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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 26, 1999)
lamtlion A GGIELIFE Page 5 ♦ Friday, February 26, 1999 Message in a Bottle Starring Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn Directed by Luis Mandoki Playing at Hollywood 16 t. Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and the traditional release of a great date-movie is in evitable. Message in a Bottle was supposed to be erfect movie to make for a perfect date, ased on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks, Mage in a Bottle is a movie about love, both lost md iound. Rfter a bad divorce, Teresa Osborne (Wright Penn), siirsumed with caring for her son and her career at hKhicago Dibune. While on a brief vacation Teresa pi on her daily jog when she comes across a bottle ituci in the sand on a deserted beach. Surprised to find i note in the bottle, she reads the message thor- rnghlyand becomes infatuated with the writer’s Teresa then begins to track down the mystery l“G.” This premise is rather pathetic. Searching I man on the basis of a letter is hard to swallow, |proves to be the first hurdle the film needs to come. [Bv this point in the movie, there is really no sus- ;e. The audience knows that the man she is thing for is Costner. The only mystery left is how ley will develop a relationship. ■he evidence she finds brings her to a shipbuilding |wi in North Carolina. She manipulates her way into ■ret Blake’s (Costner) life without revealing her true ■vat ion. ■ostner successfully portrays Garret as a man with- ■ope. Garret lost his wife two years prior to meet- ■Teresa and has not had a relationship with a ■nan since then. To ease his pain. Garret puts all of ■me and energy into sailboat restoration and ■ding. ■n the other hand, Theresa easily wins the heart of |rret’sfather, Dodge (Paul Newman). Dodge is a fee man who is content with living near his son. ■/man does an excellent job of adding humor to a ItlkT dreary love story and, as a Hollywood legend, |e|tes an unforgettable character in a rather forget- ■e movie. ■eresa originally travels to find out about the true ■i behind the letters, but eventually begins to fall in love. Garret begins to develop feelings for her and ■snot quite know how to handle them. Theresa’s failure to tell him the truth about her circumstances ■shadows tension between the two. One day he is Tng to find out about her obsession to track him n and will surely be upset. No one is quite sure it is ■going to happen, but as the movie gets ;er and longer, the audience sees it coming, e acting in this movie is quite convincing. Cost and Wright Penn accurately demonstrate the body ;uage and dialogue of new-found love in this film, de: C-). By Jeff Kempf ablefod;- ■ m'G'sh ■ Photo Courtesy of Touchstone Pictures |he comedic movie Rushmore, Max (Schwartzman) jnd Cross (Williams) watch Blume (Murray) dance. Rushmore Starring Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray Directed by Wes Anderson Playing at Hollywood 16 here has never been a more self confident and cocksure nerd than beekeeper, director and cal ligrapher Max (Schwartzman). jHowever, Max’s extracurricular activities interfere ithhis academic performance and he is put on “sud- >n death probation” at his posh private school. Rush- ire Academy. Instead of concentrating on his classes, Max be- nes infatuated with a teacher. Miss Cross (Olivia lliams), and decides to build a giant aquarium on school’s baseball field in her honor. Steel tycoon, Blume (Murray), also falls for Miss Cross, inciting itter war between he and Max. 'Rushmore cops out on greatness by avoiding the darker, murkier subtexts that pervade and Max re mains an enigmatic and ambiguous creature. Max patronizes most of the adults in the film and, spanning generations, becomes the best friend to the blandly hilarious Mr. Blume. There is a sense that this is Max’s world and we are all just living in it (Grade: B +). — Jeff Schmidt MtGSXZJagTz 72£3 University drive TICKETS GO ON SALE MONDAY 3PM www r aggiecentral.com MON Mar 1 TUES Mar 2 WED Mar 3 THUR Mar 4 CHEM 107 4-6 PM CH 5,6 CH 7,8 CH 9 CAPA CHEM 102 6-8 PM CH 17A CH 17B CH 18 PRAC TEST PHYS 202 8-10 PM CH 21 CH 22 CH 23 CH 24 PHYS 218 10 PM MID CH 3,4 CH 5,6 CH 7 PRAC TEST CHEM 101 4-6 PM CH 5 CH 5,6 CH 7,8 CH 8 CHEM 107 ALI 6-8 PM CH 5,6 CH 7,8 CH 9 CAPA FINC 341 8-10 PM Part l Part I! Part Ml Part fV PHYS 208 10 PM MID CH 25 CH 26 CH 27 PRAC TEST PHOTO COURTESY OF TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX Peter (Livingston) gets another lecture from his boss, in the Mike Judge’s first live action film Office Space. Office Space Starring Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston Directed by Mike Judge Playing at Hollywood 16 T he turning point in Peter’s (Livingston) life is when he visits a hypnotherapist in the beginning of the film Office Space. Peter, the film’s protago nist, tells the therapist that because of his job, “Every single day has been worse than the day before, so that everyday you see me is the worst day of my life. ” Peter is then lured into hypnosis and when he awakens, he skips out on work, cleans fish at his desk and tells efficiency experts he only works 15 minutes a day. The candidness with which Peter approaches his work now prompts the efficiency experts to label him as a “straight shooter with upper management skills.” After Peter’s friends, Samir (Ajay Naida) and the un fortunately named Michael Bolton (David Herman) are laid off, the three conspire to rip off the company they work for with a plot they lifted from Superman III. Office Space was inspired by the “Milton” cartoons that appeared on “Saturday Night Live.” “Milton” was written by Mike Judge, the creative force behind “Beavis and Butthead” and “King of the Hill,” and Of fice Space is his first foray into live-action filmmaking. The results are often hilarious and molded after the violence in Scorsese and Tarrantino films. Judge has a way of giving the most mundane char acters a biting wit and he has the gall to ridicule every thing from corporate America to waiters at a T.G.I. Fri day’s knockoff (Grade: B). — Jeff Schmidt Blast from the Past Starring Brendan Fraser and Alicia Silverstone Directed by Hugh Wilson Playing at Hollywood 16 T he Webbers family emerges from a fallout shelter in Blast from the Past, bringing a whole new meaning to the term nuclear family. Calvin (Christopher Walken) and his pregnant wife, Helen (Sissy Spacek), mistake a crashed jet for a nu clear attack, and move into a fallout shelter construct ed by Calvin. In the shelter for the next 35 years, He len gives birth to Adam (Fraser, his name a play on the Biblical Adam and the Atom Bomb) and raises him to appreciate the finer things in life: Rob Roys and Perry Como. When Calvin has a heart attack, the now-grown Adam is sent out into the modern world of drive-bys and drag queen prostitutes to gather more supplies. He also wants to meet a girl, and does, in the form of the bitter Eve (Silverstone). A girl from Pasadena, Calif, who does not glow. The film is at its best and funniest when it focuses on the contrasting eras — the 1960s and the 1990s. When Adam first hits the streets he sees a black postal carrier and exclaims, “Oh my lucky stars a negro!” Fraser is his usual wide-eyed comedic self, but Sil- verstone’s limitations are becoming apparent. Blast from the Past is like Pleasantville in reverse, but it does not quite have the appeal or the astuteness of that film. Blast from the Past skirts the fine line be tween good and dull, never finding itself or providing consistent laughs (Grade: B-). — Jeff Schmidt Iff ili t In your search for the right career path, discover Sears, a place where careers are one of a kind - just like you. Innovative. Take charge. Adventurous. Want Sears to be part of your career adventure? Find out more about career opportunities with Sears at an Information Session, March 3rd. Check with the career center for time and location. College Relations Dept. 707-CLG, Bldg. E2-113B 3333 Beverly Road Hoffman Estates, IL 60179 or www.sears.com Sears, Roebuck and Co. I A Panel Discussion Featuring Campus Student and Staff Leaders (jlj & T.A.M.C. For Special Needs Please Call 845-1515 PosBitoly Che greatest; Interactive e-Gast Sci-Fi Musical B-IVIovie NEWSCREEM! ever made! MEW LIGHTING! NEW PRE-SHOW! This Friday and Saturday! Midnight @ the Grove (Next to Bell Tower... S3 Cates Open at IXpm) $2 Fun-Packs iC Cepheid N/ariable (http://cepheid.tamu.edu) ^Persons with disabilities please call 845-1515 to inform us of your special needs. Celebrate Black History Month! Her powerful words and flawless delivery captivate audiences of all ages. Don't miss featured Carnegie Hall performer, Charlotte Blake Alston, for a performance filled with stories from the African and African American experience. Charlotte Blake Alston, Storyteller February 28 @ 2 PM & 4 PM Rudder Theatre Tickets only $6.50! For your family's tickets, call 845-1234. Q FOR THE YOUNG zx AT ART! Sponsored in part by: FIRST i irvo i • Aanerican OPAS Jr. is generously supported by the OPAS Guild.