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I CALL HER ON OVER

Magic, farts and a Doogal?

Americans are drooling idiots. At least, that's what the Weinstein Company seems to believe. What other explanation can there be for the movie "Doogal?" "Doogal" is based on a stop-motion television series called "The Magic Roundabout," which first originated in France and went on to become a hit in Great Britain during the '60s and '70s. The movie was screened in the U.K. and then retooled for American audiences by the newly formed Weinstein Company. Don't let the film's Anglo-Franco origins fool you. Every ounce of wit and dry English humor has been painstakingly sucked from the film, with dated slang and scatological humor spewed into the resulting void.

Dr. McDreamy, cast deliver

Before this past weekend, I had only seen three episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" and those episodes were at the recommendation of some of my girl friends. I think they got sick of me calling every Sunday night at 10 p.m. to recap my weekend. After seeing those, I was feeling a little left behind and out of the loop, so I finally broke down and bought the first season on DVD. Huge mistake because after I watched one episode I was hooked and spent the entire weekend engulfed in the smart hospital drama, instead of studying for my tests.

Record breaking performance

One would swear that films depicting the triumph of mankind are formulaic and boring. How many times can you tell the story of some sports team who overcomes racial prejudices or comes back from a 30-point divide to win the trophy and still wow audiences? "The World's Fastest Indian" has nothing to do with sports. It has to do with setting world records and making people believe the unbelievable. Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins in yet another role showcasing his versatility) is a Kiwi and old codger who lives in a dirty garage, never mows his lawn and wakes up at the crack of dawn with only one interest: his 1920 Indian motorcycle.

Take a ride with The Subways

It's always hard to be the 'next big thing.' Every year, it seems like the music press places that honor on at least half a dozen young bands. Out of those six, usually all but one fail to live up to the lofty expectations placed before them. The newest phenomenon slotted into this role is the British indie rock group The Subways. Their debut album, Young for Eternity, topped out at No. 32 on the British music charts. They've already landed two of their songs on "The OC." But can they really be the 'next big thing,' or are they destined for the dustbin of obscurity?

Oscar hopeful fails to impress

The premise of "Transamerica" is Sabrina Osbourne's ("Desperate Housewives" Felicity Huffman) need to tie up the loose ends left over from her life as a man before her sexual re-assignment surgery. Sabrina or "Bree" as she calls herself, thinks she has all her affairs in order until she gets a call from a troubled teen claiming to be the son of Stanley, the man she was in her past. This sets in motion the cross country road trip from which the film derives it's play on words title. As the film follows Osbourne and her son from New York, where she bails him out of jail, to California where she hopes to arrive in time for her surgery, we are given a window into the emotional, and physical elements of her sexual identity and her struggle to adapt to the unexpected possibility of parenthood.

Go ahead and 'rent' this film

Now that "Rent," the film version of the hugely popular Broadway musical (itself based on Puccini's "La Boheme") about a group of 20-somethings starving New York artists struggling with relationships, identity and loss among the 1980s AIDS epidemic, is on DVD, viewers can finally see the film intact with the "Goodbye Love" scene. The moment intensely dissects the character of Mark and leads into the suffering of Mimi - and was inexcusably cut from the theatrical release. However, even with the scene's inclusion, the film is still not perfect.

All About Me:

Kathy Cook is a freshman who writes news scripts for local non-profit radio station, WFHB, that airs on 91.3 FM and 98.1 FM. The station is mostly comprised of volunteers. Her favorite aspect of the job is a weekly segment where they profile Bloomington volunteer organizations, such as the local food banks. "I've been working there for years. The people there are great. It's such a fun environment to work in, the news side, because it's so fast-paced."

Organization 101

Everyone is familiar with the age old axiom, "A place for everything and everything in its place." It's a friendly reminder that good order and organization allow us to function, with the peace of mind that clutter and inconvenience will not prevent us from living stress-free lives. The real question is: are today's students able to apply this bit of wisdom to the whirlwind of college life? "Cleaning my room is definitely my last priority," says freshman Becky Burns. "I usually put if off until it gets so bad that I can't find the things I need for class."

Please run away from this film

Paul Walker is back on the big screen with yet another new fast and furious action movie. However, unlike many of his past adrenaline pumping successes, "Running Scared" is a complete and utter failure. Its trailer suggests that it is an exciting thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat through the long haul, but it's quite the contrary. Walker stars as temper mental Joey Gazelle, a mob flunkie whose only role is to get rid of hot weapons that are used in murders. However, Gazelle doesn't always plan on ditching the weapons right away. Instead of tossing the firearms into the river he hides them in his basement with the intention of nobody knowing they are down there.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Another year at the cineplex has passed. Box office figures might be down, but the quality of cinema we've seen this past year is anything but mediocre. While all the critic circles have handed out their awards and the Golden Globes did the same a month ago, now it all boils down to the 78th Academy Awards. Will "Brokeback Mountain" continue to steamroll over the competition? What if "Crash" overcomes all contenders -- especially after receiving top honors from Screen Actor's Guild? Or maybe "Munich," the latest from Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, will capture the gold.

IDS CLASSIC ALBUMS:

Although '80s hair metal had been in decline for a couple years in Los Angeles, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were ripe and ready to be harvested by the early 1990s. Cooped up in a Laurel Canyon mansion for two months, the four band members and producer Rick Rubin recorded an upbeat album that exploded on the streets of Hollywood Hills in September 1991. Whereas later albums like Californication and By The Way represent the melodic phase of the band, Blood Sugar Sex Magik is commonly known as the last release dominated by funk. On one hand, lead singer Anthony Kiedis' domineering lyrical delivery coincided with Chad Smith's crisp swank drumming. On the other, John Frusciante incorporated a piercing guitar sound with swirling chorus effects to match Flea's (Michael Balzary) signature frenzied finger-slapping bass.

Pilot this column

When our generation was young, it must have been much easier to get a strong idea made into a TV show. In the late '80s to early '90s, you didn't necessarily need a big name Charlie Sheen-caliber actor attached to star, there were no over-the-top reality shows making it more difficult for "in house" shows and creators didn't have to be so darn creative. Heck, in 1989, NBC gave financial backing to "Seinfeld," a self-admitted show about nothing. In those days, a simple yet logical idea was all it took to bump a show from treatment to pilot to prime time.

Don't check out this forecast

Being a celebrity who makes a six-figure salary for working two hours a day, you would think you had it made. People would kill for that lifestyle, but it seems that living the life most people dream of isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Meet David Spritz (Nicolas Cage), a Chicago weatherman who has this cushy life. However, there's only one problem: Spritz's professional success is surpassed by his personal failures. Spritz is divorced from his neurotic wife, his 15-year-old son just completed rehab and his overweight 12-year-old daughter is known at her school as "camel toe."

Proof that this film works

"Proof" is a singular film. From the outset, it is well acted, the plot is compelling and the story line pulls at the audience and doesn't stop. Adapted for the screen by the same playwright who authored the Tony-winning play, the film version demands impressive performances by the small, tight-knit group of actors. Gwyneth Paltrow, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis and Anthony Hopkins all deliver powerful and even award-nomination-garnering performances (Paltrow was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role).

Classic film, mediocre DVD treatment

John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" was the first modern film to win Oscar's Best Picture prize. Before 1969, Oscar was still honoring musicals and old world celebrations like "Oliver!," "The Sound of Music," "My Fair Lady" and "West Side Story." After "Midnight," films like "The French Connection," the first two "Godfather" films, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Deer Hunter" became prime Oscar bait. If Schlesinger's tale of awestruck Texan Joe Buck and his common trials and minor triumphs in New York City boasts one major accomplishment, it's that it goaded popular cinema into wising up and joining the real world, ushering in a decade of brutally honest films before the '80s hit us like a candy-coated hurricane.

Dark, quirky and kinky

The world may have lost track of Ray Davies, but fortunately, Davies hasn't lost track of the world. Other People's Lives, Davies' first solo album, is a testament to an aging genius. Once a great songwriter, it seems, always a great songwriter. The former frontman of the weirdest and quirkiest of the British Invasion bands, The Kinks, Davies took his time making a solo album. It's worth the wait. Even while writing for The Kinks, Davies was always the most British of Brits, and on Other People's Lives, he stays with what works. The first track on the disc has him sounding as British as the Queen.

Girl of the "North Country"

"North Country" is yet another film that chronicles a significant real life legal battle in which the underdog goes up against the system. It's a nice little combination of "Norma Rae" mixed with a pinch of "Erin Brockovich," "A Civil Action" and pretty much any other movie dealing with women fighting to have the same rights as men. While the story might seem formulaic to some, overall it is still a very good film.

Black fraternity celebrates 100th anniversary

When Frank Motley first set foot on Columbia University's campus in 1966, he was one of only 32 black students in a class of more than 600. Joining Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black fraternity, helped him feel more at home in his new environment. Few appreciate the tension of being a black student on a predominantly white campus, said Motley, IU associate vice chancellor for academic support. Motley was one of the first black students admitted to an Ivy League school at a time when many did not believe they belonged there.

Human nature subject of lecture

The works of Frans de Waal attempt to explain human nature's sexual, violent and altruistic tendencies through a theory that incorporates chimps, bonobos (a type of ape) and a Nietzschean philosophy. De Waal, a Dutch primatologist elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences, will give his lecture 'Our Inner Ape: What Primate Nature Teaches Us About Human Nature,' at 4 p.m. Friday in the Indiana Memorial Union's Whittenberger Auditorium.