NJ Film FestNJ Film Fest

INSIDE BEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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DRIVE• MY DRUNK KITCHEN • AS YOU LIKE IT• NAIL TRENDS• OPETH• SUPER MASH BROS

The Best Films

You’ve Never Heard Of

September 22, 2011Page 2 • Inside Beat

BOOKS

Lester Choi Christine ChunnEmily Corkum

Saskia KusnecovDivya Patibandla

Jason PearlAdam RosengartenKatherine Rossbach

Chris Wallace

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR

EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR

HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR

JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR

KEITH FREEMAN.........................................................................PHOTO EDITOR

ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR

DIANA CHOLANKERIL...............................................................ONLINE EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

E D I T O R I A L B O A R D

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CONTRIBUTORS TO

INSIDE BEAT :

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT EDITOR

Cover Photo Courtesy of whatsontv.co.uk

BY KATHERINE ROSSBACHSTAFF WRITER

The Buddha in the Attic isabout the lives of women whoimmigrated to America fromJapan before being removed tothe infamous relocation campsduring WWII. The stories aretold from the women’s perspec-tives up to the point when theyare moved into the camps; inter-estingly, the last section of thebook is told from the eyes oftheir white neighbors. The novelincludes tales of the immigrant

Julie Otsuka | B

The Buddha inthe Attic

The Buddha inthe Attic

women waiting to meet husbandsthey have only corresponded withvia letter-writing, news of preg-nancy and children, of shamefulwork as maids. It is a book writtensimply, but in its simplicity, theemotions of the women are able totake center stage.

Otsuka tells the stories of thesewomen as a collective experience,using the pronoun “we”, as if theJapanese women are sitting aroundtogether and telling the stories, chim-ing in on one another’s tales whennecessary. This collective storytellingoffers multiple dimensions.

The writing style brings tomind that of oral stories, withmany short sentences, especiallyin the beginning, with others verylong and rambling. It is becauseof this technique that so much ofthe book touches you. Though aquick and simple read, The Bud-dha in the Attic is a compellingand interesting book because ofthe feelings produced by briefbut poignant sentences. Themoments in which of the in-terned women recall mother-hood and childrearing givereason to stop and reflect.

September 22 2011 Inside Beat • Page 3

THEATER & FASHION

BY CHRIS WALLACESTAFF WRITER

When you think of a “musi-cal revue,” you probably thinkof a tacky collection of songs,sung by a bunch of self-cen-tered people who are onlythere to hear their own voices.Thankfully, the recent Back toSchool Musical r3vue presentedat Cabaret Theater is the exactopposite. The show, the third ina Cabaret tradition that startedin 2009 (which explains themisspelled title), was a surpris-ingly moving and intense pieceof theater.

Centered on the desires,fears and hopes of its ensemble,the production featured num-bers from popular musicalssuch as Rent and The Producers,while also featuring music fromsuch under-appreciated showsas [title of show] and GloryDays. The key to the success ofthe production, directed excel-lently by Thomas Young, is itsreinterpretation of the lyrics ofpopular musical theater songsto create a deep and sincereconnection to the audience. Par-ticular favorite numbers in-

The Back to School Musical r3vue

BY CHRISTINE CHUNNSTAFF WRITER

On Friday, September 17th,the Circle Players, a communitytheater group located in Piscat-away, New Jersey, had their open-ing night performance of WilliamShakespeare’s As You Like It, awitty comedy of banishment, sib-ling rivalry, cross-dressing, andlove at first sight.

After being exiled by her tyran-nical uncle, Rosalind (Alicia Hara-bin) and her cousin, Celia(Christie Leigh Carver), travelinto the enchanted Forest ofArden in search of solace. Ros-alind cross-dresses and assumesthe name, Ganymede. In the for-est, they run into Orlando (An-thony Younes), with whomRosalind fell in love prior to herbanishment. Upon finding out thatthe love is mutual, Rosalind, dis-

As You

Like It

BY EMILY CORKUMSTAFF WRITER

In the past few years onemenswear trend has exploded:The straight-lined suits andties worn by the likes of DonDraper and company on MadMen. Many designers arepulling from the 1960s stylesseen on the hit AMC series’characters, and their looks areon the pages of multiple men’sfashion magazines. Modern-day versions of mid-centur ychic are now carried at majordistributers, including Macy’s,Brooks Brothers, Louis Vuit-ton and Nordstrom.

In the past, business suitswere loose-fitting with wideties and starched white shirts.Today, however, suits havecompletely transformed: theyfeature shortened pant legs,close-cut jackets, skinny ties

The Men in the Gray Flannel Suits

COURTESY OF LIMITEDHYPE.COM

COURTESY OF RICH KOWALSKIcluded “I Want to Be a Pro-ducer,” and “I Got Life,” from thehit musical Hair, led by the pow-erful voice of Will Carey.

The production’s intense na-ture created surprisingly dramaticmoments out of music that is tra-ditionally clandestine. More thanone audience member murmuredin confusion about the selection of“Be Prepared” from Disney’s TheLion King amongst indie musicalsand theatrical rock anthems, butthe re-imagined number wasevocative, haunting and powerful.

The strength of the showcomes from both Young’s direct-ing as well as the strong and tal-ented ensemble. However, thestrength of its ensemble was alsosometimes its downfall. For some-one who did not know much aboutthe students involved in the Uni-versity’s theater community, therewould be a bit of confusion, con-cerning the shout-outs to past andfuture shows and roles fulfilled bymembers of the ensemble. Whilethe revue was exceedingly enter-taining, it did at times seem a littletoo self-absorbed, but when youlook at the quality of the entireproduction it was easily forgivable.

guised as Ganymede, determinesto test the validity and strength ofOrlando’s love. Intertwined intothis love story is that of Silvius(Victor Martinez) and Phebe. Sil-vius pathetically pursues theproud Phebe (Heather Arney),who falls in love with Ganymede.Alongside these two romances aretwo others and coupled with wittybanter, the result is a wild and hu-morous extravaganza.

People who are used to watchingplays with elaborate sets and cos-tumes may be disappointed by thisproduction, which utilizes modestprops and modern clothing. How-ever, you don’t need fancy sets andcostumes to enjoy Shakespeare. In-terestingly, the Circle Players man-aged to show the sadder momentsinside the comedy. The play nor-mally starts with Orlando’s tiradeagainst his brother, Oliver (CaseyWoods), but in this performance,

the first scene begins with Rosalindmeeting with her father, Duke Sen-ior (Ed Faver), who tells his daugh-ter of his expulsion. In anotherinsert, Celia leaves her necklace be-hind before journeying into the For-est of Arden. The necklace is laterbrought to Duke Ferdinand, whocannot help but be saddened and re-minded of his daughter.

What makes this performanceof As You Like It successful is itsactors; the audience cannot helpbut laugh at Alicia Harabin’scross-dressing Rosalind, who failsat being a man. Michael Stratton’sportrayal of Touchstone is re-markable, as well as Rupert Hin-ton’s Jacque. Anyone who lovesShakespeare would enjoy the Cir-cle Players’ As You Like It.

Per formances are being helduntil October 2nd. Adult ticketsare $17.00 and student ticketsare $16.00.

and tie bars. Businessmen lookmore sophisticated than ever be-fore. One designer who’s lead-ing this blast from the past isThom Browne. Though pricy,Browne’s designs are a perfectexample of 1960s influence onmenswear. Other designers,such as Marc Jacobs, HugoBoss, Calvin Klein, KennethCole and Tommy Hilfiger, arealso presenting these styles.

This style is ever ywhere,leaving men with a desire todress just a little bit nicer — theage of rolling out of bed andthrowing something on isslowly fading into nonexis-tence. As the male populationbands together to look like realmen should — tailored andready for whatever life throwstheir way — they exude a sexappeal and confidence that isbeing newly expressed in theirwork and their lives.

September 22, 2011Page 4• Inside Beat

FASHION & TV

BY FREDDIE MORGANTV EDITOR

Hannah Hart pours herself aglass of red wine. “Let’s talk aboutthe importance of cooking…when you’re drunk,” she slurs.Our chef is undoubtedly going towarn her viewers about the dan-gers of cooking over an openflame while under the influence.“It’s important to remember that ifyou’ve been drinking, you shouldalso be…” Careful? Hydrated? Ms.Hart wrestles with the perfectword to articulate her point.

“Dancing,” she proclaims.My Drunk Kitchen is a show

that only sort of teaches you howto cook. 24-year-old internationaltranslator Hannah Hart makesbroken meals that are particu-larly good for drunken eating,such as grilled cheese (sanscheese), pancakes (with granolain the batter), and an “omelette”(scrambled eggs with Mexicanrice). She neglects portion size,baking temperature, conven-tional herbs and the concept oftime, but what her videos lack in

BY ZOË SZATHMARYEDITOR

You may not rememberAndy Whitfield’s name, but youcertainly remember his hitStarz series Spartacus: Bloodand Sand. As the titular Thra-cian slave, the Welshactor/model conquered ene-mies in the arena, seducedwomen in the bedroom, andfought for freedom. Whitfield,unfortunately, could not win hisown personal battle – against aparticularly cruel strain of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After aninitial round of chemotherapy,Whitfield was declared cancer-free…until the disease struckback. He unfortunately only ap-peared in the prequel Sparta-cus: Gods of the Arena in avoice-over cameo. However,

BY DIVYA PATIBANDLASTAFF WRITER

You might have on a fantasticoutfit, but the look’s not completewithout a chic manicure. This se-mester, try one of our favoritetrends below.

Green Monster — As theweather starts to cool off, soshould your nails. Toss aside thebright pinks and corals from sum-mer and welcome a darker paletteof colors — your friends will begreen with envy.

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in Hunter $6

IN MEMORIAM:Andy Whitfield,1972 - 2011

WEB SERIES:Wine ‘n’ Dine withMy Drunk Kitchen

Nail It!

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Magnet-ficent — After thedebut of the shatter nail polish inOPI’s Katy Perry Collection, itseemed as if everyone on campusowned a bottle of this trend. Forthose getting tired of the crackleeffect, there’s a new trend to lookout for: magnetic nail polish. Thepolish contains iron elements andwhen a special magnet is heldover the nail, ripple effects anddesigns can be created.

Heavy Metallic — For thosedark nights out in NewBrunswick, you’re going to need alittle shimmer to light the way.Metallic nail polish can add instantglam to any of your chic outfits

and serves as the perfect addedaccessory.

Butter London Lacquer inChancer $14

OPI Nail Lacquer in Glitzerland$7.50, Amazon

On the Go — Nail polish stripsare the perfect go-to for collegestudents on the run. There areoften times when there simplyisn’t time to apply three coats ofyour favorite polish. With easy ap-plication and no dry time, nail pol-ish strips are one step ahead of thegame, providing fashionistas withan endless array of designs.

Sally Hansen Salon Effects $6-12, drugstores

Whitfield died peacefully in hiswife’s arms, with his two sur-viving children by his bedside.He was thirty-nine years old.

The question is, what willhappen to the steamy fran-chise? Starz has alreadyrushed to save itself, an-nouncing that it will replaceWhitfield with actor LiamMcIntyre. McIntyre is sched-uled to appear in Spartacus:Vengeance, in which theeponymous hero must decidewhether to kill the man re-sponsible for his wife’s deathor work towards the largergoal of maintaining his bud-ding army. McIntyre bearsbrooding good looks similarto those of Whitfield’s, yet itremains to be seen whetherthis installment will stand upto others.

didactic purpose they make upfor in comedy. Perhaps it is be-cause Hannah is naturally funny.It could also have something todo with the fact that she drinksuntil she’s hammered.

Cooking channels, like theFood Network, are gaining trac-tion with college students. How-ever, these stations are doinglittle to cater to their new demo-graphic. Harto, as she refers toherself, is seemingly very awareof her audience’s interests. Sheappeals to every young adult’scarnal desire: a quick inexpen-sive meal that will satisfy theirdrunken cravings. This is thekind of show that you will simplynever see on television.

Hart has recently unveiled anew segment called “Advice fromthe Hart.” She answers somebizarre questions while cradling aglass of wine. Sometimes, the ques-tions even relate to food. Be sure tocheck out her YouTube username,“MyHarto,” or log on to her web-site hartoandco.com to read herblog, see extra footage or shop theofficial My Drunk Kitchen store.

September 22, 2011 Inside Beat • Page 5

VIDEOGAMES

BY RYAN SURUJNATHASSOCIATE EDITOR

It's been almost five yearssince Resistance: Fall of Manmade its franchise debut as alaunch title for the PlayStation 3.Even as Sony's console has aged,Insomniac's hit series has contin-ued to be one of the primary rea-sons to own a PS3, and,fortunately, Resistance 3 lives up tothe same standard established byits predecessors.

Resistance 3's plot focusesaround protagonist JosephCapelli, whose name should be fa-miliar to those who playedthrough the campaign in Resist-ance 2. After being dischargedfrom the military, Capelli and hisfamily find themselves in Okla-homa, living in secrecy from theChimera. When these extrater-restrials attack his home, Capelliis approached by Dr. Fyodor Ma-likov, who explains that a worm-hole in New York City threatensthe life of every human on theplanet. Though initially apprehen-sive about fighting, Capelli agreesto help Dr. Malikov at the behestof his wife and children. Capelli'spersonality is somewhat bland,and he isn't what one would call aleader; however, Resistance 3 fea-tures a colorful cast of supportingcharacters that help tell a deepand gritty story.

The game's visuals further en-hance the experience. The envi-ronments are plentiful and varied,taking players from the mistybanks of the Mississippi River tothe alien-infested remains of Man-hattan. Though it's not quite thegraphical feast that Killzone 3 is,Resistance 3's grey and bleak vi-sual style perfectly complementsthe mood that the story creates.

Gameplay in Resistance 3 istight and refined. The game aban-dons a typical regenerative health

Resistance 3Insomniac| A

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system for a standard health bar.The weapon wheel, which wasomitted in Resistance 2, alsomakes a return. As with previousinstallments of the franchise, Re-sistance 3 features many powerfulweapons, both new and old.

All these features come to-gether in a rewarding combat ex-perience. Small skirmisheseventually escalate into large scalebattles. These encounters arecapped off by epic boss fights,which have become staples of theResistance series. Resistance 3forces players to adopt some de-gree of strategy when approachingfirefights; smart players will wantadopt cover and flanking strategies.Overall, the AI is reasonably intelli-gent. Enemies will attack from alldirections, though they may some-times be overly aggressive, as theysometime have a tendency tocharge directly at the player.

Resistance 3's multiplayer hasbeen somewhat toned down sinceprevious installments: chaotic sixty-player battles have been aban-doned in favor of a more intimatesixteen-player experience. How-ever, players have access to a largearsenal of weapons, abilities and killstreaks to turn the tide of battle.The maps are solid, and they in-clude locales from the single playercampaign. In addition to competi-tive multiplayer, the game featurescooperative play. This, too, hasbeen toned down a bit, as only twoplayers can partake in this gamemode. There is, oddly, no match-making for online co-op, but thegame features a split-screen modethat is perfect for friends.

With a campaign that lastsfor about nine hours and solidcompetitive and cooperativemultiplayer, Resistance 3 is awell rounded and engrossingexperience that will surelyplease even the most discerningPlayStation owner.

IB: What is one of your favorite films shown at the festival?

AN: One of my favorites was screening the restored version of Michael Pow-ell/Emeric Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp back in late February1994. It is one of my favorites because we were lucky enough to have Martin Scors-ese and Thelma Schoonemaker (Scorsese’s editor and Powell’s third wife) come tospeak about the film to a huge audience at the State Theater. He was workingon Casino at the time and was nice enough to take a break from that to come to sup-port us. More than 700 people came on a freezing Sunday evening to see this fairly ob-scure but absolutely magical film. Scorsese loves The Archers’ work so he was gladto come. He came for nothing. This was thanks to my friend and colleague Profes-sor John Belton who knows Marty pretty well. It was also fun to have Paul Morrissey(Andy Warhol’s main director after 1966) come and present Chelsea Girls twice and itwas great to have acclaimed documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker come threetimes to support our screenings of Monterey Pop, Don’t Look Back and Moon OverBroadway. Most directors come to support our screenings for free. They love what wedo and are glad to help us.

IB: Who was one of the most interesting people to attend the festival?

AN: Besides Scorsese, Morrissey and Pennebaker, I thought the celebrated animatorBill Plympton, experimental filmmaker Jem Cohen and New Jersey native Todd Solondzwere very provocative and inspirational. When Todd came in 1999 to screen his very diffi-

cult film Happiness we had1,000 people come. That stillranks as our biggest audienceto date.

IB: What is one of yourleast favorite films shown atthe festival?

AN: I hated showing GregAraki’s black comedy TheDoom Generation in 1995. Ilike to screen dif ficult andchallenging films but thisone was just bad and reallyhad no redeeming value inmy humble opinion. Thereare others I didn’t like show-ing as well but as a curatoryou have to screen all typesof films because we havesuch a wide range of con-stituents to serve.

IB: How has the festivalchanged over the years?

AN: At first, we showed just classics but after we started mixing in first-run moviesthat weren’t going to make it into area theaters. We screened Julie Dash’s Daughtersof the Dust back in 1991 because none of the local theaters would. It is a beautifulAfrican-American period film set around the turn of the 20th century. I had heard thatthe film had a niche audience but I was surprised and amazed to see a huge line ofpeople wrap round the Voorhees Mall trying to get in to see this film. We added ascreening afterward to accommodate everyone that came. I swear we could havescreened that film for a month 24/7 and sold it out each time. After VHS, DVD, the In-ternet, and cable movie channels started making it much easier to see older films, Ichanged the focus again. Now we mostly show independent films, many of them doc-umentaries and many of them shorts that have never been shown theatrically. Thatway we always screen premiere films and people can say they saw it here first after itgoes on PBS or on a theatrical run.

IB: If you could change/add anything to the festival what would it be?

AN: I wouldn’t change or add anything. It is really fine as it is. We have an amazing groupof house and office managers, interns and volunteers and thanks to them they make my jobeasier.

IB: How do you feel knowing that the NJFF has been around for as long as it has?

AN: It feels wonderfully surreal. I never thought I would be doing this for 30 years, butthe NJFF is my baby and I am very proud of it.

Films are shown 7 p.m. in the Voorhees Hall Room 105 on the College Avenue campus.Tickets are $8 for Rutgers Film Co-Op/NJMAC friends, $9 for students and seniors, and $10for general admission. For more information about tickets, times, location, and the entireschedule, visit njfilmfest.com

It has been thirty years since the New Jersey International Film Festival (NJIFF) first spread its roots at Rut-gers University. The festival is unique in that it runs year-round and screens a huge array of independent,experimental and progressive films. Throughout the years the festival has shown thousands of engaging,thought-provoking pictures. It is an experience that allows viewers a chance to view under-the-radar filmgems and gives them the additional opportunity of interacting with actors and directors in person.

Inside Beat had the opportunity to sit down with festival founder, Professor Albert Nigrin, who was kindenough to answer some questions for us.

By Alex Natanzon, Film EditorInside Beat: Who/what inspired you to start the NJFF?

Al Nigrin: I was just getting into studying cinema back in 1980 when I came to Rut-gers as a graduate student and I was dismayed that the University didn’t have a film so-ciety. So in 1982 I shelled out $300 of my meager teaching assistant salary to rent filmson 16mm (there was no VHS or DVD back then), rounded up some fellow movie buffsand screened a series of classics for free in the basement of one of the River Dorms.The first films we screened were those by Man Ray but we didn’t have a long enoughextension cord so half the image was on the screen and the other half was on the black-board but that was okay as his Dada/Surrealist films were meant to irritate theviewer anyway. We also screened Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Jean Renoir’s The HumanBeast and Dziga Vertov’s Man With A Movie Camera that first season.

IB: What was your primary goal in establishing the NJFF?

AN: Our goals are: to broaden the public’s understanding of the media arts; to offerpremiere film screenings that reflects the diversity of our audiences and communities; toprovide a forum for classic, experimental, independent, and international cinema; and toteach filmmaking.

IB: Who are some of your biggest influences?

AN: There are so many butafter I saw Maya Deren’s Meshesof the Afternoon (thanks to Rut-gers Cinema Studies ProfessorAlan Williams), I knew rightaway that I wanted to make ex-perimental films. Other film-makers I admire are DavidLynch, Guy Maddin, MichaelPowell/Emeric Pressburger,also known as The Archers,Stanley Kubrick, Peter Green-away, early Jean-Luc Godard(especially Alphaville), OrsonWelles, and many, many others.

IB: What is the message youwish for people to get out of thefestival?

AN: As our culture in-creasingly becomes media-based, it has become evenmore important for New Jer-sey and Rutgers audiences toexplore the true diversity offilm. With the disappearanceof cinema art and revivalhouses, N.J. audiences must turn to the alternative programming of media arts or-ganizations such as the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC. Video, cable, and direct tel-evision and provide an impoverished sense of cinema as they only show a fractionof what is out there. As more Americans derive their knowledge of the cinemasolely from direct and cable TV, and DVD, they no longer view film as it was meantand made to be seen: on the big screen, without edited-for-television cuts or col-orization, and with a live audience. Moreover, mainstream programming narrowstheir range of expectations about film. Only the RFC/NJMAC’s New Jersey FilmFestival can step in and fill in the gaps left by multiplexes, cable and satellite TV,Netflix, etc. As New Jersey’s only institution devoted to the rediscovery of cinema,the Rutgers Film Co-op/NJMAC’s New Jersey Film Festival takes its mandate veryseriously.

IB: Were there any initial complications in getting the festival underway inthe beginning?

AN: No, not at all. It was actually encouraged and the University in general was verysupportive. Professor Williams, who served as our initial advisor, was a great help aswas Dean Harvey Waterman who connected me with the Graduate Student Association.They became our chief underwriting entity for the first 5 years.

IB: What are the different things you take in to account when selecting films for thefestival?

AN: We get more than over 1,000 films submitted to our bi-annual New Jersey FilmFestival and our New Jersey International Film Festival. The 100-plus films we publiclyscreen are selected by a panel of judges made of academics, students, journalists, andfilmmakers. Once the final films are selected I curate them into thematic programs.

New JerseyInternational Film Festival

New JerseyInternational Film Festival

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September 22, 2011Page 8• Inside Beat

FILM

BY JASON PEARLSTAFF WRITER

Drive is an independent thrillerthat managed to cross over themedian from the festival circuit tomainstream theaters. While itdoes succumb to some familiarindie tropes, Drive still manages toprovide a viscerally intense and vi-sually appealing end result.

The film stars Ryan Gosling(Blue Valentine) as a taciturn, un-named Hollywood stunt driver, whomoonlights as a wheelman. Whenhis mechanic boss (BryanCranston, Breaking Bad) makes adeal with local mobsters to use thedriver as a NASCAR racer, thedriver is dragged deeper into aworld of crime and deceit. The dri-ver’s situation is further compli-cated when his potential girlfriend’s(Carey Mulligan, An Education)shady husband (Oscar Isaac, SuckerPunch) returns from prison. After abotched robbery involving thedriver and his romantic rival, he em-barks on a mission of vengeance tokill those who set him up.

A lot of things are done right inDrive, but none more than the cin-ematography provided by NewtonThomas Sigel (The Usual Suspects,X-Men). Sigel’s use of lighting cre-ates motifs of shadow and reflec-tion that are some of the best in

DriveNicolas Winding Refn|B

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recent memory. When combinedwith director Nicolas WindingRefn’s (the Pusher trilogy) excellenteye for style and shot framing,Drive is given a striking and uniquevisual style. The film also benefitsfrom a spectacularly nuanced per-formance by Ryan Gosling. Goslingmanages to say more with subtle fa-cial movements than many actorscould with a four-page soliloquy.Many of the supporting actors givegreat performances as well, withCranston and Albert Brooks (Find-ing Nemo) especially standing out.

While the screenplay isn’t badby any means, it is lacking in cer-tain areas. It may be for the bestthat the driver speaks so infre-quently, because the quality offilm’s dialogue is on the weakerside at times. Drive’s plot ispaced fairly well overall, but thestory stalls from time to timethroughout. The script’s mostdeficient area is the romance,which, in typical indie fashion,has an unbelievable love-at-first-sight beginning and is obviouslydoomed from the start.

Even with the screenplay’sshortcomings, Drive still delivers.With its fantastic direction andcinematography, along with amasterful lead performance, thefilm easily outpaces other auto-motive action movies.

September 22, 2011 Inside Beat • Page 9

FILM

BY LESTER CHOISTAFF WRITER

“Everyone has a breakingpoint” — so reads the tagline forRod Lurie’s remake of the contro-versial 1971 film Straw Dogs. Forthose who have seen the original,the new movie provides deepercharacter development and a mod-ern approach to a familiar story;for those who haven’t seen it,Straw Dogs is an engrossing hy-brid of drama and action.

David and Amy Sumner, ahappy yuppie couple from L.A., re-locate to Amy’s deep-South home-town of Blackwater — or"back-water," as she jests — tomove into her rustic childhoodhome, where he plans to write ascreenplay and she plans to take asabbatical. His first experience, avisit to the local watering holewhere all of the town’s charactersseem to converge, turns into a jar-ring experience thanks to the resi-dent drunk, “Coach” Tom Heddon.Escaping unharmed, the two Cali-fornians finally reach the pastoralpeace of Amy’s old house, but it’squickly disrupted by Charlie andhis boisterous posse’s constructionproject. Charlie and company seemintent on harassing the pair into

BY ADAM ROSENGARTENSTAFF WRITER

“I will not allow violenceagainst this house,” Dustin Hoff-man proclaims in the controversial1971 film Straw Dogs. Boy, was hewrong. Violence surrounds him;violence gets into his home and vi-olence takes over. Banned foryears in the United Kingdom andunavailable on Netflix, Straw Dogshas lived up to its reputation asbeing both brutal and entrancing.It is a film that shows what hu-mans are capable of when put indifficult situations and how vis-ceral their actions become. Thefilm also brings into question whatvalues define a man. It is easy tosee why this movie has been re-made — the issues brought up arestill relevant 40 years later. Prob-lems relating to bullying may infact be worse today than they wereback then; however, the 1971 ver-sion of Straw Dogs is not dated.

David and his wife Amy havejust moved back to Amy’s home-town in Cornwall, England.David, a mathematician, has beengiven a grant to do researchthere. All he wants is some peaceand quiet, however the local ganghas other plans. It starts withsimple teasing but continues toescalate until their confrontationends in bloodshed. The localshave about as much charm asAlex and his gang of rabble-rousers from A Clockwork Or-

Straw Dogs (2011)

Sam Peckinpah | B+

Straw Dogs(1971)

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BY SASKIA KUSNECOVSTAFF WRITER

The dynamics of the French-American rela-tionship during the 20th century were charac-terized by a complicated love-hate relationship.The French ridiculed Americans for being vul-gar and crude, while buying into their capitalistmarkets. They clinged to their rustic, Parisiansophistication as they found themselves beingdrawn toward a society whose values threat-ened the very core of their nonchalant lifestyle.This relationship takes human form in Frenchcar thief Michel Poiccard (Jean-Paul Belmondo)and American journalist Patricia Franchini(Jean Seberg) in the 1960 French film Breath-less, directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

The film’s plot is largely centered onMichel’s attempt to seduce Patricia, so that hemay later persuade her to hide in Italy withhim while the police track him down for mur-der. He embodies the image of the Frenchgangster: a cigarette planted between a pair offull lips, dropping in on sometime girlfriendsto borrow a few francs or simply robbing menat urinals to pay for the taxi he has waiting out-side. His lifestyle of crime and casual sexleaves him largely ego-centric, until he meetsPatricia, an ambitious American journalist. Shechallenges his forwardness by speaking hermind as opposed to taking of f her clothes,which he so often requests of her. In manyways, Michel’s plight to seduce Patricia is notsimply a question of committing to an individ-ual, but to a lifestyle she is not accustomed to

Classic Film: Breathless COURTESY OF IMPAWARDS.COM

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ruin and running them out of town;the bullies push every possible but-ton and cross every conceivableline, all while hiding behind Char-lie’s easy smile and silver tongue. Itdoesn’t help that Charlie is Amy’sold fling. David meekly challengeseach escalating violation with im-potent response and cowardlyunder-reaction until Amy’s frustra-tion, inevitably, exceeds her toler-ance. In an intensely destructivedenouement, the unbearable ten-sion between tormentor and victimexplodes in a blaze of violence.

Writer-director Rod Lurie exer-cises his right to reinterpret liber-ally, and in a wholesale rejection ofthe original’s chauvinistic overtone,transforms the story of The Siege ofTrencher’s Farm, the novel onwhich it’s based, into an entertain-ing drama and contemporarythriller. The movie succeeds in sev-eral key areas — namely, the acting,writing and action-cinematography— but fails at sound-editing and dra-matic-cinematography. Though thenew film recycles a significant por-tion of the 1971 script and all of itsthemes, it aspires to be original bythoroughly remodeling several ofits key characters and modernizingits context. The most extensiveoverhauls are the fresh interpreta-

tion of Amy and the heightenedcomplexity of Charlie Venner; theheroine and the villain, skillfullyplayed by Kate Bosworth (BlueCrush) and Alexander Skarsgård(True Blood) respectively, take onpivotal roles, overshadowing JamesMarsden’s screen-time and impor-tance. Frailty, irrationality and an ir-ritating disposition in the first Amyare replaced, in Bosworth, by forti-tude, shrewdness and a decidedlybold personality. Skarsgård, too,portrays a completely new Charliewho redeems the previously depth-less antagonist; he is adept in cap-turing tumultuous but subtleemotions and unspoken inner-thoughts.

For better or worse, Lurie’smodernization of Peckinpah’sStraw Dogs is palatable, even en-joyable; the reason for their starkcontrast is a conglomeration ofseveral factors: the conspicuousomission of graphic nudity, thedilution of intense and explicitscenes, the modern audience’spropensity for gore and violenceand the privy viewer’s anticipa-tion for more vicious images. De-spite specific artistic failures,Straw Dogs is altogether an in-vigorating and worthwhile cine-matic experience.

ange. They are tough, ruthless,lewd and always drunk. David isthe antithesis of these men. He isnon-confrontational, quiet and acomplete nerd. David’s inabilityto confront these men makes himan easy target later in the film.

This film rightfully sparked agood deal of controversy in itstime. As desensitized to violenceas our generation is, many viewerstoday will still feel rather uncom-fortable from the footage. Amongthis is a complicated double rapescene: it is long and agonizing forboth the woman and the viewer.

The 1971 viewer must havebeen shocked by this film — itcomes as no surprise to find outthat many walked out of the movietheater. Its images are powerfuland raw, sadistic but captivating;the violence is always seen andnever implied. These scenes spanfrom people being blown away byshotguns to men having boiling oilthrown in their face. This is no sur-prise coming from notorious di-rector Sam Peckinpah, who twoyears before Straw Dogs, directedThe Wild Bunch — another violentand savage classic.

Dustin Hoffman as usual playshis character well; his acting isconvincing enough for the audi-ence to get behind what he isdoing. Having seen the original,going to see the remake is a no-brainer. It is always interesting tosee what was kept from the origi-nal and what was improved upon.

— “A real Franco-American reconciliation,” asMichel calls it.

In addition to being a crime-romance, there isalso a distinct plot-based comparison betweenFrench and American women, and subsequentlythe relationship between love and dominance. Itbecomes evident in a press conference with a ro-mance novelist called Parvulesco (famed Frenchdirector Jean-Pierre Melville in a cameo role),when it is asked of him what the difference be-tween the American woman and Parisian womanis. From behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses,he answers: “American women dominate men.French women do not yet.”

Jean-Luc Godard’s films are all largely char-acterized by the relationship between the sexesand political ideologies. Breathless is a reflectionof the nouvelle vague existentialism and the in-fluence of American cinema. The most distinctfeature of the cinematography is the experimen-tal use of jump cuts — two sequential camerashots are taken from varying positions, but onlyslightly. It draws attention to the film’s craft,something that traditional Hollywood cine-matography shies from as much as possible togive the appearance of seamlessness.

In addition to being a touching romance and en-tertainingly antiquated crime movie, Breathlessgives the audience a look into the dynamics of 1960sFrench-American political and social relationshipswith sound bites from French news reports on theEisenhower administration and a wealth of com-mentary on American women. With an abundanceof quotable lines and beautiful shots of Paris, Breath-less is a wonderful, nostalgic adventure.

September 22, 2011Page 10 • Inside Beat

MUSIC

BY DIVYA PATIBANDLA

STAFF WRITER

Hailing from Los Angeles, Calif.,2 AM Club — and their fusion ofrock, electro and hip hop — are in-vading the iPods of Maroon 5lovers everywhere. With a sultrysound and cheeky lyrics, the boysknow how to how to get their lis-teners’ energy levels pumping.

The band’s crew consists oflead vocalist Marc Griffin, emceeTyler Cordy, bassist Matt War-shauer, guitarist Matt Reagan, key-boardist Dave Dalton anddrummer Ian O’Neill. O’Neill,however, left the band in June toseek newfound opportunities.

2 AM Club is a hard group topigeonhole into a single genre,making their music appealing to awide audience. Griffin’s resonanttone is similar to that of Maroon5’s Adam Levine, giving them agateway into the mainstreamwhile still allowing the group tomaintain a sense of individualitywith their unforeseen raps andsudden tempo changes.

Though the band’s name mayseem quite random, the boys havean explanation: the name comesfrom a bar called the 2 AM Club,located in Mill Valley, Calif., thatthe musicians frequent. The bandappears to have made their break-through after appearing on ABCFamily’s Pretty Little Liars, a teensoap opera that has many glued tothe television.

2 AM Club’s first released sin-gle was called “Hipster Girl,”which made its way onto their2010 debut album, What Did YouThink Was Going To Happen?With a sound that has main-stream tendencies – tweakedwith some quirks – 2 AM Club isa likeable listen.

BY SASKIA KUSNECOSTAFF WRITER

On Sept. 16th, there were noidle bodies in sight as a giant massof University students eagerlyawaited Super Mash Bros’ per-formance; when they took thestage, the excitement was palpa-ble. The stench of sweat andgleam of glitter across the crowdof screaming students in the Liv-ingston Student Center that nightcertified the mission of groupmembers Nick Fenmore, DickFink and Ethan Dawes: to get peo-ple moving.

“Literally like five minutes intoevery show I’m dripping sweat,”Fenmore commented before theshow. “If I’m not up there goingcrazy and dancing and having fun,then no one’s having fun.”

While the room’s lights mal-functioned — turning off and on,inducing groans from the audi-ence — Fenmore said coolly intohis microphone, “We don’t want tosee each other; we just want togrind on each other.” When thelights dropped, the video startedrolling, the tracks played out andFenmore was dancing like a foolbehind his laptop on stage.

ARTIST OF THE WEEK: 2 AM CLUB

“Worry About You”

SUPER MASH BROS SMASHDOWN AT RUTGERS

I P O D - W O R T H Y T U N E S

“Make You Mine”

“Same Night Sky”

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Super Mash Bros are a digitalmash-up band hailing from Los An-geles — comparable to Girl Talk,for anyone unfamiliar with the Cal-ifornia natives. The three boyssynergize their unique talents tocreate a hyper-charged show thatleaves no sense un-stimulated.

The boys themselves grew upon classic rock, but their mixesrange from mash-ups of Eminemand MGMT to Coldplay andKanye West. “We strive to mixsongs that the kids are familiarwith,” Dawes stated in regard totheir song assembling process,“but really, it just ends up beingwhatever works.”

While the mixes blastedthrough the stereo, Dawes’s videomash-ups were projected on thescreen behind them. The imageswere cleverly strung together andcontained a fair amount of explicitcontent. With the addition of lightsand image projections on the wallsand dance floor, the Super MashBros concerts are nothing lessthan a portable party — and giventheir recent surge in popularitywith hits such as “I Bleed Purpleand Gold” and “All About the Scril-lions,” this West Coast trio’s beenable to take the party worldwide.

bit filled with soothing violins tocomplement front man Pritchard’sabstract thoughts. “I spend somuch time above the Earth, think-ing about life and each man’sworth/How can one person beworth more, than one thousand peo-ple knocking on his door?” The off-beat lyric stabs at the thought offame and what lifestyle and ideas

it can initiate.The album’s lead

song, “Junk of theHeart (Happy),” is alsothe first single. It’s a vi-brant tune that heedskindly to whimsicalemotions aided by anupbeat tempo and toe-

tapping guitar rhythms. ThoughJunk of the Heart contains new el-ements from the group, it seemsto lack the spark that former al-bums possessed. Even withoutcomparing the newest album totheir former ones, Junk of theHeart is not very cohesive andmisses the mark of the band’s ul-timate potential.

September 22, 2011 Inside Beat • Page 11

MUSIC

BY EMILY GABRIELEMUSIC EDITOR

The Kooks released their thirdalbum with a seemingly new mind-set while keeping true to theirtrademark aspects. Known fortheir imaginative lyrics and abilityto encapsulate quizzical moods,the English quartet effortlessly at-tracts listeners with Junkof the Heart. However,the new album does con-tain specific musical ele-ments that listeners maynot be accustomed to.

Tracks like “Mr. NiceGuy” and “How’d YouLike That” are piano-laden tunes that serve as vehe-ment highlights on the album. Theuse of piano does not fit into thegroup’s typical song construction,but the band’s breaking of theirown paradigm brings a new andexciting element to their music.

A track that sticks out on thealbum is, “Time above the Earth.”It’s a short, yet thought-provoking

BY GIANNA MOSCATELLOSTAFF WRITER

It’s been 16 years since Opethreleased their debut album, Or-chid, on Candlelight Records, mak-ing the progressive metal bandseasoned vets to the music scene.With their latest release, it’s im-mediately obvious upon first listenthat the musical pioneers havecome a long way since their daysof dual-guitar melodies, heavy riff-ing and death metal screams. Her-itage, Opeth’s 10th “observation”— in the words of group memberMikael Akerfeldt — is a journeyfull of different sonic textures,time signatures and moods.

Opeth has always had an in-credible knack for experimenta-tion. They have always been ableto successfully meld and infuse dif-ferent musical genres better thanmost bands. Their musical influ-ences have always drawn from the

SSEECCRREETT PPHHOOTTOOSS

O P E T H Heritage | B+

THE KOOKSJunk of the Heart | B

LOCAL CORNER

BY ALEX HOLLANDSTAFF WRITER

Many bands can be described in terms other bands or sorted into a sub-genre of music. It’s a rareoccasion that a band comes across with such a unique sound that it makes listeners not only take no-tice but also stand at attention. The Northern New Jersey-based band, Secret Photos, has done just that.

The band, which began as a solo project of lead singer Shaun Weedon in 2006, expanded toa four-piece operation in 2009 and has been touring and recording ever since. With a sound thatcombines hip-hop percussion and experimental guitar rif fs, Secret Photos makes music thatstands out from its peers.

Wheedon, along with keyboardist Trisha Franciso, bassist Mark Weinberg and drummerErnest Intorrella, creates a new sound that is both refreshing and classic. Musical tracks such as“Get Back” and “What We Are” present the band’s unique song structure and intensity. Othersongs like “Jack and the Pollock” and “5 Letters” display Secret Photos’ slick beats and ability toexpand into a more hip-hop experience.

Secret Photos’ live performances have earned a strong reputation as intense, energetic and exciting.The band is currently in and out of the studio recording songs in hopes of releasing an album in the nearfuture. You can catch the band’s compelling performances in late October.

www.soundcloud.com/secretphotoswww.secretphotos.bandcamp.com

GET THE MUSIC!

10.15 @ Legion Bar, 790 Metropolitan Ave.Brooklyn, N.Y.

10.22 @ Flannery's Pub 200 South Ave. Fanwood, N.J.

10.28 @ Tumulty's Pub 361 George St. New Brunswick

UPCOMING SHOWS:

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wide range of metal to jazz to folk,and their approach to this album isno exception.

Akerfeldt’s crooning voice isever-present on this release withabsolutely no death metal vocalsthis time around. His vocals fill thecrevices with ease and poise, en-hancing the already densely-lay-ered and complex instrumentalswith a somber tone. The influ-ences of YES, King Crimson, DeepPurple and Alice Cooper are alsopresent, but the band still managesto produce a sound that is distinc-tively and undeniably Opeth.

While many veteran fans mayinitially be taken aback by the lackof heavy metal styling found, asthe album definitely has a morelaid back, jazzy, progressive feelthan earlier works, Heritage is stilljust as dark and mysterious. How-ever, Opeth still holds true to theirmusical roots, which is sure toboth please and appease all fans.