‘Rashomon’: The quest for truth

‘Rashomon’: The quest  for truth

JOYCE JACKSON

Copy Editor

A savage murder took place recently in Fannin Performance Hall. Yet, the facts of the case and the murderer still linger on in the minds of those who witnessed it.

Image illustration Mohamad Firas Shaban

The murder baffled a sparse audience at the drama department’s production of “Rashomon” Oct. 11. As an intense drama, the 90-minute play produced a somber mood as the story unfolded in three locations in feudal Japan:  the Rashomon Gate, a courtroom and a forest. The plot revolved around the murder of a samurai and the rape of his wife as they traveled through a forest.

Drama chair and director Andy Long said he chose this particular play because it presents a dilemma as to “What is truth?” and it puts the audience in the mindset of medieval Japan.

The dilemma of “Rashomon” deals with four different accounts of who killed the samurai – done in flashbacks.

The variations were:  Tajomaru killed him; the wife killed him because of the shameful rape; the samurai killed himself; or, the woodcutter, as a witness, said the samurai and bandit Tajomaru clashed and rejected the wife. The audience was enticed into this thought-provoking mystery as to which version they believed was “the truth.”

Long could not have chosen a better actor than Jermaine Johnson for the lead role of the ruthless roving bandit,Tajomaru, who proudly bragged about his crimes.

Johnson commanded attention in every scene with his deep, powerful voice and tall, muscular build, which showed off his swift sword-fighting skills.

In one scene, he boasted, “All I wanted was the woman … and hadn’t planned on killing her husband, the samurai.”

Three characters huddled at the Rashomon Gate stage right as the woodcutter told the ongoing story: Jabin Lewis played the somber priest while Henser Reyes the woodcutter. Raied Makhamreh portrayed the outlandish wigmaker, who was thoroughly delightful as the comic relief. His spine-tingling laugh was outstanding and the way he teased the priest and woodcutter by getting right up into their faces couldn’t help but make the audience laugh. Logan Vorster was a deputy.

In complete contrast to Johnson was Kevin Dang as the soft-spoken samurai who was murdered. Dang, in a number of scenes, was short on dialogue since he was tied up to a bamboo stump waiting to be killed in the flashbacks.

Kudos to costume designer Deborah Ruiz-Esparza for the nice selection of colorful attire to fit a variety of different characters;  black for the priest, yet contrasting orange and green outfits between the samurai and Tajomaru as they challenged each other in one breathtaking scene with a superb sword fight where Dang and Johnson each stepped foot by foot at the same time, circling around the stage trying to slash each other.

Harley Gonzales had the obscure role of Kinume, first as the faithful wife of the samurai and later, just the opposite.

Audrey Clark was mesmerizing as the medium who conjured up the dead Samurai’s loud, eerie voice to reveal how he was murdered. However, another scene fell flat when the wife’s mother, played by Jordan Bechtol, wasn’t convincing as she spoke about Kinume and the samurai, but didn’t speak loudly enough to be heard.

Staff photo Blanca Reyes

Kevin Dang plays the role of the samurai who is murdered and Harley Gonzales portrays his wife.

While the audience could follow the different versions of the samurai’s murder, they may have been somewhat confused as to why the baby was important at the end of the play.

Long said that the two roles – of the woodcutter and the wigmaker – are complete opposites and represent the two ideals of men.

“The wigmaker represents selfishness, greediness …whereas the woodcutter represents sacrifice and service.

The wigmaker steals the baby’s blanket and the woodcutter takes the baby home with him to care for him and love him. It’s the faith in humanity of the woodcutter taking the baby that restores it in the priest and he goes back to the temple.

It’s kind of a poignant poetic moment. And in that moment, it’s the woodcutter adopting this little baby that reminds the priest there’s still work to be done.”

‘Adieu Berthe’ continues French film series

‘Adieu Berthe’ continues French film series

JOYCE JACKSON

Copy Editor

The Alliance Française de Dallas, a local French learning and cultural center, has partnered with Richland to launch free monthly movie screenings every third Thursday of the month through May. They are free and open to the public.

Hasmik Gharaghazaryan, visiting scholar in French and Spanish in the school of world languages, cultures and communications, said the movie screenings have been going on for a long time, but at different locations.

Image courtesy http://www.filmfix.com

Helene (Isabelle Candelier) and husband Armand (Denis Podalydès) struggle with the guilt of the death of Armand’s grandmother.

The movies come from the French Institute of Cinema. The main location is in Paris, but  the institute also has a Houston branch.

Richland has provided the Alliance Française a media room that can accommodate up to 100 people.

On Thursday, “Adieu Berthe” (“Granny’s Funeral”) will be shown at 7 p.m. in Sabine Hall, Room SH-118. It’s a comedy-drama that runs 100 minutes.

‘Destiny’ $325 million and still counting

Image courtesy http://www.ps4.com

“Destiny” combines the fast nature of first-person shooters with open world exploration.

‘Destiny’ $325 million and still counting

JONATHAN JOHNSON

Staff Writer

Video game developer Bungie and producer Activision announced their new game, “Destiny,” which sold more than $325 million worldwide in the first five days after its release on Sept. 9.

It had a worldwide average game play count of 100 million hours by the end of the  first week. With 137 million activities, it became the best selling new video game franchise of all time.

After the release of “Halo 4” in 2012, Bungie and “Call of Duty” video game creators partnered with Activision to create the innovative game, “Destiny.”

Image courtesy http://www.edge.com

The game allows multiple players to form groups and complete missions.

The two companies hoped to invent a game that would become an icon in the industry with an eye-catching, mythical science fiction open-world setting.

The game’s announcement in February 2013 pleased “Destiny” fans who have been anticipating a new franchise from Bungie since the company’s release of “Halo 4” in 2012.

According to Bungie’s Joe Dougie, “The game’s style has been described as a first-person shooter that will incorporate massively multiplayer online game (MMO) elements.”

Bungie has avoided defining “Destiny” as a traditional MMO. Instead, the company calls it a shared-world shooter in which players can call upon each other for help while questing through the world.

The game’s setting is a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world known as the Golden Age, a prosperous era of exploration, peace and technological advancement in a universe where humans have spread out and colonized planets in the solar system in an event called The Collapse.

Upon entering the game, players take on the persona of Guardians, the last defenders of humanity sent to protect Earth’s last city.

With an amazing storyline and outstanding graphical capabilities, the game has the potential to jumpstart Bungie and Activation’s
partnered future and forever change the
gaming industry.

Image courtesy http://www.galleryhip.com

Players can customize in-game characters.

The Miller’s tale: A movie report card

“22 Jump Street”  Grade:   C+

“Annabelle”  C

“Atlas Shrugged:  Who is Jon Galt?”  C-

“Begin Again”  B

“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”  B

“Dolphin Tale 2” B

“The Drop”  B

“Earth to Echo”  C-

“The Equalizer”  B-

“The Expendables 3”  C+

“The Fault in Our Stars”  B+

“Gone Girl”  B-

“The Good Lie”  B

“Guardians of the Galaxy”  A

“Hercules”  C+

“The Hundred-Foot Journey”  B+

“If I Stay”  B-

“Into the Storm”  C-

“The Judge”  B

“Let’s Be Cops”  C+

“Lucy”  B-

“Maleficent”  B-

“The Maze Runner”  C-

“A Most Wanted Man”  B

“A Nightmare on Elm Street”  C+

(Oct. 17 11:30 p.m., Angelika Film Center Dallas)

“Psycho”  (1960)  A-   (Revival screening, 7 p.m.Angelika Plano, Oct. 16 only)

“The Purge:  Anarchy”  C-

“Sex Tape”  C-

“The Shining”  A-   (Oct. 10-11, Angelika Mockingbird only)

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”  C

“This is Where I Leave You”  B-

“To Catch a Thief”  A (Revival screening, 8 p.m., outside only, Oct. 16, Angelika Film Center Dallas)

“Transformers:  the Age of Extinction”  C+

“Vertigo” A  8 p.m., outside only, Hitchcocktober, Oct. 16

—Ricky Miller

Zonana mellows Metroplex

Zonana mellows Metroplex

CHARLIE VANN

Staff Writer

Staff photo Yolmar Gonzalez

Sammie Zonana woos the audience at Crooked Tree Coffeehouse.

One of the beauties of the Dallas-Fort Worth area is the music you can find in any city in the Metroplex. Up-and-coming artists can be found jumping at the chance for their music to be heard. These artists are filled with potential, waiting to be discovered.

One particular artist that didn’t even get involved with music until college, Austin native Sammie Zonana, is an artist to look out for. Zonana is currently a senior in college, studying film at the University of Texas at Arlington.

On Oct. 4 Zonana performed at the Crooked Tree Coffee Shop in Uptown. The performance was part of her coffee shop tour in the area.

“I started thinking about the stepping stones of your performance, growing as an artist. And I was like, ‘I ‘m not sure. I’m ready for bars yet.’  So I thought a coffee shop is a really warm, welcoming environment. Be a good place for me to grow as an artist,” Zonana said.

The coffee shop was actually a perfect spot for Zonana to showcase her music. Her soulful voice, along with her acoustic rhythm lit up the shop, as customers who were just coming   in for some good coffee, sat and watched an upcoming artist, perform with so much passion in her voice.  Zonana’s style really fit with the mellow atmosphere of the shop.

Zonana, who mostly performed her own songs, even mixed things up by performing her own version of Bill Withers golden hit “Lean on Me.”

“That was the first time I’ve actually ever, sort of meshed my lyrics with someone else’s, and sort of the same melody,” she said. “I think it’s always a challenge to make a song unique. I think it’s special to make a song your own.”

Zonana even gave the audience a taste of new material and a song “Get Out of My Dreams,” that she covered.

One thing that stood out about Zonana is her engaging personality, cracking jokes and just enjoying the moment. Though she will tell you she still gets nervous the day of a performance, you couldn’t tell it when she was performing.

“When I get up there and I start to sing my music, there’s something about the music that transforms me and loosens me up,” she said. “But I’m always myself, and that’s my main thing I want people to know. I want to be authentic; I want people to know me, and not some plastic version.”

So what’s next for Zonana? She will be competing on Nov. 1, in the Chevy Music Showcase, at Queens City Hall in Fort Worth. The grand finale is on Nov. 8, and the winner gets a cash prize of $1,000.

“I feel so excited for this opportunity,” Zonana said. She is excited for all the possibilities that could happen if she wins the competition.

The future looks bright and promising for Zonana. She is definitely an artist to keep an eye on.

                                          

‘Annabelle’ – A spooky gal but definitely lacks character

‘Annabelle’ – A spooky gal but definitely lacks character

RICKY MILLER

Entertainment Editor

Dolls creep me out.

The same goes for clowns or any other inanimate object sporting a face.  I just don’t like them.

“Annabelle,” for all intents and purposes, is a prequel to James Wan’s intelligent horror-suspense entry, “The Conjuring.”  I gave that one a grade of a B- when it came out last summer.

I’m sorry, but any movie with ridiculous scenarios just annoys the bejesus out of me.  That also goes for all those Japanese and Chinese flicks involving ghosts, the undead and the like.

One flick, however, that scared me half to death was Neil  Marshall’s “The Descent,” in which a group of young naïve girls go spelunking and encounter some netherworld zombies.

Sure, this flick has some genuine boos and scares, but I’m just not a fan of the genre.  I have said before that I don’t want to waste my life or time invested in characters only to see them meet their end via some stupid, inane or preposterous measure of unnecessary death.

I know a lot of people enjoy horror movies, but to use a cliché, they are not my cup of tea.

Eerie is another word that comes to mind when writing about this topic.

Annabelle is a doll that always has the same expression, one that is altogether spooky.

Oddly, Annabelle Willis plays Mia, who is married to John (Ward Horton). They are expecting their first child.  John gives the doll simply known as Annabelle as a sort of newlywed gift.

When consulting the priest, Father Perez (Tony Amendola) at the local church, he explained the doll was used as a conduit to try to branch out of this world into a spirit world.

Director John R. Leonetti tosses in quite a few McGuffins to keep viewers on the edge of their seats.  Looking back at his résumé, he has the experience since he was a cinematographer on director Wan’s aforementioned “The Conjuring,” as well as “Insidious” and its sequel.

I looked for someone else to cover this movie for me, but I manned up and took this assignment for myself since I enjoyed “The Conjuring.”

One movie however, I will not be seeing is something called “Ouija.”  I’ll admit it when I’m a wimp and this is one I will not be seeing.

I’m sorry, but there are some images that this pristine and well-kempt body will not be watching.

I don’t want that in my viewing memory bank.

  Grade:  C

Setting the tone for ‘V’ time

Setting the tone for ‘V’ time

Image courtesy blogspot.com

Maroon 5’s new album “V” is out.

CHARLIE VANN

Staff Writer

Maroon 5 is back with their fifth studio album, “V.”  Of course, “V” is fitting for the title, since it represents the number five in Roman numerals.  The “V” on the cover of the album really stands out, lit up in eye-catching neon red.

One thing about album covers is that they can set the tone for what you are about to hear. Sometimes, they are just random art work, hoping to stand out to the listener. I’m not entirely sure what the band really wanted to accomplish with this cover, other than the fact the “V” stands for five.

I like the style they went for. If you look in the background, you can see the words Maroon 5 across a mountainside. That was kind of cool, almost like the Hollywood sign. They might have done that because they are from Los Angeles.

As for the album itself, “V” doesn’t stray too far from that familiar Maroon 5 sound. You still feel that you still get that pop rock tone with this album.  Whether or not you are a fan of the band, lead singer Adam Levine always delivers vocally.

What really helps with any Maroon 5 album, and with this one in particular, is Levine’s voice.  He has a soulful tone when he sings, which reels in the listener.

With “V” it doesn’t come across like they   are trying to experiment or trying something too different.

Some artists by their fifth album will try something new, to either branch out, grab more fans or bring some kind of evolution to their legacy. It doesn’t always work out for the best.

“V” is not one of those albums. Maroon 5 fans  will be satisfied with this new album.         

There are still love-driven, passionate songs that are so common with the band.  The band’s last album, “Overexposed,” might have been a little over-the-top pop, as it was considered to be one of the band’s “poppiest.” “Overexposed” also got mixed reviews after it was released.

Overall, “V” is a lot of fun. Most Maroon 5 fans will enjoy it, maybe a little more than casual fans.

Maroon 5 knows who their fans are. They know what they like to hear from them.

Fans won’t be shocked or surprised by what they hear, and I mean that in a good way. People who are not fans might enjoy this one, too.

Like I said before, the music is fun. Give it a listen.

Image courtesy sd.citytimes.com

Adam Levine, lead vocalist for Maroon 5, delivers another smooth performance on “V.”