I turned my cell phone on while walking out of the movie theater, and I checked my e-mail as soon as I could after watching "Pulse" — alone. Was it a clever idea to have ghosts take over technology (computers, phones)? Yes, but it was done in such cliché, dreary manner that it just didn't work.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space. In addition to capturing images of deep space, it serendipitously provided a stage name for 18-year-old folk phenomenon Dan MacDonald of St.
Familiar locations around Grand River Avenue will become the stage for free theater this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The first East Lansing Renegade Theatre Festival kicks off Aug.
The record label. That big, shadowy entity that "signs" artists and "releases" records, hidden in shiny office towers in New York and Los Angeles The record labels you can find in your backyard, however, aren't quite as big and are much less shadowy.
After watching Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," I was glad a film about the Sept.
Joe Peligro aka "Joe P" might seem like a regular guy. The local Temple Club sound man and hip-hop enthusiast might not seem like the creator of a socially conscious community organization — but he is.
Friday "Anger: The Best Medicine" (SCENE) Metrospace, 303 Abbott Road. Through Sept.
Once upon a time, The Green Door Blues Bar & Grill, 2005 E. Grand River Ave. in Lansing, was a watering hole without a signature shot.
It got real quite fast watching Fiona Apple repeatedly scream "This is not about love," while she flailed her body around like a helicopter seed in a tornado. Not since the tragic death of Kurt Cobain and the demise of Nirvana has there been as much passion on the mainstream stage.
To some, the words "folk music" bring to mind acoustic guitars, protest singers, flowing dresses, peace signs and other images repeated ad nauseam in documentaries about the 1960s. According to Lora Helou, the communications director for the Great Lakes Folk Festival, these things are elements of folk, but the term actually applies to a much wider scope of music.
Lansing — Sitting alone in an art gallery of strangers, the photographer and a couple of scattered friends, I prayed Creole Gallery's Meegan Holland wouldn't embarrass me in front of these supposedly hip cats.
Ricky Bobby can rock a double first name combo like Marky Mark, but can he spit dialogue like the white rapper? Yes.
Hurricane Katrina interrupted the making of Ani DiFranco's 18th full-length studio album, which she started recording in early 2005. She was forced to evacuate her New Orleans studio and leave her master recordings behind.
I have come to the conclusion that Robin Williams has done so many dramatic roles lately that it is starting to affect him not only as a comedian, but also as an actor. Ever since Williams won an Academy Award for his amazing performance in "Good Will Hunting," the man has had more flops as a dramatic actor than hits as a comedian. Williams has played a good psycho in recent years ("Insomnia," "One Hour Photo"), but other than those films, he hasn't put together a good dramatic role since his award-winning portrayal of Sean Maguire in "Good Will Hunting." His new thriller, "The Night Listener," is no exception as Williams takes on another serious role, in which he never seems to feel comfortable. In the film, Williams plays Gabriel Noone, a radio broadcaster who his widely known for reading short stories across the airwaves. Noone has recently separated from his partner, Jess (Bobby Cannavale), and seems to have lost his voice since the separation. Noone is later given a book by his colleague, Ashe (Joe Morton), who feels reading the book will give Noone the motivation to get back to his old self. The book is by Pete Logand (Rory Culkin), a boy who was preyed on by pedophiles as a child — including his own parents — and has now turned his horrific life into a story. After reading the book, Noone reaches out to the boy in hopes of giving this boy a much-needed friend while hoping to find himself at the same time. Noone also begins a relationship with the boy's caretaker, Donna (Toni Collette), and all seems to be going well at first. The relationship between Noone and the caretaker feels like a heavy weight holding the film back from being a real thriller.
As a State News writer, I'm only allowed to use exclamation points sparingly. I'm not sure exactly why, but they're not a big part of what we refer to as "State News style." Unfortunately, this means I have to take alternate measures for displaying my interest/distaste for the current trend of bands' names utilizing the most exhilarating pieces of punctuation.
Red Hot Chili Peppers, you are dead to me. Whoa, I'm sorry, that was harsh. I'm saying things I really don't mean.
Horror movies in recent years decided to be less scary and terrifying, and more sadistic and shocking. Whether it be "Hostel" or the "Saw" movies, horror films are more motivated by getting their audiences to throw up their lunch rather than giving them nightmares for weeks. In Neil Marshall's (writer/director) "The Descent," Marshall decides to take an approach that made horror movies from the '70s and '80s so horrifying. "The Descent" seems to be a mix of a variety of classic horror films from the '70s, like "Jaws" and "Alien" with a dabble of "Deliverance" and "The Hills Have Eyes." Its nerve-racking, tight-spaced, bloody good time allows the audience to walk out of the theater scared to death but yearning for more instead of sick to their stomachs. The film takes place in the backwoods of the Appalachian Mountains as a group of six females decides to take on a spelunking adventure to prove how strong-willed they are as women and how close they are as friends. The girls are always doing something adventurous and risky to bring them closer together and after one of the women goes through a tragic incident, the women feel it is time to rekindle that adventure. This is probably one of the most important aspects Marshall brings to this film.
Crackly, yet filled with anticipation, John Sinclair's voice came through the telephone like a needle hitting a vinyl record. The alienated poet's past is well-documented.
The Moonlight Film Festival will feature the award-winning documentary "Spellbound" at 9 p.m.
The following are excerpts from my proposal for the film "Happy Hollow," based on the Cursive album of the same name: Open to an idyllic Midwest town.