The Quad

Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Entertainment

Thank goodness, the award season is over. One problem with the Oscars this year was the lack of movies people actually watched (with the exception of "Juno"). People do not want to watch "thought-provoking films" or dry, slow, but beautifully shot films. Successful movies entertain and give film patrons a reason to pay $10 a ticket.

"10,000 B.C." made over $35 million dollars its opening weekend and led the box office. This movie was two hours long, but never became boring. It might not be the greatest movie, but it is definitely entertaining.

"10,000 B.C." is an epic film about the voyage of a young warrior named D'Leh (Steven Strait). Like many epics there are the bad guys (Egyptians), good guys (different area tribes and tribe members), and a long quest. D'Leh is a young mammoth hunter who is deeply in love with Evolet (Camilla Belle). Evolet was important to the village because it was foretold that she would bring prosperity to the village. Evolet was taken as a slave and D'Leh made it his mission to get her back.

Neither Belle nor Strait has been able to drink legally for a year, but both gave solid performances. The best performances came from Cliff Curtis as "TicTic." TicTic was the main warrior from D'Leh's tribe and watched over him like a father.

Curtis uses his facial expressions throughout the film to convey subtle emotions and it worked beautifully. This was important because "10,000 B.C." neither relied on nudity nor gore to sell their movie.

The lack of bloody violence and overt sexuality allows families to enjoy this film together. One of our generation's great family epics was "Willow." "Willow" is a much better film (because it had little people and Val Kilmer) than "10,000 B.C.", but both movies are kid accessible. This accessibility makes "10,000 B.C." a gateway movie of sorts for children. It will make children more willing to see other epic films or at least watch movies longer than eighty minutes. "10,000 B.C." is entertaining, family-friendly and includes some strong performances, but there are some major issues with the makeup, creatures and the journey itself.

Every person in the film has perfect (white) teeth. That is bothersome because you go into a classroom and a third of people don't have teeth like that. It is hard to believe that dental health in 10,000 B.C. is better than our own University's. A large portion of the people in the film had dreadlocks. They did this because it seems likely that hair care was not a priority in 10,000 B.C., but the dreads were incredibly tight. They do not just grow into perfect (almost braid-like) cylinders, you have treat them, put wax in them, and form them everyday.

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