6A - Monday, March 12, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com a

6A - Monday, March 12, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom *

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FINE ARTSNOH
'Hunger Games' is
too weak to satisfy
Katniss doesn't paid and got out - but I soon and the entire country!"
learned that nowhere was safe. I only saw three remarkable
leap off the page as My friends, people who I thought things happen for Katniss. First,
I knew, began to preach about the she wins the hunger games. This
empowered heroine pros and cons of Kale (a Katniss/ is the part of the first book I
Gale relationship) and what Peeta enjoyed reading. Then, Katniss
By ANNA SADOVSKAYA would have done had another takes down a couple planes that
Daily Fine Arts Editor tribute been chosen. were bombing wounded peo-
Whether they liked the stories ple in a hospital with her bow,
I'll be the first to admit I love or not, they were engrossed in which is awesome. Finally, Kat-
fantasy, the imagined story world the delicacy with which Collins niss's shining last moment hap-
where things happen, people apparently painted the imaginary pens when she kills President
travel across galaxies and risk world where the characters lived. Coin and stops being a useless
their lives for the greater good. Would the books really live up heap of morphling and uncer-
And when people read books, to the hype? Could they really tainty ... only to return to that
they read to escape, to flee into be so fascinating and relatable? heap afterwards.
the recesses of a beloved tale or Would they be the next "Harry Out of three books, there were
forgotten adventure. No one reads Potter" series? OK, so they three shining moments for Kat-
to be reminded of inconsistency, couldn't be "Harry Potter," but I niss. Compared to the bravery of
fleeting time and unconquerable was willingto give them a chance. other characters, this is incred-
difficulty - not without a cathar- So I began with "The Hunger ibly unfulfilling. I think the most
tic resolution. Games," and then, somewhere disappointing part of "The Hun-
Imagine an unremarkable near the end, something went ger Games" trilogy is that you
character. Someone whose life is wrong. really want to like Katniss. She's a
mundane, even tedious. She goes The story transformed from teenager, and while she's strongat
to school. She does homework, moderately thrilling to entirely times, she's also angsty and sassy
Shelooks for the meaningoflife in insignificant. - she could be you. If you were,
cereal dregs. She is you, and read- I forced myself to forge on, you know, a poor girl from a for-
ing about her uninspired routine partly because I felt like I must lorn district that hunted squirrels
is incredibly unfulfilling. Where be missing something: Every- her entire life.
is the journey? The star-crossed one who has read the series feels But none of that matters the
romance? The feeling of some-' strongly about it, one way or the moment Katniss shuts down
thing greater? other. I must have misunderstood after the second hunger games,
After months of unending the first book. after everyone begins protect-
trailers and promotional vid- But as I finished the second and ing her and fawning over her.
eos, I caved and sat down to the third novels, it finally dawned She becomes uninterested in the
read the increasingly popular on me why I was so apathetic rebellion, halfheartedly agrees
"The Hunger Games" trilogy to the series: The main charac- to be the Mockingjay, and after
by Suzanne Collins. And that's ter, the window through which a while, her unending stream of
when I was reminded how thin readers creep into the wonder- self-loathing makes me hate her,
the line between wrong and right fully foreign worlds of books, was too.
is when it comes to fantastic fic- unimportant to the rest of the Without a sturdy main char-
tion. And to all those who have story. Katniss Everdeen was not acter, the fantasy genre falls
not been subjected to "The Hun- the most heroic, the most note- apart. Adventures and romance
ger Games": There are spoilers in worthy, the most beautiful or and bravery of other charac-
this article. exceptional character. She was ters can only hold your interest
I remember when I bought average. She was mundane. for so long until you feel your-
the books: The girl at the register I can already hear the hoard of self emerging from their world
grunted at the site of the three Hunger Game fanatics struggling and back to yours. It is not a
glossy novels and I asked if she to contain their bows from fir- love story. It is not a story of a
had read the trilogy. She began ing arrows my way: "She's a very girl that finds herself through
to dissect the motives of each strong person for a 17-year-old. hardship. It is not the story of a
character while the line of tired, She won the Hunger Games! She's resolved soldier. Katniss can't
exasperated book buyers grew the Mockingjay! She killed the make up her mind, but thanks to
ever-longer behind me. I quickly President! She saved Peeta's life her, mine's made up.

Muddled, shallow gameplay
plagues horrid 'Deep Black'

By JULIAN AIDAN
For the Daily
While console gamers were
graced in the first week of March
with such titles as "Mass Effect
3," "I Am Alive"
and "Street
Fighter X Tek-
ken," their PC Deep Black
counterparts Reloaded
were greeted
with a handful PC
of uninventive
indie games Biart
and the pain-
ful-to-play arcade-style shooter
"Deep Black: Reloaded."
The game takes place in a
future straightout ofthe mind ofa
hyper-conservative fearmonger.
After the United Nations splits
into two entities, several large
corporations struggle to acquire
some new and extremely danger-
ous weapon in a generic power
struggle for world dominance.
The plot is conveyed through
cutscenes vaguely reminiscent
of comic-books, a la "Kick-Ass,"
which in turn are punctuated by
subpar writing. Every unfunny
and overused character arche-
type is present, from the backwa-
ter drill sergeant to the foreign
concierge, imparted using awful
voice acting and equally abomi-
nable accents. The soundtrack
sounds like it was ripped straight
out of one of the earlier James
Bond films, which adds some
value to an atmosphere that can
otherwise be described as com-
plete and utter shit.
Arcade-style "cover shoot-
ers" - for those unfamiliar with
buzzwords used in video-game
advertising, "cover shooter"
roughly translates to "games for
people who don't actually enjoy
doing anything," - such as "Time
Crisis" occasionally port well to
other platforms. "Deep Black:
Reloaded" does not. The unreli-

"We got no troubles / Life is the bubbles/ Under the sea."

able h
vorabl
-weapo
the c
dying
the st
enemi
makes
best b
ing. W
to-dis:
instan
enemi
the m
cover,
than f

it-detection system, unfa- realizes that, even underwater,
e camera and inconsistent the cover system hates them and
n damage, coupled with the camera is even less coopera-
haracter's propensity for tive, the novelty wears off and
as soon as any number of the same white-knuckle rage that
ereotypical assortment of will probably lead to dozens of
es gives him the right look, broken mice starts to set back in.
for an experience that can "Deep Black: Reloaded" isn't
e described as rage-induc- without some merits. For exam-
Shether it's the impossible- ple, the game looks good, if a
able proximity mines that little dated. There are some cool
tly kill you or the deadeye melee and stealth executions that
es that tear you to pieces almost start to make up for the
inute you're not taking fact that playing feels more like
combat is more frustrating an exercise in masochism and
un in every instance. patience than an enjoyable romp
through a world characterized by
high-tension espionage action. It
ot worth the promises at least eight hours of
gameplay, approximately six of
prc tawhich will be spent at the "game
rover" screen.
The real cost of the game
comes notfrom the initial invest-
of the main selling points ment of purchasing it, but from
underwater combat sys- the cost of replacing the key-
While the concept of firing board and mouse you'll throw
water is baffling, it's made out of the window in frustra-
vhat feasible because the tion, as well as the large amount
takes place in the future. of self-medication necessary to
ntire underwater jetpack- cope with the irrecoverable loss
stealth combat-slash-infil- of money on a game with so few
n feels exactly how itsounds positive points. "Deep Black:
micky and only fun for the Reloaded" fails to deliver on just
ve minutes. Once the player about every front.

N

One
is the
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The e
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- gim
first fi'

JOHN CARTER

FOLLOW DAILY ARTS ON TWITTER
@michdailyarts

JOHN CARTER
From Page 5A
somethingto marvel at. The pro-

duction design is original, and
some of the action scenes are
thrilling. Plus, there are plenty
of comical moments, which were
warmly received bythe audience
- there should have been more

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RELEASE DATE- Monday, March 12, 2012
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS
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parties
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15 Old El Paso
product
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21 Smai"
allegations
23 Climbs
27Commontakeout
cuisine
28 Seats at the bar
29 Hot-platter stand
30 State floweroft
Indiana
31 Argentina
neighbor
32Sunbather'sgoal
35 invisible or
indelible fluids
36Practiced, asa
trade
37 Video game
giant
38 Show with
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40 Patami
peddlers
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57 Airline that serves
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58 Patty Hearst's
nom de guerre
59 Pigsty, so to
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60 Hardwoodtrees
61 Enjoyed Aspen

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10 Mysterious ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
11 Founderoft
50-Across W I T C H H A Z E LE I S M S
12 Reunion A R S P O E T I C A 0 K I E
attendeesfor R E G U L A R G U YE T I N A
short TNT DDE LEARNS
13 Witherspoon of Y
"Walkbthe Line"
18Walksonittlecat I N S T R I D E S S A
feet D E LE TE F RY H O OK
22 In real time A X O L O T L E L N O R T E
23 Fancy-shmancy T IO S 0 O H A O R T A S
24 British ESS AFTERYOU
submachine guns S T E A F T R A U S E O N
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source for A N N E NBA A L L S T A R
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27 Shed osome tears aeardedtsr~aat.can 0312/12


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of them.
Unfortunately, these moments
and whatever suspense "John
Carter" could have had are
smothered by a clumsy story and
poor pacing.
SILENT HOUSE
From Page 5A
directors Chris Kentis and
Laura Lau ("Open Water").
The unsteady camera move-
ment and low lighting will give
you chills lasting the major-
ity of the movie. One scene, in
which the flash of a Polaroid
camera is used as an intermit-
tent light source, stands out as
being particularly powerful.
The second highlight of
the film is Elizabeth Olsen,
an up-and-comer who burst
onto Hollywood's radar with
her truly impressive perfor-
mance in "Martha Marcy May
Marlene." The camera follows
Olsen for the span of the film,
providing plenty of close-ups
of her pretty, yet believably
horror-stricken face. Her act-
ing is the most convincing of
the film, giving it a realistic
element that lends to the over-
all unsettling atmosphere.
Unfortunately, even Olsen's
strong performance can't save
"Silent House." The movie
consists of little dialogue,
mostly issued at the beginning
and end. There's also little plot
- in fact, the entire middle
chunk shows Sarah running
around the house, scared out of
her mind. But even with sparse
plot and dialogue, a well-done
horror film can strike fear
in the hearts of its audience.
"Silent House" would have
done just that if the nonsense
ending didn't ruin the whole
viewing experience.
It's a shame that the last
ten minutes of a film can
destroy your entire percep-
tion of it, but the fact remains
that "Silent House" could have
been saved if Kentis and Lau
stuck a little closer to the story
and ending of their source
material. Like most remakes of
foreign films, or any films for
that matter, this one corrupts
the magic and brilliance found
in the original.

.i_Trib


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