Pulse Editor
Jacquelyn Lewis
jacquelynlewis@dailyemerald.com
Thursday, October 31,2002
Oregon Daily Emerald
Opposites
Attract:
"New Voices"
showcases
contrasting
student works
i Rebellious
roles perfect
for Culkin
Mason West
Movies/Music/TV Columnist
< )K kids. The question of the day is: WTien did
Kieran Culkin become the poster boy for disaf
fected youth?
If you’ve been to the Bijou anytime in the last
month, you’ve likely seen the little scamp in ei
ther “The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys” or “Igby
Goes Down.” It doesn’t really matter, because he
plays the same rebellious role in both movies.
That said, it’s a role he’s good at, and both movies
are highly entertaining. Learning from his brother
Macaulay’s face-slapping screaming mistakes, Kier
an has broken onto the scene this year in two edgy
roles that recently won him
the Newcomer Award at the
VII1/ Vogue Fashion
Awards— not that VIII and
Vogue have anything to say
about movies.
Fortunately, I do. “Igbv”
is about a young misfit from
an upper-class family which
is, of course, totally dys
functional, thus playing on
the tried and true hypocrisy
of “success.” Though Kieran
pulls the weight as the title
Mason
West
Selling out
character, lie is supported hv innovative perform
ances from co-stars Susan Sarandon, Jeff Gold
blum and Claire Danes. Not so innovative is
Amanda Peet, who 1 think has yet to keep her top
on in a movie. (For more information about “Al
tar Boys,” read my Oct. 10 column)
But let’s get back to our boy Kieran. When you
think about it, who better to angst-up the screen?
Follow the logic: 1 Iis brother was a superstar at the
ripe age of 10; stardom inevitably makes life hec
tic for the family; parents of child stars are gener
ally crazy, anyway; Kieran is one of seven children
raised by said crazy parents.
T)je following Kieran quote is listed on
imdb.com: “Until my brother Mac started mak
ing major money, our house was really wild. The
outside world didn’t know how chaotic our life
was because, though we’d live at home like a
bunch of critters, we’d go off to school and act
all sedate and normal.”
Who better indeed.
The malcontent-coming-of-age role is an inter
esting archetype that can be found through enter
tainment history that probably goes all the way
back to “Hamlet” in whatever form you’ve seen it
(though Ethan Hawke’s performance is an espe
cially strong example). It was Tobey Maguire a
couple years ago in “Wonder Boys” and “The
Cider House Rules” — which, funnily, Kieran was
in as well.
When “(S Mile” opens Nov. 8, Eminem will try
his hand playing the troubled protagonist, and 1
suspect he’ll do a bang-up job. I have been totally
suckered into needing to see this movie, mostly
because of the song “Lose Yourself” which gives
me goose bumps every time I hear it. I love the
ominous, pounding riff that drives the song and
totally captures what I expect to be the mood of
the film.
Eminem has had plenty of time to prove to the
public how tough he is and how real he is with his
devil-may-care attitude toward public opinion.
But an essential part of the Holden Caulfield-es
que character is a sense of vulnerability, and Em
inem may have already killed any chance of earn
ing viewer’s sympathy.
Still, I’m excited to see him try. And if he
bombs, we’ll still have Macaul... KIERAN! I mean
Kieran. I swear I didn’t see “Richie Rich.” Really.
Crap.
Contact the Pulse columnist
at masonwest@dailyemerald.com . His views do not
necessarily represent those of the Emerald.
Silver
scream
There are a variety of oddball
Halloween movies that challenge
the viewer and guarantee chills
Ryan Bornheimer
Senior Pulse Reporter
It’s the time of year when the Block
buster clown the street runs out of even,'
copy of John Carpenter’s “Halloween.”
Now, you could run across the street to
the other Blockbuster, but chances are,
it’s not there, either.
But who really needs to see Michael
Myers stalk Jamie Lee Curtis again, any
way? Why not take a leap into the dark
er territory of more obscure fear films?
In the spirit of the truly disturbed, I of
fer a film lover’s guide to the Halloween
flicks hiding in the horror aisles.
A word of caution should be noted be
fore we begin. If “Friday the Thirteenth
Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan” is
your idea of a scary movie, rent “Friday
the Thirteenth Part VIII: Jason Takes
Manhattan.” The movies that follow are
the oddballs — the flicks that challenge
the viewer but guarantee chills and often
linger in the mind for days to come.
We’ll start chronologically. Based on
Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw,”
1961’s “The Innocents” is a creepy little
black-and-white flick about a governess
(Deborah Kerr) hired to watch over two
children convinced that the ghosts of
two dead lovers haunt their home. To re
veal more would ruin the movie, but let’s
just say the harder Kerr tries to rid the
children of their fears, the more crazy
she becomes.
The second selection is 1972’s “The
Last House on the Left.” This was Wes
Craven’s first movie — some 10 years
before “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and
25 years before the pop culture phe
Turn to Movies, page 10
Photo courtesy Queen Radia
SLUG Queen Radia says she plans to spend this Halloween engaged in time travel.
Horror stories
Whether their plans are mind-oriented
or confined to the present, local celebs
look forward to All Hallow’s Eve
Jacquelyn Lewis
& Ryan Bornheimer
Staff Writers
What are you doing for Halloween? Drink
ing a little “cider” with your pals like you did
last year? Trick-or-treating with your room
mate, perhaps?
The Pulse desk decided to veer away from
the holiday mundane to see what a few “lo
cal celebrities” were planning this year
(hmm, do they even need costumes?). We
also pestered them for some of their favorite
Halloween memories and anecdotes.
Holidays have a way of sneaking up on us,
and when the big day arrives, poor planning
can result in a less-than-memorable night.
For University President Dave Frohnmayer,
for instance, an inquiry about Halloween
plans may have elicited the same answer he’s
Turn to Stories, page 10
DiFranco album is ‘grinding, somber’
Courtesy photo
Ani DiFranco will visit Eugene Friday night.
Ani DiFranco’s new album
samples live recordings,
making it an ideal preview
for her Eugene show
Concert preview
Aaron Shakra
Pulse Reporter
As Ani DiFranco’s annual al
bum releases stack up, her
newest, “So Much Shouting So
Much Laughter,” is an example
of her broadening appeal. It’s
not just that she’s more popu
lar than ever, it’s that her
songs’ contents have taken on
subjects with an increasingly
national and worldwide scope,
employing words and music
that lesser artists would be
afraid to use.
The album has been on store
shelves for about a month-and
a-half now. This is probably am
ple time for anyone interested in
the folk singer-songwriter to
have acquired their own copy.
For those who haven’t heard it,
purchasing the album might be
a timely investment. DiFranco
will be playing at the McDonald
Theatre on Friday night. The
doors open at 7 p.m.; show time
is 8 p.m.
Like last year’s
“Revelling/Reckoning” release
and her previous live record
ing, 1997’s “Living In Clip,”
“So Much” is a double disc,
with songs culled from shows
over the past few years. Each
disc has a title. The first, “Stray
Cats,” is full of grinding,
somber songs, whereas “Girls
Singing Night” is structured
more like an actual concert.
It’s sort of ironic when musi
cians tour in support of a live
album release, but in DiFran
co’s case, this is nothing new,
because she’s practically al
ways touring. She is perform
ing solo without a band for the
first time in awhile, so her live
sound should be more intimate
and raw than on “So Much
Shouting.”
Expect new material (read:
songs not officially released),
new arrangements (to accom
modate for the lack of band
members) and lyrics for older
material and a lot of guitar
changes. DiFranco uses so
many different tunings for the
six-stringed instrument that
there will likely be stretches in
the McDonald Theatre set
when she’ll switch guitars
every song.
It’s hard to predict what new
material will make it on the set
list, but for those who want to
know what they might hear,
check out the unofficial Ani
DiFranco lyrics Web site at
www.danah.org/Ani/ to find the
words to all the songs that
aren’t on albums.
DiFranco’s Web site —
www.righteoushabe.com —
lists folk singer Greg Brown as
a special guest for the Eugene
show, but it’s undetermined
whether he’ll be playing with
DiFranco or opening for her.
For those who have seen “Ren
der” — DiFranco’s concert/doc
umentary’ film released this
Turn to DiFranco, page 10