Inside Beat 2011-10-06

Vintage GamesVintage Games

INSIDE BEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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REAL STEEL• NEW GIRL • BDSM FASHION• BURNOUT CRASH• TERRA NOVA• ABDUCTION

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October 6, 2011 • Inside Beat

EDITOR’S RANT

Samantha BonizziJoseph Brown

Josh KellySaskia Kusuecov

Lisa-Anna MiglioreGianna Moscatello

Jason PearlJosh Singleton

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

Rutgers Student Center126 College Avenue, Suite 431

New Brunswick, NJ 08901Phone (732) 932-2013

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INSIDEBEATTHIS WEEK’S

CONTRIBUTORS TO

INSIDE BEAT :

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

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

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

Cover Photo Courtesy of Final Fantasy Wiki

BY HEATHER TEDESCOTHEATER EDITOR

When I think about classicvideo games, I can’t help but thinkabout Mario Kart and any of its in-carnations. It’s a quintessentialvideo game and it is fun forEVERYONE. If at this point youhave not played some form ofMario Kart please stop reading thisarticle and find the nearest televi-sion screen and play it immediately— it will change your life. For the

Ode to the Blue Shellother 98 percent of you who arestill reading, this rant is for you.

I believe it’s safe to say that oneof the coolest parts of racing inMario Kart is that you can doridiculous things to the other driv-ers. You can put banana peels onthe track for them to slide on. Youcan speed past them by eatingsome strange mushroom. You canstrike the other drivers with a light-ning bolt that magically shrinksthem. You can even use star powerto become invincible and dodge the

power-ups of other drivers. Thesethings are insanely important toMario Kart aficionados and yetthere is one power-up that I thinkwe can all agree is just simply un-cool — the dreaded blue shell.

For that 2 percent of you whostill haven’t played Mario Kart, theblue shell is this horrible power-upthat allows the driver to magicallyattack the driver in first place, nomatter where they are on thecourse. It creates an explosion thatattacks the racer in first place, as

well as the nearby racers. One ofthe big flaws of this is that it re-wards the mediocre players. Any-one can attack the person in firstplace, but that is so lame! Youshould earn the right to attack thatplayer by coming up behind them.It’s only fair. This rant is for everytime that you have been playingMario Kart, been in first place andbeen blasted to oblivion by thedreaded blue shell.

My second grievance is thatthis blue shell does not just attack

the racer in first place, but all ofthe surrounding racers. Thatmeans — you guessed it — that ifyou do earn the right to attack thefirst-place racer by coming up be-hind them and using the blueshell, you are most likely going tobe blasted right alongside of them.It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.

So here’s to you, blue shell,you’ve foiled our racing plansonce again. But we’ll get youback — we’ll win that race withor without you!

October 6, 2011 Inside Beat •

BOOKS, THEATER & FASHION

BY LISA-ANNA MIGLIORESTAFF WRITER

Erin Morgenstern’s The NightCircus is a magical tale about amysterious circus that appears ina town without warning and onlyopens at night. During the dayspectators crowd around theblack-and-white striped tent inhopes of catching some life, butare only greeted with activitywhen the sun goes down. LeCirque des Rêves is a world withina world with rules that defy thelaws of reality. Morgenstern’sstory follows two magicians of thecircus who decide to wager theirtalents by setting their youngnovices against one another.These young magicians, Celia andMarco, have never met, but have

BY ZOE SZATHMARY

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Think about it: with the dim lighting, relentless music,macabre stage effects and tons of black clothing, fashionshows have a certain something in common with fetish clubs.It’s no surprise, then, that designers are presenting straight-up sadomasochistic fashions this fall. At Louis Vuitton, MarcJacobs’s stern models wore captain’s hats similar to the oneworn by Charlotte Rampling in The Night Porter – a highlycontroversial 70s film about the twisted psychosexual rela-tionship between a former SS guard and his prisoner in post-war Vienna. Gareth Pugh, known for his perennially eeriecollections, offered geometric dresses and heaps of PVC.What really stood out, though, were Sarah Burton’s ensem-bles for Alexander McQueen; spikes, cutouts, corsets andchains were everywhere. Models looked ready to crack thewhip at any moment!

Of course, these clothes are clearly meant to shock and tit-illate. While the pieces are arguably interesting as works ofart, there remains the issue of their day-to-day wearability.The fact that women are also repeatedly put into garmentsthat constrict and prevent physical mobility is also eyebrow-raising. While globetrotting fashionistas may be ready to playmaster and servant, are you?

Hurts So Good:BDSM in Fashion

BY HEATHER TEDESCOTHEATER EDITOR

Looking for something great to seethis fall? Want to audition for ashow? Check out this hot list of up-coming show dates and auditionsthat’s sure to sizzle through the fall!

Cabaret Theatre

Rutgers Night Live IIIOct. 7, 8 at 11 p.m. Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.7 Suydam St., New Brunswick,N.J.cabarettheatre.org

Twelve Angry Men Oct. 21, 22, 28, 29 at 8 p.m.Oct. 23, 30 at 3 p.m.7 Suydam St., New Brunswick,N.J.cabarettheatre.org

Crossroads Theatre

Coming Soon to a TheaterNear You

Erin Morgenstern | B+

PHOTOS COURTSEY OF STYLE.COM

been rigorously trained sincechildhood by their masters tooutdo the other. Their destiniesappear set in stone, but with matu-rity they slowly discover that theyhave power over their lives. In-stead of using their magical dex-terity for destruction, the two fallinto a deep love that unleashesspellbinding potentials that onlyoccur when the two are one. How-ever, this love does not halt theirmasters’ desires for the duel tocommence. Their masters will doanything in their power to make ithappen, but not even magic canpenetrate free will.

Erin Morgenstern’s debut pro-vides a wondrous romance thatadults can enjoy. This is an idealnovel for the abstract reader. Thesights, smells, tastes, textures and

even grimaces of this magical worldtantalize the reader. Those lookingfor a more concrete read shouldlook elsewhere. The writing tugsmore at the heart than the mind.

The Night Circus also happensto be a wonderful mixture of po-etic imagery and simple prose.The aesthetic language, accompa-nied by straightforward text, al-lows the reader to enjoy a fantasticrelease without having to work forit. Morgenstern’s novel has a darkand juvenile feel, much like that ofNeil Gaiman’s Coraline, and a cer-tain something resembling DanielWallace’s Big Fish. Like audiencemembers sitting in the darkenedbleachers of a live circus, readerswill be enchanted by the mesmer-izing twists and turns of The NightCircus.

Oct. 6 — Oct. 23 7 Livingston Ave.New Brunswick, N.J.crossroadstheatrecompany.org

College Avenue Players

Comic Relief 2011Oct. 7, 8, 14, 15 at 8 p.m.Scott Hall 135, College Avenuecampuscollegeaveplayers.com

George Street Theatre

It Shoulda Been YouOct. 4 — Nov. 69 Livingston Ave.New Brunswick, N.J.georgestreetplayhouse.org

Livingston Theatre Company

Rocky Horror ShowNov. 3, 4, 5 at 8 p.m.Nov. 4 at 11:59 p.m.

Livingston Hall in the LivingstonStudent Centerrultc.org

Rutgers Theatre Company

MachinalSept. 30 — Oct. 8Performances are Wednesdaysthrough Saturday at 8 p.m. andSundays at 2 p.m.Levin Theatremasongross.r utgers.edu/the-ater/calendar

Hunting and GatheringOct. 19 — 22 at 8 p.m.Oct. 22, 23 at 2 p.m.Jameson Theatremasongross.r utgers.edu/the-ater/calendar

Know of a great audition opportunityor show that our readers shouldn’tmiss? Email [email protected] promote your favorite shows,companies and performers!


TV

BY SAMANTHA BONIZZISTAFF WRITER

You come back from a trip and are excited to court yourboyfriend in your plush New York apartment. Scantily clad, yousashay into the house ready to surprise your man, only to find an-other woman emerge from your bedroom. For any girl, recoveryfrom this devastation would be tough … so maybe the perfect rem-edy is moving in with three strange guys after spotting a vacancy adon Craigslist? At least that’s what works for Jess Day (Zooey De-schanel, 500 Days of Summer). Sure, the storyline has been donebefore. A few males live together, a girl moves in and their worldturns upside down. But something is different about New Girl. Thisis not your average sitcom.

In an interview with the boys, Jess immediately wants to move in.Nick (Jake Johnson, No Strings Attached), Schmidt (Max Greenfield,Veronica Mars) and Coach (Daman Wayons Jr., Happy Endings) aren’tsure they’re ready to live with a female, let alone one who has just en-dured a breakup. But after Jess mentions all her friends are models, anamorous Schmidt makes the executive decision to take her in.

Jess finds three new male companions in Schmidt, Nick andCoach, who help her through this rough time. Each man has hisown personality, which adds dimension and variety to the show.Schmidt is overly obsessed with women, and uses Jess as a way intothe female mind. Nick is the sensible one of the group, but is justcoming out of a breakup himself. Coach was an all-star high schoolathlete now working as a personal trainer. He does not know how toget rid of his tough outer exterior, especially when talking to women.What the guys don’t realize at first is that they may need Jess in theirlives as much as she needs them in hers.

Deschanel is so unique that she makes up her own brand of com-edy. Jess is quirky and fun, even when she is watching Dirty Danc-ing on repeat and crying about her breakup; you can’t help but loveevery quality in her you wish you hated. Her wide-framed glassesand constant singing, no matter how dorky they may be, areadorable and endearing. If you’re looking for an edgy new comedy,New Girl is your match.

BY JASON PEARLSTAFF WRITER

Heralded as the grandest andmost expensive show of the newfall season, Terra Nova deliverssome decent sci-fi intrigue, butnothing extraordinary. Unfortu-nately, most of its sizable budgetseems to have been spent on spe-cial effects and a Spielberg pro-duction credit instead of oncompetent actors.

Terra Nova’s story begins inthe year 2149, a bleak future inwhich the Earth’s resources arevirtually depleted and the airisn’t clean enough to breathe un-filtered. When police officer JimShannon (Jason O’Mara, Life onMars) is arrested by PopulationControl for hiding a third child,he is unceremoniously lockedaway in a maximum-securityprison. Two years later, his wifeElizabeth (Shelley Conn, Mis-tresses,) visits to tell him she andtheir two legitimate childrenhave been chosen to be part of

NNEWEW GGIRLIRLFOX, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. | A-

T E R R A N O V AFOX, Mondays at 8 p.m. | C+

COURTESY OF FOX.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF IMBD.COM

the next pilgrimage to TerraNova, a settlement created in analternate past to escape the des-olate future. Luckily for Jim, shemanages to sneak him a laser touse in a jail break. Jim escapes,gets his third child and leapsthrough a series of plot holes toreunite with his family 85 millionyears in the past.

The visual ef fects in TerraNova are easily the show’s maindraw, and they’re great forprimetime TV. While some ofthe Cretaceous creatures lookoutdated even compared to1993’s Jurassic Park, the futuris-tic technology and weaponr yrival that of modern block-busters. The set and art designare also fantastic, with theurban wasteland contrastingbeautifully with the untamedprehistoric wilderness. The di-mensional rift transport facilityin the future looks especially in-teresting and unique.

As mentioned before, TerraNova’s screenplay leaves much to

be desired. It’s one thing to accepttime travel within a science fictioncontext; it’s another to believe thata maximum-security prison would-n’t thoroughly check visitors forweapons. The dialogue isn’t muchbetter, often coming off as pre-dictable and clichéd. As for theleading man, it’s fitting thatO’Mara was sent so far into thepast, because he has the de-meanor and acting ability of acaveman. The supporting castdoes what it can with the script.One of the show’s many problemsis the archetypal characters: theoptimistic, resourceful father, thestrong-willed and intelligentmother, the rebellious son, theawkward know-it-all daughter —all types that have appeared inhundreds of other shows.

While Terra Nova may not bebreaking any new ground, itclearly has potential. As long as itswriters stop looking to the past forinspiration and try out new ideas,Terra Nova may have a bright fu-ture ahead of itself.


VIDEO GAMES

BY RYAN SURUJNATHASSOCIATE EDITOR

Over the years, Criterion Games has built a reputa-tion on providing gamers with the most entertaining ar-cade racing experience possible. The Burnout franchiseas well as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit demonstrated Cri-terion's technical proficiency and flair for automotive vi-olence. With their new Xbox Live Arcade and PSN titleentitled Burnout Crash, Criterion has taken a decid-edly…dif ferent approach.

Crash is Criterion's attempt to make a game entirelyout of the phenomenal mode of the same name thatmade its debut in Burnout 3. Unlike previous Burnoutinstallments, Crash scraps the street level view for a tra-ditional, over top view, reminiscent of classic arcade ti-tles like Crazy Taxi.

Road trip is the game's primar y game mode and

BBuurrnnoouutt CCrraasshh

COURTESY OF GAMEINFORMER.COM

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COURTESY OF CRITERION.COMCOURTESY OF GAMES.KITGURU.NET

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must be completed before unlocking other modes. Ittasks players with the simple sounding task of caus-ing as big a traf fic pileup as possible. The catch is,however, that for ever y civilian car that escapes thewreckage, the player earns one strike. After five es-capes, the game is over. Though the mode sounds sim-ple, there is a deceptive bit of strategy involved.Players must learn to use their crashbreaker powerup, which causes a massive explosion once an on-screen meter fills, at the most opportune time to max-imize collateral damage. They must also be able tolearn to block streets and use the various bonuses tominimize the amount of cars that escape the wreck-age. Pile up and road rage each var y this concept. Pileup requires players to create as big a traf fic mess asthey can, while destroying as little of the surroundingenvironment as possible. Road rage, on the otherhand, goves players a ninty second time to score asmany points as possible. These game modes feature

the Autolog feature from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuitthat keeps track of the player's scores and comparedthem to those of their friends.

Being a $10 downloadable title, it's somewhat un-realistic to expect the color ful, jaw-dropping visualsand sadistically enter taining crash physics that havebecome staples of the Burnout franchise. The top viewand arcade graphics are car toony and unimpressive.It also features some awful voice overs that make thegame feel immature and annoying. More importantly,though, Burnout Crash feels a little under whelming.Crash is a simple take on an existing game mode, andthough fun, it does derive the same adrenaline-fueledpleasure that Burnout 3's crash mode delivers.

Burnout Crash does not feel particularly at home onthe PS3 and Xbox 360; it seems like a concept that wouldhave been better suited for the Nintendo DS or iPadplatforms. Despite this, Criterion's teacup–Burnout canstill provide a fair bit of amusement.

Criterion Games | C+

Last week, the Nintendo 64 celebrated its 17th birthday, reminding us of asimpler, more pure era in gaming. Indeed, there are some things vintagegames have that today’s titles lack: fresh, creative ideas and memorable

characters are among some of these qualities. This week, Inside Beat takes alook back at some of the classics from a past generation.

INSIDE BEAT’S FAVORITE CLASSIC GAMES

Who knew taking pictures of Pokémon could be so addictive?One of the few Nintendo 64 Pokémon spin-off games, Snap featured

seven different geographical areas filled with over sixty Pokémon out of theoriginal 151. As Todd Snap, the player traverses the Kanto region armed only with a camera,Pokémon food, Pester Balls, and a Poké Flute. Snap’s one and only mission is to catch ’em all… on film. Pokémon Snap is fantastically animated, bringing all of the wild (albeit friendly)Pokémon to life, and can be played through over and over again without ever getting old.

— Jason Pearl

Kirby Crystal Shards for Nintendo 64 never really got the credit itdeserved. This game takes a cute, pink jigglypuff of a character and

gives it a badass attitude. But it isn't all about being cute. This gameis deceptively hard. Throughout the game there are these blue "crystal shards" that are hid-den and borderline impossible to find. For those of you who never finished finding the lastshards, I understand. It’s worth the frustration though, if you can tough it out to the end there’sa bonus level waiting for you that totally worth it and amazingly satisfying.

— Heather Tedesco

Hailing back to 1998, Spyro is among our generation’sfavorite animated reptilians — next to Mushu from Mulan

and Puff the Magic Dragon. The structure of the Spyro RPG game se-ries, created by Insomniac Games for Sony’s PlayStation, is pretty classic — collect treasure,venture through exotic lands and defeat the evil bosses. Along with his buddy, Sparx the Drag-onfly, this fire breathing, turbo-charging, sky-surfing dragon saves his mythical world fromclumsy and ridiculous villains — Gnasty Gnorc, Ripto and the Sorceress. The game featuressome loveable characters (Moneybags, anyone?) and creative, yet challenging, puzzles. True,the graphics are rather a bit dumpy compared to those in recent games, but few gamers candeny that the Spyro games are quality RPGs well worth replaying.

— Ashley Park

Who could forget Crash Bandicoot, everyone’s favoritebipedal, sneaker-wearing marsupial? Crash Bandicoot made its

PlayStation debut in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim, whichwould help spawn the franchise numerous sequels. In his first platforming adventure, Crashfinds himself on a deserted tropical island off the coast of Australia, where he must make hisway through a deadly gauntlet of traps and vicious creatures to confront the evil Doctor NeoCortex. This mad scientist holds Crash’s girlfriend captive and aims to create an animal armyto do his bidding.

— Ryan Surujnath

Classic Gaming

IMAGE COURTESY OF SPYRO WIKI

IMAGE COURTESY OF MARIOKART WIKI

POKÉMON SNAP

KIRBY CRYSTAL SHARDS

CRASH BANDICOOT

SPYRO THE DRAGON

IMAGECOURTESYIGN

BY RYAN SURUJNATHASSOCIATE EDITOR

When one thinks of long-run-ning video game franchises, FinalFantasy is perhaps the quickest tocome to mind. The brainchild ofHironobu Sakaguchi, the FinalFantasy games have alwaysmelded story, gameplay and musicto create engrossing experiencesthat allow players to enter vivid, in-tricately designed worlds.

The origins of Final Fantasywere somewhat dramatic. Today,publisher/developer Square-Enixis a juggernaut of the gaming in-dustry. It is hard to believe, then,that Square was on the verge ofbankruptcy when development ofthe first Final Fantasy began in1987. Drawing inspiration fromgames like Dragon Quest and TheLegend of Zelda, Sakaguchi and ateam consisting of Square's sevenbest developers began work onFinal Fantasy. Sakaguchi wouldlater explain that the title FinalFantasy was chosen to express hislast, desperate attempt to save adying company.

Indeed, when Final Fantasywas released for the NES on Dec.18, 1987, it was met with over-whelming critical praise. Itseemed that Sakaguchi's gambit

FINAL FANTASY

METAL GEARBY ALEX NATANZON

FILM EDITOR

1987 saw the birth of a stealth-action videogame that would bethe first brick in a grand con-struction that is the legendaryMetal Gear series. Created bystorytelling genius, Hideo Ko-jima, Metal Gear focuses on SolidSnake, a member of a SpecialForces unit called FOXHOUND.His mentor Big Boss sendsSnake to a fortified state calledOuter Heaven on a rescue mis-sion. The game requires wits tostealthily maneuver around ene-mies, booby traps and other un-friendly obstacles in glorious16-bit fashion. What made thisgame unique for its time was theemphasis on sneaking instead ofrepetitive running and gunning.The addition of a storyline with ahigh degree of depth for a gameof that time and text-based dia-logue between characters, allworked together to make thisgame an instant classic.

With the success of MetalGear, Nintendo developed an un-official, non-canonical sequel en-titled, Snake’s Revenge. Kojimawas unhappy with this version,and in 1990 developed his own,official installment called MetalGear 2: Solid Snake. The gamewas only released in Japan forthe computer system MSX2(Metal Gear was released forMSX2 and Nintendo.) MetalGear 2: Solid Snake would not bereleased in America until its in-clusion on a bonus disk for MetalGear Solid 3: Subsistence in 2005.MG2 added new gameplay andstory elements that were miss-ing from the first game. Snake

IMAGE COURTESY OF FINAL FANTASY WIKI

IMAGE COURTESY OF METAL GEAR WIKI

could now crawl under objects,crouch and hide in tight corners.These additions helped in givingthe player a more realistic sneak-ing experience.

In 1998, the PlayStation gameconsole was graced with a videogame of such high caliber andoriginality that the gaming worldwould forever be changed. MetalGear Solid revolutionized gam-ing for a plethora of reasons. Forits time, the graphics of the gamewere exceptional. The inclusionof lengthy full motion video cutscenes infused with audio dia-logue only solidifies this point.The gameplay is tight as theplayer must maneuver Snakethrough deadly areas, whileusing an array of weapons andgadgets to survive hostile ene-mies and environments. Themost memorable aspects of thegameplay are the epic bossfights. Snake is forced to combatunique enemies and the playermust figure out a strategy to de-feat them. A notable boss is Psy-cho Manits, a psychic who is ableto predict the player’s moves andbreaks the fourth wall by readingthe info off the player's memorycard. In order to defeat this im-pending foe, the player must un-plug his controller and insert itinto port two, to block the mindreading. Even to this day, that isjust wicked cool stuff. If all thiswasn’t enough, the story of thegame is what really draws oneinto the experience.

Engaging dialogue, intriguingissues and investment in eachcharacter all work in makingMetal Gear Solid a shining exam-ple of why we play video games inthe first place.

had succeeded, and work immedi-ately began on a sequel. In total,three Final Fantasy titles were re-leased for the NES, though onlyone was released in the UnitedStates. Square would later releasethree more Final Fantasies forNintendo's SNES.

With six games already com-pleted, Square's franchise ar-guably reached its pinnacle in1997, when Final Fantasy VIIwas released for the SonyPlayStation. Though many willargue that Final Fantasy VII isone of the most overrated gamesof all time, just as many considerit one of the best games evermade. It is impossible to dismissthe influence Final Fantasy VIIhad on the industry; it is oftencredited for making the JRPGgenre more mainstream amongAmerican gamers.

In addition, Final Fantasy VIIproved to be a significantachievement in video game sto-rytelling. The game successfullymerged together complicatedthemes with memorable, charac-ters to create a story that en-tranced players from beginningto end. The complex, multidi-mensional story of Cloud Strife isone that has proved dif ficult tomatch, while the game's antago-

nist, Sephiroth, is widely consid-ered one of the most iconic vil-lains in popular culture. Coupledwith the PlayStation's ability torender to 3D graphics, Squarecreated a unique experience thatcould not be matched by anygame at the time.

Final Fantasy VII marked a sig-nificant step forward in videogame score composition. Com-poser Nobuo Uematsu, who hadalso worked on previous FinalFantasy titles, used the PlaySta-tion's internal sound hardware tocreate rich tracks that varied be-tween frenetic and fast paced toslow and emotional. Uematsu’swork culminated into a final pieceat the end of game, during theplayer's final boss fight. Consid-ered one of the most iconic worksof video game composition, "One-Winged Angel" is best remem-bered for it eerie Latin vocals andwas the perfect musical piece tocompliment an epic final battle.

The Final Fantasy franchisehas stood the test of time. It sur-vived through decades of chang-ing hardware and gamingattitudes. Though the franchisekeeps pushing forward, the ques-tion remains whether or notSquare-Enix will produce a title asinfluential as Final Fantasy VII.


FILM

BY JASON PEARLSTAFF WRITER

Real Steel is a two hour com-mercial for HP, Dr. Pepper andan as-yet unestablished toy line.Having as much wit and charac-ter depth as the scribblings in afifth grader’s notebook, RealSteel represents a nadir in mod-ern screenwriting.

The film opens with washed-up boxer Charlie Kenton (HughJackman, X-Men Origins: Wolver-ine) making the first of a series ofimprobably bad decisions by hav-ing his boxing robot fight a giantbull owned by an unscrupulousformer rival. After that arrange-ment shockingly goes south, Ken-ton learns that his ex-girlfrienddied, leaving their illegitimatechild (Dakota Goyo, Resurrectingthe Champ) an orphan. Through acombination of abject incompe-tence and child endangerment,Kenton and his son discover a dis-carded sparring bot, which theydecide to enter into boxingmatches of varying legitimacy.After climbing the ranks inclichéd underdog fashion, theKenton’s challenge the worldchampion to a title fight.

Real Steel’s script has a few mo-ments of unintentional hilarity, butmost are just unintentionallypainful to watch. The dialogue inthis movie is incredibly stilted andrepetitive with its deficiency ofquality only matched by the paint-by-numbers plot. While it’s some-what believable that robot boxingcould supplant its human counter-part, it’s inconceivable that Bing

BY ALEX NATANZONFILM EDITOR

The beauty of short films is that they can tell a tale and de-liver a message in a creative and concise way. They allow a di-rector to let their craft shine through — they also give themenough artistic freedom to experiment with unorthodox tech-niques without seeming overbearing.

Cranberry Sauce (Taylor Gledhill)Cranberry Sauce is a delightful little film that is sure to entice

young viewers and will cause older ones to have grins on theirfaces. Set in the 1940s, a young boy named Bobby is ferventlyengaged in acting out the events of his favorite cowboy radio-show, The Midnight Rider. He is interrupted by his mother whoasks him to go to the store to pick up cranberry sauce forChristmas dinner. At the store, Bobby praises his luck when hethinks he will grab the last can of cranberry sauce but, lastminute, is intercepted by a very nasty old woman. Bobby isfaced with the dilemma of giving up or summoning his innercowboy and finding a way to bring the nasty old lady to justice.While Cranberry Sauce reverberates with innocent naïveté andhas some cheesy moments, this is not necessarily a bad thing.It is in fact the emphasis on Bobby’s innocence and child men-tality that gives this film its charm. Cranberry Sauce is a heart-warming and worthy addition to the NJFF dossier.

The Confession (Andres Sivori)The Confession is a unique short film that manages to blend

comedy with themes of adolescence, love, desire, religion andsurrealism fairly well. A young Hispanic boy struggles to dealwith emotions that he has towards his aunt. Searching for clar-ity, the boy consults a priest — the exchange between the twois as funny as it is poignant. The boy is told that he needs to con-trol his emotions better. The film is marvelous in projecting sce-narios that we all could relate to on one stage or another. Thedirector’s implementation of creative shots and bizarre dreamsequences highlights the main characters’ emotional states. TheConfession is an imaginative journey into the mind and heart ofan adolescent boy and offers insight into human nature.

NJFF SHORT FILMS

Shawn Levy | D-

ADVANCE REVIEW >> REAL STEEL

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NJFILMFEST.COM

COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

would be the future’s search en-gine of choice. Product placementplumbs new depths in Real Steelwith company logos taking centerstage as often as the actors. Speak-ing of the actors, Jackman andEvangeline Lilly (Lost) do whatthey can with what little thescreenplay gives them, but inmany scenes they just seem to bephoning it in. Goyo, like manyyoung actors, simply doesn’t yethave the experience, talent, or di-rectorial motivation to give a de-cent performance.

As for the direction, ShawnLevy (Night at the Museum)clearly thinks he’s good, throwingin the odd stylistic shot here orthere, but he’s so inconsistent thatthe movie often looks like a jum-bled mess. A few of the fights man-age to appear interesting for acouple shots, but most aren’t any-thing special. Jackman’s character,who sometimes controls hispugilistic puppet by voice, inexpli-cably stops giving commands mid-fight to complain about hisimminent loss or how his robotwon’t survive. If that wasn’t badenough, when he has to switchover to his robot’s “shadow func-tion” (which mimics movements)in a later fight, Jackman looksridiculous punching at the air witha big grin on his face.

While some of the animatron-ics aren’t bad, that isn’t nearlyenough to salvage the scrap that isReal Steel. If you really want to ex-perience all the action and emo-tional complexity of the movie, justpick up a box of Rock ’Em Sock’Em Robots.


FILM

BY JESSICA ESPINOSASTAFF WRITER

So, you’re looking to watchsomething exciting and originalthat will keep you on the edge ofyour seat — Abduction is a let-down. The general premise hasbeen done better in the past (thinkThe Bourne Identity), but that isneither here nor there.

In the opening scene, the vieweris asked to suspend disbelief whenNathan Harper (Taylor Lautner,Twilight) rides on the hood of aspeeding car. He then wakes upshirtless (as Lautner tends to do)on the lawn of the house party fromthe previous night.

Next thing you know, Nathan issparring with his father Kevin(Jason Issacs, Good) . Things getheated and the two strangely fight,setting up later events. This scenewas filmed well enough if not forthe dialogue. “You want to playwith no rules, you better be care-ful what you let out of the box,”among other lines, were toocheesy and unbelievable for a“normal” father-son exchange.Films do not have to be realistic allthe time, but realistic-sounding di-alogue can make the cinematic ex-perience much more enjoyable.

BY SASKIA KUSNECOVSTAFF WRITER

Inspired by his own experi-ences, screenwriter Will Reiser’s50/50 follows an overly cautious27-year-old radio writer, Adam(Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Inception),who lives a largely complacent,timorous existence. He dates abeautiful but selfish artist (BryceDallas Howard, The Village),avoids his overbearing mother(Angelica Huston, Prizzi’s Honor),and walks in the shadow of hisbest friend Kyle’s (Seth Rogen,Pineapple Express) dominating per-sonality. When he learns that hehas developed spinal cancer —with a 50 percent mortality rate —his life unravels into a series of un-fortunate events and questionsabout the values he held before.

The paradoxically feel-goodfilm is characterized by revela-tions of true love, friendship andfinding humor in unfamiliarplaces. The way Will Reiser de-signs the script personifies thecancer through Adam’s character,which goes through majorchanges as he begins to feel like apatient both in and outside of the

Jonathan Levine | A

50/50

ABDUCTIONJohn Singleton | C+

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hospital. When Adam first visitshis doctor, the camera defocuseson the vision of the doctor, fadingout on cue with the word “cancer,”letting the audience experiencethe confusion that permeates hismind. The optical effects through-out the progression of his illnessgive light to the major theme ofisolation — a feeling Adam real-izes while sitting in the office ofhis student-therapist Katherine(Anna Kendrick), where he even-tually realizes he’s “probablygoing to die.” This isolation isalso realized in other elements ofthe movie, like when Adam dealswith his girlfriend’s infidelity.

While cancer’s a serioustopic, the film is also extremelyfunny. Kyle tells Adam, “If youwere a casino game, you’d havethe best odds.” From medical-marijuana macaroons, to using abald head to attract girls at bars,to an epic scene of egging andknifing his ex-girlfriend’s paint-ing, a dynamic image of the issueis presented that’s entertainingand heartfelt, as opposed to theatypical solemn, over-dramatizedHollywood version of cancerAmerica is accustomed to.

All hell breaks loose whenNathan and his neighbor Karen(Lily Collins, Priest) are assigneda school project, when they find apicture of what looks like Nathanon a missing children’s website.After unexpected events occur atNathan’s parent’s home, Nathanand Karen are forced to flee. Theyare pursued by CIA agents and as-sassins who all seem to wantNathan. The action and fightingscenes are some of the highlightsof the movie; Lautner’s martialarts skills definitely do show makethings exciting.

The viewer is not givenenough time to care about any ofthe characters in the movie, in-cluding Nathan. More back-ground information aboutNathan would have made theloss of everything he held dearto him more believable. Lautneras a leading man needs somework also; his line delivery getsedgy at times. Overall a greatcast, including his therapist Dr.Bennett (Sigourney Weaver,Alien) and CIA agent Burton (Al-fred Molina, Spiderman 2), helpssalvage this picture.

Final verdict, if you haven’tseen it, watch it for the matineeprice — if not, wait for the DVD.

to be raw and fresh with his keenproduction abilities.

Though the album is enter-taining, it includes tracks, like“Lights Please,” which havebeen in fans’ ears since 2009,making the album not entirelyfresh. That’s not to say thatthere are not some intense

rhythms and lyricst h r o u g h o u t . “ C o l eWorld” is the climaxof the album; it’s anupbeat banger inwhich J. Cole de-fends himself by vali-dating his rap withcreative imagery. On

the other hand, “Work Out”showcases Cole’s ability to ap-peal to the masses and is themost radio-friendly. J. Cole willeventually make a huge impactin the hip-hop community, andCole World: The Sideline Story isa sufficient introduction to thestart of a dynasty.


MUSIC

BY JOSEPH BROWNSTAFF WRITER

The first official album underRoc Nation Records, J.Cole’s Cole World: The SidelineStory does not disappoint, but itdoes not exactly push the enve-lope of the “game” — as he so ve-hemently proclaimedit would. However, it’sa very solid, hip-hopalbum for any fan, es-pecially for one whodoes not already knowJ. Cole from his threeprevious mix-tapes.

The North Car-olina rapper features many es-tablished artists on his album,including Jay-Z, Missy Elliot,Drake and Trey Songz. ColeWorld has a cohesive, old-stylerap vibe that does not feel pre-tentious. It definitely portrayshis storyteller-themed rhythmicflow, as well as his innate ability

M A S T O D O N

J.COLECole World: The Sideline Story | B

BY GIANNA MOSCATELLOSTAFF WRITER

The Geor-g i a - b a s e dheavy metalq u a r t e tMastodonhave re-leased yeta n o t h e r

crushingly beautiful and heavyalbum. On The Hunter, the band

The Hunter | A-

COURTESY OF POPTOWER.COM

COURTESY OF JAMES MINICH

takes their previously established“rule book” and burns it. Overthe years the band has solely con-centrated on writing wonderfullycrafted and thought-out conceptalbums. After focusing on fire,water and earth, Mastodonwrites songs about “air” on theirlatest work.

Left in the wake of their lastmasterpiece, the band decidedit was best to go in the oppositedirection and simply let the

songs flow. The Hunter can lit-erally be seen as an anti-con-cept album. The lyrical storiesbehind the songs range frommaking love in outer space to aswamp creature who has dif fi-culty making friends to muchmore serious topics. In “BlackTongue,” the band poeticallycriticizes all of the evil and cor-ruption present in the worldtoday, while the track “TheSparrow” showcases a single

lyrical line that encompassestheir recently deceased friend’slife motto: “Pursue happinesswith diligence.”

The singing on the album is alsonoteworthy as three out of the fourband members try their hand atcrafting the album’s melodies. Occa-sionally, they all sing on the samesong, which gives the album yet an-other successful experimental tweak.

The Hunter is an all-aroundsuccessful collection of songs.

The lyrics are obscure, the vocalsand the melodies are catchy, theguitar hooks are heavy and thesonic effects are downright psy-chedelic. All of this is accompa-nied by Brann Dailor’sdrumming, who navigates aroundhis drum set with intricate,chaotic fluidity reminiscent of amusically gifted octopus. In short,all of this makes The Hunter yetanother staple album by the bandin today’s metal scene.


MUSIC

Cotton at the Old Bay

. . . . . . . . .Wilco . . . . . . . . .

LOCAL CORNER

BY EMILY GABRIELEMUSIC EDITOR

A week ago from today, NewJersey’s own Cotton did some-thing uncharacteristic: Theyplayed live music at the Old Bayin downtown New Brunswick.Typically, Old Bay doesn’t hostlive music events on Thursdaysbut they made an exception forNew Jersey band Cotton’s albumrelease party. Brandon Broder-ick, lead vocalist and guitarist,Leo Kalik, lead guitarist and har-monist, John Aponte, bassist, andAndrew Saunders, drummer,took their respective places toshow the bar’s attendees theirmusical vigor around 10 p.m.Playing three, one-hour sets, Cot-ton played a mixture of coversongs as well as their own origi-

www.cottonband.comwww.cottonband.bandcamp.com

GET THE MUSIC!

The Whole Love | B-

BY JOSH

KELLYSTAFF WRITER

Autumnhas arrived,

and with it, anotherWilco album. The album’s soundis appropriate for the season, res-onating with the warming com-fort of a jacket on a cold day and

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COURTESY OF MIKE SHANAHAN

emanating nostalgic shades of fo-liage. Wilco’s eighth album startsoff with a bang in “Art Of Al-most,” having the listener bar-raged by tight drums, punchybass and a harmonic swell. Suchsounds may overpower an indi-vidual with the sense that thisalbum has the potential to takethe band in a different direction.

The instrumentation is medi-tated much dif ferently, display-

ing intentions of a more drivenand wild ride for the listener —a direct contrast to the group’sformer orchestration. As thefirst song comes to a close, thedirection is quickly pulled outfrom underneath, slipping into anew persona.

The bulk of the album containsfairly mediocre songs that resem-ble an iPod commercial, whichdon’t live up to Wilco’s true poten-

tial as songwriters and musi-cians. Tracks like “Black Moon,”“Born Alone” and “Rising RedLung” are what stand out mostfrom the sea of similarity that con-stitute The Whole Love. Thesetracks contain mood-setting ele-ments that reminisce singer JeffTweedy’s darker side of self-re-flection and helpless romanticism.

The album’s final track, “OneSunday Morning,” surprises the

listener. An incredibly intimatesong, Tweedy’s voice is meldedwonderfully with his acoustic gui-tar. The whole band’s accompani-ment enters unobtrusively yetmemorably, similar to songs fromthe group’s earlier album, YankeeHotel Foxtrot. In the end, thealbum is worth a few listens, witha handful of strong songs thatserve as a solid addition toWilco’s catalogue.

nal tracks off of their debutalbum, In The Basement.

Formerly known as 100% Cot-ton, the abridged Cotton releasedtheir first full-length album, In TheBasement, on Sept. 15. The bandhas been together for quite sometime, and has never released analbum before, but the membersbrought concision to their bandname as well as their music. “Wemade everything more crisp, shortand to the point,” remarked Saun-ders, the “spine” of the group.

Cotton’s music contains hon-est lyrics and creative-yet-grittymusical elements. The quartet isfull of subtle poise and friendlyambition. It’s their goal to reachout to their fans as well as consis-tently make new ones. With therelease of In The Basement, Cot-ton decided to assign the album

the price of “pay what you want”— meaning the album is availableonline and Cotton is asking fansto literally pay what they want forit. “What we really want to do ishave people pay what they thinkthey should for our music andbuild a solid fan-base. If they wantto support us, we really appreci-ate that and then maybe we canhave people go, ‘Oh I really likethis band’ to one of their friends,and we’ll spread by word ofmouth,” Saunders said.

If you’re interested in check-ing out what Cotton’s all about,you can go online and pay whatyou want for their album, orstream it for free at the group’swebsite. Be sure to also checkfor upcoming show dates —they’re always playing liveshows in New Jersey.


ART

BY SASKIA KUSNECOVSTAFF WRITER

Have you ever played a gameof fruits versus vegetables chess?If you haven’t, you don’t know“Fluxus” — the title of the new ex-hibition in the Jane Voorhees Zim-merli Art Museum.

“Fluxus” is the name of an in-ternational group of multi-mediaartists in the 1960s who wanted toexpress the unpredictable andephemeral moments in everydaylife through performing, musical, lit-erary and visual art. While themovement began to influence theAmerican art scene in the ‘60s, its

Fluxus at RutgersFluxus at RutgersCOURTESY OF URLESQUE.COM

roots began here at Rutgers in the1950s with Allan Kaprow, GeorgeBrecht, Geoffrey Hendricks andRobert Watts. These artists and sci-entists came together to form whatwould one day become known asthe Rutgers Group.

As you walk into the exhibitat the Zimmerli, the first piecethat stands out is a life-size plasterbody — nude and turned awayfrom the viewer on a bed — by1960s Fluxus artist George Segal.The physical body appears sexu-ally ambiguous, although the titleis “Blue Woman on Black Bed.”Further into the main room is livestreaming of the “Fluxus Film An-

thology”, which is a compilation of37 films by 17 artists.

“Fluxus” also combined art withgames to escape from what theartists called “dead, imitation art” ofthe time. On certain days, visitorsare allowed to play with interactiveFluxus games. The exhibit itself dis-plays only two interactive games:There’s a chess set, in which realfruits and vegetables replace the tra-ditional pieces — the museumchanges the fruit every week to pre-serve freshness. The second inter-active game is called “SoundCheckers.” There is also a displaycase of vintage Finger boxes by aJapanese-American artist called Ay-

O. There was a heavy Japanese in-fluence on much of the Americanartwork, in order to emphasize theneed for a cultural revolution at atime when Japanese-Americanswere still being welcomed back intothe country after WWII.

Upstairs in the exhibit, the art-works take a turn for the dark andpseudo-sexual. “Female Under-pants” by Robert Watts, a formerfaculty member in the Douglassart department at the University,is a graphic photograph of a pairof underpants that has been, in asense, taken in. The “MaciunasFlux Deck” by George Maciunas— the pioneer of the movement in

the ‘60s — also may perturb itsviewers with the blunt nature ofthe cards which contain imagessuch as blood, beating hearts,whips, whipped backs and eyescrying. In addition to games, art-work and publications, LarryMiller (a coordinator of the ex-hibit and former student of Watts)and University students are or-ganizing a concert on Nov. 2 togive life to the Fluxus experience.If you have any interest in the his-tory of social, political or culturalmovements in American art, youmight want to check out “Fluxus”at the Zimmerli before it comesdown in January!

Inside Beat 2011-10-06

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Transcript of Inside Beat 2011-10-06