;
y E Jt
e E tr
The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com I Thursday, November 20, 2008
I TY}
PLEASURES
Things we hate to love.
The Daily Arts
guide to the best
upcoming events
- it's everywhere
you should be this
weekend and why.
AT HILL
The Arts Chorale, led by
director John Trotter, pres-
ents songs tonight about
the various highs and lows
of being in love during a
concert called "Season of
Love." The repertoire mixes
North American and Euro-
pean folk songs with other
choral pieces, including a
composition by Canadian
composer Stephen Chat-
man. The singing begins at
8 p.m. in Hill Auditorium.
AT HILL
The University's Women's
Glee Club, directed by Julie
Skadsem, teams up with
the Saline Fiddlers, Ameri-
ca's premier youth fiddling
show band, for a concert at
Hill Auditorium Saturday
night. The show features
music both new and old and
closes with the traditional
Michigan spirit songs stu-
dents know and love. Tick-
ets from $5 for students,
$10 general admission.
t's so much fun to enjoy things
you know you shouldn't. The
art world is full of such guilty
pleasures. Like that DVD of
"Purple Rain" you throw on every
now and then, or the stack of
"Weird Al" Yankovic CDs you listen
to when no one's around. Yup - we
know about those.
And you know what? It's OK. We
understand. The things most eas-
ily enjoyed aren't always the most
respectable. Every once in a while
you should just swallow your pride
and admit it.
In honor of this sentiment,
Daily Arts gives you our own
guiltiest pleasures, the stuff so few
would admit to liking. Maybe you
shouldn't, either - you have a repu-
tation to worry about, after all.
someone calls you out on humming the-top explosions. When Cameron were gonna change the world and
any lines - just say those damn Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy legitimize electronic music.
songs got stuck in your head and Liu hop on stage mid-movie for a Today? It's probably the most
put your headphones on. Then qui- ridiculously prolonged striptease, bedeviled and mocked genre, as
etly enjoy the fluid angst. it becomes clear the filmmakers people assume it's all aboutclub kids,
MATTEMERY weren't going for high art. wailingbackgroundvocals and "beep
The film is a curiosity: It simul- boop" sounds. That's only half true -
"DEGRASSI" taneously demonstrates why Holly- thanks to assholes like Paul Oaken-
You all have a friend who bitches wood should be chastised and why fold and DJ Tiesto.
yourearoffabouthisorherlifeprob- it should be celebrated. In other But the DFA, Jazzanova, Justice,
lems. And even though you're some- words, it's the definition of a "guilty Daft Punk, DJ Shadow and a host of
times irked by his or her vexations, pleasure." Savor it - behind closed others could out-groove any band or
part of you enjoys the vicarious thrill doors. pop songstress. Acid jazz, jungle and
of witnessing someone else's misery. BRANDON CONRADIS turntablism are experimental sounds
Germans call this Schadenfreude. worthy of respect. Even ifthey some-
Canadians call it "Degrassi." Imag- 100.3 WNIC CHRISTMAS times sound like they belong on the
ine 25 friends like that one, all with MUSIC soundtrack of an old video game ...
emotional issues - from self-injury Fine, I'll admit it. Unlike most, BLAKE GOBLE
to bulimia to alcoholism and back
again - all revolving in a fucked-up
carousel, each coming back at just
the right moment with a new hang-
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE up or foible. You can either disem-
Ben Gibbard has all the angst of a bark to puke or stay on for the ride.
12-year-old girl with a snaggletooth I've stayed on - for five years and
whose dog just died and her cur- counting.
rent flavor-of-the-week boyfriend MARK SCHULTZ
just called things off. But he does
sing about his emotional issues "CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL
eloquently, and that's only half of THROTTLE"
the enticing elements surrounding Watching "Charlie's Angels: Full
Death Cab. Their talent for melody Throttle" is like gorging on candy
and catchy "bah bahs" somehow when no one's watching.
trump lines like "All I see are dark What's the plot? Please. There
gray clouds / In the distance mov- might not have even been a script.
ing closer with every hour" and "If All that has to be said is that it's a
there's no one beside you / When nearly two-hour-long parade of
your soul embarks / Then I'll follow blindingly bright colors, beautiful
you into the dark." Don't feel bad if people in skimpy clothing and over-
who cringe at the thought of sleigh
bells put to percussive use, I actu-
ally look forward to WNIC's "iOO
percent Christmas music, 100 per-
cent of the time." I can't help but
smile when Nat King Cole croons
about chestnuts, or when Rufus
Wainwright prods about my plans
for New Years Eve, not to mention
the embarrassing annual sing-a-
longs during the rides home for
the holidays with my like-minded
roommate. So to all you closet-car-
olers, quit being grinches and admit
you love Rudolph, Frosty and the
wintry wonder that is WNIC.
SARAH CHAVEY
ELECTRONIC MUSIC
In 1997, we thought Fatboy Slim,
The Chemical Brothers and Prodigy
"OCEAN'S TWELVE" AND
"OCEAN'S THIRTEEN"
It's probable that everyone,
whether he or she wants to admit it,
loves StevenSoderbergh's remake of
theclassicRatPackpicture "Ocean's
Eleven." What fewer want to admit
is they actually liked the sequels.
Less coherent narratively? Perhaps.
More self-indulgent? Definitely. But
with an incredible soundtrack from
David Holmes and a cast including
the likes of George Clooney, Brad
Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and
Andy Garcia, it's simply too appeal-
ing to balk at. I'm sorry, sue me. But
in my book, "Ocean's Twelve" and
"Ocean's Thirteen" occupy a secret
but substantial page.
NOAH DEAN STAHL
"THE GEORGE LOPEZ SHOW"
I'm a sucker for corny implicit-
life-lesson family sitcoms. Deal
with it. And as much as I love me
some "Fresh Prince" and "Home
Improvement," without my occa-
sional dosage of "The George Lopez
Show," I'd probably spontaneously
combust.
I don't care what people say,
Lopez's comedic timing is flawless.
Plus, anyone who can get laughs
by poking fun at his dyslexic son
and still appear convincingly com-
passionate at the end of episodes
deserves a medal. And, of course,
you've got to love his individualistic
brand of Hispanic super-slang.
DAVE REAP
"YOU'VE GOT MAIL"
If you enjoy browsing through
Pottery Barn catalogs and dream-
ing of upward mobility untouched
bymoral hazard, you'll love "You've
Got Mail." The story depicts a New
York of unfussy leather armchairs,
gaily dressed children and holiday
foodmotifs.Yes,it's aphilosophical-
ly bovine world, but it feels so good.
Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan act out a
slightly silly but humble courtship.
Greg Kinnear, Dave Chappelle and
Parker Posey are a tease for indie
fans. The soundtrack recognizes
Harry Nilsson's talents beyond that
lime/coconut song. This is cinema's
See PLEASURES, Page 4B
AT POWER
MUSKET, the University's
only exclusively student-
organized musical theater
company, celebrates its
15th anniversary with this
weekend's show. They will
perform "Parade," a musi-
cal about the 1913 trial of
a Brooklyn Jew accused of
murder in Georgia. 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m.
Sunday at the Power Center.
The king of B-movies returns with gory comedy
By ANDREW LAPIN
Daily Arts Writer
Bruce Campbell is a real character.
And not just because the cult horror film
star is a colorful and engaging guy to talk
to, though he is. It's because in his new
movie "My Name is Bruce," he plays a
self-absorbed, misogynistic horror film
star named Bruce Campbell, though he's
quick to point out that it's not actually
him.
"The wayI look at it is, he's just some
guy named Bruce Campbell," Campbell
said during a recent phone interview.
"The fact that I look like him and sound
like him and I'm named Bruce Campbell
has nothing to do with his portrayal... My
lawyer has informed me that I have com-
plete deniability."
Concerned that audiences would mis-
take the film's moronic, alcoholic jerk
for the real actor, Campbell wondered
whether he should have named the char-
COURTESYOF ROSEBUD acter Dash Ripoff instead. But, he ulti-
mately concluded, "That's part of the
filmmaking process, to confuse the audi-
ence at every turn."
Campbell stars in and directs the film.
It follows the character Bruce Campbell
after he is kidnapped from the set of his
latest movie ("Cave Alien 2") by a fan
from the small town of Gold Lick, Ore.,
where Guan-Di, the ancient Chinese god
of bean curd, has been unleashed and is
decapitating the town's denizens one by
one. Naturally, with a villain this prepos-
terous, only the actor who once fought
mummies while portraying Elvis Presley
is capable of saving the day. The cowardly
Bruce, however, tries to shirk his respon-
sibilities once he realizes the monster is
real and not just an elaborate pitch for his
next movie.
"My Name is Bruce" plays as a hearty
spoof oftheB-grade horror films that have
made a name for Campbell since 1979,
when he and fellow Michigan native Sam
Raimi went into the Tennessee woods
with a video camera and a small group
of high school buddies to make "The Evil
Dead." The movie became a cult clas-
sic and spawned two sequels. Raimi has
since become a high-profile director (he
directed all the films in the "Spider-Man"
trilogy), and Campbell has risen to the
upper ranks of the sci-fi and horror elite
with movies such as "Timequest," "Bubba
Ho-tep" and "Man with the Screaming
Brain" (his directorial debut).
"Both he and Sam were really, really
driven toward making movies," remem-
bered Ellen Sandweiss, a Michigan alum
who attended Groves High School in Bir-
mingham with Raimi and Campbell. She
played Cheryl (the sister of Bruce's char-
acter Ash) in "The Evil Dead." She knew
they were both going to make movies for
the rest of their lives, but Bruce didn't
know he was going to be a big horror
movie star.
"That was something he just kind of
fell into ... He always had that handsome
chiseled face, and the star quality was
See CAMPBELL, Page 3B
IN CONCERT
Campus Philharmonia
Orchestra, Michigan's
ensemble for non-Music
School students, gives
their annual fall concert
this weekend. They will
perform works by Brahms,
Schubert, Mascagni and
Grieg, as well as selected
pieces from the score of the
film "Pirates of the Carib-
bean." 8 p.m. tonight at the
E.V. Moore Building. Free.