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    Cinematic Escape

    Room overcomes spoiler ads with stellar performances

    Alex Bentley
    Oct 30, 2015 | 12:43 pm
    Room overcomes spoiler ads with stellar performances
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    The difference between the written and spoken word can often be cavernous, especially when it comes to a book being adapted into a movie. There are nuances on each side that color what the reader or viewer gets out the experience, with imagination playing a big part in that process.

    This can explicitly be seen with the new movie, Room. Based on the book by Emma Donoghue, it follows two characters: Ma/Joy (Brie Larson), who was kidnapped by a man she calls Old Nick (Sean Bridgers) seven years ago, and Jack (Jacob Tremblay), her son who was born while she was imprisoned in a small shed behind Old Nick’s house.

    Uncertain when, if ever, they would be able to escape, Ma has taught Jack that the room they’re in is the entire world. Consequently, Jack refers to everything in the room as if they were his friends: Sink, Bed, Wardrobe, etc. Upon Jack’s fifth birthday, Ma decides to finally try in earnest an escape attempt, using Jack as the means to the end.

    If you’ve seen the trailer or commercials, it’s no spoiler to say that they succeed in their attempt. As written by Donoghue and directed by Lenny Abrahamson, the film is split almost evenly between Ma and Jack’s time in captivity and their acclimation to the world at large after their escape.

    While each part has its fair share of dramatic moments, the film as a whole ends up being underserved by the equal split. By not spending more time in the room or showing the full range of what Ma/Joy has had to sacrifice over the years, the story feels muted. On the other end, a full film could be made about the difficulties of entering an unfamiliar world, and the amount of time given for that here just doesn’t seem adequate.

    But what saves the film are the performances of Larson and Tremblay. As she has in recent films like Short Term 12 and The Spectacular Now, Larson has the ability to display empathy and anger with just as much force. She never overplays her role here, allowing each moment to unfold honestly and without pretense.

    Tremblay is likely to become the next go-to child actor after this performance. He elicits both pity and wonder in how he plays Jack, especially following the escape. His role is not showy and it never needs to be; he performs it simply and beautifully.

    While the book version of Room remains better purely because of the details that Donoghue can include there without sacrificing the narrative, the film still delivers in the end. The power of the story comes through thanks to the unique mother and son relationship that Larson and Tremblay portray so well.

    Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson in Room.

    Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay in Room
      
    Photo by George Kraychyk, courtesy of A24
    Jacob Tremblay and Brie Larson in Room.
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    Venue News

    McKinney breaks ground on new Sunset Amphitheater live music venue

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jun 20, 2025 | 3:44 pm
    Sunset Amphitheater McKinney
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    The ground was at last broken on a new live music view opening in 2026: Sunset Amphitheater powered by Eight Elite Light Beer, a 20,000-seat facility located at the northeast corner of US 75 and SH 121 in McKinney, slated to open in 2026.

    The $300 million venue is being developed as part of a public-private partnership between Venu, the City of McKinney, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation, and the McKinney Community Development Corporation.

    Venu is a Colorado-based hospitality and live music venue developer formerly known as Notes Live, with multiple concepts in the works (many seeking funding) including Sunset Amphitheater, which they're opening in Oklahoma and El Paso, as well as McKinney.

    The Sunset Amphitheater at McKinney powered by Eight Elite Light Beer may be a mouthful of a name but it also reveals that it has already landed a sponor in the beer company launched by ex-Dallas Cowboys Troy Aikman.

    The venue will feature a flexible multi-season configuration for year-round programming, with suites, members-only club, canopied roof, and wind walls, to provide protection from inclement weather and comfortable atmosphere in the winter.

    There will also be food and beverage through a partnership with Aramark Sports + Entertainment, a massive enterprise that provides food services to NBA and NHL arenas, baseball fields, zoos, college facillities, and more.

    The members-only club is called The Aikman Club, in collaboration with Troy Aikman, and will be nestled at the center of the amphitheater: a one-of-a-kind space with "world-class cuisine," unmatched views, premium seating, and high-end amenities for its elite members.

    “We’re so excited to be here,” said Venu founder and CEO J.W. Roth in a statement. “We’re gonna build the most luxurious, fully seated, multi configuration, multi seasonal venue in history right here in McKinney. The organizations here in McKinney have been nothing short of incredible. This groundbreaking wouldn't be possible without that unwavering passion of the folks of McKinney.”

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