Newspaper Page Text
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Wednesday
August 30,
2006
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Top Level, UCC
Top 10
In Theaters
1. Invincible (PG) Mark
Wahlberg
2. Talledega Nights: The
Ballad of Kicky Bobby
(PG-13) Will Farrell
3. Little Miss Sunshine
(R) Steve Carrell
4. Beerfest (R) Paul Soter
5. World TFade Center
(PG-13) Nicholas Cage
6. Accepted (PG-13)
Justin Long
7. Snakes on a Plane (R)
Samuel L. Jackson
8 Step Up (PG-13)
Channing Tatum
9. Idlewind (R) Andre
30(X), Big Boi
10. Barnyard: The Origi
nal Party Animals (PG)
Danny Glover
Top 10
Independent
Albums
1. Snakes on a Plane
the Album- ost
2. Zombies! Aliens!
Vampires! Dinosaurs!-
Hellogoodbye
3. The Road to Here-
Little Big Town
4. The Eraser- Thom
Yorke
5. Retaliation-
Dane Cook
6. Yanni Live!: The Con
cert Event- Yanni
7. The Reprieve- Ani
DiFranco
8. Ill: In the Eyes of
Fire- Unearth
9. Jason Aldean- Jason
Aldean
10. Greatest Hits- Bone
Thugs-N-Harmony
Hot Modem
Tracks
1 . Miss Murder - AFI
2. Animal I Have Be
come - Three Days Grace
3. The Kill (Bury Me)
- 30 Seconds to Mars
4. When You Were
Young - The Killers
5. Original Fire - Audio
slave
6. Tell Me Baby - Red
Hot Chili Peppers
7. The Diary of Jane
- Breaking Benjamin
8. Through Glass
-Stone Sour
9. Dani California - Red
Hot Chili Pepper*
10. Call Me W 1,...
You’re Sober-
Evanescence
This week's charts are
courtesy of Yahoo Movies
and Billboard.com.
Arh& ENTONMENT
n
th.REEL
PEAL
WITH GEORGE HAWKINS
“Little Miss Sunshine”
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 99 minutes
Starring: Steve Carell,
Greg Kinnear, Toni
Collette, Alan Arkin,
Paul Dano and Abigail
Breslin
So what is one to
see when the lines are
too long for “Snakes
on a Plane” and they’re
scared some idiot will
release live rattlesnakes
in the theatre? A good
alternative is “Little
Miss Sunshine.” There
are no snakes or a plane,
but there is a grandfather
who snorts heroin and an
old VW bus. How can
you lose?
The film "Little Miss
Sunshine” also carries
the added bonus of, as the
name implies, children's
beauty pageants; and
with a 10 year old high
profile murder back in
the news, it’s unique sort
of a trip looking into this
bizarre world.
The story is a
basic cautionary tale of
wanting to be someone
other than oneself and
of chasing that goal of
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“Dead Rising”
Microsoft X-Box 360
There is big trouble
in the quiet little city of
Willamette, Colorado.
Outbreaks of seemingly
dead residents have been
reported walking the
earth again in search of
live human flesh to gnaw
on. Worst of all, military
checkpoints are stationed at
every entrance and exit in
the entire city to quarantine
the mess. The only hope
of survival and rescue
for potential survivors is
boarded up in the local
hangout: the safe haven
known as the Willamette
Parkview Mall.
Despite the military
and media warnings,
freelance journalist Frank
West has hired a helicopter
pilot to fly him into the now
chaotic Willamette city and
land on the roof of the mall.
Once he is in, he will have
72 hours (around 6 hours in
real-time) to fight, rescue
and ultimately uncover
the crucial breaking news
story behind the emerging
undead.
transformation until
one of three things
happens. First, the goal
is obtained. Second,
the goal is given up
on. Third, the goal is
reached, but not in the
—————^^^ ————
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Nothing says "family road-trip" like heroin snorting, corpse stealing and being hand
cuffed to the ones you love. "Little Miss Sunshine" offers these common activities, along
with a few weird ones.
way intended.
The Hoovers are
a typical dysfunctional
comedic family who
gain, throughout the film,
unfortunate experience
in this last way. The
patriarch of the family.
With over 50,(MX)
zombified Willamette
residents now converging
on the mall’s location,
Frank will soon discover
that he isn't the only person
biting off way more than he
can chew.
If the premise to the
X-Box 360’s new smash
hit “Dead Rising” sounds
familiar, that’s because it
probably is. Horror movie
buffs will recognize the
concept of the game from
George A. Romero’s
1978 zombie flick “Dawn
of the Dead” in which
survivors also are boarded
up in the local city mall
from an invading zombie
population.
Nevertheless, despite
how borrowed the plot may
seem, watching the concept
and actually playing the
concept are quite separate
experiences.
Once the game begins,
players are forced to find
and utilize any weapons,
makeshift items, or food
products from the numerous
stores or areas in the mall.
Of course whatever store
gamers venture into will
decide the types of items
in it. Tool shops will
produce interesting weapon
possibilities like hedge
clippers and chainsaws
to fend off the invading
zombie horde with, while
grocery stores are a great
place to stock up on health
boosting food items.
Richard (Greg Kinnear),
is financially unsuccessful
with his motivational
seminars called “Refuse
to Lose.” Sheryl Hoover
(Toni Collete), although
supportive of his dreams,
is tired of her family being
run like a self-help group.
The couple’s two
children Olive (Abigail
Breslin) and Dwayne
(Paul Dano) are just
as conflicted as their
parents. Olive, although
sweet and cute in her ow n
way, is also chubby and
awkward, and obsessed
with winning beauty
pageants. Coaching
Olive is Grandpa (Alan
Arkin), who came to live
While making sure
Frank survives the three
days is obviously the
biggest priority of "Dead
Rising,” there are quite a
few other activities to pass
the time. The principal
activity is completing
the main quest line and
discovering the truth behind
the zombie outbreak.
However, if gamers get
bored or have time in
between missions, saving
other survivors, fighting
dangerous psychopaths
that have cracked under the
pressure, or taking pictures
Photo courtesy of (nimespy.com
(Above) Currently, the only thing between Frank West and thousands of brain-eating zom
bies is a tank. A really big tank. (Below) Luckily, this picture is published in black and
white. There would be a lot of red otherwise.
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Photo courtesy of (jomespy.com
with his son’s family
after being kicked out
of his retirement for
drug abuse and rampant
promiscuous sex. Dwayne
is a Nietzsche-reading
fifteen year-old who has
taken a vow of silence
until he is old enough to
join the Air Force and
become a test pilot.
Add into this
delightful mix of
colorful characters
Photo courtcw t>f Rottentonuitoes.com
Sheryl’s brother Frank,
the foremost Proust
scholar in the United
States. Uncle Frank
has just been released
from the hospital after
a rejection from a male
graduate student led him
with Frank's camera
adds great depth to the
occasionally monotonous
gameplay.
One of the greatest
parts about "Dead Rising"
is the role-playing element
of building up Frank
West's character through
experience points. Frank
is able to level up by doing
any of the various activities
or missions and in turn will
potentially grant Frank
more health boxes, item
space, attack and speed
power or even brand new
hand-to-hand zombie
to a failed suicide.
When Olive finds
out that she has been
allotted a slot in the
California Little Miss
Sunshine Pageant, the
family has a decision to
make. Even though they
don't have the money or
the time, everyone must
load up in the canary
yellow hippie wagon and
head from Albuquerque.
New Mexico to the sunny
beaches of California.
Along the way, everyone
realizes who they are and
what's important...which
is a surprise to most
of them, as well as the
audience watching.
All of the acting in
this movie is great. This
critic recently reviewed
“The Night Listener"
and has determined that
Toni Collete is one of
Hollywood's rising stars
who is incredible versatile
and audiences will see a
lot of in the future.
Greg Kinnear is
a delight as is Alan
Arkin in his role of the
grandfather.
Abigail Breslin
is adorable, but most
people will simply be
happy that the role
didn't go to the stagnant
Dakota Fanning.
Steve Carell’s dry.
quiet humor and facial
.Sec REEL . page 7
crushing moves.
The best part is that
at the end of the first play
through, gamers will be
able to carry over their stats
onto another play through,
making the game all the
more easier to unlock
harder to reach activities
and items. A maximum
level of 50 is possible, but
it should take the average
gamer at least a handful of
run-throughs to reach it.
"Dead Rising” may
sound like the perfect game.
See DEAD page 7