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(Spoiler Alert)-In the Peanuts movie, the entire Peanuts Gang is back to showcase how the poor-fated Charlie Brown is as we have always known him- adorably tentative and missing the mark: The omnipresent Schimel and shemozzle. Thus making him the butt of pokes and insults from the always meanie Lucy, at times his sister Sally, or the whole class when they yell in disbelief -unison, “Charlie Brown!” He is at times buoyed by his sometimes mischievous dog Snoopy, who at times is more human-like than canine, and is thus more able than his master! Charlie Brown’s mishaps and shortcomings in this movie focus on elusive object of his affection throughout the comics: The red-headed girl!
In this movie she happens to move across the street from Charlie Brown. He attempts to ring the doorbell, with Snoopy’s support, but cops out. As the movie rolls on, he goes to the dance, hoping to successfully show off his dance moves. So he practices endlessly (with Snoopy teaching him the ropes of course) to perfect his strut! Finally, the night of the dance comes and Charlie Brown dances like a champ! But he accidentally slips and sets off the sprinkler system! Later, it is revealed that he was the top scorer on the standardized test! And he gains a lot of acclaim among his classmates, who for once are eager to be around him! But at the classroom assembly praising him as the highest-scoring student on the standardized tets, Charlie Brown realizes that the copy of the test that scored a 100- is not his, and admits to this. This is not the last good honest action taken by Charlie Brown- and coincidently not the last deed to go unnoticed by the Red-headed girl. Who, at the end… well just say, likes all of these of things in Mr. Brown?

I thought that all of the stories in the movie were connected and cohesive. I feel like Peanuts lovers will come and whack me for saying this, but as much as I love the Peanuts specials and TV episodes growing up- at times I thought that some of the storylines were a bit random. Sometimes it seemed like that Peppermint Patty and Marcie would do their own thing, and Lucy would do her thing with Schroeder. But, I don’t know if in the TV series- they ended each show with say 3 subplots and one main plot. Which is something the specials did manage to do well over the years, and this one does really well!

One other thing I think that this movie seems to do better is the parallel fantasy in the story about Snoopy and him being the Flying Ace and saving Fifi. I liked when how Lucy or the other characters would describe chapter 3 or chapter 4 about the next section of Snoopy’s adventure. This may seem like a small gesture- but thanks to this- I am realizing (and I am sure that people will think I am super dumb for admitting this) that Snoopy’s Flying Ace was his alter ego. All these years I thought that this wasn’t fantasy- but that he actually did that! In the TV series especially, he would do every day things with Charlie Brown and then go on to be the Flying Ace—so I never realized that it was a fantasy.
I also felt that in this movie, Snoopy had a much more supportive relationship with Charlie Brown. Don’t get me wrong, he is still sneaky with Charlie Brown- like when he accompanies Charlie Brown to the dance, and eats all of the cupcakes while carrying them! But, earlier in the movie he accompanies Charlie Brown to the Little Red-Headed girl’s door to give Charlie Brown some chutzpah, when Charlie Brown is filled with the utmost eagerness to learn how to dance Snoopy shows him all the dance steps, and perhaps my most favorite of all- when the Charlie Brown’s paper is torn into shreds by that stupid toy plane red baron and he is rightfully devastated – Snoopy lovingly and tenderly touches Charlie Brown’s shoulder. That scene just gets me. And truthfully, I don’t know if I saw Snoopy serving as Charlie Brown’s rock and guiding light in the TV series, comics, or even the TV movie specials.
Overall the movie stayed true to its roots in the way the characters looked, their characteristics and their one liners. Schroeder is the musical one, and he reigns in the Peanuts movie by playing the classic 20th Century Fox soundtrack. Peppermint Patty says her iconic line, “You touched my hand Chuck, you sly dog,” when she accidentally brushes hands with Charlie Brown. Because the main things stayed the same I felt that Charles Schulz lived on. At first I was nervous when I heard that Charles Schulz’s son and grandson were at the helms of this project. I knew that they would do their best to preserve their iconic relative’s legacy- but would they be able to preserve the Peanuts that we have come to love and know? My answer to do this is a resounding, “Yes!”

But in a few ways the film does remind us that we are in the 21st century. In the scene when Charlie Brown realizes that the little Red-head girl is moving, he happens to be taking out his recycling. Recycling? Yup! I don’t remember this in the specials from the 60’s! The kids also have to take standardized tests and are annoyed by them! This is something that 21st century children have to deal with—so another reminder that we aren’t in the 60s anymore! But the biggest way that this movie shows us that we are indeed in the 21st century is: CGI! This movie was able to successfully carry itself in the CGI format; me personally, I like 2-d animation any day over CGI, so I personally would have preferred the 2-d classic animation style. But, Peanuts joined the 21st century thanks to CGI- and since I care about the longevity of Peanuts for future generations- I am glad that followed this route.

Grade: 5 out of 5 stars

Oh one more than thing. I saw this movie in both 3-d and regular CGI. Yeah, I am a Peanuts nerd spending $20 on tickets for the same movie. This movie does do a good job on the 3-d version as well. In my opinion (and I am not a 3-d fanatic), I think you don’t need to see the 3-d version. Both versions aesthetically do a good job and both honor the story line well. The one way 3-d does have an edge over regular CGI is when the Snoopy Flying Ace plane scenes happen. Those scenes in 3-d are epic. I am just sayin’.

Do you have a fond remembrance of flipping through Sunday’s comics, and seeing the Peanuts comics? Do you remember trying to duplicate Snoopy’s iconic face during doodles? Well, I do. And that is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to my lifelong obsession with Snoopy. Whether it was dragging around my stuffed Belle (Snoopy’s sister) everywhere as a 3 year-old, to spending 25 Euros on a Snoopy in a store window in Rome while studying abroad, I have always been obsessed with this dog. Needless, to say in 2013 when I heard that the Peanuts movie was going to come out in 2015- I was counting down the days. If you are like me, a member of Snoopy Addicts Anonymous or even just remotely curious as to how they got Peanuts- a 50 year classic into CGI, then please check out the Peanuts movie ( I gotta be honest, I was a little nervous about this new look). After seeing it twice on the big screen (once in 3-d), I have to tell you that you will not be disappointed.

I rarely think of the words “circus” and “fashion” as being related, but I was proved wrong on Saturday night by EnspiRED’s 10th annual fashion show.

The show was broken into eight sections, each with a different theme, from Clown to Doll to Street to Burlesque, etc. The “Clown” set was comprised of pretty normal fashion but with fun details like clown noses on some of the male models and a particularly memorable skirt lined with balloons on the underside. This was probably the section with the strongest follow-through on theme, although the “Dolls” segment’s dewy pink lipstick and creepy body language was cool as well.

But atmosphere aside, the obvious core of the show was the fashion itself, and I was not disappointed. The menswear was mainly comprised of black and dark colors, and was very structured and made up of lots of layers. There were a lot of very strong coats and hoodies; one dark, white speckled hoodie came with a black cowl pulled up just under the eyes of the model. Another strong moment for the menswear was a black sweater absolutely decked out in jewels.

The women’s fashion shone as well. A few standout looks included a leather miniskirt paired with a cream blouse and black necktie, a soft grey sweater dress extending all the way to the ground, a two-tone feathery coat, and a glittery vest over a sleek leather jumpsuit. And every eye in the room was fixed when a girl stepped out in a knee length plaid skirt and a tough-as-nails leather bustier. The combinations and architecture of the style at this show could only be described as fierce. Some of the robes and dresses the girls in the “Burlesque” portion stepped out in made my jaw drop, from a full-length sheer black robe printed with white flowers to a long beaded black gown. And when a girl in the “Street” set stepped out in nothing but thigh boots and a crewneck proclaiming “Greatness” all I could do was agree.

EnspiRED integrated a few other arts into the show as well to help introduce each new segment. Before the “Clowns” show, two students stepped out and began juggling, staying out at the sides of the runway for the remainder of that section. The “Dolls” show was introduced by a girl dancing down the runway in a way that was both unsettling and mesmerizing. And the “Street” show started with a performance by Michigan’s percussion performance group, Groove. I’m a huge fan of groove, so this was really exciting for me, and the performance was excellent. It definitely helped to bring up the energy of the room.

The designers included in the show were Pitaya, Kemi, Verbana, Today’s Clothing, Caleb Moss, Spectacles, RAGSTOCK, Anjeil, Victoria Secret, Grant Henerson, and V2V. While a few looks looked like something you could just find on the rack in any store, the bulk of the fashion displayed were very thoughtfully constructed and paired, and the thematic looks for each show were very clever, such as the softer babydoll dresses in the “Dolls” show and the crop tops and jackets in the “Street” show.

Overall, Rouge was a fun and interesting way to spend a Saturday night. it was very meticulously put together, the fashion clearly carefully chosen, as well as the performances and atmosphere. The show did suffer a little purely from technical difficulties and a crowd that appeared to be much bigger than the space allowed for, but the models and the clothes rang true. I’d definitely recommend attending future shows. 

What: Vance Joy in concert

Where: Windsor, Ontario

When: Monday, January 25 at 7:00

How Much: Tickets are sold for $30 and up.

Why you should go? Vance Joy is an up and coming Australian singer-songwriter with a unique sound and beautiful lyrics. With already a few hit songs out, you should not miss this opportunity to see him live before concerts get incredibly expensive!

It’s funny how when you have not heard jazz music performed live in a long time, you forget how magical the experience can be. I for one have not been to a jazz concert in over a year. However, this concert rekindled my love and need for jazz in my life, and now I suddenly feel a passion for going to as many jazz performances as possible.

Going to a jazz concert is completely different from going to a classical performance. For one, jazz seems to bring in a very diverse crowd. The music is more accessible and there is less of a stigma around it being for an upper-class audience. Each piece at this concert was introduced by the director while he sat in his chair. The director would even tell a joke and tell us it was okay to laugh. The orchestra really had a way of making you feel like you were at an intimate concert where you can connect with the musicians. Additionally, you will never hear people hootin’ and howlin’ while listening to the New York Philharmonic. Wednesday night I had the pleasure of hearing people around me revel in the music being performed on stage. It reminded me of how important it is to connect with the music, and feel it flow through you. It can truly be a religious experience if you open yourself up to the power of music.

Of course, the evening was uniquely special given that the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra consists of some of the best musicians I have ever heard. Every solo that was played on that stage had a precision to it that is hard to find. The trombonist in particular, Vincent Gardner, also the music director for the evening, was astounding. He handled his solos with complete ease and accuracy. Of course, Wynton Marsalis was spectacular, and the entire woodwind section was marvelous. Each of the saxophonists could also play one more, if not two or three more, instruments with just as much facility as their primary instrument.

On top of all these reasons for the concert to be spectacular, the music they played was particularly accessible. They played pop music from the last century, including songs such as Eleanor Rigby and Blame it on the Boogie. Every arrangement, done by a member of the orchestra, was original and intriguing and kept you listening. In their finale, Gardner even arranged so that the orchestra got up out of their chairs and walked off stage while still playing their instruments.

It was an incredible concert with such life and verve. I definitely plan on going again next year, and I hope you can join me!

Join me at the 4th floor of the Downtown Library this Sunday at 2-4pm for an afternoon of coloring and music designed to set a zen mood.

The library will provide all of the supplies needed for coloring and the event is free. It will be the perfect way to take a break from studying!

If you are unable to come, here are some great pages to color on your own!