8A - Monday, November 24, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.tom A broken rapper KANYE From Page 5A this album - but he's not a singer. For a track like "Street Lights" to work, Kanye needs a voice that will dominate the empty space generat- ed by the drum machine doldrums and wandering buzzes. Even when he crows, "I'm just nothing, life's just nothing," drowsiness sets in rather quickly. But if there's one thing Kanye does do well on Heartbreak, it's that he makes a convincing argu- ment he's been through some ter- rible experiences. With the passing of his mother, album closer "Cold- est Winter" has a certain touch of homeliness to it that makes the words "Memories made in the cold- est winter / Goodbye, my friend / Will I ever love again?" sound like more than just the usual Kanye whining. And standout single "Love Lockdown" has a thunder- ing and bouncing quality that hints at empowerment, as Kanye sings, "I'm not loving you / Way you want me to" and "I got something to 4 lose, so I gotta move /I can't keep myself, and still keep you too." It's not standard Kanye, but it's still an addicting stomper. Even so, with all this heartache, some of it does feel just a tad man- ufactured. On "RoboCop," Kanye cries against pounding, "Star Wars"-like sound effects ("I will never be your robot") before danc- ing into the cheap, flowery words of "You spoiled little L.A. girl /You're just a spoiled little L.A. girl." We get it. You're not feeling the best. But instead of reflecting it with his usually quick-witted rhymes and wordplay, he opts for a more childish response. Maybe this is just Kanye breath- ing a bit. For all the ranting he does 4 on his blog, maybe it was time to get this off his chest. Reinvention is something Kanye doesn't seem too far above, but returning to his roots is also a viable option. The swagger might be gone here, but 4 inside Heartbreak is a troubled man, who's only partly able to con- vince us we should believe what he says, once and for all. "My hair is as wistful and romantic as the waterfall behind me. Now can we do it?" Bleeding hearts club Supernatural love story blossoms in print but wilts in awkward transition to the big screen By SHERI JANKELOVITZ Daily Arts Writer The tale of a young girl falling head- over-heels in love with a vampire has made millions of teenage girls, and maybe a few guys too, around the world go crazy. But the "Twilight" phenom- Twiig enon is puzzling. What's the big deal with the book any- At Quality16 way? Unfortunately, the film and Showcase version will only serve to SummiT perplex people even more. In "Twilight," Bella (Kristen Stewart, "Panic Room") moves from sunny Arizona to the gray and rainy town of Forks, Wash. There, she meets the pale, moody and incredibly gorgeous Edward Cul- len (Robert Pattinson, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"), who is repulsed by her. This, in turn, intrigues Bella and she becomes even more fascinated when she discovers the truth about Edward. His revulsion turns out to be a way to mask his insatiable desire to drink her blood. Yes, he's a vampire. Despite the great differences between the two, they fall deeply in love. Ridiculous? Yes. But on the page it works wonderfully. We can see the burgeoning romance between the two, and it all makes sense. But when translated to screen, it's clear how much the novel's success depended on readers' imaginations. We know these two are in love because that's what the novel tells us, but it's awfully hard to believe it in the movie. What "Twilight" truly lacks is subtlety. Everything is too over-the-top, and many moments just don't plain work, where serious romantic -scenes cause an entire audience to burst into giggles. Not a good sign. Low budgetis one thing, and this film clear- ly is, but cheesy is quite another. Why has no one figured out that slow motion just doesn't work for movies outside "The Matrix?" Also, quite a bit of the film's budget must have went to buy gallons of white face powder for the vampire teens. But not all is lost in the film adaptation. With his high cheekbones and smoldering gaze (there's really no other phrase for it), Pattinson has turned pale into the new hot. Even when his lines become ridiculous by tween standards (like when Edward tells Bella to "Hold on tight, Spider Monkey" as he climbs a tree with her on his back), Pattin- son brings a level of professionalism more than unequaled by Stewart. While talented in many other films, Stewart delivers each breathy line as heavily as if she just finished running a marathon. The supportingcast, mainlyEdward'sfam- ily and Bella's father, is delightful. It's unfor- tunate that the film gives us so little time to get to know them. When they're on screen, the film is infused with the energy that's so lacking in the scenes between Edward and Bella. Understanding why the novels sell is sim- ple: Teenage girls everywhere found a little bit of themselves in the character of Bella, and they cheered to see this shy, clumsy girl win the heart of a beautiful, almost-perfect boy. Shy and clumsy, though, seems to trans- late into socially awkward and unbearably dull on film. Those who haven't read the novel will most likely find themselves woefully confused, since the film explains fails to elaborate on the telling elements of the book. "Twilight" knows its audience and caters specifically to them. For fans of the novel, bad reviews won't stop them from seeing this movie, but they may prepare them for the disappoint- ment that will follow. Gallery experience EXHIBITION From Page 5A Design freshman Danielle Batta- glia. "It's a really exciting piece, but it didn't make any friends. I ended up putting it next to some other large commanding works that could handle the intensity," Niels- en said. "The trick is to try to find a good spot for everything, so the show feels balanced and the pro- cess of moving through the gallery is not interrupted by an awareness of badly organized or displayed work." With numerous great works on display this year, it's tough to cre- ate a list of must sees, but there are a couple that stand out in Nielsen's eyes. "Im extremely impressed with many of our first-year students this year. There are some very ambitious projects in the show from this new group," Nielsen said. "Like (A&D freshman) Eli Rosenbloom's wall sized mural - a colossal psychedel- ic tree called 'Hiroshima 3000.' And on a smaller but no less ambitious scale, (A&D freshman) Kate Bonst- ed's 'Bull.' The title is so direct and unassuming, but the image of a bull chopped out of a huge piece of card- board literally reels between the representational and the abstract." With the opening of the new Uni- versity of Michigan Museum of Art, fine arts are in the forefront of cam- pus news. Events like the "All Stu- dent Exhibition" illuminate the art scene in Ann Arbor. Galleries are all over campus, but they are often concealed. "The problem is they're kind of hidden away, but (the galleries) are all addressing ways to improve their presence and accessibility," Nielsen said. "There are more gal- leries downtown than ever before. I really believe that we are close to the tipping point, of becoming a destination for the visual arts as well as music and theater." I I " Picture Michigan. There are some images that you're going to want to remember. The scene on the Diag on election night. The time you held an audience transfixed. That play that changed everything. Now, you can keep those images. Visit photo.michigandaily.com.