E E t.. EE Z REVI S t Overall rating: *** Finally, Samhaim has released their long awaited box set. For all you "simple tons," Samhain was fronted by Glen Danzig after the fall of his first band, the Misfits. The box set includes four remas tered CDs, a double-live CD, a 28-page booklet featuring lyrics and rare photos, an eight-page unreleased Samhain comic and an exclusive live video. This is real doom. This is real go,th. This is real hate. This is real anger. For fans of: Misfits, Danzig, Undead Overall rating: **** Nina Gordon, ex-member of the female rock group Veruca Salt, has released her first solo album upon the public and it's brilliant. I, of course, would expect nothing less from this very talented artist. However, unlike Veruca Salt's edgy, hard-rock approach to music, Gordon's solo efforts are much more toned down. Many of the songs on the record are actually slow, but there is a Veruca Salt-ish tune called "Badway" on the album. If you are a fan of the Rock/Pop genre, then I highly suggest you pick up a copy of "Tonight and the Rest of My Life." You will not be disap pointed. For fans of: Veruca Salt, Alanis Morissette Ratings Key Horrible * I've Heard Worse Borrow or Steal It, Don't Buy It *** I Would Probably Buy It *':::%* Stupendous ,°::°.*** Reviewer. 'Dirty" Mist: Samhain Title: Box Set Label: Evilive Release date:9/5/00 Genie: Punk/Metal crossover Gad"' and the iiniigin 1 tomuoanamal '. -co „ 1 . 1 e , 'ICAI.m„I . ' ' , 11. Overall rating: ** * * Beauty is the first word that came to mind when I heard Embodyment Melodic, and sometimes surreal, guitars flow in and out of distorted riffage with ease always sticking to a structured path. Honest, well-put lyrics flow from some tracts. At other times the lyrics rip and tear at your face. The words commu nicate easily on a very personal level. Songs about facing addiction, lost love and other real-life experiences really hit home. If you are looking for - an album that soothes before punching you in the face, go pick this up. It's music you'll keep coming back to. For fans of: Staind, Incubus, Deftones, Far • at , ' -"""""." • * 1 0 1 ° 4 Overall rating: **** Once again, LL seems to mystify his fans. His beats laced with cold lyrics are very lyrically complete. He also has a lot of duets which make the album complete. I recommend picking it up now, or when ever it comes out. For fans of:Dru Hill, Kelly Price Reviewer. TYler Darden Mist Einbodynaent The: The Nanow Salm ofThings Label: Solid State Genie: EmdEmo Cue Reviewer: JDub Artist: LL Cool J Title: G.O.A.T. Label:Def Jam Genre: Hip Ifop Cheap Seats & Sticklj Floors: "The Cell" By Matt Mosley Capital Times Staff Writer It is very disconcerting to see a film that everyone loves, a film that everyone says you should love, but you end up leav ing with a sour taste in your mouth. That's how I felt after seeing The Cell. I wouldn't call it a bad film, because it definitely is not, but it is seriously flawed. There are scenes in this film that are blistering with originality and genuine style, but at the same time, those scenes are exactly what is wrong with the film. The Cell suffers from weirdness gone wild. Jennifer Lopez stars in The Cell as a cerebral social worker who is hired to visit the mind of a comatose serial killer (Vincent D'Onofrio) in order to find out where his last victim is being held Leading the investigation is an FBI forensic psy chologist (Vince Vaughn) who, when things go very wrong, is forced to trek inside the killer's mind to save the day. First of all, I would like to say that it is hard to accept Jennifer Lopez as a serious actress anymore. Her repulsive music career has unfortunately ruined her image. Throughout the entire film, you are con stantly drawn to her body rather than her character. The costume designer of The Cell did the film a disservice by dressing Lopez in music video gear; her character is a complete washout because of it. The major problem with The Cell is what I call disconnected weirdness. It's in the vein of Jim Jarmusch (Down By Law, "The Art of War" By Steven E. Moses Capital Times Staff Writer The Art of War is one of the worst movies I've seen this year. It is rated R for profanity and nudity that can't be seen through all the ass-kickings, shoot ings, and stranglings. Wesley Snipes plays an American agent (Neil Shaw) who exposes a plot to overthrow the United Nations. On the eve of trade agreements, the Chinese ambassador is shot in front of U.N. officials and other ambassadors. Snipes chases and loses the killer, and is captured as the suspect. Before he can be set free by U.N. officials, the Chinese mob ambushes film reviews Dead Man) and David Lynch (Lost Highway, Twin Peaks). The film is weird just for the sake of being weird. The dif ference between The Cell, and say, Lost Highway, is that Lost Highway at least had an original story line that was enhanced by the weirdness. The Cell does not. In The Cell, the mind of the killer is created in a breathtaking and beautiful way, but it has no real connection with the story. We are never given an idea or expla nation why the killer's mind is the way it is. Why is there an Asian/Egyptian theme to the movie? Why are there fountains "whe '? Who are all those extraneous characters? All of these enhance your visual sens es, and serves no real purpose beyond that. It's completely overdone. The screenplay lacks any real original ity. It's the same old serial killer story we've seen recycled over and over since The Silence of the Lambs. The filmmakers behind The Cell want to wow you with special effects, hoping you won't notice cardboard cut-out characters and cliched plot points. In this post-Matrix indus try, it seems we're going to be seeing many movies with heavy doses of technology to cover up low doses of ink. The Cell is candy for the eyes, but cat food for the brain. him. From this point on, the plot gets con fusing. Only a beautiful Chinese transla tor (Marie Matiko) can help. Donald Sutherland and Anne Archer co-star as high-powered U.N. officials. Christian Duguay, the director of The Art of War, is a master of pyrotechnics and the acrobatic camera. His past movies include Screamers and The Assignment. Duguay has produced yet another film with great special effects, but he needs to come up with better plots for the first-time viewer. If it weren't for the action and effects, I would've been sleeping. I think the cor rect title should be The Art of Snore!!! REVIEWS questions pop into your mind while you're watch ing the film, but are never answered. The reason is because there is no answer. All of the elabo rate, unexplained weird ness is just there to
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