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I_I 1 J % 11 I "You have to show a movie at ^party. Monday, February 21,2005 I I I A , . T I I .a ._ Together with the Columbia Film Society, movie fans selected their favorite flicks to celebrate Nickelodeon Theatre's 25 years By JENNIFER FREEMAN THE MIX EDITOR The Nickelpdeon Theatre will celebrate its 25th anniversary starting Tuesday by playing host to the Nick Favorite Filins Marathon. Run by the Columbia Film Society, the Nickelodeon happens upon a murder plot along the way. Faye Dunaway and John Huston also star. This crime-drama classic was voted the fourth greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly magazine. “Casablanca” beat out other classic films such as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Citizen Kane,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Psycho” and “Wizard of Oz.” Obviously a tough decision • ■ t r nt ■ t • i ncairc 15 v^uiuinuia 5 umy iiuii profit movie theater for independent and international films. Columbia movie fans^ had the chance to log on to the Nickelodeon Web site, www.nickelodeon.org, and vote for their favorite films out of five categories: romantic comedy, musical performance, thriller/mystery, classic film and favorite horror/sci-fi. Out of a field including “Annie Hall,” “The Graduate,” “Some Like it Hot” and “Young Frankenstein,” the Michael Radford film, “II Postino” took the prize for favorite romantic comedy. This 1994 film tells the story of an Italian postman who earns the love of a local girl by learning how to write poetry from a famous poet. When first released in New York, it stayed in theaters for almost two years, even after the video release and premium cable run, according to www.imdb.com. In the favorite musical performance category, “Singin’ in the Rain” beat out Bob Fosse and Franco Zeffirelli favorites “All That Jazz,” “Cabaret” and “La Traviata.” Musical NICKELODEON’S FAVORITE FILMS MARATHON Favorite Romantic Comedy “II Postino” Tuesday, 7 and 9:15 p.m. Favorite Musical Performance “Singin’ In the Rain” Wednesday, 3,7 and 9 p.m. Favorite Thriller Mystery “Chinatown” Thursday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Favorite Classic Film “Casablanca” Friday, 7 and 9 p.m. Favorite Horror/Sci Fi “Clockwork Orange” Saturday, 3, 7 and 9:30 p.m. wiui uic ijudmy ui imu5 111 uic classic category, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star in this World War II film set in Casablanca, Morocco. The famous line, “Here’s looking at you, kid,” was actually improvised by Bogan, but it worked so well that it was kept in the final version, according to www.imdb.com. “Casablanca" was voted the third greatest film of all time by Entertainment Weekly and number two by the American Film Institute. In the favorite horror/sci-fi film category, “A Clockwork Orange” came out ahead of “The Birds,” “Blade Runner,” “The Bride of Frankenstein,” the 3-D version of “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” “King Kong," “The Shining” and the silent “Metropolis.” This film, based on a book by Anthony Burgess, was one of only two X-rated movies to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. When re-released in 1999, “A Clockwork Orange” received an darling Gene Kelly starred in and co-directed the him with director Stanley Donen. Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Jean Hagen also star in this musical about a musical. The Roman Polanski-directed classic “Chinatown” will show as the favorite thriller/mystery, beating out “Deliverance” and Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window.” Jack Nicholson stars in this 1974 him as a private detective who is investigating a murder case, but NC-17 rating. This him could be very confusing to audiences, as director Stanley Kubrick made continuity errors on purpose. Kubrick was attempting to have a slight disorienting effect, according to www.imdb.com. The Nick Favorites Film Marathon will continue through Saturday. All screening will take place at the Nickelodeon Theatre at 937 Main St. Comments on this story? E-mail gnmecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu Being the adventures of a young man whose principal interests are rape* ultra-violence and Beethoven. The Nickelodeon Theatre will show films voted on by members of the Columbia Film Society and movie fans who logged on to the theater’s Web site. The Nick's anniversary celebration will begin Tuesday. si*e in' MKMMxAMrow 1LPQST1N0 PHOTOS SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK BOOK REVIEW ‘NorreW revives Regency, fantasy “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" Susanna Clarke ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ By KATIE THOMPSON THE GAMECOCK Mannerist fantasy has been described as a mix of Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien: It presents a Regency-era England where magic is just as real as King George's madness, Napoleon s armies or the rules of polite society. Susanna Clarke’s first novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is original and enjoyable. The story begins with a meeting of the Learned Society of York Magicians. The purpose of this society is to research and discuss the work of the great magicians of England’s history, as no magic has been performed in England for several hundred years, and the word “magician” has come to mean scholar rather than practitioner. A , newcomer to the Society poses a question that annoys most of the magicians present (but not without intriguing others): Why exactly is it that no one performs magic these days? This question sets off a chain of Events that very shortly reveals a startling truth — there is a practicing magician in England, and the Learned Society of York Magicians serves as the perfect avenue for him to advance his position. Before long, Mr. Norrell has gained the respect and interest of both the British government and polite society. But what are the consequences of such a sudden return to the practice of magic? They range from innovative (and entertaining) new methods of fighting the French, to the insidious enchantment of both a lady of high rank and the chief servant in her home, from an increasingly venomous war over the ideas and attitudes proper for the study and practice of magic, to repercussions on the family and personal life of Jonathan Strange, the man who begins his magical career as Mr. Norrell’s pupil and becomes much more. “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” is an impressive novel. It incorporates many elements of traditional fairy tales and folklore while retaining a fresh, original air. While the first half of the novel seems a bit slow, it keeps the reader’s interest and does an excellent job of introducing the characters and setting the scene, and the second half is more exciting and tightly plotted. Clarke’s prose is elegant and subtly funny, perfectly suited to her richly painted setting. The many footnotes at first seemed rather pretentious, but I grew accustomed to and then appreciative of them. They impart information that adds much to the atmosphere of the novel, but which would have been cumbersome to include in the actual text. Perhaps the best-drawn character is Mr. Norreli, who embodies the emotional range and personal inconsistencies of a true human being. Some of the other characters, such as Lady Pole, seem a bit flat in comparison. There might be a few too many subplots, some of which are mostly wrapped up while others are abruptly left hanging and seem to add nothing of any real value. Despite these shortcomings, however, “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norreli” is highly recommended to fantasy lovers, fans of Jane Austen and anyone who enjoys an imaginative, well written novel. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatiires@gwm.sc.edu Prescription: Chocolate? By RICK ASA KRT CAMPUS As guilty pleasures go, chocolate has to be at the top of the list. But would it still be as pleasing if the guilt went away? Food scientists are compiling strong evidence that chocolate, or more accurately its cocoa foundation, contains plant chemicals called flavanols that offer cardiovascular protection in several ways. But before you gleefully start planning dinners around big chocolate Easter rabbits, keep in mind that the studies on chocolate and humans, like those involving other phytochemical-laden foods, remain an inexact science. Research has yet to determine, for example, whether the observed benefits will translate to the population at large and how much is enough. Another obstacle is taste; generally speaking, the less processed chocolate is, the higher the flavanol levels and the higher the bitterness and astringency. Even before chocolate studies picked up steam in the past five years, scientists suspected that connection, having observed that indigenous populations that consume a high level of cocoa have a reduced risk of heart disease, said Carl Keen, chairman of the nutrition department at the University of California, Davis. The Kuna Indians of the San Bias Islands off Panama, for example, historically have had extremely low blood pressure. They also drink a lot of locally grown, minimally processed cocoa high in flavanols. Most chocolate we eat today is made from cocoa beans that have been stripped of the flavanols during a heating and chemical process that removes bitterness and prepares them for the mass market. The relatively bitter Kuna drink, on the other hand, would be an acquired taste that has little in common with our hot cocoa. According to a study at the University of Glasgow, in Scotland, we would have to eat twice as much milk chocolate to obtain the same amount of flavanols as in bittersweet dark chocolate. Keen was among the first researchers to show that gently processed, high-flavanol cocoa indeed has a biological effect. He and other researchers have since shown that flavanols can: ♦ Help the blood protect against oxidation damage ♦ Reduce the risk of blood clots, an aspirinlike effect ♦ “Turn on” the production of nitric oxide, a key molecule in blood that helps protect blood vessels, lower blood pressure and increase cifculation in the extremities ♦ Help reduce cytokines, compounds that increase damage to cardiovascular tissue NOT SO FAST WITH HEALTH CLAIMS The inevitable backlash - we’re talking about chocolate and a deeply engrained public perception here - has already begun. When a St. Louis artisanal confectioner hired a university based dietitian to lend credibility to its claims that its chocolates contain ingredients “linked to improved cardiovascular health,” the activist Center for Science in the Public Interest quickly swooped in, saying the claims are putting the marketing cart in front of the science horse. “Chocolate isn’t broccoli,” said Bonnie Liebman, director of nutrition at CSPL “Antioxidant claims (for all foods) have been around for some time and in general have lost favor because of disappointing results on studies for vitamins E and C. “The evidence could get stronger,” Liebman allowed, but to date “no studies show that people who eat chocolate are healthier.” Oddly enough, Mars Inc., one of the biggest chocolate producers in the world, agrees. Its head of ♦ Please see CHOCOLATE, page 6