The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 12, 2008 -5A When rapper meets Trump andMartha ByJAMIE BLOCK contestants watch in a mix of hor- Daily Arts Writer ror and amusement. It may not seem like senseless Rapper, actor and entrepreneur bickering would be a necessary 50 Cent can add Donald Trump addition to the "Apprentice" for- inpersonator mula, but it actually helps a lot. to his list of ** The fights among team members endeavors with are exactly what people wanted to his new MTV 50 Cent: the see on "The Apprentice" but never reality series "50o neand did, because contestants on net- Cent: the Money work reality shows at least pretend and the Power." the Power to have dignity. Fourteen hope- Thursdys One surprisingsuccess that puts fuls compete in T ay "The Money and the Power" above a series of busi- at10p'm. later seasons of Trump's classic is Bess and physical MTV that the focus isn't on SO Cent him- challenges that self. The tedium of "The Appren- test their ability to think on their tice" arose when the show became feet and work as a team. The win- an outlet for Trump to show off. ner will earn a $100,000 invest- On the other hand, the show actu- ment of 50 Cent's own money, far ally devotes a lot of screen-time to less than the million-dollar prize the interactions and back-stories offered on "The Apprentice." of its contestants. Of course, por- Whether the winner will have traits of 50 are all over the walls of any sort of continued business "Camp Curtis," the military-esque relationship with the rap-star is installation where the competitors unclear, but from 50's purposeful live, but that's the extent of his remark, "I'm not looking for some celebrity arrogance. half-assed apprentice," it seems The inevitable and unsurprising unlikely. downfall of the show, to be sure, is The business-reality genre has its uncanny similarity to the many been exhausted by Trump, Mar- business-reality shows that came tha Stewart and several others before it. While it distinguishes itself to an extent, the show wastes too much time making a conscious 50 Cent enters effort to appear unique. "You're fired" is replaced by the phrase the world of the "You've been dropped. Get the fuck outta here." The board room apprentice search. is substituted for a rooftop. The business suits disappear in favor of baggy jeans, except for the elimination scene, where 50 sports who are looking to hit it big while some pretty fly business threads. getting another lackey in the pro- In constantly trying to distinguish cess. Hell, even Andy Dick man- himself from Trump, 50 Cent just aged to find enough people who'd makes his show look even lower work for him. What makes "The, budget than it probably is. Money and the Power" tolerable, "50 Cent: the Money and the despite its complete unoriginal- Power" survives on its thug vibe ity, is that - like on all MTV and belligerent cast. The show reality shows - people curse, can't escape being a knock-off of rip, tear, punch and claw at each "The Apprentice," but fortunately other nearly 24/7. In the opening for SO Cent, the first season of sequence, 50 says he wants to pit "The Apprentice" was actually the book-smart against the street- pretty good. With a smaller prize smart. What really happens is and a much smaller budget, 50's that all the "street-smart" peo- version may not be the grand spec- ple scream and push each other tacle that Trump provided, but it around while the "book-smart" . still manages to entertain. ARTS IN BRIEF The sequel, "Rachel Gets Divorced," is alreadyin production. Unveiling chaos Fragmented film stars Anne Hathaway at her best By NOAH DEAN STAHL Daily Arts Writer Whether you want to admit it or not, most families have someone who's just on the out- skirts of the family. If this is you, fret not. There's a new * pariah in town. "Rachel Getting Mar- Rachel ried," Jonathan Demme's first narrative feature in Getting almost five years, paints Married an unsettlingly direct pic- ture of family dysfunction At Showcase in the days preceding a Sony daughter's wedding. Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt, TV's "Mad Men"), as the title would indicate, is getting married; the other daughter, Kym (Anne Hathaway, "Get Smart"), is a recover- ing addict who's granted leave from rehab in order to attend the celebration. The audience is immediately force-fed a hefty serving of Kym's acerbic brand of interaction. She makes everyone squirm with misery. Upon first seeing Rachel, Kym makes repeated reference to how slim her sister looks, asking her if she's "puking again." Every one of Kym's compliments is backhanded, every comment dripping with passive-aggressive malice. Within the first hours of her return, Kym has sex with the best man. - also a recover- ing addict - and usurps the position of maid of honor, a right she justifies by invoking the bonds of sisterhood. Whether Kym has ever shown respect for sibling relations is unclear; what is clear, however, is the immaturity and selfishness that provoke Kym's maid-of-hon- or outburst. Kym further asserts her egotism in a disas- trous toast at the rehearsal dinner. A long series of heartfelt speeches leads up to Kym's cataclysmic monologue about her history, emotional meltdowns and recurring relaps- es. It's nearly impossible to look directly at the screen, as the child-like Kym pathetically begs for attention. Look away for too long, though, and you'll miss something that feels as close to genuine as you're likely to find in theaters. Anne Hathaway's performance far exceeds anything she's done up to this point, though perhaps that isn'tsaying much. There is a dis- dainful and pitiable authenticity to Kym that must be credited to the care and dedication of Hathaway's performance. In a screaming match with Rachel, Kym likens her reunion with the family to the Salem witch trials - it being an extended interrogation about her goings-on. Though this comparison is hyper- bolic, the audience empathizes with Kym and her short-fused frustration. Hathaway brings Kym as close to reality as possible without actually jumping off the screen. The film's main shortcomings can be attributed to first-time writer Jenny Lumet's (daughter of famed director Sidney Lumet) disappointing script. Important points~tat keep the story moving feel decidedly like narrative devices - constructed and manip- ulative. Scenes designed to provide further insight into the strained inner-workings of the family fail to coalesce, making a film of fragmented pieces. In contrast to these narrative pitfalls, an added sense of realism is provided by Demme's work with the cinematographer Declan Quinn. Quinn, who shot Demme's most recent documentary, "Jimmy Carter Man from Plains," helps realize a film that seems to blurthe lines between documentary and fiction. Shot on video with jarring cam- erawork, it's often hard to remove oneself from the action as the film insists on being real Film The first-hand Katrina experience comes to life "Trouble the Water" At the Michigan Theater Zeitgeist Remember all the moronic hype about how "Cloverfield" and its hand-held camera style gave it a pressing, relevant and true-to-life thrill? Well, it's pretty bogus and unscrupulous compared to actual disaster footage. The heart-breaking new docu- mentary "Trouble the Water" . presents a real catastrophe, Hur- ricane Katrina, and it's harsher and more exhausting than any gimmick-film. Through personal footage acquired by Ninth Ward couple Scott Roberts and Kimberly Rivers Roberts, Katrina is retold in the most achingly earnest format we may ever see. Mixing cinsma varit6. oral accounts, news footage and a sincerity seldom seen in popular documentary, "Water" is Scott and Kim's story about their life in New Orleans before and after the hurricane. If you think you heard it all on the news, wait till you see it here. There's no Ander- son Cooper crying and segue- ing to other stories. Everything awful you heard about - missing checks, secret police, racial strife, dilapidated row houses - is vis- ible, understandable and horribly affecting. But are Kim and Scott complete victims of a historical plight? Not necessarily. They keep moving on, working, hoping and trying to sort out their lives. They don't run from the storm: They face it. And their story couldn't be more hopeful - a needed feeling these days. "Trouble the Water" is a rare and required work of visual sub- stance. While it only plays today and tomorrow, if you're willing to shell out ten bucks fot-fake disas- ters, then why not spend seven informing yourself about a real one? BLAKE GOBLE Bringing the Welsh pop By JEFF SANFORD DailyArts Writer Los Campesinos! seem a bit hesitant to declare We are Beau- tiful, We are Doomed to be the group's second proper album. While it LOS certainly quali- Campesinos! fies as such, the band coyly We are refers to its Beautiful, We newest release are Doomed as "what the Arts & Crafts majority of you have decided to call our 'second album.' " At face value, the band's skittishness is a bit unsettling. After all, what kind of band tries to downplay its efforts with off-putting ambiva- lence? But with a little scrutiny, the group's equivocation seems rea- sonable. Not only does We are Beautiful include more indulgent periphery than a special-edition "Scarface" DVD (bulkier-than- average packaging, a full-length DVD documentary, a thirty- plus-page illustrated booklet and a hand-drawn poster), it also comes a mere seven months after the American release of its debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster. In light of the circumstances, "album" may not be the designa- tion the band is looking for. Per- haps "event" is more suitable. Or even "celebration." Butlabels aside, there are still 10 tracks buried beneath all the ornamental rubble that need to be considered. Instead of suf- focating amid the surrounding excess, these songs surge with vitality and aplomb, forming a sometimes-playful, sometimes- snotty but altogether satisfying sophomore album (or whatever you want to call it). One thing separating Los Campesinos! from the rest of the convoluted indie-pop world is the youthful charm they effortlessly communicates in their work. Hailing from Cardiff, Wales, the group embodies archetypal cock- ney charisma. Primary vocalist "Gee, it's fun being rock'stars!" Gareth has a for ps stagier Mike S he sha to rela Ch an ci Campesinos (the band schoolyard dynamic between the Ramones-like penchant two. eudonyms) sounds like a Opener "Ways To Make It version of The Streets's Through The Wall" is a furious, kinner. More importantly, polyphonic barrage of frenzied res Mr. Skinner's ability guitars and manic keyboards pro- te to people - he habitu- pelledby arthritis-inducing drum- ming. It hits like a cold punch to the ear, demanding the listener's attention right from the start. Los larisma, pep Campesinos! rarely slows down below mid-tempo, and "Ways" is d a touch of as intense as things get." -1dlk 11u1 n There are no instantly engag- 'd lKe fun. ing tunes like Hold On Now's barnburner "You! Me! Dancing!," but Los Campesinos! have honed a more focused and consistent 'aws the listener into his sound. On tracks like "We Are Welsh world using only Beautiful, We Are Doomed," the yish wit and blunt honesty. band sounds like a hyper-caffein- g vocal duties is Gareth's ated Broken Social Scene, crafting counterpart, Aleksan- a dense sonic atmosphere with nging alone, she's a much abundant punk energy. Proving r performer than Gareth, their bag of tricks is a deep one, the er soft-spoken, childlike band employs robotic keyboards, nies provide an alluring echoing strings and even a dash of glockenspiel to get their point across. Lyrically, the band upholds its youthful spirit. Gareth muses in his angst-filled Cardiff accent about anxieties for the future, lost love and even drunk dialing. With occasional melodramatic lyrics, the band owes more to emo than would be expected. On "It's Never That Easy Though, Is It? (Song For the Other Kurt)," Gareth howls "I walked into the room to see my ex- girlfriend / Who by the way I'm still in love with/Suckingthe face of some pretty boy." On We Are Beautiful, Los Campesinos! never stop their high-energy, aural assault. When flavored with the band's melodic pep, the album is enthralling and pure fun. However, it can get tiresome, After wading through all the packaging glitz, one might not have the energy or the desire to keep up with the Welsh sep- tet's exhausting pace. ally dr weird, his boy Sharin female dra. Si weaker but h. harmo 'I.