Mer Iffin'...
Arts would just like to thank the Academy for its
rt through this wonderful summer. Join us again in
s we bring you more laughs, more cries and more
ptctures of people with their hands in their pants.
igandaily.com/arts
IS
MONDAY
AUGUST 13, 2001
)thers' harkens back to old fashioned ghost stories
le Henretty
Arts Writer
he Others," the first English lan-
e film by Chiliean director Ale-
ro Amenabar, would seem more
me in the summer of 1931,
h was inhabited by more stately
tales of terror
and fewer CGI
ditosaurs. "The
Otters' is slow
T e io pace, concen-
tating on char-
a c t e r
developmesnt and
AtShose especially set-
andQualty 16 ting, to draw the
audience into the
grim drama
unfolding on-
screen. Or, this
may be an over-
statement, in
case the film is simply another
y into the long-thought-dead
sh haunted house series. Either
Amenabar's new film is a techni-
impressive, well acted, slow-
d thriller that will either fully
tge the audience or bore the
lute hell out of them.
The film begins with three strangers
walking through the fog to the door of
a beautiful mansion on an island just
off the Etglish Coast. They seem to be
responding to an ad in the paper look-
ing for servants - an ad t-it had yet
to be placed The mistress of the
house. G _ae iicol Kidman), is at
first 'pthensie bit ts tn gteat to d
of help at ddis not lack a cr
crepties Iodtf tier httsnI han
beesn assy at oar" for long othrgi
topt, 00 rfse r Iaad noled. it as
prob rey sofo so ay lse sa t u mst-
itrg. tgher chldren' Niroo.s and Aotte
(dars tGctsty and tsakirra Mstrt)
ate alergic to the stcn, so 'te house
must be hops dark at nal tro s. fOne
door must he closed be fore attotltor ts
opented, for fear of asry suntighot irnfit-
tratng she children's roosm. Add to
that a fog so thick Grace can't veture
more than a few hundred yards from
her house, and you've got yourself a
successfully claustrophobic film.
Most of the movie is spent allowing
the characters and the audience to
make slow realizations about what is
going on in the house. Are Grace's
fire-and-brimstone Catholic teachings
helpful or harmful to her children? Is
she giving them hope or dread? Are
the new servants, especially the
honey-voiced Mrs. Mills (Fionnula
Flanagan) tempering a near-crazy
Grace, or are they the ones driving her
to madness? Is Anne just trying to
scare her brother, or are there really
ghosts haunting the old house? By the
time Grace's husband (Chrstophler
Elosson) actually returrss frm rte
war atny nIVet atdiene membher will
be rr d or Irted Thr fim's
errl a troer filsvrdperoopsion
aerrng tes, is honh a stroke of
goeirs and a ttod rip-off of one o stre
ge re m coss femors orrt ies.
Krua sturrns ir antsrtrr svond-tltt
perfoc nance, a rolici after ther trisoast
attem pt at gaudy glanoir in Mouin
Rouge. She winds up terror, extreme
sadnes and complete devotion into
her pursed lips and conservative cloth-
ing. She is a classical actress who uses
her body and mind to actually become
other people, something sadly missing
from the repertoire of most actors
today.
Yet Kidman is surpassed in effort by
the peerless Flanagan, who makes even
stock lines seem both kindly and evil at
the same time. The Irish actress, who
spent years on the stage before coming
to prominence in "James Joyce's
Did you hear that? Penelope Crez Ia dating my ex-hasband.
Women" and, more recently, "Waking very good job creating mood. His
Ned Devine," wastes not one second on major flaw, here at least, is his inability
screen, and can make you all but forget to prevent the film's slow pace. No mat-
Kidman's own wonderful performance. ter how good one's actors are, a film
This film belongs to these ladies, and like this must keep the plot moving to
the beautiful English locations seem to sustain interest and suspense. More
do a little more than accentuate their than once, the movie slows past the
abilities. point of endurance, only to pick up
Amenabar (who's "Abre los Ojos" is again and continue to frighten. Itsis
being remade by Cameron Crowe and this unevenness, and the blatant pas-
starring Tom Cruise as "Vanilla Sky") tiche of an ending, that prevent "The
is proficient in the genre, and does a Others" from reaching true greatness.
'Apocalypse Redux
smells like victory
3ie 2' reunites cast
r fun-filled summer
al$a Sprow the theater for "American Pie 2"'s opening
Writer night, don't worry: If you've seen the
r
ey're back.
at's right, the whole gang - Jim,
r, Finch, Kevin, Oz, Heather, Vicky,
Michelle, Jessica,
y Nadia and the
Shermanator -
merican reunited after their
Pie 2 first year of col-
lege.
Grade: B Oh, and Jim's
At Showcase fumbling father is
andQuality 16 back, too. His
ineptitude at cool-
ness is surpassed
rc only by his com-
passion for his
accident-prone
r the three people who didn't rush to
trailer or commercial, you'
the movie.
Not that that's a bad thin
The movie starts off wi
Biggs) last day of as a col
He's trying to get a quicki(
enters the room bearing a g
Things quickly go downy
just like the good ol' days.
The gang reunites back
summer is quickly not ho
hype. On the advice of his
(Thomas Ian Nicholas) anr
a beach house. With no par
of parties (not to mentic
could the summer not be th
Meanwhile, Jim gets a c
(Shannon Elizabeth) who
U.S. and she wants to visi
girl magnet he planned on
ve already seeny
lg.
th Jim's (Jason
liege freshman. cutesy of Usersl
e when his dad Jim (Jason Biggs) looking for the
ift: A six-pack. meaning of life.
hill for Jim - worried his performance won't be up to
the filet mignon par he set for himself. He
home, but the needs practice. Enter Michelle, straight
Iding up to the from ... band camp.
brother, Kevin Now Jim's got some band camp stories
d the gang rent of his own to tell. Those were good times,
ents and plenty weren't they, Jim?
on girls), how Okay, so the jokes are the same. And
e best ever? while the script reaches a little bit too far
all from Nadia to obtain laughs in "Pie 2" the jokes don't
is visiting the quite cross the boundary from funny to
it him. Not the crude. It's clear that the filmmakers -
becoming, he's "American Pie" associate producer J.B.
Rogers and screenwriter Adam Herz (a
University alum)- were worried that the
sequel wouldn't live it up to the original's
level of comedic entertainment.
They should stop worrying. "Pie 2" is
everyting a fan of "American Pie" needs
and wants in a sequel. Plenty of laughs,
plenty of fun, a root-for-the-underdog
ending and a lot of sex.
Well, maybe not so much sex:But it
wouldn'tbe "American Pie" if there was.
The jokes are the same, but some
courtesy o u ersa things never grow old. Besides, it's
always fun to play catch up.
By Lyle Henretty
Daily Arts Writer
Love it or hate it, "Apocalypse Now"
is a seminal film for the medium In gen-
eral and war movies in specific - from
its depiction of
physical brutality
to the exploration
Apocalypse of the mental
Now Redux anguish experi-
enced by normal
Grade: A- men placed into
the hell of the
0 Vietnam war.
Since this has
been written and
discussed many
times before, the
real discussion should center on whether
or not the "Apocalypse Now Redux,"
Francis Ford Coppola's re-evaluation of
his last great film is better in this new
form, and how his revisions change the
original work.
Is the film better than the original?
No, but itsis still one of the most visually
and mentally stunning films to ever
grace the big screen. At nearly 3 1/2
hours, the film only feels long once, dur-
ing the newly-added French Plantation
scene.
The new footage focuses on Captain
Willard (Martin Sheen) and (by this
point) three other soldiers taking him into
Cambodia to eliminate (with extreme
prejudice) the rouge Col. Kurtz (Marlon
Brando). They stop over at a heavily
armed French plantation. They are fight-
ing their own war, for no greater cause
than to keep hold of the plantation, which
has been in their family for generations.
The centerpiece of the twenty minute
addition is an argument, as the family
berates Willard for the stupidity and
destruction of the war. To watch the rest
of this movie and to miss this point
would be nothing short of lunacy. It is
mostly retread and slows the movie
down, adding nothing new.
The other major adaition is a second
encounter with the playboy bunnies fea-
tured early in the movie. Their helicopter
has crashed and they trade their bodies
for a couple of cans of fuel. The scene is
tragic and fits perfectly with the trippy,
post-moralistic themes the film explores.
Another noticeable change is the
length at which Robert Duvall's psychot-
ic/heroic Kilgore goes on about his love
of surfing. The character was already
oddly terrifying, and this bizarre tick,
while explaining the surfing sequence in
the original, doesn't do much to further
the film, nor does it take anything away.
Overall, "Apocalypse Now Redux" is
a must to see on the big screen, simply
for the feel of being enveloped by the
horror (the horror) of the film. The addi-
tions are at times brilliant and banal, but
do not harm nor greatly elevate this
American masterpiece.
bys are back In town and they're looking for some more lovln'.