The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, November 19, 2007 - 5A
That's one sultry stare.
Ater Britney Spears's
well-hyped but tragi-
comic return to the
MTV Video Music
Awards last month, ruminations
on her new album
were bleak. It's
difficultto divorce
a prospective
minimal-pop gem Britney
("Gimme More") SpearS
from an artist's
shambly perfor- Blackout
mance, not to live/Zomba
mention current
tabloid escapades.
But since Blackout first leaked
in mid-October, prompting an ear-
lier release date, the album has
received a surprising number of
positive reviews and hit No. 1 on
both European and U.S. pop charts.
And it's not just the devoted or the
delusional making Blackout a suc-
cess; Entertainment Weekly gave it
a B+, and Rolling Stone three-and-
a-half stars.
The album is more or less the
expected progression from 2003's
Clutch producers
pad a solid pop album
By Kimberly Chou Associate Arts Edtior
In the Zone: slick production now
generously heaped on, with more
tracks mixed by Bloodshy & Avant
(the duo behind karaoke-wonder
"Toxic") and Timbaland-protage
Nate "Danja" Hills. In the past four
years, Spears has acquired more
public and personal drama for
lyrical fodder, although Blackout
denotes less co-writing credit. In
terms of message, it's as if the past
four years - the Kevin Federline
marriage, the babies, the head-shav-
ing - didn't even happen. Blackout
may be the wizened older sister of
In the Zone, but that doesn't mean
it likes to party any less. And if its
aim is solely to be a club-friendly
dance album, the fact that the lyri-
cal content isn't Pulitzer-inspiring
is negligible.
There's one obviously Feder-
line-centric track ("Why Should I
Be Sad": "I sent you to Vegas with
a pocket full of paper / And put no
ultimatums on you/... Onlybrought
the player out of you") disguised as
a slinky closing jam, and some too-
confident, too-awkward rapping
about the same on "Toy Soldier."
But other than that, Spears seems
to be looking toward a future of liv-
ing single, and some of this shit is
more boastful than a Kanye album,
the lyrics equally abysmal. "Hot As
Ice," with its laser-tag production
effects and the brooding "Break the
Ice," are both about Spears's "mak-
ing you feel hot-hot-hot-hot" and
how she's "cold as fire / hot as ice."
Her new man-hunting confidence
is especially heavy on the swishy
"Radar," where it sounds like
Bloodshy & Avant have been lis-
tening to a lot of Rihanna. The duo
drops "Tainted Love"-style metal-
lic raindrops into multi-tracked
vocals and fits of rising synthesizer.
In accompaniment, Spears lets her
subject know he's "on her radar"
in a voice so aggressive it's almost
threatening - but counters with
childish da-da-das in the outro.
What elevates most of these
tracks is their finish. Somehow, the
producers manage to transform
most of the so-so songwriting into
potential club staples. Take the
Danja-helmed "Get Naked (I Got a
Plan)." It's overproduced, though
not as slick as a Timbaland cre-
ation, but it still gives the track the
necessary oomph. Danja's guest
vocal slurs into a bizarre Sesame
Street Count/Barry White exag-
geration, leering, "I got a plan we
can do it / Just when you want it
baby, baby, baby" over cut-up key-
See BRITNEY, Page 8A
ld English for
the'300'set
By BLAKE GOBLE Wildly muscular and loud
DailyArts Writer in high-octane computer-ani-
mated form, the titular charac-
"Beowulf" maybe the partici- ter (voiced by Ray Winstone of
patory blockbuster of the year, "The Departed") also has plenty
even if that's not quite what its more to brag about in this ver-
creators intended. As the film sion, courtesy of director Robert
goesin,itsvalue Zemeckis ("Who Framed Roger
to the audience ,* Rabbit?"). When he first comes
becomes clear: onto the screen, he's presented in
"So, like, Be 1f the most absurd fashion possible.
remember Camera swooping stably through
when Beowulf At Quality16 a harsh storm, Beowulf leads his
killed those and Showcase men forward to Denmark. Strong
sea monsters? Paramount and assured, he's a lofty, almost
That was cool. goofily dominate presence. He
And remem- screams "The sea is my mother!"
ber when he fights Grendel buck followed by a haughty laugh.
naked, and, like, has to punch his And it's no small thanks to lead
ear but can't quite get it until the Winstone's deep, intense voice.
end? That was awesome!" Beowulf is one manly dude, and
"Beowulf" is that kind of that's the way he's supposed to
movie: sequences of noteworthy be.
bombast tainted by a last-minute Executed in the expensive,
desire tobe poignant. advanced motion-capture com-
For those of you who dozed puter- animation of "The Polar
in high school lit, the Old Express," the film marks another
English epic "Bewoulf" has a small step in deleting human
simple structure told in three actors entirely, a process cham-
stages: Beowulf battles Grendel. pioned by the likes of Cameron
Beowulf confronts Grendel's and Lucas. But the film doesn't
mother. Beowulf fights a dragon. fancy itself a novelty product - it
They're all in the movie, but has emotions to kindle.
this isn't really anything like the Those emotions, out of place
"Beowulf" you know. Early in the and poorly developed, are the
film, in a totally gratuitous flash- film's largest misstep. The
back sequence, Beowulf gets to unnecessary shift in tone in the
boast his past abilities in killing last act, after Beowulf sleeps
a series of sea monsters. Hmm, with Grendel's mother (played
don't remember that. All right, so with instant camp by Angelina
he kicks Grendel's ass completely Jolie) and is suddenly morose
nude after watchinghis mates get and longing to leave his pleasur-
laid to waste. Oh yeah, that's not able life on Earth, leaves cold an
how it goes in the poem, either. audience trained on the rapid-
At least they have the scene from motion bloodlust of the film's
the poem where Beowulf sleeps early scenes. If the point of the
with Grendel's sexy mother done third act is that pride is a curse,
right. Wait ... a sex scene? then let's stay cocky. It's more
But what "Beowulf" totally fun that way.
lacks in respect and authentic- Still, taken as comedy or over-
ity it completely makes up for the-top action - or even a big "eat
in machismo fantasy spectacle. me" to classical lit - "Beowulf"
Ironic and self-consciously epic, is successful entertainment,
"Beowulf" is a classical romp in pure and simple. Brimming with
the most contemporary sense pot shots at Catholicism, mascu-
possible. And created on the linity and pride, there may not be
foundation for modern fantasies much substance here, but there's
like "The Lord of the Rings," the a huge mass of hot air to keep the
first hour is really great. film off the ground.
Latest 'Hawk' worst in the series
By PAUL TASSI Whenyou hold "A,"you no longer
Daily Film Editor get into a crouching position before
you ollie, a fact that the other nine
You don't crouch. games realized was necessary to
After a countless "Tony Hawk" maintain any semblance of realism.
games involving playable charac- This flaw speaks volumes about
ters like Darth the rushed nature of "Tony Hawk:
Maul and Wolver- Proving Ground." Sprinting to mar-
ine, the ability to Tony Hawks ket to compete with other "realis-
grind the length Proving tic" skate sims like "Skate," not only
of an entire roller- Gr d are there glitches and shoddy game
coaster and hav- roun play, but they also forgot to include
ing enough air to Xbox 360 little things like "fun" or "creativ-
invent tricks like Neversoft ity" in the final product.
the "720 double "Proving Ground" claims to be
backflip kickflip all about choice. Three choices,
stalefish, impos- specifically - three career paths
sible," you'd think the series' new- your skater can choose with three
found approach to realism would've alternate endings to the game. You
brought about a few changes. can find fame and glory as a pro, get
You don't crouch. street cred as a hardcore skater or
create mind-blowing trick spots as 51? You knew each of these better
a rigger. Each of these sounds great. than your own parents' faces after
Unfortunately, once you start play- playing "Tony Hawk Pro Skater"
ing them, it's like having to decide for 12 hours a day back when the
between driving off a cliff, a bridge series was good.
Now there's something unneces-
sary called "a plot" which involves
A. classic your skater meeting with other pro
skaters who just happen to be in
underm ined by Philly and just happen to want to
make you famous. All the conversa-
misguided work. tions are roughly along the lines of,
"Hey br, sick set!" "Thanks bro!"
"Bro, you should totally skate in my
sick demo later." "Whoa bro, that'd
or the top of a parking garage. be sick!" The only sounds skaters
Set in a very gray-looking Phila- need tobe making in this game are
delphia, the level design is exten- the grunts and moans when they
sive, but it makes you wonder hit the base of a concrete fountain
what happened to actual "levels." going 30 miles an hour.
Remember the Warehouse? Area See HAWK, Page 8A
Overheard in AA,
football turkey style
'Chuck' loses steam, not potential
By KIMBERLY CHOU
AssociateArtsEditor
.- -
hio State weekend acts in
wild and bizarre ways on
people. Crazy shithappens -
a lot of it. In a tribute to the excellent
overheard in New York website and
to how The Game transcends a sim-
ple Saturday afternoon, here's a "seen
and overheard edition post-Michi-
gan/OSU game + pre-Thanksgiving
weekend" edition of High Society.
Before the game
Seen on State Street: A guy lit an
Ohio State sweatshirt on fire, threw it
off his apartment balcony then peed
over the balcony to extinguish said
sweatshirt. Beautiful.
Seen on Arch Street: Someone in
a fake army outfit stopping cute girls
from passing because they "looked
underage."
After the game
I love walking down Maynard
Street. The closeness ofAmbrosia and
Scorekeepers makes for some amaz-
ing people watching, especially when
the worlds of hip-oisie and dude col-
lide.
Overheard in Ambrosia, post-OSU
game.
Two guys in Michigan gear walk
in. They order espresso, for the first
time: "How do you drink it? Do you
just chill with it - do you kill it?"
Then they start "flirting" with
indie-looking girls by the window.
(Such ironic eyewear!) Another
patron is offended by their behav-
ior. The girls are irked. The guys are
drunk and oblivious. Following are
highlights:
Bro 1 (to the girls, in regards to
the offended patron): "He's mad, he's
mad!"
Bro 2: "He's mad because we're
saying you're sexy."
Bro 1: "But your thick glasses are
sexy"
Bro 2: "Don't get fresh, don't get
mad!"
Bro 1 (to the other patron): "I'm
saying we're leaving. I'm just saying
these girls are cute - and you're an
angry little person on the couch."
Bro 2: "Oh, I'm not trying to be
like 'What's your name? Where do
you live?' ... We're not breaking knee
caps!"
Later, a cab driver to one of the
See SOCIETY, Page 8A
ByALEX ERIKSON
Daily Arts Writer
NBC's "Chuck," despite its clear poten-
tial in the first few episodes, has lost its
initial charm.
Theshow follows aprototypicalaverage
guy, Chuck (Zachary Levi), as he is sud-
denly thrust into the life
of a CIA agent when his Chuck
former roommate (also
a CIA agent) sends him Mondays
a top secret e-mail upon at 8p.m.
his death. Although its NBC
plot extends over multi-
ple episodes, each show
delves into its own subplot. The show
seems like it could go on forever - at least
until the writers run out of assembly-line
villains, or viewers get tired of the pre-
dictable storylines.
As the main character, Chuck has
advanced little over the course of the
first season, while supporting roles have
become more developed in the first eight
episodes. Morgan, Chuck's best friend,
and Ellie, Chuck's sister, once rivals for
Chuck's attention, have befriended one
another in Chuck's absence. In the Hal-
loween episode, Ellie's boyfriend walked
out naked in front of Chuck and joked
that he was dressed as Adam. This is in
marked shift to the pilot episode, where
the humor relied on facetiously delivered
events so ridiculous they were funny.
The most recent episode has also
explored the foundations of the fake
relationship between Chuck and Sarah
COURTESY OF NBC
More fodder for the Writers Guild strike?
(Yvonne Strahovski). The two have been
operating under the guise that they are in
a serious relationship as a cover for their
covert CIA/NSA operations. The problem
is that Chuck has needs Sarah isn't fulfill-
ing.
The minor sub-plots of "Chuck" have
added depth to the show. Still, the more
dramatic plot points have watered down
the show's humor, which is common for
dramedies looking to find a balance. To
remain believable, drama is essential, but
the show risks losing fans drawn to it by
the quirky comedy of the first few epi-
sodes.
More recent plot points have also
become predictable. In each episode,
NSA agent John Casey (Adam Baldwin),
Sarah and Chuck encounter a new villain
in search of Chuck's knowledge, attempt
to find out how they can keep the villain
from getting what he wants, eventually
catch the villain and keep him from doing
any more evil. It gets repetitive.
Although the pilot seemed particularly
promising, less than halfway through
the first season the show already needs
to shake things up. It needs to revamp
its direction and stabilize its identity to
ensure a lasting run.
Though "Chuck," as with many non-
reality programs, will be unable to com-
plete its first season on time because of
the writer's strike, it still has potential.
The time off could offer the writers a new
perspective on the show, sending it in a
new direction. We may have to wait, but
"Chuck" isn't done yet.