Redford old but still cool

It's mildly surprising to see a film like "Spy Game" being released in wake of Sept. 11. Many films containing less controversial content have been delayed or shelved indefinitely. "Spy Game" isn't a real scorcher per se. Quite simply it's a character driven think piece involving spy tactics and the ever-ominous government hand.\nRobert Redford headlines the flick as Nathan Muir, a seasoned CIA operative on the brink of retirement. That is until he's notified of the capture of his protégé Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt, turning in nice supporting work). Bishop is arrested and charged with espionage following a botched seize and spring mission from a Chinese prison. The narrative sets up a timetable to establish suspense. Muir has slightly more than 24 hours from the moment of notification to prevent Bishop's inevitable execution. \nMuch of "Spy Game" is told through flashback, and the technique works particularly well here. The film backpedals to reveal a great depth of character in both Bishop and especially Muir. Redford and Pitt embody their roles expertly. The two have an undeniable chemistry that in all likelihood was fostered when Redford directed Pitt in 1992's "A River Runs Through It." Their characters have a warm, understated father-son relationship that propels the piece beyond action movie clichés. \nTony Scott, the director behind action extravaganzas such as "Top Gun," as well as the criminally underrated Tarantino crime yarn "True Romance," lenses "Spy Game" in able fashion. The flick is more grounded than many of his previous works. Redford's weapon of choice is his brain, a pack of smokes, or the telephone, yet Scott infuses the film with a manic energy chock full of jump cuts, extreme close-ups and breakneck editing, which elicits memories of his action flicks past. This can be both good and bad. "Spy Game" calls for a little more subtlety, yet is also spiced-up by the visual pyrotechnics in duller moments.\n"Spy Game" is a capable thriller, and perhaps its impact is amplified in wake of current events. Either way, it's well done and serves as a premiere comeback vehicle for Redford who gives his best performance in at least a decade as teh crafty and sharp-tongued Muir.

Live, alive and winning acclaim

Radiohead released two critically acclaimed (surprise, surprise) albums in less than a year, quite a feat for any artist. Kid A and Amnesiac were infinitely well crafted, albeit a bit obtuse. They were indecipherable to those who were not well acquainted with Radiohead, or to a greater extent with the somewhat odd shift the music took post-O.K. Computer.\nI Might Be Wrong is the band's latest release. The live album, which isn't so much an album as it is an EP, clocks in at under 40 minutes and consists of only eight tracks. It was recorded amid a series of European concerts this past summer and is comprised entirely of tunes from both Kid A and Amnesiac -- minus "True Love Waits," a rare B-Side previously unavailable on disc, which happens to be the best cut off the album.\n"True Love Waits" is a departure from much of the band's recent material in that it eschews trance-like techno loops. The song is reminiscent of material that might have appeared on Pablo Honey or The Bends. If anything, the tune serves as a venue for lead singer Thom Yorke's amazing voice. It's really quite beautiful.\nMuch like "True Love Waits," Yorke's voice comes to the forefront of "Like Spinning Plates," the second best track on the album, and a choice cut off of Amnesiac. The song is driven almost completely by Yorke's extraordinary falsetto and a gorgeous piano accompaniment.\nBetter-known tracks including "Idioteque" and "Everything in its Right Place" are given rousing renditions upon I Might Be Wrong. The latter of the two runs nearly eight minutes and branches out beyond the already experimental form it took on Kid A. \nWhile not as impressive as many of Radiohead's other releases, I Might Be Wrong is nonetheless well done. The disc is worth picking up if for no other reason than its inclusion of "True Love Waits." Radiohead is widely considered one of the finest live acts in rock and roll today, with I Might Be Wrong the band is certainly able to hint at the claim.\nRating: 8

Action flick full of adrenaline and surfer-boy savvy

"Behind Enemy Lines" is a somewhat odd film to release at this particular juncture. Not only does it follow a mere week on the heels of the similarly themed "Spy Game," but its unabashedly pro-war themes will likely offend some viewers in wake of recent tragedies.\nCrooked-nosed comedic wonder Owen Wilson stars as Lt. Chris Burnett, a smart-alecky Naval jet navigator who wants nothing more than to fight in an actual war. Gene Hackman co-stars as his tough-as-nails superior officer, Admiral Leslie Reigart. \nThe men butt heads in a tenuous father-son dynamic. These conflicts spur a punitive Christmas day recon mission for Burnett. During which he flies off objective and happens upon a mass grave of people slaughtered by Serbian soldiers acting against a new-fangled peace accord. \nThe Serbs take none too kindly to the plane's presence and fire a series of surface-to-air missiles resulting in one of the film's most awe-inspiring action sequences. Burnett's aircraft is inevitably clipped and goes down deep in enemy territory where he's left to survive on his own devices.\nWilson, who normally co-stars in light comedies such as "Meet the Parents" and "Zoolander," makes an able transition into the role of the action hero. His laconic, surfer-dude persona and acerbic wit play quite nicely. He's nothing more than an "everyman" trapped in extraordinary circumstances, and this allows audience members to easily sympathize with his plight. Hackman isn't given nearly as much to do in the cookie-cutter role of Reigart, but him half-assing it is worlds better than many actors at full hilt. \nBut the real star of "Behind Enemy Lines" is director John Moore. The flick marks the Irishman's feature-length directorial debut following a series of commercial stints with Adidas and Guinness. He instills the same kinetic energy prevalent in television ads to "Behind Enemy Lines," and this visual flair makes for some of the coolest action sequences committed to celluloid this year.\n"Behind Enemy Lines" is often crass, ethnocentric, contrived and implausible, and I dug nearly every minute of it. Go expecting "Rambo" with half a brain as opposed to "Platoon," and in all likelihood you'll enjoy this adrenaline-fueled popcorn flick.

Hollywood finally getting it together in 2002

This past year was rather disappointing from the perspective of your run of the mill filmgoer. Many films were about as entertaining as a colonoscopy. For every "Memento" there was an onslaught of bottom feeders such as "Tomb Raider." \nOnly the concluding weeks of the year offered highly skilled filmmaking in the forms of "The Fellowship of the Rings," "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Vanilla Sky" and "Ali" (despite what many say both Will Smith and this movie rocked). \nOne hopes that Hollywood will improve upon many of the turds they incessantly hurl towards audiences in 2002, and in turn, it will be a banner year for cinema. It's in this hope that film fans seek solace, and as such, I'll run through a series of flicks that shouldn't completely suck.\nThe year should kick off in fine form with the comedy "Orange County." Not only does the flick co-star comedic genius Jack Black, it's also directed by Jake Kasdan whose first film was the criminally underrated "Zero Effect." It opens Friday.\nThe following week Bloomington will receive "Black Hawk Down," a film that was actually released during the last portion of 2001 in New York and L.A. This is the true story of a group of U.S. Rangers sent via helicopter into Mogadishu, Somalia to capture warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Pretty boy Josh Harnett headlines the flick (man, I hope he bites the bullet hard in the first reel). Featured alongside him are Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore ("Saving Private Ryan") and newfangled Australian cult film fixture/future "Incredible Hulk" star, Eric Bana ("Chopper"). Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") directs.\nWar/propaganda films seem to be all the rage this year. Mel Gibson reunites with "Braveheart" collaborator Randall Wallace for "We Were Soldiers," a Vietnam saga. The flick co-stars "American Pie" staple Chris Klein. Hong Kong action maestro John Woo is also lensing a Native American-themed WWII actioneer "Windtalkers," starring Nicholas Cage, half a reservation casino's night staff and Christian "Gleaming the Cube" Slater. I can see it now; cue a flock of doves alongside a bevy of tanks, and blam! you've got one hell of an action sequence.\nSteven Spielberg directs Tom Cruise for the first time in the futuristic sci-fi epic "Minority Report." The film is based off a short story by Phillip K. Dick. He wrote the source material to the highly regarded post-apocalyptic classic, "Blade Runner." If the teaser's any indication this flick should be pretty screwed-up. Hopefully, "Minority Report" will make amends for Spielberg's bastardizing re-release of his family classic "E.T.," in which guns are digitally removed and replaced with walkie-talkies and the classic diss of "penis breath" has altogether been excluded. Self-censorship at its finest. Very wussy, Steve.\nTwo genres making a healthy resurgence in 2002 are the gangster film and flicks derived from comic books. And rightly so, because these films usually rule. Martin Scorsese's needlessly delayed historical Irish gangland pic, "Gangs of New York" will finally be released this summer. Former pantywaist turned badass Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Daniel Day-Lewis star. Sam Mendes, the acclaimed director behind "American Beauty" directs "The Road to Perdition," also a summer release. The flick melds the aforementioned genres in that it's based upon a graphic novel (essentially, a grandiose comic book) by Max Allan Collins and features fictional hitmen, as well as a fictional depiction of Al Capone. Tom Hanks finally breaks his cycle of playing nice, cuddly guys in need of a hug to portray a vengeful hitman. Screen legend Paul Newman and solid character actor Jude Law also star.\n Other comic book films include; "Spiderman" lensed by Sam ("Evil Dead") Raimi and starring a buffed-up Toby Maguire, "Blade 2," in which Wesley Snipes revives his titular role of the vampire hunter and "Daredevil" starring freshly rehabbed Ben Affleck as a blind lawyer/crime fighter.\nMany revered directors will unleash their latest masterworks upon audiences, these include; David Fincher's ("Fight Club") Hitchcockian thriller "Panic Room," Steven Soderbergh's follow-up to his breakthrough hit "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" entitled "Full Frontal," Robert Rodriguez's third installment of the "El Mariachi" series, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," Kevin Smith's first non-Jay and Silent Bob flick "Jersey Girl" and Spike Jonze again teams with Charlie Kaufman for "Adaptation," their first collaboration was the incredibly bizarre yet no less ingenius "Being John Malkovich."\nOh, and I'm forgetting the next installment of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Two Towers" (which should reign), "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones" (which should rule) and "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" (which is incapable of either).\nIndie flicks will also rock with Roger Avary's ("Killing Zoe") teenybopper-laden adaptation of Bret Easton Ellison's ("American Psycho") novel "The Rules of Attraction," the French import "Brotherhood of the Wolf," which may well become this year's "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon," and "The 51st State" in which Samuel L. Jackson cracks skulls while wearing a kilt.\nLadies and gentleman, 2002 is shaping up to be one helluva year at the movies.

Flick fueled by Diesel and cool cars

Fast and The Furious - PG-13\nStarring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker\nDirected by: Rob Cohen\n"The Fast and the Furious" came out of nowhere to surprise and enthrall gear heads and action flick enthusiasts alike. The movie personifies the entire idea behind a "sleeper" hit. It didn't feature any major celebrities or have a bloated budget but managed to gross $145 million dollars domestically and cemented the career of up-and-coming action star Vin Diesel ("Pitch Black"). The recently released DVD should please fans of hard-hitting yet mindless action filmmaking.\nAn article that appeared in Vibe magazine concerning the alluring subculture of illegal street racing loosely inspired "The Fast and the Furious." Diesel headlines the flick as Dominic Toretto, a cocksure adrenaline junkie and all-around badass who leads a crew of street racers suspected of hijacking semi-trucks. Human Ken doll Paul Walker ("Varsity Blues") co-stars as undercover cop Brian O'Connor who poses as an incumbent racer to infiltrate the crime ring, but in the process falls for Dom's nubile little sis, Mia (Jordana Brewster of "The Faculty"). Action ensues, cars are demolished, cue the piss poor alt-metal/hip-hop/techno soundtrack.\n"The Fast and the Furious" features some of the sweetest car chases/races ever committed to celluloid, and for this reason alone the DVD is well worth purchasing. And if that weren't enough, the disc is chock full of some pretty cool extras including "Racer X" the article that inspired the movie, the making of "The Fast and the Furious" from storyboards to final feature comparison, the flick's theatrical trailer, numerous featurettes concentrating on the film's special effects and a "dope" Ja Rule music video. \nAlthough many of these features are cool, some wind-up falling short; all of the deleted scenes were rightfully discarded, Rob Cohen's feature-length commentary is nothing to write home about, the "exclusive" featurette on editing for the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) should have remained a tad more exclusive and for some reason a lame public service announcement featuring the all-together bland Walker proceeds the film. \n"The Fast and the Furious" isn't highbrow filmmaking and won't elicit much thought amongst viewers. But it sure does entertain and is well worth a look.

So many choices...so little time

GameCube:\n• "Resident Evil" -- The Playstation standard is revisited in correlation with the release of the upcoming "Resident Evil" flick directed by Paul Anderson ("Mortal Kombat"). This game, along with an onslaught of other "Resident Evil" titles, will be released solely on the GameCube in an exclusive licensing contract with Capcom throughout 2002.\n• "Metroid Prime" -- Samus returns in this GameCube update of the 8-bit Nintendo classic. The game will incorporate aspects of the much beloved first-person shooter genre a la "GoldenEye" or "Halo" and will contain all of the old school gats and gizmos. "Metroid Prime" is scheduled for release this November.\n• "Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet" -- Fox McCloud returns for the first time since "Star Fox 64" with "Star Fox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet." The game is being designed by Rare, the folks that brought gamers "GoldenEye" and "Perfect Dark," and as such, it's a real departure from the other titles in the series. This game removes McCloud from his trusty Arwing ship and places him in a barrage of hand to hand combat. The gameplay is supposed to be very similar to that of "Zelda: Ocarina of Time." Currently, the game is scheduled for release in April.\n• "Mario Kart" for GameCube (title pending) -- The classic cartoony racer which made its presence widely known on both the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 will be hitting the GameCube sometime during 2002, presumably late in the year. The game will support four players and will return all of the classic Nintendo characters we've grown to know and love. With more detailed tracks and a greater number of polygons, "Mario Kart" will be a title well worth including in your collection.\nPLAYSTATION 2:\n•"State of Emergency" -- Rockstar Games provides us with another nugget of socially irresponsible video gaming in the vein of their break-out hit "Grand Theft Auto 3." The game play echoes coin-ops of the late '80s, i.e. "Double Dragon" in its side-scroller style. Looting, killing and maiming are handsomely rewarded as gamers inhabit gang members fighting against Americorp, a monopolistic regime. Players are armed with an assortment of weapons including Molotov cocktails, uzis, grenade launchers, shotguns, tazers, pepper spray and tear gas, among many other tools of destruction. The game hits streets Tuesday.\n• "Virtua Fighter 4" -- Developed by AM2 under the supervision of esteemed game designer Yu Suzuki, "Virtua Fighter 4" promises to be a royal kick in the pants to the somewhat lacking fighting genre. Characters and levels are designed in far more detail, and gameplay will be enhanced through more offensive weapons and a beefed-up defense. "Virtua Fighter 4" should serve as another shining example of the way in which Sega (now defunct as far as hardware goes) is developing inspired titles for other consoles. \n• "Britney's Dance Beat" -- That's right folks, everybody's favorite little Lolita is hitting the PS2 with her very own video game! The only way this game could be cool is if you had an old school Power Pad a la 8-bit Nintendo to bust some phat moves on. As far as musically themed video games go you're better off sticking to "Parappa the Rapper." Dope!\n• "Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2" -- The latest installment of EA's popular speed and flee racing series will hit the PS2 later this spring. Unlike a majority of the series' predecessors, cops are incorporated into the game to spice things up a little bit. Thus, gamers are given yet another opportunity to wantonly break the law in a pixilated world. A vast assortment of cars including the Aston Martin Vanquish, BMW Z8, Ferrari 360 Spider, Ferrari F50, Jaguar XKR, Lamborghini Diablo, Lamborghini Murcielago, McClaren F1, Mercedes CLK GTR, Opel Speedster and a vast assortment of Porsches make breaking the law a whole lotta fun.\nX-BOX:\n• "Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions" -- As developed by Bunkasha, "Wreckless" should be a change of pace for the design house, as well as a whole lot of sleazy fun. Drawing inspiration from such far-flung sources as Sega's "Crazy Taxi" and John Woo's Hong Kong bullet ballets, "Wreckless" promises to be one helluva ride. The game hits the streets Feb. 15.\n• "Hunter: The Reckoning" -- In Interplay's spinoff to "Vampire: The Gathering," you must battle an assortment of monsters including zombies, werewolves and vampires. Players can choose one of four different characters including Deuce (a shotgun and axe toting biker bad boy), Father Esteban (a priest armed with cross-bow and sword), Samantha (a tattooed lady cop sporting a kitana and revolver) or Cassandra (a 20-year-old raver chick adorned with throwing knives and Woo-esque double guns). "Hunter: The Reckoning" will be released Mar. 15.\n• "UFC: Tapout" -- The translation from the highly controversial and widely criticized underground fighting tournament to video game seems to have been a fruitful one as designer Crave preps a sequel to their bone-crunching Dreamcast hit. "UFC: Tapout" seems to have upped the stakes of its predecessor with incredibly detailed texture mapping and supposedly improved gameplay. The exclusion of such "UFC" luminaries as Royce Gracie and Tank Abbot is almost inexcusable, but the game still looks pretty rocking. "UFC" will be released in March.\n• "Outlaw Golf" -- Simon and Schuster are prepping this delinquent golf title for release sometime this spring, and to say the least, it's certainly inspired. If your caddie acts like a moron you can crush his head in with a 9-iron. Gamers can choose to play with "respectable" characters ranging from Killer Miller -- a depraved, escaped death-row inmate, to Doc Diggler -- a third-rate pimp complete with stripper girlfriends. Practice modes include a driving range in which you're rewarded for breaking the windows of parked cars. Who ever said golf was boring?\nPC:\n• "Hitman 2: Silent Assassin" -- Here's yet another game furthering the development of society as a whole: this time the culprits are Eidos Interactive. In this sequel to last year's popular but somewhat problematic shoot-'em-up hitman is contracted to snuff out a wealthy Japanese businessman as well as a member of the KGB. This family fun will be "hitting" PC's sometime this Spring. \n• "Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Outcast" -- It's "Star Wars," you possess both blasters and light sabers and it's coming this spring. Need I say more?\n• "Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix" -- This sequel to last year's popular first-person shooter promises to improve upon its predecessor's gory antics with the incredibly fluid "Quake 3: Team Arena" engine. Levels are bigger, guns more accessible and violence more realistic. Fans of the similarly titled war -- mongering mag should be pleased with the combat depicted in "Soldier of Fortune II." The game should be available during the first quarter of 2002.\n• "Command & Conquer Renegade" -- This spin-off to the popular "Command & Conquer" series will be hitting shelves sometime in February. Westwood Studios alongside chief game designer Brett Sperry expand "C & C" implementing a more first-person shooter style of play as opposed to strategy. Although, the game will differ from many of the first-person shooters according to Executive Producer Dan Cermack. He told IGN.com, "It's about being on the ground in the middle of a C&C universe -- it's not about trying to compete with first-person shooters."\nFrom Pong to Gamecube:a brief history\n1972\n• "Pong" is released by the Atari Company. Chubby kids nationwide can now enjoy tennis indoors without breaking a sweat.\n1977\n• Atari 2600 is released. The government starts training for an alien invasion by having pilots play "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids."\n1981\n• Nintendo Entertainment System released. Plumbers rejoice to finally have a spokesmodel that can save princesses and keep his butt-crack hidden.\n1989\n• The Nintendo Game Boy debuts. Now kids can ignore their parents not only in the living room, but also at the dinner table and on vacations.\n• Sega Genesis released. Phil Collins tries to get spokesperson job, but a blue hedgehog beats him to it.\n• Power Glove is released for the NES. The evil kid from "The Wizard," Lucas, is quoted saying, "The Power Glove is so bad."\n1991\n• Super Nintendo is released in United States. The 16-bit console wars begin and lunch table arguments increase causing detentions to also rise. Common comments like "Mario sucks" and "No, you suck" are heard throughout elementary school cafeterias nationwide.\n• The "Time Traveler Hologram" video arcade game is released showing off new technology, but it's a dollar to play. Many kids are seen just watching the demo over and over again.\n• Sega CD is released along with the first creation of Full Motion Video in games. Games like "Night Trap" show the full potential of how bad of an idea this really was -- girls in lingerie prance around a house avoiding kidnappers.\n1992\n• Sega releases the 32x add-on for the Genesis system. Weeks later the add-on can be bought cheaply at nationwide garage sales.\n1995\n• Sega Saturn is released with full potential to prosper until…\n• Sony releases the Playstation. College kids finally get a CD-Rom machine worth skipping class for. Almost every "Final Fantasy" Game in the upcoming years is reportedly bought with textbook money.\n1996\n• Nintendo 64 released with a magical and colorful 3-D look at Mario World. The new four-player port lets gamers wait less for their next game of "Goldeneye," and also sets new standards for double dates. Well, it would if the 64 owners could get dates.\n1999\n• Sega Dreamcast debuts. A great and impressive machine, but could not compete with the other amazing competition, sort of like the IU football team.\n2000\n• Playstation 2 debuts in United States. The new machine comes with a built in DVD player and allows the owner to never have to leave the couch again, unless they need to switch the game or movie.\n2001\n• Billionaire Bill Gates sets his sights on addicting children in the console market with the launch of Microsoft's X-Box. Gates is quoted as saying, "Man, Satan really gives you a lot for a soul."\n• Nintendo releases Gamecube. A new video game war begins with online play and new name calling like "Cube-face" and "Box-head." Gamers still are not praised for their originality.

Jet Li vs. the French in 'K.O.D'

Kiss of the Dragon - R\nStarring: Jet Li, Bridget Fonda\nDirected by: Chris Nahon\nJet Li has been underused and misused in so many pieces of generic Hollywood crap. He was far and away the most entertaining performer in the derivative sequel "Lethal Weapon 4," his anemic "Romeo Must Die" left the Bard rolling in his grave and "The One" was anything but. Kung fu flick fans longed for the Li seen in such expertly made Hong Kong fare as "Fist of Legend." Finally with "Kiss of the Dragon" they have him.\n"Kiss of the Dragon," pairs Li with world-renowned French filmmaker Luc Besson ("Léon" or "The Professional" to American audiences) who both co-wrote and produced the film from Li's story idea. \n"K.O.D." tells the story (what little there is) of Liu Jian (Li), a cop sent to Paris to assist in the investigation of a notorious Chinese gangster. A corrupt French officer by the name of Richard (Besson regular Tchéky Karyo) frames Liu Jian for the murder of said suspect and entangles him in a mass conspiracy. Needless to say, things go haywire and Jet is left alone to bust balls and crack skulls amidst an onslaught of Euro trash. He later hooks up with the archetypical junkie hooker with a heart of gold (Bridget Fonda). \nBy no means is this a classy flick; villains are blown in half by grenades, thong-sporting hookers gyrate to Mystikal's "Shake Ya Ass" and a pool ball is kicked soccer style into a dude's cranium killing him instantaneously. "K.O.D." is a watermark for those of you who deem a six-pack and a Bruce Willis flick as a fine cultural experience.\nThe DVD is up to par with a film of this pedigree. The disc contains a modest commentary track featuring Li, Fonda and director Chris Nahon. Each track was recorded separately, but they're nonetheless entertaining. Li constantly refers to himself in the third person, while Fonda seems enamored by and sexually attracted to him. \nOther features include a Jet Li featurette during which he chronicles his friendship to fellow cinematic martial arts legend Jackie Chan and discusses his Buddhist philosophies at length. Another featurette focuses upon the flick's martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen, who previously worked with Li on pretty much all the crap referenced earlier -- despite this, the featurette's pretty cool.\n"K.O.D." isn't "Citizen Kane" and Li sure isn't Laurence Olivier, but that doesn't detract from the fact that this is a fun roller coaster ride of a flick. For those of you who've longed to see someone get stabbed in the neck with a set of chopsticks, this is the flick for you.\n

Guided by Voices rock Bluebird

True to form, college rock revolutionaries Guided by Voices ambled on stage in a drunken stupor Friday night at the Bluebird. However, unlike most artists, their inebriation didn't detract from the show. If anything, it enhanced their set and established camaraderie between them and their hard-drinking fan base. \nLead singer Bob Pollard even went so far as to dispense beers to the audience, and in return fans obliged him innumerable smokes. Few can work a crowd like this man. Oddly enough, Pollard was a fourth-grade teacher prior to pursuing music full time. The same man who embodies everything great about rock music -- the source of many parents' fears -- once sculpted the minds of their youth.\nThe Dayton, Ohio-based quintet comes from good stock. Kim Deal (the Pixies), also a Dayton native, is a fan of GBV's unique brand of ironically brief rock ditties chock full of resonance. And with good reason, these guys put on one hell of a good show that clocks in at somewhere near three hours and is void of lapses, mistakes or intermissions. By show's end I found myself as tired as, if not more so than, the band. These guys rocked like few others can.\nGBV's set was comprised mostly of cuts off its revolutionary breakthrough album Bee Thousand and its most recent effort Isolation Drills, as well as its upcoming album From a Voice Plantation. However, highlights of the show came from the band's 1995 release Alien Lanes. These included stirring renditions of "Game of Pricks," "Watch Me Jumpstart," "As We Go Up, We Go Down" and "My Valuable Hunting Knife." Crowd favorites "Chasing Heather Crazy" and "Glad Girls" were played to perfection. \nThe only real disappointment of the set was the exclusion of their gorgeously-produced and infinitely-moving "Chicken Blows," from Alien Lanes. The show was wondrously capped off with an inspired take on the Who's "Baba O'Riley." \nThe show marked the debut of new drummer Kevin March, filling the skins of recently departed drummer Jon McCann. March, who previously made his mark with Those Bastard Souls and The Dambuilders, acquainted himself admirably with the band and was capably aided by bassist Tim Tobias. Guitarists Doug Gillard and Nate Farley sported fingers that must be seen to be believed. And Pollard, true to reputation, was a maestro of the microphone spin, jump-kicking, hilariously grooving and hissing his way through the set. There may be a more tightly constructed live act out there, but you would be hard pressed to find it.\nAll things considered, I was very fortunate to have seen this immensely-talented band, right within the confines of Bloomington. Rarely are shows this enjoyable. I'd highly recommend fans of expertly-crafted rock to check out Guided by Voices. It's well-worth the trip and the cash. Drunk or not.

Period epic goes kung fu

Brotherhood of the Wolf - R\nStarring: Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos\nDirected by: Christophe Gans\nShowing: Showplace East 11\n"Brotherhood of the Wolf" is an inspired and wondrously over-the-top French import that expertly melds highly stylized kung fu, monster movie clichés and lavish period drama. Wrought with bone-crunching fisticuffs, scantily clad prostitutes and garish mauling via a hell-bent wolf, the film appeals to the 14-year-old boy that resides inside each of us.\nChristophe Gans' film is very loosely based upon the mythos surrounding the Beast of Gévaudan, which purports that a "beast" preyed upon villagers in the southwestern mountains of France during the reign of Louis XV. Under these pretenses naturalist Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his Native American counterpart Mani (Mark Dacascos) are summoned to Gévaudan in hopes of vanquishing/studying the murderous creature.\n"Brotherhood" could best be described as an anime-fueled incarnation of Michael Mann's "The Last of the Mohicans." The movie is absolutely ridiculous (going so far as to transition between a woman's bare breast and a snowy mountaintop… subtle, huh?) and entirely derivative, but in a good way. Filmgoers will easily spot essences of "Sleepy Hollow," "Predator," "From Hell," "Jaws" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" throughout. Gans is the French fantasy equivalent of Tarantino. He takes beloved elements from other filmmakers' works and incorporates them into his own to winning effort. "Brotherhood of the Wolf" is a pop-culture fetishists' wet dream.\nLe Bihan and Dacascos acquaint themselves quite nicely in their respective roles. And more importantly, they are more than adept during fight sequences in which they brandish tomahawks and machetes while roundhouse kicking and uppercutting onslaughts of uncouth Frenchman in the chops.\n"Brotherhood," despite being one hell of a good time, is not without its faults. Clocking in at 142 minutes, the film is simply too long. Shaving 10 minutes off this excessive runtime would speed things up considerably. Also, the character of Mani is occasionally reduced to a mere stereotype in his prototypically stoic silence. In all honesty, I eagerly anticipated the moment in which an aristocratic wiener would hurl refuse from his carriage spawning a single tear from Mani's eye.\nDespite these minor complaints I'd highly recommend those of you with a strong stomach and a penchant for harnessing your inner 14-year-old see "Brotherhood of the Wolf." Besides, the flick boasts more bare breasts and brawls than your run-of-the-mill frat party, and if that isn't a recommendation what is?\n

'Benjamins' just about the paycheck

All About the Benjamins - R\nStarring: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Eva Mendes\nDirected by: Kevin Bray\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nThe latest film from prolific rapper/actor O'Shea Jackson (otherwise known as Ice Cube) is titled "All About the Benjamins," and as the title might suggest Cube probably did this mediocre action comedy for the "phat" cash.\nCube stars as a down-on-his-luck bounty hunter by the name of Bocum (pronounced "book 'em," subtle, huh?). Bocum's a weird cat: He buys $600 fish, blatantly steals Allen Iverson's 'do and for some reason, actually digs the Miami Heat. He begins the film by shocking '80s teen movie star Anthony Michael Hall (playing the hilariously dubbed hillbilly thug Lil' J) in the nads with a tazer. The rest of Cube's screen time is spent glaring at and doling ass-whoopings to Reggie (Cube's "Next Friday" co-star Mike Epps), a two-bit hustler to whom he grows attached in a convoluted scheme to retrieve stolen diamonds and a lost winning lottery ticket.\nCube not only stars in, but also co-wrote "All About the Benjamins," and the results are only slightly better than the P. Diddy effort of a few years past. He pens many funny lines, most of which are spouted by the acerbically-tongued Epps (i.e. "When I get my welfare check I'm gonna put a hit on you!"), but quips are about the only thing this script has to offer. Much of the action is dull and nonsensical; so much so that villains fire a misdirected rocket at Bucum and Reggie's hoopty one second and disappear the next without furthering the skirmish. It's like Cube and his boys were sitting around chilling when all of a sudden he decided it would be dope to throw a rocket launcher into the flick for no apparent reason. \nWhile Cube is a likeable presence in whatever he does, Epps is the real find in this flick. He may be, as many will most assuredly call him, the poor man's Chris Tucker, Chris Rock or yes, even Dave Chappelle, but what's wrong with that? Those guys are funny, and Epps is as well. Although the leads are appealing, "Benjamins" suffers from the lack of a convincingly evil primary villian, and this brings the proceedings down considerably. Tommy Flanagan ("Braveheart") portrays Williamson -- the Irish heavy with an annoying accent lacking the strength necessary to knuckle his way into a pint on St. Paddy's Day.\n"All About the Benjamins" isn't a good flick but it's entertaining enough to catch at home with friends -- it's more a Lincoln or a couple Washington's and less a Hamilton.\n

'Van Wilder' funny, but no 'Vacation' or 'Animal House'

National Lampoon's Van Wilder - R\nStarring: Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid\nDirected by: Walt Becker\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nThe National Lampoon moniker is meant to elicit memories of great comedies past. "Animal House" and the first three "Vacation" flicks rank as some of the funniest comedies ever produced. Their latest effort, "National Lampoon's Van Wilder" is funny, but not to the extent their previous achievements were.\nRyan Reynolds (star of ABC's fortunately defunct "Two Guys and a Girl") plays the titular "big man on campus." He's in his seventh year of undergrad at fictional Coolidge College, that is until his father (played by National Lampoon alum Tim "Otter" Matheson) refuses to pay any more of his tuition bills. \nVan finds a way to keep responsibility at bay by turning his hard-partying lifestyle into a lucrative business -- planning parties for socially inept dweebs yearning to get laid and those who want to have an all-around good time. In doing so, he becomes fodder for an expose by up-and-coming collegiate journalist Gwen Pearson (Tara Reid). The two initially bump heads, but as is common in the world of cinema, tension between male and female leads inevitably to the bumping of uglies. But there's a hitch: Gwen has a stereotypical frat rat of a boyfriend named Richard (Daniel Cosgrove), who's determined to put a kibosh on Van's seven-year reign as campus king.\nReynolds does wonders in the role of Wilder. He makes the flick work through subtle charm and wry wit -- seemingly channeling an amusing hybrid of the work churned out by Chevy Chase in "Caddyshack" and Jason Lee in "Mallrats." I wish the same could be said for Reid, while she's easy on the eyes, her acting is piss-poor.\nIs "Van Wilder" a great movie? No. Essentially, it's an hour and a half barrage of truly base dick and fart jokes (explosive diarrhea, projectile vomiting and bulldog ejaculate are all played for laughs), but admittedly, I found this stuff funny. "Van Wilder," while coarse, kept me entertained, and as such, it's well worth catching at matinee price.\n

Keyser Soze at his finest on DVD

Little 5 is no excuse for sports montages

With Little 5 quickly approaching, we are all reminded of the 1979 gem, "Breaking Away." As directed by Peter Yates (the genius behind "Krull"), the film tells the story of Dave Stoller (Dennis Christopher), a high school graduate and "cutter" bicyclist who yearns for nothing more than to be an Italian. Much like innumerable other films of its ilk, "Breaking Away" is chock-full of the excessively tired "sports montage." For those not in the know, a sports montage is a series of sequences depicting a young, impressionable athlete training for an impending event usually set to a horrendously generic/lame pop nugget. \nI loathe the sports montage. Sure, it's a quick and effective way to convey a butt-load of information to an audience, but it's annoying as all holy hell and has been done to death. The greatest proponent of the sports montage is writer/director/editor/cinematographer/producer John G. Avildsen. The man practically invented the sports montage with his 1976 effort "Rocky," and further honed the technique alongside Daniel-san and Mr. Miyagi in "The Karate Kid." While these films are good, they came about early in the trend. Remember Avildsen is the same man who subsequently directed "Rocky V" starring Sylvester Stallone's annoying progeny, Sage, as well as Luke Perry's bull-riding epic, yes you heard me correctly, Luke Perry's bull-riding epic, "8 Seconds" (crappy sports montage city!). And rarely do Avildsen's montages make a shred of sense. For example, look at "The Karate Kid." How in the hell is waxing on and off going to help Daniel-san trounce high school bully Johnny (immensely talented character actor William Zabka)? If anything, I'd like to see a montage of Avildsen being pummeled by Ralph Macchio and Stallone for having subjected viewers to these lame sports montages for so damned long.\nThe sports montage even goes so far as to pervade flicks not having the slightest thing to do with sports. Most prominent among these films is the cheesy sub-genre of dance flicks popular in the early to mid-'80s, i.e., "Flashdance" (1983) and "Footloose" (1984). While I enjoy Jennifer Beals' pink legwarmers as much as the next guy, and honestly, could watch Kevin Bacon flip around a barn all day, there's no denying these flicks, and the "sports montages" that inundate them blow. \nLuckily, filmmakers have finally discovered just how lame the sports montage is. In David Wain's razor-sharp satire of '80s summer camp films, "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), two of the film's protagonists are seen training for a subsequent meeting with a girl. Short shorts, spastic dancing, uncontrollable armpit hair, man-on-man love and a wise, talking can of mixed vegetables populate the scene to hilarious effect sending up the whole damned sports montage debacle.\nAlso, on a recent episode of "South Park" entitled "Asspen," Kyle trains for an impending ski race against the much older bully with a considerable chip on his shoulder in an inspired sports montage set to the subtly titled tune "We Need a Sports Montage!" The more directors who desecrate this time-tested turd of a cinematic technique the better.\nFor wannabe filmmakers who harbor hopes of eventually making a film, I have this suggestion: by all means include the sports montage within your film, just subvert it. Athletes/dancers/ whomever-the-hell-your-protagonist-might-be should smoke cigarettes like Dennis Quaid's character in "Breaking Away," drink like a fish, tell their Miyagi-esque mentor to "piss off" and train from the confines of a comfy couch with video game controller in hand. And for you makeshift videographers out there: don't compile sports montages of this weekend's race -- I'm a journalist, I'm good at tracking people down and I've been training.

Ten summer flicks worth your eight bucks

'Super'stars

In wake of "Spider-Man's" record breaking opening weekend ($114 million and counting), Hollywood is webbing-up the rights to various comic titles in hopes of churning mass box office returns akin to America's beloved webhead.\nNot only is Hollywood banking on these expensive comic book adaptations to rescue languishing theater chains (many of which are going bankrupt), but so are the dominant forces within the realm of comics -- Marvel and DC. Comic sales which were increasingly high in the '80s have been on a downward spiral ever since.\n"They (comic books) are not in all the outlets they used to be. The kid would have to specifically seek out the comic book store in a lot of places to find a comic book. They're not at the drug store and they're not at the grocery store," says Matt Traugher, Assistant Manager at Vintage Phoenix, one of Bloomington's two comic book stores (PC Guru being the other).\nWhen asked whether films such as "Spider-Man" would have a profound effect on comic sales Don Wilds (Manager/ Co-owner of Vintage Phoenix) was skeptical.\n"We're hoping it will help sales a little bit, but I certainly wouldn't count on it being a lot," Wilds says. "I know when "Batman" came out a lot of people said "Oh, that's probably helping "Batman" sales," but actually "Batman" sales had gone up before, and I guess that's one of the reasons they made the movie -- it's more the fault of (Frank Miller's) "Dark Knight" than anything else."\nMore often than not, Traugher feels as though these lucrative comic-themed films bring back returning readers, not the uninitiated.\n"In my experience, the people who come in after seeing it (a film) and get into it are returning readers -- especially with the "X-Men" movie," Traugher says. "They come back and they say 'I used to read them,' very seldomly do we get new readers."\nBoth Traugher and Wilds feel that another recent trend in which filmmakers or prominent television writers transition into the world of comics has a bigger effect on comic sales as opposed to big-budgeted comic book adaptations. Indie filmmaker Kevin Smith has written for "Daredevil" and "Green Arrow" in the past, and has recently inked a deal with Marvel to pen future issues of "Amazing Spider-Man." He also has a "Spider-Man/Black Cat" mini-series dropping June 26. "Babylon 5" creator J. Michael Straczynski has also been writing issues of "Amazing Spider-Man" as of late.\n"That seems often to have as big, or maybe a bigger impact, than one of these of these movie translations. When Kevin Smith writes something it pops up higher than when there's a popular movie based on a book," Traugher says.\nWilds believes good writing affects comic book sales better than the box office. \n"Basically, if a comic company, as Marvel has found out recently, hires good writers and people they know are good writers, they'll test out their stuff," Wilds says. "Amazing Spider-Man" has more than doubled its sales since before Straczynski took over. That has a much bigger impact than a movie."\nThis boom in comic book to silver screen translations may have been spurred by a new and exciting generation of filmmakers. Stephen Norrington, director of "Blade" (a lesser known Marvel title) and the upcoming adaptation of acclaimed graphic novelist Alan Moore's "The League of Extraordinary Gentleman," had this to say about the trend in the May 10 issue of Entertainment Weekly. \n"The vibe feels much the same as when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg took black-and-white adventure serials and turned them into "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones." Now people take comics and turn them into big, A-class pictures like "X-Men" or "Hulk." All these people in the business are saying, 'Hey, we're in our 30s, and we're not stupid -- and this is great stuff. Why not make some movies?'"\nNorrington couldn't be more on the mark, and it seems as though Traugher seconds his sentiments.\n"The key to the comic book movies doing better and being better received is that the people making them now have a certain affinity for the source material," Traugher says. "Older adaptations were done strictly as a money-maker. They (the studios) put somebody in charge of it who may have no interest in the character, and some of them were still done well because they were professionals. But there was no particular love. \n"I know Sam Raimi (director of "Spider-Man") is a huge "Spider-Man" fan and that the "Hellboy" director ("Blade II" veteran Guillermo Del Toro) is a huge "Hellboy" fan. So, these movies are being made without sneering at the source material."\nVarious Marvel comic-to-film franchises are in the works. "Spider-Man II" has already been greenlit and is currently slated for May 7, 2004. "X2" -- a sequel to 2000's $157 million-grossing "X-Men" is set to release on May 2, 2003 (the same weekend "Spider-Man" just did this year). "Hulk," a $120 million adaptation of everyone's favorite mean, green fighting machine is being shepherded to the screen via "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" mastermind Ang Lee. "Daredevil" starring Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, blind lawyer become crime fighter, swings into theaters January 17, 2003, and an upcoming "Punisher" flick is currently prepping for production (this despite a crappy 1989 Dolph Lundgren vehicle). And DC is striking back with a "Superman" flick to be directed by McG (director of "Charlie's Angels") and scripted by "Alias" creator J.J. Abrams, as well as an adaptation of Frank Miller's "Batman: Year One," which will be directed by Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream") and co-written by Miller and Aronofsky. \nWith all these films currently in or preparing for production it seems as though superheroes won't be departing Megaplexes anytime soon, and could possibly save Hollywood from potential financial ruin.

Sci-fi for those without taste

Jason X - R\nStarring: Kane Hodder, Lexa Doig, Peter Mensah\nDirected by: James Isaac\nShowing: Showplace East 11\nThere are few things that can save a movie like "Jason X" from its inevitable and much-deserved banishment to the third ring of video hell. In fact, I wish the flick's "beloved" anti-hero Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) would high-tail it back to the cursed nether regions to which he was doomed in the last installment of the insipid "Friday the 13th" series -- "Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday."\nLiquor and smart-alecky chicanery are about the only things that will enhance an unfortunate viewers' pleasure while watching this dreck. Every time one of the film's moronic characters has sex…or in the case of "Jason X," engages in some sort of weird nipple fetish, take a shot. Or later when another dumbass stumbles into a darkly lit room uttering the name of someone that they, you and I know is dead, drink a beer. And yes, when Jason finally gets around to dismembering air-headed co-eds, do both. You might get drunk, and in all likelihood you'll get sick, but that's far better than observing this dung heap. \nI only wish that while watching this monstrosity I had been accompanied by "Mystery Science Theater 3000" staples Mike Nelson, Tom Servo and Crow -- or better yet left in a theater by myself to mock and ridicule the film openly, loudly and honestly without fear of disturbing my fellow theater patrons. Who am I kidding, they wouldn't have cared, and if they did care, they'd be idiots. "Jason X" sucks like few movies have sucked before!\nOh yeah, I've forgotten to address the plot in all my cheerful nay saying. The movie begins in 2010 when preparations are being made by a nubile young scientist named Rowan (Lexa Doig) to cryogenically freeze unstoppable killing machine Jason Voorhees. Suffice it to say, things don't exactly go as planned and Rowan is stabbed and eventually frozen alongside everyone's favorite hockey-masked maniac for her troubles. Flash forward to 2455 when a spaceship from -- get this -- Earth II, ascends upon Camp Crystal Lake Research Facility, retrieves the two Popsicle-esque bodies, de-thaws them and do I really need to tell you where the film is going to proceed from here? I think not.\n"Jason X" may be the crappiest horror flick ever transplanted into space, and yes, ladies and gentlemen, sadly enough, I've seen "Leprechaun 4: In Space." The special effects are bad enough to make the "technical wizards" behind "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" blush, the script seems like it was assembled by a team of apes and the direction calls out for the name of Alan Smithee. I'll put a hex on "Jason X." \n

Weezer's 'Maladroit' anything but

Strokin' the 'D' at the Jamboree

Slim Shady in prime form on 'Show'

Hype kills Spielberg's sci-fi 'Report'

Many critics have hailed Steven Spielberg's latest opus, "Minority Report" as his finest piece of action celluloid since "Raiders of the Lost Ark." First off, the flick isn't action oriented -- it's much more like a sci-fi tinged film noir. Secondly, "the Beard" has churned out better works in wake of his 1981 juggernaut -- both "Indiana Jones" sequels, "Jurassic Park" and "Saving Private Ryan" are all far superior to this "Report."