Arts & Entertainment Beatles Musical Rocks Across the 60s Review of “Across The Universe” Iain Reeve I remember years ago I was working a summer job as a lowly gas station attendant. Between fights with asshole customers, and the mindless busywork that I used to fill the hours I sold for eight dollars each, I used to come up with ideas for movies and plays. At the time I wanted to be a film/stage director—an idea long abandoned—and one of my plum ideas was a musical using all the characters and places of Beatles songs, all set to the songs of The Beatles. While I’m bummed—but obviously not surprised—that someone beat me to the punch, Julie Traymore’s vision is far more substantive and awe inspiring than anything that could have come out of a twenty-something former gas jockey. Across the Universe follows Jude, a young working stiff from Liverpool as he journeys to New York during the 60s. Along the way he befriends Ivy League dropout Maxwell — known for his silver hammer—and his beautiful sister Lucy. Young people being as they are, the two fall madly for each other, just in time to take a tour manic and somewhat clichéd tour of the hippie decade. They are joined by other people shoved in because they are named after Beatles songs, among them Sadie, JoJo, and Prudence. However, conflicting views of the times, the Vietnam war, and good old fashioned breakdowns in communication threaten to tear the group apart. But honestly, the story isn’t really the focus. It’s fine enough, but someone looking for a real journey through the 60s should see Forest Gump. What’s important is that the songs are amazing and—usually—cleverly integrated into the plot and that the people and scenery are beautiful. The songs in the film span the Beatles’ career and come in a semi- chronological order. Simpler times are set by “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and “Tf I Fell In Love With You” among others. While the Vietnam and protest aspects of the film are peppered with the Beatles more political and rock-oriented songs like “Helter Skelter,” “I Want You (She’s So Heavy),” and “Revolution 1.” The songs are well placed and diverse, making sure every Beatles fan will hear several songs they love. And really that’s the charm of the film. The big Beatles fan will love just sitting back, looking at the pretty scenery, having the occasional laugh, and waiting for the next song to pop up. The arrangements of the songs run from serviceable to invigorating, like most attempts to redo swathes of the Beatles catalogue, like in the soundtrack to J] Am Sam. The performances are like the plot, suitably generic and semi-human. You can only expect so much in a musical, and these folks do it. While it’s hard to tell how much studio doctoring went into the actor’s voices, but they all—especially Jim Sturgess who plays Jude—sound pretty good. Cameos from Bono as Doctor Robert and comedian Eddie Izzard as Mr. Kite feel somewhat forced, but are entertaining enough I suppose. As much as I love Izzard, they should have pushed him to sing “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite” —it’s not exactly a hard song. Instead he talks his way through it kind of awkwardly. While it’s true that my generation needed another movie telling us how cool and important our parent’s generation was like a hole in the head, this one gives me something I feel there can almost not be enough movies about: The Beatles. If you’re a fan of movie musicals or the Fab Four you should check it out. If you’re not, then skip it. It’s pretty simple. WRITE FOR THE OTHER PRESS Sports! News! Questions? Please email other.editor@ gmail.com Features! We need them all! (And a Graphic Editor, too!) Continued from Page 9 HPV Vaccine Josie Padre that the HPV vaccine is a worthwhile cancer prevention strategy. Dr. Murray Fyfe, Medical Health Officer for Vancouver Island makes several points in response to the concerns raised my Alan Cassels and Abby Lippman. The goal of the immunization campaign, reports Dr Fyfe, is to reduce the risk women will get cervical cancer from the two strains of HPV, type 16 and 18. While it’s true that there is no epidemic, every year 1,350 women will be diagnosed with the disease and 400 women will die of it. In both men and women, HPV causes genital warts as well as cancers of the penis, anus and vulva. According to Dr. Fyfe, it’s quite normal to begin a vaccination program without knowing the answers to questions such as how long vaccine will protect against the disease, as was the case in 2004 when health officials began immunizing against a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. He says that before it was approved for use, Gardasil was subjected to a thorough scientific review by Health Canada. Also, the World Health Organization’s Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has reviewed all the data on the safety of the vaccine. Decisions, decisions So how to decide whether Gardasil is a good idea or not? Like every other consumer choice, it’s a matter of doing the research and choosing an option that works for you. Even if Gardasil protects against HPV it does not provide immunity to other sexually transmitted infections such as‘AIDS and Chlamydia, — and it doesn’t mean you can forgo regular Pap tests. On the other hand, if having a shot means you don’t have to be included in that group of 400 women who will die of the disease this year, it might be worth it.