The Daily Tribune from Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin • Page 21

Daily Tribune, Wisconsin Rapids Thursday, August 8, 2002 3C Arts Entertainment Vim is in At the movies: 'Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams' -n 1 imrl triMuitii'-jv Jt liar Mi mtt III I 'llIIIIIT 1 I Aseocioted Press Carla Gugino (from left), Antonio Banderas, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sahara star in "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams." er-and-sister authenticity. Also returning are Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino as their secret agent parents, Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez. Carmen and Juni, who learned that their mom and dad are spies in the original, have become junior spies themselves. The unnecessarily complicated plot follows Carmen and Juni as they track down the dreaded Transmooker Device, which can shut down all electricity on Earth. The gizmo is on a volcanic island, where mad scientist Romero (Steve Buscemi) has concocted a line of Harryhausen-style hybrid animals (like a bull frog that's half bull, half frog) which have grown so large and scary, even their creator fears them.

The spy agency's new head, Donnagon Giggles and Butt-head" creator Mike Judge), wants the Transmooker so he can rule the world, and sends his own spy kids, Gary (Matt O'Leary) and Gerti (Emily Osment, Haley Joel's sister), to the island to nab it before the Cortezes can get to it. But Juni and Carmen's James Bond-style electronic toys don't work on the island, so they're forced to rely on their brains and basic footwork to save the day. So is "Spy Kids 2" an indictment of kids' tendency toward sloth in this age of Internet surfing and video games? A cautionary tale about the danger of cloning? It's neither. It's a sequel that was rushed out barely a year after the original, an easy second round of boffo box office, and another By CHRISTY LEMIRE Associated Press Whatever rough-hewn, gee-whiz charm "Spy Kids" offered last year is lost in "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams." In its place is a slick, bombastic sense of desperation. Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez again wears several hats (including writer, director, cinematogra-pher and production designer) but they don't seem to fit quite as well this time.

Rodriguez seems to be trying too hard to cram in too much more gadgets, more characters, more noise, more color. But bigger, brighter and faster isn't necessarily better. The fun of the original movie the surprise hit of last summer, which grossed more than $110 million was that it was small and sweet; Rodriguez made the effects look good, and he did it for cheap. Kids could ooh and ahh at the visual tricks, while adults could laugh at jokes that weren't dumbed-down for them. Here, everything looks two-dimensional and cartoonish, digitized and stripped of life.

Kids may still enjoy it, though, purely as a sensory overload though the ones at a recent screening mostly sat mute and motionless. But occasionally a cool gadget comes along, such as a mechanical pet insect that can shoot surveillance video and tie a bow tie. And as Carmen and Juni, the spy kids of the title, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sahara continue to bounce off each other easily, and bicker with broth- Rating definitions: General audiences. All ages admitted. PG Parental guidance suggested.

Some material may not be suitable for children. PG-13 Special parental guidance strongly suggested for children under 13. Some material may be inappropriate for young children. Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

NC-17 No one under 17 admitted. flying wheelchair as Carmen and Juni's grandfather, and Rodriguez regulars Cheech Marin and Danny Trejo, who are on screen so briefly, you'll miss them if you blink. "Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams," a Dimension Films release, is rated PG for action sequences and brief rude humor. Running time: 100 minutes. Big Band Express will celebrate 10th anniversary at Indian Crossing Casino opportunity for Rodriguez to let his imagination run wild.

The 34-year-old Texan is admittedly a big kid himself, and he clearly had a blast making this movie, even if audiences may not have as much fun sitting through it. Some of the supporting actors look bored, too, including Ricardo Montalban, who's forced to sit in a in UW-SP's jazz studies program. Three music faculty artists will headline the performance, bassist Catalin Rotaru, trombone player Brian Martz, and jazz pianist Matt Buchman who will lead the band. Rotaru has performed internationally and is considered one of the world's premier bass players. Martz has toured with Henry Mancini, Glenn Campbell and Johnny Mathis.

Buchman is a nationally known composer WAUPACA The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Big Band Express swing band will celebrate its 10th anniversary of summer appearances from 7 to 11 p.m. Aug. 16 at Waupaca's Indian Crossing Casino. The annual event hosts more than 600 patrons, dancing and listening to swing music of the 1930s thought the '90s. Some of the musicians have toured Europe and performed at intercollegiate jazz festivals throughout the U.S.

Vin Diesel says he isn't filling anyone's shoes By BILL MULLER Gannett News Service Whether it's the distinctive name, the rugged good looks, the husky baritone or his testosterone-charged performance as an outlaw street racer in "The Fast and the Furious," there's little doubt Vin Diesel has arrived. In Hollywood, everyone's calling him the next Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Everyone, that is, except Diesel himself. "I don't think I'm the next anyone," says Diesel, who plays an extreme-sports star turned spy in "XXX," which opens Friday. "I think that I'm just really doing my thing and just trying to make films that I think are entertaining and make films that I'd like to see and, basically, to put as much blood as I can into each film.

"At the same time, I'm flattered to be compared to any actor that's had such a long successful run as those guys, in whatever genre. The fact that those guys have worked so long and brought so many great films to fruition, that's kind of cool." Although Diesel is downplaying such comparisons, "XXX" director Rob Cohen thinks Diesel is the perfect action-star for the new millennium: multiethnic (he's half Black, and half Italian-American), irreverent, physically imposing and, Cohen says, quite talented. "He's there with top spin," says Cohen, who also directed Diesel in "The Fast and the Furious," "because the guy can really act. You've got a theater-trained actor with the body of a boxer, of an athlete. He's got the gravelly voice, and he's got a surprising vulnerability.

"So you take that acting power, combined with his action athleticism, his great voice and this charm and his multiethnicity you get a very potent new force." In a scant four years, Diesel has gone from bar bouncer (where he got his stage name) and struggling actor to magazine-cover boy with a series of performances that turned Hollywood heads. "It was a slow burn," says Diesel, whose real name is Mark Vincent. "There were some people that perked up from 'Saving Private Ryan' (in which Diesel portrayed doomed Pvt. Adrian Carpazo), not a lot." Two years later, in the sci-fi movie "Pitch Black," Diesel played a convict with the ability to see in the dark, a skill that comes in handy when his spaceship crash-lands on a planet ravaged by nocturnal predators. In "Boiler Room he did a turn as a hotshot stockbroker who talks hapless investors into worthless deals.

Diesel says those two movies helped showcase his range. "When "Pitch Black' and Boiler Room' came out on the same presidential weekend of 2000, that's when people started really lining up," he says. "That's when it really, really started, because it was two contrasting roles." At the same time, Diesel sees some of himself in each part he plays, including Xander Cage in "XXX." "I think we both kind of have always had this problem with authority I think we're both extremely independent," he says of his character. "And we both probably don't take ourselves too serious at times." Ironically, Diesel's success stemmed from his failure to be recognized as an actor. In 1994, he poured his frustration into a 20-minute short, "Multi-Facial," in which he played an actor auditioning for a series of roles, claiming different ethnicity on each interview but always going home empty-handed.

"The whole reason I was bouncing was to leave my days open for training, auditions and theater," he says of his work at New York bars. "After 20 years, you get, I guess, frustrated to some kind of boiling point. Then I felt like I had to go make a film, a short film; that's Karaoke! Friday, Aug. 9th 9 pm-1 am 150 2nd St No. THE Wis.

Rapids, WI BAR 421-2880 Hourly Giveaways Teen Choice Awards honor 'Spider-Man' You Can Beat 'Em Too! -Call Today for Your Free Estimate Gannett Photo Network Vin Diesel stars as Xander "XXX" Cage in "XXX." how it started." Luckily, one of the people who ultimately saw "Multi-Facial" was director Steven Spielberg. "That's what was. wild about it," Diesel says. "I did "Multi-Facial' out of frustration and out of a need to be artistic, then a couple years later, Steven Spielberg sees it and writes a role in 'Saving Private Ryan' for me. So that's bizarre.

That was a Hollywood fairy tale." Although those roles were solid building blocks, Diesel didn't hit the A-list until "The Fast and the Furious" grossed a surprising $144 million last year. The movie was written with Paul Walker as the star, but Diesel stole the show as the film's antihero. "I think that I always was optimistic about it and working toward it being a great film" Diesel says of it felt like it was turning into a great film. But you never really know until the film comes out." There's going to be a sequel to that outlaw-racing film, but neither Cohen nor Diesel will be involved. The director says he doesn't think there's anything fresh left in the idea, while Diesel reportedly asked for too much money.

Besides, they're busy trying to reinvent the spy movie with "XXX," replacing cloak and dagger with tattoos and snowboards, and a new hero: Diesel's Xander Cage. "The overall objective was to make something fresh and new" the actor says. "You think of the other spies as having accolades on their walls from being at the head of their class at spy school, and that's just not Xander." Of course, the film called for Diesel to utilize his physical prowess, and there were some scary moments, including riding along on the back of a speeding hydrofoil. "The water was so cold, a person couldn't last two minutes in the water without being subjected to hypothermia," he says. "And I wasn't fastened I'm standing on top of this concave shell roof and I'm speeding along and no life preserver, and I have to lean over and act out all these things.

It was a tough balancing act with high stakes." Diesel also took 10 weeks of extreme-sports training to make sure he exhibited the nervy fearlessness that permeates the athletic pursuit. But he already had some experience in that aspect of the film. "Growing up in New York, we did really crazy things," he says. "Hanging on the back of a New York City cab on roller blades going 40 miles an hour up Eighth Avenue in rush-hour traffic ain't the smartest thing in the world." hi Iti pi A. rft jtf-J1 -a-ssaa.

wwmimpt UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) Mandy Moore and Shane West displayed the coolest chemistry in "A Walk to Remember," but Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst had the best "lip lock" for their rainy, upside-down smooch in "Spider-Man." So decreed the voters of the Teen Choice Awards, the fourth annual youth popularity celebration held Sunday at the Universal Amphitheater. Britney Spears and Ja Rule were selected favorite female and male singers, respectively, while Usher was named best rap artist and his single Got It Bad" was chosen best love song. The Adam Sandler comedy "Mr. Deeds" was chosen movie of the summer, while "Spider-Man" claimed favorite action film and 1ENNOX II'.

3 TUSH Admission is $10 and tickets may be purchased at the Arts and Athletics Ticket Office in Quandt Fieldhouse on Fourth Avenue in Stevens Point or by calling (715) 346-4100 or (800) 838-3378. Visa, MasterCard or Discover cards are accepted. Tickets also may be purchased at Indian Crossing Casino on Highway Waupaca. Admission at the door will be $12. Proceeds from ticket sales fund scholarships for students last summer's raunchy "American Pie 2" was named "Choice Movie Your Parents Didn't Want You To See." Voters selected "Friends" best TV comedy, while MTVs documentary series about rocker Ozzy Osbourne's family received best TV reality show.

"7th Heaven" won best TV drama. Ice skater Michelle Kwan and Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant won favorite female and male athlete, respectively. The Teen Choice Awards ceremony was taped for broadcast Aug. 19 on the Fox network. Votes for favorite actors, musicians and athletes were cast on forms published in Seventeen, a fashion and lifestyle magazine targeting teenage girls, and made available online.

Wisconsin's 1 Lorrie Morgan Bill Cosby REO SpeerJwagon Michael Bolton Righteous Brothers Charley Pride llll David Willie Kenny Si, Oct Smothers Loretta Neal mime and jazz artist. Other members of the band include an all-star selection of faculty members, students and alumni of UW-SP's Music Department. The audience will listen and dance to music of the greats who played at the casino in years past. The music of Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and the Dorsey Brothers will once again ring through the remodeled casino. 421-5555 financing to approved credit.

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