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Flic Review

by Christopher Michaud

Time to tune in to another movie. Get out the popcorn, M&Ms, extra butter, large pop and the now-empty wallet. After seeing Braveheart for the fourth time last week, I decided I better expand my viewing horizons. I therefore took the time to see Hackers (8 and a half stars), starring Johnny Lee Miller, Angelina Jolie and Fisher Stevens.

For those of you out there in the world of Cyberspace, Internet, the Informa- tion Highway, yada yada yada (as Rich Wilson says), this is the movie to see. Forget Denzel Washington’s Virtuosity, strap on your rollerblades, and put on any tight leather (plastic) you have and just stare at the screen. It’s what you normally do when working on the computer, isn’t it?

Miller plays Dade Murphy. At the start of the movie, he’s only 12 years old, and in court for crashing some 15 000 computer systems all in one day, including the stock market. Banned until he is 18 from ever owning a computer and touch- tone phone, the movie clicks back to him on his eighteenth birthday. What’s he doing on his birthday? Not drinking like us normal people. No, his idea of fun is nixing a television station’s regular programming for old movies.

The plot thickens when another hacker, a school buddy, comes across a

worm in a garbage file that is somehow squandering close to 25 million dollars from some unknown source. On top of the money-grubbing, the virus is capable of capsizing oil tankers around the world, creating giant oil spills. Lovely, huh? Somebody call Exxon? Well, a computer company security guy (played by Stevens) catches the hacker, and has him framed for the virus. But it’s really the security guy’s virus!

It’s up to Dade and his girlfriend (Angelina Jolie) and Hackers ‘R Us to catch the virus in time, save the world and clear all hackers of a bad reputation. In theatres until October 5th.

Good rentals

Pulp Fiction (Willis rules, go Gimp, and I’m glad Travolta’s...)

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (Oh, so good. Just too good.)

Billy Madison (Dumb and Dumber vs. Saturday Night Live)

Soundtracks: I’m a soundtrack maniac, and Dragon is a really good disc. Just don’t try any Kune Do kicks and stuff.

For those of you wondering, I’ve changed the rating scale from a 0 to 6 toa 1 to 10, therefore Braveheart (originally a six) now gets a full 10.

The Fuller Brush Man

Red Skeleton, Janet Blair Directed by S. Sylvan Simon 1948 93 min

Would you like to buy a brush?

Red Skeleton built his career on making people laugh, and this flick is one of his funniest. It’s guaranteed to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Even Queen Victoria would be amused.

The plot starts simply, then quickly develops more twists than a telephone cord. The unfortunate Red Jones (Red Skeleton) can’t keep a job to save his life, and after he loses his street cleaning job (over a nasty incident with sanitation commissioner Trist, his new car, and a portable garbage can) his potential fiancee Ann (Janet Blair) puts in a good word with her boss, and Red gets a shot at selling Fuller brushes. However, the salesman who is supposed to show Red the ropes is also vying for Ann’s affections. Hilarity ensues, and Red proves to be a flop in the brush biz. He finally manages to sell some brushes to commissioner Trist’s wife, but forgets to collect the money. When he returns, Trist is about to thrash him when the lights go out. Panic ensues, and when the lights come back on, Trist has been murdered. Anyone care to a venture a guess who is the chief suspect?

That’s enough of the story for now. But as Red tries to prove his innocence, the comedy increases until a monk would break his vow of silence and start chortling.

Acting: This could very well be

~ Classic Cinema

called the Red Skeleton Movie, as he g run the show. He has more comedy r

’ and one-liners than a millipede has le

Blair’s seriousness is a good constrast incessant humor, although at times on to wonder is she even has a sense of h The other actors are fine, but no one is especially noteworthy. Many stereot

parts are to be found -- the cranky co:

sioner, the fainting wife, the brisk poli lieutenant, and the ever-so-British but

Memorable Scenes: More than can be found: The ‘‘demonstration of salemanship’’ in the Fuller Brush Com office is hysterical, and the ‘‘bush trim at the Trist mansion is even better. Th entire warehouse sequence toward the hilarious, notably the ‘broadcast for h routine. Also, watch for the ‘‘Beaver rescue”’ at the first of the movie.

Best Lines. There are many. R has several, including ‘‘I saved the ho I got the ashes at home in a little box,’ “Good men like me are hard to replac might take you hours,”’ but “‘It’s alwa butler, sir’’ (spoken by the butler) is th best. :

The Bottom Line: So funny you want to watch it again. (I have -- three four times.) Red Skeleton makes Robi Williams and Jim Carrey seem dull an slow-paced by comparison. It might n particularly deep or thought-provoking. that’s the beauty of it -- it’s not suppo be.

Available at: Sherwood Video

review by Marko Peric

Great Big Sea

by Lesa Light

Of all nights of the week to feature a band at a pub, Monday night is the oddest. However, the 200 or so fans of Great Big Sea down at Myron’s on Monday the 25th — dispelled any notions that this is a boring night. I guess any night of the week is good for going out to get drunk and listen to great music -- never mind school or jobs the next day. But this energetic group from The Rock was worth the hangover. Now, I am ashamed to admit, but I’d never heard of Great Big Sea before, however. For review purposes maybe that is a good thing -- I was totally unbiased.

Being a fan of the Irish Descendants and Rawlin’s Cross, I was prepared for a clone, but I was pleasantly surprised. Big Sea’s music was fun, had a great beat and catchy lyrics. The band plays a mixture of original and traditional music. I even knew © some of the oldies-but-goodies, such as

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‘*Sonny’s Dream’’ and ‘‘Drunken Sailor’’. These four guys used a diverse set of instruments including a tin flute, violin, mandolins, guitars and the bodhran. The latter is a type of drum that looks like a big tambourine, is held in one hand and played with a small stick or the other hand. Get the picture?

I only stayed for the first set because I needed my sleep, but that was enough to make me keep my ears open for their tunes on the radio. By the way, Great Big Sea’s new album is called Up! Maybe that’s because they do a lot of jumping up when they sing. If you get a chance, go see them, they are great fun!

Editor's note: Special thanks go out to Myron’s for press tickets to this event.

Upcoming events at Myron’s include Rawlin’s Cross.

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