Movies Excellent: National Lampoon's Animal House Good: Old School Okay: Revenge of the Nerds Bad: PCU No stars: National Lampoon's Dorm Daze
---
The Notebook
(✩✩✩)
PG-13, 121 minutes,DVD rental
The Notebook is a riveting tale of youthful ambition, enduring devotion and triumphant love. Director Nick Cassavetes invites the audience on a journey back to a simpler time where he paints a vivid picture filled with conflict and extraordinary passion. The Notebook is a splendid film with notable performances by Hollywood novices and well-known veterans. With scenes that could bring a grown man to his knees, The Notebook is the perfect movie rental for Saturday night.
Young Noah (Ryan Gosling) appreciates the simple things in life. He lives modestly but dreams big. Noah's world is changed forever when a stunning and extremely wealthy young woman visits for the summer season, stealing his heart. Allie (Rachel McAdams) is a vivacious young socialite whose hunger for life and desire for adventure attracts the attention of the rebellious Noah. It's love
at first sight. Unfortunately, Allie's parents disapprove of the relationship and forbid her to see her true love.
The special features on The Notebook DVD include deleted and extended scenes that detail the movie's plot. The scenes, interesting to watch, prove unnecessary—the editors of the movie seem to have done a fine job in the cutting room though. The Notebook is a beautiful heart-aching tale of love and loss. It is an all-around great movie.
Boogeyman (✩✩)
PG-13, 86 minutes, Southwinds 12
A boy witnesses the death of his father by an unknown phantom in his closet, and now 15 years later returns to the house where it happened. What should be the creepy tale of the famed Boogeyman, is just another stylish Hollywood horror.
The idea isn't bad, but when a film is more about how it looks than telling a story, it falls flat. The first half the movie feels as though we are following the character around with some interesting shots
and effects, which eventually gets a bit boring. Some sequences look like a music video, and it seems that the filmmakers think the way to scare an audience is just to have a loud noise and some quick editing. This becomes predictable; you know when you're about to jump. In all fairness, there are some scary bits, reminiscent of Village of The Damned, which reminds you that little children can be very scary. The ending is more interesting than the rest, but perhaps that's because something is actually happening.
The relatively unknown cast doesn't do a bad job, especially with the material they're working with. Some of it is just confusing while trying to be clever, and if there had been less talking and more observing and hinting, it would have kept the audience more on edge. Also, the film could have been condensed by almost a third.
A disappointing horror that doesn't live up to the 'true' Boogeyman idea. Go and see Hide and Seek instead.
Michael Boyd
Music by two of the World's Greatest Musicians
Leo Kottke Thursday, Feb. 24 8 p.m. Legendary acoustic guitarist
Wynton Marsalis Tuesday, Mar. 22 7:30 p.m. Renowned jazz trumpeter THE Stiefel Theatre FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
Tickets available at 1-800-585-3737 or on line at www.starticketsplus.
For more information call 785 827-1998
www.stiefeltheatre.org 151 S. Santa Fe, Salina
Wynton Marsalis concert sponsored by Martinelli's Little Italy
and supported by Coors Light and Sunflower Bank.