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Show 4 The Summer Weekly Chronicle Wednesday, June 24, 1998 The Summer Weekly Chronicle N GH Conspiracies, nn 1 H Pearl Jam '98: and Collaboration: Cover-up- s The Canyons ES: THE X-F- il 7 Jennifer Pfafflin Daily Utah Chronicle f you believe the hype, all truths are revealed in the first feature film, "Fight the Future." mysterious cancer developed supposedly linked to her abduc-tio- Each week, devoted viewers of Her devotion to Mulder is admirable but a bit puzzling considering the number of times he's nearly gotten her killed. "Fight The Future" picks up sev- - "X-File- s" the television series are promised answers but provided only with more questions. It's kind of a game we the viewers play, hoping for the a n. big payoff. The movie isn't the big payoff. "The television series follows the journey into the of Special Agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and his search for truth. In this Arthurian quest he is joined by Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). A medical doctor by trade and grounded in science, Scully provides the nagging voice of logic, reeling Mulder in and, as he puts it, keeping him honest. unex-plainab- by Heather Dixon le sent to discredit Mulder, Scully instead found herself caught in his world. Mulder's quest began when he Originally m eral months after the season finale. The have, once again, been es closed, and Mulder and Scully have been reassigned. The agents find themselves in Dallas, looking for a bomb in a federal building. The bomb is found S3N witnessed his younger sister's abduction by what he thinks were aliens. What has been revealed throughout the series has made Mulder and the audience suspect she was taken by a much more insidious entity. Scarred by this incident at an early age, he devotes his life to finding her and exposing the truth behind her abduction. At the risk of his career and his own life, he fights doggedly against the powers that be, gaining ground only to have that ground pulled out from underneath him, then starting all over again. His dedication often crosses to the point of obsession, putting all in his life in danger. lightning rod for disaster, Scully is usually the one taking it on the chin for Mulder's persistence. Scully is both the luckiest and the unluckiest woman alive. She has been abducted (which was actually a clever way to send Anderson on maternity leave), her sister was killed, and then she. A ..''"Xs. but their inability to keep it from going off cause Mulder and Scully to take the blame for damage and loss of life. Faced with the possibility of being split up, they begin their own investigation into the bombing. True to style, beneath the "X-File- s" surface are cover-up- s and conspira- cies and one or two terrifying truths. The story unfolds at a dizzying pace: blink once and you're lost. Don't even think about going to the bathroom. The story, written by series creator Chris Carter, is stripped down and quite basic by its own standards. Not to say that Carter has dumbit ed it down for the is stilt one of the smartest, most non-X-Phile- well-thought-o- ut this . s: screenplays. He is Gene generation's Roddenberry. H Whether or not "The has legs comparable to "Star Trek" remains to be seen. No one could have written his foray onto the big screen better than Carter. The series has some of the best writers on television, but Carter knows the series and the characters better than anyone. famiKeeping it in the ly, series executive producer Rob Bowman was chosen to direct. Bowman began his career directing episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" during its first few "X-File- s" seasons. as Bowman joined "The a director, moved later to a producer job, then to his current gig as executive producer. His work for the series earned him Golden Globe awards for Best Drama in 1995 and 1997. The biggest draw to "Fight the Future," that is, its huge core audience, could be its biggest liability, oddly enough. Considering that the work the series exhibits on television is better than most films released, the among rabid fans, expectation is anyway through the roof. The only competition "The has is with itself, which can be the toughest. The hardest part about transferring a television show to the big screen is making its audience willing to pay $8.50 for something they can see for free every Sunday. Usually filmmakers throw in devices not allowed on television, namely sex or expletives. I'm not telling you whether there is sex but I can tell you there is swearing. It is not excessive or vulgar by any means. Other liberties have been taken. They have more time to play with and they use it. They have a bigger budget and they use it. The movie runs just a bit over two hours, givto ing more time and explore, expound explain. Several sets and locations are used. Special effects convince you the budget of $63 million was spent to the last cent. Attracting the people who have either never seen the show or are just casual viewers also If there is a rite of passage into summer, it is the outdoor concert. It is where arena rock earns its name when the stars in the valley shine brighter than those in the sky, providing a moment to wax nostalgic about in years to come. And giving jsummer a drop-kic- k into full swing was the arrival of like it or not, the most Pearl Jam popular American band of the '90s . Sunday night at the Canyons. Fresh off the bus from a stint in the Tibetan Freedom Concert and the tour's opener in Missoula, Montana (the largest rock concert ever held in the city) the night of before, the crowned-king- s d Grunge took the stage in a attempt to breathe life back into the genre they made popular, the genre which brought a tamed Sabbath-bran- d k bang to the masses and made it Led by reluctant rock hero Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam's debut 1992 release, "Ten," was the most accessible record to come out of the hoopla surrounding Seattle and success made the band a cross-ovwhen the album went on to sell short-hande- post-pun- frat-roc- er millions. Due to the heavy MTV rotation of "Evenflow" and the breakthrough imagery of "Jeremy," the band eventually became larger than life, but they refused to admit themselves as rock stars by not releasing any videos or singles for their sophomore album "Vs.," which distanced itself from "Ten" with a much more unpolished and textured sound. TVif Kanil'c onrl fnnrtVi albums find the band covering the same areas lyrically. However, "Vitology" and "No Code" take a more experimental route musically. poses a difficulty. Carter and crew have taken considerable to attract those steps people. The movie soundtrack has a hidden message basically explaining the entire series. A nutshell description, it should bring most up to speed. And the official movie magazine has a list and summary of all pertinent episodes to the movie's plot. The story is compli cated and you have to pay close attention, but you really don't need to know much about the series to enjoy the film. Familiarity helps e with some of the humor and in fig-se- page 5 "Vitology," perhaps the band's best and most uncompromising album, thunders in with the punk "Viva vinyl!" anthem "Spin the Black Circle," the melodic "Corduroy," see pearl jam, page s |