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OTHER A & E STORIES - Billy Corgan returns triumphantly with Zwan - Campus theater feels heat of Bluegrass beat - Brian thinks you should... "Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys," with no reference to molestation Brian Kerin A & E Editor Every once in while a wonderful gem of a movie comes out that shows moviegoers that the art of movie making isn't dead but alive and well. Sometimes these wonderfully charming movies are found sitting on the shelf in the local rental store, right next to the multi-million-dollar-grossing movies with no content, a whole lot of eye candy and enough movie clichés to appear as corny as any television sitcom. The artwork of comicbook artist Todd McFarlane is featured in the movie, "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys." Photo courtesy of www.thedangerouslivesofaltarboys.net I never thought that a little film called "The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys" would have such an impact on me. Usually, picking independent films off the shelf is hit or miss. From time to time one of these films will wow you, but for the most part, independent movies, and popular movies, are just stale remakes of films made generations before. Tagged as little more than a coming-of-age film about the happenings of altar boys, "Dangerous Lives" is much, much more. For one, the film is intertwined with some wonderfully eye-catching comic-book-style animations thought up and created by the one and only Todd McFarlane ("Spawn"). As well, Josh Homme, of the band Queens of the Stone Age, lends his musical talents to the film's score. Both of these elements give the film a look and sound not seen in a movie to date. As well, the script gives the film a kind of charm not normally found in dialogue-centered movies. The story deals with four adolescent altar boys who form the Atomic Trinity, a kind of club that centers on the creation of a comic book where the boys form creatures that battle the evil forces of Nunzilla and her minions. Nunzilla is based on the boys' Catholic school teacher Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster), who is the target of pranks and snide remarks that, for the most part, result in a Catholic school type of punishment. Two of the boys are especially close, Tim (Kieran Culkin) and Francis (Emile Hirsch); they form a bond that can only be broken by, well, a girl. The girl in question here is Francis's love interest, Margie Flynn (Jena Malone, of "Donnie Darko" repute), an innocent girl with a hidden secret. As Francis starts to spend more time with Margie, Tim grows increasingly uncomfortable with the idea that his best friend has chosen a girl over him. This situation culminates in Tim revealing a secret about Margie that ends with the boys' secret folder of homemade comic books winding up in the possession of Nunzilla herself, Sister Assumpta. After this, the boys conceive an elaborate plot to get back their folder that involves a concrete statue of a nun, an enormous amount of Nyquil and a mountain lion from the local animal preserve. Yet another pretty girl comes between a perfectly normal, homoerotic adolescent relationship. Photo courtesy of www.thedangerouslivesofaltarboys.net One of the cooler aspects of "Dangerous Lives" was how the dialogue was written for the boys. Although the film is more drama and less comedy, the interaction between the boys is really funny. Culkin delivered his lines flawlessly, even though the subject matter was crass and vulgar. The most memorable character in the film was the priest whom the boys serve as altar boys. Played by Vincent D'onofrio, this "man of the robe" not only swore, but smoked and drank, yet he served as a better role model in the church than the rather prude Sister Assumpta. I couldn't help thinking how cool it would be to have a priest that conducted himself in the way that this father did. And, although the film ends on a sad note, the movie as a whole was well worth my two hours. McFarlane's colorful and dark animations as well as Homme's melodic wall of guitar score took this film to a whole new level of creative movie making. I was so excited after watching this film that I forced all my roommates to watch it again with me. As long as independent movies with as much quality as this one continue to appear in the theaters and rental stores, the art of movie making will continue to be a valid form of creative-expression and not fade into the realm of cliché-filled remakes of movies made ten years earlier. © 2003 Shoreline Community College™