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Thursday, June 23, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS
TV REVIEW
‘Finding Dory’ a
swimming hit
By ANA LUCENA
Daily Arts Writer
Watching “Finding Dory” was an
early sign that I’m getting old at the
oh-so mature age of 19. However, the
fact that it cap-
tured my imagi-
nation 13 years
after
watching
the original is
a testament to
how strong and
enduring Pixar’s
brand and sto-
rytelling is. The
audience had a
wide
array
of
ages in attendance. There were both
parents and people my age who
surely watched the predecessor
“Finding Nemo” back in 2003, and
young children who were first expe-
riencing the franchise in theaters
around the same age I did. To avoid
beating around the bush, “Dory”
does not go above and beyond the
originality of “Finding Nemo.” But
truth be told, it’s a very high bar
to set, and a bar that “Dory” man-
ages to at least meet, if not exceed —
something that can’t be said by most
animated movies.
The film’s standard is largely due
in part to Dory’s (Ellen DeGeneres,
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”) irre-
sistable charm. She stole the show in
“Finding Nemo” as wonderful comic
to Marlin’s (Albert Brooks, “Drive”)
straight-man protagonist. With this
film, it’s finally her story that’s being
told. Dory has short-term memory
loss (which she will not let you for-
get), and has become fed up with her
condition. She begins to remember
her two wonderful parents, Char-
lie (Eugene Levy, “American Pie”)
and Jenny (Diane Keaton, “Annie
Hall”). Although there is no thor-
ough explanation as to what trig-
gers these memories, DeGeneres’s
voice acting is so sweet and sincere
that one can’t help but feel for her
frustration. Dory has flashbacks of
her life at the Marine Life Institute
in Morro Bay, a very specific loca-
tion in California where sea animals
are rehabilitated and released back
into the wild. The plot quickly takes
the form of “Finding Nemo,” as our
favorite animated fish (sorry, “Shark
Tale”) must once again go on a jour-
ney of epic proportions to reunite
lost family members. Her new “fam-
ily” of Marlin and Nemo himself
(newcomer Hayden Rolence) are
here for the adventure too, bring-
ing back what made the original
movie compelling, while treading
on familiar territory.
Rest assured, enough new ideas
are injected into the plot to keep
“Finding Dory” fun and origi-
nal. The sea creatures that Dory
and gang meet along the way are
delightful, played skillfully by some
of the hottest comedic actors in
show business. Among these char-
acters is Hank (Ed O’Neill, “Modern
Family”), a chameleon-like octopus
who craves the stable life of captiv-
ity and accompanies Dory on her
quest. Though he ends up serving
much of the same role that Marlin
did in the first film, he’s entertain-
ing all the same.
The animation is beautiful, an
area in which “Dory” manages to
surpass its predecessor successful-
ly. I remembered several trips I’ve
made to aquariums while watch-
ing the film, largely because of the
lush and alive computer-generated
sea in “Finding Dory.” After watch-
ing the film, I realized the immer-
sion I experienced, thanks to the
gorgeous graphics, is a big part of
why I enjoyed the original “Finding
Nemo.” But while other animated
movie companies may be satisfied
at solely achieving Pixar’s surface-
level mastery, its writing is what
manages to set Pixar apart from its
competition.
Dory is truly a character to root
for, though her supporting cast
falls by the wayside at times. A lot
of action is crammed into the film,
making it a wild ride to follow. But
there is a lovely message at its core
that ties it all together: your fam-
ily will always be with you in your
heart.
Don’t watch this movie if you
haven’t seen “Finding Nemo.” The
appeal Dory’s short-term memory
loss had in the last film when it was
used as comic relief might be lost on
an uninitiated viewer, as “Finding
Dory” respectfully treats it much
more seriously as a mental impair-
ment. That being said, the endearing
family connections portrayed with-
in the film make it a satisfying addi-
tion to Disney’s canon, and a worthy
sequel to “Finding Nemo.”
‘Black’ is back in deep,
well-crafted fourth run
Drama’s latest season
tackles complex
themes and ideas
By SAM ROSENBERG
Daily Arts Writer
When “Orange is the New
Black” debuted on Netflix in
the summer of 2013, the main
narrative
focused
on
the journey of
Piper Chapman
(Taylor
Schilling, “The
Lucky
One”),
a
privileged
white woman
who adapts and
tries to survive
a
15-month
sentence
in
Litchfield
Penitentiary,
a
minimum-security
women’s
prison. However, since then, the
series has gradually broadened
from a raunchy prison dramedy
into
something
much
more
humanistic.
Throughout
each
season,
we’ve
learned
about
almost all the individual prisoners
via flashback sequences, giving
us their backstories that are as
engrossing as they are tragic.
By humanizing these women as
victims of circumstance rather
than simple criminals, “OITNB”
brings a nuanced perspective to
the criminal justice system, which
continues to be showcased in its
fantastic fourth season.
While season four can feel
overstuffed at times, it stands out
against the previous seasons of
“OITNB” by diving deeper into
the lives of its characters and how
they have developed over their
time in Litchfield.
Reeling in from last season’s
glorious finale, the season four
premiere,
“Work
That
Body
For Me,” is a stunning return to
form, as every facet of the show’s
storytelling
—
the
character
work, the dialogue, the drama
and the humor — comes into
full throttle. After the Litchfield
inmates bask in some fleeting
moments of freedom in the nearby
lake, they’re quickly rounded
up back to the prison, where the
aftermath of their euphoria is
met with overwhelming terror.
New arrivals are brought to
Litchfield, causing a lack of
resources,
commotion
and
overcrowding. Included in the
throng of new inmates are two
of season four’s most interesting
new personalities: Judy King
(Blair Brown, “Fringe”), a TV
personality
cook,
and
Alison
Abdullah
(newcomer
Amanda
Stephen), a Muslim woman who
becomes the roommate of recent
Jewish
convert
Black
Cindy
(Adrienne C. Moore, “30 Rock”).
Both Brown and Stephen play
their
characters
marvelously,
with the former evoking a sinister
mix of Paula Deen and Martha
Stewart and the latter generating
an engaging, refreshing presence
within Litchfield.
With these new introductions,
the
burgeoning
racial
and
socioeconomic
class
divides
among the Litchfield prisoners are
also highlighted and subsequently
provide
a
sharp
social
commentary.
Racial
dynamics
have always played a large role
in
“OITNB,”
considering
its
large cast of Latina, Black, and
Asian characters. But a bitter
semi-race war between Piper
and the Latina prisoners, led by
Maria Ruiz (Jessica Pimentel,
“Person of Interest”), and a petty,
mean-spirited quarrel between
Alison and Black Cindy prompts
a thought-provoking discussion
about how the grittiness of
prison life can reflect the world
around us. Particularly gripping
is the show’s handling of racist
beliefs, which attribute to the
relationships between the horrible
security guards and the Litchfield
inmates.
The
prisoners
are
already treated terribly with the
conditions they’re living in, but
with the addition of Litchfield’s
racist and misogynistic head
guard Piscatella (Brad William
Henke, “Fury”), things get very
ugly.
Even with large improvements
on plot and character development,
the fourth season still struggles
with some flaws, one being that
the flashback sequences aren’t as
emotionally potent as the ones
from seasons before. The season
somewhat glosses over some of
its more compelling characters,
Sophia Burset (Laverne Cox,
“Grandma”) and Nicky Nichols
(Natasha Lyonne, “Portlandia”),
who are demoted to recurring
roles, most likely due to other
commitments
—
Alex
(Laura
Prepon, “That ‘70s Show”) had
a similar situation in the show’s
second season. Regardless, the
fourth season keeps on pushing
boundaries with its absorbing
storytelling and provocative plots.
At this point, “OITNB” has
cemented its place as one of the
most complex, well-crafted and
entertaining television shows of
the 2010s — and season 4 is its
highest point. With its diverse
array of characters — women
of color, women with mental
illness and women who are on the
LGBTQ spectrum — the series is a
defining example of how modern
television shows should represent
people who aren’t normally seen
on TV. Yes, there’s still plenty
of
sex,
drugs,
violence
and
cursing. But the newest season of
“OITNB” has demonstrated the
show is less about one woman
struggling against the harshness
of imprisonment and more of
a microcosm of our imperfect,
messy cesspool of a society.
A-
Orange is the
New Black
Season 4
Premiere
Netflix
NETFLIX
Did you know that jet fuel can’t melt steel beams?
FILM REVIEW
A
Finding
Dory
Walt Disney
Pictures
Rave & Quality 16