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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2019)
February 6, 2019 The Skanner Portland & Seattle Page 7 Arts & Entertainment FILM REVIEW: Gina Rodriguez Plays Kidnap Victim in ‘Miss Bala’ ‘Miss Bala’ By Kam Williams For The Skanner News G loria (Gina Rodri- guez) is a Holly- wood makeup art- ist sorely in need of a break from her abu- sive boss. The straw that broke the camel’s back came the day he conde- scendingly responded to her resourcefulness with the insulting, “Hon- ey, we’re not paying you to think.” So, on her way out the door, Gloria stole a cou- ple of bags of cosmetics for her lifelong friend, Book cont’d from pg 6 in that she’s racially mixed and has conve- niently published a very timely autobiography which also lays out her political platform. “ The book is very en- gaging and reads like she actual- ly wrote it herself In it, we learn that Ka- mala’s father, Donald, was from Jamaica and taught economics at Stanford, and her moth- er, Shyamala, a cancer researcher, was born in India. The book is very engaging and reads like she actually wrote it her- self, unlike most celebri- ty bios nowadays. She reflects fondly on a culturally rich child- hood growing up in the Bay Area until the age of 12 when her mother took a job in French-speaking Montreal. In high school, Kamala developed an interest in becoming an attorney, and decided to attend Howard Univer- sity (where she would join the debate team and pledge AKA sorority) because it was the alma mater of her hero, Thur- good Marshall. After graduation, she returned to Oakland to study law at UC Hastings before kickstarting her legal career. She enjoyed a meteoric rise from assistant prosecutor to San Francisco District Attorney To California Attorney General to U.S. Senator. Because she spent so much time represent- ing the state in criminal cases, Kamala positions herself here as a political progressive, ostensibly to convince skeptics of the criticisms she now levels at the justice sys- tem as racist. Overall, I’d say this opus serves as a persuasive introduction to a charismatic candi- date likely to be in the presidential race for the long haul. Suzu (Cristina Rodlo), who is about to enter the Miss Baja beauty contest. Suzu still lives south of the border in their hometown of Ti- juana with her little brother, Chava (Sebas- tian Cano). Not long after arriv- ing, the BFFs head out to a disco to at- tend a party spon- sored by the pag- eant. But the two are soon separated when a gunfight breaks out between the police and La Estrella, a drug car- tel led by the blood- thirsty Lino Esper- anza (Ismael Cruz Cordova). Gloria ends up in the maniacal mobster’s clutches, and is unwittingly duped into blowing up a DEA safe house with three agents inside. She’s subse- quently apprehend- ed by Agent Brian Reich (Matt Lauria) who doesn’t believe a word of her im- probable alibi. He forces Gloria to prove her innocence by infiltrating Lino’s gang in order to help the U.S. government bring down the vicious crime syn- dicate. Of course, that’s easier said than done since she’s a beautician unschooled in under- cover detective work. That’s the captivating premise established at the outset of Miss Bala, a frenetically-paced re- make of the 2011 Mexi- can action thriller of the same name. The film was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, whose adap- tation of Stephenie Mey- er’s vampire romance novel “Twilight” netted around $400 million at the box office. Here, Hardwicke has crafted a compelling cross of “Taken” (2008) and “Miss Congeniali- ty” (2000). The movie’s relentless sense of ur- gency is reminiscent of the former, while the protagonist’s grudging participation in a beau- ty pageant is similar to Sandra Bullock’s fish- out-of-water perfor- mance in the latter. A two-fisted tale of fe- male empowerment fea- turing a riveting roller coaster ride you’ll never forget! Excellent HHHH Rated PG-13 for vio- lence, profanity, sexual- ity, drug use and mature themes In English and Spanish with subtitles Running time: 104 minutes Production Companies: Sony Pictures Enter- tainment / Canana Films / Misher Films Distributor: Columbia Pictures To see a trailer for Miss Bala, visit TheSkanner. com. Hazardous Beauty presents featuring local artists, Quigley Provost-Landrum and Trish Egan by Portland playwright Bonnie Ratner Directed by Josie Seid JAN. 25 - FEB. 17, 2019 • Fri/Sat 7:30 pm & Sundays 3 pm Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (IFCC), 5340 N Interstate Ave, Portland During the 2016 Fertile Ground Festival, audiences called Hazardous Beauty “Wonderfully provocative, witty, complex and brilliant. It was awesome to see two strangers meet and peel through the world’s stereotypes and misconceptions to reveal the hearts of two such richly talented, yet scarred individuals. Brava!” Part of Fertile Ground: A City-wide Festival of New Works. Ronni LaCroute PassinArt.org PassinArtTheatreCompany Gardening with the Pharaohs: A Pharaonic Garden Reflection Garden image from the Tomb of Nebamun, Eighteenth Dynasty L ast month I visited the Oregon Muse- um of Science and Industry to see their stunning exhibit, The Discovery of King Tut. King Tutankhamen reigned in the New King- dom, specifically the 18th Dynasty, a period known for its splendor. One of the most magnificent, but also overlooked el- ements of 18th dynasty, were their sacred gar- dens. The earliest recorded gardens were seen in Egypt in about 3,000 BC. Many Egyptian gardens were considered sacred and designs were based on religious beliefs which determined the layout and plant species chosen. Egyptian gar- dens consisted of terrac- es, lakes, canals and even menageries. In royal gar- dens, such as those creat- Dr. Jasmine Shanelle Streeter Veterinarian ed by King Akhenaten at Amarna and King Thut- mose III at Karnak, ibex, antelopes, turtle doves and the royal animal, the lion, were kept. The effort and skill it took to create beauty in a terrain that consisted of desert and a flooding Nile river were remark- able. Gardeners of the time dealt with unique challenges, such as re- moving sand blown in from the desert. Because rainfall was unpredict- able, water was collect- ed and conserved in lakes and pools. These See DR. JASMINE on page 10
