As I took my seat to watch The Hunger Games this weekend, I was carefully neutral. So many book-to-movie adaptations have disappointed me before that I would not get my hopes up this time. Departing the theatre, however, I was satisfied.
For the sake of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I’m a fan of the books. That being said, The Hunger Games seemed to follow the first book’s narrative as closely as possible without becoming a four-hour epic, which is an impressive feat.
The dystopian novel is about a post-apocalyptic world where children must fight to the death on television, partly as an intimidation technique for their impoverished home districts, and partly for the entertainment of those in the wealthy Capitol.
Gary Ross (who also directed the film), Suzanne Collins, and Billy Ray wrote the screenplay. The involvement of Collins, the book’s author, on the screenplay team likely did much to ensure that the film would stay as true as possible to the book. The books are already so cinematic that I was impressed to see that the film was able to take the sensory impact to a new, exciting level. Stunning sets, garish costumes, and striking violence all created an incredibly visceral reaction.
Stanley Tucci steals all Capitol scenes as Hunger Games host Caesar Flickerman in an absurd blue wig and with his signature droll acting. The ridiculous costumes were true to the book, creating the inarguable impression that those in the Capitol were silly and out of touch with reality.

Elizabeth Banks is completely transformed into Effie Trinket with great success. The saturation of colour and glitzy details of the Capitol made an excellent visual juxtaposition to the Second World War imagery in the districts.
Although most characters were cast well, the weakest casting choice was Donald Sutherland as President Snow. The character’s evil nature is described subtly in the books, but the film’s counterpart was too ambiguous, and simply not evil enough.
Jennifer Lawrence played protagonist Katniss very well. Like in her previous film, Winter’s Bone (2010), where she played another stoic young woman, Lawrence played her character’s strong, silent type very well.

But –spoiler alert- in her emotional lapse after Rue’s death, I felt she could have given more to the scene. I was saddened more at the memory of the description of Rue’s death in the book rather than the onscreen portrayal of the same event. Lawrence’s acting was for the most part consistent, but at times like these, a little flat.

Comparatively, she was fantastically vivid earlier in the film; for example when she orders her mother not to cry during their goodbyes.
The use of shaky cam and a significant number of extreme close-ups was great for unveiling small details and for showing Katniss’ disorientation, but occasionally was overused.
Overall, this is an excellent film. Visually impressive and emotionally intriguing, the film lives up to the hype. It is both touching and invigorating. The Hunger Games is worthy of its box office record breaking.  Go see Katniss the huntress in action and you will not be disappointed.

The Mitre 2012 launches this Tuesday March 27 with the Grad Art show in the lobby of Centennial Theatre. In past years, copies of The Mitre have sold out within days, so grab yours before they’re gone!
This year’s edition 119, takes on a new look in comparison with past issues.  Lara Henerson, fifth-year English student and this year’s editor, chose a magazine-style that is sleek and wide, optimal for the visual artwork that colours its 58 pages.  The cover, a rich, matte burgundy, was designed by Bishop’s own Tim Doherty, and the evocative cover artwork was completed by Stephanie Martin.  It shows a young woman in mid-air, poised before a sunny window, and gives a surreal, mystical impression.  Readers can therefore interpret the cover piece as a symbol for the overall book; like Alice, we can step through the looking-glass, and into a Wonderland of Eastern Townships literary fiction.
A long-time Mitre contributor Frank Willdig, has two poems in this year’s edition.  His imagistic, subtle and thought-provoking poems are worth re-reading to catch hidden meanings and deeper messages.
This year, Henerson teamed up with fledging writing project Students Writing Weekend in the Eastern Townships (SWEET), and winners from the Twitter contest were published anonymously throughout the pages of The Mitre.  Participants were asked to write stories in 140-characters or less, so the book is peppered with short, powerful statements that leave the details to one’s imagination.  Take this gem, for example: “Prince kisses Princess. Royal necrophilia scandal.”
One of the advantages of having a larger format is that the photos and artwork can be viewed at a larger size.  This is particularly enjoyable when viewing Second 3 AM Dream, a painting by Lili Xu, a work which deserves much consideration.  Another visual piece is a stunning Untitled bird drawn by Ellen Jefferies.
The Mitre 2012 focuses mostly on poetry and artwork, with only seven prose pieces included in this issue.  One particularly moving and well-written short fiction piece is The World in Sam’s Pocket by Yael Tischler, which is written expertly in the voice of young Ashleigh, sister to Sam, who is “not like me and you.”
Copies of The Mitre 2012 are $7, and all previous editions are available to be viewed in the Old Library. The Mitre is open to contributions from all: students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members, so if you didn’t send anything in this year, be sure to next year!

Melissa Marr’s novel blends gothic style with folklore. Faeries overrun the streets of Huntsdale hiding within the shadows between buildings and dark alleys. They travel around the town unseen by humans portraying whatever human face would look most like them. Tension between faeries causes the faeries to entwine themselves within humans’ lives searching for their salvation.
Wicked Lovely explores a world deeply buried in myth. The faeries hide behind a web of lies to manipulate the humans. However, one human is able to see through the magic. Aislinn hides her abilities from the faeries by ignoring the fact that they exist. The faeries terrify her with all of their tricks and folly. Aislinn, despite her attempts to be invisible, is noticed by a persistent faerie.

We soon learn that said fairy, Keenan, is searching for the key to overthrowing the Queen of Winter. Keenan must find his Queen to melt the ice and restore balance. Keenan seems to think that Aislinn is that person, and will do everything in his power to persuade her of such.
Marr reinvents the Irish faerie tales, explaining the functioning of their courts, their powers and their weaknesses. The fairies tell a story that explores power dynamics and social structure. The summer faeries and the winter faeries have been at war since the death of the king.

The appropriation of new abilities comes directly from the author’s imagination as she recreates ancient lore. The complexity of the court systems put our modern governments to shame.

I appreciated the depth of knowledge that the author had about the faeries, when most traditional stories have been forgotten in our day and age. Also, the use of Aislinn as a main character made for an interesting game of cat and mouse with the faerie world. The fact that Aislinn is not your average, hopelessly-in-love teenager did have an advantage, and kept me on my toes wondering if she would agree with Keenan or try to resist his charms.

Aislinn is a strong believer in standing up for what you believe in, and I enjoyed the way in which Marr portrayed that value. With all the tricks, one wonders what exactly did happen within the pages of this novel.
Darkness can and will trick you when it can. It is your job to know when to follow your instincts or whether to resist your impulses. Whatever you do, don’t drink the wine.

Haven’t heard of Grimes yet? Claire Boucher, or as she’s known in the music world, Grimes, is most likely the biggest breakthrough artist to come out of Montreal. Already featured on and recognized by Pitchfork as a rising artist, as well as playing at the MoMa in New York City.
The 24-year-old singer and producer’s style is cited as “weird pop” with influences of R&B, industrial, goth and hip-hop, but don’t let this turn you off; she is also distinguished by her simple but powerful percussions, vocal ingenuity, and captivating melodies.
The biggest push to her success can perhaps be attributed to her single “Vanessa,” in addition to “Darkbloom,” the split-EP that it is featured on. Here (and on Visions) Grimes crafts some of the most innovative and engaging dance music to grace the eardrums of music lovers, fusing together hip-hop, K-pop and a plethora of other influences to create contagious songs with an intriguing dark aesthetic. What are these influences you ask?

Despite her lack of acquaintance with music before the age of 18, she has triumphed over this obstacle and used it to her benefit, bursting into the indie music scene with a sound that is extremely different than her counterparts, and one in which is quite extensive in terms of inspiration (The Smiths, Salem, Prince, Gang Gang Dance).
The distracted sound of Grimes’ music comes from her interest in diverse genres and themes that she becomes fond of temporarily, but then rapidly sets aside; namely contemporary divas like Mariah Carey, and also Korean pop music and the work of the Russian ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev.
Even though Grimes’ catalogue is distinctive and genre-bending, there is a dominant sound that is her own, made up principally by the chameleon-like quality in her vocals. The consistency in Grimes’ music can be attributed to her characteristic girly falsetto, which rises above whatever inspirations she throws together. Her grace and virtuosity define her stage presence. Interestingly, all of her music gets filtered through Apple’s GarageBand – yes, you read that right – even her most recent full-length Visions.
Even though Grimes cannot read music and has no understanding of theory or notation, don’t let this turn you off, because the end result is a strikingly unique, surprisingly beautiful, and at times chilling arrangement of songs. It’s forlorn, but catchy as hell. And she’s kinda cute too.
It only makes sense to go pick up a copy of her latest full-length release, Visions. You won’t regret it.

The cast of MTV Canada’s 1 girl 5 gays recently paid a visit to Bishop’s to voice their opinions on a number of hot-button issues, ranging from gay marriage to manscaping. 
The event was the brainchild of BU’s own John Partington. Partington examined the hit MTV Canada show 1 girl 5 gays as part of his honours thesis entitled “Queer Subjectivities, Virtual Limitations.” With a strong focus on identity and the virtual world, Partington presented a summary of his thesis to a packed house.

Anyone familiar with 1 girl 5 gays knows that the show has tackled topics that range from the outright hilarious to heart wrenchingly personal. Partington juxtaposed two clips from the show by first showing the audience a clip entitled “How to Give the Perfect Blow Job.” Cheers and laughter echoed through the Gait as the audience watched the cast members give extremely descriptive pointers and visual cues on how this might be executed.

Next was a sobering clip of one of the cast members speaking about being raped. With the room still, Partington used this wave of emotion to highlight the issue of society not taking domestic violence among gay men seriously.

It is the ability to address such difficult or ‘taboo’ issues so directly and candidly that has made 1 girl 5 gays such a hit. To the excitement of many, but certainly by no small effort of his own, Partington was able to arrange to bring some of the cast members of 1 girl 5 gays, including Ish Furoz, Ian Lynch, David Robert, Philip Tetro and the show’s producer Garrett Wintrip, to Bishop’s for a mock version of the show. With Partington joining the panel, Dr. Jessica Riddell filled the role of the one girl.

It became clear that 1 girl 5 gays has a devoted following amongst the Bishop’s community. The audience went wild, soaking up each witty retort the panel threw their way. Their no-holds approach made the cast immediately endearing, and with their humorous and honest answers they quickly cast their spell over Bishop’s. Subjects that the panel discussed include everything from Madonna vs. Lady Gaga (Madonna won), to the pressure the cast sometimes feels to project a healthy gay image.

Thanks to groundbreaking shows like 1 girl 5 gays, prejudices are breaking down and enabling a positive discourse. Things are changing for the better and the show’s producer Wintrip, can attest to that. Wintrip cited the diverse audience that 1 girl 5 gays is able to reach, noting that while the program is aired on national television, they garner their highest ratings from the more universally accessible platform of online viewing. This, according to Wintrip, is a clear “indication something exciting and nice is going on.”

The show wrapped up with the panel sharing their own experiences of coming out to their families and the issue of building their own identity afterwards. The buzzing excitement that the event generated surged as the crowd spilled out of the Gait. Inspired by the event, people could be heard all over the SUB talking about how much they enjoyed the show or sharing their own personal stories. While the event was an extreme success for Bishop’s, the impact and conversations it started will be sure to far exceed it.

The Bishop’s University Singers, famous in the community for both their classical and pop performances, are busy preparing the final touches on their performance of Johann Sebastien Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, a stunning oratorio with enough musical conviction to move every last listener in the audience.

This semester, the performance will take place at the Saint-Michel Cathedral in Sherbrooke, a venue that shows off the masterwork perfectly.” The music echoes off the cathedral walls in a way that really aggrandizes the sound and serves to increase the intensity of the music”, says Kyle DeCoste, one of the choir members. Performing with the University Singers is a children’s choir from Sherbrooke. Fantastic music and adorable children all on one bill? I’d say it’s worth the $15.

According to DeCoste, “Bach is like the Shakespeare of music in that he manages to contribute hugely to the vocabulary of music the way Shakespeare contributed to the vocabulary of the English language.”

Although the piece is a musically rigorous and rehearsals have been challenging, the result will likely be very rewarding. DeCoste says, “Now that we aren’t worried about the notes, we can be expressive and most of us leave rehearsal feeling the rewards of hard work and perseverance.”

The music is famously spectacular. DeCoste describes it as ranging from “the serene to the terrifying”, a claim that would pique the curiosity of any music lover.

The choir show is on Saturday, March 31, at la Cathédrale Saint-Michel de Sherbrooke. Tickets are $15 for students, $30 for normal seating and $40 for premium seating.  Tickets are available at the Centennial Theatre box office, as well as at the door.

Plants and Animals have been living on a wave of success. Comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nicolas Basque and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woody Woodley, their debut album, Parc Avenue, earned them two Juno nominations for Alternative Album of the Year and New Group of the Year, as well as being short listed for a Polaris Music Prize in 2008. Pretty impressive for the young rockers from Montreal.

The Campus spoke with They talk about how the process shifted from jumping into the studio before anything was written, to not recording a song that didn’t have all of the lyrics attached to it, which allowed the band to realize their most live-off-the-floor album to date.

The Campus: How has the touring circuit been so far?
Nicolas Basque: Well we’re at show three tonight, so we just did two shows and I think we’re still figuring out a few things, like the order of songs- stuff like that changes, but so far I feel as though it’s pretty comfortable. So I think it’s good and the public has been really generous and warm with us, so it feels good.
I understand you took a different approach on The End of That. Could you tell me a bit about that process?
N: For this one [The End of That] we had some time off between two tours so we locked ourselves in our rehearsal space, 9 to 5 like a regular job everyday and would just work on some songs. It allowed us to get to know a lot of new songs, work on the arrangement and more of the choices that everyone wanted with the record, and as a band, and what the goals and the objectives were. And then we went to Paris to record for 2 weeks straight all the material we had worked on. I think it was the first time a lot of the lyrics were written. We worked on the lyrics a bit more- some of them went really quiet, some of them took a bit more work, but what is great is that we had them with us while we were recording.
C: Do you think you’ve grown both musically and personally since your last release?
N: You always learn a lot. Like while touring or being in the studio, it’s about intense experiences in the world of music. I find you learn a lot about yourself and about your band mates, and also your job as a band. So it’s always easier to know what your limits are and when you should challenge yourself or challenge the other guys in the band.
C: So speaking of challenges, what has been your greatest challenge as a band so far?
N: I think sustaining, doing what you’re doing all the time can be hard and challenging, but also rewarding and demanding. I guess just figuring out what you want and sticking with it. I think that’s an every day challenge, to not listen to what other people say but listen to yourself and band mates, and maybe some close friends. Not to look for everyone’s approval but to be confident in what you do and not make many compromises. Trust the direction you are going in. I think that is one of the biggest challenges, leaving people behind instead of inviting them into the world you created.
C: Would you say the shows or touring are different in the US compared to Canada?
N: Pretty similar. I mean in Canada we have a lot of support with radios and stuff like that, so we tend to have more people at the shows, like compared to even small cities, we’ll have more people than a small city in the States, but I think in terms of the crowd it’s pretty similar. It’s just people coming to enjoy the show, and some places people drink more than others places, and some people are more in the party mood than some [other] places, and then in some other places people are more listening and in the zone. But I don’t think there is a major difference. We tend to have a wide variety of people coming to our shows, but it’s a similar crowd at each show.
C: What is one thing die-hard Plants and Animals fans do not know about you?
N: Well, it’s not really about me, but Warren and Woody were football stars. Warren was a quarterback and he won every game! They usually bring a football when we go on tour, but we forgot one this time around.
C: What would you say is the highlight of career so far?
N: Putting a new record out is kind of a highlight. Each time you relearn to play a song, you go back and meet new people on the road, [and] all that stuff. It’s just great every time! I think the thing that I really like is meeting new people, playing music for the people, [and] our new stuff in the studio. I think recording is also a highlight. On a weird touring experience once, we opened for Gnarls Barkley in Columbus, Ohio and I think I will always remember the three of us were on the side of the stage watching the show. And Cee Lo with his crazy personality [told] the crowd that they [were] the best, or the shit or whatever [laughs]. And we all looked at each other like ‘we’re sharing a stage with Cee Lo- that’s kind of weird.’ So that’s a highlight in a weird kind of way.

On Tuesday, March 27, Foreman Art Gallery will open its doors to the public to view the collections of 2012’s graduating Fine Arts students. The exhibition is entitled The Homely, Unhomely and is curated by guest curator Rachel Harris. Foreman Art Gallery’s Tomlinson Curatorial Intern Rebecca Estrada is facilitating the show.
This is the fourteenth annual exhibition of graduating students’ work, and will feature the work of Tristan Matheson, Carlos Gómez, Lili Xu, Aimie Turcotte, Iglika Besson, Rebecca Estrada, Maryse Fillion, Anaïs Girardot, Soad Carrier, and Tanya McIntyre. Work will be in a wide variety of media such as painting, photography, and sculpture.
Checking in with the artists in their final stages of work proved a riveting experience. Inspiration behind each piece and collection is as varied and eclectic as the media used to express it.
Artist Lili Xu is completing her degree in Fine Arts and Computer Science and will be unveiling her piece “A Little Grey Fog” in the Grad Art Show. “A Little Grey Fog” is a collection of oil on canvas paintings depicting the artist’s arms and squirrels. Xu says of her piece, “The reason I chose the squirrel is that I feel that this little animal behaves like my elusive thoughts, and all those unpredictable things such as life, future, ideas, hope, imagination, and fate. The reason I chose arms is because they can be as expressive as the body, as emotional as the face, yet without giving away personal identity”. After completing her degree, Xu’s goal is to start up an art studio and begin an outreach project with artists in her community.
Honours Fine Arts student Iglika Besson will be débuting her sculpture, Incarnation and a painting entitled The grey dragon of time as part of her collection. Besson’s favourite mediums include clay, plaster, and acrylic paint. “Incarnation is about a human being, incarnated in a physical body and feeling trapped in the matter. It is an androgynous figure that resolves his/her suffering through music,” Besson says. “The grey dragon of time represents the notion of time as an imaginary invisible entity which constantly weakens our consciousness.”
Horse Blanket, a piece by Fine Arts Studio Honours student Tanya McIntyre, is about dissolving the boundaries between life and art. McIntyre says, “Creating is a sensual experience for me, a physical act that is crucial to well-being. It is also a political act, as the power of art as an agent of social change is great.”
The inspiration for each collection comes from an assortment of distinctive places for each artist. Tristan Matheson is unveiling his collection entitled Epidemics and Pandemics in the Public Sphere. This collection was inspired by Matheson’s mother’s battle with cancer. The project was art therapy for Matheson, who says that this project has helped him “deal with the fear of my own mortality through the use of aesthetics.” Matheson’s goal for his future artwork includes working with microscopy: looking at real cells in Petri dishes. Matheson is interested in exploring the relationship between art, science, and the public.
The Grad Art Show opening brings with it the launch of the 119^th edition of The Mitre. The Mitre will feature a combination of visual art, poetry, and fiction this year. This year’s edition features a selection of art pieces from a wide variety of the Bishop’s community, including submissions from graduating students and this year’s One Line Story contest.
Each year, a new editor for The Mitre is hired from the student body. This year’s editor, Lara Henerson, is a fifth year Liberal Arts Major, with minors in Drama, Religion and Creative Writing. Of her experience at The Mitre, she says, “Editing the 2012 edition has been a fabulous experience. I’ve been able to put the editing skills I’ve learned in various classes and programs to use, and also learned to toughen up, regarding the selection process, which isn’t always easy.”
The tradition of The Mitre is carved deeply into Bishop’s history. Former copies are available for viewing in the Old Library. Henerson says, “These older editions really convey a sense of how far the tradition has come. But the Mitre isn’t only a historical tradition. It’s also a continuous creative outlet for students and community members to share their work.”
Henerson describes this year’s edition as containing a large amount of poetry, fiction, artwork, and photography. Henerson says, “It is a larger format than last year’s edition and therefore the design will be more spacious. The book itself will have the dimensions of a magazine, for that very reason.”
There is no particular theme to the journal this year, as Henerson felt it might put limitations on the variety of work she received. “Because the Mitre is primarily a creative outlet, I prefer keeping an open mind to all kinds of work and subject matter.”
The Grad Art Show and The Mitre launch will be taking place on March 27 at the Foreman Art Gallery. Copies of The Mitre will be sold for $7 each. Artist and curatorial talks begin at 6:00 pm.

Kitchen, published in 1988 (translated to English in 1993) was Yoshimoto’s debut novel. Though almost 30 years have passed since the first copies of this love story hit stands in bookstores all over Japan, Yoshimoto’s first novel remains an instant hit.

Kitchen is the story of main character Mikage Sakurai, a young woman with a strange and wonderful love for kitchens and cooking – the book opens with Mikage saying, “The place I like best in this world is the kitchen. No matter where it is, no matter what kind, if it’s a kitchen, if it’s a place where they make food, it’s fine with me.” You’re pulled into her world right from the start, wondering about this young woman.

This quirky trait of hers helps Mikage through some rough times, though, and it also helps her find love, when everything around her seems to be going wrong. Add into the mix an overly-boisterous transvestite mother, a jealous girlfriend, food-fuelled dreams and a big comfy couch, and you’ve got yourself a truly entertaining read that will have you begging for seconds.

Yoshimoto’s prose is plain, unapologetic and clear; the narrator’s voice (Mikage) is at once full of youthful vigour and painful maturity. As you follow the ups and downs of her life, you can’t help but laugh and cry along with Mikage as she finds out just who she is in this crazy, fast-paced world.

This text is translated from the original Japanese by the same team that translated the rest of Yoshimoto’s works, and is as close to her original writing as possible; although, there are a few puzzling sentences and phrases that don’t quite make sense in the translation, and will make you read over it more than once!

Kitchen is a small book, but tightly-packed with beautiful imagery and strikingly funny and poignant questions about our lives. Yoshimoto not only tackles the nature of love, but also of life, death, friendship, and sexuality in the pages of this delightful read.

Included at the end of Kitchen is a short story called Moonlight Shadow; it is not connected with Kitchen’s plot but is a sweet, startlingly honest and beautiful narrative about love and loss, carrying the themes from Kitchen into its own, unique narrative – not to be skipped over!

Yoshimoto’s Kitchen is a book not widely known here in North America, but will become an instant classic for any reader looking for a light-hearted, funny, and philosophical love story.

Adam Scott is an amazing man. I enjoyed him as Party Down’s protagonist Henry Pollack. I really like him as Ben Wyatt, Leslie Knope’s perfect love interest on Parks and Recreation. And, tonight, I fell in love with him in Jennifer Westfeldt’s Friends With Kids.
In Kids, Scott leads an all-star ensemble which ranges from SNL veterans Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph to Mad Men’s jack of all trades Jon Hamm. Scott’s character, Jason, is a classic commitment phobic playboy. His best friend, Julie, played by writer, producer, and director Jennifer Westerfeldt, is a smart, competent woman unlucky in love, heading into her thirties with her biological clock ticking louder and louder every year. After watching their fun, adventurous friends become over exhausted and angry parents, they decide to skip over the complicated marriage and go right for baby. From that point forward, they are best friends without benefits, co-parents without co-living arrangements, and hilarious comedic partners without a missed beat.
Many will compare Friends With Kids with last year’s breakout hit Bridesmaids. Personally, I think that does a disservice to Kids, which is realer, funnier, and less dependent on scatological humour. I laughed at least once a minute, but that’s not why I loved this film. What I really enjoyed about it was the well-developed relationships and the realistic moments they produced.
The film successfully contrasts romantic relationships in their various stages of development, from new love all the way to impending divorce. When Wigg and Hamm’s marriage comes to its breaking point, their disagreements feel justified. When Hamm’s character questions Jason and Julie’s parents-without-benefits situation, Jason’s defence feels right, and the ensuing argument feels exactly like every argument you’ve ever had with a friend who’s been there to witness you screw up over time.

Most of all, the slowing evolving romance between Jason and Julie manages to be both difficult and messy but also exciting and insanely romantic.
In short, Friends With Kids is a great movie. It’s realistic without being boring, funny without being meaningless, heartfelt without being heart wrenching. Jennifer Westerfeldt crafts a great film; Adam Scott is a great leading man. The film is a great comedy, and a very sweet romance; it is, in short, one of the only movies that actually manages to live up to the title of the Romantic Comedy.