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'Crank' has no energy
'High Voltage' suffers from
typical sequel pitfalls and
adds nothing to the original
By HANS YADAV
Daily Arts Writer
Audiences had long given up on expecting
anything different from Jason
Statham movies other than
ridiculous fight scenes and
enough explosions to make Crank: High
the New Year's celebration
in Times Square look like an Voltage
everyday backyard barbeque. At Showcase
But then, a few years ago, the and Qualityl6
first "Crank" movie came
out. With its perfect comedy/ Lionsgate
action. balance, insanely fast-
paced tempo and hilarious puns and one-liners,
"Crank" tweaked the action film formula enough
to warrant a sequel had potential to be just as
successful as the original. But "Crank: High Volt-
age" isn't nearly as electrifying as its predecessor
and falls drastically short of expectations.
"Voltage" continues where the first "Crank"
left off, with Chinese mobsters stealingStatham's
heart and replacing it with an artificial one. He
wakes up. He's pissed. He wants his "strawberry
tart" back. Of course something happens to the
battery pack that periodically charges his fake
heart, so Statham must resort to creative meth-
ods to "juice" himself (like creating static elec-
tricity by rubbing up on people).
There was always a level of absurdity when
it came to the concept behind the first "Crank,"
but at least it hovered around the "what if" line.
"Voltage" crosses that line and then some. In
"Voltage," Statham - badass as he is - achieves
a superhero-like status that makes him invul-
nerable to everything, including extremely high
voltage power lines. This is a problem due to
the same reason many people hate Superman:
Nobody wants to see someone who just can't die.
The biggest problem with the movie is that
it feels segmented - action scenes and comedy
scenes aren't integrated cohesively like they
were in the original. Some of the best aspects
of "Crank" were the sporadic "what-the-fuck"
scenes placed here and there. While never cen-
tral to the plot, those moments were funny in an
awkward way and definitely added to the experi-
ence. Like a little kid splashing paint on a white
wall, "Voltage" throws these scenes in as often
as possible without blending them in an appro-
priate fashion. They are over-the-top tasteless
too, like one involving a fetishistic gay bar. The
scenes aren't witty or funny in any way and just
distract the audience.
The levels of gore and raunchiness have been
turned up in "Voltage." The original had some,
but nowhere near enough to make audiences
cringe (after all, it isn't a "Saw" movie). The
sequel, on the other hand, relishes in blood and
nudity. Ultimately, the extra filth strips the movie
of what little class it had to begin with.
Watching "Voltage" just doesn't feel the same
as watching the original. The focus is scattered
on multiple levels, Statham's invincibility is hard
to overcome and the debauchery no longer cre-
ates any entertainment value. The truly shock-
ing aspect of the movie is that it ignores what
worked with the first "Crank." By reverting back
to the same mindless formula, "Voltage" lamen-
tably locks itself into the banal mold of another
typical Statham movie.
'Harper's
conventiol
By ERIC CHIU
Daily Arts Writer
For a network traditionally
associated
with parents
and the elder-
ly, CBS pres- Harpe's
ents an odd
dichotomy Island
with "Harp- Thursdays
er's Island": at 10p.m.
It takes afterCB
the imrder CB
mysteries of
Agatha Christie, but keeping in
line with the ever-increasing
bubble of tolerable violence,
the action gets bookended by
generous levels of gore. Putting
aside the show's predilection
for stomach-churning bloodlet-
ting, though, "Harper's Island"
doesn't do much to distinguish
itself, getting the usual tropes
of the genre right without doing
much else.
The show follows a bunch of
people who gather to celebrate
a wedding on Harper's Island,
a secluded locale off the coast
of Seattle. The island is the site
of a series of unsolved murders
that happened years before. As
people start to die one-by-one,
those remaining try to solve the
mystery before the killer gets
them next.
Anchoring a drama around
a concept as well-worn as the
whodunit seems positively anti-
quated in an environment with
shows like ABC's "Lost" and
FOX's "24." And "Harper's"
manages to feel as dated as its
inspiration might suggest. The
gore notwithstanding - it milks
its 10 p.m. slot for as much blood
as it can - everything about the
show feels familiar.
The 25-memberensemblecast
is largely filled with unknowns
- Harry Hamlin ("Veronica
Mars") is one of the few recog-
nizable names - but the show
gives them little to do beyond
fulfilling their story-mandated
roles. CBS.com even stereotypes
the characters by giving them
labels such as "The Good Girl"
and "The Groom."
The show's ham-fisted writ-
ing - complete with an obnox-
iously generic orchestral score
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 - 5A
sland'is a
nal bore
- clumsily relies on clunky
exposition and paper-thin char-
acterizations to keep the plot
moving. Characters regularly
spout dialogue that awkwardly
reiterates their motivations, and
the show's short attention span
never lets it flesh out its ensem-
ble beyond their assorted quirks
- which makes the action plod
forward at an ungraceful pace.
The occasional use of cheap
scares doesn't help much either.
While "Harper's" pulls off a
well-executed sequence here
and there - the pilot's cold open
is equal parts tension and squea-
mishness - more often than not,
it bypasses subtlety entirely. The
scares feel all too obvious, show-
'Gilligan's
island' it is not.
ing dismemberment, corpses
and other gore without bother-
ing for the setup. While they
might cause an easy startle or
two, it's nothing that hasn'tbeen
done better before.
Still, even with these vari-
ous faults, the show's overarch-
ing story manages to make up
for some of its larger problems.
"Harper's" manages to hit the
basic beats that make the genre
so appealing, doling out enough
clues and red herrings to keep
the show's central mystery com-
pelling. Even if its ensemble is, at
this point, more caricature than
characters, the show works well
enough within the larger con-
text of the story to keep things
intriguing.
As a whole, though, that
underscores the basic problem
behind "Harper's." From top to
bottom, it's a conventional show
with a conventional cast on a
conventional network. Within
this framework, it competently
does what's expected of it. But
without much else going for it,
the show's mystery can't help
but feel like playing a game of
Clue: The problem might be
different, but all the pieces still
look the same.
Huisker Dii's Mould carries on with 'Life'
By MIKE KUNTZ ment store. Just don't expect those
DailyArts Writer D-faithful to be jumping on board
with this album.
Bob Mould has built his career Mould has had much to draw
on confessional from in his 30-year solo career,
songwriting- His and it's no surprise that he takes a
distortion-washed moment in Life and Times to sit and
production and Bob Mould reflect. Now pushing 50, Mould
bitter lyrics - seems to be revisiting themes from
most notably as Lifeand Times, earlier in his life. His beginnings as
a member of leg- Anti- a closeted homosexual in the early
endary punk band 1980s Minneapolis underground
Husker DO - have scene provide plenty of material for
inspired countless alt-rockers. dour songwriting.
Life and Times, Mould's newest The album-opening title track
release following last year's inspired begins with an ominously low-tuned
<em>District Line</em>, has the alt- guitar - a steely acoustic-electric
rock pioneer exploring safer terri- that is prominent in nearly every
tory in adult alternative pop, a genre song. The opening riff would fit on
traditionally ascribed to bands like any Staind or Tool record. The cho-
Gin Blossoms or Counting Crows. rus ditches post-grunge for Mould's
Fortunately, Mould gives the genre brand of moody power-pop, and
his own moody spin, burying the the result is a formidable kickoff to
vocals and adding his trademark an album that continuously moves
layers of distortion to the songs. between both aesthetics.
His melodies also carry just enough "The Breach" comes next, with a
sugar to potentially bring his music swift and sweeping guitar accompa-
to the speakers of your local depart- nying Mould's melancholy vocals in
this sol
The lat
Lights (
It kicks
emulate
focusing
nights i
Moul
turbuler
In his s
torture,
sion thi
Ri
the
"Bad Bl:
thesizer
lyrics do
bre mor
at intim
of inorg
sheen c
id mid-tempo gloom-rocker. ates an artificiality that belies his
e-night swooning of "City personal storytelling.
Day Go By)" is even sweeter. "I'm Sorry Baby, But You Can't
the tempo up a notch as if to Stand in My Light Anymore" is a
Mould's happiest moments, slower pop ballad truly worthy of the
g on the beauty of urban Adam Duritz treatment; the slowly
nstead of his own problems. ascending chorus and jangly guitars
d's lyrics focus mainly on the sound like everything the Counting
nt relationships of his past. Crows have ever released. Oddly
ongs, he tries to express the enough, it's rne of Mould's most
of separation and the confu- poignant tracks. The radio-rock
at can come with intimacy. arrangements are overblown just
enough to give his emotional deliv-
ery a surprisingly authentic feel.
As a whole, the album finds strik-
sing up from ingsimilaritieswithmany post-grun-
ge or alt-rock bands whose sounds
underground. have fallen out of favor in the past
10 years (and for good reason). Life
and Times could have been released
in 1999 and it would have fit right in
ood Better" begins with syn- with the scene. And while the albun
d strings and cringe-worthy doesn't have the same balls-to-
escribing a somewhat maca- the-wall fervor as his records with
'ning-after. Mould's attempt Husker D, Life and Times succeeds
racy is thwarted by his use in reaffirming Mould as one of the
panic sounds - the electric great songwriters to emerge from
oating each instrument cre- the American underground.
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