Meredith Herald
September 12, 2001
8
Campus Reviews
All for one is a
solid zero
JUUE Rasmusen
Conlribuling Writer
Based on Alexander Dumas’
Three Musketeers, The Muske
teer which debuted on Friday
concentrates on the adventures
of D'artagnan (Justin Cham
bers).
D’artagnan, a young man
anxious to join his heroes-the
musketeers—is not only fight
ing for France and the king
against Cardinal Richelieu
(Stephen Rea), but he is seek
ing revenge upon the Cardi
nal's henchman Febre (Tim
Roth) for the murder of his par
ents.
Upon his arrival in Paris, he
finds that the musketeers are in
danger of extinction.
As he fights to help the mus
keteers regain their position of
respect, he does find time to
fall in love with Constance
Bonacieux, played by actress
Mena Suvari {American Pie,
Atnerican Beauty).
Constance who is a friend to
the Queen of France beseeches
D'artagnan to aid in (he fight
for France and helps to further
expose him to the political
manipulations of Cardinal
Richelieu.
But as glorious as the name
like the “Three Musketeers”
may be, nothing can save this
movie which can best be
described as weak.
The acting was neither con
vincing nor engaging.
Even the romance between
D'artagnan and Constance
lacked the chemistry necessary
(o give this aspect of the film
any credibility.
And the musical score,
which sometimes can help a
poor movie seek redemption,
made things even worse. It
lacked the regality of a musi
cal score that should be
heard in a movie depicting a
heroic escapade.
However, the most inter
esting aspect of this film was
the fight scenes which were
choreographed by the same
choreographer who designed
the movement for Crouching
Tiger. Hidden Dragon.
At least these scenes gave
some evidence of imagina
tion.
To put things bluntly— if
you love the romance of the
musketeers or historical
films, do yourself a favor
and rent Disney’s version of
The Three Musketeers.
It will be much more
worth your lime and money.
New Diana book honors
her legacy
JoNi Smith
Martagirtg Editor
She was haled by most in her
family but loved by all the
world. Princess Diana is one
of the most dynamic, intriguing
and loved women of modern
times.
She stood up against the
British monarchy by not giving
into their materialistic
lifestyles and ventured around
the world helping the sick and
the poor. She also brought
bulimia, an eating disorder that
affects thousands of women
each year, into the public’s
view, taking away some of the
stigma that had previously sur
rounded eating disorders.
Her death in 1997 shocked
and overwhelmed people
across the world, many of
which never even met her. Yet
her spirit and good nature lives
on through a book written by
Andrew Morton, a renown
author of literature published
on the royalty of England, enti
tled Diana: Her True Story.
In Morton’s book. Princess
Diana tells her struggles with
school, her young adult life in
London, her courtship with the
Prince of Wales, her battle with
bulimia, her sons and the
unraveling of her celebrated
marriage.
Morton began working on
this book in 1991. He wrote
questions to Diana and had
them delivered in clever ways
to her at Buckingham Palace in
an attempt to keep the project a
secret from the international
press and most importantly, the
royal family who resented her
presence from the beginning of
her relationship with Prince
Charles.
The book begins with
Diana’s answers to Morton’s
questions in an informal style
and later transitions into more
of a biography. The book also
includes pictures ranging from
her childhood to the famous
pictures of her during the wed*
ding ceremony in one of the
most famous wedding dresses
ever made. Included within the
pages of the book are sto
ries about Diana con
tributed from those people
that were closest to her
throughout her short but
impressive life.
Princess Diana Spencer
is a woman full of grace,
intelligence, compassion,
and style. Diana; Her True
Story exemplifies these
qualities to the fullest
extent by giving private
details of her life, quotes
from family and friends,
her own remarks, and per
sonal pictures never before
seen by the public.
This book is one that
should be read by anyone
who has an interest in
learning about a remark
able woman who even after
her death serves as a role
model for people around
the world. The mark Diana
left on those who were for
tunate enough to know and
experience her determina
tion and strength will not
be soon forgotten.
MTV can’t
get it right
Lynda-
Marih
Taurasi
□ Jackson sings
with N’Sync, Brit
ney dances with a
snake. What’s going
on with the VMAs?
Lynda-Marie Taurasi
Music CohjmnisI
Even after 17 years of
putting on their annual Video
Music Awards (VMAs), MTV
still cannot get it right.
When they launched the first
one in 1984, they
originally meant
it as a spoof to all
award shows.
But today, the
Video Music
Awards has
become a legiti
mate award
show that allows
artists and video
directors to receive worthy
praise and recognition for their
work.
However, like all spoofs that
become sequels (i.e.. The
Scream Trilogy) with each
year, the VMAs get worse.
Long gone are the days when I
remember looking forward to
the live performances and sur
prises that MTV always man
aged to conjure up for viewers.
With the (urn of the century,
MTV has officially abandoned
their underground, anti-corpo
rate attitude and fully
embraced the loathsome self-
promoting, unoriginal, and
commercial image that
reminds me of a sleazy, sec
ond-rate used car salesman.
It is no surprise that some
talented and respected artists
are doing the same.
It was not a surprise to find
that the “King of Pop” (albeit
self-proclaimed) Michael Jack
son not only sold-out and
joined N’Sync in their perfor
mance but also joined in on one
of their songs.
I did find it slightly amusing
to see Mick Jagger (still alive
and kicking) to sit next to Brit
ney Spears during a pre-show
interview talking about her
remake of “Satisfaction”.
To see old-time rockers
kicking it with the newcomers
is merely a reflection on the
commercialization of rock and
roll.
However, let us not allow
my pessimistic and depressing
views of today’s music indus
try get in the way of some of
the highlights. Yes, there was
some highlights worthy
enough to get mentioned.
I felt mixed emotion to see
Alicia Keys win Best New
Artist. The reason being, "the
category is cursed.
Most artists, who win this
category turn out to be one-hit-
wonders. To quote Chris Rock,
“Some of y’all won’t be here
next year." Hopefully the very
talented—like Keys—will be.
After much technical diffi
culty, for which Bono openly
faulted MTV, U2’s perfor
mance was—as always--leg-
endary. It was so much so, that
they received the MTV’s
Michael Jackson Video Van
guard.
Afterwards they humbly and
sheepishly admitted that most
of their videos were crap.
Of course, a highlight would
be the tributes to the late
Aaliyah and Joey Ramone of
the Ramones.
So there was some good to
come out of the VMAs, but the
reality is, they just were not up
to par.
In fact, they haven’t been for
years.
The only enjoyment I got
was watching Britney Spears
make a fool out of herself
while dancing with a massive
snake slung across her shoul
ders. Even the jailbait per
former couldn’t top her shock
ing strip-tease performance
from last year.
This year’s show can best be
summed up by Macy Gray’s
outfit, the singer who wore a
dress that adverstised her
album and beckoned people to
buy it: The VMAs were all
about tacky style and lowly
self-promotion.
Better luck next year.