To m's
By Thomas LeClair
Film Critic
tjll9l@psu.edu
Crash **—*
Lions Gate Films presents a
film directed by Paul Haggis.
Written by Paul Haggis and
Robert Moresco. Starring
Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle,
Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito,
William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser,
Ludacris, and Ryan Phillippe.
Where oh where do I begin
with a film such as Crash? This
is a film every adult American
needs to see. In this crazy, mixed
up, post 9/11 world, it makes
you wonder how, as a society,
there is still so much hatred and
bigotry in this country. The story
revolves around a 36-hour time
frame in which citizens all over
Los Angeles and from every
demographic imaginable interact
and are downright hateful and
racist to each other. The stories
Jackson defense calls orthodontist who testifies
she saw no sign accuser's family held captive
By Tim Molloy
AP Writer
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - An
orthodontist testified Monday in
Michael Jackson's trial that she
saw no sign that his accuser and
his family were being held captive
when they came to her office on
a visit that the mother claims was
an attempt to escape from the
pop star.
Dr. Jean Lorraine Seamount was
called by Jackson's attorneys to
counter the mother's testimony
that she invented the need for her
children to get dental attention
as a means to get away from
Jackson's Neverland ranch.
Jackson, 46, is accused of
molesting a 13-year-old cancer
patient in February or March
2003 and plying him with wine.
ProsecutorsalsocontendJackson
conspired with associates to hold
the accuser's family captive in
order to get them to make a video
rebutting a documentary aired in
February 2003 in which Jackson
is pictured with the boy and says
he let children sleep in his bed
during innocent visits.
Seamount testified about a visit
by the accuser, his brother, sister
and mother on Feb. 24, 2003.
She testified there was no film
crew present, as the mother said,
and no sign the family members
were held against their will.
She also said the accuser
Tomfoolery o
overlap with each other to the
point where every character in
the film ends up in a scene with
characters from other parts of
the world. It could be attributed
to mere coincidence, or in this
writer's opinion, to emphasize the
fact that this is an extraordinarily
small world we live in.
Everyone, and I mean everyone,
in this film is perfect for their parts.
In the past, I have questioned
some of the names in the credits,
but rest assured everyone was
excellent. Sandra Bullock plays
Jean, who is the wife of Los
Angeles District Attorney, Rick,
played by Brendan Fraser. These
two represent the upscale, rich
class of Los Angeles. Jean and
Rick are spending the night on
the town and having a good time.
When Jean spots two black men,
Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter
(Larenz Tate), walking towards
them, she grabs Rick's arm tightly.
Anthony and Peter approach Rick
and Jean and carjack them. The
next morning, Rick is preparing
Michael Jackson is currently on trial because he has been accused of
molesting a 13-year-old child. The trial is in Santa Maria, Calif..
behaved poorly and went through
drawers, forcing her to throw
away several sterilized items.
On cross-examination, Senior
Deputy District Attorney Ron
Zonen asked why the children had
been designated "VIP patients."
Seamount said that if patients
had special needs they were
designated VIPs, which might
grant them special privileges in
terms of scheduling.
She said Neverland ranch
manager Joe Marcus had told
for a press conference and
cursing the fact that he cannot
describe how is car was stolen
because he was afraid of losing
the African-American and young
male demographic votes in the
upcoming election. Jean hires a
Latino locksmith to replace the
locks of her house. When she
spots tattoos on his arms, she
demands that a new locksmith
replace the locks again in the
morning.
Ryan Phillippe and Matt Dillon
play polar opposite corrupt police
officers. Phillippe is a somewhat
rookie officer, which offsets the
experienced officer played by
Dillon. Dillon has been stressing
because his father has a severe
urinary tract infection that the
insurance company refuses to
have acknowledged by a doctor.
He is under extreme pressure
because of his daily stress on
duty and his nights losing sleep
as he listens to his father crying
in the bathroom. Nothing more
will be said about these two
Photo courtesy of www.foxnews.com
someone in her office that the
children were high profile and
may be recognizable.
Defense attorneys are awaiting
a ruling from the judge on
a request to call a Jackson
employee to testify that the
accuser's sister said her mother
and the mother's boyfriend
were planning "something big"
involving Jackson.
Prosecutors say the statements
are hearsay and should not be
admitted.
Entertainment
except they were tremendous in
their parts.
The most shocking performances
come in a scene involving the
locksmith, his daughter, and an
Arabic store owner. Don Cheadle
plays a detective and it is revealed
in the middle of the movie that he
is also the brother of Peter. His
saga revolves around his drug
addicted mother and the cold
relationship they share.
Keep in mind too that this is the
directorial debut for Paul Haggis,
who just won an Academy Award
this year for his screenplay for
Million Dollar Baby. He wrote a
fantastic screenplay that clearly
shows that we can change our
behavior, and that we have
to be respectful of everyone
in this world. Everybody is
different, but we need to love one
another instead of showing plain
ignorance. Remember this name
because even though we are still
early into the 2005 film season,
this will be a film recognized
come next February.
TV's Chappelle
Show suspended
By The Associated Press
NEW YORK - Comedian Dave
Chappelle wants to set things
straight: "I'm not crazy, I'm not
smoking crack," he tells Time
magazine in an interview more
than a week after his hit Comedy
Central show was suspended
and the rumors started to fly.
"I'm definitely stressed out,"
said Chappelle, who took off
last month to South Africa for a
"spiritual retreat," leaving his fans
- and even his agent and publicist
- wondering where he went.
"You hear so many voices
jockeying for position in your
mind that you want to make sure
that you hear your own voice," he
said. "So I figured, let me just cut
myself off from everybody, take
a minute and pull a Flintstone -
stop a speeding car by using my
bare feet as the brakes."
After Comedy Central announced
that the planned May 31 debut of
the third season of "Chappelle's
Show" had been postponed, the
magazine Entertainment Weekly
reported that Chappelle had
checked himself into a mental
health facility in South Africa.
"I'm not in a mental facility," said
Chappelle, who also said he did
not have a drug problem but had
consulted a psychiatrist for one
40-minute visit.
The 31-year-old comedian
f Cinema
Thandie Newton (left) and Matt Dillon (right) star in the recently re
leased "Crash." The film was written and directed by Paul Haggis.
said he fled to stay with friends
in Durban because he wasn't
happy with the direction of the
show, which is behind only "South
Park" as Comedy Central's most
watched program.
"There's a lot of resistance to
my opinions, so I decided, 'Let
me remove myself from this
situation," Chappelle said.
Comedy Central president Doug
Herzog told Time that the star has
"complete creative freedom." He
has told staff he believes there
won't be a "Chappelle's Show" in
2005, but leaves the option open
for the comedian's return.
Chappelle, whose wife and
two children live in Ohio, said
he hopes to start up the show
again, but did not indicate when
he would return.
Comedy Central had inked a
reported $5O million deal to keep
"Chappelle's Show" for two more
seasons, and the comedian
hinted to Time about struggles
associated with the power and
fame that come with that kind of
success
"If you don't have the right
people around you, and you're
moving at a million miles an
hour, you can lose yourself," he
said. "Everyone around me says,
'You're a genius, you're great,
that's your voice,' but I'm not sure
that they're right."
The Capital Times, May 16, 2005
Mikado brings
flavor to area
live oysters and scallops on
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.
A lovely private dining room,
complete with hibachi grill, is
accommodating for large groups,
and Mikado is currently BYOB.
Reservations are encouraged,
as both the hibachi and dining
room seating fill up quickly.
In days past, Mikado was a title
used for Japanese emperors, and
Americans loved the Japanese
steakhouse concept. The latter
remains true, and the experience
and eye for detail incorporated
into Mikado make it a burnished
version of the original- kaokkii!
MIKADO JAPANESE
STEAKHOUSE & SUSHI BAR
4920 Carlisle Pike
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
(717) 761-5133
Fax: (717) 761-5132
HOURS:
Lunch- Mon.-Sat.- 11am-2pm
Dinner: Sun.-Thurs.- 4:3opm
-9:3opm
Fri.-Sat.- 4:3opm-10:30pm
Credit Cards: All major
No Smoking
BYOB
Take-out available
Photo courtesy of www.joblo.com
MIKADO cont'd from 9