The Beacon’s one-stop guide to music, film, dining and culture.
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SEE ... COUNTRY STRONG
Even if you don't claim to be a country bumpkin when it comes to music, it won't be hard to go weak at the knees for actor Garrett Hedlund's raspy, sexy voice.
In the movie "Country Strong," he portrays Beau Hutton, a rehab janitor turned rising singer-songwriter. At that very same rehab facility, the alcoholic country star Kelly Canter (Gwyneth Paltrow) is being treated after some embarrassing and dismal drunken moments that threatened her career.
Once she is released, her husband and manager, James Canter (Tim McGraw), starts an Encore Tour to help the public remember her in a better light. Beau and the blossoming yet anxious Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) go along with the tour as the opening act.
Different love triangles and Kelly Canter's alcoholism pose constant risks to ending the concerts.
Every song is well placed and builds the characters' stories even further. One of the main songs, "Coming Home," was nominated for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes.
Gwyneth Paltrow did a great job with her first stab at singing country music. Her extremely depressing and deep character can pull at our heartstrings and will us to believe the best advice she can give: "Don't be afraid to fall in love. It's the only thing that matters in life."
– Joanna Goodwin
GO WATCH ... 127 HOURS
How could a director ever make the pain of cutting through a nerve immediate for an audience? Director Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire") accomplishes this seemingly impossible feat with excruciating precision in "127 Hours."
The movie brings Aron Ralston's lonely near-death experience to audiences everywhere. In April 2003, Ralston, an avid hiker and climber, found himself trapped in the Utah desert after a boulder fell on his arm while hiking in a canyon. In order to survive, he cut off his own arm with a dull knife.
The movie is rather graphic in the sense that we see actor James Franco break his own bone and saw through layers of skin, muscle and nerves. However, even the weak can stomach the five – minute scene since the majority of the movie consists of beautiful shots of the Utah desert.
Franco brilliantly captures Ralston's pain, dehydration and loss of sanity that occurred over the 127 hours he was trapped alone at the bottom of a canyon. As pretty much the only actor in the movie, aside from brief encounters with other hikers and short flashbacks, Franco is able to show off his incredible talent.
Because the movie is based on real life and we know Ralston lived to tell his story, there is not much suspense. However, the movie is an interesting study of the human psyche and survival ability. Despite the pain and gore, the movie ends with a celebration of human perseverance and our dependence on one another.
– Elizabeth Vogel
SEE ... NO STRINGS ATTACHED
Imagine a prepubescent Ashton Kutcher trying to get with Natalie Portman as a teenager. Unsurprinsgly, she quickly shoots him down.
Through various times they meet up later in life, it becomes clear she is an awkward, emotionless girl who is purely dysfunctional in any relationship.
After a relapse in judgment, the two of them eventually get together. They know a relationship won't work so they decide to give each other what they need, "no strings attached."
They present a set of rules that cannot be broken including no jealousy, no fighting, no staring into each other's eyes and most importantly, no falling in love. They will respond to each other's call at any time of the day or night and have to do whatever the other person wants.
But soon the question arises: Can two friends have sex without love getting in the way?
Kutcher and Portman are absolutely hilarious. They have great chemistry in that they push and pull against each other in a way that you can really believe. They both have so many witty little one-liners I am still annoyingly quoting because they are just too darn funny.
This fresh movie topic could be considered old news for college students who already have put the "no strings attached" title on relationships. But watching Kutcher and Portman go from best friends to sex friends is almost better, and definitely a lot funnier, than the real thing.
– Joanna Goodwin
(Photo courtesy of rowthree.com)
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