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. Qtyp laily ®ar Hwl John Waters’ Latest, ‘Cecil 8.,' Not Quite Demented Enough By Joanna Pearson Staff Writer When you are taking potshots at pop \ ular culture, you are required to be at ! least slightly cutting and insightful, i John Waters’ “Cecil B. Demented" | takes all the potshots with occasional | wit, but never achieves the edgy satire that Waters intended - the movie is just not demented enough. , -'iTnowey /rey/ew/ “Cecil B. Demented” ★★l/2 The semi-demented adventure starts ■ in Baltimore with the premiere of a film from aging movie star Honey Whidock (Melanie Griffith). Stephen Dorff, who plays the film’s eponymous hero (it’s certainly no coincidence that his name - is similar to Cecil B. DeMille’s), is a truly maniacal indie-punk director. With the realistic bravado of dis gruntled movie theater employees, Cecil and his companions, the Sprocket Holes, kidnap Honey and begin to rage against budget film, “Patch Adams" and Neil Young Rides on Without Crazy Horse By Josh Love Staff Writer Like many of rock’s elder statesmen, Neil Young makes a near-annual sum mer jaunt through the outdoor concert sheds of North America. You might see his name sandwiched between the Doobie Brothers and Steve Miller Band on a summer schedule and expect from Young the same you would expect from Concert Review Neil Young Aug. 23 Walnut Creek Amphitheatre Peter Frampton -a faithful hit parade to cost-effectively tweak boomer nostalgia Even if you knew that Young shuns and subverts classic rock cliches just as fiercely as neo-classicists like Creed play into them, you still might have dis missed his current tour with the aside that you saw him in 1996 or 1998, and it would just be more of the same, right? You couldn’t be more wrong. His E-MOVIES From Page 5 The 33-minute comedy tells the story of a mother visiting her daughter’s East Village apartment in New York and the group of Hell’s Angels that lives across the street. But “My Mother Dreams” isn’t aimed at the typical target audience for online movie sites. “They’re aiming at college men,” Bergman said. “If you look at who’s making those movies, that’s who it is.” College students, especially those liv ing on campus, are the people most like ly to have access to the high-speed Internet connections needed to view most of the sites. Direct Ethernet con- % Suffering from Empty n Pocket Syndrome? Participate in our life-saving & financially jjy glj\V\ rewarding plasma donation program. IMMEDIATE COMPENSATION! \ j Donors Earn up to S2OO per Month! f ★ New donots earn S2O for first visit, l $35 for the second visit within 7 days. I | New donors call for appointment. Ca// or stop by: parking validated Sera-Tec' ioiogicals^ Under New Management 109 1/2 E Franklin St, Chapel Hill 942-0251 M-Th 10-6, Fri 10-4 | -i 'mjm Goif l 1 Course Open to the Public Back to School Specials *Mon-Thurs S2O with cart sl4 walking Friday $22 with cart sl6 walking Sat & Sun S3O after 1 lam and S2B after 3pm Rook your tee times at Kww.southwickgolf.com or 942-0783 Directions: Take 54 West 20 miles to a stoplight Take a left on Swepsonville Rd and go 1 mile to a stop sign. Take a right on Swepsonville-Saxapahaw Rd. and go I’/ miles Take a left on Boywood Rd. We re 17, miles on the left 3136 SOUTHWICK DRIVE • GRAHAM, NC 27253 Expirks 10/31/00 * Valid with student or faculty i.d. “Forrest Gump” remakes. Griffith’s performance is admirable as she transforms from spoiled Hollywood bradet to a bleach-blonde indie warrior, hurling fire and brimstone on anything deemed mainstream. In a clever move, Waters recruited real-life kidnapping can’t-beat-’em-join-’em victim Patty Hearst to make several cameos. Though much of what Waters lam poons is almost pathetically defenseless, there are times when it’s still quite funny. In one scene, the proponents of family film throw JujyFruits at some karate kicking action movie fans. Cecil’s Sprocket Holes prove that Waters still has a fantastic imagination. A cute Satanic make-up artist, a drug addict who does anything from Special K to cough syrup and a bearded lady are among Cecil’s little militia who say their nightly prayers to Andy Warhol. Still, Waters’ attempt to sustain this movie is like trying to sustain a particu larly gratuitous SNL sketch for 88 min utes. Long known as a shock artist, someone proud to be flagrandy trashy, travels without his indefatigable band Crazy Horse are an entirely different beast than his two tours with those beloved garage rockers. For the most part, Crazy Horse tours are sure-fire barnburners, but are often too overt as crowd-pleasers. The Horse delivers brilliant, cathartic versions of the hits, but tends towards the middle of the road in the set list, no matter how often Young claims to prefer the ditch. Without the Horse in tow, Young rev eled in the more obscure, ruminative corners of his ample back catalog. No “Heart of Gold.” No “Cinnamon Girl” to court the fair-weather fan. Young gave the crowd an early one two punch with “Powderfinger” and “Everybody Knows,” but soon retreated into the less-anthemic confines of gems like “Walk On” and “Winterlong.” On the heels of his latest, Silver and Gold, Young sought to reinforce the timeless themes of solidarity and com passion that made it an instant classic. Through the night, Young surveyed a nections and DSLs (digital subscriber lines) gready improve the flow and pic ture quality of online moving images. Most sites require users to download, free of charge, media-playing software such as Flash and Shockwave to view the films. But there are drawbacks to putting films online, the most obvious being that not everyone has access to computers fast enough to use the sites. Aesthetic concerns are also a prob lem. “There are ways to make a movie just for the Web, Bergman said. “But most people want to work on film because the image is so beautiful.” But much of the detail that can be captured on a frame of film is lost in the translation to digital information, which DIVERSIONS Etc. Waters seems pretty watered down here. Sure, there are lots of references to sex -and by sex, we’re not talking about what happens between nice boys and girls. Sure there’s some violence, some Marilyn Manson-fan type raging, some masturbation gags, but come on. Most of the shock-value stuff in this movie is so heavy-handed that viewers are simply numbed to it. Waters is like a bad middle-school kid writing curse words and sex talk on the bathroom stalls - it got him some attention the first time, and now he can’t stop. To make edgy, mordant films these days, one requires a certain subtlety. While Waters occasionally achieves some laughter, he has to beat you over the head to get it. On the other hand, even with all his indie-righteousness, Waters is still feisty and even self-mocking. If you aren’t expecting brilliance, “Cecil” is a good natured, mildly enjoyable romp. The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. 30-year career of stunning acoustic bal ladry, from 1970’s “I Believe in You” to this year’s “Razor Love.” Misguidedly, Young also sought to assimilate his guitar-hero persona into this relaxed, pop-flavored mix. Young faltered when he single-handedly strove for one of those Crazy Horse-patented, slow-burn, white-hot climaxes with the epics “Words” and “Like a Hurricane.” He managed to render a few of his trademark cacophonous solos, but with out Crazy Horse to prod him towards full-throttle guitar nirvana, Young reined in his jams, especially on the usually stratospheric “like a Hurricane.” Things ended abruptly with a brief version of the plaintive “Mellow My Mind.” Such a delicate closer served as the perfect metaphor for a night in which Young’s over-amped sonic mastery yielded to his less-appreciated genius for harmony, melody and lyrical beauty. The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. makes for an often not-so-beautiful image. Also, some media players are better than others, and the low-end ones tend to give the pictures low-quality resolu tion and a herky-jerky, stop-and-go effect. Despite the problems, online movies and digital filmmaking are changing the way people view movies. Bergman said red changes will come as the technolo gy gradually becomes more accessible to the general public. fjf fl With this coupon or 'f l fL j | jjr UNC Student ID, get I 1 m JJ $1 OFF Dinner Buffet! ijjr Come try the largest Chinese Buffet in the Triangle! \ / j ail £ I QUfdyM jggj Dine-in Buffet Only 968-3488 pt jl || Expires 9/11/00 University Square [ jl know where to go? See the Daily Tar Heel Wednesday, Sept. 6 to find out how von can get involved. UNC Student Groups & Orgs: Call Julie or Katie at 962-1163 by 3pm FRIDAY. , Sept. 1 to reserve your ad space. ■■Jill H HI ,-r jH |§g™e j 9 , wg IF I Teen favorite Kirsten Dunst stars in the new cheer-sploitation flick "Bring It On." The film, while masquerading as an excuse to parade girls around in short skirts, actually manages to offer some wit and substance. 'Bring It On' Has More Than Booty By Russ Lane Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor Shame on those guys in marketing. They always seem to misrepresent films in their teaser ads. Case in point - “Bring it On,” the seemingly infa mous cheerleader booty movie. But those that have seen the previews will be surprised , , r .mov/ey rey/ew/ "Bring It On" ★ ★★★ that film is alarmingly low on booty and high on wit. Laugh if you will, but “Bring it On” comes across as charming rather than grating, irreverent rather than silly. It’s not high art by any stretch of the imagi nation, but if you’re looking for a good art flick in “Bring it On,” you’re missing the point completely. The film chronicles the story of Torrance (Kirsten Dunst), the newly appointed captain of the Toros, the no. 1 cheerleading squad in America. Torrance, in typical “Clueless” fash ion, fulfills every fantasy of what an ever-so-popular cheerleading queen should be. Internet access is already common in schools, offices and many homes, and the number of cable modem connec tions (direct, and much faster than phone lines) has skyrocketed in the past year. IFILM will be showcasing some of its featured shorts in an upcoming Los Angeles film festival comprised exclu sively of its online movies. And the Library of Congress is look ing into archiving some of these digital films, Bergman said. Dunst tends to star in films that are smarter than they have any right to be. After changing the way the Watergate scandal is viewed in “Dick” and leaving audiences in awe in “The Virgin Suicides,” Dunst gives Torrance’s perk iness a believable amount of depth with out turning her into a “total cheer-trai tor.” Of course, adding the obligatory exis tential crisis into the plot helps give any teen character some complexity. In this case, it’s when Alanis Morrisette-look alike Missy (Eliza Dushku) reveals that the glamorous, über-suburban Toros have stealing their moves from the squad’s African-American counterpart, the East Compton Clovers. Torrance’s self-worth and pride in her cheers falters. She’s determined, but ini tially unsuccessful in proving the Toros’ worthiness of their numerous champi onship trophies. Eventually, she wonders why she even bothers cheering at all. Poor little thing. You can guess the plot from there. The strange, out-of-town boy becomes a love interest. Torrance rediscovers her love of cheerleading, rivalries ensue, The technology and demand already exists to send out movies over the Internet - that’s what the online sites do now. It’s only a matter of time before movie theaters scrap their projectors # £mnw W* Contemporary Fashions . Clothing, Jmm shoes, a i /id accessories ' ■ ■ As you consider career choices, think Bodiatry. With the aging population, the need for Doctors of Ftodiatric Medicine has never been greater. For more information on this growing field, and to get a toehold on a great career, visit the website of the school of Rodiatric Medicine nearest you. PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS: SARPY UNIVERSITY | DES MOINES UNIVERSITY | SCHOLL COLLEGE I OHIO COLLEGE I TEMPLE UNIVERSITY Win a SI,OOO scholarship Enter the Soto Searching Essay ContMt Enter online at www.solesearcheseay.com, but hurry, the contest ends September 30th. Thursday, August 31, 2000 hookups occur, respect is gained - you get the idea. But what makes this film interesting isn’t its plot but its basic premise. In addition to poking fun at cheerleading while simultaneously defending its worth, very few films have the audacity to throw racial tension and classism into the formula. Neither the sunny, suburban, middle class existence of Torrance nor the dark er, urban, and “lower” class world of the Clovers are presented in a stereotypical manner, and the tension created by these heavy social issues makes the rivalries behind the cheerleading jokes more interesting. The result gives a deeper reality to the cast and an opportunity to joke about issues that tend to make most squeamish. Masked as a cheerleading booty movie, “Bring it On” ultimately argues that you just have to stick it out some times and earn your respect, which is far deeper than anything any other teen movie this season has to offer. The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. and get in on the action, Bergman said. “Sometime soon, the projector reel will be old school.” The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. 7
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Aug. 31, 2000, edition 1
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