Arts
Arts
Director Jason Reitman chats about his new indie hit
December 9In "Up in the Air," director Jason Reitman examines the life of a man lost in the clouds. This is his third feature−length film, following 2007's Oscar−nominated "Juno," and it is already receiving tremendous critical and commercial acclaim. Reitman had enough time in his travel schedule to talk about directing, his actors and the economy.
Arts
Top 10 | Rejected Top 10 Lists
December 9Every week the Daily Arts department gets together to brainstorm the ludicrous content you find each Thursday in the Weekender section. This meeting leading to our Top 10 list usually consists of high fives and laughter and friendship, but sometimes the ideas don't quite work. Think of this week's list like "Behind the Music:" a backstage peek at the inner workings of your second favorite part of The Daily (the first being the Sudoku). These are the best of the worst unused ideas from this past semester. Enjoy! 10. Things to swordfight with: This was probably a moment in which we wanted to have a massive Arts fight, and all of us decided to come up with odd weapons for ourselves. Or we'd been there for two hours and had nothing else ... 9. Google alerts: We just couldn't come up with a full list of 10 -- all we could think of was an adult having an alert for "Disney." 8. Reasons why daily arts editors are better in bed: We've got awesome musical selections on our hook-up playlists, we've got great "rhythm," and you can bet that all of our pillow talk will be grammatically correct. What more could you want? 7. Things my friend said on his acid trip: "THIS ... is the most UNBELIEVABLE moment ... that ANYONE has ever remembered to FORGET about my BROTHER? TULL! Polumphygazeous? Unbelieveable-unbelievable-unbelievable-unbelievable ..." 6. Ways to blow off steam: We realized we needed to let this list die after one of us suggested "clubbing baby seals" as a stress-reliever. Stand by to be fire-bombed by PETA. 5. Places we want to be on Miley's body: There are zero places we'd like to be on Miley's body. Why? She's underage. Statutory! STATUTORY! 4. Reasons our exec is a hipster: This list couldn't be condensed into 10 items. There are just too many. The oversized glasses, the choppy haircut, the love of postmodernism ... the list goes on and on. 3. Things that make us smile: We only had one, but we'll just put it here instead: ridiculous comments on our online content. "Supernatural" fangirls, MTV producers, Disney addicts: We love you we love you we love you! 2. Things that are awesome: Mallomars, Tide-to-go pens, secret shots, Mac widgets, snow days, "Best of the Decade" lists ... wait, just kidding ... sort of. 1. Things: This was the all-time low. But sort of genius at the same time ...
Arts
Jumbos make room for the fourth meal
December 9For college students, the problem is universal: It's nearing midnight, and the crucial macroeconomics problem set or philosophy paper remains unfinished. With a long night of studying ahead, an effective student should be focused on numbers and syntax, but often there's only one thing on his or her mind: food.
Arts
A peek into 'The Nutcracker'
December 9From the first strains of its overture to its grand finale, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" is one of the best−known ballets ever written. Going to see the dance is a beloved holiday tradition, and the Boston Ballet's spectacular production brings this Christmas tale to the people of Boston each year, complete with elaborate sets and beautiful costumed dancers. Magical story becomes majestic spectacle
Arts
Family drama and war horrors entangled in Sheridan's 'Brothers'
December 8On the surface, "Brothers," the new film from director Jim Sheridan, is a war movie. Tobey Maguire plays Capt. Sam Cahill, a dedicated Marine about to ship out for his fourth tour in Afghanistan. Sam is celebrated by his town — and specifically his father Hank (Sam Shepard), an ex−military man — as a hero fulfilling the duty of protecting his country.
Arts
Caryn Horowitz | The Cultural Culinarian
December 8I have a history of ending each installment of The Cultural Culinarian on an extremely sappy note. My first go−around, I wrote about the importance of food to my everyday life. Last semester, I discussed things you learn about food in college that can be transferred to the real world.
Arts
Me and Orson Welles' drops Efron in '30s
December 7What can be said about "Me and Orson Welles" has already been said about every movie Zac Efron has ever been in. The movie won't change viewers' lives or their attitudes toward cinema, but it's certainly not without its charm.
Arts
DJ Hero' a surefire hit among genre enthusiasts
December 7Though often overlooked prior to the release of "Guitar Hero" (2005), rhythm gaming has been a popular genre since "Athletic World" was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. In the '90s, games like "PaRappa the Rapper" (1997) picked up the mantle alongside the smash-hit "Dance Dance Revolution" series (1998), and in the current decade, "Guitar Hero" was the one game to rule them all. Now at the end of the decade, Activision, the company behind "Guitar Hero," is looking to revitalize the rhythm genre again with the release of "DJ Hero."
Arts
Derek Schlom | I Blame Pop Culture
December 7I question the benefits and drawbacks of "best of" lists every time December rolls around and various media outlets begin to release their picks for the top films, albums, books, bundt cake recipes, etc. of the year (and, as 2010 approaches, the decade). I'm kind of indifferent when it comes to lists like these. I understand the importance of placing something in context and noting its historical significance, but I kind of feel like rankings reduce works of art that mean something different to every person — works that provoke, engage and entice — to mere numbers. (I have the same issue with awards shows for turning culture into a blood sport, but that's a whole different column.)
Arts
3Ps' 'Over the Rainbow' is a stellar cabaret
December 6Pen, Paint and Pretzels' (3Ps) vision of a materialistic Egyptian queen probably wasn't what Giuseppe Verdi had in mind when he wrote Amneris' role in the opera "Aida" (1871), but Elton John, co-writer of "Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida" (1998), would likely applaud the group's more fabulous portrayal of the spoiled royal. A comical cover of Amneris' "My Strongest Suit" is just one highlight from 3Ps' "Over the Rainbow," a gender-bending cabaret, which opens at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at the Balch Arena Theater.
Arts
Charles Laubacher | Ears Open
December 6A new kind of virtual reality has taken the gaming world by storm in the past few years. Long a staple of Japanese arcades, music performance games have become extremely popular stateside. Opinions about the prevalence of these games, such as "Guitar Hero" (2005), "Rock Band" (2007) and the newly released "DJ Hero" (2009), seem to be extremely polarized. Many old-guard musicians lament the growing popularity of these games and see them as affording youth the pleasure of musical performance without actually challenging them to learn a real instrument. Others praise the games, believing they will expose a new generation to classic tunes and spark the excitement of rock ‘n' roll for future members of garage bands.
Arts
Shakespeare gets soulful
December 6Rustling in their seats, the audience members anxiously wait for the actors of "Best of Both Worlds." They were supposed to be on stage 10 minutes ago. A crew member clad in black appears to announce that the theatre just received a text from the actors — and that some of them have not even arrived. As ripples of annoyance and impatience run cross the crowd, the entire cast bursts through the garage door on a sparkly purple Cadillac.
Arts
Brief, incoherent album missing Lady Gaga's radio magic
December 3Songs alone are not enough to create a pop icon in this post-album market. The genius of Lady Gaga is in the calculated, symbiotic relationship between her music and her persona.
Arts
Scrubs' still has a pulse in season nine
December 3Every great performer — a movie star, an athlete or, in this case, a television series — hopes to end his career (or final season) on a high note of fame and glory.
Arts
Rebecca Goldberg | Abroadway
December 3Amid all of the minutia about Hollywood agencies and development deals and networking (God, shut up about that already) that I'm learning here, there's an intangible skill that I had a hard time articulating until tonight: I'm learning to see media as a fully malleable product.
Arts
The hub of funny people: Comedy scene thrives in Boston
December 3It's his moment to shine, and Pete Davis is nervous. With the spotlight beating down on his pale face and 60 slightly drunk eyes staring back at him, the 19-year-old Virginian continues to sweat. Drops cascade from his forehead as he uncomfortably shifts back and forth on stage. He inches up closer to the microphone, clutching the note cards in his hand as if afraid they will fly away. The only sounds emanating from his mouth are incomprehensible stutters as he weakly smiles at the audience.
Arts
Rising star Saoirse Ronan dishes on upcoming 'The Lovely Bones'
December 2The Daily got the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with the young actress Saoirse Ronan to discuss her role in director Peter Jackson's adaptation of the Alice Sebold novel "The Lovely Bones." Ronan described the process she went through to prepare to portray her character, Susie Salmon, a 14-year old girl who is raped and murdered by her neighbor, and discussed her ascent into the public eye since her Academy Award-nominated role in "Atonement" (2007). Q: Do you interpret Susie Salmon more through the screenplay that you read or through your analysis of the novel? Do you ever find yourself having conflicts with the interpretation of your current director? SR: Well, I focus more on the character and the screenplay instead of the book because it's a different version of telling the story. But still, it's [handy] to be making movies that were based on books. No, I haven't had any conflicts really with the directors that I've worked with, so I've been very lucky. We've gotten on really well. Q: Are there any similarities between you and the character Susie Salmon regarding your personality? SR: Yeah, there's a few. I mean, Susie's a typical teenage girl, so I think that hopefully when girls go and see this movie, they're going to connect with her in some way. But she's interested in photography and fashion, and things like that. And boys, of course. So, I'm interested in all those things. Q: What was it like to film the heaven scenes [in "The Lovely Bones"]? SR: It was a little bit surreal at first because it was all blue screen, and I hadn't worked with that much blue screen before. And most of Heaven was going to be put in afterwards. So, it was sometimes difficult to try and imagine what it was going to be like. We obviously had an idea in our head of what the basic picture was going to be. But it was great and when I saw the movie, it was a lovely surprise to finally see Heaven. Q: In both "Atonement" and "The Lovely Bones," there are a lot of very dark themes, and your character always seems to be right in the middle of the gloom. Given that you're kind of a cheerful person in real life, how do you place yourself in such dark situations that these movies portray?
Arts
Tufts students enter 'Shop of Horrors'
December 2When is enough enough? Opening tonight in Balch Arena Theatre, Torn Ticket II's production of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's "Little Shop of Horrors" will satire and expose just exactly how much is enough to fill the stomach of a hungry, flesh−eating, solar−flared, mutant plant.
Arts
Top Ten | Disney Controversies
December 2With the December release of "The Princess and the Frog" showcasing the first African-American princess in a Disney movie to date, we've compiled a list of Disney's less-than-honorable moments over the years. We may not have noticed them as innocent little kids, but now that we're adults (wait, what?), we're calling you out, Walt. 10. "Song of the South": There's a reason this 1946 movie has never been released in its entirety on video or DVD: It portrays Uncle Remus as a happy plantation worker in the South, which Disney thinks, just maybe, might be considered racially insensitive. Or even a flat-out bias incident. 9. "Sex" written in the sky in "The Lion King" (1994): A subliminal message to innocent, unsuspecting five-year-olds to stop being so innocent and just have sex already. Classy, Disney. Classy.
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