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Movies
Looks better than the usual Hollywood makeover
Back in the day, when I first saw the original <i>Planet of the Apes</i> movies, I was scared. I used to watch the television series too and I was even more scared. Sure, I was a wide-eyed little kid, but still, something about the apes was just so. . . so. . . eerie. Plus, they were really mean. I watched the new Tim Burton take on the classic cult film with regressive horror. The apes were still frightening and fierce. But with the help of technology, bigger budgets and make-up/costume feats, they were ten-times more believable and spooky. More
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Movies
Hitchcock redone, but definitely not outdone
I'm no movie buff, but if I were a director, I'd want to be Gus Van Sant. No one else in the industry creates images as gripping and memorable: River Phoenix drooling on asphalt in <I>My Own Private Idaho</I>; Illeana Douglas skating frosty circles in the final scene of <I>To Die For</I>. So why then, in updating <I>Psycho</I>, did Van Sant attempt to recreate the film exactly as it first appeared to its wide-eyed 1960 drive-in audiences? I read his explanation in a recent interview (homage to Hitchcock, respect for the story...), but I'm still somewhat perplexed.... More
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Movies
The Curse of the Black Pearl
Fun. Ultimately, that is why movies exist. Sure, there is the occasional film that educates or provides social commentary, but generally people look to film to provide relief from the monotony of their everyday lives. It is a fact sometimes forgotten when movies strive to be artistic. Perhaps the summer's best example of this is Ang Lee's <i>Hulk</i>, as his attempt at a smart action movie results in a boring one. <i>Pirates of the Caribbean</i> marks the return of Jerry Bruckheimer, the grizzled veteran of action extravaganzas, who has carved out an entire career of producing pictures whose sole purpose is audience entertainment... More
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Movies
Sold for 3.5 million dollars, <i>Pieces of April</i> was this year's financial success story at Sundance. Katie Holmes plays an estranged daughter, April, who invites the family together for Thanksgiving dinner as a sort of goodbye to her mother (Patricia Clarkson) dying of breast cancer. Despite the somber premise, there are plenty of lighthearted moments listening to the family members bicker on the car ride up and watching April's clumsy preparation of the turkey. Unfortunately, an abrupt ending gives the film an uneven pace, seemingly cutting off when there should still be twenty minutes left. More
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Movies
Brainy sci-fi take on the classic boy-meets-girl scenario
Code 46 is one of those rare science-fiction films that evoke arresting images of a dystopian future while striving to connect with their audiences through the emotional core that is at the center of their stories instead of through imagined futuristic settings, hardware, and special effects. More
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Beauty
Fresh Gets Fresher
LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics bath and body shop has taken the concept of fresh to the extreme by featuring many vegan products, mostly organic ingredients, no animal testing, recyclable containers and everything made by hand. They even have a refrigerated section of "bio-fresh" products. More
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Clothing & Accessories
Fresh Gets Fresher
LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics bath and body shop has taken the concept of fresh to the extreme by featuring many vegan products, mostly organic ingredients, no animal testing, recyclable containers and everything made by hand. They even have a refrigerated section of "bio-fresh" products. More
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Museums
Innocence Lost
Beyond his treatment of common children's motifs - dolls, toys and ambivalent nymphets- Austrian painter Gottfried Helnwein's vision is shrouded in an aura of enigmatic darkness. With his giant color portraits of stillborn babies; paintings that juxtapose Nazi-era photographs with his own images; and pictures of deformed, abjectly countenanced children swathed in bandages, Helnwein is preoccupied with the indelible suffering that mirrors the more delicate aspects of youth. More
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Restaurants
Of the high-profile restaurant openings of 2004, Michael Mina is neck and neck with Slanted Door for buzz. Having tried Mina's austere (read: underwhelmingly simple for the price) cuisine at Aqua back in 1997, we were wondering if the menu at his namesake spot in the Westin St. Francis would be worth the hype. Considering that the fellow has grown his empire to reach Vegas, San Jose, Dana Point, and soon, Mexico City, the likelihood of the experience being a stunner seemed low. More
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Baseball
Dog day shakeups
It's only the second week of August, but it appears that all the divisional races have already been settled, which leaves only the Wild Card still undecided. And now that the trade deadline has passed, it may appear that the vying teams will have to just hope that what they have is good enough. More
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