Thursday, July 31,2003
Oregon Daily Emerald
PULSE
Jan Tobias Montry
Unsatsified customer
Cast, plot
illuminate
upcoming
film drivel
Ever had the displeasure of meeting
one of those unreasonable people who
insists on degrading a movie even though
it hasn't come out and there are few re
views even available on which to base
such drastic accusations?
I am one of those people.
I feel 1 have the innate ability, however
misguided, to look at a movie's premise
and its actors — hell, maybe just the
movie poster — and make a determinative
conclusion about its overall quality.
So, in hopes of annoying as many read
ers as possible with my cinematic predic
tions that have no basis, logically or factu
ally, let's get started!
• "Gigli," starring divorce queen J-Lo
and former badass B-Aff, is slated to sicken
audiences starting in August. The premise
is so incredibly terrible that I feel guilty re
peating it in print. All you need to know
before vomiting ensues is that lesbian as
sassin Ricki (Jennifer Lopez) is wooed into
heterosexuality by big-haired hit man Lar
ry Gigli (Ben Affleck).
OK, Jennifer, let me level with you. Just
because I was forced to bite my lip and
momentarily shed a tear at the end of "Se
lena" doesn't mean you can pollute the
universe with more movies, especially
when you take decent actors down with
you. And Ben, you were damn good in
"Chasing Amy," "Dogma" and "Good
Will Hunting," but were downgraded to
"pretty good" status after "Boiler Room."
Now, I've put you somewhere between
"does not work well with others" and
"travesty of humankind."
• a.w.A.1., starring bamuel L. Jackson
and some other random people, is sure to
be a hit among movie fans who dislike
substance, continuity and plot. The movie
poster features a lone police gunman
walking in die foreground while an entire
city goes up in flames. That's a little over
dramadc, wouldn't you say?
Couple that with the fact that "S.W.A.T."
is adapted from an old television series
and you have a doomed enterprise des
tined to be shelved on die discount rack
for all eternity with "Charlie's Angels" and
"Lost In Space."
• "American Wedding," starring the
same old cast members who staned in the
first two American Pie movies, will be re
cycling jokes again next month. Except
this time, the creators of this stale trilogy
are throwing in some subde bestiality and
a marriage. Mediocrity, start your engines.
But seriously, I admit I was a pretty
good sport when I took my girlfriend to
see American Pie as a senior in high
school, and I even laughed at some of
the jokes, overplayed as they were. And I
can honestly say I made it through the
entirety of American Pie 2, despite the
pained grimace on my face as I.wit
nessed the very same jokes that appeared
Turn to Montry, page 6
Beat the HEAT
£f«: Layt.uo
Record temperatures have heat-worn locals looking
for relief in cool lakes and air-conditioned malls alike
By Ryan Nyburg
Freelance Reporter
With daytime temperatures rarely dropping below the
mid-80s and often reaching the high 90s — and occasion
ally the 100s — escaping the heat has become a full-time
occupation. Here are a few suggestions for getting out of
the sun this summer.
Malls are prime places for escaping the outdoor heat.
Both Valley River Center and Gateway Mall are spacious,
air conditioned and offer plenty of food and drinks, so pa
trons don't have to leave until the malls close.
Movie theaters are also a common place to get out of
the sun. Cinemark Movies 17 in the Gateway Mall, with
its stadium seating and multitude of show times, is a
popular choice.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, * the
swashbuckling throwback starring Johnny Depp, is one of
the summer's most popular films, right behind another
ocean-themed film, "Finding Nemo." Both are good ways
to keep cool for a couple of hours.
Speaking of the sea, a trip to the coast and a dip in the
Pacific Ocean might be in order. The waters off of the
Oregon coast are known for their coolness, and almost
constant waves make for good surfing, provided you can
avoid rocks and a small great white shark population.
Only 11 great white attacks have been reported in Ore
gon since 1929, so that's probably not worth worrying
about, however.
A few lakes and rivers in the area are also worth a dip.
Triangle Lake is a popular swimming hole, as is the Fern
Ridge Reservoir, and rafting down the Willamette or the
McKenzie rivers might be a good way to cool off a bit. Get
off the Willamette before it reaches Portland, however, as
the area has a history of toxic waste dumping.
A few other good lakes and rivers in the Willamette Val
ley include: Blue River Lake, Cottage Grove Reservoir, De
troit Lake, Dexter Lake, Hill Creek Reservoir and the Santi
am River, all which offer boat access.
If the natural water supply holds no appeal, then pub
lic pools could be a better choice for water sports. The
Sheldon, Echo Hollow and Amazon pools are all great
Turn to Heat, page 6
Refreshing 'Victor7 honest, unnervinqly familiar
By Steven Neuman
Freelance Reporter
Director Peter Sollett's first feature film, "Rais
ing Victor Vargas," is like taking a dip in the pool
on a hot day — cool and refreshing. Yet, some
how, this film is far more satisfying.
The plot focuses on Victor's relentless hunt for
the love of the oft-pursued — but chaste — Judy,
but is punctuated by the growing distance be
tween Victor and his tight-knit family. This story
line is well-tread territory, but the incredible in
tensity of intimacy this film
projects is due mostly to a ~ ~
very young and talented en- M0VI6
semble of unknown actors TOVIGW
who are refreshingly devoid _
of cliche techniques.
Sollett has worked with the characters of Judy
(Judy Marte) and Victor (Victor Rasuk) in a pre
vious short film, and he coaxes some impressive
performances from the actors. Victor's transfor
mation from overconfident womanizer to ex
posed teenager comes across completely natu
rally, and the melting of Judy's reluctance is
equally realistic.
Despite the strengths of Marte and Rasuk's
performances, it is the supporting cast who tend
to steal the scenes with a light humor tough to
find in today's cinema. The reluctant love scenes
between Victor's best friend Harold (Kevin
Rivera) and Judy's best friend Melonie (Melonie
Diaz) convey the essence of youth through a
sense of wonder and sexual naivete that is in
credibly charismatic and thoroughly charming.
It's not the kind of sexy love scene that big stu
dio films dish out, but Diaz and Rivera capture
something dredged up from our collective mem
ory of burgeoning sexuality.
Similarly, the scenes featuring Victor's
guardian and eccentric grandma — expertly
played the charming Altagracia Guzman — and
Victor's sister and brother have a kind of realism
that verges on voyeurism, somehow both un
nervingly familiar and beautifully honest. This
is most personified in a scene where Guzman,
in a fit of desperation, comically attempts to
hand Victor over to a social worker, only to find
that what she was attempting is illegal. More
over, the blatant self-consciousness of the scene
where Victor's good-boy kid brother, Nino (Sil
vestre Rasuk), asks Victor for advice about girls
and masturbation is simultaneously horrifying
and hilarious.
"Victor" is not without its flaws, however. Sol
lett opted to for a certain degree of spontaneity
in the project, and actors improvised most of
the dialogue on the spot. The results are some
what spotty; the transition from script to im
provisation is often blatant because the script
ed lines frequently lack the intimacy that
abounds in the rest of the film. However, the
momentum created by the rest of the energetic
dialogue carries the viewer through these mo
ments in most instances.
Still, Sollett manages to paint an almost im
pressionistic image of Victor's less-then-perfect
love and family lives in New York City's Lower
East Side. He systematically strips the city of the
typical blues and grays and replaces them with
heated reds and burning orange tones that belie
the characters' Dominican Republic roots.
While this type of coloring is often distracting,
"Raising Victor" uses it to seemingly transform
Sollett manages to paint an
almost impressionistic image
of Victor's less-than-perfect love
and family lives in Mew York
City's Lower East Side.
otherwise nondescript ramshackle apartments
into a backdrop more conducive to young love.
The camera work and editing is smooth, and
despite some moments where the camera shakes
like a "Blair Witch Project" scene, the cuts usu
ally flow naturally, and the choice of intense
close-ups creates a pristine sense of intimacy
that many more experienced directors struggle
to achieve.
Steven Neuman is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.