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^ 1IX-/ / f Kb MOVIE REVIEW ‘Ring’ is cliched but worth it Naomi Watts, who plays Rachel Keller, a journalist, holds Rachael Bella, who plays Becca. “THE RING” Starring Naomi Watts out of ☆☆☆☆* BY DAVID STAGG . THE (SAMECOCK ^ It looks as though VHS tapes re ally are dead. “The Ring,” directed by Gore Verbinski, is built on the premise that, once characters watches a specific — and extremely weird — videotape, they die exactly one week later. After watchers finish the short film, they get a phone call from Death (which, in this case, takes the form of a pre-pubescent female) that tells them they have seven days to live. Ana what s a horror him with out a cliche? In scene reminiscent of “Scream,” viewers are given this “urban legend” by two girls, in Catholic-school dress, alone in their house, on a rainy night, watching television and gossiping, i in an opening death scene that lasts 15 minutes. Well, what’s a horror film with out multiple cliches? Naomi Watts, in her first lead ing role since “Mulholland Drive,” plays Rachel Keller, a skeptical journalist who happens upon the movie’s back story: Four teenagers, who traveled alone to a secluded mountain getaway, Watch this videotape, and all end up dying at exactly 10 p.m., seven days after they see the movie. Keller, who doesn’t miss a thing, decided this must be more than co incidence. At the funeral of one of the girls (yes, the same girl as the one at the beginning of the movie), she runs into the girls’ friends, who tell her the story of the tape. And what would the movie be if Keller didn’t take on the daunting task of finding out herself what happened? She goes to the same getaway, happens to find the exact tape, watches it, gets the call, and be comes a believer. But she isn’t go ing to roll over and die — she’s go ing to find out who made this movie and why. Despite its cliches, the movie does a wonderful job of building atmosphere. Verbinski, whose last films were “The Mexican” and “Mouse Hunt,” manages to find his niche in horror. Overall, the movie is heavily saturated with dark colors to match its tone. Some would say that the satura tion is overdone, but for a genre specific film, it’s more than ac ceptable. The main problem with the movie, however, is that, to a cer tain extent, it loses its surprise fac tor. After Keller watches the movie, the film progresses through a day-by-day format, using subti tles to remind the audience which day it is and how many more un til the day of her death. Though some would say this builds up ten sion leading to the climax (which it does), as a result, it makes the middle portion of the movie drag on. The only way to scare the au dience then is through weird co incidences between what was seen in the short film and what is hap penmg in tne lives oi me main characters. The movie also never fully ex plains some of the hows and whys of key points in the plot. By not ty ing up these loose ends, the movie seems a little more unbelievable. And it never fails that the gor geous female lead ends up wet with a crappy bra on. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK David Dorfman and Watts star in “The Ring,” a movie about the odd deaths of children. i-—---1 r" '™ '»• ^ L*/ / »VbV/V/ v^l * i I XU-L*^, vyvn/iyt./ X L/, Ul/l/xy * 111U UX11UUUWUX1 * X » XfXlK^< ■ Ala. band will play at Manifest KMUIU or tUIAL IU I rlt UAM tUUUf\ Alabama natives Trust Company will play at Manifest on Sunday night. The concert will be free, and the band will sign its newest album, “The Lonely Position of Neutral.” BY JUSTIN BAJAN THE (iAMECOCK Trust Company has come a long way since its humble beginnings in Montgomery, Ala., more than 10 years ago, when vocalist and guitarist Kevin Palmer met drummer Jason Singleton. Both were only in their teens, but were highly in terested in making music. After adding bassist Josh Moates and lead gui tarist James Fukai in 2000, Trust Company self released two independent albums, grabbing the attention of DCide Records. The small Washington, D.C.-based label signed the fledgling band, allowing the rock quartet to tour. While in Los Angeles, Geffen Records President and Flip Records founder Jordan Schur saw the band play. Schur signed the band after its perfor mance and put the band in the studio with some fairly notable people: producer Don Gilmore, who has worked with Linkin Park and Eve 6, and mix er Andy Wallace, who has worked with Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine. Trust Company has since hit the road, opening for Puddle of Mudd. The show at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at Manifest Discs and Tapes will be the band’s first time in Columbia. The concert will be free, and the band will sign its newest album, “The Lonely Position of Neutral.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Aerobics instructor training Stans Friday, 1:30-2:45pm @ October 25,2002 Blatt Pi Center Studio la register er fer Information please call 777-1827 7 ... •Campus Recreation \ X -^University of South Carolina Pick it up ■ around campus Oct. 21. __ bomminea 10 birengmening the Financial Future of Students... Serving the University Family with Quality Financial Services Since 1967 Carolina Collegiate Federal Credit Union 710 Pulaski Street • Columbia, South Carolina 29201