Thursday, July 25, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, July 25, 2013
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
3
Wan succeeds in
Finding 'The Way'
'FonjuringI
Director of 'Saw' knew more about creating scary
buzz than actually scaring his audi-
series returns with ence (see: "Saw" and "Insidious").
With shaky performances and a lack
memorable scares of through lines, those films succeed-
ed as ideas, not actual artworks. If
By ANDREW MCCLURE cinephiles have cast doubt over Wan,
Daily Arts Writer "The Conjuring" is his all-important,
holy-shit rebound. Throughout, he
Even in the digital epoch where manages to keep you on the edge of
secularism is hip and science trumps your seat, forgetting to breathe. No
art, there's nothing not scary about plot point is safe, includingthe open-
"ptoeing down ing and closingcredits.
a lightless hall- A Set in the Nixonian early '70s,
way as the grand- paranormal spirit-finders Lorraine
father clock Tk and Ed Warren (Vera Farmiga,
loudens. Noth- Conjuring' "Source Code" and Patrick Wilson,
ing. It's a heart- "Insidious," respectively) investigate
pounding moment At Goodrich the demonic occurrences most peo-
nobody can out- and Rave ple would try to ignore so they can
grow - just like a New Line sleep at night: demonic possessions,
bunny's hypersen- Cinema exorcisms, resilient spirits and even
sitive hearing, we some entirely explainable creaks
humans instinc- from the "haunted" attic. Lorraine's
tually assume the worst when an different, though. She can connect
unpleasant sound emanates from the preternaturally with inhuman ener-
bedroom closet. In one of most com- gies via sight, touch, smell and sound.
pelling fingers-over-eyelids pictures They make a killer team - Lorraine
ever, "The Conjuring" finds harmo- as the medium to best extract the
ny in the carriage of Satan's cupped forces and Ed as the intrepid torch-
hands. holder.
Before, filmmaker James Wan After an exorcism that "(takes) a
iorror
lot out of" Lorraine and leaves her
eating nothing for eight days, the
Warrens finally are settling down
with their daughter. It's not longuntil
a family across the plains approaches
them withhouse disturbances unlike
any the Warrens have seen. The sin-
ister spirits have a demented agenda
and only Lorraine's animalistic
pulse paired with Ed's pluck stand a
chance.
Lorraine's got it. But not just in an
"I see dead people" fashion; rather,
our heroine balances her surreal
powers to her congenial mothering.
We can see what she sees from the
horrified look in her eyes, not the
grisly images themselves. Farmiga's
conviction will convert unbelievers
to believers and jocks to mice. Her
ability to translate the unknown into
knowable terms makes you root for
faith, despite your atheistic view.
An unexpected gear of this hair-
raising machine comes from the
gymnastic lensing that smoothly
flips, coasts and vertigoes. One
thumb-biting scene features a young
girl peaking under her bed after sus-
pecting someone else in the room.
The lens carefully somersaults
upside-down as she herself uncon-
fidently peaks. Thankfully the lens
never embodies one of the bad guys
- an unimpressive gagrecycled many
a year.
Any filmic analyst won't under-
stand why "Conjuring" ousts other
recent contemporaries. From an ana-
lytical stance, the movie derives vir-
tually all of its assets from previous
works: odd noises, a suspectdog, arot-
ten noose and a match lit in darkness.
It takes a synthesizingmind to appre-
ciate these assets holistically. A grain
of sand bores, but abeach astounds.
A deft sound editing team, clever
lighting crew and crisp direction
all help to synchronize a script that
allows Farmiga and Co. to shine.
Duringadecade-longstretchwhen
horror trailers are urgently dismissed
while channel surfing, "The Con-
juring" will disrupt the ugly trend
of blood sans depth. For whatever
reason, well crafted satanic-themed
movies always stand the test of time.
From Rosemary to Father Merrin,
Lorraine Warren reminds us maybe
we believe more than we like to think
we do.
By CARLY KEYES
Daily Arts Writer
For years, films have risen to
success via the awkward-boy-
comes-of-age plot. But, why? Real-
ly, why?
How many J
of us can relate
to someone like 'The Way
Brad Pitt who W Bac'
saves the world Wa
from a zom- At the
bie attack and Michigan
lands Angelina Theater
Jolie (off-cam-
era, too)? Who Fox Searchlight
wakes up in the Pictures
morning, looks
in the mirror, and says, "Boy, I sure
do look a lot like Megan Fox?" Who
went to a high school, like the one
in (insert every teen soap opera-
drama ever made here), where
even the nerds are attractive and
charismatic?
Even though they're on-screen
in fictional roles - and it's their job
to act like someone else - seldom
can a movie star be denoted "one
of us."
So when a film like "The Way
Way Back" comes along, featur-
ing a shy, skinny, pale pre-teen boy
named Duncan (Liam James, TV's
"Psych") who's forced to spend
the summer with his pushover
of a mother, Pam (Toni Collette,
"Hitchcock'), and her new asshole
of a boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell,
"The Incredible Burt Wonder-
stone") with his equally charm-
less brat of a daughter, Steph (Zoe
Levin, "Trust"), in tow - we smile
because that's familiar. We feel
you, Duncan.
Thankfully, Owen (Sam Rock-
well, "Seven Psychopaths"), the
goofball manager of a local water
park, takes Duncan under his
wing; he's like that fun and crazy
unclewhonevergrewupor"made
anything of himself" according
to the rest of the family when, in
actuality, they all secretly envy his
carefree spirit and zest for life.
In an equally hilarious, side-
splitting (yes, I said side-splitting)
performance, Allison Janney
("Touchy Feely") plays Betty, the
loquacious and lovable, booze-
happy next-door neighbor hanging
out of her crop top. She doubles as
the graciously aging, cool and hip
"Mom of the Year" to her son with
a wandering eye and her daughter,
Susanna (Annasophia Robb, "Soul
Surfer") who befriends Duncan.
Maya Rudolph ("Friends with
Kids") as Caitlin, a fellow employ-
ee at the water park slash Owen's
love interest, and Rob Corddry
("Pain and Gain") and Amanda
Peet ("Identity Thief") as Kip and
Trish, a couple of Trent's rowdy
pals, round out an incredible
ensemble cast.
But, despite the all-star lineup,
what sets this quirky indie dram-
edy apart from every other quirky
indie dramedy isn't really the
who, but rather what they do and
what escapes from their mouths -
sometimes narrowly, sometimes
blatantly.
Written and directed by Nat
Faxon and Jim Rash, who swept
the 2011 awards season with their
adapted screenplay for Alexander
Payne's "The Descendants," this
straightforward story relies on
authentic characters (Faxon and
Rash both make memorable cam-
eos themselves) who face everyday
scenarios and familiar challeng-
es garnished with imaginative
moments and accompanied by
downright outrageous dialogue.
It's no surprise that Duncan's
only mode of transportation would
be a pink and white bicycle with
streamers on the handles, but
how often does one find them-
selves trapped in a break-dance
circle, forced to bust some moves
and then walk away with a well
deserved nickname like "Pop-N-
Lock?" And as for a heated, ultra-
competitive game of Candyland
that ends with someone throwing
something across the room in an
angry fit of rage, well, I can't speak
for your family.
Indie dramedy
at its best.
So far this summer, movie the-
aters have been ruled with an Iron
Man, countless other big-budget
comic book concoctions and the
perpetual CGI-fueled, oh-no-the-
world-is-ending-again undertak-
ings. Like Christmas at the North
Pole, 'tis the season. But, as we
immerse ourselves in the high tide
of action-packed popcorn flicks,
this elegantly understated combi-
nation of craziness and comfort is
a good reason to come up for air.
CSG works
to strengthen
web presence
Report highlights
coflmfunity needs
Proppe, Dishell
consider new
communications
director position
By WILL GREENBERG
Daily StaffReporter
The Central Student
Government has long been
struggling with their web and
social media presence - outlets
are often left without updates
and lack an audience.
But beyond including up-to-
date contact information for
staff and a list of CSG initiatives,
the site is inconsistent with the
CSG Constitution, as it doesn't
show the current budget or
reports from the University
Board of Regents meetings and
the University Council.
Business senior Michael
Proppe, CSG President, said
much of the problem stems from
an unclear understanding of who
is responsible for making sure
the necessary items go onto the
site. Dealing with the website is
one of his top priorities for the
late summer and fall.
"It's a little unprofessional
that the website isn't up-to-
date," Proppe said. "Also it's
important from a transparency
standpoint. Everything needs
to get placed on the website so
students and other University
community members can see it
and review it."
Engineering senior Kyle
Summers, CSG's webmaster, is
in charge of attending to the
website.
Summers said while he was
involved in CSG - he was
INTERNS
From Page 1
"We all know that there's a
lot of work to do, but right now,
it's more important than ever to
ii:v
APPLICANTS WANTED
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::
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representative for the College of
Engineering and Chief of Staff
- he took the role of webmaster,
after re-doing the website.
He added features like
UPetition, a feature where
students can create a legitimate
student petition through the
website. However, last year,
Summers was not involved in
CSG as an elected member but
continued on as the webmaster.
Summers said the
responsibility then fell on the
elected officials to submit
documents to him to upload to
the site, and that his primary
role was not to attain current
documents himself.
Proppe said not having an
internal position with the clearly
defined role of keeping the
website current has hurt the site
in the past.
Proppe said his goal for
this year is to introduce a
Communications Director
position that would work to do
that. The position would cover
press releases, website updates
and Facebook and Twitter.
While the website may have
struggled in the past, CSG isn't
too far behind the rest of the Big
Ten's student governments. As of
July 21, seven of the 12 Big Ten
schools (not including University
of Maryland and Rutgers
University) had updated minutes
or agendas of their legislative
meetings and only five out of
the 12 had a current budget.
However, several schools who
didn't have the exact breakdown
of the finances did have a page
explaining the amount of funding
that student organizations
generally receive and procedures
on how to receive it.
See CSG, Page 6
recognize the powerful, youthful
energy that we feel has real
momentum in Detroit," she said.
"We all have a stake in Detroit's
turn-around, and we can all play a
role, including this young talent."
Other speakers included 2012
UMHS to
collaborate with
area hospitals to
address health issues
By TUI RADEMAKER
Daily News Editor
As one of the three major
hospitals in Washtenaw County,
the University Health System's
recently released community
health report could open the
door for a greater partnership
between the University Hospital
and county residents.
The Community Health
Needs Assessment is part of the
hospital's compliance with the
Affordable Care Act of 2010 -
President Barack Obama's health
care reform legislation - that
requires all tax-exempt hospitals
such as UMHS to conduct
reports on community health
status as well as implement
strategies to address discovered
issues. The report was drawn up
by a UMHS team who reviewed
data from a county-wide health
information survey.
Keven Mosley-Koehler,
coordinator of the Community
Benefit and Community Health
Needs Assessment, said the
report has proven beneficial to
the health needs of the area.
"Really I think that part of
the thrust of the Affordable
Care Act is really it's asking
the questions of health systems
saying 'how can we deploy the
economic power, the human
and intellectual resources of our
institution to build healthier and
more prosperous communities?'
" Mosley-Koehler said.
The 52-page report identified
the following community needs
as the targets of the hospital's
alum Sam Hamburger, Ross
senior Patricia Diaz and 1987 Ross
alum Brian Hermelin, who is an
active member of Opportunity
Detroit, a program spearheaded
by Quicken Loans Chairman and
Founder Dan Gilbert to draw
greatest attention, in order of
priority: access to care, mental
health, substance abuse, obesity,
pre-conceptual and perinatal
health, immunizations and child
abuse and neglect.
The data used in the CHNA
came from a survey in which
UMHS collaborated with the
Washtenaw County Public
Health Department, Saint
Joseph Mercy Hospital of Ann
Arbor and Chelsea Community
Hospital.
Due to the large sample
size, Mosley-Koehler said
the extensive survey enabled
UMHS to look not only at the
health needs within the county
as a whole, but also at trends
within different demographic
groups defined by factors
such as socioeconomic status,
race, region, education and
attainment of health insurance.
"As a whole, Washtenaw
County has comparable health
needs to other counties that have
comparable demographics," she
said. "But when you start to look
at the health within Washtenaw
County by these specific social
factors, that's when you start to
see really (great) differences ...
risk factors, health status, things
like that."
She said one of the most
dramatic factors for determining
health status is education level
of the population. For example,
25 percent of respondents from
the county as a whole reported
engaging in no physical activity
whereas the number was 65
percent when looking only at
respondents who had only a high
school education.
Mosley-Koehler said another
trend in the data was binge
drinking. However she said
unlike most other health
concerns, where the trends are
often determined by factors
attention to the positive aspects
of Detroit's renaissance.
Though Diaz grew up in the
Dominican Republic, she has
made a life in Michigan and said
she "hasn't been able" to leave.
"In Detroit I see people who
other than location, the Ann
Arbor area showed much higher
rates than other parts of the
county. She said this could be due
to the large student population
in the area.
Mosley-Koehler said one of
the most alarmingtrends that the
report touched on and marked
as a health priority was that of
child abuse and neglect, which is
increasing at a "staggering rate."
However, one of the reasons the
team chose to list child abuse
and neglect as a hospital priority
was in part their confidence in
their resources to target it.
"We believe that we have
the strength within our health
system in terms of our specially
trained providers and our child
protection team to work not only
within Washtenaw County but at
a state level to build everyone's
capacity to identify the signs of
child abuse and neglect and to
intervene early," she said.
In order to address the
county's health concerns
discovered in the data and
examined in the report, Mosley-
Koehler said the hospital system
will continue to prioritize
community . based efforts,
something she said the hospital
already shows strength in.
Mosley-Koehler said a major
part of "community benefit" -
something that the Affordable
Care Act requires tax-exempt
hospitals to provide - includes
subsidized and compensated
health care as well as community
improvement programs that
engage in education and
awareness.
She said the hospital's goals
are impossible without the
collaboration of other health
care partners within the area,
Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital
of Ann Arbor and Chelsea
Community Hospital.
are passionate and positive," she
said. "When I look around Detroit
I see (a place) for leadership to
leave a mark, to make a change,
because the energy is there
and people want to be a part of
Detroit's comeback."
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