The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, November 11, 2008 - 9A "That's how you make babies?" MADAGASCAR From Page 5A Wait for the scene where they have plane-con- struction labor struggles with monkeys, a bit like real-life labor politics. (The first film was all about balls-to-the-wall sight gags and showcasing pen- guins.) And the swimming birds are back in force; look for them hijacking trucks at break-neck speed. This time around, though, the ante is upped with con- stant gags, better joke timing and fewer manipulative themes. Unlike the original, the ideas don't have to be spelled out at the end - you can figure them out on your own. Julien the lemur has great, subtle one-liners allud- ing to contemporary class struggles and airport secu- rity. To stop a pest child from getting on his plane, Julien screams: "Stop him! He has scissors and hand- cream!" The penguins showboat yet again as they get all the best jokes in the film. And the best part? The best lines aren't spoiled in the previews. With "Madagascar," one has to wonder if the age- old cartoon allusions are understandable or relevant anymore. Everyone's heard "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" theme used in a joking context, likely in a cartoon (it was even used in a trailer before this movie). But how many eight-year-olds will know where it comes from? Is playing "Copacabana" by Barry Manilow funny for tots? Also, parents are now in their 30s and 40s, mean- ing they're late 1960s to 1970s children. They likely haven't seen "Breakfast at Tiffany's." And with cer- tain lines - like a monkey saying someone looks like "Breakfast" 's lead actor George Peppard - one won- ders: Who's this film for: weird critics who actually care about what directors enjoy making note of? No, "Madagascar" is a cute and funny film that's actually a little better than the first. Yeah, it's kids' stuff, but at least it's pleasant. POW From Page 5A stomach with a little sudden mill," and milk as "climb up in sight climb in the whole utter needles and a guess a whole guess is hang- ing." She presents the idea of tak- ing the immediate world around her and making it into art by see- ingit through a new lens. Poet Frank O'Hara wrote about the same power of recognizable objects in his poem "Today," which begins with a rag-tag list of objects: "Oh! kangaroos, sequins, chocolate sodas! /You really are beautiful! Pearls, /harmonicas, jujubes, aspi- rins!" The poetic list creates vivid images of childhood, and walking along the pavement to visit the corner stores that sell such 99-cent objects. O'Hara is aware of the power of conjuring these powerful cultural images when he writes, "These things are with us every day /even on beachheads and biers. They /do have meaning. They're strong as rocks." We may perceive the inaccessible, the expensive and the superfluous as "artsy" or culturally important. But for Ginsberg as low culture? Hardly. Frank O'Hara, everything we deem ordinary or mundane, everything that is recognizable to us, boring or seen-before is significant. Maybe we've gotten this all wrong. It's not the haute couture that should be catching our atten- tion, not the desirability of catwalk bodices glittering in a way that only millionaires could afford. What we should be looking for are the ketchup-stained aprons of diner waitresses, the arm tattoos of the Fleetwood chef frying up hash browns for hungry, hung- over customers at ten o'clock on a Sunday morning. A lot of the celebrated contem- porary art around us has substan- tial roots in Americana and all the word entails, including grimy kitchens and chain-smoking diner patrons. The idea of"low" art should be reconsidered. There's nothing "low" about Stein, O'Hara, Ginsberg or Dylan, and, if this is true, there's nothing "low" about apple pie, skull tattoos, deep-dish pizzas and licorice - the images these artists likely grew up with and lived with. In order to create art, we take from what is around us, what is accessible to us - nico- tine and caffeine included. Pow just got a Fleetwood tattoo. It's rad. E-mail her at poww@umich.edu. THE SMITHS From Page 5A formula: Morrissey's captivating lyrical wit. Tracks like "Handsome Devil" ("A boy in the bush / is worth two in the hand") perfectly illustrate how he twisted and contorted the energy of punk until it fit his eccen- tric, introverted and sexually ambiguous persona. Admittedly, it can often be hard to tell where Mor- rissey's sincerity ends and comical self-parody begins - a problem that's given The Smiths an unfortunate reputation as proto-emo. But even on his more sub- par efforts, Morrissey hits notes of both humor and raw honesty that his supposed followers could never reach. Fallout Boy's Patrick Stump would do well to listen to The Sound and contemplate retirement. The second CD, sold as part of the "deluxe set," offers a number of intriguing B-sides and live trucks. Among the more notable is a live version of "Meat is Murder," on which Morrissey's strained vocals make a more compelling case than they do on the studio cut. For those who are well acquainted with "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side," these lesser-known gems will be the most intriguing aspect of The Sound. As with any compilation, it's possible to nitpick about questionable inclusions ("Money Changes Everything") and conspicuous omissions ("I Know It's Over"). It's debatable whether the album ulti- mately justifies its own existence, but it seems to more than most of the band's previous compilations. TheSoundofTheSmithsgathers up allof The Smiths that most people will need. It also does it at a price equal to three of the band's original studio albums at a used record store. It's an excellent summary of a legendary band, and those new to The Smiths can't go wrong in taking a listen - but they could do even better with The Queen is Dead. Yeah, he makes us uncomfortable too.