Smile Politely. Speak Directly. Champaign-Urbana's Alternative Daily

There is much more than meets the eye in James Marsh’s thrilling new documentary, Man on Wire. On the surface, the film appears to be a recounting of one of the most spectacular stunts of the 20th Century, as it documents Philippe Petit’s daring high wire walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in August of 1974. That feat and the daring, planning and luck that were required to pull it off bests any Hollywood caper film and it is all presented in intricate detail here. However, what makes the film sing is Petit himself who, through archival footage and recent interviews, recounts what the feat meant to him and his colleagues, all of whom were forever changed by this once in a lifetime act.

An interesting thing I noticed while going through this week's DVD releases: although this last TV season was shortened by the writer's strike, television on DVD is as expensive as it ever was. Thus you can own 10 episodes of The Shield for $59.95 or 18 episodes of the resurrected One Tree Hill for the same price. Considering the addictive nature of television, it's not surprising that the studios would try to crank up these prices as high as they can, but $6 for one episode?

Those are crack prices.

Heroes' abbreviated second season is also out on DVD today, as Producer Jeph Loeb continues his quest to make traditional cult material into the stuff of boring prime time soap operas. There is something about Heroes that is unappealing to the full-time nerd, or at least this one, in the same way that Loeb's Smallville show has always been. Here's looking forward to Joss Whedon's return to cult television with Dollhouse, which will surely be canceled after a season and a half but will live forever in our hearts and hotel convention rooms.

August has been described as wearing a “golden crown,” has been said to “rush by like desert rainfall” and “create as she slumbers.” Superstition holds that if the first week of the month is a scorcher, the winter will be long and cold. On a personal note, my father used to refer to the month as “a blistering ballbreaker.” For the eighth month of the year 2008, I would describe it as the funniest month of the year, at least as far as movies are concerned. Having been entertained (bludgeoned) by the big budget Hollywood blockbusters, a series of sidesplitting comedies have been released in the past three weeks that have proven to be a welcome respite.

Thunder is the most refreshing, brave and entertaining comedy of the year, and it didn’t come from an independent studio or an up-and-coming filmmaker.

Ben Stiller perfectly assembles pieces of pop culture, satire and humanity to present a much-needed comedy that really was either going to be a hit or a miserable miss.

Clear skies ahead for Thunder. You are now free to roam about this review.

It has been said that in politics, we get the candidates we deserve. The same could be said for movies. Nothing dictates more what you see at the multiplex than what has been successful at the box office and, as such, the rule is that vacuous, low-brow entertainment is what is playing on most screens. There have been some rare exceptions this year (Iron Man, The Dark Knight and Tropic Thunder) but by and large, what has cluttered nation’s screens have been made to distract or bludgeon us, and any movie that has the temerity to try to engage viewer’s minds or hearts has been brushed aside. Case in point: Kevin Costner’s fine, pointed political dramedy, Swing Vote.

This weekend I took a trip out to the Octave Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, Ill. The museum contains a number of extensive indoor exhibits showcasing the history of the Chanute Air Base from when it opened in 1917 until it's closure in 1993. The air base was also original home to the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II and the museum features an exihibit on the history surrounding the squadron. In addition to the indoor exhibits, the hangar includes a vast collection of aircraft from very early gliders through modern jets.

With so much art lining the streets of downtown Champaign this Saturday for the annual Downtown Festival of the Arts, it will be easy to miss some creations, but Cindy Sampson’s art will probably grab your attention.

Sampson’s display, “Uncycled Oddities” a series of surreal sculptures portray toy baby doll heads popping out and hoisted on objects such as a coffee carafe. The creations will be on display Saturday courtesy of Wind, Water and Light during the street festival.

August is looking to be as bleak a month for new DVDs as it traditionally is for theatrical releases. This coming week's new DVDs are, unlike our theaters, blissfully Brendan Fraser-free, but don't get excited. Mr. Fraser's participation in two of the country's top five movies means that there is a week somewhere in the near future during which we will once again be berated with family friendly one-liners from the immediate classics Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D and The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Crystal Skulls or whatever it's called. And despite his absence from our video store shelves, not a whole lot else is happening on them.

Tomorrow night, Illini Union Board hauls their big screen out to the Quad for the last time this summer to present the Marvel super hero flick, Iron Man. The movie explodes at 9 p.m., and the view — under the stars, of course — won't cost you a thing, save a few mosquito bites.

It comes as no surprise that the latest, and probably final, chapter of the X-Files saga is failing at the box office. Not only is it going up against the box office juggernaut that is Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight — but it also is based on a television show whose popularity peaked a decade ago and went off the air in 2002. However, I think there’s another element at play here that is keeping away crowds in droves: it’s too damn smart for the average American film goer.