Category: Film

MBPT Calls For SXSW Volunteers

Written by Tracy Fuller

Now that the spring semester is in full swing, Spring Break is looming on some minds. Whether traveling out of town or doing a staycation, Spring Break is typically the time for decompressing.

Conveniently, Spring Break falls during the live music capital of the world’s most famous festival, SXSW.  As many know, SXSW’s Festivals are divided into Interactive, Film, Music, Comedy and Gaming.

Typically SXSW’s Interactive covers a wide array of technology related panels with the potential to form connections for networking.

SXSW’s Film Festival is a mecca for global and national cinema releases. This year has an incredible 132 film features. This would be a good time for film lovers to get in and check out what is premiering. In fact, for any enrolled student, there is a substantial discount that you should probably take advantage of by going here.

ACC’s Music, Business, Performance + Technology (MBPT) department is calling for volunteers to assist in SXSW’s Music Festival. Many times, these volunteers have the opportunity to assist in stage operations throughout the festival. In fact, some previous ACC MBPT students have become Stage Managers due to their experiences as a volunteer. The volunteer call is general, so there are plenty of options for MBPT and other students

For more information please reach out to [email protected].

Film Review: Mudbound

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Written by Tracy Fuller

The McAllan family is a working-family raising their children on a Mississippi farm. The Jacksons are a sharecropping family on a Mississippi farm. Both families have a son returning from the World War II to work the land. Jamie McAllan (Garrett Hedlund) and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell) suffer from PTSD post-war.

Ronsel is a sergeant, wrestling with the terror of being a free man in Europe, but one with no rights when being back in America – the nation he defended in battle.

Jamie is an airborne captain, struggling with the horrific memories witnessed in the sky.

Both Ronsel and Jamie, come together with the bond of PTSD. Their friendship is an opposite perfect connection to status, mental health and racial division of that era.

Dee Rees and Virgil Williams did a excellent job turning Hillary Jordan’s novel into a cinematic ride. Mudbound invokes various emotions from the viewer to feel both families’ level of poverty, struggles to get ahead and what life was like for that period. This sure to be award-winning film hits Netflix on November 17th.

Pick this review up in the Spring 2018 Life4U magazine on campus.

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Film Review: Murder on the Orient Express

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Written by Nate Torres

Persevering mystery of Agatha Christie and her hero Hercule Poirot return to the big screen in the latest adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express.  The classic mystery attracted an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Willem Dafoe, Judy Dench, Daisy Ridley, Derek Jacobi and many others who portray a group of passengers all traveling aboard the luxurious Orient Express.  As the title suggests, a passenger falls victim to murder leaving 12 dynamic individuals suspect to the crime.  It is the archetypal “who done it” story as Detective Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) helps find the murderer amongst the train’s passengers before they can make their escape at the next stop – or worse, kill again.  

The setting takes place in 1934 Europe and though the main events all revolve around the train and its compartments, the production found ways to deliver some amazing scenery, beautifully captured in 65mm. Audiences who find themselves fond of traditional mystery will certainly find this film delightful. The scenes involving Poirot’s interaction with the passengers and his demeanor makes room for comic relief.  Branagh shows great respect for Christie’s original story through script and visual adaptation, while staying true to Poirot and his “magnificent moustaches.” There is, also, some magnificence in the way the cast subversively play out their characters, making them relevant to today.  Touching on issues like race, addiction, greed, guilt and death, the film explores how the human psyche can be pushed to a breaking point and drive one to murder.  Each one of the suspects holds their own quirks and eccentricities that give rise to suspicion and also make for good entertainment.  

Murder on the Orient Express is not at attempt to blow your mind as a mystery. The film contains twists and turns that push even “the greatest detective in the world” to his limits.  If not a fan of playing sleuth, however, cinephiles can still enjoy the film’s gorgeous pictures and camera work while taking their best guess on who did it.

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Film Review: The Florida Project

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Written by Taylor Kokas

The Florida Project, named after an early title of “Disney World,” follows six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince) living week-to-week in a bubble gum colored motel called “The Magic Castle,” being raised by her young, rebellious mother Halley (Bria Vinaite). When Moonee isn’t out on the streets with her mother – selling perfume, trespassing or stealing to make rent – she goes on adventures with her motel friends Scooty and Jancey. Making the best out of their summer, the group collects ice cream money from strangers and annoys the motel’s manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe).

Moonee shows us how to make the best of what you have. However, at any moment, the reality that she experiences could be taken away from her if rent isn’t paid or Bobby doesn’t act as her protector. In the end, Moonee’s reality is threatened when child services shows up. In this scene, she runs away to tell her friend Jancey bye, the visual transition from 35mm film to iPhone footage can be extremely frustrating and jarring to the audience. This rough transition however is a visual display, mirroring the experiences of Moonee’s life. Overall the film does a good job of exposing the viewer to this overlooked world in our society and the people that experience it while taking the viewer on a ride that will be, both, heartbreaking and heartwarming.

The Florida Project, was released by A24 Films on October 13th with a limited theatrical run and home video to follow.

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