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Summer of Sam
Starring John Leguizamo
and Mira Sorvino
Now Playing at Hollywood 16
I Few films ever come close to capturing the face of
â– uman nature and the evolution of mind. Few can
lortray the raw energy that comes about in the
leanest of times. Summer of Sam, directed by Spike
Lee, truly does.
I It is the summer of 1977. Disco is at its peak.
Punk has begun to startle the masses. Sex and drugs
are as widespread as ever, and the age of careless
1 ving just seems to go on forever.
I One of the “hottest” summers in the history of
llew York City gets even hotter as a record heatwave
1
blankets the city and a madman, David Berkowitz,
a.k.a. The Son of Sam, is on the loose.
The film should be viewed and interpreted as a
whole. It is a story of chaos and pure craziness. It is
of a neighborhood and its struggle against a mad
man. More importantly, though, it is an undertaking
of the changing times, the clash of culture and the
fall of the careless ’70’s.
The dramatic aspect of this film is a selling point.
Sorvino (Dionna) and Leguizamo (Vinny) both do a
swell job of portraying a strained marriage caught
up in the heat of the summer. Sorvino is an innocent
soul trapped within the mayhem, and Leguizamo is
a wild-hearted sex fiend right in the middle of it.
Adrien Brody (Ritchie) also does well in his depic
tion of an Italian street kid turned punk rocker and
his internal struggle during the turbulent times of
the summer.
It should be noted that Summer of Sam does
paint a rather violent and explicit picture. As for the
killings, though; the film does little to glorify them.
In fact, it really does no more than other such docu
mentary-style films throughout history. As for the
nature of it, it is reality and should be viewed that
way.
This could possibly be one of Lee’s best yet. It
does an incredible job of portraying a story and cre
ating an energy that takes the audience on a wild
ride through human emotion and experience. Sum
mer of Sam is a true spectacle of great filmmaking.
(Grade: A +)
— Brian Fleming
Wild Wild West
Starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline
Now Playing at Hollywood 16
It isn’t a coincidence that one of the nation’s
worst presidents, Ulysses S. Grant, is the comman
der in chief during the time frame of Wild Wild
West. The movie brings new meaning to the word
dull.
Smith plays Jim West, the hero who is forced to
join forces with Kline’s Artemis Gordon to pursue
Dr. Loveless, played by Kenneth Branagh.
The original series relied on the chemistry of the
original stars and the campy nature of the predica
ments they were forced to solve. Neither survives in
the film adaptation.
The chemistry between Kline and Smith is slight
ly better than oil to water — the scenes of witty ban
ter between the two come off as genuinely hateful.
Salma Hayek plays the Old West equivalent of a
Bond girl — window dressing with minimal acting
ability. Her stilted delivery and attempts to seem
over the top play off as just hokey.
This movie has to be the worst offering yet from
director Barry Sonnenfeld, a Hollywood director
who is normally known for his ability to bring cre
ativity to the normally lukewarm waters of block
buster filmmaking.
It appears as though Sonnenfeld got fed up with
the pathetic progress of the film and simply gave up
after the opening minutes. Some of the scenes with
the stars riding around the desert make Jar Jar look
realistic.
While Will may be the King of the Fourth of July
weekend, his latest submission is nothing more than
a dud. (Grade: D-)
— Aaron Meier
South Park:
Bigger, Longer and Uncut
Featuring the voices of Trey Parker
and Matt Stone
Now Playing at Hollywood 16
How South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut avoid
ed an NC-17 rating is beyond iihagination. That be
ing said, this movie proves there is more to Stan,
Cartman, Kyle and Kenny than just their pretty con
struction-paper animated faces.
The movie has the boys sneaking into the Ter
rance and Phillip movie. Asses of Fire, and emerging
from the theater with an arsenal of new profanities
that enrage their parents and eventually have the
country declaring war on Canada.
By the way, Satan is having a homosexual rela
tionship with Saddam Hussein — how’s that for an
original plot twist?
Parker and Stone have created a tongue-in-cheek
preemptive attack on all the parents who will cry
foul at this film and have done it with their tradition
al irreverence and raunchy humor.
The genius of the film is that it is built in re
sponse to parental criticism while still keeping the
audience’s interest in the shocking humor.
While South Park stays true to its roots, director
Parker has lifted the series out of television banality
and given a breath of fresh air to the quartet of foul-
mouthed kids.
Parker also penned most of the movie’s musical
numbers (which are surprisingly outstanding), uti
lizing traditional musical techniques such as inter
ludes, reprises and the fixed idea of showtunes that
everyone learned about in high school.
However, the movie abuses the musical numbers
and, after a while, viewers just want to see the film
over and finished.
After the first hour. South Park’s raunch lacks its
original humor. After all, how many times can one
person hear the word f—k in a movie? (Grade: B +)
— Aaron Meier
PHOTO COURTESY OF TOUCHSTONE PICTURES
Leguizamo, Sorvino and Nacarella star in Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam.
NEED A JOB?
THE KIDS KLUB IS SEEKING
STAFF FOR THE
1999 FALL SEMESTER
-CH< AOS
urn
College Station
• Are you a fun person?
• Do you enjoy working with kids?
• Looking for valuable work experience?
• Are you available Mon.-Fri., 2:45 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.?
• If you answered yes to any of these questions,
we may have a job for you.
Applications are now being accepted for
the Kids Klub After School Program
at Central Park Office
thru July 12th at 5 p.m.
Employment to begin August 1 Oth
College Station ISD is an Equal Opportunity Employer
For more information call:
AFK At>s
Male & Female KAte 764-3486
Staff needed!
Start Your Future now
Work Part-Time Now...
Apply for a full-time
opportunity when
you graduate!
Our new facility in the College Station Business
Center is spectacular! We are currently hiring
for part-time positions in these departments:
• Hardware Repair & Support
• Inventory Control
• PC Support
UCS Offers:
Competitive salary and flexible shifts
Excellent work experience
Career opportunitites after graduation
Paid weekly
Opportunity to work with other A&M
students and alumni!
To apply, call (409) 595-2609
Or stop by our hospitality room in the MSC
room 145 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., July 7th and
8th to pick up an application.
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