The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, January 15, 2010 - 5
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycam Friday, January15, 2010 - 5
Bombastic 'Black'
PHOTOS COURT ESY OF DEF JAM/ROCK A FE LLA
"I'm gonna let you finish, but the arts section is the best section of The Michigan Daily of all time."
Kanye's stories
By NICK COSTON
Daily Arts Writer
In 1971, Melvin Van Peebles
made "Sweet Sweetback's Baa-
dasssss Song"
as an indi-
rect response
to Sidney Black
Poitier's per-
formance in Dynamite
1967's "GuessS
Wh' a- Saturday at
Who's Com- the State
ing to Dinner."
While the Apparition
'60s and '70s
introduced more prominent
roles for black actors, many like
Van Peebles felt their charac-
terizations were conciliatory,
subservient and emasculated.
With the graphic violence and
explicit sexuality of "Sweet-
back," Van Peebles obliterated
the industry's prevalent "ebony
saint" image and created a
new genre of film: blaxploita-
tion. Apart from a big-budget
Samuel L. Jackson remake of
"Shaft" in 2000, blaxploitation
has been dormant for nearly 30
years. Or rather, it was. But not
anymore.
Enter "Black Dynamite," a
film so perfect in its recollec-
tion of movies like "Shaft" and
"Sweetback" that Van Peebles
himself would swear it's been
in a vault since 1975. "Dyna-
mite" is in fact the brainchild
of novice director Scott Sand-
ers and screenwriter Michael
Jai White ("The Dark Knight"),
who also has the starring role.
The collaboration results in
a truly uproarious parody.
Like Van Peebles before him,
White's career preceding his
blaxploitation debut was mired
in anonymity. Despite a star-
ring turn in 1997's "Spawn,"
audienc
glimpse
artistf
he's im
titular
mite."
Yes,
name,
quality
one wh
like ast
mite h
Jimmy,
Jimmy
drug d
Man" s
ful ku
BlackD
boobsa
Corn (T
boozled
"Confe
and aN
namedc
Se
an
All t
to thei
if they
names t
"Black
ing in;
straigh
scene I
ously, s
they w
but wh
"FirstI
slapped
cabine
of a sm
do just
who th
always.
absurd
ces have only caught gain the most enjoyment.
es of the trained martial Adding to the film's humor
from Connecticut. But are its backward technical
ipossible to miss as the achievements and attention
hero of "Black Dyna- to subtle details. Poorly devel-
oped film, equipment creeping
Black Dynamite is his into shots and off-kilter stag-
not just his explosive ingare all unintentional staples
, and he's not the only of blaxploitation's greatest
rose given name sounds entries, and "Black Dynamite"
picy licorice. Black Dyna- employs them to terrific come-
as a little brother named dir effect.
but not for very long; In one scene, as Black Dyna-
's murder at the hands of mite delivers an impassioned
ealers working for "The speech, the boom microphone
pur our hero into venge- lurks into the frame, settling
ing-fu action. Joining right next to his forehead as
)ynamite on his quest for he glares at it in annoyance.
and revenge are Cream Sanders reached deep into
Tommy Davidson, "Bam- the annals of poor filmmak-
d"), Kotex (John Salley, ing by shooting the entire film
ssions of a Shopaholic") on Super 16 Color Reversal
whole slew of strangely Kodak film stock. Black Dyna-
companions. mite himself enters every scene
accompanied by a musical cho-
rus blaring his name.
It's possible to be offended by
"Black Dynamite." The fact that
1dkregeugeuS the film could be mistaken for a
d re ge, genuine relic of blaxploitation's
golden age is not due simply
to the accuracy of its costume
:hese characters answer department or its visual cues.
r ridiculous handles as Women's bare breasts are wan-
were perfectly normal ton and without reason. Cream
to have. It's what makes Corn is the silver screen's most
Dynamite" so unrelent- politically incorrect gay man
its hilarity - the rigidly since Serge from "Beverly Hills
t face worn in every Cop." None of these come across
by each character. Obvi- as mean-spirited, but may the
Sanders and White knew more culturally sensitive viewer
'ere making a silly film, be warned.
en Black Dynamite says, Every comedy tries to be
Lady, I'm sorry I pimp funny. It takes a unique com-
d you into that china edy to make that effort look
t" without even a hint accidental. "Black Dynamite"
ile, it's impossible not to has the requisite jive to stand
that. Admittedly, those tall among its blaxploitation
rink things like this are predecessors, but its true value
funny (and not just as an shines in its preposterous sense
list change of pace) will of humor.
West is all arrogance,
no insight on his DVD
performance from
'VH1 Storytellers'
By SASHA RESENDE
Daily Arts Writer
Kanye West's persona rests upon
his legendary ego. Long before the
Chicago-bred artist
infamouslystole the
mic from the dainty ***
Taylor Swift, West
wan recognized Kanye Wvest
for his pompous, VH1
post-Katrina Bush- Storytellers
bashing bravado. Def Jam/
This arrogance is Rock A Fella
as much a part of Releases Jan.19
West's image as his
affinity for shutter
shades and use of Auto-Tune.
During a recent "VH1 Storytell-
ers" live performance, now available
as a CD/DVD combination, West rec-
ognized his mixed public perception
and all the negative press. But rather
than apologize for this impression,
"Storytellers" reaffirms West's posi-
tion as the King of Swagger. "I real-
ize I make some mistakes," he admits,
"but I grow from them."
The "Storytellers" series is VH1's
attempt at recreating MTV's once-
popular "Unplugged" franchise.
Instead of showcasing a featured art-
ist's acoustic prowess, the VH1 series
allows its guests to preface their per-
formances with an intimate explana-
tion of the personal significance of
their work. Recent guests include acts
as disparate as Pearl Jam, Coldplay
and Snoop Dogg.
Refusing to conform, West's per-
formance fails to follow the tradition-
al format. Rather than give away the
secrets behind 808s & Heartbreak's
bigger hits, West uses the forum to
freely broadcast his thoughts, offer-
ing commentary on everything from
"spoiled little L.A. girls" to his morbid
desire to murder the plastic surgeon
responsible for his mother's prema-
ture death.
At one point, West admits the
forum's original purpose, saying,
"I know I'm, like, supposed to talk
about what some of these songs
mean ... but some of these things are
too serious." While it's understand-
ably difficult for an artist to dissect
his work's inner meaning under
the glare of the camera, endlessly
reverting to trash-talking to avoid
such introspection quickly gets old.
It could be argued that a live Kanye
show wouldn't be complete without
such free-flowing remarks, but "Sto-
rytellers" would have benefited from
more insight into the music and less
arrogant spontaneity.
West's original "Storytellers" per-
formance clocked in at over three
hours, but the broadcast version was
pared down to 90 minutes. The CD/
DVD combination also cuts some
songs, including West's rendition
of "Love Lockdown." Despite these
edits, this live act will surely satisfy
West fans, especially those who favor
his later discs over his earlier efforts.
The majority of the setlist covers
the Graduation and 808saEt Heartbreak
era, with lively versions of "Flash-
ing Lights" and "Stronger." West's
reworking of "Amazing," off his mostS
~Storyt~V
recent record, is one of the album's
more engaging cuts, clocking in at
nearly nine minutes and offeringzany
off-the-wall analysis. The collection
of selected songs reaffirms the artist's
appeal, with plenty of infectious beats
and many of his more popular efforts.
While the performance may have
benefited from the inclusion of ear-
lier West tracks, it seems apt that the
star chose to appease his fans with his
more recent songs.
By offering an engaging live per-
formance packed with plenty of
recent hits, West's "Storytellers"
appearance is a must-have for any
Kanye enthusiast. While it lacks true
artistic engagement, the DVD of the
performance still offers a live rework-
ing of some of his most thrilling jams,
providing fans with a morsel of enter-
tainment until his next full-length
release.
And though West deviates from the
show's intended format, such trans-
gressions are fully expected from the
egoist. Hopefully in the coming years,
West will mature beyond such a stale
persona and finally reveal theinner-
workings behind some of the era's
catchiest hits.
All glitz and no glamor
as 'Nine' goes big screen
By EMILY BOUDREAU .
Daily Arts Writer
The plot of "Nine" gets swal-
lowed whole by its bright col-
ors, flashy
costumes and *
horrifically
bad songs. Nine
Supposedly, it
tells the story At Showcase
of a washed- The Weinstein
out-but-once- Company
great director,
Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lew-
is, "There Will be Blood"). Con-
tini is trying to make an epic
Italian movie while avoiding the
paparazzi and sorting out the
tangled relationships with the
women in his life. Really though,
it seems like Day-Lewis just
smokes a lot of cigarettes while
all the women prance around in
bejeweled lingerie.
The film is an adaptation of
the Broadway musical, which is
an adaptation of Federico Fell-
ini's "8 1/z." Somewhere in the
production process, a crucial
element must have been lost,
because "Nine" has no visible
spark on screen. Unlike many
other adapted musical films like
"Chicago," "Nine" doesn't have
much of a plot, the characters
aren't relatable or entertaining
and the songs don't make any-
one want to get up and dance
through the aisles of the theater.
The cast, however, is
immensely talented. Day-Lew-
is, Marion Cotillard ("Pub-
lic Enemies"), Penelope Cruz
("Vicki Christina Barcelona")
and Judi Dench ("Quantum of
Solace") can all sing and act, but
what they say and do in "Nine"
still comes across as flat and
boring. They need a script that
provides enough room for their
talent. It's like when Meryl
Streep decided to take her role
in "Mamma Mia": These actors
can make sophisticated movies,
there's no need to try to throw
something like "High School
Musical" on the resume.
Perhaps it would have helped
if the songs they were forced to
sing were actually catchy. Or,
even if each song consisted of
more than a lot of humming and
wailing Guido's name over and
over again, conjuring up images
of the characters from "Jersey
Shore" rather than Day-Lewis's
character. Musicals should have
songs that move and add to the
plot, but the majority of the songs
in "Nine" have nothingto dowith
what's going on in the story.
Kate Hudson ("Bride Wars"),
who playsa reporter inthe film,
sings about skinny ties, hip cof-
fee bars and men wearing dark
sunglasses in a song devoted to
Italian style. Fellini's films cap-
ture the very essence of what
Hudson tries to sing about, but
"Nine" has none of their effort-
less elegance. In "8 a," the
characters glide across the scene
impeccably dressed in black and
white attire. "Nine," by compari-
son, is chaotic and gaudy.
"Nine" tries to borrow a
lot from "8 1/a," especially
when a young Guido encoun-
ters the Saraghina (Fergie of
Black Eyed Peas) - the scene
is essentially the same as it
was in the original film, except
Fergie does a raunchy dance
A Vegas-esque
take on chic
1960s Italy.
with a tambourine. Perhaps the
problem is that many consider
"8 i/2" an artistic masterpiece,
and "Nine" is not interested
in preserving this reputa-
tion. Instead, "Nine" hopes to
entertain. Director Rob Mar-
shall's ("Chicago") occasional
attempts to recreate pieces of
"8 1/2" are admirable, but lack
tasteful freshness. He fails to
embody the chic Italy of the
1960s, and instead ends up
somewhere between a flamboy-
ant Broadway production and a
tacky Las Vegas show.
A homemade attempt at celebreality
By ROBERT SOAVE
Daily Arts Writer
VH1's newest addition to its
"celebreality" TV block seems to
further stretch
the definition of
what constitutes
a celebrity. While Frank the
the channel's
other VH1 real- EFtertainer in
ity dating shows a Basement
typically fea-
ture stars with fair
at least some Sundays at
name recogni- 8 p.m.
tion, the leading 981
man of "Frank
the Entertainer
in a Basement Affair," Frank Mar-
esca, has no claim to fame beside his
previous contestancy on other VH1
reality programming. His debatable
celebrity status is perhaps most evi-
dent in the pilot episode, in which
Maresca eliminates one of the girls
vying for his affection because she
doesn't seem to know who he is.
The premise of "Basement" is
similar to most other VH1 dating
shows - 15 women compete for
Maresca's heart by participating in
challenges and going on dates with
him. The twist: Maresca lives in his
parents' basement, and thus his par-
ents - but mainly his stereotypical
overbearing Italian mother - have a
say in who stays and who goes.
The problem is that for a lead
man boasting the moniker "Frank
the Entertainer," Maresca just isn't
very entertaining. Or likeable, for
that matter.
His pitch to viewers is that he just
can't catch a break, having lost on
"I Love New York," "I Love Money"
and "I Love Money 2." And because
he can't win on a VHL reality show,
he's forced to live in the basement
of his parents' house (comfortably,
at that). It might seem that get-
ting his own reality show would
silence Maresca's whining. Instead,
he complains incessantly about his
mother's involvement and that the
whole thing is taking place in his
family home instead of a luxurious
mansion. Maresca is such a loserthat
it's impossible to do much more than
occasionally laugh at him out of pity.
The question of whether Maresca
will finally meet a girl and move out
of the home overwhelms the show
so completely that it detracts from
the romantic/sexual focus common
to most dating shows. Instead of
wondering and waiting for Maresca
to hook up with someone, the only
question is whether or not such-and-
such contestant will enable Maresca
to move away from home. While this
departure makes "Basement" some-
what unique among dating shows,
it doesn't make for especially com-
pelling TV, and Maresca just comes
across as even more pathetic.
But though Maresca and his
mother are each irritating in their
own right, they improve slightly
when interacting together. The
elimination phase, when Maresca's
mother predicts which girl he is
going to kick off - of course, object-
ing to the choice - is arguably the
Frankly, we just
don't give a damn.
most engaging moment. And while
they bicker constantly, it's pretty
clear that underneath the repeti-
tive mantra of "Frank needs to move
out," he and his parents love and
respect each other.
"Frank the Entertainer in a Base-
ment Affair" may actually be more
genuine than most of VHI's reality
programming. But while the family
dynamic somewhat mitigates the
show's shortcomings, it doesn't offer
a reason to keep watching.
Even in 1960s Italy,'Single Ladies' was a dance sensation.