Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Jan. 21, 1999, edition 1 / Page 7
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£f?r iatly ®ar Poetic 'Red Line' Fails to Achieve Power of 'Ryan' "The Thin Red Line" director Terrence Malick makes a highly anticipated return to the big screen, but he falls short of expectations. I guess it was inevitable. After going to see the new World War II epic “The Thin Red Line,” a film about the battle for the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific, one of the first ques tions I was asked was “Is it better than ‘Saving Private Ryan?’” Hardly a fair question considering that the films are about as different as the European front was from the Pacific front. But, as this seems to be the context in which public per- ception of “The Thin Red Line” is to be grounded, I’ll play along. So, it better than “Saving Private Ryan?” Sadly, no. “The Thin Red Line” is more daring in every aspect of filmmak ing. It deserves to be a far superior film, yet it can’t outdo Speilberg’s gut-wrenching realism. “The Thin Red Line’s” director, Terrence Malick, is as close to mythical as anyone gets in Hollywood. After directing two outstanding films in the 70s, “Badlands” and “Days of Heaven,” Malick walked away from the industry - essential ly pulling a J.D. Salinger. So when word got out that the reclu sive Malick planned to film James Jones’ 1962 novel “The ’Thin Red Line,” Hollywood’s elite lined up to be a part of it. And while Malick cast many of the megastars who court -ed him in bit parts (Sean Penn, John Travolta, George Clooney and others), the meaty roles went largely to relative unknowns. Malick, though, is known for making stars out of unknowns -by eliciting outstanding performances. Ever heard of Martin Sheen or Richard Gere? You might not have without Malick. So keep your eyes peeled in the future for Ben Chaplin, Elias -Koteas and James Caviezel, the stars of “The Thin Red Line.” The film does not follow a conventional plot structure, and herein lies both the film’s primary strength and its greatest flaw. If most movies are like novels (i.e., a core group of charac ters who encounter conflict and affect resolution), “The Thin Red Line” is like a poem - an abstract meditation on the ' Pepper's —T Pizza A Sunny Place '/ 7 \1 for Shady People 127-129 E. Franklin St. Downtown Chapel Hill Next to Varsity Theatre 967-7766 OPEN A DELIVERING THE ORIGINAL Jr V. i, > SUPERS® V# CD WORLDS GREATEST GOURMET SANDWICH SHOPS'* WHY SO YUMMY? "ALL MY GOURMET SANDWICHES ARE AAADE ON FRESH BAKED BREAD MADE RIGHT HERE WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT. THE LEANEST, HIGHEST QUALITY MEATS AVAILABLE ARE USED. THE GARDEN FRESH VEGGIES ARE BROUGHT IN AND SLICED EACH AND EVERY MORNING. WE USE HELLMANN'S MAYONNAISE AND PURE OLIVE OIL. I GUARANTEE THE BEST" CHAPEL KILL OPOJIIAMTO3AM 7 MVS A WEEK ESTABLISHED 1983 "IN CHARLESTON H TO AID STUDENTS SPA AND GENERAL DATING ABUTTY," A COLLEGE CAREER *WTTH JIMMY JOHNS LEARN MY BUSINESS AND OWN YOUR OWN STORE. WORK 1 YEAR PART-TIME AND PROVE YOURE THE BEST. WE LOVE THE BEST.' Sean Penn leads the pack of established stars who play secondary roles to relative unknown actors. nature of war and war’s place in nature set against the back drop of a bloody historical event. While this poetic approach is a refreshing break from Hollywood norms, it carries the same problem that keeps most poetry from being widely popular. It is exceedingly dif ficult to write poetry involving the reader like a novel can. An exceptionally talented poet can pull this off, and, at times, so does Malick. Much of the time, though, I just found myself wanting him to get on with it Give me conflict, give me characters, give me anything other than another shot of blades of grass waving in the wind! Of course, this is not to say that “Saving Private Ryan” was a perfect movie. It had narrative problems of its own, not to mention a few over-stereotyped characters, a problem that “The Thin Red Line” avoids entirely. Unfortunately, this film’s uninvolving beauty can’t claim the same power as Spielberg’s ultra-realistic masterpiece. The Diversions Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. MATT MILLER Movie Review "The Thin Red Line" rtf WUBBHBWI96B-SUBS "YOUR MOM WANTS YOU TO EAT AT JIMMY JOHN'S!" ® OOPyW6Mr JIMMY JONS INC. 1986, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WF MMW TWD BTOfT Tn t/utKP 4NTV UPMI Cl-UMCPA Diversions Movies jj^IHtAYANA Wmr aj MwiiA f CLASSIC CUBAN CUISINE Join us for the resurrection of Margarita $2 on the Rods til 2am Salsa Dancing Thursday & Friday ; NationsßanK Bldg * Downtown Chapel Hill *933-6133 - - ■■ V ..Mi r;--; i six GOURMET sues ALL MY GOURMET SUBS ARE A FULL 8 INCHES OF HOME-BAKED BREAD, FRESH VEGGIES AND THE BEST MEATS & CHEESES WE CAN BUY! THEPEPE SMOKED VIRGINIA #•• HAM AND PROVOLONE CHEESE GARNISHED WITH LETTUCE, TOMATO AND MAYO! (AWESOME!) #2. BIG JOHN MEDIUM RARE SHAVED ROAST BEEF, TOPPED WITH YUMMY MAYO, LETTUCE, AND TOMATO. #“5. SORRY CHARLIE CALIFORNIA BABY TUNA MIXED WITH CELERY, ONIONS AND OUR GOURMET SAUCE THEN TOPPED WITH ALFALFA SPROUTS, LETTUCE AND TOMATO. *4. TURKEY TOM FRESH BAKED TURKEY BREAST, TOPPED WITH LETTUCE, TOMATO. ALFALFA SPROUTS AND MAYO.' gC Vi H O ™E ORIGINAL ITALIAN •'* SUB WI7HGENOA SALAMI, PROVOLONE CHEESE. CAPICOLA, ONION, LETTUCE TOMATOES A A REAL GOURMET ITALIAN VINAIGRETTE. #O. VEGETARIAN several layers OF PROVOLONE CHEESE SEPARATED BY AVOCADO, SPROUTS, LETTUCE, TOMATO AND MAYO. (TRULY A GOURMET SUB NOT FOR VEGETARIANS ONLY.) M = #l3. GOURMET VEGGIE CLUB ALFALFA SPROUTS. AVOCADO LETTUCE’ TOMATO A MAYOII THIS VEGGIE SANDWICH IS WORLD CLASS) ® i&^x^oßsr T " N ‘ ut Flick Leaves Audience 'Blue' In rural Texas, high school football rules the land. The Friday night contests rival all other news events. Residents hold up the coach as a demigod, look ing past his dictatorial ways. The play ers are above the law. Sounds like a great life - if you play football. It’d be even bet ter if it made a good movie. “Varsity Blues,” the JIM MARTIN Movie Review "Varsity Blues" it latest in the teen-film explosion started by “Scream,” sets up its cinematic shop in West Canaan (note the blatant bibli cal allusion), a small town where guys in shoulder pads hold the pride of the community in their hands. At the helm of the West Canaan Coyotes football team for 35 illustrious yet tyrannical years is Bud Kilmer (Academy Award winner Jon Voight in one of his most underutilized roles since “Anaconda”). Kilmer walks and talks like Hider was his role model. So when second-string hot-shot quar terback Jonathan Moxton (James Van Der Beek, TV’s “Dawson’s Creek) takes over after the starting QB suffers a trau matic knee injury, philosophies clash. Audiences have seen it all before. This movie about an athlete struggling with a mean-spirited leader rehashes “The Program” in order to make a sports movie for the teenage demo graphic. Director and Producer Brian Robbins admitted he had always been a fan of John Hughes’ ’Bos high school films, and he said he followed sports. What Robbins comes up with in “Varsity Blues” is an incredibly generic and formulaic sports film with teenage drinking and sex scattered around. In fact, there’s nothing inherendy wrong with the movie, but more impor tandy, there is not one remarkable qual AMAN-nji N uNeeuevA b lei THIS SANDWICH WAS INVENTED (V JIMMY JOHN'S BROTHER HUEY. IT'S HUGE ENOUGH TO FEED THE HUNGRIEST OF AU HUMANS! TONS OF GENOA SALAMI SLICED SMOKED HAM, CAFICOLA. ROAST BEEF. TURKEY i MVOLONE CHEESE, JAMMED INTO ONE Of OUR HOMEMADE FRENCH IUNS THEN SMOTHERED WITH ONIONS 100,LETTUCE TOMATO G OUR HOMEMADE ITALIAN DRESSING ~~PLAmsimTLMs SAME BREAD, MEATS, AND CHEESE AS OCR GOURMET SUBS SLIM 1 HAM 4 CHEESE SUM 2 RARE ROAST BEEF SLIM 3 CALIFORNIA TUNA SUM 4 SLICED TURKEY SUM 5 SALAMI 4 CAPICOLA SUM 6 DOUBLE PROVOLONE SODA POP- COKE, DIET COKE, aaL SPRITE, LEMONADE, ICEDTEA LAYS POTATO CHIPS, OR A JUMBO KOSHER DHL TGi DOUBLECHEESE EXTRA LOAD OF MEAT 4| OR EXTRA VEGGIES OR SAUCE GIANT GOURMET COOKIES CHQCOLATECHIPor OATMEAL RAISIN PER SANDWICH FOR DELIVERY #I4.THE BOOTLEGGER CLUB memum rare roast beef and fresh SLICED TURKEY LOADED WITH LOTS OF LETTUCE. TOMATO A REAL HELLMANN’S MAYO. A CLASSIC. CERTAINLY NOT INYEKrTED BY J.J. BUT DEFINITELY TWEAKED AND FINE-TUNED TO PERFECTION! . m y*v>'7 i James Van Der Beek withstands the verbal assault form Jon Voiqht (his coach) in the latest Hollywood teensploitation flick, "Varsity Blues." ity in it either. Sure, Van Der Beek secured his first feature film and kept his head above water, but don’t look for his career to skyrocket as if he was one of the “Party of Five” girls. Asa production of MTV Films, one must accept that the two female sup porting characters are both fashion models. Of course, the lead character will be surrounded by oudandish stereo- R FLORIDA e SPRING BREAK FROM $159 PER WEEK* SANDPIPER BEACON BEACH RESORT PANAMA CITY BEACH nfiir i , gjifflllffiimiM .. ~ M'liijjJJJMlj, 2 OUTDOOR HEATED POOLS • 1 INDOOR HEATED POOL HUGE BEACH FRONT HOT TUB LAZY RIVER RIDE • SUITES UP TO 10 PERSONS SAILBOATS • TIKI BEACH BAR ■ JET SKIS ■ PARASAILS : HOME OF THE WORLD S LONGEST KEG PARTY" FREE DRAFT BEER ALL WEEK LONG-GALL FOR INFO? 1-800-488-8828 www.sandpiperbeacon.com ('rates per person) 17403 FRONT BEACH; ROAD RAN AM ACI i Y SiACII. FI S7l • 3 NINE 6MNT CLUBS OCR CLUB SANDWtCFES TWICE THE MEAT OF TH: GOURMET SUBS AND ARE STACKED TWO THICK SLICES OF MV HOMEMADE 7-6 RAIN HOKEyVVFEAT BREAD IF YOU WOUD PRffßi IT ON OUR FAMOUS FISsKH BREAD, JUST ASM #j GOURMET SMOKED HAM CLUB * A FULL 1/4 POUND OF SMOKED VIRGINIA HAM WITH PROVOLONE CHEESE AND TONS OF LETTUCE, TOMATO AND MAYO. (4 REAL STAOO #B. BELY CLUB SLICED ROAST BEEF, PROVOLONE CHEESE A GREY POUPON MUSTARD. TOPPED WITH SHAVED HAM, TOMATO, LETTUCE AND MAYO (uses to mv OLD PAL BULY BURNS WHO INVBfIH) THIS CPEATCaMBO.) #l. ITALIAN NBHTOUB REAL GENOA SALAAAI, ITALIAN CAPICOLA, SMOKED HAM AND PROVaONE CHEESE ALL TOPPED WITH LETTUCE, TOMATO ONIONS, MAYO AND OUR HOMEMADE ITALIAN VINAIGRETTE. m HUNTER’S CLUB A full 1/4 POUND OF FRESH SLICED MEDIUM RARE ROAST BEEF, PROVOLONE CHEESE, LETTUCE TOMATO A REAL HERMANNS MAYO!!! #H. COUNTRY CLUB FRESH SUCED TURKEY BREAST, SMOKED HAM. PROVOLONE CHEESE, AND TONS OF LETTUCE. TOMATO, AND MAYO, (the very traditional BREAST. AVOCADO. AND CHEESE ON THE BOTTOM. ALFALFA SPROUTS, LETTUCE TOMATO AND REAL HERMANNS MAYO ONTOP.ffTDOESNTtETAWgnan <& #ls. CLUB TUNA THE SAME AS OUR #3 SORRY CHWJE EXCST THIS ONE HAS A LOT MORE. A SCOOP OF OUR HOMEMADE TUNA TOPPED WITH flim PROVOLONE CHEESE. LETTUCE, TOMATO, AND ALFALFA SROUTS. !TIY IT ON OVA HOOCOAbC 7-AMAIN WHEAT AS A DOUBLE DECKER. I SUAKANTCE XT’S AWSSOftEI) Thursday, January 21, 1999 types -a 300-pound hick named Billy Bob with a pick-up truck and a pig named Bacon, and a hyper-sexualized renegade named Tweeder. “Varsity Blues” is one of those on-the fence films that can’t setde on a genre, yet settles for being completely mediocre. The Diversions Editors can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. 7
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 21, 1999, edition 1
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