From Alex Reynolds Sent Mon, Dec 7th 1998, 06:48
A FEW HOLIDAY TREATS FOR THE KIDS Reuterz Movie Critic Philip "Vodka" Smiles, reporting from the trenches of Los Angeles, California. Yes, thanks to MTVs tireless promotional activity, electronica is back and better than ever in the good ole' US of A, and IDM is *the* hot property in Hollywood this holiday season. With many of your favorite IDM artists and list pundits making cameo and star appearances in December's cache of movies, you can be sure the theatre lines will be long and the aisles packed! Opening Friday, December the 11th, the electronic remake of Dr. Seuss' classic, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" -- with Wells Oliver in the title role as the thieving Grinch, the ueber-hairy Richard D. James as Santa Claus, and Iceland's Bjoerk as the strong, sensuous, Nordic presence of Cindy Loo Who. Laugh with naughty glee as Oliver's Grinch rams a Christmas tree up Bjoerk's Cindy Loo Who's chimney. Cry tears of joy as the Grinch's heart "grows three sizes that Christmas day" and he stops being such a cheerless bastard. Look for Richard "Aphex Twin" James' furry and heart-rendering performance as a drug-addled Santa Claus to earn him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Rated PG-13 for strong language, a scantily-clad Bjoerk and many realistic, marijuana-induced "erm.."-s from Santa. Also opening on the same day, Disney and Pixar's highly anticipated computer-animated feature, "A D00dz' Life". A thinly-veiled, modern-day parable about a tiny bootlegger who takes on the oppressive RIAA machine, this film stars IDMs own Kiya as the courageous d00d named Flik, Warp Records' CEO Greg Eden as the evil record executive Hopper, and features multiple voice-over performances from Terre Thaemlitz as Princess Atta, Francis, and Slim. Watch Kiya and his comedic troupe of hapless criminals steal your heart as they steal Warp's latest releases right from under Hopper's nose! Be sure to look out for the hit single duet of Thaemlitz and Celine Dion as they sing, "You Got a Friend In Me," in Wal-Mart and better music stores as we speak. Rated NC-17 for repeated graphic sex scenes involving Princess Atta and Hopper, and for a fourty-minute, socio-political lecture from Atta. Nothing says, "Let's cash in on Christmas," quite like an IDM-ized remake of Franz Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life". Going straight to DVD this week for the less ambulatory, more lazy Americans among us, this eclectic, psychedelic trip features hip-hop musician David Holmes reprising James Stewart's suicidal George Bailey. An angel -- Jimi Tenor in metallic garb -- implores Holmes' Bailey "don't die just yet," as Tenor shows Bailey -- through flashbacks and trippy Autechre background music -- the impact he has on the people around him. Uplifting and manipulative holiday cheesiness. Don't miss it! Rated G for harmless content, although the sight of Tenor might scare children younger than eight. -- "Maybe music, the Grinch thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe music, the Grinch thought, means a little bit more." Happy holidays everyone, Alex __________________________________________________________________________ Alex Reynolds E xxxxxxxx@xxx.xxxxx.xxx UPenn : SAS Computing : Biology Dist Support V +1 215 573 2818 http://www.sas.upenn.edu/biology/ F +1 215 898 8780 'The central message of Buddhism is not "every man for himself"!' -- Wanda