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Show I WWW.NETXNEWS.NET MONDAY • JANUARY 8 • 2007 The best and worst of this season's winter blockbusters On DVD this week The Illusionist Crank LukeHickman Extras; The Complete First Season On CD this week Green Day: Kerplunk Julio Iglesias: Romantic Classics The Pursuit of Happyness Soundtrack Things 06 will be remembered for . Michael 1 Richard's racial F outbursts Id Life Editor Ihe last month of ever)' year is a cinematic cluster bomb of movies. Each December theaters are flooded with movies that the studios either think deserve awards or want to use to attract the holiday crowds. December 2006 was no exception. Because there have been a lot of good releases since the last edition of The College Times, here is a recap of what we missed. Blood Diamond — Along with The Departed, this role, too, earned Leonardo DiCaprio a double Golden Globe nomination this year for best actor. After seeing this semi-preachy, fact-based film about the slavery, genocide and rebellion" in Sierra Leon, Africa in 1999, you'll think twice about ever buying another diamond. Children of Men — If you've seen any movie over that past six months, chances are it's opened with this trailer. Just when you thought that the preview exposed way too much of the plot, think again. Clive Owen will take you through an unforgettable journey through non-stop action, suspense and emotion as he tries to protect the only woman to get pregnant in the previous 18 years. The Good German — Director Steven Soderberg {Ocean's Eleven) and George Clooney have, once again, teamed up to bring us a pretentious and boring tale. This time it's about the U.S. and Russian occupied Germany post-World War II. This black and white snooze-fest will leave you puzzled as to which character the title is referring to as the good German. 9 Saddam's execution video leaking 8 Britney and K-Fed parting ways The Pursuit of Happyness — Unlike Children of Men, if you've seen the preview for The Pursuit, then you have seen the entire movie. You've heard every emotional line and have seen every emotional clip already. There are no surprises. The final product is a long and slow wannabe Kramer vs. Kramer crammed with emotional cheap shots. Does anyone else think Will Smith's kid looks like Crabman from My Name is Earl? 7 The Crocodile Hunter's unexpected death Letters from Iwo Jima — Unlike Clint Eastwood's first part of this World War II epic, Flags of our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima is a beautiful human tale of the Japanese side of the story of the battles that 6 Taylor Hicks winning American Idol 5 Mel Gibson's D.U.I. Justin Timberlake starred in a Sundance movie S A5 1 One word: Fergie In theaters this week Atphadog Rocky Balboa — Dodging the title "Rocky Six" was a smart move for writer, director and star. Sly Stallone. Though the sixth installment looked like it would go out in the first round, those who've taken the leap of faith and forked out the bucks to see it are still rooting for the Italian Stallion. This character-based film will leave you feeling warm inside with hope, closure and a desire to find a large set of stairs to run up. Eragon — Want to know what it would be like to see the entire Star Wars movies' story placed into a Lord of the Rings setting? Me neither. But obviously, someone did. And they called it Eragon. R r r i 7: AW Apocalypto — Mel Gibson's latest fastpaced action-adventure movie pieces together the myth of Jaguar Paw, a Mayan rebel, who eventually caused the fall of the Mayan Empire. Weak-ofstomach, know this: Apocalypto spares no violence or gore. It shows how brutal those brutes really were. \A • : \-0 "\: Heather Brown Life Writer im i-ii W: 2 Night at the Museum — Every once in a while a kid's movie will come out that is entertaining enough for people of all ages to see. Night at the Museum is that movie 2006. With and all-star cast including Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson and Ricky Gervais, when the museum comes to life, so does the movie. Happy birthday to the King Beyonce tried serious acting in Dreamgirls Michael killing Anna Lucia and tibby on Lost! took place on that small island over 60 years ago. Though subtitled and nearly entirely in Japanese, this is the first of any Eastwood flicks that I'd recommend be seen by everyone. Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Miss, on Jan. 8, 1935. During his life, Elvis was a gospel singer, a soldier, a movie star, and "The King of Rock V Roll." Elvis began his music ca, \, reer at the age of 10 when his mother bought him a guitar for his birthday. When he was a little older, his family moved to Memphis, Tenn. where Elvis sang in his Pentecostal church's gospel choir. In Memphis, Elvis was highly influenced by the blues that he heard being played locally. In July 1953, Elvis paid local record- Stomp the Yard Arthur and the Invisibles Courtesy photo/http;//userpage.fu-berlin.de ing company, Sun Records, to record his first double-sided demo as a present for his mother. Elvis had a hard time getting his records played at first because locals thought he sounded "too black." In the south at that time, his rhythm and blues sound could have killed his career. At first, the only stations that would even play his music were in the black sections of-major cities, such as Detroit and Chicago. Elvis was finally signed to major record label RCA in 1955. His first single, "Heartbreak Hotel," sold a million copies in no time. Elvis quickly became a household name, but not all the talk was good. He had a reputation for being vulgar on stage with gyrating hips and belly rolls. He was threatened with arrest in 1956 and when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1957. He was only shown from the waist up. Elvis was drafted by the United States Army in late 1957. Elvis was afraid that the time out of the public eye would kill his career. In fact, in some ways, it was strengthened because he earned the respect of critics for his service. He was honorably discharged in 1960. Elvis had filmed Jailhouse Rock, and a few other movies, before leaving for the Army, but his film career exploded upon returning home. In most of his movies, Elvis was the leading man, and over the years, there was a parade of leading women. Elvis made a total of 31 movies, most of which were panned by critics and loved by audiences. In 1969, Elvis made his big musical comeback. He started touring again and had hits such as "Suspicious Minds" and "In the Ghetto." He performed for packed houses in cities around the world. For the next few years, Elvis reigned as the king of live performances. Elvis died on Aug. 16, 1977 at his home, Graceland, in Memphis. He died of an apparent drug overdose at age 42. There is still controversy surrounding his death. Some believe that his drug was an accident; others think it was suicide. And of course, there are those who say that The King is still alive. |