Sarz's
Stewie Griffin: The Untold
Story A.K.A. The Family
Guy: The Movie
I give it 2 Outbreaks out of 5
The Details: 20th Century Fox
presents a film directed by Pete
Michels and Peter Shin, written
by Seth MacFarlane, David
Zuckerman, Alex Borstein, Steve
Callaghan, Gary Janetti, and
Chris Sheridan. The film has a
running time of 88 minutes, is
unrated, and has some profane
language.
The Low Down: Stewie Griffin
(Seth MacFarlane) in an
attempt to kill another child at a
swimming pool has a near death
experience. His life dramatically
changes after getting a glimpse
of hell and he tries to make
amends for his wrong doings
After seeing someone who looks
like him on television he sets
out on a journey to find his real
REVIEW cont'd
from 9
When God Made Me is the
most out of place song on the
album. It has a church hymn
feel to it. One notable aspect
of this song is that it sounds
like it actually could have
been recorded at a church
service. The instrumentation is
comprised of a piano and an
organ and the backing vocals
sound very much like a Sunday
choir. Even though When God
Made Me is quite different from
any of Young's other songs, it is
an appropriate way to close the
album because it is simple yet
heartfelt.
While new and upcoming
artists are constantly compared
with and forced to compete with
other groups and musicians, an
artist of Neil Young's stature is
more prone to have to compete
with and be compared to his
own earlier works. On Prairie
Wind, Neil Young doesn't
sound like he is even trying to
compete. The songs sound very
honest, natural and from the
heart. It is for these reasons that
I consider Prairie Wind to be
one of Young's finest efforts to
date.
Photo courtesy of npr org
Neil Young
father
The Dirty: Ugh! Yes, I just
started my review off with the
onomatopoeia of ugh. I was
highly disappointed with this
movie. I love Family Guy, so
maybe my hopes for this were
set a little high. It would have
been great as an episode of
the show, maybe even a two
part episode. The fact is though
that this is a movie. When a
television series makes the leap
from TV broadcast to movie
status you expect something
above and beyond.
Uncensored is just a ploy to get
you to purchase the DVD to see
what they possibly could have
shown. If you are looking for the
use of the F-word, it is there.
Nothing else that they could
not have done'on television is
there at all. Even the use of the
F-word seems forced just so
they could bill the DVD as being
uncensored. I bet someone over
Zach
By Zach 13ail?y
Music Reviewer
zsblos@psu.edu
Artist: Fiona Apple
Album: Extraordinary Machine
Label: Sony
*****
Extraordinary Machine is Fiona
Apple's third studio release. It is
also her first release in six years
The album has ignited a good
deal of controversy among fans,
which stemmed from a bootleg
copy of an earlier working of
Extraordinary Machine that had
leaked onto the Internet back in
2003.
This bootleg version had
become well known and widely
distributed. Jon Brion produced
that version. Brion has also
produced and worked with
musicians including Rufus
Wainwright, Aimee Mann, and
at Fox said "Hey let's just create
a character towards the end of
the film who drops the F-bomb
20 or so times, that way we can
bill it as uncensored, and let's
be extremely secretive about
what in fact is uncensored, and
drop incorrect hints as to what is
uncensored in the TV promos."
Yeah, because those 20 or
so uses of profanity are really
pushing the envelope. All I have
to say is give me a break, I am
much more intelligent than that.
There were some laughs to
be found, but they weren't even
as constant as watching one of
the episodes. The episodes that
revolve around Stewie just seem
to lack the creativity of other
episodes. When you take the
gag of Stewie and drag it out for
an hour and a half, the joke gets
old very quickly.
This film was merely a failed
episode attempt, hyped up by
Fox, to make some money on
the cash cow that is the Family
Tom Petty. To the
disappointment of
some fans, Apple
decided to redo the
album before its
release. While the
official release still
contains two of the
Jon Brion productions,
the remainder has
been produced and
reworked by Mike
Elizondo. Elizondo
has worked in the
past with performers
such as 50 Cent
and Eminem. What
results is the released version of
Extraordinary Machine.
Extraordinary Machine and
Waltz are the only two tracks on
the released album to retain the
original production by Jon Brion.
Brion, who has worked with
Apple in the past, approached
these songs with a lighthearted
production style including string
arrangements, which are almost
reminiscent of old Hollywood
musicals. These songs have
a whimsical and playful touch
that seems to be missing from
the rest of the album. i found it
quite fitting that these two tracks
happen to be the opening and
closing tracks of the release
because they are two of the best
numbers on the Extraordinary
Machine album.
The remainder of the album
is a bit heavier, darker and
sometimes angry. Mike Elizondo
approached the remaining
songs on the album with a
very different sound. These
songs feature more drum loop
sounds, organs, and backwards-
Entertainment
dia
Guy. The plotline was nothing
special. The only true highlights
of the film were some of the cut
away scenes.
If you are a fan of the series
you should check it out,
otherwise don't bother, you're
not missing much. Overall I was
highly disappointed. I would not
buy it, I would not rent it, I would
only borrow it from a friend
or wait for it to air on TV in its
censored format, a beep is just
as good as an F-bomb, if not
better if you ask me.
tunes
sounding noises and hums.
Of these songs, some of the
most notable are Parting Gift,
Window, and Not About Love.
Apple's piano track is the only
instrument on Parting Gift. The
melody of the song is creative
and interesting enough to keep
the listener captivated for the
duration of the song. Window is
a song about smashing a dirty
window to see what lies beyond.
This is one of the more angry
sounding songs on the album.
Not About Love contains an
incredible piano performance by
Apple. This song and Waltz are
the perfect two numbers to close
the album because they remind
the listener that Fiona Apple is
not just another random singer
/ songwriter, but a truly talented
performer who takes her craft
seriously.
All in all, this
album is probably
the best that Fiona
Apple has offered
yet. Apple is a
talented singer,
songwriter and
pianist. This
album has been
long awaited and
well overdue.
Extraordinary
Machine proves
that she has
returned from her
six year pause
from recording with
a more mature
perspective on
life and a dozen
well written and
performed tunes
The comedic Family GuyTV show finally takes the leap to the
big screen and critcs seem to think their leap was a plunge.
Fiona will embark on a U.S. tour in No
vember. The tour dates are as follows:
Talented singer/songwriter Fiona Apple is back on the music scene and
creating controversy with her new album Extraordinary Machine.
The Capital Times, October 24, 2005
Virus
11/22 Roseland Portland, OR
11/23 Moore Theatre Seattle, WA
11/25 Warfield San Francisco, CA
11/26 The Wiltern Los Angeles, CA
11/28 House of Blues San Diego, CA
11/30 House of Blues Las Vegas, NV
12/2 Paramount Theatre Denver, CO
12/4 Riviera Theatre Chicago, IL
12/5 House of Blues Cleveland, OH
--- .12/7 Orpheumßoston, MA •
12/8 Tower Theatre Philadelphia, PA
12/9 Tower Theatre Philadelphia, PA
12/11 Nokia Theatre New York, NY
Photo courtesy of google.com
Photos courtesy of Fiona-apple.com