Monday, June 2, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
11
What's Happening in Ann Arbor?
"Zingerman's Creamery Cheeses"
Zingerman's Delicatessan
Thursday, June 5th
$20 with reservation, $25 at door
Endless visits of lusting after the Deli's almost
comically huge array of cheeses must go unsatis-
fied. Free samples can only go so far, and with that
many chunks of mold, it's hard to know where to
start. Finally, that desire to grab a hunk and just start
gnawing can be satiated. Zingerman's Deli is holding
a cheese tasting this Thursday, which also includes
(incidentally) an explanation of cheesecraft by
cheese maker Aubrey Thomason. The cheese tasting
is not meant to be a full meal, but come hungry any-
way, because you'll be downing a lot of tangy good-
ness. Zing's urges reservations ahead of time, as do
we. (Call 734-663- 3400 to register)
"Two Gentlemen of Verona"
Shakespeare in the Arb
June 5-8, 6:30 pm
Free
As if the suddenly-great weather wasn't reason
enough to check out the Arboretum, this weekend
begins its summer stint as a stage for "Two Gentlemen
of Verona." one of Shakespeare's earliest comedies
(if not his first play altogether), "Two Gentlemen" is
a controversial, spicy romance in which two friends
compete for love of the same dismissive noblewom-
an. It also offers comic relief and social commentary
from a man and his dog, once called "the most scene-
stealing non-speaking character" in Shakespeare. It's
directed by Kate Medeloff, an RC professor, and will
feature mostly student actors. The Arb performances
are never perfect, but they are invariably entertaining,
and it's the perfect way to spend a summer evening.
USHER
From Page 9
kicks in. "Best Thing," featuring a
few great breaks from guest Jay-Z,
is the record's only real triumph
that lays on the club end of the
spectrum.
Too often though, Here I Stand
is instead a vehicle for its small
army of producers. Considering
that the disc was destined to be
a smash before it was even con-
ceived, it should be no surprise
that Usher was willing to give
more than 20 different producers
an at-bat, and it should similarly be
no surprise that such a long lineup
has yielded such scattered results.
The worst offenders are the East-
ern pentatonic-tinged "Appetite"
and tribal drum-buoyed "Trad-
ing Places." Creative as they are,
these worldly flourishes amount to
little more than distractions from
above-average melodies. "Trading
Places" also benefits none from its
painfully literal lyrics ("I'm always
on the top / tonight I'm on the bot-
tom.")
To say that there's something
here for everyone would be a very
honest assessment. And given the
size of Usher's audience, it's an
unoriginally savvy career move
to make such a record. But for an
album to be remembered much
beyond a few-month window of its
release, it usually must be fantastic
or abysmal. In this instance, and
at this time, the only things with
any guaranteed staying power
are Usher the man and Usher the
brand. Usher the singer will berel-
egated to just one chapter of the
story, and Here I Stand will be a
footnote.
STRANGERS
From Page 10
unhappy, wasting away the night as
James waits for his friend to come
and pick him up. Unfortunately, the
night gets worse for them. .A mys-
terious family begins stalking the
grounds, harassing them with cruel
mind games and threatening them
with violence. Soon it becomes clear
to James and Kristen that, whoever
they are, these prowlers want to kill
them. In order to survive, the two
must fight back.
Sounds standard? It is. In a sense,
if you've seen the trailer, you've
seen the film - there's little more
to it than what's been advertised ad
nauseum over the past few weeks.
All the basic elements of any horror
film are here: the secluded house,
the dark woods, the masked mani-
acs and the sharp instruments they
use to terrorize their victims. But
the very beauty of "The Strangers"
lies in its simplicity. Like the best
horror films, there are no explana-
tions, no givens. And the attack-
ers, with their garish doll masks,
take on the same kind of inhuman,
almost mythic air that character-
ized other cinematic monsters like,
Michael Myers ("Halloween") and
the shark from "Jaws."
Impressively, even with virtually
every scene and plot twist spoiled
in one preview or another, "The
Strangers" still manages to retain
its hold over the audience and leave
them rattled. There are certainly
flaws - director Bryan Bertino
relies too heavily on shaky cam-
erawork and tight close-ups to
create a feeling ofunease, and the
ending feels rushed and unsatis-
fying - but once the thrills start,
the film simply never lets up: Like
a slowly winding jack-in-the-
box, you wait intently with each
passing minute for something to
happen, for something to leap out
of the darkness and terrify you.
It's a gripping experience, and
ultimately the little missteps,
including Tyler's sometimes-flat
performance, never really lessen
the power of the experience.
It's a horror film the likes of
which we haven't seen in a while,
and a worthy way to be trauma-
tized.
gotShea insurance
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