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4 "Four R lights! camera! reaction STEPHANE SONNENFELD Features Edito FOUR ROOMS (out of four stars) The only word to the wise upor viewing "Four Rooms" is to definitely take the old credo "never judge a boo! by its cover" to heart. Just because this movie boasts ai all-star cast and a heralded array o directors does not necessarily mean i is good or well-made. In feet, in the case of "Four Rooms,' the exact opposite is true. This movi< is fer from good and most definitely noi worth recommending. With a slam like this, it should b< known just what makes "Four Rooms' so foul. There is an easy answer: ploi and acting are the culprits in this movie The movie takes place on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles in a the once-grand now almost dilapidated Mon Signoi Hotel. For that particular evening, th< hotel draws quite an array of unusua guests and a lone bellhop named lec (Tim Roth) is left to fend for the guests on his first night on the job. Sounds like fun? Actually, it sounds like a creative idea for a movie. Ted visits four room* throughout the hotel that evening, along the way encountering anything but the ordinary. It is not in the main plot, but in the subplots of "Four Rooms" that weakness lack of originality and explanation appear In the first room, Ted is called upor to deliver a bucket of ice. Simple task except Ted enters the wrong roon interrupting a coven of witches trying to resurrect their goddess, a 1950s Ton Amc sound TERESA SAVIN Staff Writer "BOYS FOR PELE" Tori Amos jfkjrv2 (out of four stars) Tori Amos returns after two years with "Boys for Pele," and this CD is fiill of surprises. In the CD booklet, Amos is pictured \ , V m ? II s o 0) (R ^ looms" j I stripper named - Diana. Luckily, Ted H arrives just as one | goddess needs to I fulfill a requirement H i for the annual ritual 1 j The plot is fine in I : this room, only the | acting is poor. , j*?* i In this episode, I entitled "The t Missing Ingredient," I Valeria Golino, I * Sammi Davis, Lili I ; Taylor, Alicia Witt I t and lone Skye seem I to be acting as if I ? they are reading off 1 " cue cards, b The lines are I delivered painfully I 5 and over-acting is I much too prevalent I r in this scene directed I ; by Allison Anders, I 1 known for "Gas Food H 1 Lodging" and "Mi I 3 Vida Loca." I 3 Madonna also had I a small role in the I ? episode, but there | 3 realty wasn't enough r to comment on, except Antonio Ban ? maybe she's saving up and created her acting prowess for ? her role in "Evita." In the next room, 404, Ted visi Angela and Sigfried accidentty and ge i a little more than he bargained fo Sigfried (David Proval) gfeets Ted wii i a .357 magnum and Angela (Jennif r Beals), Sigfried's wife, is strapped to 3 chair. Sigfried accuses Ted of having i >s tries to breast-feeding a piglet. Believe it or no the picture is serenely beautiful; Amo appears content, bright and mature The content of the album only reinforce this. Amos remains faithful to he Bosendorfer piano, but experiment with many other instruments to brin a lot of life to "Boys for Pele." Preser k So what. \ passed e; I The Adve resume tl l t i W VVMIItJyUl P more sub ? "5-minuti I I /y^n0 Xa<N I : > ^^5 o ? I co y just may I i li W&-. 1 I ^kJI * Mm : IK/ *? ft I i! % 1 ?g (p dera and Tamlyn Tomita are just two of by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, affair with his wife. Ted knows nothing ts of this and argues with Sigfried throughout the entire episode while r- trying to plot Angela's escape. & "The Wrong Men," written by er Alexandre Rockwell, was awful in both a the acting and plot. Jennifer Beals m should take a hint and realize her glory score big1 t, on her fourth full-length album are s strings, horns, bagpipes, additional percussion instruments and even a ss Gospel Choir, all fitting beautifully into their repeatable songs. r The raunchy harpsichord in ;s "Professional Widow," along with Amos' g raw lyrics and breathtaking, roller it coaster voice, make for a staggering wrm'wn cnont ohm it 11 ..yuu vg opuiiL uuuui i <ams? What else will y rtising Department @" lat has more than just jr competition is busy istantial, you will have 3" interview. Student Mi Applications \ 4th Floor, Rus: For more infoi 777.1184 be Tarai jjjl * \ ^ ^ < IgMi i ^ ** m? the many actors in "Four Rooms/ Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tara days of "Flashdance" fame are over and take her royalties from the '80s glam movie and enroll in some acting classes. Like many of the women in the room before her, Beals delivers her lines with much too much effort and little emotion. David Proval plays his part of a psychopath well, but his talent barely with new piece reminiscent of "Space Dog" from "Under the Pink." This song comes to a near climax and settles down a few times before reaching its unbridled conclusion. The lyrics of "Boys for Pele" are, for the most part, thematically consistent with Amos' earlier lyrics. She writes of childhood experiences, 20 hours sitting in ( ou have to show to rhe Gamecock offei fluff. using the thesaurus a solid trek record ; idia Adver available: sell House rmation, ntino's \ overshadows th( lack of continuity in the loose ploi lines. Finally just when yoi think you've entered movit hell, a bit o humor makes ifc way into this I movie, with"The I Misbehavers." I Directed bj I Robert Rodriguez I director of the I acclaimed "E I Mariachi," this episode proves he I is able to make the transitior H from action te comedy with ease I and success. Misbehavers' stars Banderas as ? H handsome gangster fathei M\ who decides to g( Special to The Gamecock out for a night or ' a new film directed the town with his intino. wife (Tamlyr Tomita). Thej decide to leave their two young children in the care o: Ted, who accepts the job under duress. As one might expect, Ted has to deal with the antics of two young children, as well as cater to other guests. The plot is well-developed in this room and the acting is extraordinary by Banderas and rn \JJL/ JLFV/J U religious ambiguities and women's issues. In these songs, Amos uses, to be tactful, "female imagery." "In the Springtime of his Voodoo" and "Mr. Zebra" include some lines many women may easily understand. For example, "furry mussels marching on/she thinks she's Kaiser Wilhem." But, Amos is not just for women. classes, done severa r these four (or so) j -s you the opportuni ; to make their part-1 ind something to sa; i tising Deps ' Thursday, January 25, 1996 Waterloo i fV>o turn pfiilrl nrtnrc T.nnn Mr>TCiceirk / and Danny Verduzco. By far and without t any question, "The Misbehavers" is the most entertaining and humorous room , in the entire Mon Signor Hotel. 1 Just when you want the movie to ; be over comes the last and most 3 unsatisfactory room, the Mon Signor's f penthouse. 3 There, Hollywood superstar Chester 3 Rush (Quentin Tarantino) and friends j check into the suite, and Ted was instructed to give the best of care to r these guests. Ted walks in on the group , (including Bruce Willis and Jennifer j Beals again) and interrupts an interesting I scenario. 3 In the penthouse, Tarantino and his ; friend, Norman (Paul Calderon) try to ; recreate an episode of the old "Alfred 1 Hithcock Show." ) In this episode, "The Man from Rio," ; Peter Lorre makes a bet Steve McQueen can't light his cigarette lighter ten times ; in a row. If McQueen can, he wins Lorre's ' new car, if he can't, he loses his little ) finger. Chester makes this bet with i Norman and the two pressure Ted to iu i r piety Lite i uic ui txic IICLLLUCL man iui $1,000. The main problem with this room is Tarantino. Why can't somebody in the movie industry tell Tarantino to stop acting. He's horrible, horrible, horrible. It churns your stomach, literally. He speaks so fast and is obviously using f his fame to cash in his burning desire to act. If Tarantino wasn't in the last episode, it would have been well-executed. Bad plots and poor acting are too much to blame on Tarantino. Four Rooms" was a good effort, but an effort was all it was. i for Pele" True, she does speak often for women and to women, yet she addresses genderblind issues as well on "Boys for Pele," such as life in the South and failure. As a Tori virgin or as a devoted fan, one can't be anything but pleased with "Boys for Pele." Amos is in fjne form, as always. This album is beautiful, feminine and powerfully eloquent. I I projects and /ears or your life? ty to build a time jobs sound \i in that J ? irtment We're looking forward to hearing from YOU