[ C _.. Pop Culture Purchases

 

 

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The Bro Code
Barney Stinson

Ever wonder if you are someone’s
bro? If so, what is the proper
etiquette to being this bro? It can
be quite confusing; luckily, the

TV show How I Met Your Mother
has put out a book to answer all

of these unsolved questions and

to give everyone a proper and
necessary guideline to being a bro.
With several facts about how one
is to act if one crashes on another’s
couch, how to high five, and even
how to help a bro pick up chicks,
clearly there is a little something
for everyone in this book. So, hurry
out and learn all the rules quickly,
lest you want to be conned by
another bro on the rules of proper
etiquette.

— Matthew Steinbach

   

Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand

There is no other band that can make
complete fools out of themselves

and look this cool when they do it,

So, it’s no wonder they are so often
imitated. Franz Ferdinand uses the
most ridiculous beats you’ve ever
heard, such as on their new lead

track “Ulysses,” where it sounds like
they’re using a Casio keyboard and
they stretch out the intro well past the
point of absurdity. This album contains
many eye-rolling and chuckle inducing
moments like this. But serious dance-
rock fans—I know you're out there—
will find a lot to like on this album as
well. Franz Ferdinand is one of the few
bands out there that can make an album
which people take them seriously and
people who think they’re a complete
joke will both enjoy listening to. This
album will make you want to dance
and make you want to laugh, and don’t
be surprised if you end up doing both
at the same time.

—Mark Fisher

 

 

 

 

Slumdog Millionaire
Fox Searchlight Pictures

Back in 2000, Regis Philbin played
host to prospective millionaires as he
provided the questions on Who Wants
to Be a Millionaire? If you were asked,
“What movie won four Golden Globes
in 2009,” your final answer should

be Slumdog Millionaire. The Golden
Globes got it right; this movie’s plot
and character development are bang
on. The film encompasses the life of
Jamal Malik and his brother Salim as
they are left without parents or a home.
The story follows them through their
lives growing up in the streets of India,
stealing shoes, giving fake tours of the
Taj Mahal, and the budding romance
between Jamal and Latika right to

his fiery split with Salim. Slumdog
Millionaire jumps from the present

to the past as it follows how a simple
beggar becomes one of the richest men
in India. This genuine and emotionally
charged story is perfectly crafted and
should definitely be seen.

—Albert Leung

   

 

 

Prttriei er

When the Mob Ran Vegas
Steve Fischer

Written by long-time Las Vegas
historian Steve Fischer, When the Mob
Ran Vegas: Stories of Money, Mayhem
and Murder is a relatively short book
consisting of many intriguing stories
about Las Vegas’ early days when it was
controlled by the Mafia. Fischer has
compiled a multitude of entertaining
tales, many involving hidden backroom
deals, much of Frank Sinatra’s time in
Vegas and the legendary story of the
infamous Bugsy Siegel’s Flamingo
hotel and casino. Fischer sheds a
fascinating light on many previously-
unknown mob characters and tells their
stories with a wealth of detail and often
humour. You’ll learn about key players
in the development of what Vegas is
today, such as Johnny Forelli, Tony
Accardo and more. When the Mob Ran
Vegas is a great, easy read that you
won’t want to put down. The stories are
told in short bursts so it isn’t hard to
read one and then take a break.

—Garth McLennan

 

 

 

 

Bind.

What the hell is a Hayao
Miyazaki film?

 

s a young boy
growing up
in the *80s,

my standard movie-
going fare—besides
Star Wars and Indiana
Jones—were Disney films. Star Wars and Indiana
sometimes scared the shit out of me; Disney
movies made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I
was firmly convinced that Mola Ram from the
Temple of Doom was going to rip my heart out
from age five to age twelve.

One animator has carried on Walt Disney’s
legacy, though: Hayoa Miyazaki, largely unknown
in North America, has produced and directed
the highest-grossing film in Japan, Princess
Mononoke, as well as received an Academy Award
for his work on Spirited Away. Both films are
anime and both films have been grossed millions
in Japan.

Unlike the polished CG animations of late,
these films were produced using single cell
animation over painted backdrops, giving the
overall film an unpolished whimsical look and
feel. These films have a warm quality in much the
same way that vinyl records “just sound better;”
like vinyl, these films just look better. There is
a magic hidden within that is not found in CGI
animation.

Miyazaki has managed to stay true to
traditional pen-to-paper animation; however,
Princess Mononoke, Howl’s Moving Castle and
Spirited Away have all contained CGI elements.
The CGI used has had a more natural flavour when
compared with the CGI used in Toy Story or The
Incredibles.

Miyazaki has also stated that no CGI will be
used for his upcoming film, Ponyo on a Cliff by

“what the hell?”

 

the Sea, an adventure, which almost takes place
entirely underwater or in the sea. He feels this will
allow for more artistic license and imagination
when presenting the elegance of the sea.

Miyazaki’s films draw their strength from
their innocence; the stories are generally centered
on the wonder of flight, parallel worlds or the
environment. Reoccurring themes are a concern
for ecology, human impact on the environment,
the harmful nature of the military and morally grey
villains.

Many of Miyazaki’s characters are not what
they seem. For example, Jigo, a wandering monk
in Princess Mononoke, begins the film by aiding
the hero, but later almost turns the world to the
shadows. Or Totoro, a forest spirit, is a large troll-
like creature who turns out to be quite gentle and
aids a pair of sisters in My Neighbour Totoro.

Hayao Miyazaki acts as both writer and
director on his films and many of his stories are
based upon Manga that he has produced over
the years. This personal touch is reflected in
Miyazaki’s characters; they are round and dynamic
and not easily pigeonholed into traditional
concepts of good and evil, black and white.

As a testament to Hayao Miyazaki’s feminist
ideals, all films have strong female protagonists
as well as strong male characters. This is a stark
comparison to western films, which are usually
focused on the adventures of young boys or a
young boy and a girl. For this reason, Miyazaki’s
films encompass a universal appeal to both
genders.

As strange as this sounds, I think these are
films I would show my kids one day, but for now,
it will have to be the dog who gets weirded out
when I try and sit her down to watch some cartoon
about castles in the sky.

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