Top 10 Movies of the Past Decade

10. Let the Right One In

9. Moulin Rouge

8. Chicago

7. Juno

6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

5. Spirited Away

4. Children of Men

3. WALL-E

2. Pan's Labyrinth

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Top 10 Stage Productions of the Past Decade

10. Wicked

9. Next to Normal

8. Grey Gardens

7. In the Heights

6. The Lion King

5. Passing Strange

4. The Producers

3. Avenue Q

2. Jersey Boys

1. Spring Awakening

RENT BY THE KENT STATE THEATRE DEPARTMENT

SET: Since it is the first piece of the show that I saw it will be the first part I will describe. The set is without a shadow of a doubt the most fully realized piece of the show’s production. It has enough to be involved yet still not overly opulent. It isn’t like the ISPY look of the original broadway set, it looks as if someone took pieces off of buildings in the lower east side and welded them together. Beautifully rendered and sadly not really utilized to it’s full potential. It rocks with it’s designers‘ originality while simultaneously playing stunning melodic riffs of the classic original. The set gets a resounding A.

COSTUMING: Mimi looked like she jumped out of a 1980’s halloween party and Maureen is a bit too bubbly looking for her own good (we have to believe that Joanne would fall in love with her) Though you did get a clear picture of the time period in which it is set. Though not memorable (but really should it be) B

ACTING:

Mark: The weakest member of the cast without a doubt. His acting is in a word “cringeworthy” His voice cracked and was far too flamboyant for anyone to truly believe he screwed with Maureen. I actually thought “No wonder she went to Joanne, she wanted a real man.” Mark granted shouldn’t be too easy to like but honestly does he have to be that douchey. And the character should honestly be the leader of an ensemble during La Vie Boheme and not have it be a Mark song that the ensemble sometimes sings during. He could still sing and if the character was supposed to be flamboyant he would be the man for the job but since it isn’t he gets a D+.

Roger: Honestly just a chore to watch him act. It’s like a lesson on acting 101 with nothing truly organic emanating from his singing. During “Your eyes” it almost seemed like he cared more that the audience heard his singing (which admittedly is stunning) than Mimi feeling his love for her. His singing gets an A- (he sounded just like Adam Pascal) his acting gets a C

Mimi A balladeer if there ever once one. Out Tonight falls flat on so many levels it would blow your mind but her crooning during Without You more than repays her previous made debt. Her acting is definitely set for a tragic look rather than the sassy I’m going to get you girl. Act 1 gets a C+ Act 2 gets an A (she held her own and over all elevated the acting ability around her during her death)

Collins He was given a problem that his fellow actors did not have to deal with. He got a new personality. Apparently Collins in this production is a have to see the best in the world druggy, a part that in my opinion should be held by Angel. His singing is scratchy (and not in a good way) but he did an amiable performance. B

Angel. Not her fault the choreography sucked but she still did not have the overpowering energy that the character should encompass. The singing (during contact) I closed my eyes and I easily imagined the ORIGINAL. That should be commended so she gets a A-

Benny The strongest character on stage. Of all of the actors he is the one who I would say is Broadway ready. Voice and acting give this kid the part any day of the week A

Maureen Honestly not great, had great energy but never fulfilled the role of the rebel that should be the character of Maureen but not so bad in the humor area. She had the energy and a decent voice so she gets a B

Joanne The strongest actor on the stage. I have seen this show 4 times and she is the best one I have seen. Blew me away that’s all I can really say about her. A

TOTAL B-

DIRECTION:

Ah now here is a conundrum. How does one make the show their own when the show itself has become a piece of pop culture history? According to this director you make a disconnected collage of original pieces and previously awarded motions. Seasons of Love in the line can’t be topped but would it have seriously killed them to do their own work for Another Day and Santa Fe. The two parts that were the worst were Christmas Bells (far too organized you should see the shuffle and mess of the city streets and see how it compares to their lives. They should not be in nice neat groups.) The end with the projector, pictures of rehearsals and people who turn in money... really) The best part in direction, Contact, brilliant new choreography that though truly did not reach as far as it could go it was still brilliantly realized.

CHOREOGRAPHY C+ DIRECTION B-

The show on a whole B-

WALL-E

WALL-E put simply is an achievement in film history. This movie i is proof that our generation has art. Art that will last far into the future. Proof that we have a Warhol. It's just that his canvas has turned into the television and movie screen. Our art galleries are our movie theaters.

Now to look at WALL-E as art we must look at it in two fronts firstly the obvious, surface beauty:

The images display photorealistic beauty that is astonishing. I defy anyone not to say "ahhhhhh" when EVE and WALL-E spin through outer space with, of all things a fire extinguisher in hand.

Now lets go deeper what beyond the surface makes WALL-E a phenomenal piece of artwork? The first fifteen minutes: silence and music. Four words are all that are exchanged between two robots. Yet we feel more emotion for them than we probably felt for every girl and boy in every chick flick ever made. Heck you might feel more for them than you do for some of your friend's relationships. They are able to reel you in and keep you there, with four words. Then the plot kicks in. The subtle look at themes such as loss of identity through consumerism, eco-relations and post apocalyptic redemption. This level of subtlety in film makes us look at the movie industry on a whole different level a brilliance in absolutely literary level. The writing is phenomenal. The allusions to the bible with Eve playing the dove to the Axioms' Arc. "Stay the Course." is a phrase often used by the stories antagonist (doesn't take a computer brain to connect that to George Bush.) Yet they don't seem to be shoving these thoughts down your throats. These are thoughts that come to you after some much needed reflection after viewing. This level art is wonderful in a world where the stuff of "Kung Fu Panda" take box office gold. But be warned don't let the G rating confuse you into thinking that means it is entertaining for kids with short attention spans. It is first and foremost great art, maturity and a willingness to listen to the wordlessness is a necessity. Though for those who can appreciate it...prepare for one of the greatest pieces of science fiction, romance and yes art America has had to offer in the year at least.

Millenium Part One

About two thirds the way through the novel, the Earth disappears slowly around you and your world is suddenly revolving around Mikael Blomqvist, Salander and the story they are immersed in. I like many readers from around the globe have been in total absorption of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," a fantastic novel by the late and most assuredly great Stieg Larsson. The book is perhaps the most fantastic thriller since Silence of the Lambs came out in the mid 80's and is certainly the greatest literary export to leave Sweden in quite some time. Though occasionally the writing style of Stieg's true profession ,a researcher and magazine editor, floats much too close to the surface, especially in the beginning. Thereby leaving most readers, including myself, in a stupor. Yet once the prologue has been set the book forms wonderfully around itself. The true beauty of the book is brought out by his undeniably prudent and beautifully constructed characters. Most notably of these, Lisbeth Salander. Lisbeth Salander is the freak you see on the side of the street. The one whom when seen you ask sometimes silently, "What was she thinking?" This book answers this question and so much more. She is a character who we first meet with amiable curiosity. A curiosity we have for the seedy underbelly of the world we have often wondered of but never seen. She is in our mind nothing more than a side show act. Though as we look further into her past and into her future we discover a human who through fear of herself has become lost with words. Thankfully through the magic of literature not her emotions. She according to a passive observer and any casual glance at her psychological history would be deemed, for lack of a better term, crazy. To her sex is more casual than talking and she finds the ability to occupy a person's skin and thoughts unnervingly simple. Yet she thinks in ways that many can only dream to think. She also has a sometimes harsh and often intense innocence about her. To her the world is black and white. There is only punishment for the wrong, punishment she will gladly deliver.

Though many will have to soldier through the first 100 fifty pages that in all likelihood are pure, necessary, prologue. If you reach into the world long enough you will find it harder and harder to leave.

I do need to post one worry I have for the average american reader, or (sadly more likely) an american film adaptation. This worry being the terrific setting. I believe that a film adaptation will try to change the setting from a made up island in Sweden to either a place more familiar or perhaps one more exotic. Both of these options ,to be put bluntly, are complete bullshit. True the setting is one that Americans will find difficult to communicate with but in there lies some of the beauty. It is a place that is both unfamiliar and industrial. Therefore not giving us the benefit of "The Da Vinci Code"'s "OH I'VE BEEN THERE!" effect or "Slumdog Millionaire"'s phenomenal "How beautiful I never imagined how this area of the world might look." effect. Sweden setting also helps in the case of reader's empathy with the confusion of Mikael Blomqvits. For he too is finding himself in an area where the world seems unfamiliar and grotesque.

In short I pray this book reaches American audiences in the same way it reached those of Europe. The writing is beautiful and the characters are more than flesh and blood they have souls and thoughts that any reader can identify, reflect and distort their own images in. This is by far my favorite thriller that I have ever picked up and by far the hardest it's ever been to put down.

The Complete Persepolis

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is a great read no matter who you are or what your views of the political state of Iran might be. It is much more neccesary in today's modern world of backstabbing politicians that stick to their "hot button topics." These topics become boiled down to a single word to infuse a certain emotion in the American people: 9/11, Katrina, and Iraq/Iran. These topics play the sport of dehumanizing the emotions that we feel when these ideas are spoken. It takes a visionary to bring emotions and humanity back to these subjects. Paul Greengrass did this with United 93 and Marjane Satrapi accomplished this with Persepolis. Persepolis is not a graphic novel in the way the 1980s or the 1990's used the term. It is a modern graphic novel that is doing it's best to revitalize the somewhat lost and remarkably under-appreciated medium. The beauty of Persepolis goes somewhere more deeply than the text and the pictures but down to the true human emotion that Marjane spills onto the pages. Moments of rebellion, loss and pain are felt deeply in the mind of each and every reader who allows this to occur. Though what makes this graphic novel unmissable for anyone is the ingenuity of it's writer. The book follows a very simple plot arch that has been seen plenty of times before, though the graphic novel aspect of it makes this book utterly and completely necessary.

Yet for critics there are three issues or questions people have when first reading the book:

THE ART

Most first time readers of the book are somewhat perplexed by Marjanes bold and daring choice to make the art work rudimentary but it's not just the artwork the characters fit into very specific well rehearsed archetypes and the the writing is simplistic at it's best. Though one thought that much of this generation has missed out on is that simple writing does not mean bad writing and complex word or writing does not mean good or poetic *(ahem Stephenie Meyer.) The idea was to make this book more than about some girl in Iran. It was to be about all girls, and in some way all men. Anyone can see themselves, their sister's, mothers, wives and daughters as the main character. Thus the reasoning for Marjane's ingenious idea to make this book into a clear black and white childlike design spectrum.

SHE IS AN IDIOT FEMINIST

Marjane is not a feminist. Marjane is a civil rights advocate for women. She is pro-women and at the same time not being anti men. She sees the flaws of her society and she is out to fix them. Marjane is a civil right activist...not a feminist.

THE ENDING...BLOWS!

Lastly the biggest complaint people give about the book is, with the exception of Marjane's grandmother the majority of the books characters including that of her mother and father and that of Marjane herself are left noticeably ambiguous. There are two reasonable conclusions one could make about this. Firstly that she hoped that your reading would have inspired interest in you for her country and it's people prompting you to look it up for yourself. Secondly that you would feel a certain amount of... "and the tale goes on"... after the book's completion. The second I find the most invigorating to let the plot arch for all eternity, just as she hopes the story of Iran does.

All in all Persepolis is a beautifully written intimately detailed MEMOIR. In days to come I see it as a sort of "diary of Anne Frank" for modern day Iran, and hopefully one day we will come to know Iran as more than a political ploy and as a people with pride and it's own culture and heritage to be respected.