Walking along State towards
the Diag last semester, simply
put, was annoying. Though
it sounds high maintenance,
pedestrians had to backtrack
to a crosswalk or jump into
oncoming
traffic
to
avoid
the construction across from
Walgreens.
Finally,
the
construction
has
finished,
revealing a shiny new and
desperately needed coffee shop
(a trendy, college town like Ann
Arbor can never have too many.
Not to mention, the coffee shop
is smack dab in the middle of
the rest of Ann Arbor’s most
notable coffee shops.) As I
pushed through the door, I was
pleasantly surprised by the
lack of formality. The shop has
an urban, almost tech feel with
futuristic blue lighting and
intricately piped ceilings with
black and gray accents. Their
soundtrack was well chosen:
not too Top 40s and not too
weird. The top floor is well
lit with natural light pouring
through
expansive,
open
windows along State street.
Their audience was diverse
and,
like
the
shop
itself,
approachable.
Students
and
townies alike occupied the
space. No pretentious pour
over connoisseur misheard my
nervous order, which would
have
made
the
experience
awkward. Instead, a friendly
barista more than happy to
recommend his favorite drink
greeted me upon walking in.
Yet he clearly knew his way
around all 15 Jamaican blends,
off-brand Hydro Flasks, and
aeropresses in front of him.
Roasting Plant doesn’t try to
be too cool for the University
either, sporting M decals on
their coffee dispensers. It was
loud and busy, but not too
loud to zone out and work on
a project or hear the person
sitting
across
from
you.
The tables are well spaced
with padded seats, but even
better, there were more than
enough to host the consistent
walk ins. The coffee is a bit
expensive, but felt worth it to
be surrounded by hundreds
of
blends
and
incredible
ambiance. I personally don’t
know much about the body
of a blend or the difference
between fruity and chocolatey
notes,
probably
hindering
my
five
dollar
cold
brew
experience. Because of that,
I’ll leave it at saying the coffee
was good, but I also bought a
grapefruit juice, which was
phenomenal. Their forte really
wasn’t their food and pastries
but they did have a quinoa
cookie with some vegan curb
appeal.
The floor below held more
seating and the descent into it
felt like a scene from Tron. The
blue lighting from the top takes
over, geometrically tracing the
wallpaper, wrapping around
the room. The ceiling and
furniture
were
matte
and
black. But the best part was
that it was full of more seating.
My
only
gripe
(much
overlooked in light of its
charms) was the feeble wifi
below the top floor.
Compared
to
the
other
popular spots around Ann
Arbor,
Roasting
Plant
Coffee Shop has become the
frontrunner. Its atmosphere
boasts personality like Literati
but
acceptance
of
every
form of coffee shop goer like
Starbucks. I also found a seat
— not as common in Ann Arbor
as you’d hope. Students use up
crucial study time just making
it to the coffee shop. On top of
that, paying for Ann Arbor’s
best coffee means giving your
left hand for a 2 oz mocha.
To pay that without a seat
simply won’t do, so thank you
Roasting Coffee Plant for the
opportunity to drink amazing
coffee and stay there to enjoy
it.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 22, 2017 — 5
Arts
‘Rebel in the Rye’biopic
lacks reason & relevancy
IFC FILMS
Nicholas Hoult stars as JD Salinger in the new biopic
The J.D. Salinger biopic proves lackluster and forgettable
with Nicholar Hoult and Kevin Spacey as its main stars
“Catcher in the Rye” is one
of the seminal works in the
American novel canon. It is
a novel beloved by millions
and read by almost everyone
who receives an education in
America. It is a book that will
probably be remembered for
as long as American culture
is relevant. “Rebel in the
Rye,” a by-the-numbers biopic
written and directed by Danny
Strong, (“The Hunger Games:
Mockingjay”) will be lucky if
its remembered at the end of
this month.
Starring
Nicholas
Hoult
(“X-Men: Apocalypse”) as the
young and angry J.D. Salinger,
the film follows its subject
from a young age all the way
through War World II and
the eventual publication of
“Catcher in the Rye.” The film
takes aim at a wide swatch of
Salinger’s life, and attempts
to document his relationships
with his parents, his romantic
partnership with the daughter
of Eugene O’Neill, as well
his artistic nurturing at the
hands of Whit Burnett (Kevin
Spacey, “Baby Driver”). The
problem is that in its attempt
to cover as much of Salinger’s
life as possible, the movie is
unable to cover any one aspect
of his life to a suitable degree
of depth. All of the storylines
feel slightly half-baked, and at
times its tough not to wonder
what a more specific version
of this film might have looked
like. Based on interviews with
Strong from several years ago,
it seems that originally this
movie was to mostly focus on
the war and how being involved
in it affected Salinger and his
future novel. While that aspect
of the narrative is certainly
a major part of “Rebel in the
Rye,” it also seems like just
one example of something that
could’ve been explored much
more thoroughly were it the
specific focus of the film.
For their parts, both Hoult
and Spacey are excellent in
their roles as Salinger and
Burnett, respectively. Many
moments
and
scenes
that
are poorly written or would
otherwise fall flat are still
compelling
simply
because
of the caliber of actor saying
the words. Most of the other
characters
barely
register,
and the audience shouldn’t
blame themselves if they don’t
remember most of the scenes
with
Salinger’s
parents
or
girlfriend after the fact.
The overall look and design
of the film is acceptable, with
its period setting providing
much of the fodder for the
artistic design. That being
said, like many other things
in the film, the setting feels
perfunctory,
never
fully
being allowed to come into
its own. In general the movie
suffers from lack of artistic
vision.
The
people
behind
the production were clearly
more interested in a straight
re-telling of the events of J.D.
Salinger’s life then they were
in saying anything particularly
interesting, new, or profound
about his life. At the end of
the day, “Rebel in the Rye”
just doesn’t have anything to
say. Salinger devotees likely
already know everything the
movie has to offer and general
audiences will be wondering
why they should care. The
biggest misstep of the entire
film is that it ultimately fails
to shine any new light on the
subject that the movie is really
driving towards, the “Catcher
in the Rye.”
A
more
complex
or
interesting
film
might’ve
drawn
a
parallel
between
Salinger writing the book and
it’s reception and influence
afterwards. A more complex
or interesting film might’ve
shown us how Salinger feels
about the ways in which his
book has been used and abused
since it was published. A more
complex or interesting film
might have a single scene that
is worth writing about. But
unlike the story of Holden
Caulfield, “Rebel in the Rye” is
not complex or interesting, it is
merely a boring dud.
“Rebel in the
Rye”
IFC Films
Michigan
Theater
IAN HARRIS
Daily Arts Writer
FILM REVIEW
Sean Yaeger/DAILY
Roasting Plsnt Coffee now open on South State
Roasting Plant Coffee the
perfect addition to State
New coffee shop on South State has a casual, unpretentious
atmosphere with great coffee, lots of space and good juice
SARAH AGNONE
Daily Arts Writer
Roasting
Plant Coffee
312 S State
St
Cafe
$$
COFFEE SHOP REVIEW
For their parts,
both Hoult
and Spacey are
excellent in their
roles as Salinger
and Burnett,
respectively
A more complex
or interesting
film might have a
single scene that
is worth writing
about
The shop has an
urban, tech feel
with futuristic
blue lighting and
intricately piped
ceilings with
black accents
Its atmosphere
boasts personality
like Literati but
acceptance of
every form of
coffee shop goer
like Starbucks
CURRENTLY INTO CANNED PEACHES WITH COTTAGE CHEESE.
LET’S HERE IT FOR THE GIRLS.
E-mail arts@michigandaily.com for more hot takes and shout outs to the ladies