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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2004)
Need a Tutor? Aggietutor.com has good, helpful tutors for all courses. One-on-one, personal tutoring at reasonable prices. www.aggietutor.com If You Have Something To Sell, Remember: Classifieds Can Do It Call 845-0569 The Battalion LEARN WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU GET A JOB AND WHAT TO DO AFTER YOU ARRIVE... Listen to communications professionals speak on career-related topics April 2, 2004 12-6pm Rudder Register at tables: Wehner, Rudder Fountain, Academic Plaza 3/29 - 4/1 More Info? iabc_ags@yahoo.com dsa-stuorg.tamu.edu/iabc International Association of Business Communicators Texas A&M WHERE THERE'S HURT THERE'S HOPE POST ABORTION PEER COUNSELING ♦ Peer Grief Counseling ♦ Help for Symptoms of Abortion Trauma ♦ 10-week Recovery Program ♦ Emotional & Spiritual Support Free & Confidential Jlofie P*e<j4UiHC4p Ge+ttenA Call and ask for the PACE (Post Abortion Counseling & Education) Director. 695-9193 205 Brentwood • College Station www.hopepregnancy.org WE MAKE TRADITIONS HAPPEN Maroon Out Junior E-Walk Elephant Walk Ring Dance Boot Dance Real World Conference Conversations Fish Council Silver Taps Rememberance Class Gift Applications and information now available classcouncils.tamu.edu jiI .4^i live at Reed Arena 7 pm Thursday, April 1 ON SALE NOW! Tickets available at Reed Arena Box Office, MSC Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, including Foleys, 979.268.0414, or ticketmaster.com Show contains adult language. presented by m assisted by MSC ^ /lOVVfly Wednesday, March 31, 2004 AGGIELIfi THE BATTALlJ Courtesy of • UNIVERSAL PICTURES Courtesy of • SONY PICTlt “Dawn of the Dead” Universal Pictures “Secret Window” Sony Pictures Does the recent remake of “Dawn of the Dead” live up to George A. Romero’s original 1978 zombie opus? Nope. Is there any reason one should bother paying today’s outrageous ticket prices to watch the sleeker, sexier version in theaters? Yes. The opening credit scene for “Dawn of the Dead” is quite possi bly one of the most entertaining and watchable five minutes of film reieased this year. Gritty documentary-style renderings of mass zombie attacks and government and society’s reactions are interlaid with the Johnny Cash song “The Man Comes Around.” As the cred its roll and moviegoers settle into their seats, they may say to them selves, “This would make a great music video.” Of course, the same could be said about the rest of the movie as well. Director Zach Snyder must have attended the MTV School of Filmmaking, as he loves the quick cuts and moody lighting that have become a staple for music videos. Snyder’s big budget rendition of the Romero clas sic is interesting to watch and, surprisingly, isn’t too bad of a film. As with most zombie movies, the plot of “Dawn of the Dead” has no purpose. The vast majority of audiences don’t come to this particular flavor of film to see an hour or more of exposition - they want to see brain-eating, limb-missing zombies and the people they love to eat. Screenwriter James Gunn realizes this and wisely skips the exposition, and within the first five minutes unleashes the swarm of dead. The film makes no fuss about explaining the zom bies’ presence and instead chooses to celebrate it with enough fake gore and extras to fill a football stadium. Taking a cue from last summer’s “28 Days Later,” these zombies are fast, furious and foaming at the mouth with blood; they also entertain by growling all manner of unearthly noises while attempting to separate their former neighbors and loved ones from their flesh. No zombie movie can be successful without an unlucky brigade of survivors lined up and ready to be picked off one by one. “Dawn of the Dead" features a collection of talented character actors including Sarah Policy, Ving Rhames, Mekhi Phifer, and Matt Frewer. The humans have come together at a state-of-the-art shopping mall and, together, they hope to survive against the legion of the damned that shuffles around outside. Although a lot of the movie is brainless popcorn fun, a large part of it deals with human choices that must be made in a time where the dead walk the earth. The human survivors must decide who to let into their sanctuary and how to police themselves. Phifer’s character must decide what to do when his pregnant wife is bitten. Does he kill her before she becomes a zombie or does he try his best to hide her affliction from the others in hope that the baby is bom before she unleashes into a zombie? In a movie about the dead, humanity - both the good and the bad - has rarely been so present in a film. From the initial revelation of infestation to the survivor’s last- ditch attempt to escape, the film contains a fair share of “grade A” zombie fun. Humor is also present as the humans make due with the excess of time on their hands. During a montage of interactions in the mall, a Richard Cheese lounge cover of Disturbed’s “Down With the Sickness” plays. The humans kill time by killing zombies who look like celebrities while lounging about on the mall roof. “Dawn of the Dead” contains few - if any - original ideas. It is a fun re-tooling of ideas in a package custom-made for today’s generation. While the craftman-like touch of Romero’s original may be missing, in its place is enough mindless carnage to make Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of The Christ” look like a children’s Christmas posada. It may not be known if the new “Dawn of the Dead” movie will be remembered as fondly in the future, but it will offer plenty of mindless distraction while you wait. “The only thing that matters is the ending. It’s the most impote part of the story. And this one is very good. This one is perfect.’ ^ audiences who have been witness to any of the trailers for "Secret Window," the previously stated quote may sound familiar. Usedii! almost every commercial, the quote, spoken by Johnny Depp’sctu acter, Mort Rainy, beckons viewers to an original movie with akillr ending. Audiences who decide to take the commercials uponilie offer will instead find their promise only half-delivered. In "Secret Window.” Depp plays a crime novelist who isgoins through a rough patch in his life. In a beautifully shot opening scat nature’s fury beats down upon a car parked in a hotel lot. DeppsiK in the car, contemplating his options. He exits the car. breaks his wa; into a hotel room and discovers his wife has been cheating on him Impressive editing and a strong performance by Depp perfectly cot vey the mixture of frustration, shock and anger. From such an excel lent opening scene, greatness can’t be far behind, right? Wrong. From there, audiences are taken into the future, where iheyare re-introduced to a broken Rainy (Depp) who is living alone in a cabin in the woods battling with a bout of writer’s block. Depp performance as an eccentric writer is both familiar and encourag ing. From his mop of hair to his proclivity for naps and self-con versations. Depp fills his role with nuance and history. Even though the audience is introduced to Rainy well into his life, there is a human connection and weight that Depp carries it the role that most actors would have been unable to exploit to thee full advantage. As Rainy continues his lethargic descent into self-pity, amysK rious man, John Shooter (John Turturro), steps into his life witha foreboding message. Shooter accuses Rainy of stealing a story he wrote. Dismissing his claim off-hand. Rainy later discovers there is an uncanny resemblance between the two writers’stories. However, Rainy wrote his version in 1994. while Shooter’s ve Aft Texas 12 Tc sion was written in 1997. Shooter demands Rainy prove hts clait or bad things will happen. Demonstrating his threat’s validity Shooter shows Rainy just what a screwdriver can dorwhenta into a house pet’s head. From there, the movie turns intoacat-ani mouse chase on Prozac, moving slowly from one encounter to another as Rainy’s deadline for proof draws near. Director David Koepp’s screenplay of the Stephen Kingno\ “Secret Window, Secret Garden” often delves into the insipid,i ing a deathly dull pace with several entirely unoriginal ideas. Subplots (Rainy’s previous encounter with a psycho fan)are skipped around and unresolved, while others (Rainy’s ongoing divorce trial, his interaction with the local townspeople) takecentii stage at inappropriate times, distracting from the main story and slowing the movie’s pace even more. For a man who has been threatened and had pets killed. Rainy saunters lazily aroundtakinf plenty of naps without a care in the world. All in all, "Secret Window” is not a bad movie. If ithadcome out when King’s original story was published, it may have been considered a great movie. However, in today’s Hollywood where the independent film market has perfected slow-paced movieswil surprise endings that are far more original than “Secret Windows lazy closing, the movie suffers from comparison. Overly slowaml unoriginal. “Secret Window” is saved from mediocrity by Depps great performance. This is not a testament to the film however. Depp could star in “Watching A Laundry Spin Cycle: The Movie’’ and still manage to entertain audiences. For Depp's performance alone audiences should watch “Secret Window” on video whenii makes its way into the favorites section. S< The face tl Wedne 6:30 p A<& winnii ofOkl an over f since I “TL head c was oi see the Bay own o which — Robert Saucedo - Robert Sami Animal Planet A camel with no hump? A leopard with no spots? An elephant with no trunk? This is definitely not an everyday trip to the zoo! It’s a fun-filled new musical starring six of your favorite animals. Filled with vivid costumes and plenty of sing along tunes, JUST SO STORIES, based on Rudyard Kipling's masterpiece, will have you laughing, singing and dancing in the aisles! JUST SO STORIES TheatreWorks USA Saturday, April 3 2 PM & 4 PM Rudder Theatre TICKETS 845-1234 www.MSCOPAS.org MSC OPAS Jr Generously Supported by: The OPAS Guild FOR THE YOUNG AT ARTl Three Dectules of Performing Arts fujlittn I etilurlai ’ Supporting the arts since 1973. tip ire 1 - .. - fck THI ^Jcui tea tic Uam i (y SJnn! All tlc/CGtS only $7.5