0 Tuesday Novermber 16, 2004 arts. michigandaily. com artspage@michigandaily.com Th blr irbItun Jti1g RTrS 8 .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. ... .. .. .. .. ... . . .. .... ... ............ . ........ ZAC PESKOWITZ Is Bob Parr for Bush? N 'S ( ( he Incredibles" is the most pleasantly surprising film of the year. While Pixar has established a track record of beautifully animated and nicely scripted produc- tions, "The Incredibles" goes far beyond this usual formula. I expected a visually enticing treat with a few mediocre jokes worked in to keep the audience interest- ed, but I found something more signifi- cant that verges off into a meditation on the family, the potential for human great- ness and politics. And while it would be shocking to find that a film from a studio owned by Steve Jobs might have a right- ward bent, the National Review has made a compelling case that "The Incredibles" is a conservative film. This isn't the fire- breathing type of Republicanism that is prominent in American electoral politics, but a style of quiet conservatism. The National Review's interpretation of the film, which the magazine called "a superhero action movie about the sanctity of marriage," hinges on family. At its core, "The Incredibles" is a story about a family that is forced to conceal its special talents so that society will not have to bear the costs of their great- ness. Writer-director Brad Bird ("The Iron Giant") pivots the story around the workaday struggles of Bob Parr, an ex- superhero struggling to come to grips with his displacement to mediocrity in the suburbs and his family of would-be superheroes. Their lives are filled with small insults. Dash, the eldest son of the Parr clan, is proscribed from joining his school's athletic teams so that the other students won't feel bad about their rela- tive shortcomings. His sister Violet is a morose teenager who dreams of becom- ing as average as her peers. In the world of "The Incredibles" the net effect of this focus on equality for equality's sake are stunted and insecure children who inhab- it a dreary world. An interesting debate is currently playing itself out on the online magazine Slate where David Edelstein, the magazine's film critic, has been pub- lishing letters from readers arguing over Branson one-ups Trump at reality By Abby Stotz Daily Arts Writer the film's political orientation. From here you can make a few observations about the corrosive effects of liberalism, link them together in a tenuous argument about President Bush's re-election and the return of conservative values to the center of American life. This rendering of "The Incredibles" misses some of the more interesting con- tradictions in the film. Parr works in a soul-crushing, spirit-numbing insurance agency, where he's forced to reject the legitimate insurance claims of his clients. In between his unscrupulous endeavors, Parr is forced to endure the slings and arrows of his arrogant boss. The depiction of the suburbs in the film would be equally unacceptable to a true believing conservative like David Brooks of The New York Times. Life in the expansive suburbs is filled with conformity and cookie-cutter homes and the Parrs are forced to hide their talents from the eyes of prying neighbors. At times the film channels the final scene in "Goodfellas" where a discouraged Henry Hill philosophizes from his subdivision, "Right after I got here I ordered some spaghetti with marinara sauce and I got egg noodles and ketchup. I'm an aver- age nobody. I get to live the rest of my life like a schnook." This distaste for the sprawling exurbs isn't exactly the stuff of contemporary conservatism. Of course, these inconsistencies are unlikely to discourage writers from appropriating "The Incredibles" to sup- port their pet causes. The appeal of using "The Incredibles" lies in its popularity, and without that enormous box office gross there'd be little interest in these interpretations. The desire to twist and manipulate the message of a film corre- lates nicely to the success of a film. I'll continue to wait endlessly for the day that someone cites "Seed of Chucky" to defend their beliefs. - Zac's right, as always. If you disagree with him, e-mail him at zpeskowi@umich.edu. Courtesy of Paramount Classics Rejects from "The Goonies." UFTHED UCREEKC COMING-OF-AGE DRAMA SUCCEEDS WITH NOVICE DIRECTOR By Jeffrey Bloomer Daily Arts Writer MOVIE REVIEW* As with many films about young people, "Mean Creek" pivots around a bully and his victim. But while others in the same genre only artificially con- sider their characters, "Mean Creek" is an absorbing chroni- cle of a group of teenagers that become involved in a disturb- ing event that could have eas- ily occurred in real life. The resulting film is imperfect in Mean Creek At the State Theatre Paramount Classics be slightly disturbed but suffers mostly from lone- liness. There is also Sam (Rory Culkin, "Signs"), George's feeble target who turns to his older broth- er (Trevor Morgan, "Jurassic Park III") and his best friend (Scott Mechlowicz, "Eurotrip") for help. Together, they form an ill-fated plan for revenge, one which goes hugely awry. The beauty of "Mean Creek," though, is that it is not about what actu- ally happens, but how the characters react to it. The scenes that follow the climax skillfully con- sider each of the youths' emotions, and capture them masterfully. Instead of veering off into famil- iar territory by becoming a morality play or an after-school special (last spring's "Saved!" comes to mind), the film doesn't waver. It devotes itself entirely to its characters, as each one of them real- izes the magnitude of what they have done and the far-reaching consequences of their actions. "Mean Creek" marks the feature debut of writer- director Jacob Aaron Estes, whose skill in surveying the characters is refreshing and admirable. Still, his direction is somewhat amateurish; there is an over- reliance on the banal use of handheld cameras and a disappointing final sequence that is so shameless in its emotional aims that it feels contrived and unwor- thy of what precedes it. Estes's screenplay, on the other hand, emerges as the film's enduring backbone. It is remarkable in both its realistic depiction of youth and its unflinching account of the events that occur. Besides Estes's screenplay, the other keys to "Mean Creek's" success are the superb performances of its many young actors, all of whom completely invest themselves in their roles. This is a film that totally commits itself to its characters, and the young cast succeeds tremendously in bringing them to life. "Mean Creek" is an emotionally piercing and affecting drama, an unconventional triumph that lingers in its audience's mind long after it's over. It is not flawless, but does something that the teen genre too rarely attempts: It examines its charac- ters completely and realistically. Audiences will scarcely find a film about young people that is this thoroughly considered, and told with this level of emotional realism. many ways, but it is nonetheless a triumph over standard fare. It is a powerful drama about the pres- sures of youth and the choices they lead to. A selection of both the Cannes and Sundance film festivals earlier this year, "Mean Creek" fol- lows a somewhat ordinary setup. There is George (Josh Peck, "Snow Day"), the stock bully who may Isis follows up breakthrough album,. By Chris Gaerig Daily Arts Writer Music RavnwI* * From the band's inception in 1997, Isis have consistently shown their abil- ity to transform the hardcore sound, while never forget-_ ting their aggres- sive, dense and Isis powerful essence. Panopticon With every release, Ipecac Isis become more artistic and less brutal. Their last album, 2003's Oce- anic, was a mixture of classic hardcore and progressive, instrumental rock. On Panopticon, Isis's latest release, they deliver more long, epic songs - all of the tracks registering at more than six minutes - indicative of Oceanic. Fol- lowing such an ambitious and experi- mental record is a task that Isis perform with the grace and skill of a veteran group. The record's opener, "So Did We," begins with enormous guitar riffs, driv- ing percussion and lead singer Aaron Turner screaming his lungs out. How- ever, Isis's experimental side reveals itself shortly thereafter. With the drums still present, the band falls into a min- ute-and-a-half section of clean guitars. When the band returns to its hardcore roots, the most obvious change from its older material becomes present: vocals sung rather than screamed. Many times throughout Panopticon, Turner's deci- sion to sing rather than scream, adds a new perspective to many of Isis's songs, but occasionally hurts the band's power. The choice to have sung vocals on Panopticon shows Isis's furthering of their artistic approach to the hard- core sound, for better or worse. It adds a wholly new aspect to the songs, but Turner has yet to perfect the blending of the two. Occasionally, his vocals sound out of place. With the power of the music, and the essentially lackluster and weak vocals, Turner is drowned out. However, he does occasionally suc- ceed. The untrained croons may be an attempt to relay a message not gener- ally perceived on past material, but Isis sends a powerful message with the liner notes and cover art. The second track, "Backlit," is more of the same stellar immensity. The band intermittently changes from heavy guitar riffs to undistorted intertwin- ing lines. This continues until nearly the four-minute mark, when the band begins a three-minute crescendo. Its ability to layer a new guitar or bass line and keep the buildup interesting is astonishing. It culminates with Turner and his now sonically destructive band creating an aural onslaught until the end of the song. Panopticon's , greatest strength - and oddly enough, one of its weak- nesses - is that it simply delivers more of the same: more powerful epics, more thrashing guitars and more overbearing instrumentation. Following an album like Oceanic can be devastating to a band's career. Too much change, B- sides and an enlarged ego are all pos- sible problems. Isis miraculously avoid all of these and create new material while staying true to their newly found, revolutionary sound. Isis proves with Panopticon that they have carved their niche in the musical world. Gouriesy or ruA "The Rebel Billionaire" follows the trend of media moguls using reality TV as an extended interview. Rich- ard Branson, the current president of Virgin Worldwide, is looking for his replacement in a surprisingly enter- taining show that lets him make all the rules. The Rebel Sixteen par- Billionaire ticipants start out Tuesdays at 8 p.m. vying for the posi- FOX tion and will be whittled down one by one each week. There are group competitions followed by elimination competitions - ultimately decided by Branson. In the first episode alone, contestants have to cross a plank between two hot air balloons, stand on top of the wing of a flying airplane and have a tea party floating in a hot Looks like he lost the bet. air balloon. For all of these competitions, Branson flies the contestants to vari- ous foreign countries. Watching the awkward American culture clashes is always funny. The eliminated con- testants don't find out they're headed home until Branson tells them on the tarmac. They then have to watch the plane take off - this show's version of the goodbye speech seen during the credits of so many other reality shows. Because he controls everything in "The Rebel Billionaire" universe, the contestants worship Branson like a British god of business. One contes- tant justifies a choice just because "it's something Richard would do." The charismatic Branson has a lot to do with the appeal of "The Rebel Billionaire." He sits back and smiles, amused by these people he basically controls. Branson also makes Trump look like a slouch, actually getting out and climbing the sides of hot air bal- loons and sitting gleefully on the wing of an airplane. He truly is the Indiana Jones of corporate moguls. "The Rebel Billionaire" isn't perfect - the contestants are hardly original and there's an excess of voiceovers during the competitions. The women start arguing in the first half hour, and viewers don't need to hear "I'm really scared" as they watch a woman trembling on a plank to get the point. Despite those small flaws, "The Rebel Billionaire" is remarkably entertain- ing for a reality show and well worth watching. Viewers will 'Hate' Spike TV's latest By Nick Kochmanski Daily Arts Writer DA Ly ARTS. WE JUST BLUE OURSELVES. Finally, a network has listened to its fans. Finally, a cable network has risked it all to please the people. Final- ly Spike TV has given Rev. Al Sharp- Make a Statement on campus. The Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) has proposed 18 amendments to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities.The Student Relations Advisory Committee (SRAC) reviews the proposals and advises the President. Representatives from MSA, SRAC, and the Office of Student Conflict Resolution (OSCRa Unit of the Division of Student Affairs) will be on hand to answer atn lu t your nuestions about the proposals. ton his very own TV show. That's right, Spike TV's latest real- ity series, "I Hate My Job," is hosted by none other than the famed human rights activist and perennial caucus loser himself. Surprisingly, Sharpton does an adequate job of controlling the show and of motivating the con- testants, but sadly, lags behind his noble efforts. I Hate My Job "I Hate My Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Job," like many Spike TV other reality TV shows these days, is essentially a makeover show, and a bad one at that. Essentially, the series features eight frustrated men who dream of a better career. Spike TV thinks Al Sharpton and his mysterious hottie friend can help make this dream a reality by forcing the guys to undergo a series of challenges in an attemnt to Courtesy or Spike IV Who needs to be president? &I