movies
On DVD
Inc. des
The Girl Next Door ★★★ Unrated,
110 minutes, available to rent now
The Girl Next Door follows in the tradition of movies such as Old School and American Pie by releasing an unrated version on DVD. While an unrated movie about a high school senior who falls for a porn star who moves in next door seems like it would be racy and dirty, the film is actually consistently funny and displays genuine sweetness.
Matt (Emile Hirsch) has just been accepted to Georgetown and is about to graduate from high school, and regrets he has never done anything exciting with his life. He meets Danielle, the girl next door, played by the beautiful Elisha Cuthbert of 24, who inspires him to get a little crazy every once in a while. The plot is standard and resembles *Risky Business*
in its basic premise, but is a raunchier update of the '80s Tom Cruise classic.
Hirsch and Cuthbert feed well off of each other, but their chemistry is lacking. It's obvious to see how someone such as Danielle would appeal to Matt, but we never really know what Danielle sees in Matt other than she says he makes her feel normal. Cuthbert has the beautiful girl, object of my affection role down pat, and Hirsch's Matt is charming in his innocence. Timothy Olyphant (Win a Date with Tad Hamilton) practically steals the movie as a sleazy but charming porn producer. His character Kelly has a grin to rival that of the Cheshire Cat and brings laughs to almost every scene he's in.
This unrated version does have more breasts than the theatrical version, which of course add nothing to the film. Director Luke Greenfield provides commentary for the feature-length film, as do Cuthbert and Hirsch for specific scenes. Apart from the standard making-ofs and deleted scenes, the DVD also has a trivia track The Girl Next Door is not a great comedy, but it has enough laughs to make it worth renting.
Jon Ralston
South Wind 12
Hero(★★★)
PG-13, 99 minutes, South Wind 12
Rarely does a film come along where the beauty it is so astonishing it is difficult to concentrate on anything else. Alas such a film xists and it exists in Hero. Director Zhang Yimou and his team of production designers have created something truly beautiful. Warriors soar through the air, cloths billow beautifully in the wind, colors pop off the screen, and all this is wrapped in a pretty package complete with a story filled with war, love and revenge.
The warrior with no name — or Nameless (Jet Li) — has sliced his way through the king's assassins to get some face time with the king. As he tells his tale of battles fought, the film delves into Chinese lore, telling a story of how the first emperor was made. Nameless' path to the king is paved with meetings between himself and three other warriors of equal skill. Sky (Donnie Yen), Broken Sword (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) are all equal opponents to our hero, but as the film continues, it is
revealed that Nameless' story is more complicated than it may have seemed.
Visually the film has no match. The grace of the fight scenes is only eclipsed by the sweeping cinematography and an eye-popping color scheme. The quality of the film lies in its visuals, putting the narrative a close second. The storyline tries to stay veiled under a simpleton shroud but underneath the plot gets contorted and keeps the audience guessing. True, the visuals are the star, but the actors give the depth needed to such a story, and boy can they fight.
— Lindsey Ramsey
Excellent: Movies this great are rare, so don't miss it Good: At least worth the price of admission Okay: See it if you have nothing better to do Bad: If you absolutely have to see it, wait for the DVD no stars: Frickin' terrible; give us our two hours back, you director from hell
Kansas Union
All shows will play at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday nights in Woodruff Auditorium, Level 5, Kansas Union (except for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which will play at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.). Tickets can be purchased in the Hawk Shop for $2 or with an SUA movie card.
The Passion of the Christ (ὑκ) , R,
125 minutes
Maverick filmmaker Mel Gibson brings the pain in this gruesome, borderline fanatic meditation on the death of Jesus Christ. Jim Caviezel's lead performance, John Debney's music and Caleb Deschanel's cinematography are all stunningly beautiful. (Tonight and tomorrow night)
Shrek 2 ( ★★ ☆1/2 ), PG, 92 minutes
Shrek 2 (★☆☆1/2), PG, 92 minutes
The folks at Dreamworks once again get away with a lot of outrageous double entendres as Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona travel to the kingdom of Far Far Away. (Sept. 9-10)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless
Mind (✩✩✩1/2), R, 108 minutes
Charlie Kaufman's loopy script blends sci-fi, romance and philosophy into the story of a disillusioned man who has his ex-girlfriend scrubbed from his memory. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet give Oscarworthy performances. (Sept. 16-17)
Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (☆☆☆☆), R,
137 minutes
Quentin Tarantino's East/West filmmaking hybrid brilliantly unravels the Bride's bloody road to redemption with fewer action sequences than the first but bigger surprises and stronger direction. (Sept. 30-Oct.1)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (☆☆☆☆), PG, 136 minutes
The best and brightest of the J.K. Rowling films finds the boy wizard hounded by a mysterious prisoner who may have betrayed Harry's parents to their deaths.
Thrillingly adapted by director Alfonso Cuaron. (Oct. 7-8)
Spider-Man 2 (🌸✨🌸1/2), PG-13
127 minutes
Alfred Molina's brooding Doc Ock makes for one of the great screen villains as he battles Tobey Maguire's lovesick Spidey in Sam Raimi's blockbuster sequel. (Oct. 28-29)
121 minutes
The Terminal (✩✩✩), PG-13,
Steven Spielberg's post-Sept. 11 fairy tale stars Tom Hanks as an Eastern European everyman trapped by a bureaucratic apparatus inside the JFK International Airport. (Nov.4-5)
King Arthur (✱1/2), PG-13,
130 minutes
A $90 million knights-of-the-round-table epic with a 10-cent script, the Jerry-Bruckheimer produced saga portraits Arthur as a fifth-century Roman warrior. (Nov. 11-12)
The Village ☆☆1/2), PG-13,
108 minutes
My feelings for this M. Night Shyamalan frightfest have flip-flopped more than once. Meticulously crafted, the film ends on a revelatory note that viewers seem to find either silly or transporting.(Nov. 18-19)
Anchorman (★★★), PG-13,
91 minutes
Will Ferrell dons one spectacularly ugly polyester suit after another in this lunatic sendup of The "Me Decade" and broadcast newsroom misogyny. Former Daily Show funnyman Steve Carell steals the show. (Dec. 2-3)
—Stephen Shupe
Jayplay 9.2.04
13