Longform

Brilliant 'Bedroom' just a bore on DVD

By by Isaac Edwards and Isaac Edwards · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:55 p.m.

Before I begin talking about "In the Bedroom" as a DVD, let me address it as a film. Nominated for multiple awards, including five Oscars, new director Todd Field burst on the scene last year with a film that quietly quaked with a seething emotion very rarely captured. Based on a short story by Andre Dubus, "In the Bedroom" portrays how one family deals with the death of its teenage son. Field, for his directorial debut, actually took something of a risk, but one that is much-appreciated and that paid off with an Oscar nomination for best picture.

Simpsons second DVD improves on first

By Matthew Seremet · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:55 p.m.

As I tore off the Aug. 5 page of my "Simpsons" calendar, I was elated that the second season of the prime-time cartoon show was now finally released on DVD. I rushed out, bought my copy and watched the first episode right away. Before I knew it, I had watched them all. This DVD set is perfect for any Simpsons addict.

Former mayor diagnosed with cancer

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:51 p.m.

Frank McCloskey, former Bloomington mayor and former Indiana Congressman, has been diagnosed with bladder cancer. "I\'ve never had any symptoms besides a passing cough," said the 63 year-old McCloskey. "This has been a realization of mortality." McCloskey had been in Kosovo up until three weeks ago.

'Dead' brings the 'Payne' to Xbox

By Alex Toombs · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:51 p.m.

\"Dead to Rights" is a sleazily entertaining new game available solely for Xbox. A cross-breed of "Grand Theft Auto 3," "Max Payne" and the old-school "Double Dragon," "Dead to Rights" is essentially a cheesy cop flick-turned-video game.

Tarantino blasts his way onto DVD

By Alex Toombs · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:51 p.m.

Quentin Tarantino is without a doubt the most dominant filmmaker of the 1990s. He burst onto the scene with the hilarious misconcieved-heist picture "Reservoir Dogs" in 1992, then followed that up with the Palme d'Or-winning crime caper "Pulp Fiction" and peaked with his 1997 blaxploitation-tinged Elmore Leonard adaptation "Jackie Brown." Each film was different than the other, yet singularly the voice of Tarantino.

Fear dot crap

By Colleen Koch and Colleen Star Koch · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:49 p.m.

This is one of those movies that isn't supposed to be funny but is. The premise is this: a psychopathic doctor tortures and kills young women, then broadcasts it over the Internet. In a quest for revenge, the soul of a woman he murdered has taken to living through a site called fear.com.

Aniston shines as 'The Good Girl'

By Parker Witman and Parker Wittman · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:49 p.m.

I wonder if Jennifer Aniston is sick of doing "Friends." Could she be dreaming of a career in film, hoping for that moment to put it all behind her and maybe get a little Hollywood respect? Sure, she is filthy rich and married to Brad Pitt, but maybe every day she wakes up wondering why she's stuck in a sitcom rut, eager to find the role that will turn it around for her.

Stones roll on with re-release

By Alex Hickey · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:47 p.m.

This record should be played loud." At least that's what the Rolling Stones advise you to do on the inside cover of Let It Bleed. And every word of it is true. Quite simply, Let It Bleed is one of those landmark albums that every rock fan should have in his or her collection, from the quality cover of the Stones as birthday candles to what's inside the package itself.

Sleater-Kinney's newest stretches no boundaries

By Michael Tapscott · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:46 p.m.

The band that Greil Marcus, the god of rock critics, dubbed the best band in rock and roll is back after a two-year hiatus. Sleater-Kinney has returned with its most experimental album to date. The musicians are no longer sporting the "Ramones read Newsweek" assault on the listener. Instead, One Beat is a showcase for instrumental aptitude.

Round one: Ben Folds vs. R.E.M.

By Tom McMahon · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:44 p.m.

If what they say is true about presentation being everything, then no one is going to want to eat this CD. It looks like Goner paid a fifth-grader to use his home computer to print off the album cover. Maybe the idea was to lower expectations, because the quality of the CD surprised me after removing it from the case.

Aussie popsters show no progress

By Jason Gaddis · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:43 p.m.

Coming up on their fourth album, the three guys who make up the Australian rock outfit Silverchair still haven't figured out what kind of music they want to play. Diorama suffers from the same inexorable identity crisis that afflicted its predecessor, 1999's Neon Ballroom.

Jazz Fables celebrates 25th year

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:43 p.m.

Every Thursday since 1989, Bloomington residents and IU students have been able to hear original jazz and favorite standards from Bear's Place house band, Jazz Fables. Tonight the group will be celebrating its 25th anniversary (13th at Bear's) of playing together and presenting jazz to the community during a no-smoking concert. The group consists of founder David Miller (trumpet), Tom Walsh (tenor saxophone), Luke Gillespie (piano), Steve Houghton (drums), Bruce Bransby (double bass), Lida Baker (flute) and special guest David Baker (cello), an IU School of Music professor. "David Miller's Jazz Fables has meant a great deal to the jazz scene in Bloomington," pianist Luke Gillespie said. "Miller has been a constant supporter and promoter of jazz music over the years, and his Jazz Fables performances with many visiting jazz artists, especially at Bear's Place, have helped to expose jazz to a wider audience, including students, faculty and the extended Bloomington community."

Chicks have soul and let it show

By Jessica Halverson · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:42 p.m.

Country music has been reduced to mockery. With modern country infused with the pop-driven sounds of Faith Hill and, well, everyone else, instead of the Cash and Haggard-type soulful strumming, the best you'll hear on country airwaves is usually some untalented, lovesick ballad with a token steel-guitar riff. But you won't get that from the Dixie Chicks.

Reissue fails to capture live Who

By Ryan Whirty · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:41 p.m.

When the Who first became the Who, the group was little more than an amphetamine-charged James Brown cover band. The guys billed their music as "Maximum R&B," playing old soul and rock and roll standards at high speed and high volume, and their Mod followers ate it up. By the mid-1960s, the Who had already cemented its reputation as a premier live band, a group that derived its energy from playing in front of a crowd.

The divine look of body art

By Colleen Koch · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:37 p.m.

Tattooing has been around for centuries, but Bloomington's tattoo studios are now able perform this ancient art in its most contemporary form. Those with a design or an idea have several choices for safe, quality body art.

Four bands rock the IMU

By Mark Lee · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:35 p.m.

Last year, the Indiana Memorial Union's "Rock Explosion" was held outdoors and Bloomington's best were rained upon. This year, Laborius Clef, Blue Moon Review, Three Minute Mile and Jeremy Radway featuring SPRED are holding court indoors tomorrow night in the IMU to give their current fans and first-year students a chance to sample the Bloomington music scene.

LOCAL H: rock and roll professionals

By Andy Garrison · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 11:32 p.m.

Having only two members, Local H already sets itself apart from the rest of the rock world anyway. According to lead singer/guitarist David Scott Lucas, that's not such a bad thing, either.

George W.ar must ask

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 2:53 a.m.

The Bush administration has continued to portray Saddam Hussein as a despot and a threat to world security that must be removed from his stranglehold of power in Iraq. And there is little doubt that Hussein's reputation of brutality to his own people is by no means respectable or acceptable for a world leader. However, unless he gets congressional approval and worldwide support, Bush would be sorely mistaken in taking action to overthrow the current Iraqi regime, even though he is not bound by law to do so.

Superior Spitz

Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 2:48 a.m.

Seven events. Seven gold medals. Seven world records. Possibly the greatest single Olympic performance ever. But for American swimming legend and former Hoosier Mark Spitz, his unprecedented and unmatched achievement at the 1972 Munich Olympics simply represented the final chapter in his storied career. When Spitz looks back 30 years, he sees Munich as "the culmination of a journey of different events in my career." The string of Munich races he won - 100 and 200-meter butterfly, 100 and 200-meter freestyle, and three team relays - ended an incredible stretch to close his career.

New state waste policy expected to stop cleanup costs

Wednesday, Sept. 4,2002 2:42 a.m.

INDIANAPOLIS -- State environmental officials are preparing a new policy that would allow some hazardous waste spills to be left without cleanup if they pose no threat to human health. Manufacturers and state officials consider the policy a common sense approach, but environmentalists worry it could eliminate incentives for businesses to avoid spilling hazardous waste.