Jeanine Noce, A & E Editor
behreo!ls @ aol.com
I’m living in the'Bos
by Autumn Brown
staff writer
Remember back in the day when
MTV was bom, Madonna was like a
virgin, and ET phoned home? Just
when you thought we could put it all
behind us, a show dedicated to the ’Bos
winds up at your door.
Well, Fox has done it again, first
with “That 70s Show” and now “That
80s Show.” The ’Bos
was a decade where the
clothes, hairstyles, mu
sic, and even recycling
ruled American lives.
For those who forgot
what the ’Bos was all
about, don’t worry.
There are plenty of
jokes referring to the
time when Ronald
Reagan was king, Atari
ruled, and breakdancing
was a club standard.
This half-hour com
edy takes a trip down
memory lane for those
who both loved and
hated the ’Bos. The
show takes place in
1984, the year which introduced the
Huxtables on the “Cosby Show” and
when Culture Club’s “Karma Chame
leon” was constantly rewound in tape
decks. During this time the show’s
cast, a group of 20 year olds, tries to
Music Ignites Games’ spirit
by Jeanine Noce
A & E Editor
An array of world-class talent
opened the XIX Olympic Winter
Games last Friday night at the Rice-
Eccles Olympic Stadium in Salt
Lake City. Countryand folk music
performers ignited the “spirit
within,”, the theme of the
Olympics far more than 72
million households who at
tended or watched the tele
vised broadcast.
Utah’s own Mormon Tab
ernacle Choir and Utah Sym
phony began the program by
performing the National An
them. The Cathedral of the
Madeleine also tended their
voices to this inspirational
opening.
Contemporary artist
LeAnn Rimes sang a moving
piece while children ice
skated around her on stage.
Later, the trio
the Dixie Chicks played a
downhome song that was in keep
ing with the country western theme.
R & B artist R. Kelly also performed
the song “The World’s Greatest,”
■ Sting, a world known artist, sang
a multi-language piece using only a
single cello as accompaniment. Cel
list Yo-Yo Ma played alongside
Sting on the moving stage that was
eiu?iic!ed by glistening lighu. The
performance was astounding due to
the use of* single instrument heard
rpae dtan 50,000 spectators in
...
Local a cappella group Eclipse
tM local folk group the Desert
Sftlngßand/Bunkhouse orchestra
danced their versions of
find its way through sunny San Diego.
The plot centers on Corey and Katie,
who live with their Dad and Roger,
Corey’s friend. Corey, a striving
young musician, hopes to make it big
into the music industry, but runs into
difficulty in a decade based on finan
cial success. On the other hand, Katie,
an ultra-positive sweetheart, embod
ies the typical child of the ’Bos.
Rounding out the characters are
The cast of ‘That ‘Bos Show” (from I to r) Tuesday, Corey,
Katie, Rodger, Margaret, Sophia, and RT appears Wednes
day nights at 8 p.m. on Fox.
Sophia, Corey’s ex, Margaret Smith,
the quirky record store owner, and
Tuesday, a punk rocker with a
mohawk.
Of all the components that made up
the ’Bos, the music had the greatest im-
songs and musical numbers filled
with national pride and spirit. Na
tive American performers Rita
Coolidge and Waela also performed
throughout the program and com
poser, performer and Native Indian
Robbie Robertson sang a patriotic
piece.
“These performers helped cel
ebrate the theme “Light the Fire
Within’ and the power of the Olym
pics in...the show of a lifetime,” said
Mitt Romney, SLOC president and
CEO. “At the Opening Ceremony we
salute the passion and courage of the
athletes who gathered in Salt Lake to
compete in a spirit of harmony and
spirit of friendship.”
In ail, the three-hour event cost
about $37 million. The Salt Lake
City games had the largest ratings for
an Olympic ceremony ever, with one
fourth of the country tuning in.
Organizers of this year’s Olympiad
hope that themusical performances
by multiplatinum pop music super
stars Will give the Olympics a new
pact on this decade. This is why the
show’s creators employed the lead
character Corey at a record store called
Permanent Record. This show could
not properly represent the ’Bos with
out the music, which is why the series
features many alternative tunes from
this era. From the Go Gos, to Michael
Jackson to Cyndi Lauper to Duran
Duran, believe it or not ’Bos music set
the stage for today’s flashy entertain
ers. The theme
wish to relive the
time, while others
cringe at the
thought of the re
turn of this decade.
Either way, the ’Bos
are here to stay and
this is evident in
music, fashion, and
television. Take a
trip back every
Wednesday night at
8 p.m. to the time
when spandex and
leg warmers were the fashion state
ment and Ferris Bueller was a hero.
Unlike its predecessor “That 70s
Show,” “That 80s Show” targets Gen
eration X with the hopes that the ’Bos
will live on forever.
flavor and will lure more viewers.
“I think that the singers definitely
added to the performance. R.
Kelly’s song ‘The World’s Greatest’
fit well for the Olympics, especially
after 9-11 said Jamie Triscuit, ma
joring in MIS,
Artists such as ‘N Sync, Nelly
Furtado, and Creed will
be performing. Each
night, following the
medal presentation in
downtown Salt Lake
City at the plaza, NBC
will broadcast one song
from every concert.
“Music is so in
spirational, so
celebratory,” said Gail
Seay, executive pro
ducer of the production
team at Olympic Med
als Plaza. “We’re hop
ing the athletes, the
medal winners, will
come and jam onstage
with the bands every
night, gold medals and everything.”
When the acts were booked, or-'
ganizers tried to match specific
sports with music that fit. Country
group Brooks & Dunn will play Sat
urday night when the medal ceremo
nies for alpine skiing, speed skating
and biathlon events will take place.
The snowboarders wanted to hear
Smash Mouth, who will perform to
night. Creed will perform on Tues
day, when medals are presented for
short-track speed skating and
freestyle skiing events.
It was difficult for all of the events
to match with the performers. ‘N
Sync will serenade the winners of
the men’s slalom event on Feb. 23.
Friday, February 15, 2002
song captures the
feeling with the lyr
ics “I’m living in
the ’Bos.”
Some
Rollerbair just stops
by Daniel J. Stasiewski
When a film’s rating can go from an R to PG-13 with a
snip here and a chop there, it’s easy to realize something is
missing. Such cruel cutting loses everything for director
John McTieman’s “Rollerball.” While it’s certainly not the
only failure, choppy editing weakens the structure enough
for every other flaw to cause a complete collapse of this
incredibly rotten sci-fi remake.
After missing out on his chance to join the NHL, Jonathon
Cross (Chris Klein) gets some career advice from Marcus
Ridley (LLCool J). Ridley’s suggestion: join his Rollerball
team. With some hesitation, Cross makes the switch to the
extreme sport of Rollerball. The rookie thrives in his new
sport until a teammate is horribly injured. Fellow
Rollerballer Aurora (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) easily proves
the accident was no accident. All evidence leads to the
sport’s avaricious owner Alexi Petrovich (Jean
Reno). Soon Cross discovers that Petrovich will
do anything—even kill— for television ratings
“Rollerball” is terrible. There isn’t an easier
way to describe it. Even more disgusting then
the film itself, however, is the amount of effort
put into making this movie so awful. First,
there are the hours of editing out violent scenes
that could have brought on at least a rewarding
cringe or two. Instead, the editing hacks out
pieces of footage, which causes one continuity
error after another. My favorite cut has to be a
shotgun blast that hits a guy who is initially
standing still, but manages to catch the pellets
in midair. The sound is even muted to elimi
nate the force behind any hard hit. Sure, the
editors save us from a few gratuitous splatter
shots, but “Rollerball” could have used a few.
MGM continued to shred its money with the
atrocious costume design and generally medio
cre visual effects. Even though the movie re
volves around the most brutal sport in the world,
most costumes consist of cartoony helmets and
hokey jumpsuits. The masquerading
Rollerballers wear anything from jester hats to
second-rate armor rip-offs from “Monty Python
and the Holy Grail.” Professional wrestlers
don’t look this campy.
“Rollerball’s” unimpressive pyrotechnics and
horribly choreographed action sequences make
up the rest of its visual features. Explosives are
strategically placed (like in most productions), but the vi
sual effects department doesn’t hide the fact, at all. Al
ways three feet to the right or five feet, behind, the little
explosions were handled with all the skill of a 5-year-old
with a sparkler.
You can anticipate the action sequences that go along
with these pyrotechnics which is another major flaw. Ev
ery time a person is hit or a stunt is performed the stunt
person noticably expects the blow. A moment of prepara
tion can be detected right before impact, and the fantasy
world that is already having problems staying together falls
further apart.
I’m not even going to mention the acting because Tom
Hanks couldn’t have saved this movie. That’s because the
one part of “Rollerball” that didn’t get any effort (and by
effort, of course, I mean money) was the screenplay. After
throwing us into the story without any background to speak
of, writers John Pogue and Larry Ferguson assault us with
inane characters and bad dialogue. The closest we ever get
‘Romantic Moments’ coming to Warner
The music of Brahms will surround
the audience as the Erie Philharmonic,
with special guest Eduardus Halim,
performs the “Concerto for Piano No.
1.” Maestro Hugh Keelan will con
duct the Philharmonic in “Romantic
Moments,” a program of music from
romantic composers, Saturday at the
Warner Theatre.
Brahm’s “Piano Concerto No. 1”
was originally conceived as a sym
phony, but he later decided that it was
a perfect vehicle to highlight piano
virtuosity, from the dramatic opening
to the rippling trills to the powerful
conclusion. Sir Edward Elgar’s
“Symphony No. 1” has been called
“a salute to English national heritage.”
staff writer
It is a colorful and dramatic piece full
of orchestral flourishes in the style of
Brahms.
The performance begins at 8 p.m.
at the Warner Theatre, located at
Eighth and State Street. Ticket prices
to teaming about the characters are a few NHL remarks
about Cross and Ridley’s constant need to remind us he’s
really an accountant.
Aurora is probably the most important character, only
because every plot point is channeled through her. She
conveniently gets every necessary piece of information,
and gets to make keen observations like, “Don’t you know
they track you with those things,” as she throws a cell
phone away. I don’t know whether to call her Velma or
Nancy Drew when it comes to solving this mystery, but I
can certainly call Cross, Scooby. His character is the stu
pidest hero I’ve ever encountered. The stereotypical dumb
jock, Cross can barely string together a sentence, but his
athletic prowess and dumb luck still helps him save the
day.
Even with the garbled screenplay, the biggest joke re
mains a 15-minute night vision sequence halfway through
“Rollerball.” In moderation and as a point of view shot,
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Chris Klein
night vision can be a nice addition to a film.
“Rollerball,” however, proves night vision should never
be used as the primary shooting technique. These scenes
give the film a “Blair Witch Project” type instability and
make it seem even more amateurish then before. But the
technique is made worse when the filmmakers try to ex
plain the night vision through Cross’ clever observation,
“I haven’t seen a light in about an hour.” It’s hard to
believe McTieman would use that line in place of a little
artificial lighting in the rural Wyoming location, but there
are many questionable aspects of this film.
I don’t think I’m overstating when I say “Rollerball” is
the worst movie
of the year. True, it is only February, but it’ll take a film
the caliber of
“Freddie Got Fin
gered” to steal the
title away from
“Rollerball.”
Best of A
the best W
Feature films with \ij
the highest number f||
of nominations for
this year’s Academy Mttitf
Awards:
“The Lord of the Rings” 13
“A Beautiful Mind” 8
“Moulin Rouge” 8
“Gosford Park” 7
“Amelie” 5
“In the Bedroom” 5
© 2002 KRT
Source: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences (U.S.)
Graphic: Pat Carr, Pai
The Behrend Beacon
NO STARS
out of 4
start at $22. Group, student and se
nior discounts are available. Call 455-
1375 or visit the Erie Philharmonic
Orchestra box office at 1006 State
Street. A $5 open rehearsal will be
held tonight at 6:30 p.m.
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