The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, January 23, 2012 - 7A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, January 23, 2012 - 7A

Alluring 'Alcatraz'

'Tails' has valiant
aim, fails to take off

FOX's suspenseful
new show deserves
attention
By PROMA KHOSLA
Daily Arts Writer
It has been two years, but net-
work television is still scattering
the pieces of the "Lost" empire into
new ventures.
FOX's "Alca- ****
traz" is the
latest of those Alcatraz
t enterprises and Pilot
Bad Robot's
most successful Mondays at 9 p.m.
and suspenseful FOX
new show since
that fateful plane crash.
The most notable similar-
ity between "Lost" and "Alcatraz"
(let's just get it out of the way now)
is composer Michael Giacchino's
score,whichevokeseven more nos-
talgia than hearing Jorge Garcia
say "Last time I was on the island
..." in total seriousness. There's no
mistaking the eerie glissandos and
tremolos punctuated by jarring
jabs on the cello, and the ever-so-
telling horn crescendo that marks
each act break.
By television standards in the
post-"Lost" world, "Alcatraz" is
an exemplary pilot. It introduces a
small but compelling cast who are
neither too enigmatic nor too open.
It's set up as a mystery, but it's not
confusing.
Now, back to the island. The
story behind "Alcatraz" is that
302 prisoners vanished from the
penitentiary in 1963 on the night
they were supposed to be relocated
before it shut down permanently.
Fifty years later, the misplaced
convicts are reappearing and run-
ning amok, and it's up to detective
Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones,
"Big Love") and intrepid scholar

"We have to go back."
Diego Soto (Garcia) to track them
down and bring them to justice ...
again.
Jones plays the most recent in
a long-overdue lineup of power-
ful female leads. She's impetu-
ous and gun-savvy and doesn't
take shit from people: When FBI
agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill,
"JurassicPark") overrules her juris-
diction in a crime scene, she leaves
with a glare and a scathing "thanks
for being such a dick about it."
It turns out Hauser knows sig-
nificantly more about what's hap-
pening than Madsen and Soto, so
the duo helps him find missing
prisoners in exchange (hopefully)
for further information about the
incident. When it's revealed that
Hauser was present on the night
of the disappearance, his single-
minded manhunt and the patience
behind it make more sense. But
when it turns out he's tracking the
prisoners in order to repopulate
his own underground version of
Alcatraz, things take a turn for the
twisted.
The first inmate to turn up is
Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce, "The
Nine") who is surprisingly unfazed
that he woke up fifty years after his
alarm clock rang and hasn't aged
a day. His overwhelming emo-

tion is vengeful rage against those
who landed him on the rock in the
first place. Sylvane wakes up in the
prison itself - much to the alarm'of
a little girl in a tour group - only
to escape, go on a killing spree and
be brought back bythe equally vin-
dictive Hauser. But where are the
other prisoners reappearing, and
how?
The plot is neat and straightfor-
ward, but undeniably engrossing:
despite Diego's quip of "is anyone
else's head exploding right now?"
there's no exploding to be done.
The twists come in appropriate
doses, the biggest being saved for
the end of the two-part pilot - if
the first 87 minutes haven't already
hooked you, the last minute might
just do the trick.
As the episodes are named for
the vanished escapees and they're
tracked one per episode, it could
easily get old if the writers planned
on introducing and resolving the
prisoners in these episode arcs. But
it looks for the moment as if the
prisoners will be sticking around
and playing a larger role in under-
standing just what happened in
1963. "Alcatraz" is off to a better
start than most new dramas, and
there's no reason for it to vanish
any time soon.

By AKSHAY SETH
Daily Arts Writer
The Tuskegee Airmen were
heroes in every sense and
meaning of the word. Through
their perse-
verance and ** .
resolution,
they showed Red Tails
the world that
patriots were At Quality16
made by vir- and Rave
tue of action,2
not color of 20th Century Fox
skin. Touting
a theme so inherent, any movie
about the daring group of pilots
would at leastbe decent - or so
you would think.
Sadly, that's not always the
case, evidenced by "Red Tails,"
the George Lucas-produced
World War IIepic geared around
the fighter pilots' story. It's not
that there's anything blatantly
idiotic in the performances,
direction or even the script.
There are your typical run-
of-the-mill character designs,
expected plot developments
and somewhat-entertaining air
fights. Nothing seems out of
place. But at the end of the day,
that's the problem - it's just all-
too-predictable.
The two leading actors, Ter-
rance Howard ("Iron Man") and
CubaGoodingJr. ("Radio"), play
commanding officer A.J. Bul-
lard and Major Stance, respec-

tively.
the en
arguin
tamus
"Break
or not
chance
head-o
that c
prove t
assign
import
bombe
Stance
lines,
lookini
cheeri:
na
c
As
adopt
archet
of exp
pilots
from r
their p
the ch
as if s
charac
expect
of "Re
pilots
lives f

Bullard spends nearly their nation. Unfortunately,
tire length of the movie we never get the sense that the
g with Col. William Mor- director (Anthony Hemingway,
(Bryan Cranston, TV's TV's "Fringe") understood this
ing Bad") about whether fact. The fledgling warriors,
his airmen deserve a despite all of their sacrifice,
to fight German pilots aren't drawn like they deserve
n. When they finally get the limelight.
hance, the pilots easily In addition to being played
their mettle before being by inexperienced actors, the
ed to the much more remaining characters are fun-
ant task of defending damentally one-dimensional
r aircrafts. Meanwhile, - undistinguished and unre-
sits sternly on the side- markable in spite of their
doing little more than bravery. If anything, their nick-
g highly respectable and names (Easy, Joker, Ray Gun,
ng on his men. Smoker, etc.) are an indication
of just how childish these char-
acters have been made out to
Diluted be.
Of course, it doesn't help that
rrative runs the script is laced with corny
one-liners in the hopes of mak-
)ut of fuel. ing the pilots seem more like-
able. Even the scarred German
fighter pilot who randomly
appears in every battle scene
imagined, both leads is a ploy to make the pilots
the "wise advisor" look virtuous. In reality, it
ype, doling out tidbits incites nothing more than a few
'erience to the younger chuckles directed at the infea-
while observing quietly sibility of the situation.
aised perches. They play Its intentions are all in the
arts charismatically, but right places, but the execution
arm feels out of place, simply isn't there. That lack of
tuck behind the wrong finesse reverberates in every
ters. To some degree, it's aspect of the movie, and it's a
:ed, given the real stars shame because the airmen, for
d Tails" are the young all their valiance and bravery,
who daringly stake their deserve a proper tribute - one
or a chance to defend that isn't present in "Red Tails."

NAOMi NYE

NAOMI NYE
From Page 6A
At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, she

will be interviewed live by T
Hetzel for WCBN's "Living
Writers" program at the Work
Gallery on State Street. This
Thursday, Nye will deliver a

lecture titled "There is no long
distance now: How reading and
writing changes everything" at
the Helmet Stern Auditorium
at UMMA.

VOTE
BNLvGOuttndn

BTN LiveBIG Outstanding
Service Scholarship
NSP RATIONAL
STORIES

BTN LiveBIG1Finalss
Sepideh Ashrafzadeh
As a member of Circle K's Elderly committee, I played bingo
alongside nursing home residents, taught them computer
skills, helped with their craft fair, and created a project where
our members made songbooks for Alzheimer's patients. Also,
my committee and I are arranging monthly musical
concerts at an Ypsilanti Residence Home, which we hope
will encourage youth and young odulta to engage more
with senior citizens. I live big through service,
Sarah Lahidji
Our organization includes hundreds at students that
volunteer their time in a variety of ways: from fundraising in
local neighborhoods to support pediatric programs at Mott
and Beaumont hospitals to coordinating monthly events for
children and their families affected by a disability.
Callan Luch
From cooking a dinner for families at the Ronald McDonald
House, to a Yost Arena clean up after a hockey game, a
helpful hand at Ann Arbors Reuse-Recycle Center, or time
shared with residents from the Sunrise Senior Living
Community- my mission Is to giving back to my community.
Haley Volk
I have logged over 1000 hours as a volunteer EMT over the
past 5 years.That's TEN x TEN X TEN! I was the first cadet for my
home town volunteer first aid squad during high school and
I haven't stopped volunteering since then. Whether I am
home for Thanksgiving or spring break, I can be found riding
in the ambulance. My training as an EMT allowed me to
volunteer in Haiti last year during the earthquake relief efforts
as well,
Julia Wang
I am a volunteer on SafeHouse Center's Domestic Violence
Response Team. During each twenty-four hour shift, I work
with Washtenaw County police departments to respond to
incidents of domestic violence. I visit survivors in homes,
hospitals, and jails, listen to their stories, and discuss the
appropriate next steps.

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