Reviews, JAN 05

MOVIE - A Very Long Engagement
A heart-wrenching tale of war, an up-lifting tale of romance
by ERIKA WHITCOMB, staff writer

The director John-Pierre Jeunet (director of Amelie) holds nothing back to depict gruesome battle scenes. Jeunet makes a point to allow the audience to get to know various soldiers, each one unique from the next. One particular soldier happens to be Mathilde’s (Audrey Tautou) fiancé Manech (Gaspard Ulliel).

The majority of the film shows Mathilde’s desperate attempt to find him, as the war is over and she faithfully believes he is still alive. The viewer gets a feeling of the genuine chemistry or love that exists between Manech and Mathilde but in a refreshing way. Jeunet shows the growth of their relationship from their first meeting as young children, along with all the quirks that came with it.



MOVIE - House of Flying Daggers
“I want to be free...like the wind.”
by Thu Pham, Staff Writer

The film begins toward the end of Tang Dynasty, when the government became corrupted. The movie revolves around a female dancer named Mei (Ziyi Zhang), whose rare beauty is enhanced by her intelligence and her deep perception of life.

Her encounter with two corrupted government officials, Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Leo (Andy Lau) leads to a whirlwind adventure that uncovers many secrets and surprises.




MUSIC - Gunther and the Sunshine Girls
Sweden’s Dance Sensation is Crazy and Wild
By CALIFORNIA KAY, staff writer

The greatest thing about Gunther and the Sunshine Girls is their ability to engage listeners in endless entertainment, musical satire, and the simple relaxation in letting listeners dance to their hearts’ content.

In many hip-hop music videos, girls (aka “hip-hop bunnies”) are scantily clad while the lead singer speaks of serious subjects such as growing up in a rough neighborhood or losing a girl (it goes without speaking, of course, that these subjects require scantily clad hip-hop bunnies).

Gunther, on the other hand, sings of sensual-oriented subjects like girls in string bikinis on a summer night, while the barely-clothed Sunshine girls rub tushes with each other (literally) in the music video of Teeny Weeny String Bikini.