Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

'9

'Finally' not worth hype The end of the Potter era

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By DAVID TAO
Daily Film Editor
Detroit's own Big Sean was once
Kanye West's protegd and one of
the hottest MC's
on the so-called
freshman list. He
was a guy who Big Sean
could take super-
ficial rhymes and Finally Famous
turn them into
hits, a creative G.O.OD. Music
rapper who could
do lowbrow and
highbrow equally well. With tic
backing of G.O.O.D. Music, he was
going to bring good hip hop back to
the airwaves.
Well now, Sean's debut, Finally
Famous, is in stores and, lo and
behold, it's far from the classic
many were expecting. Instead of
arrogant, witty lyrics set over revo-
lutionary, envelope-pushing beats a
lalast year's collaboration, G.O.O.D.
Fridays, most of the album is for-
mulaically geared towards chart
success, or recycled material from
past mixtapes. None of it is excit-
ing. Even less of it is original.
From the album's intro track, we
can tell we're off to a bad start, as
Sean spits a few bars about being,
well, finally famous, over a repack-
aged version of an old mixtape beat.
It's something we'll hear over and
over again as the album grinds on,
whether he's "that Detroit player
'MOON'
From Page 8
ham-fisted paycheck 'jobs that
Hollywood is no longer recession-
proof. Ken Jeong (TV's "Commu-
nity") once again sets his race back
50 years, playing another hideous
Asian stereotype that wears bow-
ties and drinks "special" Asian milk.
Then again, none of this is new
information. Looking for a plot

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if the world" on the Dream- doesn't help.
i "Live This Life" or "ended Sean is at his best when he's
verybody guest list" on the introspective. He tells the story of
lrown-assisted first single, his rise on "Wait for Me," produced
st." He's incredibly famous by No I.D., which emulates vintage,
s a lot of perks, just like all soul-sampling College Dropout-
er rappers who make it onto era Kanye. Here, Sean spits from
rts. Commercialization, not the heart, about the long road to
lity, is whatsells records and success, a girlfriend who left him
e it, we can't all be Kanye. behind and a friend serving10 years
Sean doesn't seem to know in prison. Similarly, on "Memories
ind of pre-packaged label (Part II)" Sean deals with themes
dity he wants to be. On of tragedy and loss, rapping about a
friend's pill addiction and how he's
"not trying to rock no shirts that
Big Sean sa i "'""" " But "" n11"1" (
Sean can't avoid that feeling of been
appoints big. there, done that. Part twos in hip-
i pr g' ' hop, such as Mobb Deep's famous
"Shook Ones (Part II)," usually
include new verses and a reworked
ike "My Last," he's a medio- beat. And though the beat is differ-
serviceable, ubiquitous pop ent and the song features labelmate
if he didn't shout out the John Legend on the hook, Sean
de so much, nobody would recycles his verses verbatim.
he wasn't from, say, New Glimpses of wit shine through
r Chicago. On other tracks, the album's overly poppy veneer.
the Roscoe Dash-assisted Parts of promotional single "I Do
n Gaye & Chardonnay" and It" are creatively lowbrow, includ-
.rre, MC Hammer-sampling ing references to Family Guy and
ub anthem, "Dance (A$$)," Captain Planet. Album closer "So
unds more like he belongs Much More" is an entertaining nod
k Squad. On "Marvin Gaye to Kanye's "Last Call" from College
donnay," a hollow-sounding Dropout, as Sean sends a two-min-
nd cloying synth strings ute shoutout to his city, his past and
memories of Waka Flocka his family. Still, judging by Finally
"No Hands." Honestly, Famous's lack of creativity and gen-
Dash, who sounds exact- eral absence of vision, it seems that
ame here as he did there, Sean's best days are far behindhim.

Senior Arts Editor
At page 699 of"Harry Potter and
the Deathly Hallows," I had to put
down the book.
My face was alreadysoaked with
tears, my body convulsing with
hysterical sobs, but on page 699, I
had to drop everything and run to
the bathroom because I was sure I
was going to be sick.
As it happens, I wasn't, lout not
for lack of impulse. Thankfully,
I had only eaten a single samosa
in the past 24 hours, so there was
nthi" , to c"ve 'wes ts' nin"nnl
upheaval hit (pun intended).
Page 699 falls under chapter 34,
"The Forest Again," and it remains
to this day one of the most heart-
breaking episodes of literature I
have ever read. It is when Harry
resigns himself to death and sum-
mons the spirits of his parents and
guardians to walk with him to the
close. It is when his mother tells
him he has been brave and that
they will stay with him "until the
very end."
In her dedication of the book,
J.K. Rowling thanks us, the read-
ers, for doing the same.
I've been with Harry since I was
eight years old. That's well over
half my life, and for all that time,
there has always been something
to look forward to in the world of
Potter. Even since the lastbook and
the emptyfeelingofknowingitwas
the end, there was always this last
movie. It was a pleasant, unreach-
able future, distant enough that I
didn't need to worry about losing
Harry forever.
But that day has come.
I feel like I've already let go
of Harry so many times. When I
finally finished that last book (and
for the two days that followed,
when I was too ill to go into work)
and every time I've read it since, my
heart aches for him and for all the
characters that I've come to love in
the past 12 years. And I know I'm
not alone: We are the "Harry Pot-
ter" generation, the grade-school-
erswho arestartingtoheadoutinto
the real world with the comfort of
Hogwarts tucked away inside our
minds.Whether you lovedhated or
just never bothered with it, "Harry
Potter" is part of your adolescence
and your adulthood. These books
and movies have been our constant
through the most formative years
of our lives.
Maybe it's truer for me than

most. For as long as I can remem-
her, I've been The Harry Potter
Girl, a label I wear proudly because
it's just that true. I've got too many
"Harry Potter" t-shirts and too
much wall space devoted to the
boy wizard, but I never imposed
my obsession upon anyone. It was
always more important tno remind
myself how much I love Jo's books
and count myself lucky for what
they've done for me.
When the final film releases, I
will be at The Wizarding World of
Harry Potter in Orlando, Fla. for
LeakyCon, my sixth Potter con-
'"n io"in I'll he sitting inna5 5:5
theater hours before midnight
with other conference attendees -
known to me as the Harry Potter
fandom, my second family.
I'm pretty sure we'll all be crying
before the opening titles, and I'm
truly terrified for the visualization
of chapter 34. But after 12 years,
though, that's not what matters.
Whatever happens on screen will
pale in comparison to our reaction
as fans. I'll be a mess again: eye-
liner everywhere and sobs louder
than the film audio, but I won't be
alone.
Hogwarts letter?
Still waiting ...
In the end, the true worth of
Harry Potter resides in the days
that follow - they will be filled
with concerts, keynotes, discus-
sions, parties, sleepless nights, new r
friends made in the lobby and of
course, a ball to send everyone off
in style. What I'll take away is the
experience of being with hundreds
of people to whom I. don't have to
justify being The Harry Potter Girl,
because they've all been there.
In the words of Harry and the
Potters, "No, it won't be over 'til it's
over / Yes, it's we who will decide
/ That it won't be over / Unless we
have all died." "Harry Potter" isn't
ending with this movie, just as it
didn't end with the last book. The
magic Jo created is in everything
I do and in all those friends I've
made because of this. It's in every
tear, everysmile and everyhugthat
will mark July 15 and the future
beyond it.
It's in all of us, because we stuck
with Harry, until the very end.

in one of Bay's movies is largely
futile. Similarly, nobody's com-
paring LaBeouf to Pacino or De
Niro. What's truly sad is that a vast
majority of moviegoers don't care
about this. If people can't tell, or
don't care, about the difference
between well-scripted masterpiec-
es and cinematic junk food, what
does that say about the future?
Today, there are auteurs, like
Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronof-
sky and David Fincher, who are

dedicated to their art and care
more about an engaging story than
eye-opening explosions. There
are directors like J.J. Abrams and
Christopher Nolan, who routinely
bridge the divide between intel-
lectualism and populist sentiment.
Then, there are guys like Bay, in a
category by themselves, who stick
a billion dollars of special effects
behind a children's toy and call it
filmmaking. And modern audienc-
es eat it up. God help us all.


CINEMA
From Page 8
feel where the extra money is
going. It's a fun gimmick for those
who haven't experienced it, but
entirely inessential.
The event, however, isn't about
a gimmick, and that's where Hol-
lywood is off. There's nothing

more electric than opening night
of a Tarantino or Nolan film. The
first screening of "Inglourious
Basterds" that I attended, prob-
ably the most European block-
buster to hit domestic screens
in years, felt like being elbow to
elbow with slap-happy cinephiles.
"Inception" in theaters evoked
some of the most universal "ooh's"
and "awe's" I've ever heard from

an audience. No 3-D, no D-BOX,
just filmmaking at its finest. Now
that we have access to so much via
the Internet, it's easy to give in to
consumption and instant evalua-
tion. I'm guilty of it, too. At least
give the films you're consuming
a chance to return the favor and
consume you in the world they've
created, the way that a T-rex
might do at an Ohio drive-in.