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ARTS & CULTURE
KANSAN.COM
FILE PHOTO/KANSAN
The Granada at 11th and Massachusetts St will play host to dozens of shows this month.
Where to see shows for under $10 in September
HARRISON HIPP @harrisonhipp
Stik Figa w/ Approach,
Barrel Maker, DJ Johnny
Quest and D/Will
When: Friday, Sept. 11 / Doors
at 8 p.m./ Show at 9 p.m.
Where: The Bottleneck - 737
New Hampshire St.
Price: $5
Band That Saved The World
When: Saturday, Sept. 12 / Show at 10 p.m.
Where: Jazzhaus - 926 Massachusetts St.
Price: $5
One More Time: A Tribute to Daft Punk (Outdoor Show) When: Wednesday, Sept. 16 / Doors at 6:30 p.m. Where: The Granada - 1020 Massachusetts St. Price: Free
Arc Flash w/ Ex Specter,
Youngest Children and
Nevada Greene
When: Thursday, Sept. 17 /
Doors at 9 p.m. / Show at 10
p.m.
Where: Replay Lounge - 946
Massachusetts St.
Price: $3 for 21 and over
Sharp 9
When: Friday, Sept. 18 / Show at 10 p.m.
Where: Jazzhaus - 926 Massachusetts St.
Price: $5
Youngblood Supercult w/
88er and Pets With Human Names
Names
When: Saturday, Sept. 19 /
Show at 10 p.m.
Where: Jackpot Saloon - 943
Massachusetts St.
Price: $5 for 21 and over / $7 if
under 21
Narkalark w/
Adults and LiON
When: Saturday, Sept. 19th / Doors at 9 p.m. / Show at 10 p.m.
Where: Replay Lounge - 946 Massachusetts St.
Price: $3 for 21 and over
Jeff Brown w/ Crabalocker and Witfield
er and Witfield
When: Monday, Sept. 21 /
Show at 9 p.m.
Where: Jackpot Saloon - 943
Massachusetts St.
Price: $5 for 21 and over / $7
if under 21
Toughies EP Release Show w/ Dreamgirl and Maybe Not
When: Friday, Sept. 25 / Doors at 9 p.m. / Show at 10 p.m.
Where: Replay Lounge - 946 Massachusetts St.
Price: $3 for 21 and over
SUNU
When: Friday, Sept. 25 / Show at 10 p.m.
Where: Jazzhaus - 926 Massachusetts St.
Price: $5
Real Adults w/ Buffalo Rodeo and Dreamgirl
When: Monday, Sept. 28 /
Show at 9:30 p.m.
Where: recordBar - 1020 Westport Rd., Kansas City, Mo.
Price: $7 for 21 and over
Shyamalan's 'The Visit' beguiles with flawed, but weirdly comical, horror
ALEX LAMB
@Lambcannon
The biggest mystery surrounding "The Sixth Sense" writer and director M. Night Shyamalan is no longer his trademark plot twists. Nowadays we wonder how he keeps getting money to make movies in the disastrous second half of his career, which includes the laughably awful "The Happening," "The Last Airbender" and "After Earth."
UNIVERSAL PICTURES/AP PHOTO In this image released by Universal Pictures, Ed Oxenbould, from left, Olivia DeJonge and Kathryn Hahn appear in a scene from "The Visit."
With his found-footage horror comedy "The Visit", at least now he's embracing his role as a schlock filmmaker. The simple premise — two young teenagers have increasingly unsettling experiences
while staying with their off-kilter grandparents — allows Shyamalan to fill the movie with humor and to craft all sorts of bizarre moments. Sometimes his attempts at creepiness are so weird they result in laughter, but those bits can still engage.
"The Visit" primarily draws on the awkward interactions that juvenile siblings have when stuck with elder relatives whom they don't really know. That feeling permeates throughout to make the movie both relatable and squirrelly as Becca (Olivia Delonge) tries to make a documentary about her and her brother Tyler's (Ed Oxenbould) first visit to their grandparents' Pennsylvania home.
Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie) live in the country without TV and Internet, so after the initial warm, home-baked cookies welcome, the curious Tyler and Becca get creative in entertaining themselves. The responsible older sister and ridiculous younger brother dynamic between them is quite funny.
As Nana and Pop Pop reveal one odd behavior after another, the line between strange comedy and intriguing horror flick is sliced with seemingly little discernment, resulting in a confounding B- movie. Pop Pop tells the grandkids not to leave their room after
9:30 p.m., which, they discover is when Nana's "condition" takes hold—she becomes the freakiest sleepwalker you've ever seen. She gets kooky during daylight sometimes, too, like in the simultaneously hilarious and creepy scene where she chases Tyler and Becca underneath the porch deck where they were playing hide and seek.
Nana and Pop Pop only turn into scarier, more peculiar old people as the week goes on. The grandkids try to figure them out, sometimes jokingly and eventually seriously. Yet "The Visit" never exactly gels together, veering as wildly as 13-year-old Tyler, who spits several mildly enjoyable, dorky freestyle rhymes and several severely obnoxious
ones over the course of the movie. It's more of a curious oddity than a worthwhile attraction.
But one thing's for sure:
This is a trip to grandma and grandpa's you won't soon forget, even though it's usually memorable for the wrong reasons.
Two out of four stars.
WILLMOTT FROM
After visiting several neighborhoods in Chicago, Willmott said he realized that more development in these neighborhoods would lead to less violence.
"America has a huge problem not investing in black neighborhoods," he said. "If that [investment] would happen, I think you would see a big turnaround with this kind of stuff"
many in '44."
After he earned his bachelor's
degree in drama from Marymount College in Salina, he participated in activism work. He was a crucial part to the integration of the Junction City Fire Department in the 1970s, which had never had a black firefighter before Willmott and his colleagues launched a protest.
"Chiraq" is a step toward a different kind of activism. The film's title is a nickname for Chicago, which is alludes to its high murder rate.
When Lee announced in April that the film would be shot in Chicago, residents and
"You knew you were black, but Dr. King's assassination really taught me that being being black had social and political ramifications"
KEVIN WILLMOTT
KU Professor and
Filmmaker
even the Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel thought the film would exploit the problem, but Willmott said that was not the
case.
"I think the mayor and people in Chicago thought this as another '90s gang movie with a lot of violence, so I think they'll be pleasantly surprised when they see the film that it's got a really positive message," Willmott said.
Wilmot remembers one incident in particular as a catalyst for his future interest in race relations and productions, like "Chirat" exploring the issue.
On April 4, 1968, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, a 10-year-old Willmott sat in front of the
television in his family's living room in Junction City.
With "Chiraq." Wilmott hopes to address these issues and, hopefully, reduce them.
"That's really when I understood that I was black in a political or social way," Willmott said. "You knew you were black, but Dr. King's assassination really taught me that being black had social and political ramifications."
The day after the assassination, Willmott eagerly raised his hand in class to discuss it. His teacher replied, "We won't be talking about that."
but he admits the American society has a long way to go in regards to racism.
^
"It will always probably be a problem," he said. "It's not very optimistic sounding but because of human nature, you always have to be willing to combat it, fight against it. It's always going to be a problem."
— Edited by Emma LeGault
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