Disney and Pixar have done it again with The Incredibles, their follow up to last year’s record-breaking Finding Nemo. The movie opened last weekend earning just over $70 million and if previous Pixar films have been any indication, The Incredibles will earn much more in the coming weeks. The movie starts in the superhero hey day, where superpowered people are respected by all and gladly fight crime to save the innocent. But events take a turn for the worse, as the superheroes start to get pinned with lawsuits. This forces all the superheroes to go into hiding. Meet the Parr family: seemingly nor-mal, average suburbanites. But appear-ances are deceiving. Bob (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) is the former Mr. Incredible, but now works at an insurance company, while his wife Helen (Holly Hunter), the former Elastigirl, takes care of their two superpowered children, Violet and Dash (voiced by Sarah Vowell and Spencer Fox) and baby Jack Jack. Not being able to fight crime has gotten to Bob. He is bored, very bored—until an opportunity from a stranger lets him take up his alter ego once more. But there is more to the stranger than meets the eye, which sets up for a superhero comeback. The film has a PG rating, which is a first for a Pixar film, but it is with good reason. The film is darker than Pixar’s

others, mentioning the deaths of super-heroes and showing a glimpse of that happening, but without really giving it away. The movie is a fun ride for children and adults alike, although it is probably not suitable for younger children. With a running time of two hours, The Incredibles is the longest CGI film to date. Most of the film flows smooth-ly, but there are a few moments that drag and slow down the film’s otherwise decent pace. Writer/director Brad Bird (The Iron Giant) has written a clever and fun movie. Despite the parts that are slow moving, the film is well made from start to finish. Bird has taken the currently popular subject of superheroes and craft-ed something original for the big screen. Pixar has yet again scored big with its cast. In addition to Nelson and Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson and Jason Lee also lend their voices to the super cool hero Frozone and the film’s supervillian Syndrome respectively. The entire cast energetically portrays each character and it shows. Michael Giacchino’s score provides the film with just the right music cues, and adds atmosphere with each new location and event. What the score fails to do is create a memorable superhero theme. Despite the lack of a main theme, the score overall supplies the film with everything a good score is supposed to. The technology for making a CGI film has obviously greatly improved, and

T h e Incredibles is a perfect e x a m p l e . Textures and animation for human characters have been enhanced, making the world of The Incredibles look, well, incredible. Disney has definitely made a mis-take by not renegotiating its deal with Pixar. After next year’s Cars and one other unnamed film, Disney and Pixar are calling it quits. The movie is another fine example of Pixar’s storytelling abili-ties proving that it should do just fine without Disney, but the way Disney’s animated films have been going, Disney will soon be missing the likes of Mr. Incredible and Nemo’s stories. The Incredibles offers movie-going audiences a great film that parents will enjoy taking their children to see and everyone else will enjoy despite their age.

Who said that the news couldn’t be funny? Certainly not Will Ferrell, whose summer comedy, Anchorman, will be playing in the Bart Luedeke Center (BLC) theater this weekend. Ferrell, best known for countless memorable Saturday Night Live (SNL) skits in the ‘90s and his starring roles in Old School and Elf, does not hesitate to make audiences cry from laughter throughout the film. Playing the role of a charismatic, yet unprofessional, journalist was an idea Ferrell stumbled upon while observing male-chauvinist news anchors from the seventies. Ferrell is not praising them, he is making fun of them, and only his comedic brilliance allows him to get away with such a thing. It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Ferrell dominating the lead role in this movie. While Ferrell’s performance ultimately takes the cake, Daily Show alum Steve Carell manages to steal a few pieces for himself. His character, dim-witted weatherman Brick Tamland, delivers some of the most memorable one-liners in recent memory. Whether eating “a big red candle” after a night of hard partying or riding a “furry tractor” at the San Diego Zoo, Carell delivers his dialogue with the same innocent, matter-of-fact tone that Ferrell has become famous for. As a result, it’s nearly impossible to remain straight-faced whenever he’s on screen. One can only hope that The Daily Show and Anchorman will be for Carell what SNL and Old School were for Ferrell, a springboard to comic stardom. The movie tells the tale of fictional 1970s news anchor Ron Burgundy, who faces competition from ambitious female Veronica Corningstone, played by Christina Applegate. The contrasts between prevalent male-dominated attitudes in the TV-news industry and the rising feminist movement are showcased in this sometimes-satirical comedy. For example, when Ron and Veronica are forced to co-anchor the same news show, they trade immature insults under their breath while the credits role. Only Ferrell could make a degrading comment such as “I’m going to punch you in the ovaries, right in the baby maker” hilarious.

Even Peter Jennings himself would laugh at some of the film’s great scenes. From the classy suits, to the clever punch lines, Ferrell and his crew deliver unique comedy at all the right times. The gag reel starts rolling due to Burgundy’s arro-gance, which manages to land him in all kinds of surreal situations. One of the most climatic scenes of the movie is when Burgundy’s news team faces off Gangs of New York-style with five rival teams from other stations. Unexpected cameos jump out at all the right times, including Ben Stiller as the whip-cracking news anchor for Hispanic TV and Tim Robbins as the pledge-seeking head honcho of the Public TV news division. Jack Black also makes an appearance, kicking Burgundy’s dog, Baxter, off a bridge. This may seem cruel to some but, in the context of the movie, provides yet another unforgettable moment. So, if you’re feeling lonely this weekend, waltz on over to the BLC and spend your evening with Will Ferrell and company. There’s no doubt that you’ll be rehearsing one-liners from the film, like “son of a bee-sting” and “by the beard of Odin,” for weeks or months to come. This has been Alisha Miranda and Bill Greenwood for The Rider News. You stay classy, Rider University.

6 7Friday, November 12, 2004

Student chosen to chat with Green Day for MTV U

How Green Day, a simple punk/pop band out of Northern California, has managed to stay in the pop-mainstream for ten years, amazes even me (who defended that they would do just that to every skep-tical adult I knew when I was 12 years old). Although the band never reclaimed the success they found with their eight-times-platinum mas-terpiece Dookie, Insomniac was a strong follow-up and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” attracted enough sales to keep Nimrod afloat before the disap-pointing Warning took the band out of the spotlight for a few years. However, their 2004 effort American Idiot, while still not quite Dookie, is an intriguing piece in its own right. A ballad that marries their classic ’70s punk-inspired chords with a more political Billie Joe Armstrong, Idiot takes the band in a new direction that perhaps their downward spiral of success sug-gests they should have taken years ago. The opening/title track, where Armstrong belts out “I’m not a part of a redneck agenda / Now every-body do the propaganda / And sing along at the edge of paranoia,” is an attempt, that resonates through-out the album, to show a more mature Green Day in a post-9/11 America. The lyrics suggest that the band we knew over the past decade, whose most popular subject matter tackled dementia, masturba-tion and boredom, have uncharacteristically grown up alongside us. They are openly against the war in Iraq, and fiercely against the media’s role in it, which is a long stride from many of their songs in the past about simply being stoned. Although tracks “Jesus of Suburbia” and “Whatsername” are also powerful, American Idiot’s highlight comes about a quarter of the way through with “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” The cut is a superior redux of Nimrod’s “Walking Alone” with a slower sound that also works for the personal “Wake Me Up When September Ends” later in the album. Like “Walking Alone,” “Broken Dreams” is sung from the viewpoint of a desperate outsider looking in, “My shadow’s the only one that walks beside me / My shallow heart’s the only thing that’s beating / Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me / ’Til then I walk alone.” Surprising as it is, few mainstream bands have recently hit on the events of 9/11 and the resulting war, but even fewer have made an attempt at vocal-izing what its like living in a paranoid America as a result of them. American Idiot may not sound like its from the same band that gave us “Basket Case,” and, as a result of which, may not be as well-remembered, but whether or not Idiot makes a dent in pop-culture attention, it’s still a worthy listen.

Pixar delivers ‘Incredible’ movie

Anchorman is playing in the BLC Theater this Thursday through Sunday. The showings start at 7:30 p.m.

Go to class, grab some lunch, and interview talented, popular recording artists. Last Monday, Nov. 1, senior Drew Novelli’s daily plans included just that. Novelli drove to New York City to meet and interview the widely-known alternative/punk band Green Day for a program to be aired on MTV U and broadcast to hundreds of colleges and universities across the nation. According to Novelli, MTV U producers contacted Professor Shawn Kildea, who is also the Rider University Network (RUN) adviser, about choosing a student that would be up for the job. Novelli said he was chosen because of his experience producing and hosting a show called Rider Rock Vids combined with his extensive collection of Green Day albums. “Before I talked to the producer of the interview segment, I was asked to come up with some questions that I would ask the band,” he said. “Once I was contacted by him we came up with a final list of questions to ask the band which mostly focused around the band’s new album.” The interview took place in a vintage guitar store. Before the shoot, Novelli said he was interviewed about where he goes to school and what his major is. Soon after, the band arrived. “Mike Dirnt, the bass player, was the first one I met,” he said. “He was the nicest out of all of them. He shook my hand and introduced himself like he was just a regular guy, which I thought was really cool. He also made eye contact with me when he was answering my questions.” It was not long before lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre walked in, he said. “We pretty much talked about the new album and what it was like recording it. They weren’t mean, but they seemed uninterested in the whole thing,” he said. “In their defense

they were really busy that day and they were running late. The interview actually got cut short because they had another one they had to do.” Despite the pressure of interviewing one of his favorite bands, Novelli said that he remained pretty calm throughout the whole ordeal. “I had a good amount of time to prepare myself for it that day, so it wasn’t too scary,” he said. “During the interview, I was mostly thinking about the questions I had to ask them. I was afraid I would mess something up with that. Afterwards, when I was driving home, it hit me how big of a deal the whole thing was.” Though he enjoyed meeting Green Day, Novelli said that he gained a lot more from talking with the people who worked behind the scenes. “It was really cool, as a radio and TV broadcasting major, to meet and work with someone who is doing what I want do when I finish school,” he said. “I hope I don’t sound like a nerd, but that kind of experience for me is just as cool as meeting a group of rock stars.” Taking advantage of the networking opportunity, Novelli gave the producer a copy of his resume. As a result of the expe-rience, he said he is considering interning for MTV U in the Spring. “I was really lucky to get to do this, first because I’m a Green Day fan and second to get my foot in the door for a job after I graduate,” he said. According to Novelli, the program will probably air on MTV U sometime this week. Since Rider is not yet able to broadcast MTV U, Novelli said he would play the segment on RUN. “The producer is sending me a copy of it so that I can air it on my music video show,” he said.

This just in: ‘Anchorman’ to grace the BLC theater

Photo copyright DreamWorks SKG

Green Day redeems its former place in ‘American’ culture

Photo copyright Warner Brothers

Photo provided by Drew Novelli

On Monday Nov.1, senior Drew Novelli interviewed the well-known band Green Day in New York City for a program that will appear on MTV U. The program will air sometime this week and will be broadcast to all of MTV U’s participating colleges and universities. Although Rider is still unable to to broad-cast the station at this time, the interview will be publicized on Novelli’s music video show, which can be seen on the Rider University Network (RUN).

By Vincent Civitillo

By Bill Greenwood& Alisha Miranda

By Lacey Korevec

By Brian Kibble

ofof of