I The Behrend Beacon STUDENT LIFE - JEeE 11 [ EE Students begin ‘Working’ Twenty-five people found their way to the Studio Theatre last night to preview "Working," Behrend's spring production. They were greeted by die acoustic stylings of Jeff Stempka and Patrick Doyle whose versions of clas sics, such as Jind Hendrix' "All along the watchtower," enthralled their listeners. Stempka upped his performance by adding vocals and harmonica strains. He seemed to swallow his lyrics at times, but more than made up for that during the actual production. "He’s quite good," said Randy Martell, PSY 06. ■ The company opened die show with a jazzy rendition of "All the livelong day," which has nothing to do with rail roads. From then on the stage was seamlessly trans formed from a steel shell of a building to a newsroom and everything in between. Camille Jones, the show's only non-Behrend performer, lit up the room with her strong stage presence and even stronger vocals. Her vivacious actions brought the audi ence to attention and never let them go. ‘Ladder 49’ ablaze with heroism Review by Annie Sevin from the Oct. 8 issue Director Jay Russell (“Tuck Everlasting,” “My Dog Skip”) delivers a fiery masterpiece with “Ladder 49.” This day-in-the-life film debuted last Friday and quick ly became a must-see movie. It fol lows the life of Baltimore firefight er Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) and his experiences as a firefighter and a family man. The movie begins at the end with an extremely large warehouse fire. Morrison becomes trapped in the building when the twelfth story floor gives way. Throughout the film, the audience is thrown between the warehouse fire and Morrison’s life as he passes in and out of consciousness. The story itself is very endearing. The audience is meant to fall in love with Morrison and Captain Mike Kennedy (John Travolta). That task is well accomplished thanks to an awesome cast and amusing male-bonding rituals. The chemistry between all the charac ters was perfect, and that’s what really sells this movie. Without the chemistry, the life threatening drama and provocative ending, this movie would’ve flopped. The cinematography in “Ladder 49” is absolutely astounding. The overhead aerial shots were beauti fully done. The astronomical explosions during the fire scenes were incredible (and loud). Some of the firefighting scenes were so intense and thunderous that the the ater floor actually shook. On top of that the heart-pounding rescue By Lacy Bustard from die April 8 issue scenes made the audience jump out of their seats. The film balanced out with some less intense moments as well. The firefighters played pranks on each other throughout the film. There were also some romantic moments between Morrison and his wife Linda (Jacinda Barrett) that were scripted well. The musical element of “Ladder 49” was excellent compared to most films. The soundtrack matched beautifully with the emo tional impact of the scenes. The music really drew the audience into the movie; it definitely enhanced the quality of this film. It’s hard to find anything nega tive about Russell’s film. Perhaps it's not the most original storyline ever created - it is slightly reminis cent of "Armageddon” (Michael Bay 1998). However, it’s an excep tionally good portrayal of the strug gles of being a firefighter. Not to mention the fact that it is a painful reminder of all the lives lost on September 11th. It does provide some insight to what the FDNY went through that day, and every day. It also reminds us of the rea sons that we salute and respect fire- fighters. This film also slightly portrays Hollywood-heroics, inasmuch as the audience thinks they know how the characters will respond in cer tain situations. However, the unex pected twists turn it into a believ able story about everyday heroes. “Ladder 49” is a film that you can really lose yourself in. It’s one of the few that makes the audience forget they’re actually watching a An authentic looking steam rose from the stage as mill workers mock-produced their suitcases. Watch out if you have asthma, though; it could be an issue. Overall, how ever, it worked its magic by placing the audience within the scene. The highlight of the show came with the song, "If I could’ve been." This heart-wrenching song about how laborers have feelings and intelligence that often goes overlooked brought the plight of the working class to life for the audience. A great surprise came when Tanaz Balapofia opened her mouth solo for the first time in "Millworkers." Nothing short of amazing can describe the way her voice streamed from her diaphragm. She began with a vigor that captivat ed listeners and kept it up for the remainder of the show. "I didn't think a college production would be as good as it was," said Andrew Chemauskas, Soft Eng 04. "It was incredible." And so it was. From the supermarket checkout with Amanda Golia to on the road with Aaron Amendola, "Working” is sure to please. The show will run April 8,9, 10,13,14,15,16 and 17 in the Studio Theatre. film; it seems more like watching TOUCHSTONE PICTURES John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix star in ‘Ladder 49.’ a story about firefight er’s lives and jobs. everything happen from a street corner. so convincing is that it was shot on location. A Maryland native has informed me that the scenes in which the city of Baltimore was visible were authentic. The fires too were genuine, even local resi dents thought they were real. So kudos to Russell and crew for not trying to fool anyone with fake Hollywood sets. “Ladder 49” is an awesome film exploding with things we love most about life. It’s intense, it’s funny, it’s a pyromaniacs dream and the acting is brilliant. Another reason this film seems Lay the Smack Down with ‘WWE Smack Down vs. Raw’ Review by Nick Hammond from the Nov. 9 issue THQ’s wrestling games are always evolving and changing as it straddles the line between trying to satisfy die hard wrestling fans and just trying to be a good fighting game. This year’s PS2 game is a pretty big step in the right direction as a lot of the big features fans have been clamoring for are finally in the game. The Smack Down series has always been known for its surprisingly fun, deep story mode - a pseudo-RPG with a WWE theme. This year’s big changes is honest-to-goodness voice work from pretty much every wrestler in the game, even Vince McMahon, too, which adds a ton to the authenticity. You’re also able to more clearly define your role as a face, a good guy, or heel, a bad guy, and actively use your managers to your advantage during a match; for instance, having her grab a chair for you and dis tract the ref so you can properly use it. The game also lets you create custom championship belts, which can be transferred from memory card to mem ory card if you manage to beat the cur rent holder in a match. Nearly all of the gameplay changes made to this year's game are assorted ways to try to capture the proper flow of a real match. Nowhere is this more exemplified than in the little in-match minigames. At the beginning of a match, you'll frequently find yourself faced with a stare-down contest, a test of strength, or a shoving match. These are all controlled by specifically timed button presses that appear onscreen. In the stare down, you simply have to press X at the right time and you'll get the always important first strike. The meter swings upward to signify power [ Week recap in music j | Review by Sean Mihlo from the April 1 issue ■ Stephen Malkmus to Release Third ■ Album, Tour Select Cities, Have a I Baby It's been six long years since Lo-Fi I pioneers “Pavement” broke up and two _ years since ex-vocalist Stephen I Malkmus released his second solo ■ effort, “Pig Lib.” * Just last year, Matador Records re- I released a digitally re-mastered ver sion of “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” | with nearly 40 extra tracks and vividly . stunning linear notes. This year, how ■ ever, Matador will concentrate on pro | moting the new Malkmus album, “Face the Truth,” which is set to drop | in the U.S. on May 24. For those who live outside the States, the album will I be released in Europe via Domino on ■ May 23. The first single from “Face ■ the Truth” called “Post-Paint Boy,” is I currently available for download on iTunes. I After the release of “Face the m Truth,” Malkmus will begin a short ■ tour in which he will bless audiences ■ across America with his witty lyrics and possibly some older material. | As of today, only a handful of dates have been scheduled, most likely due I to Malkmus' pending fatherhood. ■ There are some empty spaces in * between the tour dates, but hopefully a ■ few more shows will appear within the upcoming weeks. Mark your calen- I dars, for Malkmus will make only one appearance near us on June 9 at the I Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland. ■ The Raveonettes Are Back, or Pretty | in Black Swedish duo The Raveonettes are | set to release their second full-length, I “Pretty in Black,” on April 26, via ■ Columbia. Their major-label debut, | “Chain Gang of Love,” garnered criti " cal acclaim for its distortion-heavy | rock and roll sound; it even produced the hit single and K-mart commercial I backtrack "That Great Love Sound." ■ On “Pretty in Black,” though, the * duo strays from the feedback that over- I whelmed its predecessor and focus more on molding songs that drip pure I pop. Besides finding a new sound, The _ Raves decided to pick up a new mem- I ber, Anders Christensen, who will ■ replace Sharin Foo on bass, allowing 1 her to shift focus from instrument to Friday, April 29, 2005 IE W New Features of “Smack Down vs. Raw:” - Authentic voices - Stare down contest - Test of strength - Custom championship belts - Define your role for your shove, and then it swings back downward, challenging you to hit the X button at just the right time for maxi mum effectiveness. There's also an exact copy of this meter for the ever popular chop battles you tend to see during real matches, which have been translated here very nicely. As well, you'll encounter a new spanking con test (strictly for the divas, of course). These little games can be turned on or off in the game's options menu, but we didn't find them to be intrusive, and instead thought they added a little more flair to the matches. That's flair mean ing "style," not flair meaning Ric Flair. If you want to add a little more Ric Flair to your matches, yes, he is a selec table character. The next big thing is, of course, head-to-head online play, though you can’t bring the belts online (yet). The fighting engine handles a lot like that of the last game with some tweaks to the grappling system, but the presentation and feature set is the best THQ has yet to offer. Co-produced by Richard Gottehrer, who's produced albums by the Go- | Go's and Blondie, lends his legendary m talents to Pretty in Black, while singer, ® lyricist and guitarist Sune Wagner fin- | ishes off the production duties. The * Raves even pay tribute to Gottehrer by | recording a version of “My Boyfriend's Back,” originally recorded I by The Angels in 1963 and co-written ■ by Gottehrer. Maureen Tucker from " The Velvet Underground, Suicide's | Alan Vega and '6os girl-group pioneer Ronnie Spector also contribute to | “Pretty in Black.” “Love in a - Trashcan,” the album's first single, was I released to radio stations in March. | Meanwhile, the band is currently in " the midst of touring England, Greece, | Canada and the United States. The Raveonettes will also delight fans at I this year’s Coachella festival in ■ California. Autolux will support The ■ Raveonettes in the US. | The Dandy Warhols Finish and | Name Album, Announce Single, Get High, ChiU I Portland’s favorite shoegazer/psy- ■ chedelic/new wave band, The Dandy * Warhols, have announced the title of | their fifth effort for Capitol Records via their website. Named after their | home studio in Portland, “Odditorium . or Warlords of Mars” is currently ■ being mastered and is expected to be | released by summer. The Dandies also " confirmed that “Smoke It” will be the | first single taken from “Odditorium;” a video for the track was shot in I February. The Dandies' last album, ■ 2003's “Welcome to the Monkey * House,” debuted in the number 2 slot I on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Whether or not the band will tour | this summer in support of Odditorium is still up in the air. Besides an appear- I ance this past January at a benefit con- | cert in Portland, the Dandies haven't played a show in the US since I September of 2003. In addition to a possible tour, | MTV.com is reporting that a DVD of a ■ live performance from 2004 in " Australia is also under construction. I The DVD is set to be released some time this month. MTV.com also says | that lead singer Courtney Taylor- _ Taylor is preparing to shoot a film I based on a script he's written, “One ■ Model Nation,” in the fall. ®
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