Wednesday March 30. 2005 arts.michigandaily.com artspage@michigandaily.com ARTS 5 THE HOTTEST PICKS IN ENTERTAINMENT FROM A DAILY ARTS WRITER S. GIANT Magazine - Ever wanted to know what character actor James Rebhorn does during his free time? What about the history of John Hughes? This publication hasn't been around long, but it's already establishing itself as the next great printed source on popular culture. Each issue is colorful and well designed, and the articles are rather in-depth and entertaining. "Sideways" screenplay - Readily available from the good people at Newmarket Press, the Academy Award-winning script is a must-have A for any fan of the movie. The fantastic introduction by Rolling Stone writer Peter Travers, the afterword by novelist Rex Pickett and the half- serious/half-comedic study guide by the screenwriters really makes this script worthwhile. Ennio Morricone - Widely considered one of the greatest film com- posers of all time, Ennio Morricone's classical compositions have lasted through the decades and have crossed many musical genres. Morricone's score for Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In America" is complex and bold, but lately, I cannot stop listening to his music from "Cinema Parad- iso," which is filled with immense sincerity and intense warmth. Andi Watson - I'm really not much of a comics reader, but I simply can't resist the work of writer/artist Andi Watson. Watson's art is subtle and distinct, but the man truly shines as a storyteller. His fish-out-of-water story "Slow News Day" and rather bleak "Breakfast After Noon" are well rec- ommended. Playstation PSP - It's terrible for playing MP3s and viewing photos, but that's ok - Sony's new handheld device was really meant to play games, and it does that amazingly well. Complete with a sleek interface and sexy look, it really is like having a PS2 on the go - which means that Sony is going to be« Ninten- do's first true & J D com- petitor in the portable gaming * market. There's always that one friend - the one that picks the band that'll make everyone's "next big thing" list for the coming year. He's always reading the preview issues of Roll- ing Stone or Spin and checking blogs, making mental notes of which post-punk revivalists or The Bravery folk-fusion or glitch-hop acts The Bravery will really stir the buzz. Island Most of the time, he's right. But he's also a victim of the hype machine, which is all too often just a glittery, tightly packaged, finely mascara'd game of musical telephone. Such is the case with the spankin' new debut from the latest scowling New York quintet, The Bravery. Sure, that friend's been raving about The Bravery's totally rad brand of disco-glam rock for months now. The real problem is that The Bravery have scarcely been a band longer than that; playing their first gig in the summer of 2003. Thanks to major magazine buzz and the grand appetites of record execs who love a good new wave hair cut, The Bravery have, in some sense, already made a name for themselves. Their sizzling single, "An Honest Mistake" runs circles around MTV U programming, and is a near perfect blueprint for the attitude of the dorm-room hipster that sneers at Courtesy of Island Records Sam never suspected that his bandmates were about to jump him and steal his kicks. his beer-guzzling neighbor. For their self-titled debut album, the boys wear classic influences on their stylish sleeves. Singer/ guitarist Sam Endicott has claimed to not own many Duran Duran or Depeche Mode records, but listeners can't help but hear "No Breaks" and think of a young David Gahan. Unfortunately, Brandon Flowers of The Kill- ers has already staked this coveted claim. This, by transitive property, pretty much makes Sam Endicott a copycat singer. Still, The Bravery rock with a lazy intent, favoring bass pedal heavy disco beats and plenty of effects-laden keyboard accents. This makes it a bit strange that there's a notice- able lack of pounding synthesizer, which listeners might expect from a crew of apparent New Wave worshippers. Nevertheless, Endicott has a right to toss his batch of pouty sing alongs into the ring of other next-big-thing bands. His lamentation in "The Ring Song" almost evokes some empathy, as he croons, "Well I don't see no ring on these fingers." That is, until he crudely offends with "You put the 'art' in retarded" in "Public Service Announcement." Guitarist Michael Zakarin's arena-style soloing often seems out of place, tacked on at the end of otherwise enjoyable tunes, like "Fearless." A small handful of the album's tracks are easily dismissible, lacking a real hook and even less competent lyrics. Keyboardist John Conway provides some of The Bravery's most lush backdrops, filling the space between guitar lines, as well as adding a dream- like intro to "The Ring Song." Yet for all of the comparison and criticism, The Bravery is a record that will carve out a fan- base. Sam Endicott will fit nicely into the dream- ily weird, New-Wave crooner "Walk of Fame" in 2005. It'll entice the MTV2 generation to buy an album from a hip new "It" band bound for season three of "The O.C." And that friend, the one that finds all the hot new acts, will let them fizzle away into next year. The Bravery won't leave a major imprint on the rush of bands cashing in on a disco beat and a prayer, but they'll exist in the year-end wrap up in that, "Oh, yeah, them" sort of fashion. Courtesy of Sony ' DVD brings 'Incredibles' to ! life with superb picture, extras Realistic 'Runway' scores By Nichole Qerard Daily Arts Writer Generally considered one ofthe world's By Marshall W. Lee Daily Film Editor Sure the animation was groundbreaking, the writ- ing superb and the voice talent unmatched, but when an upstart studio from southern California released a quirky, The smart, family-friendly comedy named "Toy Story" nearly a Incredibles decade ago, very few Friday- Pixar night filmgoers suspected that they were sitting in on history. Nobody knew that a cowboy called Woody and a spastic astronaut named Buzz were going to spark a celluloid revolution. Flash-forward eight years to 2003 and the release of "Finding Nemo." Heralded as one of the finest American films in recent memory by nearly every critic on the planet Earth, Pixar Studio's fifth fea- ture film wowed audiences to the tune of $339-mil- lion in domestic box office and an Academy Award for writer-director Andrew Stanton. Suffice it to say, expectations for Pixar's next film were rather astro- nomical. But then came Brad Bird, the man behind War- ner Bros. critically acclaimed 1999 flop "The Iron Giant," and his big-hearted story about a family of reformed superheroes struggling to live like normal folk in suburbia. "The Incredibles," Bird's four-year labor of love, hit theaters with a ven- geance last fall, earning more than $630-million worldwide and garnering a Best Animated Feature statuette for Bird and his Pixar cronies at Febru- ary's Academy Awards. The story goes something like this: After decades of dutiful service and valor, America's superheroes are being ousted by an ungrateful citizenry. Law- suits force the flaxen-haired Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) and his wife Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) into a superhero relocation program that leaves them stranded inside the confines of their pastel, subur- ban-tract home. Mr. Incredible, known to his new friends and neighbors as the mild-mannered, clock- punching claims adjuster Bob Parr, is now sporting a bulging beer-gut and a repressed-hero complex big. enough to make any ex-quarterback jealous. But when a mysterious summons sends Mr. Incredible back into action, the Parr family must band together in order to fight off the evil-doers and once again save the world. To put it plainly, the movie is simply superb. Bird's script is a smart, incisive and surprisingly ruthless invective against America's growing obsession with mediocrity, and the story of a disquieted suburban family coming together to save the world - and themselves - from imminent destruction is a mes- sage so timely the film hardly needs all off its brim- ming wit and warmth to cut straight to our hearts. The animation is top-notch - the characters look like hand-drawn comic book heroes plucked into the greatest living writ- ers, Alice Munro has a remarkable talent for finding the extraordinary in the mundane, and her latest effort, Runaway Alice Munro Knopf Couesy ofPlxar "I'm super, thanks for asking." digital third-dimension - and the action sequences are filled with the kind of'edge-of-your-seat urgency and suspense that Michael Bay could stand to learn a lot from. The picture on the DVD is bright, clear and brilliant, and the sound is crisp and theater-quality. Similar to the treatment that made "Finding Nemo" a smash hit on DVD, "The Incredibles" is packed with generous special features - everything from commentaries and deleted scenes to story- board art, bonus bloopers and even an all-new ani- mated short "Jack-Jack Attack," but it is undeniably the feature that makes this disc worth owning. Bird's assessment of the intricate script-to-screen process is insightful, and yes, the bloopers are actually funny and cute, but at the end of the day all that really mat- ters is the movie, which is simply incredible. "Runaway," exemplifies this skill: It is a collection of eight stories, each focusing on the life of a Canadian woman at some kind of crossroads. Three of the stories focus on a woman named Juliet at different stages in her life - as a young student, a mother and in her senior years. This narrative trio is par- ticularly remarkable because of Munro's dedication to allowing Juliet to develop organically on the page; the arrangement of the stories in chronological order, which fives us the chance to watch Juliet grow up before right before our eyes, are a wonderful account of Munro's dedication to her characters. Some of the stories, however, are less than gripping. In "Tricks," the main char- acter meets a handsome foreigner, who promises to meet with her again in the future. A ridiculous series of events leads to a surprising conclusion, but unneces- sarily complicates the story. The plot becomes rather unbelievable and almost Dickensian,whichdistractsfromMunro's powerful writing. Another story, "Pow- ers," is also plagued by this problem. However, where the plot suffers, the characters shine. Munro's emphasis on ordinary people keeps them realistic. A convincing protagonist is essential for any compelling story - and "Runaway" is filled with them. Munro is skilled in her character portrayal and development; each person, while unique, is simultane- ously similar to others in the work. One of "Runaway's" recurring threads is human identity, which neatly ties the work togeth- er; The protagonists lives and stories are connected by this theme, but each story maintains a distinct voice. The book's main strength is undoubt- edly Munro's thoughtful, clear writing. Each story is vividly depicted and "Run- away" is unburdened of flowery rhetoric designed to impress the reader. Rather, Munro's natural, simple style creates a fluid text that is a pleasure to read. She creates compelling and beautiful imagery with a dark undercurrent. As the title of the book implies, these stories also deal with escape - from people, reality, family and from life in general. Certainly "Runaway" will appeal to any avid Munro fan; however, her well developed, engaging writing style offers every reader a chance to run away into her world of solid fiction. Film: ***** Picture/Sound: ***** Features: **** I