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The Indiana Daily Student

The long and Winey road

By Alyson Brodsy and Zack Teibloom · Wednesday, July 19,2006 2:13 p.m.

Agigantic bottle filled with red wine, equivalent to over 300 regular sized bottles is the ultimate party starter. Unfortunately it costs over $3,000 and is more of a novelty, but it shows a side of the creativity that has Oliver and Butler Winery squeezing new life into the booming wine business. With free daily wine tasting, and home kits to make your own wine, Bloomington's wineries are appeasing wine lovers and creating new ones every day. Customers aren't getting drunk, but visitors to Bloomington's two wineries, Oliver and Butler, are provided with half a dozen samples of homegrown Indiana wines with expert help to guide them to their new favorite wine and a nice afternoon buzz.

The Indiana Daily Student

Arcades, back from the dead

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Freiberg · Wednesday, July 19,2006 2:10 p.m.

The surest sign you're addicted to something is when, even when you stop truly enjoying it, you can't stop doing it. I've been playing a lot of "Frogger" lately. I don't particularly enjoy it, being that it's a game that's needlessly difficult because of sloppy programming that still hasn't been cleaned up in 25 years of technological achievement. I can get brand spanking new free porn on my computer in 10 seconds, but Frogger is still getting run over by cars that are already long past him. But I still go back to "Frogger." Am I masochist? The vast collection of pornography on my hard drive points to a solid "maybe." But the real reason I play "Frogger" is for points. Achievement points, more precisely, the newest form of crack the CIA… er, I mean, Microsoft has unleashed on an unsuspecting public to keep them glued to their gaming systems. Achievements are the "points" you earn for performing certain feats in a game.

The Indiana Daily Student

Roll out the Cannons

By Alyson Brodsy and Derek Kagemann · Wednesday, July 19,2006 2:09 p.m.

In 1995, Renny Harlin sunk the pirate genre. His movie, "Cutthroat Island," was a valiant effort with little true merit. The $120 million production flopped at the box-office with a meager return of around $11 million dollars. Hollywood did the math, and expectations remained low for eight years until "Pirates of the Caribbean" sailed into harbor and blew every notions of the genre's demise out of the water. The truth is . . . bad movies can't kill a genre. This has been proven time and time again whenever talented writers and directors have taken the helm to resurrect a struggling franchise. Following the 1960 production of "Spartacus," Italian directors cranked out an endless stream of B-grade sword and sandal productions.

The Indiana Daily Student

Splat!

By Alyson Brodsy and Fryburg84 · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:54 p.m.

George Costanzas of the world rejoice! The classic game "Frogger" is now on Xbox Live Arcade, so the entire world can see your high score with no worries of ever having it reset. This latest incarnation of the 1981 arcade classic features the option to update the graphics, but this update merely improves the graphics from God-awful to crap. In fact, if you've never heard of "Frogger" before, the first time you watch someone play this game with the updated graphics, you'll probably wonder why a game about a half-melted down RC racing car crossing the street is named after an amphibian. Sure the original game is no looker, but I can't quite understand why Konami felt the need to include such a half-assed graphics engine when porting the game to a console where there is virtually no limit to what can be done graphically. And to top it all off, the collision detection is still horribly off. You'll be alternately scratching your head and cursing the designers at how easy it is to bungle a move to what appears to be a perfectly safe spot only to be run over by a truck or eaten by an alligator.

The Indiana Daily Student

A cock and bull movie

By Alyson Brodsy and Chris Wisner · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:46 p.m.

Before "Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story" even came out, people knew it was a huge joke. Who in their right mind would be crazy enough to attempt adapting nine novels of "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman" anyways? Michael Winterbottom ("24 Hour Party People") is that lunatic, but his movie is just a hoax that takes a period piece setting, equal dashes of Federico Fellini's "8 ½" and Olivier Assayas' "Irma Vep," and relies on the sarcastically dry comedic talents of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon to carry it home.

The Indiana Daily Student

Don't go back to 'Basic'

By Alyson Brodsy and K. A. MacDonald · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:40 p.m.

ixteen minutes, ten deleted scenes and not a single good upskirt. However, Michael Caton-Jones, the director of this travesty was nice enough to address that in his commentary. He knows we want it and that is exactly why he doesn't give it to us. Apparently he thought we all watched "Basic Instinct" for the fine acting and the lighting. At least that is what he focuses on as being the finest points of "Basic Instinct 2." Caton-Jones considers "Basic Instinct 2" to be a "good old film noir melodrama." As he walks the viewer through the film pointing out how the lighting and the color palette are reminiscent of film noir, it is possible to imagine that he is correct. The problem is that what he points out as art sounds more like an excuse as to why the film lacks everything I expect in a sequel to a fun, seductive movie. For some reason, Caton-Jones thinks that we all watched "Basic Instinct" for its dialogue and fine acting. No. We watched "Basic Instinct" for the sex. The seduction scenes were hot and I would have loved to be Michael Douglas. In the sequel, during one of the few, very short sex scenes, Caton-Jones explains why the scene that involves Sharon Stone reaching under the bed for a (icepick? No) belt to put around her lover's neck was toned down to something not even worthy of the worst Cinemax Friday night movie. He states, "It's a mild sex game for some people, but for people in the Midwest it's a little strange." That's right. He was concerned with what people in the Midwest would think and so he left out the hot sex and everything that made the first "Basic Instinct" a great date movie. So the movie is not very good and the extra features on the DVD are disappointing but the commentary does prove to have at least one thing going for it. When you listen to the commentary you don't have to listen to the weak dialogue of the movie. And the director makes it very clear how he feels about people who criticize the movie when he says, "If you don't like it I'm not going to cry. If you do like it, I think you're a very clever individual." This is one time I would be embarrassed to be called clever.

The Indiana Daily Student

How to 'deal' with the suburbs

By Alyson Brodsky and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:39 p.m.

Where do I begin? Writer and creator Jenji Kohan (writer of "Tracey Takes On") has scored big time with this Showtime series that has become an instant hit. Both hilarious and delightfully entertaining, "Weeds" is like no other show out there. After unexpectedly becoming a widow, Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker) is suddenly stricken with a series of financial woes as she struggles to support her two sons, Silas, the oldest, who is a teenager with raging hormones (Hunter Parrish) and the younger Shane (Alexander Gould), a misfit who doesn't quite fit in with his peers. Nancy finds herself desperate for money and is willing to do anything to keep up with the lush life she's used to living, even if that has her resorting to becoming the neighborhood pot dealer.

The Indiana Daily Student

Bowie's futuristic sound and vision

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:36 p.m.

David Bowie has always been somewhat of a chameleon in the rock and roll arena. He single-handedly jumpstarted the glam rock scene of the 1970's, paving the roads for other artists like Mott the Hoople, Iggy Pop and T-Rex, to name a few--and since then has moved from genre to genre, style to style with the comfort and ease of an artist determined to challenge himself and the world of music. Low was the first of three albums known as the Berlin Trilogy (the others being 1977s Heroes and 1979s Lodger) that Bowie recorded in Berlin with ex-Roxy Music member/ambient soundscape connoisseur Brian Eno.

The Indiana Daily Student

Relive the Illinoise

By Alyson Brodsy and John Barnett · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:32 p.m.

Sufjan Stevens' Illinois was an unassuming masterpiece. It was also an unlikely one, with 12-word song titles, extended instrumental flourishes and clocking in at nearly 80 minutes with 22 tracks on a single disc. The good news is, there's more. Nearly reaching 80 minutes, and crammed with 21 tracks itself, The Avalanche lives up to its namesake, inundating the Sufjan faithful with a substantive shower of outtakes, extras, faux b-sides and alternate takes leftover from his 2005 breakthrough.

The Indiana Daily Student

Thom might be wrong

By Alyson Brodsy and Josh Millrod · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:26 p.m.

There are two types of Radiohead fans: Those who yearn for the days of Pablo Honey and The Bends and those who saw the future in Kid A and Amnesiac. The old guard versus the avant-garde. Alternative rock versus some strange incarnation of rock and modern classical. Thom Yorke's new solo album, The Eraser, is guaranteed to please neither. The Eraser represents an attempt to appease two rival camps. Rather than pick a direction to head, the album inhabits a grey area between the simple song structures and driving rock grooves of Radiohead's earlier albums and their more recent futuristic noise experiments.

The Indiana Daily Student

Better than 'Cars'

By Alyson Brodsy and Rob O'Connor · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:13 p.m.

"Monster House" is great. It is probably the best animated film to come out since "The Incredibles." There is only one real problem with "Monster House," and I feel that I should address it at the top so that I can spend the rest of this review showering this movie with some much deserved praise. The problem is that it is July and this is very clearly a Halloween movie. It takes place on Halloween, and is about a haunted house with kids going trick or treating in costumes. Obviously they were so proud of this film (and rightfully so) that they felt it deserved summer blockbuster status, but watching kids running around on a crisp fall day talking about trick or treating is quite simply out of place when it is 95 degrees outside.

The Indiana Daily Student

Crazy 'Little' Thing Called Crap

By C. Warner Sills and Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, July 19,2006 1:11 p.m.

It's fair to say that my expectations going into "Little Man" were about as low as the main character's center of gravity. A movie like this is going to be stupid. We know that. But stupidity, if done right (see "Airplane!," Leslie Nielson or Monty Python's entire career), can be very funny. Unfortunately the Wayans Bros. decided to go beyond stupid, entering a world of, wait for it, shit-fueled unadulterated suck. Calvin AKA Little Man (Marlon Wayans) is vertically challenged. Calvin also chose a life of crime. After being released from a stint in prison, he robs an extremely valuable diamond from a poorly run jewelry store with his friend/driver Percy (Tracy Morgan, whose only funny line, "word." may also be the only funny part of the film). After Calvin and Percy flee the scene with the police on their backs they stash the bling in the purse of a random woman in a pharmacy.

The Indiana Daily Student

Blah... Shrug...

By Alyson Brodsy and Michael Mellini · Wednesday, July 19,2006 12:58 p.m.

Meh. That's the only word I can think of to describe "You, Me and Dupree." What? I need another 400 words? Crap, ok …It's not that the jokes in "You, Me and Dupree" aren't funny; there just aren't many of them. A few comments may evoke a smirk, but there's really nothing laugh-out-loud funny like most Owen Wilson films. The movie's plot is basically a sitcom premise. Unemployed party boy Dupree loses his job and moves in with his best friend Carl (Matt Dillon) much to the dismay of his new bride Molly (Kate Hudson). The first hour is the same scene repeated several times. Carl and Molly wake up in the morning to go to work and find Dupree passed out on the couch. Throughout the day Dupree makes some attempt at finding a job but gives up to play with the neighborhood kids. Then right as Molly and Carl are about to return home (uh-oh) Dupree pulls some asinine stunt.

The Indiana Daily Student

Indiana Black Expo

By Trevor brown · Sunday, July 16,2006 11:19 p.m.

In hopes of drastically improving diversity enrollment and relations during the coming years, University officials used "IU day" at the Indiana Black Expo to attract potential students while celebrating its alumni's achievements Sunday.

The Indiana Daily Student

'A crime against students'?

By Julie Mahomed · Sunday, July 16,2006 11:19 p.m.

Making textbooks tax-free for students will be one of the IU Student Association's top priorities for the upcoming year, said student representatives.

The Indiana Daily Student

At war's doorstep

By Trevor brown · Sunday, July 16,2006 11:19 p.m.

Air raid sirens screeched in the background late Sunday at nearly 11:25 p.m.

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