The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, October 22, 2012 - 5A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, October 22, 2012 - 5A FILM REVIEW Skip this 'Activity' Latest 'Paranormal' installment falls prey to sequel slide By Carly Keyes For the Daily As far as overall quality and critical acclaim go, a sequel rarely equals - and even more infre- quently exceeds - the original: . The Academy Award-winning Paranormal "Rocky" was AC iv* 4 T.K.O.'ed by the L*' third round, At Quality 16 viewers were and Rave hesitant to take second and Paramount third bites out of "Jaws" and the most recent triplet of "Star Wars" episodes didn't have the same amount of force as the original trifecta. So if Stallone, Spielberg and Lucas can occasion- ally miss the mark, it doesn't take a psychic to foresee the inevitable demise of the "Paranormal Activ- ity" series. In the fourth link of this chump chain, the first brief sequence depicts a paranormally empow- ered woman killing her sister, abducting her nephew and then mysteriously disappearing. Five years later, when a suburban family of four takes in the odd boy across the street, Robbie (newcomer Bradley Allen), while his mother (Katie Featherston, "Paranormal Activity 3") is in the hospital, weird things start to happen. Worried about her little broth- er spending so much time with the freaky tyke, Alex (Kathryn Newton, "Bad Teacher") and her boyfriend Ben (Matt Shively, TV's "True Jackson, VP") are deter- mined to reveal the truth about Robbie. The characters, from screen- All glory to the hypnotoad! writers Christopher Landon inducing moments. A cat abruptly ("Paranormal Activity 3") and jumping from off camera and a Chad Feehan ("Beneath the chair magically pushing itself Dark"), are as flat as a pancake out from under the table doesn't - underdeveloped and sorely exactly elicit the shrill screams lacking redeeming qualities. and face-clenching moments that The one exception is Ben, whose justify a ticket purchase. witty remarks, relentless charm This set of highly homogenous and genuinely lovable personal- horror stories is what an econo- ity are the saving girace. Without mist would deem a series with his character, it's basically like diminishing marginal returns. watching a robotic, brainless The first film is somewhat novel, family straight out of "The Sims" definitely worth watching, and computer game. was well enough received to merit The "cinematography" - if you the green light for a sequel. And can even call it that - by Doug while "Paranormal Activity 2" is Emmett ("The Giant Mechanical entertaining, it doesn't compete Man") is even more contrived and with the quality of the original. nauseating than earlier "Activity" As for the third flick in the series, installments. It worked in the first it's the equivalent of beating a movie, prolonging the precedent dead horse. "Paranormal Activity set by the surprisingly success- 4" won't exactly be running the ful "The Blair Witch Project," but Kentucky Derby anytime soon. now the viewing experience is And, with a slew of scary mov- like the minute of disorientation ies coming out in the weeks lead- after a roller coaster ride, except ing up to Halloween, go pick 87 times longer. something else - anything else Perhaps the mostevident disap- - to get your fill of frights and pointment derives from the poor delights. Perhaps some truly directing (Henry Joost and Ariel paranormal ghost can be a Good Schulman, "Paranormal Activity Samaritan and let the viewing 3") and ineffective editing (Greg- world know if there's a plan in ory Plotkin, "Paranormal Activ- the works for a fifth "Paranormal ity 3"). Until the last five minutes, Activity" edition, so the vapid, there is an unforgivable lack of video-camera creation can be substantial suspense and fear- stopped before it happens. Telev mo 11right, folks: It's time to talk about your mommy issues. Or, more specifi- cally, your issues with televi- sion's wives and mothers. Few fic- tional moth- ers come under fire as often as "Breaking Bad"'s Skyler White. The "Skyler is a KAYLA bitch" argu- UPADHYAYA ment has been so prev- alent since the series' inception that it feels tedious at this point. But unfortunately, it's a conver- sation we need to keep having. Despite Anna Gunn's own com- ments on the sexism behind the vehement - sometimes even violent - aversion to Skyler, and despite the countless manifestos scattered across the internet that attempt to vindicate her, the Skyler haters remain. Just last week, I told a friend of mine that Skyler was one of my favorite characters on the show. "You like Skyler?" he asked. Here we go again. When I pressed him for an explanation as to why he can't stand Skyler, he gave the usual: "She's annoy- ing." Let's see. When Skyler first finds out her husband has ingrained himself in the danger- ous world of the crystal meth market - and has essentially put their entire family at risk in doing so - she reacts like any rational human would. She's furious. She wants Walt out of her life. When he doesn't allow that to happen, she cheats on him - something folks seem quicker to criticize than they do Walt's multiple homicides. Skyler isn't a bitch. She's a prisoner. She's avictim of Walt's self-absorbed, oppressive behavior. She's a mother who so desperately wants to protect her children that she is willing to put herself at risk, is willing to compromise with the man who threatens their safety in the first place. Skyler's moral com- pass is far from true north, but every action she takes is for her family's survival, while Walt's actions are for the sake of his own ego and relentless need for control. Just look at how many get-out-of-meth-free cards he has turned down. The only reason people hate Skyler is the result of this per- verse attachment to the show's antihero. Skyler gets in the way of Walt, our chemistry-teacher- turned-meth-maker, who has transformed into nothing short of a sociopathic nightmare. It's a FPolicy Talks disease to Ton' In 2 nos" w York P ers hox of thea Tony's gestion women ing too Sure but eve activiti to the v by her are we judgem and wi some c men th S Sk Vict "Reven nation, "Worst In h Conrad viewer prime: critical and mo televisi kind of for her great d ler, she family' Som horribl to beat eleine this ye back to Victori queen, in her Conrad gross o her a m And mom e Betty D comme derisio housew of muc Men" f And despise season themu Roger I official Franci TV his Noti Friedm discou discuss is one o and fat that can be traced back Don has a wonderfully complex y Soprano. relationship with his daughter 002, when "The Sopra- Sally that is a million times less as in decline, the New volatile than Betty's relationship ost ran a poll asking view- with her, but Don isn't only self- w to fix the series. Many destructive - he frequently con- answers centered around trols or dismisses his family. wife Carmela, and sug- We're much faster to label a s included "kill all the character a bad mother than we " and "Carmela's whin- are a bad father. So in the case much - whack her!" of Don Draper, we put him on a Carmela is no saint, pedestal ... because he's so damn n her most nefarious cool and sexy and played by the es don't quite compare impossibly perfect Jon Hamm violence perpetuated for Christ's sake! It's an idoliza- mobster husband. Why tion that's slightly less prob- so much quicker to pass lematic than defending Walter sent on these mothers White, but it's a double standard ves over the corrupt - in all the same. ases, downright evil - It'd be easy to blame the ey're married to? "Mad Men" writers for this inconsistency. They've somehow made the sexist Roger Sterling, 'top hating the philandering, emotionally g abusive Don,andPete Campbell Eyler W hite. - a snide and slimy rapist - endearing, while Betty just gets increasingly more childish and malevolent. oria Grayson of ABC's But this is where "Mad Men" ge" too suffers condem- 's writers shine: writing char- appearing on countless acters that are imperfect. The Mothers on TV" lists. series is backed by a distinctly er case, her evil husband female-dominant writers' I is widely disliked by room, so it's no surprise that the s, but Victoria is stilla show's women are so complex. example of how hyper- They have thankfully made viewers are of women - Betty so much more than an thers in particular - on oppressed 1960s housewife. She on. She certainly isn't the suffers from undeniable depres- mother to bake cookies sion that's not simply the result children and wish them a of her domineering husband or ay at school, but like Sky- her own unstable relationship is fully committed to her with her mother, but is deeply s preservation. ingrained as a part of her. etimes that means doing So, no, the way Betty is writ- e things, like hiring thugs ten is not enough to justify the up her son, but as Mad- huge discrepancies between her Stowe put it at Paleyfest and Don's likability. Both char- ar, "It all sort of twists acters are written with flaws. some sense of family." But viewers are simply quicker a might be a certified ice to sympathize with flawed male but she's also trapped characters (They're so misun- marriage, subjected to derstood!) than with flawed I's manipulations - it's a women (They're so annoying!). versimplification to label I throw the term "strong onster mother. female characters" around alot of course, there's the in my analysis of television. And veryone loves to hate: it's importantto note that this )raper. Whether it's does not mean a character needs ants on her mothering or to be a fault-free role model. n of her appearance, the Yes, it'sgreat to have the Leslie vife has been the subject Knopes and Tami Taylors to look h criticism in the "Mad up to, but we can learn alot from andom. more morally gray women, too. it's not just the fans who It's fine to be critical of female Betty. In his review of characters. But when it comes to four's "The Chrysan- television, male douchebags are n and the Sword," critic loved, female bitches are hated, Friedman declared: "It's and this double standard has got . Betty Draper, now Betty to stop. s, is the worst mother in In the meantime, I'll be tory." patiently waiting for a justifica- ceably absent from tion for hating Skyler White that ean's work - and most isn't inherently sexist. ision has some mmy issues '2 Days iOn New York' 'too scattered to shine By NATALIE GADBOIS DailyArts Writer No one plays disheveled and erratic as well as Julie Delpy ("Le Skylab"); her effortless charm, beauty and innumer- able neuroses combine into 2 Days in something New York enchanting. Unfortunately, At the the same cannot Michigan be said about Delpy's most Magnolia recent project, "2 Days in New York." This eccentric sequel to the 2007 French gem "2 Days in Paris" chronicles two days in the life of Marion, played by Delpy (who also wrote, directed and starred in both movies). Her new boyfriend, Mingus (Chris Rock, "Death at a Funeral") is thrown into culture shock after meet- ing her oversexed and politically incorrect French family. "New York," however, lacks the quiet originality of its predecessor, and while the latest doesn't lack charm, it's a rehash of the original with some unsatisfactory tweaks. Marion finds herself residing in New York with Mingus, her son Lulu from a previous rela- tionship with Jack, her neurotic "Paris" ex and Mingus's daughter Willow (Talen Ruth Riley). They live a storybook cozy urban life, but their world is turned upside down when Marion's narcissistic sister Rose (Alexia Landeau) and her overly frank father Jeannot (Albert Delphy) visit from Paris, joined by Rose's creepy boy- friend Manu (Alexandre Nahon). These three quickly leave a path of destruction both through New York and Marion's relationship - Jeannot is detained for try- ing to sneak 30 sausages through customs, Manu walks into the apartment and immediately tells Mingus that he loves "the blacks" while Rose attempts to convince Marion that Lulu is autistic - all rse on "Mad Men" - isa ion of how Don Draper ef the worst husbands hers on television. Yes, Upadhyaya is celebrating mother's daya little early. To join, e-mail kaylau@umich.edu. "It's okay, honey, my comedy career isn't dead yet." within hours of their arrival. lies in the superb character acting Cultural and racial misunder- by Delpy and her French coun- standings were similarly as pres- terparts, its downfall is in the ent in the original, but in this film character interactions. The film they degenerate into shrill argu- is focused too much on in-fight- ments, with the language barrier ing - between Marion and Rose, causing farcical bantering rather Marion and Mingus, Mingus and than thought-provoking discus- Manu ... the list continues. This sion. Despite the lack of interest- detracts from the more conversa- ing discourse, however, the actors tional and intelligent discourse of deftly portray these stereotypical "Paris." roles with humor and originality, In contrast, in some instances making the endless silly fights Delpy delves too far from situ- more tolerable. ational cultural humor into broad existential musing. Marion attempts to "sell her soul" in her W hy did he need art exhibition, then proceeds to question the existence of a soul 30 sausages? for much of the movie's second half. The result is too ambitious and broad, mostly because the best part of the original was that Delpy is again fantastic as the it was an analysis of a microcosm contradictory Marion - both self- of human life instead of an over- ish and kind, delusional and level- arching existential debate. headed. Her relationship with Delpy has created a funny and Mingus seems abit forced, in part eccentric film, even if it lacks because of the drastic contrasts the substance and fluidity of the between her very French fam- first. Throughout "2 Days In New ily and Mingus's very New York York," the dialogue is amusing attitude. Rock tries valiantly to and original, and the actors suc- embody this character, but hits a cessfully portray the culture clash caricature-esque portrayal when between slow-moving, unshaven surrounded by other understated, Paris and clipped, millennial New organic characters. He plays Min- York. Marion is a lovable mess-up; gus well enough, but throughout few other actors could playa hys- the film you sense he's "just act- terical woman yelling "He has my ing." soul in his underwear!" with such While the strength of the film humor and grace.