Inside Beat 2011-10-06

OCTOBER 6, 2011 • VOL. 29, NO. 15

INSIDEBEAT THE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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Page 2 • Inside Beat

October 6, 2011

EDITOR’S RANT

l l e h S e u l B Ode to the

BY HEATHER TEDESCO THEATER EDITOR

When I think about classic video games, I can’t help but think about Mario Kart and any of its incarnations. It’s a quintessential video game and it is fun for EVERYONE. If at this point you have not played some form of Mario Kart please stop reading this article and find the nearest television screen and play it immediately — it will change your life. For the

other 98 percent of you who are still reading, this rant is for you.

I believe it’s safe to say that one of the coolest parts of racing in Mario Kart is that you can do ridiculous things to the other drivers. You can put banana peels on the track for them to slide on. You can speed past them by eating some strange mushroom. You can strike the other drivers with a lightning bolt that magically shrinks them. You can even use star power to become invincible and dodge the

power-ups of other drivers. These things are insanely important to Mario Kart aficionados and yet there is one power-up that I think we can all agree is just simply uncool — the dreaded blue shell.

For that 2 percent of you who still haven’t played Mario Kart, the blue shell is this horrible power-up that allows the driver to magically attack the driver in first place, no matter where they are on the course. It creates an explosion that attacks the racer in first place, as

EDITORIAL BOARD Z OË S ZATHMARY .................................................... EDITOR RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT

EDITOR EDITOR

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR KEITH FREEMAN.........................................................................PHOTO EDITOR ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR DIANA CHOLANKERIL...............................................................ONLINE EDITOR RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Samantha Bonizzi Joseph Brown Josh Kelly Saskia Kusuecov Lisa-Anna Migliore Gianna Moscatello Jason Pearl Josh Singleton Cover Photo Courtesy of Final Fantasy Wiki

well as the nearby racers. One of the big flaws of this is that it rewards the mediocre players. Anyone can attack the person in first place, but that is so lame! You should earn the right to attack that player by coming up behind them.

It’s only fair. This rant is for every time that you have been playing Mario Kart, been in first place and been blasted to oblivion by the dreaded blue shell.

My second grievance is that this blue shell does not just attack

the racer in first place, but all of the surrounding racers. That means — you guessed it — that if you do earn the right to attack the first-place racer by coming up behind them and using the blue shell, you are most likely going to be blasted right alongside of them.

It’s unfortunate, but it’s true.

So here’s to you, blue shell, you’ve foiled our racing plans once again. But we’ll get you back — we’ll win that race with or without you!

INSIDEBEAT Rutgers Student Center 126 College Avenue, Suite 431 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone (732) 932-2013 Fax (732) 246-7299 Email beat@dailytargum.com Web www.inside-beat.com Advertising in Inside Beat, Call (732) 932-7051 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Inside Beat • Page 3

October 6, 2011

BOOKS, THEATER & FASHION

Hurts So Good: BDSM in Fashion

BY ZOE SZATHMARY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Think about it: with the dim lighting, relentless music, macabre stage effects and tons of black clothing, fashion shows have a certain something in common with fetish clubs.

It’s no surprise, then, that designers are presenting straightup sadomasochistic fashions this fall. At Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs’s stern models wore captain’s hats similar to the one worn by Charlotte Rampling in The Night Porter – a highly controversial 70s film about the twisted psychosexual relationship between a former SS guard and his prisoner in postwar Vienna. Gareth Pugh, known for his perennially eerie collections, offered geometric dresses and heaps of PVC. What really stood out, though, were Sarah Burton’s ensembles for Alexander McQueen; spikes, cutouts, corsets and chains were everywhere. Models looked ready to crack the whip at any moment!

Of course, these clothes are clearly meant to shock and titillate. While the pieces are arguably interesting as works of art, there remains the issue of their day-to-day wearability.

The fact that women are also repeatedly put into garments that constrict and prevent physical mobility is also eyebrowraising. While globetrotting fashionistas may be ready to play master and servant, are you?

PHOTOS COURTSEY OF STYLE.COM

Erin Morgenstern | B+

BY LISA-ANNA MIGLIORE STAFF WRITER

Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus is a magical tale about a mysterious circus that appears in a town without warning and only opens at night. During the day spectators crowd around the black-and-white striped tent in hopes of catching some life, but are only greeted with activity when the sun goes down. Le Cirque des Rêves is a world within a world with rules that defy the laws of reality. Morgenstern’s story follows two magicians of the circus who decide to wager their talents by setting their young novices against one another.

These young magicians, Celia and Marco, have never met, but have

been rigorously trained since childhood by their masters to outdo the other. Their destinies appear set in stone, but with maturity they slowly discover that they have power over their lives. Instead of using their magical dexterity for destruction, the two fall into a deep love that unleashes spellbinding potentials that only occur when the two are one. However, this love does not halt their masters’ desires for the duel to commence. Their masters will do anything in their power to make it happen, but not even magic can penetrate free will.

Erin Morgenstern’s debut provides a wondrous romance that adults can enjoy. This is an ideal novel for the abstract reader. The sights, smells, tastes, textures and

even grimaces of this magical world tantalize the reader. Those looking for a more concrete read should look elsewhere. The writing tugs more at the heart than the mind.

The Night Circus also happens to be a wonderful mixture of poetic imagery and simple prose.

The aesthetic language, accompanied by straightforward text, allows the reader to enjoy a fantastic release without having to work for it. Morgenstern’s novel has a dark and juvenile feel, much like that of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, and a certain something resembling Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish. Like audience members sitting in the darkened bleachers of a live circus, readers will be enchanted by the mesmerizing twists and turns of The Night Circus.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

BY HEATHER TEDESCO THEATER EDITOR

Looking for something great to see this fall? Want to audition for a show? Check out this hot list of upcoming show dates and auditions that’s sure to sizzle through the fall!

Cabaret Theatre Rutgers Night Live III Oct. 7, 8 at 11 p.m.

Oct. 8 at 8 p.m.

7 Suydam St., New Brunswick, N.J. cabarettheatre.org Twelve Angry Men Oct. 21, 22, 28, 29 at 8 p.m.

Oct. 23, 30 at 3 p.m.

7 Suydam St., New Brunswick, N.J. cabarettheatre.org Crossroads Theatre

Oct. 6 — Oct. 23 7 Livingston Ave. New Brunswick, N.J. crossroadstheatrecompany.org College Avenue Players Comic Relief 2011 Oct. 7, 8, 14, 15 at 8 p.m.

Scott Hall 135, College Avenue campus collegeaveplayers.com

Livingston Hall in the Livingston Student Center rultc.org Rutgers Theatre Company Machinal Sept. 30 — Oct. 8 Performances are Wednesdays through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Levin Theatre masongross.r utgers.edu/theater/calendar

George Street Theatre It Shoulda Been You Oct. 4 — Nov. 6 9 Livingston Ave. New Brunswick, N.J. georgestreetplayhouse.org Livingston Theatre Company Rocky Horror Show Nov. 3, 4, 5 at 8 p.m.

Nov. 4 at 11:59 p.m.

Hunting and Gathering Oct. 19 — 22 at 8 p.m.

Oct. 22, 23 at 2 p.m.

Jameson Theatre masongross.r utgers.edu/theater/calendar Know of a great audition opportunity or show that our readers shouldn’t miss? Email insidebeat@gmail.com to promote your favorite shows, companies and performers!

Page 4 • Inside Beat

October 6, 2011

TV

T E R R A N O VA FOX, Mondays at 8 p.m. | C+

COURTESY OF FOX.COM

BY JASON PEARL STAFF WRITER

Heralded as the grandest and most expensive show of the new fall season, Terra Nova delivers some decent sci-fi intrigue, but nothing extraordinary. Unfortunately, most of its sizable budget seems to have been spent on special effects and a Spielberg production credit instead of on competent actors.

Terra Nova’s stor y begins in the year 2149, a bleak future in which the Earth’s resources are virtually depleted and the air isn’t clean enough to breathe unfiltered. When police officer Jim Shannon (Jason O’Mara, Life on Mars) is arrested by Population Control for hiding a third child, he is unceremoniously locked away in a maximum-security prison. Two years later, his wife Elizabeth (Shelley Conn, Mistresses,) visits to tell him she and their two legitimate children have been chosen to be part of

the next pilgrimage to Terra Nova, a settlement created in an alternate past to escape the desolate future. Luckily for Jim, she manages to sneak him a laser to use in a jail break. Jim escapes, gets his third child and leaps through a series of plot holes to reunite with his family 85 million years in the past.

The visual ef fects in Terra Nova are easily the show’s main draw, and they’re great for primetime TV. While some of the Cretaceous creatures look outdated even compared to 1993’s Jurassic Park, the futuristic technology and weaponr y rival that of modern blockbusters. The set and ar t design are also fantastic, with the urban wasteland contrasting beautifully with the untamed prehistoric wilderness. The dimensional rift transpor t facility in the future looks especially interesting and unique.

As mentioned before, Terra Nova’s screenplay leaves much to

be desired. It’s one thing to accept time travel within a science fiction context; it’s another to believe that a maximum-security prison wouldn’t thoroughly check visitors for weapons. The dialogue isn’t much better, often coming off as predictable and clichéd. As for the leading man, it’s fitting that O’Mara was sent so far into the past, because he has the demeanor and acting ability of a caveman. The supporting cast does what it can with the script.

One of the show’s many problems is the archetypal characters: the optimistic, resourceful father, the strong-willed and intelligent mother, the rebellious son, the awkward know-it-all daughter — all types that have appeared in hundreds of other shows.

While Terra Nova may not be breaking any new ground, it clearly has potential. As long as its writers stop looking to the past for inspiration and try out new ideas, Terra Nova may have a bright future ahead of itself.

N EW G IRL FOX, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. | ABY SAMANTHA BONIZZI STAFF WRITER

You come back from a trip and are excited to court your boyfriend in your plush New York apartment. Scantily clad, you sashay into the house ready to surprise your man, only to find another woman emerge from your bedroom. For any girl, recovery from this devastation would be tough … so maybe the perfect remedy is moving in with three strange guys after spotting a vacancy ad on Craigslist? At least that’s what works for Jess Day (Zooey Deschanel, 500 Days of Summer). Sure, the storyline has been done before. A few males live together, a girl moves in and their world turns upside down. But something is different about New Girl. This is not your average sitcom.

In an interview with the boys, Jess immediately wants to move in.

Nick (Jake Johnson, No Strings Attached), Schmidt (Max Greenfield, Veronica Mars) and Coach (Daman Wayons Jr., Happy Endings) aren’t sure they’re ready to live with a female, let alone one who has just endured a breakup. But after Jess mentions all her friends are models, an amorous Schmidt makes the executive decision to take her in.

Jess finds three new male companions in Schmidt, Nick and Coach, who help her through this rough time. Each man has his own personality, which adds dimension and variety to the show.

Schmidt is overly obsessed with women, and uses Jess as a way into the female mind. Nick is the sensible one of the group, but is just coming out of a breakup himself. Coach was an all-star high school athlete now working as a personal trainer. He does not know how to get rid of his tough outer exterior, especially when talking to women.

What the guys don’t realize at first is that they may need Jess in their lives as much as she needs them in hers.

Deschanel is so unique that she makes up her own brand of comedy. Jess is quirky and fun, even when she is watching Dirty Dancing on repeat and crying about her breakup; you can’t help but love every quality in her you wish you hated. Her wide-framed glasses and constant singing, no matter how dorky they may be, are adorable and endearing. If you’re looking for an edgy new comedy, New Girl is your match.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF IMBD.COM

Inside Beat • Page 5

October 6, 2011

VIDEO GAMES

Burnout Crash

COURTESY OF GAMEINFORMER.COM

Criterion Games | C+

BY RYAN SURUJNATH ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Over the years, Criterion Games has built a reputation on providing gamers with the most entertaining arcade racing experience possible. The Burnout franchise as well as Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit demonstrated Criterion's technical proficiency and flair for automotive violence. With their new Xbox Live Arcade and PSN title entitled Burnout Crash, Criterion has taken a decidedly…different approach.

Crash is Criterion's attempt to make a game entirely out of the phenomenal mode of the same name that made its debut in Burnout 3. Unlike previous Burnout installments, Crash scraps the street level view for a traditional, over top view, reminiscent of classic arcade titles like Crazy Taxi.

Road trip is the game's primar y game mode and

must be completed before unlocking other modes. It tasks players with the simple sounding task of causing as big a traf fic pileup as possible. The catch is, however, that for ever y civilian car that escapes the wreckage, the player earns one strike. After five escapes, the game is over. Though the mode sounds simple, there is a deceptive bit of strategy involved.

Players must lear n to use their crashbreaker power up, which causes a massive explosion once an onscreen meter fills, at the most oppor tune time to maximize collateral damage. They must also be able to learn to block streets and use the various bonuses to minimize the amount of cars that escape the wreckage. Pile up and road rage each var y this concept. Pile up requires players to create as big a traf fic mess as they can, while destroying as little of the surrounding environment as possible. Road rage, on the other hand, goves players a ninty second time to score as many points as possible. These game modes feature

the Autolog feature from Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit that keeps track of the player's scores and compared them to those of their friends.

Being a $10 downloadable title, it's somewhat unrealistic to expect the color ful, jaw-dropping visuals and sadistically enter taining crash physics that have become staples of the Burnout franchise. The top view and arcade graphics are car toony and unimpressive.

It also features some awful voice overs that make the game feel immature and annoying. More impor tantly, though, Burnout Crash feels a little under whelming.

Crash is a simple take on an existing game mode, and though fun, it does derive the same adrenaline-fueled pleasure that Burnout 3's crash mode delivers.

Burnout Crash does not feel particularly at home on the PS3 and Xbox 360; it seems like a concept that would have been better suited for the Nintendo DS or iPad platforms. Despite this, Criterion's teacup–Burnout can still provide a fair bit of amusement.

COURTESY OF THEAVERAGEGAMER.COM

COURTESY OF GAMEINFORMER.COM

COURTESY OF GAMES.KITGURU.NET

COURTESY OF CRITERION.COM

Classic Gaming Last week, the Nintendo 64 celebrated its 17th birthday, reminding us of a simpler, more pure era in gaming. Indeed, there are some things vintage games have that today’s titles lack: fresh, creative ideas and memorable characters are among some of these qualities. This week, Inside Beat takes a look back at some of the classics from a past generation.

INSIDE BEAT’S FAVORITE CLASSIC GAMES NAP POKÉMON S

Who knew taking pictures of Pokémon could be so addictive?

One of the few Nintendo 64 Pokémon spin-off games, Snap featured seven different geographical areas filled with over sixty Pokémon out of the original 151. As Todd Snap, the player traverses the Kanto region armed only with a camera, Pokémon food, Pester Balls, and a Poké Flute. Snap’s one and only mission is to catch ’em all … on film. Pokémon Snap is fantastically animated, bringing all of the wild (albeit friendly) Pokémon to life, and can be played through over and over again without ever getting old.

— Jason Pearl Kirby Crystal Shards for Nintendo 64 never really got the credit it deserved. This game takes a cute, pink jigglypuff of a character and gives it a badass attitude. But it isn't all about being cute. This game is deceptively hard. Throughout the game there are these blue "crystal shards" that are hidden and borderline impossible to find. For those of you who never finished finding the last shards, I understand. It’s worth the frustration though, if you can tough it out to the end there’s a bonus level waiting for you that totally worth it and amazingly satisfying.

— Heather Tedesco

L SHARDS KIRBY CRYSTA

RAGON SPYRO THE D

Hailing back to 1998, Spyro is among our generation’s favorite animated reptilians — next to Mushu from Mulan and Puff the Magic Dragon. The structure of the Spyro RPG game series, created by Insomniac Games for Sony’s PlayStation, is pretty classic — collect treasure, venture through exotic lands and defeat the evil bosses. Along with his buddy, Sparx the Dragonfly, this fire breathing, turbo-charging, sky-surfing dragon saves his mythical world from clumsy and ridiculous villains — Gnasty Gnorc, Ripto and the Sorceress. The game features some loveable characters (Moneybags, anyone?) and creative, yet challenging, puzzles. True, the graphics are rather a bit dumpy compared to those in recent games, but few gamers can deny that the Spyro games are quality RPGs well worth replaying.

— Ashley Park

Who could forget Crash Bandicoot, everyone’s favorite DICOOT bipedal, sneaker-wearing marsupial? Crash Bandicoot made its CRASH BAN PlayStation debut in 1996 to critical and commercial acclaim, which would help spawn the franchise numerous sequels. In his first platforming adventure, Crash finds himself on a deserted tropical island off the coast of Australia, where he must make his way through a deadly gauntlet of traps and vicious creatures to confront the evil Doctor Neo Cortex. This mad scientist holds Crash’s girlfriend captive and aims to create an animal army to do his bidding.

— Ryan Surujnath

IMAGE COURT ESY I

GN

IMAGE COURTESY OF SPYRO WIKI IKI KART W F MARIO RTESY O U O C E IMAG

METAL GEAR

BY ALEX NATANZON FILM EDITOR

1987 saw the birth of a stealthaction videogame that would be the first brick in a grand construction that is the legendar y Metal Gear series. Created by stor ytelling genius, Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear focuses on Solid Snake, a member of a Special Forces unit called FOXHOUND. His mentor Big Boss sends Snake to a fortified state called Outer Heaven on a rescue mission. The game requires wits to stealthily maneuver around enemies, booby traps and other unfriendly obstacles in glorious 16-bit fashion. What made this game unique for its time was the emphasis on sneaking instead of repetitive running and gunning.

The addition of a storyline with a high degree of depth for a game of that time and text-based dialogue between characters, all worked together to make this game an instant classic.

With the success of Metal Gear, Nintendo developed an unofficial, non-canonical sequel entitled, Snake’s Revenge. Kojima was unhappy with this version, and in 1990 developed his own, official installment called Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. The game was only released in Japan for the computer system MSX2 (Metal Gear was released for MSX2 and Nintendo.) Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake would not be released in America until its inclusion on a bonus disk for Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence in 2005.

MG2 added new gameplay and stor y elements that were missing from the first game. Snake

could now crawl under objects, crouch and hide in tight corners.

These additions helped in giving the player a more realistic sneaking experience.

In 1998, the PlayStation game console was graced with a video game of such high caliber and originality that the gaming world would forever be changed. Metal Gear Solid revolutionized gaming for a plethora of reasons. For its time, the graphics of the game were exceptional. The inclusion of lengthy full motion video cut scenes infused with audio dialogue only solidifies this point.

The gameplay is tight as the player must maneuver Snake through deadly areas, while using an array of weapons and gadgets to sur vive hostile enemies and environments. The most memorable aspects of the gameplay are the epic boss fights. Snake is forced to combat unique enemies and the player must figure out a strategy to defeat them. A notable boss is Psycho Manits, a psychic who is able to predict the player’s moves and breaks the fourth wall by reading the info off the player's memor y card. In order to defeat this impending foe, the player must unplug his controller and insert it into port two, to block the mind reading. Even to this day, that is just wicked cool stuff. If all this wasn’t enough, the stor y of the game is what really draws one into the experience.

Engaging dialogue, intriguing issues and investment in each character all work in making Metal Gear Solid a shining example of why we play video games in the first place.

IMAGE COURTESY OF FINAL FANTASY WIKI

IMAGE COURTESY OF METAL GEAR WIKI

FINAL FANTASY

BY RYAN SURUJNATH ASSOCIATE EDITOR

When one thinks of long-running video game franchises, Final Fantasy is perhaps the quickest to come to mind. The brainchild of Hironobu Sakaguchi, the Final Fantasy games have always melded story, gameplay and music to create engrossing experiences that allow players to enter vivid, intricately designed worlds.

The origins of Final Fantasy were somewhat dramatic. Today, publisher/developer Square-Enix is a juggernaut of the gaming industry. It is hard to believe, then, that Square was on the verge of bankruptcy when development of the first Final Fantasy began in 1987. Drawing inspiration from games like Dragon Quest and The Legend of Zelda, Sakaguchi and a team consisting of Square's seven best developers began work on Final Fantasy. Sakaguchi would later explain that the title Final Fantasy was chosen to express his last, desperate attempt to save a dying company.

Indeed, when Final Fantasy was released for the NES on Dec. 18, 1987, it was met with overwhelming critical praise. It seemed that Sakaguchi's gambit

had succeeded, and work immediately began on a sequel. In total, three Final Fantasy titles were released for the NES, though only one was released in the United States. Square would later release three more Final Fantasies for Nintendo's SNES. With six games already completed, Square's franchise arguably reached its pinnacle in 1997, when Final Fantasy VII was released for the Sony PlayStation. Though many will argue that Final Fantasy VII is one of the most overrated games of all time, just as many consider it one of the best games ever made. It is impossible to dismiss the influence Final Fantasy VII had on the industr y; it is often credited for making the JRPG genre more mainstream among American gamers.

In addition, Final Fantasy VII proved to be a significant achievement in video game storytelling. The game successfully merged together complicated themes with memorable, characters to create a stor y that entranced players from beginning to end. The complex, multidimensional story of Cloud Strife is one that has proved difficult to match, while the game's antago-

nist, Sephiroth, is widely considered one of the most iconic villains in popular culture. Coupled with the PlayStation's ability to render to 3D graphics, Square created a unique experience that could not be matched by any game at the time.

Final Fantasy VII marked a significant step forward in video game score composition. Composer Nobuo Uematsu, who had also worked on previous Final Fantasy titles, used the PlayStation's internal sound hardware to create rich tracks that varied between frenetic and fast paced to slow and emotional. Uematsu’s work culminated into a final piece at the end of game, during the player's final boss fight. Considered one of the most iconic works of video game composition, "OneWinged Angel" is best remembered for it eerie Latin vocals and was the perfect musical piece to compliment an epic final battle.

The Final Fantasy franchise has stood the test of time. It survived through decades of changing hardware and gaming attitudes. Though the franchise keeps pushing forward, the question remains whether or not Square-Enix will produce a title as influential as Final Fantasy VII.

Page 8 • Inside Beat

October 6, 2011

FILM

ADVANCE REVIEW >> REAL STEEL Shawn Levy | DBY JASON PEARL STAFF WRITER

Real Steel is a two hour commercial for HP, Dr. Pepper and an as-yet unestablished toy line.

Having as much wit and character depth as the scribblings in a fifth grader’s notebook, Real Steel represents a nadir in modern screenwriting.

The film opens with washedup boxer Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) making the first of a series of improbably bad decisions by having his boxing robot fight a giant bull owned by an unscrupulous former rival. After that arrangement shockingly goes south, Kenton learns that his ex-girlfriend died, leaving their illegitimate child (Dakota Goyo, Resurrecting the Champ) an orphan. Through a combination of abject incompetence and child endangerment, Kenton and his son discover a discarded sparring bot, which they decide to enter into boxing matches of var ying legitimacy.

After climbing the ranks in clichéd underdog fashion, the Kenton’s challenge the world champion to a title fight.

Real Steel’s script has a few moments of unintentional hilarity, but most are just unintentionally painful to watch. The dialogue in this movie is incredibly stilted and repetitive with its deficiency of quality only matched by the paintby-numbers plot. While it’s somewhat believable that robot boxing could supplant its human counterpart, it’s inconceivable that Bing COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

would be the future’s search engine of choice. Product placement plumbs new depths in Real Steel with company logos taking center stage as often as the actors. Speaking of the actors, Jackman and Evangeline Lilly (Lost) do what they can with what little the screenplay gives them, but in many scenes they just seem to be phoning it in. Goyo, like many young actors, simply doesn’t yet have the experience, talent, or directorial motivation to give a decent performance.

As for the direction, Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) clearly thinks he’s good, throwing in the odd stylistic shot here or there, but he’s so inconsistent that the movie often looks like a jumbled mess. A few of the fights manage to appear interesting for a couple shots, but most aren’t anything special. Jackman’s character, who sometimes controls his pugilistic puppet by voice, inexplicably stops giving commands midfight to complain about his imminent loss or how his robot won’t survive. If that wasn’t bad enough, when he has to switch over to his robot’s “shadow function” (which mimics movements) in a later fight, Jackman looks ridiculous punching at the air with a big grin on his face.

While some of the animatronics aren’t bad, that isn’t nearly enough to salvage the scrap that is Real Steel. If you really want to experience all the action and emotional complexity of the movie, just pick up a box of Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots.

NJFF SHORT FILMS

BY ALEX NATANZON FILM EDITOR

The beauty of short films is that they can tell a tale and deliver a message in a creative and concise way. They allow a director to let their craft shine through — they also give them enough artistic freedom to experiment with unorthodox techniques without seeming overbearing.

Cranberry Sauce (Taylor Gledhill) Cranberry Sauce is a delightful little film that is sure to entice young viewers and will cause older ones to have grins on their faces. Set in the 1940s, a young boy named Bobby is fervently engaged in acting out the events of his favorite cowboy radioshow, The Midnight Rider. He is interrupted by his mother who asks him to go to the store to pick up cranberry sauce for Christmas dinner. At the store, Bobby praises his luck when he thinks he will grab the last can of cranberry sauce but, last minute, is intercepted by a very nasty old woman. Bobby is faced with the dilemma of giving up or summoning his inner cowboy and finding a way to bring the nasty old lady to justice.

While Cranberry Sauce reverberates with innocent naïveté and has some cheesy moments, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

It is in fact the emphasis on Bobby’s innocence and child mentality that gives this film its charm. Cranberry Sauce is a heartwarming and worthy addition to the NJFF dossier.

The Confession (Andres Sivori) The Confession is a unique short film that manages to blend comedy with themes of adolescence, love, desire, religion and surrealism fairly well. A young Hispanic boy struggles to deal with emotions that he has towards his aunt. Searching for clarity, the boy consults a priest — the exchange between the two is as funny as it is poignant. The boy is told that he needs to control his emotions better. The film is marvelous in projecting scenarios that we all could relate to on one stage or another. The director’s implementation of creative shots and bizarre dream sequences highlights the main characters’ emotional states. The Confession is an imaginative journey into the mind and heart of an adolescent boy and offers insight into human nature.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NJFILMFEST.COM

Inside Beat • Page 9

October 6, 2011

FILM

50/50 Jonathan Levine | A

BY SASKIA KUSNECOV STAFF WRITER

Inspired by his own experiences, screenwriter Will Reiser’s 50/50 follows an overly cautious 27-year-old radio writer, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Inception), who lives a largely complacent, timorous existence. He dates a beautiful but selfish artist (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Village), avoids his overbearing mother (Angelica Huston, Prizzi’s Honor), and walks in the shadow of his best friend Kyle’s (Seth Rogen, Pineapple Express) dominating personality. When he learns that he has developed spinal cancer — with a 50 percent mortality rate — his life unravels into a series of unfortunate events and questions about the values he held before.

The paradoxically feel-good film is characterized by revelations of true love, friendship and finding humor in unfamiliar places. The way Will Reiser designs the script personifies the cancer through Adam’s character, which goes through major changes as he begins to feel like a patient both in and outside of the PHOTOS COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

ABDUCTION John Singleton | C+

BY JESSICA ESPINOSA STAFF WRITER

So, you’re looking to watch something exciting and original that will keep you on the edge of your seat — Abduction is a letdown. The general premise has been done better in the past (think The Bourne Identity), but that is neither here nor there.

In the opening scene, the viewer is asked to suspend disbelief when Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner, Twilight) rides on the hood of a speeding car. He then wakes up shirtless (as Lautner tends to do) on the lawn of the house party from the previous night.

Next thing you know, Nathan is sparring with his father Kevin (Jason Issacs, Good) . Things get heated and the two strangely fight, setting up later events. This scene was filmed well enough if not for the dialogue. “You want to play with no rules, you better be careful what you let out of the box,” among other lines, were too cheesy and unbelievable for a “normal” father-son exchange.

Films do not have to be realistic all the time, but realistic-sounding dialogue can make the cinematic experience much more enjoyable.

All hell breaks loose when Nathan and his neighbor Karen (Lily Collins, Priest) are assigned a school project, when they find a picture of what looks like Nathan on a missing children’s website.

After unexpected events occur at Nathan’s parent’s home, Nathan and Karen are forced to flee. They are pursued by CIA agents and assassins who all seem to want Nathan. The action and fighting scenes are some of the highlights of the movie; Lautner’s martial arts skills definitely do show make things exciting.

The viewer is not given enough time to care about any of the characters in the movie, including Nathan. More background information about Nathan would have made the loss of ever ything he held dear to him more believable. Lautner as a leading man needs some work also; his line deliver y gets edgy at times. Overall a great cast, including his therapist Dr. Bennett (Sigourney Weaver, Alien) and CIA agent Burton (Alfred Molina, Spiderman 2), helps salvage this picture.

Final verdict, if you haven’t seen it, watch it for the matinee price — if not, wait for the DVD.

hospital. When Adam first visits his doctor, the camera defocuses on the vision of the doctor, fading out on cue with the word “cancer,” letting the audience experience the confusion that permeates his mind. The optical effects throughout the progression of his illness give light to the major theme of isolation — a feeling Adam realizes while sitting in the office of his student-therapist Katherine (Anna Kendrick), where he eventually realizes he’s “probably going to die.” This isolation is also realized in other elements of the movie, like when Adam deals with his girlfriend’s infidelity.

While cancer’s a serious topic, the film is also extremely funny. Kyle tells Adam, “If you were a casino game, you’d have the best odds.” From medicalmarijuana macaroons, to using a bald head to attract girls at bars, to an epic scene of egging and knifing his ex-girlfriend’s painting, a dynamic image of the issue is presented that’s entertaining and heartfelt, as opposed to the atypical solemn, over-dramatized Hollywood version of cancer America is accustomed to.

Page 10 • Inside Beat

October 6, 2011

MUSIC

J.C OLE

COURTESY OF POPTOWER.COM

Cole World: The Sideline Story | B

BY JOSEPH BROWN STAFF WRITER

The first official album under Roc Nation Records, J. Cole’s Cole World: The Sideline Story does not disappoint, but it does not exactly push the envelope of the “game” — as he so vehemently proclaimed it would. However, it’s a very solid, hip-hop album for any fan, especially for one who does not already know J. Cole from his three previous mix-tapes.

The North Carolina rapper features many established artists on his album, including Jay-Z, Missy Elliot, Drake and Trey Songz. Cole World has a cohesive, old-style rap vibe that does not feel pretentious. It definitely portrays his storyteller-themed rhythmic flow, as well as his innate ability

to be raw and fresh with his keen production abilities.

Though the album is entertaining, it includes tracks, like “Lights Please,” which have been in fans’ ears since 2009, making the album not entirely fresh. That’s not to say that there are not some intense rhythms and lyrics throughout.“Cole World” is the climax of the album; it’s an upbeat banger in which J. Cole defends himself by validating his rap with creative imager y. On the other hand, “Work Out” showcases Cole’s ability to appeal to the masses and is the most radio-friendly. J. Cole will eventually make a huge impact in the hip-hop community, and Cole World: The Sideline Story is a sufficient introduction to the start of a dynasty.

MASTODON The Hunter | A-

COURTESY OF JAMES MINICH

BY GIANNA MOSCATELLO STAFF WRITER

The Georgia-based heavy metal quar tet Mastodon have released yet another crushingly beautiful and heavy album. On The Hunter, the band

takes their previously established “rule book” and burns it. Over the years the band has solely concentrated on writing wonderfully crafted and thought-out concept albums. After focusing on fire, water and earth, Mastodon writes songs about “air” on their latest work.

Left in the wake of their last masterpiece, the band decided it was best to go in the opposite direction and simply let the

songs flow. The Hunter can literally be seen as an anti-concept album. The lyrical stories behind the songs range from making love in outer space to a swamp creature who has dif ficulty making friends to much more serious topics. In “Black Tongue,” the band poetically criticizes all of the evil and corr uption present in the world today, while the track “The Sparrow” showcases a single

lyrical line that encompasses their recently deceased friend’s life motto: “Pursue happiness with diligence.”

The singing on the album is also noteworthy as three out of the four band members try their hand at crafting the album’s melodies. Occasionally, they all sing on the same song, which gives the album yet another successful experimental tweak.

The Hunter is an all-around successful collection of songs.

The lyrics are obscure, the vocals and the melodies are catchy, the guitar hooks are heavy and the sonic effects are downright psychedelic. All of this is accompanied by Brann Dailor’s drumming, who navigates around his drum set with intricate, chaotic fluidity reminiscent of a musically gifted octopus. In short, all of this makes The Hunter yet another staple album by the band in today’s metal scene.

Inside Beat • Page 11

October 6, 2011

MUSIC COURTESY OF ANNARBOR.COM

.........

Wilco . . . . . . . . .

The Whole Love | B-

BY JOSH KELLY STAFF WRITER

Autumn has arrived, and with it, another Wilco album. The album’s sound is appropriate for the season, resonating with the warming comfort of a jacket on a cold day and

emanating nostalgic shades of foliage. Wilco’s eighth album starts off with a bang in “Art Of Almost,” having the listener barraged by tight drums, punchy bass and a harmonic swell. Such sounds may overpower an individual with the sense that this album has the potential to take the band in a different direction.

The instrumentation is meditated much dif ferently, display-

ing intentions of a more driven and wild ride for the listener — a direct contrast to the group’s former orchestration. As the first song comes to a close, the direction is quickly pulled out from underneath, slipping into a new persona.

The bulk of the album contains fairly mediocre songs that resemble an iPod commercial, which don’t live up to Wilco’s true poten-

tial as songwriters and musicians. Tracks like “Black Moon,” “Born Alone” and “Rising Red Lung” are what stand out most from the sea of similarity that constitute The Whole Love. These tracks contain mood-setting elements that reminisce singer Jeff Tweedy’s darker side of self-reflection and helpless romanticism.

The album’s final track, “One Sunday Morning,” surprises the

listener. An incredibly intimate song, Tweedy’s voice is melded wonderfully with his acoustic guitar. The whole band’s accompaniment enters unobtrusively yet memorably, similar to songs from the group’s earlier album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. In the end, the album is worth a few listens, with a handful of strong songs that ser ve as a solid addition to Wilco’s catalogue.

Cotton at the Old Bay

BY EMILY GABRIELE MUSIC EDITOR

A week ago from today, New Jersey’s own Cotton did something uncharacteristic: They played live music at the Old Bay in downtown New Brunswick.

Typically, Old Bay doesn’t host live music events on Thursdays but they made an exception for New Jersey band Cotton’s album release party. Brandon Broderick, lead vocalist and guitarist, Leo Kalik, lead guitarist and harmonist, John Aponte, bassist, and Andrew Saunders, drummer, took their respective places to show the bar’s attendees their musical vigor around 10 p.m.

Playing three, one-hour sets, Cotton played a mixture of cover songs as well as their own origi-

nal tracks off of their debut album, In The Basement.

Formerly known as 100% Cotton, the abridged Cotton released their first full-length album, In The Basement, on Sept. 15. The band has been together for quite some time, and has never released an album before, but the members brought concision to their band name as well as their music. “We made everything more crisp, short and to the point,” remarked Saunders, the “spine” of the group.

Cotton’s music contains honest lyrics and creative-yet-gritty musical elements. The quartet is full of subtle poise and friendly ambition. It’s their goal to reach out to their fans as well as consistently make new ones. With the release of In The Basement, Cotton decided to assign the album

the price of “pay what you want” — meaning the album is available online and Cotton is asking fans to literally pay what they want for it. “What we really want to do is have people pay what they think they should for our music and build a solid fan-base. If they want to support us, we really appreciate that and then maybe we can have people go, ‘Oh I really like this band’ to one of their friends, and we’ll spread by word of mouth,” Saunders said.

If you’re interested in checking out what Cotton’s all about, you can go online and pay what you want for their album, or stream it for free at the group’s website. Be sure to also check for upcoming show dates — they’re always playing live shows in New Jersey.

COURTESY OF MIKE SHANAHAN

GET THE MUSIC! www.cottonband.com www.cottonband.bandcamp.com

LOCAL CORNER

Page 12 • Inside Beat

October 6, 2011

ART

Fluxus at Rutgers COURTESY OF URLESQUE.COM

BY SASKIA KUSNECOV STAFF WRITER

Have you ever played a game of fruits versus vegetables chess?

If you haven’t, you don’t know “Fluxus” — the title of the new exhibition in the Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum.

“Fluxus” is the name of an international group of multi-media artists in the 1960s who wanted to express the unpredictable and ephemeral moments in everyday life through performing, musical, literary and visual art. While the movement began to influence the American art scene in the ‘60s, its

roots began here at Rutgers in the 1950s with Allan Kaprow, George Brecht, Geoffrey Hendricks and Robert Watts. These artists and scientists came together to form what would one day become known as the Rutgers Group.

As you walk into the exhibit at the Zimmerli, the first piece that stands out is a life-size plaster body — nude and turned away from the viewer on a bed — by 1960s Fluxus artist George Segal.

The physical body appears sexually ambiguous, although the title is “Blue Woman on Black Bed.” Further into the main room is live streaming of the “Fluxus Film An-

thology”, which is a compilation of 37 films by 17 artists.

“Fluxus” also combined art with games to escape from what the artists called “dead, imitation art” of the time. On certain days, visitors are allowed to play with interactive Fluxus games. The exhibit itself displays only two interactive games: There’s a chess set, in which real fruits and vegetables replace the traditional pieces — the museum changes the fruit every week to preserve freshness. The second interactive game is called “Sound Checkers.” There is also a display case of vintage Finger boxes by a Japanese-American artist called Ay-

O. There was a heavy Japanese influence on much of the American artwork, in order to emphasize the need for a cultural revolution at a time when Japanese-Americans were still being welcomed back into the country after WWII. Upstairs in the exhibit, the artworks take a turn for the dark and pseudo-sexual. “Female Underpants” by Robert Watts, a former faculty member in the Douglass art department at the University, is a graphic photograph of a pair of underpants that has been, in a sense, taken in. The “Maciunas Flux Deck” by George Maciunas — the pioneer of the movement in

the ‘60s — also may perturb its viewers with the blunt nature of the cards which contain images such as blood, beating hearts, whips, whipped backs and eyes crying. In addition to games, artwork and publications, Larry Miller (a coordinator of the exhibit and former student of Watts) and University students are organizing a concert on Nov. 2 to give life to the Fluxus experience.

If you have any interest in the history of social, political or cultural movements in American art, you might want to check out “Fluxus” at the Zimmerli before it comes down in January!