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(11/03/00 7:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Anyone who listened to Ja Rule's 1999 debut Venni Vetti Vecci and the compilation Irv Gotti presents … The Murderers knows how annoying the Murder Inc. crew can get. Both of those albums are so single-mindedly obsessed with murder and death that you get tired of them before you want to play them again. But who can blame the Murder Inc.? Half of the East Coast rappers, including Cam'ron and The LOX, mistake trash talking with street cred.
(11/03/00 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Anyone who listened to Ja Rule's 1999 debut Venni Vetti Vecci and the compilation Irv Gotti presents … The Murderers knows how annoying the Murder Inc. crew can get. Both of those albums are so single-mindedly obsessed with murder and death that you get tired of them before you want to play them again. But who can blame the Murder Inc.? Half of the East Coast rappers, including Cam'ron and The LOX, mistake trash talking with street cred.
(11/03/00 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Robert Redford's latest film, "The Legend of Bagger Vance," is exactly everything you expect it to be. It is unlikely that anyone will be disappointed by it, while no one will be surprised by it either. In other words, "Bagger Vance" is "Good Will Hunting" meets "The Horse Whisperer" and "Ordinary People." You can see every generic formula and cliché coming from miles away while watching this film.
(11/01/00 4:20am)
The disappearance of Showplace East Art\nAfter the abrupt closing of Von Lee Theatre, the Kerasotes Theatres chain now forces moviegoers to go to Showplace East 11 to see arty independent films. Although there's a section in the theater's newspaper ad that is referred to as Showplace East Art, it's unclear just exactly how many screens in the theater are actually devoted to showing independent films each week. To make the matter even worse, it's unlikely you'll ever see more than one foreign language film playing there.\nIn a good week, the Showplace East would devote as many as three screens to showing art films, which is the same number of screens Von Lee used to have. But in a bad week, there would be one or no independent movie showing at all. Although the Ryder Film Series always offers a good alternative, moviegoers do prefer watching the 35mm and 72mm prints shown in regular theaters over the 16mm prints and videos formats the Ryder is using.\nThankfully, two reliable and tasteful arthouse cinemas are in the not-too-distant Indianapolis. The Castleton Arts Cinemas and South Keystone Art Cinemas are showing some of the hottest independent films in the country. If you can't wait to see acclaimed Danish director Lars von Trier's latest masterpiece "Dancer in the Dark" or the sweet Sundance favorite "Two Family House," you can now finally get a chance to see them with just an hour worth of driving one way. \nEven some of the more commercial multiplexes in Indianapolis, including the Loews Cineplex College Park and United Artists Galaxy 14, are showing independent and foreign movies like "The Yards" and the powerful Iranian film "A Time for Druken Horses."\nCollege Park is one of the 16 Loews Cineplex theaters across the country participating in the Shooting Gallery Film Series, and dedicates one of its screen to showing a new foreign or independent film every two weeks. The Shooting Gallery is a small distributor which produced the successful indie hits such as "Sling Blade" and "Croupier," and it has selected many exciting new films from around the world for its film series.\nIf you are fed up with the crap Kerasotes is showing us with its powerful monopoly in Bloomington, it's time to go to Indy and check out the arthouse theaters there. God knows if these movies will ever be shown in Bloomington before they hit the shelves of video stores.\nAn inundation of politics on television\nThe forthcoming presidential election is obviously an important event, but can any of us honestly stomach any more mention of candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore? If you watch CNN Headline News for two consecutive hours, you'll probably hear the names of presidential hopefuls more than 50 times. It's bad enough that we have to hear them rehashing the same three issues on a regular basis everywhere they go, but most of these campaign coverage in the media has nothing to do with issues.\nMaybe both of the candidates really have something substantive to say, but their speeches are often reduced to catchy snippets of sound bites by news editors. What makes the campaign coverage even worse is the news media's relentless obsession with poll results. The CNN Headline News announces the latest results of the latest polls from three different sources once every 15 minutes. What is more ridiculous? The fact that three agencies conduct different polls on a daily basis among likely voters or the results being announced every 15 minutes? \nAnd where's the coverage on Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan? Maybe they are not going to win, but they haven't dropped out of the race yet. By excluding these two candidates, how are the media providing fair and unbiased election coverage? People who take the election seriously certainly will be interested in hearing what these two candidates have to say, but instead they have to let the media dictate what is important to them. \nThankfully, the election coverage is about to conclude. But are any of us really ready to put up with Dubya's smirk or Gore's showmanship for another four years?
(10/29/00 6:58pm)
Things overheard at Showplace East 11:\n"'Drop Dead Gorgeous.' That was a goooood movie."\n"'The Limey.' That was a baaaaad movie."\n"Mariah Carey. Ewwwww."\n"'American Beauty.' Haven't seen that one."\nWhile waiting for the sneak preview of "Almost Famous" to start, many moviegoers were amusing themselves with the series of film-related slides flashing across the screen. Most people felt compelled to throw in their two cents when films they recognized were featured in the slides, but very few people had anything substantive to offer about why they felt compelled to label a movie as good or bad. Not surprisingly, the aforementioned comments came from a perky teenage girl.\nOf course, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. At the end of the day, we will all have to either agree or disagree. Unfortunately, many people are quick to voice uninformed opinions in the most ignorant manner. Take the loudmouth teenage girl at Showplace East 11. She comes off as if a movie is good only if she says so, while it's clear to this irritated critic sitting next to her that she has no idea what she is talking about.\nBut this critic has encountered much worse. While I welcome different views from other moviegoers, in most cases people can't do better than a flipped "You are wrong" or some other irrelevant personal attack. These people don't have any idea what film criticism actually involves.\nThere are three elements to look for in each film -- its aesthetic achievement, social relevance and entertainment value. Most people are quick to judge a film solely on the basis of its entertainment value. No wonder movies like "Scary Movie" and "Road Trip" made a lot of money at the box office.\nIt's been said that the greatest critics don't just review films, they make their own and show other filmmakers how it's supposed to be done. French film critics such as Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer are living proof of that saying. But, while most people don't have the resources or ability to make a film, the majority show no respect to the filmmaking process in their criticism. Little do these self-absorbed people know that their criticism is ultimately inconsequential. \nLike the filmmaking process, film criticism itself is a craft. If you really want to throw in your two cents, the least you can do is to come up with an informed opinion. Some professional film critics see about 250 out of the 500 films released each year in the theater. The more movies you see, the more you will be able to distinguish the good from the bad. \nIt's really not much of an effort to teach yourself about film. With availability and convenience of videocassettes and DVDs, one can now watch many movies at one's leisure.\nOne can also increase his or her knowledge by reading various newspaper articles, magazines and Web sites devoted to movies. Since we are in an academic environment, there are plenty of opportunities for us to enroll in film classes taught by world-class faculty members. \nOf course, you can also choose to flaunt your ignorance if you want. Just be sure next time you won't be overheard by a critic who will poke fun at you in his or her next column.
(10/26/00 8:58am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sundance winner for "Grand Jury Prize" and "Best Director" as well as Cannes winner for "International Young Cinema Award," it's no surprise that Karyn Kusama's "Girlfight" turns out to be one of the best American films this year.
The biggest achievement of Kusama's directorial debut is the fact that the film is so genuine and affecting despite some really generic plot elements (for example, "Love & Basketball" meets "Rocky" and "Raging Bull"). The film also boasts an Oscar-worthy screen debut of Michelle Rodriguez.
(10/26/00 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sundance winner for "Grand Jury Prize" and "Best Director" as well as Cannes winner for "International Young Cinema Award," it's no surprise that Karyn Kusama's "Girlfight" turns out to be one of the best American films this year.
The biggest achievement of Kusama's directorial debut is the fact that the film is so genuine and affecting despite some really generic plot elements (for example, "Love & Basketball" meets "Rocky" and "Raging Bull"). The film also boasts an Oscar-worthy screen debut of Michelle Rodriguez.
(10/25/00 5:27am)
It's difficult to picture successful Hollywood stars without attitude, glamour and luxury. Most actors seem to be unsophisticated and shallow and have no desire to step out of their comfortable surroundings. \n Despite their adventurous screen personalities, actors come off as sheltered. And often, the most they would do for a PBS documentary is lend their voices as narrators.\nBut those who tuned in to watch "Nature" on PBS this week were probably pleasantly surprised by what they saw -- "Wild Horses of Mongolia with Julia Roberts." No, Roberts is not merely a narrator. She is actually on location with the documentary crew. Roberts exceeds our expectations of typical spoiled Hollywood brats. She is surprisingly down to Earth, humble, strong and smart.\nRoberts gets paid $20 million a picture, but she decided to put herself in the midst of Mongolia, where there are no four-star hotels or even bathrooms. Although the camera crew is constantly around, she didn't demand to be the center of its attention. She is passionate about horses, and her enthusiasm showed in her actions.\nRoberts arrived in the middle of nowhere to stay with a Mongolian nomadic family for a few weeks without the aid of a translator. They had never seen her movies, and they didn't really know who she was. \nRoberts soon blends in as one of the nomads. She cheerfully listened to Mongolians explaining things to her, and did her best to understand the meaning. She also learned to play games with Mongolian kids and taught them simple games played in American nursery schools.\nWearing no makeup, Roberts dressed in traditional Mongolian outfit each day. She savored the exotic horse milk and lamb dishes among the Mongolians. She rode wild horses and helped assemble tents. She milked horses and got poop stains on her jeans. All this and not a word of complaint from her -- she said in her interviews that she was happy to be there.\nIn the scripted voice-over narration, Roberts briefly recounts the history of the legendary Mongolian leader Genghis Khan, and reflects the similarities between Mongolian nomads and American cowboys. Roberts convincingly explained what really intrigued her about the Mongolians and why she was there soon after Mongolia opened its doors to Western visitors.\nWhen Roberts shed tears as she said goodbye to the nomad family, it's impossible to doubt her genuine affection for the family. There was no script, and she was not acting. While the documentary is obviously informative about the Mongolian way of life and how it is inseparable with the wild horses, it's also amusing to see Roberts putting herself through such an adventure. She's convinced us that she's got beauty, talent, guts and a good heart. \ntrailer trash\nAlthough the movie does not officially open until Memorial Day 2001, moviegoers in Bloomington are already being tirelessly bombarded with the trailer for "Pearl Harbor," the latest trash from director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.\nWhat's this? "Armageddon" meets "Saving Private Ryan"? The premise of the movie is completely frightening, and the trailer certainly lives up to its promise. As if the trailer itself is not nauseating enough, Kerasotes Theatres is attaching the trailer in front of every single movie it is now showing. How much longer must we put up with this?\nAnother truly disgusting sight that Kerasotes regulars must frequently endure is the trailer for the new Ben Affleck/Gwyneth Paltrow flick, "Bounce." If we have to hear Gwyneth's rant about how she picks up smoking in an effort to quit "the gum" one more time, it's very likely that we will vomit all over our seats. This trailer has as much cheese as Steak 'n Shake's Chili 5-Way. Must we continue to indulge Gwyneth and her pettiness all the way through the Oscars ceremony next March?
(10/19/00 11:49am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>"Joe Gould's Secret" is a surprisingly intimate, moving and profound recount of the friendship between two literary legends of mid-1900s New York City. There's Joe Gould, an eccentric panhandler who claimed to have written a million-word account of "The Oral History of Our Time." Then there's Joseph Mitchell, the brilliant New Yorker reporter who profiled Gould.
(10/19/00 10:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a year when pop music is dominating the American music industry and Brit band Radiohead has claimed the top spot on the Billboard charts, it is mind-boggling that Robbie Williams is not doing as well as he should be in this country. After all, he's got the best of both worlds -- the looks of a pop star and the substance of a serious rock star. While Williams continues to make headlines in other territories, the recent release of his latest album, Sing When You're Winning, made little splash in America.
(10/19/00 10:08am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>All of the attention-grabbing flyers and ads of "Winter Sleepers" that are currently plastered all over campus tell you that the film is made by the director of last year's art house hit, "Run Lola Run." What it doesn't tell you is the fact that German director Tom Tykwer actually made "Winter" one year prior to "Lola."
(10/19/00 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>"Joe Gould's Secret" is a surprisingly intimate, moving and profound recount of the friendship between two literary legends of mid-1900s New York City. There's Joe Gould, an eccentric panhandler who claimed to have written a million-word account of "The Oral History of Our Time." Then there's Joseph Mitchell, the brilliant New Yorker reporter who profiled Gould.
(10/19/00 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>All of the attention-grabbing flyers and ads of "Winter Sleepers" that are currently plastered all over campus tell you that the film is made by the director of last year's art house hit, "Run Lola Run." What it doesn't tell you is the fact that German director Tom Tykwer actually made "Winter" one year prior to "Lola."
(10/19/00 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In a year when pop music is dominating the American music industry and Brit band Radiohead has claimed the top spot on the Billboard charts, it is mind-boggling that Robbie Williams is not doing as well as he should be in this country. After all, he's got the best of both worlds -- the looks of a pop star and the substance of a serious rock star. While Williams continues to make headlines in other territories, the recent release of his latest album, Sing When You're Winning, made little splash in America.
(10/18/00 4:18am)
"Who let the dogs out? Woof, woof, woof, woof." -- Baha Men, "Who Let the Dogs Out?"\nWho let the dogs out? Who wrote this stupid song? Why do the radio and television stations play it? Why does anyone like it? Why does this song get voted onto TRL? Why am I tempted to whack my television with a baseball bat whenever that video comes on? \nBaha Men's "Who Let the Dogs Out" is more annoying than Los Del Rio's "Macarena," Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca," Chumbawamba's "Tubthumping," Smash Mouth's "All Star" and Quad City DJ's "C'mon & Ride It (The Train)" played in a row. \nIt's scary why so many people like those songs. And because of these songs, countless songs that are more deserving of airtime never even make it onto the radio and television stations' playlists.\nJock Jams has become such a phenomenon because it has legions of fans who are too drunk or brainless to enjoy anything else. It also creates countless one-hit wonderers who will live for the rest of their lives off the licensing fees of just one song. A song that will be tirelessly played at every single sporting event and fraternity party.\nWhile music critics often enjoy nitpicking the releases of the current crop of teen idols, no one ever bothers to examine the merits of Jock Jam artists. In reality, these girl and boy bands probably have more talent than Baha Men and Quad City DJ. To say the least, Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have more than one hit. But don't expect Eminem to start lashing out on Baha Men anytime soon.\nHollywood's racism\n"Pay It Forward," this fall's feel-good Oscar bait, will probably make a lot of people laugh and cry. Especially those gifted and hard-working black thespians who are struggling to find a starring role will appreciate the pain and the irony.\nThe film, with a premise reminiscent of "The Man Without a Face" meets "As Good As It Gets," is based on Catherine Ryan Hyde's 1999 novel of the same name. While the film does not actually promote racism, the novel's African-American protagonist is played in the film by white actor Kevin Spacey. The novel's central theme of interracial dating is completely absent in the film. The ethnicity of Spacey's character, an integral element in the original novel, has been substituted by facial disfiguration in the film.\nWhile Spacey does have the talent and the Oscar-minted prestige, there are plenty of African- American actors out there who are as talented and should have been cast in the role. The fact that Hispanic characters in "Shaft" were played by black actors, and the black protagonist in "Pay It Forward" is played by a white actor shows racism at work in Hollywood. \nThe studio executives are not the only ones to blame for assuming the ignorance of the American audience. They are most likely basing their decision on box office drawing power of the stars. Ultimately, it's the middle American moviegoers who are still having a hard time relating to black characters on screen that prevents black actors, as well as Hispanic, Asian and Aboriginal American actors, from ever assuming the leading roles in Hollywood films.
(10/12/00 11:28am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Almost every single article and review written about 20-year-old Jamal "Shyne" Barrows has mentioned the infamous Brooklyn nightclub shooting that resulted in his attempted-murder charge or the similarity he shares with the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.
(10/12/00 11:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When 98° released its self-titled first album in 1998, the group was hardly stigmatized as a boy band. The group not only was discovered by Boyz II Men and signed to the prestigious Motown Records, former Motown CEO Andre Harrell reportedly sent 98° through a grueling talent boot camp in Harlem that lasted several months.
(10/12/00 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When 98° released its self-titled first album in 1998, the group was hardly stigmatized as a boy band. The group not only was discovered by Boyz II Men and signed to the prestigious Motown Records, former Motown CEO Andre Harrell reportedly sent 98° through a grueling talent boot camp in Harlem that lasted several months.
(10/12/00 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Almost every single article and review written about 20-year-old Jamal "Shyne" Barrows has mentioned the infamous Brooklyn nightclub shooting that resulted in his attempted-murder charge or the similarity he shares with the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.
(10/11/00 5:11am)
Hollywood is not only to blame for so many disappointing films this year, it is also responsible for offering some of the unimaginative TV programs this fall. Haven't the network executives realized that the most phenomenal programs in recent memory are reality shows, game shows and HBO's original programming?\nThe TV networks have always courted many talents in the film industry as their designated hitters, and some of the recent examples in this trend include Michael Chrichton's "ER," Kevin Williamson's "Dawson\'s Creek" and "The American President" and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's "The West Wing."\nThis fall, the major networks' new fall season lineup continues to boast many talents from the film industry, both in front of and behind of the camera. Some of the hyped-up Hollywood shows include James Cameron's "Dark Angel," "Seven" producer Arnold Kopelson's "The Fugitive," "The Blair Witch Project" producer Gregg Hale's "Freakylinks" and the devil himself, Jerry Bruckheimer's "C.S.I."\nOn the talent front, many out-of-work Hollywood talents are hoping to revitalize their careers with their new TV ventures. These shows include Bette Midler in "Bette!," Geena Davis in "The Geena Davis Show," Gabriel Byrne in "The Madigen Men," Paul Sorvino and Ellen Burstyn in "That's Life," John Goodman in "Normal, Ohio," as well as Oliver Platt, Lili Taylor and Hope Davis in "Deadline."\nEnough name dropping already. Now show us the money. Honestly, is anyone out there really pumped up for "The Geena Davis Show" or "Normal, Ohio?" I don't think so, either. \nAlthough a few of the aforementioned shows such as "Deadline" and "C.S.I." do look promising, the fall's most exciting shows are still the homegrown productions from the TV land. "Late Show with David Letterman" co-writer/producer Jon Beckerman's "Ed" and "Homicide" creator Paul Attanasio's "Gideon's Crossing" seem like the best bets among this fall's new entries.\nOf course, many wonderful series such as "Everybody Loves Raymond," "The Simpsons," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Dharma & Greg" return for another season. They should be able to last us through the remainder of fall before "Oz" and "Survivor: The Australian Outback" return to rescue us viewers from the TV wasteland.