8A - Friday, September 17, 2010

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

CONCERT PREVIEW
Matt and Kim crash Detroit

FILM REVIEW
'Last Exorcism'
doesn't deliver

The pop duo brings
your favorite hits to The
Magic Stick
By ARIELLE SPECINER
Daily Arts Writer
"Being on tour with bronchitis is a little
tough," said vocalist and keyboard player
Matt Johnson, one-half
of the dance-rock duo M
Matt and Kim, in an
interview with the Daily. Kim
Though they've only
played one show, John- Tomorrow
son and the "Kim" of at 8 p.m.
Matt and Kim (drum- The Magic Stick
mer and vocalist Kim $15
Schifino) have had avery
successful tour so far.
After an announced swig of his
codeine-coated cough medicine, John-
son explained, "It was excellent, which is
bizarre for us because usually we play hor-
ribly on the first show on tour."
Johnson said that the band sometimes
has difficulty getting into a rhythm at the
start of a tour.
"Maybe we're just becoming profession-
als now and ... we can just do it," he humbly
joked.
The pair plans to play a show at The
Magic Stick in Detroit on Saturday, Sept.e18
at 8 p.m. They're on tour promoting their
upcoming album, Sidewalks, which debuts
Nov. 2. However, the duo doesn't plan to
play too many new tracks.

Matt and Kim made Pitchfork's top 100 tracks of 2009. Gangsta-roo did not.

Johnson clarified, "We have big plans
of playing just the one song, 'Cameras,' but
you know what? What I've realized, I've
gone to see bands, and like, you know, and
on stage, (they're) like 'who wants to hear
a new song?' and everyone's kind of like,
'Uhh Ijust wanna hear what I know!"'
But Johnson said this tour's lineup will
certainly not disappoint: "I mean, we have
songs on our old album that we've never
played and we tend to do things like little
interludes of kind of covers. We have a
bunch of new ones of those. So we're keep-
ing it fresh and still recognizable at the
same time."
Influenced by hip-hop and pop music,
Matt and Kim incorporate their fresh and
recognizable sound on their new album.

Though the album was more profession-
ally produced (2009's Grand was recorded
in Johnson's Vermont bedroom), they still
deliver the same endearingly poppy, com-
puterized Matt and Kim sound.
"We're big fans of pop music and hip-
hop and so songs like 'Good Old Fashion
Nightmare' and 'Daylight' had definite
influence, and so we've even gone even fur-
ther into that. Not that we don't have more
like fast, crash-y songs, andthings likethat,
but we went further into that with Side-
walks." Johnson continues, "It's just very
Matt and Kim."
If you can spare the gas money, be sure
to catch Matt and Kim in all their fast-
paced, cutesy glory tomorrow night at The
Magic Stick In Detroit.

By BEN VERDI
Daily Arts Writer
You know when you hear someone speak
up - maybe one of your
friends - who doesn't
often share their opinion?
The occurrence commands 'W
your attention. You turn
up your ears, regardless Exoitsm
of whether you agree, and At Quality 16
your anxiousness is only and Rave
appeased upon hearing the Liansga. e
seldom-spoken words.
What people who don't
talk much tend to do is - once they begin
saying something you think is really interest-
ing - just shrug, chuckle and say, "Oh, I don't
know," or "Forget it," and leave you disap-
pointed. You thought you were going to get a
small glimpse of insight out of a communica-
tive avenue you'd long believed was closed for
good, but, instead, you gotethe same old med-
ley of unoriginal mumbling.
"The Last Exorcism" feels like this shy
friend of yours, but it's a movie. It's an exor-
cism/demon flick, so don't expect much
meaning to come of it, but it begins with an
incredibly intriguing premise for what was
supposed tobe just another scary movie.
Genuine tension loses
to stale scare tactics.
It starts out detailingethe life of a preacher
who has fallen out of love with God and fakes
exorcisms for paying saps (or faithful cus-
tomers). His past and the way he grew up,
emulating his dad (who was also a preacher)
is a much more interesting plotline than what
the movie actually turns into: a rather stan-
dard horror film about a demon child.
The preacher's skepticism about the exis-
tence of demons (and God) in the firstplace is
really the only part of this movie that drives
the plot and our interest in his character. It's
paradoxical and intriguing when a preacher
loses his faith. That's a character working out
some demons of his own, which are worth
exploring. That's a character worth develop-
ing as a means of cluing us in to our own spiri-
tual doubts. Maybe the resolution of who this
man is could end up standing as an allegory

for how some say we've lost touch with God
as a society.
But no. Once "The Last Exorcism" raises
its hand and starts saying something unex-
pectedly cool it gets a little deeper into its
story and then basically throws up its hands,
saying, "Oh, I don't know," and we then pro-
ceed with 45 more minutes of "Blair Witch"-
style demon movie.
Once the film abandons its fascinating
opening, it essentially turns into a run-of-the-
mill, "Don't go in there!" horror flick. Instead
of the director and writers creatively winking
at you, they justhad something intheir eyes.
While it will make audiences shriek and
cover their faces - as any scary movie should
- it won't make you use much of your brain,
which is sad, because it almost feels like the
filmmakers give up on the plot at the same
time you do.
This resignation of the duties of storytell-
ing actually has parallels within the movie,
shot as a faux-documentary with a handheld
camera. At one point the documentarian's
camera is snatched up by the demon-pos-
sessed girl herself, and we see a segment of
the film from her perspective. While innova-
tive, and more chilling than any other partof
the movie, the demon taking the camera ulti-
mately sums up the way you'll feel once the
final credits roll, and you leave the theater.
It's like they had a really good idea for a
movie no one had ever seen before, but half-
way through some demon possessed them to
let their desire for spooks and ominous fore-


TV REVIEW
TLC takes the'im' out of'nom'

By LINDSAY HURD that she was separated from her
Daily Arts Writer children after a nasty divorce. Eat-
ing sugar hasn't just inhibited her
Everyone has a food they love from going out in public and meet-
to eat above all others, but on ing people, but also from facing her
"Freaky Eat- random and seemingly unrelated
ers", TLC's latest * fear of water.
awful attempt In order to fix both Christina's
at food-related Freaky and Victor's problems, a so-called
programming, E r nutritionist and psychologist are
the subjects are called in to take them both through
obsessed with Sundays at an intense week of therapy. First,
eating very spe- 10 p.m. the therapists put them through
cific types of food TLC tacky "shock therapy." For Victor
to an unhealthy this involves a semi-truck full of
and unbelievable extent. empty burger containers, and for
By diving deep into the lives of Christina this entails seeing her
food addicts, TLC tries to show the name written on a headstone sur-
pain and fear these people face. The rounded by bags of sugar in a real
show not only explores why they cemetery. These overly dramatic
are addicted to one particular type "shocks" are clearly TLC's attempt
of food, but also tries to help the at trying to make entertaining TV
and mightdo more harmthan good.
After they are "shocked" into
1** , realizing their issues, Victor and
Television that's Christina are forced to eat other
foods. Incredibly, once they taste
a sother foods, they instantly love
them. It's literally unbelievable.
This sudden transformation makes
addicts break free from their addic- it seem like the over eaters of
tions. "Freaky Eaters" weren't actually
First, there's Victor, who can't addicted at all.
stop eating cheeseburgers. On aver- The show tries to connect the
age, he eats about four burgers a addicts' problems to their foods
day, which makes for around 1,500 a of choice while it turns away from
year. He claims that he does not like acknowledging or trying to discov-
any other type of food, and claims er the origins of those obsessions.
his body physically rejects any- It seems completely infeasible that
thing else. Not only is this obsession introducing new foods could get to
affecting his health, but Victor's eat- the root of the problem.
ing habits are ruining his marriage. Instead of being concerned for
His wife is concerned for him but the over eaters, TLC has presented
has no clue how many burgers he is them as implausible. Real life does
actually consuming in just one week. notgo from one extreme to another,
Then there's Christina, whose and change takes a lot more work
obsession with sugar has led her than being "shocked" into transfor-
to cut out all non-sugary foods for mations. The only thing "Freaky"
20 years. She believes her obses- is that TLC thinks anyone could
sion with sugar is tied to the fact enjoy this show.

All these could be yours if the priceis right.

The "Thriller" dance: You're doing it too well.

I I

< "'

MICHIGAN LAW LEGAL SCHOLARS
DISCUSS HOT TOPICS:
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
CITIZENS UNITED CASE
(CORlORATE POLITICAL Sl'ENDING1)
THE CHICAGO GUN CASE
JUSTICE STEVENS AND JUSTICE KAGAN
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LAW SCHOOL
HUTCHINS HALL, ROOM 120
MONDAY, SUPTEMBER 20
4' 5:30 P.M,
REFRESHMENTS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING
SPONSORED BY U-M OFFICE OF THE PROVOST

on-the (b rng you'll be going places wite 0 career at . Plus you'l enjoy
Ig benefit-s, tuition reimbursement, and have the chance to make a real
, the totue.ft rinterests lie in engineering. finance0, mainufacturing,
m0rk1ting and sales, human resources or information technology, we have an
opp rtuniity to y)u toyjoin GE in creating a better world for generations to come.
imagination at work.re

0