Friday, October 21, 2011 - 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Beyond sunny 'Days'
Real Estate's latest
release is richer
than summer
By GEOFF MARINO
For the Daily
It's easy to write off Real
Estate as simply another mani-
festation of summery alterna-
tive rock, but
after giving *
the band's new
album, Days, Real Estate
more time
to sink in, it Days
becomes clear
this is a super- Domino
ficial reading of
the New Jersey-based rockers.
Sure, the album's sonic land-
scape is orchestrated with the
hazy bliss of summer in mind
- reverb and overlapping guitar
lines weave expansive collages
that seem born from summer
daydreams. These guys clearly
like to jam. Yet, even though
Days focuses on a summery
theme, Real Estate doesn't nec-
essarily intend to invoke the
bliss of the warmer months.
There is plenty of unease in the
lyrics, and even the rhythmic
structure of the songs disrupts
any conception that this album
is the product of a contented,
lazy summer day.
One of the first tracks, "It's
Real," begins with a stamping
drumbeat that evolves into a less
regimented tempo with layered
guitar lines. This interaction
recalls the structure of the other
tracks on the album, specifically
"Kinder Blumen" and "Three
Blocks." The rhythms initially
store tension, then they release
it into characteristic serenity
and expansiveness. It suggests
the music is cathartic - a great
deal of angst is conjured up and
released.
That angst is especially pal-
pable on "Three Blocks," as the
drowsy depression of a Monday
morning is accentuated by the
scummy reality of the path that
lies outside the safety of a subur-
ban home. This image is followed
by lyrics that more accurately
mirror Real Estate's blissful
orchestration, as singer Martin
Courtney comes to self-realiza-
tion and liberates the tension.
However, the epiphany
doesn't respect natural barriers:
"Endless autumn, under pine
trees, in a springtime spent by
the sea." The band couldn't care
less that autumn and spring can-
not occur simultaneously. And
that's precisely the aim here -
not to care.
Nostalgic themes for a blithe
existence arise throughout
No 'Thing'like original
By AKSHAY SETH
For theDaily
The past 10 years have not
been kind to the American horror
film. In all honesty, they've been
emphatically
cruel. Slowly
and unfailingly,
each year has TheThing
introduced a
steady slew of At Quality16
formulaic plot and Rave
lines, swim-
ming in sex Universal
and bloody
pools of computer-generated UNIVERSAL
gore. If there's one thing film- "Die, roaches, die! Dagnabbit..
makers should have learned over
DOMINO
Days. The opening track, "Easy,"
reminisces harmonically about
nature and people in a time when
"We had it so easy / I would sur-
render, completely." On "Green
Aisles," a reflection on that life-
style sums up the motivation
behind Days: "All those wasted
miles / All those aimless drives
through green aisles / A careless
lifestyle / It wasn't so unwise."
The New Jersey suburban-
ites go beyond the warm memo-
ries of lighthearted summers
past, confronting the accepted
"wisdom" that time should be
spent productively. They pursue
every grown-up kid's intellec-
tual dream: to show those who
labeled their revelry a waste that
these experiences aren't regret-
table at all. The last song, "All the
Same," features swaths of word-
less jamming - one can't help but
feel the musicians' pure glee.
the co
decade
Carpen
reboot
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critical
the hyp
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But
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where,
urse of this unfortunate plot is anchored around the idea
,it's not to remake a John that the alien can kill, ingest and
ter film. Every single somehow mimic the form of its
- and there have been victims, creating the unsavory
- has been a resounding feeling of being alone and unable
failure that caved under to trust anyone around.
ne of its original. These undertones of suspi-
cion, isolation and inescapable
quarantine are what transformed
T go home Carpenter's 1982 film into a clas-
., gsic. Unlike most modern horror
already films, it relied heavily on its abil-
ity to create an air of doubt to
deliver the scares.
That's not to say the older
latest in this string of dis- movie never gave us a good look
tments is "The Thing," at the monster terrorizing the
ed to be the prequel of camp. In fact, the makeup effort
superior 1982 film of the that went into making the Thing
name (itself a remake). look as detestable as it sounds
& the major plot directives was groundbreaking at the time
h films follow a similar and is still considered one of the
detailing the events that most precise and detailed cos-
nd an Antarctic research metics jobs ever done. The 201
discovery of a downed effort doesn't stray far from the
ircraft and the unknown features that made the first film
m inhabiting it. Inevitably, great, but unfortunately it simply
zen, presumed dead extra- delivers too little too late.
rial somehow wills itself The whole idea of not knowing
nd the fun begins. who to trust is diluted by forced
this isn't the typical big- acting on the partof the two leads,
onster flick. For the most Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("Scott
he audience is never given Pilgrim vs. the World") and Joel
ce to determine what or Edgerton ("Warrior"). Winstead
the Thing is. Much of the plays anAmericanresearcher who
travels to Antarctica to study the
"remains" of the alien while Edg-
erton stars asthe dashinghelicop-
ter operator, an obvious reference
to Kurt Russell's R.J. MacReady
from the original film. Regretta-
bly, Edgerton's somewhat blank
performance just doesn't match
up to that gritty leader persona
that Russell embodied so suc-
cessfully and made his own. Win-
stead isn't much better, offering
the exact same horrified stare in
every frame she appears.
Something else we see in vir-
tually every other frame is the
blown-up CGI version of the
monster popping out of some-
one's stomach to devour some-
one else's face. It's not that the
makeup or the effects are bad,
but seeing them over and over
again takes away from the sus-
picion that rose up so organi-
cally in the first movie. You never
knew when or where or even
if the Thing would pop up, and
when it did, it jerked you to the
edge of your seat. In this film, it's
just a question of what "gotcha"
moment the director has engi-
neered next to try and scare you.
Sure it'll make you jump. But that
fear, just like the movie, never
manages to stick.
DArN PREIeW
ArtsC cndeseinCouGt
By LAURA KAYE tation, martial arts, modern dance
For the Daily and Tai Chi. By combining these
different forms of movement, the
Imagine a stage covered in company emotes an intricate style
rice paper where the dancers' where the dancers' energy ema-
movement paints the page like nates even when not moving at all.
free-flowing In its early days, Cloud Gate
lines of ink. Clmxd Gate brought historical Asian stories
Cloud Gate and legends to the stage. Tzy-wen
Dance The-. Dance Theatre Gong, a Taiwanese native who
atre of Tai- OTaiwn has seen several of Cloud Gate's
wan has the early performances, listed sev-
power to Tonight and eral examples. One performance
create this tomorrow told the story of the Chinese Han
image, turn- at 8 p.m. people crossing the Taiwan Strait
ing a tradi- to mainland Taiwan. The dancers
tional stage Power Center brought this event to life when
into a much From $18 they depicted countrymen of the
more styl- Ming and Qing dynasties.
ized, curvy, tangible experi- More recently, however, Cloud
ence. Tonight and tomorrow, the Gate has delved into abstract
company will perform its work themes. In the company's latest
"Water Stains on the Wall," work, "Water Stains on the Wall,"
which takes the static image of choreographer Lin Hwai-min
calligraphy and makes it come brings to life the idea of visual
alive through the art of dance. art as a dynamic discipline full of
In 1973, choreographer Lin movement and emotion.
Hwai-min established Cloud Gate, Lin Hwai-min combines his
which would become the premier training from American chore-
contemporary dance establish- ographer Martha Graham and
ment in Taiwan. The company other Western influences with
is composed of 24 dancers who his Eastern heritage to create a
receive a multidisciplinary range hybrid style. In"Water Stains," he
of dance training, including medi- portrays the elegance of calligra-
phy through the smooth and fluid
movements of the dancers.
As an important component
of Asian culture and art history,
calligraphy remains a critical
discipline in Taiwanese schools.
The dancers in Cloud Gate took
lessons from calligraphy masters
before they learned the actual
dance moves. This gave them a
keener understanding of what
they intended to create through
the language of movement.
Mixing dance
and calligraphy.
"A line is no longer a line,"
Gong said. "It is about the twist
and the waves of the brush. You
see the water drips and the pauses
and how the ink stains the white
fabric. But it is not just a tool for
writing, it is an art that reflects a
person's personality."
The synergy of these two art
forms creates an innovative work
in which Cloud Gate Dance The-
atre of Taiwan boldly signs its
name as it dances across the stage.
Dull story tempers storyteller's charm
"ByTtRIL t., UdTTVlT1A T .....
By EMILY BOUDREAU
Daily Arts Writer
"Let me tell you a story,"
beckons the voice of narrator
Alan Rosenberg (TV's "Harry's
Law"), read-
ing aloud from
one of Jewish
author Sha- Sholem
lom Aleichem's
many books.
And that is bughing in
precisely 't Darkne
what "Sholem
Aleichem: At the
Laughing in the Michigan
Darkness" sets
out to do - to Riverside Films
figure out how
to tell a story, or rather how a
story gets told and interpreted by
countless generations. However,
the movie is limited in its docu-
mentary form and cannot fully
plunge into Aleichem's mind.
As the movie follows
Aleichem's entire life, director
Joseph Dorman ("The Endur-
ance") is careful to include con-
text and background information
that make the plotline more com-
pelling. Indeed, some of the most
interesting pieces are descrip-
tions of life in the Jewish com-
munities in Russia before the
start of the pogroms. Eventually,
a portrait emerges of Aleichem as
a man
the Je
the dia
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life wa
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though
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the im
after h
drawn
who worked on building ticularly long movie. When the
wish community through film only deals with his work, it's
alectical language of Yid- difficult to follow and the narra-
a time when the old way of tive loses itshuman point of inter-
s falling apart. Aleichem is est. At one point, the film turns
:own for his creation of the to talk about Zionism and the
ter Tevye and the story on dismissal of Aleichem's stories in
the musical "Fiddler on Israel because they were written
of" is based. in Yiddish, not the nation's elite
ugh the film offers a look language of Hebrew. This fact is
relatively unknown bit of intriguing, but it's treated as a
and literature, it's more side note and it doesn't follow the
movie to watch for class film's general direction.
ne to see in atheater. For all The film is composed of lots
k about Alechiem's wit and of narration and interviews
h, the film itself is not fun. with prestigious professors and
scholars: These are people who
love his work and have devoted
*ih n aslot of time to studying him, but
their enthusiasm doesn't fully
ise, sunset. carry over to the audience. Ale-
chiem's work is relevant today
- he is said to have written
the first story with themes that
sists mostly of black-and- would play out in the Holocaust,
photos of people, mostly and much of his work deals with
nspecified identities. They the displacement of Jews and
e the same longbeards and the effects of the modern world
icross the screen continu- on tradition. His own story and
n a Ken Burns style. the stories he tells are remark-
le "Laughing in the Dark- able and the film is worth see-
has an extremely well- ing for that reason alone, but
it-out plot and base of it's not cinematically thrilling.
ch, perhaps it carries on a Aleichem stays stuck in the two-
much. The film explores dimensional frame of his pho-
pact of Aleichem's work tograph and does not emerge as
is death, making it seem the lovable man whose funeral
out though it's not a par- was attended by 200,000.