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Movie Review: Straight Outta Compton

In an age where we have become so accustomed to celebrity culture it can be easy to forget that there was, in fact, a point in time when aggressively colorful headphones did not bear the name of Dr. Dre or that Ice Cube actually had a career beyond starring in buddy-cop goofball comedies alongside Kevin Hart or Channing Tatum as an ironic parody of his former self. That is the point director F. Gary Gray wishes to make in Straight Outta Compton. Before the two of them were media moguls, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and fellow rapper and business partner Eazy-E, had a hand in creating music together that would change the world forever.

straightouttacomptonStraight Outta Compton, to the uninitiated, is about the rise and fall of N.W.A., one of the most controversial musical groups of all time. So infamous were they that their best selling album, “Straight Outta Compton”, was the first to ever include the “Parental Advisory” sticker on the front of it. The film does an excellent job chronicling the earliest exploits of Cube, Dre, and E and how through combining their individual, unique skillsets they were able to secure a record deal with the help of manager, Jerry Heller.

The performances are solid throughout, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, and one excellent Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller, the group’s manager. Mitchell, Jackson, and Hawkins even do their own rapping. All four are featured prominently alongside each other without anyone hogging too much of the spotlight and each remaining completely magnetic on their own. There are a couple of dents in the armor when it comes to the screenplay but my overall enjoyment of the movie was hardly affected by the occasional lapse of good writing or awkward method of delivery.

One of the darker aspects of the film is the early theme of police brutality and racism. It is the 1980s, after all. The film’s timeline falls in the middle of the Rodney King era, which is mentioned at several points. By seeing the actions of the LAPD and their unjustified aggression toward our protagonists, it is hard not to sympathize with them and have some sort of muted respect for the brazenness of their retaliation in the form of “F*ck Tha Police”. It is no secret that N.W.A. was widely demonized by the public over the content of their songs upon release, one of Straight Outta Compton’s biggest strengths being how it attempts it humanize its members by providing enough lyrical context to educate as well as entertain.

The second half of the film does more to focus on the careers of Dre, Cube, and E as they begin to drift away toward other projects. Some of the film’s funniest moments are the scenes featuring Dre’s first forays into producing for other rappers who today you and your mother are almost guaranteed to know on a first name basis.

However, things don’t move at nearly as brisk a clip here as the first half. Some scenes drag on a bit longer than they should, others grind past not feeling vital enough to have made it into the final cut. The foremost criticism by many regarding Straight Outta Compton is that certain incriminating details surrounding the morality of N.W.A.’s members are never brought up. This isn’t to say that the movie portrays them as spotless, only able to be properly seen through rose-colored glasses but it is true that some particularly unflattering scenarios managed to stay away from the narrative we see on the screen.

If you enjoy the conventions of good filmmaking, music from the golden era of hip-hop, movies with hard-R subject matter, or have even a passing curiosity for social justice, any one of those reasons is good enough to give Straight Outta Compton a watch. The characters are rough around the edges but wholly endearing, showing multiple generations the merits of overcoming great lengths to express yourself, “Express Yourself” incidentally being a great N.W.A. song that you should definitely go listen to.

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News

Student Filmmakers Participate in CAB’s Eighth Annual Film Festival

This year’s Film Fest, which took place last Saturday, April 5, boasted an array of student films ranging from animation to drama to commercial work.

Houghton’s Film Fest is an annual CAB-produced event. Students were asked to submit their own work earlier this semester, to be judged by a panel of faculty, staff, and students. The final nominations were announced on April 3 into the following categories: best picture, direction, editing, cinematography, sound, and actor. Other awards included: best animation, comedy, commercial, creating awareness, documentary, drama, and narrative.

1072141_468925699902982_8848747968318661368_oThis is the eighth year that CAB has hosted the Film Fest, but according to Greg Bish, director of student programs, this year showcased some of the finest work in Film Fest history. “Eight years ago, we created Film Fest when there was minimum academic support for video…in the past few years we’ve seen a dramatic improvement.” Bish credited this to the expansions of Communications major, but stressed that, “we continue to look for ways to encourage all students to submit films.”

The black-tie event was hosted by David Davies, assistant professor of composition and theory, and Mike Jordan, dean of the chapel, who announced the winners of each of the categories. CAB members presented each of the winners with “Willies” and prizes such as newly-released Hollywood films such as Frozen and The Hobbit.

Cory Martin, a senior majoring in communications, was awarded a total of six “Willies” during the evening, including “best picture” for his short drama, “Rivers and Roads.” In an interview, Martin said that all of the films he presented “were from a digital video class that I took last semester.” “Rivers and Roads,” according to Martin, was a project that was helped by conversations and assistance from friends.

Other winners included Raphael Derungs, senior; Evan Symanski, junior; Mason Wilkes, sophomore; Joshua Duttweiler, junior; and Steve McCord, senior.

 

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Stories In Focus

Movie Review: “Carrie”

Though Gravity is topping the charts for new releases at the moment it is decidedly the season for a good horror flick. For that reason I took off my space helmet and headed past its theater to the room at the end of the hall to see the newly imagined Carrie.

Courtesy of http://www.horrorstab.com/
Courtesy of http://www.horrorstab.com/

Carrie, based off the novel by Stephen King, follows the story of young teenage Carrie White who lives with her mother in smalltown USA. Her mother, a rather unstable and abusive religious zealot, has homeschooled Carrie much of her growing up until the state forced her to put Carrie into public school. Here we find Carrie – an outcast and a loner, wandering the halls of her unfriendly educational institution. After a brutal taunting by her fellow gym-mates, she finds herself the center of controversy. One of her bullies, Chris, is to be banned from prom while the others remain on probation. However, because of a growing guilt complex, one attacker, Sue Snell, arranges what she hopes will be an appropriate apology towards Carrie: she has her boyfriend Tommy ask Carrie to the prom. Excited and nervous Carrie eventually agrees (against her mother’s wishes) and her kind date shows her a magical night. This culminates when the two are crowned king and queen of the dance. But just as the crown hits her head, a bucket of pig blood, set in place by the expelled tormentor, pours from the ceiling, drenching her hair and handmade dress. As she stands silently, her anger begins to swell and her previously underdeveloped telekinetic powers wreak havoc on all those present.

Carrie was first adapted to the silver screen in 1976 by director Brian De Palma. Though now somewhat outdated and dramatically overacted, the film has become a cult classic. The famous lines of Carrie’s deranged mother, “They’re all gonna laugh at you,” has echoed in the heads of every viewer since and Sissy Spacek’s crazed wide-eyed stare is iconic. For these reasons it is hard to imagine what a remake would do.

The answer is not a lot, though it was fully enjoyed. Chloe Grace Moretz plays an admittedly dull version of Carrie in comparison to Sissy Spacek’s strange, otherworldly features. Though her acting is solid, she falls victim to the Hollywood bland beauty, and it is just that much harder to imagine her as truly the outcast the role of Carrie requires. The real improvement on the film is instead found in the role of her mother, Margaret White, played by Julianne Moore. Moore’s character is more fully developed which makes her that much more terrifying. Moore also fully embraces the idea that Carrie’s mother is a masochist and plays it with perfect subtly, scratching of her wrists and gouging her thighs with a seam-ripper while talking to those around her.

Overall the film is simply modernized. Gone are the dramatic swells, slow scene builds, and wide-eyed overacting of the 70s, only to be replaced by dry cruelty and lots of texting. This makes for a less exciting and less inventive, but also probably more accessible version.

The final iconic scene in which Carrie destroys the prom and all those with it does not, however, disappoint. With some believable CGI and a broad range of death traps, the whole scene is a masterpiece of horror. Though Moretz lacks the luster of Spacek, she helps make up for some of it simply though her range of destruction. And here is possibly the most interesting difference between the two films–while the original implies that Carrie’s gift is unmanageable, something that will take her over, and destroy everything it’s wake–the new film seems to imply that she can control it enough to only punish the deserved. Surprisingly we see Carrie actually save those she has made connections with and insistently tortures those she sees as her worst enemies. This calls into question one of the major themes of the story- is Carrie in control of her power or is her power fully her? It also speaks to what modernization has done to the story. It seems we don’t mind witnessing the murder of a pig, but unsolicited death is not acceptable. Certainly an interesting twist to the plot and an asset to the new adaptation, at least from a conversation standpoint.

All in all, I do believe this new Carrie will largely be forgotten in a broad sense, though I would deem it a necessary watch for any horror fan. It is well made, but lacks the star power and intrigue of a true cult classic. Watch it, enjoy it, and then go to the library (yes, the Houghton library) and rent the original. Between the two you will get an eyeful of blood, a few jumps, and perhaps even a few laughs. Halloween is right around the corner after all. Boo!

 

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Arts

The Walking Dead Review

Courtesy of collider.com
Courtesy of hypervocal.com

As one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of the decade, it is hard to argue with the statement that zombies are everywhere. From cult classics like 28 Days Later and Dawn of the Dead, to comedic satires like Shaun of the Dead, and the recently released Warm Bodies, it would only stand to reason that the small screen would soon adapt the genre to an ongoing dramatic series. The Walking Dead, based on the graphic novel series of the same name, is Hollywood’s attempt at feeding our culture’s insatiable hunger for all things gruesome, twisted, and undead.

When the series began two and a half years ago, the story had observable momentum and strength. The first episode was almost seductively powerful as it followed the hero, Rick Grimes, who woke up from a coma to a post-apocalyptic Georgia after “the outbreak.”

The audience is just as mystified as Rick as they watch him exit the abandoned hospital he has found himself in and walk through rows of bodies laid out across the ground. As the camera pans out, viewers soon realizes the true enormity of the situation when the rows of bodies become fields upon fields of them, covered in white sheets and completely covering the town he once called home.

As he tries to make sense of these shocking surroundings, he happens across his first zombie, or “walker,” as they are later coined. This female zombie is missing everything below her belly button, and thus can only snarl at Rick as he passes, reaching out with graying and rotting hands toward sustenance.

The episode continues with a bewildered Rick finding his home deserted and in shambles, his wife and son nowhere to be found. A man and his son then take him in while he recuperates, and this is where more of the situation is explained to him. The man points out his wife who “turned” as she aimlessly walks the streets with the rest of the undead, and explains that he cannot bring himself to kill her.

After acquiring guns and ammo, he decides to head to Atlanta in search of his family. Before the episode ends, we see him find that first zombie woman, look her square in the face as she snarls and thrashes at him, and puts her out of her undead misery with a bullet in the brain. These incredible and haunting sequences formulated an immediately dark and powerful tone for the show, and were an undeniable factor in its success.

Courtesy of collider.com
Courtesy of collider.com

 

With only six episodes, the first season was short but powerful. In fact, I would argue that the one and a half seasons to follow still have not lived up to brilliance of the first. The second season was stagnant, with story arcs that lasted for six or seven episodes that could have been better told in just one or two. The characters were so underdeveloped and their motives so unclear that I often found myself annoyed with them. With a few exceptions, particularly the mid-season and season finales, the second season as a whole was underwhelming.

The third season, while still problematic in some areas (particularly in regards to character development), has finally begun to rectify many of its second season faults. With the introduction of a new villain, the Governor, and a few other new characters like the ninja-sword-wielding-and-pet-zombie-toting Michonne (you would need to see it to really understand just who, or rather what, she is), and with only a few dry plotlines, the forecast of the series as a whole is finally looking bright.

Despite its faults, this show manages to harness a genre that, more often than not, has been difficult to take seriously. Somehow it manages to deliver a convincing and terrifying apocalypse as a result of a completely unrealistic situation. While doing this, it still manages to explore deep ideas and problems, like the complexities of the human condition, the struggle to hold onto hope in a hopeless world, the inherent value of life and how the destruction of the social institution as we know it can change that, and the simple question of the importance of interactive human relationships. The formal artistic attention to cinematography, the very serious subtext, and the mere excitement of a horror series are all reasons to look past the show’s definite shortcomings and to tune in every Sunday evening at nine on AMC.