8A - Monday, March 10, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 8A - Monday, March 10, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom A COLUMBIA Two thumbs up is a bit of a stretch. Pharrell's goofy enjoyable 'I RI WARNER BROS. "Those masks = my face every day." Latest '300' lacks grit Hitmaker shoots for charts with meandering LP By ADAM THEISEN DailyArts Writer Coming just months removed from the Summer of Pharrell, what were you really expect- ing from this album? Did B you think it was going to GIRL be ten differ- ent versions of Phafell "Get Lucky"? Columbia Would it be an hour of pure summer serving as a blast of warmth in the middle of Febru- ary? Would it be the smash-hit album of the year? Well, despite helping to create some of the biggest singles of the past year, Pharrell 'presents his second solo album G I R L to remind us that he's actually capable of recording songs that aren't number one hits. That's not to say that G I R L is a disappoint- ment, but, simply put, Pharrell is not destined to be the super- star that his record company surely longs for him to be on the strength of this LP. This is not a batch of freshly- cooked, radio-ready singles. In fact, aside from "Happy," Pharrell's most recent world- dominating song, the Jus- tin Timberlake collaboration "Brand New" seems to be the only other promising hit. The problem is that "Get Lucky" tricked the world into thinking that Pharrell had it in him to be a great leading man, when real- ly, he's so much better when he works in a less prominent role. "Lucky" worked because all it needed from Pharrell's vocals was functional catchiness. Songs like "Blurred Lines" and "Feds Watching," though, suc- ceeded because Pharrell set the stage with the production and feel of the song, but then got out of the way to let the main artist perform. On G I R L, Pharrell is that main artist, so after' setting the stage, he's still left to fill in everything else. The results are vocals that seem improvised, tossed-off and goofy. His skill as a lyricist is practically non- existent (see "Hunter," which features not only an incredibly strained metaphor but also a hilariously out-of-place "Duck Dynasty" reference), and when he tries to sing about girls, he comes off like a teenaged son of R. Kelly awkwardly trying to imitate his dad. The inescapable "Happy" is the outlier here, but goddamn it's an infectious one. "Happy" is the song most reminiscent of Pharrell's hits, and it's per- fectly placed directly in the center of the album in order to give the lagging songs a boost. While its appearance on the 'Despicable Me 2" soundtraek may cause some to categorize it as kids' music, nothing on the album is more danceable or fun. The track is further proof that Pharrell can make some truly inspired awesome pop music, and its electric piano, clapping and effortlessly natural singing make it endlessly replayable and an early contender for catchiest song of the year. Despite several A-List col- laborators, the record is mostly about Pharrell. Alicia Keys has a mostly forgettable cameo, and Miley Cyrus is in-and-out on the record's dirtiest sounding track, "Come Get it Bae." Daft Punk also shows up on the chilled-out "Gust of Wind" to provide its familiar robot vocals. (Unfortu- nately, no Daft Punk/Pharrell track will ever live up to "Get Lucky," and knowingly, the art- ists avoid trying to recapture lightning in a bottle.) The best appearance comes from Justin Timberlake, a man who knows pop music just as well as Phar- rell, and the two duet over an enjoyable old-school soul beat. The production of G I R L is always on point and confident. Harkening back to the soul music of decades past, Pharrell always plays to his strengths, and perfectly utilizes groovy drums and 70s guitars and key- boards on nearly every track. Pharrell's help is such an incredible asset for any artist trying to make the Top 40, but he shouldn't carry all the weight by himself His vocals wander through his production - some- times he tries to sound like Mar- vin Gaye, and on "Lost Queen" he picks up a vaguely African accent, but he never sounds sure of what he's doing. Open- ing track "Marilyn Monroe" is so overdone and changes what it wants to be so much that it's almost unbelievable that it's all one track. Pharrell's sweet and innocent voice makes all of his boasts about women sound like parody, and he just doesn't have enough charismato carrymost of the soul bongs. Is G I-R L a failure? Well, it's probably not what Pharrell's record company was wishing for, as it lacks any real attempts for radio, aside from "Happy" and maybe "Brand New." Listeningto the weird meandering of most of the tracks, it's hard to even imag- ine how the record company let this even happen. However, taking it for what it is, G I R L can be an admit- tedly goofy, but enjoyable record. Despite Pharrell's recent chart successes, it's not the work of a future superstar, a Bruno Mars- like singer groomed for radio smashes. Rather, it's the work of a man in control of every aspect of his album. All of Phar- rell's strengths (his throwback production and pop sensibili- ties) and weaknesses (his lyrics and vocals) are on full display throughout G I R L. Pharrell should mainly stick to produc- tion work and features, but as a novel peek inside the head of a pop music genius, it's far more memorable and fun than anything a record company could've tried to manufacture. By BRIAN BURLAGE Daily Arts Writer At the conclusion of what must be one of the blandest pre- battle addresses ever recorded on film, Greek general Them- B_ istocles (Sulli- van Stapleton, 300: Rise of "Gangster Squad") cries an Empire with drama but Quality 16 without con- and Rave 20 viction, "Seize your glory!" - Warner Bros. as though the scribes of his- tory patiently await their victory. The Greek word for this kind of unwavering arrogance is hubris; difficult to establish and even more difficult to later disregard, hubris is a catalyst for self-implo- sion. It destroys from within. Success builds on success, blur- ring logic, masking failure, until infallibility becomes the only worthy objective. Director Noam Murro's ("Smart People") "300: Rise of an Empire" falls victim to its own hubris. With the effort so desperate and the story so focused on delivering the perfect tale of masnulinity and war, the film's sole objective actually becomes a blueprint for failure. The film's story runs concur- rently (it's not so much a sequel or a prequel to 2007's "300") with the Spartan-Greek effort against the Persians at Thermopylae and also on the naval conflict between Greek and Persian fleets. Them- istocles, general of the Greeks and renowned politician, believes that a new political framework called "democracy" can unite a divided Greece. He's willing to go to war against the Persians to prove it. Vastly outnumbered and lacking support from much of his own nation, he utilizes his character- istic cunning to deceive and belay the onslaught of the herculean Persian navy. Artemisia (Eva Green, "Casino Royale") commands the Persian force. She's a brutal, manipula- tive and dominating leader whose power of intimidation escapes no one. Make a tactical error and she'll tie stone braces to your arms and heave you into the depths. Hold steady eye contact with her and she'll plunge a dag- ger into your gut. Green delivers a convincing performance as the intense, power-hungry queen of moral depravity. Her tendency to err on instinct rather than emo- tion contributes to the warrior mentality of her character. Green leaves no room for sympathy or affection - Artemisia is as cold as the blade she so skillfully wields. "Rise of an Empire" will appease viewers if they think of it like the able-bodied, fully func- tional sidekick to the real hero, the Zack Snyder-directed original "300." Because of its less-than- enthralling fight sequences, perennialtalk of war and politics and overall lack of personality, "300: Rise of an Empire" seems more anecdotal than essential. Even though it depicts a parallel story to the Battle of Thermopy- lae, the film really feels like an afterthought of Zack Snyder and company, who thought it might be really cool to make a movie about ancient naval warfare. With every slash of the sword, a stream of blood trails across the screen. Every warrior is an acrobat, every strategic decision a do-or-die plot against destiny. The film begins and ends in the same instance of violence: Sol- diers charging, clashing, grap- pling, smiting each other, tossing bloodied carcasses into the briny Aegean sea. Everything in betweenis aremonstranceoffor- mer wars and rivalries, comple- mented by scenes of aggravated sexual intensity, vengeance and historical context. The whole effort feels contrived - carefully wrought from the minds of exec- utives who wanted to outdo an already rambunctious depiction of Greek mythology and war. Was another '300' necessary? Not really. But while the film may sometimes be self-indulgent, single-minded and even sloppy to achieve its end, it still thrives within the context of its genre. After-all, graphic novels should be over-the-top. A film based on a comic based on loose accounts of a fantastical war should be allowed to exaggerate some details. Is a film about 300 men defending their country in the face of imminent death interesting? Absolutely. Is a film about the simultaneous naval effort of undaunted, politically driven Greeks necessary? Not really. But is it entertaining? You betcha. ABC's imperfect 'Mind Games By JOE REINHARD DailyArts Writer " Especially when starting out, a show should be conscious of its strengths and weaknesses, but not afraid to take risks. A healthy B- combination of ambition and Mind Games caution is argu- ably the best Pilot Episode way to stand out Tuesdaysat Candid. from the many 10 p.m. other programs ABC ness isn't important; the majority that premiere of the pilot deals with them trying each year, at to help a boy and his mother out, least in terms of quality. That's and luckily the show does a fine job sometimes hard to do at the pilot handling the relatively straightfor- stage however, and unfortunately ward plotline. It also introduces a ABC's "Mind Games" is daring sense of moral ambiguity as they and careful in the wrong places. use questionable means to accom- The show's premise doesn't plish good ends, giving the show exactly have an easy, precise eleva- some depth. tor pitch, butoit goes something like It's when it gets into some of the this: Two brothers run a business greater details that "Mind Games" that utilizes psychological manip- runs into trouble. Though the ulation to help solve people's prob- relationships between the charac- lems. One brother, Ross Edwards ters are well done, the individual (Christian Slater, "Breaking In"), is characters themselves are lacking. a conman who doesn't always act Zahn's performance in particular on the rightside of the law, and the will probably come off too crazy other, Clark Edwards (Steve Zahn, and annoying for some viewers. "Treme"), is an expert in human Although it's easy to give the show psychology who also suffers from credit for taking such a risk (hav- bipolar disorder. They work with ing a bipolar main character could a team of other talented individu- also produce some stunning als to run their business, which results if done right), his por- they're struggling to keep afloat trayal so far makes the choice thanks to each brother's fair share out to be a mistake. It may only of flaws. be a single detail, but it impacts At the heart of the story is their the pilot enough to drag it down. brotherly relationship, rather than Meanwhile, "Games" fails to their mental manipulation antics, take risks at points where they and to the show's credit, the rela- are desperately needed. The tionship is developed fairly well brothers may be annoying at so far. That's not to say their busi- times but at least they're inter- ABC esting, unlike the other people who work with them. The show needs a more interesting, well rounded cast to make up for where the brothers (specifically Zahn's Clark) don't deliver. So far, there's little sense of that happening. "Mind Games" is imperfect, with some very notable flaws, but entertaining - "entertain- ing" might not be enough espe- cially given the track record of the show's creator, Kyle Killen. (In the past few years, he creat- ed two excellent shows "Awake" and "Lone Star" that both were cancelled relatively early despite general critical praise.) For now, "Mind Games" has a nice intro- duction to make it watchable, assuming you find the premise appealing and those aforemen- tioned weaknesses don't turn you off completely. Given some time it may shed those flaws and reach a quality comparable to "Awake" and "Lone Star." Other- wise, it will only fall into a trou- bling middle ground - worth giving a shot, but not even close to being crowned the best show on TV.