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Arts

 

‘Zeus’ has trouble living up
to their namesake

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

OOO

n March 23, Toronto-based
() group Zeus released their

second album, Busting
Visions. The Canadian quintet,
known in part for backing Broken
Social Scene’s Jason Collett, have
had ample time to spread their
wings, so to speak; what's the
result? :

Right away, it’s clear that Zeus
really dig classic rock. Busting
Visions, from start to finish, is full
of musical chimes and nods that
scream 1970s. Tracks like “Let It Go,
Don’t Let It Go” and “With Eyes

Closed” feature takes on classic rock

songs, with the latter something of
an updated take on “Stairway to
Heaven,” chords and all.

The members .of Zeus each hold
their own singing talents, with the
singer of each song interchanging
throughout the album. On top
of that, Mike O’Brien, Carlin
Nicholson, Rob Drake, and Neil
Quin respectively swap their

Still hungry

instruments in accordance to whose
singing.

Even if the sound is out of
date, the group maintains some

* spectacular vocal and guitar skills

in each of its members. However,
again, the sound is so yesterday it
almost seems as if the group, despite
their immense talent, are in it for
comedic purposes (the fact that each

member wears a superb moustache

doesn’t help either).

Still, any respective classic rock
fan will want to give the album
a listen. Whatever Zeus’ initial
reasoning for their sound, they do a
damn fine job of presenting it.

 

Happy to listen to you

By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor

YX)

wedish band Miike Snow
Grceses their sophomore
album Happy to You on March
- 27. It’s been three years since the
electropop group’s last release, but
the album was definitely worth the
wait.

Happy to You features a healthy
mix of upbeat music to somewhat
darker tones written in the lyrics.
Songs like “Devil’s Work” and
“God Help This Divorce” attempt
to recreate the supposed satanic
tampering of a break up and
track the leading up to and result
of a necessary divorce, all while
chipper orchestrations back the
tragic tales.

Tracks that could find success
as singles include “Bavarian #1
(Say You Will),” which maintains
a steady chorus of marching snare
drumming, a gentle whistle, a
wistful cry of the words, “Say You
Will.” “Archipelago” also features
a far more radio-friendly pop ©
sound then the rest of the album—
piano heavy and all-around fun to

 

sing along to.

The group shares all song
writing credits on the album, but
what really sells the songs are lead
singer Andrew Wyatt's high and
careful vocals. Of course, the other
two-thirds of the group, Christian
Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg,
better known as Bloodshy and
Avant, with their long history in
pop song writing and producing,
certainly earned their overall
credit.

Despite the occasional issue
of perhaps maintaining to calm
a sound throughout the album,
Happy to You is nonetheless an
excellent listen.

HAPPY TO YOU

MIIKE SNOW

      

 

or wanting more?

‘The Hunger Games’ satisfies the appetite, but lacks passion and action

By Stephanie Trembath,
Public Relations Manager

a

fter months of anticipation,
A film adaptation of

Suzanne Collins’ highly
acclaimed novel, The Hunger Games,
was released into theatres on
Friday, March 23, amid screaming
teenagers and die-hard book fans.

Reminiscent of Stephen King’s
Running Man, Collins’ novel was
terrifically represented onscreen
thanks to the direction of Gary
Ross and its entourage of talented
actors selected to portray Collins’
characters. With admirable actors
such as Stanley Tucci (Caesar
Flickerman), Woody Harrelson
(Haymich Abernathy), Elizabeth
Banks (Effie Trinket), Donald
Sutherland (President Snow), and
even Lenny Kravitz (Cinna), if you
don’t like the novels or didn’t read
the books, there is a chance you will
want to see the movie.

The first movie released of the
three part series, The Hunger Games,
succeeded in direction, pacing, and
cinematography as Ross and Collins
worked closely together to capture
the exact setting of the novel. The

 

movie is introduced with short clips
from District 12, and the daunting
and anxious fervor Collins writes so
well was fully captured on screen.
Impressive filming and character
performances brought narrative
aspects of District 12 to life with
the same desperation and raw
energy of George Orwell’s 1984. In
direct and immediate contrast, the
making of the Capitol, featuring
Effie Trinket (Banks) and Caesar
Flickerman (Tucci), surprisingly
held true to the descriptions from
the novel. The ridiculous costumes
and elaborate setting of the Capitol
were creatively detailed and added
a bit of flavour to the film compared
to the scenes filmed in the bush.
Slightly gruesome, and
somewhat violent, The Hunger
Games falls into the same teen-cult
category as the Twilight series, only
with the addition of Big Brother.
Model-turned-actress Jennifer
Lawrence was mesmerizing in
the role of Katniss Everdeen; the
courageous rebel from District 12
who steps up to take her sister’s
place in the bloody battlefield of
the Hunger Games. Despite the
lacklustre romance that develops
between herself and Peta (played
by Josh Hutcherson), Lawrence did

a wonderful job of capturing the
strong and benevolent charisma of
Katniss Everdeen. Much like the
novel, the build-up to the games
took up the majority of the first
half of the movie; unfortunately,
the games on screen seemed much
too short. The violence and gore
of Collins’ novel did not come

through on film, perhaps to satisfy

the younger audience and stick

to the PG-13 rating, but it hugely
hampered the impact of the games
and the ending of the first major
film.

I give The Hunger Games a B+
rating, mostly for the impeccable
cinematography ‘and artistic details
to setting and the characters, and
the addition of Woody Harrelson to
the cast as Haymitch—his small role
in the film boosted the dwindling
romance between Katniss and Peta,
which I assumed would be more
overtly done. I am not a Twilight
fan, but I was expecting a similar
level of romance between the two
characters, which may have been
the fault of choosing Hutcherson to
play opposite of Lawrence. The lack
of violence and action scenes in the:
games was another let down in the
film, as it is such an integral aspect
of the novel. The Hunger Games

represents a modern day epic of
gladiator fights in a distopic world
where Big Brother dominates, and I
just did not feel this theme resonate
in the movie. ;

Thanks to the brilliant direction
of Ross, The Hunger Games closely
mirrored Collins’ novel, but with
the lacking passion between
integral characters and action on
the battlefield, Iam not sure I will
pay to see the next one.

@ Jennifer ea
TM la eT ae