Wednesday, June 29, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Pixar drops the sappiness for 'Cars 2' Sequel is a departure from heartwarming r gadgetry By JENNIFER XU Daily Arts Writer Let's first get this straight: "Cars 2" is no "Toy Story." It's not going to make you cry, hug your fam- ily or even think particularly hard. While "Ratatouil- *** le" took a group of smelly mice CarS 2 and made them At Quality16 kind of round and and Rave adorable, "Cars 2" is as imperson- Disney able and utilitar- ian as cars can be - all right angles, sharp exte- riors and shiny paint jobs. In fact, It wouldn't be remiss to call it the worst movie Pixar has ever made, if you're judging by that kind of tear- jerking standard. But this "emotional deficiency" (for lack of a better term) is not a question of biting off more than one can chew. No critic, no matter how much they might have hated the film, can fairly say that Pixar failed in its mission. After all, we know what the gazillion-dollar company is capable of, having proved that gleaming hunks of metal can be as innocuous and disarming as puppy dog tails ("Wall-E" being the evi- dence). If Pixar had wanted to make another charming parable about materialism or whatever, it could have done so with panache to spare. So, OK, now that we've estab- lished that the whole boom-shoot- whiz thing was purposeful, there are two ways to approach this. One more sinister, and vaguely more probable explanation, is that Pixar sold out - more interested in mer- chandising profits and box office sales than genuine artistic integrity. The other, more positive one, is that desire for breadth and diversity won out over depth. Look at it this way: Does every single Pixar movie need to be a heartrendingly beautiful tale of love, family and loneliness? We cried at "Toy Story," "Wall-E," "Up," "Monsters, Inc." and "Find- ing Nemo" because they tugged at our emotional heartstrings. But if you think about it, it's really all the same story: Protagonist X is left bereft of all companions for Y rea- sons and has to make a journey to Place Z. He/she/it succeeds. Audi- ence collectively sniffles. Isn't it plausible that Pixar might have wanted to add a little variety to the tried and true formula? That maybe instead of having a contest of who could put Kleenex out of busi- ness, they just wanted to make this really fun, mindless action movie and screw the rest? The filmgoer is a fickle fiend. A few more movies later and we would have all thrown our hands up and been all like, Enough with the transcendentally moving garbage! Pixar is boring.' And whatever a person might say about "Cars 2," boring is not one of them. There's crazy 007 espionage, cool gadgetry and kickass stunt- work that revs and roars with the exhilaration of a wild goose chase, as well as a truly sexy James Bond- ish protagonist by the improbable name of Finn McMissile (played by resident Brit Michael Caine of "Inception" fame). The plot, in brief, follows the gas-guzzling circuit of competitive racing, and contains in its pages a mildly inter- esting conspiracy involving "lem- ons" and an imaginary alternative fuel called "Allinol." In short, it's an action movie kind of story, one that exists mainly for the purpose of blowing a lot of stuff up (Pixar class intact, of course). Rather, it is in a character, not storytelling, where the company takes its first faltering step. Class clown and perennial sidekick Tow Mater (Larry the Cable Guy, "Wit- less Protection"), who grated in the first installment, hits a new low in his larger role as the village- idiot-come-savior to the automo- bile industry. Thank goodness for those Britons, because it's all one can do from throwingsomething at the screen every time Mater comes on in his rusty, drawling Southern accent. And while it's excusable for Pixar to want to make an action movie - its own animated ver- sion of "Transformers" with a hot Megan Fox to match the swelter- ing sun rays beaming down outside - what's not so excusable is hiring freaking Larry the Cable Guy to star in it. Pitbull saturates 'Planet Pit' with beats for the discotheque OK By CASSIE BALFOUR Daily Arts Writer Pitbull has a lot of nicknames, most of which he bestowed upon himself. Mr. International and Mr. Worldwide are the most apt considering his latest record, Planet Pit, which bull is packed with Planet Pit electro-pop bangers chroni- Mr. 305 Inc. cling the play- boy's worldwide philandering. In this rapidly globalizing world, the Cuban-American rap- per surveys the planet and deems all borders permeable, using his enternational sex appeal and seductive Spanglish as a diplo- matic tool to get in the pants of women all around the world. And one gets the feeling that nearly all the sweaty, cosmopolitan jams studding his latest party album Ovould be welcome in any club or discotheque. The entire album is like a fusion restaurant, as it samples beats and sounds from all over the world to create a multicultural sonic feast. Pitbull steers away from a virtual roll-call of rappers and pop stars on "Pause," one of the sexiest songs on the album, and flies solo on this reggaeton track. Caribbean drums and electro-pop combine perfectly to create a spicy song, which has Pitbull switching back and forth between rapping in Spanish and English. It's humid and hypnotic. Enyique Iglesias lends a hand on "Come 'N' Go," a song riddled with strange euphemisms for sex, like the inscrutable, 21st-century pick-up line "Mami you're the internet / And I'm looking for a download." But if one ignores the pair's decidedly un-sexy boast- ing about their respective sexual prowess, the rum-saturated, top 40-bound track is perfect for after midnight. Pitbull handles seduc- tion for grinding co-eds as he whispers "That's right" over and over. Despite a solid roster of hits on the record, Pitbull stumbles occasionally. The throwaway sing-along song "Something for the DJs" is pretty much unlisten- able. Of course, the consummate globetrotting DJ and producer, David Guetta, joins Pitbull on this electro-house heavy song. Unfortunately, Pitbull's creepy twist on childhood rhymes will leave listeners cold as he horrif- ingly implores "If you're sexy and you know it clap your hands!" and asks "How much wood can a wood chop, chop / Ifa wood could chop, could chop would!" Despite the terrible lyricism, Guetta some- what salvages the track with his universally appealing beats. Slowing it down, Pitbull opens up on the requisite confessional "Castle Made of Sand" with Kelly Rowland's soaring, but melodra- matic vocal stylings and new- comer Jamie Drastik spitting a lack-luster verse. This song has Pitbull marveling at his own suc- cess despite his rough, childlike rapping, "If you know what I come from, know what I've been through / You think there should have been another outcome." Even though Rowland's pop tart singing undermines and clutters the song, it's hard to resist a track where hyper-masculine Pitbull says, "Thank you mom for making me a man." As Pitbull says on the intro track "Mr Worldwide," Mr. 305 takes on the world without forgetting his Cuban-Miami roots on Planet Pit. The rapper has managed to craft a sultry album brimming with slick COURTESY OF MR. 305 INC. "Hey, woman! I'm gonna put my face on your back now. That cool?" production and club hits that will thing" and "Hey Baby" are already undoubtedly create the summer mainstays on pop radio, the album soundtrack for stumbling partiers. is littered with more inventive Electronica fuses comfortably sleeper hits. with bachata beats while guests Pitbull's latest may lack depth, such as Sean Paul infuse tracks but as a party album it is a variable like "Shake Senora" (also featur- melting pot that will undoubtedly ing T-Pain) with dancehall reggae. impart the pop charts with some While songs like "Give Me Every- much needed culture.;Dale!