Region

'Taxi' not worth the fare

By Joanna Borns · Wednesday, Feb. 23,2005 12 a.m.

Beep! Beep! That was the sound of Jimmy Fallon's career suicide after he left the cast of "Saturday Night Live" and chose to make "Taxi," his first major, post-show project. The film is a take-off on the 1998 French action-comedy of the same name, but something must have been lost in the translation. Yes, the American version has cool chase scenes with fast cars and beautiful women, but the plot is weaker than an egg shell and there's no comedy to make up for it. Plus, it's just plain boring.

'Diaries' paints portrait of Guevara

By Mary P. Hansell · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:59 p.m.

We recognize him from the red posters and his star embroidered beret. We have studied him in our history and Spanish classes. And to some, he is the symbol of rebellion and the enticing passion of revolution. Yet, before Che Guevara became the social revolutionist we have all come to know and love, he was Ernesto Guevara. In the film "The Motorcycle Diaries," we are introduced to Guevara when he was a young Argentinean medical student with no real plans for the future. Based on true stories found in Guevara's memoirs, "The Motorcycle Diaries" is about the journey of two men who changed the way they saw the world and who they would become.

'Saw' a decent thriller

By Rhett Umphress · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:56 p.m.

Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) wake up in a bathroom, each chained to one side of the room. In between them lies a dead body. An audiotape tells them that if Dr. Gordon does not kill Adam, Dr. Gordon's family will be killed. This is the method of a serial killer known as Jigsaw. He provides puzzles for his victims to figure out; the punishment for failure is death. As the story progresses, other Jigsaw cases are shown, demonstrating his various methods of torturing his victims.

'Donnie' DVD gets darker

By John Barnett · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:53 p.m.

Originally released in late 2001 to almost no fanfare outside the film festival circuit, Richard Kelly's "Donnie Darko" has since developed quite the cult following, which in turn necessitates a DVD rerelease in extended director's cut form. This cut adds 20 minutes to the original, mostly in the form of extended scenes that were featured in the first DVD incarnation as deleted scenes. These scenes work to flesh out the complicated bits, of which there are many, and to add closure to parts of the original cut that left many fans baffled.

Pony immature and unoriginal

By Nate Gowdy · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:46 p.m.

Pony Up!'s debut seven-song EP is original. Unfortunately, it's not so original to be called inventive. It's original in the sense that no one else wants to sound like them. The all-femme five member band of sisters, co-workers, roommates and best friends, hailing from Montreal, has gotten attention as the first band signed to Aussie indie-boy Ben Lee's boutique label Ten Fingers. It is important to note that he never went anywhere either.

Band needs 'Disconnection Notice'

By Doug Evans · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:44 p.m.

From the band that made a name for itself over 10 years ago with the hit, "Here in Your Bedroom," comes an album that sounds not unlike all its other releases. Disconnection Notice has some catchy pop-punk tunes and a few tracks with ska-induced rhythm, but the music certainly isn't a new expedition for Goldfinger.

Your playlist can harm you

By Joe Poenisch · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:40 p.m.

Hello radio, it's your savior Joe here to once again save you from total humiliation. I am here to be the radio doctor. I am here to diagnose your illness of overplaying certain songs and provide you with prescriptions of songs you rarely play or never play that people will like. I will begin with my first diagnosis.

Buying Eastern culture, one film at a time

By Chris Wisner and compiled by Chris Wisner · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:38 p.m.

It seems that in recent years Hollywood has been quick to purchase the rights to various foreign films and churn out their own Americanized version. Steven Soderbergh's Oscar-nominated "Traffic" was a remake of the British mini-series "Traffik;" Cameron Crowe's "Vanilla Sky" was a remake of Alejandro Amenábar's "Abre Los Ojos;" and there are countless other countries tapped for such remakes. However, there is a geographic hotbed that has recently become the source for countless rights purchases: the far East.

Cocktails the focus of New Orleans museum

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:31 p.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- Start with hundreds of antique liquor bottles. Add art deco cocktail shakers, vintage swizzle sticks and Tiki cups. Mix well. Serve inside an 1823 French Quarter town house.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to vote Oscar winners

By Alyson Brodsy and Beth Harris · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:30 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Keith David popped in a DVD of "Vera Drake" and settled into the comfort of his pillow-strewn brown sofa. The veteran actor had decisions to make -- lots of them -- that would affect careers and coffers alike. David is a new member of one of the world's most exclusive voting blocs, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He's deciding for the very first time who gets to go home with an Oscar Sunday.

Michael Jackson returns to court after week of absence

By Alyson Brodsy and Tim Molloy · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:29 p.m.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson returned to court Tuesday after a week's delay, and the judge assured prospective jurors that the singer really had been ill and there was no plot to put off his child molestation trial.

Election season nonsense

By Edward Delp · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:14 p.m.

Normally, I don't think IUSA elections are worth any attention, but an issue has been brought up that demands a rebuttal. The IU Police Department has been accused of abusing its authority and treating students unfairly by the Vote for Pedro, Kirkwood and former What about Bobby? tickets. Given the target police departments are for politicians, this isn't surprising.

Abolish IUSA

By Warren Christopher Freiberg · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:10 p.m.

With this being the second and final day of IUSA elections, I decided to visit IUSA's current Web site at www.indiana.edu/~iusa/ to see just what Crimson has done for me so that I might know what to expect from next year's leaders.

Haggling at the Targetplace

By Elisha Sauers · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:07 p.m.

I had to run a few errands last week, so I ventured a quick stop at Target to get some shampoo, batteries and culture. Between electronics and household staples, Target took customers on a limited-time journey to the "Global Bazaar," featuring imports from five regions: Latin America, Europe, Africa, India and Asia.

Stand up for your rights

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:04 p.m.

As Hoosiers, as Americans and as human beings, we live in hope, working for a better day, expecting magnificent results. The reason we labor to improve the world is that the world is not perfect. Many times, it's not even pretty.

Daniels makes push to keep bills alive, including daylight-savings

By Alyson Brodsy and Mike Smith · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:03 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels met privately with fellow Republicans and a top Democrat on Tuesday in a hectic push to keep some of his top bills alive, including ones to mandate statewide observance of daylight-saving time and give his inspector general additional powers to prosecute government crimes.

Bush denies plans to attack Iran

By Alyson Brodsy and Tom Raum · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:02 p.m.

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- President Bush said Tuesday that it is "simply ridiculous" to assume the United States has plans to attack Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons program.

Kokomo fire that killed four over the weekend was intentionally set, police say

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11:02 p.m.

KOKOMO, Ind. -- A weekend house fire that killed a woman and three children was intentionally set, police said Tuesday. No arrests were immediately made and investigators were not releasing details on how the fire was started, police Lt. Don Whitehead said.

Iraq's Shiites select candidate for prime minister position

By Alyson Brodsy and Maggie Michael · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11 p.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Interim Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari was chosen as his Shiite ticket's candidate for prime minister Tuesday after Ahmad Chalabi dropped his bid, senior alliance officials said.

Experts: Court orders inept

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005 11 p.m.

LOOGOOTEE, Ind. -- A woman who was killed with her two children and boyfriend in a weekend shooting rampage by her estranged husband had gone to court before her death to keep him away after their separation turned violent last fall.