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Wednesday
August 31,
2005
TOPTEN
Top Level. UCC
Top 10
In Theaters
1. The 40- Year-Old Vir
gin (R) Steve Carell
2. The Brothers Grimm
(PG-13) Matt Damon
3. Red Eye (PG-13)
Rachel McAdams
4. Four Brothers (R)
Marie Wahlberg
5. Wedding Crashers
(R) Vince Vaughn,
Owen Wilson
6. The Cave (PG-13)
Piper Perabo
7. March of the Penguins
(G) Morgan Freeman
8. The Skeleton Key
(PG-13) Kate Hudson
9. Valiant (G) Ewan Mc-
Gregor, Tim Curry
10. The Dukes of Haz
zard (PG-13) Jessica
Simpson, Johnny Knoxville
Top 10 Songs
in America
1. We Belong Together
- Mariah Carey
2. Don’t Cha - The
Pussycat Dolls, w/ Busta
Rhymes
3. Pon de Replay -
Rihanna
4. Shake it Off -
Mariah Carey
5. Let me hold you - Bow
Wow w/ Omarion
6. Loose Control - Missy
Elliot w/ Fat Man Scoop
7. You and Me -
Lifehouse
8. Behind these Hazel
Eyes - Kelly Clarkson
9. Like You - Bow Wow
w/Ciara
10. Listen to Your Heart
- D.H.T.
Top 10
Album Sales
1. Most Wanted -
Hilary Duff
2. Time Well Wasted-
Brad Paisley
3. The Emancipation of
Mimi - Mariah Carey
4. Now 19 - Various Artist
5. Don’t Tread On Me
-311
6. Monkey Business
- The Black Eyed Peas
7. Chapter V - Staind
8. Fireflies - Faith Hill
9. Breakaway -
Kelly Clarkson
10. Let’s Get It: Thug
Motivation 101 -
Young Jezzy
(Top ten movie information is
according to Yahoo.com. Top
ten music information is ac
cording to Billboard.com.)
/Irfy&Mmma
By Will Winchester^^^y^^^^^H
Kii g o reT ro ul 2 o (a) ao I. c o
It’s fun to follow the
little bands - those opening
acts with their technical
difficulties and substandard
showmanship.
They’re so humble
about their opening
band status, constantly
reassuring the audience
that “the headliners are
coming out soon, so
please, bear with us.” It’s
strangely endearing.
Anyone who’s seen
Iron and Wine or the Fruit
Bats in the last couple of
years has no doubt seen one
such opening act: Florida’s
own Holopaw, a band with
a great deal of potential
that, unfortunately, has yet
to be realized, even with the
release of their sophomore
album earlier this month.
The title is “Quit +/
Fight,” but contrary to what
listeners may think, the
album is, thankfully, not
quite as pretentious as its
title (too many Godspeed
titles of the same sort have
made this writer more than
a little frustrated and leery).
That’s not to say
the album is without
its moments of self
ind“lfence -
..REEL
DEAL
with George Hawkins
Red Eye
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 85 minutes
Starring: Rachel McAdams,
Cillian Murphy,
Brian Cox and Jack Scalia
As if recent events
in the air travel industry
(bankruptcy, laborstoppages,
etc) weren’t scary enough,
director Wes Craven’s new
thriller “Red Eye” tries to
convince us that there are
worse things to worry about
when flying.
The movie begins with
hotel hospitality manager
Lisa Reisert (Rachel
McAdams) arriving at
the airport in Dallas, TX
to return to Miami after
attending her grandmother’s
funeral. Surprisingly, she’s
not that visibly upset.
This is evident when
she, while alternating
between conversations
using the magic of call
waiting, manages to
defuse a guest satisfaction
situation at her hotel (the
Lux Atlantic) as well as
reassure her father (Brian
Cox) that she is “all right;”
which is a recurring phrase
in the movie.
When Lisa gets to the
airport, she finds that, of
course, her flight has been
delayed. While she and the
other passengers wait for
an announcement which
will determine their fate,
she meets the charming,
and aptly named, Jackson
Ripner (Cillian Murphy) in
a Tex-Mex airport cantina.
H m -- tBJ Jfl§B
Jt M
Photo courtesy of holopaw net
Holopaw’s second album, titled “Quit +/ Fight,” Is out now.
than one might imagine.
Aside from a few
unwise production
decisions and the
occasional odd time
signature, Holopaw’s
sound is actually quite
accessible - after a few
listens, anyway. Front man
John Orth’s vocals(a hybrid
blend of the wispy Mark
Linkous and the warbling
Conor Oberst) are, at
times, a little challenging,
but rarely do they come off
as self-conscious.
For those who find
Orth’s signature sensitivity
and incurable trill sound
strangely familiar, you are
Eerily, this sulking, blue
eyed charmer is able to
completely put Lisa at ease
as well as seem to know
everything about her...all
over a tray of nachos and a
Seabreeze.
As the gate attendant
calls for all passengers to
board the “red eye,” which
is the last flight of the day,
to Miami, it would seem
that the odd chemistry
between Lisa and Jackson
would dissipate. But when
Lisa boards the plane,
she finds that her seat is
coincidentally right next to
her new friend.
Right after takeoff,
Jackson announces his
intentions to Lisa. The
strange man informs Lisa
that he has been following
her for weeks and at
LL
suspense or
whatever one
may call it drags
quite a bit in the
middle , leaving
the audience
wondering
where the film
is ffijtimatefa
going^
who had the misfortune of
investing eighteen bucks
in Isaac Brock’s (Modest
Mouse) side project, Ugly
Casanova. Yes, Orth was
the other guy.
If it weren’t for such
connections and even
respect from some of the
best and brightest in indie
rock, the band may have
never found its way to Sub
Pop Records, a launching
pad for all kinds of off
center talent. They’ve been
touring as the designated
opening band for several
of their label-mates ever
since.
Those who attend rock
' -M iLft PSr jM ft
Photo courtesy of yahoo.com
Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams co-star in the new thriller “Red Eye.”
that very moment there
is another man posted
outside of her father’s
house in Miami.
Apparently, he is a
hired assassin and his job
is to eliminate the head
of a governmental anti
terrorism agency who
happens to be arriving at the
Lux Atlantic for an annual
getaway with his family.
According to Jackson, all
he needs is for Lisa to use
her pull at the hotel to have
the politician moved to
a room with a view...of a
fishing boat equipped with
a rocket launcher. If she
doesn’t comply, then her
father dies.
This is basically the
meat of the film. For about
35-40 minutes (movie time,
not real time) Lisa struggles
and tries to make the people
around her aware of her
situation without tipping
off the man holding her
father’s life in his hands.
From rendezvous in the
have taken an extended
cigarette break during their
set without even realizing
it. These guys get around.
While parts of this
album have their merits,
for the most part it sounds
like two separate albums
- separate, but for the most
part equal - fighting over
the same territory. It is
this split-personality style
that ultimately dooms the
album to indie mediocrity.
In one comer, there is a
quite unique blend of folk,
alternative and electronica
that marks the first half of
the album. It is somewhat
of a departure from this
lavatory to an attempt to
scrawl an SOS in an old
lady’s Dr. Phil book, the
scenes on the plane are
tight with suspense.
But, it is when the
plane lands in Miami that
the thriller status of “Red
Eye” disappears. From
that point on it is a simple
action flick with Lisa
trying to ditch Jackson and
save both her father and the
politician (who she really
shouldn’t be so stinking
concerned with).
Wes Craven does
some interesting things
with “Red Eye.” However,
from the previews, many
will not have any real
clue as to what the movie
is about. That is probably
how he duped a curious
public into making it the
second highest-grossing
film last week.
There are two things
in this movie that make
it worthwhile. First,
although Cox is an
oriented band (in the same
way that the Thrills can be
called alt-country, anyway),
and they manage to pull it
off quite well (the totally
senseless genre blending
of songs like “3-shy-cub”
excluded), for a portion of
the album at least.
The brilliant “Curious”
(no relation to the Britney
Spears fragrance) relies
on a delightfully bizarre
marriage of weeping cellos
and sweeping synth pads
to achieve its orchestral
air, while John Orth’s
whispery vox melt into the
symphonic ambiance.
But it’s the mini-epic
“Holiday,” the album’s
fourth track, which really
steals the show, and marks
a premature peak in the
album as a whole. It’s
exactly the type of genre
jumping song that the
first three tracks, rather
awkward and fractured
efforts in themselves, strive
to achieve. “Holiday” is an
ideal blend of the band’s
styles and influences
which takes their sound
to a far more professional,
inventive and coherent
level, a blend that the
remaining seven tracks
flounder to live up to.
It’s around track five
that the album really begins
to dig its own grave. With
See HOLOHIMf . page 8 I
exception, the acting is
wonderful. Murphy and
McAdams have a great
onscreen relationship
and, until the personality
of McAdams’ character
is crudely and cheaply
exposed late in the film,
the audience can be really
involved in the mental
chess game being played.
The second good
aspect about “Red Eye”
is how Craven created
an incredibly realistic
setting. The set design of
the interior of the airplane,
the airport, as well as the
disgruntled attitude of
underpaid/overworked
flight attendants was
inspired and definitely fun
to watch.
The negative parts
of this movie are few,
but the few that present
themselves are major.
The action, suspense
or whatever one may
See Ml EYE .page 8