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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2004)
u ENTERTAINMENT BATTALION 7 A Thursday,February 19, 2004 "\rrr “The Butterfly Effect” fly Cir New Line Cinema Starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart RODRIO® major plo| 'he club wil Moretn- id. ys that an illation heater and cktriWm n iKMte p.m. ^THE BIG SCREEN tennis balls. Ultimately, not one scene lives up the standard set by “Super Troopers.” “Club Dread” is a semi-coherent murder mystery that has come dy sprinkled in for good measure. The actual mystery is somewhat haphazard and sloppy, but the comedy that orbits it helps to distract from the shallow plot. Not quite a horror movie, the film will have audience members shrieking and laughing within seconds. While watching the movie, audiences will enjoy themselves and won’t feel the minutes slowly churning as in some other comedies, but at the same time, when audiences leave the theater, there won’t be the feel- “Broken Lizard’s Club Dread’ Fox Searchlight Pictures Starring Bill Paxton and Jimmy Chandrashekhar It’s hard to watch Broken Lizard’s new movie “Club Dread” iout comparing it to the comedy troupe’s previous offering, Super Troopers.” Both movies feature the talented group of come- in a respective sub-genre of mock-comedy that is often over sell in today’s Hollywood. i “Club Dread,” Bill Paxton plays aging rock star Coconut Pete, is known for his not-quite-a-hit song “Pinacoladaburg” which »as obscured by a similarly named song from a different artist, fa Pete opens an island resort, it becomes the site of several gris- Beginning with what has now become a staple for horror movies, ee attractive camp counselors are brutally murdered while engag- in promiscuous sex instead of doing their jobs. From that point the movie quickly introduces the comedy troupe’s cast of char ters that help partially save the movie from mediocrity: Jay liandrasekhar dons an unruly mop of dreadlocked hair to portray i, the island’s tennis instructor; Steve Lemme utilizes a bad atin accent to portray Juan, the diving instructor; Paul Soter is fee, the island DJ/drug dealer; and Erik Stolhanske plays Sam, xal officer of the fun police. By itself, “Club Dread” is an above-average comedy that features arne really funny scenes. Bill Paxton is hilarious as the aged rock- i’s more interested in the carnal pleasures than actually run- Hj> his resort. Some of the death scenes are laugh-out-loud funny, specially Putman’s last-ditch effort to stop the killer with a volley fanis balls. Ultimately, not one scene lives up the standard set by ing of greatness that marks classic films of this genre. Perhaps in time, when the Broken Lizard troupe has a few more movies under their belt and the actors are freed from the characters that helped make them, “Club Dread” will be remembered more fondly. But for now, don’t expect the movie to make waves. ppp; - Robert Saucedo Phot Couhtw o» • NEW LINE CINEMA liliton Kutcher ploys Evan Treyborn, who is plagued with repressed mem- and tries to fix the present by going bock in time. The Chaos Theory, used as the basis for the film “The Butterfly [tct" is exemplified by the following scenario: With one butter • |'s flap of a wing, a typhoon can eventually ravage Asia. “The Sierfly Effect” derives its name not only from the aforementioned .tec philosophical theory, but also from a short story by Ray in which a time traveler creates a mess out of history by ig a butterfly during the prehistoric era. elmed by writers-tumed-directors Eric Bress and J. Mackye iniber, the writing team behind “Final Destination 2,” “The Effect,” staring Ashton Kutcher in a surprisingly well- ;layed role, quickly turns into a highly-entertaining popcom-flick ialcomes close to being an excellent psychological thriller. In a classic episode of “The Simpsons,” Grandpa Simpson gives mersome advice on his wedding day: “If you ever travel back in ime,don’t step on anything ... because even the tiniest change can ter the future in ways you can’t imagine." If only Evan Trebom had been given that same bit of advice, he would have ttnamuch happier time traveler. After the first half- hour of the movie, audiences will be in no sition to dispute Trebom’s claims that he had a rotten childhood, jut being a victim of child pornography to having his dog killed tj a sadistic friend, Trebom’s happy childhood memories are few udfarbetween. Of course, that’s excluding the portions of it he oesti’lremember. Since childhood, Trebom has been afflicted with lackouts that have left chunks of his life unaccounted for. To rem- J|tliisproblem, Trebom’s psychologist recommends he write jour nals that may help jog his memory. It isn’t until college that Trebom riiaes reading his journals will allow him to travel through time change the past. One fumble after another follows as Trebom ages to muddle his life even more by changing the wrong parts lisiiast, leading to depressing futures for him and his friends. \itnces looking for Kutcher-esqe high jinks within “The rfj Effect” will instead find situations and ideas that will ethem squirming in their seats. The movie tackles everything i extreme violence among children to prison rape. Kutcher hies from one awkward state of affairs to another, as he finds keif in parallel realities that have been created by tampering thtime’s fabric. The movie contains an outstanding supporting cast that helps in crafting a credible actor out of Kutcher. Flashbacks comprise a joodportion of the film, and the presence of talented child actors is initely a plus. Logan Lerman (7-year-old Trebom) plays off his surroundings ih a cool, collected composure, while Jesse James (13-year-old tamy) bursts with so much repressed anger and hatred that he ranscends his short stature to become one of the creepiest children uliit cinemas in a long time. Elden Henson (Lenny), besides bear- striking resemblance to talented actor Philip Seymour , is developing his acting capacity in great strides with each aovie he appears in. Amy Smart and William Lee Scott also turn in omendable performances as Trebom’s doomed lover and her rother, Amy Smart’s ability to play such different versions of the ame character is commendable, to say the least. pushing the boundaries of taste, the movie’s main fault Jonically lies in that the only thing that would have made it better is lithad actually pushed harder. The movie flies in the face of excel- ince, but just manages to skim the surface with its dedication to lied and true narrative structure. Without giving away the ending, lie can safely say that, if the directors had just tacked on an extra Id seconds to the final shot, the movie could have become a classic lovie like “Planet of the Apes” is today. While not for the weak-hearted or closed-minded, “The Butterfly fed” deserves a viewing or two from audiences that are willing to ;e a chance on an actor who is more famous for his off-screen micsthan his acting. If those viewers do take a chance, it’s highly fable they’ll enjoy what they see. - Robert Saucedo s Co 'o £i $4.99 Student Lunch Deal with your Aggie ID* Huge Italian buffet—pizza, pasta, salad, dessert & morel Ask about our great student group deals! 2026 Texas Ave • 979-695-6410 *Mon-Fri 11am-4pm. Aggie bucks accepted. WE NOW MKXIGAN GAPS 3312 S. 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