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'Lights' shine on Thornton

By Eamonn Brennan · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

At first glance, "Friday Night Lights," a film about a 1988 West Texas football team, could easily have been just another formulaic sports movie in the mold of hits like "Remember the Titans" or "Varsity Blues." All the components are there: an out-of-towner, star football coach, a group of driven but lost young men and a rabid football atmosphere. What serves to separate "Friday Night Lights" from the pack is its gritty, knuckles-to-the-bone depiction of life and football in the middle of nowhere.

Forget 'The Forgotten'

By -Kehla West · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

The DVD of "The Forgotten" is tragic in the same way the movie is tragic -- tragically, mythically and painfully terrible. First, the movie. It wants desperately to be the next "The Sixth Sense." The problem, of course, is that "Sixth Sense"-esque movies are really only good the first time you see them. On the second watch, they're still kind of cool. If you keep watching them after that, you're probably already in a support group for this type of thing.

Get 'Lost' in television

By John Barnett · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

My television and I have always had a rock-solid, mutually beneficial relationship. It keeps me company when I'm lonely or bored and I try and make sure it stays healthy and happy by never forcing it to play competitive poker programs or hour-long, crime-solving serials. For the past four months or so, my television and I have made a special point to rendezvous every Wednesday night at 8 p.m. for a meeting with our newfound love, ABC's "Lost."

These Moaners will surprise you

By Nate Gowdy · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

The Moaners will no doubt be likened to the White Stripes for the fact that their monochromatic blues-rock is impressive and created by a twosome. True, Jack and Meg do it better, but singer/guitarist Melissa Swingle and drummer Laura King are just out to make some noise -- noise that's deceptively complex, despite its simple components: one voice, two instruments. Their debut album, Dark Snack, amounts to twelve ballads -- 35 minutes long -- of forward-moving estrojam, punctuated with a raw yet controlled, locomoting guitar sound and drums as crashing as a Fat Albert-topped human pyramid.

Carpenter cult classic gets workmanly redux

By -Alec Toombs · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

John Carpenter made the original "Assault on Precinct 13" two years prior to exploding into popular consciousness with his seminal horror classic "Halloween." The flick, a cheapie B-movie which itself was an homage to "Rio Bravo," went on to become a cult classic. Rightfully so, the picture was made with enough grit and moxy to keep viewers interested in the single-setting gangland siege being perpetrated against the lone inhabitants of a soon-to-be abandoned police station. Hollywood in its infinite wisdom, i.e. remaking a remake, has decided to give "Assault" a redux. While the two movies share a basic premise and title, they're two entirely different beasts, bringing about changes both good and otherwise.

Don't waste your minutes

By Joanna Borns · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

Watching Kim Basinger waste some guy's cellular minutes by calling him with a desperate plea for help might sound boring, but that's only because it is. "Cellular" confuses suspense with monotony by waiting until the very last minute to become an action-thriller.

Fish out of water

By Karen Green · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

Talking to Jenn Cristy is like talking to any other 25-year-old. Still working on completing her degree, it would be easy to assume that, like most 20-somethings, she hasn't really decided on her future. However, with a John Mellencamp tour and a solo album on her resumé, this former IU alumna has more options than the average 20-something.

Real b-ballers get MTV twist

By Doug Evans · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

Similar to last year's "Friday Night Lights" and to a much more legendary extent "Hoosiers," "Coach Carter" is based on real life events surrounding a high school sports team and its new coach who turns around the team's losing past. However, unlike its predecessors, this film has obvious MTV overtones (MTV handled production), most notably the fact that Ashanti stars in the lead female role.

Not quite good 'Yet'

By -Paul Straw · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

This movie is offensive -- not only because it plays on stereotypes, but mainly because it's the exact same thing we've seen many times before. Basically, a divorced mom's kids try to dissuade some new guy from dating said mom. Chevy Chase did the same thing with Jonathan Taylor Thomas in "Man of the House."

My mom's band is better than yours

By Doug Evans · Thursday, Jan. 27,2005 12 a.m.

I was watching the news the other day and there was a story about a band. A closer look revealed this to be a band comprised of all women. No surprises there. In the past I have seen many all-female bands that can really kick it.

A similar beginning

By Alyson Brodsy and Charlie Szrom · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:20 p.m.

For the first time in their lives, Iraqis will have the chance to decide the future of their own country for themselves, beginning this Sunday. Yet the violence of the recent weeks and months have sapped the observers' enthusiasm of the electoral process.

Tripping on Power

By Alyson Brodsy and Adam Sedia · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:19 p.m.

We've all had to deal with people who are high on their own power, despite how little they may have. And we do this -- it galls me to say it -- on a daily basis.

Don't screw the polar bears

By Alyson Brodsy and Joanna Borns · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:19 p.m.

Picture a white fluffy marshmallow being toasted over a bonfire. Orange flames dance around the edges as the temperature rises and the sides become crisp and brown. Now picture billions of tiny people living on the marshmallow and listen to them scream as they all catch fire.

'Prisoner to his calendar'

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:18 p.m.

In almost every facet of his presidency at IU so far, Adam Herbert has met our lofty expectations.

Train wreck kills 10, wounds 200

By Alyson Brodsy and Daisy Nguyen · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:16 p.m.

GLENDALE, Calif. -- A commuter train smashed into an SUV left on the tracks by a suicidal man early Wednesday, sending the train careening off the rails in a wreck that killed 10 people and injured about 200, authorities said. Dozens of the injured were in critical condition.

Senate confirms Rice as secretary of state

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:15 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- Condoleezza Rice won easy confirmation Wednesday to be President Bush's new secretary of state, despite strong dissent from a small group of Democrats who said she shares blame for mistakes and war deaths in Iraq.

Marine helicopter crash in Iraq kills 31

By Alyson Brodsy and Sameer N. Yacoub · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:15 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A Marine transport helicopter crashed during sandstorms in Iraq's western desert Wednesday, killing 31 troops, while insurgents killed six other American military personnel in the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the Iraq war began.

Business in Brief

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:11 p.m.

The former and current chief executives of Petsmart Inc. and the company together have established a new faculty chair at the Kelley School of Business, where both executives earned advanced degrees.

'Imeem' opens to compete with 'Facebook'

By Lori Snow · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 11:09 p.m.

Move over, Thefacebook. Step aside, LiveJournal. Take a hike, Webshots. Imeem has officially arrived at IU. Imeem combines a variety of features already popular through separate Web sites into one download. These include networking, journals, photo albums and chat.

IUPD tracks 'peeping tom'

By Lori Geller · Wednesday, Jan. 26,2005 1:31 a.m.

After nearly a month of investigating a string of "peeping tom" incidents in the women's locker room of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation building, the IU Police Department filed a probable-cause affidavit against a male suspect Tuesday. Police are recommending charges of voyeurism, a Class B misdemeanor, and trespass, a Class A misdemeanor, against Bloomington resident John Wesley Graves, who has a lengthy criminal record including sexual misconduct and rape.