The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
DOLPHIN
From Page 6A
stereotypical. It doesn't help that
the acting is at most times forced
and unexciting. Gamble plays
Sawyer with polarizing bursts
of emotion, sometimes chang-
ing pace from reserved and sul-
len to talkative within a matter
of seconds. This is supposed to
show a developing change in
Sawyer's personality but instead
feels unnatural and makes it dif-
ficult for the audience to connect.
Academy Award winner Free-
man is given too little time on the
screen to really have an impacton
the audience, and his personal-
ity ends up getting sidelined like
many of the smaller story lines in
the script.
The final result is a weird
movie that shines at various
points but eventually looks dull
and unimpressive. The real prob-
lem is that the movie tries too
hard to be entertaining, taking
away from the astonishing true
story of Winter. Rather than rely-
ing upon what really happened,
the writers and director give us
too much perspective from char-
acters that haven't really been
properly fleshed out and don't
really exist. Even though this
film is a noticeable step up from
the dreck we see every day in the
family drama genre, it underper-
forms and becomes another for-
gettable movie.
BLINK-182
From Page 6A
the band's persistent fan base, and
while it may fall short of its hope-
ful glory day reminiscence, most
Blink-182 diehards will find it a
welcome effort.
Even though the band fails to
achieve its lofty ambition of recap-
turing its once-timeless sound, the
musicians' separate skills are still
improving. Travis Barker, already
a household name among the best
drummers of the modern era, con-
tinues to vary his diverse rhythms
(see "Kaleidoscope"). DeLonge
and Hoppus still have their signa-
ture voices, though they are a tad
more developed than in Blink-182's
Friday, September 30, 2011 - 7
last release - and logically so. The
real triumph here is that the two
manage to share the main vocals
relatively equally, despite their
feud being the causal aspect of the
band's breakup. It's strange to say,
but there is potential for even more
success from this previous punk
juggernaut.
For many fans, Neighborhoods
is a response to previously unan-
swered prayers. It has enough
hooks and charm to satisfy the
loyal legion of devotees, and there's
no doubt that the trio still has some
semblance of chemistry. The fun-
damentalflawistheresimplyaren't
any standout hits ready to take the
radio waves by storm, and for that,
the listener will have to remain
hopeful for one more release.
"Gee Mr. Freeman, what's that?"