Dancing down memory lane Nostalgic bliss occupies two of the year’s best movies By Angela Espinoza, Arts Editor The Muppets (November 23) sc Everything is indeed great and grand in this triumphant return of our favourite felt friends. Walter, a muppet, and his brother Gary (Jason Segel) have been inseparable all their lives. Gary, who’s celebrating his 10“ anniversary with his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams), has offered to take the trio down to Los Angeles for the week. This is especially exciting for Walter, as he is the biggest Muppets fan in the world! But after an all-too informative trip down to the now dilapidated Muppets Studios, he quickly sees things aren’t looking so green after all. It’s now up to Walter to get the old gang back together for one last big show. Segel co-wrote The Muppets with Nicholas Stoller (Get Him to the Greek (2010)), and Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords co- member) acted as music supervisor, penning several of the songs. Updated, but never forgetting the Muppets’ origins, almost everything in this movie hits the right note. It’s heartwarming, it’s hilarious, the songs that are meant to be catchy are (I’m humming the opening “Life’s a Happy Song” as I write this); really, it’s a perfect movie for everyone. Although, a word to the wise, you might want to catch up on your Muppets history, as you may miss a few golden references otherwise. The Artist (November 25) a fa a In 1927, charming but cocky George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is one of the biggest silent film stars in Hollywood. After a screening of his latest movie, Valentin’s entire world changes when one excited fan-girl, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), bumps into him outside the theatre. Several unintentional meetings later, Valentin starts to fall in love with the beautiful and talented soon-to-be starlet. But between his failing marriage and the disinterest in silent films in the wake of talkies, Valentin struggles to find purpose in his life. This is only further complicated by that fact that Miller is now a superstar; how will it all end? I was one of the lucky few that got to preview the film last month at the Vancouver International Film Festival. From start to finish, the audience of several hundred was applauding, laughing, and gasping at almost every moment. Part of this excitement was due to how unique the film is; The Artist is a silent, black-and-white film. With its various celebrity cameos, musical and recreated shot references to films of yesteryear, and its downright excellent story, The Artist isn’t just a gimmick. It’s a fantastically entertaining film that puts its audience in a completely different world—one that is both brilliant and elegant. | 8 Livia’s Library el amantha Kingston is living every high school girl’s dream: she has the perfect friends, a great boyfriend, and is one of the most popular girls in school. But at this school, your popularity is measured by how many roses you get on Cupid Day, which is the annual Valentine’s Day celebration. To make their day even better, Sam and her friends find themselves invited to a party. Everything goes well until the drive home, when the car Sam and her friends are in gets into an accident; the group of teens, as a result, is now dead. Game over... or is it? Sam wakes up to find herself in a Groundhog Day style loop, where she must discover what led to the accident, and how she could have prevented it from happening. Before I Fall’s concept, while no exactly an original one, is written very well and is surprisingly heartbreaking. Samantha learns a lot about the life she took for granted, and yet still manages to wreak havoc along the way. The dialogue mimics high school life perfectly, all while getting the point | of the story across. There are many | twists and turns throughout each _ loop that Sam goes through, and the reader has no choice but to hang on and enjoy the ride. The characters are beautifully fleshed out over the course of the novel, and every single character gets his or her moment to shine. While readers may dislike Sam ! ‘Before I Fall’ “ How does Lauren Oliver’s debut novel hold up? and her friends at first for being the epitome of snobby, immature high schoolers, they will soon see that even these girls have a chance to redeem themselves. Lauren Oliver is a very talented writer, and if this is what her debut novel has to offer, then I think I have no choice but to check out her latest novel, Delirum. There are also rumors of Before I Fall getting a film adaptation. I think Oliver is one of those writers that will have a very successful career, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the years to come. If you want to see how a not-so-original idea can be pulled off spectacularly, read this book. what if Pcs aie tel ey ote hg ry Fe es Bet kg Triumphant tunes Arts at One’s Student Showcase continues to successfully serenade audiences By Allie Davison, Staff Writer hat better way to close off the semester than with a Student Showcase featuring some of the best musicians Douglas College has to offer? Arts at One hosted its second Student Showcase last Thursday, in the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre, and audience members were not disappointed as the performers of Arts at One continued to shine. 6 Arts at One Student Showcases feature select students who have shown an excellent understanding and strength in their chosen musical field. Audience members were treated to four different acts, ranging from percussion to piano. The session started with Se Hun (Sam) Kim, playing the I. Prelude section of William Kraft’s “English Suite.” Kim managed to make the skilful beats on his five drums (of various sizes) look completely natural. Following Kim was guitarist Andrew Stevens playing the upbeat piece “Fantasia on Zaporozhye,” originally by M.V. Polupayenko. Melissa Purnell, soprano, and Christian Bideau, piano, hit the stage next. They preformed a trio of songs (Purnell impressively sang the first two in French): “Beau soir,” composed by Claude Debussy, “Freudvoll und Leidvoll,” composed by Franz Listz, and “The Crucifixion” from American composer Samuel Barber’s 10-song cycle “Hermit Songs.” Chris Hsu brought the performance to a close playing the very difficult and fast-paced “Allegro ma non troppo” from Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Sonata in f minor, Op. 57.” Be sure to check out the final Arts at One Student Showcase, which is guaranteed to be another success. The event will be held this Thursday, December 1 at 1 p.m., once again in the Laura C. Muir Performing Arts Theatre.