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RSS feedsAuthor: Ramin Setoodeh
Editor in Chief
Articles by this author:
Homoeroticism returns to the big screen in ‘Starsky’
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In “Starsky & Hutch,” Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson play a pair of cops out to protect the citizens of Bay City, a swinging town of skyscrapers.
An interview with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, stars of 'Starsky & Hutch'
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MARINA DEL REY, Calif.—”Starsky and Hutch,” the television show, is more dated than lava lamps. Can you still dig it?
Date the stars of 'Tad Hamilton'
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BEVERLY HILLS — Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace and Josh Duhamel congregate in a narrow hall on the second floor of the Four Seasons.
Ashton Kutcher calls it quits
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BEVERLY HILLS — Celebrities here can rest easier now because Ashton Kutcher ain’t going to “punk” them anymore. The 25-year-old actor confirmed earlier this month that he was calling it quits on the MTV show “Punk’d” after this season.
'Butterfly' can't flap past silly screenplay
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In “The Butterfly Effect,” Ashton Kutcher wakes up trapped inside a prison, a mental institution and — of all terrors — a sorority house.
Make a Date with 'Tad Hamilton'
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“Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!
How to spend your prime-time
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The bad news: Alison, the retail sales associate from Pittsburgh, didn’t win “Big Brother 4” on Wednesday night — despite a summer-long stay in the CBS house that was so well played, it should qualify for an Emmy nomination.
Meet the Press
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“A virus has infected our computers!
'Big Brother' towers over reality television
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Indulge me for a moment while I tell you that “Big Brother” is the best reality show of the millennium — a genre that has exploded, with a big fat splat, since the summer of 2000.
Turn on the tube: a loot at the hot new summer shows
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Love, they say, knows no boundaries. But judging from this summer’s line-up, neither does reality TV. Let’s scout out the latest offerings: Behind door number one: “For Love or Money 2” (NBC, Mondays 9 p.
“Terminator 3” doesn’t “Rise” to the occasion
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Arnold’s back. Well, sorta. In “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” the man who could be the next governor of California plays T-101, a more advanced version of the terminator that was reprogrammed to protect Sarah Connor and son after he tried to assassinate her in the original “Terminator.
Nothing crouching or hidden about Lee’s ‘Hulk’
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Incredible?
Life after ‘The Hours’: Stanford alumnus Michael Cunningham talks about Hollywood and his future
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There are still the flowers to buy. Clarissa feigns exasperation (though she loves doing errands like this), leaves Sally cleaning the bathroom, and runs out, promising to be back in half an hour.
‘Hours’ deftly weaves ‘Dalloway’ narratives
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“The Hours” is sensational. It is a work of film that is literary and literate, beautifully mounted by director Stephen Daldry.
Scorsese’s ‘Gangs’: magnum opus of crap & violence
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I’d like to tell you that it’s riveting — a work of genius from one of the greatest American directors alive. But it’s not.
The BEST movies of 2002
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Our movie critics list their top 5 films of the past year
Potter's sophomore slump
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Ask any booklover or movie buff and he’ll tell you that author J.K. Rowling’s idea of magic is a civilization apart from anything Chris Columbus ever conjured up.
Jackson squares off with Ramin
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Jackson, 20, is starring in the new movie “Tuck Everlasting,” which opens tomorrow and is based on the much-acclaimed novel by Natalie Babbit.
Kapur directs epic “Four Feathers”
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BY RAMIN SETOODEH
Shekhar Kapur, director of “The Four Feathers,” was searching for some strawberry jam to put in his tea when I walked into his suite at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco last month.
Ten things I love about Heath!
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Heath Ledger curses like a sailor and cracks jokes at the pace of an expert comedian.
That’s a strange combination of traits for a native Australian actor who got his start on a soap opera down under.
An Artsy Alternative
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The most shocking discovery of my college career arrived one night early in freshman year.
I had done my very first load of laundry, figured out what classes I wanted to take and cleaned my room from corner to corner.
Big Brother Watch: Week 8
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Alas, the last weeks of summer mark the end of our guilty-pleasure television viewing experience with “Big Brother 3.” In mid-September, one final houseguest will emerge the winner of the $500,000 prize.
‘City’ sinks to the bottom of sea
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“City by the Sea” is a heartless police thriller with as much energy as an old episode of “Columbo.”
Robert DeNiro stars as Vincent LaMarca, a police detective trying to crack a murder case that is so open-and-shut it could be solved by Anna Nicole Smith.
Interview: Perabo pipes in about her film career
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Piper Perabo is cheerful and enthusiastic about her work. At the age of 24, she’s also become one of the most promising actresses of her generation.
‘French’ lacks the connection
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“Slap Her . . . She’s French” is a remake of the classic 1950 film “All About Eve,” with teenagers cast in the adult roles and the setting changed from Hollywood to high school.
Big Brother watch: Week seven
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We cooed with delight as the past week in the “Big Brother 3” household brought some of the best episodes yet.
Here’s what happened:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 15.
Big Brother Watch: Week 6
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The fifth week in the “Big Brother 3” house brought brought a surprise so large that our jaws didn’t just drop to the floor, they plummeted.
‘Blue’ surfs up high-tide ride
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“Blue Crush” could have been about “Baywatch” bimbos on surfboards, but it’s more thoughtful than that. The lead character, Anne Marie, is a young female surfer who nearly drowned at a competition three years ago and is trying to make a comeback.
Big Brother Watch: Week Four
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Week four in the “Big Brother” house continued to whet our appetite for all the good fixings of reality television. Here’s what happened:
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1.
Eastwood’s ‘Blood’ doesn’t quite work
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Clint Eastwood, the tough wrangler of the 1960s Western film, has aged nicely into the lone star everyman of modern-day cinema.
Big Brother Watch: Week 3
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The third week in the “Big Brother 3” household brought another healthy dosage of smut, scandal and steamy love triangles that would have the soap opera Gods spinning in loops.
‘Signs’ points in the right direction
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The subterranean style of spook-and-thrill director M. Night Shyamalan infects the screen with muted wonder in his latest, and perhaps most ambitious, film “Signs.
Big Brother Watch: Week Three
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In the third week of “Big Brother 3,” things heated up considerably. And we’re not just talking about what was cookin’ in the kitchen.
Powers loses mojo, ‘Gold’ is a no-go
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To say that “Austin Powers in Goldmember” never climaxes is an understatement.
In his third time around, the international man of mystery returns without a luscious heroine to rescue or a new comedic path to pursue.
Big Brother Watch: Week Two
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To our great relief, the second week in the “Big Brother 3” household continued the show’s trend of setting the highest benchmark in quality television.
Big Brother Watch: Week One
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Last night’s first episode of “Big Brother 3” (CBS, 9 p.m.) proved to be a promising start for the series. The 12 houseguests provided the usual dose of stupidity that prevails in the “Big Brother” household.
‘Perdition’ is a road worth taking
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Sam Mendes’s “Road to Perdition” has been marketed as a traditional tale about gangsters. But it’s not a gangster movie, not really anyway.
'Men in Black' back, but off track
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The intergalactic battle between good and evil just got duller with “Men in Black II,” the limp sequel to the 1997 summer blockbuster that was imaginative in its special effects if not story line.
Lilo & Stitch
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The tots in the audience started chanting, “We love Stitch!
Fans camp out for Star Wars
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A long time ago at a multi-plex not so far away, sophomores Brian Decker and Carolyn Quam started waiting in line for the new “Star Wars” movie, “Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
Stanford law professor named dean of Berkeley business school
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UC-Berkeley administrators announced Wednesday the appointment of Stanford Law Prof. Tom Campbell as the new dean of the Haas School of Business.
Visiting emeritus professor of music dies
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John Robinson Pierce, the father of communications satellites and a visiting professor of music at Stanford for 12 years, died April 2 at the El Camino Hospital in Mountain View.
Campus art event celebrates student work
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The Student Committee for the Arts will host the third annual Art Affair, a celebration of visual arts, performing arts and creating writing, at White Plaza today.
'Once' and never ever 'Again'
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When I say that “Once and Again” (ABC, Monday, 10 p.m.) is the best show on network TV, I am not saying it in the same vein as those jump-on-the-bandwagon critics who change their minds as often as Whoopi changes gowns at the Oscars.
Band suspended from Pac-10s
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Alcohol discovered in Band Shak prompts OSA to
take action
'John Q': Feel-good crap for the masses
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“John Q” is about a poor black man who takes on the rich white world and, because he carries a gun and looks like Denzel Washington, of course succeeds.
Social reformer Gardner dies
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John Gardner, a consulting professor in the School of Education and social reform activist, died of complications from cancer Saturday at his home on campus.
Police chief dies
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Stanford Police Chief Marvin Moore, 51, died Sunday in his home town of Fremont.
Moore collapsed after playing basketball and was taken to Washington Hospital in Fremont.
Pres. Hennessy joins Cisco board
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Cisco Systems, Inc. announced yesterday the appointment of University President John Hennessy to its board of
directors.
'Orange County' spoofs Stanford
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When Dean of Undergraduate Admission Robin Mamlet first saw the theatrical trailer for the new film “Orange County” — which opens today — she wasn’t exactly thrilled.
Great times 'In the Bedroom'
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Todd Field's `In the Bedroom` is profound, poignant, a pleasure to the senses. Here is a movie that is so in love with its characters that it lingers with intrusive camera angles all around them.
Upgraded Palo Alto Square theater reopens
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The two-screen theater known to students as the Palo Alto Square has reopened under the new ownership of CineArts, an art-house subsidiary of the national Century Theatres chain.
'Serendipity' no better than a bathroom stall
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The opening shots of “Serendipity” pan through a Bloomingdale’s department store, following rugged New York shoppers in the midst of the rushed Christmas season.
Ben Stiller has problem wih `Zoolander` director: actor discovers he can't work with himself on the set
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Ben Stiller’s “Zoolander” is a phenomenally bad movie. It lacks class, charisma and charm. The characters don’t look like they’re having any fun.
Summer films: the good, the bad, and the ugly
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It was not a good summer at the movies. “Shrek” and “Moulin Rouge” were the only two films with both style and substance.
'Curse' works its charm
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“The Curse of the Jade Scorpion” is a screwball comedy with style and spirit — two things most comedies lack these days.
More stars than a planetarium
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“America’s Sweethearts” is a limber, lightweight comedy that would float away if it wasn’t for the charm of its performances.
'Fantasy' not the stuff dreams are made of
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I still remember the feeling. Every Christmas my family would go to Arizona, where all I’d do for seven days was play Nintendo games with my cousin.
Don't look now, it's the sequel
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The first “Scary Movie” didn’t have a plot, but that was forgivable. It didn’t have credible performances, but that was the point.
Bitterweet movie-going
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It has happened, finally. After waiting more than three hours to see “The Mexican.” After getting sold-out of “Bridget Jones’ Diary.
Oh no, I see typecasting
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“A.I. Artificial Intelligence” is “Bicentennial Man” without Robin Williams and with a few more brains. It has good moments and good scenes, but the movie doesn’t hold together.
Professor inspires future filmmakers
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It was a simple twist of fate: After receiving an undergraduate degree in political science, Kristine Samuelson decided not to go to law school.
Ramin: The last angry critic in a sea of nice
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There are times at the movies when I absolutely smile with pleasure. When the storyline and the performances fit perfectly together.
J-Lo plays good cop, bad cop in ‘Angel Eyes’
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A lot of people are going to be disappointed with “Angel Eyes.” It’s slow and subtle, with only a few action sequences and even fewer frightening scenes.
Anchors away: ‘Pearl Harbor’ rigged to blow
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The big bomb hits the big screen tomorrow, so buy your tickets now.
“Pearl Harbor,” probably the most anticipated movie of the year, will hit theaters in less than 24 hours.
Ramin's Reel Deal: Summer blockbusters come up bust
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Last year at this time, “Gladiator” stormed on to the big screen with stalwart special effects and playful performances.
Ramin's Reel Deal
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Stick with me on this one — I do have a point.
Here are a few lines from the theatrical trailer to the new thriller “Angel Eyes,” which opens on May 18 and stars Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel.
`The Mummy Returns`
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I am not a cruel person. Really, I’m not. Two weeks ago, I went to see “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and smiled and laughed and just felt good about the world.
Assassins
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It is time again for that wonderful, wicked Stanford tradition: assassins, the game where everyone is a loser except one lucky lad or lass in your dorm.
Ramin's Reel Deal
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Summer starts in eight days.
There is just a little more than a measly week until the big, the bold and the beautiful forces of the season come out of hibernation.
Stanford’s cable sketchballs chat about new found fame
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Just call ‘em the “Three Stanford Stooges.”
Robert Martinez, Chris Labrum and Anne Gregory hit the air waves every weeknight at 9 p.
An unbiased examination of Richard Roeper
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Richard Roeper irks me.
He has this post-nasal vacuum of a voice that sounds like a congested llama — or Ben Stein, take your pick.
SCBN's 'Scoop' aims to entertain
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Two guys versus the entire women’s rugby team.
The scoop?
Clad in funky sports gear and flashy uniforms, sophomore Robert Martinez and junior Chris Labrum didn’t exactly take home the Olympic torch last Thursday afternoon.
I don't want to spend two hours with 'Someone Like You'
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“Someone Like You” argues that men are not from Mars and women are not from Venus. Instead, they both come from the barnyard.
Same bad movie, different bad movie title
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The Oscars are over and here we are — a far cry from anything remotely interesting at the box office. And here I am without any good, greasy material to throw at my faithful readers.
Frosh learning to deal without wheels
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While most first-year students are recovering from leaving their parents and pets at home, freshman Lynsie Ishimaru mourns the loss of something entirely different: her new silver 2000 Prelude.
‘Green’ building essential
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The grass is a whole lot greener on Lauren Dietrich’s side of the garden.
No, she isn’t a member of the Stanford plant-life committee.
Ramin's Reel Deal
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Warning: Do not continue reading if you loathe Julia Roberts. Stop. Please. Do not continue reading if you hate her contagiously friendly personality or her larger-than-life screen persona or her role as the hopelessly head-over-heels in love heroine.
Oscar committee tragically quality blind
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There are things, I contend, that escape the grasp of reason.
I do not understand why, for example, executives pay Freddie Prinze Jr.