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Friday, February 4, 2005
7
Hybrid play braves Rider stage
By Nicole Southern
Photo by Al Viciedo
Romeo (freshman Judah Frank) and Juliet (freshman Michele Danna) “kiss by the book” in the Alpha Psi Omega production of
A Brave New Romeo and Juliet, which was performed this past weekend, Friday, Jan. 28 through Sunday, Jan. 30.
‘Sky Captain’ DVD
sends viewers soaring
By Brian Kibble
It’s nice to know that George Lucas
and Steven Spielberg were not the only
ones who remembered the old adventure
movies. Those old Saturday matinee popcorn movies and serials were stories about
heroes such as Flash Gordon and Buck
Rodgers and their fights with villains who
had world domination on their minds. Sky
Captain and the World of Tomorrow runs in
the vein of Flash and Buck and now Sky
Captain’s own adventure is available on
DVD.
Sky Captain takes place in 1930s New
York City, but with a slightly futuristic
look. The story begins with missing scientists and giant robots invading the city.
They are driven away with the help of
Joe “Sky Captain” Sullivan (Jude Law).
Joe and reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth
Paltrow) investigate the mystery of the
robots’ origins along with the disappearance of the scientists. They soon uncover
the evil plot behind both.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
is as fun as a movie can be, with its entertaining and involving story that has a
good pace for an almost two hour long
film. Everyone delivers a decent performance and the excellent score by Edward
Shearmur fits the movie perfectly. But
what makes the movie stand out are the
special effects. Filmed entirely on blue
screen, the whole world of Sky Captain
looks and feels like something audiences
have not seen before.
The DVD comes in 1.85:1 widescreen, with a fullscreen version also available. Since the movie was filmed in
front of a blue screen, the video quality is visually stunning with the picture clear through the entire film. The
movie’s Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix
is a great surround sound experience.
The dialogue and sound effects are clear
against each other, while the score is never
overbearing.
The extra features start off with a
commentary with director/writer Kerry
Conran and members of the special effects
team. Conran is quiet and shy through the
track. Occasionally informative, he could
have talked more. The special effects crew
is informative but just as quiet as Conran.
Just as disappointing is the second commentary with producer Jon Avnet. Avnet
is just as quiet, giving good bits of information here and there.
Possibly the best extra feature is the
six-minute short created by Conran. The
short is what got Avnet’s attention, which
prompted him to make sure Conran would
write and direct the film. Brave New World
is a documentary on the making of the
film and is split between two chapters.
It discusses everything from the special
effects and story to the filming on blue
screen. “The Art of World of Tomorrow”
is a featurette on the design of the film.
Included are sketches and drawings of
Not until after the audience of Alpha Psi Omega’s A Brave
New Romeo and Juliet returned to their rooms or cars, did they
truly understand the power of the play.
The play was created to combine two of the world’s most
famous pieces of literature, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World with the 1997 film
Gattaca. It intertwines Huxley’s idea of an innovative, loveless
society with Shakespeare’s death-marked story of two young
lovers.
The Capulets are the wealthy owners of a successful industry
and each family member was genetically engineered to be perfect
in every way. The Montagues, born of a natural manner, work at
Capulet Industries but are lowly workers there at most.
After sneaking past the bouncers into a Capulet party, Romeo
(freshman Judah Frank) and Juliet (freshman Michele Danna)
fall deeply in love. After Romeo pushes Tybalt (junior Andrew
Danish) down the elevator shaft to his death, he is banished from
Verona. Juliet is devastated by the news and takes a remedy, after
which her family believes her to be dead. Devastated, Romeo
goes to her tomb where he consumes a vile of poison. Juliet then
fills the room with gas and lights a flame.
Each actor delivered a strong performance, which made the
show a success, but some actors stood out among the rest.
Frank delivered an undeniably brilliant performance as
Romeo. The emotion and energy he put into his character was
seen by all in attendance. Not once in the play did the audience
question Romeo’s true love for Juliet, due to Frank’s amazing
ability to depict the passion and longing of a young boy in love.
His pure happiness at parts and his random whimsical outbursts
also helped make his character one of great credibility.
Kerry Bowers, who played Juliet’s nurse, provided much
comic entertainment. The way she carried her voice and over
exaggerated everything she did had the crowd laughing with
amusement. Bowers was the perfect choice for the character and
with her ability to send the audience into hysterics, she was able
to change the entire atmosphere of the show.
The Capulet party scene was one of the play’s greatest
strengths. The party had a club-like atmosphere and was the
complete opposite of what anyone was expecting. All the characters were dressed in trendy clothes and each was covered in
flashing lights. They were all dancing as one would in a club,
some characters acting crazier and less controlled than others.
The choreographed dance was amusing and really captured the
audience’s attention.
The tomb scene at the end was very different in this version
of the play. Juliet was standing up in a glass coffin with a light
shining down on her, which gave the scene a more futuristic feel.
Because he could not touch her, Romeo’s declaration of his love
for Juliet was difficult to express, but Frank did a good job of
keeping the level of emotion high. Juliet’s way of killing herself
was off-centered and, although it provided the story with an
interesting twist, left the audience baffled and off-guard.
Among some of the flaws were the sometimes confusing
combination of characters that may have thrown off those familiar with the original text. The character of Sampson, who is a
Capulet, was combined with Balthasar, a Montague. However,
the character, who was referred to as Sampson throughout the
play, did not seem to have any Capulet parts.
The costumes were very well done and it was never hard
to differentiate between a Montague and a Capulet. While the
Capulets were always wearing nice clothing, the Montagues’
clothing was always casual. Also, most of the Capulet men had
colored sparkles on their sideburns and the Capulet women
on their faces, which they could have done without, but it still
enabled the audience to tell which side they were on.
The play was definitely worth seeing and it was obvious that
all involved worked very hard to make it a success. Alpha Psi
Omega has delivered a unique interpretation of a classic play that
will not be forgotten by those who saw it any time soon.
‘Point Pleasant’ falsely portrays New Jersey life
By Jessica Decina
Photo copyright Brooklyn Films
The Sky Captain DVD was released
Tuesday, Feb. 1.
sets, props and characters. Rounding out
the extra features are two deleted scenes,
one of which was finished with the special
effects but cut for time purposes. The second deleted scene is an alternate version
of a scene toward the end of the film. Last
but not least, there is a gag reel.
With ground-breaking special effects,
decent extras and excellent performances,
the Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
DVD will take viewers on a fantastic
adventure.
Just when New Jersey residents thought things couldn’t
get much worse, along came
the Fox hit Point Pleasant.
Perhaps it’s just the South
Jersey aggression in me talking,
but Point Pleasant paints a horribly inaccurate picture of real
Jersey residents. Apparently,
they’re all incredibly shallow
and driven only by hormones,
but at least can throw a good
beach party.
The
show,
finishing its fourth week, carries
a nor’easter of drama, suspense and mystery. Christina
Nickson (Elisabeth Harnois)
arrives in the small shore town
just in time to unravel its many
secrets, including the mystery
surrounding the true identity
of her parents. Christina is
taken in by the Kramer family and eventually befriends
their daughter Judy (Aubrey
Dollar). Meanwhile, she gradually fills in the blanks of her
past, discovers the town’s dirty
little secrets that have been
swept under the boardwalk,
and falls for the lifeguard Jesse
Parker (Samuel Page).
Harnois delivers an intense
and focused performance,
refreshing to see in an otherwise dull cast. Harnois does
not over-dramatize everything,
but carries strong emotion. She
uses just the right amount of
sincerity and innocence so the
audience cannot help but root
for her. As she meets Jesse’s
girlfriend Paula (Cameron
Richardson) for the first time,
her eyes sadden and viewers’
heartstrings are pulled.
Additionally,
Dollar’s
sarcastic and edgy take on Judy
serves as a great foil to the naive
Christina. Dollar is worth
watching because she refuses
to conform to the notion that
all teenagers in Point Pleasant
are snobby and superficial.
In many instances, Dollar’s
dry humor serves as the only
comic outlet in this other dark
thriller.
But the talent stops
there. Page brings nothing
more than a pretty face to the
show. Richardson could have
walked off the set of another
teen-focused drama because
although her character is
downright villainous, she adds
nothing to make it rise above
one-dimensional.
Four episodes later, Point
Pleasant has barely begun to
focus on the main plot line.
The show’s pilot hinted at far
too many subplots, the most
cliched of them including a
strained father-son relationship. There’s simply too much
to try and remember about
Point Pleasant’s residents when
all the viewer really wants to
know about is the story behind
Christina.
For those who love drama
and mystery and who live for
similar shows such as The O.C.
and One Tree Hill, add Point
Pleasant to the “must-see” list
on Thursday nights.
As for those who are loyal
to the authentic Point Pleasant,
watching this series seems a
lot like watching the summer
tourists arrive at the beach. All
a local can do is sit back, smile
and, in this case, change the
channel.
Photo copyright 20th Century Fox Television
Point Pleasant made its debut on Fox on Jan. 19. It stars Elisabeth Harnois as a teenage girl
who possesses supernatural powers and shakes up the town.
Photo copyright JDUB Records
Music artist Matisyahu released Shake Off the Dust...Arise, an album that features an interesting blend of reggae and religion.
Rabbi of Reggae
By Allen Huang
In celebration of Bob Marley’s 60th
birthday, it’s a perfect time to introduce a
new reggae artist who will surprise everyone. With a fusion of dance hall reggae
and beat boxing, this new MC will entertain you with spiritual lyrics. Matisyahu’s
debut album, Shake Off the Dust…Arise
was released in Oct. 2004. What Bob
Marley was to the Rastafarians, Matisyahu
is to the Jewish community. He is Bob
Marley with payos.
This album is filled with Matisyahu’s
talent to provide a seamless blend of music
to all its listeners. After the first track,
one is immediately drawn in with either
excitement or curiosity to listen more.
The album’s second track, “Tzama Lchoi
Nafshi” (Psalm 63:2-3) is a brief song
featuring Hebrew singing with soft background music. Immediately following the
song, the band jumps back into dance
hall reggae. Throughout the 17 tracks,
Matisyahu tosses you around between
reggae songs, interludes and songs sung in
Hebrew.
Matisyahu’s voice is resonant, deep,
and vibrant, matching perfectly with his
back-up band. A delicate balance of religion and music, Matisyahu is trying to
convey exactly what the title of the CD
suggests. He is telling everyone to shake
off the dust of one’s troubles, and arise
spiritually. In “Got No Water,” he sings:
“Open up peruse with knowledge of God
/ And move up an arousal from below till
the secrets start to ooze / Don’t snooze it’s
pure light the must high wants us alive /
What’s the proof? / We got life!”
It seems sacrilegious to say that
Matisyahu is a Hasidic Reggae superstar,
but that is exactly what he is. A one of a
kind act, Matisyahu promotes the message
of Universal life. Shake Off the Dust…Arise
is a musical ménage-a-trois that unites the
Jewish community, Reggae culture and
the nightclub scene.
De Niro disappoints in ‘Hide and Seek’
By Paul Szaniawski
Hide and Seek is the first movie I’ve
gone to see twice in recent memory. The
second time I brought my 70-year-old
grandmother and 6-year-old niece.
Another horror movie fails to horrify. Luckily, it does entertain, thanks to
a well-written script and the efforts of a
10-year-old girl.
After the wife of psychologist David
Callaway (Robert De Niro) kills herself
he decides to take their daughter (Dakota
Fanning, I am Sam) to start anew in
the country against the advice of fellow
psychologist and family-friend. It’s quite
obvious that little Emily has been scarred
by her mother’s death but things seem to
improve after she develops an imaginary
friend named Charlie. But as it turns
out, Charlie really isn’t imaginary. The
rest of the movie keeps viewers guessing
as to who or what Charlie is.
The film’s downfall is an uncharacteristic, sub-par performance by De Niro
after his previous attempt at the thriller
genre in the film Godsend. However, it
can be argued that the fault really lies
with the casting director. De Niro’s char-
acter neither fits his acting style nor gives
him a chance to excel, which results in
only a mediocre performance.
Aside from De Niro’s character, the
movie’s well-written script and talented
supporting cast were too good to allow
one bad decision to completely ruin
Hide and Seek. Much of the credit goes
to young co-star Dakota Fanning.
Already with a Screen Actor’s Guild
Award nomination for her performance
in I am Sam, the 10-year-old Fanning
proves that she is one of the best actresses of her generation. Psychotic yelling,
glazed over eyes and blank facial expressions make Fanning more terrifying than
the film’s antagonist Charlie.
Eventually the characters develop
and Charlie brings some excitement,
which leads up to a surprise twist at the
end. This alone makes the first hour and
a half of the film worth sitting through.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers,
but don’t mind if they fail to thrill, come
out, come out, wherever you are and give
Hide and Seek a peek. Even though you
may have to really seek out this one’s hidden positives.