Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, says, "To have a movie that emphasizes murder and mayhem at Christmas, a time of celebration and joy around the world seems to be ill founded." Jennifer Giroux, co-founder of Operation Just Say Merry Christmas, adds, "The use of religious music 'Silent Night' and the nativity set on the front porch in one scene are insensitive to Christians. It's not enough to ignore and omit Christmas, but now it has to be offended, insulted and desecrated. Our most sacred holiday, actually a holy day, is being assaulted."

Monster Chiller Horror Theatre
by Matt Grady

It's Tuesday, Halloween. Still nursing a hangover from the weekend, you confine your celebrations to a scary movie screening. Cable's best offering is Addams Family Values, and you're fed up with The Grudge-style cheap scares passing for horror cinema these days. Time to raid the video store of the following frightful classics, recommended for lights-out viewing.

The Haunting (1963)
Based on the Shirley Jackson novel, The Haunting of Hill House, and directed by Robert Wise, who would next helm The Sounds of Music. Clever lighting and camera angles imbue the imposing, neo-Gothic mansion with a sinister presence. Unease sets in as day turns to night: the house fills with sonorous footfalls, characters are awoken by the cries of children and doors creak open of their own accord. Beware the computer graphics cartoon that is the remake.

Halloween (1978)
Tranquil suburbia becomes a shadowy, spectral nightmare in the John Carpenter classic. The chilling piano score, the wraithlike Michael Myers and an emphasis on scares over blood resulted in the highest-grossing independent movie of its day. Jamie Lee Curtis's debut film, then 19. Major studios were quick churn out bloodier, inferior clones. Forget the Halloween sequels and their attempts to explain Michael's mentality. As Chris Rock said, "What ever happened to crazy? What, you can't be crazy no more?"

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Shot in black and white, Dead's low budget, natural settings (Pennsylvania) and unknown actors actually benefit the film, giving it a documentary feel. George Romero's first feature revolutionized horror cinema, with its unrelenting dread and scenes of flesh-eating zombies. Holed up in a farmhouse, while the undead amass outside, the main characters struggle between surviving the night and maintaining their sanity.

The Exorcist (1973)
A harrowing, unsettling film, as potent today as it was 30 years ago. Director William Friedkin pulls no punches in depicting a foul-mouthed, pea-soup-spewing, head-spinning demon's possession of a 12-year-old girl. Fourteen-year-old Linda Blair was nominated for an Academy Award, but likely lost out when it was discovered another actress dubbed the demon's voice. Avoid the overblown, laughable Exorcist II at all costs.

An American Werewolf in London (1981)
"There's a bad moon on the rise." The English countryside is best enjoyed during the day, as a pair of American backpackers learn in John Landis's black-humour-laced lupine thriller. Ghoulish hallucinations and the main character's guilty conscious collide in a porno theatre. Rick Baker, who designed the werewolf-transformation effect, won the first ever Academy Award for Makeup.

Alien (1979)
H.R. Giger's brooding, biomechanical imagery comes to life in Ridley Scott's lavish production — a horror spin on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. A taut thriller, with strong performances and several bloody, slimy surprises. "In space, no one can hear you scream."

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Despite its reputation, the original Chainsaw is relatively gore free. Instead, it's a disturbing, claustrophobic affair that will leave you fearing hitchhikers, highway truck stops and family dinners at isolated countryside houses. Oh, and meat. Like Psycho, aspects of the story were inspired by real-life murderer Ed Gein.

Se7en (1995)
Depositing the viewer into morbid crime-scene photos, David Fincher's follow-up to Alien³ is memorable for its seedy, grimy production design, literate script (Dante's The Divine Comedy) and deranged villain. Featuring Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt before they became tabloid mainstays. The twist ending will stay with you for days after the credits roll.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Behind the piercing eyes of renowned psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter lies a vicious cannibal. Locked behind a transparent cell, he must settle for preying on the mind — opposed to the liver — of the rare visitor. It's the brutal hints of his potential which make him so terrifying. To date, the only thriller movie to sweep the Academy Awards — and deservedly so.

Also recommended: Psycho, The Shining, Black Christmas, The Vanishing (1988) and Ravenous.

Host An Auto Show For $5
by Matt Grady

Three students turned a $5 start-up capital into the first Victoria International Auto Show.

Over 100 new cars filled the UVic Fine Arts parking lot, gleaming in the 30-degree sun, inviting a steady stream of locals on June 25.

The auto show, the first in Victoria in over a decade, ran from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Porsches and Pontiacs, Hondas and Hyundais, Minis and Mitsubishis reflected off the sunglasses of onlookers. The Rotary Club of Victoria raffled off a Smart Car and Jack FM provided tunes.

"Planning an event like that properly takes three to four months," said Dave Adamowicz who, with fellow business students Paul Taylor and Brette Carrigan, organized the show in only six weeks for their summer entrepreneurship course. Taylor's father suggested an auto show for the course project, which was assigned the first day.

"It only took a five-minute discussion to realize that's what we wanted to do," said Adamowicz.

The first two weeks of the project involved selling the auto show idea to Victoria dealerships and the mapping of expenses. Taylor and Adamowicz met with sales managers and presented a dealership participation proposal, which outlined who they were, their motivation for organizing an auto show and how they would market the event.

The proposal, a "work in progress," was constantly updated and refined as more dealerships got on board�16 in all, including one in Nanaimo.

It took "three to four more days than we thought it would for them to decide," said Adamowicz. "We had to really persist."

In addition to a class presentation, detailing the experience of selling the project to the dealerships, Taylor, Adamowicz and Carrigan turned in a 10-page report to professor Ana Maria Peredo, which was very well received.

The remainder of the project involved bookings, confirmations and set-up for the auto show. A website was set up, plus 5,000 brochures and 60 posters were distributed.

Sponsors for the event included the Times Colonist, Driving.ca and A-Channel News.

The Fine Arts parking lot was secured for the weekend, with dealers parking their cars and prepping for the event on Saturday
evening. The group was not permitted to outsource security, so Taylor and Adamowicz dedicated their night to watching over the cars, with campus security making hourly rounds.

A fantastic turnout, remarked David Glabais, sales manager of Honda City, who "jumped on full force" for the project.

"We got a lot of the people in town that don't get to see our vehicles," said Mike Delmaire of Saunders Subaru of Colwood.

Positive feedback from attendees reaffirmed the hard work and dedication put into such an ambitious project.

"People were super friendly," said Adamowicz.

Looking ahead, Taylor and Adamowicz have applied for a business licence under the name Dynamic Planning and are organizing another auto show for next year.

"We made so many connections with sales managers," noted Adamowicz. "Prior to this, I never had to sell anything."

Summer Blockbusters 101
by Matt Grady

It's May and the summer blockbuster season has begun with the release of Mission: Impossible III. Looking for relief from the heat, crowds will flock to air-conditioned theatres, two-fist a bladder-burster-sized drink and butter-drenched popcorn, and bask in the on-screen explosions instead. Check your brain at the door and prepare to be immersed in a visual/aural feast of all-star casts, car chases, choreographed fights, jaw-dropping visual effects, surround sound and general mayhem.

On the menu for summer 2006 are The Da Vinci Code, Poseidon, X3, Superman Returns, Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and Miami Vice. Will they make their mark on US box-office history? Let's take a look at competition from years passed. To level the playing field, grosses have been adjusted for inflation (i.e. the average movie ticket in the US cost $2.05 in 1975 and $6.40 today). No dramas, straight comedies or animated films were considered, despite their summertime diversion appeal.

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
Shot back-to-back with The Matrix Revolutions, Reloaded features elaborate fight scenes interspersed with wry pop-philosophy ramblings. DVD scene selection suits the film well - skip ahead to the freeway chase.
Credits: Written and directed by The Wachowski Brothers. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hugo Weaving.
Academy Awards: none
Adjusted Gross: $298 million
Trivia: The role of The Architect was written for Sean Connery, who turned it down because he couldn't understand the concept of the movie.

Top Gun (1986)
Hotshot fighter pilot learns discipline from his superiors and how to open his heart by his female instructor. Cue jump cuts of F-14 flybys and dogfights with a theatre-shaking rock score, and you've got yourself a Jerry Bruckheimer production. The big winner: your local Air Force recruiter.
Credits: Directed by Tony Scott. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Starring Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan.
Academy Awards: original song ("Take My Breath Away")
Adjusted Gross: $304 million
Trivia: Bryan Adams declined an offer for his song "Only the Strong Survive" to appear on the soundtrack because he felt the film glorified war.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
A cyborg is sent back in time to protect the future leader of humanity against a shape-shifting robot with an affinity for stabbing weapons. The volatile action and story pace are as unrelenting as the Terminators themselves. Arnie's shining moment.
Credits: Directed, produced and co-written by James Cameron. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong and Robert Patrick.
Academy Awards: visual effects, sound effects, make-up and sound
Adjusted Gross: $311 million
Trivia: Held the world record for highest opening-weekend gross of an R-rated film until The Matrix Reloaded.

]]> Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Johnny Depp hams it up amongst swashbucklers, lavish sailing ship sets and CGI ghost pirates. Great fun. The jury's out on who's prettier – Keira Knightley
or Orlando Bloom.
Credits: Directed by Gore Verbinski. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush.
Academy Awards: none
Adjusted Gross: $324 million
Trivia: Michael Keaton, Jim Carrey and Christopher Walken were considered for the role of Jack Sparrow.

Men in Black (1997)
Will Smith keeps Earth's galactic immigrant population in check with one-liners and shiny weapons. Seasoned MIB agent and straight man Tommy Lee Jones shows Smith the ropes. Sci-fi comedy with production design and special effects to spare.
Credits: Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Starring Will Simth and Tommy Lee Jones.
Academy Awards: make-up
Adjusted Gross: $349 million
Trivia: David Schwimmer and Clint Eastwood were offered the roles of Agents J and K respectively.

Twister (1996)
It's a thrill-seekers' paradise as tornado chasers speed through the Midwest in their pursuit to understand the nature of the beast. Along with Dante's Peak and Volcano, 1996-97 saw a rebirth of the '70s disaster movie, updated with CGI.
Credits: Directed Jan de Bont. Produced and co-written by Michael Crichton. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Academy Awards: visual effects and sound
Adjusted Gross: $350 million
Trivia: Lois Smith's character is shown reading Dante's Inferno. In the book, a tornado in the second circle of Hell punishes people ruled by Lust.

Back to the Future (1985)
Fleeing terrorists, Michael J. Fox travels back to 1955 in a DeLorean. When his teenage mother develops a crush on him, his entire existence is threatened. That is, unless he can set her up with his dorky teenage father before returning somehow to 1985. But the local bully and time paradoxes aplenty stand in his way. A fun ride for all.
Credits: Directed and co-written by Robert Zemeckis. Executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Crispin Glover.
Academy Awards: sound effects editing
Adjusted Gross: $377 million
Trivia: Corey "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" Hart was asked to screen test for the role of Marty.

Batman (1989)
Memories of Adam West in tights duking it out with colourful, campy villains are laid to rest in Tim Burton's dark, gothic vision of Gotham City and the Caped Crusader. Jack Nicholson steals the show as the sinister, maniacal Joker. Excellent companion piece to Batman Begins.
Credits: Directed by Tim Burton. Starring Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger.
Academy Awards: art direction-set decoration
Adjusted Gross: $402 million
Trivia: In an earlier version of the script, the Flying Graysons, a family of trapeze artists, perform in the Joker's parade. Dick Grayson later becomes Robin.

Ghostbusters (1984)
A team of Saturday Night Live and SCTV alumni posing as bumbling ghost hunters must save New York City from the undead and a Godzilla-sized Marshmallow Man. Who ya gonna call? Sci-fi comedy goodness from the director of Meatballs and Stripes.
Credits: Directed and produced by Ivan Reitman. Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis.
Academy Awards: visual effects and original song (Ray Parker Jr.)
Adjusted Gross: $436 million (original release)
Trivia: Huey Lewis and the News turned down an offer to write and record the theme song.

Independence Day (1996)
A laughable B-movie infused with a $75-million budget, in which the world's major cities are obliterated by invading aliens and it's up to America to save humanity. Only in Hollywood can you teach a biplane pilot to fly an F-18 fighter jet in a matter of hours. Fun to contrast/compare with Spielberg's War of the Worlds.
Credits: Directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. Starring Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Randy Quaid.
Academy Awards: visual effects.
Adjusted Gross: $443 million
Trivia: In the original ending, Randy Quaid's character flies his crop duster, fitted with a missile, into the alien ship.

Jaws (1975)
Thar be rubber sharks in these here waters! Spielberg's second feature film became Hollywood's first summer blockbuster. Jaws does for ocean swimming what Psycho did for motel showering. John William's tense, crescendoing score coupled with the Shark Cam as it closes in on hapless victims makes for a terrifying experience. Close-ups of the problematic, animatronic shark are fortunately avoided till the climax.
Credits: Directed by Steven Spielberg. Starring Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw.
Academy Awards: film editing, original score (John Williams) and sound
Adjusted Gross: $819 million
Trivia: The plausibility of Jaws's explosive end was debunked on a recent episode of MythBusters.

Star Wars (1977)
The ultimate blockbuster film, with nary a Jar Jar in sight. A space-fantasy with roots in mythology, westerns and Saturday matinee serials, set in a lived-in universe populated with rogue aliens, lively droids, noble warriors and sinister villains. Add to that explosive space battles and a rousing John Williams score, and you have a movie experience that ran in theatres for over a year! That's simply unheard of today, where the transition from theatre to DVD is often less than six months.
Credits: Written and directed by George Lucas. Starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness and Peter Cushing.
Academy Awards: costume design, visual effects, film editing, original score (John Williams) and sound
Adjusted Gross: $865 million (original release)
Trivia: Christopher Walkin and Al Pacino were considered for the role of Han Solo. Say hello to my little friend, Jabba!

Sources:
The Internet Movie Database
Box Office Mojo

Bush's Secret Weapon Wears Tights
by Mac Brady

With violence escalating in the Middle East and support for his administration decreasing at home, President George W. Bush announced a new strategy on the War on Terror. "What's faster than a speeding bullet?" Bush asked reporters. "More powerful than a locomotive? Able to leap tall buildings at a single bound? No, not Neo. No, not a rocket-propelled King Kong - come on people, think." After a five-minute pause and faced with blank stares, Bush replied, "Superman - you know, the Man of Steel."

Rumours of Superman's recent demise are unfounded, Bush stated. Though Superman last made headlines twenty years ago with the defeat of Nuclear Man, "I can assure you he'll receive ample press coverage for his return this summer." The rise of worldwide insurgent action "clearly indicates the need for truth, justice and the American way. And only one man, Superman, has built a career on those ideals."

"During our recent phone conversation," Bush told reporters, "I told Superman how much his heroic deeds inspired me with pride as a youth. Every Sunday, I would read in the local paper how he'd defeated yet another threat to our nation. And that's the kind of consistency America needs in its mission overseas."

Bush commended Warner Bros. Entertainment for their instrumental role in bringing Superman out of retirement. Warner executives thanked the President for the military-sponsored expense budget, but offered no further comment.

Regarding Superman arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, Bush had this to say: "It is my firm belief that Luthor is a key figure in the Axis of Evil. Any new dastardly scheme he may mastermind, I am confident Superman will foil."

Bush ended the press conference with a warning to al-Queda. "Osama Bin Laden, you're days of hiding are numbered. Justice may be blind, but Superman has X-ray vision. And you can't hide from that." Bush then paused a moment. "Well, unless you live in a hideout made of lead."