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Show SUMMER UTAH CHRONICLE Page 4 ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Monday, June 6, 2005 'Lords of Dogtown' is the vassal of skateboarding films Cornell are still impressive, but undeniably fit better in Soundgarden's grungy-gloom. Out of Exile does manage to break from its legendary trap••• pings once in a while, as the Without fail, the ghosts of a quartet sloughs off I he sonicband's past come back to haunt sludge and basks in the warmth them, breathing into them ei- of Western-tinged ballads "Be ther new life or the stench of Yourself" and "#i Zero," sounding much more graceful than sour regret. Sadly, • Rage-Against-the- grunge. The Slave truly tfsteps Soundgarden super-group Au- into its own, though, on Yesterday to Tomordioslave invokes row"—a spacedonly the spirits out groove in of better days which Cornell gone by in their breaches the vonew release, Out cal dynamics of of Exile. past collaborator Guerrilla radio and passed-bestatic christens fore-his-time legthisalterna-grunend Jeff Buckley. ge dream team's second effort, as Still, Rage the Rage-worthy, Against the Mafuzz-heavy riffing of "Your chine and Soundgarden cast Time Has Come" calls on, two of the most prolific shadwell, Rage-worthy, fuzz-heavy ows of the 90s. Though ripe bass over a Rage-worthy, fuzz- with potential, Audioslave heavy classic rock groove. has some big shoes tofill,and However, without Zach De has yet to find its way into the La Rocha's militant war cries, light. When it does, expect the the insurgence of the rhythm product to cast an undoubtedsection's protest-jams loses fo- ly grand shadow of its own. cus. The languid yowls of Chris Dan Fletcher Audioslave Out of Exile Interscope/Epk Three out offive stars Jenni Koehler Chronicle Writer Hirsch and Rasuk are satisfactory in their roles—believable but nothing special. It seems that they were cast based upon resemblance to real-life Adams "Who knew skateboarding and modeling were so similar, bros?" Robinson, Rasuk and Hirsch strut in "Lords of Dogtown." and Alva. Considering that Peralta was more involved in making this film than were any of the original Z-Boys, it's amazing that the actor playing his part is the worst in the entire film. Robinson's Peralta is bland, undeveloped, uninspiring and altogether the most vacuously boring character. One wonders why Peralta didn't paint his own picture a little more vividly in this admittedly enhanced version of the true story, or else see to it that a better actor was hired to portray him. Surprisingly, Heath Ledger comes out on the top of this pavement wave, showing acting talent that few thought he was capable of. His Skip—a drugged-out, endearing mix of Johnny Depp's Hunter S. Thompson and Val Kilmer's Jim Morrison—is not only convincing, but also exceedingly fun to watch when he's just talking—which is more than one can say about any of the other actors. Performances aside, though, the absolute worst part of "Lords" is its sappy-as-hell ending, in which an insig- nificant character surfaces with brain cancer. Serving to reunite our towheaded troupe, this saccharinely "random" tragedy nearly bursts with inane—and unnecessary—cheesiness. "Bro, our friend's dying. I'm totally gonna, like, shed a tear. How could this happen, dude?" Peralta and director Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen") will undoubtedly succeed in luring teens and skateboarding fans into theaters for "Lords." This audience will most likely lap up the action scenes, loud music, excessive usage of "bro" and "dude" and the ludicrous attempt at portrayal of teen angst and human fallibility. It's unfortunate; first-time fans will get a watered-down version of a great story with "Lords." If you want to see the true—and actually inspiring—story of the Z-Boys, go rent "Dogtown and ZBoys." Don't waste your time with this embellished regurgitation, still dripping with histrionic flounce and stomach acid. jkoehler@chronicle.utah.edu F or his efforts, Peralta deserves some cred—he's figured out a way to make more money, make himself more famous and undermine his previous work. That takes real skill, bro. Check back on Wednesday for Now in the Neighborhood Kill the Scene NEED MONEY? WE NEED YOU! The helpful place. salt l ak a city For your convenience we are opm 7 days a weekl 4Cft frf 2 Ess* 400 South Sttft Lftfca City, Utah H4102 Suffering from spectres of the past Audioslave's second album exiled in shadows offormer bands "Lords of Dogtown" Columbia Pictures, 2005 Directed by Catherine Hardwicke Written by Stacy Peralta Starring: Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, John Robinson, Johnny Knoxville, Victor Rasuk and Rebecca De Mornay Rated PG-13/107 minutes Opened June 3,2005 One-and-a-half out offour stars * Evidently, Stacy Peralta plans on milking his fame for all its worth. One of the original Venice Z-Boys, he and his wannabe-surfer bros redefined skateboarding back in the 1970s, changing the mellow, basic and characteristically dainty aerobic routine to an intense, athletic and ultra fast-paced extreme sport. However, with the release of Peralta's second film—the first being 2002's award-winning documentary, "Dogtown arid Z-Boys"—it's obvious that the initial fame and acclaim was just not enough. The skater-rurned-screenwriter/director felt it necessary to, well, expand upon the truth of his documentary and present a more fictionalized and Hollywoodized version of the events surrounding 1970s Dogtown. For his efforts, Peralta deserves some cred—he's figured out a way to make more money, make himself more famous and undermine his previous work. That-takes real skill, bro. "Lords" re-returns to '70s Venice, Calif.—the self-proclaimed "ghetto by the sea"—and the three bad-ass, beachblonde, wicked-hardcore kids who started it all: Alva, Adams and Peralta. With the introduction of urethane wheels to the skating scene—replacing their • archaic clay predecessors—the boarders suddenly discover that they can carve, kick-turn and climb suburban embankments all day long, which morphs Alva, Adams and Peralta's dreams of surfing professionally into dreams of skateboarding professionally. Riding for local skate-shop Zephyr, the bpys apply their surfing techniques to skating, and make radical advances in the sport, forever altering its status quo. The'Zephyr team's faithful but selfinterested coach, Skip, played by Heath Ledger, presents the boys with new boards and takes them to competitions, where they grind standard skateboarders- faces into the pavement. With the resulting fame, adoration and competition, this once best-friend band of Barbie dolls drifts apart—the skaters' lust for money and stardom eventually wins out over their loyalties, and one by one, the boys abandon loving Skip, and each other, for more lucrative and gloryoriented managers. Fame is haaard, dude. Though superficially remaining true to the actual story, "Lords" stays truer to the times. Its portrayal of '70s California is fairly accurate, as is its portrayal of the insipid joke that skateboarding once was. •The moves that Emile Hirsch's Adams, Victor Rasuk's Alva and John Robinson's Peralta deliver are entertaining and historically in line with the Z-Boys' original moves—a fact likely credited to the actors' diligent learning of the trade and their delivery of most of their own stunts. Still, their skills are not spectacularly awesome: The sport has advanced too much since the '70s for modern eyes to be impressed by such old-school maneuvers as the manual and skid-turn, no matter how revolutionary they were back then. The Fletch Fetch Motft. * Sat Sam - 9pm Sunday»**m - 5pm You could qualify tor a special Wood program, if you have rscantjy been diagnosed with any of the following: - Hwpos Simplex t/li - Morxmudoosis - Chicken Pox/ SJiirtQlas - Epstein Bw Vims - Other conditions may bo. B, us!)fordoldiis. Qualified Donors receive $200 j » r 4oti*fUn, Plus mileage reimbursement* Please Contact (8B8) 806-5215 for mom information M Caffs ar Site #04-030 cessary "You see these intimidating blokes behind me? Mess up my cake and they break your knees-we take confection seriously 'round here." Too many layers make this cake harder to swallow "Layer Cake" Sony Pictures Classics Directed by Matthew Vaughn Written byJ.J. Connolly Staning: Daniel Craig, Colm Mcaney, George Harris and Michael Gambon Rated R/105 min Opened June 3,2005 Three out offour stars ••• Aaron Allen Chronicle Writer They should sell road maps for British gangster flicks. Movies like "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," "Snatch" and now "Layer Cake" have plot lines more intricate and zig-zaggy than the creases in David Mamet's brain. These movies are undeniably clever, but one can only keep track of so many dead bodies, so many double-dealings and so many guys named Franky Four Fingers or Crazy Larry. Labyrinthine twists and turns aside, "Layer Cake"-—directed by Matthew Vaughn, who produced "Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch" for director Guy Ritchie—is certainly one of the best films in its genre. "Cake" tells a familiar story of low-lifes and thugs talking a lot, shooting a lot and generally getting in way over their heads. Thankfully, Vaughn focuses more on character and performance than Ritchie does, who, for better or worse, brandishes his stylized eyecandy like a polished 9mm. Daniel Craig plays an unnamed British gangster—a drug dealer that prefers to think of himself as "a businessman whose business just happens to be drugs." His opening narration supplies us with the typical, but always interesting, tour of the drug world. He wants to get out of its slippery underbelly, but at the same time seems greedily attached to its glamorous allure. Uh-huh. Doesn't he know that aging criminals who want to retire are always roped into that one last job? That "one last job" involves the purchase of one million ecstasy pills from Duke (played by Jamie Foreman), a clueless, high- strung prat who, like all lowlevel crooks, excels at one thing: futzing things up. Duke and his crew have a nasty habit of waving their guns at the wrong people—a tendency that endangers both himself and Craig. As if that weren't enough, Craig is also ordered to find the wayward daughter of Eddie Temple, played by Michael Gambon. Unsurprising, this is no simple rescue mission. Then there's the matter of The Dragon, a ruthless phantom killer on Craig's trail. And what bearing does the murder * of a man named Crazy Larry have on current events? Oh, but there's more: Craig's buddy Morty (played by George Harris) beats up a guy to the rhythm of Duran Duran's "Ordinary World." Gene, played by Colm Meaney, may or may not have something to do with the sudden disappearance of Duke, and Sienna Miller teases Craig with sexy lingerie—right before he's bound and gagged and suspended over the side of a sky-scraper. There's ample story and plenty of character to layer this cake—and the leftover ingredients are sufficient to bake several spin-offs or double features, should audiences get hungry. Luckily, in the midst of all the confusion, Craig, commanding the lead role, holds down the fort like a 10-ton boulder. His character is unmoving and staunch in his appeal. It's no wonder he's been offered the role of James Bond. Craig may not be classically handsome, but his suave, confident polish and simmering anger would make him an irresistible 007. Craig's performance elevates his character into higher realms of hidden pains and desires. The way he lusts after Tammy (Miller's character) and loathes firearms is surprising and humane. He follows through with a suave performance worthy of the line, "Shaken, not stirred." While "Layer Cake" doesn't evade the usual pitfalls of gangster films—the story is too clever to really generate much interest or sympathy for its characters— it's still an enthusiastic and realized exercise in genre. aallen(5) chronicle.utah.edu |