8A - Monday, March 22, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

GREEN ZONE
From Page 5A
What ultimately kills "Zone,"
though, and sets it leagues apart
from "Locker," is the dispassion-
ate roles in which the actors find
themselves. Damon's character
is the prototypical soldier who
defies seniority in the ranks in
order to satiate inner curios-
ity. Greg Kinnear ("Little -Miss
Sunshine") is the cookie-cutter
bureaucrat who selfishly follows
his own agenda "for the good of
the country."
Such formulaic roles also riddle
multiple holes in what otherwise
could have been a candidate for
a strong war movie. There are

too many unanswered questions
by the end of the film. Who is to
blame for the war? Is it the stoic
soldier who blindly follows orders
without questioning the validity
of intelligence gathered? Is it the
man in Washington who deceives
everyone in order to gain what he
wants? "Zone" may even put off
some viewers with its dangerous
habit of dancing a little too close
to anti-American sentiment.
In the end, "Zone" is just
another action-packed war movie
that barely raises eyebrows. What
is most disheartening is that it
truly had a great deal of potential
to stand on a similar tier to "Lock-
er." It appears, however, that sub-
sequent war movies will still be
caught in the latter's shadow.

POKMON
From Page 5A
a much less tedious experience;
the menu system is streamlined
on the touch screen and includes
all the new features players loved
in the new games; and in an unex-
pected, added jolt of cuteness,
players can have their Pokemon
follow them around, wiggling as
they walk. There is also a new,
more customizable Safari Zone
that serves as home to many of the
game's rarer Pokemon after the
first half of the game is completed,
as well as an arena where your
Pokdmon can compete in surpris-
ingly fun sporting events.
While these are undoubtedly

amazing games, there are still a DS, then catch Pokemon and find
few flaws. Even in the first half of items on the dinky little pedom-
the game, some of the 251 Poke- eter. This wouldn't be so bad if it
mon are unavailable, which can were a side option, but there are
be disappointing for players who some Pok6mon that are exclusive
go into the game with a team in to the Pokdwalker. Now, sure it's
mind. Then there's the fact that, in a good idea to get gainers to walk
an effort to revert to the simplic- around, but forcing players to use
ity of "Gold" and "Silver," the Vs. the additional, annoying features
Seeker, an item that made it easy of the pedometer makes gamers
to rematch trainers, is omitted in engage in an experience that is nei-
favor of a cumbersome cell phone ther fun nor rewarding.
gimmick that presents rematches So when you buy "HeartGold"
at random. or "SoulSilver," just don't take the
And then there's the Pokdwalk- Pokdwalker out of the box. Bask
er. It comes in the same box as the in the glory of playing the great-
main games, so it's technically a est installment of the Pokemon
part of them, but in nearly every franchise - challenging the cool-
way it's an entirely different expe- est gym leaders, raising the best
rience. The device, a small circu- Pokemon and exploring the most
lar PokBall that looks kind of like vibrant world - while taking
a Tamagotchi, is a pedometer advantage of how far the game
with some added features. You series has come since its incep-
can move Pokemon between the tion. Gaming is evolving. Don't
Pokdwalker and the Nintendo press B.

Presentations
qa

PANIC
From Page 5A
performed by auteurs Stmphane 0
Aubier and Vincent Patar, who
also wrote, directed and animat-
ed the film by hand.
Today is Horse's birthday, and
his absent-minded friends want
to get him a better present than
last year. That is established
within the film's first ten minutes,
maybe less. It's also the last time
that any semblance of linearity
can be discerned. After that, it's
an incomprehensible menagerie
of pig missiles, octopus drum-
mers and the act of playing cards
on a rock while plummeting to
the center of the earth.
Where the film objectively
dazzles is in its animation. Stop-
motion animation is difficult and
time-consuming, and though the
movement of the characters is
purposefully choppy and static,
some effects - like Horse, Cow-
boy and Indian swimming to an
upside-down underwater house
where a family of sea monkeys are
cooking waffles or Horse show-
ering and brushing his teeth on
a Rube Goldberg machine - are
remarkable visual achievements,
especially in this age of digital
everything. Eccentricities like
the green army men-style plat-
forms beneath the feet of Cowboy
and Indian that disappear when
they climb steps are easy to miss
but integral to the film's charm, if
it can even be called charm.
If you know someone who
has seen "A Town Called Panic,"
don't ask for a criticism. You
won't get any response except
shrugged shoulders and bugged
eyeballs, or maybe a slow, mellow
smile, depending on what your
friend is doing when you ask. If
you feel compelled to join him
for a toke or two, consider light-
ing up outside the Michigan The-
ater and then watching "A Town
Called Panic." It would be right
up your alley.

Zulu NISSAN SE±NTA S

M ~As Seen On
'U' MUSICAL RECOGNIZED
3MO 'Me and My Dick'
LEASE becomes Billboard's
first student musical

1

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ZUlU NISSAN ALT MA
39
*( IL7 -M
LEASE
7 0 9
MO.
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to make the charts
Whowould've thought that a
little musical written, produced,
directed and performed by stu-
dents in Studio One on North
Campus would ever be a national
sensation?
Nestled in between no. 10 "The
Phantom of the Opera" and no.
12 "Rock of Ages," the Basement
Arts musical "Me and My Dick"
is the first student production to
make the Top Cast Albums charts,
accordingto Billboard.
The musical, previewed by the
Daily in October, follows high
school student Joey Richter and
his penis, Dick, as they navigate
their way through high school
trying to lose Joey's virginity. The
first public showing of "Dick" was
through Basement Arts's 24-hour
theater. After polishing, the show
premiered at Studio One on Oct
30. It's available on YouTube with
nearly 200,000 views, and the
soundtrack can also be found on
iTunes.
"Me and My Dick" - with
music and lyrics by A.J. Holmes,
Carlos Valdes and Darren Criss,
and book by Brian Holden, Matt
Lang, Nick Lang and Eric Kahn
Gale - was created by the same
team behind last year's hit show
"A Very Potter Musical." And the
success of the creative team only
seems to be growing. Their latest
musical "A Very Potter Sequel"
will premiere on campus on May
14. In July, the cast and crew of "A
Very Potter Musical" will perform
the show at Infinitus, the Harry
Potter fan convention in Orlando,
Fla. The team is waiting to hear
from the New York Internation-
al Fringe Festival, where many
shows have gone on to receive a
Broadway run.
In an interview with Billboard,
A.J. Holmes said, "We can't
believe the company we're in. So
many of our classmates just could
not believe this news. Least of all
us. We do think the No. 12 (cast
album) must be very confused."
Remember the team behind
the best Basement Arts shows you S
ever saw. They're taking the the-
ater world by storm one cheeky
musical at a time.
CAROLYN KLARECKI
PLEASE JOIN
DAILY ARTS.
E-mail join.arts@umich.edu
for information on applying.

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