December 15, 2003
The Lion's: Eye =
“Page 5:
Fve on Entertainment
Lion’s paws: Places to go ... things to do
MOVIES
Timeline
oe %
A team of multi-talented archaeologists led by well-
respected Professor Johnston (Billy Connolly) is exca-
vating and studying the ruins of a 14th Century Castle
in France. When Bill-Gates-like Robert Doniger (David
Thewlis), head of International Technology Corporation
and sponsor of the project, keeps clairvoyantly telling
them where they should dig, Professor Johnston goes to
ITC headquarters to investigate.
Meanwhile, the archaeologists uncover a tunnel
underneath the castle and discover a bifocal lens (bifo-
cals hadn't been invented yet) and a distress note on
parchment from the professor, both dated back to 1357.
The bewildered archaeologists, led by Johnston's son
Chris (Paul Walker) go to ITC for some answers. They
discover the professor has gone through Doniger's "3-D
fax" time machine and they must go back to the past to
rescue him.
This movie's dull tone left me somewhat cold.
Performances by Gerard Butler, with his charming
Scottish accent, as archaeologist Andre Marek and
Anna Friel as Lady Claire Arnaut outshined the per-
formances of stars Billy Connolly and Frances
O'Connor. Although it is based upon Michael Crichton's
best-selling book of the same name, it lacks the sparkle
and depth of the book. Crichton meant to reveal a fear-
some, barbaric France where the archaeologists get
caught in a petty war between the lords of two castles
and their knights and its pretty much every man for
himself.
In screenwriters George Nolfi and Jeff Maguire's
rendition, the knights are gentler, nobler French and
English men fighting the Hundred Years' War. In the
book, the time machine is an exciting new discovery
through quantum physics, while in the movie it is a
wormhole accidentally discovered by ITC. Fourteenth
Century France, a man's world, is de-masculinized in
the movie. Archaeologist Kate Erickson (Frances
O'Connor) need not cut her hair and dress like a man
to avoid being raped as in Hollywood's medieval France
where men practically ignore her. Crichton's book, rich
in historical significance, is reduced to a dumbed-down
version of itself by Hollywood's La La Land.
Nevertheless, the movie is fast-paced with good act-
ing and a catapult-flinging, fire-hurling battle between
the French and English. You'll go back in time for some
action-packed escapism.
— RENEE BLISARD
BANDS
Speechwriters LLC
They don't do tours ... and if they do, they're coffee-
shop appearances for free. They don't even have a CD
in stores. They encourage fans to download their music
off of the Internet, and are a part of the "Yellow Open
Music License," which legalizes the making of mix-tapes
by allowing people to make copies of songs and albums
for personal, nonprofit use. You also won't hear them
on the radio ... ever. Speechwriters LLC: Possibly the
most underground of underground bands.
The two "Speechwriters," Dave and Misha, both play
the guitar and split the singing on their album,
"Satisfaction." They're real, and bring a new flavor to
the table, singing about not only love and hate, but also
everyday life. College students can, without a doubt,
relate to the Speechwriters, their best songs being
"Work Song," on which they talk about those days when
nothing ever seems to go right no matter what, singing,
"The hot water never seems to make it to the tap/The hot
coffee always seems to make it to your lap... But the clock
starts buzzing and it's back to your cell/Another 10 hours
in your workaday hell."
Or check out "Acetate," which may have the best
lyrics on the entire album, the best line being, "And if
he's the one that you want to go to bed with then I'm the
one you want to wake up to."
If you like Jump Little Children, Jason Mraz, Guster
or Ben Folds, you should definitely check out the
Speechwriters. But, to forewarn you, their album is
going to be very difficult to find ... you might have to
burn their songs off of their Web site, www.speech-
writersllc.com.
— KIM HICKEY
EATERIES
DAIRY COTTAGE
It's been around since before you were born. You've
probably driven past it or near it, but if you haven't
been to the Dairy Cottage in Springfield, you should go
soon.
Located off Baltimore Pike about one or two min-
utes down Rt.420, the Dairy Cottage is a relatively
small restaurant, as the name would imply, but it serves
up a wide variety of foods.
You can get salads, cheesesteaks and chicken
cheesesteaks, sandwiches, pizza, burgers, wraps and
more. In addition to those, you can get milkshakes and
ice cream. Anything you could want, the Dairy Cottage
can make for you. I highly recommend the chicken
cheesesteak, a generous serving topped with American
cheese.
Go with a friend while you're doing your holiday
shopping. You can usually get out under $10 per person.
— JEFF HUBER
Trapshooting club taking aim at growth
As of this semester, PSU Delco has a trapshooting
club. What is trapshooting, you ask? If you ever played
Duck Hunt for Nintendo back in the day, you'll know
that trapshooting is like shooting those little clay discs
with a gun.
The real sport is more fun though, and much more
challenging. No experience is necessary. Youll be
taught everything you need to know at the club, except
how to beat Jim Wawrzyniak (the club's faculty
founder). Feel free to bring friends and family as well;
they don't have to attend PSU to participate in the
club. You can even borrow a gun. you just can't take it
home with you.
Plans for the club's future include developing an
intercollegiate team.
"We have many students who have the potential to
be competitive in the sport," Wawrzyniak said.
The PSU Trapshooting Club meets on a tentative
schedule of every other Saturday at the Delaware
County Sportsmen's Club in Media. The schedule will
be posted on its Web site, which is under construc-
tion.
The club is in its offseason, so there will be only a
few weather-permitting shoots until next semester.
The season recently concluded with the First
Annual Trapshooting Tourney.
The winners were:
m High 50 - Hiep Nguyen, senior IST major with 42
® High 25 - Springer Wahl, freshman architectural
engineering major with 23
m Special Event - Bob Heise, senior IST major
All winners received a PSU portfolio as a prize.
Not sure what all that means. Why not come out
and see for yourself?
- ADVERTISEMENT