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2B - Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom



ARTS RECOMMENDS
In this feature, Daily Arts writers will give their endorsements
for the arts you need to experience to help you deal with current events.
"The Walking Dead"
AMC's hit TV series "The Walking Dead"
wields such a dramatic and twisty plotline, only
one other work could best it: the graphic novel
series of the same name. Used as the inspira-
tion and source material for the show, the story
is as unpredictable as a hungry wayward zombie.
Packed with action, conflict and gruesome sur-
prises, the series is a must for the amateur zombie
MAGE COMIcS enthusiast.
Halcyon - Ellie Goulding
After breaking into the mainstream with radio
sensation "Lights," Ellie Goulding is back with a
second studio album, Halcyon. Unlike the lighter,
sweeter crooning Goulding produced on Lights,
the singer explores the darker side to her music,
getting weird and far-out on tracks that do well
to showcase her voice. Backed by synth beats and
pop undertones, Halcyon is a good stepping stone
for Goulding's career, as well as a fun, worthwhile
POLYDOR listen.
" "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
For anyone doubting director Shane Black's
capacity to take over the "Iron Man"series, perhaps
you should check out the filmmaker's dark comedy
from 2005, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." Starring Robert
Downey Jr., Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan,
snarky noir perfectly blends elements of hardboiled
pulp with humorous jabs at the dark world of Holly-
wood. Clever and biting, it's a clear demonstration
WARNER BROS of Black's curious voice.
"Alias"
Though people still have debates about "Lost"
at parties, J.J. Abrams's spy-action hit "Alias" too
deserves revisitation. Jennifer Garner is Sydney
Bristow, whose life starts to unravel when she
becomes a double agent. Victor Garber and Ron
Rifkin give stellar performances. Even Bradley
Cooper proves impressive as the laughably naive
Will Tippin. With a disturbing pilot, "Alias" wastes
Aec no time pulling you into its intricate web.

vo

Our navels represent many things.
They' are our first signs of indepen-
dence, as we escape from the uterus
into the real world. And, they are our
first scars, a reminder of our struggle
to emerge, bloody and screaming, to
confront reality head-on. Literally.
Perhaps more importantly, they sig-
nify the very core of our humanity.
So imagine the horror of baby's
parents at the bellybutton-less mon-
strosity, delivered suddenly and
violently in the night. Abandoned
for adoption at a convent, baby soon
finds himself shipped off to a lov-
ing couple in America's heartland.
Baby's parents dote upon him. He
learns to walk,dress himself and say
his new name: "Kyle."
But then his parents take him to
the beach for the first time, and Kyle
is permanently traumatized. Holes

everywhere, on everyone's stomachs;
deep, gaping voids that stare back at
him. His new realization keeps him
awake during naptime: Why doesn't
he have one? He soon takes to mark-
ing his stomach with a Sharpie in a
desperate bid to fit inlifting his shirt
periodically to comfort himself; his
makeshift bellybutton is still there.
Butsoon,thisinsecurity gives way
to anger. Somebody must have taken
his bellybutton. But who? What
dark, mysterious forces stole his
navel, and along with it, his immor-
tal soul? Thus begins Kyle's quest
to expose the twisted plots behind
his unnaturally smooth abdomen.
Karen Katz paints a noir-esque tale
of deceit and intrigue, a suspenseful
epic that would later be continued in
the hit series "Kyle XY."
-DAVID TAO

LITTLE SIMON
JUDGING
A BOOK
BY ITS
COVER,
Daily Arts writers go
against the famous
idiom, choose a
random book and
make assumptions
about its contents
based on the cover art.

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