Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 34

4D COURIER-POST, Tuesday, October 7, 2003 rrm niiin ronr.i jhiiuih i ji -i .1. .111111 inii'upiiiiiii ji 11 iuim 11 1 11. 1 "1 A BTa on no nn Daiem can it sawe meflsocre By JASON LIPSHUTZ Static Writer "There are occasional funny lines, but ultimately, the hyperactive script nails Matchstkk Men's coffin shut." Jason Lipshirtz seems to consider trickery a hobby, and Angela is interested in conning primarily because it's "cool." Morals go undiscussed as. Roy exposes his daughter to dishonesty, and the script never dissects why. Cage, coming off his atom-smashing double performance in Adaptation, is given an impossible task: Roy's erratic behavior is supposed to be delightfully car-toonish, but he must also be sentimental and endearing at the same time.

Cage's performance is an earnest one, but no one can handle interpreting Roy's neurosis when he has to be crazy, genius and lovable all in the same moment. Rockwell and Lohman both have mechanical characters that their charm can't save. Director Ridley Scott, of Gladiator fame, uses all of his directing techniques to enhance the film, adding gorgeous cinematography and a jazzy score to set the mood. There are occasional funny lines, but ultimately, the hyperactive script nails Matchstkk Men's coffin shut, throwing so much at the audience that it becomes overkill. In the end, the film's substance can't live up to its appearance.

Jason Lipshutz is a sophomore at Eastern Regional High School. E-mail Static at Staticcourierpostonline.com atchstick Men is a smooth, shiny, meticulous film whose painstaking perfec tion is its greatest strength and weakness. On paper, it has all the right gimmicks to succeed: an obsessive-compulsive lead, a supercool sidekick, and a handful of cons, interesting situations and zany plot twists. There are moments when everything clicks, like a neatly composed camera angle, an emotional monologue or the flick's big payoff that may require a second viewing to fully understand its magnitude in the plot. At the end, however, the gimmicks are all the viewer may remember because the movie is simply a collection of cliches instead of a story.

The film also doesn't offer anything unseen before; the plot is unaware of its imoriginality, and the performances have the appearance of outrageous righteousness but are duplicates of similar roles in previous films. Matchstkk Men is too appealing for its own good, and its mediocrity disappoints anyone hoping the talent involved lives up to its potential. Nicolas Cage is Roy, an obsessive-compulsive hermit with a w. 1 i- TiT 1 A' Courtesy of Warner Bros. star in 'Matchstick Men' as a father-daughter team of con artists.

-f Action-packed 'Rundown' worth seeing A i '7' I- Nicolas Cage and Alison Lohman son plays Mariana, a bar maid by day, rebel leader by night, who wants the icon for her people, whose mining village is enslaved by Hatcher, played by the incomparable Christopher Walken. Hatcher knows Travis is on the verge on finding The Gato and, with his posse of goons, tries to stop Beck from taking Travis home. Nevertheless, Travis and Beck make their getaway, all the while with Hatcher and his men hot on their frail. And this is the start of a comedic adventure through the jungle. They later run into some angiy monkeys who are not quite as mean as the jungle rebel fighters who challenge The Rock to a fight.

Speaking of fights, the fight scenes were outstanding. They were choreographed very well not your typical action movie with a few fistfights. Guns, long controlled whips, outstanding twists, turns and flips are the ways the fights are portrayed through out the film. As for Schwarzenegger, he has a brief cameo appearance in which he walks past The Rock and remarks, "Have fun." Hmmmm, that's interesting. Could he be passing the action-hero torch? Kim Perno is a sophomore at Eastern High School.

E-mail Static at Staticcourierpostonline.com large quantity of tics. Roy happens to be a con artist who tricks unsuspecting people into buying bargain-basement water filters for whopping prices. After he loses his pills and starts breaking down mentally, his hotshot partner, Frank (Sam Rockwell), sends him to a psychiatrist. Roy tells his psychiatrist about the possibility that he may be the father of his ex-wife's child, and after the shrink pulls a few strings, he gets Roy and his 14-year-old daughter together. S(xm enough, Roy and Angela (Alison Lolunan) share touching father-daughter moments, and the kid starts helping dad in his get-rich scams.

The thievery that is the heart of the movie feels cold and staged, and it basically goes unanalyzed. Roy shings his scamming off as a way to make money, Frank 50, D-12, Nate Dogg and Busta Rhymes, but he holds his own with detailed descriptions and diverse themes. Steve Jones Results vary little Limp Bizkit limps another step closer to obsolescence on Results May Vary (), a desperate gambit to milk rap-rock's Courtesy of TheWB.com Margo Harshman stars in the WB show, 'Run of the She can also be seen on the Disney Channel series, 'Even 'Even Stevens' actress stars in new WB show 1 1 1 i Static Writer ffl ove over Arnold I a Schwarzenegger and make room for The Rock, America's newest action hero. The Rock has returned to theaters this fall in The Rundown, and he's giving you two options. Option you can see the movie; Option don't see the movie and you'll be missing one of the best action-packed comedy adventures this season.

In fact, The Rundown ruled the box office its first weekend. Former WWF star The Rock, aka Dwayne Johnson, plays Beck, a retrieval expert, doing one last job for his kingpin boss. Beck, you see, really wants to open his own restaurant. And that's the only reason he agrees to go to the Amazon jungle to bring home his boss's son, Travis. Seann William Scott is Travis, a college dropout on a treasure hunting expedition in Brazil.

But Travis is no Stifler Scott's character from the American Pie movies. Scott has pretty much shed that image and is proving he can portray more than just a Stifler-type character. Travis is exploring the jungle hoping to find The Gato, an ancient golden statue worth millions of dollars. But he's not the only one who wants it. Rosario Daw Limp Bizkifs latest, 'Results May Is 'a desperate gambit to milk rap-rock's tired techniques while groping for a way Courtesy of Interscope Records tired techniques while groping for a way out.

Fred Durst, self-absorbed as ever, leads the Florida band through pedestrian riffs and soapy sentiments as he toggles between a drab warble and stiff rapping the Lyrics continue to plumb the depths of inanity. From Me Down," Courtesy of Universal Studios The Rock stars in the film 'The Rundown' with Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken. The action-packed fights were a highlight of the film whose story takes place In the jungle. Shady Records' latest signing holds his own than her brothers and her sister. So, just like in real life, there will be fights," Marsha told TheWB.com.

"They are all trying to raise me and they really don't have a clue about how to do it." REAL LIFE: Playing the youngest sibling on the show, Margo told The WB, "is similar to the way I grew up. I have two older sisters and an older brother. It's not a big stretch for me." WALK ON THE WILD SIDE: Her character's parents, Margo explained in an online interview, "were very strict. She wasn't allowed to wear makeup or earrings. She wasn't even allowed to do her hair.

Now that they are gone, she is going to seriously cut loose!" GIVING BACK: A spokeswoman for Special Olympics, Margo participated in a variety of summer event activities. She also participated in "Sail with the Stars," a charity event that allows "Make A Wish" youngsters to travel on a cruise with their favorite celebrities. Patti Martin Gannett News Service NAME: Margo Harshman BIRTH DATE: March 4, 1986 BIRTHPLACE: San Diego WHERE YOU KNOW HER FROM: The Disney Channel series Even Stevens STARTING OUT: Margo's acting career began at age 2, when her grandmother entered her into a local beauty pageant. After several years, Margo traded the pageant circuit for the stage, joining the Coast Kids Theatre. MAKING A NAME: By age 12, Margo had secured an agent, went on auditions, scored several commercial spots and landed her first big role, Tawny Dean, in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens.

WORKING GIRL: Finishing up her third season on Even Stevens, Margo also can be seen in the Disney Channel movie The Stevens Get Even. PRIME TIME: Earlier this year, Margo won the role of Brooke in the new WB series, Run of the House. The show's premise: The parents move to another state for health reasons, leaving the four kids home together. MARGO ON BROOK: "(She) thinks she knows way more poetry designed for readers who find Dr. Seuss too Byzantine: "Heartbreak is a headacheLike a toothache or an earthquakeSpontaneous combustionLeaves a taste that so disgustin'And it don't go away too fast." The band that helped forge nu-metal could land in the top 10 this week, but there's little chance and certainly no justification for Bizkit to revisit its 2000 peak, when "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water" sold more than 1 million copies its firet week.

Rap-metal fans will regard some departures (the acoustic guitar in bubblegummy "Build a Bridge," the Goth power anthem "Underneath the as treasonous. More accurately, the leaps are misguided overes-timations of resources. Edna Gundersen Gannett News Service Rap Obie Trice, Cheers V2 out of four): If Shady Records' latest signing feels any pressure from sharing a label with 50 Cent and riding beats provided by Eminem, Dr. Dre and Tim-baland, he doesn't show it. His pointed, personal and often witty rhymes quickly prove he can hang in such company.

Humorous lead single "Got Some Teeth" finds him hoping that a late-night pickup is at least presentable when he wakes up in the morning. "Average Man" is an ominously understated dissertation on not taking any disrespect. "Don't Come Down" pays tribute to his mother while recounting a falling out with her over his street life. Trice gets plenty of help from his friends, including Em, Dre, an -j fiw Ttnih ip fr -wfw farr.