Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 24, 2000, edition 1 / Page 8
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8 Thursday, February 24, 2000 Space Flick Recalls Pleasure Of LoW'Budget Sci-Fi Films By Justin Winters Staff Writer Working on a budget more apt for a direct-to-video movie than a box-office blockbuster, director and co-writer David Twohy’s latest science-fiction fun fest “Pitch Black” succeeds at what ear lier sci-fi yawners (“Supernova” and “Lost in Space”) failed at: it’s loads of fun to watch. Remember how jazzed you were to Movie Review "Pitch Black" watch those low-budget, pseudo-scary B-movies that came on at the exact time your parents went to sleep as a kid? Twohy obviously did, and he trades in gore for suspense in a film that could be billed as this year’s sci-fi “Sixth Sense.” With an opening shot that hearkens back to ever)' space movie since the beginning of time, the first 15 minutes of “Pitch” are intensity-packed with the emergency landing of a spaceship car rying an array of personality-infused passengers (a sort of U-bus in space). Once the ship crash-lands into the requisite barren planet, the remaining survivors are faced with the usual prob lems: lack of water, lack of food and the fact that there is a 3-to-l guy-girl ratio. Instead of relying so much on what the mean E.T.’s look like, “Pitch” turns Friendly Barber Shop iiiiiiiii spß, f break , , $lO ' i ' Before you CUT out of here C \ 3 942-6921 1 m 108 E. Main Street • Carrboro y Hours: M, TANARUS, Th, F 8-6, W 8-1, Sat. 8-4 ;• V - 7 Introducing >: V ' MADEIN THE SKIES OFITALY V ♦DONALD j PLINER# eyewear I , New at at the Square University Square, 133 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill 27516 A; Are you ready for Spring Break? > Men's and Women's Swimeuitg from: ; * Rufity, Quicksilver-, Roxy, wil- Point Conception, Reef & Rainbow Scandals up the ante of suspense once the lights go out. The survivors land on a planet that happens to have an unfortunately long eclipse every 22 years. Twohy pulls no punches in feeding on the possible fears of every red-blood ed American: the fear of darkness, the fear of hopelessness and the fear of women taking control of the world. “Pitch” is the type of flick in which the hero does all he or she can, gets close to succeeding, and then BAM - some higher space power decides to drop another wrench in the plans. That wrench, a space criminal played with juice by Vin Diesel (“Boiler Room”), is so chill-inducingly kick-ass that his inclusion in the movie is worth the price of admission. The hero here ain’t too shabby either. Played convincing by super-babe Radha Mitchell (“High Art”), she is the striking culmination of Nicole Kidman like intelligence and a take-no-crap hot mama like Ripley from “Aliens.” Twohy should get a big pat on the back for this effort. He’s made a living directing low-budget flicks that use time honored basics of film and inject a good dose of Saturday B-movie fun. In this day and age, in which teen flicks and action-packed duds are the norm, that’s a “pitch”-perfect breath of fresh air. The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. DIVERSIONS Movies Director Mocks Gangster Movies in Funny Film By Ferris Morrison Staff Writer Sometimes you just have to kill peo ple. Whether you’re a contract killer or a dentist, murder is just a simple fact of life in suburban Montreal. Especially when people are trying to kill you. In “The Whole Nine Movie Review "The Whole Nine Yards" (iff Yards,” Bruce Willis stars as Jimmy “The Tulip” Tudeski, a contract killer on the 'Holy Smoke' Smolders, Lacks Cinematic Spark By Joanna Pearson Staff Writer Save the money you were planning to spend on hallucinogens and go see “Holy Smoke” instead - the experience will be just as bewildering. Director Jane Campion, (“ The Piano”) delivers anoth er gold-dusted, shadow-filled picture. Unlike Hi Movie Review "Holy Smoke" fff “The Piano,” with its clean, aching power. Campion’s latest film is loose jointed and wobbly. Hi Call and ask about our Spring Break Cash Giveaway! Need Spring Break Funds? , Participate in our life-saving & iitum i.iIK /’ \ rewarding plasma donation program. IMMEDIATE COMPENSATION! / Donors Earn up to $165 per Month! ★ New donors earn S2O for first visit, $35 for the second visit within 7 days. New donors call for appointment. Os// Of Stop by. parking validated Sera-Tec steals www.citysearch.com/Rbu/SeraTec 1091 /2 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill • 942-0251 • M-TH 10-6, FlO-4 run from the Hungarian Mafia. Matthew Perry plays Nicholas “Oz" Oseransky, a man dissatisfied with his loveless mar riage and unglamorous life as a dentist. The film is the story of “The Tulip" and “Oz,” two neighbors bonded together when hit men are hired to kill each of them. Director Jonathan Lynn created this entertaining comedy as a melodramatic parody of gangster films. From the char acters’ terrible accents to the contract killer’s seductively beautiful wife, each element of the film is carefully scripted to identify cliches in crime films. When Tudeski’s wife Cynthia, played by Natasha Henstridge, comes to Oz’s Campion and her sister Anna wrote this tale of Ruth (Kate Winslet), a young Australian who finds - or is sucked into - the path of enlightenment with a cult in India. When she refuses to return home, her mother (Jane Hamilton) goes to fetch Ruth under the pretense that her father is dying. Seeing Ruth’s mother frantic in the colorful crowd of Delhi is one of the best parts of the movie. In fact, Campion’s initial depictions of India, or what we would like to think of as India, inter spersed with a number of fantasy sequences, is artfully dreamy. Phis setting, in contrast with Ruth’s family’s trashy suburban realm, height moa’i/oj Basfi4|o*so|sisanjq*MMM 115 E. Franklin Street * 960-7277 hotel room in Chicago, Oz opens the door as Cynthia lights a cigarette while jazzy, seductive music cues in. A1 Capone would be proud. Better known for his sarcastic antics as Chandler Bing of the T.V. show “Friends,” Perry is sure to draw in a pre dominately female fan base and bring this movie significant financial success. His role as Oz seems scripted for his character on “Friends.” Perry’s sarcasm and comedic antics are present in both roles. While Perry doesn’t have a broad range of acting ability, at least he per forms shtick well. Oz’s wife Sophie (Rosanna Arquette), is truly a bitch. Unfortunately, ens the tension. Ruth returns home to discover her father’s illness was a trick, and finds her mildly lunatic family ready to squelch her “enlightened” views. Enter PJ. Waters (Harvey Keitel), famed American exit counselor hired by Ruth’s family. From his first scene, P.J. Waters comes striding in like a craggy faced Casanova. He and Ruth head for an abandoned cabin in the Australian outback so P.J. can begin deleting the cult’s ideologies from Ruth’s psyche. From here, the movie quickly degen erates into a manic, psychosexual show down. Ruth and PJ. argue, break down, have sex and hallucinate, but never real JP fP iff i I 1 ! 17 Tans j Good for 17 Days j iS Must tan Only l 10 before ▼ m \ ffi 4:oopm , 942-7177 ! I \ Vl tywn j ! 'SnAjTHdt I Expires 7 days after purchase Treat yourself to something healthy. Downtown Chapel Hill 106 W. Franklin St. (next to He’s Not Here) North Durham Northgate mall (next to Carousel) UOCU Rjrdjfj 1 pump xJJr ®{jp SailtfUJar Hwl Arquette’s fake accent keeps viewers from fully enjoying her scenes. Mobster Yanni (Kevin Pollack) also his a terribly contrived accent, but he use; it in such a humorous way that it adds tc his scenes. Overall, “The Whole Nine Yards” successfully goes the distance, giving audiences a good laugh and a dose of the warm-fuzzies. And there’s no way to beat the dol drums like befriending a contract killer. Sometimes you lave to overstep the bounds of reason and live life on the wild side. l The Arts & Entetainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. ly make any headway; Most impressive is Winslet’s perfor mance. She proves she mows how to do more than close her evs as she stands on the prows of large slips. Her Ruth is petulant, sly and focusej. For a bonus, Winslet’s role has plentj of “Titanic”- like breast-baring. Campion knows a title psychosis mixed with sex is a simph recipe for a film, but she gets a little carried away. Still, the characters’ outhndish situa tions and flouting of traditional morality can be a guilty pleasure for he curious. The Arts & Entertainmen Editor can be reached at artsdest@unc.edu. \ dttk. \ P% f if; ’ wStM $ wi jgpr r jb* ISKHHm Imm pMpBFf fikE^Si - ’ \ •• t \ i •*' i I
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 24, 2000, edition 1
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