I 6 - Tuesday, November 8, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Older isn't wiser in film Nostalgia is inextri- cable from culture. The remembering of art is almost as important as the art itself. And among all this remember- ing is the inevitable feeling that the art from eras past is better than today's art. This issue PHIL was distilled CONKLIN in Woody Allen's delightful "Midnight in Paris," that seemingly ubiquitous sum- mer release: When you realize the people from the eras you romanticize were nostalgic for earlier eras, your nostalgia seems fatuous. With all the detritus coming out of Hollywood now, it's easy to say movies are worse than they've ever been. But this posi- tion loses credibility considering that, throughout the history of movies, critics have thought the films coming out during their time have also been the worst ever. To take one example, in 1980 the famed and contentious critic Pauline Kael wrote an essay entitled, "Why Are Mov- ies So Bad? Or, The Numbers." This was the year that produced such classics as "Raging Bull," "The Shining" and "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back." The simple answer is that Hollywood has always, and almost exclusively, made bad movies. With rare exceptions, Hollywood has always trafficked in the banal, the derivative and the conventional. For years, the film industry was saturated with formulaic Westerns with the same plots and archetypal characters. From this quagmire of filmic chaff, only the cream of the Western crop has survived and been canonized, which, skews our perception of the actual quality of the majority of these f gia for comed vent an follow of then The sequels of thec movies commc made s Hollyw a brilli ring W Loy, w, gettabl sequels seen as cal, asi increas they ar it sa not Muc ics (my recent: wood.' and "T came o period. has be years: remake Hawks remade Affair' Remen Seven" famed. Samur: sawa az (1964). Kurosa (1961).' remake years, t increas remake tion in So t lms and fuels our nostal- ity in Hollywood movies, the them. The '30s screwball sequels and the remakes, are ies of which I am a fer- part of the definition of the film ad unashamed fan largely industry. The reason the past the same formula - most always seems richer in artistic were mediocre. quality is that only the great recent abundance of movies are remembered. The s is often cited as a sign trick is to find those great mov- decreasing quality of ies in our own time. Just as . However, while more Pauline Kael overlooked "The on now, sequels have been Shining" and "Raging Bull," we ince the early days of may be overlooking some great vood. "The Thin Man," films in getting bogged down ant film from 1934 star- with nostalgia. illiam Powell and Myrna That's because there are great as followed by five for- movies being made now, movies e and increasingly tepid that can measure up to the can- s. Film franchises are onized classics, and will become unimaginative and cyni- canonized classics. Among the ign of the film industry's miasma of mainstream movies sing avariciousness, but are brilliant films like "A Serious 'e not a recent invention. Man" by the Coen Brothers or Pixar's "Wall-E" - movies that will be remembered alongside s wrong to the greats. Also under-appreci- ated are Mike Leigh's "Another Sall nmovies Year," Sofia Coppola's "Some- Y lwhere" and Noah Baumbach's ada s suck "Greenberg," three beautiful W yfilms that didn't get their due attention but are just about as good as movies get, in any era. h has been made by crit- This is not to mention films 'self included) about the being made overseas - in Korea, rash of remakes in Holly- the wealth of cinematic creativ- "Footloose," "The Thing" ity is flourishing unlike any- he Three Musketeers" where else. Directors like Park ut in the same two-week Chan-wook ("Thirst"), Bong . But again, Hollywood Joon-ho ("The Host") and Kim en remaking movies for Ki-Duk ("3 Iron") are making "Scarface" (1983) is a films of unsurpassable original- e of a 1932 film by Howard ity and vigor. The imagination , director Leo McCarey of these filmmakers pushes film e his own 1939 film "Love to its limits, and their movies 'in 1957 as "An Affair to represent the present standard nber," "The Magnificent in the world of cinema. (1960) is a remake of the These are the films that will Japanese film "Seven be regarded as classics in the ai" (1954) by Akira Kuro- future. Romanticizing a past nd "A Fistful of Dollars" era, or disparaging the current is a remake of another one, distracts from the great art. :wa film, "Yojimbo" of the present. If we appreciate Though the number of the great films of our own time, es has increased in recent we won't have to be nostalgic for his is mostly due to the them in the future. q I a Atlas sounding deep on WI in co Scien Th genre Cox - behin Soun: singe hunte given newer Paral many ment, tive o migh betw: Th struc allax Thei and t Cox's comp of th lenti Blind But C In] Cox] arallax' expands thing makes sense when you look ing bells and shiny rings, but it's at it from another way." Consider, clear the former is elevated to Cox's prior work then, that the term "parallax" a level far above these tangible refers to the difference in visual comparisons. with aplomb perception depending on one's Not all tracks on Parallax have viewpoint. Continuing the idea such an abstract sound. Tra- By KATIE STEEN introduced in Logos into Paral- ditional acoustic instruments Daily Arts Writer lax seems to be a comment on the like guitar and piano guide subjective nature of practically "Terra Incognita" and "Mona hat does Atlas Sound have anything in life: Take what you Lisa" (which happens to feature :mmon with "Star Trek?" think you know, question it and the magic fingers of MGMT's ce fiction, apparently. you'll have Parallax. Andrew VanWyngarden). is is the Opening track "The Shakes" In the closing track, "Light- Bradford sounds simple and appealing, an works," Bradford pulls out his - the man energetic rhythm of drums and trusty harmonica, telling the ad Atlas Atlas Sound guitars churning throughout New York Times he included it d and the the song. The lyrics reminisce at the last minute because the r of Deer- Parallax on friendships and fame, but the instrument happened to be in r - has track's cheery tone turns out to his pocket. The song describes to his 4AD be a musical illustration of par- a mysterious fate-like light that st album. allax. The friends are material guides human actions, much like lax, his third LP, delivers objects, and the song essential- Cox's spur-of-the-moment deci- 'of the same bizarre instru- ly delivers an age-old lecture: sion to use his coincidentally in- als and sound effects evoca- Money can't buy you happi- tune harmonica. f noises one would imagine ness. "The Shakes" ends with "Lightworks" has a slowed- t be created somewhere a smooth and dreamy blend of down rockabilly feel to it, which een Jupiter and Saturn. saxophone, drums, guitars and offers some sort of an explana- at said, there's a more Cox's falsetto croon, mirroring tion for the slicked-back hairdo lured, concrete feel to Par- the void of material pleasures and vintage microphone Cox than in his past albums. into which the wealthy may fall, has on the cover of Parallax. The melodies are well defined giving it a particularly "science picture;is fittingfor the ,album he lyrics are relatable. And fiction" sound. - an image reminiscent of the singing involves more Contrast this with "Modern simpler times of the '50s, but 'rehensible words and less Aquatic Nightsongs," a bubbly, cast in an ambiguous light that e pleasant mumble preva- fantastical little ditty ruminat- shows how not everything is as in his first album, Let the ing on love. Cox makes even it appears. Such is the complex Lead Those Who Can See nausea sound beautiful as he mind of Bradford Cox, remind- I 'annot Feel. wonders if the risks and physical ing all - whether when judging his sophomore effort, Logos, discomforts of a relationship are his music or the world around - lyrically reasoned, "Every-. worth it. He relates love to ring- to keep an open mind. ing wealth of material to e, rather than any declina- Hollywood's principles. he current lack of qual- Conklin was taken in an old car to '20s Paris. To return him to the present, e-mail conklin@umich.edu Visit michigandaily.com/blogs/ The Filter for updates on new film and album releases and reviews of local shows. i RELEASE DATE- Tuesday, November 8, 2011 Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 4Show 38 Warriors in 49 Tennis match 1 Argentine dance astonishment Warcraftgames parts 6 Move a little 5 National anthem 39 The PB ina 50 Oxen's burden 10 Peak in Nunavut PB&J, waybe 51 Enslaved measurement: 6 tepress 41 Colmb rn nnesofopera Abbr. 7 It waits for no portrayer 52 Earth sci. 14 Abraham nearly man, purportedly 42 Fixed price 53 Business sacrificed him 8 Dictator Amin 44 Kidnapper's envelope abbr. 15 Right-hand 9 Stepped in for demand 54 Turner on stage person 10 Sun Bowl site 45 Long-tailed 55 Apple product 6Curtai wapterial Praise tripal wall 56 Magnifique"': 17Cocktail party 12 Beigelike shade dliwbers Porterntune mouthful 13 Prez's next-in-line 46Approximately 59 Anger 19 Unsullied 18 Brussels-based 20 Woo with a tune defensegp. ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:, 21 Fillusa woving 22 Fnewonks van reacons D OV E J A V A L E A F 23 Swallowed 24 Title oftthefirst A L E S B E R E T O N C E 24 New Meco art Fa rge egg H I T P A Y D I R T A N 0 D cowmnityn owner L O 251950s kiddie 25Copenhagen showhosted by native P E R T H E S P H I N X 2MissFrances " 26Anatomical C R 0 W T W 0 T R E 32 ewldered canals R OW S S ET S iS S UE 33 Dundee demurrals 27 "ByeBye Bye" o L E R O A D H o G P S T 3 nHo2ror8ilm 8boy badhCd O R G1 K K LAM A franchse 28 Preixwith 36"SoSick"R&B thermal 0 O F F G U S A R C S artist 29Grindtogether,has J A C K F R O S T A S K 37Collect one'steeth A T LAS E S A D O P T S compulsivyly 30 Moio B E A R R A Y C H A R L E S 39It way bgn wrth 31 Califoria BAIT EGADS DUNN "Knock knock" hoopster 40 Bird that can hold 35Dampens A TM S S E W S AOG T S ts coffee? 37 Run into trouble xwordeditor@aol.com 11/0711 41 ManyChristmas 1 2 3 4 a a 7 10 11 12 13 42 Steakhouse order 'a 'a 43Theyfrequently shoot par or 1 1 19 better 47 Word often 20 21 22 sighe 80ig and 23 24 49 Whacks on the bottorn 2s 2f 27 28 29 30 31 52 On cloud nine 32 33 34 35 57 Yale Bowl rooters 1 3 ***CENTRAL CAMPUS 6&7 BED- ROOM HOUSES. 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