Tuesday
April 19, 2005
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Courtesy of Geffen
The Fantastic Four: as interpreted by aging '90s rockers.
Garb aes latest LP
breaks up monotony

wildly between impassioned anger
and depression, fits of hopefulness
and violent cries of masochism and
sadism. The overwhelming capac-
ity for emotional depth found in the
songs on Garbage's first album since
2001 stands as a modern anthem for
breakups - an attitudinal successor
to Beck's Sea Change. However, it's
ultimately a flawed album.
Garbage's success began in 1995
with their self-titled release and sub-
sequent radio hits "Stupid Girl" and
"Only Happy When it Rains." The
quartet's addictive pop melodies and
alt-rock energy brought them MTV
popularity, and Manson's in-your-
face moodiness and powerful vocals
made Garbage a staple in the post-
Nirvana '90s.
Manson is still somewhat plagued
by the mid-'90s "apathy is cool"
bug; it can be difficult to find a solid
personality underneath her manic-
depressive lyrics. Sometimes she's
just downright cynical ("We don't
know where to turn / 'Cause we've all
been used"), and elsewhere she gives
off vibes that she's suicidal ("Life's a
bitch / And then you die / My love").
Manson uses intimidation with her
fiery anger and bitter wit as a poetic
device to cope with her pain.
Because of Manson's constant
sourness, any hopeful sentiment
comes across delicately and qui-
etly on Bleed Like Me. Amid Butch
Vig's industrial drumming and
Steve Marker's sizzling guitar, the

album's title track features Man-
son's crafty, Lou Reed-esque phras-
ing and detailed storytelling. This
standout track features the polished
production that only Vig, who for-
merly worked with Nirvana and The
Smashing Pumpkins, can provide.
His notorious studio perfection
shines as strings and flutes weave
in and out of the layered melodies to
create four-part harmonies.
Bleed Like Me has the potential
to be a great contemporary breakup
album. While the production is well
organized, chord progressions and
song structures are too predictable.
Each song follows a rote pattern:
screeching opening, toned-down
verse,, saturated chorus, a semi-pro-
gressive bridge and a polished outro.
The distorted guitar, bass and drum
combo that made Garbage famous
hasn't been tweaked or reworked
except for a few minor instances of
electronic modification.
Despite its homogeneity, Bleed
Like Me is a fairly enjoyable album
because of Manson's intimacy.
There's something to be said about
the way she forcefully dishes out her
emotions without sounding too con-
trived. Thousands of musicians have
recorded songs about pain, but few
sound as honest as Manson when, on
"Happy Home," she admits, "I never
once in my sweet short life / Meant
anybody harm."

|I SMME IM PEvu~ |
With summer comes the most overcrowded
cinematic season of the year - and some of
these warm-weather releases are the year's
most vacuous. The onslaught of big-budget blockbust-
ers audiences face in 2005 aren't looking to deviate
from this standard. Audiences can trap themselves in
for another four months of the usual suspects: glossy
comic book adaptations, a few high-profile remakes and
a trigger-happy action flick or two. But maybe there's
a light at the end of the tunnel after all: Ron Howard
and Russell Crowe will work together again, Batman
returns with a filmmaking prodigy at the helm and
Dark Night alum Tim Burton will release his updated
version of a beloved children's story that seems about
one Oompa Loompa creepier than any of the count-
less horror movies filmgoers can expect to come their
way. Oh yeah, there's also something about a Jedi going
to the dark side. In any case, summer 2005 is shaping
up to be the season we've come to expect; the masses
will find no shortage of cineplex diversions, but into the
hazy depths of July, the rest of us will be left asking: is
it Oscar season yet?
Kingdom of Heaven
20th Century Fox
May 6
Teen heartthrob Orlando Bloom digs for depth as
a dishy crusader in Ridley Scott's big-budget epic.
And while the astounding trailers all but ensure that
"Kingdom" will put its myriad predecessors ("Troy,"
"King Arthur," "Alexander") to proper shame, can we
still hope Bloom will one day outgrow his boys-with-
swords phase?
Star Wars: Episode 111
Revenge of the Sith
20th Century Fox
May 19
The most popular franchise in cinematic history
comes to an end as the emotionally unstable Anakin
Skywalker finally makes his transformation into Darth
Vader. Expect appearances from other characters from
the first trilogy, more corny dialogue and - a "Star
Wars" first - a PG-13 rating. Nearly everyone hated
the first two prequels, but that isn't going to stop audi-
ences from lining up around the block for this one.
Cinderella Man
Universal
June 3
There's no time like summer to release a film about
a Depression-era boxer who can't get fights any more.
But with Ron Howard in the director's chair and Rus-
sell Crowe and Rende Zellweger playing leads, this
biopic of everyman folk hero Jim Braddock should
exploit heroism-hungry middle America with ease. It
has to be better than "Seabiscuit," right?
Batman Begins
Warner Bros.
June 17
Eight years after Joel Schumacher tried to swap ana-
tomically correct Batsuits for plot, the near-dead fran-

chise will fly again under director Christopher Nolan
("Memento") with a complete conceptual revamp that
promises to play like a character piece, rather than a
study of those infamous bat nipples.
Bewitched
Columbia
June24
Yet another classic television show is being made
into a movie, and this one features an interesting twist.
Famed writer-director Nora Ephron ("When Harry
Met Sally") takes a movie-within-a-movie approach -
the story centers on the filmmakers of the "Bewitched"
movie who cast a real witch (Nicole Kidman) for the
lead (confused yet?). The film also stars Will Ferrell,
who, for better or worse, seems to be in every other
movie as of late.
War of the Worlds
Paramount
June29
As if "Star Wars: Episode III" won't already send
fanboys over the edge, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of
the H.G. Wells novel that practically started the sci-fi
genre is this summer's most anticipated spectacle that
doesn't star Chewbacca and Jar-Jar. Little green men,
Tom Cruise and shit blowing up? Smells like a block-
buster to us.

0

"Of course I'm the real Batman. Here's a picture of me with Robin."

The Fantastic Four
20th Century Fox
July 8

The trailers have been terrible, Internet geeks won't
stop complaining - and hell, it's made by the guy who
directed "Taxi." The latest big-budget Marvel comic
book adaptation focuses on four amazing superheroes
who must battle the evil Dr. Doom. Even though "The
Fantastic Four" features TV star Michael Chiklis ("The
Shield), will this adaptation reach skyscraper heights
like "Spider-Man" or sink to become the next "Hulk"?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Warner Bros.
July 15
The eccentric Willy Wonka and those freaky little
Oompa Loompas are back! Tim Burton's ("Big Fish")
long-anticipated remake of the seminal '70s children's

Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Chewie Is sure letting himself go ...
classic promises to be equal parts wacky, whimsical
and weird. With none other than Johnny Depp (one of
Burton's favorite actors) as the headliner expect the
audiences to come out in droves.
The Island
Dreamworks
July22
After classing it up in Sofia Coppola's "Lost in
Translation," the luminous Scarlett Johansson takes
her first step into the fame-whoring world of big-bud-
get Hollywood fare. Co-starring Ewan McGregor and
directed by explosion coordinator/sometime director
Michael Bay ("Bad Boys II"), the film is a sleek-look-
ing adrenaline thriller about a futuristic colony of
genetic clones.
- Compiled by Daily Arts Writers Amanda
Andrade, Jeffrey Bloomer and Zach Borden

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YOU MADE A DIFFERENCE!

Walaceensror wound like to
j 11er i y fcuty and staff for
k% t rr ersofte Class of 2008:
Marc Ammerla_ vin Foschnacht Richard Ohye
Brett Ashl Ian cher Mayumi Oka
Nancy in Wallace enser Laura Olsen
Joan Bailey Colleen Gr ne Robert Pachella
Juli Ballard Lisa Guzman Susan Perreault
Sa ah Barber Ellen Hamilto Valener Perry
D vid Baum Kurt Hill Mary Piontek
lison Bell Elzora Holland Kingsley Reeves
ictoria Bennett Liese Hull Margaret Reid
nne Berggren Clara Kawanishi Michael Rimler
k Bhatia Julie Kiggins Nicholas Rine
A gela Boatman Paul Kirsch uel Robinson
M Bodnar Robin Kon - ays Sha Salata
Sus n Charnley Sara La mia Erica Sa ers
Nels ristiansen Gavi aRo e John Schm t
Hilary bine Ge La owski Shelly Schrei r
Lori Colem An' a erman-Lampear Bina Sheladia
Marlene Coles id Lossing Feodies Shipp
Jessica Cooper C ris Luebbe Michael Steelm n
Maria Dorantes Ileen McGee Carol Tell
Paul Duffy reg Merritt Drew Tinnin

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