14 I TUESDAY, SEPT. 14, 2010
Winter's Bone'
Reviewed by Lauren Ingeno
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
It's a part of our country foreign to most
Americans: a Midwest town plagued by severe
poverty and drug addiction. Abandoned trucks
lie next to blown up crys
tal meth labs, while chil
dren hunt squirrels to fill
their stomachs.
And the adults of these
Ozarks are even more
harsh and bitter than the
chill of winter.
This is the setting of
the haunting and beauti
ful film adaptation of
Daniel Woodrell's novel "Winter's Bone," which
won best picture and best screenplay at the
2010 Sundance Festival.
WINTER'S
" ' BONE
Courtesy of amazon.com
In the center of this mess is 17-year-old Ree
Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence), who must take care
of her mentally ill mother and her younger sib
lings. Her father is a meth cook who has been
missing and could be dead or alive.
Trouble for Ree worsens when a sheriff tells
her that if her dad doesn't show for his court
date, her family will be evicted from their house.
Ree has no car and no job, but this heroine
knows that to protect her family, she must find
her father or his bones.
She begins going door to door, asking ques
tions to people who don't want a teenager med
dling in their business.
Lawrence, 20, gives a performance well beyond
her young age, just as her character takes on
problems that even an adult could hardly handle.
She's tough and never asks for sympathy only
earns it throughout the movie.
"Winter's Bone" is as much a frightening
mystery as it is a drama, as Ree searches for
clues that will lead to her father. It is sometimes
difficult to keep the characters and back stories
straight through the film, but by the end, the
loose pieces tie together.
"Winter's Bone" shows a community that is
rarely discussed and doesn't sugarcoat its sto
ries.
Many of the gritty supporting actors are non
pro locals, and the music in the film comes
straight from the mouths of Ozark men and
women, according to "Entertainment Weekly"
It's great that director Debra Granik didn't let
Hollywood tamper with a film so real.
But this film is a reminder that there are and
will continue to be Americans fighting for a
place to sleep at night.
Grade: A
To e-mail reporter: ImisolB@psu.edu
`The Book of Unnecessary
Quotations'
Reviewed by Heather Panetta
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Fresh Brown "Eggs."
Why is the word "eggs" in quotations? If these
fresh brown things are not eggs, then what are
they? A large and slightly
twisted imagination could
come up with an abun
dance of answers.
This phrase is in the
picture on the cover of
"The Book of
`Unnecessary' Quotation
Marks: A Celebration of
Creative Punctuation" by
Bethany Keeley. And it
foreshadows the rest of
the hilarious pictures and
Courtesy of amazon.com use of quotations that fol
low in this picture book
for adults.
The book based off of Keeley's blog, The
"Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks fea
tures pictures of signs at work, in stores and even
in bathrooms where quotation marks are used in
all wrong ways thinkable.
The book pokes fun at people's complete disre
gard of correct punctuation, and while I'm no
punctuation expert, I would never put quotation
marks around eggs.
In the beginning, Keeley describes 10 uses of
quotation marks in the many photos. Keeley pro
vides an explanation for each.
For example, one use of quotation marks is as
a euphemism.
"Sometimes we are too delicate to be explicit;
and, therefore quotation marks help even the most
squeamish person say dirty and inappropriate
things comfortably," she wrote in the explanation.
The photo that accompanied this explanation
was: "please" NO Smoking, NO running, NO
playing, NO "hanging out" on Bathhouses.
She describes another use of quotes for insin
cerity: They are a good way to pretend to mean
something that you don't mean or make "promis
es" you don't intend to keep, she wrote.
The photo of insincere quotation marks was of
a truck with a sign that read: Drivers Wanted
"Guaranteed" Home Weekends.
While many of the photos themselves are
entertaining and left the reader wondering what
the quotes mean, many of Keeley's captions pack
just as much hilarity.
Another of my favorites was a photo of a
stained piece of paper and written on it in black
marker was: We have "soup." Keeley's caption
read, "Three little words that become deeply
unsettling with the addition of quotation marks."
This book is great for those who'd rather look
at the illustrations in a book than actually read it.
And it's filled with humor and laughs. You defi
nitely get to stretch your imagination and create
your own captions of what the photos and quotes
really "mean."
Grade: "A"
To e-mail reporter hapl36@psu.edu
kTSINREviEw
Reviewed by Lindsay Cryer
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Despite her popular lyrics, Sara
Bareilles proves that she definitely
can write a damn good love song
her third album is proof.
"Kaleidoscope Heart," which
dropped last Tuesday, is Bareilles'
third album. It won't take people
long to remember previous hits
such as "Love Song" and
"Gravity" from her second album
"Little Voice" as her true-to-form
style and voice come shining
through in every song.
If you enjoyed Bareilles' songs
from the last album, you can bet
your bottom dollar that this album
is just as likeable and just as easy
to get sucked right into.
But the album may never let you go.
Bound to be the biggest hit of the
album, "King of Anything" is a pop-
inspired, piano-driven track, which dis
cusses an over-bearing love. It seems
as though anti-love love songs seem to
be Bareilles' niche as this track
becomes very reminiscent of the not
so-loving "Love Song", singing: "You're
so busy makin' maps / With my name
on them in all caps / You got the talldn'
down just not the listening."
Considering Bareilles' talent, whoev
er this guy is should definitely be lis
tening to this album.
The musician's talent can also be
heard in the short-but-sweet opening
track "Kaleidoscope Heart", which
showcases incredible harmoines
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And her versatility as a piano rock
star is strongly present in the fun and
pop-inspired song "Gonna Get Over
You."
In "Machine Gun", Bareilles adopts
a 50s-esque melody and intertwines it
with the best use of her powerful voice.
This track may not be released as a
single from the album, but deserves as
much listen as the rest of the songs.
What seems to be the most promi
nent feature on the album is the slower
tracks.
In "The Light," an coincidentally
light and sweet melody compliments a
higher-pitched, often whispering ver
sion of the artist's voice. This combina
tion makes for a very likeable and easy
listen especially in the occasion of
falling in love.
But times are tough, "Basket Case"
THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
makes for a comforting and relat
able listen for those experiencing
heartbreak In the song, she sings:
"I don't want to talk about it to you
/ I'm not an open book that you can
rifle through / The cold hard truth
that you'll see right to / I'm just
basket case without you."
Bareilles' honest lyrics, along
side an acoustic guitar and har
monica, will make listeners appre
ciate the singer's willingness to
slow it down for a few tracks.
As if listeners hadn't had
enough, "Bluebird" beautifully
caps off the album with a calming
tale of self-liberation, alongside a
blues-y version of Bareilles' voice.
In "Kaleidoscope Heart,"
Bareilles' surely proves her value as
a lyricist writing lines that put
today's pop-stars to shame.
She also proves herself, yet again, as
a composer and pianist creating
melodies and harmonies that can out
do any auto-tuned tracks.
Her first album "Careful
Confessions" went unnoticed, but
"Little Voice" put her on the map and
provided her with chart-topping hits.
In - regards to this record, I can defi
nitely say that third album's a charm.
Good luck getting any of these songs
out of your head.
Grade: A-
Download: "King of Anything,"
"Machine Gun," "The Light,"
"Basket Case"
To e-mail reporter: Ibcl46@psu.edu