FEATURES/CALENDAR By Nicole Burkholder Capital Times Staff Writer I actually felt sick when I left the theater after seeing American Psycho, and it wasn’t because of the blood and guts. The movie gushes with preten sion to a nauseating degree. So much in fact, that if preten tiousness was measured in money, the director, Mary Harron, would be a millionaire. American Psycho collabo rates the efforts of the 80s post modern explosion. Harron also directed I Shot Andy Warhol. John Cale of Velvet Underground worked on the film’s score and soundtrack and regularly contributes to films about the lost age when Warhol was king and Nico was cool. It seems a little ironic that the pretentious “po-mo” art cir cle of the 80s should be making a movie about Wall Street. For some reason, I don’t think that this crew was hanging out with the movers and shakers of the corporate world. The movie is supposed to take you into the mind of a late 1980 s serial killer that also happens to be a Wall Street superman. Instead you get a very boring, excessive social documentary of Wall Street egoists, probably due to the fact NOW THROUGH MAY 5 In the Gallery Lounge is the PSH Student Art Show. On display in the library’s Morrison Gallery is Ted T. Ellis’ “Bom in the Spirit.” Work from local artist Gene Allen Suchma is on display in the main corridor of the Olmsted Building through the end of June. THURSDAY, APRIL 27 The State Capital Office of the Pa. State data Center will spon sor a discussion, “Exploring the Commonwealth’s Trends in Housing” at noon in the Downtown Center. A new Weight Watchers at Work American Psycho Pretentious At Best that the makers of the film don’t have a clue about the social world they attempted to document. Attempting humor can be the fatal flaw of any movie. American Psycho is no excep tion to the rule. I laughed at the jokes about Genesis being “too artsy” and Photo courtesy of Lions Gate Films Inc. The Psycho Tans the critical deconstruction of Whitney Houston’s first album. Other than that, f wasn’t'sure what I was supposed to be doing. Psycho Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) was so overly uptight and yuppie-like that it was hard to tell if the result was program wil be held from 12:15 to 1 p.m. beginning today in room 203 EAB. For more infor mation, contact Barbara Hundertmark at 948-6007. A campus-wide forum will be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Gallery Lounge. The purpose of the forum is to discuss core val ues and the mission statement for the college as well as provide an update on the stategic planning process to date. FRIDAY, APRIL 28 Two representatives from the Commission for Women will meet from 2 to 4 p.m. in E3lO intentional or just bad acting Cale’s soundtrack seems more “thrown together” than some of the most experimental Velvet Underground nonsense. His score seemed like he lifted it straight off an old Velvet’s demo tape. There were times, and they were few, when his odd mixture of screeching string instru ments seemed relevant to the psychotic mind of Patrick Bateman. The rest of the film was filled with a hodgepodge of 80s ditties like Katrina & The Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” and “Pump Up the Volume” placed sporadically throughout to remind you what decade the movie takes place. American Psycho is general- ly just cheesy. I really hate using that word, and I try to use it sparingly. It’s just that the Olmsted with anyone interested in learning more about a Capital College liaison group. For more information, contact Marylou Martz at x. 6015 or Bobbi Bremer at x. 6362. The Ist Annual Psychology and Social Sciences Undergraduate Poster Presentation will be held in the Morrison Gallery in the library from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. MAY 1 TO 5 Final Exams SATURDAY, MAY 13 Spring Commencement at 9:30 a.m. in Hersheypark Arena movie doesn’t deserve a better word. The plot attempts to fur ther itself with the same tired gags used incessantly. At least five times during the movie, the Wall Street crew have a busi ness card competition. I guess this is supposed to show who is really the coolest guy on Wall Street. The business cards all Photo courtesy of Lions Gate Films, Inc. Bale prepares his drill look the same, I’m assuming that is what is supposed to be so funny. After the third time, I just rolled my eyes and after the fourth and fifth times I wanted to scream, “Please make it PENN D 0 T TOM RiDSt. GOVERNOR BUCKLE UP every time, EVERY TIME. Everywhere. stop!” Scenes involving Willem Dafoe and Christian Bale dis cussing the merits of Huey Lewis are hokey at best, and likely to cause groans when the supposedly ironic song “Hip to Be Square” is played while Bateman hacks up a competi tive Wall Street cokehead. Strangely enough, the movie wasn’t very scary. I say this is a little strange, because the movie IS about a serial killer. Not that I’m a sick voyeur that likes to see people get hacked to bits, but I would have appre ciated a little something that might indicate that this guy was kind of, well, psycho. I think there was one scene that did cause me to do some suspense-induced breath-hold ing, but I’m not sure if it was because, I was anticipating something gory or if I was fear ing another ridiculous line about 80s music. I should have known better than to see another movie based on a Bret Easton Ellis novel. Less Than Zero wasn’t exactly deeply moving or interesting for that matter. But then again, neither were the 80s. Buckle Because every crash close WHAT DO YOU HAVE to TO HOLD ON TO? home.
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