GGIELIFE
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/unc Desperately seeking Oscar
VYJ11 tf ’hakespearc s affaii' with Oscar seems ready to begin; Truman on Academy’s outside
7 nominees for the 71st annual Acad- Shakespeare being fun for a change. • Thp Thin Rpd l.inp mav have misspH most
SCHMIDT
he nominees for the 71st annual Acad-
emy Awards were announced yester-
tely on theetie an d to quote a line from L. A. Con-
:curacies need idemial, “Nothing too original because, hey,
steroid by an his is Hollywood.”
voting members have until
>ounds made! /larch to fill out their bal-
Dts. The ceremony will be
atural compo^^eldj March 21 at the
glycine, and )orothy Chandler Pavilion
of the body's a Los Angeles,
uscles. IIs expected. Saving
nyone who is 'rivate Ryan, Shakespeare
i Lave and Life is Beauti-
nefit from the iz/larnered nominations Jfjt
erates energy re or lest Picture, but the
icreases muscleiacllision of The Thin Red
•formed on the ,fra and Elizabeth were mild surprises to
tan
Mlost expected The Truman Show to be
med at majorun onlinated, especially considering its Golden
m studies one Holes success. Perhaps the Academy of Arts
nd Sciences took the media pervasiveness
:t with theuse apk to heart too seriously,
only documenit »ke a movie, let’s take a moment to sus-
eatine supplentt end disbelief and vote for Best Picture,
helian, lerl’s the lowdown, in order of the favorites:
se will causes:
Shakespeare in Love is the most accom-
nining creatine lisled and original of the nominations.
oung William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes)
Dplementation:; as writer’s block, and it takes an affair with
e a false positivt iok De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) to free
milar false peer Villv. Not only is it a sizzling love story with
iupplements. 10 best ensemble acting of the year, but the
nation isstoppi ighly original screenplay sees the Bard in a
trine return tot afferent light. There are also ounces of
iducted by Dr. 10 |ernity thrown in: a “taxi” driver pitching
reatine useistb P^y t0 Shakespeare, a souvenir mug from
•sting thought, hatford-on-Avon and the ultimate in-joke —
t it. it is a must en playing a stuck-up actor. Imagine
who are huge
rs, mothers, fot
‘rested in impr
body. For those
■atine use and no;
vvn illogical decs
ae, try creatine,
this world, thosf
■vho try to convit;
to.
• Life is Beautiful is an Italian import many
may not have heard of or seen but was always
considered a lock for a nomination. Roger
Ebert saw the film at the Cannes Film Festival
this summer and immediately predicted it
would receive a nomination for Best Picture.
Life is Beautiful was also named a nominee
for Best Foreign Language Film. This wonder
fully told fable was written, directed and stars
JP Beato /The Battalion
Italy’s crown prince, Roberto Benigni (picture
a kinder, gentler Jim Carrey). Benigni plays
Guido, a Jewish man, who woos and marries
a “princess” in the first half of the movie. The
second half is much darker, befitting the set
ting: a concentration camp. Guido and his son
are imprisoned in a labor camp, but Guido
concocts a plan to hide his son by pretending
it is one big game, the winner of which gets a
brand new tank. Guido instructs his son to
stay hidden to gain points. Guido tells his son
the Nazis are losing, and that’s why they are
so angry all the time.
The Thin Red Line may have missed most
audiences, but it still borders on a master
piece. This visual poem is based on Charlie
Company during the battle of Guadalcanal in
World War II. Director Terrence Malick’s style
is short on dialogue, but long on imagery. In
fact, it is one of the most visually beautiful
films ever made. Malick’s film is ambiguous
and disjointed, but it has moments of pure
power and depth. It is the only film nominat
ed that aspires to art.
• Saving Private Ryan is the out-and-out fa
vorite to win not only Best Picture, but nearly
everything it is nominated for. Another Steven
Spielberg melodrama, this WWII epic is al
ready the stuff of legends: eight soldiers set out
to rescue Pvt. Ryan (Matt Damon), whose
three brothers died in the war. Although many
liked this film when it first came out, the
cracks in its armor immediately began to
show. After a stunning opening sequence, an
overwhelming recreation of D-Day, it is all
down hill. Spielberg turns to the Hollywood
movie director’s best friend: cliches and jingo
ism. Spielberg said he wanted to make an anti
war film, but this film becomes something no
anti-war film should be, reaffirming. The last
battle is another excellent piece of filmmaking,
but the film is like a sandwich with no meat.
• Elizabeth is the most surprising inclusion.
This well-made film about Queen Elizabeth
(Oscar-nominated Cate Blanched) is a typi
cal costume drama. Director Shekhar Kapur
adds touches of his native India to the art di
rection but this difficult-to-follow film, with
a Godfather-style montage at the end, is
nothing special.
Jeff Schmidt is a senior journalism major.
'99, is a reptesem
itec Sports Sum
Bust a Groove
Console: Playstation
Category: Rhythm/Dance
Developer: ENIX
Most fighting games involve
•east warriors and kung fu mas-
';rs from other worlds fighting it
t for the fate of the universe
•some dorky fighting title, but
„ M ,ast a Groove decided to take a
PCmiOnkirent approach.
• The combos in Bust a Groove
litiate dance move sequences
istead of a flaming triple-barrel
iledriver.
^ With the use of CDs as the
ew gaming medium, music for
ideo games is now more than
eeps and whistles.
E I I I -I V 10 fi rst popular game to
: lythmically take advantage of
" • • • tis was Parrapa the Rapper, a
te, addictive video game that
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had the player punch a sequence
of buttons along to the music.
' Bust a Groove takes rhythm
games a step further. The game
has 10 dancers with a few hidden
characters. Each one has his own
dancing style to complement his
or her own personality.
The ‘fight matches’ consist of
the dancers squaring off with dif
ferent dance moves determined
by the series of buttons the player
pushes. The person who has the
most rhythm and versatility in
style is the winner.
The moves for each character
are excellent and look like some
thing the player might want to try
on the dance floor.
Don’t get too carried away, or
you will start breaking all the fur
niture in the room. (Grade: A-)
— Kyle Whitacre
NCAA Final Four 99
Console: Sony Playstation
Category: Sports
Developer: 989 Sports
If the wild hoopla of “March
madness” generated by the
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourna
ment is too far away, 989 Sports
offers NCAA Final Four 99 for
Sony PlayStation to quench the
thirst of hoops-crazy fans.
The game features more than
250 Division I men’s teams with
authentic home and away jer
seys, as well as down-to-the-
hardwood-floor stadium repro
ductions.
Virtual Texas A&M benefits
from injured Calvin Davis in the
lineup and plays on the parquet
floor in Reed Arena.
The 6th Man meter allows
players to pump up the crowd af
ter a made dunk, intimidating
visitors into missed shots.
Despite the realistic captured
player movements of former
University of Kansas All-Ameri
can and current Boston Celtics
standout Paul Pierce and Orlan
do Magic forward Charles “Bo”
Outlaw, the trademark jerky an
imation of 989 Sports is too
much to handle.
Game players also can alter
the talent levels of players before
a game, pumping up the three-
point shooting of a backup cen
ter from 10 to 99, sometimes
making the game too easy.
In addition, the play-by-play
of commentator Quinn Buckner
seems more of a drawback than
an addition, as any college bas
ketball fan might imagine.
(Grade: C + )
— Jeff Webb
end a Women’s Chrous
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