The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
Monday, February 18, 2008 - 5A
COURTESY OF UNI
And so Ryan Reynolds created man.
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New animated derfully wry graphic novels,
Satrapi's life story hits the
ilm is a visual big screen in the beautifully
flawed animated film, "Perse-
masterpiece polis." Presented in gorgeous
black and white with hints of
By BLAKE GOBLE color, this film isa nominee for
Daily Arts Writer best animated feature at the
Academy Awards.
arjane Satrapi has lived a "Persepolis" feels like it's
life. She witnessed mili- re-inventing the wheel. Tak-
political and religious ing traditional animation and
e. She twisting it around, the film
d Bruce is the aesthetic opposite of
She "Ratatouille." The concepts
ied in p oIs and visuals are on a grand
naliving scale. Only sparingly using
ugh (and At the color, it's limitless in imagina-
nting) Michigan tion, hinting at deeper mean-
emian Theater ings throuih subtle splashes.
rty. She Sony It's just as complicated and
ed the clever with form, and equally
Gees and successful from the perspec-
Maiden, had her heart tive of a unique story.
:en countless times, lived Beginning with the Islamic
he streets, traveled to Iran Revolution in Iran in 1979,
education and became an we're introduced to a young
t. She married at 21, and Marjane. Precocious and
rced not long after. spunky, she's quick to ask
ike the rest of us, Satrapi "why" in a place that discour-
e of age. ages such questions. With her
ut through it all, she devel- family, she has to abide by the
I an infectious spirit, and new rules of the fundamental-
unavoidable on screen. ists. Alcohol is banned, many
ady depicted in two won- are stripped of their identities
and a new kind of way-too-
young armed forces takes over.
This is the time of the veil for
Satrapi, and she must learn to
live with it.
But Satrapi, like any rebel-
lious teen, can't handle it and
is compelled to act according-
ly, leaving Iran. Punk music,
boys and experimenting all
suffice, though it impacts her
for the rest of her life. For all
the changes she goes through,
her heart longs for home., No
matter where she goes, her cul-
tural identity remains in Iran.
Spanning almost 20 years of
her life, the strongest part of
the story is the protagonist's
inconsistency and emotions.
Like the most fascinating of
life stories, Satrapi's is dense
and, forever changing. She
goes through a lot for even two
lifetimes, let alone 20 years,
and through her transforma-
tions we're immersed in a fas-
cinating life. Even for those of
us with no reference point in
responding to theocracy, we
can relate because she has all
the angst and self-reflexive
development that comes with
growing up.
The only problem with
the film is that it feels like
something Dickens may have
written, forced into a single-
episode format. Too breathless
in its progression, the story
could easily have benefited
from slower pacing, or even a
sequel. In one moment, Satra-
pi is sullenly depressed, only
to rebound in the next scene
as a flirt. The material is all
very interesting, but when 80
things happen in 90 minutes,
and the protagonist's outlook
ever changing, it can tire even
the most patient filmgoer.
What looks like cheap Flash
animation at first turns into
a 'great visual meditation of,
finding oneself and never los-
ing your identity. Gorgeous
silhouettes allude to a faceless
struggle in our eyes. Avant per-
spectives and peephole view-
ing sneak us into a life that's
not our own. But perfect exag-
gerations in facial expression
give us just the right emotion
every time, even if it's a simple,
black-and-'vhite drawn face.
Like the finest of shifting in
Japanese perspective draw-
ings, we're given clarity and
substance amidst an unclear
life and time.
By ANNIE LEVENE
Daily Arts Writer
The people who raised you used to
be young. Don't let those years of wis-
dom and nurturing fool you; Mom and
Dad were just likeus once. As fun as it
is to listen to their stories about way
back when, there are certain things
that we don't really need (or want)
to know. out of those potentially
awkward topics, a
parent's former (and
present) sex life tops
the list. While "Defi-
nitely, Maybe" is Dfinitel,
what it claims to be Maybe
- a comedy about a
cute kid asking her AtShowcase
cute dad to tell a cute and Qualityl6
story about how he Universal
fell in love With her
mom - let's just say
the narrative is pretty detailed. When
your barely pre-teen daughter is label-
ing you as a slut, you might need to re-
evaluate your bedtime story.
While the story in the film might
serve as a somewhat unconventional
way to get your kid to fall asleep, it also
makes for a decent love story. Roman-
tic comedies are typically cut and dry:
one girl, one guy and some ridiculous
obstacle they have to overcome in
order to be together. Real life usually.
isn't that simple. People change, lov-
ers come in and out of our lives, some-
times you have too many options and
sometimes, you have none.,
Will Hayes (Ryan Reynolds,
"Smokin' Aces") is lucky enough to
have met three lovely ladies, and
unlucky enough to still be alone.
Precocious and disturbingly in tune
with her dad's emotions, Maya (Abi-
gail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine")
is fresh off a premature exposure to
a sex-ed class and still dealing with
her parents' pending divorce. In what
seems like a premise designed for
rediscovered love, she convinces Will
to tell her the story of how he fell in
love with her mom. The fun for Maya
- and for us - is that she has to pick
her mom out from three different
women, all of whom Will has fallen in
love with at one time or another.
The storyfollows Will from abright-
eyed college student working for Bill
Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign
to present day. His leading ladies,
college sweetheart Emily (Elizabeth
Banks, "The 40 Year Old Virgin"), fel-
low Clinton worker April (Isla Fisher,
"Wedding Crashers") and writer Sum-
mer (Rachel Weisz, "The Fountain"),
move in and out of the story and Will's
life. While the love story takes cen-
ter stage, writer and director Albert
Brooks ("Bridget Jones: Edge of Rea-
son"Y wisely spends time focusing
on Will's progression from idealistic
youngster to somewhat-jaded father.
What's happening to Will's world-
view affects his relationships, and the
movie does a good job balancing the
two stories, keeping it all grounded in
a strong sense of reality.
Reality also plays into the conclu-
sion of the film. The bedtime story
sets up the audience to expect a cer-
tain ending, but it's not necessarily
what they'll receive. Nevertheless,
the ending is satisfactory enough
to make for a decent addition to the
rom-com genre. The presence of
Ryan Reynolds doesn't hurt either.
He's likeable and engaging, even if
he is caught once or twice mugging
for the camera. "Definitely, Maybe"
may not be a prize pick in innovative
filmmaking: There are still romantic
clichds packed into every scene and
the acting, while decent, isn't exactly
Oscar worthy. Still, there are worse
ways to spend your time. You could
be listening to a story about how your
parents met.
A bedt ime story you
don't, want to hear
ARTS IN BRIEF
Children's film finds the
magic in characters
"The Spiderwick Chronicles"
Paramount
the existence of magic
real world. Soon Jared
Simon (Highmore agai
(Sarah Bolger, "In Am(
goblins and riding grif.
ally leaving their own b
Sure, the plot is cut
and none of the creature
ularly original (everyon
but "Spiderwick" has it
More than other children's fantasy mov- place. In the end,
ies, "The Spiderwick Chronicles" succeeds each other and give
in projecting a feeling of magic and mystery she deserves. There
on top of solid reality. In stark contrast to lege student to see
"The Golden Compass" and "The Chron- harmless fun.
icles of Narnia," which work too hard to
whisk the viewer away into a fantasy world,
"Spiderwick" is content to place the char- Music
acters comfortably within their own home
and bring the magic to them. eWpop-p
The Graces have just moved from New
York to an old, creepy house in the woods. evoi o al
This move is fiercely opposed by Jared
Grace (Freddie Highmore, "Finding Never- Every Avenue
land"), who resents that his divorced mom Shh. Just Go With It
has dragged him away from his father. His Fearless
sourness doesn't last long, however, when
he discovers a book written by the house's There are just c
previous occupant, Arthur Spiderwick never worth listen
(David Strathiarn, "Fracture"), detailing Shh. Just Go With It
the
the
's lit
thi
Un
lt
al creatures in the Fearless Records's latest pop-punk boy
1, his twin brother band-featuringdudeswiththeworsthair-
n) and older sister cuts imaginable - sounds a lot like a bad
erica") are fighting rip-off of Fall Out Boy. The only difference
fins, only occasion- is that Fall Out Boy would infuse the songs
ackyard. on this album with their own sound that,
-and-paste fantasy, while distinctly annoying, would at least
e designs are partic- make them memorable.
e looks like Dobby), The only word to describe Shh. Just Go
s heart in the right With It is unremarkable. The not-so-catchy
kids learn to trust songs flow into one another without a trace
ir mom the respect of changing melody. At certain points, the
tle reason for a col- only indicator that you're listening to the
s, but the movie is beginningofanewtrackisanawkwardAM-
radio effect, which is overused throughout
ANDREWLAPIN the album. This effect on the drum intro
of "A Story to Tell Your Friends" makes it
nearly indistinguishable from Kelly Clark-
is son's "Since U Been Gone."
is gThe album's highly inappropriate title is
a clear gauge oftwhat wordsmiths these guys
ale n t are (their last EP was cleverly titled AH.O.
Each song's lyrics are vapid and lame, and
sound like poetry taken right out of a teen-
ager's diary. In "Take a Step Back," vocalist
David Ryan croons, "Rather hit rock bot-
tom than be stuck second guessing / They
in albums that are have the answers but they don't know the
to. Every Avenue's questions."Wowguys. That's deep.
ne of those albums. LINDSAYCHMIELEWSKI
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