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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 2004)
Better ingredients. Better Pizza Call us at: South Eugene and U of 0 484-PAPA (7272) W. Eugene 683-PAPA (7272) Springfield, Duck's village, Chase village and University Commons 746-PAPA (7272) Santa Clara 461-PAPA (7272) Beat the clock | BEAT THE CLOCK The TIME you call is the PRICE you pay for a large 1 topping pizza I from 6pm~8pm. Monday & Thursday only. mm EXPIRES 3/31/04 Coupon required. Not valid with any other otter or special. $1 charge on delivered orders. Additional toppings extra. Available in original or thin crust. Limited delivery area. PICK 2 I I I I I L E. LARGE PIZZA WITH UP TO 2 TOPPINGS OF YOUR CHOICE on|v $099 rtFflJOBksi EXPIRES 3/31/04 Coupon required. Not valid with any other otter or special. $1 charge on delivered orders. Additional toppings extra. Available in original or thin crust. Limited delivery area. The Cooler' fails to satisfy with its boring characters William H. Macy stars alongside Alec Baldwin in a film that ends feeling incomplete and tired By Ryan Nyburg Senior Pulse Reporter Some films work like a Greek tragedy, following characters through their lives to an inevitable fate that seems willed by the gods but was ac tually brought upon the characters by their own failings. "The Cooler" is a tragedy of this kind, or at least it tries to be. But it doesn't have the courage to follow through with it and on only a few points does it ring true. While enjoyable, the lack of a consistent tone leaves it flawed and purposeless. ma today, as Bemie Lootz. Bemie is a loser. The saddest aspects of his life are that he is aware of it, and that is his only real skill! His poor luck is infec tious, spreading to those around him like a dark cloud. He's employed by Las Vegas-casino manager Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) as a "cooler," spreading his poor luck to the gamblers around him, making them lose and in turn making the casino profitable. The problems start when Bemie meets Natalie (Maria Bello). When they fall in love, his luck begins to turn. However, his good luck turns out to be equally infectious and the casino pa trons start winning in droves. While this might all sound a bit ab surd, it is to the film's credit that it never makes you question the legitimacy of Bemie's odd talent. Macy looks so run down and pathetic that it is easy to be lieve he could make you lose three grand at blackjack just by standing next to you. But neither Macy nor the screen play ever makes Bemie interesting REVIEW of the be* The film stars William H. Macy, one character ac tors in cine enough to occupy an entire movie. It often feels like he's existing in the back ground and is there only to be cheated, abused or pitied. The character who does make an impression is Baldwin's casino man ager. He makes Shelly the kind of tough guy who might have gotten his cues from watching "The Godfather" but actually has the muscle to back it up. Throughout the film he seems like a throwback to the old Las Vegas, a city built by gangsters and gamblers, before it was spruced up for the tourist trade and made to cater to va cationing families. In essence, this is the film's major drawback. The central character seems diminutive in what is a minor role stretched to fill the entire movie, while one of the supporting charac ters exists with a purpose and a mean ing. Shelly could fill a movie and make it interesting; Bemie can't. As for the rest of the cast, they are functional without being interesting. Bello's Natalie is a worthy love inter est and not much else. At times, her relationship with Bernie has flashes of honesty that might have given the film more weight had they been ex plored in depth. But unfortunately, Courtesy _\ f / > their relationship is taken as a given, and her character is left underdevel oped. Her past is mentioned but is not believable, and her interest in as trology feels more like a tacked on quirk than a real character trait. "The Cooler" is not without its good points. Baldwin's performance could match his best work. The music and mood of the film all evoke a longing for a better — though admit tedly more violent — time in Las Ve gas' history. It's a theme that is devel oped to the point where there might have been a satisfying payoff for it, but that never happens. The film's conclusion also doesn't hit the right note, and while Baldwin's character comes to an end that is fit ting for him, Macy's and Bello's char acters do not. Their fate does not feel honest and seems tacked on to pro vide a satisfying conclusion. But be cause it isn't honest it fails, leaving the film feeling incomplete. It seems like a waste of some good elements. "The Cooler" opens next Friday at the Bijou Art Cinemas, located at 492 E. 13thAve. Contact the senior Pulse reporter at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com. PULS*: BRIEFS Folk Festival applications must be received by Feb. 27 Performance applications for the 34th Annual Willamette Valley Folk Festival are now available at the UO Cultural Forum, located on the ground floor of the EMU. Applications for the spring* festival must include a musical sample or ap propriate promotional materials for other performers. All applications must be received by Feb. 27. Further questions can be directed to Folk Festival Co-Coordinators William Reischman and Ariel Zim mer via e-mail at wreischm@glad stone.uoregon.edu and arielzim mer@hotmail.com, or by phone at 346-0635. Applications will also be available online at http://culturalforum.uore gon.edu. —Aaron Shakra Oregon Quarterly features new contest for students The University magazine Oregon Quarterly is offering an essay contest for college students. The fifth "Northwest Perspectives" essay con test now features a category exclu sively for students. Oregon Quarterly editor Guy May nard encourages student writers to take advantage of the opportunity. "The contest functions as a forum, an outlet for writers and a way to find people who might write for the mag azine in the future," he said. "It also promotes the fact that the magazine addresses issues in the Northwest." Student submissions must be non fiction and include ideas that affect the Northwest. Topics of past winners in the general contest include a fa ther/daughter relationship in North west culture, the relationship of fire fighters to fire and how forest fires affect the region, and climbing a gla cier as a metaphor for life changes. The winner will receive $250 and publication in the magazine, and the second-place winner will receive a $75 gift certificate to the University Bookstore Winners of the general and student contests will be featured at a public reading in May. Portland-based editor and essayist Brian Doyle will judge the entries and teach a writing workshop to the top five student fi nalists and top ten general finalists following the reading. "The reading is a chance to cele brate people who work at writing without any near prospects of fame or fortune," Maynard said. The deadline for entries is Jan. 31. For more detailed information about submissions, visit Oregon Quarter ly's Web site at http://www.uore gon.edu/~oq/index.htm. — Natasha Chilingerian Monthly contest offers prizes to amateur photographers, poets Nonprofessional photographers and poets have the opportunity to en ter monthly contests for a shot at pub lication and cash prizes of up to $ 10,000. The International Open Am ateur Photography and International Open Poetry Contests are open to all recreational photographers and poets in the United States. Each month, a grand prize winner is selected in both photography and poetry categories for an award of $1,000, and one photographer and one poet are selected for $ 10,000 each year. Forty first-place winners are awarded $35 for the photography contest, and 73 second-place winners are awarded a gift package with a val ue of $25. Twenty-four first place poets are also selected each month for a silver medal worth $50, and 79 second place winners get a bronze medal worth $25. Photographers can choose to enter their pictures among the following categories: people, travel, pets, chil dren, sports, nature, action, humor, portraiture or other. The International Library of Pho tography and The International Li brary of Poetry, two organizations that publish photography and poetry books, sponsor the contest. All pho tography entries are considered for publication by The International Li brary of Photography. For more information, visit http://www.picture.com for the pho tography contest and http://www.po etry.com for the poetry contest. — Natasha Chilingerian
