Ben Smith’s Mighty Goo: : Video Suggestions for the Socically Basement Ridden by Benjamin Asa Smith | was originally planning to fill this month's column with works of critical genius, but since so many people have recently been asking me about disaster films I've changed my mind. | don't know why everyone's been on about disaster flicks. I've been wondering if Christmas is just so freaky to people around here that they're projecting their contorted psy- ches onto iron-oxide escapism. The Poseidon Adventure Starring Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine - A luxury cruise ship flips upside down during a storm. Then a small band of people make a dash for the stern in an attempt to get rescued (because the boat's only upside-down, not sunk. They might still make it!). It's actually quite thrilling. Heroism, courage, and self-sacrifice. And plenty death! Scenes to watch for: the ballroom flipping, the aging swimming star leading the troupe through an underwater maze. The Towering Inferno Starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and a whole bunch of victims - From the same people who brought you The Poseidon Adventure comes this really 70s tale of high-rise mayhem when a skyscraper designed by Newman catches on fire (it's not his fault, it's Richard Chamberlain's. Don't worry, he gets his). Steve McQueen plays an awfully laid-back fire chief. Tons of surprise fatalities! Scenes to watch for: Robert Wagner meeting his doom (quite horrify- ing), someone falling from about 80 stories and bouncing on the way down. Earthquake Starring, oh yeah, Charlton Heston! Also with Geneviéve Bujold and Lorne Greene (Canucks!) - A blatant yet wholly entertaining rip-off of The Towering Inferno, Earthquake follows in the footsteps of so many other Charles Intestine films with rampant didacticism. The crumbling building sequences more than make up for it, as does watching Chuck jut out his teeth and play hero. Scenes to watch for: Chuck telling Lorne Greene that they really ought to have earthquake-proof buildings, pipeline workers getting buried when the fault shifts (for real! They had to dig out the stunt men) . Kingdom Of The Spiders Starring William Shatner - It's not your typical disaster flick. To be honest, | don't know if I'm legally allowed to define Kingdom as "disaster" since it doesn't have giant edifices falling over and volcanoes and whatnot. But it's got tarantulas! Yessir, James T. Kirk has to fight off an invasion of those nasty critters when they invade his home town. Pretty crazy stuff. Scenes to watch for: Captain Kirk's line, "You need the ole six inches behind the barn"; tarantulas taking down a motorcyclist. Additional viewing: Add a little mystery to those rainy evenings that you're spending all alone. Try out The Trial, (by Orson Welles. From a story by Franz Kafka. Will soak you in paranoia), Rear Window (Hitch- cock and Jimmy Stewart. Their best work), Vertigo (Their second best work), American Perfekt (all quite good aside from the wretched final 10 minutes), Death And The Maiden (Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley. Absolutely brutal yet riveting. You'll be wondering what's true right up till the end), and The Great Muppet Caper (it's got mysterious over- tones. Just watch it). % oO %, o YU > 1A LX) The Messenger DIRECTED BY LUC BESSON STARRING MILLA JOVOVICH reviewed by Regan Lipsett On a recently rainy Monday night some friends of mine were going to watch The Messenger, and as they were kind enough to invite me along, | hopped-to. As we drove to the cinema in North Vancouver, we discussed what we had heard about the movie: some people had commented on the film being boring, while others found Milla Jovavich's portrayal of Joan of Arc less than convincing, and some thought Joan was portrayed as insane. And so it was that, by the time we took our seats in the theatre the three of us had some doubts as to how wise it had just been to part with $8.75 each. But by the time the credits rolled at end of the film, we were in agreement: a rousing good film. Hardly boring, the film is chock full of rather graphic medieval gore and well-paced battle scenes. It is visually compelling, containing some beautiful images throughout, with dark billowing clouds speeding behind verdant forests and golden fields (but otherwise the cinematography is pretty regular fare). Jovavich herself did a commendable job. She acted with a frantic intensity befitting her message-driven, divinely-inspired character. Jeanne d'Arc was but nineteen years old when she helped lead the French army to numerous victories over the English; this portrayal of her shows her as a person of tremendous faith, courage, and verve. Far from annoying, as | recall one person commenting, Milla's voice cracking while shouting battle cries is appropriate to the brutal, intense battle situation in which her character acted. | liked the movie, as did my friends. The film inspired me to find out more about this true story, and I'm glad that | have since done so. Joan of Arc is an incredible example to anyone with a tendency or desire to stray from seemingly insurmountable tasks. ; Being John Malkovich DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE reviewed bye hack Smith STARRING JOHN MALKOVICH, JOHN CUSAK, CAMERON DIAZ O.K., I'm just going to come out and say it; unique, quirky and strange. Yes, | realize . that every other review you've heard about this movie has used those exact words but they just work so well! Spike Jonze, the imagination behind some of the coolest video's ever made (ie: Weezer's Buddy Holly, Beastie Boys' Sabotage, Fat Boy Slim's Praise You, and that Daft Punk vid with the dog carrying the ghetto blaster) has teamed up with first- time screenwriter Charlie Kaufman in his debut feature film. Their “noviceness" is incredibly apparent as this film ventures all over the place, asks the viewer for huge leaps of faith and is based on the most fantastically ridiculous premise I've ever seen in a film, which is exactly why it's a must-see. Check this out: Craig Schwartz John Cusak) is a brilliant but tragically unsuccessful puppeteer who must use his nimble fingers as a file clerk, in an office built for midgets, where he discovers a tunnel, behind his filing cabinet, into the subconscious of actor John Malkovich. What the..? ‘Nuff said, but it gets bet- ter and weirder. While this movie does seem to have come from outer space it still man- ages to be effectively emotional and hilarious in turn. The casting was also remarkable: John Cusak is fantastically pathetic as the inspired, but unlucky loser Schwartz: Cather- ine Keener (Your Friends and Neighbors, 8mm) plays the heartless, self-serving Maxine like a robot which seemed quite appropriate; and ditzy Cameron Diaz plays Shwartz’ ditzy wife Lotte (was she acting?). One can't forget John Malkovich who does an excel- lent job playing himself with a variety of people at the helm of his subconscious. Go see this film if for no other reason than you've never seen anything quite so unique, quirky and strange. Well....maybe Gummo. | was originally planning to fill this month's column with works of critical genius, but since so many people have recently been asking me about disaster films I've changed my mind. | don't know why everyone's been ‘on about disaster flicks. I've been wondering if Christmas is just so freaky to people around here that they're projecting their contorted psy- ches onto iron-oxide escapism. The Poseidon Adventure Starring Gene Hackman and Emest Borgnine ~ A luxury cruise ship flips upside down during a storm. Then a small band of people make a dash for the stern in an attempt to get rescued (because the boat's only upside-down, not sunk. They might still make it). It's actually quite thriling. Heroism, courage, and self-sacrifice. ‘And plenty death! ‘Scenes to watch for: the ballroom flipping, the aging swimming star leading the troupe through an underwater maze. The Towering Inferno Starring Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, and a whole bunch of victims - From the same people who brought you The Poseidon Adventure comes this really 70s tale of high-rise mayhem when a skyscraper designed by Newman catches on fire (t's not his fault, it's Richard ‘Chamberlain's. Don't worry, he gets his). Steve McQueen plays an awfully laid-back fire chief. ‘Tons of surprise fatalities! Scenes to watch for: Robert Wagner meeting his doom (quite horrify- ing), someone falling from about 80 stories and bouncing on the way down Earthquake ‘Starring, oh yeah, Charlton Heston! Also with Geneviéve Bujold and Lorne Greene (Canucks!) ~ A blatant yet wholly entertaining rip-off of The Towering Inferno, Earthquake follows in the footsteps of so many other Charles Intestine films with rampant didacticism. The crumbling building sequences more than make up for it, as does watching Chuck jut out his teeth and play hero. ‘Scenes to watch for: Chuck telling Lone Greene that they really ought to have earthquake-proof buildings, pipeline workers getting buried when the fault shifts (for reall They had to dig out the stunt men) Kingdom Of The Spiders Starring William Shatner - It's not your typical disaster flick. To be honest, | don't know if I'm legally allowed to define Kingdom as "disaster" since it doesn't have giant edifices falling over and volcanoes and whatnot. But it's got tarantulas! Yessir, James T. Kirk has to fight off an invasion of those nasty critters when they invade his home town. Pretty crazy stuff. ‘Scenes to watch for: Captain Kirk's line, *You need the ole six inches behind the barn*; tarantulas taking down a motorcyclist. Additional viewing: Add a little mystery to those rainy evenings that you're spending all alone. Try out The Trial, (by Orson Welles. From a story by Franz Kafka. Will soak you in paranoia), Rear Window (Hitch- ‘cock and Jimmy Stewart. Their best work), Vertigo (Their second best work), American Perfekt (all quite good aside from the wretched final 10 minutes), Death And The Maiden (Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley. Absolutely brutal yet riveting. You'll be wondering what's true right up til the end), and The Great Muppet Caper (it's got mysterious over- tones. Just watch it). Z 4 Ben Smith’s Mighty Goo: 3 Video Suggestions for the Socically Basement Ridden by Benjamin Asa Smith 4 q The Messenger DIRECTED BY LUC BESSON STARRING MILLA JOVOVICH reviewed by Regan Lipset On a recently rainy Monday night some friends of mine were going to watch The Messenger, and as they were kind enough to invite me along, | hopped-to. As we drove to the cinema in North Vancouver, we discussed what we had heard about the movie: some people had commented on the film being boring, while others found Milla Jovavich's portrayal of Joan of Arc less than convincing, and some thought Joan was Portrayed as insane. And so it was that, by the time we took our seats in the theatre the three of us had some doubts as to how wise it had just been to part with $8.75 each. But by the time the credits rolled at end of the film, we were in agreement: a rousing good film. Hardly boring, the film is chock full of rather graphic medieval gore and well-paced battle scenes. Itis visually compelling, containing some beautiful images throughout, with dark billowing clouds speeding behind verdant forests and golden fields (but otherwise the cinematography is pretty regular fare) Jovavich herself did a commendable job. She acted with a frantic intensity befitting her message-driven, divinely-inspired character. Jeanne d'Arc was but nineteen years old when she helped lead the French army to numerous victories over the English; this portrayal of her shows her as a person of tremendous faith, courage, and verve. Far from annoying, as | recall one person commenting, Milla's voice cracking while shouting battle cries is appropriate to the brutal, intense battle situation in which her character acted. | liked the movie, as did my friends. The film inspired me to find out more about this true story, and I'm glad that | have since done so. Joan of Arc is an incredible ‘example to anyone with a tendency or desire to stray from seemingly insurmountable tasks. Being John Malkovich DIRECTED BY SPIKE JONZE eee Dacned snaty ‘STARRING JOHN MALKOVICH, JOHN CUSAK, CAMERON DIAZ ©.K., I'm just going to come out and say it; unique, quirky and strange. Yes, | realize that every other review you've heard about this movie has used those exact words but they just work so welll Spike Jonze, the imagination behind some of the coolest video's ever made (ie: Weezer's Buddy Holly, Beastie Boys' Sabotage, Fat Boy Slim's Praise You, and that Daft Punk vid with the dog carrying the ghetto blaster) has teamed up with first-time screenwriter Charlie Kaufman in his debut feature film. Their *noviceness" is incredibly apparent as this film ventures all over the place, asks the viewer for huge leaps of faith and is based on the most fantastically ridiculous premise I've ever seen in a film, which is exactly why it's a must-see. Check this out: Craig Schwartz ohn Cusak) is a brilliant but tragically unsuccessful puppeteer who must use his nimble fingers as a file clerk, in an office built for midgets, where he discovers a tunnel, behind his filing cabinet, into the subconscious of actor John Malkovich. What the..? 'Nuff said, but it gets bet- ter and weirder. While this movie does seem to have come from outer space it still man- ages to be effectively emotional and hilarious in turn. The casting was also remarkable: John Cusak is fantastically pathetic as the inspired, but unlucky loser Schwartz; Cather- ine Keener (Your Friends and Neighbors, 8mm) plays the heartless, self-serving Maxine like a robot which seemed quite appropriate; and ditzy Cameron Diaz plays Shwartz’ ditzy wife Lotte (was she acting?). One can't forget John Malkovich who does an excel- lent job playing himself with a variety of people at the helm of his subconscious. Go see this film if for no other reason than you've never seen anything quite so unique, quirky and strange. Well... maybe Gummo.