INSIDE BEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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OASIS UPDATE • ANONYMOUS • CARINE ROITFELD • UNCHARTED 3 • TOWER HEIST• WALE

Commander-in-ChicCommander-in-ChicThe New Power Dressing

November 10, 2011Page 2 • Inside Beat

ART

Spencer BlazakJoseph Brown

Diana Cholankeril Christine ChunnRandi GonnelliSaskia KusnecovDivya Patibandla

FREDDIE MORGAN............................................................................TV EDITOR

EMILY GABRIELE.......................................................................MUSIC EDITOR

HEATHER TEDESCO................................................................THEATER EDITOR

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................................FASHION EDITOR

JILLIAN PASON..........................................................................COPY EDITOR

KEITH FREEMAN.........................................................................PHOTO EDITOR

ALEX NATANZON............................................................................FILM EDITOR

JASON PEARL..............................................................................ONLINE EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH...........................................................VIDEO GAMES EDITOR

E D I T O R I A L B O A R D

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INSIDEBEATTHIS WEEK’S

CONTRIBUTORS TO

INSIDE BEAT :

ZOË SZATHMARY....................................................EDITOR

RYAN SURUJNATH.....................................................ASSOCIATE EDITOR

ASHLEY PARK...................................................ASSISTANT EDITOR

Cover Photo Courtesy of entertainmentrundown.com

MASON GROSS STUDENTS TAKE A CHANCEBY SASKIA KUSNECOV

STAFF WRITER

What does it really mean totake a chance? Bachelor of FineArts candidates had to ask them-selves this very question as theyprepared artwork for this fall’s Un-dergraduate Annual gallery. Theshow is for BFA candidates gettingready for their senior thesis, al-though submissions were open tothe entire school.

“The theme came from an exhi-bition that is on at the [JaneVoorhees] Zimmerli [Art] Mu-seum,” said Gary Beegan, the sen-ior thesis director at Mason GrossSchool of the Arts. Last year thestudents were given the theme ofwater for this show based on an ex-hibit that was running at the Zim-merli focused on the same concept.This year, the gallery played off ofthe recent Fluxus exhibition, COURTESY OF SASKIA KUSNECOV

pulling from its themes of chanceand circumstance to give the artistsa framework to work within.

A total of 70 BFA candidates in-stalled artworks in five rooms as apractice run for their spring thesisshow, which they will curate ontheir own. The students had fourhours to choose the art that wouldgo into their respective rooms,based around different micro-themes for each room. Accordingto Beegan, it was supposed to givethe artists insight in the curatorialaspects of a gallery show, such asmaking sure each piece did notdistract from the other and organ-izing it in such a manner to main-tain the overall theme.

“I think the most important as-pect of a piece in this show is tocombine multiple media,” saidWill Comer, a senior double ma-joring in Visual Art and PoliticalScience. The featured artists

used a variety of traditional andunconventional media, present-ing combinations like wood andhelium balloons.

The way each artist por-trayed chance varied between lit-eral to and conceptual, as someinvestigated the “chance” oftheir artistic process, chance cir-cumstances in everyday lives, aswell as individual experienceswith chance. Comer took theidea of chance and applied it tothe actual process of his work,as he experimented with manydifferent digital programs to pro-duce a fortuitous image.

Diana Maye Whitener, a fifthyear painting major at MasonGross and former gallery award-winner, also approached chancethrough her process. “Thispiece is a synesthetic response,so it was taking a chance for mein that I just closed my eyes and

painted while listening to a pieceof music.”

The gallery-winning piece ofthe night was by Francesca Fiore,a senior double majoring in visualarts and English. The piece fea-tured an oil painting of a girl’snaked back done on plexi-glass.Fiore surrounded her with rippedmattresses so that no matter theangle, the viewer would always bepeering in on the girl.

“Two years ago, I did a piece verysimilar to this,” she said, “I wanted tomake it a very fleshy, intrusive expe-rience for the viewer. I want theviewer to feel like there’s somethingviolating about the experience.”

Professors, faculty, studentsand artists all turned out to seewhat these students had to offer.To see what all the hype of chanceis about, visit the gallery in CivicSquare before the exhibit closeson Nov. 12.

November 10, 2011 Inside Beat • Page 3

FASHION

OXFORD COMA

T H E S E S H O E S A R E T I G H T !

BY DIVYA PATIBANDLASTAFF WRITER

Before you bid adieu to the fall season, be sure to get yourselfa stylish pair of oxfords to ease your wardrobe’s transition into win-ter. The oxford, often worn formally by men, is quickly making itsway into the closets of women as the menswear trend reaches newheights.

Inside Beat takes a look at affordable alternatives to somecelebrity favorites.

A classic brown leather oxford, worn by such personalities asTaylor Swift, is the way to go for a mainframe piece that will lastthrough the different seasons. Pair with textured tights, a sweaterdress and a side-pony for a coffee run between classes.

BY SASKIA KUSNECOVSTAFF WRITER

With the release of her newbook Irreverent and her resig-nation as editor of VOGUEParis last January, Carine Roit-feld and her legacy have beenhot topics for those in the fash-ion world. The first major moveRoitfeld made in fashion was inthe ’90s. She styled an over tlysexual Gucci campaign withTom Ford and Mario Testino.She was working in freelancestyling for French ELLE maga-zine when Testino approachedher to style some iconic nudephotos for him — with the sameeroticism that characterizesmuch of Roitfeld’s persona andinfluence. These photos caughtthe eye of Tom Ford, and by2001 Carine was running shipat VOGUE Paris. She changedthe VOGUE aesthetic from safefashion to a bold and audaciousart form.

Along with the connectionsthat Roitfeld made as a modeland during her work as a free-lance stylist, she brought a vi-sion that redefined the wayVOGUE Paris looked at ele-

Eye On…Carine Roitfeld Eye On…Carine Roitfeld

BY CHRISTINE CHUNNSTAFF WRITER

Over the past few years, leg-gings have hogged the spotlightwhile tights have faded into thebackdrop. However, tights arecurrently making a comeback ina variety of colors, patterns andtextures. Although leggings alsocome in similar designs, theytend to be flashy depending onthe wearer's outfit. While a pair offloral leggings may make you ap-pear childish, a pair of the samepatterned tights will give you aclassy feel.

Tights are especially preferredif you want to avoid that “chopped-off” at the ankle look with yourheels and flats. You may also wantto consider shopping for tights ifyou're interested in fall's latestshoe trends. Menswear inspiredshoes and suede flats are just twoexamples of what's in style rightnow. Below are some suggestionsof tights paired with what's popu-lar this season.

If you’re going for the work-place look, Aqua’s “Boss” LoaferPumps ($129) will give you a ma-ture and feminine appearance withits classy design and four-and-a-

For downtown chic a la Sienna Miller, white oxfords are a per-fect go to for those skinny jean days. The white will pop against adark wash jean or even a cuffed boyfriend jean.

While keeping the rest of your outfit simple, stroll down thesidewalks in metallic oxfords and channel your inner OliviaPalermo. If you’re feeling daring, carry a large statement bag butstick to a soft neutral.

WOMEN’S XHILARATION SHARON OXFORDS, $19.99,TARGET.COM

JEFFREY CAMPBELL ‘MILLER’ OXFORD $109.95, NORDSTROM.COM

LEFT: METALLIC LAMÉ OXFORDS $24.80, FOREVER21.COMRIGHT: WANTED GRAHAM OXFORD $39.95, DSW.COM

half inch heel. To add some color,pair these pumps with Urban Out-fitter’s pine green opaque tights($12). They will liven up your out-fit without looking obnoxious –keep in mind that if you do chooseto pair shoes with solid coloredtights, keep the rest of your en-semble simple.

For a formal or an everyday en-semble, team Corso Como’s suede“Fanned” Ballet Flats ($128.95)with Urban Outfitter’s black polkadot tights ($14). If polka dotsaren’t your thing, a pair of sheerblack tights will work just as well.The flats have gel-cushioned in-soles to provide all-day comfortand are also available in black,grey and ginger.

For a more daring duo, coupleSeychelles’ Under Suspicion Ox-fords ($120) in taupe with LookFrom London’s peacock feathertights ($29.99) in Persian indigo.The three-inch stacked heels willprovide a nice lift without beingoverly strenuous on the calves.The taupe and indigo will contrastbeautifully and people won’t beable to take their eyes off yourlegs. It’s all about balance; if youwant to wear bold-colored shoes,wear subtle-colored tights.

COURTESY OF MAGAZINE.MOTILO.COM

gance and beauty. One aspectthat bleeds into her work ismixing the chic with the mun-dane, like wearing kitchen gearwith chic couture. Roitfeld’sprovocative, controversial styleencourages risk-taking and ad-vocates for the idea that therecan be beauty in the bizarre.

After she resigned as editorfrom VOGUE Paris, she re-turned to the assiduous life of afreelance stylist and writer. Sherecently styled a campaign forBarney’s New York called“Carine’s World,” which cele-brates the stimulating nature ofher design through salient im-ages. The campaign, shot bylegendary photographer MarioSorrenti, features many famousfashion personalities, likeNaomi Campbell. Roitfeld alsohad a hand in the latest Octoberissue of W Magazine, as shehelped pick and style runwaylooks. The issue included a ten-page editorial of Roitfeld,where she posed seductively inhaute couture by labels such asValentino, Dior and Givenchy.

This past October, the ever-busy Roitfeld also published abook, Irreverent, which acts as

a scrapbook through both thehistory of her tenure at VOGUEParis and her friendships andprofessional relationships withmajor players in the fashionworld. Its contents include 360pages of photographs and tornpages from Roitfeld’s worksince the 1990s. Irreverent alsoincludes details of scandals dur-ing her time as editor of themagazine, such as the contro-versy sparked when she fea-tured a spread of model LaraStone in blackface in the 2009October issue and the timewhen plus-sized Cr ystal Rennwore only a red trench coat.The self-ser ving nature of thebook’s narratives and contentilluminates the very essence ofRoitfeld’s influence in VOGUEParis in her decade of leader-ship: She did what she saw fitfor the communication of fash-ion from industry to ar t form.

Irreverent sold out on Ama-zon within days of its release,but for anyone interested inhow Carine Roitfeld’s daringrisks in the tight-lipped worldof Parisian fashion put VOGUEParis on the map, keep an eyeout for its return!

November 10, 2011Page 4• Inside Beat

THEATER

BY RANDI GONNELLISTAFF WRITER

Describing Sleep No More NYC to someoneis similar to actually experiencing it; there’s alot of fumbling around in the dark. Basedloosely around Shakespeare’s Macbeth, SleepNo More is performed by Punchdrunk The-ater Company at the lavish McKittrick Hotelin Chelsea. According to legend, the McKit-trick Hotel was set to open in sometime in1939. Unfortunately, the hotel on 27th Streetnever had the opportunity to flourish — it wassealed up and condemned within days due tothe onset of World War II.

From the beginning, hotel guests are com-pletely disoriented. Everyone is led down apitch-black hallway, through a swanky jazzlounge and into a small curtained-off roomwhere hotel attendants hand out white Vene-tian-style masks to don. Guests are then ush-ered into an elevator and ordered not to speakonce let out onto the floor until the performancehas concluded. Upon leaving the elevator doors,guests are thrust into a surreal world of metic-ulously organized chaos and eerie mystery.

Talented actors (only recognizable by theirlack of masks) run amok through the halls,pausing in certain rooms to act out scenes. Un-like most Shakespeare productions, lines arelargely muted forcing viewers to interpret thestory line (which seems anything but linear)through movement and dance. The beauty ofthis interactive atmosphere is that there trulyis no such thing as being “too close.” Guests

Sleep No MoreCOURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES

Punchdrunk Theater Company| A

can perch themselves on couches as actorsstage an encounter merely inches away. Actorsgo about their business as if the audience doesnot exist, but in rare instances, a connection ismade between the two parties, and a moment isshared. A constant sexual air hangs over the en-tire experience: sultry glances and longinglooks are cast every which way, sometimes inthe direction of fortunate bystanders.

Guests travel back through time, wander-ing around the floors in a Hitchcockian dream.Rooms are decorated exquisitely and in suchoverwhelming detail that guests have nochoice but to lose themselves. From handwrit-ten letters signed by Macbeth to businesscards dating back to 1927 and half-eaten mealsin the dining room, excruciating attention isclearly put into creating the most sensory ex-perience possible. Drawers are meant to berummaged through, sweets in the candy storeare meant to be eaten and music which fills thehalls is meant to be danced to. It becomes alltoo easy to let oneself be swept up in the magicthat is Sleep No More.

The great thing about Sleep No More is thatthere is no right or wrong way to do it. Best ofall, Sleep No More is something that you can seeseveral times and have a uniquely mind-blow-ing experience with each visit. No prior knowl-edge of “The Scottish Play” is necessary toappreciate its haunting beauty — the only re-quirement is an open mind. Take a step out ofyour comfort zone in and into the McKittrickHotel until Jan. 21. Just be sure to wear goodwalking shoes.

November 10 , 2011 Inside Beat • Page 5

TV & VIDEOGAMES

BY FREDDIE MORGANTV EDITOR

Has a friend ever recom-mended something to you thatis so bizarre that it actuallyfrightens you a little? That’s TheAnnoying Orange.

The unbelievable: An an-thropomorphic orange with asuper-imposed cooked-toothedmouth and eyes badgers his fruitand vegetable friends in a popu-lar YouTube series, The Annoy-ing Orange.

The culprit: Creator DaneBoedigheimer of YouTube com-edy channel Daneboe.

The low-down: Boedigheimerdid not know that his new serieswould gain so much traction afterreleasing the first episode of TheAnnoying Orange in October of2009. But when the first episodereached 11 million views on hischannel, he knew he was going tohave to make another channel ded-icated solely to his orange (nowcalled “realannoyingorange”).

Orange resides atop a kitchencounter, where he is joined by hisfriends Pear, a Bartlett pear; Pas-sion Fruit, voiced by YouTubevlogger iJustine; Midget Apple, anundersized Red Delicious; andMarshmallow. Orange aggravateshis friends with rude jokes andchildish noises, which are often so

BY RYAN SURUJNATHASSOCIATE EDITOR

This November will be a busy(and expensive) month for thegaming community with numer-ous noteworthy titles due out overa small span of time. DeveloperNaughty Dog has kicked off themonth in style with Uncharted 3:Drake's Deception, a magnificentwork of art that could arguably beconsidered the best title of the se-ries, of the year and even of thisconsole generation.

Once again, Naughty Dog hascreated an intricately woven talethat is worthy of the finest Holly-wood films. Uncharted 2 set thestorytelling bar almost impossibly

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Seriously...WEB EDITION

Naughty Dog| A+COURTESY OF GAMESPOT.COM

COURTESY OF ANNOYINGORANGE.COM

infuriating that they order him toshut up. Many times, these friendsmeet a sudden and gruesome end,usually by evisceration with achef’s knife; comically, Orangetries to warn them before it hap-pens, but he is so annoying that noone ever listens.

Boedigheimer has managedto keep this simple formula freshfor almost four full seasons.Guest appearances from popularYouTubers pique interest for Or-ange fans. Notable guests includethree of Weezer’s members asobjects on a party platter, withlead singer Rivers Cuomo ap-pearing as a bonsai tree. ActorJames Caan has also appeared asa jalapeno pepper.

The unnecessar y funfacts: Boedigheimer has con-firmed that he and productioncompanies Gagfilms and TheCollective have started produc-ing six episodes for an AnnoyingOrange television series spin-of f. According to the creator,the show contains the maincharacters as in the Internet se-ries, but it takes place on a fruit-vending cart rather than in thekitchen. It has not been con-firmed on what channel it willair. A video game for IOS andAndroid devices has alreadybeen released, called AnnoyingOrange: Kitchen Carnage.

high, yet somehow, Uncharted 3 isjust as, or perhaps even more in-vigorating, an experience as itspredecessor. Uncharted 3 followsthe wisecracking treasure hunterNathan Drake as he searches forthe legendary lost Arabian citycalled Iram of the Pillars, whichT.E. Lawrence nicknamed "The At-lantis of the Sands." Despite beingthe third game of the franchise,Uncharted 3 manages to furtherdevelop Drake, as the game ex-plores his relationship with hismentor, Victor "Sully" Sullivan.Spectacular voice acting perform-ances only contribute to thegame's many tense moments andhelp make the player feel emo-tionally vested in Drake as he is

faced with the tribulations of hislatest adventure.

“Cinematic” is perhaps the sin-gle most appropriate word to de-scribe Uncharted 3. Thetrademarked cinematography issimply unmatched in any othergame; it creates the feel of a block-buster movie, yet the camera ishardly ever frustrating or finicky.The graphics are some of the pret-tiest on any system. Some of thesmaller, subtler graphical details arethe best: water ripples realistically,fire looks fantastic as it creeps upwalls and sand blows throughNate's hair. Coupled with exotic, ar-tistically rendered locales, Un-charted 3 is a visual feast to behold.Animation is also superior. Things

like Drake touching a wall as hepasses or stumbling across thedesert make the game feel real —not to mention the game’s very coolcombat animations. Also notable isthe game's powerful score, which isjust as beautiful as the graphics andperfectly complements the story.

Uncharted 3 plays very muchlike its predecessors. The onemajor change has been to meleecombat, which has been expandedand improved upon. Whereas itonce felt somewhat clumsy andstealth sequences felt forced in Un-charted 2, Drake's Deception turnshand-to-hand combat into astrength. Nate can now counterat-tack and throw enemies and stealthhas become a much more viable op-

tion. The gunplay and platformingremain relatively unchanged, how-ever there are a few relatively minorproblems. As was the case in Un-charted 2, platforming is too linear:while scaling an obstacle, the gameonly allows players to follow a sin-gle defined path rather than affordthem a little room for creativity. TheAI suffers from occasional lapses,with enemies displaying a tendencyto inexplicably leave cover in themiddle of firefights. Despite thesesmall criticisms, Uncharted 3 is avery polished experience.

It is difficult to definitively saywhether Drake's Deception is bet-ter than Uncharted 2. It is certainlyevery bit as good, and that oughtto be enough reason to get it.

Like it or not, the clothes wewear every day send distinct mes-sages to strangers. No one under-stands this better than politicians,who spend millions of dollars onimage-enhancing campaignsmeant to gain voters. While cloth-ing choices may not be the firsttopic discussed on The BillyO’Reilly Show or Anderson Cooper360, fashion undoubtedly markspoliticians and diplomats.

Think back to the 2008 elec-tion, in which Democrat BarackObama won the presidency. Ac-cording to The New York Times,the highest-paid person on Re-publican rival John McCain’s stafffor the first half of October wasAmy Strozzi, Sarah Palin’smakeup artist. A former em-ployee of Dancing With the Stars,Strozzi made $22,800 in twoweeks alone. Palin’s hair stylistalso earned $10,000. While manypoked fun at Palin and her politi-cal experience, including Satur-day Night Live’s Tina Fey, shealways looked good on high defi-nition television.

Being a stylish member ofWashington, D.C., though, alsohas its drawbacks for men. Rep.Aaron Schock, a Republican fromIllinois, has been featured inphoto shoots for multiple maga-zines. With his toned body andboyish looks, it’s been difficult formany to take him seriously. In re-sponse to his shirtless photos forMen’s Health this past June, theDemocratic Congressional Cam-paign Committee (DCCC) an-nounced, “As Americans continueto sour on the Republicans’ ex-treme, partisan plan to endMedicare, Representative AaronSchock (IL-18) employed an un-usual tactic to distract from hisvote. Schock took to the cover ofMen’s Health where he exposedeverything but his drastic plans toend Medicare.” Ouch.

Of course, First Lady MichelleObama is often mentioned in fash-ion magazines and talk shows asbeing an example of tasteful, 21st-century American fashion. A fan

of Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung and J.Mendel, her appearance on thecover of VOGUE Magazine ce-mented her status as the “FirstLady of American fashion.” Many,

including VOGUE editor-in-chiefAnna Wintour, count themselvesamong her admirers.

Obama, though, faces constantpressure from the media…in-cluding over her attire. Robin

Givhan, a Pulitzer Prize-winningWashington fashion reporter forNewsweek, has attacked the FirstLady’s ensembles. Wearingshorts on a First Family vacation

was deemed “common.” Just lastweek Givhan critiqued Republi-can presidential candidate Her-man Cain’s attire during a pressconference, where he shot downclaims of sexual harassment:

“There are those who believe adouble-breasted suit conveys acertain elegance of a bygone era,calling to mind Humphrey Bogartin a white dinner jacket or Gianni

Agnelli with his dashing andeclectic style…But in this morecasual age—when the ‘suits’ arefeeling the rage of Occupy WallStreet, the Tea Party and anyonewho has helplessly watched the

rapid decline of their 401(k)—Cain’s garb carries with it a sortof haughty swagger.”

Haughty swagger, though, issomething found in most Holly-

wood films that de-pict Americanpolitics. While mostof these feature cor-ruption and a cynicalview of American so-ciety as major plotpoints, it’s hard to for-get characters’ smartensembles. Classicslike The ManchurianCandidate and TheMan Who Knew TooMuch all featuredluxe menswear. Evenmore recent politicalthrillers show peoplegathering behind na-tional monuments toexchange secretswhile sporting trenchcoats and bespokesuits. The Ides ofMarch is one such ex-ample.

R e g a r d l e s s ,Givhan’s sharp criti-cism of the styles onparade in Washing-ton reveals the enor-mous weight thatimage carries forpublic figures.Major news publica-tions feature morefashion articles thanever before. For ex-ample, Newsweekrecently covered up-and-coming Muslimmodels who balancetheir faith with theirprofessional lives.

Like it or not,politicians will alwayslike to shop - they’rejust like the rest of

us. At the end of the day, though,your decision in the voting boothshould really come down to onething: not the label on a politi-cian’s power suit, but his or heractual viewpoints and expertise.

The Sartorial Candidates

The Tuesday after the first Monday of November always means Elec-tion Day. While candidates may have already found out if they wonor lost , the issue of style versus substance remains. Inside Beat inves-tigates the new way of power dressing and the mania surrounding it.

By Zoë Szathmary, Editor

Rep. Aaron SchockCOURTESY OF GQ.COM

Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, in vintage Thierry Mugler

Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor

First Lady Michelle Obama with Carla Bruni, wife of French president Nicolas SarkozyCOURTESY OF NEWSFLAVOR.COM

COURTESY OF OREGONLIVE.COMCOURTESY OF HUFFPOST.COM

The story is simple — set in post-WWII in a never-been-sadder England, it startsoff in a train station coffee shop. An obnoxious station conductor flirts with the owner,people come and go, and there is a morose-looking couple in the corner. The mangets up, puts a hand on the woman’s shoulder, and departs. The woman heads home.

So far, she has said two words. Something is on her mind. As she sits on the trainlistening to her blowhard friend, Lean’s camera zooms in on her, and her inner mono-

logue is narrated. She loves theman who has just left her. She isclearly distraught the whole wayhome, back to her family.

As she sits by the fire with herhusband, her inner monologue re-turns and she tells the story of thedoctor she loves in an imaginaryconfession to her husband. Theirlove starts as a chance encounter,then another unplanned meetingand pretty soon, they have be-come good friends.

The innocent infatuation pro-vides the woman with a fantasy toescape from her monotonous life,but 45 minutes in, the doctor con-fesses his love, and manages tocharm the same confession out ofher. All continues, and they keepseeing each other, but they soon re-alize that their relationship can’thave any real future.

Brief Encounter is heartbreak-ingly poetic from start to finish. It is

enchanting yet as bleak as its landscape. In an age when the majority of romances areoutlandish, star Ryan Reynolds or are just stupid, going onto the Instant Netflix libraryand watching this gem will be the best 66-year-old breath of fresh air you can find.

November 10, 2011Page 8• Inside Beat

FILM

BY SPENCER BLAZAKSTAFF WRITER

English director David Lean is among the best of his kind. His work is reminis-cent of a British mixture of the styles of Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Cop-pola. His ability to craft grand, sweeping epics like Doctor Zhivago, The Bridge overthe River Kwai andLawrence of Arabia,that still manage tohave riveting charac-ters and driving per-formances, isunparalleled. TheBritish Film Insti-tute’s Top 100 Filmslist has five of Lean’spictures in the top 11.

What is the high-est-ranked Leanmovie on the list? Nothis masterpieceLawrence of Arabia,but instead a littlefilm called Brief En-counter — the No. 2British film of alltime. But what is sospecial about it?

Despite his affin-ity for epics, Leanmade a few characterdramas at the beginning of his career, with this one being the best. Since this was solow-budget, not requiring an expansive desert or a train to explode, Lean could putall his focus into directing the actors.

BY DIANA M. CHOLANKERILSTAFF WRITER

Tower Heist is Hollywood’snewest release that hits close tohome in these financially trou-bling times. Directed by BrettRatner, also the producer of theRush Hour series, this film shouldcome as no surprise with itscomedic punches and somewhatmore serious undertones.

The story opens up with thestaff of a high-class apartmentcomplex hard at work in NewYork City and the inside dealingsof their richest resident and theowner of the complex, ArthurShaw (Alan Alda, The Aviator)who has just been indicted on se-curities fraud. That’s not all: hewas also handling the staff’s pen-sion fund, which has now dwin-dled to a whopping zero dollars.So to return the charming favor,the head of staff and Shaw’s sup-posed confidante, Josh Kovacs,(Ben Stiller, Zoolander) heads anoperation in which he plans tosteal the suspected 20 million dol-lars in cash Shaw stowed away incase of escape. Of course, he can-not pull off this death-defying featalone and recruits the rest of theTower employees whose rapsheets combined have less streetcredit than that of Roger Rabbit.However, he tries to convince hisex-con childhood friend Slide(Eddie Murphy, Trading Places) tolend a crooked hand.

So maybe this Robin Hoodtheme isn’t all that new, but the

Classic Film: Brief Encounter (1945)

TowerHeist

Brett Ratner | B-

COURTESY OF DVDBEAVER.COM

COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

characters that the screenwrit-ers Ted Grif fin (Ocean’s Eleven)and Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me IfYou Can) have created are ex-tremely entertaining and highlyindividual, so much so that theymake audiences want to staytuned, despite the age-old plot.What’s funny is that this moviewas originally created for an all-black cast in mind; MartinLawrence was originally meantto play Stiller’s role. Naturally,there are some screenplaybumps along the way, in whichStiller delivers some uncomfort-able lines which may have beenbetter suited to the comedic tim-ings of Mr. Lawrence.

But let’s step away from Stillerfor a moment and take a look atEddie Murphy, who is surpris-ingly fresh-faced in this film. Afterspending years racking up uno-riginal film roles in movies suchas The Nutty Professor and MeetDave, the man comes back into arole which we haven’t seen him fillsince his action packed days ofthe ’80s. Let’s hope this new Mur-phy is here to stay.

The pacing of Tower Heist isn’tat all perfect, but it definitely hasa charm that makes it impossibleto dislike. It’s a refreshingly funmovie that delivers comedic ac-tion scenes. Then again, at timesthe film drags and gets stale, butsince the film spent five years inmovie purgatory (Murphy origi-nally pitched the idea in 2005)you have to applaud the fact thatthe movie came out fighting.

November 10 , 2011 Inside Beat • Page 9

FILM

BY LISA-ANNA MIGLIORESTAFF WRITER

Roland Emmerich’s controver-sial film, Anonymous, has been re-ceived with skepticism fromShakespeare aficionados since itsmainstream release on Oct. 28.Screenwriter John Orloff presents apolitical thriller, claiming that it wasEdward de Vere, Earl of Oxford,who penned William Shakespeare’splays. Though a lot of criticism hasbeen directed toward various his-torical inaccuracies, few have paidattention to the overall presentationof the film. The film is magnificentlyengaging and aesthetically pleas-ing. Besides being a political

AnonymousRoland Emmerich | B+

COURTESY OF MOVIECOLLIDER.COM

COURTESY OF FILMOPHILIA.COM

thriller, Anonymous is a dramaticlove story between Edward andQueen Elizabeth, an ardent andpainful relationship that echoessomething from a Greek tragedy.Anonymous serves as an enjoyabledrama full of deception, love andmurder, rather than a historicallyaccurate exposé on the Bard.

The film follows the plight ofEdward de Vere (Rhys Ifans, En-during Love), a man with a pro-found passion for playwright andpoetry. Elizabeth (Vanessa Red-grave, Letters to Juliet), is gen-uinely enamored with these plays… as well as the “anonymous”writer. While two lovers’ affair washalted by William Cecil (David

Thewlis, Kingdom of Heaven) dur-ing their youth, far later de Verediscovers a way in which he canresurrect another one of his tabooloves. While attending a lowbrowtheater in town, he finds a stand-into sign and present his politicallytreasonous works to the public:William Shakespeare (Rafe Spall,One Day). To de Vere’s chagrin,his plan backfires when Shake-speare’s unabashed popularityproves that public applause willblindly overlook him as the truepoet. Throughout the film de Verestrives to salvage the things clos-est to him, oust political infidels inthe court and scour through har-rowing baggage from his past

against the backdrop of the suc-cession of Queen Elizabeth I andthe Essex Rebellion against her.

The exceptional performance ofRhys Ifans as de Vere is a highlightof the film; he depicts the characteras a great intellectual whose mainlonging is to fulfill his private, radi-cal desires. Ifans shifts betweenplaying a proud and suave gentle-man of the court and portraying apowerless victim. Juxtaposed withthe witless and ungainly presenta-tion of Shakespeare, de Vere ap-pears a lovelorn genius who spendshours of ecstasy penning master-pieces. Ifans does a fantastic jobwinning audience members’ heartsto de Vere’s plight.

Anonymous richly evokes theLondon of Shakespeare’s time inboth costume and mise en scene.However, if one is expecting a histor-ical account of the real “Shake-speare,” he or she should lookelsewhere. Incongruities such asQueen Elizabeth watching Hamlet(penned after her death) and Shake-speare’s supposed illiterateness(though he worked as an actor andneeded to read scripts to perform)make one suspicious as to how accu-rate the rest of the screenplay is. Thatsaid, Anonymous presents a fantasti-cally entertaining story and createsan intimate portrayal of 16th centuryLondon in all its muddiness and lusti-ness, both literal and allegorical.

November 10, 2011Page 10 • Inside Beat

MUSIC

BY TAMMIE

CHIOUSTAFF

WRITER

It’s gratifying to know that Flo-rence + the Machine have beenprogressive with their own music.Injecting even more forceful,pounding drums, lead singer Flo-rence Welch’s brand of grandiosechamber-pop carries over into thesophomore compilation, Ceremo-

Florence + the Machine

Ceremonials | A-

BY JOSEPH BROWNSTAFF WRITER

Wale puts together a rather lackluster follow up to hisextremely solid debut album Attention Deficit with hisMaybach Music release, Ambition. The appeal of Walehas always resided in the fact that he can bring the Wash-ington, D.C., nightclub flavor to fans with his quickrhymes and upbeat songs. However, for some reason thetempo on this album is turned way down. Longtime fansshould be aware that the high-energy rapper that cap-tured their ears for years seems to only have met the cri-teria for a studio album. Fans beware; listen to Wale’smixtape a little while longer.

With the exception of songs such as “Slight Work,” fea-turing Big Sean and “Legendary,” most of the track list con-sists of slow rap and R&B mixtures that could hardly berepresentative of the rapping ability that Wale has shownsince 2005. It’s obvious that he into the studio to make pop-ular music, not “Wale-music”. Putting it simply: Waleshould have gone harder!

For listeners just scanning the record, there are a fewcatchy, typical, R&B songs that will passably capture at-tention. Tracks such as “White Linen” featuring Ne-Yo,“Sabotage” featuring Lloyd and, probably the best of thismediocre list, “Lotus Flower Bomb” featuring Miguel, areall slightly enjoyable.

Other artist features include Kid Cudi, Rick Ross,Meek Mill, Sam Dew and Jeremih. Though this mayseem like a nice line-up, most of the songs are unmem-orable and hopefully do not foreshadow Wale’s futurestyle for upcoming projects.

The potential for Wale to be great is almost palpable inthe album, but it falls short in almost every aspect. For fansthat expect high-quality music from Wale, Ambition will notfulfill those expectations.

> > > > > W A L E < < < < <

Ambition | C

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SMALLZANDRASKIND.COM

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLORENCEANDTHEMACHINE.NET

nials. Haunting harps, whisperingwoodwinds and the signature bird-like whoops and cries give offequal measures of poise and wild-ness. In comparison with herdebut album, Lungs, Welch wan-ders deeper into an abyss, navi-gating through revelations withmore forwardness.

While “Shake It Off,” thealbum’s first single, is filled withthe same regal orchestral back-drop and ethereal vocals thatlaunched the group into popular-

ity, the quality of the album does-n’t stop there. Ceremonials con-tains bright, warbling songs, yetdeeper within the album lurks amore sinister side. A good exam-ple of this is “Seven Devils.” Thetrack features wiry strings pre-cariously floating on gloomypiano runs. Without having toraise her voice, Welch leaves thelistener straining to hear everyhazy, echoing whisper.

An unexpected yet pleasantsurprise can be found on the

second bonus disc in the song“Bedroom Hymns” — the trackis explosive and electric. Con-taining a bass that pulsates withclicks and snaps, “BedroomHymns” builds up into a dizzy-ing crescendo, leaving a ferventmark on listeners’ ears.

At the same time, one can’tforget that Welch owns an im-pressive set of pipes, showcasedin her acoustic sets. Stripped ofher regular bombastic back-drops, her voice carries through

and aptly demonstrates her song-writing talents.

Songs like “Breaking Down”and “Never Let Me Go” are moremoody than explorative, inducinga tepid feel compared to the restof the album. Rather than beingheart-pumping or soothingtracks, both songs lack thecharm and quirkiness that de-fines Florence + the Machine —they’re forgettable. Still, Ceremo-nials turns out to be a fantasticprogression from Lungs.

November 10, 2011 Inside Beat • Page 11

MUSIC

FIREAND

GASOLINE

BY SPENCER BLAZAK

STAFF WRITER

When Oasis began manymoons ago, Noel Gallagherwas a roadie who went to gosee his brother Liam’s band.He recognized that the bandwas kind of “terrible,” butwanted to get involved to show-case some of the songs that hehad written. Twenty yearslater, the two brothers are backin the exact same place.

This year, both Liam andNoel separately released al-bums with an interesting dy-namic. It seems that bothbrothers tried to embarrassthe other with their ownwork … this is sibling rivalryon a multi-million dollarlevel. One question remains:is either album actuallyworth a second listen?

THE GALLAGHERBROTHERS

POST-OASIS

COURTESY OF ANYMORE.TV

COURTESY OF DEAN CHALKLEY

COURTESY OF DEAN CHALKLEY

The story of Oasis is theprototypical story of a rags-to-riches rock band. The twobrothers clawed their way outof Manchester’s suburbs byplaying at dive bars. Theirfirst hit, “Supersonic,” waswritten in five minutes, andthey have spent their entirecareers trying to top an albumwritten 16 years ago.

The relationship betweenthe two brothers is dramatic,and they couldn’t be betterfoils for one another. Noel wasthe heart of Oasis, writing themajority of the band’s songsand sometimes taking the micon personal cuts, like the track“Don’t Look Back in Anger.”On the other hand, Q Maga-zine named Liam the 11th-bestsinger of all time, even thoughhis voice couldn’t go highenough for the parts that Noel

wrote. Liam is also notoriousfor referring to George Harri-son as a “nipple” months be-fore he died, exemplifying hisquintessential dirt-bag-rock-star persona.

They are polar opposites —like Diet Pepsi and Mentos —but when put together, theyhave the potential to createsomething astounding. Theproblem has been that theband hasn’t had any definitivedirection in many years: theyrose to instant fame with Defi-nitely Maybe, a flawless rockalbum, and followed it up with(What’s the Story) MorningGlory — which might even bet-ter, depending on who you ask.Oasis basically forged the Brit-pop genre, and created anotherera of rock and roll.

The Gallagher brothersfaced a downfall when they

tried to follow-up their earlysuccesses. The albums solddecently well and some sin-gles got airtime, but theywere considered critical dis-appointments. Many lost re-spect for them. Tensions roseas the brothers recognizedthe general dismay; it all cul-minated backstage at a 2009gig when the band broke upon the spot, ending with Liamsuing his brother.

Two years later, Oasis re-formed as the band Beady Eye,fronted by Liam. The lineup is ex-actly the same minus Noel, in-spiring the zinger album nameDifferent Gears, Still Speeding. Asa whole, the album is not terrible.It has some solid rock songs andit’s great to hear Liam actuallyputting in the effort again. How-ever, Beady Eye lacks one thingthat Oasis had — lyrical drive.

Inversely, Noel Gallagher’sHigh Flying Birds, a scaled-down rock album, has some in-teresting depth to the lyrics.The problem is that listenersmay zone out quickly due tothe absence of hooks. Overall,it doesn’t have enough soul.

The moral of the story: bothbrothers need each other. Eventhough they are separated now,they still have managed to ac-complish what they alwayswanted — a work to top or atleast stand beside the album,Morning Glory. Music fans canonly hope that they put theirlawsuit aside, join back up andattempt to make another in-credible album together. How-ever, based on Liam’spersonality, it is not far-fetchedto predict that he will probablyjust declare his brother a “nip-ple” and call it a day.

November 10, 2011Page 12 • Inside Beat

MUSIC

BY EMILY GABRIELE

MUSIC EDITOR

Breaking the barriers of mul-tiple music genres, Richard An-drew is Outasight. TheYonkers-bred artist has been inthe music scene for nearly fiveyears, and the masses are finallyrecognizing his work. Whenasked to describe his sound, Out-asight responded, “Eclectic. It’s alittle bit genre-bending; it goesfrom pop to hip-hop and then, youknow, there’s definitely soul androck influences in there as well. Itgoes all over the place.”

With creative and fresh lyrics,Outasight’s music quickly lureslisteners. He engages in a hip-hop cadence complemented byelectronic-feeling beats. Somemay recognize his track,“Tonight Is The Night,” from thePepsi commercial that consis-tently airs during FOX’s talent-seeking show, The X-Factor. Thispast Thursday, Outasight tookhis musical campaign to anotherlevel by performing his notablesingle, live, on the show.

AARRTTIISSTT OOFF TTHHEE WWEEEEKK:: OOUUTTAASSIIGGHHTT

CHECK HIS MUSIC OUT FOR YOURSELF AT:

WWW.IAMOUTASIGHT.COM/ WWW.TWITTER.COM/#!/OUTASIGHT/

TWEET HIM!

COURTESY OF RAY LEGO

Outasight has seemingly risenup out of nowhere. However, his es-teem has not come simply. The am-bitious musician dropped out ofcollege and told his parents of hischoice — no easy task. “My familywas pissed, man … They looked atme like I was crazy. I guess I kind ofused it as a chip on my shoulder forinspiration. Now they’re like thesehuge supporters. It’s been an amaz-ing transformation. It wasn’t easy.”Despite various obstacles, it’s clearthat Outasight’s dedication andpoise is paying off.

Outasight plans to debut hisfull-length album by next March,and is currently touring with musi-cal vets Gym Class Heroes. The 27-year-old is the Next Big Thing for awide range of music lovers.

When describing his songwritingprocess Outasight said, “Be creative,have fun and continuously create.You have to love it first and foremost.You have to love the creative processand be honest with it. Study the peo-ple that inspire you and find what in-spires you in this world and justcreate.” Will his recipe for music ulti-mately lead to success?