So you didn’t get to ride the Concorde, and your drunk roommate thinks he discovered the secret of human flight. Cheer up and follow closely. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union Theatre will proudly host the 11th Annual Festival of Films in French. For those lacking in French language skills, but possessing the gift of sight, allow me to both relieve and affirm your preconceived notions: All films will be subtitled in English.

Contrary to popular thought, good things do come in eleven. This year 11 films will be presented free of charge to both the UWM and the surrounding community.

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With the release of Jailbreak 1.1.3, owners of the iPhone and iPod Touch are now able to run updated, home-brew software made readily available by countless Apple enthusiasts.

For those too afraid of destroying their iPod/Phone, rest assured that this isn’t a PC-driven piece of software and is extremely unlikely to crash.

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Roger Ebert may not consider video games an art form, but he can’t deny their identity as a highly defined subculture of contemporary society. That explains why the Japanese director Suda 51, best known for the cell-shaded mind trip “Killer 7,” had the courage to release “No More Heroes,” an incredibly self-deprecating look at the video game crowd.

The player assumes control of Travis Touchdown, a cocky young otaku, otherwise known outside of Japan as a hopelessly obsessed anime fan. Armed with his trusty beam katana (think a florescent light tube that behaves like a light saber) won in an Internet auction, and a rather comic lust for a bit of the old ultra-violence, Travis fights and kills a professional assassin and is promptly certified by the characteristically sultry Sylvia Christel, an agent of the United Assassins Association, as the 11th best hit man.

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Mark my words people. If you haven’t heard the local rock band Northern Room already, you will soon enough.

After spending most of 2007 writing and recording, local Milwaukee rock outfit Northern Room found time to play some gigs and share the stage with a couple big names, including The Gufs and Bon Jovi. This gave them a chance to show Milwaukee their infectious style of arena-worthy rock music, and in doing so the group found themselves drawing comparisons to the likes of Coldplay, Matchbox 20 and even U2.

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For an independent student of fashion, coming to Milan to work as an intern for a designer and take a semester of classes in fashion merchandising is like a dream come true. Milan is widely known as one of the fashion capitals of the world, along with Paris and New York. Despite the similar titles, the styles could not be more different in atmosphere, or more interesting.

Paris is much more influenced by America, and many more Parisians speak English to cater to tourists and business people alike. On the other hand, in Milan there is very much an elitist feeling which clouds the fashion industry, evident through the noticeable lack of English-speaking people.

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This game could be summed up by what one hears in the commercial: “Come join the thousands online now.” If you find yourself asking what I mean by that: simple. Recently, MMOs have had player counts in the millions, so this game is a little behind the times and a little under-polished. There are only thousands online because the game isn’t good enough for most players to give it a second glance after playing it for half an hour.

The premise of the game is that players run around the pirate-ridden Caribbean, attempting to help Jack Sparrow and other movie stars combat the dread zombie pirate Jolly Roger, who is out to get Jack for turning him undead. At the same time, players have the freedom to pillage waters from random strangers one could find in real life at public schools playgrounds, ice rinks and zoos.

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I thought I was a mature, 21-year-old senior until I saw the Red Band trailer for “Rambo.”

Let me backtrack for a moment for those of you who think that a “Red Band trailer” means a bloody bandage placed on a U-Haul. Trailer is just fancy-speak for a two-minute movie preview. Red Band, on the other hand, is a fairly new idea in the world of film.

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I must preface this column with a statement: I did not expect to like Steve Buscemi’s film “Interview” (2007). The DVD looks really commercial, and the bio sounds kind of bland: a writer interviews a star, and their perceptions are subsequently challenged, etc. But I was intrigued enough to watch it. And it surprised me, in a good way.

The film, a remake of a 2003 Dutch film, tells the story of a Newsworld journalist named Pierre Peders (Steve Buscemi). Peders, used to covering the political environment in Washington, D.C., is taken out of his comfort zone when he is assigned to interview starlet Katya (Sienna Miller).

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Time was the inspiration for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee dance performance, “Winterdances” which was performed this past weekend on the Mainstage theatre. The faculty-choreographed show featured six contemporary works that varied in ballet, modern and jazz styles.

Luc Vanier’s ballet piece, “Women if Possible,” showcased six female dancers portraying different women that had impacted Vanier in his life. Though I wasn’t entirely impressed with this work, Vanier’s choreography, which mixed Alexander Technique and linear ballet shaping, was appealing to view. A beautiful repeated movement throughout this piece included a female dancer contracting her spine forward as she hopped back one-step. I was also unimpressed with the music choice of Vanier’s piece, which sounded like a child playing at their first piano recital.

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