Newspaper Page Text
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
Across the Universe lives up to its prolonged hype
By Grant Wallace
Staff Writer
Gwallac2 @ gmail.com
Across the Universe
had quite the build up of
suspense until its national
release just last week.
Debuting in limited cities
early last month, ours was
neglected upon opening
week. A few weeks later,
the film had made its way
to Atlantic Station but still
remained select. But now,
it appears the word has
caught on and it is showing
nationally.
This is a very unique
technique 1 must say,
considering the trailer was
shown in almost every
movie I saw prior to the
release. Whatever the
reason behind it all, I was
soon to get over my growing
impatience with the film.
Halo 3 shocks world, becomes biggest entertainment launch in history
By Ellis Smith
News Editor
ellistliered@xntail.com
Ask the non-gamer
what they think of the word
“Halo” and they are likely to
recount stories of a buddy
dropping out of college,
girlfriends leaving longtime
boyfriends, and losing touch
with an old friend only to
find out later he had become
a “professional gamer."
There are many such
stories, and for years these
obsessed souls have been
the laughingstock of their
friends who go out dancing,
socializing and watching
movies.
Not any more.
Halo 3 officially became
mainstream this month
when it sold $l7O million in
24 hours and reached S3OO
million in sales after only
Your Collegiate Readership Program
is back and better than ever!
University of
West Georgia
Pick up your copy!
m 1 USA TODAY,
t / The New Yorkgpes,
jgsmmdrndJ Times-Georgwr
■' at the foilowfflg g
r location***^
J^ : Technology Learning Coger,
“Z-6* Cafeteria and W
Jflß University Community Center.
Sponsored by the
XpP v VP of Academic Affairs,
your SGA and tNflj
iL Black Student Allianffl*
Sriiiiin.niiiii.aiwiiiii.iiiiiiwiiii.mmiiiMP
News happens! Keep up!
Inspiring Thought
Sljc jN'cUt Jlork Simcs
Kitawhdg* Network
Across the Universe is a
psychedelic trip back to the
‘6os, set in a contemporary
Beatles musical. What more
could you ask for?
Jude Feeny (Jim
Sturgess) sets out from his
hometown of Liverpool
to find his father who
abandoned him at an early
age. Along the way he meets
up with Lucy Carrigan
(Evan Rachel W<xxl) with
whom he slowly falls in
love. Noticing The Beatles
references yet?
The rest of the movie
follows the two of them
as they go through all
the tribulations normal
couples face. The twist is
how director Julie Taymor
incorporates a musical
theme into the two-hour
h movie. Sporadically,
the characters will jump
into in a Beatles song w hile
one week. It reached this
astronomical figure faster
than any movie, videogame.
or any other
entertainment-related
entity in history. Halo
3 even managed
to beat out Spider-
Man 3 and the latest
Harry Potter btxik,
the reigning champs
in the entertainment
category.
To put things in
perspective, the entire
movie industry as a
whole only made SBO
million last week.
According to
Shane Kim, corporate
vice president of
Microsoft Game
Studios, “Halo 3
incorporating it flawlessly
into the movie. Taymor
made terrific usage of the
songs, making sure the
scenes plot coincided with
the corresponding lyrics.
Over the course of
the movie, 32 songs were
remade in a modern-day
style. For those of you who
prefer The Beatles classics.
I'm afraid you’re out of
luck. Critics seem pretty
even among their reviews
for ATU, scoring a 52
percent on Rottenomatoes.
com. However, users (as
well as myself) are more
open-minded towards the
movie’s offsetting ideas.
As I’m sure you’re aware,
the ‘6os were a time of
hallucinating, and lots of
it. so certain scenes of the
movie tried to incorporate
this visually. Vibrant
rainbows of colors would
has become a pop-culture
phenomenon. Not only
is Halo 3 setting sales
JP**-.* % ■ : • • ■ v..
/
r /
1 T
'<3 A . *
'■ y „\H £
The agony of defeat and the joy of success fill the room as
Sophomores Reginald Foster (left), Jimmy Tran (middle),
and Brandon Poythress (right) gather around the TV and
take part in the Halo 3 craze.
tUSA
TOtW
Education
shower the screen, trying
to give the impression that
whoever watching is under
the influence of some kind of
hallucinogen. And despite
the obvious signs of drug
usage, the movie received a
well assigned PG-13 rating,
so don’t except much else
other than a nipple slip from
Evan Rachel Wood.
Critics might also be
too harsh on the movies’
attempts to bring insanely
odd-looking characters out
for short amounts of time,
frequently.
Despite the movies’
bizarre traits, the fact that I
was able to sit down through
a two hour musical says
a great deal. This movie
certainly isn’t for everyone,
but for those of you w ith a
kxtking for out-of-the-box
kinds of movies, consider
this for the top of your list.
records, its also redefining
entertainment.”
It’s also redefining
Photo h\ Terence Rushin
Marietta's own Kenotia release
debut album
By Grant Wallace
Staff Writer
Gwallac2 @ gnutil.com
Kenotia - You ’ve Dug Your
Grave, Now Lie In It
First there was
Copeland, then there was
Cartel, and now Kenotia
(pronouced Keh-No-Sha)
is taking their shot at being
the next big thing out of
Georgia.
The four piece from
Marietta (having lost one
member this past August)
is only a couple years old,
but in that short amount of
time they have managed to
play stints on Warped Tour,
Bamboozle, as well as
landing a record deal with
Sumerian Records.
I think it’s only fair
to note what kind of label
Sumerian is before we
nfir '/ !
■A'-*
kj,
M
Across the Universe remains a tough to find
movie in small town theaters, but is very
much worth the drive to see in bigger cities
showing it.
marketing. Excitement was
at such a fever pitch that pre
orders topped four million
units back in May. The
game w as not released
until late September.
ITie record for next
highest number of
preorders after Halo
3 belongs to Grand
Theft Auto IV, which
comes out this Spring.
Additionally, over
1(),(XK) retail outlets
opened at midnight to
welcome in gamers
who had been waiting
for years to get their
hands on a copy.
Xbox Live, the
gaming service where
friends can meet up
for multiplayer games
continue. Home to some
of the hardest-hitting metal
out there. Kenotia stick out
like a sore thumb. Kenotia
come off as a less poppy
Paramore, noting singer
Carly Krantz as the most
generalized comparison.
Hopefully the oddball
decision to sign to such a
label won’t hurt them in the
long run, but time will only
tell.
Having only released a
demo EP prior to their new
release, “You’ve Dug Your
Grave” is a pleasant surprise
to see money well spent.
The recording quality brings
out all the better aspects that
were clouded up in their
previous recordings. Long
time fans will enjoy the
newly recorded “Decorating
for Cinco de Mayo,” and
new comers will eat up
“Snowman, What’s Your
Photo courtesy of www.myspace.com
m
Photo courtesy Rotlentomaloes.com
of Halo, was temporarily
unavailable for about 24
hours after the game went
on sale, as millions of fans
attempted to simultaneously
connect to the service.
Problems have since been
resolved, but over a million
(about l/3(K)th of the
population of the United
States) continue to be online
at any given time.
Some credit must go to
Microsoft, who has heavily
promoted the game, going
so far as to begin work on
a movie before the game
was even out yet. Movie
plans, which included the
participation of “Lord of
the Rings” director Peter
Jackson, have since fallen
through, but the excitement
lives on in the gaming
community as Halo 3
continues to break records
and defy expectations.
20?” The band easily
transcends the Paramore
sticky that might get placed
on them, appealing to a
more mature audience in
my opinion. A Paramore
fan might be a Kenotia fan,
but a Kenotia fan might not
be a Paramore fan. The age
gap between the two bands
(all members of Kenotia are
now over 20) proves the
age-old wise tale “with age
comes wisdom”.
The nine-song album
clocks in perfectly for the
not-too-long-but-just-right
award, but demerits are
awarded to the copy-cap
intros used in “Lonewolf
McQuade” and again in
“They Almost Got Me”.
The closeness can easily be
overlooked but it’s pretty
bad when your own band
is trying to steal your songs.
Having this as my only
complaint, Kenotia
gives me hope that
the Georgia scene
isn’t as bad as 1
would like to think
it is. And after their
fall tour (a local stop
Nov. 18 in Marietta),
I would imagine
that soon enough,
everyone else will
catch on too.