3
1-3
Reviews:film&music
MOVIES
Serenity
PG-13, 119 minutes, South Wind 12
Serenity is about a motley band of ter in Serenity are not in the big picture,
outcasts, living on the fringes of a galaxy controlled by a repressive government. The movie's name is taken from the dilapidated spaceship that gets the crew from job to job.
The plot hinges on a massive and deadly government secret, and is best ignored. It occasionally shines and thrills, but it contains little that hasn't been done before (and some things that shouldn't have
Writer/director Joss Whedon knows something that Hollywood could stand to learn: there is no such thing as a bad time for a joke, provided the joke is good. Serenity is funny, bloody, desperate,and probably more action-packed
一
been done again). The things that mat- than it needs to be. Though Whedon
but in the little moments, in the varied, appealing characters and what they do scene to scene. And the scenes come fast and hard, and usually pack a punch.
knows how to use dialogue and action to tell a story, he seems to have gotten hazy on the use of silence, although the movie sometimes suffers for it.
Serenity is an action movie, and, yes, there are choreographed fight sequences, big explosions and government cover-ups. But the characters in the film are flesh and blood, and the hits they take are palpable. The most painful part though is not when they're hit, but afterwards, when they are obliged to keep moving even though they're still gushing blood.
- Kit Fluker
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 25 minutes. South Wind 12
☆☆☆
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit can be summed up in one word: cute. The claymation man-dog duo makes its debut on the big screen after a handful of Academy Award-winning shorts in the early to mid '90s. There's a simple pleasure in watching a bumbling British inventor, who speaks as if he went to the Oxford School of Bad Puns, and a dog that never talks and rolls his eyes at everything his master does.
Wallace and Gromit operate a humane pest-control business specializing in the protection of vegetables and private gardens days before their British town's giant vegetable festival. The "pests," though, are cute little bunny rabbits with upturned pig noses and high-pitched squeaks. The cuteness
doesn't sway Victory Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes), an upper-class snob
Jayplay 10.20.05
out for the heart of Lady Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter), who would rather shoot the little creatures. When Wallace tries to stop the bunnies from eating the town's vegetables with a brain-washing device, he accidentally creates a Were-Rabbit - a giant, fuzzy bunny with teeth the size of ax-blades and a never-ending appetite. Quatermaine would rather shoot the animal dead, but Wallace tries a more allur-
mula here. Wallace and Gromit works because it knows it's cheesy and the
ing method to capture the beast.
The film is from the same animation team that made Chicken Run, also cute and fun, and uses the same for-
filmmakers play it up every opportunity they get which results in childish, goofy fun. I don't think it's a coincidence Wallace has an obsession with cheese, literally and figuratively. The directors, Nick Park (who also made Chicken Run) and Steve Box, successfully take what made the shorts successful and carry it on for an hour and a half. The dry British humor and bad jokes may not lead to a lot of launch
out-loud moments, but it's more than enough to make kids and adults smile.
- Jon Ralston
Discovering The Waterfront Silverstein
★★★
Silverstein is one of the thousands of emo/hardcore bands to come along in recent years. They've built a large fanbase with nonstop touring including a few stints on the Warped Tour.
24
Discovering The Waterfront is the follow-up to their popular debut
When Broken Is Easily Fixed. Is it better? Yes. Is it worth getting? Probably not. Silverstein relies on the same tricks most bands of the genre do: explosive parts with screaming, mellow parts with soft vocals and intertwining guitar parts.
But the best song (and one that I do think is definitely worth hearing) is the tile track, "Discovering The Waterfront." In it, the band breaks away from its 3-minute formula, slows down the tempo, cuts out the dull screaming parts and delivers an emotional release you'll probably see me singing along to in my mini-van.
That sounds harsh, but in all honesty there are a few good tracks on this album. The first one being "Smile In Your Sleep," which features an excellent tempo change in the bridge and some nice drumming by Paul Koehler. "My Heroine" is a great one as well. "Always and Never" has a quick and catchy chorus and "Call It Karma" is a good closer to the album.
So Discovering The Waterfront does feature some excellent tracks, but if you're looking for an excellent emo album, pick up Taking Back Sunday, Further Seems Forever, or Brand New. If you're still interested in seeing Silverstein they'll be playing the Granada on Saturday Oct 29th.
- Chris Brower