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The Behrend Beacon
It's no `Secret:' Harry
Potter'
PHOTO FROM ROTTENTOMATOS.COM
Harry Potter (left) returns for those who are young at heart.
by Daniel J. Stasiewski
staff writer
Like its predecessor, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Se
crets" is a surefire blockbuster. Children will love it, teenagers
will love it, and adults will love it. To the executives at Warner
Bros., this huge audience is easily translated into dollar signs.
With all the money "The Chamber of Secrets" is bound to earn.
Warner Bros. saw no reason to limit the budget to anything less
than $lOO million.
"The Chamber of Secrets" takes full advantage of its colossal
budget, extravagant costumes, and magnificent visual effects.
Money is an important factor in this production, even more than
most Hollywood pictures. The beauty of bankability may he what
made "The Chamber of Secrets" a reality, but it's the magnificent
heart that makes it an instant classic.
Right before his second year at llogwart's School of Witch
craft and Wizardry, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is visited by
a pecteeAltde house elf mimed Doby. Doby warns }tarry that
had thus swill happen if Harry goes back to Hogwarts. How
ever, the only other option is staying in the rnuggle (non-magic
folk) world with the Dursleys. Even the possibility of death is
better than living with his dreadful aunt and uncle, so Harry takes
a chance and returns to Hogwarts.
It doesn't take long for Harry to catch up with his pals Hermione
(Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint). Soon, the entire school
is back in the swing of things with Quidditch competitions,
screaming Mandrake potting, and the occasional visit from Nearly
Headless Nick. The only thing out of the ordinary is the new
Defense of the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart (Kenneth
Branagh).
The routine is suddenly interrupted, when Mrs. Norris
Two of rock's best stay on top with new CDs
The 90s were the decade U 2 members discovered sunglasses, they
even wear them at night.
by Kevin Fallon
staff writer
U 2: "The Best of 1990-2000"
In the 80s, U 2 emerged as a prolific,
thoughtful. and earnest rock band.
However, U 2 guitar player the Edge,
described U2's music in the 90s as the
sound of four guys chopping down the
Joshua Tree. U 2 celebrates the decade
by releasing "The Best of 1990-2000."
In the 90s, U 2 defied everything that
is fantastic
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out of 4
made it famous in the 80s. Out was a
group of humble Irish lads; in was a band
of flamboyant rock stars complete with
sunglasses and big screen TVs. With its
first release of the decade, "Achtung
Baby," U 2 slapped its basic rock format
in the face and successfully experimented
with fusing electronic music with rock.
With "Zooropa" and "Pop" the band
pushed boundaries further.
"Best of 1990-2000" is not a "best of
album in the literal sense, "Achtung
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the caretaker's cat, is found
petrified with a bloody mes
sage just above her saying,
"The Chamber of Secrets has
been opened. Enemies of the
heir, beware." Soon, students
begin to fall prey to the myste
rious predator. Harry, how
ever, is faced with an even big
ger problem; he's the only per
son in the school who can ac
tually hear the invisible villain.
Call it the kid in me, but I
absolutely loved "Harry Potter
and the Chamber of Secrets."
Between the mystery and the
magic, this film is alive in more
ways than most movies out
there today. The visuals are
eye-popping, as expected. The
sets, especially the Weasley's
house that looks like it belongs
in a Seussian ghetto, are spec
tacular in their enormity, as ex
pected. In "Harry Potter," suc
cess doesn't lie in its bigger,
badder adventure. Rather, the colorful performers and the ever
growing characters make this "Harry Potter" a worthy follow
up.
You can tell the kids are more comfortable in their characters
this time around. Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint are a charm
ing duo. While their characters seem to undergo only minimal
developments this time around, the pair still has the adventure
aspect under control.
Emma Watson, on the other hand, sees her character, Hermione
face bigotry based solely on her parentage. Watson handles
Hermione's new layer like a pro, giving a marvelously dynamic
performance for a novice actress.
Last time, Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid stole the show, but in this
installment, his character is part of a darker story. This leaves
room for Kenneth Branagh to take the narcissistic and arrogant
Gilderoy Lockhart to the extreme of pomposity. Branagh's
Lockhart is the highlight of an already dazzling movie. His scenes
are easily the most fun, triggering the hardest laughter and wid
est smiles.
I won't ever say this is a better film than the first movie, but if
there is one improvement it's in director Chris Columbus' vi
sion. Other than being brave enough to cut a firtte more from the
book, Columbus begins to take chances by moving the camera
more. Sure, it may not seem like much, but his treatment of the
unseen haddie was more creative than his usual straightforward
direction. His hold new approach also amplifies the darker tone
of Steven Moves' screenplay.
"The Chamber of Secrets" isn't just another big-budget film;
it's a celebration of cinema. In an industry where an exploding
White House makes the most money, it's a relief to see the heart
triumph, even just once in a while. Films like "Harry Potter"
make me believe Hollywood can still produce a sincere block
buster. If that's not magic, I don't know what is.
Baby" is the most complete collection of
U2's best music of the time. "Best of
1990-2000" however, does revisit some of
U2's great moments in a new light.
Much of U2's music in the 90s was
overshadowed by the greatness of the
"Joshua Tree" or criticized for being too
artsy.
"Best of' features classics like the
anthem "Beautiful Day," and the ballad
"One," but also showcases some of the
more passed over songs in the bands
catalog such as "Stay, (Faraway, So
Close),"
Unlike most best of albums that offer
noting new for fans, "Best of 1990-2000"
ha much to offer to the fan with all the
studio albums. The special edition version
of "Best of 1990-2000" features an extra
"B
-Sides" disk. Between the two CDs,
there are 12 songs either released for the
first time, B-sides, or from soundtracks.
There are also 10 remixes. Many of these
new mixes revisit the "Pop" album
because the band admits it was rushed to
finish it.
"Best" forces us to take notice that
underneath the sunglasses and flashing
lights, U 2 wrote some damn good music.
Grade: B
Pearl Jam: "Riot Act"
Don't call it a comeback. Pearl Jam
has been here for years. Let the riot
With all the talk about rock's revival
by all the "the" bands, it's easy to forget
that Pearl Jam has been making solid rock
records since it and Nirvana started the
last rock revolution nearly a decade ago.
The Jam's newest album "Riot Act,"
shows that after 10 years and 79 albums
(74 of which were live) Pearl Jam still
„. 1 .,
Friciay, November 22, 2002
Def Jam brings some
tiling-tiling to the arcad,
by Olivia Page
staff writer
Rappers are infamous for getting in
trouble for commiting violent acts. Now,
they will be rewarded for it, that is, in the
video game Def Jam Vendetta.
Has anyone ever wondered what a video
game would be like with Def Jam music?
Ok, that's already happened with NBA
Streets. Electronic Arts teamed up with
WWF No Mercy, Aki, to put together a
game that has DMX, Ludacriss,
Methodman, Redman, N.O.R.E, and
Scarface, to name a few. in the character
Too bad 2 Pac and Biggy couldn't have settled their feud on a video game
lineup. It actually includes 12 Def Jam art
ists and their music, with more than 40 char
acters in total. Def Jam Vendetta comes
out in February 2003.
The game is an arcade style game whose
setting is an underground fight club. This
fight match meets a wrestling game cat
egory. Each different game is tilled with
imajliiittc.rowdaznd,uriginal, n w,i1,11, o** t-fight betwp4r/ tbrtilain charac
•'. niittitry‘ provided by - Fumc Mast to girlfriends, because if the
Flex. The sound effects are provided by main character wants to get another girl-
Effects House, who worked on The Matrix friend he has to use that girl to beat up
film. Def Jam records will supply the mu- his previous.
sic and are making sure that the game rep
resents the company accurately as the art
ist has a lot of say on how their characters
fight. There are more than 10 venues and
five are based on the styling of various Def
Jam artists.
There are several modes of play includ
ing single-player, free for all, tag and handi
has something new to say.
"Riot Act," in typical P.J. fashion,
throws 70s stadium rock, youth angst, and
textured, melodic guitars into a blender.
The result is a smooth mix of powerful
and driving songs
Pearl Jam keep on rockin' in the free world
Vedder's vocals are more subdued on
"Riot Act" and he comes off more
thoughtful and understated compared to
the in your face approach of his rock
peers. "I Am Mine" is an introspective
song where Vedder sings, "I know I was
born and I know I will die, the in between
is mine."
Pearl Jam returns to its angrier grunge
sound while still showing the progression
of a more mature rock band. "Save You,"
is aggressive and sounds like it could be
a "Vitalogy" B-side, while "Thumbing
My Way" is a stunning acoustic look at
Kevin Fallon, A & E Editor
behrcolls@aol.com
cap. Each game has a unique style. There
is a tag team competition and the bosses
are Method-Man and Red-Man. There
will also be total of 15,000 moves with
the 47 characters.
Def Jam Vendetta has sort of a differ
ent story theme than most video games.
The story is based on a underground
fighting circuit in New York. The fights
are bossed by D-Mob, the pinstriped
overlord who ran the main character out
of the scene and out of town.
Now the main character is brought in
to replace an old friend who had to quit
the tournament with an injury. The main
PHOTO FROM IDG.NET
characters tasks include winning the tour
nament by defeating D-Mob and getting
back with his old girlfriend, Angel, who
seems to have found the D-Mob's com
pany more comfortable. He must first
fight a dozen boss characters who are
guest starring Def Jam artists. Another
feature in the game is a part where there
Of the 25 Behrend students asked, 17
students said that they would be inter
ested in playing the game. Eight students
said that they would not play the game.
Some of the reasons studnets answered
no were because they did not own sys-
terns that arc running the game, which
are Playstation 2 and Game Cube.
Vedder's inner struggles. "Riot Act" also
features "Love Boat Captain," a tribute
to the nine fans who died at a Pearl Jam
concert, where Vedder quotes the Beatles
by saying, "All you need is love."
"Riot Act" features a few unusual
moments. "You Are" is an atypical Pearl
Jam song that sounds more like Tool.
Pearl Jam also gets political on
"Bushleager." Here, Vedder takes a few
swings at Dubya such as when he sings,
"born on third thinks he got a triple."
Pearl Jam has reaffirmed its place as a
band that puts quality music over
commercial interest. Trends come and
go but Pearl Jam has proven it can evolve
and stay fresh while keeping its own
identity. This "Riot" is a prolific act.
Grade A-