Thursday, May 23, 2013 Thursday, May 23, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com A Star Trek: Into Darkness At Quality 16 and Rave Paramount G rl the back of yo head is ridiculous. PARAMOUNT 'oAbrams goes boldly 'Int Darkness' To the end credits, "Darkness" barrels through with unrelenting adrenaline, pausing for only a few brief moments and never spin- ning out of control. The longest lull comes when the impossibly resilient Khan spells out his Why-I'm-Evil story, an action-flick convention even novel screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman ("Star Trek") can't avoid. As far as villain ori- gins go, Khan's is pretty by-the- numbers, and his motives lack weight. But it's also a testament to the film's frenetic energy that even a brief soliloquy delivered from the mesmerizing mouth of Cumberbatch has us wishing we'd just get back to the phaser- slinging thrills. Motives matter less when you're having so much damn fun. And "Darkness" knows how to have fun. Instead of sticking to the newfangled formula of deeply emotional journeys and brood- ing characters - made popular by recent comic-book adaptations - "Darkness" is a space adven- ture ripped from the dreams of any sci-fi geek. The film never reaches the darkness its title sug- gests, neither tonally nor aesthet- ically. Themes of terrorism and wartime moral instability trickle throughout, and between deep space base-jumping and hand- to-hand combat with Klingons, these characters do pause to con- template mortality: The always logical, stats-crunching Spock divulges his feelings on death, rendering lieutenant and linguis- tics expert Uhura (Zoe Saldana, "Avatar") speechless. But even these pauses aren't dark; they hum with human honesty and evoke the large-hearted utopia- nism that can be traced back to "The Original Series." And not only is it fun, it's sexy, and not just because its cast is. The visuals awe, even in 2-D, and cinematographer Daniel Min- del returns to capture a colorful world, speckled with enough lens flare to light even the darkest corners of the universe, as can be expected with Abrams at the helm. And while it's a sexy space adventure with Michael Bay-level booms and brawls, it fortunately lacks the sexed-up overindul- gence that accompanies big Bay features. The closest the film comes to a. traditional action movie romance arc is between Kirk and Spock. Sorry fangirls, that doesn't mean there's a "Spirk" kiss. But the tra- jectory of the friendship between these two men, who couldn't be more different - Kirk breaks rules while Spock sticks to the book - has been steadily built upon, with Pine and Quinto playing it perfect- ly from square one. Their back-and- forth quips are some of the script's highlights, though it's Simon Pegg ("Paul") as the outspoken, liquor- slurping Enterprise engineer Scot- ty who lands the most laughs. Though it again nails the bal- ance between nostalgia (Leonard Nimoy reprises his cameo, and a Tribble makes a brief, trouble- less appearance) and reinvention, stunning the Klingon-speaking Trekkies and a new generation of moviegoers alike, "Darkness" doesn't possess the originality of Abrams's first "Trek." The sequel had to fulfill lofty expectations: For one, it's a follow-up to what was easily 2009's finest summer blockbuster, but it's also a quasi- remake of "The Wrath of Khan," a fan-favorite film in the franchise. Taking on such a huge enterprise was, admittedly, highly illogical. But Abrams calculates risk like Kirk: the bolder, the better. And even with a simple story and more action than emotion, "Darkness" boldly goes and does so at warp speed, leaving you gasping for breath. Slut-fcation 'Star Trek' sequel species with caked-on, black-and- white faces and plenty of spears impresses with warp- hot on their heels. At cliff's edge, they jump, plunging into the sea speed action where the magnificent U.S.S. Enterprise awaits, bathed in a By KAYLA UPADHYAYA blue that could rival the coolness Managing Arts Editor of Pine's piercing eyes. Mean- while, Spock (Zachary Quinto, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine, TV's "Heroes") drops into a bub- "This Means War") and Dr. Bones bling volcano, neutralizes it and McCoy (Karl Urban, "Red") tear dances with death before Kirk through the bright red fields of pulls off yet another improbable a primitive planet, an indigenous rescue mission. So opens "Star Trek: Into Darkness," J.J. Abrams's ("Super 8") rip-roaring follow-up to his 2009 stellar success of a "Trek" reboot. In the first 10 minutes, a major character nearly dies, a major character does die, we meet our unflinching villain Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch, TV's "Sherlock"), Kirk's captainship is taken from him and Spock is reas- signed. "Darkness" doesn't need to build momentum; its thrusters are at full speed from the start. t's a typical Tuesday night and the line for Ann Arbor's home of the damned - Scorekeepers Bar and Grille - is out the door. As you wait in line you might be wonder- ing: Am I going to get in? Are we in the right order? Who's here - tonight? Do I look NATASHA good? ERTZBISCHOFF Ah-ha! There it is - the last ques- tion on your mind - do I look good? As a girl, you know the reality is the bouncer will only let you in if you're lookin' fine. Let's be honest, you could actually be 21 but if you're not dressed in a short skirt and some scrap of cloth that you're trying to pass off as a top, you're not getting in. However, if you're clad in 4-inch plus heels and a bodycon dress you could pretty much hand the bouncer a scrap of notebook paper that says "I'm 21" and you're as good as gold. Dress like a slut and the world - or at least Scorekeepers - is your oyster. That's the uglytruth. But when exactly did we learn the Golden Rule: Thou shalt wear low-cut tops? Maybe it all started when we were little girls dressed in tomboyish Gap t-shirts watching our favorite Disney princess movie through mascara-less eyelashes. Now you might be thinking yeah, okay, Snow White isn't exactly your typical lady of the night with her cap sleeves and kitten heels - but hear me out. As aspiring princesses-in- training we look to these cartoon idols for advice on finding our happily ever after - or at least I did. So maybe Snow White doesn't seem like your typical hussy but let's take a look at another princess, say, Ariel. That girl is wearing nothing but the cartoon version of the Victoria's Secret Bombshell bra and - well that's about it (mermaid tails don't count). If you're still not convinced - how about Cinderella? In the beginning of the movie she's wearing matronly brown garb - a covert sexist statement about our domestic role in the house. And with that blase spinster's outfit, it's pretty clear that she's not attracting anyone but birds and mice. Then as if by magic (insert fairy godmother and eye rolling) a sparkly low-cut dress and some gaudy blue eye shadow, she bags the man of her dreams. Bibbidi-bobbi- di-boo, you've got yourself a success by slut-ification story. Somaybeweweretooyoungtoreally understand the implicit demeaning message that ol Walt was sending us through our VCRs. But as we've gotten older the media messages have become more shamelessly explicit and - quite frankly - disgusting. Take the 2008 romcom, "The House Bunny", where Playboy bunny Shelly tries to teach the frumpy-dump sorority girls of Zeta Alpha Zeta how to attract frat boys and save their house. And what is the holy grail of being a successful sorority girl? You guessed it! Dressing like a slut. Shelly expertly advises them that "dressing sexy is all about skimplifying. I want you to show skin in the four major regions. Arms, legs, belly and cleavage." You heard it from the Playboy bunny first - showing skin equals happiness. You can look at this as a good or a bad thing. So now after you've done some deep soul-searching on the origins of the slutty outfit, here you are, back in the line at Scorekeepers, trying to channel all your good karma into getting past the gatekeeper (the bouncer with a smug Cheshire grin on his face). Thankfully, even though you look like you're 12 and your fake ID is a piece of shit, you remembered to wear that mesh cut-out Nasty Gal dress you've been saving for such an occasion. *Cue the trumpets and angelic music* You got in! So, you can choose to look at this blatant disregard for the law and the linear relationship between skin expo- sure and male attention involved as a really good thing or a really bad thing. I like to look at it as a damn good thing because it means that as women we hold all the cards. There will always be some men that ogle women and appreciate them at legs to chest - then at face value. Some things you just can't change. Now I'm not saying that as a girl you should walk around with a tit hanging out in order to get what you want - that would be borderline prostitution. But what I'm saying is that as strong, beautiful women of the 21st century it's our prerogative when it comes to how we want others to perceive us. It's pretty empowering to feel comfortable with your own body and dress how you please. Maybe we really should follow Beyonce's advice: if you've got it, flaunt it. So screw boys and let's just dance. Natasha Ertzbischoff can be reached at nmertz@umich.edu. half of my junior year studying abroad. During the past three or so months I've surfed the other side of the Atlantic in Lagos, Portugal, dismissively stared right back at Mona in The Louvre in Paris, inadvertently offended a man of the cloth in Italy and recreated my favorite scenes from the film "In Bruges," well, in Bruges. And all that was just one week. Like all good things, those antics eventually ended and I returned home, trading gela- to for frozen Go-Gurts, lav- ish Italian first, second and third courses for Chipotle and renaissance art for Adult Swim. The end to my time abroad hap- pened to coincide with the end of winter semester and as my Facebook newsfeed overflowed with the laments of graduat- ing seniors, I dwelled on the juxtaposition of the two expe- riences. What about Michigan had influenced these seniors so profoundly? Had I missed out on that by studying abroad? And if so, had my time abroad changed me? After dwelling on the question and a quick phone call to my mom asking why Facebook statuses affected me so much (she said maybe it was that time of the month, I told her wrong kid), I arrived at a simple - if not peculiar - solution: that Michigan Difference we always speak so highly of - which permeates through all our daily activities like Doritos Locos Tacos through the colon of a frat star - is built upon a foundational acceptance of what I call "the weirdness." Furthermore, it was because of the ways I had his past semester I traveled to Florence, Italy to spend the latter Thursday, May 23, 2013 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Weirdly different BEN GLOGER 5S accepted this weirdness as a student that despite living halfway across the world from Ann Arbor, it still played a significant role in shaping my time abroad. Now this weirdness is impos- sible to precisely define. The weirdness exists between acceptance and dismissal - the figurative hand that quite lit- erally pushes your envelope. The weirdness comes in any shape, form or goo and includes the strange meat I continually accepted from a tattooed Italian man in the sandwich shop next door to my apartment in Flor- ence to the occurrences at a typi- cal poetry slam in Kerrytown. Yet, this weirdness need not deviate from the mainstream. If the aforementioned activities fail to strike you as peculiar then a dabble into the weirdness may entail actually washing your hands after you go the bathroom or attempting to stop trying so hard to not look like you're not trying to look cool, you damn hipster. The point is weirdness has no boundaries - it's a con- tinual enigma and is simply that which pushes you beyond your comfort zone and forces you in reflection to note "well shit, that certainly was weird." A continual cultivation of the weirdness is necessary to truly absorb any experience. As any Wolverine can tell you, the Michigan Difference is not easily summarized - if at all. It involves the prestige of our school, but also going to class blackout drunk on St. Patrick's Day and confusing an under- classman for a leprechaun. Foot- ball pre-parties are a factor and so is our work-hard, play-hard attitude - name me one stu- dent who hasn't had a professor yet who so completely rocked their intellectual foundation in a good way, and I'll show you a Michigan State student. Our Michigan Difference is defined by its inability to be defined, existing upon a founda- tion that celebrates any personal endeavor, embracing the weird- ness clad in gear from The M Den with No Thai on its breath. The best times I've had at Michigan have been when I stepped out of the confines of any defining adjectives, attending non-Greek life, Greek life and even Resi- dential College parties, listening to readings in the auditorium of the University Art Museum or getting to know the entirely too old patrons of Scorekeepers Bar and Grill. The Michigan Difference is in the weirdness. This acceptance of the weirdness stayed with me when I studied abroad, allow- ing me to truly dive into a dif- ferent culture uninhibited by any fear of the unknown. I felt bad for my peers who refused to leave America behind - instead constantly searching for Wi-Fi while trying to pass Nutella off as an excursion into foreign cuisine. Because of the lessons Ann Arbor taught me, I was truly able to leave it behind. I know I may sound like an abomination hybrid of a car commercial and Jim Carrey from "Yes Man," telling you to grab life by the horns and buy a Dodge Ram - but the point is, that's exactly what I want. Minus the Dodge Ram part. For everyone, from those who just graduated, to those now completing another chapter in their career as a lifelong Wolverine, to those just beginning their maize and blue diary that I totally don't have hidden under my bed - I hope you never forget to always carry with you that undeniable and insatiable desire for the weirdness that defines our Michigan difference. BenGloger can be reached at bgloger@umich.edu. r - I 2 FREE bagels no purchase necessary Lim:? One offer per customer with coupon. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Valid at Barry Bagels Ann Arbor location ONLY. BAGELS ". ." " ARE YOU IN ANN ARBOR THIS SUMMER? Join the Daily arts staff as a community culture writer! Email artsamichigandaily.com to request an application Barry Bagels Westgate Shopping Center 2515 Jackson Aoe, Ann Abor, M 4803 (734) 662-2435 xaww.barrybagels.com Expires: May 29, 2013 Intrepid Interns: Ever wondered what it's like to intern for an entertainment management agency? pOdium Jacquelyn Goldman looks back at last summer. Go to michigandaily.com/blogs/The Podium. L