Semester Two: Article Three - The “Millionaire” in my mind

The “Millionaire” in my mind

Patrick White/HC Media

Thursday, February 19, 2009

I was scouring the Internet looking for an entertainment story to put my two cents into. Then, light bulb!

I remembered that the Academy Awards were premiering this Sunday. Forgetting the Oscars is a travesty to movie geeks everywhere. First of all, readers, I was a fan of “The Dark Knight,” but this is not a story where I will whine and demand a recount.

The fact is folks, Oscar killed the Batman.

Oh well.

However, this is a praise for the films and actors that were nominated and my belief that 2008 into early 2009 was one of the best years for movies.

I’m going to kick it off with the Best Supporting Actress nominees: Amy Adams, Penelope Cruz, Viola Davis, Taraji P. Henson and Marisa Tomei.

This pick is going to have to be Henson for her portrayal of the adoptive mother of Brad Pitt’s “Benjamin Button.” Henson brings to the screen the classic motherly love that no one has done since Sally Field in “Forrest Gump.”

Next up, Best Supporting Actor, the nominees are: Heath Ledger, Robert Downey Jr., Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Josh Brolin and Michael Shannon.

I can’t deny my true Bat-fan roots, Ledger wins it hands- down in my book.

His chilling portrayal of the Clown Prince of Gotham blows Nicholson’s Joker out of the water like an exploding ferry. On the other hand, Downey Jr. cannot be forgotten as the hilarious Kirk Lazarus in “Tropic Thunder.”

Lazarus was a role truly offensive and always hilarious.

I’m now going to jump over to the Pixar-loving category Best Animated Feature Film.

I’ve whined about the over-hyped robot and my love for that dim-witted panda on my radio show before, but the fact is “Wall-E” has got it in the bag.

Many have compared this film to a Charlie Chaplin classic, but I can’t help think it’s more Woody Allen.

“Wall-E’s” neurotic tendencies are the robotic reincarnation of the beloved Allen and Eve’s free spirit is the machine equivalent of Diane Keaton in “Annie Hall”.

Oh, and don’t even get me started on “Bolt”, or as I call it, “Toy Story 2” with animals.

Let’s delve back into the acting categories as we take a look at the Best Actress nominees: Anne Hathaway, Angelina Jolie, Melissa Leo, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet.

As an entertainment reporter, I fail.

I have yet to see any of these actresses in their films.

However, based on past experience, watching the Oscars and seeing their performances in other films I would choose Winslet.

For too long Oscar has shut her out.

Her performance in “Enternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” was spot on, “Titanic” was breathtaking and in the little known film “Finding Neverland,” she embodied class.

So, as someone who has not seen the films, I simply must beg and plead with Oscar and demand she gets her golden man.

I’m going to interrupt my acting build and jump into the Best Original Screenplay category. The nominees are: “Frozen River,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “In Bruges,” “Milk,” and “Wall-E.”

This is actually one of the tougher categories to choose from, but I’m going with “Milk”.

I loved this film.

It was the perfect script for a time on Proposition 8 and the prejudice that is still consuming the homosexual community. It would be a travesty if this film did not win and if it did, it might be a step in the right direction.

Okay, here comes the big one, the one that is causing the most conversation around the Murphy’s dinner table and could make me lose my chance of winning that iPod in the award- guessing contest.

Who will be the Best Actor winner?

Will it be Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn, Brad Pitt, Frank Langella or Richard Jenkins? It is between Rourke and Penn, that is obvious.

The two have gone back and forth Rourke wins, Penn wins, Rourke, Penn and so on. My winner has to be Rourke.

As much as I love Penn’s performance in “Milk,” it’s all about that has been-wrestler.

Rourke put himself through so much pain and agony that it wasn’t even acting anymore, he truly became that character and that is what one has to do to be the best in the field, embody every moment of that person: blood, sweat and tears. What film will take the final three prizes: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director and Best Picture?

It will be, no questions asked, “Slumdog Millionaire.”

“Millionaire” was truly the greatest film I had seen all year and, in levels of hope and beauty, probably in five years.

It deserves all these coveted awards from its screenplay by Simon Beaufoy, to its golden director Danny Boyle all the way to the final masterpiece, that is this film.

I may have loved the inspirational tale of Harvey Milk, or the love story of Benjamin Button, but no picture made me realize why I love to write about film, like “Slumdog Millionaire” did.

So now, as I finish my list of favorites for the year in the top categories, I say to the host of India’s “Who wants to be a Millionaire.”

Yes, I’ll go with A. Slumdog Millionaire, final answer.

Semester Two: Opinion Two - There is nothing comical about them

There is nothing comical about them

Patrick White/It’s Showtime

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Zap! Boom! Bang! Those exclamations might seem commonplace to the average comic reader, but how about KaChing!

These former colorful tales of daring heroes who face dastardly villains have been turned into box office and ratings gold by movie and television studios. With nearly 200 costumed crusaders gracing our silver screens, that makes for a large chunk of change for nearly every movie studio on planet Earth, maybe even Krypton.

Zap! Boom! Bang! Those exclamations might seem commonplace to the average comic reader, but how about KaChing!

These former colorful tales of daring heroes who face dastardly villains have been turned into box office and ratings gold by movie and television studios. With nearly 200 costumed crusaders gracing our silver screens, that makes for a large chunk of change for nearly every movie studio on planet Earth, maybe even Krypton.

According to most, the first comic book to be adapted was “Batman.” It was originally turned into a 1960s television show and later a feature film starring Adam West. So, how is it we have jumped from the world of corny one-liners and ridiculous bat gadgets to the dark, brooding, caped crusader and potential Oscar nominations? The world of graphic novel adaptations is an interesting one. They give us journeys of human spiders, aliens and regular guys in bat suits.

However, this genre may have reached its peak in super stories. Studios are looking to the lesser-known graphic novels, because apparently the originals aren’t enough to clutter our theaters.

Some of those lesser-known graphic novels include “Madman,” “Black Hole” and my personal favorite, “Button Man.” These aren’t the only ones though; in fact just today I noticed that another studio had picked up the rights to some “X-Men” copycat.

On top of these barely known comic book heroes there are also the secondary heroes from companies like DC and Marvel. There are already plans to make nearly every comic book character they have created into a Hollywood movie icon. All the way from Ant Man to X-Men, the comic book characters are getting a makeover. For some of the studios that own certain comic book franchises they are now mashing the characters of hundreds of comic stories in an estimated two to three hour film.

Case in point: “Justice League” and “The Avengers.” DC Comics and Marvel plan to release movies based on these super teams, because as “Spider-Man 3” or “X-Men: The Last Stand” have told us, more characters means better story, I mean more money. Like my previous column about 3-D compared to 2-D, too many studios are substituting story for visuals. In the case of these “super friends” they may be sacrificing a story line for multiple characters and crazy battle sequences.

The fact is Hollywood, that we like our heroes lonely. If they were fighting together there is a level of teenage added to the equation. “I can’t join with you, I work alone!” Come on Batman get over yourself. Now if you were paying attention you would have noticed that I brought up the new adaptation of “Watchmen” which, you guessed it, stars multiple characters. So, why do I believe this would work and any other incarnation of team of heroes would not?

First of all I don’t know that it will work, but the source material is so strong that it already has great potential. The problem is that though it isn’t hundreds of different stories it is still a very large graphic novel. Some have suggested it should be made into a mini-series not a film, because in general films of this content don’t usually go over three hours and that isn’t near enough time to cover the complexity of this story. So, I think the film has great potential but could be another fantastic flop or super smash.

In general I enjoy these films and was particularly happy with “The Dark Knight” and its success. On the other hand, a final message to Hollywood: just because the Bat can fly does not mean the Lantern will glow, the Norse god will thunder, or even that the Ant Man will shrink to success.

Semester Two: Opinion One - If you ask me, I would say 2-D

If you ask me, I would say 2-D

Patrick White/Cool Like a Clue Piece

Thursday, February 05, 2009

The world of red and blue is making a comeback. At least that’s what some think, and no, I’m not talking about politics. Yes that’s right, 3D is about to re-warp our televisions, movie theatres and computers.

James Cameron, film director said, “Soon audiences will associate 3D with the highest level of visual content in the market and seek out that premium experience.” My question to Mr. Cameron: What happens when you substitute writing or story lines for visual content? 3D is slowly taking over the media of America one television set and movie theatre at a time. When looking to last Sunday’s Super Bowl and this Monday’s episode of Chuck, it appears 3D has already entered mainstream television. The Super Bowl contained a 3D preview of the film, Monsters vs. Aliens, and a commercial for Sobe beverages. I’ll be honest with you, I did not view this segment of the Bowl with the 3D glasses. So, it was very awkward watching a triple blue and red lined visual. Which brings me to why I think 3D television might be a little too ahead of its time. People without the glasses are given a blurry version of their favorite television show. This isn’t a huge problem for movie theatres because the glasses are given and required, but for those in their own home, it becomes a problem.

As someone who wears glasses, I’d rather wear contacts, and I hope in no near future do we have 3D contacts.

The complaint I have is that people don’t enjoy wearing glasses and people who have never worn them dislike them even more. If television were to continue on this 3D journey they would most certainly lose part of their audience. 3D television becomes a hassle for the everyday viewer in retrieving the 3D glasses and wearing them during the show. There also is that other element of color which turns the show into a blue and red mess.

The solution is to lose the red and blue and make the glasses transparent so the audience can view the show the way the creator wanted it to be viewed.

Already, with the show “Chuck”, audiences have seen 3D in action and the show’s ratings actually did bump up. However, that might have been more so because of the relentless promos and ads for the show than the 3D element.

Even though the ratings did get better, many people have been disappointed in the quality of the video itself. So, it is possible that if another show were to premiere with 3D elements, it could fall even flatter due to word of mouth.

Now, when it comes to the movie theatres, there are plans to release many new movies in 2009 from studios such as Disney, Dreamworks, New Line and Twentieth Century Fox. It seems more and more studios are looking to the power of 3D to boost their revenues and open to a larger market. I am, for the most part, fine with 3D films even though I think it’s a tad tacky and a market that usually produces films starring fish or used for amusement park rides.

My main issue with 3D films of the future include the digitalized versions of classics. Exhibit A: “Star Wars.” George Lucas’ own classic science fiction adventure is making its jump to the3D world with help from Lucas himself. Now, as a member of the universe of nerd, I know the dents Lucas has put in his own franchise. I believe that recreating the films in 3D is just the baseball bat to the windshield of the franchise.

It’s bad enough that he digitally inserted Hayden Christensen into one of the final scenes of his franchise and feels the need to remove actors voices because they were cast differently in his prequels. Now, sure, “Star Wars” is a sci-fi adventure and fits with the element of 3D film, but where is the line drawn? Will we one day be seeing Humphrey Bogart’s face smack dab in front of our noses as he says goodbye to Ilsa in “Casablanca” or Jack Nicholson in “Cuckoo’s Nest” sitting amongst audience members and asylum patients? What I say to that is, I’m sorry Hollywood, but I like my movies with only two dimensions.

Semester Two: Article One - Hastings Community Theatre does its part to “go green”

Hastings Community Theatre does its part to “go green”

Patrick White/HC Media

Thursday, February 05, 2009

A man in a white shirt is pelted with a glass of water, a girl with a passion for the pigskin rips into an unsuspecting date, as a boy in burlap wallows in his loneliness. Then come those two infamous words that no date wants to hear.

“Check Please” is a one-act play that dramatizes the last ditch relationship tactic of blind dating. Within the one act the audience is introduced to 14 people in 13 scenes.

All these characters have very different personalities including a Tim Allen enthusiast, a football fanatic, an out of place child, a mime and many more. The one act is directed by Chris Scott, Hastings College Alum and current Assistant Director of Forensics for HC.

Scott is making his directorial debut within the Hastings Community Theatre with “Check Please.” Scott has had plenty of directing experience before “Check Please.” He has directed at Kansas, Ohio and here on campus. Scott has plans to continue directing.

“I’m still a fairly young director but, it’s what I want to do, so I’m happy to be doing it for the experience it offers,” Scott said.

Scott’s show will be one of two entertainment events for the theatre’s fundraiser titled, “A Local Affair.” Scott isn’t the only familiar face behind this tour de force of comedy included in the cast is James Duin, Jillian Haller, Jessica Brock and Robert (Bob) Gilmore.

“These people aren’t there to get paid, they’re there to have fun, and love being on stage and love sharing that,” Scott said.

The passion for the stage came from different sources for these collegiate actresses.

Jillian Haller said, “My mother is the President of the Arts League and directs the community show so she always instilled a love of the arts so I did what she did, I suppose.”

“I started doing theatre in high school,” Brock said, “I loved that it gave me an opportunity to be someone outside of myself and look at life from different points of view.”

This group of actors has graced the stage along with high school students, alumni and other Hastings community members.

Though the one act should be an entertaining affair, there will also be a social hour, cash bar, in-house raffle, a performance of musical selections and all funds benefit the Hastings Community Theatre and their plans to “go green.”

“From what I understand, all of the profits from our production go to energy efficient windows; it will pick up the appearance of the theatre and will save them money to put toward other restorations,” Haller said.

This is just one step for a theatre on a new road of renovation in their hopes of “going green.”

In terms of theatres though, Hastings is just one of many that is taking on this mission. This new idea was brought forth by the Green Theatre Initiative with one of their taglines being, “Going green keeps theaters ahead of the curve.”

“If you can go green, it’s a win-win situation. Now that everybody is going green, it’s a really great time to capitalize on it,” Scott said. The fundraisers will be Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.

Those interested in “A Local Affair” can contact the theatre at (402) 463-1500, the tickets will be $20 for adults and $15 for students who have their student IDs.

Scott said, “The show is super funny, it’s about something everyone can identify with and the money you pay for your admission goes toward a great cause, and more than that going to the theatre itself, the community theatre is something that I feel is important.”