Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 17, 2011

11

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 17, 2011 

Sierra Madre Playhouse PresentsGilbert & Sullivan'sThe Yeomen of the GuardAugust 19 - September 24Director: Eugene J. HutchinsMusic Director: Brian Asher AlhadeffPurchase tickets online: www.sierramadreplayhouse.orgor call: (626) 355-4318 • Group Sales: (626) 836-2125facebook.com/sierramadreplayhouse
SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS:

Three Awesome and 

Overlooked Summer Movies 


“Attack 
The Block” is 
irrefutably the 
best summer 
blockbuster 
that isn’t a 
“blockbuster” per se. On a shoestring budget 
($13 million to be exact and yet a fraction of 
bloated affairs such as Transformers 3, Green 
Lantern, and Thor), first time writer/director 
Joe Cornish took “the alien invasion theme” to 
new heights. What a raucously, super-charged, 
and ferociously entertaining piece of cinema 
we are presented with. From the producers of 
“Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”, “Attack 
The Block” is sort of sci-fi, sort of horror, and 
on more than one occasion, comedic. It’s set in 
South London, where a young street gang must 
defend themselves from unruly alien intruders. 
While alien movies seem all the rage for the 
past year, this one is leaps and bounds the best 
of the bunch. While the twilight sets down on a 
crushingly second-rate summer movie season, 
“Attack The Block” is able to give us hope that 
summer movies can be smart, entertaining, and 
original all at once. If you missed “Attack The 
Block” in theaters, you’ll be able to catch it when 
it hits DVD/Blu-ray this October. 

“30 Minutes or Less” stars Jesse Eisenberg 
as a slacking pizza delivery boy who is forced 
into robbing a bank by two wannabe criminals 
(Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). Problem 
is, they’ve attached a bomb to his chest and it will 
go off he doesn’t complete the mission. Based on 
true-life events, but taken in a completely absurdly 
comedic direction, “30 Minutes or Less” is beat 
for beat the funniest flick of the summer. It’s also 
rare that every key player here is hilarious in his 
own, dysfunctional and eccentric sort of way. 
The flick is entirely straightforward and very lo-
fi, but director Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”) 
never has a problem keeping things absolutely 
refreshing at a mere running time of 82 minutes. 
With rarely ever a dull moment and endlessly 
amusing, “30 Minutes or Less” offers more laughs 
and gags than all the other mainstream R-rated 
comedies this summer combined. Keep your eye 
out for “30 Minutes or Less” when it’s released on 
DVD/Blu-ray sometime in late November. 

“The Beaver” had marked the return of 
Mel Gibson. While we can’t go as far as saying 
‘witness the resurrection of Mel Gibson’, I can 
say that his performance in “The Beaver” is his 
best to date. “The Beaver” is a painfully and 
surprisingly genuine portrayal of depression and 
remoteness. Gibson plays a husband and father 
of two who is completely gone. He’s a dead end 
with no return in sight. He finds comfort in 
a beaver puppet that becomes his only form of 
communication. Director Jodie Foster (who also 
plays Gibson’s wife) keeps the pace moving at a 
good rate without ever getting sidetracked with 
what could have turned into sappy or overly 
weepy scenes here. While there may not be any 
true surprises here, the subplots in the film are 
unexpectedly strong and all the key supporting 
characters are three-dimensional, cogent, and 
unfeigned. Kyle Killen’s debut script (considered 
‘The Black List’s” best unproduced screenplay 
in 2008) is powerful, deep, and brutally honest. 
Many people may be turned off by the idea of 
a talking beaver puppet and the sheer fact Mel 
Gibson is in this movie, but sometimes we have 
to leave our reservations and opinions at the door 
and attempt to embrace something as sincerely 
meaningful and real as “The Beaver” has come 
to be. Do yourself a favor and seek this one out 
on DVD or Blu-ray. 

A Musical Tribute to Jazz VocalistsExperience the elegance ofa bygone musical era asthe theatre is transformedinto a musical time capsulefeaturing performancesby legendary jazz vocalistsDinah Washington,
Sarah Vaughn, Nina Simoneand Carmen McRaeto the backdrop of a live jazz trio.
__________________
Final 2011 PerformanceSunday, October 9th at 3pm(626) 355-4318Media Sponsor Produced by 
The Instrumental Women Project (IWP) is an arts agency member of 
E.M.E.R.G.E, the nonprofit fiscal sponsorship program of the Pasadena Arts Council.
Admission $30Group discounts six or moreTickets & Info Available at:
sierramadreplayhouse.orgorWritten and performed byvocalist extraordionaireMs. Phyllis BattleMusic Director, Vanessa BurchAnnouncer, James Janisse
Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com