Colour me cultured

The lowdown on fall arts events at Douglas

By Julia Siedlanowska, Arts Reviewer

here are a few long established

Douglas arts events that are very

worthy of notice. Whether you’re a
new or returning student, there’s bound to
be an unexpected artistic endeavour going
on somewhere on campus that you haven’t
yet seen or heard of.

Arts at One is a series of concerts
funded by the Douglas Music Department
happening every Thursday at 1:00PM in
the Laura C. Muir theatre (that’s upstairs,
for all of you reading in the cafeteria). The
series features a variety of local artists and
outstanding Douglas College students.

The semester starts off with Fringe
Percussion, a Vancouver based percussion
quartet that, according to their website, “...
connects to the expressive cultural traditions
of Bali, China, Cuba, Japan, Ghana, and
India.” This concert will be happening
in the first few days of the semester, on
September 8th. Another exciting prospect
is “Cosmophony” played by Rachel
Iwaasa on the piano. This contemporary
recital is inspired by the cosmos at the HR
MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver.
Most recently, “Cosmophony” was
presented in accompaniment with overhead
panoramic projections of images of the

planets and stars. Iwaasa will be performing
on September 22nd. Best of all, these
concerts are free!

The Douglas College programs
of Theatre and Stagecraft and Event
Technology puts on two outstanding
productions each semester for the public
to attend. The actors are program students
and alumni (many of whom are now
professionals in their field), and are
directed by guest directors such as John
Cooper (Death of a Salesman, Vancouver
Playhouse), and Jessie Award winning
Stephen Drover. The set, lighting and
costumes are all created by the Stagecraft
students in collaboration with the directors
and faculty.

jealous man behind the legend, Bluebeard.
Meryl Streep starred in the 1998 film

. “Whether you’re a new or returning student, there’s bound to be an
unexpected artistic endeavour going on somewhere on campus that you
haven’t yet seen or heard of.”

This semester, the productions include
Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel
(November 4-12, directed by Thrasso
Petras), and Jehanne of the Witches by
Vancouver-born playwright Sally Clark
(November 12-19, directed by Deborah
Neville). Jehanne of the Witches is an
unconventional portrayal of the life of Joan
of Arc, told from the perspective of the

adaptation of Dancing at Lughnasa, the
heart wrenching story of one man’s memory
of his mother and aunts living in Ireland in
1936.

The Amelia Douglas Gallery features
visual art year round. The next exhibit
showcases Art Works by Tiko Kerr and Ivan
Droujinin, two noteworthy artists. It also
features an Insect Exhibit by the Douglas

 

College Institute of Urban Ecology. The
show runs from September 15 — October 28,
with an opening reception on September 15
from 4:30 — 7:30PM. Entrance to the gallery
is also free.

If ever you have time between classes,
and need to relax, there are plenty of
stimulating events on campus that you
can’t miss. Look out for more information
about upcoming events and interviews with
artists. Here at Douglas, you won’t have to
go very far to find great arts events.

For specific event listings check out the
Douglas College Calendar of Arts Events.

 

Our dull, inappropriate flop

We review the not-so comedic comedy Our Idiot Brother

 

By Alyssa LeBlevec

hile the trailers for Our Idiot
j Brother built it up to be the
f summer’s best comedy, it sadly

6

ee

left us with the same feeling as our wallets

n bought: emptiness.
‘ Paul Rudd plays a very lovable
character named Ned, a middle-aged hippie

es tuition’s been paid and textbooks have

whose short stint in prison has left him
homeless and broke, prompting him to surf
the couches of his three professional and
successful sisters (Elizabeth Banks, Zooey
Deschanel, and Emily Mortimer). But after
a string of affairs, unwanted pregnancies,
and failing careers, Ned is left trying to help
them all pick up the pieces — unsuccessfully
of course. Ned’s good-hearted honesty
only leads to more problems for his already
dysfunctional family. As everyone’s lives
begin to unravel, they finally learn that
the important thing in life is the love and
support of family.

It’s the same cheesy cliché we’ve seen

for years just being worked at another angle.

The members of a broken family go through
an array of individual issues, thus bringing
them closer together and subsequently
ending with the realization that family is
the most important thing in the world. It’s
the “idiot” and the comedy that could have
potentially turned this old and overused
plotline into a success. Unfortunately,
the “idiot” is quite dull, and the comedy,
although providing some good laughs, is
lacking. The slow start to the movie leaves
viewers waiting for things to pick up and
pull them in, but unfortunately they are left
wanting.

The other part of this movie that left
a bad taste in my mouth was the PG rating.
I’m not one to be offended by an F-bomb

or some nudity; when I go to an R or 14A
tated movie it’s to be expected. But with a
PG rating, I expect that the movie should
be suitable for my 10-year-old brother or
12-year-old cousin, which this movie most
certainly was not.

While it was of no real offence to me,
younger children and even the older lady in
the audience might not have been impressed
with the multiple scenes of nudity and gruff
language. These days we are becoming
more desensitized to subjects like sex, drugs
and explicit language, things that were
taboo twenty years ago are now common
conversation. However, I don’t believe
that this should give the movie industry
free reign to change the criteria for movie
ratings. Parents still have the right to decide
what they want their children exposed to
and movie ratings are supposed to assist
parents with that, not make their job more
complicated.

All in all it’s a cute movie with a
decent, albeit predictable, plotline that is an
acceptable Netflix choice on a lazy Sunday
afternoon. On a student budget though, it’s
not worth the movie ticket and popcorn.

2.5/5

a