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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2000)
AGGIELIFE ridtu January21,2000 THE BATTALION Page5 Stuart Little Starring Geena Davis and viichael J. Fox (Voice Only) directed by Rob Minkoff mimari Little is a hilarious and enter- ainiug adventure for people of all ages. Vfte: being adopted by the Little fanii- y, Stuart, a mouse (voiced by Fox), ind^ that not everyone in his new tonu: welcomes him with open arms. : oned to compete with a brother who ■esents his smallness and a family cat Afhl resents his species, Stuart must jrole to his family that he belongs, gr illed with great action scenes — tnciiding a miniature car chase— and *vitt> dialogue, this film is a clever, funllilled romp. (Grade: B) — Matt McCormick Snow Falling on Cedars Starring Ethan Hawke and Max von Sydow Directed by Scott Hicks Snow Falling on Cedars is a beautiful film. Ishmael (Hawke) is a small-town reporter covering a murder trial in the Pacific Northwest in the '50s who must deal with issues from his past, while wit nessing the accused man's fight for life. Depicting the racism Japanese-Ameri cans experienced during World War II, Snow Falling on Cedars is a love story, murder mystery and courtroom drama rolled into one. Exquisitely directed, this movie is poignant yet uplifting — despite dragging for 15 minutes in the middle. (Grade: B+) — Matt McCormick The Talented Mr. Ripley Starring Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow Directed by Anthony Minghella A surprisingly unsettling, exceeding ly well-crafted thriller. The Talented Mr. Ripley' is a film about a man who would rather be “a fake somebody than be a real nobody.” Tom Ripley (Damon) is sent to Italy to bring Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law), the son of a rich shipbuilder, back to America. Ripley becomes obsessed with Dickie’s life and his love, Marge (Paltrow). Minghella turns the most in nocent of actions into something more sinister mid does something few have done since 1 litchcock — create an intel ligent and compassionate film about the dark side of human nature. (Grade: A) — Matt McCormick Princess Mononoke Starring Claire Danes and Minnie Driver (Voices only) Directed by Hayao Miyazaki Princess Mononoke is a visually stun ning mid dynanic film that mixes Eastern mid Western animation and literary styles to make mi original and imaginative film. Princess Mononoke is a young woman raised by mi ancient species of intelligent wolves and now fights along side them to defend a sacred forest from mi industrial mining colony. In the mid dle of this war is Ashitaka, a young prince searching for a cure for a dark plague that will eventually kill him. The film is worth seeing for the visual imagery alone.(Grade: A) — Kyle Whitacre Magnolia Starring Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson I ike a TV broadcast that is randomly changing channels, Magnolia tunes you in to such “program ming” as a TV game show, an infomercial, a soap opera, and a cop show. Though radically different in theii setup, each story' is filled with intended parallels and complements, occasionally interacting with each other to create a creative web of drama and humor. Magnolia weaves three stories together: in one, Ja son Robards plays a dying TV producer who has an estranged son (Cruise) he would like to make amends with. In another, Philip Baker Hall plays a dying quiz show host who would like to make peace with his es tranged and cocaine addicted daughter, played by Melora Walters. Jeremy Blackburn plays a child ge nius with a father w'ho isn’t dying, but is manipulat ing his son’s gift for personal gain, and William H. Macy plays a former child genius, a washed-up one time celebrity robbed of his intellect by a bolt of light ning and of his money by his parents. Magnolia centers on regret and redemption. There’s hardly a character in the entire cast that isn’t in some way trying to escape a tainted past, and most of the angst is focused on family matters. Parental neglect, spousal infidelity, child abuse — it’s all there. And more than one person is heard say ing something along the lines of, “You may try to for get the past, but the past ain’t gonna forget about you.” The film does get carried away with the parallels at time; in fact the entire point behind Macy’s story seems only to mirror that of Blackburn’s. And the two best performances of the movie, John C. Reilly as the gentle and good-natured cop who falls in love with Walter’s fallen character, and Moore as Robard’s grieving trophy wife (or soon to be trophy widow), may shine above the rest only because they are al lowed to stand alone, without another actor essen tially playing the same role. The brilliant script by director Anderson takes the best of Martin Scorcese, J.D. Salinger, and Ricky Jay and melds them into a film that is both familiar and PHOTO COURTESEY OF NEW LINE CINEMA Jason Robards (left) and director Anderson (right) behind the scenes of Magnolia. screamingly original. Each character has been given a lifetime of depth and story that could not possibly be put into one movie, even one that clocks in at over three hours, a three hours well worth experiencing. (Grade: A-) —;Juan Loya Buyers hunt for next Blair Witch at Utah’s Sundance Film Festival The Hurricane Starring Denzel Washing ton and Liev Schreiber Directed by Nonnan Jewison ; The Hurricane is a rousing cele bration of the human spirit and a tri umph in moviemaking. Following the true-life story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (Washing ton), a black prize fighter during the ’60s, this movie tells the story of his wrongful imprisonment and his sub sequent fight for justice. After being framed by a vengeful cop for several murders he didn’t commit, Carter writes his autobiography while incar cerated. fv Eventually a copy makes its way into the hands of a young African American student in Canada. After reading the book, the student contacts Carter and begins a friendship which leads him to start an all-out fight for the Hurricane’s freedom with the help of his teachers. Director Norman Jewison takes the opportunity to make a strong so- . cial message concerning race rela- 15/ tions. Focusing on the wrongs Carter suffered as a result of racial prejudice, he crafts a story that demonstrates the power of hate, mainly by making the audience hate the powers who impris oned Carter. Entertainingly shot and edited, Jewison also uses actual footage from many of the early protests to free the Hurricane, lending the movie a greater sense of realism. The acting in this film is superb. Washington delivers one of the most furiously impassioned perfonuances of his career — every action and every word from Washington are captivating as his character journeys from a life of hatred to a life of hope and love. In fact, this performance should be the frontrunner for the best actor category in this year’s Oscar race. The only problem with the film is that it should have placed more focus on the man at the center of the storm than the racism that surrounded him. However, with Washington dominat ing all his on-screen seconds, the film is elevated through the sheer strength of his amazing talent. This film is definitely Washing ton’s and he certainly delivers. Sure to be one of the top contenders of the year in the major Oscar categories, The Hurricane is a knockout of a movie. (Grade: B+) — Matt McCormick PARK CITY. Utah (A?) Movie buyers trolling the Sundance Film Fes tival that started Fhursday might wish thc\ could ask that witch in the woods whether there arc an\ more at home like her. The Blau- Witch Project^ acquired for $1 million at Sundance last year, went on to gross SI40 million, the first bona fide blockbuster to come out of the nation's premier independent movie showcase. While the movie's success prompt ed predictions that festivals like this would become crowded with films copying the shaky, home-video look and improvised approach of Blair Witch, there’s little evidence of that in this year’s 113 features at Sundance. “It’s not an easy film to emulate, die way it mixes genres," Sundance co-di- rector Geoffrey Gilmore said. “It has a very sophisticated sense of documen tary and horror films and also imagery, so it’s hard to anticipate a lot of differ ent kinds of imitators.” So buyers remain as cautious as ever about opening their checkbooks at Sundance. Some distributors said there is even more caution tins year because of recent box-office underachievers such as Happy, Texas or Next Stop. Wonderland, which were multimillion dollar Sundance acquisitions. “People arc ahvays looking for lightning to strike twice,” Gerry Rich, president of worldwide marketing for MGM-United Artists, said. “That can be dangerous if you go to Sundance looking to repeat a phenomenon that happened die year before. “We don’t go there with a mandate to come hack with a film under our arms. Maybe we're geniuses if we come back empty-handed." Founded in 1978 and taken over by Robert Bedford’s Sundance Institute in 1985, the festival runs through Jan. 30. Though the festival began as a creative showcase, the success of Blair Witch emphasizes that it has become as much a movie marketplace where frenzied See SUNDANCE on Page 6. ree The Battalion Online offers access to km , AuuockitfFd Pms The WIRE provides continuously updated news coverage from one of the world’s oldest, largest news services via The Battalion’s web page. P ■ A comprehensive, up-to-tlie iiiinule news report combining the latest AP stories with photos, graphics, sound and video, p • Headlines and bulletins delivered as soon as news breaks. 1 • D.S., World, Business. Sports, Science,Technology, Weather, | Arts, and Special Sections. http://battalion.tamu.edu F C TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL TENT CITY Rudder Fountain 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. JFriday, January 21st TION Koldus Building - GoveiriHCie Roopi 6:30 p.m. Sunday, January 23rd CALL THE IFC OFFICE WITH ANY QUESTIONS 845-0112 y r 0 o y - -Off : : v v < %/ Suppliers of Soccer Equipment for the Brazos Valley. "M/"' „ C.O’P® £$****' Back To School Shoe Sale! Shoes marked down 10-25% Receive 1 pair of socks at 1/2 price w/shoe purchase Store Hours Mon.-Fri. 2:00 pm - 8:00 pm Saturday 10:00 am - 6:00 pm Closed on Sunday 1405-B Harvey Road, College Station Across from the Post Oak Mall Entrance - Next to E-Z Mart Aggie Owned & Operated CraftMasters’ Mall Jl “,t/V ARTIST AM) C.RAFTM IN'S CAUHRY" lBii7 Briarcrest Drive • Bryan • 776-0870^^ <523 / o o Over 170 Booth* of Hunrirrafted Items Ceramicr* • Needlecraft • .Stained Gian Baby Item.* ° • Floral Arrangement* • Woodcraft* o Wearable Art • Jewelry • Auuie Conunemnrutive (loin* 0 k • 1- ^ • Anjzie Item* • q O Decornt# your tlorm or iifxirtmpnf.! ^ o o o ° 0 0 0 0 0 0 q Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thur*. til 8 p.m. : by mid nvt that nerfevt id ft for any occasion. 000000 The Lddies of Alpha Phi mvite you to be a part of y! fs. A New Millennium of fit w* Sisterhood v* g Event Schedule: Monday, January 24 th -lnformational Meeting . 7:00 Rudder 308 Tuesday, January 25 th -lnterviews* 9am-5pm MSC138 Informational Meeting 8:30 MSC 292 B Wednesday, January 26 th -lnterviews* 12pm-9pm MSC138 Thursday, January 27 th -lnvitation Only Party Monday, January 31 st -Bid Day Tables with information will be in the MSC Hallway January 18 th through yik -Ah® 2 1* 1 and January 24' 1 ’ and 25 th . A table will also be at the • y, MSC Open House Sunday, January 23 rd . g . *Y.ou must attend an Informational Meeting before you sign up for an Interview. BURGERS! HALF PRICE PITCHERS, GIANTS & MUGS • WEDNESDAYS • FAJITA DINNERS! HALF PRICE MARGARITAS & MEXICAN BEER •THURSDAYS • CHICKEN FRIED STEAKS 1 HALF PRICE MIXED DRINKS, 99< DRAFT BEER ‘Second of equal or lesser value.