6A - Monday, April 2, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

FiLMR REV
Beauty in 'Mirror'
kis oniy skn-eep

The 'O.C.'grows with you

Retelling of'
White' focus
the visua
By AKSHAY SE'
Daily Arts Write
Every movie critic
bitch at filmmakers that
substance forform. Seri
wouldn't want
to look like the
sophisticated
connoisseur Mirr
challenging Mirr
the artistic
relevance of At Qt
big-budget, and R
effects-driven
films? Because Relativ
for most crit-
ics, it's not interesting1
everyday guy that en
occasional toilet joke ar
ciates the spectacle of
set-piece.
Tarsem Singh ("Im
has long been panned
"interesting" critics fo
ing artistic quality for
appeal. After all, the d
notorious for spending h
amounts of money to iro
finest details in every se
constructs. And thought
sense in claiming Singh
in any way groundbre
brilliant, it's wrong tot
films are flat. Rather,,
of Singh's films has ad
it that stems from the
to captivate audience
despite its visual brillian
ror Mirror," Singh's late
no exception.
The film is a retelli
classic "Snow White
Seven Dwarves." Julia
TITANS
From Pag e5A
when the film has qua
(Hephaestus describini
seduce a mermaid, "TI

snow
es on
TH
r
loves to
t sacrifice
rusly, who
ror
rr
uality 16
Rave

"Mark Zuckerberg said there would be two of you.

("Pretty Woman") stars as the
ity vain, old Evil Queen, while Lily
Collins ("The Blind Side") plays
being the innocent, beautiful Snow White.
tjoys the The seven robbers (dwarves) have
nd appre- a somewhat major role, but their
$1 million personalities are marginalized to
make room for Prince Charming
mortals") (Armie Hammer, "J. Edgar").
by those Singh doesn't bother mess-
r forsak- ing around with the story. The
aesthetic poison apple, mirror on the wall
irector is and pissed-off cougar queen are
nordinate all still there and exactly the
tn out the same. And this ends up beingthe
t piece he greatest flaw of "Mirror Mirror."
there's no Singh relies on the predictable
's work is story to steer audience members
aking or toward how visually striking the
think his film is. It doesn't work. The film
each one is boring and mundane, no mat-
duality to ter how glitzy it has been made
inability out to be.
members It's obvious Singh sees mov-
tce. "Mir- ies through the eyes of an artist
st film, is - every frame is drenched with
captivating detail and exudes
ng of the individual meaning. But he often
and The has difficulty when it comes time
Roberts to tie that meaning to the plot. And
to talk to her friends."), they are
barely catchable, murmured in
+f - passing or crowded out by ambi-
ent noise.
tint lines "Wrath of the Titans" is the
g how to sequel to a remake that was only
he key is memorable because of special

all that shine, despite its undeni-
able visual and artistic appeal,
ends up shoving the movie off
topic: Who cares whether stupid
Snow White ever marries pretty
boy Armie when we have all these
amazing set-pieces to drool over?
That's not to say that beauti-
ful set pieces always detract from
the quality of a film. With "Ava-
tar," James Cameron once again
revolutionized how filmgoers
envisioned special effects, but the
key is he never let all that breath-
taking CGI take center stage. He
treated it as an accessory, noth-
ing more and nothing less. As it
turned out, the special effects
breathed life into "Avatar," elevat-
ing an otherwise unoriginal plot-
line to somethingtruly magical.
Singh makes the crucial error
of thinking that film is a complete-
ly visual medium. Yeah, watching
rolling green fields and cool sword
fights can be awesome, but it will
never replace a good story. And
when all is said and done, that's
what movies are about: telling a
decent story.
effects. While the actors per-
form valiantly, and the concept
of half-gods battling for human-
ity is appealing, it's simply never
enough to cover the holes in the
shoddy script. Even in the realm
of gods, words are king.

By RADHIKA MENON
Daily Arts Writer
When FOX's "The O.C." pre-
miered in 2003, I was a mere 12
years old. Being a typical pre-
teen, I always acted older than
I was, sticking my acne-ridden,
buck-toothed face into everyone's
business. When my older brother
started watching "The O.C.," a
show entirely targeted at his age
group and not mine, I plopped
down on the couch next to him
week in and week out, much to
his annoyance. I didn't always
completely understand the cul-
ture that was depicted or the
issues raised, but I had FOMO:
Fear of Missing Out.
I recently revisited the entire
series, but I had once again
missed the boat. I was no longer
an annoying preteen trying to
fit into a much more grown-up
world;rather,Iam nowin college,
having already worked through
the irritations of adolescence.
The show still resonated.
"The O.C." falls into the cat-
egory of teen drama and is often-
times paired with its reality-TV
sister show "Laguna Beach."
But "The O.C." goes deeper into
character development, teenage
conflicts and societal issues than
"Laguna" ever managed.
"The O.C." depicts the lives of
wealthy teenagers in Southern
California. At the surface, the
show doesn't appeal to much of
middle America: We don't live
in opulence like the Cohens, nor
have many of us felt the sense
of loss and hardship that Ryan
Atwood has had to endure - and
if we have, how many of us have
been "saved" by an altruistic
attorney like Sandy Cohen? Yet,
there's something about waking
up to Sandy's bagel shmear and
Seth's comic book collection that
just feels like home.
At the core of it, "The O.C."
is a show about teenagers navi-
gating the world as best as they
can. Seth is a self-professed nerd
who doesn't fit in at school and
essentially has no friends until
his father brings Ryan home with
him one day. Ryan, a troubled kid
with agood heart from the wrong
side of town, has never felt the
warmth of a real family until the
Cohens take him in. Marissa is a

rebelli
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herself
for the
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not. A
upbrin
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lion. T
these
and tf
still re
was jo
school
"Th
relevar
homos
class
tic abu
a few
nation
lauded
seems 1
overlot
"The 0
But
Atwoo
to me
is. Ryt
advers
and tI
success

FOX

"None of us would win the 'Game of Thrones.'"

ous socialite craving atten- and determination; Finn is the
om her family through her school's quarterback (a.k.a. the
nce abuse and question- popular guy) who is scared to
elationships. Summer - a acknowledge his role in the glee
w and popular girl - finds club (a.k.a. the losers), and who
f confused by her feelings also, bizarrely, gains inspiration
school's nerd. from the image of Jesus in his
grilled cheese sandwich - but I'll
save my "Glee" ranting for anoth-
er time.
My point is that "The O.C."
a~ys relevant, spoke to a number of differ-
ent issues, thus separating itself
from the typical teen drama.
Paired with dynamic characters
ugh the backdrop of South- and interesting-but-sometimes-
lifornia may be foreign to outlandish storylines, it's a show
of us, these characters are that will be embracedby teens for
t some point during our years to come.
ging, we have all felt the That's not to say the show is
flies of first love, the fury of perfect: It indeed had its flaws,
on and the drive of rebel- from overly dramatized plots to
'he connections we feel to the forced acting of Mischa Bar-
characters are undeniable ton. But as a whole, "The O.C."
hey're why this show is gave much more of a realistic por-
levant to a generation that trayal of life as a teenager than
turneying through middle any other show of its kind.
when it first aired. I found myself rooting for Seth
e O.C." also tackled several every time he.professed his love
nt societal issues including to Summer on the coffee cart,
exuality, substance abuse, wishing I could attend a concert
conflict, infidelity, domes- at the Bait Shop and hoping that
tse and divorce - to name this year would be the one I cel-
- that have plagued our ebrate Chrismukkah, Seth Cohen
.While a show like "Glee" is style. I cried when Marissa died,
for its cultural relevancy, it I laughed whenever Ryan made
this aspect has been largely a sarcastic comment and I cried
oked when talking about again when Seth and Summer got
).C." married.
when comparing Ryan Even though only four seasons
d to Finn Hudson, it's clear were produced, I feel as though '
who the greater role model I will always have a home and
an stands tall throughout a family to go back to in Orange
ity from his family, peers County, Calif., living under the
he government, yet finds sunshine with Captain Oats and
s through hard work Princess Sparkles.

RELEASE DATE- Monday, April 2, 2012
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle
Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 4 Longtime logo 37 "Little Red 49 Disney World's
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meaning "super" pilots 43 "Who ?": New 52 Opulence
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(c)2012 Tribune Media Services,tinc.

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