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Show WeekendDtowsions Friday, Oct. 26, 2007 o Pre-Emptive "American Gangster" "Saw IV" As with any pre-emptive review, there are assumptions, guesses and even predictions. Well, let rn£ pull some predictions out right here and now. "American Gangster" is the best film of the year. That's right, I said it and I haven't even seen it yet. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, what more could you ask for really? Wait, Washington's a ruthless mob boss and Crowe's the cop trying to bring him down? That's even better. By far, American Gangster is the movie I'm looking forward to the most this fall season. Washington always brings an amazing performance to the screen as well as Crowe. With Ridley Scott directing, this movie is sure to be an Oscar contender. Come Nov. 2, you'll all know where I'll be. But, until then, I'll be pre-emptively loving'the crap out of this movie. "Saw" is the new "Land Before Time." Except replace all the cute dinos with gruesome serial murders. All the happy feelings and heartwarming endings with reverse bear traps and people digging out their own organs. And good wholesome family entertainment with an unquenchable thirst for blood and core. In essence - when you scrape alTof it away - they really are the same. In the least, we will all end up with about 46 of each movie series as a part of our contribution to cinema history. I'll admit the first "Saw" was good, but - sticking with the dichotomy I have going here - so was the first "Land Before Time." It could also be possible the creators of "Saw" were just looking to make up for LBT's obvious lack of violence that's inherent when you put a bunch of dinosaurs together. Either way, I'm going with LBT, Halloween or not, I preemptively hate this movie. Critics "Sharkwater" They've survived 450 million years. They are the world's top predator. But they are not our enemy. Tnis movie attempts to help humans believe that sharks are nice swimming animals. Sounds a little like "Finding Nemo" to me. "Fish are our friends, not food." Of course after Bruce the shark says that, he viciously attacks. Hmmrn. As sad as it is, Steven Spielberg ruined sharks for us a long time ago when Jaws became the 70s nightmare. So let me guess, it's time for us to see the light, scuba dive among the fin friends that eat people and be open to our lifelong arch nemesis that's been nothing but misunderstood. Sounds a little cheesy to me. So although "Sharkwater" is most likely destined to be the next "March of the Penguins.1" I pre-emptively hate this movie. -byManette Newbold/manette.n@aggiemail.usu.edu Page 7 ^ • ^ ' -by Aaron Peck/aaron.peck@aggiemail.usu.edu -by Dave Baker/da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu . • The pre-emptive critics write knee-jerk analyses of upcoming films based solely on hearsay, advance publicity and —most importantly — movie trailers. They have not seen the movies. If this is "Real Life" I don't want to live it "Dan in Real Life" is a confused movie. I'm not sure if it wants to be a romantic comedy, a situational comedy or just an old-fashioned love story. And because of that, this movie fails to become anything worth watching. "Dan in Real Life" stars Steve Carell ("The 40-Year-Old Virgin") as Dan, a newspaper columnist and widower who can't seem to achieve anything above "loser" status with his three daughters. Dan is an overprotective parent who misses his first wife but still yearns to find true love again. Every year, Dan and his extended family head up to the family cabin. This year, Dan stops at a local bookstore and meets Marie, played by Juliette Binoche ("Chocolat"). The movie wants us to believe that NINETY PERCENT OF THE DECORATIONS used to make Valley View Towers haunted were made out of things graduate student Dan Stuart had on hand. CAMERON PETERSON photo Dorms have been redecorated for haunted house Dan as we see his heart breaking ever so slightly, but then we're interrupted by a rude joke movie falls apart. It seems that about masturbation, or a fall off the filmmakers, just because the roof ripped directly from they have Carell in the movie, "Meet the Parents." felt they needed to place him in And about Cook. I don't increasingly awkward situations understand the obsession with and watch as Carell acts aggra- him. He's definitely the wrong vated, which he's very good person for this part. You never at if anyone has ever watched know if his character is sup"The Office." But, that's just posed to be the bad guy or the the problem. This isn't "The good guy, and then a decision Office." I didn't want to be able at the end helps you figure that to call this film "Michael Scott in out but completely ruins any Real Life," but sadly you could mood the film had. just about call it that. The stuff that works in this It seems that Peter Hedges, movie are the scenes with the director, completely missed Dan and his daughters. There out on the little gem that Carell is some real emotion in those was in last year called "Little scenes, but everything else is Miss Sunshine." Carell can act. fodder we've already seen. He can act very well. There -aaron.peck@aggiemaiiusu.edu are a few glimmers of hope in Dane Cook ("Employee of the Aaron Peck Month"). Movie Critic That's basically where the Reel Reviews Grade C"Dan in Real Life" this first encounter was love at first sight, but it never gives us much to go on there. They have a quirky conversation about books but nothing to indicate that they've fallen head over heels after meeting each other. Once at the family reunion, Dan is excited that he may have just met someone new, until he finds out the person he met is dating his brother, played by The Best Price Everyday We consistanfly beat any 50 70% sales, student discounts, or so catted wholesale prices. ByRANAEBANGERTER staff writer One floor of the Valley View Tower dorms is quickly being transformed into a haunted house for two nights of scaring. On Oct. 30 and 31, anyone can enter the house for free. Guests will enter the lobby from 7 to 11 p.m and be led through a seven to 10~minute haunted floor in groups of eight. "In most haunted houses, it takes you a good hour and a half," said Alex Lisman, designer on the project. "And because we only have this floor, we have to make it super intense so people get super scared." Tower Terrorz is this year's theme, which includes many different rooms: the burlap sac room, the Halloween room, the insane asylum, the scream room, "Resident Evil" room and a cave area. "We guarantee that this will be the best haunted house in Logan," said the other contributing designer, Dan Stuart. Ninety percent of the display is made out of things Stuart had on hand, he said. Lisman is a junior in fine arts, specifying in sculpture, which helps when he's designing a haunted house with life-size dummies and other various props, he said. All of the props are rigged with wires and string from the ceiling, and most of the props are motion-sensored or automated in one way or another, Stuart said. Stuart is a graduate student in electrical engineering and said he has rigged up many animatronics for the house, including a dummy that shakes by pushing the pedal of an old sewing machine. Stuart and Lisman volunteer about three or more days a week for more than four hours to create the scary floor. Although they are not paid for their work, Lisman is a resident assistant for the sixth floor and said they are required as RAs to come up with activities for the students, this being one of them. He said he is also passionate about the project from past experiences with the haunted tower. When Lisman was a freshman, he said the RAs had set up different displays in every room on the floor. He said it wasn't very scary though, because everyone would go into a room and then come out, as if to say, "Now what?" "1 thought to myself, 'This is ridiculous, we have to do something better,'" Lisman said. Di See HAUNTED, page 8 Integrity Price Guarantee For more than a century, thousands of couples throughout Northern Utah . have experienced fair and honest transactions at S.E. Needham Jewelers. You don't have to be a skilled negotiator to get the best price. When comparing cut, color, clarity, and carat weight, our integrity price will be as good or better than any store in the state of Utah. 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