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BRIEFLY Total Guitar pollers vote Hendrix greatest LONDON (AP) - Jimi Hendrix has been voted the greatest guitar player in a poll conducted by Total Guitar magazine. Hendrix, who died in 1970 at 27, beat Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page to the top spot in the poll of the maga zine’s readers, it was announced this week. Eric Clapton came in third, followed by Slash of Guns N’ Roses and Brian May of Queen. Hendrix made his name in the late 1960s with classics such as ‘ Hey Joe,” "Purple Haze” and ‘Voodoo Chile.” ^ 'Younger talents also made the *p 100, including Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead at No. 35 and Noel Gallagher from Oasis at I No. 50. Johnny Ramone of The Ramones - who built a long career on rudimentary three-chord rock - was No. 88. No woman made the top 100. Only one - Tracy Chapman - was among 440 guitarists nominated by the magazine. "Personally I don’t know if it’s a bad thing,” said Scott Rowley, the magazine’s editor. “Women just aren’t as geeky or competitive about it as guys. Instead of showing off, they’re trying to write a good song. Which is probably smarter.” Maguire to saddle up for racehorse drama LOS ANGELES (AP) - “Spider Man” star Tobey Maguire plans I to saddle up for the true-life horse racing drama “Seabiscuit.” Maguire, who previously starred in “The Cider House Rules” and “Wonder Boys,” will play Red Pollard, the jockey atop the horse that became a fabled fig ure during the Depression. The film is an adaptation of au thor Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfic tion best seller ’’Seabiscuit: An American Legend.” Her book chronicled the life of the famed horse, owner Charles S. Howard, trainer Tom Smith and Pollard. The roles of Howard and Smith have not yet been cast. Production to start on ‘Freddy vs. Jason’ LOS ANGELES (AP) - A new horror film will feature a monster mash between hockey-masked maniac Jason from the ’’Friday the 13th” movies and razor-clawed Freddy Krueger from ”A Nightmare on Elm Street.” New Line Cinema announced plans Monday to fuse the long running slasher franchises in ’’Freddy vs. Jason.’’” Jason, from the “Friday the 13th” movies, is a silent, lumber ing character who favors a ma chete when dispatching frisky teenagers, while Freddy, the bum scarred killer from “Elm Street,” is prone to wisecracks while evis cerating people in their dreams. “Freddy is the intellectual ma nipulator, Jason the killing ma chine.... It is hard to stay fresh, but putting these characters to gether makes it fresh,” said New Line production president Toby Emmerich. Production on “Freddy vs. Jason” is set to begin in September. Longtime star Robert Englund has agreed to return as Freddy, but no actor has been cho sen yet for Jason. Cage to sell collection at Dallas convention DALLAS (AP) - Actor Nicolas Cage plans to sell his comic book collection - including one with the first appearance of Superman - at the Dallas ComiCon, a collectors' convention Oct. 11-13. The collection of about 400 com ic books includes Action Comics No. 1,.Superman's first appear ance. The collection also includes comics with the first appearances of well-known characters such as Batman, Captain America and the Green Lantern, John Petty, direc tor of auctions for Heritage Comics Auctions, said Tuesday. Heritage, of Dallas, will jointly conduct the auction with a Kansas City, Mo., dealer specializing in rare comics. Petty said the collection could "realize a value well into seven figures." "It's not so much that it's a huge collection, it’s that Nick collects to ward quality. He bought them in really nice condition," Petty said. Signs CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1 effects, to tell the truth, and the movie is all the better because of this. Shyamalan seems to have realized what it is that people are afraid of. It's not aliens or monsters - it’s the darkness that they hide in. While his direction may be getting better, Shyamalan’s writing has gone down a bit. The movie has some plot holes, perhaps because of the lack of plot. Also, while his previous two works, “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable,” offered surprise endings that kept the audience thinking after the movie was over, “Signs” offers instead an ending that is wrapped up as neat as a Christmas gift. All in all, “Signs” is an enjoyable film that takes an old sci-fi cliche and shoots it in a new light. Shyamalan’s direction still continues to impress as he creates a beautiful vision. If only he could find an equally beautiful story to go along with it. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com MOVIE REVIEW * ‘XXX’ showcases Diesel’s talents well “XXX” Starring Vin Diesel, Samuel L. Jackson ★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY CHRISTY LEMIRE ASSOCIATED PRESS Despite what its title may suggest, "XXX” isn’t porn. It’s a testosterone-charged guilty pleasure: big, loud, stupid fun filled with car chases and explosions and chicks dressed in fur-trimmed coats, and little else. You should expect nothing less from the people who made the drag-racing movie "The Fast and the Furious,” one of last summer’s biggest surprise hits, which grossed more than $140 million. Director Rob Cohen is back, and so is producer Neal H. Moritz. But the most crucial component is the star of both movies, Vin Diesel, who’s living up to me action-star status that’s been bestowed upon him. Diesel insists he’d rather be considered a serious actor, and has shown some dramatic range in previous movies, including "Boiler Room.” But with biceps like tree trunks and a mural of tattoos across his body, he has the * requisite looks and swagger to play the role of Xander Cage, extreme-sports-star-tumed reluctant-intemational-spy. Unlike the actors who’ve played James Bond, though, there’s absolutely nothing suave about him. And that lack of finesse, that unabashed, almost animalistic approach, makes him more magnetic. Thanks to screenwriter Rich Wilkes, he also gets to make pithy quips under duress: - As he’s tied up and dangling from the ceiling: "I don’t mean to nitpick, but you’re the worst at this torture thing.” - When he’s pressured into becoming a G-man: "Look at me *. - do I look like a fan of law enforcement?” Not that it matters, but here’s the plot: After pulling off one of his most fantastic stunts - plunging a stolen Corvette off a bridge, with cameras strapped to the hood to record the whole daring mess - Xander is approached by the National Security Agency’s Augustus Gibbons (Samuel L. Jackson). Gibbons has been watching Xander, and thinks he’s the perfect person to go undercover in Prague, where another agent has been killed while investigating a terrorist group called Anarchy 99. Its leader is the thuggish Yorgi (Marton Csokas), a former Russian Army commander, whose girlfriend, Yelena (Italian star Asia Argento), handles guns just as well as the boys do. First, Xander must pass a serious of physical and psychological tests - and as the guy who tortures him before giving him his code name, pronounced Triple-X, Jackson obviously is having a ball. Once in Prague, Xander naturally does things in his own inimitably unorthodox way - which includes getting involved with Yelena. Of course, Yelena isn’t exactly what she appears to be either, and she and Xander end up working together to stop Anarchy 99 from destroying the world. Not that any of this matters - it’s alfan appropriately vague setup for the stunts, which are so mind-bogglingly impossible, they’re laugh-out-loud funny. As his chief nemesis, Csokas just generically snivels. But Argento.- who stars in her own movie coming out soon, "Scarlet , Diva,” which she also wrote and directed - has a catlike sexuality, and more than holds her own with Diesel. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Qo/l4*tlt (\wM AN HISTORIC RESIDENCE Efficiency $505 ? One Bedroom $565 I . Two Bedroom $600 Rent includes all utilities and cable TV. All rates quoted are month to month. (Leases available, prices subject to change) Located across from the University Of South Carolina Horseshoe and the State Capital, Cornell Arms offers the premier location for downtown living. (803)799-1442 *i 1230 PENDLETON STREET | COLUMBlA.SC 29201 TiJelcome from ^University 3fousin<y (803) 777-4283 2002 Feature Highlights • ‘UCHOOSE - An online room and roommate resource that puts students in control of their roommate options. • «7-Fixx - On-campus stidents with maintenance needs can now call their requests in to 777-FIXX (3599) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week • ‘Renovations and upgrades in ten residence halls • New computers in all residence hall computer labs. • ‘New beautification projects are underway to enhance the appearance of the university. Keep Life Simple-Live on Campus