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^.January21,2000 THE BATTALION Page3
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BY MATT MCCORMICK
The Battalion
. ^ cm.es are big business, but in 1999 they
were as big as they come. There were more
j • JL than 15 blockbusters — mo\ ics that gross
1.UU ver S>I(K) million at the box otlice - which is un-
hilC
>ua ly high for a single year. Yet the financial suc-
-*ss < fthese movies is not as impressive as the num-
h* erll high quality releases that w ill forever chitnge
pp ie I ay mo\ ies are made and viewed.
3tft leen films reached new heights in '99 with a
Umber of extremeh sinttn comedies. Studio execs
nail ’ seemed to realize that the teenagers can be
r o onn , and do not have to be reduced to being of-
.*rin s for a serial killer to slice and dice for an hour
Ss nd a half. Teen films grew up as studios released
E ilm with adult themes in a teen setting. Shake-
pea i “The Taming of the Shrew” was redone
ery entertainingly mlO Things I Hate About You,
nd the delightfully wicked Cruel Intentions was
;- dangerous Liasons set in high school. Even She's
ilMhat ow ed a large debt to the classic My Fair
- xtd\ Add the insightful and shocking with the bit-
ngh ^atincal Election, the extremely original Rush-
, nor and the explicitly vulgar yet sweet American
°ie, and what a person gets is that this year’s teen
If^Bies were among some of the most cleverly writ-
en films of the year.
slasher horror movie craze of recent years
tas finally died out only to be replaced with the su-
wiaiural thriller. The biggest of these supematur-
U fin i Hers was The Sixth Sense, which has broken
—intjp the list of the top 12 highest grossing movies of
ill tune. Creepy and intelligent, this film is sure to
attr i Oscar buzz at the very least for the young,
brilliant Haley Joel Osment. Of
course, something must be said about The Blair
Witch Project, even if it isn’t good. The movie itself
was not worth the attention, but the way in which it
was marketed via the internet and the amount of pre
release hype that was generated must be credited
with its amazing profit ratio. Sold as an independent
film made for around $30,000 dollars, this film took
in over $ 135 million at the box office, showing that
independent movies can gain mainstream success.
Against the staggering success of these two films,
it must be noted that not all supernatural thrillers
came up winners. Dull and dreary. The Haunting's
only saving grace was the extensive use of Cather
ine Zeta-Jones for eye candy. This coupled with
the pixir performance of other films like Stigmata
and Stir of Echoes put a damper on the explosion.
However, due to the overall success of the genre,
it should be expected that a flood of supernatural
thrillers will probably be released until that mar
ket bums itself out.
What about the action movies? Maybe a better
question w ould be where were the action movies?
Traditionally, action films are expected to carry the
heavy' load of the summer blockbuster season.
How ever, only Deep Blue Sea and Wild Wild West
were the only summer releases that could qualify
for action. Wait a second. Deep Blue Sea was a shark
movie. But under the skillful watch of action auteur
Renny Harlin, this movie makes for a great action
flick. The only thing that can be said about Wild Wild
West is that hopefully Will Smith will stay away
from such future projects. The year’s only other big
action movies both opened out of season during the
spring and enjoyed a laige amount of success. The
Matrix was one of the most visually stunning
movies in cinema history, yet despite the pulse
pounding action sequences, this film is more sci
ence fiction than action movie. In a similar line of
-a-
>0
reasoning. The Mummy is another movie that is
more adventure than action, yet seems to have
found success crossing the genres. Bond returned
to the screen in the fall as Pierce Brosnan took his
third crack at playing 007. The World is Not
Enough was mediocre action at best — hardly
Audiences could once
again believe in fairy tales
of love and wish they
could be in the movies.
w hat one expects from “the granddaddy of all ac
tion movies.” Action films may have been absent
this year by for the most part, but never fear, next
year should have a larger selection.
What could any review of the year in film be
w ithout a mention of Star Wars Episode I: The
Phantom Menaced Hy ped beyond all belief, people
w aited in line for tickets weeks in advance of the
film’s release. Some even quit their jobs to be
among the first in the nation to view the newest ad
dition to the classic saga. However, opinions about
the film were split. Some thought it was great, while
others thought it was horrible. Clearly, while the
computer graphic images in this film was excep
tional, George Lucas should have spent a little less
time f ocusing on the technical aspects of the film
and a little more on the characters and the story.
1999 also saw some edgy and controversial re
leases as well. One may look no further than Fight
C lub to see one of the boldest and imagina
tive films of all time The film’s
dark and gritty look
at violence as a way of release and its twisted sense
of humor turned off many, but it has one of the most
surprising endings in the history of film (Yes, even
more surprising than The Sixth Sense). Another
risk-taker was Three Kings, which mixed and
crossed genres. Yet another memorable, ground
breaking movie was American Beauty. Kevin
Spacey displayed his uncanny gift for deadpan in
one oftheyears most engaging and shocking films,
and barring some tragedy, he should get an Oscar
nod for his efforts. Being John Malkovich and Dog
ma round out the unique and original category.
These films dared to transcend genres and did not
worry about try ing to appeal to everyone in the au
dience, but instead chose to rely on the strength of
their stories and the performances of their stars to
lift them above the crowd. Hollywood deserves a
standing ovation for allowing films like this to be
released, and hopefully w ill allow more of these
films to cross into mainstream.
Romantic comedies this year also reached
new levels of excellence as Julia Roberts
proved that she is a superstar w ith her summer
“double shot” of Hotting Hill and Runaway-
Bride. Kevin Costner finally scored a hit with
For Love of the Game, but unfortunately no one
seemed to pay to see it. These films stood out
because ofthe amazing humanity displayed in
all the characters. Audiences could once again
believe in fairy tales of love and honestly wish
they could be the ones in the movies.
There were also memorable
dramas, including
such stirring winners as The Green Mile and the
superbly crafted Instinct, this year’s dramas
achieved new heights in movie-making excel
lence. With the addition of this year’s serious
Oscar contenders in The Hurricane and The
Talented Mr. Ripley as well as Snow Falling on
Cedars this year belongs to the actors and the
actresses who made these movies possible. By
once again daring to focus more on making the
film than on making a budget, studios demon
strated that there are still a few good films left.
Part of the reason for such a high quality
year in film was due to the cooperation between
studios which has become exceedingly popular
in the past two years. By studios splitting pro
duction costs, it has made it easier for studio ex
ecs not to sell their films short on quality while
saving a dollar.
There have been other good movies this
year, but it would be impossible to cover all of
them in the above space.
Hopefully, those mentioned have exempli
fied the changing shift in the movie industry
and offer insight into the direction in which it
is headed. In 1999, movies have set a bold new
standard for entertainment, and it will be in
teresting to see how the films in
2000 hold up.
I OPAS brings collection of Webber’s Broadway hits
BY KELLY PREISER
The Battalion
F ** rom beneath the stage of a Paris opera house to the streets of Ar
gentina, MSC OPAS’s presentation ofThe Music of Andrew Lloyd
Webber” will take audiences through the vast and varied works of
one of the world’s most acclaimed composers.
I —€ • The program, which will kick off OPAS’s spring season, strings to-
' gether songs from Webber’s hit Broadway musicals including “The Phan
tom of the Opera,” “Evita,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “Cats.”
I “(The show'] will start OPAS off on a really fine note,” Paul Parish,
jam/ president of MSC OPAS said, “[and it has arrived] before we all get too
particularly busy with work and school.”
If Webber is a world-famous composer who has received numerous
F . aw ai ds including six Tony Awards, and three Grammys. He also received
r a (Jolden Globe and an Oscar for Best Original Song for the soundtrack
j from the film version of “Evita.”
|| “If you haven’t seen any Andrew Lloyd Webber productions, this is
your chance to get a large dose of one ofthe greatest assets to Broadway,”
Michael Saucier, director of publicity and advertising for MSC OPAS, said.
Saucier said Webber’s incorporation of different genres of music, rang
ing from classic opera to rock ‘n’ roll, makes his musicals enjoyable for
audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Saucier said there are still other
reasons why OPAS selected it.
“[OPAS] chose [’The Music of] Andrew' Lloyd Webber’ as one of our
performances this year because of all the incredible music that this man
has composed and also that there is a huge amount of people wdio know,
love and appreciate his music,” Jeremy Byrd, chair of OPAS and a senior
psychology major, said.
“Secondly, it is always important to us that we bring music that will
allow our student body to experience music in a moving and exciting per-
formance... Webber does that and more.”
MSC OPAS will present The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber on Sat
urday and Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $13.50
to $38 for students and $27 to $45 for non-students.
WHO: THE MUSIC OF ANDREW
LLOYD WEBBER
WHERE: RUDDER AUDITORIUM
WHEN: 7:30 RM. SATURDAY
AND SUNDAY
News in brief
Destiny’s Child
to perform Saturday
Destiny’s Child, a female pop/R&B
group, will be stopping in College Station
Saturday night to perform at G. Rollie
White Colosseum. The group is being
brought to Texas A&M as a part of the
Southwestern Black Student Leadership
Conference (SBSLC). Destiny’s Child is
known for such hits as “Bills, Bills Bills".
“We chose to bring Destiny’s Child
because they are a younger group and
have had a lot of success,” April Reed,
a junior journalism major and enter
tainment chair for SBSLC, said.
The concert starts at 9 p.m. Saturday
night with an after party in Reed Arena.
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