PREVIEW: THE DEADLY GENTLEMEN

Nicholas Anastasia

Boasting two child prodigies (one of the mandolin and one of the fiddle), a banjoist who toured with Bruce Springsteen (after graduating with a doctorate from MIT in Molecular Biology), a guitarist purported to have the “best vibe ever,” and a brand new bassist, The Deadly Gentleman are busting into the Ark tonight!

When: 8:00pm (doors open at 7:30pm)
Where: The Ark – 316 S. Main Street, Ann Arbor
What: Bluegrass Jams!
How Much: $13-20 per person (only at-the-door availability, starting at 7:30pm)

“Roll Me, Tumble Me” – Full Album!

Review: 12 Years A Slave

LitaPitasMusings

Review For 12 Years A Slave

I had been looking forward to seeing this movie since early September when I went to see The Butler. It looked like a movie which had great depth and artistry- or see the trailer seemed. So I knew that I had to see it!! I had to. I finally made this a reality in January and I can say after seeing it, that this much truly lives up the high quality it exudes in it’s suomptuous trailer.

I will add that this film, isn’t the first time I have been introduced to this story. In fact I first heard of this story 9 years ago ( I am a 5th year senior) during my freshman year of high school. We even saw this other movie which portrayed the story. However, I don’t think that particular film did all that great- nobody I know has really seen it. Heck, I didn’t think it was all that great! What I did learn this time after seeing this film was that the film is an autobiographical one. I had no idea ( and it seems neither did my high school teacher) before that Solomon Northup was a real man!

But this real man lead a life which seemed solid by most standards. He was happily marrried, with three children of his own. He seemed to have a solid income as a commercial Fiddler perfoming at glittering galas and also as a carpenter. In my opinion, the middle class stability that Northup is of, is reflected in the set design of his children’s bedroom. In fact, during the scene where he puts his children to bed you can see that the room was sooo nicely painted, had good furniture, and was decorated in a very homely and warm way. The symmetry of that room seemed very solid, and seemed to ooze stability. Honestly, it reminded me of so many children’s room in middle class homes represented in television, as well as actual middle class life.

One weekend when his family was gone on a trip, he is approached by two men to play his fiddle with a travelling circus. When they invite him to dinner, they drug Solomon. You can tell that something is wrong, because Solomon can barely walk up the stairs, and seems way more feeble than someone who is just drunk.

The next scene is horrible for any human being with an ounce of humanity to observe. I should add that It is hard for me to imagine any human being living having being enslaved. And I cannot even allow myself to imagine myself in that position.

Solomon is chained to a wall. Stripped of all clothing. Kept in a deep, dark, menacing room. The lighting in this scene was brilliant. It almost appears that he is a cave. Or moreover, that he is in this amorphous dark space. As if you cannot ascertain space and time very well. You can tell he is there, but it seems at times that he is this dark hole which has no beginning or end. The terrible appearance of this setting conveys horridness of slavery that Solomon has now sadly entered.

He is soon punched by this man who hands him his clothes. He is sent on this ship down the Mississippi. He meets two other people who have been kidnapped. Soon after one of them dies. The other one is recognized when they arrive in the dock. At the Dock he learns that his name is Platt. Or rather his slave name. The man who forces this name on to him punches him to make sure that he retains his new name. He is sent to leave with his new master- a somewhat gentle slave master called Master Ford. After helping Master Ford with a carpentry project- Ford presents him with a violin. The problem is that overseer is racist and verbally abusive to Northtup. One day the Overseer gathers some men and tries to lynch Northrup. So for Solomon’s safety Ford sells him to Master Epps.

Master Epps is a violent man who cites the bible for proving that he is right in keeping and treating the slaves harshly. He whips slaves who don’t pick at least 200 pieces of cotton. One slave in particular- Patsey- he favors because she picks 500 pieces everyday. But Epps starts to rape her on a consistent basis. During this time it is interesting to see Solomon. He went from this man who was sooo fiery and who was desperately trying to get out of the institution of slavery. But most of the movie, he became resigned to his fate. He did as he was told, even when it usually meant being abused and being asked to work when he didn’t want to. Chwetel Ejiofor body language showed someone who seemed very normal… and his eyes didn’t have the sparkle as they did earlier in the movie. He did a good job portraying a man resigned to his fate.

Later on in the film, he meets a man named Bass ( who is played by Brad Pitt) who puts his life at risk, and agrees to send some letters to Bass employers and family. Some time after, lawyers are send to the Epps plantation and Solomon gets out of there. Seeing him united with his family was so, so, so bittersweet. On the one hand he is finally reunited with them. But the sad thing is that his children are grown and he has missed those precious, precious years with them.

The story is one of the most compelling aspects of this film. But some of the other aspects are acting. Michael Fassbender was amazing as the Evil Master Epps. He is volatile, and is always yelling/abusive. He was very consistent throughout the movie in portraying these emotions. Brad Pitt, portrayed the open minded Bass with a sense of rebel or iconoclast really well;Taran Kilam also portrays one of the kidnappers with a type of jovial ( and as we all later learn evil) charming air. Solomon carries the whole film.. and he does well with all of it. He portrays the calmness of a middle class free family man with the look in his eyes and body language so well. Later he portrays the calmness of an enslaved man equally well. He also delivers his lines with great emotion. Lupita Nyong’o also gives a hell of a performance when she explains why she wants him to kill her. It’s a sad situation but she acts so well in this scene.

In sum, if you are interested in seeing an amazing story unfold played by brilliant actors, then this is the movie for you.

Lita’s Rating: 5 star film– hands down

REVIEW: Bullet Catch

Phillip Wachowiak

Rob Drummond’s show turned out to be less of a straightforward magic show, and more of a synthesis of magic show, deadpan comedy routine, and one-man stage play. The performance contained a nice mix of stunts that were outright theatrical, and stunts that played with the mind. All the while, listening to Drummond’s Scottish accent was much more soothing to the ears compared to a previous week of listening to various professors lecture.

Right at the beginning, Drummond picks a volunteer from the audience, and so for the next hour and fifteen minutes, the stage is shared by two people. As he explains, his volunteers are never picked on and paraded in front of the audience to be laughed at—these volunteers are there to build a relationship. Our volunteer, Alexis, aided Drummond with each of his tricks, read snippets of writing, and warmed the room with her laughter. Each trick told us new information about her, so that by the time she had to shoot at Drummond, we had a relationship with her that was almost as close as our relationship with Drummond.

Seeing the tricks themselves was like being a child again. Drummond took a hammer to a beer bottle and smashed it in half; then he took the top half and made it disappear inside one of four paper bags. After moving them to his chest of tricks and mixing them up, he smashed them, one by one, with his hand at Alexis’ (the volunteer) request. Somehow she narrowed it down so that the final bag was the one with the bottle. Mind blown.

In another trick, Drummond gave Alexis a choice of seven cards: each with a different desire such as travel, career, money, or sex. Through a series of questions and answers, he asked her to think of a memory and a person involved, and made his guesses by writing on sheets of paper. Drummond guessed the day she was thinking of (almost exactly), the name of the boy she danced with, and the card she picked (sex). Again, mind blown.

At one point during the show, Drummond performed a trick with his assistant, and at its conclusion he asked the audience if we wanted to see how it was performed. Those that wanted it to remain a mystery were asked to close their eyes, while the curious ones kept their eyes open. I won’t spoil anything, but I do wish I had kept my eyes shut to preserve the magic. Unfortunately (or not), Drummond never reveals how he does the bullet catch, and that alone preserves the magical aura of the performance.

Throughout the performance, Drummond presented a story of another magician who was shot and killed accidentally by a performer. I checked online and I don’t believe the magician actually existed, so as far as I can tell the entire thing is Drummond’s (inspired) work. The shocked volunteer questions himself and what could have gone wrong, and only at the end does he realize that the magician WANTED to die. Before the finale, Drummond ties this all together by stating that in a world of nihilism and existential questioning, we have to have something in our lives to make it all worth it. He answers this question by asserting that the answer is the people around us.

Not necessarily a magic show, Rob Drummond’s Bullet Catch was a fantastic show and one of the best I have attended in and around Ann Arbor. Few people have the opportunity to see a bullet shatter a plate, and then watch as the same bullet is caught by a human being.

Rob Drummond's Bullet Catch
Rob Drummond’s Bullet Catch

PREVIEW: Bullet Catch

Phillip Wachowiak

Watch this video First
Bullet Catch Trailer

That stunt is HERE in Ann Arbor.

Who: Rob Drummond catching a freaking bullet!
Where: The Arthur Miller Theatre (Up on North Campus)
When: January 7th – January 12

As the video says, this stunt is so dangerous even Houdini refused to do it. I don’t know about you, but it sounds worthwhile to see Rob Drummond perform something Houdini never did.

The best part of all, however, is that the show isn’t just a bullet catch! There is an entire magic show featuring levitation, games of chance, and of course the bullet catch.

Rob Drummond

REVIEW–Wolf of Wall Street

keshav

Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street is one of those movies that reminds me why I love watching movies so much. From Leonardo DiCaprio’s tremendous acting to the engaging and contentious script and of course a slew of technical marvel conducted by directorial legend Martin Scorsese, this is one of the most technically proficient films I have seen in a while. Wolf of Wall Street distinguishes itself from other technically proficient films, however, in its controversial and topically conscious subject matter. Inspired by the life of wall street trader and ex-convict (for insider trading) Jordan Belfort, the film depicts the glamorous and callous life of an investment banker, drawing strong thematic parallels between life in finance and life in the mafia.

 

Scorsese establishes this parallel in part by returning to filmmaking techniques he used in his classic ‘90’s gangster film Goodfellas. Wolf makes use of long tracking shots following DiCaprio through his personal carnival of grandeur, reminiscent of iconic shots of Ray Liotta walking through a five star restaurant in Goodfellas as if he owns the place. DiCaprio’s portrayal of Bancroft also defies common conceptions of investment bankers—rather than a reserved math wizard making calculated decisions, he is a swaggering and impetuous party animal with drug habits that make Scarface look like a teetotaler. DiCaprio’s performance is crucial to Scorsese’s message. His acting style creates a new archetype for the investment banker in Hollywood, a character type informed by the reckless behavior of investment firm executives precipitating the housing bubble of 2009.

 

DiCaprio’s performance owes a lot to Terrance Winter’s beautifully written script, a cynical critique of the moral hazards intrinsic to a deregulated capitalist economy. Winter’s script focuses on the idea that wealth allows an individual to live above the law. Bancroft’s character engages in selfish reckless behavior that warrants arrest throughout the film. He evades legal repercussions several times due to his wealth and status. Even at the end of the film, when Bancroft finally receives jail time, he spends his days in a prison nicer than most 5 star hotels, and returns home to plenty of wealth a few years later. Bancroft’s personal story serves as a metaphor for the housing bubble. Investment firms intentionally supported the housing bubble knowing they would be bailed out by taxpayer money. The firms were such an integral part of the economy that we had no choice to bail them out. Similarly, Bancroft lives the rockstar lifestyle, indulging in wanton drug binges and avoiding legal persecution because he can easily post bail and leverage his status to evade arrest.

 

I expect Wolf of Wall Street to be a major contender for awards during the academy awards. The film is excellent on all fronts—grandiose set design, fast-paced and intense editing, a cynical and topical script, perhaps DiCaprio’s best acting performance yet, and all of these elements held together by Scorsese’s directorial signature to form a coherent jaded post-recession retrospective on the self destructive, over-indulgent lifestyle of the elite which precipitated economic calamity on the US.

Preview for 12 Years A Slave

LitaPitasMusings

If anybody is curious to know how life would be like as the living dead.. well then this is the movie for you. This film gives you a window of how it would be like as a person who does not have any room to do anything they want, say what they want, talk when they want, not to be able to eat what they want, not have choices of what to do with their own body, and so much more.
If you are interested in vicariously living something.. then this is it for you. But, I also remember a teacher once told me that history shouldn’t be just remembered but experienced/visualized, and perceived by as many of the senses as possible. This film lives up to that.
I cannot think of a better way to experience the tragedy of being kidnapped and enslaved and to honor the souls who experienced such atrocities than to see this movie. I guarantee that you will feel not just more empathy after seeing it, but also have immense gratitude for your own life’s blessings.