Lifestyle

• Blinded by the Lights

  Lifestyle February 22, 2010 at 2:09 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer Charlie Chaplin was easily one of the most influential filmmakers in film’s infancy. He became one of the first successful combinations of writer, director and actor, and still remains one of the most recognizable stars of all time, with his brand of heartfelt and hilarious silent comedy. And then sound arrived in films. To counteract this rising trend, Chaplin released quite possibly his greatest silent film, City Lights. Chaplin played his classic character, the tramp, who falls in love with a blind flower girl who mistakes him for a rich man. In order to help the girl receive an operation that could restore her sight, he does anything and takes any job he can find to raise the money for it. City Lights is beautiful in its simplicity, yet Chaplin, always the perfectionist, makes it a wonder in multiple viewings. Chaplin shot the film over three years, the longest of any of his films, because of his attempts to make everything perfect. A scene in which the tramp buys a flower from the blind girl was shot 342 times for Chaplin to get it just right. This dedication to perfection shows why City Lights is one […]

   

• Cinema’s Dynamic Duos

  Lifestyle February 22, 2010 at 2:07 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer This weekend, Martin Scorsese released his highly anticipated Shutter Island, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, who has collaborated with Scorsese on four of his last five movies. When a great director finds an actor they want to use over and over again, it usually makes for movie magic. With that, here are the top 10 actor/director pairings, along with their best works. 10. Kevin Smith & Ben Affleck – Chasing Amy Smith loves using Affleck in his movies so much, he has said that he would even cast him as the shark in Jaws. Smith and Affleck have done much of their best work together such as Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but with Chasing Amy, Smith got Affleck to a comedic, yet dramatic peak that he has not topped since. 9. Steven Soderbergh & George Clooney – Ocean’s Eleven Everyone knows that Clooney is cool, but never quite as cool as he is in Soderbergh’s films. Clooney shined when he played the Frank Sinatra character in the remake of Ocean’s Eleven, propelling himself into movie superstardom with the help of Soderbergh. 8. Quentin Tarantino & Uma Thurman – Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 […]

   

• Comedians Get Edgy at Mason’s Komedy Jam

  Lifestyle February 22, 2010 at 2:04 pm Comments are Disabled

  Ramy Zabarah, Staff Writer The Johnson Center Cinema filled up on Thursday night as students rushed to find seats and prepare for a night of laughter. Although full of audacity and risk, the show was definitely not a disappointment. What started out as a cloud of noise as students socialized waiting for the show to begin, quickly turned to applause followed by silence while the first comedian, Arvin Mitchell, was introduced. Mitchell was an instant hit, drawing laughter from almost everyone in the room. Originally expressing some reluctance as to whether he should curse or not, he was told he could speak freely, and the expletives came out like water from a hose that had been bent into a kink and then released. Nobody was safe from Mitchell’s sometimes offensive digs. About 10 minutes into his set, a late arrival opened the door, accompanied by a friend pushing her wheelchair. Mitchell immediately called her out, saying he thought she was a midget until he realized she was in a wheelchair. “I really thought she was a midget — I was about to bust out with some height jokes,” Mitchell said after the show. “It’s comedy. If you don’t want to […]

   

• SafetySuit Rocks Dewberry: Up-and-Coming Act Visits Mason for Homecoming Week

  Lifestyle February 22, 2010 at 2:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall, Style Editor As the clock struck 8 p.m., students walked nervously into Dewberry Hall, illuminated only by the neon green and purple lights. As students shuffled in, they looked around for friends, hoping to find a familiar face in the growing crowd. Before long, a sizable crowd formed around the stage constructed at the far end of the hall. After a brief introduction from Program Board, George Mason University’s activities committee, the band of the evening took the stage. Hailing from Nashville, Tenn., SafetySuit is a band clearly on the rise. Most of the crowd were clearly fans of the band, shouting out requests and yelling when lead singer Douglas Brown addressed the crowd. And the band was happy to oblige the attention. Brown dedicated a song to what he dubbed “soon to be lovers” in the audience, and asked fans for requests. SafetySuit’s sound might be best described as emotional and powerful, as they sing songs about heartbreak and love. The crowd connected with the band’s message, and grew more enthusiastic with each passing song. Bassist Jeremy Henshaw’s resounding bass and drummer Tate Cunningham’s pounding drums were in stark yet fitting contrast to guitarist Dave Garofalo’s atmospheric […]

   

• Fan Fave Tributes

  Lifestyle February 21, 2010 at 8:59 pm Comments are Disabled

  Pearson Jones, Asst. Style Editor Not everyone has the nerve to pick up the mic on karaoke night. It only takes ridicule from one audience member channeling his inner Simon Cowell to leave pop idol dreams destroyed and two for one drink deals at karaoke bars often leave you alone to defend yourself against a crowd full of liquid courage. George Mason University’s first ever lip syncing contest, “Lip Syncing on the Bayou” created a solution for all these possible karaoke downfalls, however. Last Wednesday, students from different George Mason University organizations competed in a lip synching competition. It was a battle of fan fave tributes where students didn’t have to worry about their voice cracking or messing up the lyrics. The homecoming event welcomed a large group of students eager to support their favorite groups. Fraternity and sorority chapters mainly dominated the night’s lineup of performers, but a few groups including the Mason Crew Club, Hispanic Student Association, a group called Tika and a free style rapper named V also performed. The show commenced with a tribute to Phil Collins by Kappa Sig mouthing the instantly recognizable “In the Air Tonight,” a song made even more popular recently by […]

   

• Rebooting Tosh.0; Daniel Tosh Chats About Living the Dream and Making Fun of the Web

  Lifestyle February 18, 2010 at 10:57 am Comments are Disabled

  Patrick Wall, Style Editor Daniel Tosh likes poking fun at people. His stand-up routine involves gems like his “Febreeze the Homeless” charity and jabs at religion. But with his hit Comedy Central show Tosh.0, he has a whole new group of people to lampoon — people doing stupid things on the Internet. Tosh made a name for himself doing stand-up comedy, appearing several times on Comedy Central. The network produced his stand up special and featured him on several shows. During this time, he pitched various show ideas to the network executives. “I’d always tried to sell show ideas,” Tosh said. “And [Tosh.0] was one that Comedy Central agreed with and put on the air.” The show’s concept started simply enough. Tosh and a friend shot the first of his Web Redemptions, a segment where stars of embarrassing Internet videos are given a second chance to redo their mistakes. The Afro Ninja, the viral video star who fell while attempting a back flip, was the first of these. “We shot that one before [Tosh.0] was ever a TV show. It was just a concept of someone who messed up on the Internet and giving them a chance to redeem themselves.” […]

   

• Oscar Nominations Announced; Expanded Field Gives Smaller Films a Chance to Shine on Oscar Night

  Lifestyle February 18, 2010 at 10:55 am Comments are Disabled

  Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer This year at the Oscar’s, the Davids are heading off against the Goliaths. For the first time since 1943, the Academy Awards will have ten films nominated for best picture, double the usual number of five, after there was criticism of films like The Dark Knight being left off the list of the year’s best. But this year, while the smaller films are represented once again, with An Education, The Hurt Locker, Precious, A Serious Man and Up in the Air all nominated for best picture, so are five films which grossed over 100 million in the box office: The Blind Side, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, Up (only the second animated film ever to be nominated for best picture) and the highest grossing film of all time, Avatar. Avatar and The Hurt Locker tied in nominations with nine apiece, with Inglorious Basterds close behind with eight. Precious and Up in the Air both garnered six nominations, Up received five and sci-fi films District 9 and Star Trek got four nominations, along with the musical Nine. With best achievement in directing, James Cameron is nominated for Avatar against his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. A […]

   

• The Forgotten Gems; These Ten Films Might be Out of Theaters, But They Are Still Must-Sees for Any Movie Buff

  Lifestyle February 18, 2010 at 10:53 am Comments are Disabled

  Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer In the first few months of the year, film studios dump their films that may not be so great into one great heap that ends up making January and February a less than desirable time for movies. So in these winter doldrums, here are ten recent, lesser-known films to keep you entertained util the good ones start coming out. In Bruges After one of their jobs goes wrong, two hit men are told to lay low in the town of Bruges, Belgium and await further instructions. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson work great together as the two hit men in this darkly humorous and unpredictable film. Whip It Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut follows a teen (Ellen Page) in a small town who hasn’t quite figured out who she is, until she joins a roller derby league. Page is great as the newcomer to the team and this film about finding out who you really are is one of the best surprises from 2009. Treeless Mountain This Korean film about two little girls left with their aunt while their mother tries to find their father is a simple, yet beautiful and touching tale. The little girls, Jin […]

   

• The Led Balloon That Flew

  Lifestyle February 18, 2010 at 10:51 am Comments are Disabled

  Pearson Jones, Asst. Style Editor Keith Moon, the legendary drummer of The Who, is infamously quoted for once saying that the up-and-coming heavy rock band formed by Jimmy Page, then known as The New Yardbirds, would go over like a led balloon with crowds. Moon couldn’t have been more off, making one of the worst predictions about a band since Decca Recording Co. rejected The Beatles in 1962 because they thought guitar music was on its way out of being included in main stream music. Change the word balloon to Zeppelin and you have one of the most influential bands ever, Led Zeppelin — a quartet of rock gods who became the progenitors of heavy metal, setting off trends of power chord ridden riffs, big arena rock-style songs and even bigger hairdos. The “led” balloon flew, completely overshadowing the world of music to the point where it was almost impossible not to take a moment to look up and see how this band was re-setting the framework of rock ‘n’ roll. Led Zeppelin IV, also known as the Four Symbols, could have been considered the most notoriously anti-Zeppelin sounding album when it originally surfaced in 1971. Yes, it was the […]

   

• The Holiday for Lovers Isn’t Sweet for Everyone

  Lifestyle February 18, 2010 at 10:47 am Comments are Disabled

  Ramy Zabarah, Broadside Correspondent It’s that time of the year again, so take out your wallets and get ready for some love! Originally cherished as a day where one could express his or her love and affection toward a companion through exchanging confectionery and picking out flowers, the Valentine’s Day we know has since been remodeled. As any holiday approaches, we’re always reminded that sentimentality might not necessarily be at the top of everyone’s priorities. And by “everyone,” I mean businesses. Honestly, how would Martin Luther King, Jr. feel if he knew that we were using his birthday as an excuse to buy cheap furniture? Valentine’s Day is no more innocent a holiday than any other. In fact, The United States Greeting Card Association (yes, they have an association) claims about one billion valentines are sent worldwide every year. When Valentine’s Day was fairly young, before it met its doom in the 1800s in the form of industrialization, romantics used to write and design each other valentines and exchange baked goods. We now have a society considerate and convenient enough to provide us with that service, so we don’t actually have to do any work. What’s even cheesier than cutting […]