Recent Contributions from Peter Finocchiaro

Limp Bizkit: The Soundtrack to Our Lives

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

I’ve always had — and always will have — a special spot in my heart for Limp Bizkit. Please, allow me to explain myself.

I would venture to say I have a pretty broad musical palette. Though some would challenge my claims of good taste — Sun Senior Editor Sammy Perlmutter ’10 discovered six months ago that I like Gym Class Heroes, and he still won’t talk to me — I feel comfortable suggesting I have a fairly respectable collection of songs on my iPod. Genres like indie and hip-hop appear in spades, along with some more accessible examples of electronic and experimental brands of music. Whether you have a hankering for Dem Franchize Boys or Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, I can probably find a song that you would be at least decently satisfied with.

Nobody Cares What Madonna Thinks About Sub-Primes

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Election season is in full swing, and the Obama-Palin gladiatorial deathmatch has finally reached the home stretch. In a little less than six weeks, we should (hopefully) know who the 44th President of the United States will be, and people are starting to get visibly freaked out by the possibility of the wrong guy winning. (Or, more specifically, the wrong guy winning and croaking, leaving the reins of government in the hands of some lady who shoots polar bears from a helicopter. But I digress.)

Public awareness of the election is at near-historic highs, and everybody has an opinion, including — as always — that venerable sub-section of society with the means to make sure everybody knows what they think: Celebrities.

The Death-Defying Golden Dragons

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Drum roll. The audience at the State Theater was absolutely silent — anxious with anticipation — waiting for what would be the grand finale of the Golden Dragon Acrobats’ dynamo performance last Saturday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, what you are about to see is incredibly dangerous. Please, do not try this at home.”

Huh … they’re saying that now? The first two hours of the performance had already seen a multitude of acrobatic feats that, performed by lesser-trained individuals, would have resulted in any number of injuries, as mild as hernias or as severe as broken bones.

Spotlight On: Comedian Daniel Tosh

Peter Finocchiaro — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Daniel Tosh — who will be performing at the State Theater this Saturday at 8 p.m. — is a funny guy. The comedian has risen to the rank of Comedy Central elite with his own hour-long specials, and has recently appeared as a panelist on Best Week Ever. Last wednesday, I was able to get him on the phone to talk about jobs, belligerent fans and movie cops. Check it out:

The Sun: Hey, how’s it going, Daniel?

Daniel Tosh: Good, man. How are you?

Sun: Awesome. So you did a Comedy Central special last year called Completely Serious. I watched it the other night. I enjoyed it. You’re a funny guy.

Memorandum to The Man: 'I'm In.'

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Hey everybody. My name is Peter and I’m one of The Sun’s arts-and-entertainment editors. I’m a junior in CALS, but if you ask my major I’ll probably lie, because nobody’s impressed by communication majors. (Whoops.) I’m a huge fan of the New York Giants, Barack Obama and wearing sandals with jeans. And my favorite movie is The Godfather.

Good. Now that introductions are out of the way, I’d like to touch on a topic that has increasingly dominated my thoughts as of late: my career trajectory.

How Gossip Girl Changed Marketing Forever (JK!)

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:55:43 -0400

So Gossip Girl is back. And sure, it doesn’t have much of an effect on my life. (I only watched like six episodes, and it was only because Blake Lively is a fox, so it’s not even a big deal that I watched that much, right? Right? *Cough*) But yeah, it’s back, and people are excited about it.

Anyways, I bring this up because over the summer the folks behind the show mounted a massive advertising campaign to promote the beginning of the second season, and, as an intern in Manhattan around that time — who was subjected to no less than 6,000 ads a day during my routine treks through Times Square — I am well acquainted with this much vaunted marketing phenomenon.

Spotlight On: Tally Hall

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Last month, my co-editor Julie Block and I had the opportunity to attend the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. Over the course of one insane weekend, we were treated to a veritable smorgasbord of musical offerings.

Maybe the most intriguing band at the festival was Tally Hall, a rock group whose trademark is its matching white button-downs and black slacks (they each where a differently colored tie). That weekend I had a chance to speak with the Michigan five-piece, whose infectious brand of pop-rock has helped land their songs on The O.C. and The Real World. Check it out:

The Sun: So I wasn’t able to catch the whole set …

Joe Hawley (red tie, guitar and vocals): Oh screw this … nah, just kidding.

Lollapalooza Highlights: The Good, the Bad and the ... Hobbits?

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The following is a breakdown of who rocked, who didn't, and who lied about Barack Obama showing up at Lollapalooza 2008.

SATURDAY

MGMT: Meh. Not that good. Other than “Kids” and “Time to Pretend,” far and away their best songs in general, the performance was pretty weak.

Explosions in the Sky: It was exactly like Friday Night Lights, except instead of football players there were alot of people who hadn’t showered in a fortnight.

Booka Shade: Lots of percussion. Good dance beats. There was a guy in the audience who was doing some sort of a barefoot jig and reminded me of a hobbit. (Oh my god I can’t believe I just made a Lord of the Rings joke.)

"Don't Worry, I'm a Reporter," or, "A First-Timer's Guide to Lollapalooza"

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Chicago is a surprising city. From within its limits, some of the most influential public figures of the past 100 years have skyrocketed to super-celebrity and/or infamy. In some ways, little has changed beyond the venues of choice; Al Capone’s speakeasies might have given way to Kanye West and the Hard Rock Hotel, but the city has retained its reputation for cutthroat politics and as a hotspot for the pop-cultural avante-garde.

It’s from Chicago that Milton Friedman launched an economic revolution. It’s was in Chicago that Walter Payton and Michael Jordan achieved athletic immortality. It's also Chicago that now serves as the inspiration for Christopher Nolan’s Gotham City. And oh yeah, there’s some guy named Barack Obama from Chicago too.

Movie Review: It Was a Dark and Stormy (and Overrated) Knight

Peter Finocchiaro — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:28:33 -0400

I might not be the most popular guy in the room after this statement, but given the insane amount of hype surrounding The Dark Knight I feel compelled to speak my mind. No matter how many people seem to share the conviction that the new Batman sequel is “THE BEST MOVIE EVERRRR,” I would have to argue that the film — honestly, plain and simple — just ain’t that good.

Slope Day Preview: A Tribute To Gym Class Heroes (or, "Why I'm No Longer Indie")

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

What I’m about to reveal might well cause Brooklyn Vegan to block my IP address, and will certainly draw the scorn of Senior Editor Sammy Perlmutter (whose icy stare, through those thick, royal blue hipster glasses, will shake me to the core). My indie aficionado credentials are about to be revoked, because what I will soon divulge to you, dear readers, is, quite simply, unacceptable in indie-land.

Lebanese Club Turns Ho Plaza Into Beirut Dance Party

Peter Finocchiaro — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Those who braved the steep incline of Libe Slope last Saturday night were greeted by a familiar sound in an unfamiliar context: The deep, pumping bass one would normally hear in a dance club was bellowing out from Ho Plaza, and the jumbled sound of several hundred voices, coming from the same general direction, rolled down the hill and towards the gothics. Residents filed out of Cook, Becker and Bethe sporting their best party clothes, headed not towards the weekend’s big fraternity rager, but up the slope and towards those same muffled sounds.

The Valerie Project Coming to Cornell Cinema This Week

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The musical score is a vital aspect of any film — it can enunciate themes, build tension, evoke powerful emotional reactions from the audience and even alter the meaning of the images on the screen.

The Valerie Project is the effort of several musicians, including members of the Philadelphia-based psych-folk band, Espers, to explore the powerful effects of music on film in greater detail. The subject of their experiment? Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, a 1970 surrealist fantasy from Czech director Jaromil Jeres.

Test Spin: Matthew Santos

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

As a Crow Flies is a potent collection of folk rock songs from singer-songwriter Matthew Santos, best known as the vocal accompaniment to Lupe Fiasco on the rapper’s hit single, “Superstar,” from earlier this year. The six-track EP, released last year, is as impressive for Santos’ out-of-this-world voice as it is for the unwavering consistency of the songs and its abundance of soul.

Spin That Funky Music, D.J.!: Disc Jockeys and the Cornell Party Scene

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Every weekend freshmen file out of their North Campus dormitories to head down to the big open party; frat bros and sorority gals dress up nice for formals; those lucky enough to have reached that magical 21st birthday (or to have a good enough fake to get past that pesky drinking age law) get their drank on at Dunbars and dance on tabletops at Johnny O’s; architecture students go to obscure house parties; Cornell, as a whole, gets crunk.

But that’s only half the mission. After successfully lowering their inhibitions to the point where they’ve long since forgotten they have two left feet and alienated all of their friends back home thanks to an embarrassing rendition of Soulja Boy — they want to dance. And to dance they’ll need some sweet tunes.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists Named Slope Day Opener

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 08:47:53 -0400

Adding to an already impressive (if not mainstream) list of performers, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists have signed on to open this year’s Slope Day festivities. The seminal indie rock group will perform in front of hordes of belligerent Cornellians celebrating the last day of classes by hitting Libe Slope (and the bottle), before Hot Hot Heat and headliners Gym Class Heroes take the stage later in the day.

Dr. Seuss Saves Us From Movie Hell

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

♪Though you might hope and wish for good luck, movies before April do generally suck. Your local theater’s selections will just induce gags, unless you enjoy watching Martin Lawrence in drag. But Dr. Seuss gives reprieve from the season’s dismal lows. Horton Hears a Who! is pretty decent fo’ sho’.♪

So my verses don’t exactly rival those of Dr. Seuss, but the sentiment I’m trying to convey is legitimate nonetheless. The months from January through March are traditionally a dumping ground for studios trying to quickly and quietly get rid of projects they probably just realized they should never have made in the first place (“OK! 10,000 B.C. — it’s Spartacus meets Braveheart. But in Ancient Egypt. And with mastadons. Awesome, I think we nailed this one.”).

Dragon Day 2008: From Nerds to Dragon Slayers

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

“WE GO IN WAVES OF FIVE! BLEND IN!”

A crowd of 30 huddled on the corner of East Avenue and Campus Road this past Tuesdsay night. Everyone was incognito, disguises carefully coordinated, voices masked and unrecognizable.

Who were these shady individuals and what were their intentions? Were they black-ops staging a coup? No, not creepy enough. The Feds orchestrating a sting operation? Maybe, but judging by the lack of firearms, probably not. Corporate fixers a la Michael Clayton? Marines? Members of a cult? Well, that last one might not be so far off the mark.

Acclaimed Dancer Comes to Cornell

Peter Finocchiaro — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

“Screw chicks tonight, I just want to dance!” Hold your horses, hot shot. Goofy, side-to-side grinding at frat parties can only take you so far in this world. And don’t even think about trying to get fancy — skanking might seem like a legitimate form of dance after a few ’Stones, but, alas, this is not the case. And, yeah, trying to Cripp Walk might seem like a good idea, but it’ll probably just end in tears (I may or may not know about this from personal experience, but that’s another story entirely). Why don’t you just sit down and take some notes from an expert before you embarrass yourself any more.

Beat of the Week (3-6-08): Kanye West, "Flashing Lights"

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

First, a story: I was sitting in Uris the other night, during what must have been the least efficient, most unnecessary all-nighter I or anyone else has ever experienced. Right around 4 a.m. I was scouring YouTube for music videos to watch, and I stumbled across Kanye West’s new “Flashing Lights” video.

Test Spin: Goldfrapp

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I’m not too surprised that I was immediately hooked on Goldfrap’s new album, Seventh Tree, after listening through it only once. Some of its most immediate tracks fall into the very same category in which I’d place the Polyphonic Spree’s over-the-top, cheesy super-pop — admittedly a favorite genre of mine.

Cornell in Tinsel Town: Future Filmmakers

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The future of Cornell’s film legacy rests in the hands of its current film students. Some of their current short films have wound up on YouTube. Let’s take a look at a couple:

Library Limbo: Animated by artists in Film 325 in summer 2006, this short video was done in the style of old-school cartoons of the 1920s and ’30s. McGraw Clocktower, with a huge smile on its face, bobs up and down; the doors of Uris Library blink open and shut; someone in the cocktail lounge sneaks a sip from his flask. Basically a pretty accurate representation of the typical day at the library, right? Seriously though, this cartoon is pretty awesome.

The Cornell Connection: Drew Brody '94 and David Greenman '00

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The Sun: So, you two are working with Cornell in Hollywood. How’d you guys get involved with that?

David Greenman: The program is a subsidiary of the Cornell Club in Los Angeles, and it’s been built up a lot in the last couple of years thanks to Nancy Mills and Nick Muccini [from the Cornell Club in LA’s Board of Directors] and other alumni. They’ve really created a great community out there that gets better every year.

Last year, Drew and I happened to be at an event, and Nancy Mills said to me, “How would you feel about running an internship program for us?” and I said,“Oh, OK.”

She said, “I think Drew Brody’s interested as well, and I said, “OK.”

She said, “Here’s the paper work.”

“Great.”

Beat of the Week

Peter Finocchiaro — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

It's around this time of the year that I start to truly, deeply despise Ithaca. I used to love snow; nothing was better than waking up in the morning and seeing the ground blanketed in cold, white fluff. Now snow means I'm going to be cold and wet from head to toe by the time I've completed my 15-minute trek up the hill to reach my 10:10. And this seems to be the story every other day. That's it; I'm transferring to somewhere warm. Real warm. University of Ecuador?

Strange but True

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

A film that’s both intimate in its presentation and ambitious in its topical scope, Strange Culture starts by addressing a private tragedy and ends with fireworks, challenging our government’s assault on civil liberties. Directed by Cornell’s own A.D. White Professor-at-Large Lynn Hershman-Leeson, the film applies both dramatic and documentary-style narrative structures to tell the story of SUNY Buffalo Professor Steve Kurtz and his battle with the United States Department of Justice.

Test Spin: The Helio Sequence

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The beginning of “Broken Afternoon,” off of The Helio Sequence’s Keep Your Eyes Ahead, is sort of a microcosm of the rest of the album. The song opens with atmospheric hums and drones familiar to electronic music, but is shortly thereafter interrupted by the incongruous strumming of an acoustic guitar and … wait, is that Bob Dylan singing?

FIVES (2-21-08)

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

FIVES” is the brand-new Daze feature that gives Sun writers the chance to rattle off lists, observations, ruminations, musings, or rankings on anything and everything having to do culture in Ithaca or at large, all for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.

Cornell will be treated to a smorgasbord of musicians, big and small, over the course of the semester. Here are five acts to watch out for in the coming months:

Taj Mahal (Tonight, State Theater):

Blues, Reggae, Cajun, Bluegrass, African — the broad range of influences this Grammy Award-winning performer boasts makes my head spin — and also makes me wish I had tickets to see him.

Super Furry Animals (Tomorrow, 2/22, No Radio Records)

British Sea Power Test Spin

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The sign of a good band is consistency. The sign of a great one is evolution. Where does British Sea Power fall? Well, somewhere in between.

Their progression from post-punk-esque to airy indie-rock takes a new turn as the English quartet goes bigger, louder and higher. In much the same way as The Arcade Fire’s symphonic ambitions shaped Neon Bible, so do the same epic aspirations drive Rock Music, and the result is pretty damn listenable. Vocals echo, chimes ring and multiple guitars pound out riffs; it all meshes into something that fits somewhere between The Cure and The Postal Service, certainly a change from their days riffing Joy Division.

Beat of the Week (2-12-2008)

Peter Finocchiaro — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Super Tuesday was the first big leap into the election fray, and things should cool down for a little while in the national arena before the next round of important primaries hits in March. However, if you were planning on enjoying a few weeks of peace and quiet, think again.

Cornell’s Student Assembly will be holding their elections in two weeks time, so don’t be surprised when someone on Ho Plaza hands you a piece of candy and a quarter card that says “STEVE SUPPORTS SUSTAINABILITY. VOTE FOR STEVE!!!” Oy.

Rare Beauty

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

First thing’s first. What is a “diving bell” exactly? Maybe it’s just me, but until I sat down to write this review, I had absolutely no idea what the words meant. Time to do some research.

Apparently, a diving bell is “an open-bottomed chamber supplied with compressed air, in which a person can be let down under water,” (Thanks for lookin’ out, dictionary.com). More specifically, in the context of the new film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, directed by Julian Schnabel, the apparatus in question is Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), one-time editor of the French magazine Elle, who in 1995 suffered a debilitating stroke that left him almost completely paralyzed.

iWars

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The interconnectivity that the digital age has made possible is one of the most significant events in modern history. The Internet has allowed for the transfer of unheard of volumes of data. This ability to trade information with great expedience has allowed for unprecedented economic growth. Truth be told, though, everything I’ve just been saying is soooo 1990s. It takes a lot more to impress people nowadays. Sure, thanks to the World Wide Web, it’s possible to scour Juicy Campus for gossip (and thank the heavens, because without it how would we ever know who the “fugliest guys and girls at Cornell” are — truly classy stuff, no?). But so what?

The Cornell Connection: Tom Swartwout '86

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Anxious about what to do with your life? Have no fear. Tom Swartwout ’86 didn’t know what he was going to do until late on in his Cornell experience, and now he’s the regular film editor for legendary director Sydney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Network). Most recently he worked with Lumet on the critically lauded Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, starring Ethan Hawke and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, about two brothers with money troubles who decide to knock off their parents’ Westchester jewelry store, with tragic results. Swartwout will be introducing the film tonight at 7:15 in Willard Strait Hall when it’s screened for Cornell Cinema.

The Sun: You were a Film Studies major [at Cornell]?

Beat o' The Week (2-5-08)

Peter Finocchiaro — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Aaaah, interviews! For the last month, overstretched Cornell juniors have been stressing over internships, completing dozens of resume drops and the high-stress interrogations … errr ... interviews that follow. Those with Gordon Gekko ambitions salivate at the prospect of signing bonuses and BMWs (and even the 100-hour workweeks) that lie ahead. JP, Goldman, Citi, Suisse; these names control the destinies, and more specifically the wallets, of hordes of hungry finance go-getters, not only in Ithaca, but all around the world. Thus, it seems appropriate that this week’s featured beat be the seminal Pink Floyd jam, “Money.”

Cornell Cinema: The Blame Game

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While Blame it on Fidel, written and directed by Julie Gavras, isn’t fantastical like its French-film compatriot Amelie, it does possess a certain amount of its own magic, albeit of a more understated variety. The story, set in 1970s France, is an exploration of ideology, observing its effect on one little girl who’s presented with various political philosophies over the course of the film.

The Cool

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Sense some similarities between Lupe Fiasco and fellow mainstream hip-hopper Kanye West? Don’t be surprised. Both rappers hail from Chi-town, and both place production on a pedestal, utilizing mesmerizing sonic backdrops and elevating their game to ambitious heights. What’s the difference then between the two? Well, quite simply, Lupe’s better.

Monster Mash

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Cynics and skeptics long ago dubbed Cloverfield, the mystery-shrouded monster movie from Lost creator J.J. Abrams, “Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project.” The phrase was meant to be a jab at the film’s handheld, “shot by the characters who were really there”-style camerawork. This type of criticism, however is unfair, because Cloverfield, directed by newcomer Matt Reeves, cannot rightly be qualified as anything so insignificant as a Blair Witch knock-off. At the core of the film is the epic struggle of its characters to survive in the face of unimaginable horrors.

How to Survive the Writers’ Strike

Peter Finocchiaro — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

As long as the writers’ strike rages on, loyal viewers will be deprived of some of their favorite shows (the absence of The Office stings especially badly). However, with the New Year, many old favorites will see their triumphant returns. While the prospect of uncovering new secrets surrounding the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 might have Lost fans licking their lips, more intriguing might be the slew of new original series that mid-season brings. Here’s a cheat sheet to break down some of the more interesting new shows, with the aim of helping you to differentiate the good from the bad. Which shows will be this season’s Mad Men (the good ones) and which will be Cavemen (i.e. absolute crap)?

The Birth of Cool

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

One of the funniest stories to come out of 2007 is about a 16-year-old girl dealing with the social and emotional pitfalls of being a pregnant teen; shockingly, it doesn’t involve Jamie Lynn Spears. Juno, the second film from director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking), transcends the limited accessibility of the indie-film genre, and delivers a refreshing movie-going experience with universal appeal. Penned by secretary-turned-stripper-turned-screenwriter Diablo Cody, Juno is a razor-sharp comedy that packs an emotional punch takes a surprisingly mature look at a hot-button issue that too easily could have been politicized.

Buzzkill

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:35:36 -0500

Bee Movie checklist: Lush animation? Check. The return of Jerry Seinfeld? Check. Funny? ... Did somebody forget to bring the funny? Whoops.

So if you’re Jerry Seinfeld, you’ve taken a 10-year hiatus from the national spotlight after wrapping up the most successful sitcom in the history of television, and you decide you want to work again, what's your first instinct? Seinfeld has received offers from everyone in show business in the last few years, but he seemed content to just do his stand up and enjoy life after Seinfeld. That was the case until one fateful evening, when he pitched an idea to Steven Spielberg over dinner for his triumphant return. What was the idea? A movie about bees.

The Assassination Doesn't Hold Up

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, a marathon neo-western from Australian writer-director Andrew Dominik, could have been a classic. There are traces of a masterpiece interspersed throughout the overlong two-and-a-half hour run time. The problem lies not in the quality of the content, per se, but rather the sometimes-excruciating pace at which the story unfolds. Sometimes minutes fly by unnoticed. Other times, especially as the film builds towards the climactic murder, every second lingers, and time slows down to a stop. Add to these pacing issues a monotonous score that tends to make each scene blend together into a haze of tedium and you have yourself a movie more likely to bore its viewers to sleep than leave them satisfied as the credits roll.

Lawyers, Guns and Money

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:59:59 -0400

Michael Clayton is about that small, powerful class of individuals who run civilization from high above. This elite social order is well versed in the euphemistic language of business warfare and inhabits a rarefied world that’s both cutthroat and amoral but disguised behind a veneer of corporate respectability. The film focuses primarily on the legal operatives that allow this commercial network to function, unrestrained by silly concepts like the rule of law. These are people who exhibit an almost freakish level of commitment to their trade, largely at the expense of a private life. It’s no surprise that all of the most prominent players in Michael Clayton carry with them immense emotional baggage, the eponymous lawyer being no exception.

Who Owns The Night?

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

In the late 1980s, the New York Police Department adopted the slogan “We Own the Night,” as their promise to wrest back control of the streets from the gangsters and drug dealers who rose to prominence and threatened to tear the city apart.

New Plan, Same Old Game

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Movie studios love to recycle ideas. Why hire a talented writer to pen an original story when you can get a hack to regurgitate clichés and still gross millions at the box office? Did the executives who green-lit The Game Plan actually think, “Sure, it’s been done before, but I think we can make it better, as long as we get The Rock to star in it?” The Game Plan is one of those unmemorable Hollywood rehashes, the kind that fills theaters and makes money, but makes no real impression on the audience and doesn’t have much of anything to say.

Sneak Peek: The Kingdom

Peter Finocchiaro — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Opening September 28, Peter Berg’s The Kingdom is part police procedural, part balls-to-the-wall, Black Hawk Down-style military action flick. However, when the movie does decide to reflect on the issue of violence in the Middle East, it actually makes some fairly astute observations, ham-fisted though their presentation might sometimes be.

War Veteran Speaks to Cornell Students

Peter Finocchiaro — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 02:19:29 -0400

Article body:

Dr. Roscoe Brown visited Cornell Tuesday to deliver a presentation entitled “The Tuskegee Airmen: Challenge to an American Myth,” in which he described his experience as a member of the eponymous World War II United States Army Air Corps unit, the first in the nation’s history to enlist African American pilots.

C.U. Architecture Program Ranks 1st in Yearly Survey

Peter Finocchiaro — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 02:35:31 -0500

Article body:

Cornell’s undergraduate architecture program has once again been named the nation’s best by DesignIntelligence, a monthly architecture publication. The magazine, which releases its survey of America’s Best Architecture Schools survey annually, polled several highly accredited architecture firms, which felt that Cornell’s undergrad program “best prepared students for today’s real-world practice.”