issue 25 // volume 43 Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist kkk QO: Friday, March 24, Ariana Grande came back to Vancouver with her second major tour, the Dangerous Woman Tour, which is one of the biggest concerts in this year’s Vancouver concert calendar. Grande performed to a sold-out audience which consisted of mainly teenagers and a few men, including me, and she definitely gave the fans what they wanted. The concert began with a 10-minute countdown in which we saw Grande getting ready for the show and various people touching her hair. Also, we saw two of her backup dancers, and when they tried to hear the audience, the audience cheered. She performed the first song in the concert, “Be Alright,” which had choreography and graphics that were reminiscent of the music video of the Madonna song “Vogue,” and during the song Grande and all of her backup dancers had rainbow tears. A few seconds after Grande began performing, the curtain fell down to reveal a big screen that was very wide and bigger than her screen from her Honeymoon Tour. She performed every song on her recent album Dangerous Woman except for the bonus tracks in the deluxe version or the Target Exclusive version of the album, though she performed “Jason’s Song” at her New York show. She also performed songs from her previous album My Everything. The graphics and transitions in the concert were visually brilliant, and there were even sometimes graphics on the floor. After she performed “Let Me Love You,” the graphics took us forward into a room with colourful windows, we saw her with a light shining on her, and she sang a new song that was either made for the concert or maybe a hint of a song from her next album. There was then a transition where we saw Grande with white hair and various words were shown on screen including “divine,” “don’t want it,” and “human,” leading up to “female,” relating to feminism, a theme in Dangerous Woman. For the first half of the concert, the audience sang along with her, but in the second half, they did not sing a lot and only sang quietly. This was so that everyone could hear her sing. The highlight of the concert was when she sang “Greedy” and confetti shot out into the air. There were other interesting moments in the show. When she sang “Sometimes,” balloons fell into the audience. During one song, she twirled the straps that were in the coat that she Full of scares, but lacking depth > ‘Life’ film review Aaron Guillen Staff Reporter kkk L* (2017) is a rollercoaster of a movie that plays with your emotions and fears, but in a way that you would have seen coming from light years away. This sci-fi horror film follows a group of astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) in what begins as a discovery of the first signs of life beyond Earth. Unfortunately, the six-member crew soon finds out that their life- changing discovery will do anything to survive. Three leading actors share the screen in a combination that can only be described as random. When Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, and Jake Gyllenhaal are placed together, it fits like an overly large glove—it seems like it could fit, but alas, expectations don’t quite meet reality. While these three play off each other mediocrely well, the on-screen chemistry between Ferguson and Gyllenhaal, especially, seems forced. What Gyllenhaal brings to the table, Ferguson lacks. In one scene, Gyllenhaal’s character is frustrated and hopeless, while Ferguson’s lacks any emotion whatsoever. All in all, the emotions that are displayed by the leading actors lack depth, with empty cries and echoing shouts. Ferguson is easily forgettable in this role. Even with sufficient screen time, she blends into the background because she, or rather her character, makes no unpredictable moves by simply playing it safe. Reynolds brings the comedic relief to a movie that requires none—whether that is a positive or negative, the Ryan Reynolds, Jake-Gyllenhaal, and Rebecca-Fer- guson in Life via Sony Pictures debate is still open. Ultimately, he is placed in a movie that doesn’t use him to his full potential. Perhaps his Deadpool character has put him into a certain movie category that he just can’t escape. Gyllenhaal bears the brunt of the film, though it isn’t done excellently. While he hits all the notes, the only redeeming qualities are the emotions he displays on-screen and the way he performs so naturally. Unfortunately, one fantastic actor can’t save an entire script. Notably, the supporting cast, which includes Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon arts // no. 9 Photo of Ariana Grande by Lawrence K. Ho was wearing like a baton. At one point, one of her backup dancers accidently hit her and she kept on going. When she sang “Moonlight,” outer space was shown on the screen and the floor. Before the actual concert began, there were two special guests. Victoria Monét was there, who seemed a lot like Janet Jackson, and Little Mix was there as well, which was interesting because they sang a lot of songs that I’ve heard on the radio. Overall, the concert was better than Grande’s previous concert, and after the concert I found out that she performed while having a cold. Also, I could have seen her and talked to her if I'd won in the What Would You Do? contest in her fan club on Bkstg (Formally Fahlo). Unfortunately, I did not check the app and I missed the deadline to enter the contest. Maybe I'll see her on her next tour. Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya, offer some redeeming qualities to the film. Sanada shines in his role as a father who wants to return home to his newborn child, and his performance breathes depth into this character. Bakare and Dihovichnaya add to their roles by providing raw, uninhibited fear to their reactions. When it comes to suspense and shock, this movie is not lacking. The alien life-form the crew discovers grows in its fear factor whenever it appears on-screen. Near the end of the film, a surprise plot twist nearly knocks audience members out of their seats. While plot twists provide shock to movie goers, they sometimes create a black hole in continuity. In the middle of the film, the alien shows up in a certain location and surprises the crew. Shock factor is apparent, but an explanation of how the alien got there is not. Although Life has its redeeming qualities, the shock and suspense seemed lackluster. At the end of the day, if you're into sci-fi and looking for a quick film to watch for its shock value, pick this one. If youre hoping for anything with depth and meaning, watch something else.