Entertainmentpage 17 Technique • Friday, September 28, 2007 • 17
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ENTERTAINMENTpage 17 Technique • Friday, September 28, 2007 • 17 SOFTBALL SEASON PRESIDENTS’ SUMMIT Softball players scrimmaged against Organized by PCGB, student organi- ENTERTAINMENT Georgia State players last weekend in zation presidents gathered together for Page 27 Page 11 Technique • Friday, September 28, 2007 preparation for the season. workshops and speakers. New R.E. proves fatal OUR TAKE: All the jokes and plays on words aside, Extinction is a bad movie. As I was coming Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures By Vivas Kaul up with this review in my head I tried to fi g- Staff Writer ure out what the feeling of satisfaction I felt after seeing this movie stemmed from. After Th e originalResident Evil had two things thinking a bit I realized I was satisfi ed to be going for it: fi rst, it was yet another part of the out of the theater. long standing George Romero zombie tradi- Many people are already aware that Extinc- tion; second, it was based on a very successful tion is the third installment in the RE trilogy. video game franchise. However, these two However, people who have not seen the fi rst advantages evaporated once people actually saw two movies (and believe me, you aren’t miss- the movie. Apocalypse did little to remedy the ing anything) will be lost worse than Sawyer situation, though it seems that the production on that weird island. After the events of the values for the sequel were higher. Now with second movie, Alice Walker (Milla Jovovich) the release of Resident Evil: Extinction, it’s not is on the run from the evil Umbrella Corpo- surprising that there are a lot of dry eyes as this movie goes the way of the dodo. See Evil, page 20 Expectations for Silk dissolve on screen Collective’s drop in fi lm quality between the two, the journey to Japan, he becomes and his eastern trader. We’re given OUR TAKE: with the beauty and fl ow of Th e Red obsessed with his Japanese trader’s a tragic love story with no real love, Jam jams By Daniel Griffi n Violin replaced with a plodding and concubine, as she seems to seduce which makes the tragedy seem just Senior Staff Writer bland narrative fl op in Silk. him with her stolid movements and that much more paltry. The narrative follows Hervé long glances. As he returns to France, Knightley treads water through- When confronted with the op- Joncour (Michael Pitt), an 1860s then revisits Japan twice, his love life out the fi lm, fi lling up space and portunity to revisit director François French army offi cer, who is recruited becomes increasingly mired by his time and sometimes lovely French Girard, anyone familiar with his by entrepreneur Baldabiou (Alfred tired desperation, with him being dresses, sometimes not. Yet despite last fi lm, the sublime Th e Red Violin Molina) to venture the long journey entangled in a Japanese civil war the occasional Knightley nipple fl ash, (1998), would jump at the slightest to Japan to supply Baldabiou with upon his fi nal visit. there’s really no movement here to whisper of Silk, his follow-up fi lm fresh silk worm eggs for his growing What is presented here is quite speak of. Th e movement should be arriving nearly a decade later. Silk silk mill. Joncour quickly marries simply a mess. Th ere’s no rhythm to of the two women melding into one, opened extremely quietly this past Hélène Joncour (Keira Knightley) his Japanese expeditions, no explo- which is actually attempted, though weekend to paltry box offi ce numbers before he sets off on the dangerous ration of his actual journey to the to an absurdly clumsy result. and nonexistent press. Yet perhaps voyage to the east. far- away land, nor to the increasingly Cover Art Courtesy of Paw Tracks even more depressing is the obvious After he succeeds in making tenuous relationship between him See Silk, page 20 By Jennifer Aldoretta AWA 13 wraps up month of unique conventions Contributing Writer We use the word “popular” to By Andrew Ho undeniably noteworthy economic describe something or someone Contributing Writer and cultural force worldwide. regarded with approval by the gen- Curious eyes and minds fl owed eral masses of people. A musician Following only three weeks after through the Artist’s Alley of AWA 13 is considered to be popular when the rush of Dragon*Con, one would to admire, commission and purchase liked by many. But one might say think that the sights and experiences the many art pieces of artists both that attaining a certain level of would be enough to appease fans of local and from abroad. 72,000 sq. ft. popularity is like artistic poison; fantasy, sci-fi and popular culture were dedicated to house the Dealer’s it causes the artist to become more for a while. Room, where one could fi nd all sorts focused on “rolling in the dough,” Th is was not the case for Anime of merchandise such as DVDs, post- if you will, than making a sincere, Weekend Atlanta, a local anime ers, comics, costumes, toys and the well-thought-out album. convention now in its 13th year like from vendors. Animal Collective has never and one of the fi ve largest anime Popular as some of the areas been the most popular band, and conventions in America. AWA was were, certain annual events were probably never will be. Th at’s one of hosted at the Renaissance Waverly the biggest draws. Th e ever-trendy the reasons they are so appealing to Hotel and Cobb Galleria Centre on costume contest put over 100 entries me. Th ey aren’t some showy, wan- the weekend of Sept. 21. on stage to compete for best costume nabe-pop group like numerous other Anime (the popular term for Japa- in novice, journeyman and master’s artists out there. Animal Collective nese animation) has had a signifi cant categories, as well as other awards is simply Animal Collective. Photos by Jon Drews / STUDENT PUBLICATIONS number of fans outside of Japan for given by the judges. Amusing at I will be the fi rst to admit that Two enthusiastic con-goers dress up as the characters Chii (left) and decades now, especially in the U.S., Freya (right) from the extremely popular anime series, Chobits. and in recent times it has become an See AWA, page 22 See Jam, page 23 18 • Friday, September 28, 2007 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT Technique • Friday, September 28, 2007 • 19 Cronenberg makes good on Eastern Promises OUR TAKE: pulls some truly fantastic perfor- loyal but sometimes incompetent It’s this natural progress that gives doesn’t waste time shooting any- mances out of the actors involved. son, Kirill. Cassel does an excellent the film an instantly classic feel, as thing unnecessary, but his choices By Daniel Spiller Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel job of bringing a sense of despair if it was adapted from a source that on what to show us again exceed Contributing Writer and Armin Mueller-Stahl create not to a character that can’t please his is already revered. While watching expectations. just a group of Russian characters, father, as well as providing the most it, you can sense that it already has So go see the new film from that I think for most people, David but a family that feels genuine. convincing performance of a drunk a timeless quality. guy who made the movie about a Cronenberg is still known as that Throughout the film, Mortensen’s that I have ever seen. Cronenberg’s direction seems hallucinogenic television signal. guy who made that movie with the character Nikolai reassures others Naomi Watts is great as Anna, yet both simple and stylish, resulting Eastern Promises is one of the best cool head explosion, or the guy who that he is “just a driver,” which I have justifiably forgotten. Anna is neces- in a very sophisticated look. He films you will see all year. made the movie where Jeff Goldblum deciphered as being code for “I am sary to drive the story and create the looks really gross. just giving the best performance of urgency, but she is overshadowed by I want him to be known as that my career.” the three key Russian men. Rather guy who makes movies that should Mortensen appeared in Cronen- than being a hindrance to the story, be winning awards. the overcast of Anna only makes the After a Russian woman dies “ Russians seem more menacing, creat- during childbirth, Anna (Naomi Eastern Promises ing a world where Anna’s adversaries Watts), a nurse, is determined to is one of the best are much bigger than she is. keep the baby out of foster care by Steven Knight is responsible for finding the woman’s family. films you will see all the excellent screenplay. He has put The only clue the woman left year.” together a story that somehow man- behind was her diary, so Anna ages to be always interesting. goes about getting it translated. Just when you think the script is Unfortunately, Anna quickly finds berg’s A History of Violence as well, about to get bogged down with bor- out by means of the diary that the but he has never looked better than ing but necessary details to propel problem may be bigger than just a he does in Eastern Promises. the plot, it keeps going with the same homeless baby, for the Russian mob Nikolai is undoubtedly one of intensity it always had, filling in the may somehow be connected.