JAYPLAY SAYS
WATCH→SYRIANA
A little George Clooney never hurt anyone, even when he's overweight and bearded, but you should prepare yourself because this is no Ocean's 13. Recent Golden Globe winner Clooney stars in this hot potato political thriller about the effects of big business interfering in war. A relevant topic in these troubled, oil-obsessed times, Syriana i is brave enough to (finally) ask the tough questions, making it a rare find in the multiplexes full of Underwater: Evolution and Big Momma's House 2-type fare.
INXS
Tenight, Midland Theatre, 8 p.m. It's a shame Michael Hutchence was replaced by an American idol, but he's toted to be a pretty damn good replacement. Regardless of who sings it, how could "Never Tear Us Apart" ever be bad? Get a new sensation.
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MONSTER BALLADS:
PLATINUM EDITION
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THE BRAVE LITTLE TAILOR
Your rock'n roll heart can at last soar with each of the 18 tracks that speak of life's hardships as only hair bands can. Sure it's a little trashy, but you won't mind when the stragglers at your next keeger are clinging to their beer cups and singing Whitesnake's "Is This Love" at the top of their lungs. Released January 31.
The ingenious iTunes has hit the jackpot by bringing about a dozen short Disney cartoons to downloaders everywhere. Download The Brave Little Tailor, originally released in 1938, and be immediately transported back to a time when just the thought of Mickey Mouse could thrill. Watch Mickey get magic books, climb the beanstalk, battle a giant and win fair Minnie's heart all for just $1.99.
GO $ \Rightarrow $ RIGHT BETWEEN THE EARS
The Kansas Public Radio sketch comedy performs Saturday at Liberty Hall. The 5 p.m. show is a dress rehearsal and the realities's at 8 p.m. (785) 749-1972
Natalie Johnson and Lindsey Ramsey
COCKTAIL OF THE WEEK
1
The martini first chilled the American scene in the late 1800s, according to Daniel R. White's book, The Martini. White theorizes that the cocktail was invented by a bartender named Martini at New York City's Delmonico Hotel. The martini, popularized by the fictional character James Bond, consists of two ounces of gin or vodka, a splash of dry vermouth and is typically garnished with an olive. Preferred serving is shaken, not stirred.
Source: The Martini: Daniel R. White
David Heller
16> JAYPLAY 02.02.2006
Mirror, Mirror
BOOK
Gregory Maguire, believe it or not, keeps putting out quality novels even after the success of Wicked. Maguire's style — I won't cheapen it by calling it a gimmick — is to twist fairy tales around. With Mirror, Mirror, the fairy tell in question is the story of Snow White.
Unlike the fictional Oz laid out in Wicked, Maguire chooses to use a real historical backdrop for this novel. The backdrop is the Tuscan countryside in early 16th century. Bianca, our Snow White, lives on the estate of her
widower father. One day, Cesare and Lucezia Borgia (actual historical figures — Cesare is the basis for Machiavelli's The Prince) come calling. Cesare needs Bianca's father to go on a missionary expedition to find a religious relic, and Bianca is left in the care of Lucezia. When Lucezia learns of her brother's interest in Bianca she turns into the wicked stepmother.
Lucezia hires a hunter to kill Bianca in the woods, but, in the usual fashion, her life is spared and she eventually encounters the dwarves of the fairy tale, who have a talent for creating mirrors. The fairy tale is then left to play out.
sides, for example, are leery of mirrors (another throwback to the fairy tale). Savonarola, a monk who tossed mirrors in bonfires, saying they caused vanity is often referenced in the novel. The novel also cheekily reminds us that Savonarola was executed as a heretic by the Church.
Maguire could have tossed any number of statements in this novel, all of which would have been worthless had the novel not been readable. The pace is quick, the characters, especially the estate's cook, likeable and the style fluid. The greater role of religion isn't understood completely until the novel is over; the reader isn't knocked upside the head with it. Maguire has produced another great novel.
Religious metaphors play a strong part in this novel. The religious relic Bianca's father is sent after is an apple from the Biblical Tree of Knowledge, and, of course, the apple figures prominently in the original fairy tale. It also seems no accident that the historical context of the story is an Italy that is gripped on one end by the Catholic Church, and on the other by old world superstitions. Both sides, Maguire argues, deal with hypocrisy and corruption. Both
Author: Gregory Maquire
Publisher: Regan Books
Price: $14.95
Available in Paperback
★★★
Kelsey Hayes
The New World, written and directed by Terrence Malick, is a retelling of the story of Pocahontas. I'm not convinced the story needed to be retold.
Qorianka Kilcher, as Pocahontas, plays her part with dignity and energy. You would think she'd been wearing animal skins her whole life. Her leading men do just fine, but they don't have much to do. John Smith (Colin Farrell) spends most of the movie looking either worshipful or anguished. Christian Bale, who plays playing the saintly John Rolfe, alternates between amused and concerned.
MOVIE
The New World
If you don't mind the flashy editing, the film is a pleasure to look at. Unfortunately, the pretty pictures eventually talk,
and the silences are broken by voice-over. In hushed narration, John Smith tells us of his consuming love for Pocahontas, his admiration for the Powhatan people and his dreams of shared wealth and shared work — a true commonwealth for all people. The effect is a bit subtler than if John Lennon's "Imagine played over the scenes."
Both the new world and the old one are rich in detail. The contrast between the two is a better advertisement for the Pocahontan way of life than any words Malick could have written. Compared to life in Pocahontas's village, $ _{17}^{\mathrm{th}}$-century England seems over-crowded and absurdly complicated.
Interesting as they are, images can only carry the film so far. This movie is superfluous. With the exception of Q'orianka Kilcher herself, there is simply nothing new in The New World.
PG-13, 135 minutes South Wind Theatre
★★
Kit Fluker
★ You'll wish you were dead ★★ You'll want to leave the theater early ★★★ You'll say "eh"
★★★★ You'll rave to everyone who asks ★★★★★ You'll have a religious experience