r
OMfUlin^MDUMnUIM'DIAIOifi ■>, 1
BETA FREE LIMITED EDITION NEPNIHT OF THE PUNISHEN'S FIRST APPEARANCE
IN AMAZING SPIDER-MAN AM!
AVAILABLE ONLY AT PARTICIPATING THEATERS WITH THE PURCHASE OF A PUNISHER MOVIE TICKET.
ONE COMIC PER TICKET, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.
.B MM n*m
www.punisherthemovie.com
CALL THEATRE OR CHECK DIRECTORY FOR SHOWTIMES
ICINEMARK REGAL CINEMAS
. CINEMARK17 CINEMA WORLD
•746-5202 1-800-FANDANGO x313
Marlee Matlin's new film
fails to pull itself together
The movie ‘What the #$*!
Do We Know?’ starts with
a good idea, but ends with
a movie that just falls apart
By Ryan Nyburg
Senior Pulse Reporter
To simply describe the film "What
the #$ *! Do We Know?" would prob
ably make it sound like something
new and interesting, which would be
an injustice seeing as it is neither.
The film deals with big ideas
about quantum physics and human
emotional responses by having a col
lection of experts comment on them,
while at the same time expressing the
ideas through a narrative about a
deaf professional photographer with
relationship problems.
This concept sounds intriguing,
but it is essentially the same format
used by nature documentaries and
the kinds of educational films high
school students across the country
have to slog through in health class
es. While the film is able to drum up
some interest simply from the weight
of its topics, it is unable to maintain
this level of engagement for very
long and eventually loses its way in
muddled
New Age
pronounce
REVIEW
- It's a dis
appointing
end for what starts as a promising
idea. We open with scenes of Aman
da (played by Academy Award-win
ner Marlee Matlin) going about her
day. The film's format is quickly es
tablished. We are soon introduced
to a wide range of scientists, theolo
gians and other specialists who act
as a sort of Greek chorus for the film,
talking about quantum mechanics,
Courtesy
Robert Baily Jr. and Marlee Matlin star in Matlin’s film “What the #$*! Do We Know?,"
which opens at the Bijou Art Cinemas this Friday.
the existence of a higher power and
how human emotions can affect our
lives. Amanda's life acts as a case
study for these topics to rest upon.
The film's problems quickly be
come as noticeable as its merits. The
bevy of specialists are regulated to
talking-head interviews sprinkled
throughout the film. We don't find
out until the end who any of them
are, giving the topics of debate a dis
tinct lack of credibility for most of the
film's 111-minute running time.
Some of them actually end up talking
at length about subjects they have no
certifiable expertise in, yet we are
asked to take them all on faith.
The tone of the discussion is also a
put-off. Many of the specialists speak
of quantum theory and neurobiolo
gy as if they were lifestyles rather than
sciences. This tone quickly becomes
elitist, with a few of the interviewees
making claims about how unfulfilled
everyone's life is since they don't
Market Place West Mon. - Fri. 9:30 am - 7:00 pm
3101 w- Hth Ave. J-3 Sat. 10 am - 5 pm
Eugene, OR 97402 Appt. & walk-ins welcome
understand these concepts. This in
sufferably preachy tone only gets
worse as the film goes on and the
concepts get muddled in pseudo
spiritual pronouncements. Concepts
such as "positive thinking" are tossed
around with little debate as to their
validity. In fact, there is very little time
discussing any contradictory views to
the theories espoused by the talking
heads. They simply present a concept
then move on.
The narrative doesn't help much,
since it never becomes more com
plex than an hour-long television
drama. Matlin holds her own and
hints at a character with more than
three dimensions, but the rest of the
cast is nothing more than placehold
ers for particular caricatures (the
loud roommate, the demanding
boss, etc.). While these people are
there to support the higher concepts
of the film, the audience is never giv
en a reason to be engaged enough to
care. This undermines the movie
and leaves much of it adrift without
an anchor.
The subsequent moral of the film
is a good one, something about how
if we understand our world better we
will be better for it, but this gets lost
in the often muddled discussion. In
the end the filmmakers seemed to
have too many good ideas about
physics, but not enough about
filmmaking.
"What the #$*! Do We Know?" is
opening Friday at the Bijou Art Cine
mas, located at 492 E. 13th Avenue.
Contact the senior Pulse reporter
at ryannyburg@dailyemerald.com.
Please RECYCLE this paper.