Reels, Notes & Takes: Week 1

There’s no better place to keep a finger on the pulse of arts and entertainment happenings than Los Angeles. The A&E world is alive – it’s always buzzing, sometimes ready to implode with a hint of a surprise album or a celebrity’s controversial statement. Each week, the Daily Bruin A&E editors will discuss their views on recent topics and trends in pop culture.

Looking out from “Inside Out”

What if Disney Pixar’s film “Inside Out” were made so that audiences couldn’t tell what was going on inside the characters’ heads?

Based on an idea from Vimeo user rickroy37, University of Utah student Jordan Hanzon posted a short film titled “Inside Out: Outside Version” to his Vimeo channel Friday. In it, Hanzon edited out every scene involving the personified emotions – Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness – of a girl named Riley that comprise the bulk of the movie.

The result is “Outside Version,” a sad 15-minute film mostly about hockey and moving to San Francisco from Minnesota. Unsurprising, right?

I didn’t realize the presence of the emotions was bothersome, however, until they were gone. Watching Riley cope with the loss of her old home and friends and deal with foggy San Francisco was made much more relatable without the emotions’ constant drama cutting into the scenes.

Watching the short film, I realized I don’t need to know what’s going on in people’s heads every second. While I enjoyed the cute, fictionalized world of Riley’s thoughts and emotions in “Inside Out,” the constant shift away from real life was too distracting. In the end, I liked the outside version better.

– Shreya Aiyar

Ricky Gervais sees the future

I find Ricky Gervais painfully unfunny.

It’s partly his squeaky, piercing laugh and partly the fact he can’t help but crack up at all of his own jokes. Gervais finds himself incredibly funny, but I cringe every time he oversteps the mark in his hosting gigs or supposedly candid TV interviews.

When I saw he had been chosen to host this year’s Golden Globe Awards, I was disappointed, but not surprised. This will be the fourth year the UK comedian hosts the awards, so there must be something about him that clicks with Hollywood or at least with the production company that chooses the host.

On New Year’s Day, Gervais tweeted an apology in advance for the offensive comments he will inevitably make when hosting the Golden Globe Awards on Saturday. His tweet bothers me. Gervais clearly feels he has to be offensive and dangerous to be funny, and he even bases his comedic persona around his ability to be wildly inappropriate.

My theory is that his aggressive form of comedy is why he is a go-to master of ceremonies. Given he is not spectacularly well known in the U.S., Gervais is considered to be in an ideal position to lampoon the famous and powerful of Hollywood.

– William Thorne

New Year’s 2016 brings new “1989” video

What better way to ring in the New Year than with a blessing from Queen Swift?

Taylor Swift debuted her music video for “Out of the Woods” on ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” Thursday. The video depicts the blonde starlet in a blue chiffon dress battling nature. She endures icy terrain, grimy mud and salty oceans while presumably singing about her fragile former relationship with One Direction singer Harry Styles.

As creepy vines continually slither around her limbs, the video is as engaging and cinematic as usual and filled with Swift’s harsh and dramatic movements.

Unlike most of the “1989” videos, “Out of the Woods” follows the music video of “Style” with a more abstract theme. Viewers never see a lover nor a squad of friends, but simply Swift trampling through New Zealand.

The more abstract theme allowed Swift to show her dedication to her craft. “Out of the Woods” director Joseph Kahn tweeted about Swift’s tolerance when filming in the mud and snow for hours. It would have been easy to edit in snow or dirt, but evidently Swift chose to actually experience the elements. I’d pass.

Although my favorite version of “Out of the Woods” will remain Swift’s Sept. 2015 stripped down performance at the Grammy Museum, this rendition of “Out of the Woods” truly demonstrates why Swift received nine 2015 Video Music Awards nominations.

– Lindsay Weinberg

Winter Netflix Binge: A Report

Like many others, I stayed home and watched a boatload of movies and a TV show over winter break.

Snuggled in a blanket on a couch in front of a Christmas tree, I dived into 2014’s season one of “How to Get Away with Murder” on Netflix. The crime-mystery ABC TV show chronicles the entangled lives of five law students and their professor and defense attorney, Annalise Keating (Viola Davis). Together, they solve crime cases while they attempt to hide their own murder.

As a lover of jaw-dropping and mind-boggling plot twists, I found “How to Get Away with With Murder” intensely satisfying. Every episode contains multiple twists that caused me to pause and marvel over what had just been revealed.

At the center of it all, Davis portrays Keating in a performance well-deserving of the Emmy Award for Best Actress she received in 2015. She exudes Keating’s strong power with every yell in court and bares her vulnerability with pained facial expressions outside court. The result is a beautifully complicated character I root for (most of the time).

Thank goodness it’s only Week 1 – now I have time to finish Season 2.

– Gail Acosta