Filmmakers need creativitv
This weekend presented audi
ences with a number of great
examples of post-modernist
recycling by the film industry.
Originality in films seems to be
gauged these days by how well the
filmmakers steal ideas from other
films, rather than by how they use
their own imagination.
First up on the critical dissection
plate is “Reign of Fire,” which mix
es “Mad Max” style post-apocalyp
tic imagery with, of all things, cas
tle and dragon epics.
The film opens with a psuedo
artistic shot of the streets of London
covered in birds, which seems out
of place in a film that also has a hel
icopter fighting a dragon. With ma
terial like this, coming off like a
half-assed Fellini is poor judgment
on director Rob Bowman’s part.
The set-up is that some under
ground railroad workers acciden
tally open up a cavern that releases
dragons back into the world. Soon,
most of civilization is dead, and
survivors are hiding in under
ground compounds.
The film continues its lapses in
judgment by telling us about the
destruction of the world through
voiceover narration and newspa
per headlines — rather than by
showing us. At one point, a copy of
Time magazine is shown with the
headline “Is This the End?”
It’s good to know that as the
world burns we can still get good
coverage of the whole thing. The
film stars Christian Bale and
Guest Commentary
Ryan
Nyburg_
Matthew McConaughey as the
leader of a group of survivors and
the leader of a gung-ho militia, re
spectively, both showing that in
fact they can’t act, and all that stuff
before was a put-on.
The rest of the cast isn’t much
better, each one coming off as a step
lower than cardboard cutouts.
What’s worse is that neither the cast
nor the director seem to be aware of
how campy this material is, and
they make the deadly mistake of
taking it seriously. Things might
have worked out better if someone
would have let them in on the joke.
One-and-a-half stars out of four
— and I’m being generous.
Next up is the latest in the long
running “Halloween” series, “Hal
loween: Resurrection.” Here, slash
er films get mixed with the Internet
and reality television for a big ball
of bloody, violent fun.
The plot has the usual gang of
dumb-ass teens staying in killer
Michael Myers’ home on Halloween
night for a webcast of the evening.
You can take it from there. Most of
them die horrible deaths, the lead fe
male lives and the whole thing is left
open for a sequel.
The film does transcend its stan
dard genre formula in one sequence,
when leading lady Bianca Kajlich
gets directions on a Palm Pilot from a
group of kids watching the webcast.
They tell her to do all the things that
the audience would usually be
shouting at the screen, such as “Don’t
scream” and “He’s in the hallway,”
thus blurring the lines between audi
ence and character, making this, I
believe, the first existentialist horror
film. Three stars.
Finally, I offer the best film of the
weekend—and possibly the sum
mer. “Road to Perdition” mixes the
gangster film, road movie and period
piece without becoming caught in
the trappings of any of those genres.
Tom Hanks stars as a hitman for
the Irish mob. Internal jealousies
cause his wife and youngest son to
be killed, so he grabs the oldest boy
and hits the road, trying to keep
them both alive while exacting his
revenge. Everything in the film,
from the haunting score to the beau
tiful cinematography, is perfect.
Hanks delivers a somber perform
ance as the hitman, and the support
ing cast couldn’t be better, with Paul
Newman as a mob boss and Jude Law
as a morbid assassin. Director Sam
Mendes shows that “American
Beauty” wasn’t a fluke, and he is fast
becoming one of the best directors in
Hollywood today. This is more intel
ligent and well-made film than much
of the paltry nonsense out there, and
well worth seeing. Four stars.
Ryan Nyburg is a freelance columnist.
His opinions do not necessarily represent
those of the Emerald.
All pinned up with nowhere to go
li
Art installation opens in EMU
1950s pinup girls cover a wall of the Adell
McMillan Art Gallery in the EMU.
The display is part of artist Erin McKillip’s “Can
vas and Collage” installation, which continues
through mid-August.
The show is sponsored by the UO Cultural Forum
and is open to students and the community seven
days a week. In addition to the collection of retro
porn-looking cutouts of women, other work is on
A
M
_J
Adam Jones Emerald
display, including two mattresses plastered with
paint and undergarments. The show also includes
unique wall lamps that shine light through a canvas
painted with black silhouettes.
All pieces are available for purchase from McKil
lip. Prices range from $50-$300.
The gallery is located adjacent to the EMU Ball
room on the second floor. For more information,
contact the UO Cultural Forum at 346-4373.
—Jenni Schultz
Kleckner
continued from page 5
Eugene-Springfield is hosting a
free barbecue at 6:30 p.m. Thurs
day at Emerald Park, which is off
River Road. Venture Club aims to
change the lives of the group’s
members, their community and
the world. Check it out — the
group is providing food, drinks
and volleyball...
Morcheeba, England’s no
longer-underground trip-hop sen
sation, releases its new album,
“Charango,” in North America to
day. The band has outdone itself
with this album, blending atmos
pheric, lounge-like overtones and
a plethora of outside influences
with its signature sound. I defi
nitely heard tinges of St. Etienne
and Cibo Matto. Psychedelia and
hip-hop never sounded so sweet
and mellow...
Get on the train to Portland
right now and get in line for Fri
day’s Mrs. Portland Mercury
Beauty Pageant. The event is
hosted by the Portland Mercury’s
most fabulous Wm. Steven
Humphrey, and incredible
celebrity judges will be on hand
— including Art Alexakis from
Everclear, who is supposed to
have a new album and supporting
tour happening in early fall — to
determine Portland’s loveliest
lady. Trip and fall while running
to Berbati’s Pan. Doors are at 8:30
p.m., show at 9 p.m., only $4.
There will be door prizes and pro
mos from cool Portland locales,
including the luscious Cricket
Cafe and the supremo Leepin’
Lizards Hair Place...
The Saturday Market Stage will
be stuffed this weekend — and not
just from the fantastic Sara’s
Tamales or Afghani Cuisine’s re
markably delicious “bolani.” Be
ginning at 3 p.m., the 11-member
Orquesta Alto Maiz delivers a
fresh crop of Latin-jazz-dance mu
sic straight from the heartland.
The group is known as Iowa’s best
salsa band, and corn does indeed
go wonderfully with salsa, so it all
makes sense. For an even bigger
dose of music (and beer, too), head
to the Wild Duck later Saturday
night to hear Orquesta Alto Maiz
again. Doors are at 9 p.m., show at
9:30 p.m., $10.
A stimulating art show by
Kathryn Reese runs through Aug.
17 in The Buzz Coffeehouse in the
EMU. The summer staff in The
Buzz are lovely, which makes
“Multiferious Combustion” all the
more worth an extended look.
Reese offers a beautiful assort
ment of explosions of color and
swirls of fancy...
And finally, the Mayor’s Art
Show 2002 — held in the Jacobs
Gallery at the Hult Center during
Eugene Celebration — is now ac
cepting entries for this most-es
teemed hometown art competi
tion. Entry forms are available at
the Jacobs Gallery or at the Lane
Arts Council office. But here’s a
tip: The real Eugene Celebration
art show won’t be at the Hult
Center. For 11 years, the Salon
Des Refuses has been showing
the pieces rejected by the May
or’s Art Show, giving more artists
a chance to reach the people.
Sources say the Salon will proba
bly be at the Heron Building, as it
was in 2001, but if not, volun
teers will be on hand outside the
Jacobs Gallery so that artists
picking up their rejected pieces
can find out where to go to have
their art welcomed.
Contact the editor in chief
at editor@dailyemerald.com. His views do not
necessarily represent those of the Emerald.
Hyde
continued from page 5
than the original,” Zingo said.
Lucy Harris, played by Kristina
Seleshanko, is an entertainer at a
bordello called the Red Rat.
Seleshanko’s glorious voice
soars through numbers like “Bring
on the Men” and “A New Life,”
and her soulful acting enriches her
character.
“In the Broadway production, the
character wasn’t especially well-de
veloped,” Seleshanko said. “So, it
was like starting from scratch.”
Jekyll meets her when he stops
in for a drink, but he does not ac
cept when she offers a trip to her
bedroom.
Instead, he offers his friendship.
Jekyll is loyally engaged to Emma
Carew, played by the sweet-voiced
Jessica Rose Rossi.
However, Hyde carries out the
relationship with Lucy that good
spirited Jekyll could not.
The music conveys the passion
sparking between the characters.
Desire and love blossoms amidst
the harsh Dickensian mood creat
ed by the set and lighting, and the
bewitching combination casts its
dark spell on the audience.
Tickets are $17 in advance and
$22 the day of the show. Students
and seniors get in for $14 in ad
vance. Purchase tickets online at
www.actorscabaret.org, at the box
office, or call 683-4368 or 1-800
310-4368 to order.
Contact the reporter
atjilliandaley@dailyemerald.com.
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