by Erin Franklin | Jun 1, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Although it wasn’t quite “grizzling or horrigust,” The BFG just might be categorized as a “grunicous” (as BFG would say) film to sit through for anyone who’s graduated from elementary school. Moviegoers can’t help but to expect an E.T.-like film upon hearing Steven Spielberg was directing another story about a child developing a friendship with a fantastical being, but The BFG (The Big-Friendly Giant) falls short of the storytelling magic E.T. possesses that we’ve come to expect from Spielberg. The film focuses on Sophie, an orphan, who is snatched by a giant from her bed. The tale continues with an unlikely, yet lovable friendship between Sophie and the giant, whom she dubs “BFG.” BFG isn’t the only giant in the world, though; there are several other giants, who have terrifying names, “Bloodbottler” and “Maidmasher,” for example, who eat children such as Sophie. The rest of the story tells Sophie’s and BFG’s quest to end the terror the other giants inflict upon “human beans,” and even BFG himself. BFG is not entirely without merit. The budding young star, Ruby Barnhill, delivers an admirable performance as Sophie, the orphan who travels to Giant Country. Mark Rylance also provides a wonderful voice performance as the title character. The CGI in the film is striking as well; however, this year’s The Jungle Book’s imagery is much more so. With today’s CGI possibilities, it seems that the scenery could have so much more depth — “Giant Country” is dull and lacking compared to the intricate and detailed jungle in The Jungle Book. Despite Barnhill and Rylance’s performances, older filmgoers may begin to suffer from boredom...
by Jade Spilka | May 31, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Filled with adventure and creativity, Director James Bobin’s Alice Through the Looking Glass captivates a creative-minded viewer and allows one to visit the enchanting land of Wonderland for a second delightful time. I was skeptical when I first heard Producer Tim Burton, who directed the 2010 Oscar-winning film Alice in Wonderland, would be bringing Wonderland to life once again. However, within the first ten minutes of the film, my fears were instantly put to rest. There are many positive messages portrayed throughout the fantasy film. Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) is the perfect role model for young girls. She is a tough go-getter who believes that nothing is impossible. She is not dependent on a man and knows that a woman can do any job a man can do. The Mad Hatter’s (Johnny Depp) storyline focuses on family and rekindling lost relationships. The Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and White Queen (Anne Hathaway) demonstrate repentance, forgiveness and the power of sisterhood. The film’s main focus, however, is time. Alice hates time and believes it is a thief, but as the story progresses, she learns time is a gift. After several attempts to change the past, she learns the past cannot be changed, but it can be a lesson applied to the future. The lessons were beautifully portrayed, and I left the theater feeling happy and surprised at the sequel’s fresh and imaginative ideas. Alice Through the Looking Glass is a must-see for any creative individual. Photo courtesy of Walt Disney...
by Jade Spilka | May 24, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Director Lorene Scafaria’s sophomore film The Meddler focuses on overbearing widow Marnie Minervini (Susan Sarandon) who latches onto her daughter, Lori, (Rose Byrne) and anyone who will keep her company. The film opens with Marnie’s move to Los Angeles where her daughter works as a screenplay writer. Lori, however, is depressed from the loss of her father and a recent breakup, busy with work and feels smothered by her mother’s constant phone calls and text messages. Marnie, desiring to feel needed, begins volunteering at a hospital and giving large amounts of time and money to people she barely knows. A therapist suggests she may be spending so much because she feels guilty having her husband’s money. Marnie focuses most of her time on others but feels lonely in the process. She is rarely placed as a priority in anyone’s life until she meets a retired police officer named Zipper (J.K. Simmons) who is instantly attracted to her. The film follows Marnie’s journey in pursuit of her daughter’s time and her own happiness. She is led to find a balance in her life, and with the help of Zipper, finds love and friendship, too. The comedy-drama, while charming at times, lacked an apparent message and coherent storyline. There was no obvious struggle or villain which made it lack an aspect of entertainment that is usually crucial to a movie. The film was ultimately not engaging, but it was filled with extraordinary acting. Sarandon and Byrne’s delivery seems effortless. Sarandon’s strong Brooklyn accent is consistent, while Byrne, an Australian native, speaks with a flawless American accent. The Meddler certainly has sweet,...
by Erin Franklin | May 11, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Talent such as Jordan Smith, winner of “The Voice,” and Grammy winner Michael W. Smith graced the stage at the GMA Honors and Hall of Fame Ceremony, which was held in Allen Arena on Tuesday, May 10. GMA continues to host its big events at Lipscomb, as it also hosts the annual Dove Awards in Allen Arena in the fall. 2016 honorees include Jars of Clay with their ministry Blood: Water Mission, Catherine Brewton with her ministry Hope For Harvest, Michael W. Smith, founder of Rocketown and the Gospel Music Trust Fund. Michael W. Smith, who has won more than 40 Dove Awards, received three Grammys and had two No. 1 hits, was recognized for founding Rocketown, a youth outreach ministry located in downtown Nashville. Smith said he is always trying to grow Rocketown, but he is still focused on the ministry aspect of his outreach. “It seems like we keep having expansions; we now have an art studio, dance studio, music studio and after-school programs,” Smith said. “We’re talking about expanding our space. We’re already at 45,000 square feet, and we’re thinking about adding an indoor gymnasium and making skatepark bigger, but the expansions I love are the ministry focused ones like Skatechurch on Tuesday nights.” “Five or six years ago, we found out that some of these kids had not eaten in two or three days, so we decided to start a food program.” After this realization, Smith started Rocketown Potluck, which is a family-style dinner held on Thursday nights. 2016 inductees to the GMA Hall of Fame were Russ Taff, Howard Rachinski, The Nelons and Hezekiah Walker. Past inductees include Fanny Crosby...
by Becca Risley | Apr 22, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Class was back in session as two-time Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Lecrae dropped by Collins Auditorium Thursday night as part of his 2016 Higher Learning Tour. In a speech to the audience, Lecrae said that the purpose of this college-only tour was to inspire all walks of life. The theme of the night was Unashamed. “Being unashamed is more than just wearing a t-shirt,” Lecrae said. “Being unashamed is saying that you can, without a doubt, stand up for what you believe in. Being unashamed is saying, ‘I’m willing to go to the hard place, and do the hard thing.’” For the Higher Learning tour, Lecrae partnered with Food for the Hungry, an organization that travels to and provides food to impoverished third world countries. “One of the reasons I partnered with them is that they’re unashamed to go to places that no one wants to go,” Lecrae said. Lecrae challenged the audience to spend $35 and invest in the lives of children in Uganda and East Africa. For every $35 donated, one child is taken care of physically and financially. “They’re giving us an opportunity to feed the soul, the bodies, the kids that nobody is caring for,” Lecrae said. “If all of us do this for one kid, we’d change an entire city, an entire country. “There’s no way I’m going to ask people to do something I’m not doing. I’m a part of this too.” During his performance, Lecrae performed hits from his 2011 album Rehab, the 2014 album Anomaly and consecutive singles from Church Clothes 1, 2, and 3. Lecrae alternated between sharing personal anecdotes...
by Becca Risley | Apr 7, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lively characters, music and the age-old tale of Charlie Brown bring Lipscomb Theatre’s spring musical to life opening April 8th in Collins Auditorium. You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown is told in short vignettes, pulled straight out of the Peanuts comic strip, but will feature original music. The story follows a day in the life of Charlie Brown and his friends. Audiences will follow their successes, joys and various shortcomings as they go through the day at school, at home and during extra curricular activities. Kari Smith, the show’s director, said she wanted to stay faithful to the cartoon and create characters that are familiar to the audience while producing unique content as well. “We even found places in script where we can pop out of that fourth wall on the stage and interact with the audience a little bit, which is fun when there are kids in the crowd,” Smith said. The musical is based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic, Peanuts. Written in 1967 by Clark Gesner, the musical follows Charlie Brown in his attempts to win the heart of the Little Red-Haired Girl. Senior Elijah Wallace plays Charlie Brown and is joined on stage by sophomore Haley Sue Pearson as Lucy, sophomore Scott Wilson as Schroeder, junior Bekah Purifoy as Sally, and sophomore Connor Weaver as Snoopy. Among these, Linus, Peppermint Patty, Pig Pen, Woodstock, Freida and Marcie will make appearances as well. “Preparing for the role, my cast mates and I were encouraged to dig deep into ourselves and find our childlike nature and qualities that we would give our...
