Page 8
The Behrend Beacon
Escape from Lake Placid:
Russell attempts to
conquer Commies
review by Chris Hvizdak
contributing writer
Sports films can easily transcend
number of different tonal genres.
One might classify "Cool Run
ings" as a comedy with twangs of
srama whereas "A League of Their
• wn" might be considered a drama
ith hints of comedy.
"Miracle," the story of the i 980
.S. Hockey Team's victory over
he fearsome forces of U.S.S.R, can
•e best identified as a mild drama
ith periodic moments of light
:musement.
Although the far-reaching politi-
al implications of the team's vic-
ory are certainly noteworthy and
killfully illustrated by the film, as
he picture's central character,
oach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell),
frequently indicates "it's just a
lame."
The actual events, despite having
, and ramifications and while de-
I.icted in an adequately captivating
anner, are simply not as thrilling
.s those viewers may recall from
ioth fictional and factual sports
films of the past. This is
of to say the film doesn't provide
he inspirational rush associated
ith the gratification of persever
nce. Depending upon the viewer
hat rush may be a little less full
•odied than what's likely yielded
from "Rocky" or "Rudy" or
`Rollerball" (the 1975 anti-corpo
ate classic, not the 2002 Stamos
fueled nightmare).
Russell ("Escape from New
. ork," "Overboard") does a fantas
ic job ofportraying Brooks. Brooks
is the top-notch hockey coach
horn having been cut from the last
ockey team to defeat the Russians
0 years prior burns with intensity
in his efforts to recapture that mo
entous victory.
owever, beyond Russell, the film
falls flat in terms of magnetic per
L "Hey Ya!" Outkast
2. "The Way You Move" Outkast
featuring Sleepy Brown
3. "Someday" Nickelback
4. "It's My Life" No Doubt
5. "Here Without You" 3 Doors
Down
**According to Billboard.com**
? or Porn TV?
If you thought that MTV's Las Vegas "Real World" was raunchy and nasty,
then just stay tuned to the newest "Real World," in San Diego. According to
cnn.com, one of the housemate's guests reportedly drugs a girl at a bar and brings
her back to the house where he allegedly rapes her in the bathroom.
Convenient since cameras are prohibited in certain areas of the bathroom. The
guest was heard saying hit that" as he pointed to the unconscious girl as he left
the bathroom. Not sure if this is what the creators of the "Real World" had
planned on back in the '9os when they first created the show.
Boob tube:
If you live under a rock then that's a semi-good excuse for missing Justin
Timberlake exposing Janet Jackson's right breast during the Super Bowl Half
Time show. Jackson has issued numerous public appologies for offending people
and Timberlake has proclaimed that he was unaware that her breast would
become exposed.
Now the punishments begin. The Grammys have stopped airing commercials
that feature Jackson. As for Timberlake, his NSYNC buddy JC Chasez has been
pulled from performing sunday at the NFL's Pro Bowl. Chasez is only allowed to
sing the national anthem.
Also, NBC has cut a clip out from its hit television show "ER" that shows a
glimpse of an 80-year-old woman's breast. Actually, maybe that's a good thing
Who would want to see that?
Oops, she's doing it again!
A close friend of Britney Spears has spoken with US weekly magazine and has
disclosed that the pop singer is once again dating her ex-husband. Both families
have given the couple their blessings and hope that if they choose to get married
for a second time, that they at least get invited to the wedding.
formances
The most interesting characters af
ter Coach Brooks wind up being a
trio of players who become known
as "The Coneheads" because "they
don't quite fit."
Perhaps less entrancing are the
events of the first two acts of the
film: team practice, opposition to
Brooks' intense coaching style, dra
matic cutting of players, tension in
Brooks' marriage related to who will
"pick the kids up," victory over Nor
way.
Interspersed with these suffi
ciently attention-pulling albeit pe
destrian events the film does a fine
job of highlighting major events of
the era such as the gas shortage and
Iran-Contra thereby heightening au
dience recognition of domestic mal
aise and Cold War tension.
In doing so the perception of the
late '7os / early 'Bos era is quite ef
fectively transmitted, far beyond the
impact of simple wardrobe choices
that many "period" films rely on as
their primary indicator of time.
Once the actual Olympic games
begin the film jumps upward many
magnitudes of intensity until reach
ing the thrilling and hard-fought cli
max.
These last 45 minutes are a satis
fying, if somewhat mild, conclusion
to what had previously been a rather
luke-warm picture. Worth a watch
it will entertain—but don't expect too
much.
ChrisHvizdak
(toastmaster(iiname.com , http://
vizttym.tripod.corn ) is currently
undertaking a massive film study
analysis to approximate just how
many more times Disney can
repackage "The Mighty Ducks" /
"Cool Runnings" dynamic. Follow
his production of the big-budget
epic "Beetlejuice vs. Ghostdad" at
viww. livejournal.com/—hviz.
6. "Suga Suga" Baby Bash featuring
Frankie J
7. "With You" Jessica Simpson
8. "Slow Jamz" Twista featuring
Kayne West and Jamie Foxx
9. "Yeah!" Usher featuring Lil Jon &
Ludacris
10. "Milkshake" Kelis
sum a
Friday February 6, 2004
Female filmmakers have
become more independent
by Daniel J. Stasiewski
managing editor
The war being waged against the Hol
lywood mainstream by independent
filmmakers may be an arduous battle,
but thanks to the growing number of fe
male warriors, indie film's army is get
ting a little bigger.
Take Megan Holley, for example. The
female director has gone around the
country screening her cloning drama,
"The Snowflake Crusade," at festivals
and was at Penn State Erie last October
to participate in the Screen Visions In
dependent Film Series. Since then,
Holley has been actively preparing for
the production of her second feature
film.
In her travels, Holley hasn't run into
many other female filmmakers, but she
thinks the traditionally male-dominated
profession is just "something women don't think of
going into."
Holley, who currently lives in Richmond, Va., didn't
originally think of going into it, eith k long-time
love affair with the cinema lead to her joining an alter
native film club while working toward her Bachelor of
arts degree in mass communication, but she ended up
going to graduate school for sociology. Holley said it
wasn't until many years after college that a film series
inspired her to make her own short films.
"I started going to a local film series called Flicker,"
said Holley.
Flicker is a Richmond based, bi-monthly film series
that presents the Super 8 and 16mm shorts of Central
Virginia filmmakers for the local audiences. Holley
said it only took a few screening to make her think she
to could make a film.
"It's an amazing feeling, creating something and then
having people there watching," said Holley. "That's
kind of what propelled me further."
It propelled her far enough to make "The Snowflake
Crusade," a sci-fi drama about a clone whose struggle
for individuality leads to his inevitable self-destruction.
It's that type of unusual story that makes the indie fe
male filmmaker stand out.
In the world of studio film, only seven of the nearly
300 films to gross over $lOO million have been directed
by women. The stereotypical "chick flicks" makes up
five of the seven films.
Luckily Oscar knows where the real gold is, and in a
historic year for female filmmakers the Academy
Awards is ruled by the independent woman.
Sofia Coppola, daughter of famed director Francis
iirtney Love- "America's
;etheart"
Chasez- "Schizophrenic"
le Minogue- "Body
Lguage"
issa Ethridge- ";Lucky"
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Megan Holley and other female filmmakers are taking independent
film by storm.
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.gainst the Ropes:" Meg
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Ford Coppola and director of "Lost in Translation," be
came the first American female to be nominated for the
Best Director Oscar, while three lead actresses were all
directed by women. With the exception of Diane Keaton,
who was nominated for her role in Nancy Myer's
"Something's Gotta Give," the lead actresses were prima
rily from independently produced features that were dis
tributed in the art house theaters.
With the accolades starting to pile up for female direc
tors, independent production companies are beginning to
see a rise in the number of female directors that are pre
pared to go behind the camera.
One of the production companies Holley has been talk
ing to told her that the last three films that the company
produced were all written and directed by women.
Holley also said that the female filmmaker is providing
an alternative to the independent films of the mid- to late
'9os that were mostly directed by 20-something men.
Films like "Clerks" are what people have come to know
as the model for independent films now a days.
"Female filmmakers bring a sensibility to their material
that's maybe a little different," said Holley.
While Holley isn't nominated for an Oscar yet, she does
think her future and that of other female filmmakers, looks
bright.
"I think the independent production companies are look
ing for the new voices," said Holley. "They want a new
angle on material and a fresh voice."
As long as there continue to be female filmmakers like
Sofia Coppola and Megan Holley, there always will be
fresh voices to sound the war-cry of independent film that
will shape the future of the industry.
ertainer
behrcolls@aol.com
ases on Feb. 3
The Lion King 1/2"
'Angel: The Third Season"
In the Cut"
'Once Upon a Time in the
'idlands"