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Thursday, July 28, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS
‘Star Trek’ not
‘Beyond’ fluff
By ALEX INTNER
Summer Managing Arts Editor
“Star Trek Beyond” had some-
thing to prove this summer. In a
year when the big box office sto-
ries focus on
how
sequels
are both criti-
cal and finan-
cial flops, “Star
Trek” had to
show it wasn’t
another
pure
cash grab and
had a reason
for
existing.
While it’s not
the best new movie this summer,
the new “Star Trek” film is a damn
good time and clearly had effort
put into it. Does it have the depth
of other summer blockbusters like
“Captain America Civil War” or
“Finding Dory”? No, not really.
But, ultimately that doesn’t mat-
ter here.
“Star Trek Beyond” starts with
the Enterprise and its crew being
sent to rescue a stranded crew,
but they’re then attacked by Krall
(Idris Elba, “Luther”), who wants
to steal an artifact that’s onboard.
He and his crew proceed to
destroy the ship during the attack.
The crew then ends up scattered
across the planet, meeting new
friends in their attempts to get off
the planet and stopping Krall from
destroying a major Star Fleet base.
The film’s biggest redeeming
quality is how purely watchable
it was. Simon Pegg (“Shaun of the
Dead”, who co-wrote the screen-
play with Doug Jung and played
the character Scotty) brought
his sensibility to the script, pep-
pering many of the characters’
interactions with witty jokes. At
its best, the banter sang off the
screen, causing raucous laughter.
The talented cast embraced these
moments, especially Pegg, Karl
Urban’s (“Almost Human”) Bones
and Zachary Quinto’s (“The Slap”)
Spock. These moments allowed
the movie to relax, creating a fast
and loose feeling that carries it
from beginning to end.
It helps that the franchise
brought in a visually talented
director in Justin Lin (“Furious
7”) to replace J.J. Abrams (who
was busy making this little “Star
Wars” film). The film’s action
scenes crackled with excitement.
As the camera swooped around
the fighting, Lin made us feel a
certain excitement, just like he
did so well in the “Fast and Furi-
ous” movies he directed. This is
especially true in Kall’s attack
of the Enterprise. This sequence
went on for multiple minutes, and
were some of the most exciting
moments in the movie.
Despite the movie being a
goof watch, it wasn’t without its
problems. The film didn’t really
attempt to add much depth to the
characters, something the first
film did so well with the relation-
ship between Spock and Captain
Kirk (Chris Pine, “Jack Ryan:
Shadow Recruit”). Elba did what
he could with the villain role,
but the character doesn’t get any
background until the film’s third
act, and the twists felt like half-
hearted attempts at creating a
character instead of a caricature.
Still, it’s easy to overlook how
hard it is to make a competent
summer blockbuster. This movie-
going season has been filled with
efforts where the filmmakers
clearly didn’t care. That makes
“Star Trek” a refreshing breath
of fresh air with its banter and
incredible action scenes.
Gucci’s homecoming
album a strong showing
Artist makes
statement after
release from prison
By ANAY KATYAL
Summer Senior Arts Editor
Gucci Mane’s propensity for
trouble never really got in the way
of his prolific music career. In his
approximately
2 years spent
locked
up
at
USP
Terre
Haute,
Gucci
released
over
twenty
different
projects, largely
thanks
to
a
backlog of old
verses and an
ever-so-loyal team of producers,
artists and marketers behind him.
After his various flirtations with
the law and the dwindling image
of his label and crew, the deluge of
releases was a last-ditch attempt
to maintain the artist’s relevancy
as trap royalty — at least until he
can go back to warming the throne
himself. With millions parading
#FreeGuwop all over Twitter
as a gesture of support, Gucci
and his team’s efforts didn’t go
unheard, making the anticipation
for Gucci’s first release post-
prison all the more sweet for
his fans. Atlanta’s rap scene has
seen an upheaval of sorts since
Gucci’s incarceration, introducing
newfound
mainstream
media
attention and a smorgasbord of
new players to the game. In the
face of that, Gucci finds himself
comfortably at home on Everybody
Looking — a project that comes
less than two months after his
release. Despite some loose ends
on the album, it’s as if he never left
in the first place.
Helmed by Atlanta producers
Zaytoven
and
Mike
WiLL
Made-It, Everybody Looking was
tasked with the responsibility of
ensuring fans (and quiet critics)
that Gucci has yet to deviate from
his form. With standout songs like
“1st Day Out tha Feds” (initially
released as a single) and “Guwop
Home,” Everybody Looking packs
a sonic punch, especially in the
face his past two-to-three years
of releases. Despite a steady flow
of content while in prison, thanks
to
the
haphazardly-slapped-
together nature of his many
prison-era
releases,
a
Gucci-
sized void was still glaringly
present in Atlanta’s trap scene.
The amalgamated image of what
Gucci is as both a personality and
a rapper slowly became muted in
those absent years, taking away the
authentic and bombastic aspects
of his character from prominent
public display. Everybody Looking
eschews those mistakes, instead
conveying Gucci in a light that
wouldn’t be expected so soon
after release from prison. He
sounds clear, sober, healthy — but
he also sounds strong, aggressive,
and more full of life than ever. It’s
the Gucci Mane we haven’t heard
in years.
Despite Everybody Looking’s
refreshing
predisposition
relative to Gucci’s past releases,
it’s still necessary to observe
the work through an objective
lense. Gucci and his team’s past
misjudgements don’t serve as a
license for unabated praise. For
all the charm Gucci serves on the
record, the lack of aural variety
can leave listeners longing for
more. Zaytoven and Mike WiLL
deliver with an arsenal of beats
they had to have been saving for a
project like this, but Gucci’s bars,
as entertaining as they are, don’t
seem to match the celebratory
quality of production that backs
them. Gucci isn’t known for
being a master lyricist, but he’s
had more memorable moments
stringing together bars and verses
on past tapes. Some fans might
expect something next-level on
a release like Everybody Looking,
but those same fans probably have
a history of having unreasonably
high expectations too.
Even in the face of those
critiques, Gucci’s homecoming
project has an incomprehensibly
charming gusto. Hearing Gucci
happy, healthy and sober makes
the
album
enjoyable
purely
on its own. It’s assurance that
Atlanta’s rap godfather hasn’t
left his patrons yet. It’s a promise
that he has a lot more for us too.
He makes playful and humorous
jabs concerning his otherwise
sordid
upbringing,
and
he
frames his rise to fame in ways
that can only be described as
fodder for inspiration. Gucci
shows that prison matured him,
both musically and personally,
involving mainstream artists of
rap’s new school with elements
of the genre that Gucci can
accurately call his own. It’s a
message
of
redemption
and
success rather than simply being a
piece of art — fitting, considering
the kind of person Gucci is.
Everybody Looking isn’t Gucci’s
magnum opus by any means.
That’s probably not the point of
it either, though. For an album
hurriedly churned out in a matter
of weeks, its quality exceeds the
expectations it set for itself; for
a rapper who’s had his fair share
of trials and tribulations, it’s also
an album that expresses a strong
and resilient man whose best
years are ahead of him rather
than behind. Everybody Looking
deserves a listen, not because it’s
Gucci’s best yet, but because it’s a
sobering message of the Gucci we
have yet to see.
GUWOP ENTERPRISES/ATLANTIC
Y’all feeling Gucci?
PARAMOUNT
“I can make horseshit jokes when it’s logical!”
B+
Everybody
Looking
Gucci Mane
Guwop Enter-
prises/Atlantic
FILM REVIEW
MUSIC REVIEW
B+
Star Trek
Beyond
Paramount
Pictures
Rave & Quality 16