Tuesday, October 1 9, 2011 I TechNews Oscar buzz favorites By TechNews Staff The superbowl? No thanks... As your A&E Editor, you know I favor the Oscars. This Sun— day, Feb. 27, 8/7C tune in to the red carpet to see who the Oscar goes to! We have some great competition out there (Inception, The Social Network, 127 Hours, Black Swan). Below is an Oscar Round table of who some of our editors think should win this year! We have categories, editors choice, and a little excerpt why. Best Picture: Emotional “127 hours” triumphs over his- torical drama “The King’s Speec ” & tenacious “True Grit” “127 hours” — I like those kinds of engag— ing films! I especially like the hallucinations, flashbacks, and the editing style that Danny Boyle uses. What’s surprising is that there are moments of humor too, and they never appear to be fake. (Campus Editor, Utsav Gandhi) “127 hours” — It was Danny Boyle’s image of this amazing story, the music, the fact that the movie is constantly moving and we’re not bored at all; he turns 127 hours into 2 hours of extreme entertainment. Boyle completely nailed it. I’ve seen it twice already and I’d been buried in my seat completely engaged in the film both times. Nothing compares to this piece of artwork! (A&E Editor, Becca Water— loo) “The King’s Speech” — I believe that movie should get best picture this year, and Colin Firth should get best actor for his role in the film. The movie portrays real events, but it Possibly the best movie? ( Photo courtesy I'm db.com) does so in an artsy style that keeps the film contemporary. (Campus Editor, Ryan Kam— phius) “True Grit” — Not an easy choice, but be— tween the soundtrack, the directing, the cast, the cinematography and the amazing writing, it’s a fantastic film. Though I’ve read the book, and it remains pretty faithful to it — so much more than the old John Wayne version — I for— got it was an adaptation and got really, really wrapped up in it all. (Editor—in—Chief, Karl Ry— baltowski) Best Director: Face-off between artsy “Black Swan” direc- tor Darren Aronofsky & Hollywood hit-maker David Fincher First of all, how could Danny Boyle and Christopher Nolan not make the cut? “Black Swan” — Ifwe had to choose I would go for the “Black Swan” guy (Darren Aronofsky). But re— ally, Nolan has at least a direction nomination overdue. Although the hype for “The Social Networ ” was a bit over the top, David Fincher might grab this Oscar too. His resume is be— yond impressive. (Utsav) Best Actor: Young heartthrob James Franco challenges veteran actor Colin Firth James Franco — His performance showed us the pain the real Aron Ralston went through during these 127 hours. He was brilliant!!! There were humorous parts, serious parts, and everything in between that Franco completely sold to us. (Becca) Colin Firth — Firth is a master at play— ing King George VI, and has a passion in his performance that you rarely see. He is able to portray the role and everything his character stands for with ease, and is quite good at im— personating the King’s stutter. (Ryan) James Franco — It was James Franco who re— ally made it. It was an amazing performance, narrowly beating out Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth (and they were both really, really good, so this is a tough decision to have made). (Karl) Best Actress: Hollywood’s indie queen, Michelle Williams gives the popular leading lady, Natalie Portman a run for her money Natalie Portman — While I did not enjoy “Black Swan”, and feel it deserves no awards because it failed to fulfill its potential, Port— man was the shining star in the movie. Just like firth in “The King’s Speech”, she plays her role so well that you don’t think you’re watching an actor in a movie — you think you are seeing the real thing. The passion in both performances is BECCA WATERLOO ae@technewsiit.com 9 IPOd ’1“ fibejtrokes , ‘ I44 what's playing onTJLWL Lee‘s playlist? 9:42 AM The Kooks — See the Sun Radiohead ~ Paranoid Android Local Natives — Cubism Dream fun. — All the Pretty Girls Bassnectar — Bass Head Ratatat — Seventeen Years Pretty Lights — Shortcut/Detour Ra Ra Riot — Run My Mouth Under Cover of Darkness »| —W'E Q What’s playing on your playlist? Email ae@technewsiit.com! astounding! (Ryan) Michelle Williams — “Blue Valentine” was a pretty devastating movie to watch, but fantas— tic as well. It’s a movie about the highs and lows of love, and that kind of thing could easily have become too mushy or too melodramatic. Wil— liams played her role like a tightrope walk, and kept it just understated enough to really accen— tuate every little heart—wrenching moment. I loved it (after the tears subsided). (Karl) Natalie Portman — Hands down. (Becca) Misc. awards: Best Supporting Actor — Mark Ruffalo. “The Kids Are All Right” was a downright pleasant movie, and it’s got one of the most memorable scenes of the year for me was him with Julianne Moore and Annette Bening’s character, awk— wardly proposing that he have some sort of re— lationship with them. It was the perfect mix of awkward and touching, weird and comforting. (Karl) Best Supporting Actress — almost a tie. Hel— ena Bonham Carter was my first choice, but now I’m firmly in the Hailee Steinfeld camp. Special mention should go out to the docu— mentary “Inside Job”. Perfect documentary to really rouse some anger within a person while being fact—heavy and without cleaving too heavily to any ideology. (Karl) Sound editing — Inception. Original screen- play — Inception. Film editing — 127 Hours. Mu- sic/Soundtrack —127 hours. Adapted screenplay — 127 hours. (Am I a little biased? Maybe. Just see the movies and you’ll get it.) (Becca) Catch the Oscars on Sunday on ABC to see who the real winners are! Coffee Club escapades: Bourgeois Pig Café: Blast from the pa By Harshita Iver TECHNEWS WRITER This week IIT’s Coffee Club headed over to the Bourgeois Pig Cafe, just off the Fullerton stop on the Red Line. The Bourgeois Pig holds a special place for the Coffee Club as this is the third time they’ve made it there. The name hints at images of old, Victorian— style construction with ornate furniture, brick walls and wooden floors. The multiple stories of this building make it a unique coffee shop; the first floor has the main room, counter and usual seating space, as well as additional rooms upstairs to provide a more private, intimate experience for custom— ers. A large collection of books line the wall of bookshelves, and decor consists of old paint— ings and portraits. The coffee is a favorite, and for the non—cof— fee—drinkers, they have a large selection of teas to choose from. Within their food selection they have pastries and sandwiches to choose from, many of the sandwiches referencing lit— erary characters and stories. The whole ambi— ance of the place takes one back to the time of kings and queens. Even the cups are indicative of those times, shaped like the glasses that the “bourgeoisie” would drink from. This cafe would be a great place to study; the environment is inspirational since one is surrounded by books, paintings and works of art. They have a Wi—Fi connection for the computer—dependent, and prices were reason— able, ranging around $2 to $3 for drinks, $6 for sandwiches. Overall, the Bourgeois Pig is one of the Coffee Club’s favorite cafes in Chicago, and something that should not be missed out on! Cofiee Club is the perfect break from the mundane and a great way to see the little places you might miss out on otherwise. So ifyou want to join in, just email iitcofieeclub@gmail.com to be added to their mailing list. Or even easier, just show up at 11 am. at the MTCC, next to Global Grounds on a Saturday or Sunday, and tag along with the group ofpeople you see, onto the next cofiee adventure. fl§ la— 3' ‘ .i-qu '- (Photo courtesy Harshl'ta Iyer)