I'm Not There
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ENTERTAINMENTpage 15 Technique • Friday, February 1, 2008 • 15 TECH DOWNS DAWGS POSTSECRET’S SECRETS Tech, despite being 7-15, has had a sea- What began as an art installation in ENTERTAINMENT son sweep of rival UGA for the fi rst time 2004 has become an international Page 24 Page 13 Technique • Friday, February 1, 2008 since 2002. hit. Read the interview. Wright wins I’m Not with Atonement There enchants OUR TAKE: Image Courtesy of Weinstein Company Image Courtesy of Working Title Films Cecilia Tallis (Keira Knightley) and Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) struggle to make do with what life has dealt them in Atonement. By Mallory Velten Assistant Entertainment Editor OUR TAKE: I’ve heard nothing but good things about Atonement, so I was glad to fi nally get a chance to see it. With all the hype surrounding it, the fi lm had a lot to live up to in my expectations. Atonement is based on the acclaimed British novel by Ian McEwan and follows the book in a fairly straightforward manner, capturing much of its original complexity, tension, heartbreak and insight into human character. By Daniel Griffi n typically, how drugs played a role in their downfall or See Atone, page 19 Senior Staff Writer rebirth—stories we could read on Wikipedia. Stories so uninteresting and commonplace that most famous Th is fi lm is notWalk the Line. It’s not Ray or Capote. people, in any time period, seem to have parallel ones. It’s not even really a biopic, at least not in the usual sense Part of the blame for this rather large trash pile of poor Heigel charms in of the word. I’m Not Th ere gives us a fi lm about Bob fi lms lies with the studios for actually making them. Dylan where the focus is not Bob Dylan—not his life, Th e other part lies with the general fi lm audience for anyway. Instead, the fi lm’s focus is a complexly structured simply asking for them. decent 27 Dresses examination of artistry. We get a dissection of the artistic Most people seek out good stories when they go to mind, and we see the interactions of that mind with the the movies. Th ey want to be entertained, amused, be- OUR TAKE: outside world. Th e result of this bold experiment is a far dazzled. And typically, their amusement is peaked by richer fi lm than its biopic predecessors. a straightforward narrative that provides cohesive plot By Jennifer Aldoretta Th e problem with these other biopics mentioned is points that ultimately drag around the viewer to the end Staff Writer simple: narrative. All we get is story, story, story. Stories about how bands met, how artists became famous and See I’m Not, page 17 Every young girl has fantasies about her ideal wedding: what her dress will look like, what fl owers she will carry down the aisle and—most importantly—who will be standing at the altar wait- ing for her. 27 Dresses is a charming movie about a woman named Jane, played Untraceable leaves no mark by Katherine Heigel, who is in love with weddings. She loves them so much, in fact, that she has been a bridesmaid in (surprise!) 27 we dd i n g s and has kept her dresses from every one. OUR TAKE: She is an unoffi cial wedding planner who By Daniel Spiller helps to make the most special day of a woman’s Staff Writer life abso- lutely perfect. Th e only problem? Jane’s younger sister Tess, played by Malin Akerman, If I had to sum Untraceable up in two words, is engaged to the man that Jane has I’d probably say “missed opportunity.” It is a movie been in love with for years. Not that makes one consistently think about why it only this, but she also has should be better. guilted Jane into planning What’s wrong with it? Unfortunately, Untrace- their wedding. able tries to be a smart thriller without really putting When a columnist for in the work that smart thrillers require. It wants to the New York Journal hears of be impressive, but it doesn’t ever impress. It wants Jane’s interesting little obsession to comment on society, but it doesn’t have anything with being a bridesmaid, he wants to to say. Overall, it just feels very dull.But even with dig a little deeper into her life. Th e all of that riding against it, Untraceable isn’t un- Image Courtesy of Sony Pictures rest of the fi lm follows the events watchable. Sure, it’s mediocre to the core, but there FBI agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) tracks down a killer who and twists to come. are worse ways you could spend a rainy Saturday runs a website featuring live videos of people being tortured. To tell the truth, I was expect- afternoon—and that’s the attitude you need to ing to leave the theater quite keep in mind if you ever plan on seeing it. the torture is applied and the closer to death the victim becomes. disappointed. Th e commercials Th e story is where the fi lm gets some points. With every second counting, it is up to Marsh and her team to use and trailers that I had seen Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) works for the FBI by what few leads they have to track and stop the killer. Image Courtesy of Fox 2000 Pictures prior to the movie struck me tracking down wrongdoers on the internet. Work Th is is a basic premise that could go places if you have the right as a little bit cliché and an- seems pleasant and rewarding until she comes people behind it. Or rather, right person: Oscar nominee Diane noying, but to my surprise across an untraceable site that streams live video Lane plays the lead, and gives a perfectly acceptable performance, I enjoyed 27 Dresses far of people being tortured and killed. Th e twist is that the more people that visit the site, the faster See Untrace, page 18 See Dresses, page 18 16 • Friday, February 1, 2008 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT Success is defined differently by different people. As a $10 billion To learn more about Capgemini, global leader in consulting, technology, and outsourcing, we please visit with us at an upcoming event… should know. The highest performance is won by working Information Session from many angles to integrate a diverse range of knowledge Date: 2/21/08 Time: 6:00pm and resources. We think about our people in the same way. So it’s Location details: more about results than face time – more about working together than simply Student Sucess Center getting ahead. Here, you can grow vertically, horizontally, or even invent a route PRESS ROOM A Resume Drop Date: 02/29/08 that no one knew existed. What’s your equation for success? Ranked in the Top 50 of “The Best Places to Launch a Career” – BusinessWeek ENTERTAINMENT Technique • Friday, February 1, 2008 • 17 characters are pointedly named after two Dylans we have the young folk tion of the older one. Furthermore, more is required than a mere imita- from page 15 real characters, as both are in search singer, Jack Rollins (Christian Bale), tion of a real person. Nevertheless, I’m Not both actors take on a distinctively of who they really are. Neither seems and the actor, Robbie Clark (Heath Dylan-esque appearance, and they this center axis is that about which of the film—that or the audience is to know, and this mirrors Dylan’s Ledger). We come closer to the “true” overlap most prominently when every other character and story re- dazzled with trite tricks and flashy own self-doubt both as a young boy Bob Dylan at this stage, with both Clark makes his breakthrough volves. And as we reach the center, nothingness. and later, as an object of musical characters mirroring the intense fame acting performance portraying the we get the guarded, cryptic Dylan, Yet film is often a poor medium to and political criticism. Inside these of the young Dylan and the desola- musician Rollins. the one plagued by boos and jeers tell stories. With around two hours There are multiple layers of reality at turning from acoustic to electric, to tell a story, sometimes even a full here, with Clark and Rollins in one in addition to being hailed as one of human life story, these films become and Guthrie and Billy in another the greatest musicians ever. Even slaves to a plot-based narrative. The (as they cross paths once in Billy the less is known about this character, camera shoots from uninteresting Kid’s secluded town). Both Clark and ironically, it’s the character we locations, and few avenues that and Rollins have a young and old are most familiar with. The layers of film is actually very good at explor- version, with the young one becom- the artist are peeled away to display ing (namely visual avenues, spatial ing famous and the old one living something even less knowable than explorations or sound editing) are in denial of the the ones on the explored. In essence, novels are far young version. We fringe. We get better at telling stories than films get closer to the “I’m Not There is the mystery of the will ever be. If you want good stories, real Bob Dylan, artist, the blank go read Dickens. If you want new yet in actuality, not an easy film.