The Beacon's one-stop guide to music, film, dining and culture.
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APPROACH SAPPHIRE'S "PUSH" TENTATIVELY ...
"Push," a book that the movie "Precious" is based on, is not for the faint of heart.
Don't be fooled by its length - 139 pages - author Sapphire packs intensity into every sentence. One page longer and the reader might experience an emotional overload.
The many disturbing aspects of Precious' life might seem almost over the top when listed (illiteracy, poverty, AIDS, abusive parents, incest), but the truth is that she embodies the silent suffering of many Americans, exposing the evils of multiple flawed institutions that often go overlooked by the population.
The book is written in Precious' language, which evolves throughout the story. In the beginning of the novel, almost every word is spelled wrong, punctuation is lacking and vocabulary is limited. By the end, not only has her language improved but her voice has also become more prominent - something that benefits her beyond pen and paper.
Sapphire sprinkles the novel with poems written by Precious and students in her GED class. Included at the end of the book is a compilation of their journal entries, which starkly documents stories of murder, drug addiction, incest and violent hate crimes.
"Push" is sometimes overwhelming, often uncomfortable and always engrossing. Pick it up to read the story of a true twenty first century heroine.
- Corey Fawcett
DOWNLOAD ... POGO'S "WEAVE AND WISH"
Lovers of all music genres will be enchanted by Australian music artist Pogo's electronic compositions.
Pogo - whose music has been described as electronica, ambient and trip-hop - takes tiny sound bytes from popular children's movies and strings them together to create mystical melodies.
In 2009, he garnered small-scale fame on Youtube with "Alice," a track composed solely of sounds from the original "Alice in Wonderland" movie. Earlier this year, Pixar commissioned him to create a song using sounds from "Up," which Pogo dubbed "Upular."
Some other Pogo gems include "Scrumdiddlyumptious" created with sound bytes from the original "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie, "Expialidocious" ("Mary Poppins"), "Bangarang" ("Hook") and "Alohomora" (take a guess). All are recently released EPs.
Pogo says that his songs intentionally lack coherent lyrics so the listeners can make them up for themselves. It's fun to compare interpretations among friends.
Check out his singles and newest album "Weave and Wish." No matter what kind of music you like, Pogo's artistic vision will baffle you.
- Corey Fawcett
WAIT UNTIL THE VIDEO OF ... "CLASH OF THE TITANS"
"Clash of the Titans" was an enthralling movie... for the first minute and a half. This was the only part of the movie that was semi-original with somewhat cool-looking graphics.
"Clash of the Titans" was a clash of horrible effects and atrocious plot. From the odd glow-y orb of light that surrounds Zeus to the utter mockery the movie makes of Greek mythology, I spent the next hour and 49 minutes and 30 seconds cringing and waiting for the ending credits to roll.
First, the movie was clearly a composition of graphic effects from other movies, but recreated really poorly. The most striking rip-off in the movie was the king that looked like a throwback to the orcs from "Lord of the Rings."
Second, the plot was just sad, and it created a huge barrier between the movie and me. I know you are supposed to suspend your disbelief when you go to watch these types of movies, but I can't throw my disbelief and common sense out the window.
The most grating part of the plot is how easy everything comes to the main character, Perseus. "I need a sword." Drop sword from sky. "I do not know how to fight." Three minutes later he is a skilled swordsman. "I'm sad because my girlfriend is dead." Insert resurrection scene here. Lather, rinse, repeat.
So, skip "Clash of the Titans." Or at least wait until you can rent it from a Red Box.
- Rosemary Peters
