by Rebekah Stogner | Jul 18, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
The controversy and backlash surrounding the female “Ghostbusters” reboot has been in the air since the first trailer dropped in March. After months of angry comments, extreme dislikes and waiting, we finally have the answer to the question, “Is the film actually any good?” In my opinion, yes. I actually think it improves on the original. Physicist Erin Gilbert (Kristen Wiig) reunites with childhood friend Abby Yates (Melissa McCarthy), and they team up with Jillian Holtzmann (Kate McKinnon) and Patty Tolan (Leslie Jones) to investigate paranormal activity in New York City. Of course, many doubters and the mayor of the city are against them, until a large device that amplifies the paranormal unleashes an apocalypse of ghosts. As a huge fan of all four of the leading ladies, I was hyped about this movie since it was announced, and I was not disappointed. While certainly paying homage to the original with its many Easter eggs and cameos, “Ghostbusters” was able to stand on its own as a film with its own unique plot and characters. While Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones were all fantastic, Kate McKinnon absolutely stole the show with her quirky, adorable, mad scientist characteristics. Almost everything she did was laugh-out-loud funny. I laughed out loud throughout most of the film, whereas I only chuckled a few times watching the original “Ghostbusters.” The secretary character was much more interesting in this version, and there were more ghosts to bust. Best of all, the bonds between the characters were much stronger. These ladies (and Chris Hemsworth) just work so well together, and it’s nice to see...
by Rebekah Stogner | Feb 8, 2016 | News Slider, Opinion
After watching other films by the well-known and acclaimed Coen brothers in the past, my verdict on the films tends to be the same: “It was technically good, and I enjoyed it, but I don’t know what to make of it.” My verdict for Hail, Caesar! is almost exactly the same. While it’s not as heavy as Fargo, Hail, Caesar! delivers similar quirkiness and strangeness of plot. The film trailers promised an amazing cast with lots of lighthearted laughs in a love letter to old Hollywood films. While all of these things are delivered, there’s an entirely different layer about communism and manipulation and an extremely underdeveloped villain. Despite this, the strong suits of this film are the comedic acting and the atmosphere. George Clooney plays a wonderful dopey star. Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton all deliver hilarious cameo performances. Alden Ehrenreich is absolutely hysterical as another stupid leading man from the cowboy genre struggling to fit into a period drama, and Josh Brolin leads them all with a strong performance as the film studio’s management. There are even two unnamed extras that deliver a performance that laughed me to tears without ever saying a word. I especially enjoyed the vignettes of different films on different sound stages in the time period. I almost think the film would have been near perfect and certainly very fun if it just focused on telling separate stories from each soundstage with their quirky leading characters. The strange communism plot point pulls away from the enjoyable mains, leaving the majority of them underdeveloped and throwing the audience...
by Rebekah Stogner | Dec 28, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Out of several okay movies I saw this year, five films stood out as great. Whether they made me laugh, cry, cheer, scream or all of the above, I enjoyed all of these films immensely, and I’m sure a lot of you did, too. Pitch Perfect 2 Despite some of its cheap jokes and shortcomings, this movie was still a lot of fun to see. The a cappella music is amazing as always, and the whole movie is worth it just for the riff-off halfway through. Definitely best to watch with a group of friends, PP2 is currently available to rent through Redbox or on DVD everywhere. Amy I love documentaries, and this one was definitely a great one. I knew nothing about Amy Winehouse outside of her death and rehab stints when I entered the theater, and I walked out wanting to fight whoever said a bad word about her and her angelic voice. Definitely heart wrenching at times, this film paints a beautiful, though truthful, portrait of the life of the jazz singer. Amy is available to rent through Redbox or for purchase on iTunes. Star Wars: The Force Awakens As if this surprises anyone, the new Star Wars is smashing box office records worldwide, and with great reason. With enough nostalgia to make any fan squeal mixed in with the perfect amount of new scenery and characters, The Force Awakens is the most classic, wonderful entry in the Star Wars saga since Return of the Jedi. The Force Awakens is still playing in theaters everywhere, but get your tickets fast! Inside Out I’ve seen this movie...
by Rebekah Stogner | Oct 22, 2015 | News Slider, Opinion
The first performance I ever did at Lipscomb University was a scene from this insane show in which I played Rosencrantz and my closest friend played Guildenstern. We had no idea what to make of the script and sort of stumbled our way through Tom Stoppard’s philosophical play, so I was excited to see Nashville Repertory Theatre’s version in sort of a nostalgic light. Seeing the play brought to life gave so much joy to my theatrical, inquisitive, comedy-loving heart. If you can grasp the basic plot of “Hamlet,” there’s definitely something for you in this show. “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern” follows (who else?) Hamlet’s good friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in their time offstage during Hamlet. Have you ever wondered what characters do when they’re not being used in the script? Stoppard answers this question for you in this 140-minute comedic-romp that dabbles in questions about life’s beginning and end, probability and chance, madness and the sheer lack of humanity in actors. Title characters Matt Garner and Patrick Waller have absolutely brilliant onstage chemistry. Waller’s giddy and goofy Rosencrantz offers a beautiful and hilarious foil to Garner’s inquisitive and stern Guildenstern. These two play almost more like a comedy duo than Shakespeare characters, making it so enjoyable to watch. At the performance I attended, someone loudly dropped their cell phone on the floor and the two incorporated that in brilliantly, as if they were really searching for the source of the noise. At one point, Waller smacked directly into the set. I have no idea if this was intentional or not, but either way, he played it off incredibly and it...
by Rebekah Stogner | Jun 20, 2015 | Arts and Entertainment, Opinion
I knew from the instant I saw the trailer that this movie was either going to be excellent or terrible. When I got to the theater to see it, I had to wait almost an hour for a showing that wasn’t sold out since it was a rainy Friday afternoon on opening day. Luckily, it was well, well worth it. Currently holding a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and climbing to the top of the box office as of writing this, Inside Out is proof that Pixar’s original movies are unbeatable in animation, story and just about everything else. This whimsical story follows the emotions Fear, Joy, Sadness, Anger, and Disgust in the head of 11-year-old Riley during a life changing move to San Fransisco with her family. When her personality begins to drastically change as a result, it’s up to the emotions to work together and bring everything back to a perfect balance. This movie is absolutely flawless. The human designs are amazing to look at, a long way even from Up, the studio’s last original film. The designs of the emotions are adorable and perfect. Each of the sections of Riley’s head, including imagination, dreams, long term memory and more are all colorful and delightful to look at. The way the movie explains how the mind works is simple enough for children, yet made so much sense to me as an adult. I think this movie caters even more to adults than children, with the stunning originality and hilarious voice acting, especially by Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith and Lewis Black as Joy, Sadness and Anger respectively. There’s...
