THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2002
FILM
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN - 7
Rental options abound
By Aaron Passman
Kansan staff writer
Some students prefer to spend their free time in bars and clubs, and some prefer sitting at home with a good book, but many prefer to rent videos and DVDs.
Lawrence has plenty to offer the rental enthusiast.
Couch Potato Video, 1800 E.23 St., sits on the outskirts of Lawrence with a good selection of both videos and DVDs.
Shay Brown, Lawrence resident and Couch Potato employee, said about a third of the store's customers were KU students, and that many people made the trip to the edge of town because of the store's good selection of gay-and lesbian-themed films.
Marissa Stephenson, employee at Blockbuster, 4651 W. 6th St.(another location exists at 1516 W.23 St.), said people came to Blockbuster because they always knew what to expect.
"People know that at Blockbuster you can always find the new releases, and you can keep them for up to a week," said Stephenson, Tonganoxie sophomore.
Thomas Hamm, employee at Hastings, 1900 W.23 St., said people came to Hastings because of prices and selection.
"We give good discounts, and we've got a massive selection," said Hamm, Lawrence resident. "And the fact that we also have books and music helps."
Montie Holtz, employee at Movie Gallery, 1501 W.6th St., said the store's customer base wasn't tied to the University.
"Because of our location on Sixth, we don't get lots of students," said Holtz, Pratt junior. "People come here because we've got a lot more old movies than other stores, we've got an adult section that only a few other places have, and we've got really good discounts for rental and sales."
Liberty Hall, 646 Massachusetts St. offers hard-to-find foreign and independent films.
The store's videos are organized by genre, country of origin and director, and the store is locally owned.
"I think people come to Liberty because it's in a good location, we've got a good selection for a smaller store, we've got a good cult section, and we've got a lot of the harder-to-find independent and foreign films," said Liberty Hall employee Jeff Ruggles, Olathe senior.
Lawrence movie rental stores
Kansan staff writer Aaron Passman, a self-described rental expert, offers the following guidance for your movie pursuit.
Couch Potato Video Price:$1.99-3.99 Special features: Best source for gay-and lesbian-themed films, hard-to-find horror films and adult films.
Blockbuster Video
Price: $1.99-3.79
Special features: Best source for new releases, good frequent renter program.
Hastings Books, Music & Video
Price: $0.49-3.49
Special features: Best DVD selection in town, lots of video, good foreign section, cheapest rental rates in town, all movies are five-day rentals.
Movie Gallery
Price: $2.29-3.49
Price $2.29-3.49
Special features: Good selection of used movies for sale, good discounts, adult section.
Liberty Hall
Special features: Best selection of foreign films, excellent cult section, well-organized, very knowledgeable staff.
Price: $0.75-3.00
Swimfan sinks as shallow addition to horror genre
REVIEW
By Peter Black
Jayplaywriter
Ever since we were kids we've been warned by our parents about the dangers of swimming.
Even signs warn swimmers: no diving in shallow water, no lifeguard on duty, swim at your own risk. Unfortunately, no such warnings were tagged to the latest installment to the teen horror film genre, Swimfan.
Ben Cronin (Jesse Bradford) is the star of the swimming team, pressured with the hopes of getting a scholarship to Stanford. To go along with his picturesque life is his girlfriend, Amy (Shiri Miller), whose only worry is staying together after high school. Everything is good until a new girl appears in school, Madison Bell, (Erika Christensen) who sets her sights on Ben.
Madison quickly goes to work seducing Ben, which he very unbelievably and uncharacteristically falls for. She leaves him flowers, e-mails and nude pictures until he is left with no choice but to attempt to cut off all ties.
After this insult, Bell does everything she can to make his life miserable, from telling Ben's girlfriend about their affair to planting steroids in his urine sample.
Hellbent on revenge and regaining his life, Ben begins to uncover the dark secrets surrounding Madison's past. The boyfriend in New York that she had told him she was waiting on actually is in coma. Which leaves Ben wondering, is he next?
By this time, who really cares? The story is so typical of horror films that many of the would-be scary elements in Swimfan got as many laughs as they did screams. In fact, it is hardly even good for a cheap thrill,
Contributed art
Ben (Jesse Bradford) finds himself in hot water in the movie Swimfan.
using all the cliche horror tactics and attempting to mask that fact with artsy camera effects and editing techniques.
Bradford (Bring It On) and Christensen (Traffic) offer a glimmer of hope within the murky waters of this film. These two stars are the only things that keep the movie interesting.
Christensen plays her character with such a mature attitude that she completely takes over the screen, creating a character that seems to be perfect but has an edge of creepiness.
Bradford shows he can be the go from being the polite guy everyone likes to a screaming, revenge-driven vigilante when pushed to the edge.
The Kansan is great reading...
...no matter where you are.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
KANSAN