The Avengers

All I am going to say about The Avengers is to see it.  If you like superhero movies you will thoroughly enjoy this two hour plus nerdgasm.  If you are anything like me you will be jumping around the entire time in your seat, magnified because of a midnight release, but you will not be disappointed.  There is no reason to think this film will be bad because more than three heroes or villains are in it.  You do not need to see each individual film for the individual members, but it does help but it is not mandatory.  Go spend the money, see it in theaters, and have one hell of a nerdgasm.  I also maintain if you do not see this film you are a Communist, a threat to national security, and therefore a target for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers to exterminate.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

     I have to say when I told people I was seeing this movie I got quite a few curious looks or a quizzical text answer.  Perhaps it should be warranted with a film about salmon fishing in the yemen.  When I saw this preview around December it spoke to me as something I have to see, and I have to say I’m very happy I decided to see this movie.  We live in a world separated by religious creed and denomination all to often, but what Salmon Fishing in the Yemen shows us our faiths cannot dictate how we see the world.

     Now I am not trying to say this is a religious movie or tries to force coexistence beliefs, but the message is pretty obvious.  Lasse Hallström does a wonderful job as director giving the message of unification and acceptance of other creeds through the use of fishing as an attempt to bridge the gap between East and West.  Using the theoretical belief salmon fishing can occur in the Yemen you leave the theatre believing it is theoretically damn well possible to coexist with others of different faiths.  

     Amr Waked who plays Sheikh Muhammed plays a wonderful role conveying the idea of bridging East and West, and to bring life to the deserts of Yemen for the people.  He has the a mystical, philosophical, and captivating aura to his character and honestly steals the scene whenever he is on screen and talking about his vision, or offering his advice to Ewan McGregor’s Alfred Jones.  

     The love story I will admit could be seen from a mile away and I sensed it once I was introduced to McGregor and Emily Blunt’s characters.  I’m not saying it was horrible or sickening but it filled the stereotypical movie love cliche, but in the end gave the film a very fitting ending about hope and perseverance.

     This is a philosophical and deep movies so it will probably not be for a lot of people, and if you fall asleep, like the woman in front of me did, you start asking stupid questions.  If you can get past the seemingly boring premise of bringing salmon to Yemen you walk away with a very good feeling and a better appreciation for coexistence and what faith really is in this day and age.

The Artist

       I am going to beginning by saying in this day and age it takes cinematic courage to make a black and white film.  It takes even more courage to make a black and white silent film.  Michel Hazanavicius showed theatre goers just how good a silent, black and film could be with The Artist.  This movie released on the 20th of January, and I saw it yesterday on the 17th of March, a film lasting nearly two months (I’m sure it will be at the show for three more days) is quite remarkable, especially since I went to a large and highly used theatre.  The fact The Artist is still playing at the theatre is a testament to just how great this movie is, and it really is an amazing movie on so many levels.  

       If you had read my review on Imagine, Inspire, Illuminate, you know I have a high appreciation for silent films.  The acting by actor Jean Durjardin and actress Bérénice Bejo is phenomenal, and they truly are artists of the day for being able to convey so much emotion and passion without speaking.  In an unintentional nod to the beginning of Up, Hazanavicius creates a better love story without a word being spoken then most movies even come close which just end up being one-time hits, he just takes an hour and forty minutes.  Think of Durjardin as a Humphrey Bogart and Bejo as Lauren Bacall, that is the amount of hidden sexuality between the two in developing their love.  The Artist is far from a won hit wonder, just look at the Oscar results to see that.  

       At the Oscars it took home best actor, best achievement in directing, best achievement in costume design, best achievement in written score, and of course best motion picture of the year.  Sure five awards are not a sweep, but those categories are all very impressive and an additional five nominations against insanely good movies.  The Artist deserved the awards it received because the film truly was a work of art.  

       The theme of film as art is highly central to the film and perhaps it was a mild attack on the industry by Hazanavicius.  How can silent films convey the same message “talkies” do, and the simple answer is they do not.  Silent films require a different take to watching as they require more imagination and attention to detail.  There are probably twenty intertitles, maybe thirty, throughout The Artist.  This leaves a lot of imagination to the viewer to decide the story and imagine what is being said.  The mannerisms of the actors convey this even as every movement detail is meticulously planned to aid the story and help the viewer decipher the film.  It is exceptionally hard to do something such as that and yet The Artist does it with such ease it almost appears effortless, notch in my book of the actors being true artists in their crafts not just actors.  

       Costume wise the film is gorgeous.  Anytime a film has men wearing tuxedos and suits, and women in dresses the film always gets a plus in my book.  It is more personal but those days of high elegance where societal expectations wanted power and elegance for going out to a theatre is something I long for once more.  However, even if you do not agree to my extent (it is allowed) the costumes are still amazing because they convey the feelings of the years at hand.  Starting at the end of the roaring twenties and ending mid-depression, the costumes transform and fit the changing times without losing any power or elegance from the change.

       In the theatre I will say I was the youngest, by around forty years at least.  However, do not let the silence throw you off from seeing this movie, the musical score is beyond description.  The Artist is a movie worth seeing and owning, it is one of the rare movies which comes out and makes you remember everything you appreciate about cinema, actors, and directors.

Imagine, Inspire, Illuminate

        The first entry is actually going to be a different from what many would expect.  I attend Carthage College in Wisconsin in the city of Kenosha and, well, Kenosha does not have a lot to do.  This makes the entertainment offered on campus much more needed.  The Theatre Department’s dance show titled Imagine, Inspire, Illuminate provided such entertainment worthy of remembrance.

Now I’m sure once crucial point may be going through your head right now: this is a college dance production.  Although it was just a one weekend showcase of eleven, and if you were outside the Carthage College community you probably missed it.  Fair enough, I’ll give you the advantage, but despite this being a college production it speaks louder than that.  Imagine, Inspire, Illuminate included dances not just for the sake of dancing, yes some were the more modern/interpretive style I presume, but they all told some sort of story.  Think of a dance concert as being a nod back to the silent film days of yore, such was the atmosphere the dancers were able to create.  Given the chance I would strongly recommend to see a dance concert on your own time, and while it may not seem like your cup of tea in the beginning I presume you’ll be amazed at least by the music.  They have the silent film feel to them, relying not on words (obviously) to tell the story but emotion and passion.  Advantage back to me.

I had several friends taking part in this production, either on or backstage, I will not identify them by name but the initials S.F., J.B., K.L., S.K., M.S. and frankly I did not know the last three were involved.  The ability they have in dancing, or make-up/costuming, is phenomenal, and the dances which they were involved in thoroughly entertained and stole the night.  Perhaps this is just me being biased towards my friends, they were also in the dances I understood the “story” for the most part, but they seemed to becoming something different while dancing (exception J.B. who did fantastic make-up).  Although I originally went to support two of them, the entire cast should know the audience supported and appreciated their hard work.  

  The dances were for the most part very entertaining but a few deserve considerable recommendation.  My personal favorites included “The Bollywood Swing” and “All Strung Out” with three other dances very close behind “Fourteen”, “The Ballad of Stone Hearts”, “You Are Here”.  All five dances were beyond amazing and beautifully choreographed, and at times it seemed difficult to remember this was a college level production.  The skill and talent of those performing was remarkable for artists in their early twenties.  These five dances also seemed to hold the most resemblance to the silent film era and relying on emotion to tell the story or captivate the audience.  It takes tremendous dedication to perform even at the level which these dancers did, and personally such dedication deserves serious merit for all the hard-work and patience required.  
    While dancing may not be “your thing,” dance shows seem to hold something a bit different.  They are a nod back to simpler forms of entertainment almost.  They do not require vast riches to make them possible, instead only a group of people believing “hey let’s have a little fun with this.”  Such a mindset can never disappoint and you walk away with a higher appreciation for dancing.  Give a dance concert a chance if you have the opportunity, and I believe you’ll see it the way I saw it.  Once more congratulations and highest regards to all those involved with Imagine, Inspire, Illuminate, you all did a fantastic job.