterback who comes in to re- ebrate Hallo* *' eve ' n j ure( i star quarterback has become don’t even a cliche in Hollywood. Although Varsity Blues s directed with the subtlety and pacing of a TV s a lot ofpecljjHPHercial (it’s an MTV production), the movie is ‘Stling is pn: mfdly entertaining. Ht is the story of Mox (Van Der Beek), an intel- ectual who would rather read Vonnegut than his Maybook. When the team’s Florida State-commit- -:ed quarterback (Paul Walker) is hurt during a Hne, Mox takes over and becomes the hero of his small West Texas town. lT^«* West Canaan is the type of town many Texans J I o will be familiar with: life revolves around football LL and the head coach, Kilmer (Voight), is a town demagogue. Even the team’s hats say Kilmer’s Coy otes. Kilmer is obsessed with winning his 23rd dis trict title and when his team blows a game, he spouts, “You cost me my perfect season!” Mox is laid back, and this creates conflict be tween him and his high-strung coach, resulting in a reverse Latrell Sprewell (coach chokes player) and obligatory last-second win. Van Der Beek clearly picked this part to distance himself from the lovesick Dawson on “Dawson’s Creek. ” Mox is not exactly a nice guy; he gets drunk and goes to strip clubs. Van Der Beek is playing with his dark side, perhaps in an attempt to land more roles. Van Der Beek’s performance has been compared to that of Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves. Do not expect Varsity Blues to win any awards. Let it be what it wants to be, entertainment, and it will be worth the ride. (Grade: C +) — Jeff Schmidt Opera’s amore! |j|k Nothing says romance more than an Italian opera. Join MSC OPAS and the prestigious New York City Opera National Company as they combine forces to present one of the most beloved and classic operas of all time, Madama Butterfly. Bring some tissue! NYC Opera National Company Madama Butterfly January 26 & 27 at 8 PM Rudder Auditorium For tickets, call 845-1234. Idillio Dolce Touching Romance La Storia Irresistibile Irresistible Story RM. DUFt \KEN. 3 SENIOR CL/rd eCcA^ AivL/ru^. "Do/r't uJO.it - dAitlA. today. OARKANSAS