Category: Film

REVIEW: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Angela Lin Leave a comment

Let’s do the time warp again. And let’s do it with a drag moth.

Rocky Horror Picture Show’s cult following came through, as the Leather Medusas performed a sold-out show at the Michigan Theater over the weekend. With many fans dressed in wigs, there was massive excitement and anticipation for the annual Rocky Horror Picture Show. And then, a beautiful Moth emerged onstage and everyone lost it. With sass and pride on full display, the Moth got the show started in style.

As a Rocky Horror Virgin who knew very little about the show going in except for the fact that it was weird, I was a bit unprepared for what the next hour and a half had in store for me. Little will be said about the movie, since the 1975 film has become a cult classic that is either known in its entirety or known with very actual knowledge of the show (the latter of which I happened to fall in before myself). And for the other Rocky Horror Virgins out there, I won’t spoil the very first experience for you, because let me tell you — it is quite the experience indeed.

One of the things that makes the Rocky Horror Picture Show a true experience is the talking back to the screen, which is understandable because some things in that movie just make you want to scream — and with this movie, you actually get to. However, the audience participation was at times rather annoying since it was hard to understand what everyone was shouting, and since I had no idea what was happening to begin with, I wanted to understand what everyone was shouting. Granted, some preparation beforehand could’ve been done on my part to help fully prepare myself for this experience. But I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, so I didn’t know what I had to prepare for. Nonetheless, clever lines were shouted every now and then that made the callbacks bearable. Particularly because Rocky Horror is a known cult classic, all the shouting was part of the experience, so I embraced it through my waves of annoyance.

The Leather Medusas shadow cast put on a phenomenal and amusing show full of hypersexual dancing and well-timed acting that didn’t disappoint as they received a standing ovation at the end. With Demetrius Markel as the muscular Rocky, he showed off his cheerleading skills through impressive moves that got the crowd riled up. The entire cast with wondrous costumes was exceptional in performing this show that requires a lot.

Now that I have lost my Rocky Horror virginity, I await for next year’s show with sweet, sweet antici…pation.

REVIEW: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Mary O'Byrne Leave a comment

“I wish to lose all morals, and accept decadence into my heart.”

The night starts off with crowds of people in sparkles and lingerie and all black  piled up outside of the Michigan Theater, eager to begin their Rocky Horror experience. An experience that is varied and cannot be restricted by just one adjective. An experience that is energetic, erotic, campy, and…. scientific?

With an introduction from a moth, who welcomes all of the groups who are out – the straights, the gays, the sorrorities – the crowd is riled up before the film has started. Prohibited items include: ice, confetti, water guns, candles or lighters, whole rolls of toilet paper, hot dogs, and prunes. But the moth pointed out that squares of toilet paper, or streamers, or 3/4 of a roll of toilet paper, are allowed. It is only the Leather Medusa’s second year putting on a shadow cast show of RHPS at the theater, but they’re sold out.

I stand for my virgin pledge, with about half of the audience who are marked with red lipstick Vs. Surprisingly, such a prominent cult classic still remains unseen by many. Not so surprisingly, the Rocky Horror virgins of the world are curious about the film and its culture, intrigued by its ostentatious reputation and loyal followers. And tonight, our curiosity is to be fulfilled. Soon everyone stands together, for the Rocky Horror pledge and with much anti… cipation – the show begins.

Newly engaged Brad and Janet get stuck in the rain, and wander into Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s castle, where they have a long night ahead of them. The shadow cast saunters around the stage, their costumes and movements perfectly matching those of the film’s characters. The audience yells “ASSHOLE!” at Brad, “SLUT!” at Janet, “WHERE’S YOUR NECK?” at the criminologist, and a variety of other more specific, seemingly-scripted, comments. The film can barely be heard. This culture is not exactly for the prude or sensitive – although they are the ones that the culture loves to deflower the most. Similarly to the audience culture around Tommy Wiseau’s ‘The Room’, some describe this movie-going experience as wildly inconsiderate and vulgar. But the lines of accepted norms are blurred in the midst of such a cult classic, one that drew counterculture crowds as a midnight movie at its release and still draws those audiences (or those who shapeshift into such for a night) today.

Attempting to watch the film over the yelling of the crowd, I do my best to stay in-tune while actively participating. But the participation doesn’t take away from the film’s grandeur. The unusual set, defined characters, theatrical costumes and makeup, peculiar sci-fi characteristics, lively songs and dances, canted angles, effective use of various lenses, irony, and sexual notions, are enough to interest audiences even when they are unclear of the plot (which is somewhat unclear, anyway.) I’m sure all of the other virgins sometimes sat just as confused as me, but also pleasantly entertained.

Seeing Rocky Horror is a uniting experience: the audience, together, are just as important as the film. Dancing the time warp, throwing cards and pieces of toast, everyone is in tune with one another. Even the virgins. We catch on. If all goes as planned by the Transylvanians, by the end of the film you’re going to want to dance and yell and touch everyone and be covered in sequins and dramatic makeup.

REVIEW: MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A. Documentary

Emma Pinchak

As I walked into the gleaming dark of the Michigan Theater’s screening room, I wasn’t sure what I should expect from this documentary. Most “behind the scenes” films of celebrities are tinted with a shade of superficiality–the video of their charity cases feels a bit staged, smiles just a little too brilliant next to the filth of whatever third-world country their agent told them to grace.

I won’t lie to you, dear reader; this documentary was not completely innocent of these offences. M.I.A. had definitely seemed to have lost touch of the way of life in her of native Sri Lanka after her rise to fame in the mid-2000s. This causes some of her actions to feel false. Yet old video from an earlier visit back home, just a few years before she made it big, told a different story. Rather than seeming like a tourist, she was back to belonging, and what was able to shock her–police barging into houses at all hours of the night, for example–genuinely resonated with her. She related to people there, spoke Tamil with them, shared food and stories. Sri Lanka was still, and is still, inside of her.

M.I.A.’s origin story can be told succinctly, despite its far-reaching repercussions. After fleeing the civil unrest and violence of Sri Lanki with her mother and siblings at the age of 10, she grew up without her Tamil Resistance-leading father.

But that is not where her story began. Even as a young child, she dreamed of becoming a documentary film maker–her own video comprises much of the documentary. Music has always been a passion as well: she’s shown dancing wildly as a kid in Sri Lanka and later as an adult in a recording studio. The film went on to tell of her rapidly increasing fame, and her growth along the way. Not being the most confident person in the world myself, I gather a lot of inspiration from the ultimate Cool Girl that is M.I.A. Her funky, brightly-colored style is present in not only her clothes and music but also her vibrant speech, her fierce projection of her beliefs.

My only real critique of this piece is how little it focused on the censorship she’s faced in her career. There were a few points made about the reactions to one of her music videos, jounalists dismissing her thoughts on the turbulance in Sri Lanka, and that one time she flipped the camera off at the Superbowl. In light of her recent announcement she’s taking a break from the music industry due to her frustration about censorship, there should have been a little more attention given to this.

This film provided a good look into a strange paradox: with fame comes a microphone with sound to reach the ears of everyone. Yet the role our society gives to celebrities is only to entertain; we discount their need to be advocates for something in the larger world. Maybe one day we’ll give them a chance and start listening.

REVIEW: Colette

Corrina Lee Leave a comment

Colette is a movie that certainly heightens the senses. The sights and sounds of early twentieth century France are detailed in every delicately plunked piano, in the layers of draped dresses and tightly fitted suits. Even the rank smells of the Paris streets, which should not be able to penetrate the separation of time and fiction, somehow seem to wind up in the theater air. That is the power of this film. It can entirely transport you from a seat in Ann Arbor to somewhere far away where life is one country trip after another. The world is exquisite and lush. As for the characters that inhabit it, unfortunately, they are not as well-drawn.

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) is the woman that should be at the center of this particular story. She is a provincial girl, daughter of war hero. We are told these things in conversation. But it is Knightley’s portrayal that truly lends Colette her delicate naivete and youthful uncertainty. This early version of Colette may be more hesitant, but she still knows what she wants. Colette marries Henry Gauthier-Villars or Willy (Dominic West) because she loves him. He is charming, in his own way. At a party, Willy is always the one at the center. He is the booming presence that people will inevitably be drawn to. And Colette is drawn to him. Yet, it is just as easy to see that Colette and Willy’s relationship is fundamentally imbalanced, even by age alone. He is much older than her and he is the one who chooses to marry her even without a dowry. It is a decision that shapes the rest of their marriage, especially her attitude towards him. Colette feels in debt to Willy for noticing her, for choosing her, for giving her the opportunity to live and write in Paris. But what is clear to the audience is a more involved situation to Colette. She gets drawn in again and again, with less and less motivation to stay. Each critical juncture feels like an end. Each time she stays. It becomes more and more difficult to justify, especially as the film declines to give Colette a chance to voice her opinion. It is an inching journey that one wishes would progress in leaps and bounds instead.

Perhaps this wish springs from the contemporary tone, especially as it concerns societal views of gender and sexuality at the time. In its careful avoidance of the soapbox, the film becomes vague and passive. Colette proclaims to be an overtly feminist film, but it shies away from displays of feminine power until the end of the film. It even resists showing much of the sexist discourse that would surely be on display. It is freeing to cavort through the streets of Paris without the disdainful stares and the outright hostility. But it also uproots the grounded nature of the film. We are transported to beautiful place, albeit a bit fantastical.

The element that remains the most interesting is the relationship that forms between Colette and her initial literary creation, Claudine. Here, the quasi-fictional quality of the film works in its favor. Colette wrote Claudine on the memories of her childhood, already lending the novel an autobiographic feel. However, as Claudine becomes a phenomenon, Colette is shunted to the side. Thus, Willy is given credit for everything, even for Colette’s own life. The film is at its most potent when it reflects on Colette’s life through the distorted reflection of Claudine.

A biopic can never fully encompass a whole life. Colette makes a valiant if not complete effort. Ultimately, it is a beautiful period piece that shows less than it means to.

PREVIEW: MANTANGI/MAYA/M.I.A. documentary

Emma Pinchak Leave a comment

A documentary following the life of Justin Bieber is nothing special.

His story has always been quite public: born into a humble Canadian family, discovered on YouTube, instantly rising to stardom atop such teeny-bopper hits as “Baby” and “My World.”

However, M.I.A. has a little more substance than the average Hollywood Hunk. The daughter of a Tamil activist and revoluntionary, her music reflects growing up during political turmoil. And perhaps we will learn more about the difficulty she’s had with censorship of her work, and her recent announcement that she’ll be taking an extended break from the industry.

Join me at the Michigan Theater to see the mystery unfold with your own eyes.

Showtimes include:

Thursday, 10/18: 7:15 pm in the auditorium or 9:45 pm in the screening room

Thursday, 10/25: 12:00 pm in the auditorium

PREVIEW: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks screening

changje Leave a comment

On Monday October 15, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks will be screened at UH South, hosted by Michigan Medicine. The film tells the story of the African American woman whose cells were used by scientists to create the first immortal human cell line in the 1950’s, and addresses topics such as racial and class structures that contribute to disparities within the field of health. There will be an after-film discussion panel on the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Doors open at 6:30 and the film starts at 7:00.