Did you somehow find time between Calculus and Chief English Writers to watch TV and catch a good preview? Read that the new Will Ferrell movie was actually funny again? Heard that your favorite obscure indie band was coming to the Pageant, but have no idea what that means? Here is your guide to movies and music venues around St. Louis-all of which you can get to without the use of a car. Walk or take St. Louis’ fine public transportation (free, thanks to your magical UPass) which I’ve found can often be just as entertaining as your destination.

Movie Venues

The Tivoli
Located right on the Loop, built in 1924, this theater, with three viewing screens, mostly shows foreign and independent films. The theater is a nice walk from campus, and with all the restaurants on the Loop, you can get dinner before the movie, or Ben and Jerry’s after. If you’re walking coming from campus, just take a right at Blueberry Hill.

To check tickets and showtimes online: www.landmarktheatres.com.

The Esquire
The Esquire is also a short walk from campus, located on the corner of Clayton Road and Big Bend, right by St. Louis Bread Co. (also known as Panera). This is my least favorite movie theater in St. Louis, but I’m obligated to inform you of its existence. The Esquire shows more recent, mainstream films.

The Galleria 6
Conveniently located downstairs by the food court in the St. Louis Galleria, which is right off the Brentwood stop on the MetroLink. I wasn’t used to paying less than $10 for a movie after 6 p.m. but here students pay $6 all the time. The theaters are average sized and the seats recline. If you’re afraid your movie is going to be sold out, you can just get there early because remember, you are in a mall. My biggest complaint is that there is no trivia before the movie starts, but instead, you get advertisements to buy wine and beer at the concession stand, so it’s a pretty fair trade-off.

Chase Park Plaza Cinemas
My favorite movie theater, located in the hip niche of St. Louis known as the Central West End. My friends and I usually go to the movies and then get dessert and coffee at a quirky café. The five theaters themselves are cozy and adorable with ornate hand-painted walls. There is stadium seating, the seats recline. If you’re lucky, you will get to listen to the manager as he doubles as organ player before the movie starts, and when you leave, they give you candy.

To get to the Chase Park Plaza take the metro to the Central West End stop, taking a right out of the station. Walk about four blocks and take a right on Lindell Blvd.

The Moolah-”St. Louis’ largest living room”
The Moolah is an amazingly weird place. It is literally a large living room with couches set up sporadically in front of a huge projection screen (there are actual seats too, but the couches are why you go to the Moolah). The theater shows mainstream movies during the day. But, the best movies are those shown at midnight. They are usually offbeat films like The Warriors and Labyrinth.

To get to the Moolah, you can walk a little more than a mile from the Central West End Stop. Just take a left on Lindell and you’ll eventually reach the theater. Or, you can take the WUSTL Gold bus from Mallinckrodt (or the DUC) to the Central West End bus station. Then take Metro Bus Routes 92 or 93 from the station and get off at Vandeventer. It’s kind of a pain to get there, but it’s worth it every once and a while.

The Metro Train and Bus routes and timetables can be found at www.metrostlouis.org.

Music Venues

The Pageant
The Pageant can be found on the Loop. Just take a left when you get to Blueberry Hill, and keep walking (it’s past the Tivoli). It’s a pretty small venue, ticket prices are reasonable and most shows are general admission. This is to your advantage because you feel really close to the stage no matter where you are standing, and you can usually see everything going on stage. The Pageant usually scores some pretty big acts too. There are tables and other seating if you’re over 21.

To see who’s coming to The Pageant, you can check out their calendar.

The Gargoyle
The student-run Gargoyle is conveniently located in the lower level of Mallinckrodt. What’s great is the tickets are almost always free with your Wash. U. ID and they bring in both local and national acts. Last year, the Gargoyle hosted Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Cascada, Girl Talk and Stars, among others.

Saint Louis University’s Billiken Club
Essentially SLU’s Gargoyle equivalent, the Billiken Club is on the bottom floor of SLU’s Busch Student Center. It’s about a ten-minute walk from the Grand stop off the MetroLink. In the past, they’ve had acts like British Sea Power, Dan Deacon and The Mountain Goats.
You can find upcoming acts at thebillikenclub.wordpress.com.

Congratulations seniors! In honor of your awesome accomplishment, we here at Cadenza have compiled a few reviews of classic graduation movies. Now sit back, relax and watch one of these greats. And then maybe think about getting a job.

The Graduate

You may be wondering what “The Graduate” has to do with graduation. You may be questioning what on earth it could be doing here amidst these other, more legitimate movies which focus so much more clearly on the prestigious and hallowed tradition of graduation. Yes, when it comes right down to it, “The Graduate” doesn’t really have much to do with graduation.

Benjamin Braddock (one of Dustin Hoffman’s first, and arguably best, roles) is newly graduated and at sea about his future when Mrs. Robinson tries to seduce him. The summer is an eventful one, and the film is ideal for graduates not only as entertainment but as a cautionary tale. Do not, repeat, do not sleep with the mother of the woman you fall in love with. Things can get sticky, and the next thing you know you’ll be pounding on the window of a church, which is so totally freshman year.

-CECILIA RAZAK

Billy Madison

Adam Sandler’s first movie after graduating from Saturday Night Live, “Billy Madison” is easily one of the most quotable movies of the ’90s. (Remember shouting ‘Stop looking at me, swan!,’ ‘O’Doyle Rules!,’ ‘Peeing your pants is cool’ when you were 11?) When the movie opens, Billy Madison is living the dream; he is a 27-year-old slacker who lives in his father’s backyard and drinks all day with his similarly-indolent friends. But in order to inherit his father’s hotel chain, or at least prevent his nemesis, the ruthless entrepreneur and old schoolmate, Eric, from taking over, Billy must prove to his father that he is a capable human being and graduate from first through 12th grade in 24 weeks. Billy is happiest in the third grade where he is revered by his classmates and in love with teacher Veronica Vaughn. Yet, Billy soon realizes work, school and life become more difficult as one progresses through school. Eventually, a quiz-bowl type showdown takes place between both Eric and Billy. After Billy compares the Industrial Revolution to “The Puppy Who Lost His Way,” he is told, “Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it.” To win the competition and the hotel, Eric is asked to discuss business ethics. Yet, he is so iniquitous he doesn’t even try to answer, whips out a gun and consequently gets tacked by wrestler and shot by a crazed Steve Buscemi. (Let this be a lesson to all you B-School grads: If you lose all your morals, you will eventually be shot by that guy from Fargo.) And, Chris Farley’s uncredited cameo as the manic middle school bus driver provides the movie with some the most memorable scenes: “That Veronica Vaughn is one fine piece of ace.” By the end of the movie, Billy has decided he is going to go onto college, become a teacher and hand the company over to one of his father’s quality businessmen. Underneath all of the Sandler-esque humor, “Billy Madison” is simply a movie about growing up and accepting responsibility, which are major themes at every graduation.

-STEPHANIE SPERA

Grease

You know, when you really think about it, and I mean really think about it, “Grease” sells some pretty odd morals, doesn’t it? If you don’t fit in, change yourself, silly. If you don’t use protection, just don’t get pregnant, duh. And if you do get pregnant, just ride on a Ferris wheel and say you didn’t. Life was so simple in the ’50s, wasn’t it?

And yet, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone here who hasn’t once wanted to be the greaser Danny, both in driving skills and hair consistency. And who doesn’t want to waste a summer night at the barbie with Sandra Dee and hopefully catch a glint of what she’s looking for? Sure, I wouldn’t do a lot of the things those Rydell kids got into, but even if I had, you don’t want to hear all the horny details.

Endless allusions aside, there are good things to take away from “Grease.” School spirit runs rampant and so do strong personalities. Rivalries are won and (gasp!) Beauty School is considered. And believe it or not, the best part is when school ends.

Yes, when May rolls around, all the drama seems to melt away. “Grease” gives us a taste of the euphoria at the start, but it doesn’t really blossom until the summer comes around again. They laugh, they cry, they take revealing photos, and they enjoy themselves. Remember that, as you go traveling down life’s highway, from here on out you’re on an endless Wash. U. summer vacation.

Oh, those summer nights.

-PERCY OLSEN

Actor Aaron Eckhart was in town last week promoting his newest comedy, “Meet Bill.” This movie, about a man stuck in a job and a marriage he doesn’t like, is of a special interest locally because it was filmed right here in St. Louis.

The movie also stars Elizabeth Banks as Bill’s wife, Timothy Oliphant as the Channel 11 news guy Bill’s wife is sleeping with, and Jessica Alba as the girl whom Bill befriends in order to make his wife jealous. He is led along in his existential crisis by a nameless high school student whom Bill is supposed to be mentoring.

Eckhart, who has starred in movies including “Erin Brockovich” and “Thank You for Smoking,” is in the midst of a busy year.

He faces the release of four movies, including the epically anticipated follow up to “Batman Begins,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.”

After graduating from Brigham Young University (BYU)-he says he appreciates the values he learned growing up as a Mormon but no longer officially identifies himself as such-he rose to fame by starring as a titanic cad in fellow BYU student Neil LaBute’s “In the Company of Men.”

Eckhart is confident and very handsome, but has a way of making others feel comfortable and normal. He spent half of our interview asking me questions about my future (which I have omitted for the sake of avoiding undue boredom on the part of the reader), but just as easily spoke about his personal and public life.

“Meet Bill” is now showing in theaters around St. Louis (including the Chase Park Plaza).

Student Life: What have you been up to today?

Aaron Eckhart: I went gambling and, as soon as I’m done with this interview, I’m going again.

SL: How did you do?

AE: I still have a home. I still have a car. I don’t really gamble, just a couple bucks.

SL: You typically play characters with surface charm that may hide something else underneath. Bill is not like that at all. Why did you decide to do the movie?

AE: That’s the reason to do it right there. It’s a different guy. It appealed to me, and I’d been wanting to do a comedy. When I read the screenplay, I laughed. And you know, there’s a lot of issues that you’re dealing with in this movie.
I feel like a lot of people-you’re too young to feel this way, but you will-get to a certain point in their life when they look at their life and say, “This isn’t what I want to do, this isn’t what I want to be.”
You know, I think a lot of people call it a mid-life crisis or whatever, but that change takes place or it doesn’t take place, and I think this transformation that Bill has is important because he gets the cajones to deal with his life and try what he wants to try. Most people don’t. Do you know what I mean?

SL: Sure. He just allows himself to keep doing something he doesn’t like.

AE: Exactly.

SL: Why do you do what you do?

AE: Because I fell into it in high school or after college. I needed a job, or I thought I would be this.
“Well what do you want to do?”
“Well I want to do…whatever.”
“Why don’t you do that?”
“Because I have a house payment, I have three kids and this is what I have to continue to do. Could I get a car, medical insurance?”
When you start asking people, you find out that they’re really non-fulfilled and unhappy. That unhappiness displays itself in devious ways.
For example [in the movie] my wife is [with] the news guy. I have a 14-year-old kid I’m mentoring, but I would rather do anything than mentor this kid. That relationship is kind of cool ’cause he’s the kid who has no name, he’s out of nowhere, he’s from nowhere. He seems to have the means to do anything and the wisdom of someone older and [he] shows me, or Bill, that life can be exciting. That’s why I did the movie, to play the relationship with that kid and I wanted to do physical comedy.

SL: Did you form some idea of what Bill was looking for?

AE: You have to do that. You look at your own life. Bill definitely had an idea of what he wanted. He’s looking for ways out. What he really wants is freedom.
He says, “I want freedom from my father-in-law, I want freedom from the club, freedom from having to provide for this lifestyle.”
That’s why he spends most of his time hanging out with a 14-year-old and a girl that works at the underwear shop. Just the relationships that Bill has at the end of the movie are indicative of the desire to get away from what he has become, which is this preppy upper-middle class snob.
He’s not that. He’s not playing sports anymore…doesn’t find his wife particularly attractive, she doesn’t find him attractive, and, when I look at my life, when I look at other people’s lives, I can relate to that.

SL: Hopefully you’re in a place that you want to be.

AE: Yeah, I’m happy being an actor. I feel more than ever…that being an actor is what I’ve always wanted to be, since I was 15, so I never had that feeling that Bill has, or that some of the people at your school may have. How old are you?

SL: I’m about to turn 24.

AE: Yeah, see when I was 24, I was, let’s see, I was living in New York. This was right after college-didn’t know anybody, didn’t have any money, just went to New York, and, you know, kicked it. I started working my ass off.

SL : What’s next for you? Other than “The Dark Knight,” obviously.

AE: I just did a movie called “Traveling,” kind of a romantic dramedy, that I did with Jennifer Aniston, and I play a grief counselor. I think it’s going to be a good movie. Now I’m unemployed, looking for a job like you. Well you have a job, right?

SL: Well, yeah, it pays six bucks an hour.

AE: I do a little better than that. I am going to promote ["Meet Bill"] and promote “Batman.” I’ve got a movie this fall called “Towelhead.” Well it’s not my movie, I’m in it.
I’m thinking about what I’m going to do, what movie I’m going to take, whether I’m going to take a movie.

SL: What would be the alternative?

AE: Something photo-journalistic, maybe-I love photography. I could travel. I could try to do something useful. “Batman” is going to take most of the summer.

SL: How involved are you with this crazy marketing campaign?

AE: Not at all, really. They tell me where to be, where to show up. It’s a little more involved than that. The real stuff is going to hit in June and July; then we’ll fly around the world, open it up in, like, Shanghai, London, that sort of stuff.
Actors have very little to do with-

SL: the end of things?

AE: Anything. The first end, the back end. All actors really do is act.

SL: When you came in to “Batman”, you’re playing an established character in Harvey Dent. Did you have much say in the character?

AE: Well, they already had a script, and I knew that Christian [Bale] was doing it, and Heath [Ledger] was doing it and Gary [Oldman] was doing it, Morgan [Freeman], the whole deal. They told me “Chris [Nolen] wants to talk to you,” and I went up to his office, and we chatted like we’re chatting now, and then they called me up and said, “Chris wants you to read the script,” and at that point, I guess it means “Chris wants you to do the movie.” And then we made the movie.

SL: But did you have a lot of say in the characterization or did Chris just have that written already?

AE: I think the story is the story, and Chris has his ideas, but he wasn’t afraid to let you do it, if we had an impulse or an idea. You know there’s an old saying that 90 percent of making a movie is casting, and between Heath and Christian and Maggie [Gyllenhaal] and me and Gary, we’re always trying things, we’re always fiddling around, and a good director will let you do that.

SL: Is there a difference between a movie as big as “The Dark Knight” and something smaller like “Meet Bill”?

AE: “The Dark Knight” is one of the biggest movies ever made. But I’ll tell you the truth-I’ll answer as an actor because I’m not involved in the logistics. As an actor with a director like Chris, the answer is no.
The locations are better, the toys are better, but other than that there’s no difference. You’ve got to act, you’ve got to have a camera, you’ve got to have a director, but other than that, no.

Will Win: “No Country for Old Men”

It’s won every guild award and can only lose if Academy voters have become tired of its dominance. It’s a great movie that, while bleak, is still more upbeat and palatable than “There Will Be Blood.”

Should Win: “There Will Be Blood”

Surely this was the best year for film in recent history. Yes, movies like “No Country for Old Men” and “Atonement” would have had cake-walks to Oscar gold against past competition like “Chicago” or “Crash.” So what makes this dark, greasy, bleak meditation on the evils inherent to humanity the deserved Best Picture? It isn’t just Daniel Day Lewis’ terrifying performance as the oilman who feeds only on the crushed spirits of his competition. It isn’t just the stark landscapes, captured brilliantly with nods towards classic western style by director Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s the movie’s ability to take on the blackest of subjects, to reach into a man’s soul only to find bile and filth, and to make the whole experience watchable, even exuberant. We don’t simply rejoice that we as viewers do not know Daniel Plainview; we recognize that the evils that plague our world, that we throw generic names at like greed and treachery, bubble up out of each of us like oil from a well. It reminds that a little drainage can be a good thing.

Best Actor

Will Win: Daniel Day Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”

He’s won everything and has given moving speeches including his incredibly touching tribute to Heath Ledger at the SAG awards. Cheers, Daniel. Give us another.

Should Win: Daniel Day Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”

After the death of Marlon Brando, the crown for the greatest living actor went back up for grabs. Daniel Day Lewis now sits on that throne with the rest of the acting community kissing his regal feet. He does not churn out biannual performances. He never degrades himself in pay-check cashing romantic comedies. He chooses to act in a film every couple of years because he respects the acting trade so much that he doesn’t want the overexposure. Every single performance of his career is memorable because he plays a completely novel character every time. He will never be typecast, he will rightfully win the Oscar, and he will win a couple more before he meets his demise.

Best Original Screenplay

Will Win: “Juno”
“Juno” is the kind of fresh, hip stuff the Academy eats up. Combine that with the facts that it has affecting emotional value, and makes logical sense (unlike many of the stridently quirky films of the past few years), and it’s a shoo-in.

Should Win:

Matt Karlan: “Lars and the Real Girl”

How Nancy Oliver made this premise into a viable feature film is beyond me. It seems the story of a man and his blowup doll should last five minutes, and any time after that would be devoted to as many “Weekend at Bernie’s” references as one could tolerate. But the film had a ton of heart, even if the female lead did not.

Cecilia Razak: “Juno”

With its incisive, cerebral, indie, insider dialogue, “Juno” captured, if not our hearts, then definitely the snarky, sardonic child inside all of us. Not that we’re pregnant. Juno, however, is. Conception occurs upon her first embarkment into the world of adult relations, and, being the whip-smart sixteen-year-old that she is, Juno decides to give the baby up to a family that truly needs it. Things obviously don’t go exactly as planned, but throughout the narrative of this cutting yet heartfelt film, we find ourselves drawn along with the young girl who seems to be doing no more than finding her fit, even if it does have to be big enough for two.

Brian Stitt: “Ratatouille”

I’m not going to say that “Ratatouille” is definitely the best movie the folks at Pixar have ever made. But the subtle and achingly genuine screenplay is better than “Toy Story” and “The Incredibles” put together. Like a meal made at a Michelin three-star restaurant, the balance of story, character, and social commentary is handled with expert grace but with an even more impressive understanding of the public palate sends this screenplay over the top. Brad Bird and crew are able to say mouthfuls about class warfare, the guilt of abandoning your family’s values, and the connection between food and true happiness in what is essentially a crowd-pleasing family comedy.

Best Director

Will Win: The Coen Brothers, “No Country for Old Men”

The Academy doesn’t really like duo directing, but the film has too much support. The Coen brothers have been making well-respected and popular movies for over 20 years, and the Oscars have developed a taste for their quirkiness over that time.

Should Win:

Matt Karlan: Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

To portray the perspective of a mute, paralyzed man with such vibrancy required exceptional directing. “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” could have been horribly depressing, but the directing made it uplifting without being drippy. I never blinked once.

Cecilia Razak: Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”

The opening frame of “There Will Be Blood” is a stark, sun-scorched landscape, and things don’t get much better from there. Shot throughout with an empty, uncanny feeling of loss and barrenness, every frame of “Blood” counteracts the wealth that oil man Daniel Plainview steadily accrues. Even though we see Plainview strike it rich, we are left with a feeling of desperation and poverty, the human in him dwindling amidst the vastness of his surroundings. Anderson shows us Plainview’s soul with his camera work, a soul capable of love, yet dark as oil.

Brian Stitt: The Coen Brothers, “No Country for Old Men”

We can all pretend that the Best Director Oscar is actually given for individual achievement and isn’t just a disguised Lifetime Achievment/Best Newcomer award, but why? Anderson has just fully harnessed his prodigious talent and none of the newcomers this year distinguished themselves enough in my eyes to outweigh the Coen’s supremely varied body of work. The same two guys made “Barton Fink,” “The Big Lebowski,” “O Brother Where art Thou?” and “No Country for Old Men.” Few other directors in history can boast of such a pedigree, much less those nominated this year.

Best Supporting Actor

Will Win: Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”

Most of the Academy is too freaked out not to vote for him.

Should Win: Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”

Javier Bardem is affecting as a quadriplegic in “The Sea Inside,” mesmerizing as a wistful poet in “Before Night Falls,” and downright terrifying with his hair cut the way it is in “No Country For Old Men.” All right, it’s not just the hairstyle that makes him terrify movie-goers and Coen characters alike. His raspy, unplaceable accent, flat of affect or any hint of remorse, is sneakily unsettling, and it’s not hard to understand why every person he leaves unharmed (the number is not high) emerges looking pale and distinctly disquieted.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will Win: “No Country for Old Men”
With unanimous accolades, “No Country for Old Men” is a masterfully cinematic adaptation of an already cinematic novel. It won before it was bound.

Should Win: “There Will Be Blood”
The key word here is adapted. Paul Thomas Anderson took an Upton Sinclair novel, “Oil!” and changed most of the specifics without touching the spirit. The muckraker’s angle on greed and capitalism in the California oil industry plays just as well in our day as it did in his. Not any novel can become a great film, and some of the best novels are almost completely inadaptable. By giving himself a skeleton to build on, no matter how clean he picked it beforehand, Anderson limited himself and thus focused his talents and ideas, doing favors for Sinclair and himself.

Best Cinematography

Will Win: “There Will Be Blood”

“There Will Be Blood” is such a holistically well-made film that it has to earn more than just a best actor statue, and the Academy can surely hear the sweeping landscapes calling.

Best Actress

Will Win: Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”

In the past 10 years all but one of the Best Actress winners have been under 35 and all but three have been for roles as real people. Only Marion Cotillard meets both requirements. Christie’s won before and Oscar may want to jump on this youthful starlet now so they can say they liked her before she was big.

Should Win:

Matt Karlan: Laura Linney,
“The Savages”

In “The Savages” Laura Linney portrays a real woman. No brain affliction, no singing prowess, no overwhelming snarkiness, no power over England, just a lady with problems. And she deserves recognition for making it so much more than that.

Brian Stitt: Ellen Page, “Juno”

A lot of people say that Ellen Page shouldn’t win this award because she basically is playing herself. Well, shouldn’t she win it for simply convincing everyone that she’s playing herself in “Juno”? ‘Cause she’s not. She certainly puts a lot of veracity and ferocity into the role, but to make a character that speaks in such affected quirks in any way believable is a monumental achievement.

Cecilia Razak: Julie Christie,
“Away From Her”

In “Away From Her,” Julie Christie plays Fiona, a woman slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s. There is a look of securely contained terror in her eyes as she faces the realities of the disease, or the loss of the realities, as the case may be. Christie plays Fiona with a muted, elegiac quality so assured that one is liable to forget that there is a healthy, sound-of-mind actress behind those eyes at all.

Best Supporting Actress

Will Win: Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”

The night’s toughest category to call, but Ryan’s the winner by elimination. Cate Blanchett won too recently, Saorise Ronan’s too young, Ruby Dee had too small of a role in “American Gangster,” and Tilda Swinton, is, uh, too tall?

Should Win:

Cecilia Razak: Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Yes, I know, Cate Blanchett already has an Oscar for best supporting actress (as Katherine Hepburn in “The Aviator”). She has also been nominated for the honor a slew of other times, each for roles diverse and captivatingly played. This year she’s nominated in both leading and supporting roles. And even though she’s a perennial (and therefore slightly tired) Academy favorite, it’s my humble opinion that anyone who can so convincingly play both Queen Elizabeth and Bob Dylan in the same year deserves some recognition.

Brian Stitt: Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”

I really liked “Gone Baby Gone.” I was happy to see Ben Affleck redeem himself in at least some small way. But I was truly stunned by his ability to capture the look and feel of a lower class neighborhood by using snapshots of real residents from Southie. The fact that native New Yorker Amy Ryan blended so perfectly with the setting Affleck created, and that, unbeknownst to me (I learned while researching this article), she featured prominently in the second season of “The Wire” which I am currently watching, proves that Ryan is a chameleon of the first order.

Matt Karlan: Sigourney Weaver, “The TV Set”

As part of my quest to force everyone with a Netflix account or Blockbuster card to rent this picture, I must pick Weaver to win this statue, even though she’s not nominated. She stole every scene in which she appeared; it was like the rest of the cast was receiving on-the-job acting lessons.

Best Editing

Will Win: “The Bourne Ultimatum”
“The Bourne Ultimatum,” which could have easily been unsettling-it has so much handheld camera work it leaves one wondering whether Paul Greengrass forgot steadicam harnesses existed-deserves this honor. Its editing is unbalancing while still maintaining a sense of security and order. The quick pace and seamless cuts are liable to knock the wind from any viewer.

Andrew Senter and Michelle Stein

How did it NOT affect our lives? Back in our younger years when I sported a Steve Perry-inspired mullet and Michelle had purple Liberty spiked hair, we were terribly lost and confused young children. Our lives were nonstop marathons of arena rock and Peter Gabriel videos. We were obviously miserable. Something needed to change.

The light at the end of the tunnel came one day when Michelle was hypnotized by MTV, back when they still played music. Our nonstop orgy of lameness was interrupted by the somewhat odd, but undeniably captivating voice of Michael Jackson and what we originally assumed was his extended family. We later realized they were zombies, as they were much more life-like than most of the Jacksons. Our lives were forever changed. For the next 15 years, we always wore our bright red leather coats everywhere. Not a day has gone by where the sweet sounds of “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Human Nature” and Paul McCartney selling his soul have not enriched our lives. Andrew started moonwalking wherever he went and Michelle proposed to Michael 17 times. Being presidents of his fan club, we had the opportunity to go to Neverland, meet Bubbles the chimp and ride the Ferris wheel. It broke down during our ride, and we were stuck for three days while police questioned Michael about his latest indiscretion. Disillusioned, we discovered a beautiful and emotionally stable young woman named Britney.

Stephanie Spera

Even though Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video is a little before my time and I’ve never actually sat through the whole thing, (unless you count those inmates in the Philippines doing it on YouTube), it helped me become who I am today. And by that, I mean, it provided Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo with the moves to semi-plausibly begin the whole everyone-knows-the-same-dance-at-the-party-and-is-willing-to-participate sequence in “13 Going on 30.” And I saw that.

Steve Hardy

I began to see Thriller in a new light last Sunday. Is the music catchy? Is the video stunning? Is the dance a benchmark of human achievement? Sure, yes and of course. However, in light of the Oscars, I have a newfound respect for the costume design wizard Deborah Landis and especially for the make-up artistry of Kevin Brennan. Twenty-five years after “Thriller,” it doesn’t take a genius to tell you that Michael Jackson spawned millions of musical and dancing imitators. As anyone who has ever clumsily shuffled through the dance can attest, none have matched the master’s accomplishment. However, after Amy Winehouse’s recent assault on the Grammys, it becomes clear that, this whole time, the most endearing component of the video was the zombie look. Now that the music industry has an undead for the 21st century (three if you believe that Iggy Pop and Keith Richards are actually alive), order has been restored. This is how I can justify Winehouse winning song of the year last Sunday, because it wasn’t really a vote for her music; it was for the nostalgic zombie we all missed but were too confused by the music and dance moves to realize it. And, in a way, that means we all won.

Pride. Glory. Ten bucks. All this and more are at stake as the Cadenza music staff lines up its picks for the 50th annual Grammy Awards, set for Feb. 10, 2008.

As Grammy Rumble 2008 commences, a couple of things are guaranteed: Corporate monopolism of mainstream radio will continue to reward popular music through the bombastic lauding of mostly formulaic music and someone will walk away 10 bucks richer.

“Honestly, I’m surprised these noobs even came back,” last year’s reigning champion and star Cadenza reporter Eric Lee quipped, before the Rumble started. “I pwned them so hard last year. These fools’ chances of winning are somewhere between slim and Amy Winehouse.”

Cadenza editor and benevolent overlord Brian Stitt disagreed. “Eric Lee certainly is my star reporter, but stories of his pwnage are largely overblown. His win last year was a fluke, nothing more.” Stitt went on to give his own predictions for this year’s Grammy Rumble. “I always like my own chances, of course. But other than my overwhelming awesomitude, I’d look to the fresh blood. Matt Karlan’s snarky sensibility should serve well, although look for Steve Hardy to surprise some people.”

A chill filled the February air as the Rumblers gathered on the battleground. Only one would walk awaay victorious, Cadenza having a strict “No Wimps and No Prisoners” policy.

Early favorite, Matt Karlan was taken out early with what appeared to be a low blow from Eric Lee. Despite an outcry from the crowd, no foul was called and the Rumble continued. No clear winner will be decided until the Grammys air this Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS, but Eric Lee did not disappoint with another strong showing.

With ten bucks at stake, can you bear not to watch?

Rumblers:
Brian Stitt
Eric Lee
David Kaminsky
Stephanie Spera
Steve Hardy
Matt Karlan

Record Of The Year

1) “Irreplaceable,” Beyonce
2) “The Pretender,” Foo Fighters
3) “Umbrella,” Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
4) “What Goes Around…Comes Around,” Justin Timberlake
5) “Rehab,” Amy Winehouse

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Not Ready to Make Nice,” The Dixie Chicks

Stephanie: Rihanna-they gave Milli Vanilli a Grammy, and they’re all at about the same talent level.

David: Party under my umbrella ella ella eh eh eh. Ten p.m. Friday night. Be there, Rihanna will.

Eric: I’ve waited a long time for a song about umbrellae. I believe those extra syllables deserve a Grammy.

Matt: Along with “Cry Me a River,” I’m impressed that Justin Timberlake could form another hit record using a phrase my grandmother repeatedly uttered to me as a young lad.

Brian: I think I remember that Beyoncé song from a commercial. I’ll go with that one.

Steve: Oh, Rihanna, you’re so cute, I don’t even mind that my 12-year-old cousin is singing that song like it’s not the worst genitalia euphemism.

Album Of The Year

1) “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” Foo Fighters
2) “These Days,” Vince Gill
3) “River: The Joni Letters,” Herbie Hancock
4) “Graduation,” Kanye West
5) “Back To Black,” Amy Winehouse

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Taking the Long Way,” The Dixie Chicks

David: I won’t lie, I’m not into any of these albums so mine’s an anti-vote. Amy Winehouse is one of the most annoying songwriters to come around in years. Her voice, her lyrics, her life, EVERYTHING! I hate it all! Hopefully rehab will shut her up. Ugh!

Stephanie: Obviously Vince Gill. Who hasn’t heard of him?

Eric: Graduation. Ego, general lack of intelligence, healthy respect for the sweater vest. Everything I want in a human.

Matt: I’m partial to that Foo Fighters album because my bunk buddy made a lanyard for me in summer camp adorned with those same words.

Brian: Despite her ubiquitous tabloid presence, Amy Winehouse has the best album. Most of that credit should go to producer Mark Ronson and the stellar throwback arrangements. Check out “100 Days, 100 Nights” by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings for the same musicians, different singer.

Steve: If you Wikipedia search Herbie Hancock, there’s a picture of him playing keytar.

Song Of The Year

1) “Before He Cheats,” Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)
2) “Hey There Delilah,” Tom Higgenson, songwriter (Plain White T’s)
3) “Like A Star,” Corinne Bailey Rae, songwriter (Corinne Bailey Rae)
4) “Rehab,” Amy Winehouse, songwriter (Amy Winehouse)
5) “Umbrella,” Shawn Carter, songwritter (Rihanna featuring Jay-Z)

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Not Ready to Make Nice,” The Dixie Chicks

Brian: “Hey There Delilah”? Really? SongWRITER’s award? This is Tom Higgenson’s thought process while writing “Hey There Delilah”: “What rhymes with ‘you’? ‘Do,’ ‘to’ and hmmm, crap, nothing else. I’ll just use ‘you’ again. Hey guys, does anything rhyme with ‘fall’ other than ‘all’? Nothing? Sweet, let’s record this thing!”

Stephanie: “Before He Cheats,” purely for the dating advice.

David: We all know that after the popularity of this song, Delilah finally decided it was time to date singer/songwriter Tom Higgenson of Plain White T’s, but that’s just not enough.

Eric: “Before He Cheats.” Carrie Underwood shoots whiskey, takes a Louisville slugger to both headlights, becomes role model to millions.

Matt: Not Carrie Underwood. I don’t support preemptive strikes on any boyfriend’s crap, no matter how dastardly he is.

Steve: Plain White T’s, I’m not not voting for your song because it’s a travesty of aural entertainment, I’m not voting for it because you omitted a comma of direct address and I cannot vote for ignorance.

Best New Artist

1) Feist
2) Ledisi
3) Paramore
4) Taylor Swift
5) Amy Winehouse

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: Carrie Underwood

Brian: I understand that when the Grammys say new they are referring to the artist’s popularity and not the artist themselves. That being said, Feist released her first album in the 90s. Taylor Swift wins for Newest Artist at least.

Stephanie: Considering Paramore banded together in 2004, the word new doesn’t really apply to them either. So the Grammy should go to Amy Winehouse because anyone who promotes sex, drugs, alcohol and the beehive is a winner in my book.

David: Paramore is some catchy stuff, but singer Hayley Williams needs to gain some weight, grow some tits and write lyrics that reflect her age, not her emotional maturity.

Eric: Amy Winehouse’s lack of ability to focus on an object for more than five seconds will ultimately prevail over Feist’s questionable counting talents.

Matt: Let’s begin Amy Winehouse’s posthumous legacy about, I’ll guess, two months early?

Steve: Didn’t Amy Winehouse win best contemporary song in the Novello awards four years ago?

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

1) “Candyman,” Christina Aguilera
2) “1234,” Feist
3) “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” Fergie
4) “Say It Right,” Nelly Furtado
5) “Rehab,” Amy Winehouse

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Ain’t No Other Man,” Christina Aguilera

Eric: Christina Aguilera has never lost this category in the last three years she’s been nominated. So I’m choosing Amy Winehouse. I smell change in the wind.

Stephanie: Candyman because I love that game. Oh wait, that’s Candyland…

David: Don’t care.

Brian: I like Feist. I wouldn’t say I love her, but she puts out a brand of wistful pop that I can get behind. And please, will someone explain to me how Fergie qualifies as a female. I’m not saying she’s definitely a guy, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she was smuggling some kumquats.

Matt: Fergie, because that face has dealt with so much meth abuse that her tear ducts no longer function. And so the song title is kind of a warning to other young boys who want to follow in his/her footsteps.

Steve: Christina was more interesting when she was a Disney slut, Nelly was more fun to hate during the “I’m Like a Bird” phase, Fergie was hotter before she grew an 8-pac and pissed during concerts and Amy Winehouse was actually born a human. Feist will be the last woman/man/alien standing.

Best Alternative Music Album

1) “Alright, Still…,” Lily Allen
2) “Neon Bible,” Arcade Fire
3) “Volta,” Bjork
4) “Wincing The Night Away,” The Shins
5) “Icky Thump,” The White Stripes

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “St. Elsewhere,” Gnarls Barkley

David: Bjork’s strangely separated eyes make her look like the real “Earth Intruder,” but perhaps that’s why that song and the album it’s included on are so damn good. Along with that single, her duets with Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons fame) are testaments to how damn good Bjork is. Bravo my baby seal-eating friend.

Stephanie: Bjork, for the awesomeness that would be her acceptance speech.

Brian: When are they just going to bite the bullet and rename this “Best Good Music Album”? “Icky Thump” features some of the goodest music I’ve heard in a while so once again it gets my vote.

Eric: Lily Allen wins. Although having three nipples should be award enough by itself.

Steve: You know what’s totally alt-rock? 2 Kings 2:23-24. Look it up.

Best Rock Song

1) “Come On,” Lucinda Williams, songwriter (Lucinda Williams)
2) “Icky Thump,” Jack White, songwriter (The White Stripes)
3) “It’s Not Over,” Chris Daughtry, Gregg Wattenberg, Mark Wilkerson & Brett Young, songwriters (Daughtry)
4) “The Pretender,” Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel & Chris Shiflett, songwriters (Foo Fighters)
5) “Radio Nowhere,” Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Dani California”, Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis & Chad Smith, songwriters (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Stephanie: I think it will be a tie between the Boss, that guy from Nirvana, that other guy from American Idol, the White Stripes and some lady named Lucinda Williams.

Brian: Sorry, the Grammys, I don’t get it. “Icky Thump” the song is rock, but “Icky Thump” the album is alternative? I don’t appreciate your ruse, and it shall not work. “Icky Thump” it is!

David: “The Pretender” isn’t a particularly fantastic Foo Fighters song, but I suppose they should get it or something. Just don’t give it to Mr. White and his gross facial hair.

Eric: I choose Lucinda.

Steve: Daughtry is a solid fourth place again.

Best Rap Album

1) “Finding Forever,” Common
2) “Kingdom Come,” Jay-Z
3) “Hip Hop Is Dead,” Nas
4) “T.I. vs T.I.P.,” T.I.
5) “Graduation,” Kanye West

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Release Therapy,” Ludacris

Brian: Once again the Grammys conspire to confuse me. All of these albums were extreme disappointments, except for Common’s, which was only a mild one. Jay-Z actually released a good album last year, “American Gangster.” Common, I guess.

Stephanie: I think my T.I. 84 should win. Kanye’s had a rough year, they’ll give him the award.

David: Kanye may have graduated, but T.I. said it best when saying, “There’s not nobody out there doing what I do as well as I do it, so I see myself as worthy competition for myself.” That he is. Whether he’s repping the T.I. moniker or the T.I.P. moniker, “T.I. vs T.I.P.” is off the chain.

Eric: Kanye in the easiest category of the night.

Steve: Anyone else think that Nas is in the market for a new publicist?

Best Zydeco Or Cajun Music Album

1) “Le Cowboy Creole,” Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie
King Cake, Lisa Haley
2) “Live: Á La Blue Moon,” Lost Bayou Ramblers
3) “Blues De Musicien,” Pine Leaf Boys
4) “Racines”, Racines
5) “The La Louisianne Sessions,” Roddie Romero And The Hub City All-Stars
6) “Live! Worldwide,” Terrance Simien & The Zydeco Experience

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: **NEW CATEGORY**

Steve: Strong group in this category’s freshman year (except for Lisa Haley, who sounds like a carpetbagging ne’er-do-well). You haven’t heard fiddle and accordion like this before.

Stephanie: I don’t know what I’m going to do if Roddie Romero and the Hub City All-Stars lose this one.

Brian: This Category is near to my heart, in that I like getting drunk on moonshine and eating reptiles. Geno Delafose has the better pedigree but Roddie Romero has a long history in the genre. He’ll take this one home. Seriously.

Eric: Oh my God, you guys don’t know ANYTHING about Zydeco. This is a joke. Obviously French Rockin’ Boogie.

Best Rap Song

1) “Ayo Technology,” Nate (Danja) Hills, Curtis Jackson, Timothy Mosley & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)
2) “Big Things Poppin’ (Do It),” Clifford Harris & Byron Thomas, songwriters (T.I.)
3) “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” Aldrin Davis & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West)
4) “Crank That (Soulja Boy),” Soulja Boy Tell’Em, songwriter (Soulja Boy Tell’Em)
5) “Good Life,” Aldrin Davis, Mike Dean, Faheem Najm & Kanye West, songwriters (J. Ingram & Q. Jones, songwriters)(Kanye West Featuring T-Pain)

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Money Maker,” Christopher Bridges & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Ludacris Featuring Pharrell)

Eric: Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

David: How could “Crank That” possibly not win? The Grammys are all about giving awards to bad music. At least this has started a revolution in the way crappy dancers strut their stuff when drunk.

Brian: I hope that Soulja Boy not only wins but that he supermans Kanye West at the after party.

Steve: “Crank That” isn’t going to win any awards, but it has spawned various sex acts named after superheroes. Aquaman, Spiderman, hell, even Captain America earned one. As far as I know, Batman is still waiting. Somebody get on that!

Stephanie: Wait, who’s Soulja Boy?

Best Rock Album

1) “Daughtry,” Daughtry
2) “Revival,” John Fogerty
3) “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” Foo Fighters
4) “Magic,” Bruce Springsteen
5) “Sky Blue Sky,” Wilco

LAST YEAR’S WINNER: “Stadium Arcadium,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

Stephanie: Fingers crossed for Bruce Springsteen, because Cadenza’s Andrew Senter may commit suicide if he loses.

David: While not Wilco’s best, “Sky Blue Sky” is a nice album to listen to. It’s not going to “rock” but I think we all know how stupid these categories are.

Brian: I’m not even a Wilco fan and I give this to them for out-classic-rocking two classic-rock artists, in Springsteen and Fogerty.

Eric: Years of fighting foos finally pay off for Dave Grohl and Co.

Steve: Sorry, the correct answer is Coheed and Cambria’s Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV: No World for Tomorrow.

“Cat People”

Monday 2/4
4 p.m.
Brown 100

Considered by many to be one of the all-time classic horror movies, “Cat People” plays out like a supernatural film-noir. Simone Simon plays a Serbian-born artist who marries a New York everyman, only to succumb to her superstitious fears that sexual arousal of any kind will turn her into a murderous panther. By utilizing noir style, like a sense of moral ambiguity and a seductive femme fatale, and letting the audience scare themselves, director Jacques Tourner crafts a scary movie that sticks with you. Notable for waiting to show the audience whether or not the main character actually is a cat woman and for creating the “bus,” the horror technique that prepares the audience for danger only to have the scene end with nothing scary ever happening. Innovative and daring, “Cat People” was remade in the 1980s with less success.

“Trouble in Paradise”

Monday 2/4
7 p.m.
Brown 100

A pre-production code classic, Ernst Lubitch’s comedy uses bawdy innuendo to highlight the love affair of a master thief and a pretty pickpocket.

“The Quiet Man”

Tuesday 2/5
4 p.m.
Brown 100

One of the few famous John Ford/John Wayne movies that isn’t a western, “The Quiet Man” features lush photography of the Irish country-side. Wayne plays an ex-pat boxer who returns to the Ireland hoping to reclaim his family’s farm.

“Blackmail”

Tuesday 2/5
7 p.m.
Brown 100

Considered to be the first British movie filmed completely in sound, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Blackmail” tells the suspense-filled tale of a woman who is blackmailed after murdering in self-defense.

“Story of a Young Couple”

Wednesday 2/6
7 p.m.
Brown 100

A little seen East German film from early in the Cold War, “Story of a Young Couple” explores the marriage of two people with very different political views.

“Sullivan’s Travels”

Wednesday 2/6
4 p.m.
Brown 100

Preston Sturges is often overlooked in discussions and lists compiling America’s best writers/directors, but for those informed, he blends broad comedy and surprisingly natural dialogue with a style way ahead of his time. “Sullivan’s Travels” is one of Sturges’ best-remembered films, perhaps because it features a young, stunning Veronica Lake, but more so because of its hilarious and touching story. Joel McCrea plays John Sullivan, a successful Hollywood director who wants to make a different kind of picture: one entitled “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” that highlights the plight of the downtrodden. Sturges has more in common with the Coen brothers than taste in titles, and he makes a kind of movie modern audiences will be surprisingly comfortable with.

By Bradford Yates

Steinberg Auditorium @ Wash. U.
Saturday, Nov. 17 @ 8:15 p.m.
Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (the man behind “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”) shifts his lens from the moral failure of corporate America to the moral failure of U.S. detainee policy since the events of 9/11. Progressives are likely to sympathize with his causes, agree with the majority of his arguments and feel the same sort of fear and resentment of the status quo that many of us are used to (and tired of) by now. And while the film is well made, weaving together archival footage, interviews with ex-soldiers and voice-over narration sprinkled in for purposes of explanation or provocation, Gibney cannot muster enough cinematic zeal to avoid the feeling that the film is essentially a very long, audio-visual Time magazine article. His attempt at a ‘murder mystery’ is an interesting thread that humanizes the film a bit, but all in all “Taxi to the Dark Side” seems to be light on new news and heavy on diatribe. For example, Gibney gives himself the liberty of invoking the Holocaust (via archival footage of dying and dead Jews) in a film that is otherwise about present-day issues. Even Michael Moore might have thought twice about that one. By the way, I am as progressive as they come and I deplore the inhumane tactics employed by our nation in its futile ‘War on Terror.’ However, I also deplore slight-of-hand editing in documentary film, as it can only misguide our attention and further polarize our politics.

Director Alex Gibney will attend the screening.

Dam Street

By Kaity Li

Tivoli
Thursday, Nov. 15 @ 5 p.m.
China’s “Dam Street” shows the grim effects of an unwanted pregnancy on a hapless young girl named Yun. At the beginning of the movie, Yun manages to keep her secret until nearly the end of her pregnancy, but then she is found out, expelled from her school and humiliated all over town.

Ten years later, Yun is still living at home with her mother and suffering the consequences of her past. To earn a living, she debases herself by performing pop songs for a rude and jeering crowd. To ease her loneliness, she has an affair with a married man and befriends one of her mother’s students, a young boy named Xiao Yong, but it’s the latter that actually provides her with fulfillment. Rare moments of emotional honesty in the dialogue reveal a painful truth about these characters: None of them have anybody to confide in.

The men in this movie mostly remain in the background, but once in a while, they take the spotlight by revealing that they are terrible human beings. The only decent male character is Xiao Yong, who is merely a boy, and therefore has yet to be corrupted like the grown men in the movie.

Though it isn’t a thoroughly depressing movie, “Dam Street” isn’t a happy one either. It shows us that life in Communist China can be terrible for reasons besides the obvious ones. Despite being grim a good majority of the time, it’s never melodramatic, and so it’s all painfully believable. At times, the movie drags and seems longer than 93 minutes, especially when certain plot points become predictable. For the most part, you care enough about the characters to want to see what will happen to them. “Dam Street” shows that China has more to offer than dynasty dramas with hour-long wire fighting sequences.

The Walker

By Cecilia Razak

Plaza Frontenac
Friday, Nov. 16 @ 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17 @ 9:30 p.m.
Woody Harrelson impeccably styled, coiffed and flamingly gay: What more could you ask for? If you raised an eyebrow and added “political intrigue,” then look no further, my friend. “The Walker,” a “what-the-rich-people-are-so-naughtily-up-to-in-Washington-today” film by Paul Schrader, is a pretty thing with tasteful accessories to match, much like its main character, Car Paige (Harrelson). He is a “walker,” specializing in walking rich and powerful men’s wives around their precarious social lives and providing snide commentary along the way. One of the ladies for whom he is arm-padding discovers that her partner in a sordid affair has been murdered in his apartment. Things begin to unravel, and suddenly it looks as if Car, struggling to remain loyal and silent, is implicated by the investigation, despite his innocence. The film is rife with intelligent cynicism, but it doesn’t quite manage to coat the whole picture, and the middle section lags as if Schrader is only laboriously hitting the numbers without much zeal. But otherwise this is a sharp political crime drama that, true to the current mood, is less about whodunit than who’s going to take the fall for it.

Twisted: A Balloonamentary

By Nadia Sobehart

St. Louis Art Museum
Saturday, Nov. 17 @ 7 p.m.
Enter the world of balloon twisting. Balloons-lots and lots of balloons. When we think of balloons, clowns, carnivals and birthday parties usually come to mind. This documentary, however, tells quite a different story-eight different stories actually-and brings them all together at the Twist and Shout Convention. For the participants of Twist and Shout, ballooning isn’t just a hobby, but a lifestyle, an occupation, a dream and an escape.

Following a brief but comical history of balloons, the journey into modern ballooning begins. We are introduced to eight very different people, each with his or her own hopes, dreams and roadblocks. “Twisted” isn’t just an introduction to the bizarre world of balloon twisting; it is a source of inspiration. One person uses twisting to teach others religion, another to pay her way out of the trailer park and through college, another to bring opportunity to a torn community and keep children off the streets, and yet another has transformed her love of balloon twisting into a very lucrative business in Las Vegas (you should check out her house).

Apart from the wonderful and touching stories presented in the film, the scenes depicting the balloon creations are simply remarkable. There are pirates. Trojan horses. Racecars. Full body-armor. Geishas. Forty-foot soccer players. It makes you wish you knew how to make something as simple as a balloon dog.

“Twisted: A Balloonamentary” is simply a necessary film to watch. It will touch your heart and tickle your creative bone. You’ll simply be amazed at the notion of so many different people-from all over the world, of different occupations, young and old-getting together in pursuit of one goal, seemingly pointless but endlessly inspiring: to twist balloons the best they can. Whether you’re searching for a back-up career or simply craving a new hobby, you should seriously watch this film.

Co-directors Greenfield and Taksler, both former Washington University students will attend the screening.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

By Brian Stitt

St. Louis Art Museum
Sunday, Nov. 18 @ 6 p.m.
A massive stroke left the editor in chief of French Elle, Jean-Dominique Bauby, completely paralyzed save his left eye. Suffering from what doctors call “locked-in syndrome,” Bauby was completely awake and aware, retained all of his treasured memories and his vivid imagination but could only communicate by blinking his left eye. Bauby graduated from a simple one-for-yes two-for-no system, to a tedious letter association process and managed to detail his thoughts and emotions through a translator into a memoir, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.” It is estimated that the book took 200,000 blinks to complete.

American director, Julian Schnabel, turns this true story into a French language feature film that captures the pitiful reality of Bauby’s condition but emphasizes the hopefulness of his spirit. The first 20 minutes of the movie are spent behind Bauby’s eyes as he first wakes up in a hospital bed after his stroke. We share in the trauma of his paralysis and listen his echoing thoughts and unheard questions. We watch, from the inside, as his right eye is sewn shut and as doctors and nurses struggle to relate to him, and us, the severity of his condition while trying to look on the bright side. But it is Bauby’s job to find a bright side to his world and Schnabel does a wonderful job of bringing the audience along on his internal journey. The camera eventually travels out from behind Bauby’s head, but it remains always in his mind. A remarkable film, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” evokes brilliantly both the captivity of a heavy, immobile diving suit and the slowly fluttering freedom of the mind’s eye.

Ruzzian Roulette

By Brian Stitt

Tivoli
Thursday, Nov. 15 @ 5 p.m.
While its lacking budget certainly shows, the poor production value does not at all lessen the strength of the punch this film pounds into your midsection. Locally shot and produced, “Ruzzian Roulette” tells the story of the modern AIDS epidemic in the black community. By showing and telling so many different stories with gritty realism and some surprisingly powerful acting, this movie comes at the same point from many different angles, highlighting the scope of the problem while not making a ridiculously overblown story. The style is extremely experimental and not always effective, but the purpose of the movie comes roaring through. “Ruzzian Roulette” is a fascinating piece of low-budget filmmaking in the vein of “Clerks,” “Primer” and “El Mariachi.” The directors, Falaq and Rukahs, will attend along with members of the cast. The soundtrack features music by local hip-hop group the Apostlez, whose music highlights the themes of the movie and lends it street cred that no Hollywood production could have attained.

Call of the Wild

By Brian Stitt

Webster University
Saturday, Nov. 17 @ 7:30 p.m.
Apparently this year, the favorite metaphor for man’s eternal battle with nature and his desire to be part of it is the story of Chris McCandlis, the young man who died of starvation while trying to live off the land in Alaska during the summer of 1992. Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild” did a good job of opening up this enigmatic young man’s head to the world (as much as one can delve into the mind of a real person through narrative film) but it left some space for a definitive documentary about Chris. Unfortunately “Call of the Wild” is not that movie. Director Ron Lamothe makes a film that says a lot more about Ron Lamothe than it does about Chris McCandlis. While he does run into some major roadblocks (enter the evil Sean Penn and his team of gag-ordering Hollywood lawyers), that does not leave much excuse for the long minutes spent showing Ron hitchhiking. While it does emulate Mr. McCandlis it does not evoke him. The later third of this documentary actually does start centering around a unified theme and he runs into some evidence that redefines Chris’s death and his intentions in the wild. Unfortunately this is all too late for the movie. But for fans of the McCandlis story, this doc does hold some good journalism on the story that everyone else seems to have missed.

‘Honeydripper’

By Brian Stitt

Tivoli
Thursday, Nov. 8 @ 7 pm
Rating: 4/5
John Sayles, director of the often overlooked historical films “Matewan,” “Eight Men Out” and “Lone Star,” among others, now gives us “Honeydripper,” a look at rural Alabama in the 1950s. Danny Glover quietly plays “PineTop” Purvis, who runs a failing juke joint on the wrong side of the tracks. In an attempt to pay off his debts and save the business he recruits radio sensation Guitar Sam to play at his place, The Honeydripper. The film moves ploddingly, like the slow drip evoked by the title, but offers a unique look at music and the South. It utilizes Sayles’ ability to embody a time and place more than portray it. He sets up characters deliberately but allows them to move through the story on their own. Sayles makes his presence felt in the reserved camera movements and uncomplicated structure. The movie feels older than it is but is also much better than it may seem at first. The photography uses all the tricks of the best American artists, the night scenes enlivening the spirit of Edward Hopper. The opportunity to see a new film by this great American filmmaker is not one to be missed.

John Sayles, with producing and life partner Maggie Renzi, will attend.

‘Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead’

By Matt Karlan

Plaza Frontenac
Sunday, Nov. 11 @ 7 pm
Rating: 5/5
The year 2007 has been a disappointing year in film. There has been an amalgamation of sequels and prequels, innumerable overrated indies and about “300″ over-budgeted special effects orgies. Two months remain, and there has not yet been a single film of enduring merit. Enter the year’s savior, Sidney Lumet. Lumet certainly has earned respect in the industry, directing multiple pictures that deserve a daily shining in the AFI vault: “Serpico” (1973), “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976). But his last critically acclaimed film was in 1982, and he has since served up a dozen nosedives.

What did Lumet need in order to remember how to direct watchable film? First, an expertly paced screenplay with a newcomer screenwriter, Kelly Masterson. Lumet’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” begins with a botched jewel heist. The film then reveals tidbits of information surrounding the event in segments separated by broken-glass jump cuts that should be corny, but fit for some reason.

Next, Lumet evoked some of the finest acting performances of the year. Philip Seymour Hoffman has a mental breakdown worthy of his second Oscar, Ethan Hawke sets the bar too high for the remainder of his career, Albert Finney controls every frame he enters, and Marisa Tomei is more often naked than clothed. High praise for all.

The glorification of criminals has become standard in Hollywood blockbusters this decade. The misdeeds of the lawless have few repercussions, and even if their crimes do not succeed they rarely finish the picture worse than where they began. “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” ignores this trend and harkens back to older crime thrillers that made Lumet famous. The bad guys are not treated with kid gloves; the lives of these despicable characters become deservedly bleak. Lumet finally succeeds as he returns to his roots in the best film of the year thus far, and the best titled film maybe ever.

‘Punk’s Not Dead’

By Elizabeth Ochoa

Tivoli
Friday, Nov. 9 @ 9:15 pm
Rating: 4/5
So you’ve heard it before, but hear it again from people who were there when it was born. Consisting completely of interviews and song lyrics, “Punk’s Not Dead” captures the enthusiasm and energy of the scene, without trivializing the people behind it or turning them into caricatures. Look for members of Bad Religion, Green Day, Operation Ivy, the Buzzcocks, Fugazi and the Subhumans to name a very very few.

Huge portions of punk’s history are completely glossed over, so if you want to learn about the origins of the scene, this isn’t the documentary for you. This is more a yearly check-up on the kids to make sure everyone’s still pissed at the government, loving making the music and hoping said music changes said government.

Director Susan Dynner does a fantastic job of highlighting the fact that punk is still alive and kicking not only in young kids screaming and moshing in basements but also really old dudes screaming and moshing in other basements.

Bonus includes a hearty lineup of ‘classic’ punk rockers saying how not punk current punk rockers are. This is quickly offset by the interviewees who state that Sum41 is just as punk as the Ramones. Also look for the insightful commentary from St. Louis’ own Annie Zaleski.

Bottom line: Punk isn’t dead. It’s just move to Warped Tour and basements.

‘Waiter’

By Elizabeth Ochoa

Plaza Frontenac
Sunday, Nov. 11 @ 2 pm
Monday, Nov. 12 @ 5 pm
Rating: 3/5
“Waiter” is a surreal film from the Netherlands with a unique plot. A writer creates a character, Edgar, and then proceeds to make everything go wrong in Edgar’s life that can: terminally ill wife, needy mistress, a second mistress who is also his best friend’s wife and is also cheating on both of them with a mysterious third man, a horrible job, the mafia living next door. Edgar’s life, in no uncertain terms, blows.

The meta-fun sets in when Edgar shows up at the writer’s real apartment in the real world to beg for a better life. Doesn’t this sound great? It sounds like something you’d be willing to watch even though it is subtitled. It sounds like something you’d be willing to watch even though it’s poorly translated (or possibly worse, a good translation of really shitty dialogue.)

Sadly, “Waiter” falls short of dazzling and leaves something to be desired. That something is that the seemingly inherent humor, stemming from a fictional character interacting with the real world, is resolutely ignored. Maybe “Waiter” was deep and it was lost in the subtitles. The substory of Edgar is fantastic, but the cross between the real and fictional world is poorly executed.

‘The Method’

By Elizabeth Ochoa

St. Louis Art Museum
Sunday, Nov. 11 @ 7:15 pm
Rating: 4/5
Right about now everyone is cleaning up their resume and dusting off the horribly uncomfortable suit their mom helped them pick out. It’s interview season. We’ve all experienced, or know someone who has, the wretched, gut-wrenching interview questions.

A Spanish film, “The Method,” looks at seven eager people competing for one position. The catch? One group interview, and after each question or task the group has to vote someone out of the process. Think “Survivor” gone corporate.

The characters face tough questions: Would you be loyal to the company in wake of an economic crisis? Would you employ a former union boss? Would you put what could be true love before the company?

“The Method” keeps you on your toes, trying to guess who will get kicked out next, who will get the job and asks if the process of proving yourself to others is worth it. The fast-paced dialogue forces the viewers to keep a close eye on the subtitles.

The highlight of the movie is at the climax, when the three remaining applicants are forced to defend a country, either the UK, Spain or Italy, based on their respective strength in the global economy. The game quickly breaks down into sexual innuendo and insults. Doesn’t sound too thrilling? Here’s the kicker: It’s in French, English and Spanish.

A must see for anyone who has ever applied to a job.

‘The Memory Thief’

By Brian Stitt

Tivoli
Saturday, Nov. 10 @ 2:30 pm
Rating: 3/5
Holocaust survival is at the center of “The Memory Thief.” Lukas, a gentile L.A. tollbooth operator, has no cultural identity of his own until an encounter with a Holocaust survivor pushes him to explore the Jewish culture and its relationship with the travesty that so few survived. The film broaches some interesting subjects and will certainly engender debate about people’s rights to forget the past weighed against their social responsibility. “The Memory Thief” does probe a certain depth with its questions, but fails to tell a completely believable story. Lukas, and the film, are quirky and overtly strange, which, to director Gil Kofman’s credit, did not harm the seriousness of the subject matter. But the central relationship between Lukas and a pretty Jewish med student, whose father is a survivor who Lukas becomes obsessed with interviewing, never holds up. Why would she want to be with such a strange guy? The film hints at answers but spreads itself thin by going down paths it should have avoided. Still, it is very much worth seeing and Kofman will attend the screening, which should allow a forum for many of the questions raised by the film to be answered.

‘Getting Home’

By Brian Stitt

Plaza Frontenac
Sunday, Nov. 11 @ 4:30 pm
Rating: 5/5
A successful road movie depends on the strength of its diversions and its ability to stay on course. A black comedy comes with its own unique brand of problems mostly concerning finding a singular tone that encompasses the emotional scope of the film. “Getting Home” accomplishes all of this and, more importantly, manages to translate laughs, a notoriously difficult task. The film follows a man carrying his dead drinking buddy back to his hometown for a proper funeral. The friend’s body, constantly slung over our hero’s back like a beloved sack of potatoes, influences many of the comedic moments of the film but also serves as an ever-present reminder of mortality. Many films try to create such a somber yet jovial mood and are praised for barely missing the mark. “Getting Home” fails at none of its aims and is not overly simple, although much of the emotion of the film is carried in the always-changing Chinese landscape.