Daniel J. Stasiewski, A & E Editor
The Behrend Beacon
Pacino, Farrell save The Recruit’
Review by Daniel J. Stasiewski
If there is any actor out there today whose career is sky-rocket
ing faster than Colin Farrell’s, you’d be hard pressed to find him.
The Dublin-born star has gone from virtual unknown to the co-star
of high-profile actors like Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis. But with
stardom comes the inevitable money-grab film, like “The Recruit.”
This CIA thriller puts Farrell’s name next to another veteran star,
A 1 Pacino, but it is nothing incredible. The ending is predictable,
even for someone who didn’t see it given away in the trailer, and
the story is only exciting for a few short moments. Still, there is
something to be said when Farrell and Pacino are able make this
third-rate studio thriller into a decent, albeit flawed, espionage film.
Upon graduating from MIT, James Clayton (Farrell) begins look
ing for a career in computers. Clayton gets an interview with Dell
Labs, but changes course when CIA recruiter Walter Burke (Pacino)
pays him a visit at his bartending job. At first, Clayton isn’t inter
ested, but when Burke hints at having knowledge about Clayton’s
missing father, the computer wiz signs up.
The training camp, known as “The Farm,” is full of prospective
agents. As their training intensifies, fellow trainee Layla (Bridget
Moynahan) catches Clayton’s eye. The two are constantly pitted
against each other, but it’s not until Clayton is kicked out of the
camp that he finds out the reason.
Burke tells Clayton his dismissal was faked. The reason: Clayton
has to appear as the normal Farm drop-out when he tries to expose
Layla as a mole. Reluctant at first, Burke again pulls the father
card on Clayton and he agrees. As the chase becomes itiore and
more dangerous, it also becomes more confusing. Soon, Clayton
is questioning the identity of the real mole, even if it could be him.
“The Recruit” has three stages: dull, somewhat exciting, and in
tolerably over-the-top. This film starts with tedious jokes about
the Big Brother aspects of the CIA, hinting along the way that some
thing is up. Once the action gets to “The Farm,” nothing much
changes. There the Farrell/Moynahan relationship is amplified by
using some CIA exercises, but the quips concerning the omniscient
agency tend to be sitcom-esque, at best.
Once the story leaves the training facility, there seems to be hope.
Colin Farrell's character is faced with the decision of sacrificing
his love of Layla for his love of country. This is where Farrell
shines
Mis performance is strong enough to keep the story moving, with
subtle twists to make it interesting. Farrell has the charisma and
'Miracles' poses many
questions
Review by Roger Gorny
Staff Writer
The new television series “Miracles,”
which premiered Jan. 28 on ABC, may
not survive the mid-season jinx. There
could be many reasons for this, but first,
a basic overall recap of the first episode.
The cast featured Skeet Ulrich and
Marisa Ramirez, and the setting for the
show was a remote desert area. There, a
sick 10 year-old boy named Tommy is
able to perform miraculous cures on other
people.
First, he eured his grandmother in the
hospital, and later in the show, he cured a
young woman’s infant. At this point, he
collapsed and people rushed to his aid.
The pressure grew on Tommy as the show
wore on, but he was still able to save a
man trapped underneath a car after the ve
hicle was struck by an oncoming train.
The prevailing theme to the show is that
anyone, even one who can’t cure himself,
is able to cure others, or at least believe
that they can be saved. The words “God
Is Here” appear very frequently in the
show, attempting to instill the belief in the
show’s viewers that God can really be
present even when you are not looking or
do not believe.
"Miracles” was very ironic in the sense
that little Tommy could not cure himself,
but he could cure others. The drama was
high throughout, with many sudden twists
and turns to maintain the viewer’s inter
est.
The show can also be described through
the use of big words such as psychologi
cal, supernatural, surrealistic, and
spiritual. These elements may have been
pushed too far, especially in the spiritual
sense.
“Miracles” showed many dream, which
were hard to separate from reality.
The show was overly dramatic at times
and perhaps a little too intense, especially
when you see the flush-red eyes of those
A & E Editor
who are saved. Blood raining down near
the end of the show was certainly over
dramatic and contained too many religious
overtones.
One may be, “The people in the show
want to help each other, but how could
they help reach the audience better?” It
Skeet Ulrich looks for a miracle.
does not appear that there is a magic an
swer for this question, but it would prob
ably include mixing a few less tension
producing settings to build up better to the
climax. Also, how easy is it really to get
people to believe that God Is Here when
they get hurt severely in a car crash? There
aren’t any Tommys around to induce be
lief in situations like this.
The show may need a lot of people to
believe in “Miracles” for it to last. There
aren’t any themes that haven’t been seen
in other shows already. They need to re
vamp their formula for success if they
want to yield positive results and appeal
to the general audience.
'Miracles, ’ starring Skeet Ulrich, Marisa
Ramirez, and Agnus Macfadyen airs ev
ery Monday at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Friday, February 7, 2003
rrell are on a mission in
depth of his former co-star, Tom Cruise. It is just amazing to watch
Farrell work his way through this average film and still manage to
appear top-notch
Of course, the ending stops the film’s pace almost entirely. Like
most Hollywood thrillers, “The Recruit” ends with a twist that is so
big, it’s predictable. Pacino tries his best to make the hackneyed
ending a little more subtle, but this is definitely nothing like his last
thriller “Insomnia.” His work in the Christopher Nolan film is so
reflective it’s hard to watch him play a motiveless character like
Burke. Even Pacino’s fine performance cannot pull this film or his
character out of the realm of mediocrity.
At least Pacino make this film watchable. I could
only imagine how terrible this could have been with Ben Affleck
as one of the stars. The dynamic actors make this film better than it
Behrend predicts Soul Train Awards
The 17 lh annual Soul Train Music
Awards will air on Mar. 1. The show is
one of the music/television industry’s most
prestigious events. With that in mind, 10
Behrend students were polled to see who
they predict will win in each category.
For the Best Female R&B/Soul Single,
the predicted winner is between Ashanti
and Erykah Badu. Erykah Badu’s single
“Love of my life” features Common.
Ashanti’s “Foolish” single is nominated.
In August, Ashanti won Soul Train’s Lady
of Soul Award.
Ashanti also won two honors at the
American Music Awards. She is currently
nominated for five Grammys. Ashanti is
also the predicted winner in the Female
Best R&B/Soul Album and Best R&B
Soul or Rap Album of the Year. The other
nominees in these categories are Amerie,
India Arie, Mary J. Blige, Angie Stone, LL
Cool J, Nas, and Nelly.
For Male Best R&B/Soul Single, stu
dents predict Justin Timberlake will win
with “Like I Love You.” Timberlake is also
the predicted winner for the Male Best
R&B/Soul Album. After only 12 weeks,
Timberiake’s album “Justified” has sold
approximately two million copies. Other
nominees in these categories include Max
well, Musiq, Usher, Gerald Levert, and
Jaheim.
In the Best R&B/Soul Single, Group,
Band or Duo category, the predicted win
ner is B2K with “Bump,Bump,Bump.”
B2K has “Pandemonium,” they’re second
album out now. The other following nomi-
LEB Movie of the Week: 'Punch-Drunk Love'
PHOTO COURTESY OF ZAP2IT.COM
by Olivia Page
staff writer
should'be. Should 1 still hold the timid story and tedious twists
against the film? Sure, but I won’t say it was torture. “The Re
cruit” could have been worse, and that’s the bigger compliment
than most films should receive.
nations in this category are Dru Hill,
Floetry, and TLC.
The Best R&B/Soul Album, Group,
Band or Duo looks to go to R. Kelly/Jay-
Z’s “Best of both Worlds.” Record sales
haven’t done well because of R. Kelly’s
recent court situation of pending rape
charges. Despite the media attention, Kelly
has released the “Chocolate Factory” al
bum. Jay-Z has “The Blueprint II” in stores
now. The other following nominees in this
category are Boyz II Men, Floetry and
B2K.
Nappy Roots is the predicted winner in
the Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist cat
egory. Nappy Roots is also nominated for
Adam Sandler stars (and don't let that stop you) in Paul Thomas Anderson's
strange and beguiling romantic comedy, a tale of a manic-depressive lonely
boy who winds up the target of an extortion racket and falls in love with Emily
Watson. An achingly sweet love story mixed with dark, nutty humor and out
of-the-blue surprises. R (language, violence, adult themes) - Steven Rea, Knight
Ridder Newspapers.
‘Punch-Drunk Love’will he showing in Reed 117 on Feb. 13 at 9:30p.m. and
Feb. 14-15 at 10 p.m.
out of
4 stars
a Grammy. “Aw Naw” and “Po Folks” are
their singles. The other following nomi
nees in this category are Heather Headley
and Amerie.
For R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video, 50
Cent is the predicted winner with
“Wanksta.” 50 cent’s “Get Rich or Die
Trying” is due out Tuesday. The album
features the two hit singles, “Wanksta” and
“In Da Club.”
The other nominees in this category are
Busta Rhymes featuring P.Diddy and
Pharrell with “Pass the Courvoisier Pt. 2;
“ Missy Elliot with “Work It;” and Nelly
featuring Kelly Rowland with “Dillema.”
For the Best Gospel Album, Kirk
Franklin is the predicted winner. Franklin
has already won five awards at the Stellar
Gospel Awards this year. The other fol
lowing nominations in this category are
The Canton Spirituals and Donald
Lawrence and the Tri City Singers.
Soul Train Music Awards honor artists
in R&B, hip-hop, rap and gospel music.
Soul Train also hosts the Soul Train Lady
of Soul Annual Awards Special and the
Soul Train Christmas Starfest.
For more than 30 years the Soul Train
music/dance show has been nationally
televised. Soul Train is the longest run
ning television program of any genre in
history of nationally syndicated program
ming. Fpimder Don Cornelius hosted the
shows until 1997. Cornelius still carries
the executive producer role. He handed
the hosting down to Mystro Clark, who
held the position for two years. Soul Trains
current host is Shamar Moore.
behrco!ls @ aol.com
'TESY OF Z
'The Recruit. ’ directed by Roger
Donaldson, starring Colin
Farrell, AI Pacino, and Bridget
Moynahan is currently showing
at Tinsletown.
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