ARTS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - 9 Intimate, taut family drama stays modest By Andrew Bielak Daily Arts Writer imREVIEW*** Within the first few moments of Noah Baumbach's semi- autobiographical comedy-drama "The Squid and the Whale," a sharp familial divide is instantly laid bare through a seemingly benign group outing. Literary has-been Bernard The Squid Berkman (Jeff Daniels) teams up with and the his son Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, "Roger Whale Dodger") against his wife Joan (Laura At the State Linney) and burgeoning teenage son Theater Frank (newcomer Owen Kline) in a USA L disarmingly competitive game of ten- nis. The muted anxiety of this first scene becomes a undertone of human interaction through- out Baumbach's newest film. For in the Berkman family, no action is taken or comment spoken without an unmerciful heaping of selfishness, anger and confusion. In a cozy household in mid '80s Brooklyn, the Berkmans are, superficially at least, an exercise in refined middle-class intellectualism. Bernard and Joan are successful fiction writ- ers and critics, while Walt yearns for future literary achieve- ment underneath the tutelage of his father. After the separation of Bernard and Joan that opens the film, the Berkmans reveal Explosions in the Sky revisits debut Courtesy o USA Grizzly Adams did have beard! their true selves. And frankly, they're a mess. Walt and Frank alternate days between their parents' households, carrying loads of back-talk and acrimony. Aside from exploring the emotional toll of a family breaking up, "Squid and the Whale" is interested in the awkward pains of boys' coming-of-age. Frank is a sexually confused, emotional wreck, combining his inner turmoil and anger at Bernard with a newfound penchant for masturbating in his school's library. Walt, on the other hand, deals with his parents' separation in a polarizing manner, admiring and mimicking his arrogant father to a frightening degree while exhibiting continuous spite toward his mother. Although the boys' growing pains occupy a central place in the film, they seem trivial next to the emotional havoc of their father. Bernard is one-sided personification of preten- By Chris Gaerig Daily Arts Writer Explosions in the Sky's career has been for- _ ever marred . by the events ExplosionS Sep. 11, in the Sky 2001. Their How Strange, first major innocence label album, Temporary Residence Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, was released one week before the tragic day. Their second album, The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place, is their rebuttal. With tracks titled "First Breath After Coma" and "Memorial." It is ironic then that their first, self-recorded album was always titled How Strange, Innocence. When the band was seven months old, they hit the studio creating a raw albeit promising album of esoteric, instrumen- tal rock. Only 300 CD-R cop- ies of How Strange, Innocence were released and sold out of the group's van and at shows. While many groups re-master and rework early albums, Explo- sions ii the Sky re-release theirs in its original form. The airy, dry percussion on "Snow and Lights" is a sign of the group's immatu- rity. The droning distortion of the guitars on "Look Into the Air" is again, a youthful indulgence. How Strange, Innocence presents these defects as stepping-stones for a band's musical progression. Despite these shortcomings, the group is able to produce an optimistic sound not present on their later efforts. "Remember me as a Time of Day" has their signature military drum rolls and hopeful guitar lines. How Strange, Innocence is not Explosion in the Sky's masterpiece. It's a leap back in time to when the group had no pretenses: They were simply four kids from Texas looking to make music as massive as their home state. tious buffoonery, demanding adulation while displaying complete ignorance about raising his kids. Daniels does his best to instill Bernard with a sense of humanism, but the sheer foolishness of the character makes gaining our sympathy a pretty arduous task. "The Squid and the Whale" is undoubtedly funny, cap- turing those realistic moments of human interaction that can be both painful and comedic. But its haphazard resolu- tion and single-mindedly grating central character reveal a partial failure. Although it isn't the minor masterpiece it yearns to be, "The Squid and Whale" is a funny, touching, yet ultimately unsatisfying exploration of middle-class dysfunction. Just don't be surprised when you walk out of the theater with your own hopes for a happy working family slightly soured. Go! Team alive with charm and energy By Caitlin Cowan Daily Arts Writer r Not even the clattering, crashing title of The Go! Team's U.S. release can prepare you for the funky, blue- sky scribble of Thunder, Light- ning, Strike. ________ Re-releasedthere in the states a The Go! Team year after its Thunder, U.K. debut, Lightning, Strike Thunder, Light- Sony ning, Strike is all rowdy, rollick- ing dance pop laced with every- thing from harmonica to recorder. The catchy and unabashedly cheery album makes the Michigan Cheer- leading halftime routine seem like a half-hearted farce. The six members of the band uti- lize a wide assortment of instrumen- tation and a variety of background sounds. The feisty lady MC Ninja, guitarist Ian Parton, bassist Jamie Bell and banjo man Sam Dook all hail from the U.K. Japanese-born percussionist extraordinaire Chi and German-born keyboardist Silke flesh out the group's sound and give the band an international credibility not seen since Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks. Can't imagine what a band like this would sound like? Think of a dance squad tossed into a blender with Tito Puente and the Jackson 5. Add to that mix a drum machine, an air raid siren and a whole lot of bells and whistles and you've got The Go! Team. Even on the darkest of days, this album can easily coax a smile out of the most skeptical listener. As soon as strains of "Panther Dash" come flying out of your stereo at top speed, you'll be drawing the blinds and starting a dance party. A few harmonica squeals and some retooled guitar riffs reminis- cent of the California coast add to the crash-bang charm of the first few tunes. Silke and Chi have a reg- ular percussion duel on the showy "Ladyflash," and the whoop and holler of "Air Raid GTR" has kinet- ic charm. "Bottle Rocket," arguably the best and brightest of the album's 13 tracks, sounds like something The Avalanches might have cooked up in their own basement. The cheerlead- er-esque voices chant, "Two, four, six, eight, ten!" over and over again on the four-minute rock out. Annoying? Not in the least. With Ninja's slick raps and blar- ing, bursting brass infiltrating the mix, "Bottle Rocket" makes the album come alive all over again in the second half. Thunder, Lightning, Strike is upbeat without being insincere - retro without being outdated. And at a time when damp-eyed emo songwriters and enraged metalhead idiots are dominating much of the music on the charts, The Go! Team makes hannines' artistic again. 0 At Ernst & Young we know each employee is integral to the strength of the firm. Every individual matters. That's why we've created an environment that's conducive to personal and professional growth and success. At Ernst Young, we're offering an opportunity to learn from some of the best talent in the industry. Look for us on campus if you'd like to connect, or visit us on the Web at ey.com/us/careers. 7,*T r TlL TT,*