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'.