12 Years a Slave

Academy Awards Preview, Part 3: Top Honors
By Max B. O'Connell
March 2, 2014 - 3:20pm
In the last part of a three part series, our resident film buffs Max O'Connell and Nick Schmiedicker talk about who will take home the top prize tonight at the Oscars.

It’s that time of the year again, where Hollywood gathers to give itself a good ol’ pat on the back for a job well done, regardless of whether or not they’re really honoring films or performances that will stand as the most memorable of 2013. 

The Orange Pop: Fall Movies, Kanye vs. Kimmel, and Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive (Episode 5)
By Jack Thomas Williams
October 14, 2013 - 1:20pm
The boys talk fall movies and what it means for the Oscar race, what in the heck was going on with Kanye West and Jimmy Kimmel, and who Esquire crowned as their Sexiest Woman Alive.

This week we go over some fall movies such as 12 Years a Slave, Gravity, and The Wolf of Wall Street and expand on what they mean in the bigger picture Oscar race.

We then re-hash the saga between Kanye West and Jimmy Kimmel, who came out on top, what exactly is going on in Kanye's head, and more.

We finish by discussing Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive and other beautiful ladies out there.

'12 Years a Slave' uses subtlety, preserves history
By Nick Reichert
September 13, 2013 - 9:55pm
Steve McQueen’s '12 Years a Slave,' screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, showcases brilliant performances and beautifully tells the true story of freeman Solomon Northup.

Billie Holiday’s haunting and passionate voice echoes over the song “Strange Fruit.” The 1939 blues standard is a harsh cry and protest against the brutal racism and lynchings that were an everyday occurrence in the United States.

Steve McQueen’s film 12 Years a Slave, depicting the true story of the enslavement of freeman Solomon Northup, echoes Holiday’s seminal song. It is a rapturous meditation upon America’s original sin and, like “Strange Fruit,” is brutally honest and yet tinged with a sorrow so personal and vivid that the film is transcendent.