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My Dog Skip
Yes, I went to see a dog
movie. And it was the best damn
dog movie I’ve ever seen!
My Dog Skip is everything
you’d never expect it to be.
There are no cliches or calculat
ed scenes to make you sob like a.
baby. It is funny, intelligent and
socially conscious all at once.
The movie centers around
Willie Morris, former editor of
Harper’s Magazine, and his
childhood d
Skip. Sound:
sappy, I know
but trust me 01
this one. I wei
into the theati
with a littl
skepticis
myself.
I was plea:
antly surprised
The content covers more than
just a boy and his dog. Issues of
race, war (the story takes place
during World War II) and the
social constructs of a small
southern town.
Frankie Muniz (“Malcolm in
the Middle”) plays Willie Morris
and he has to be one of the best
child actors to ever grace
American movies. Muniz actual
ly acts rather than just looking
cute, the general law for most
Johnny Depp as Dean Corso
Photo courtesy ofAlcon Entertainment
By Nicole Burkholder
Capital Times Staff Writer
movie brats. Muniz and his
adorable canine costar played off
each other just as they would in
real life.
Kevin Bacon was notable as
usual as Willie’s uptight father.
Without seeming heavy handed,
Bacon’s performance as a bitter
war veteran was heartbreaking.
The movie manages to subtly
discuss the terrors and tragedies
of war without shoving it down
your throat.
The greatest
part about My
Dog Skip is that it
is the most non
traditional dog
movie I’ve ever
seen. I thought
foresee the entire
plot within the first ten minutes,
but the movie throws enough
curveballs at you to eliminate
any possibility of this. It was
Willie Morris’ life and nothing
more. No Hollywood dazzle, just
life.
Just a warning: As cute as the
dog is, My Dog Skip is not really
a movie for little kids. There is
some violence and heavy materi
al that small children would not
understand and might be easily
bored.
I’d be able to
It has been a long time since
Roman Polanski has had a wide
release in the United States. I
myself never expected to see
another one of his movies in a
commercial movie theater again,
I am glad I was wrong.
Another bout of Polanski’s
directorial genius astounds the
United States in The Ninth Gate.
There is no wonder as to why his
name is still an incredibly com
mon one regardless of his
absence from the states. (He was
convicted of Statutory rape and
forced to flee the United States
in exile.)
The Ninth Gate revolves
around the world of book collec
tors and a quest to find the
authentic copy of the book enti
tled The Ninth Gate. When
found, the book is believed to be
able to summon the devil to
earth.
The plot could easily fall short
of interesting, but it never does.
Radio (Station WPjStt
Top io Rlbums 2/29/00
Artist - Title Label
Project 86 - Drawing Black Lines Atlantic
Aaron Sprinkle moontravler Organic
Smashing Pumpkins - - Machinal The Machines of God Virgin
The Cure Blood Flowers Elektra
Devoted Molded Mr. Bill’s Wild Ride Screaming Giant Records
Goldfinger stomping ground Universal
Midtown Save The World, Lose The Girl Drive Thru
Bloodhound Gang Horray For Boobies - Geffen
Blindside - A Thought Crushed My Mind - - - Solid State
Nerf Herder How To Meet Girls Honest Don
Top 20 Movies Of All Time (Viewer’s Choice)
1. Godfather, The (1972)
2. American Beauty (1999)
3. Shawshank Redemption, The
(1994)
4. Schindler's List (1993)
5. Casablanca (1942)
6. Citizen Kane (1941)
7. Star Wars (1977)
8. Godfather: Part 11, The (1974)
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
(1975)
Johnny Depp Reaches The Ninth Gate
By Nicole Burkholder
Capital Times Staff Writer
Courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com)
Amazing attention to detail and
twisted, multi-dimensional char
acters lure the audience into a
mesmerized intrigue. Although
the movie is already over two
hours, I wanted it to keep going
in order to find out more.
Johnny Depp plays Dean
Corso, an antique book appraiser
hired to find The Ninth Gate. Mr.
Depp has redeemed himself
since The Astronaut’s Wife and
has proven that he really can act,'
and quite well at that. His char
acter is quirky and sly, yet stun
ningly intelligent. It is interest
ing to note that The Astronaut’s
Wife was a rip-off of a popular
Polanski film ( Rosemary’s Baby)
10. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop
Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
11. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
12. Rear Window (1954)
13. Shichinin no samurai (1954)
14. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
15. Psycho (1960)
16. Empire Strikes Back, The (1980)
17. Usual Suspects, The (1995)
18. Pulp Fiction (1994)
19. Silence of the Lambs, The (1991)
20. North by Northwest (1959)
and now he is acting in a
Polanski film of his own. Hmm.
Even though the pre
views imply a heavy amount of
special effects, don’t go expect
ing two and a half hours of fire
and explosions. The fire does
exist, but briefly. The bizarre
and unnerving scenes come
from the oddball characters such
as the Spanish bookseller twins
and the Baroness with an unex
plained stump for an arm which
she waves around when angry.
The Ninth Gate is
worth seeing if only to be in awe
of Polanski’s amazing talents for
the bizarre, not to mention the
story is incredibly creative.
Polanski may have a checkered
past, but I’m all for bringing him
back to the United States of
America to teach Hollywood a
lesson or tw