Movies The 24th Annual Vancouver Film Festival Hundreds of films screening all over downtown Vancouver in a large variety of categories from countries all over the world. There are many solid Canadian features, a second volley of doc- umentary features after last year’s plethora, and a significant fea- ture on Asian cinema in the “Dragons & Tigers” series. This is a must attend for any film fan. Go to wwwyiff.org or the festival box office on Granville @ Georgia dines arn for tickets. September 29th—October 14th Elizabethtown Starring Orlando Bloom, Kirsten Dunst and Susan Sarandon During his trip back to Kentucky for his father’s memorial, a dejected young man (Bloom) finds inspiration in the form of a flight attendant (Dunst). October 14th The Fog Remake of John Carpenter’s 1980 “classic” A century ago, a ship carrying a leper colony was purposely wrecked by the founders of an isolated Northern California town. Tonight, the ghosts of those who perished years ago seek to date exact their revenge. The Killers Pacific Coliseum Oct. 13 @ 7:30 Tix $31.50 oy — at Ticketmaster and Zulu The Constante Richard’s on Richards Oct. 14 @ 7:30 Tix $16 available at Ticketmaster and Oya Nada Surf — Richard’s on Richards Oct. 18 @8 Tix $14 available at Ticketmaster and Zulu Theatre The Diary of Anne Frank An adaptation of the classic about a young girl who kept a diary in a Nazi concentration camp. Stanley Theatre Sept. 22-Oct. 23 Tix $24.75 - 59.50, call 604.687.1644. Mom’s The Word 2: Unhinged: Tales from the Front Lines of Motherhood Granville Island Stage Oct. 12-Nov. 12 Tix $25- 35.50, call 604.280.3311 Missing Drama with all proceeds going to an endowment fund for sur- vivors of setious crime Vancouver East Cultural Centre Oct. 29 Tix by donation, call 604.855.0637 Campus Events The Amelia Douglas Gallery presents Boris Sichons collec- tion of instruments from around the world Featuring photo- graphs by Jan Joyce Sept. 22-Nov. 5, Opening reception September 22 @ 2-5:30 pm, Artists talk September 23 @ 12-1pm For Gallery times, call 604- 527-5495, Noon at New West presents Sukha Trio, featuring: Jared Burrows on guitar, Colin MacDonald on saxophone, and Clyde Reed on bass. Performing Arts Theatre Oct. 13 @ 12:30 pm A&E Smith & Reeve at the movies: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride Iain Reeve, A&E Editor and Steph Smith, OP Contributor In the spirit of (and from the creator of) The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride follows the exploits of Victor, the son of wealthy fish merchants. While Victor quickly falls for his betrothed fiancé Victoria, he also quickly and accidentally falls into the arms of another woman. While this would normally be problem enough, there is one other problem: she’s dead. Reeve: This movie came out with a lot of high expectations. The first project of its type Burton has tried since the delightful The Nightmare Before Christmas, the pressure was no doubt also on the Depp-Burton-Elfman trini- ty considering the wicked showing they had earlier in the year with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. 1 am, however, sad to say that the film does not live up to expectations. Even if I cast aside, for a moment, any attempt to compare this to Nightmare, this is still a substandard film. The plot is rushed, a fact not helped by the film’s incredibly short length. The audience is not given enough time to get very attached to any of the characters, let alone feel any sense of urgency in the events transpiring. The audience never doubts that things will turn out peachy keen and, while I hate to ruin things, they do. The film is neither entirely dramatic nor entirely comedic and does a piss poor job of both. The songs are disappointingly unmemorable and there are too many characters for such a short film. A good story is built around strong characters that the viewer can build a relationship with, not a slew of one-note gag- gers who disappear as quickly as they arrive. The only plus notes in this film come from the strong visuals, and the solid voice acting. The cast of Burton regulars get the job done with style. Of par- ticular note is Michael Gough, who played Alfred in 1988’s Batman, as the world of the dead’s neighbour- hood priest. The incomparable Christopher Lee, as the living world priest, was also excellent. Visually, the film is a treat but still falls slightly short of the stan- dard set by Nightmare 12 years ago. This is a renter, best left to the Burton-devout and fans of predictable overdone storytelling. Smith: This week’s film was Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. I think that some background is required on this one before I get into it though. I am a huge Tim Burton fan. I have loved almost every film he has done, and I own many of them on DVD. When I first heard about Corpse Bride, I was ecstatic! This was to be a film in the same vein of The Nightmare Before Christmas, and I loved that movie to bits. On that note, I did like Corpse Bride very much, but it is nowhere near Burton’s regular caliber of film. It was short, with a running time of a mere 76 minutes. I don’t know about you, but when I pay $11 to see a movie, I want it to be longer than a Monday night TV drama. My second complaint is in regards to the songs. Once again, like Nightmare Before Christmas, this film was peppered with musical num- bers written by Tim Burton’s perpetual musical col- laborator, Danny Elfman. Unlike Nightmare, these songs were easily forgettable. If you were to ask me now to recall a melody from the movie, I could not. They were okay musically, but the lyrics seemed a bit lacking, However, despite those faults, the movie was visu- ally spectacular. I loved the way it looked. The anima- tion was beautiful and the lighting was incredible. I am a big fan of stop motion animation, especially when done in a classical sense, without the use of computers. It has a feel that is incredible and a look that is visually stunning. Also, the voices in the film! With a voice-acting cast including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Albert Finney, Tracey Ullman, Michael Gough, and Christopher Lee, how can you go wrong? All in all I say it was an okay movie. It was not great, mind you, but in the end it was pretty good. On a scale of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands to Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, | give it a’Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow.