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Show -W^ SUMMER UTAH CHRONICLE ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT Wednesday, July 20, 2005 | H B fSOTIOHl | I I I C advice for the romantically disenfranchised Hardcore player or playing hard to get? Avoiding the tricky, slippery, commitment-challenged duction is now measured in terms of the quality of rapport one has with another. Maybe when we were all 19 and drunk-dialing, we got away with a lot less effort—you know, thumbing through our phones and wondering who the hell "Dave," "Stacy" or "Brad" were—but those days are long gone. My friends, we are rapidly approaching the point in our lives in which the salesmanship ability of "closing the deal" in a new relationship is weighed just as heavily as our job-interviewing skills. However, I would imagine that there are very few job interviews out Dear "Getting Jerked...Around," I'll put money down that this chick there in which there's a chance you'll has seen "Swingers" one too many be getting naked at the end. times. What was that famous line— Can't say I've ever encountered "How long do you wait to call your the phrase, "Everything looks in orbabies—six days, right?" der with your resume, why don't you Seriously, that cat-and-mouse strip down now and meet some of game may still be in effect, but the the people you'll be working with." rules have definitely changed. ClarIn the world of dating, we are ity and commitment are the "new inadvertently sending out signals black" of relationships. The art of se- that encourage this type of beDear Danni, "I met this chick about a month ago, and she's hot. We totally have the same sense of humor about everything, so we get along well. Except she's always telling me to call her and make plans, but she never comes through. She'll say she wants to hang out, and then she just won't pick up her phone, or she'll text me at like i a.m. Danni, I can't tell if she's playing me—or just playing hard to get. I'm kinda getting tired of whatever this is, so do I just cut her off, or should I hold out to see if it will all go down or not?" ally, you might have to resort to other means. If you feel that your (potential) boyfriend or girlfriend is not paying you enough attention, then you might try to be less available or make him or her jealous about another potential love interest. Perhaps that will get his or her attention, and you will be temporarily doted upon. Of course, if this is the only way Danni Nutter for her to get attention from you, and Chronicle Advice Writer she has to do it repeatedly, then after havior. We add to the pressure of in- a while you will also become desentimacy by playing mind teasers with sitized, and the stakes will rise. ourselves, wondering how many It sounds like you're at that point rings to pick up after, whether or not already. This is definitely not my to leave a message. choice relationship dynamic, but it Then there's the famous delaying does add some thrill for those people of returned calls based on number who enjoy living on the edge of emoof days, which gained popularity in tional stability, and who perhaps lack the late '90s. The list goes on ad nau- other life and communication skills. seam. The fact that she is exhibiting this So why do people play games? type of behavior during the introWhy do we manipulate each other? ductory period is very disconcerting. Well, it's pretty obvious. If you are One can assume that at first, one is not getting what you want from an- only interacting with their partner's other person, physically or emotion- "representative," so to speak. By this I mean that people are generally on their best behavior when they are entering unfamiliar territory. Maybe your girl missed that lecture in Relationships 101. My advice is to confront the issue as plainly and directly as possible. Assuming you manage to get ahold of her, get straight to the point and tell her this behavior is confusing and immature. Ask questions. It is very possible that she is only doing what her friends are advising her to do to get your attention. It's also possible that she is just one of those crazy girls, and that you can chalk this whole mess up to experience. Either way, you need to find out which one she is. In the meantime, don't play into her games. Frankly, there are too many women out there who axe ready and willing to be up-front in a relationship for you to waste time on the commitment-challenged. advice@ chronicle.utah.edu Hustle to the theatre Brewer's drama flows with warmth and humor "Hustle and Flow" Paramount Classics and MTV Films Written and directed by Craig Brewer Starring: Terrence Howard, Anthony Anderson, Taryn Manning, TarajiP. Benson, DJ Quails and Ludacris Rated R/116min Opens July 22, 2005 Four out offour stars •••• Aaron Allen Chronicle Writer Djay sweats in his Cadillac day after day, pimping his girls to the gutter trash who cruise by. He could easily be mistaken for another whore-smacking, drug-dealing low-life. And yet, during those long, sun-baked afternoons, he sits back in a haze of marijuana smoke and talks deeply and poetically about life. At home, he stays up all night long, tapping out tunes with child-like concentration on a tiny keyboard. "Hustle and Flow" is a thoroughly engrossing drama, laced with the warmth and humor of its finely drawn characters. Don't make the mistake of writing it off as an "8 Mile" remix. Yes, they're both about men who yearn to be something bigger through their music, but "Hustle and Flow" is better—richer, with more depth and a big cast of endearing pimps, hookers and thugs. Terrence Howard (last seen as Thandie Newton's pride-gutted husband in "Crash") gives a crackling performance as Djay, a man who is angry and frustrated at the world. He used to spin records with Skinny Black (Ludacris, who was also in "Crash"), until Skinny graduated to MTV, bling-bling and thongthrusting babes. Fed up with pimping and dealing, Djay builds a recording studio in his spare bedroom. He recruits Key (Anthony Anderson), a music producer, Shelby (DJ Quails), a pencilnecked white boy with inexplicable groove and Shug (Taraji P. Henson), a shy and pregnant hooker who provides surprisingly sexy backup. They help Djay hone his lyrics into something catchy and radio-friendly. More than anything, "Hustle and Flow" ably demonstrates how music is a community effort. In one scene, everybody comes together— Key, Shelby, Shug and Djay—for their first recording session. All their personalities and talents are pooled into that moment. Shelby does his thing on the drum machine while Key meticulously adjusts knobs and dials. Watch how Shug cries when she hears her voice on tape for the first time and realizes, yes, she is sexy.And all the while, Djay pounds out the lyrics, taken directly from his life—introspective, validating and right-out rapping. It's a thrilling, hold-your-breath, joyous moment in a movie that earnestly exploring its characters from beginning to end. Take Nola for example. Played by Taryn Manning, she is DJay's hottest commodity—a white girl with cornrows who gets most of the action. At first, she's simply bored and complacent with her lot in life, but as Djay starts his music biz, she wants to help out. DJay's use of Nola is heartbreaking until he finally gives her some real responsibility. Boy, does she run with it. Nola develops until the very last frame, creating a character, like her cast mates, who is genuinely fun to watch. "Hustle and Flow" won the Audience Award at Sundance last January for Best Dramatic Picture. It's a real crowd-pleaser, full of memorable characters, an absorbing story and original rap music that plays well outside of the movie's context. This is one of the best films of the year. aallen@chronicle.utah.edu Terrence Howard grooves to music in "Hustle and Flow." As payment for his supreme narration, Morgan Freeman was given a toupee woven from baby penguin fuzz. Film unveils penguins' secret plot to rule the world Marching 'Penguins' conquer audiences with artistry and insight "March of the Penguins" predator and, straight from Jerry Springer, two females fight over a male who looks as if he just wants to get the hell out of there. But perhaps more interesting than what we see is what the movie subtly suggests. The marching and mating of the penguins is all very ritualistic, almost robotic. Is this a commentary on our own courting habits? Year after year, we go to incredible lengths to meet members of the opposite sex. Be it marching to ••• bars, clubs, classrooms or wherever, we go to Aaron Allen attract a mate. We don't think about it—we're Chronicle Writer hard-wired. Maybe that sounds a little too anthropomorIt stretches on for miles—a panoramic line of waddling penguins, zigzagging between phic, but it's impossible not to attach our own glorious icebergs and sugary plains of snow. perspective when Morgan Freeman's flowery These flightless, tuxedoed birds march with narration tells us we're watching a story about purpose—inland, where the ice is thick, they love. will meet and mate. Of course, a penguin's idea of love has nothDirector Luc Jacquet captures their harrow- ing to do with flowers, candle-lit dinners or ing journey in his beautiful but sometimes-te- talking deep into the night. Actually, it seems a little silly to call what these penguins do "love," dious documentary, "March of the Penguins." Every year, thousands of penguins flop out but we're always projecting human emotions of the ocean and march 70 miles inland. The onto animals and Volkswagen Bugs, so just go ice shifts constantly, but somehow those savvy with it. penguins always find their way to the same valEven at 80 minutes, "March of the Penguins" ley. They pair off, get it on and struggle to raise feels a little long—like a 60-minute Nova profamilies amid freezing winds and rumbling gram stretched out to feature length. So during stomachs. those over-indulgent shots of neckingpenguins, Jacquet and his cinematographers, Laurent allow your mind to wander: Are we really that Chalet and Jerome Maison, capture some amaz- different from these beady-eyed birds? Hey, we ing shots: Penguins huddle together against the both look good in tuxedos. thrashing cold, fuzzy chicks evade a winged aallen@chronicleMtah.edu Warner Independent Pictures Directed by Luc Jacquet Narration written by Jordan Roberts and read by Morgan Freeman Starring: a hell of a lot of penguins Rated G/80min Opened July 15, 2005 Three out offour stars Hitchhiker's guide to the Calendar Something unholy is going on in the galaxy, and Calendar is blaming it on the aliens. The little, snot-bodied Voodoo daddies start feeling a bit devious every few millennia or so, and this time they have replaced our moon with a bloody piece of cheese. Literally a hunk of festering whey ripped from a New York sewer rat's bloody, rigor mortis-stiff jaw. But no one has seemed to notice. Now, we know that humans have the tendency to be a rather self-absorbed race, but Calendar isn't buying what the aliens told us-that the combination of Ritalin and Prozac in the bloodstream has led to a genetic mutation in the breed, which has resulted in humankind being completely oblivious. Calendar smells a rat. Well, make that two. No, Calendar sees right through their sticky lies. We know that the aliens have been sending operatives to local music venues to hypnotize Earth's citizens into waking comas so that humans will be sitting ducks for when the real world war begins. And the govern- ment is in on it-but for once, conspiracy is a good thing. While we might not be Time or anything, we still have our ways of making bigwigs sing. So here it is, a partial list of musicians who seek to lull you unaware and where to avoid them. Most of them couldn't even come up with convincingly human names. But no one ever claimed aliens were creative. We've all seen "Men in Black II." July 20 Wednesday July 21 Thursday Mark Knopfler @ Abravanel Hall (123 W. South Temple) $20-$61 7:30 p.m. Eric Sardinas @ Egos (668 S. State) $10 8 p.m. HIMSA @ Lo-Fi Cafe (165 S. West Temple) $15 8:30 p.m. Head Automata w/ The Start @ In the Venue (219 S. 600 West) $12 7:30 p.m. The Caesars @ Lo-Fi Cafe $12 7:30 p.m. Galactic @ Gallivan Center 7 p.m. Free l. |