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Lunch Specials
Japanese steak lv
Tenyaki Chicken $S. 95
Hi bachi Steak $7.50
Hibachi Shrimp $7.50
Hibachi Chicken $7.50
Filet Align on S9.95
includes soup, salad and steamed nee
Open {or Dinner Sun-Jhu 5-10pm . Jri-Sai 5-11pm
10 {{uniinglon Rd. (Across from the Mall)
706-227-1993
C/lTfE^’ 1st \Qli\f(iE\
1; (^opi/epiept Dou/ptou/r? L^eatiop
Or?Iy $ 6 per persop!
289 College Ave • Under Parking
706-546-8787
ComePidyMfii!
^ wmammssomsnlA .
LOUNGE
256 E. CLAYTON ST.
(706) 549-0166 Open MorvSat Noorv2am
WWW.ALLGOODLOUNGE.COM
How to prepare for Spring
Time to refill
my Viagra.
_ •! _J 1/ r\ nl. ». mm n
TOO+ Been • Expanded Wine List
Pool Tables • Smoking welcome
on the outdoor patios
Please Drink
Responsibly.
Computers and Music
Surplus, Computers, and Music
It’s not a pawn shop.
8849 Macon Hvvy, Athens
(706)353-0802
NO
WHERE
BAR
240 N. Lumpkin St. / 706-546-4742
HAPPY HOUR
3:30-9:00
Every
Monday
Night
2
All Regular
Domestic
Bottles
Every
Tuesday
Off
AH Draft
Pitchers
LIVE MUSIC
Thurs. March 19 -
JAZZCHRONIC w/ DJ TRIZ
Thes. March 24 -
ANOTHER FIASCO
6 POOL TABLES • LIVE MUSIC • 2 DART BOARDS
10 TV s • 4 VIDEO GAMES • PGA & GOLDEN TEE
LAST HOUSE REMIX
THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (R) The Last
House on the Left is an easy movie to hate,
but the remake of Wes Craven's first film is far
too well-crafted to just write off as exploit
ative trash. Craven's original House was a
fixer-upper, cobbled together by wannabe
filmmakers. The new House, built by director
Dennis Iliadis (2004's Hardcore) and writers
Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth (Red Eye and
Disturbia), renovates the
1972 cult classic without
changing its foundation,
itself built upon Ingmar
Bergman's The Virgin Spring.
Two teens, Mari
Collingwood (Sara Paxton)
and her small town friend,
Paige (Martha Maclsaac),
are kidnapped, raped and
killed by a family of psy
chos—leader Krug (Garret
Dillahunt, Deadwood), his
brother Francis (Aaron
Paul), Krug's girl Sadie (Riki
Lindhome) and Krug's son Justin (Spencer
Treat Clark). Later that night, Krug and his
gang seek refuge with a nice, unassuming
doctor, John (Tony Goldwyn, the bad guy in
Ghost), and his wife, Emma (Monica Potter),
whose last name happens to be Collingwood.
When Mari's parents realize they are shelter
ing the animals who brutalized their daughter,
they decide to take violent revenge via guns,
butcher knives, claw hammers, garbage dis
posals and microwaves.
Craven's film benefits from its amateurish,
homemade snuff vibe, a quality strengthened
by star David Hess' folk music soundtrack.
Iliadis' House may look much more profes
sional, but his is still a brutal film. No one in
the audience took a breath during the graphi
cally squirm-inducing rape of Mari. And the
violence just gets more vicious from there.
With exploitation, the awaiting horrors are
directly proportional to the
tranquility preceding them.
After the dreamy shots of
the Collingwood summer
home and the lush nature,
miles and miles of it isolat
ing them from the nearest
neighbor, Iliadis ratchets
up the tension considerably
and adds an artful touch to
the sadism. Composer John
Murphy {28 Days Later)
scores the vicious proceed
ings with the prop*er John
Carpenter-ish minimalism.
Much can and will be made about House's
exploitative cruelty. What's the purpose of
its nastiness? What kind of psycho finds this
entertaining? The answer to both questions is
simple. If you're asking, then the film wasn't
meant for you, and you won't like it. Still,
exploitation, new and old, has its connois
seurs, and this well-made, new House will jus
tify their continued faith in the genre.
Drew Wheeler
Tony Goldwyn and Monica Totter
LIKE THE ROCK
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (PG) I loved
Escape to Witch Mountain and its sequel,
Return from Witch Mountain, when I was a kid.
Kim Richards was one of my first innocent
little crushes. Watching Disney's franchise
reboot didn't exactly conjure up wispy nos
talgia like I'd hoped. The filmmakers were
kidding themselves if they thought they could
replace the 1975 cast of
Eddie Albert, Ray MiUand,
Denver Pyle and MF-ing
Donald Pleasance with
Ciaran Hinds, Cheech
Marin, Tom Everett Scott
and Garry Marshall. Plus,
the super-generic third
act—a firefight and even
tual aerial escape from
a secret government-run
laboratory—was so excru
ciatingly boring that I
was more engaged in my
struggle with a fierce catnap.
The first hour, which is pretty much one
long, chopped up car chase, was a lot of fun.
When cabbie Jack Bruno (Dwayne "the Rock"
Johnson) picks up the toeheaded brother and
sister duo of Sara (AnnaSophia Robb) and Seth
(Alexander Ludwig), Race to Witch Mountain
channels its inner Vanishing Point or the more
appropriate Bullitt. The movie's stunt drivers
contributed more to the movie's success than
anyone besides the charming Johnson.
Race to Witch Mountain belongs to
Johnson. The former professional wrestler
has a very easy charm and physicality rival
ing Arnold Schwarzenegger at his '80s action
peak. He makes Jack Bruno's sudden, easy
paradigm shift from non-believing Scully to
true-believing Mulder as painless as possible.
It's not his fault; he didn't write the incon
sistent character, but he
makes him as appealing
as possible. Brief, witty
soliloquies haven't been
au courant in action since
Schwarzenegger's Reagan-
era reign, but Johnson
wears them comfortably
as the soft tough guy.
Besides the stunt
driving and the charmer
formerly known as the
Rock, Race to Witch
Mountain possesses few
other noticeable traits. I'd recommend parents
rent the original and its sequel if your kid can
stomach special effects circa 1975. If your kid
prefers the Prequels to the Original Trilogy, s/
he'd be better off with the Rock, but if your
little one prefers puppets and matte paintings
to digitally drawn-to-life creatures, Escape
with Richards and Ike Eisenmann's Tia and
Tony Malone.
Drew Wheeler
14 FLAGPOLE.COM • MARCH 18,2009