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Matilda: Big on Broadway piaybook praise or. who: bbc Hit
Juiia Ross, contributing writer
On a recent field trip to New York
City, the Interior Design faculty and
students had the opportunity to pre
view the new Broadway show Matilda.
Matilda, based on the novel by Brit
ish author Rhold Dahl, is a Broadway
performance filled with energetic and
exciting theatrics. The performance is
produced by the Royal Shakespeare
Theatre Company and is currently on
preview at the Shubert Theatre in New
York City.
While the acting itself is spectacu
lar, the overall performance is filled
with lively music, catchy song lyrics
and fantastic choreography. The set
design is mesmerizing with a collec
tion of oversized scrabble tiles, cre
ative graphics and fluorescent lights.
Matilda is a children’s story about
a girl who is forced to overcome rude,
destructive parents and a horrible
headmistress in order to live up to
her true potential. Many of the main
characters are played by children, who
fill the stage with incredible voices and
amazing talents. The role of the title
character Matilda is played by four
different girls who take turns mesmer
izing the audience with their singing
and acting abilities. Each of the four
actresses does an incredible job creat
ing a mature, creative and distinctive
title character.
The most surprising part of Matilda
is the despicable Miss. Trunchbull
is performed by a man. WTiile this is
one of the few differences between the
original novel and the stage perfor
mance, the actor does an outstanding
job creating such a wickedly despicable
Cover art via blogspot.com
villain. Wliile the original stage perfor
mance of Matilda was a huge success
on the London stage, the Broadway
performance seems to be on its way to
being a hit.
Cameron Lambert, contributing writer
“Silver Linings Piaybook,” released
on December 25, 2012, was not ex
pected to be a huge hit in the box of
fice, but according to Box Office Mojo,
“Silver Lininds Piaybook” grossed ap
proximately $128,112,000 as of March
29, 2013—just in the United States.
The film tells the story of Pat,
played by Bradley Cooper, and Tif
fany, played by Jennifer Lawrence. Pat
has just been released from a mental
institution when he beats his wife’s
lover. From this incident, however, it
is realized that he has bipolar disorder.
Tiffany, a hot-headed young woman
who doesn’t care about anyone or
anything, is dealing with the recent
tragic loss of her husband. As both
Pat and Tiffany have moved back in
with their parents to readjust to life,
they find each other in the midst of
their unfortunate circumstances. Wfiiat
begins as a friendship based on com
pletely different motives, turns out to
be a funny, passionate, and sometimes
tense romantic relationship. Pat and
Titfany, who both have so much anger
inside of themselves, are able to find
true happiness in each other. As seen
in “The Hunger Games,” Jenifer Law
rence’s ability to envelope herself into
her character is also evident in “Silver
Linings Piaybook.” She is volatile, pas
sionate, and a little bit intimidating.
Lawrence’s acting makes it impossible
for the audience to remain indifferent
from her every emotion. “Silver Lin
ings Piaybook” is set to release on DVD
on April 30, 2013. With its big name
actors and unpredictable love story— it
is a must see!
Terrence Malick, Back in Motion?
Directing only six feature films in
the last four decades, Terrence Malick
has separated himself from many film
makers of his time who seem to em
brace a ‘you win some, you lose some’
mentality when it comes to quality
verses quantity.
Impressively educated at Harvard
and Magdalen College at Oxford,
Malick’s pursuits have not always
been film. He worked as a journalist
for publications including Newsweek
and The New Yorker, and later taught
philosophy at M.I.T. It wasn’t until he
enrolled in one of his colleague’s film
classes that his interest in the subject
was ignited.
In 1969, he enrolled in the first
graduating class of the American Film
Institute’s Center for Advanced Stud
ies. Malick received his first feature
screen writing credit on Stuart Rosen
berg’s Pocket Money and in the same
year went on to direct his first film
Badlands which was released in 1973.
Although the film was low-budget
(Malick rejected all studio offers) it
was widely praised as a masterpiece,
especially as a directoral debut. Regard
less of the highly positive reception
of his first movie, Malick would not
emerge with a new film for another five
years.
Days of Heaven marked
his resurrection in 1978,
and with it, an applaud
ing critical response. After j
winning a Cannes Best
Director award for the
film Malick relocated to
Paris and retreated into
silence once again - this
time for longer. Nearly
two decades passed before
he announced his return
to directing, introduc
ing an adaption of the
James Jones novel The
Thin Red Line. While the
film (released in 1998)
may not have been a Terrence Malick via
masterpiece worthy
of twenty years anticipation, it none
theless earned Malick Best Adapted
Helen Kenney, staff writer
Screenplay and Best Director Academy
Award nominations and was a com
mendable addition to his filmography.
The New World came seven years later,
which told the story of Pocahontas in its
own way, employing the stunning im
agery notable in Malick’s
revious work,
n 2011 Malick ended his
>ix year hiatus wdth The
'ree of Life. The film -
hich was largely a love
etter to his philosophical
■oots - was a narration
)f life, religion and love
:hrough cinematic poetry.
ith the regular throngs
if critical anticipation. The
’ree of Life lived up to its
sxpectations, winning the
:oveted Palme d’Or at the
lannes along with Oscar
lominations including
www.lmdb.com Best Picture, Best
Director and Best
Cinematography.
After a long career of deliberate
Kaylee Dyson, contributing writer
Do you have friends who are ob
sessed with British television shows?
You might understand that weeping
angel statues or blue police boxes carry
special significance to them. Perhaps
the words TARDIS, dalek and sonic
screwdriver all sound vaguely familiar
to you, but you can’t quite place them.
All of these things have to do with a
television show Doctor Who.
Doctor Who is a British television
show that has recently been gaining
popularity in the United States. The
show is not new by any means, though.
The BBC began airing the show in
1963 and has been very popular with
children and adults alike. The longevi
ty of the show can partially be attribut
ed to the nature of the main character.
The Doctor is a time-traveling alien
(though he looks like a human) who
“regenerates” every so often, gaining a
new body (and therefore, a new actor
to portray him).
Though he is a time lord from the
planet Gallifrey, the Doctor has an
affinity for humans and often brings
them along as companions. Together
they travel all across the universe and
time to save the world. The show is
whimsical, exciting, clever and a bit
scary at times. Ask a friend about the
show or tune in to ^ee for yourself. It’s
never too late to start a quality televi
sion show such as this one. In fact,
now would be a lovely time to start,
considering the 50th anniversary spe
cial occurs later this year.
Season 7 of Doctor Who airs on BBC
America Saturday nights at 8pm EST.
undertakings, it could be that Malick is
becoming restless. Having just re
leased his latest film. To the Wonder,
at an uncharacteristically hastened
pace (only two years stand between his
most recent works) Malick is back on
the radar with less critical empower
ment. Although some might argue a
bad Terrence Malick movie is still a
good Anyone Else movie - it should be
noted that To The Wonder will not be
the triumph that Days of Heaven was
only three films its senior.
In a 40-year career that has boasted
six handsome films, Terrence Malick
has solidified himself as a significant
contributor to contemporary filmmak
ing and has distinguished himself from
the Hollywood style of production.
Regardless of his future endeavors,
Malick will remain an icon of patience
- or maybe indecisiveness - among a
film industry full of impulsive career
moves and compromised creative
processes.