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PREVIEW: The Boondock Saints II – All Saints Day

Bhajanpreet
Poster for The Boondock Saints II - All Saints Day
Poster for The Boondock Saints II - All Saints Day

The original Boondock Saints film, released in 1999, had a very short run in theaters and received poor reviews from film critics. Because of this it grossed less than half a million in world-wide theatre, yet it made $50 million in US home video sales revenue. It gained a large cult following through word of mouth publicity, making it a hit DVD bestseller.

I personally caught on the Boondock Saints train just a few years back. I loved the acting, the great quotes, and the ridiculously improbably storyline. It was an awesome action-film and the fact that it was a little-known film made it even more cool for me. I told all my friends about it, but you know how that usually goes. “Oh, yeah, I’ll check it out sometime. Nice, dude.” “No, seeeeriously, you have to see this movie!” “Definitely dude, we’ll watch it sometime.” It never happens, and didn’t with The Boondock Saints, either. I mostly shared my favorite quotes and minutes of non-stop laughter with my brother.

As much as I absolutely loved the original, I had no heads up about the sequel coming out! I heard about speculations when I saw the first movie, but never followed up on it, and it was only two Fridays ago that I saw a trailer while eating in West Quad dining. I flipped out and looked for a place to watch it ASAP, but was disappointed to find out that it is also only getting a limited release. I don’t think anyplace in the state of Michigan is playing it… Except State Theatre. Once. Tomorrow at 7:30PM. For free. I just found out today and I’m so excited to watch it! I’m slightly worried that I might not get the chance if enough people get there before me, but I’m gonna try my best–try yours, too!

It’s hard to explain exactly what the movie is about, but it’s basically two Irish-Catholic brothers that are vigilantes against the scum on the streets of Boston. And they’re bad to the bone. If you enjoy  catchy lines, awesome action, and have some free time, I definitely suggest checking it out. Check out the trailer to get a better idea of what part deux will be about. If you have time before tomorrow, I suggest watching the original, too! So far the film has a 7.4/10 on IMDB and an 84% approval rating by the Rotten Tomatoes Community.

“Catch ya on the flip side” 😉
Bhaj

Review: Ghostface Wears A Different Hat

Bennett

Wrong In So Many Ways
Wrong In So Many Ways

Baseball season is over.  For the Red Sox, it was over one month ago today, the Red Sox were exposed as the subpar franchise that they are in a season-ending sweep by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.  Although largely unchanged from championship teams of years past, this Red Sox team lost the talent and the spark of other years- while gaining a steroids scandal (in David Ortiz) and a washed up relief man (in Billy Wagner).  So, while Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester munched Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, watched The Notebook, and cried themselves to sleep, the New York Yankees of New York, New York rampaged their way through the World Series.  They finished off the defending World-Series Champion Phillies in six games, never really giving them any hope.

So, I ask, why was Ghostface Killah sporting a green and red Boston Red Sox New Era cap at his Blind Pig performance on Monday night?  Ghostface Killah, man of the Stapleton housing projects of Staten Island, NY.  Take the Staten Island Ferry to the 4 train to Yankee Stadium.   Or, if you have to, even take the Staten Island Ferry to the 1 train to the 7 train to Shea Stadium (or the new Citi Field).  But, come on Ghost, you have to paddle across the river Styx to get to Fenway Park.

Although my barber, Bob, has explained to me on multiple occasions that the handshake and first 20 seconds of meeting someone new is the most important part of a good relationship, Ghostface quickly redeemed his horrendous first impression.  At 39 years old and over 15 years after the Wu-Tang Clan debut, Ghostface still has an intense and demanding stage presence.  Perhaps he is no longer the perpetually high, in your face, attention grabber of the 90’s, but as hip hop has grown, so has Ghost.  He still coaxed the audience to scream in support of their love of weed and conducted a vote of the crowd’s alcohol preference: Hennessey vs. Grey Goose.  But that doesn’t seem to be Ghostface’s gimmick anymore.  He still holds the crowd with his intricate word plays and boasting banter but he no longer seems to need to hold a blunt to connect with his audience.  With the tracks from the new album, he has also let some catchy hooks grab the audience as well.

Despite a bit of a persona change from Ghostface, the crowd remembered exactly who he is.  He could (and on a few occasions did) let the beat drop and let the sweat-soaked, cigarette-drenched crowd do his bidding, reciting every line to his fast paced stories.  He commanded an even greater response for the Wu-Tang hits (including “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nothing To Fuck With” and “C.R.E.A.M.”.

Not that Ghostface has never been sentimental – because he has- but it marks a different path when his best-known song is a track about his love for his pregnant girlfriend, complete with a light-hearted R&B loop.  As was apparent by his on-stage demeanor and set choice, Ghostface is content with the maturing of hip hop, the development of the Wu-Tang Clan, and his own, highly regarded status.

(Also, in my concert-going experience openers are generally not worth mentioning.  However, worth mentioning is local local, DJ Chill Will was on the ones and twos in between sets.  Chill Will has a show called The Prop Shop every Saturday night from 9pm-midnight on 88.3 WCBN– a show that I would very highly recommend to any dabbler in the art of hip hop)

REVIEW: Keith Terry and the SLAMMIN All-Body Band

Cynthia 1 Comment

This unusual performance would be best described as a mixture of beatboxing, singing, stomping, and clapping, and I was quite intrigued by the different types of sounds produced by the hands and feet. Whistles, melodies, and rhythms floated from the world’s most common “instrument”—the human body. In my preview, I wrote “new form of art,” but since humans have been around far longer than any other created musical instruments, it’s safe to say that body music is one of the oldest forms of music and dance. Knowing that the violin sounds the closest to the human voice, I wonder what other instruments were created to replicate sounds made by the body.

To draw a connection between the body and musical instruments, there was an interesting diagram in the kid’s brochure which said “Your body = Drum set.” This unusual comparison drew a connection between a handclap and the high hat (similar to two cymbals), a chest strike and the highest rack tom (a drum), a thigh strike and the middle tom (another drum), and a foot stomp to the bass drum (biggest drum, you step on a lever to play it). Now I wonder if the drum set was created to amplify and prolong the amount of noise the human body can create…

While I enjoyed the performance and the improvisation, I don’t know that this is my type of art. The eclectic mix of sounds and rhythms caught my attention, but I wasn’t captivated the way I would normally be in an orchestra concert. Perhaps the little kids running up the aisles distracted me. But I did find myself smiling when the kids sang along and when prompted, enthusiastically called back to the singers. I found this performance to be mildly strange, but I enjoy watching different types of performances every once in a while.

REVIEW: Jamy Ian Swiss – Sleight of Hand: How Bodies Fool Minds

Cynthia

“Magicians are actors pretending to be magicians.” Jamy Swiss wowed the crowd and backed up his statement in a lecture through the Penny Stamps Distinguished Visitor Series. While I knew that the Art and Design students are required to attend these lectures, I didn’t realize that Michigan Theater would be packed. When I walked in, almost all the seats were full and I wished I had arrived earlier so I would be able to sit in the front and get a good view of the cards used in the illusions.

In addition to being good actors, magicians must be good storytellers. The card tricks would have been boring if Jamy Swiss had not told a funny story to go along with it. And oftentimes, the stories were used to guide our thinking—in the wrong direction! When breaking down one of the tricks, Jamy Swiss emphasized that he said, “Queen of clubs” three times to keep us thinking about that particular card. Good storytelling is the one of many methods used to deceive the audience.

Body language also affected perception of the illusion. The best example was the standard “disappearing coin trick,” the one where you think the coin is switched to the left hand, when it really just stayed in the right hand. In order to fool others, magicians (or sometimes grandpas!) use body language to send the message that the coin is in the left hand. By shifting his weight to the left and looking at his left hand, the magician sends an unspoken message to the audience that the coin is in the left hand.

Perhaps the best way for a magician to deceive the audience is…to lie! In one card trick, he pulled out a red 8 and black 6 and asked a volunteer to put them back into the deck. He then proceeded shuffle the deck, pull out a red 8 and black 6, and proclaim, “And here they are!” The catch: he pulled out the other red 8 and black 6. Essentially, he lied to us. With enough confidence, he was able to convince us that he told the truth. There was no “magic” in these tricks. He was just a good liar and a good actor!

I truly enjoyed the lecture; it was entertaining and interesting. Afterwards, I found myself walking back in silence though my friend was right next to me. I was trying to figure out how Jamy Swiss managed to fool us every single time even though he told us all the secrets!

REVIEW: Philipine Culture Night!

Moderator

I went to the Filipino Student Association’s  (FASA) Philipine Culture Night (PCN) at the Math Atrium of East Hall this past Saturday, November 7, 2009. I had a few friends performing and had been told that dinner would be served so I happily paid my $10 ticket and went to the show. My 16 year old brother was in town so I thought it would be a good way to spread multiculturalism and umich’s love for diversity through PCN.

PCN included many performances: a modern and traditional dance by the FASA dance troupe, singing by Alpha Garcia, a singer/songwriter from New Jersey, as well as a piano music.

The show had a nice mixture of performances and activities. There was homemade Filipino food served which was delicious. The only bad part about dinner was waiting. There were over 200 people and dinner was dismissed by table. Mine was last. There was live piano music playing during dinner. After dinner it was back to the show.

FASA created a short documentary about love, family, and Filipino pride to segue into talking about Ondoy the typhoon that devastated many. FASA’s proceeds went to the victims in the Filipines.

Overall, I thought this show was excellent. Not only was it entertaining, filling and educational, but it was also for a good cause.

Review: The Difficult [Ring] Tone of ‘Cell Phone’

Bennett 1 Comment

Jean and Gordon Kiss In The Laundromat. Or Some Weird Metaphor Like That.
Jean and Gordon "Kiss" In The Laundromat. Or Some Weird Metaphor Like That. (Basement Arts Facebook photo)

Play reviews are difficult. It’s sort of like reviewing some shlops singing karaoke at the local tavern. Although the town drunk may have picked your favorite song (perhaps Ricky Martin’s ‘Livin’ La Vida Loca’ or Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’), he’s still five drinks deep (cheap rum, most probably) and lacks both rhythm and pitch.

The Basement Arts production of Sarah Ruhl’s ‘Dead Man’s Cell Phone’ was rather opposite of the karaoke dilemma.  Although the acting was, for the most part, stellar, it had a difficult time carrying a play that failed at developing a connection between the audience and its characters.  ‘Cell Phone’ is about a woman, Jean, who, annoyed at the incessant ringing of a cell phone at the next table at a diner, picks up a stranger’s cell phone.  Complicating the situation, she soon finds out that the man, Gordon, has not picked up his cell phone because he is dead.  Jean, in acting as his secretary and, soon afterward, his legacy-maker, speaks to his colleagues, his family, and friends.  In a string of lies, Jean personalizes Gordon in her own mind and conceives of a dieing Gordon to explain to his loved ones.

Unfortunately, although closely involving herself in Gordon’s affairs – attempting to assuage some pain, Jean never becomes more than a liar.  The playwright, Ruhl, attempts to personalize her in, among other ploys, declaring a love for stationary that she shares with Gordon’s brother, Dwight (a role similar to Buster of Arrested Development fame).  However, even Jean’s budding relationship with Dwight is built upon lies and stories.  To Ruhl, Jean is supposed to be a, slightly misguided, heroine.  Instead, she creates an internal mess of a mess.

This takes away nothing from the exceptional acting in the Basement Arts production of the play on Friday night (also performed at 7pm Friday and 7pm, 11pm Saturday) (Full disclosure- a close friend, Neal Kelley, played the role of Gordon.  Even fuller disclosure- although not necessary today, I am zero percent afraid of talking shit about my friends.  They probably deserve it.)  The actors’ performances on Friday night were truly great.   Grounded in an exceptional performance by Margot McGrath as the overly-emotional Mrs. Gottlieb (Gordon’s mother), the actors displayed a deep intimacy and knowledge of each other and each others’ roles in the play.

The ‘sold-out’ crowd (some mortals even sitting in the aisles for a two hour play!) at Studio One in the Walgreen Center ate it up, laughing hysterically at any sign of a joke.  Unfortunately, just as these are the same kids who speak to hear the beautiful sounds of their own voice, there were many members of Friday night’s audience who really wished they were on stage-they really wanted to be the center of attention-so, rather unnaturally, they chose to yell their laughs.  (My slightly intoxicated friends- whom I met there- enjoyed laughing at the flamboyant crowd more than the show itself.)

If nothing else, I’m now a fan of the Basement Arts.  Quality acting with a price tag of $free.fifty is unlikely to be beat in these parts.  Although not my choice of plays, I will, again, choose to make the trek Up North to the Walgreen Center for a Basement Arts production.

Oh yeah, and I would probably choose Al Green’s ‘Love and Happiness’ for my karaoke performance.

Bennett. bstei@umich.edu. ‘No Shirt, No Radio’ Wednesday nights, Midnight-1:30am, WCBN