Monday, June 9, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
'9
ALBUM REVIEW
Revenge of the nerds
Red Album isn't
great, but Weezer
reclaims dignity
By DAVID WATNICK
DailyArts Writer
Welcome back Weezer. No, you
haven't returned to the unforgetta-
ble, screaming cathartic geek bliss
of your classic first two albums, but
so what - you never will, and that's
OK. We all peak sometime. With
the Red Album, you've at least cut
a record that I
can comfortably
listen to in my
spare time with- Weezer
out feeling like
I'm on the verge Weezer
of experiencing Geffen
paralyzing clus-
ter headaches.
And in the wake of the unspeak-
ably bad tweeny-bopper oh-my-
god-make-it-stop train wreck
MakeBelieve, that's a prettyserious
accomplishment. Hats off!
This latest album is easily Wee-
zer's most adventurous effort, with
songs covering great stretches on a
spectrum that ranges from classi-
cal to hip hop. It's no masterpiece,
but its experiments give it creative
energy and spine - attributes that
Rivers Cuomo, one of the genera-
tion's finest songwriters, has been
unable to inject in his band's music
for a painfully long time.
The most noteworthy track on
the record comes in the two-slot.
Too erratic to be just a curveball,
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
ARTS IN BRIEF
Film
Sandler's charm
redeems silly, but
funny, comedy
"You Don't Mess With the Zohan"
Columbia
"You Don't Mess With The
Zohan" is one of those movies
that you will either find your-
self enjoying far more than you
High-flying laughs
By IMRAN SYED ley of Peace in China. The legend-
Daily Arts Writer ary warriors known as the Furious
Five protect the valley: Tigress
Animated movies today fall into (Angelina Jolie), Viper (Univer-
two categories: the ones that hawk sity alum Lucy Liu), Crane (David
those painfully cheesy morals Cross, TV's "Arrested Develop-
that even little kids have learned ment"), Monkey (Jackie Chan) and
to laugh at, and Mantis (Seth Rogen, "Knocked
those that have * Up"). But even these masters can-
slightly amus- not save the valley from Tai Lung
ing, yet com- Kung Fu (Ian McShane, "The Golden Com-
pletely useless, pass"), a deranged evil warrior
pop culture ref- PaNda who has just escaped from prison.
erences jumping At Showcase Lung wants the Dragon Scroll,
off the screen and Quality16 an ancient relic that contains
at an alarm- Drathe secret enabling a warrior to
(Variations on a Shaker Hymn)"
is an absolute knuckleball - dip-
ping, dancing and diving in nearly
a dozen musical directions in just
under six minutes. A gentle piano
intro carries over into a raunchy
police siren-stained rap section,
sounding like a fantastic home
mash-up. The piano figure, based
on Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts,"
is the song's main melodic theme,
appearing in one form or another
through raw guitar rock, spoken
word breaks and even baroque cho-
ral movements that rival the color-
ful classicism of uber-hip Animal
Collective. It's not only the most
novel track here, but perhaps Wee-
zer's most novel cut ever, worthy of
more words than this entire review.
It's also the best song here by amile
- a pocket symphony that in time
should earn its due as a latter-day
classic from a washed-up band.
Elsewhere, "Dreamin"' is a pass-
able electric guitar ballad immea-
surably better than its gross club
counterpart "This Is The Way"
from Cuomo's solo Alone, and
"Everybody Get Dangerous" is a
fun, if slightly embarrassing, hard-
rock stomp. "Heart Songs," mean-
while, where Cuomo recounts his
favorite songs from his formative
years, is a little too cute.
Cuomo's supremacy remains
unchallenged by the other mem-
ber's offerings. Rhythm guitarist
Brian Bell's pop-rocker "Thought I
Knew" is marginallythe best, while
bassist Scott Shriner's "Cold Dark
World" is easily the worst. Drum-
mer Pat Wilson chips in the slight-
See WEEZER, Page 10
ingly constant
rate. Thank-
fully, "Kung Fu Panda," the lat-
est creation from the studio that
brought us "Shrek" and "Over the
Hedge," has nothing of the latter.
Had it been able to similarly avoid
the tepid, false sentiments of the
former, it could have been a truly
memorable film.
The story of a young panda
named Po (Jack Black, "Nacho
Libre") - whose dreams are the
only thing bigger than the flab
under his belly - "Kung Fu Panda"
is set in the mystical (fictional) Val-
'Panda' kicks
high, misses
the mark.
become the greatest fighter ever.
The Furious Five and their mas-
ter, Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), have
been entrusted with guarding the
scroll until the true dragon war-
See PANDA, Page 10
should or thinking that it's abso-
lutely awful. It's also one of those
movies for which both just might
be entirely justified.
Adam Sandler plays Zohan, an
Israeli counter-terrorist who is so
skilled that his father calls him
"Rembrandt with a grenade." The
hitch, of course, is that Zohan
secretly dreams of becoming a
hairstylist, which drives him to
fake his death and pursue his
dream in the United States.
Much of the film's humor relies
on its extreme caricatures of
Israelis and Palestinians, and for
those in the know, many of these
jokes work quite well. Of course,
there are several dead gags - is
there really a need for so many
hummus jokes?
The film is definitely tasteless.
The entire subplot with Sandler's
characterromancingolder women
in the backroom of the hair salon
may incite some queasiness. Its
failings aside, Sandler injects
Zohan with such goofy charm
that it's hard to feel repulsed.
Peppered with inspired cameos
(check out Dave Matthews as an
angry redneck) and bizarre sight
gags (a cat being used as a hacky
sack), this film is fun and for the
most part, pretty funny. You just
might be too embarrassed to
admit it.
SHERIJANKELOVITZ
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