‘SUMMER 2013Letter from the Editor “Groundhog Day was one of the greatest scripts ever written. It didn’t even get nominated for an Academy Award.”—Bill Murray “I got nominated for an Academy Award for writing Borat.’ —Todd Phillips “The Oscar nomination is great. It’s a great pat on the back. And I like that.”—Jeff Bridges “Nothing can take the sting off the world’s economic problems like watching millionaires pres- ent each other golden statues.” —Billy Crystal ‘Ah, the Academy Awards. It’s the most watched entertainment event of the year. But why are responses as varied as the above quotations? Is the controversy of the Oscars simply the subjectivity of art, or are the winners chosen through politics and not merit? This issue is not going to attempt to answer this age-old question, but using features such as What Should Win vs. What Will Win, Oscar Nomination Snubs and Surprises, and some stu- dent polls, I’m sure that you, as a biased HM student, will have a strong opinion after reading this issue. Of course, we also have our usual previews, reviews, and features (such as X-Men: Days of Future Past, Anchorman 2, and British Television in America, respectively) if the Os- cars isn’t your cup of tea. So on March 2, sit back, grab your popcorn, and enjoy the show. See you at the theaters, Josh Arnon Editor-in-Chief Senior Content Editor Danny Ehrlich Design Editors Allison Chang lunior Content Editor | Anne Rosenblatt Kenneth Shinozuka Editor-in-Chief Faculty Advisor Josh Amon Dr. Deborah KasselTable of Contents Features ‘The Golden Globes Page 4 Jasmine Katz Outside Lleywn Davis: The Snubs and Surprises of the Oscar Nominations Page 8 Lorenzo Brogi-Skoskiewicz ‘The Oscars: HM Student Polls Page 10 Josh Arnon, ‘The 86th Academy Awards: Who Will and Who Should Win Page 12 Kenneth Shinozuka Previews and Reviews X-Men: Days of Future Past: Back to the Future Part IV? Page 14 Lorenzo Brogi-Skoskiewicz British Television: A Market Where the Sun Never Sets Page 16 Benjamin Ades ‘The Next Best Thing to Andy Samberg Since SNL: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Page 18 Maddie Bender Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues? Page 19 Gabriel Broshy House of Cards: Playing with a New Deck Page 20 Christina Cho ‘The Way Movies Should be Watched. Page 21 Daniel Mindich My Top Picks of 2013 Page 22 Evan GreeneRecap On January 12 this year, the 71st annual Golden Globes honored actors, surprised view- ers, and sparked controversy. The recipients of the awards for 2013's best films were 12 Years a Slave for Best Motion Picture — Drama and American Hustle for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. Both were predict- ed to win nearly unanimously outshining their competitors with seven nominations each, al- though many film critics could have just as easily seen the award for Best Motion Picture - Drama g0 to Gravity, which was instead presented with Best Director. While Cate Blanchett cepted the award for Best Actress ~ Motion Picture Drama for her widely acclaimed role in Blue Jas- mine, Matthew McConaughey’s win for Best Actor - Motion Pic- ture Drama in Dallas Buyers Club was less expected. The other nominees for this category were strong competitors, especially 12 4 ace The award for Best Actress ~ Motion Picture Musical or Com- edy was bestowed upon Amy Adams for American Hustle, The Golden Globe for Best Actor ~ Motion Picture Musical or Com- edy was presented to The Wolf of Wall Street star Leonardo DiCap- rio, marking the second Golden Globe and third award of his ca reer. DiCaprio has a notorious lack of recognition at the Oscars, despite his twenty-three year film career and his myriad of dis- tinguished performances such as sadistic slaveholder Calvin Can- die in Django Unchained, autistic teenager Arnie Grape in What’ Eating Gilbert Grape, undercover dream-traveler Dominick Cobb in Inception, and class-crossing lover Jack Dawson in Titanic In television, the awards for Best Series and Best Actor in drama went to Breaking Bad, whose run of five seasons has had increasingly positive recep- tion. The awards for Best Series and Best Actor in comedy went to Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a promis ing new series only in the mid- dle of its first season. During an interview on the Today Show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg said winning the awards was “about as shocked as [he's] been about anything ever.” After having been nated in the category for three consecutive years, Amy Poehler won the award for Best Actress in a Television Comedy Series for Parks and Recreation. Robin Wright took home the award for Best Actress in a Television Dra- ma Series for her performance in House of Cards, the first televi- sion series to be exclusively dis tributed by Netflix. In an experi mental yet methodical attempt at a new way to circulate television, all thirteen episodes of the po- litical drama’s first season were released at the same time. Beau Willimon, the show's creator, states that “streaming is the fu- ture. TV will not be TV in five years from now...everyone will be streaming.” nomi-More Than Just an Oscars Wannabe? The Golden Globes is a significant award show, but it is not nearly as distinguished as the Oscars. The Oscars, of- ficially known as the Acad- emy Awards, is the widely watched awards show, followed by the Grammys and then the Golden Globes. The main feature that differ entiates it the Golden Globes is that it solely dis- tributes film awards, whereas the Golden Globes recognizes television as well. The Golden Globes also designates spe- cific categories for comedy, unlike the Oscars. Although these categories enforce the Oscars’ reputation as the more serious and prestigious of the two, they also shine light on films that would otherwise be ignored by major award shows. Furthermore, Gold- en Globe attendees are seat- ed at round tables with food most from and drinks. This arrangement allows for a more social and informal atmosphere, which offers sharp contrast to the Oscars’ grandiose theater. Another key difference is who gives the awards in each show. The Golden Globes are distributed by the Holly- wood Foreign Press, an or- je up of a con tinuously changing group of about ninety journalists. The requirement for membership minimum publication of four stories per year. Al- though the journalists must live in Southern California, they distribute their work around the world. More of the group's members publish in Europe than anywhere else. The Oscars, on the other hand, are distributed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, common- ly known as the Academy. The Academy is made up of 6,000 members in 17 differ- ent branches, including ac- anization ma is a tors, directors, and writers Although new candidates are considered each year, mem- bership, which is exclusively by invitation, never expires. The Academy does not reveal its entire membership, but according to a study conduct ed by the Los Angeles Times, about one-third of the Acad emy is made up of previous winners or nominees of Acad emy Awards. The newspaper also found that the Academy is 77 percent male, 86 percent above the age of fifty, and 94 percent white. Some familiar names of members include Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, and Steven Spielberg The news website Exam- iner conducted a study using the winners of each awards show’s major categories over the past twenty-five years. It found that more than half of the Golden Globe winners be- came Oscar winners, proving that the two have more simi- larities than differences.Outside Llewyn Davis: The Snubs and Surprises of the Oscar Nominations by Lorenzo Brogi-Skoskiewicz ‘This year has been very strong for movies. Oscar voters have done their part, heavily nominating top competitors like 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, and Gravity. However, with so many quality movies there have been more than a fair share of snubs and surprises in this year’s Academy Award Nominations. Snubs 1.) Inside Llewyn Davis How ironic: a movie about a tal- ented singer who can't get anybody to recognize his talent can't even catch a break in real life. Inside Llewyn Davis is the latest movie by the Coen Brothers, and in my opinion was the best movie of the year thanks to its top of the notch performance by lead actor Oscar Isaac, stark humor, profoundly melancholic ambience, and out- standing direction that truly make 6 it a heartfelt movie. Llewyn Davis was many critics’ top movie of the year, but the only nominations it received from the Academy are for Cinematography and Sound Mix- ing (deservedly), and disappoint- ingly none for Best Director, Pic- ture, Actor, Screenplay, or Editing, This is a strange turn of events, as the Coen Brothers always seem to be on the Academy's good side with 10 nominations for their previous movie, True Grit, and a combined total of 35 nominations for their previous movies. Its also ironic how Llweyn Davis, critically one of the best movies of the year, has the same number of nomina- tions as The Lone Ranger, critically considered one of the worst mov- ies of the year. 2.) Robert Redford This crime is truly unacceptable. In the movie All is Lost, Redford plays an unnamed man who has to survive on his own in the Indian Ocean after his boat is sunk by a shipping container. Redford is the only actor shown in the movie,and he truly gives the performance of his career as well as of the year. The entire movie, which is su- perb, comes down to weigh on the shoulders of Redford, and he de- livers an outstanding performance truly worthy of a nomination, if not an actual Oscar. It’s truly a shame and unanswerable question as to why the Academy didn’t rec- ognize Redford’s extraordinary ef- fort in All is Lost. 3.) Captain Phillips Captain Phillips, the new movie di rected by Paul Greengrass, tells the real-life story of a ship off the coast of Somalia that was attacked by a group of pirates and whose cap- tain was taken hostage. The movie is fantastic and extremely mov- ing, featuring tremendous perfor- mances from both Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi, the latter appearing in his first major role as the lead- er of the pirates who capture the captain. While Captain Phillips was nominated for Best Picture and Abdi was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, neither Hanks nor director Paul Greengrass was recognized for their incredible ef- forts in making the movie what it is. Greengrass gave the movie an exciting, tense, and compassionate atmosphere that alongside Hank’s emotional performance as Cap- tain Phillips, made for an excellent partnership and an even better movie. It’s possible that Green- grass and Hanks were excluded from the nominations by Martin Scorsese (the director of The Wolf of Wall Street) and Christian Bale (an actor in American Hustle), respectively, whose movies came out later in the year and garnered more attention as the awards sea- son came around, 4.) Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Johansson plays the voice of the intelligent operating system Samantha in Spike Jonze’s Her. While only her voice is featured, Johansson performance is so mov- ing and compelling that many people believed she deserved to be nominated just for her voice per- formance. However, the Academy has a history of ignoring animated performers (like with Andy Serkis who played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit franchise), and so it wasn't exactly a surprise that she wasn’t nominated. But she truly deserved some form of rec- ognition for her outstanding work as Samantha, and I believe that the ‘Academy really needs to rethink its stance on Off-Screen Perfor- mances Surprises 1.) The Wolf Of Wall Street While the The Wolf of Wall Street is an excellent movie and was well. received by critics, though not as well received as the other Best Pic- ture nominees, the film received five nominations. This recogni- tion was completely unexpected because Wolf came out late in the year and received no nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and only two from the Golden Globes. Both of these ceremonies usual- ly act as lead ups to the Oscars, giving a good idea of who will be nominated and who will win, but not in this case. The film tells the story about a real life Wall Street moneymaker named Jordan Bel- fort (played by Leonardo DiCap- rio) and the people in his firm who make tons of money, and by no means legally. The Wolf re- ceived five nominations; four of them were somewhat deserved in Best Picture, Best Director (Mar- tin Scorsese), Best Actor (DiCap- rio), and Best Adapted Screenplay, but the last nomination it received for Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill) was extremely puzzling. Hill’ performance was good but by no means Oscar-worthy; instead it should have gone to somebody like Daniel Bruhl (Rush), Jeremy Ren- ner (American Hustle), or James Gandolfini (Enough Said),who were all tremendous and much more deserving of a nomination than Hill. 2.) Christian Bale In David ©. Russel’s new movie American Hustle, Christian Bale plays the overweight con man Ir- ving Rosenfeld, who is forced to help the FBI arrest corrupt gov- ernment officials. Having gained 38 pounds, Bale delivers an out- standing performance of a charm- ing but disgusting con man. He leaves viewers disgusted at his at- titude and physical repulsiveness; ironically he is the same actor who played Batman/Bruce Wayne in Christoper Nolan's excellent Dark Knight trilogy. Bales performance is fantastic; however, it was sur- prising that he was nominated, as he did not get major recogni- tion for his role and so wasn’t ex- pected to get a nomination. Also, there were much more deserving Actors who could have landed a nomination, such as the previ- ously mentioned Robert Redford (AIL is Lost), Idris Elba (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom), Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis), and Joaquin Phoenix (Her) who all de- livered performances of equal or greater quality that deserved some form of recognition as well.The Oscars: HM Student Polls Do You Really Know the Student Body’s Taste in Films? by Josh Arnon I polled a variety of students from all grades about the Oscars and am including the most popular categories in this article. You might think you know your fellow class- mates’ taste in film, but I guarantee these results will surprise you. 12 Years a Slave and Gravity are neck-in-neck in the Best Pic~ ture race, with 12 Years arguably just ahead of its competitor. So it should come as no surprise that the majority of students think 12 Years will win, though it is odd that students perceive that Gravity is so far behind. I suppose students think 12 Years will win because Best Picture traditionally goes to historical dramas, preferably ones that depict some kind of suffering. American Hustle as the preferred choice is also to be expected con- sidering its all-star cast and clever dialogue, though, again, I find it odd that Gravity is not at all a fa- vorite. Gravity's critical reception is outstanding: it has an amazingly high 97 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a critical consen- sus site dedicated to movie reviews, and is personally my favorite film of 2013. I would guess that many students didn't particularly enjoy it because its plot, on the surface, lacks sophistication, since much of the films excellence comes from its nuances. Sixty-seven percent is a staggeringly high number of stu- 8 dents to not watch the year’s high- est-acclaimed pictures, and the Best Picture award’s medium level of interest shows that most stu- dents are more fascinated by actors than their movies. Christian Bale is not by any means expected to win Best Actor, but his fantastically subtle role in American Hustle, the Best Picture nominee most seen by students, makes him seem more high profile than he actually is. The overwhelm- ing vote for Leonardo DiCaprio and how much people care about this award, however, is very sur- prising, considering that his perfor- mance in The Wolf of Wall Street is not nearly his best and the fact that relatively few students saw the film. ‘The rationale for this decision must be that many students know that DiCaprio has never won an Oscar, and they believe his recognition by the Academy is long overdue. Amy Adams’ admiration by students is almost definitely due to her grand role in American Hustle. ‘The small number of people who think Cate Blanchett is going to win Best Actress shows that most students keep up with popular films rather than the Oscars race, since Blanchett is the most likely candidate to win for her acting in Blue Jasmine. Students’ relative lack of interest for this particular award shows how interest around awards is based on its nominees, and Ad- ams is not particularly notable right now, With Jennifer Lawrence's brief but spotlight-stealing role in Hus- tle, plus her current status as Amer- ica’s sweetheart in the movie indus- try, its easy to understand why so many students think Lawrence would win Best Supporting Ac~ tress, and rightly so. It’s interesting to see that opinion over her is not as unanimous as one would think, since Lupita Nyongo’s pure talent in 12 Years contests Lawrence’s star power. The large amount of interest in this award shows Lawrence’ ef- fect over something by just having her name in it, Frozen is almost definitely go- ing to win Best Animated Feature Film due to its acclaim significantly surpassing that of its contestants. ‘My guess as to why Despicable Me 2 did so well among students is that it’s the only summer film nominat- ed, so many of the people who saw Despicable and not Frozen voted for the former. This category is the only one in this article where a certain gender has a virtually unanimous opinion; the female vote for Fro- zen is enormous and 80 percent of the people who care what animated film wins is female, showing female students’ unrivaled passion for an- imated films, especially something as magical as Frozen.Best Picture What do you think will win? > 55% 12 Years a Slave 18% American Hustle 18% Captain Philips 9% Gravity What do you want to win? 45% American Hustle 33% 12 Years a Slave 11% Her 11% The Wolf of Wall Street How many of the nominees have you seen? 67% None 17% One 8% Two 8% Three or more Which of the films have you seen? 43% American Hustle 29% The Wolf of Wall Street 14% 12 Years a Slave 14% Gravity Do you care what will win? 8% Yes 34% Somewhat 58% No Best Actor in a Leading Role What do you think will win? 45% Christian Bale (American Hustle) 27% Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) 18% Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) 9% Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) Who do you want to win? > 80% Leonardo DiCaprio 20% Everyone else Do you care who will win? 27% Yes 27% Somewhat 46% No: Best Actress in a Leading Role Who do you think will win? 46% Amy Adams (American Hustle) 36% Sandra Bullock (Gravity) 9% Cate Blanchet (Blue Jasmine) 9% Meryl Streep (August: Osage County) Who do you want to win? > 50% Amy Adams 20% Sandra Bullock 10% Cate Blanchett 10% Meryl Streep 10% Judi Dench (Philomena) Do you care who will win? 18% Yes 18% Somewhat 63% No Best Actress in a Supporting Role ‘Who do you think will win? 80% Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) 20% Everyone else Who do you want to win? 63% Jennifer Lawrence 25% Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave) 129 Everyone else Do you care who will win? 27% Yes 18% Somewhat 55% No Best Animated Feature Film What do you think will win? 50% Frozen 40% Despicable Me 2 10% Everything else ‘What do you want to win? 44% Frozen 44% Despicable Me 2 12% Everything else Do you care what will win? 45% Yes (80% who said this are female) 10% Somewhat 45% NoSa neeeaaee eS The 86th Academy Awards: Who Will and Who Should Win by Kenneth ShinozukaFor 86 years, the Oscars have celebrated and enshrined one of the most essential assets to our global cul- ture. The annual ceremony awards those who have best mastered the art of visual storytelling—better known to uss the cinema—in a televised extravaganza viewed in over 200 countries. Glamorous celebrities walk down the Jong red carpet, interviewed about the often less-than-glamorous roles for which they were nominated. Between the presentations of each award, the host attempts, with varying degrees of success, to captivate our attention with comedic routines and over-the-top musical numbers. Yet the Oscars play a much larger societal role. ‘The historical films that often win the Best Picture statu- ette recapture the zeitgeist of an era or highlight episodes of our past that we cannot afford to forget. This year, the film 12 Years a Slave portrays the gruesome toll of slavery on the lives of the African Americans who suffered under it, as well as the moral consciousness of the entire nation. ‘The Best Documentary category showcases films that address serious problems currently plaguing the world. Even the Best Visual Effects award marks the prog- ress of technology and its ability to convincingly emulate real life. Of course, before each Oscars, we wonder and place bets about who and what will win among those that are nominated. Without further ado, here is Cinemann’s forecast of the results for the 86th Academy Awards, which will be broadcasted on ABC on Sunday, March 2. Best Picture Will Win: 12 Years a Slave > Could Win: Gravity or American Hustle Should Win: Gravity This year’s Academy Awards features one of the closest Best Picture races in recent memory. American Hustle won the Screen Actors Guild award for Best Ensemble Cast, an award that typically predicts the winner of Best Picture. The Producers Guild Award for Best Feature Film, which has corresponded with the Best Picture Oscar for the last six years, was awarded to both Gravity and 12 Years a Slave in the first tie in its 24-year history. These two films and American Hustle all have tremendous momentum from the pre-Oscar awards season. Gravity isa breakthrough in the ability of films to use the latest technology to con- jure the realities of otherworldly places—in this case outer space—that could only exist within our imagination. Nonetheless, the Academy has not selected a fantasy or science fiction film in over 10 years. American Hustle, packed with great performances and zingy humor, has the broadest appeal. Nonetheless, 12 Years has a slight edge in the field, only because it has struck a powerful emotional chord with many Academy voters due to its unflinching depiction of slavery. Best Director Will Win: Alfonso Cuarén (Gravity) > Could Win: Steven McQueen (12 Years a Slave) Should Win: Alfonso Cuarén (Gravity) Alfonso Cuarén won the Directors Guild Award (DGA), a “precursor award” that quite accurately predicts the winner of the Oscar for Best Director. Only seven times in the 67-year history of the DGA has its winner failed to correspond with the Academy Award for Directing. The impressiveness of Cuarén’s direction was evident throughout his film Gravity, both in his artistic touches—for instance, his uninterrupted, 17-minute opening shot—and his remarkable ability to turn the script into a visual reality. Cuardn convincingly placed the audience in outer space, eerily depicting its noiseless emptiness and infinite boundlessness. On the other hand, some Academy members may choose to vote for Steve McQueen, who illuminated 12 Years a Slave with a pro- fundity and heartfelt intensity that few other directors have brought into the dark subject of slavery. uBest Actor in a Leading Role Will Win: Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club) > Could Win: Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) Should Win: Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street) Matthew McConaughey won the Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG) for Best Actor, yet another “precursor award” that predicts the Academy Award for Best Actor. Losing over fifty pounds, he experienced a huge physical trans- yy formation for his role in Dallas Buyers Club, in which he played a deeply homophobic man diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s. McConaughey exuded a great level of confidence as he portrayed his character's masculinity, while also portraying the des peration of his character when faced with the realization of his impending death. On the other hand, McConaughey faces some competition from Chiwetel Ejiofor, who may win over Academy voters with his depiction of the struggles of a free African American who was enslaved and snatched away from his family. In addition, Leonardo DiCaprio deserves an Oscar for his performance as Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street, DiCaprio captivates our attention for every moment of the film’s three-hour runtime; with each scene, he peels away layers of insight until he reaches the core of Belfort’s egoism and incurable obsession with greed Best Actress in a Leading Role Will Win: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) > Could Win: Amy Adams (American Hustle)—unlikely Should Win: Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine) won the SAG award for Best Actress and is currently the frontrunner for the Oscar for Actress in a Leading Role. While Amy Adams (American Hustle) performed well in her role as a con woman spinning a web of deceits, her work simply does not match up to the caliber of Blanchett’s. Blanchett has already won over the voters in many critics’ circles with her portrayal of a Manhattan socialite losing all her money and assets due to her husband's fraudulent business dealings. The agony and despair that Blanchett so uncannily portrayed in Blue Jasmine exceed any of her past work and almost guarantee her the Academy Award. Best Actor in a Supporting Role Will Win: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) > Could Win: N/A Should Win: Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club) won the SAG award for Best Supporting Ac- tor and is almost unbeatable in the corresponding Oscar category. Leto, like McConaughey, had a huge physical transformation for his role as a transsex- ual coping with AIDS and the social stigmas associated with the disease and his/her sexuality. Leto captures his character as a victim of a social climate in which non-heterosexuals sacrificed their opportunities and reputation in order to preserve their ability to openly express themselves. 2Best Actress in a Supporting Role Will Win: Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave) > Could Win: Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle) Should Win: Lupita Nyongo (12 Years a Slave) Lupita Nyongo won the SAG award for Best Supporting Actress, but faces some tough competition from Jennifer Lawrence, the winner of the Golden Globe in the same category. Lawrence brings charged energy and a jolting vitality into her performance as the wife of a con artist, accentuating the emotional fragility and temperamental nature of her character. However, the Academy may be reluctant to give her an Academy Award for the second year in a row ~ she won the Best Actress award last year for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. On the other hand, Nyongo’ depiction of a young girl stoically suffering under the brutal chains of slavery may touch the hearts of many voters, She cannot escape her master’s volatile emotions towards her; at one moment, she is the subject of his lustful desire and at the next, she must bear the brunt of his whip. Best Original Screenplay Will Win: Spike Jonze (Her) > Could Win: David O. Russell and Eric Warren Should Win: Spike Jonze (Her) nger (American Hustle) Spike Jonze won the Writers’ Guild Award for Best Original Screenplay. In his ‘masterful screenplay, Jonze raised many thoughtful questions about the deteriora- tion of human feeling in a world increasingly dominated by computers and artifi- cial intelligence. Can man-made technology, thought, or emotion—the product of engineered code rather than true instinct—ever replace the love of a human? Nevertheless, David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer have a considerable shot at winning. Their American Hustle screenplay infuses comedic wit with liveliness to create a blast of fun that contrasts Her’s seriousness. Best Adapted Screenplay Will Win: John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) > Could Win: N/A Should Win: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight) John Ridley did not win the Writers’ Guild Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, but only due to a technicality that made his work in 12 Years a Slave ineligible. His screenplay bears such raw emotion in a subject area where so many others have striven for honeyed saccharinity. He does not attempt to hide the brutalities of slavery and in doing so creates an honest portrait of one of the most horrendous chapters in American history. At the same time, however, Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke deserve recognition for their Before Midnight screenplay, which offers an insightful look into the fissures and cracks that inevitably break even the strongest of relationships. Their work is notable for long passages of dialogue that subtly and honestly illustrate the dynamic of a couple slowly falling apart. 1BX-Men: Days of Future Past: Back to the Future Part IV? by Lorenzo Brogi-Skoskiewicz X-Men: Days of Future Past will be the newest installment in the X-Men franchise, which has spawned seven movies. The mov- ies tell the story of a parallel uni- verse where some people are born with mutations that give them in- credible powers. Humans, howev- er, are unsure whether to accept or reject the increasing number of “mutants” and don't know if they should consider them hostile or not. divided into two camps. The mu- tants who believe that they can live together with humans join Meanwhile, the mutants are 4 Charles as peacekeepers between the two sides. Those who believe that mu- tants are the future of the human race join the rogue Magneto, a mu- tant who can control metal. These two groups frequently clash, with Magneto frequently trying to take over the Earth and the X-Men try- ing to stop him. The X-Men movie franchise started extremely well, with two outstanding movies that pleased both critics and audienc- vier’ len, who act es thanks to their impressive ac- tion-sequences, especially the fight scenes with Wolverine and Magne- to, and their themes of evolution, acceptance of who you really are; and the importance of family. The story of X-Men: Days of Future Past is very complicated. In the near future, after the assassina- tion of a U.S President by a mutant, the American government comes to believe that the mutants must be eliminated. In order to accom- plish this task, the government en- lists Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones fame), who owns a weapons company that can use highly technologically ad- vanced robots called sentinels toeliminate mutants. Mutants hunted down by the nearly inde- structible sentinels and are placed in concentration camps. Slowly, the sentinels begin to take over North America and overthrow the US government. Meanwhile, for- eign countries become worried of the imposing threat of the senti- nels and threaten a nuclear strike against the US unless the they are shut down, In order to end the war, a re- maining group of mutants led by Professor X (Sir Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Sir Ian Mckellen), who have put asked their differ- ences to end the war, send Wolver- ine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to the 70's. In the 70's, Wolverine must convince the younger ver- sion of Professor X (James Mca- voy) that this future war is a real threat and that the X-Men must stop Magneto’ assassination of the US President to prevent the future war. Meanwhile in the past, the re- maining X-Men have to stop the rampaging sentinels and prevent the impending nuclear holocaust, in case Wolverine fails to convince Professor X, ‘The first two movies, directed by Bryan Singer, were a fresh start for comic-book movies, featuring incredible special effects while giv- ing top-of the line performances that made Jackman and Mckellan into superstars while also restart- ing Stewart’ career. After the first two excellent installments, Singer dropped out of the third X-Men movie to direct Superman Returns; without the guide of Singer, the 3rd installment in the series, X-Men: ‘The Last Stand, was released and left a bad taste in people's mouths. Ithas a confusing plot that is over- whelmed by too many special ef- fects and action scenes. The action scenes themselves are scrambled and confusing, resulting in a dis- appointing, over-the-top sequel. While the movie was a box-office success, it quelled the need for more sequels until four years later, when X-Men: First Class was re- leased. First Class is a prequel to the original movies and features an all-new cast with James Mcavoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. Fortunately, First Class is a fresh take on the serie troducing younger versions of the characters and being half a super- hero origin story and half a smart character drama. Through the new st, the movie gives the original characters a younger personality; the normally quiet and pensive Professor X becomes the young and cocky Charles Xavier, while the proud and elegant Magneto in- becomes the violent and reckless Erik Lensherr. First Class is a fan tastic movie: the actors are great, even making you forget about their older counterparts, the movie isn’t overflowing with action like the previous one was, it has smart di- alogue and character development, and the action scenes are more original and exciting, Now in Days of Future Past, Bryan Singer has returned to the director’s seat and the movie will feature a blend of both the new and original casts. This connection between the films means that we may be able to see both the young Professor X (James Mcavoy) and the older Magneto (Ian Mckellen) go head-to-head while also seeing the young Magneto (Michael Fass- bender) go up against the old Pro- fessor X (Patrick Stewart), which could potentially lead to some extraordinary displays of acting. Hopefully Bryan Singer will bring back the fantastic action sequenc- es, emotional development, and dialogue that made the first two X-Men mov- ies so great and will make an even better sequel. However, if Singer spends too much time on the ac- tion and doesn’t focus on the story and characters, then we could be in for another disappointment like X-Men: The Last Stand. themes, characterPUBLIC |, PULL TO OPEN | British Television: A Market Where the Sun Never Sets by Benjamin Ades ‘America has always been fas- cinated by British culture, especial- ly literature and theatre, but when it came to television, British works rarely made it to these shores in their original form. Instead, Brit- ish shows came in clever American disguises like The Office. The show originally premiered in England in 2001, produced by Ricky and Stephen Merchant. It was lat- er adapted into the very successful American remake by Greg Daniels, which was less cynical and more softhearted and outlasted its En glish predecessor by seven se: In 2005 Ricky Gervais pro- duced another show called Extras, which depicted the lives of extras working in film, television, and theater. Gervais co-produced the Gervais 16 show with BBC One and HBO, this time with both British and Amer- ican networks. This business strat- egy marked a change in Britain’s approach for producing successful television that reached Ameri viewers. That trend has continued to evolve for nearly a decade. More recently, British TV shows have begun to reach Amer- ican small screens in their original form. This development wasa result of the way in which the business as- pect of the television industry ha changed and the exponent in which technology has advanced. The first big step was the creation of DVD box sets and DVD players. Box sets can be easily transferred across borders, and originally the biggest issue for British television I rate shows in the US. was finding avail- able television time slots. With- out the need to rely on Americans to broadcast their shows, Britain could now freely bring its shows to America via DVD box sets. A more recent development that has brought hordes of people to sit in front of their computers and televi sions to watch British television is the development of online stream ing services like Netflix and Hulu. These services have facilitated a smooth path for British television to travel to America ple, Doctor Who, th year, paved the way for other shows like Downton Ab- bey and Sherlock. Especially after its revival in 2005, which made the show more accessible to Americanaudiences, Doctor Who showed that something fundamentally British can still attract a following in America, Doctor Who is centered around a humanoid alien, the Doc- tor, who travels through time and space with his human companion fighting foreign aliens. Downton Abbey is set in the fictional York- shire country estate of Downton Abbey and it depicts the daily lives of an aristocratic family and their servants in the Post-Edwardian era Sherlock is a quirky modern adap- tation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's detective stories. These three shows all display strong elements of Brit- ish culture and have attracted American viewers mainly because they are superbly written, extreme- ly well cast, and feature impeccable set design and costumes. Other factors have helped the British television industry. A U.K. tax break introduced in April of 2012 allows for British production companies to regain 25 percent of their expenses per episode costing £1 million or more. Asa result, Brit- ish companies have seen a decrease in transactional costs, an increase in demand, and growing profits According to PACT, the British Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television, UK television exports in 2012 grew to £1.22bn, a four percent increase from the previous year. The U.S. is the U.K’s largest market export market, represent- ing 38 percent of world sales. This year, Downton Abbey led the way again, with PBS reporting that the first episode of the fourth season was watched by a record-breaking 10.2 million viewers, comfortably exceeding the 8.2 million view- er mark of the third season finale Sherlock reached an audience of 4 million viewers on the premiere of Season 3. All these developments have contributed to a significant glo- balization of the TV show market. Britain has taken full advantage of these changing trends and it has started to export its shows to other markets such as China and Indo- nesia, Smaller non-English speak- ing production companies are be- ginning to export their products as well, Homeland and Hostages are both remakes based on Israeli shows, Other extremely success ful remakes include The Killing, originally a Danish TV show; and The Returned, originally French. As viewers throughout the world spend less time in movie theaters and more time in front of their computers and TV screens, the global market for TV shows is sure to explode.The Next Best Thing to Andy Samberg since SNL: Brooklyn Nine-Nine by Maddie Bender Andy Samberg's lead role as an immature cop working for a diverse precinct in Brooklyn Nine-Nine may appear at first to be a clichéd and overused prem- ise, but due to the original plotlines and chemistry among cast members, the show brings a fresh take on, the cop and action genres, receiving praise from critics and viewers alike. ‘The show focuses on Jake Peralta (Andy Sam- berg), an immature yet unbelievably effective detective, and his struggles to get along with his new captain, Ray Holt (Andre Braugher). The series also follows Jake's interactions with his fellow coworkers, including: his partner and rival, Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), the butt of all jokes Charles Boyle (Joe Lo ‘Truglio), his unrequited romantic interested Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), and the detective squad leader with questionable mental sanity ‘Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews). There is on average ‘one major crime per episode requiring Jake's “expertise” to solve. These crimes include a hotel robbery in which Jake must pose as an antiquities auctioneer to scope out suspects and an investigation of an alleged arson of Jake's favorite pizzeria. In addition, there are iple recurring plotlines. So what makes Brooklyn Nine- ‘Nine so unique? Take, for instance, the plotlines and chemistry between Jake and Amy. In the pilot, Jake challenges Amy toa competition: solves the most cases by a certain date will win. If Amy wins, Jake will have to give her his car. However, if Jake wins, Amy will have to go on the worst date imaginable in Jake's car. As the first season whoever progresses, both Amy and Jake try to solve cases fran- tically so that they might win the bet; they encounter hilarious mishaps in their haste, one of which results in an all-nighter by the precinct to gather enough evi- dence to arrest a criminal before he legally would have to be released from holding. In addition to the high comedic potential produced by the farfetched plo- tlines, the show gives room for complex character de- velopment and interactions between characters. Take, for instance, Jake and Amy's bet: while at first the bet seemed to be a way for both Jake and Amy to channel their dislike for each other in a productive manner, it is soon revealed that Amy possesses a very competitive personality as she has seven brothers; moreover, Jake may be trying to win the bet in an attempt to (imma- turely) woo Amy rather than humiliate and annoy her, Another extensively developed character is De- tective Sergeant Terry. A stereotypical large, muscled cop, Terry turns out to be a complete softie, especially when it comes to his twin daughters Cagney and Lacey. It is revealed that because of a fear of losing his life in the field and leaving his baby daughters fatherless, Ter- ry had suffered a nervous breakdown and was deemed unfit for service in the field. As the season progresses, another key storyline is that of Terry and his coping with his breakdown and his desire to return to his past work. ‘The critical reception for the show's first season has remained very positive. Rotten Tomatoes, a crit- ical consensus site dedicated to movie reviews, gives Brooklyn Nine-Nine an 88 percent approval rating, while TIME Magazine praises the show, saying “Its funny enough, its appealing, and the show knows itself, which is much more important in the long run? Recently, Brooklyn Nine-Nine was nominated for and won two Golden Globes, Best Actor in a Television Series- Comedy (Andy Samberg) as well as Best Tele- vision Series- Comedy. The show's 19th episode airs on March 4 on Fox, and I for one will be sure to watch.Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues? by Gabriel Broshy Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is the se- quel to the 2004 film Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which takes place in the early 1980's, The sequel begins with Ron Burgundy's wife Veronica (Christina Applegate) being promoted while he (Will Ferrell) is fired from the prestigious New York City news network at which they work. Ron is offered a job at a new 24-hour news network, GNN, and finds the members of his old news team (Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner), who agree to join him on his news show. Ron and fellow GNN report- er Jack Lime engage in a rivalry and the two make a ‘wager on which news team gets higher ratings, with Ron's team having an unpopular time slot and Jack’s having a primetime one as well as a strong reputa- tion. While not very sophisticated or as funny as its predecessor, Anchorman 2 is an excellent film because it’s consistently funny. A somewhat impro- vised film, Anchorman 2's comedy stems from its characters. Ron Burgundy, its very politically incor- rect protagonist, is unable to stop saying “black” after meeting Linda, his new African American boss. He is also very arrogant and stubborn, constantly going, against what his bosses at GNN and his wife tell him. Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell) is an extremely ridic: ulous and socially unaware character who accounts for many of the funnier moments of the film, includ- ing when the rest of the news team encounters him speaking at his own funeral. He meets Chani (Kris ten Wiig) at the GNN office, who is equally ridicu- lous and socially unaware, and together they make for many very funny moments throughout the film. It’s comedic style resembles that of Ferrell’s previous movies while similarly lacking sophistication. The film also has some level of historical significance. It comically reflects the shift of news that needed to occur if a 24-hour news network was to survive. The fight scene, a tribute to a similar one in the first Anchorman film, was the lowpoint of the film. While at first amusing with all of its celebrity cameo appearances, the scene takes about ten min- utes and has little to no actual content. However, all inall, the movie achieved what it wanted to: it didn’t take itself too seriously and was very funny through- out while having some historical relevance. 19Siren Rete tT eo ROaNC nes ns original series, House of Cards, just premiered Febru- ary 14, For the past year, countless viewers have been restlessly waiting for the new set of episodes, wonder- rama Eten eet ace cet og rete eatin mene utes as Peso ma Rod PET om DTC Cee CT Oe Oe ey was released. It was immediately lauded for its “cine- matically rich” and “wonderfully sour take on power Erma nae ates ee Led of Cards wasn't wholly original in its black satire of Washington D.C,, the first season got off to a strong, Rerun Rese enema ee Fans quickly became fond of understanding the gov- ernment’s twists and turns just like how Gossip Girl Oe tee RMR CLT Sm Cree Pe Cae eRe aeons ic PU CeCe net aeceay cael a Re OCRed through its new series. In fact, just two months after the release of House of Cards, two million American Ree er RRC mre enna vice! Furthermore, Netflix lovers and Netflix work- See eee au enc Pent oe Caco ee oer well. Netflix shareholders, to this day, celebrate their wise investment because the company’s stock soared Seen ckentn oa ch scent eerste setter so oii) House of Cards: Playing with a New Deck by Christina Cho Pe Cte emcee CTing has irreversibly brought fear into the lives of film cor- PSR NG he eR ee RCT Res com hse) service but also as a paradigm-shifting distribution company that broke the pre-established norms of how Peet esr ee UCR ne mete han re flix may even knock film corporations off their perch- es with more TV series. Senet aves toae Roa mers eee et eso eomreaen enrcneaS was also a success as a TV show, quickly outshining ee Oa Ta Lace Meese Secs cusing on the twisted and vengeful lives of Washing- ton D.C. politicians, The West Wing kept its rankings high throughout all ofits seven seasons, a feature that very few shows accomplish. However, House of Cards is proving that it can keep up its hype just the same. As the second season of Cards just aired, pressures of success boil faster and hotter than ever. This spring and summer, as you log into Netflix for another round of nail biting and foot tapping, expect a thrilling out- ure el eMC mel leas Pn en eats me cos eM eset Scene ee too must trust that our hopes will not be let down. Rees Ce emo ROR Cen Ory decisions of Vice President Frank Underwood or the trial between Claire and Gillian, your demands for answers will soon be.reclining now Now you can see the lastest movies with ultimate coziness. The Way Movies Should be Watched by Daniel Mindich A theater crowded with people everywhere, encroaching on your personal space—sound fa- miliar? Well, the AMC Theater on 84th street and Broadway aimed to fix this. It was originally a normal theater that overcharged for food, like all other theaters, but in 2013 the place was renovated to include comfy, pufiy, leathery chairs that recline with a push of a button to give more space between you and your neighbor. The recline is spectacular: you go back slowly and as far back as if you wer: bed and have two pillows under your head, It also has an extendable foot rest. You can go between that position and an upright one for the entire movie, Best of all, these seats are not only very comfortable but can also be reserved days before the movie. So if it is opening weekend to a movie that you just have to see before your “friends” ruin it, itis possible to not get there until the movie starts and still have the best seats in the house. Now this is the only movie theater I go to! Some people even use their coats as a makeshift blanket to cover themselves so they are comfy and warm during whatever movie they may be seeing because the seats are almost like a bed. The only bad thing about the seats is that you may actually fall asleep on one of them and miss your movie. So if you are prone to falling asleep, make sure to watch a loud action movie or bring someone who is ready to wake you up. The building has three floors and at least. eight theaters. All of the seats are like the ones I described earlier. The first time I went to the theater, I decided to see Thor: The Dark World. It was a moderately good film, but I just went there as an excuse to see this amazing theater. When my friends and I arrived at our theater and sat on the amazing seats, perfectly placed in the center in the room, we almost simultaneously uttered, “ahhh.” Three minutes into the trailers, I accidently hit a black button on the side of my seat. This made a sound and brought me slightly lower. My friends demanded how I did this and accused me of witch- craft. The second I returned home, I exclaimed to my mom that we should never go to a different movie theater again. The theater also has a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. It has over 100 choices from raspberry Coke to Lime Fanta, I have never seen a movie theater with this type of soda machine. Relaxing with a super-comfortable reclining seat and strange mixes of soda at your side is the way movies should be watched. 21My Top Picks of 2013 by Evan Greene Why were there so many good movies in the year 20132 Perhaps because our current times and events have given rise to more relevant themes. For example, Mandela's death cl ly brought interest to a look at his life and the tumultuous events of apartheid in South Africa. Movies like Gravity that give us an almost fantastical look at life in space have always been attractive to large audiences. Historical events and scientific development motivate and propel directors. Here are my picks for the films of 2013 that are not to be missed. First, let’ start off with The Hunger Games: Catch- ing Fire, a this movie appeals to both children and adults with its constant action and tangled relationships. Once Jagain, we have our hero Katniss Everdeen trying to survive lious and captivating that she can fight with the best. Catching Fire captures the Eien enon nea Cesena On ed against a cruel dictatorship. The inner psyche of President ISnow is revealed not only as cruel and mean, but also as Iman who is happy to see millions live in dystopia. If you like adventure and a clear, crystallized image of an evil Reet korconen conn re necat teetons‘The next movie I would recommend seeing is Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. This picture gives us an insightful look at the power and ability of one man to maintain his mind in many years of. prison. Although the film has some staged scenes, that don't seem as real as the actual history itself, the movie does give a good look at how Mandela fought the evil system of apartheid in South Africa, Furthermore, the caricature of his wife’ differing views on how to reach freedom and the display of the disintegration of their mar- riage make it a compelling movie to see. iustache and glasses. He seems nsformed as his character becomes For all these movies, you don't have to go to the theatre; most will be available on DVD within the next month. I recommend seeing and enjoying all of these entertaining stories that come to life on the big screen 23Want to write for Cinemann? Email Editor-in-Chief Josh Arnon at joshua_arnon@horacemann.org