The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, September 16, 2013 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, September16, 2013 - 7A Suliman powers emotional'Attack' Character-driven film examines class divide By NATALIE GADBOIS Daily Arts Writer What drives people to sacrifice themselves for causes that don't directly affect them? Where does the violent pas- sion come from thatincitespeo- ple to perform The Attack unspeakable acts of vio- AtState lence? Are all Scope terrorists psy- chopaths? Or is there always another, more com- plex explanation? "The Attack" delicately delves into these ques- tions, and the result is a bare por- trayal of a woman conflicted and the man who loved her. Amin Jafaari (Ali Suliman, "Under the Same Sun") is a Pales- tinian surgeon living in Tel Aviv - well respected and accepted by the Jewish society that sur- rounds him. Soon after the film begins, a suicide bomb detonates close to his hospital, killing 17 and injuring countless victims who are rushed to his operating room. His efficiency and dig- nity are evident as he saves life after life, only stopping when an injured Israeli man screams that he does not want Amin - an Arab - as his doctor. Hours later, exhausted and beleaguered, Amin discovers that his wife Sahim (Reymond Amsa- lem, "Plasticine") was found dead in the attack. We see her body bluntly torn in two, her torso lying meekly under a sheet in the morgue. And as Amin pulled shrapnel from children, hiswife's body was floors below him, being identified as the perpetrator of the attack. Director and screenwriter Ziad Douieri ("Lila Says") doesn't spend much time establishing Jaafari's uniquely privileged SCoPE Look at this photograph. world before it is explosively dis- assembled, so he uses flashbacks in Amin's gold-tinged memory to create his wife, Sahim. Douieri worked as a cameraman for Quen- tin Tarantino, and his tutelage shows, each shot perfectly fram- ing the before and after of Amin's life. Sahim, a liberal Palestinian, is for the majority of the film a beautiful enigma, defined by her soulful glances and overly script- ed declarations against Israel. As Amin searches for answers, we sense that he is discovering just as we are: The question becomes not about Sahim's innocence, but one of Amin himself. How could he love her so deeply yet know nothing of the dark resentments beneath her beautiful face? The film masquerades as being marked by contrasts: shiny Tel Aviv with archaic Pales- tine; Amin's granite-countered, stainless-steeled mansion with his humble birthplace; Sahim the dream girl vs. Sahim the mass murderer. However, all these dis- tinctions mask the real ambigu- ity of the film, as Amin unravels the real complexity of Sahim's political beliefs. Suliman shines as Jaafari, using masculine brevity to por- tray the pillar of strength he was before the attack. He shows Amin's anguish through subtle gestures: a downturned head, a blank stare that lasts a second too long. These little actions are often drowned out by the script's creative view of what "grief" is. Amin constantly imagines the living memory of his wife standing next to him, a falter- ing attempt to build her char- acter without using flashbacks. The film is strongest when Amin bares everything - his anger, confusion and all-consuming grief - but it sometimes drifts into symbolic theatrics. Amin is interrogated, he is pitied, he is rejected from a soci- ety that once granted him spe- cial access, and at the same time distanced from his birthplace because he betrayed them so long ago. He is a man who once had everything: a beautiful wife, fulfilling career, wealth and most importantly, a valued place in a society that normally doesn't accept people like him. While "The Attack" grace- fully examines how Amin reacts when his entire life is upended, it focuses on the reasons some- one like Sahim would throw it all away, sacrificing her life and countless others to a cause she can't even admit to her husband. "The Attack" is powerful, and while its consequences linger, the audience never fully understands the most burning question: Who is Sahim Jaafari? 'I got your baby.' 'Insidious Chapter 2' can-'t live up to original 14 A 'The Million Second Quiz reinvents game-show genre By AKSHAY SETH Daily B-Side Editor If you had a dollar for every time I said, "I got your baby" on the car ride over to see "Insidi- ous: Chapter 2," you'd have B- $8. My asshole friends and I InsidiOUS were excited. W er2 I'm pretty sure all of us had At Quality16 seen enough and Rave horror mov- ies in our time Film District to know that sequels in this genre are almost never bankable, but we were hoping against hope. The trailer, if not terrifying, had been an experience, and without it, bel- ligerent exclamations of "I got yourbaby" to random passers-by would never have been possible. Oh, and #RoseByrne. Hope can be a terrible thing, and watching it get suffocated at the hands of director James Wan ("The Conjuring") over the course of an agonizing 105 min- utes only makes it worse. Agoniz- ing may be the wrong choice of word. This is by no means a ter- rible film, delivering expectable scares at unsurprising points, but the problem, as it often is with most horror sequels, is it's a follow-up to a much better movie. In a perfect world, we'd judge it based only on its merits, and not its James, Our opi by our if thatf way, th what w The sequels exposit should1 doing s ever m watchit goes, " don't u ous: Ch become explain flash: I movies an ima Further movies whenl anythin predecessors, but sorry Wilson, "The Conjuring") has this is not a perfect world. been possessed by the creepy, inion on a film is dictated old demon-woman from the viewing experience, and last film. So this time around, experience suffers in any the son, Dalton (Ty Simpkins, :e easiest target becomes "Iron Man 3"), is never really e're viewing. in danger. Much like the rest of problem with horror the supporting cast, including is simple: They offer Rose Byrne ("The Place Beyond ion for developments that The Pines"), he serves as a prop be left unexplained, and in for the duration of the film, one o inherently dilute what- of the countless people daddy tade the original worth could hurt if his evil side final- ng. As that popular saying ly kicks in. Byrne's character we're scared of what we runs around scared, hoping to :nderstand," and "Insidi- keep her kids from harm's way, apter 2" 's greatest failing but again, she doesn't have any s that it tries too hard to meaty input in guiding the story. the supernatural. News That rests on Josh and his weird People who watch scary mom, Lorraine (Barbara Her- don't really give a shit why shey, "Black Swan"), as they des- ginary place called The perately try to figure out how to r exists. We watch scary get da baby back. to be scared, and since When I walked out of the has someone explaining theater, the first thing I remem- g been at all frightening? ber exclaiming was something vaguely along the lines of "what the fuck?" I think if someone o t t asked me to elaborate, I would have said, "the reason this film xplain The doesn't work is that it gravitates The too much toward two characters Further. without really establishing an atmosphere of tension for them to react to. It uses the supporting cast like cue cards, regurgitating big "gotcha" moment that useless BS about the "why's" and nsidious: Chapter 2" in "how's" no one cares about." It's (relax, I'm not spoil- sad. But the saddest part? James ything) comes when we Wan's next project is "Fast & hat Josh Lambert (Patrick Furious 7." By ALEC STERN Daily Arts Writer In 1999, ABC struck gold with its question-and-answer mega- hit, "Who Wants To Be A Mil- lionaire?" Since its meteoric rise and quick fall, the pri- The Million metime quiz- - Quiz show genre has remained idle ... Pilot until now. NBC hopes to recap- NBC ture some ofthe magic with "The Million Second Quiz," an innovative new series hosted by Ryan Seacrest. Though "MSQ" suffers from a somewhat complicated premise, this fast- paced game show should excite fans of the genre. "MSQ" is a two-week event series and seems to be NBC's kickoff to the 2013-2014 televi- sion season, which officially begins the week of Sept. 23rd. The premiere episode is littered with previews for the network's new shows, as well as cross- promotions with existing shows, most of which will premiere the week after "MSQ" 'a big finale. And as "MSQ" airs every week- day at 8 p.m. for the next two weeks, all of NBC's series are get- tingtons of free exposure. "The Million Second Quiz" 's biggest issue is that it's hard to nail down a description; it's nearly impossible to fit all of the show's parts into one succinct logline. In other words, there's a lot going on. At the most basic level, "MSQ" is a head-to-head quiz battle between two contes- tants. The winner earns a spot in the money chair and remains in the chair until he or she loses a battle. If you're sitting in the D e: The1 sets "I motion ing an} learn tI You ain't no Regis, Seacrest. chair, you're earning 10 dollars NBC might pick you as a "line per second. Therefore, the aim of jumper" and give you an auto- the game is to stay in the money matic spot on the show, as well chair for as long as possible. as an interview on "The Today Beyond that, there are several Show." more aspects to the show, includ- Another defining component ing a leader's room (where the top of "MSQ" is that the competition four contestants must live until goes on 24/7. Though the show they are knocked out) and a huge only airs for one hour per night, interactive component. the quizzing never stops. Contes- tants are playing the game at all times, for one-million seconds straight (12 days or so). When the million seconds are up, the four entertaining, people who have spent the lon- gest time in the money chair will but very face off with the potential to win up to $10 million. complicated. Ultimately, people tend to respond to simplicity - a qual- ity that is sorely lacking in "The Million Second Quiz." However, The interactivity of "The Mil- "MSQ" does complicated well, lion Second Quiz" is one of the and with the help of Seacrest, show's biggest strengths. The the show rarely falls from com- "MSQ" app, which spent time as plicated to confusing. "MSQ" is the No. 1 free app in the country atits best during the quiz battles, (it is currently No. 10), enables which are fast, fun and thought- viewers at home to play along ful. Viewers will just have to with the contestants and even remain on their toes because at qualify to be a part of the show. every turn, there are a million If you can rack up enough points, more gimmicksbeing introduced. M&M'S*Chocolate Candies can make any moment more fun and delicious... even Monday morning. On Monday: September 16, M&M'S*Brand is enabling you to catch a few extra ZZZ's by providing FREE rides to class in pedicabs. Who knows, you might even get a ride from a famous alumni(hint hint... think Fab 5). Pedicabs wil be stationed at the corer of Hill and State Streets and George Washington Park from 1a.m. to 10a.m. facebook.com/MMS #betterwithmms ( "Trademarks Wars. IremponmW 2013