Arts.

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By Steven Cayer, Contributor

nC

he story of Hansel and Gretel

has been told many times
over the years, but the overall
idea is that they found a house
that was made of candy, a witch
tried to eat them, and then they
killed her. Hansel and Gretel:
Witch Hunters (released January

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25) takes the twisted tale and
twists it until you start feeling
sore.

Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and
Gretel’s (Gemma Arterton) lives
start out with the traditional
story. The movie, however,
takes a turn and ages them into
adulthood, when they now
spend their days hunting and
gruesomely killing some nasty
witches.

If you’re in the mood for a
something ridiculous and don’t
care about good acting, story, or
projected blood flying at your
face, you'll have a good time. If
you're looking for something of
a higher quality though, pick a
different movie.

Much of this movie
reminded me of 2005’s The
Brothers Grimm. The big

difference is that director Tommy

Wirkola doesn’t play Hansel and
Gretel’s seriousness for laughs—
although that might not stop you
from laughing anyway.

By Parker Thompson,
Contributor

HOSS

wo years have passed since
the Arts Club welcomed Kide
the Cyclone to its Revue stage on

Granville Island. Taking a leap
of faith by self-producing their
run, the Victoria-born musical
was well received by sold out
Vancouver audiences. The
popularity of the show has only
amplified since, and together
with the Arts Club and PuSh
Festival, Ride the Cyclone will
be here until February 16 at the
Granville Island stage.

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Still of Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters| Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Ride the Cyclone is an unforgettable carnival ride musical

This eccentric musical is
about a teenage choir group
from Uranium, Saskatchewan
that died in a freak roller coaster
accident. Beyond the grave,
these unlucky kids are gathered
together by Karnack, the witty
fortune-telling machine, to
compete in a bizarre game of
fate.

Featuring five of six original

The Cave isnt one to get lost in

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor
gy wy wr
eveloped by Double Fine

Productions and published
by Sega, The Cave (released

6

January 23) seemed to have
all its eggs in the right basket.
Unfortunately, despite some

very cool offerings, it’s not all it

could have been.

In The Cave you are presented

with seven spiffy-looking
characters, all of which will alter
the game somewhat (although
play time should consistently be

between two and four hours):
The Time Traveler, The Scientist,
The Knight, The Adventurer,

The Hillbilly, The Monk, and The
Twins (they count as one). Each
character presents a different skill
that will make your current game
one step easier. Once picking
three characters, the rest is all up
to fate.

cast members, the actors moved
together seamlessly for each
dance piece, their vocal strength
flourished, and the story was
wonderfully driven by the talent
on stage. The musical variety
between the show’s numbers,
from passionate burlesque to
angst-driven rap, made it even
more enjoyable. But while use
of flashy costumes and set

The game’s artwork and
voice acting really are the
best aspects. As for the puzzle
solving, while always silly, it’s
not as fun as it could have been.
Depending on your ability to
put ridiculous objects to use in a
ridiculous situation, you may or
may not have a great time.

Although this isn’t one of

pieces stole the spotlight a little
from the cast, the designs were
effective for the far-fetched show.

Ride the Cyclone is a clever
musical put together by some
very special artists. Since its
inception, the show’s success has
grown steadily across Canada,
with the possibility of a US tour
in the near future. Catch Ride
while you can!

Double Fine’s better works,
one saving grace is that there
is co-op. Play with two other
folks—this option may be the
fine line between an awesome
play through and a mediocre
experience.