Category: Arts

PREVIEW: ART NOW: Drawing

fragolina Leave a comment

Venturing just slightly beyond the bubble of UM, one can find the Ann Arbor Art Center, a nonprofit organization home to local art and rotating exhibitions. The current exhibition is “ART NOW: Drawing” — one focused on particular media and the fourth annual of its kind, exploring conventional and less traditional types of drawing.

For more information, check out their website.

Or, wander down Liberty and check it out!

Dates: Showing through March 17th, 2018
Location: Ann Arbor Art Center’s 117 Gallery
117 W. Liberty St.
Gallery Hours:

REVIEW: The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2018 — Animated.

niezi 1 Comment


List:
Dear Basketball – Glen Keane and Kobe Bryant, USA, 5 min.
Negative Space – Max Porter and Ru Kuwahata, France, 5 min.
Lou – Dave Mullins and Dana Murray, USA, 7 minutes
Revolting Rhymes – Jakob Schuh and Jan Lachauer, UK, 29 minutes
Garden Party – Victor Caire and Gabriel Grapperon, France 7 minutes
Lost Property Office (additional film) – Daniel Agdag, Australia, 10 minutes
Weeds (additional film) – Kevin Hudson, USA, 3 minutes
Achoo (additional film) – Elise Carret, Camille Lacroix, Charlotte Perroux, Lucas Boutrot, Maoris Creantor, Pierre Hubert, France, 7 minutes

—

Somehow, The Boss Baby is now an Oscar-nominated film – and so maybe it’s sufficient to say it’s been a darn slow year for animation.

But even with an unexpected nomination in the category, there’s no lack of talent featured in the animated Oscar Nominated Shorts of this year. Dear Basketball, Negative Space, Lou, Revolting Rhymes, and Garden Party are all contenders. Lost Property Office, Weeds, and Achoo are additional, highly-commended films you can catch in theatres alongside the Oscar nods.

In 2018, Kobe Bryant is now both a star basketball player and a star film producer, with Dear Basketball penned as a love letter to the end of an illustrious career. It’s sweet and simple, pleasant to watch, but probably more touching for basketball fans than for the uninterested layperson.

Despite a narrative that perhaps borders upon just being a highlight reel of Kobe Bryant’s career, Glen Keane does what Glen Keane does – just as he had in many other short films like Duet and Nephtali, and just as he did for Disney. His animation style in undeniably compelling, sketches full of a motion and fluidity that fills us in where the film may come up empty in terms of a more captivating story.

Opposite of what Dear Basketball may lack, Negative Space gives life to a suitcase, to the simpleness of Ron Koertge’s poem with clothes like a tidal wave, belts slithering like snakes into the sides of a bag. The premise is easy, but the execution is sophisticated.

A boy floats in an ocean of clothes and emerges between of the buttons of his dad’s shirt. A taxi cab drives onto wooden floorboards and becomes a toy car circling around the living room. These are beautiful transitions done through stop-motion, a creative practice in breathing tone and vision into a script. It’s uncomplicated at only five minutes long, but the visuals are delicate, creative, and with an incredible punch line.

The obligatory Pixar nomination of the year is Lou – cute and heart-warming and absolutely beautifully rendered. It follows the story of a pile of lost and found objects that becomes the guardian of the playground, rising from its box to set things right when a bully begins to terrorize the other kids.

The film is interesting and very endearing, but is also very standard Pixar-fare. Not a bad thing at all, considering the general consistency and quality of films produced over the years by the studio. And Lou is no exception to that. It’s engaging and sweet, but it is also nothing ground-breaking.

Much less feel-good, much less full of those clear-cut morals of Lou, Revolting Rhymes is an adaption of Roald Dahl’s poems, featuring the nominated first episode. Having read these fairytales a long time ago, the film does measure up in some ways by wrapping up the story with a terrific ending and some very tongue-in-cheek story-telling. However, it still comes second to the charm of the original rhymes. It feels a bit lacking in some ways, but the characterization, the animation details, the picture-book perfect palette, and the satirical material it’s built upon prove to be still very appealing to watch.

When we move away from the obvious comedy of Revolting Rhymes, we have Garden Party, a pic that is much more subdued and sinister in its humour. It’s a gorgeous, hyper-realistic film, full of lush colours and gaudy scenery. And while Garden Party is a visual banquet, it’s an understated story of macabre undertones, an apprehensive underbelly to the stunning animation. Amphibians from the garden follow their instincts into an extravagant house. A fat toad feasts in a rotting kitchen on multi-coloured macarons. Two frogs find themselves underneath the plush covers of a bed in disarray, and countless croaking creatures lounge about, swimming in the murky depths of a pool. As night falls, the lights come up, the garden is lit with fountains, music, and a terrible twist.

There’s an interesting selection, from realistic CGI frogs to the organic pencil and pastel sketches of basketball players. And while I have my opinions, it’s difficult to predict a winner from the fact that Dear Basketball, Negative Space, Lou, Revolting Rhymes, and Garden Party are pretty much nothing alike.

So catch the Oscar Nominated Shorts at Michigan Theater and other select places before March 4th, and decide for yourself.

Student tickets are $8.

REVIEW: Black Panther

Maximilian Darr Leave a comment

Black Panther is the newest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War. T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the fictional African country of Wakanda to rule as their new leader. Wakanda is very much separated from the rest of the world and although it is the home the most advanced technology, it is still unknown to anyone outside the country. The Black Panther soon has his new throne challenged and he must face a formidable enemy in order to save his country and their way of life.

The strength of Black Panther is in its characters. Throughout the whole movie there isn’t a single weak character. T’Challa is strong, likeable, and has the ideal characteristics of a leader. The supporting cast, from T’Challa’s genius sister (maybe the new smartest person in the MCU) to his badass posse of women warriors, is so good that they almost outshine him in this movie. Killmonger, the villain in the movie, has one of the most empathetic stories and goals of any villains we have seen in this universe before. His drive and mission are so easy to get behind that it makes his struggle with T’Challa much more high stakes. This makes him incredibly powerful as a villain and makes the movie much more stressful.

Black Panther is also successful in breaking the script from the typical Marvel superhero movie. Now that we are in phase 3 of this series of films in the MCU, we have all gotten a little use to how they introduce new heroes and the struggles they face. This movie was incredibly unique in this sense and didn’t just follow the pattern that was lined up in the movies preceding it. From its world building and villain, to the rap beats and thematic soundtrack, this movie separates itself from the rest of the movies in the MCU.

In my opinion, this is the best first movie for a superhero in this series of Marvel films and is a must-see.

PREVIEW: Black Panther

Corrina Lee Leave a comment

Most audiences, by this time, don’t need a preview for Black Panther. The movie grossed $202 million in its first weekend alone. It has already surpassed being a mere superhero movie. It has become a celebration of blackness in a medium that has rarely been welcoming of such diversity. For those who have somehow eluded the intensive promotional campaign, the shiny Lexus commercials, and the innumerable think pieces, Black Panther is the newest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the Black Panther, T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the protector of Wakanda, a highly advanced country in Africa hidden from the rest of world. However, at the same time, T’Challa has also become the king. Under the double responsibility of these roles, he must face rising threats and decide what is best for his people and his country. Ryan Coogler directs an all-star cast, with standouts such as Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Letitia Wright. This film has already undoubtedly changed the film industry with its overwhelming success. I am interested in seeing if it can change an entire genre by transcending its comic book origins. Either way, I am looking forward to a thoroughly fun time at the movies. Black Panther is currently showing in the State Theater. Purchase tickets ($8 for students with ID), online at the Michigan Theater website or at the box office.

REVIEW: The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

tintinj Leave a comment

Some context (and spoilers):
On the surface, Porgy and Bess is a story that revolves around Porgy, a crippled beggar, and Bess, a woman who’s being fought over by different men. The opera is divided into three acts: the first act introduces the characters and initiates the relationship between Porgy and Bess (her partner Crown kills a man and has to disappear); the second act explores Porgy and Bess’ romance and Porgy’s devotion to Bess; the third act stages the fight between Crown and Porgy over Bess. In the resolution, Bess follows Sporting Life, a smooth talking drug dealer, to New York after Porgy is taken in by the police after killing Crown.

Saturday’s Porgy and Bess performance was certainly interesting. The four hour show is described as an “opera in concert.” Opera turned concert? Opera cum concert? The terminology’s a little confusing but the point is clear: the focus is more on the music and less on the acting. Rightfully so, the stage was stripped of any props, costumes (the gambling scene felt more like a socialite gathering rather than a men’s night), and any real action. Crown and Robbin’s “fight” was “played” out by the full blown orchestra surrounding the puny stage, while the actors stood their waiting to sing their next pieces. I’m not complaining though. Being familiar with covers of some of the songs, I was very pleasantly surprised to listen to the original versions sung by powerful, masterful leads.

Analogy wise, it’s similar to seeing a friend in front of his/her parents for the first time. It’s different. It’s definitely not as “fun” but there’s a certain sense of elegance and sophistication you’re gauging from this “new” fellow. Or think of mac and cheese served with truffles and caviar, plated in porcelain. It’s an old comfort dish, served differently. Not bad, just different.

Before listening to Clara’s official rendition of Summertime, a lullaby for her baby in Porgy and Bess, I only knew (and loved) Al Jarreau’s carefree, springy version of it, from his album “Tenderness.” I never knew the haunting “Summertime” original, sung by the amazing Janai Brugger, was meant to foreshadow death and loss in the play.

My overall favorite song has to be Sporting Life’s “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” When I listened to the piece for the first time before the opera, I was preparing for a hellish ABRSM piano exam. This, of course, meant that I was force-fed music that was stripped of its lyrics and taken out of its context, over and over again. So yes, I hated the song. I didn’t understand why it didn’t sound as good as other jazz pieces (easy answer: my piano was out of tune and I could never play it right) and I hated the abrupt, awkward sounding choruses. But coming out of the concert, I remembered only one character, Sportin Life, for the rest of the night because of that song. Chauncey Packer’s rendition of “It Ain’t Necessarily So” gave me shivers. His wholesome, cascading tenor voice molded Sportin Life as a professional, more of a magnetic entrepreneur rather than a greasy con-man, as some actors might portray him. Unlike the empty piano cover I played for an exam, the original version was meaningful: the lyrics gave it context and the singer gave it character. We see Sporting Life embodied in the song: foul-mouthed and “corrupted” at heart, but wrapped by a hypnotic, charismatic cover.

I also enjoyed listening to the other Gershwin compositions. Some notable ones include the sonorous, earthy “It Takes a Long Pull to Get There” sung by Reginald Smith Jr.’s Jake the Fisherman and the soulful, gospel-esque “Oh Doctor Jesus” sung by Karen Slack, Morris Robinson, Dorian Dillard II, and Lenora Green-Turner as Serena, Porgy, Peter, and Lily. I’m definitely including these songs in my playlist.

All in all, the Gershwin Initiative’s test performance for Porgy and Bess was an exciting musical adventure to witness.

REVIEW: Porgy and Bess

ajayw Leave a comment

The UMS production of Porgy and Bess was hyped up to be a surefire showstopper of a production.  It did not disappoint.  The University Symphony Orchestra, directed by Professor Kenneth Kiesler, sounded great and did a particularly good job of playing well in relation to the singers.  They had a unique assortment of instruments for this performance, incorporating banjo, saxophone, and a lot of percussion into the standard orchestral instrumentation.  In addition, there were a lot of cool sound effects coming from the back left corner of the stage including, police whistle, hurricane bell, siren, and an alarm.  Despite the mental and physical challenges that come with a four hour performance of music for any group, I thought that the orchestra finished the night even better than they started.  It was clear that they had put a lot of hard work into learning this music.  The chorus sounded fantastic as well and provided a powerful force at the back of the concert hall that added a multitude of different elements to the performance.  The spots where everyone sang as the orchestra played their hearts out made for some truly special moments.  All of the student actors and singers who had singing and speaking roles were exceptional.  Even if they only had a few lines or a few bars of song, they really shined and made the most of their opportunity to perform on a stage of that caliber.  As great as the student performers were, the professional singers that UMS brought in to play the principal roles really put the production over the top.  Chauncey Packer, the cast member who played “Sportin’ Life” gave a flamboyant and incredibly entertaining interpretation of the song, “It Ain’t Necessarily So” and it suited his portrayal perfectly.  It seemed more like a Broadway number than an opera aria with his slick dance moves and high kicks.  Talise Trevigne and Karen Slack, who played Bess and Serena, were sensational on their arias and duets.  “Summertime” started the show off on a high note an it only got better from there with the performances of “My Man’s Gone Now” and “What You Want Wid’ Bess” amongst other songs.  The man who really stole the show was none other than Porgy, played by Morris Robinson.  His voice sounded so rich in such a low register.  It was perfect for the role.  He brought the type of dramatic power that many think of as stereotypical for opera that other characters in this work just lack the capability of bringing.  The way he sang “Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way” allowed the show to end in a triumphant manner musically, even if the storyline doesn’t match up.  As incredible as the performance was, there are some negatives that have to be noted.  The opera was about as interesting as a 4 hour opera can be, but at the end of the day 4 hours is a long time to focus whether one is watching or performing.  In spite of this, the performance was fantastic and I would love to see UMS put on more productions like Porgy and Bess that can put student musicians from SMTD on stage with world renowned talent.