In the modern music industry, longevity is a very rare feat. With constantly shifting opinions of what is classified as worthwhile music, new genres taking the popular spotlight, and individual band members often looking to take their music into new and different directions, it isn't uncommon for a band to release an album or two and then break up, leaving their fans yearning for more.
In 1999, Laurence Fishburne indelibly changed the movie industry with just 3 simple words: "Free your mind." Fishburne's advice in "The Matrix" seemingly inspired directors, as cinema's special effects became more advanced and the makeup of films changed: stories became grounded in physical landscapes as well as the inner workings of the human mind. The latest edition to this trend in filmmaking is Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller, "Inception."
In 1999, Laurence Fishburne indelibly changed the movie industry with just three simple words: "Free your mind."
The South Orange Performing Arts Center is holding "Small Town, Big Talent," an all-day benefit event this Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Celebrities and artists such as Zach Braff, Max Weinberg (of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band), Lauryn Hill, and AJ Calloway highlight the event, with all the proceeds going to SOPAC. Scott Sullivan, SOPAC's Director of Marketing and Communications, describes the event as a celebration of local arts.
Upon first glance, "The Lovely Bones" is a tragic story about having something taken from you. In the movie based on the popular teen novel by Alice Sebold, the protagonist Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) loses everything when she is murdered at the age of fourteen. By taking a closer look, though, it becomes clear that Susie's story is one of discovery. After her death, Susie becomes trapped in the "in-between" – the magical land between Heaven and Earth where she must find the courage to let go of her life and accept her death, allowing herself as well as her family to heal. Unfortunately, director Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lovely Bones" fails to match the quality of the novel. Through her writing, Sebold creates a poetic world wedged between heaven and earth that is, until now, unknown to mankind. In Jackson's film version, Sebold's creation is clumsily transformed into a surreal fantasyland.The fact that Jackson has been out of the spotlight for nearly five years after 2005's hit film, "King Kong," may have something to do with the poor transition from novel to screenplay. In addition, the movie's release date was pushed back several times (originally it was supposed to be released in December 2008, then March 2009, now January 2010) which may have given its audience a sense of hope that the film would be out of this world. Sadly for Jackson and fans of the novel, the film did not live up to its hype, although it was not a complete failure either. "The Lovely Bones" is narrated by Susie after she was murdered by her perverted neighbor, Mr. Harvey (Stanley Tucci), who now haunts her entire neighborhood. From the "in-between," Susie watches as her family falls apart in the wake of her death; she witnesses her parents being torn apart in her absence, her mother leaving home to forget the past, and her father's obsessed longing to solve the mystery of his daughter's death.Ronan, the Oscar-nominated star of 2007's "Antonement," did an excellent job at portraying 14-year-old Susie. She is obsessed with the lives that are continuing without her, constantly watching over her home and hoping that her father (Mark Wahlberg) will soon discover the secret behind her death– that her neighbor raped, murdered, and dismembered her body. Aside from Ronan, Wahlberg is the only other actor who fully dives into his role in the film. His character, Jack Salmon, ambitiously searches for his daughter's killer and stops at nothing to solve the mystery. Abigail Salmon (Rachel Weisz) is possibly the least passionate character in the film. Weisz, despite being an Oscar-winning actress, does a poor job conveying the tragedy of a mother who just lost her 14-year-old daughter. Even the scenes where she is sobbing or reminiscing about her daughter, the audience can clearly see right through the façade she puts on.Stanley Tucci, on the other hand, deserves an award for his role in the film. He is excellent playing the perverted neighbor and Susie's murderer, Mr. Harvey. His voice even has the ability to send chills down the spines of the audience. Tucci's performance, along with Ronan's and Wahlberg's, gave the film everything it needed to be a success.The film could have been slightly better if played out properly. Despite the fact that Jackson's rendition of the "in-between" was somewhat far-fetched, the rest of the movie was truly a work of art that will keep audiences on the edges of their seats. From the very beginning, Jackson builds up the suspense by not allowing the audience to get a clear image of the killer's face until Susie herself is face-to-face with the man in the cornfield. He also gives tiny clues away throughout the film, which can only be noticed by those who know the story well.While Jackson's version of "The Lovely Bones" may never quite reach the level of awe of Sebold's novel, he has successfully touched upon her ability to create a world in which one can exist in the afterlife. Though his version of the "in-between" differs slightly from Sebold's, the film as a whole was a success. Had there never been a book, the film probably would not receive nearly as much criticism as it has. Jackson has done a fair job at turning, what seemed to be, an entirely spiritual world into a reality.
For years the film industry has exploited the concept of the apocalypse and how humanity would survive after being brought to the edge of extinction. Such a notion has given birth to countless films that detail the post-apocalyptic world, including the "Terminator" series, "Escape from New York," and the classic "Mad Max" trilogy.
Probably best known for his altercation earlier this year with R&B princess and former girlfriend, Rihanna, Grammy nominated and highly decorated Chris Brown is back again, this time with his third album, "Graffiti."
Controversy has erupted in the past few weeks as the new MTV show "Jersey Shore" has left many audiences, especially the Italian-American community, offended over their ethnic stereotypes of "guidos" and "guidettes." The new reality show aired last Thursday yet, prior to its release on television, previews of the program had many Italian-American organizations protesting its release. In a press release by UNICO National in cooperation with the Sons of Italy in America and the National Italian American Foundation, supporters are urging to "pull the plug" on the show by attempting to convince Jersey Shore sponsors to cut all advertisements and affiliations from the show and its network. Macy's, Sony, Domino's Pizza, Verizon and Victoria's Secret are among those to vouch for support.
Brooklyn born, Brian Bonz still hasn't wrapped his mind around playing at Nassau Coliseum.
After its theatrical debut on Nov 25, audiences have been mesmerized by "The Fantastic Mr. Fox." Originally a children's novel by renowned author Roald Dahl, this story has come to life in a unique way with the help of director Wes Anderson.
mtvU held the sixth annual Woodie Awards on Nov. 18 in New York City's Roseland Ballroom. mtvU – the obviously cooler television station for college students that actually plays music – opened their red carpet access to college newspapers and invited hundreds of college students to come to the show for free. The standing room floor audience had access to three bars and two different stages to watch the five amazing performances up close and personal, with celebrities and VIP's mingling within the crowd all evening for a real rock n' roll award show.
The Setonian had the opportunity to speak to Chris Walla, producer and guitarist of Death Cab for Cutie, before he performed Death Cab's new song, "Meet Me at the Equinox," live at the MTV Woodies.When asked about the band's motivation to write a song specifically tailored for the "Twilight" soundtrack, Walla admitted to being a fan of the series and said the recording process was "unlike anything we've ever done. It was the first time that we put a song together with something really specific in mind."Outside of vampires and werewolves, Walla acknowledged the recent success of Death Cab's latest record, "Narrow Stairs," discussing the band's emergence into the mainstream world. Not feeling the pressure to maintain mainstream standards, Walla said, "I don't think that anybody really gets anywhere by sort of specifically tailoring their music to fit what a particular audience wants to hear.""I think that I think we're just going to keep doing what we've always done, which is just trying to make records that we like and that we would listen to if we were buying them," Walla said.For all the fans yearning for the lo-fi albums from the "Something About Airplanes" heyday, Walla will not make any promises. "You're really in a dangerous place if you are trying to make decisions, musical and creative decisions specifically, to please some subset of your fans," he said.There are no new plans for a Death Cab album just yet, though Walla acknowledged that the new record will "probably be a little bit more accessible than ‘Narrow Stairs' was." For now, Walla fans can listen to his studio mastery on the albums he is currently producing from groups like Tegan and Sara, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin and The Thermals.Kevin Stevens can be reached at kevin.stevens@student.shu.edu.
Alice Sebold's best-selling novel "The Lovely Bones" will come to life on the silver screen in Peter Jackson's film adaptation opening in theaters on Dec. 11.
From early November until late December, people everywhere are bombarded by countless holiday songs, TV specials and movies. Even though each season presents original programming nothing can replace the classics like Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
The Walsh Gallery has unveiled its latest exhibit, "Uncommon Threads," which contains the works of 15 contemporary fiber artists. The exhibit, which is free and available to the public from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, opened on Nov. 2 and will run until Dec. 11.
When going to see Dough Hughes' production of David Mamet's "Oleanna," bring your boxing gloves and fighting words. Currently playing at the Golden Theater on Broadway and featuring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, this all-out verbal (and sometimes physical) brawl presents the issue of sexual harassment and assault with the tagline, "Whatever side you take, you're wrong."
The childhood staple "Where the Wild Things Are" has returned with the recent release of a live-action feature film adaptation which has earned a respectable $32.7 million in its opening weekend.
As a special presentation by Seton Hall's Poetry-in-the-Round program, celebrated American poet John Ashbery will be reading selections of his work on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. in the McNulty Amphitheatre.
In 1995, most current Seton Hall students were impressionable elementary students, whose biggest concern in life was having an extra five minutes tacked onto afternoon recess. During this idyllic past, Disney and Pixar united to change animation and children's movies forever. From this union came the blockbuster hit, "Toy Story." The life-like characters in the trailers captivated television screens worldwide and were enough to make any child beg to catch the movie on its opening day, even if they weren't interested in cowboys or astronauts. "Toy Story" didn't just bring innovative animation to table, but also a message of friendship, compromise and loyalty that still applies to all ages even today. Fast forward 12 years and one sequel later, Disney-Pixar has re-released "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" in movie theaters with an interesting twist- they are in 3D. At the time of the original release of "Toy Story," there were no feature films that had used solely computer generated imagery, making the movie technologically savvy and revolutionary. The re-release targets children who weren't born when Woody and Buzz Lightyear were cultural phenomenons in the mid-90s, as well as to build hype for the third installment to the "Toy Story" saga which is due for release in the summer of 2010. In "Toy Story 3" we visit a more mature Andy preparing to head off to college, putting his toys away into storage, except his favorite toy, Woody. In typical "Toy Story" fashion, the toys are accidentally thrown away and find themselves in a daycare struggling to survive while Woody attempts to save them and find a them new home. The third story targets both the young adults that grew up with the "Toy Story" crew and new, younger fans.The re-release of "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2" still earned an estimated $12.5 million in its opening weekend, proving that some values stick regardless of generation and age.Kristen Hardy can be reached at kristen.hardy@student.shu.edu.
Solutions by The State News
