8A - Monday, December 8, 2008 Bill Sneezington (left) avoids spreading germs to the rest of his band. Breaking the barrier CHRISTMAS From Page 5A Christmas Tale," little touches like that flow with the film and provide new dimensions to the characters and the plot. The opening sil- houette animation is another creative draw that manages to blend elements of the film together. The castbuilds fluidly off each character. With a family this diverse, it must have been difficult to give these intricate relationships alevelofcredibility. Henri is atroublemaker, but a charming one, and Amalric is amazing at portraying the complicated Henri - even if he is a lying, manipulative, womanizing scumbag, he manages to evoke sympathy and laughter at the same time. The movie is dark at times. Death is a major theme, as many of the family's trou- bles occur against the backdrop of the oldest son, Joseph. These partsare excessively dra- FRANCO From Page 5A of the cameras. - "The main function of my role and of our relationship in the movie isto ground itemo- tionally and really round out the character of Milk and to show just what the lifestyle was like at the time and place," Franco said. He's no stranger to critical praise - Franco's comedic turn as Saul in "Pineapple Express" was almost universally adored, and he was recently crowned one of Enter- tainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Year. Still more exciting, his role in "Milk" is gen- erating the kind of buzz every actor wishes CUOMO From Page 5A lacking in production quality, it's difficult to judge whether or not Black Hole could have been the masterpiece it was anticipated to be. This minor disappointment is easily coun- tered by many solid tracks. Most notable are "My Day Is Coming," "Don't Worry Baby" and "Can't Stop Partying," each providingits own bit of unexpected creativity. "My Day Is Coming" initially sounds like a prophetic ballad about becoming a famous rock star as Cuomo sings, "My day is coming /It's coming someday ... It might be today." The assumed meaning is then shattered as Cuomo rattles off a litany of U.S. soccer players and is backed by the faint roar of a cheering crowd, demon- strating Cuomo's love for the game. With its modest piano arrangement and obscure sub- ject matter, it wouldsound utterly out of place on a Weezer album. Cuomo pays tribute to one of his great- The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com matic, but this doesn't really detract much from the film. The darker moments are often juxtaposed with funny ones, and this is what saves the movie - like when Ivan's crumbling marriage is offsetby a Christmas play starring Zorro. For the most part, the high points and the low points in each of the characters' struggles are mediated very well. Sometimes it seems like "A .Christmas Tale" makes absolutely no sense at all - that it's just the story of a group of unrelated nut- cases who have been tossed together for th'e holidays. It could have been another feel- good holiday movie like "Christmas with the Kranks" or "Four Christmases," but by the end, each of the characters' antics make perfect sense and a touch of holiday spirit raises its head without prancing reindeer. Not every family is picture perfect - the Vuillards certainly aren't - but there's a sort of magic to this family that, despite their problems, manages to shine through. to hear: Oscar material. "It's just such an honor," Franco said. "Anything I say is going to sound so stupid and clich6 but it is really an honor." Despite his success, Franco is refreshingly grounded. His videos on the website Funny- orDie.com - Franco plays a self-deprecating version of himself in "Acting with James Franco" - show thathe realizes there's more to acting than just fame and paychecks. "Having to think about competing with other actors was just making me really unhappy. I just really didn't like it. So I went back to school and it helped me. It gave me something else in my life." And with his recent track record, it'll probably be a hit. est influences, Brian Wilson, on a stunning rendition of The Beach Boys's "Don't Worry Baby." The cover is generally consistent with the original, but Cuomo adds a distorted gui- tar with a brief solo to give it a little edge. Cuomo's ability to sing harmonies truly does the song justice. "Can't Stop Partying" is unquestionablythe most entertaining effort on the record. The song was written by dip hop producer Jer- maine Dupri and resembles Ben Folds's cover of "Bitches Ain't Shit." The goofy, middle-aged white-guy singing lyrics like "I got to have Patron/Igottohave the E/Igottohave alotof pretty girls around me," provides an ironically sincere and wildly entertaining experience. The record is enjoyable because of Cuo- mo's knack for combining catchy tunes with subtle humor and is enhanced bysplashes of creativity and experimentation not often seen in Cuomo's work with Weezer. Alone II is essential for any]BlueAlbum-era fan and is a nice addition to the less avid Weezer fan's collection. E 'Cadillac' traces the roots and vices of rock's legends By SHERI JANKELOVITZ DailyArts Writer Chess Records pioneered a little- known, little-seen musical force that today we callrock'n'roll. During its heyday, the studio was home to some of the greats - Cadillac singers who may be Records barely recognizable to s today's generation. At Showcase Leonard Chess TriStar (Adrien Brody, "The Pianist") is a nobody, down on his luck and living in a junk- yard. Like the hero of any success story, he makes a promise that one day he'll open a club, make something of himself and, most importantly, drive aCadillac. "Cadillac Records" chronicles his rise to becoming a somebody, which he achieves by starting his own record company, Chess Records. The most prominentsingers on display here are Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright, "Quantum of Solace"), Chuck Berry (Mos Def, "Be Kind Rewind") and Etta James (Beyonce Knowles, "Dreamgirls"). Each was a revolutionary presence, crossing racialbarriers longbefore society deemed it acceptable. Brody's acting is solid, but it's Wright, Mos Def and Knowles who comprise the true life force of the film. Though given far less screen time than Wright, both Mos Def and Knowles seem to be having a lot of fun portraying these iconic sing- ers. Knowles also proves that she does grow with each film role, as she is quite good here. For these singers, vices come with the fame: alcoholism, drug abuse and bankruptcy. It seems that each of Chess's employees grappled with one of these demons, if not all three. Unfortunately, due to the short running time and mas- sive amounts of subplots, there simply isn't enough time to really get to know any of these singers, or even Chess him- self. Even Muddy, who gets the most screen time, is a bit of a mystery. But the film is less about Chess - or the artists themselves for that matter - than it is about the music and social cli- mate it's based on. The film is meant to be about the African-American impact on music and how white society eventually took hold of it and claimed it as its own. Several issues are hardly addressed, such as Chess ripping off his clients by buy- ing them each Cadillacs out of their own royalties, and a hypothetical love affair between himself and James. This leaves the audience wondering who is supposed to be the hero of this story. Apparently it's meant to be Chess, who cared more about music than.racial lines, but the film makes it hard to accept that. Still, the film is a joy to watch. The pace is upbeat, as is the music, and it's this energy that gets the audience through the slower moments. The film is simply fun. It may also inspire new generations to discover these older talents. The sad fact is, people today may not even realize just how influential these artists were. Did you know that the Roll- ing Stones were so inspired by Muddy Waters that they named their band after one of his songs? Probably not. Unfortunately, the influence of these artists is only seen at the end of the film in one of those standard "where are they now?" explanations used for films based on true stories. The most sobering part of this is that many of the triumphs recount- ed for the musicians featured in the film include the suing of white musical groups for stealing their music, which raises the question: Just how much does music today really owe these artists? low" DECIDE WHAT GOES WHERE. I 4 41 Michigan Daily Advertising is hiring a Production Layout Designer. Begin viinter semester and work two hours every weekday. Applicants should have a knack for spacial relationships and a distinct attention to detail. Experience with Adobe InDesign is a plus. Email bce@umlch.edu 4 A A