Longform

DUNGEONMasters parks!

Nicole Howard smiles coyly and rests her hand on the long sword that hangs at her side. Tonight she finds her fortress surrounded by tens of thousands of enemy troops. Even her six traveling companions and her skills as a rouge will help her little in the coming battle.

Bloomington 24/7

During the day, Bloomington buzzes with activity. Cars zip along the roads, people run errands and students slog to classes. In the evening, people slow down and return home, eat dinner and go to bed. The buzz quiets down to a hum. But that hum is pretty significant.

'Ring' sequel not as scary as original

It begins like it's predecessor, with a frightening incident involving scared high school kids and an evil VHS tape. What follows is not surprisingly scary nor distinct among recent horror films.

'Robots' too mechanical and emotionless

To the small but growing collection of computer animated feature films comes a charming, amusing but ultimately forgettable offering called "Robots." Don't let that scare you away — this is a good movie with excellent animation, a heartwarming story and some moments of genuine humor that is well worth a trip to the theater.

'Hostage' a somewhat captivating thriller

Bruce Willis' latest attempt to breathe life into his once thriving career comes in the form of "Hostage." While better than his other offerings of late -- the dreaded "The Whole Ten Yards" and "Tears of the Sun" -- it's nowhere near the goodness that is the first and third "Die Hard" flicks, "Pulp Fiction," "Twelve Monkeys" and the M. Night Shyamalan double shot of "The Sixth Sense" and "Unbreakable."

Syria to fully pull out of Lebanon

ALGIERS, Algeria -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday that Syria's president has agreed to present a firm timetable by early April for a full withdrawal of his country's troops and intelligence agents from Lebanon. Annan met President Bashar Assad on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Algiers and said Assad confirmed his commitment to U.N. Resolution 1559, which called for a Syrian withdrawal.

Council begins strategic campaign

Filmmakers' experiment thinks inside the box

"Thinking outside the box" just got turned on its head. In the case of filmmakers Adam Carroll and David Mickler, creativity comes from inside the box. They are shooting one scene from their film, "Conversations with the Almighty," by placing a camera inside of a box to capture the action from a different angle.

Furnaces more Fiery on latest

I'm speechless. The Fiery Furnaces, my least favorite next big thing, has put out a solid, focused EP that's not annoying. Well, not nearly as annoying. It wasn't that Eleanor and Matt Friedberg weren't capable of it.

Broken hearts and beautiful music

After playing it again and again, Stars' Set Yourself on Fire hasn't failed to impress me. The twee electronic pop album by the Montreal-based band (who, by the way, includes several members of Broken Social Scene) is its third release and the first I've heard. It will be uplifting to some ears and too pansy for others.

Camp helps youth cope with parents' cancer

More than 500,000 Americans died of cancer in 2001, according to the American Cancer Society. The diagnosis of cancer can be very damaging for a family, especially for the young children of cancer victims.

BFC approves revised student rights code

The Bloomington Faculty Council approved without opposition Tuesday a revised version of the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities and Conduct, which includes a provision that will allow the use or possession of alcohol by of-age students in any supervised IU residence.

Manson matron-named band not killer

Leicester, England-based band Kasabian is the latest in a long string of U.K. rock bands making waves on their home soil (to the tune of a top five record), now looking to take the U.S. by storm. They certainly seem to have the tools for doing so in order.

'Sword' proves psychotic and violent

In the world of Chambara (Japanese for sword fighting) cinema, there are two kinds of films. The first comes in the form of hokey, poorly organized samurai films which present unrealistic battles and pathetic attempts at a storyline.

A somewhat 'Incredible' DVD

There's a burning question hovering about in the heads of Hollywood's power players these days; that question being "Is Steve Jobs' Pixar Animation Studios even capable of making a film that doesn't win the hearts and dollars of tens of millions?" Apparently not, as the near-universal critical and monetary praise of Pixar's latest effort, "The Incredibles," would show.

Stop making biopics!

I realize some people lead fascinating, harrowing and complex lives. I'm also glad for this truth. The fact that some people have lives that are worthy of being adapted into biography films is not what concerns me. What concerns me is that these films, commonly called biopics, are being made and released with such alarming frequency that they are stomping on and casting shadows over other truly interesting and original films.

The Death of Gonzo

Probably the most insane, yet most genius thing Dr. Hunter S. Thompson ever did was to run for sheriff of his hometown Aspen, Colo. Crazy because he was more of a fringe journalist who used rather unorthodox methods, such as taking various mind-altering substances and writing about his ensuing adventures while on assignment. Genius because he knew what he wanted to change and had the guts to back up the facts.

The F-word

Feminist backlash is the perfect excuse for everything. Prior to feminists of the 1960s, life was perfect. After all, everyone was safe in the 1950s. There was no threat of nuclear war, no blatant racism, no thought-police blacklisting powerful people holding the wrong political opinions and no organized crime. Everyone was safe and happy until those rabid women and girly men came along.

Playing God

For those of you not in the know, Terri Schiavo is the Florida woman in the midst of a now-national legal battle between her husband and parents over her right to life or death, depending on what side you take.

Business of church

Defending and propagating one's religion in a secular society isn't easy. One must be steadfast to overcome obstacles and critics. However, sometimes defenders of a faith can go too far.