10 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 24, 2006 Toofew 'Ho use'1 By Jeremy Davidson Editor in Chief FILM REVIEW * nra Release dates are all about timing. Hence why it's confusing that "Monster House" has been released in the middle of July, rather than around Halloween, the day on which the film takes place. Its curious timing is only one aspect of the movie's acute identity crisis. The plot is just about as straightforward as it gets. The entire 97 minutes can basically be summed up in the title: Three kids are haunted Monster by a house-turned- House monster, and so At the Showcase they attempt to and Quality 16 destroy it. Concep- Columbia tually, the movie has universal appeal. After all, almost every neighbor- hood has one house that's too spooky to approach. But this is the only aspect of the film that every member of the audi- ence is able to appreciate. Rookie director Gil Kenan's failure to capitalize on this premise epitomizes the lack of creativity behind the proj- ect. As a result, the film is left with an ambiguous audience. For a kids' movie, "Monster House" is too violent and too scary. Within the opening five minutes, Nebbercracker A tale of two comps By Lloyd Cargo Daily Arts Writer The Postal Service. A tributor finds a way t already diverse songs into jazz, folk and hip on all counts. "Damn, dude, a second mortgage won (Steve Buscemi, "Fargo"), the owner of the house in question, seems to die of a sudden heart attack triggered by the film's young protagonist DJ, voiced by Mitchel Musso in his screen debut. (That Nebbercracker is later revived was of little consolation to the little girl who left the theater in tears.) The house itself turns out to be possessed by Neb- bercracker's dead wife, Constance the Giantess, who was killed in a freak acci- dent while Nebbercracker was building his house. One of the house's victims, Bones (Jason Lee, Vanilla Sky), stum- bles onto the front lawn of the house in a drunken stupor. Who did Kenan have in mind when he let these sequences into the opening 10 minutes of the film? Was he trying to coax the adults in the audi- ence into paying attention to the film? Pixar has had a lot of success among viewers of all ages. Perhaps Kenan was aiming for something similar. But the The concept of a compilation of b- Feist describes M sides and outtakes filling in a gap between "Mushaboom" in the Ii anticipated releases crunchy Saskatchew is ages old in rck eist Berlin version and she music. Sometimes up a pretentious staten they're more suc- Open Season when Stevens titles a cessful than oth- Interscope Girls Are Visited In t ers - to use some Dargarius and his Squ classic examples, lent Butterflies" you co see The Rolling SUfjan and wonder how in the Stones's Flow- Stvns get through 50 states w ers, The Beatles's songs about each one. Hey Jude or Elvis The Avalanche Illinois was great, ri Costello's Taking Asthmatic Kitty a rare five star rating ft Courtesy of Columbia Liberties. Some are the only real criticism it help that grill." complete abomi- one else involved its films frequent use of bathroom humor nations, like The Doors's Weird Scenes conceived as a double doesn't make up for the frightening first Inside the Goldmine. The difference lies cut to a still-really-lot 15 minutes among young viewers, and in whether or not the album has anything understand that the le only drives away the other half of the new to say about the artist. No one needs off for a reason. They audience who probably wasn't too inter- an entire album of Doors outtakes to know their own right, justY ested in the first place. they were a noodling, amateur faux-blues have any sort of impa The film's cast is another indication band with a complete joke of a lead singer. The Avalanche came that Kenan was having a tough time And unfortunately for Sufjan Stevens, no wouldn't have been su deciding on an audience. Protago- one needs an entire album of songs that expectations for Steve nists range from Maggie Gyllenhaal, sound exactly like the songs on Illinois might sound harsh, b Buscemi, Lee and indie-film hero Jon - only a little bit worse. about Illinois, no matt Heder of "Napoleon Dynamite" to On the other side of the fence are is pretty boring. Musso, who's made a small run with albums thatcollectquality materialshow- Open Season is nc the Disney Channel. ing a different side of the artist in ques- either, but it shows Fei It's not all bad, though. The film tion. In that vein is Leslie Feist's Open musicianand the result lashes out in so many directions there Season - an album similar to Taking fresh. Her next album, is truly something everyone can appre- Liberties or Flowers in that they display should be great. Sufjan ciate, whether it's Chowder's (Sam competent genre explorations from rap- now has to prove that Lerner, "Envy") screwball personal- idly evolving artists. The follow-up to her won't plateau, and that ity, Heder's classic Dynamite voice, or excellent 2004 debut, Let it Die, Open ferent sentiment with h Buscemi's over-the-top shrieking. As Season is a series of remixes and col- far as expectations go, forget it. This laborations from Feist's talented friends Open Season: ***I film deserves none. like Apostle of Hustle, Jane Berkin and The Avalanche: ** Almost every con- o reimagine Feist's . The album dives hop and succeeds locky's remix of ner notes as "snow- &an-meets-Sun-Ra- e can actually back ment like that. But song "The Vivian he Night by Saint padron of Benevo- an't help but groan world he's going to hen he's writing 50 ightfully garnering rom the Daily. And levied on it by any- length. Originally album and wisely ng single disc, you eft-overs were left y aren't terrible in way too similar to ct after Illinois. If before Illinois, it ch a let down, but ns are sky high. It but another album ter how well done, o grand statement ist is evolving as a s sound undeniably almost completed, , on the other hand, his creative ascent he can offer a dif- is next state.