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Friday, February 11, 2000
8A1
Overall: B+ • Writing: B- • Acting: B • Cinematography: A • Sound: B
Caprio excels in semi-adventurous The Beach
he Beach certainly isn't paradise — but it's still pretty nice.
The plot begins with an American, Richard (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who is way too cool for standard vacations. So he goes to Thailand, where he quickly discovers that he's still just too cool. Luckily, a crazed Brit, Daffy (Robert Carlyle), gives him a map to a secret island with the perfect beach — a place that just might be cool enough for him. Realizing that he's gone far too long without a love triangle, he quickly befriends a French couple and begins his journey to the island. It doesn't take long until he discovers that this perfect beach might be too cool for him. $\rightarrow$
just not quite the same story that the novel
"The Beach" is based on a novel of the same title, written by Alex Garland. Like all Hollywood adaptations of well-received novels, it's safe to say that the movie isn't as good — which isn't to say that the movie isn't good. Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) does a respectable job of bringing an entertaining story to the screen. It's just not quite the same story that the novel told
The film's script receives an automatic deduction for including this dreadfully overused scene: The hero and his friend look at the hero's love interest from afar, and the friend says to him, "Forget about it. It'll never happen." But even with that penalty, the film isn't bad. Peppered with excitement and violence, it's not the action-driven adventure that the trailer portrays. The pacing slows in the middle of the film and horedom ensues for a little while.
--only committed multiple nenous dents, but also has drifted in and out of a dark, twisted, vulpine madness. He's not a good guy. Nonetheless, DICaprio is shirtless through a large portion of the film, so I doubt there's much risk of his fans feeling betrayed.
Some of the turns that characters take seem unbelievable. Overall, however, the writing moves the story along and even packs a surprise from time to time.
If you are not into DiCaprio, the best excuse to see this film is its imagery. Bangkok looks abrasive
and dirty, and the island paradise is breathtakingly beautiful. The film is tastefully decorated with Boyle's playful
For links to the movie trailer and more, go to http://www.kansan.com
But really, who is going to this movie for the story? There's a a fairly good reason that Leonardo DiCaprio's name appears so prominently on the film's posters. DiCaprio, in his first film since 1998, does a fine job. He's a good actor and it shines through. However, people looking to see a sensitive character should just go rent Titanic again. To call Richard amoral is extreme, but he certainly is morally confused. By the end of the film, he has not
ormmentation, ranging from his traditional underwater photography to a great sequence where Richard appears as a character in a video game. Visually, this film is a delight.
So all in all, this film is decent. Weaknesses show up, but they aren't fatal. DiCaprio fans will be pleased, so long as they don't mind seeing Leo get a little dirty. Fans of Danny Boyle's storytelling and visual style will be entertained as well. And though it's not the best film of the season, it's
probably the best film of the week
An oft-shirtless Leonardo DiCaprio returns to the screen after more than a year's absence in The Beach. Contributed art.
Morphine
The Night
Buy it
When Mark Sandman died of a heart attack July 3 during a performance in Italy, so ended Morphine, the three-piece ensemble he created in the early 1990s.
Sandman's premature departure is made even more tragic by listening to the trio's last studio album, *The Night*, which is absolutely masterful and
awash in promise. Promise that the band, sadly, cannot capitalize on again.
Morphine came about during the reign of grunge rock and stood out like an ugly zit. Sandman and crew eschewed distorted guitars and machine-gun drum beats in favor of a slide bass guitar, a saxophone and jazz rhythms. The Night takes the formula a step further, throwing in cello, viola, piano, organ and hand drums. And the result is silky smooth.
The band's low-key music blends splen didly with Sandman's entrancing baritone voice. Check out the title track and "Top Floor, Bottom Buzzer" for outstanding examples of how uniquely refreshing this can be. Try not to be happily hypnotized by the dark melodies of "Take Me With You" and "Like a Mirror."
Space limits what can be said about The Night, but its description requires one word: enthralling. Buy this album now.
— Chris Borniger
Bowery Electric Lushlife
Buy it used
Eight-year-old space-rock, trip-hop duo
Bowery Electric will blast back onto the
scene with its newest album Lushlife, to be released Feb. 21. Lushlife is full of experimentation with new electronic sounds and samples and blurs the line between live and programmed instruments.
Besides the crisp drum samples, nothing on the album is overdone. This results in a lulling, repetitive sound. Martha Schwendener's vocals are repolling, but again, too horizontal in pitch to be truly captivating. Songs such as "Freedom Fighter," with its high-energy sound, and the dissonant "After Landing" are different enough to break up an album that might have become plagued by repetition.
Melineh Kurdian
Virginia Rodrigues
Nos
Buy it
Halled as the new voice of Brazilian music by many critics. Virginia
The rich voice of Rodrigues proves to be the most remarkable element of the entire album. She displays a wide vocal range and a voice that could sing you to sleep. A very unified sound is the end result with the addition of the well-balanced instrumentation using subtle strings, exotic percussion and subdued brass.
*Nos means "us" in Portuguese, and is a title that captures the essence of this album as Rodriguez draws upon the spirit of Brazilian Carnival music.
Rodrigues' newest release, Nos, is enchanting and alive.
The Handsome Family In the Air Buy it
If quirky country music is your cup of tea, the cup doth runneth over when Brett and Rennie Sparks (a.k.a. The Handsome
Family) pick up their guitars. In the Air, their fourth album, features wonderfully crafted songs with titles such as "The Sad Milkman" and "Grandmother Waits For You." This guitar-driven sound best resembles country music. With lyrics such as "I'm afraid of bridges" ("In the Air") and "I wanted to tell you all the ways I loved you/ But instead got sick on the train" ("A Beautiful Thing"), the handsome Family takes the listener on a strange journey through a world filled with drowning grandmothers, murdered brothers and suffocated fireflies. The slow-paced melodies really amplify Brett's deep vocals, most notably on "When That Helicopter Comes" and "Grandmother Waits For You." If you buy one country album this year, do yourself a favor and make it In The Air. The band will be playing Feb. 16 at the Replay Loure. 946 Massachusetts St.
— Justin Parlette