oo 5 25 B25 The Fourth Wall page 7 By Levi Snyder Staff Writer Let’s clear something up. In my past articles, I believe that I may have come off as some what of a snobby critic. I have previously bashed big action films and summer block busters and hailed more mature films. This is because I expected more from these films, and they simply didn’t deliver. However, that does not mean that I do not appreciate films that are exactly what they claim to be; big, dumb, and very entertaining. Going to see Snakes on a Plane was a great afternoon at the movies because I wasn’t confused about what kind of movie I was about to see. It looked silly and absurd and it delivered on ‘both counts. This made it very fun. During spring break, I had the privilege of seeing two films that prove that this formula works. The first craptastic film I saw was 10,000 B.C. From early previews, I was under the impression that the film was a big, rousing period epic. However, the Sport Analysis: more previews I saw, the more I began to think that it was just an expensive mash up of movies like Apocolypto with some mammoths and saber tooth tigers thrown in. My second assumption proved to be correct. 10,000 B.C. is the story of a tribe of hunters who have are given one last chance to kill a mammoth and provide for their people before these animals leave their land forever. Not only will killing a mammoth provide food, but the tribesman who slays the beast will be able to have his pick of the women of the tribe. Dilai, a tribesman who is in love with Evolet, the most beautiful girl in the village, is determined to win her. The mammoth hunt offers some amazing special effects, but also a lot of laughs as the hunters hang from a net on the mammoth’s back and are tossed around like rag dolls. Dilai slays the beast and wins the hand of Evolet, but she along with many others tribe’s people are captured by an Egyptian like people who are hell bent on making them their slaves. From here, the movie hits every cliché imaginable. The tribesmen who were not captured go out after the others. They cross snow covered mountains, Lord of the Rings style. Then, they must travel through thick jungle while being stalked by pre-historic ostriches, Jurassic Park style. Finally, Dilai and the others must join up with another tribe in order to plan an attack on the large army and win freedom for their. people. Brave Heart, anyone? The film borrows from so many exceptional films that it is hard not too like it at least a little bit. Sure, it is unoriginal and the acting is terrible, but who needs acting and originality in an action film? The special effects are quite good and despite the absurdity of it all, the film is always entertaining. 10,000 B.C. is no master piece, but it is an enjoyable little flick The second film that I saw was Never Back Down, the story of a teen who must stand up to a school bully by learning martial arts and discovering his inner strength. Now, most of us have seen this movie when it was called The Karate Kid, but it is a rule in Hollywood that you never let a good thing die. Though it is not every note that the 1984 classic did. The lead, Jake Tyler (Sean Faris), moves with is family from a small town in Iowa to Los Angeles, California. He has trouble making friends, but falls for a local girl who is dating the school bully, Ryan. Ryan beats the crap out of him ata party and Jake goes to a gym to seek martial arts training. Now, though no one can possibly generate as much charm as Mr. Miyagi, Gladiator’s Dijmon Honsou does his best as a mixed martial arts instructor who takes Jake under his wing. He teaches him that violence is not the answer and that martial arts is about discipline and confidence building. However, it is inevitable that Jake will fight Ryan and prove that he is the better man. Though it’s hard to match The Karate Kid, the film does offer some amazing displays of mixed martial arts and a strong performance from its star, Sean Faris. Also, Amber Heard could not be more perfectly cast as the California girl who catches Jake’s eye. Her lines are cheesy and her acting is mediocre at best. But due to her natural beauty, her words are of little importance. She is basic arm candy for our hero and she fits the part very well. On top of that, the film offers the kind of classic from this kind of movie, and the sound track is an effective mash up of current rock and rap tunes. Never Back Down won’t be on any top ten lists this year, but it does offer a lot of fun and a timeless story about facing your fears and standing up for what is right. At a time when most students are on spring break, these films give audiences just that; a break. They are an escape from deep, involving films. They are loud, dumb and wildly entertaining. I am a film critic who is always searching for a deeper meaning in a film, but some times, there isn’t one. Sometimes films are simply ninety minute pieces of throw away entertainment, and as long as they offer the kind of fun that these two films do, I’m all for it. By Tony Arnold Sports Editor This has been my third season watching the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Yes, only back on the spectacular fun I’ve a little regretful) that I have not a i since I was old enough to comprehend the aesthetics of athletics. It is sort of odd when I recall my “pre-tournament” years. Iremember NCAA basketball fans in high school freaking out about one team or another’s performance in the tournament—the tremendous pandemonium over Bucknell knocking off Kansas a few years back is always salient in my mind—and I remember my trouble comprehending what all the fuss was about. Basketball as a sport was wholly unattractive to me, so imagine the struggle I faced discovering the appeal of a 63- game tournament comprised of a bunch of amateurs who often gain access through good fortune rather than perseverance during the regular season. -(Syracuse’s unlikely run through the Big East tournament in 2006 comes to mind here.) In my senior year of high school in the year 2006, however, I discovered what has now become a veritable centerpiece to my March experience. I gained my introduction to March Madness via a bracket competition at my high school. Each guy who wanted to join submitted a dollar, filled out a bracket, and prayed for a tremendous amount of luck to win him the pot (I came to find out that skill rarely provides a solid bulwark in bracket competition). Obviously, I was going on almost nothing, so I did what I do best: research. I watched ESPN bracket specials, I scoured the internet, I looked up statistics: essentially I tried to become an instant expert. It almost worked, too. I picked three out of the final four that year, but as precocious as I thought myself to would win the first of two consecutive national championships. Bummer. I keep coming back, however, and I think that is just one reason why the tournament’s nickname is appropriate. Not only does madness lay in the unpredictability of the tournament itself (a la George Mason’s final four run); it also dwells in the minds of its patrons. The anticipation of Selection Sunday, the passion of the players, the vitality of a single game, the strategy employed; sundry factors unite to create what is—in the opinion of this writer at least—a sporting spectacle more exciting than the Super Bowl. There, I said it. Regardless of the reader’s opinion on that particular opinion, however, most of us can agree that March Madness is an action-packed athletic marathon worthy of the time of the avid sports fan. If you have never watched it, do yourself a favor and check out a game or two. If it strikes you as it struck me, you may just discover the event that adds some flavor to your March.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers