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Show ARTS 6 -- Ml ENTERTAINMENT WEDNESDAY, DIXIE SUN SEPTEMBER 30, 200? Pandorum a Students perform during film tantalizing Jazzy Javas open mic night BY MARK GREEN Dixie Sun Opinion Editor BY KATE SEMMENS Dixie Sun Staff Writer Its p.m. on a Wednesday as the crowd begins to settle into the dimly-li- t dining area where posters of music legends of the past adorn the walls. The mood is light as friends greet one another, and expressions of verbal anticipation for the evening's events can be heard in all the conversations around. So began the 35th week of open mic night at Jazzy Java, 285 N. Bluff St. Each Wednesday night musicians from the area perform original works as well as cover songs to the varied crowd that gathers together at Jazzy Java. It probably comes as no surprise that many Dixie State College students participate in the open mic night scene. Celeste Stucki, a freshman music education major from St. George, said Ive performed a 8 lot here at Jazzy but havent been able to since school started, so its my first night back in a while. Stuckis in- performance cluded an acoustic rendition of Linkin Parks song "Shadow of the Day" as well as an original song titled "Its Gonna Be." Another student performing at open mic Zold, a night was-Tisophomore biology major from San Diego. This is my first time playing at open mic, Zold said. I have a lot of friends who are musicians in town and they come here to play. Ive come to see a lot of bands here. Its a great atmosphere and I love it. Musicians arent the only ones who enjoy the festivities and ambience at Jazzys. Colter Lee, a freshman music major from Leeds, said: I look forward to chilling and hearing what people play around here, and I think its pretty cool in here. I like how its dark. The Southern Utah Songwriters Association is equally responsible with Jazzy Java in bringing the open mic night to St. George. Rich Panessa, SUSWA member and activist, said: "We are in week 35, and Im glad we have a nice crowd tonight. I see some different people out there, which is good, and that means more people are hearing about it. Then, we also have some old favorites who come back week after week to perform. If you are a musician and wish to play at Jazzy Java, tonight would be the perfect night to do so. The bigwigs of the open mic night and SUSWA will be professionally recording all the music performed tonight. Each musician will be able to get a copy of his or her performance on disc for $15. Panessa said the reason they are doing the recording is so songwrit . ers and musicians can have the recording to promote themselves. If students are looking for something different to do on a Wednesday evening in St. George, Jazzy Java and SUSWAs open mic is new each week considering the set list is never the same. The stage is open to anyone who wants to perform. Simply arrive early to add your name and song to the list. Panessa said to keep things flowing the standard is no more than two songs for each performer. I think its great that people can come out and play original songs, get their name out there and get their songs out there, Zold said. Its a great atmosphere; good food, good people and good fun. Other local places that have open mic and karaoke nights include Honolulu Grill, Mojo Underground and Bean Scene. When wading through the miserable patch of pathetically predictable and or patently preposterous horror movies that are released each year, a movie with the compelling intensity and patient pacing of "Pandorum" is a rare treat Much of what makes this movie great is the uncertainty and confusion present from the very start. The movie opens as flight team engineer Bower (Ben Foster) wakes up from cryogenic sleep aboard a derelict spaceship with a memory full of holes. Shortly after Bowers violent wake up, Payton (Dennis Quaid) emerges from his sleep pod and the two amnesia-stricke- n (a temhibernaeffect of side porary tion) crew members struggle to piece together their situation from scraps of memory. The gritty shadows and ominous creaks and roars of the powerless ship combined with the tightly tense music create the perfect backdrop as Payton and Bower realize that the crew is missing, the power is turned off and the door to the bridge is sealed shut Mild scares urge the movie along until the two split up, Bower through the vents to try and restore power, and by extension open the door to the bridge. Payton remains at a computer to guide Bower through the ship via a radio that, of course, cuts out at very inconvenient moments. Once Bower is out of sight of Payton, the movie really takes off as he realizes he is not alone, and his new space neighbors are clearly hostile, and not quite human. Curled in a dark comer with wide eyes and shaky hands after his first run in, Bower asks Payton about the symptoms of Pandorum, and we get our first hint that things may not be as they appear. Pandorum, as Payton explains, is a space sickness The local band Milkshake takes advantage of Jazzy Javas open mic night Sept. 23. The mic is available every Wednesday night on a first come, first serve basis, and is sure to continue pleasing audiences. resulting from the combination of long hyper sleep and emotional trauma. The symptoms of hallucinations and irrational paranoia led one stricken man to needlessly evacuate thousands of his crew mates into the cold death of space. The inexplicable presence of killer mutants and human survivors takes a delicious twist when realize the horror Bower is seeing may be manifests-tionview-er- mark ;V we Sun Op fright-ene- s s of insanity rather than actual threats. As each new r character appears, you have to wonder not only whether enngtofi ,ail forth they are good or evil, but rconstitue whether or not they even of pass exist. While Bower fights his t match a way through nightmare to ..trees of tl reach the ships reactor, the iress. action is fast, intense and e- an sick an njoyable. Meanwhile, Payton engages in a more individually- ticians glc jitty-grit- tf conflict The di- posed legi and ply spoon alogue uneasy stares between Payton and jins croud shifting a traumatized crew member .fie speak-,1that real he encounters manage to match the jjldbecom feel of Bower's desperate jure in Coi -based who the massive battle-throug- ship, and both conclude with satisfying intensity. Sudden camera shifts, moments of blurry vision, and i: legislate Jy at all ti .m d their ass agt nposals the odd sense that you can Anticisms see faces in the shadows jins. This out inflicting ic them some of jump (only and attack) are initially co- rurally fos nfusing, almost to the point of ..'landing, being annoying, but ultimately they all work together to enhance the sense of paranoid hallucination that may or may not be affecting the characters. The movie ascends to its climax, shifting between ction, a- moments of Jmore fac mi ow the foil in Was an exarr good, ,ent, presentati South Cai juted, Yc .ntObamt fear, and dressing ( confrontations that tease you il weeks a assumptions about who, if i, on came anybody, in the movie is se- jJ There eing things the way they really f claim t bit will ii are. Unlike most horror movies mgiants. the ending of "Pandorum" is be. unlikely to be predicted in Despite al the first 15 minutes, and all isly indig of the twists, turns and surprises of the movie seem plausible in context While there are moments where the dialogue is reminiscent of a slightly video game, and a few confusing jolts where it feels like the director took a plot leap without looking, h SHANF "Pandorum" is well worth Dixie Si is your $7.50. Pandorum rated R for strong horror violence and language. p Many TV shows continue to air after several seasons BY CHUCK BARNEY MCT It happens every fall. The new TV season arrives and we gaze with anticipation at the schedule only to discover that a favorite show is" missing in action. ("Life" apparently doesn't have any). On the other hand, some shows inexplicably keep going and going and going. (Call it tire "According to Jim" effect). Here are five series that we just can't believe are not dead yet. "Scrubs" (ABC) This wacky medical series looked like a sure goner when NBC canceled it. But after resurfacing on ABC and shooting what was thought to be a series finale, it refuses to flatline. ABC has plans to return to Sacred Heart for a ninth season, even though Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke will appear in only six episodes and the Janitor (Neil Flynn) has left the building. Is it time to issue a "Do Not Resuscitate" (DNR) order? "Til Death" (Fox) Rumor has it that people actually watch this shrill domestic sitcom starring Brad Garrett and Joely Fisher, but our valiant search party has yet to locate them. Multiple cast changes and schedule moves have failed to boost the show's anemic ratings. Fox even yanked it off the air at one point last year. Still, it just won't go away as it returns for Season 4 this week. 'Til death, indeed. "One Tree Hill" (The CW) As originally conceived, this teen drama revolved around two basketball-playin- g half brothers. But after Season 6, one of them (Chad Michael Murray) was kicked to the curb to save on production costs. Another main protagonist (Hilarie Burton) was also axed. Clearly, this is no longer tire show fans signed up for. Last season's finale felt like a senes finale, and perhaps it should have been. "Law & Order" (NBC) Creator Dick Wolf boasts that, at 20 seasons, his enme senes has matched "Gun- - 7'riitrs .y g smoke" as TVs drama. But toss in an asterisk. Ratings for "L&O" have declined for years, and the show likely would have been canceled on another network. "Gunsmoke," however, remained a Top 15 sharpshooter deep into its run. Besides, with "L&O: SVU" having eclipsed the mother ship, hasn't the case load reached a breaking longest-runnin- point? "American Dad" (Fox) With the addition of "The Cleveland Show" this fall, maniacal Seth MacFarlane now controls three pieces of Fox's Sunday night animation block. Someone, please, make it stop! Unlike MacFarlane's "Family Guy," this show about a CIA agent and his family has never become a pop cultural darling. But yet, here it is at 80 episodes and counting. Is it time to 'toon out? (c) 2009, Contra Costa Times. Distributed by fntlfy ur life dutiful liable 'tadows hth mind-numbi- Informa- tion Services. m a c vrn Stephanie March plays the character Alexandra Cabot on Law & Order. series has been running for 20 seasons, becoming one of the longest-runnin- g dramas. The |