Newspaper Page Text
Enteriainmekt
TQPTEN
A)
(MwSfjfljHHHHl Power
SponsQjgdJ^C-Store
__To£_LeveKJJCC____
Top 10
In Theaters
1 . Scary Movie 4 (PG-13)
- Anna Faris, Regina Hall
2. Ice Age: The Melt
down ( PG) Ray Romano
3. The Bench warmers
(PG-13) Rob Schneider,
David Spade
4. The Wild (G) - Kiefer
Sutherland, Eddie Izzard
5. Take the Lead (PG-13)
Antonio Banderas
6. Inside Man (R) Denzel
Washington, Jodie Foster
7. Lucky Number Slevin
(R) Josh Hartnett, Bruce
Willis
8. Thank You for Smok
ing (R) Aaron Eckhart,
Robert Duvall
9. Failure to Launch
(PG-13) Matthew McCo
naughey
10 V For Vendetta (R)
Natalie Portman
Top 10 Songs
in America
1. Bad Day -
Daniel Powter
2. Temperature -
Sean Paul
3. What You Know - T.l.
4. You're Beautiful -
James Blunt
5. Be Without You -
Mary J. Blige
6. Unwritten - Natasha
Bedingfield
7. Lean Wit It, Rock Wit
It - Dem Franehize Boyz
feat. Lil Peanut & Charlay
8. What Hurts The Most
- Rascall Flats
9. Ms. New Booty -Bubba
Sparxxx feat. Ying Yang
Twins & Mr. ColliPark
10. So Sick - Ne-Yo
Top 10
Album Sales
1. Me And My Gang
- Rascal Flatts
2. Now' 21 -Various Artists
3. King -T.l.
4. High School Musical
(Soundtrack)
5. Greatest Hits Vol 2:
Reflected - Tim McGraw
6. I’m Not Dead - Pink
7. Back to Bedlam -
James Blunt
8. Oral Fixation Vol. 2
- Shakira
9. The Charm - Bubba
Sparxxx
10. Precious Memories
- Alan Jackson
Top 10 movie information is
according to Yahoo.com. Top
10 music information is ac
cording to Billhoard.com.
g.iTXL.REEL DEAL
by George Hawkins
f)/ georgejhawkins@yahoo.com
“Thank You for Smoking"
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 92
minutes
Starring: Aaron Eckhart,
Cameron Bright, Maria
Bello
William //. Maty and
Katie Holmes
“Thank You for
Smoking” is a witty, dark
and overall genius satirical
film that has been a long
time coming. Pardon the
pun, but the only thing
more addictive than two
packs a day is this movie!
Based on the novel by
Christopher Buckley, the
film exposes the world of
high powered lobbyists. Nick
Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is the
first line of defense for big
tobacco and named the “sultan
of spin" by Newsweek. Naylor
is so good at his job that in one
of the movie’s first scenes
he convinces a talk show
audience, in less than two
minutes, that anti-smoking
advocates actually wait to kill
a young man ( dubbed "cancer
boy") where big tobacco
w ants to save his life.
Such is the world of Nick
Naylor. Aside from wrangling
with the likes of a Birkenstock-
GAME ON
ea * • • • •
ERIKWATERS@BELLSOUTH.NET
Condemned: Criminal
Origins
Microsoft X-Box 360
k I
By taking pages from
the cult classic movie Se7en
and the hit television show
CSI, developer Monolith
Productions’ newest game
“Condemned: Criminal
Origins” is an engaging
hodgepodge of action,
atmosphere, and suspense.
In the game, players
take control of FBI agent
Ethan Thomas as he tracks
down the “Matchmaker”,
the city’s newest serial
killer, with the aid of his
versatile forensic toolkit
and knowledge of crime
scene investigation.
However as the story
unfolds, something much
darker and sinister broods
as Ethan discovers that a
vigilante serial killer has
surfaced and is slowly
baiting and killing all
of Ethan’s unrestrained
wearing Democratic senator
named Ortolan K. Finistime
(William H. Macy), Naylor
also finds the time to meet
w ith the M( )D (Merchants of
Death) Squad. TTiis nefarious
group meets in secret to
compare body counts in an
upscale bar and is composed
of Bobby Jay Bliss (David
Koechner), lobbyist for the
gun industry, and Polly Bailey
(Maria Bello), who represents
the liquor industry .
Naylor’s gift for gab
has provided him with a
career, but also has cost
him a marriage. During
the course of the movie,
Nay lor finds himself in the
difficult position of doing
his morally questionable
job and setting a good
example on weekends for
his twelve year old son
Joey (Cameron Bright).
Joey is allowed,
against the best judgment of
his mother, to accompany
his father on a business trip
to Hollywood. While in
Hollywood, Naylor meets
with the alpha male of the
movie industry Jeff Megall
(Rob Lowe). Together, in
one of the funniest scenes
of the film, they hatch a
plan to make smoking sexy
again. Basically this means
murderers.
To make matters
worse, this “Serial Killer
X” shoots and kills two
fellow FBI agents with
Ethan’s gun and frames
him for the crime. Now
on the run from his own
department, Ethan must
try to pursue and subdue
“Serial Killer X” in hopes
of stopping future deaths
and more importantly
proving his innocence.
“Condemned:
Criminal Origins” is best
described as a grisly look
into the seedy underworld
of drugs and violence. On
the path to capturing the
crazed serial killer, Ethan
will encounter numerous
disturbed individuals all
juiced up on anew street
drug that makes its users
extremely paranoid and
ultra violent.
These aren’t the type
of thugs that typically sit
and wait for someone to
come along and dispatch
of them, but rather will do
anything in their power to
make sure Ethan doesn’t
make it out alive. The
amount of intelligence that
the bad guys possess in this
game is downright creepy at
times as they’ll hide, stalk,
and attack players at every
unsuspecting twist and turn
of a level. And don’t even
expect that they’re coming
to a fight without weapons.
that the tobacco industry
will fund anew movie in
return for the two stars
to smoke profusely in an
erotic scene.
After arranging the
manipulation of American
movie-going public,
Naylor takes a drive to the
California countryside to
find the original Marlboro
Man (Sam Elliot), who has
been recently diagnosed
with lung cancer. Naylor’s
f x
0
Photo courtesy of Rotteiitomatoes.com
Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a lobbyist for the tobacco industry
who is very good at his job. If he says that cigarettes fight cancer,
who's to say he's wrong?
mission is to present the
dying man with a briefcase
full of cash as a gift, with
no strings attached, and
hope that it will persuade
him to remain silent.
The rest of the film
has a couple of unexpected
twists that I don’t want
to give away, but suffice
The disturbing aspect
of "Condemned” is that
even though the game looks
and plays just like a first
person shooter, you’ll rarely
come across any guns to
use. Weapons in this game
are usually makeshift items
found throughout levels.
These include shovels,
fire axes, wooden 2x4’s,
sledgehammers, and even
pipes that can be ripped from
the walls. Each item has its
Photo courtesy of Gamespy.com
Condemned: Criminal Origins explores the dark recesses of the drug underworld. In the
exploration of this creepy environment, you are equiped with a flashlight, and whatever
you can pull off of the wall. Have fun.
own strength and weakness,
but unfortunately they all
have one thing in common;
they require gamers to get
up close and personal with
their enemies to use.
This can be quite
intimidating at times,
especially when gamers find
themselves in the situation
where the room up ahead is
occupied with two or three
strung-out druggies with the
common goal of destruction
on their minds.
If that wasn’t bad
enough, the places where
it to say that audiences
won’t be disappointed and
the laughs don’t stop (it
doesn’t turn preachy).
“Thank You for
Smoking,” once again, is
brilliant. There hasn’t been
a film this smart and socially
viable in recent memory.
How our politically correct
way of thinking is mocked
and industries that provide
products that may not be
“nice” but are still in demand
are examined are not only
funny, but thought-provoking
in their own ways.
The acting in this
movie is superb. Aaron
Eckhart carries his role w ith
sophistication and grace,
without being overbearing.
Theadditionof Katie Holmes,
who plays a reporter bent on
these guys hang out are
quite fear-inducing as
well. Gamers are required
to traverse through old
dilapidated train stations,
school buildings, farm
houses, and other dark
environments that will keep
gamers uncomfortable the
entire time they ’re there.
While “Condemned”
does a lot of things right,
it is far from perfect. The
game itself runs around
ten hours long and due
to the lack of variety in
gameplay can become
quite monotonous at
times. While for the most
part the story is interesting
and helps keep the game
flowing, by the end of
the game the story ends
up raising more questions
rather than solving the
ones at hand.
One could argue that it
is a setup for a sequel, but
it really ends up feels more
like a rushed ending. Either
way it’s quite discouraging
exposing Naylor, to the cast
is welcome. Although her
acting chops are less than
developed, her screen time is
so limited and her character
so one-dimensional that this
is not an issue. The rest of the
actor’s performances could
be examined, but there are
so many big-name cameos
in this film that it would take
forever. An analy sis is even
more unnecessary because
everyone does an extremely
capable job.
One of
the real gems of
this film is the
polished writing
and direction of
Jason Reitman.
“Thank You for
Smoking” is one
of those films that
could be listened
to without
images, and still
be amusing. The
dialogue is so
fast paced and
clever that, when
combined with
images, the result
is flawless.
At the time
of publication,
this movie was
playing only in limited
release. However, it
should soon be playing in
many additional theatres.
If you see only one movie
in the next six months,
make it this one.
GRADE: A+
for a gamer to invest 10
hours into a game that starts
out with a great story, and
then by the end of the game
end up in far left field with
untied kx)se ends.
But failed story aside,
"Condemned: Criminal
Origins” is well worth
play ing. It will keep gamers
on the edge of their seats
with its spooky atmosphere
and designs, yet in the end
gamers will appreciate
the amazing graphics and
smooth game-play of the
game, which is exactly
what makes “Condemned:
Criminal Origins” an
excellent launch title for the
new' Microsoft X-Box 360.
(<x4 it*.)