Arts
Vampire Diaries' deserves stake to the heart
September 20The CW's fall offering "The Vampire Diaries" comes from creator Kevin Williamson
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Arts
Bright Star' shines
September 20As boring as John Keats' odes may have seemed back in high-school English class, "Bright Star," a film about the author's life, makes viewers care about the man behind the verse. Set in 19th century England, this film brings Keats (Ben Whishaw) to life. His story will captivate, as long as poetry recitations do not chase viewers out of the theater. For all of Keats' fame as a writer, the movie centers not on his literary work, but on the powerful and ultimately doomed romance between protagonists Keats and Fanny (Abbie Cornish).
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On new album, Jay-Z plays the elder statesman
September 17After the age of 30, most aging wordsmiths hobble along the side of the hip-hop expressway, searching far and wide for relevancy in the ever-evolving world of rap. These ripening luminaries are often caught in a brutal trap in which they must appeal to youth while still catering to the insatiable true hip-hop head. The code for escape is never the same and changes at a daily rate. In the midst of this musical chaos, Jay-Z walks down the middle of the road, paving his own path while drawing on the experiences of his predecessors. A witty lyricist and a savvy businessman, Jay-Z has always remained one step ahead of his peers and adversaries on his way to commercial success. His impeccable flow and ear for gritty yet pop-savvy beats have earned him wealth, celebrity and Beyoncé Knowles. Standing alone at a juncture that few rappers before him have reached, Jay-Z releases "The Blueprint 3" (2009) as an established and renowned artist who, beneath the surface, is engaged in a quiet struggle for relevancy. In June of this past summer, Jay-Z came out with the single "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." Armed with a No I.D.-produced beat based on soulful jazz samples, Jay-Z ruminates on almost every controversial hip-hop issue making headlines today — from skinny jeans to faux drug-dealer artists — with an emphasis on the advent of auto-tune. An old man in hip-hop years, Jay-Z denounces the stylized nuance of young, upcoming rappers. He leaves behind subtlety in order to convey his message clearly: "This is anti-auto-tune, death of the ringtone/ This ain't for iTunes, this ain't for sing-alongs". Jay-Z should be applauded for his courage in taking a stand on already divisive issues. He chose to have his second single, "Run this Town," communicate that he is acutely aware of the haggard state of hip-hop and that he's not going to sit idly by while it deteriorates. The only problem is that he's two years too late. Auto-tune has been solidified as a crutch for lesser hip-hop artists seeking mainstream play, and artists such as Lil' Wayne and Kanye West have implemented the tool with unique and creative results. "D.O.A." is indicative of Jay's position in uncharted waters; he attempts to create somewhat new material while appealing to the masses who threaten to abandon him at any moment. And appeal he does. Laced with the freshest beats from the who's-who of hip-hop super producers — including Kanye West, Pharrell and Timbaland, to name a few — Jay-Z reminds listeners just why he's so rich. He maintains the smooth-as-butter flow, ostentatious tone and the drug dealer and money references that his listeners are used to hearing. In addition, several of the tracks on the CD are tinged with the subtle electronica elements that have been infiltrating hip-hop for the last two years. It's a new sound for Jay-Z, and it's refreshing on the ears. He even manages to get some well-needed indie cred with this album by making songs with blogosphere darlings Santigold, Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun and upcoming rappers J. Cole and Kid Cudi. Hands down, the best song on the album is "Empire State of Mind," an ode to New York featuring fellow New Yorker Alicia Keys. Keys soars on the hook while Jay-Z exalts the city that birthed him over raining piano loops. Amidst the parade of hits on the album, however, several clunkers dull the CD's brilliance. Surprisingly, Timbaland supplies Jay with two lackluster beats, and Swizz Beatz offers Jay a semi-experimental track that sounds repetitive after two minutes. Additionally, "Venus vs. Mars" is a mess of a track in which Jay attempts to wittily dissect the differences between male and female. Still, Jay-Z reminds the world of his greatness without too much exertion, relying on the same formula he's used throughout his career. He is relaxed in cruise control, driving comfortably down the hip-hop expressway and maintaining the relevancy that has eluded so many before him.
Arts
Sorority sisters kick the bucket in a horror flick that's frighteningly mediocre
September 17College graduation should be an unforgettable day. The problem for the girls of Theta Pi is that they might not survive it. The latest in the endless run of horror remakes being cranked out by the Hollywood assembly line these days, "Sorority Row" (2009) offers up a fun, but ultimately unsatisfying addition to the "slasher" genre. "Sorority Row" features largely unknown actresses who try their best to make an impression on audiences while running, screaming and delivering witty one-liners. Despite the actresses' best attempts, the sisters' personalities fall into easily identifiable stereotypes, including queen bee Jessica (Leah Pipes), nice girl Cassidy (Briana Evigan) and nerdy and insecure Ellie (Rumer Willis). And director Stewart Hendler seems content to leave the character development at that. The sorority sisters never become more than flat characters reduced to their most basic attributes. The movie begins with the girls attempting to pull an overly elaborate prank on an ex-boyfriend who has wronged one of them. When the prank takes a turn for the worst and one of the sisters is killed, all involved decide that it's best to hide the body and never speak of the incident again. Flash forward eight months later: It's graduation and the girls' sorority, Theta Pi, is throwing one last party-to-end-all-parties. Trouble starts when people begin disappearing and the girls receive threatening text messages on their phones. What follows is standard horror fare, complete with false scares, subplots that go nowhere and a number of red herrings, each one more implausible than the last. The girls are slowly killed off one by one, with a few extra casualties thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately, the plot faces a dilemma: If the girls are killed off too fast, they won't be able to argue with each other, which would deprive the film of most of its comic relief. On the other hand, if they stay alive, the film begins to drag. The by-the-numbers approach to each of the murders keeps the movie from being very scary, and the final identity of the killer seems arbitrary given the four or five other suspects who have more believable motives for the killings. There's not much of a point to this movie, since it's not scary enough for cheap thrills and the plot is too full of holes for decent entertainment. The movie suffers from too many horror clichés and, oddly enough, over plotting. What should be a simple, straightforward horror flick gets bogged down with trying to fool the audience with too many possible killers. Even the style is distracting. Murder scenes are carried out with slick choreography, but general conversations are constructed with haphazard handheld camerawork and choppy editing. That is not to say that "Sorority Row" has no redeeming factors. Despite the lack of character development, most of the girls are well cast and seem to have fun with the script, which gives them plenty of insults to hurl at each other in a style reminiscent of "Mean Girls" (2004). Carrie Fisher also has an amusing role as the no-nonsense house-mother who goes after the killer with a shotgun. Horror fans will also enjoy the variety of the kills in the movie, which range from traditional stabbings to a more gruesome death involving a bottle. They are well done, for the most part, and thankfully don't get too caught up in an overabundance of gore like other recent horror movies. In the end, "Sorority Row" is a standard thriller with a pretense that promises more fun than the movie delivers. While its lively cast and inventive murders provide a decent amount of fun, the movie really doesn't have anything to distinguish it from any other horror film that might be showing at the local theater.
Arts
New doc has insights into fashion industry
September 17As New York's Fashion Week comes to an end, few people will have watched the designers' collections more closely than Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of "Vogue." Wintour is widely considered to be the most influential individual in the fashion industry because her decisions to include or exclude designers' looks from "Vogue" can make or break a career. Creating each month's "Vogue" is an enormous undertaking, and R.J. Cutler's new film "The September Issue" follows Wintour and other editors as they assemble the magazine's biggest annual issue. This process is obviously stressful for designers because they all hope to be included in the pages of the influential publication. But it is also nerve-racking for employees of "Vogue" because of Wintour's demanding management style. Wintour has been editor-in-chief of "Vogue" since 1988, and in that time she has earned a considerable reputation for her signature look, strong opinions and decisiveness. Some see these characteristics in a less-than-positive light, including Lauren Weisberger, whose novel-turned-movie, "The Devil Wears Prada," (2006) depicts a hardnosed fashion editor purported to be modeled after Wintour. In "The September Issue," however, Wintour is not depicted as the far-from angelic character in "The Devil Wears Prada." Make no mistake, Wintour is startlingly forthright. She tells designer Oscar de la Renta in a pre-show display of his work that he shouldn't include a look in his fashion show, and says that another designer, Stefano Pilati, from Yves Saint Laurent, might want to rethink his collection. The film, however, offers insight into Wintour's life in a way that "The Devil Wears Prada" does not. It begins with an interview with Wintour that is interspersed throughout the film. Through the editor's answers, viewers get a sense of Wintour's perspective on the magazine as well as her family life. It may come as a surprise that the editor's family is not fashion-centric. Wintour's siblings are engaged in very different lines of work than her own, and she says they are "amused" by what she does. Wintour's daughter is also interviewed in the film, and despite her mother's hopes, she indicates that she has no interest in pursuing fashion in the future. The majority of the film focuses on Wintour as she assembles the September issue of "Vogue." At over 800 pages long, the issue is their largest each year. It features a number of elaborate photo shoots. Among the most important editors who work with Wintour is Grace Coddington. As Coddington explains in the film, she began her career with the publication as a model for British "Vogue," and eventually began working for American "Vogue." Now, as creative director of the magazine, she is one of Wintour's most trusted aids and one of the few who is willing to challenge the editor-in-chief. Coddington oversees many of the magazine's photo shoots and is the creative force behind some of the setups. "The September Issue" takes a unique behind-the-scenes look at several of these imaginative photo shoots. After the shoots are completed, the photos are brought back to the New York office where they are — like much of the magazine's content — rearranged, reduced and at times pulled entirely from the issue by Wintour. This is one of the most frustrating parts of the publication process for "Vogue" employees because some features are eliminated entirely. Some of Coddington's photo shoots are among those that get rearranged and reduced by Wintour, and the film makes it clear that this is an emotional process for Coddington. Because Coddington is so open and because she represents many "Vogue" employees, the film becomes as much about her as it is about the famed Editor-in-Chief. Wintour and Coddington have clearly forged a strong working relationship. At one point in the film, Wintour says, "Grace is a genius." This is high praise from Wintour, known for her tolerance of nothing but perfection. Like so many fashion films, "The September Issue" is replete with footage of designers, shows and elaborate gatherings in Paris. But this film is unique in that it offers unprecedented access to "Vogue," one of the most influential publications in the multi-billion dollar fashion industry.
Arts
Melrose Place' remake collapses
September 17Hot off the success of the teen soap remake "90210" that aired in 2008, the CW brings yet another ‘90s remake to their schedule this fall, this time chronicling the lives of hot, young, Californian twenty-somethings in "Melrose Place." The combination of sexy actors and no small amount of drama is the key to success for many shows, but "Melrose Place" fails to entertain. The dialogue and acting make the show straight-up boring; the only joy to be had in watching this show comes from laughing at its mediocrity. While the show's mediocre acting could amble its way through some standard, prime-time soap opera plot, it falls completely flat when faced with anything more challenging, a problem when the main focus of the series is a grisly murder. Intrigue begins for the new incarnation of "Melrose Place" when Sydney, the infamous landlord of the titular apartment complex, played by original series member Laura Leighton, is murdered. David, the son of another original Melrose Place character, is a rich-boy-gone-cat-burglar and the prime suspect in the murder case though his friends believe the violent, former-drug-dealing bad boy incapable of the crime. Among these skeptical friends is Ella Simms (Katie Cassidy) a take-no-mercy publicist with a hidden romantic side, as evidenced by her not-so-secret love for Jonah Miller (Michael Rady), an aspiring filmmaker. Jonah's morals prevent him from blackmailing his way to success, but win him a tardy "yes" to his marriage proposal from the mysteriously reluctant Riley Richmond (Jessica Lucas). Meanwhile, Lauren Yung's (Stephanie Jacobson) father leaves her to foot her own medical school bills, rendering her vulnerable to a proposition by an out-of-town businessman to have sex with her for money. She insists that she is "not a prostitute," leading to the most unintentionally funny scene in the pilot episode when she explains the situation to the slightly loony Violet Foster (Ashlee Simpson-Wentz.) All that the audience can gather about Violet is that she may be Sydney's daughter, and that she has some serious crazy eyes. Simpson-Wentz brings the only relief from the series' generally boring and tiresome characters, though only because her breathy line renderings and lack of acting skills are positively hilarious. The weakest link in the chain, Simpson-Wentz makes the show almost worth watching, inspiring a kind of sick fascination in viewers. The new "Melrose Place" goes wrong where its precursor must have gone right. The show's first problem, setting aside the alternately wooden and melodramatic acting, would be the unsympathetic characters. Why should the audience root for Jonah and Riley to overcome a vague and inconsequential obstacle to their relationship when they make such a boring couple? Lauren's dilemma between her unpaid school loans and her insistence on not becoming a call girl could have been fun. But she transforms from an interesting character in the first episode to an almost completely unlikeable one in the second. Viewers can't even root for the villainous Ella even though she is almost convincing gutsy witch the series evidently wants her to be. Ella needs to up her bad-girl quotient and get some better catty lines — or at the very least improve her fashion sense and wear something more flattering than the lumpy white sheet she tries to flaunt in the second episode. She does have potential, though, and has already shown signs of becoming a deliciously fun character to watch — maybe the show's saving grace in the future. This murder-on-the-Orient Express-meets-SoCal revolves around callously self-absorbed characters that aren't even interesting, which is really the show's central problem. At least other CW shows such as "Gossip Girl" present audiences with morally repugnant characters who also happen to be incredibly fun.
Arts
Half the Sky' captures global heroism of women
September 15This is not a story about victims. It is not the story of thoughtful Westerners out to save the foreign underprivileged. Instead, "Half the Sky" is an account of some of the greatest heroes of our generation — women in Asia and Africa who are fighting for the right to own their own bodies, and the economic and social prosperity that has and will come from their self-empowerment.
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Humbug' turns even diehard fans into Scrooges
September 15Arctic Monkeys do not seem content with what they have accomplished so far. With "Humbug" (2009), they attempt to develop a new sound for the band. However, they fall into a common trap: confusing maturation with being boring and depressing.
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Cafe Review | Barismo boils coffee down to a science
September 15Logan Hudson works swiftly and deliberately, carefully packing the metal filter with espresso grounds until the surface is level and smooth. He attaches the filter to the machine, hits a button and mentally calculates the time it should take for the espresso to start dripping. As it pours, Hudson keeps a keen eye on the color and texture, acutely aware of any variation. Finally, the cup is filled with rich, deep-brown liquid. "Nope, not quite right," says Hudson, promptly tossing the creation into the sink. He begins again.
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'Sacred Monsters' run wild at Tufts' Tisch Gallery
September 15Without a doubt, the first thing visitors will notice upon walking into the Tufts University Art Gallery's new exhibition is a group of five prominent sculptures with bright, synthetic fur and heart-shaped faces made of vinyl.
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Supernatural' soars into its fifth season
September 13In 2005, "Supernatural" debuted with a simple pitch: hot guys in a hotter car, cruising around America and fighting demons along the way. The show knew what simple pleasures it offered, and it wielded them wisely. The writing was full of humor, containing somewhat more wit and emotion than the concept demanded. As the series matured, it gradually evolved in mythology and tone, becoming one of the more reliable sources on TV for crackling action and fun, as well as a few genuine frights.
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Jet rocks softer but soundly with 'Shaka Rock'
September 9After almost three years out of the public eye, Jet is back with a statement: Our domination of the blazing neo-classic rock scene is far from over. With their new album, "Shaka Rock," out last month, the boys from Melbourne, Australia, have their work cut out for them as they look to follow their hugely popular debut, "Get Born" (2003), and the platinum "Shine On" (2006). The first two albums were internationally well-received and helped the band fashion a niche among classic rock lovers jonesing for a throwback. "Shaka Rock" is sure to satisfy the fan base, and it's probably the Jet LP most reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. The third album has a softer edge than "Shine On" and "Get Born," but it's still a solid effort that shows a subtle evolution. Album opener "K.I.A." starts things on the right foot, reaffirming the band's commitment to a crunchy guitar sound and snarling vocals. The song that follows, "Beat on Repeat," is a catchy song that's a bit more toned down than "K.I.A." but doesn't lose any of the latter's energy. The first two songs on the album are among the strongest. They show off the band's versatility and incorporate the aspects that make Jet unique. Other highlights include "La Di Da," "Seventeen" and "Goodbye Hollywood." The first is a prime example of the influence that the Stones have had on Jet: Its intro and verses sound like an update to the Stones' hit "Paint it Black." Just because the song is influenced heavily by the British classic rock band does not mean it lacks original compositional elements. "La Di Da" emerges from darkness into lighter, upbeat choruses, and Jet weaves together these disparate parts effortlessly. "Seventeen," the fifth song on the album, is its best. Instrumentally, "Seventeen" is one of the album's most interesting mixes, with a driving piano part meshing seamlessly with Jet's typical overdriven guitar riffs. "Seventeen" also boasts a catchy melody and strong backup vocals, making the song incredibly fun to listen to. "Goodbye Hollywood" is about the band leaving southern California to go back home, a common Jet motif that ties "Shaka Rock" back to Jet's other albums. It's in the consistency category that "Shaka Rock" fails to carry on the tradition of Jet's first couple LPs. The lowest lows are "Black Hearts," "Walk" and "Times Like This." "Shaka Rock" represents a commendable comeback from a three-year hiatus. It's not their best work, but the album does merit its spot in Jet's discography, and will no doubt help define the rest of the band's career. The somewhat softer side of Jet represented by "Shaka Rock" is a step back from previous works but is by no means a poor move. In fact, "Shaka Rock" has the potential to appeal to a very large audience of both old fans and people discovering Jet for the first time.
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Kiss Me, Kate' keeps audience laughing
September 9Western society's attitude toward women changed significantly between the debut of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and the end of the second World War. Though no one has been able to definitively interpret the real message in the Bard's outwardly misogynistic comedy — one that George Bernard Shaw once berated as "one vile insult to womanhood and manhood from the first word to the last" — it is clear that Cole Porter's modern version, "Kiss Me Kate," which uses an American actor/actress couple from the 1940's, took a much more nuanced view of romantic couples. "Kiss Me, Kate," playing through Oct. 10 at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, focuses on a divorced couple who have been a separated for a year. Actors Lilli Vanessi (Amelia Broome) and Fred Graham (Peter Davenport) find themselves in the peculiar position of playing a couple that fights bitterly on stage in a production of "The Taming of the Shrew" and quarrels just as passionately behind the scenes. Woven throughout the play are all the usual suspects of a musical from the 1940's, including two gangsters with a flair for the dramatic, an angel-faced gambler, dancer and heartbreaker extraordinaire and a blonde bombshell who makes it no secret that she can sleep her way to the top. Despite a few love stories that are followed from curtain to curtain, no one couple is ever depicted as conventionally happy. The opportunistic and sexy Lois Lane (Michele DeLuca) can't seem to make her lover behave or get him to quit gambling. Meanwhile, he can't keep her from running off with her sugar daddy of the hour. Lyric's production does a wonderful job of highlighting the differences between the love stories the acted on stage and the ones they live out in their real lives. Part of the show is a play within a play: Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi's production of "The Taming of the Shrew." The set for these scenes is brightly-colored and cartoonish, emphasizing that only in a world where there are wooden fountains in the town square do men travel to Padua and convince a woman who hates men to be a timid wife in an impressively short amount of time. The play's ensemble is small and delightful, but it is the individual performances that really stand out. Peter Davenport delivers an energetic and nuanced Fred Graham, and Michele DeLuca as Lois Lane achieves the double victory of playing the woman every woman hates and remaining someone audiences can sympathize with. Timothy John Smith as Lilli Vanessi's new beau, General Harrison Howell, delivers a particularly wonderful comic relief in the second act when paired with the gangster team of J.T. Turner and Neil A. Casey. The song "From this Moment On" is also a hilarious highlight. What makes "Kiss Me, Kate" more appealing to a modern audience than Cole Porter's other famous productions is the degree to which his brilliant score advances the plot. At nearly three hours long, minimal musical self-indulgence is appreciated by all. Though let's make one thing clear: This score is nothing that has to merely be sat through. "Kiss Me, Kate" may have been Cole Porter's great integrated musical (one that uses its music to advance plot), but the inarguable highlight of Lyric's performance is the second act opener, "Too Darn Hot." Even if the song itself has no relevance whatsoever to the plot, save to remind the audience of the show's Baltimore location, Kennedy Pugh's rich solo vocals and Ilyse Robbins' inspired choreography make the number a show stopper. Though Cole Porter's beautiful score accompanies a musical that seems more enlightened than Shakespeare's "Shrew," there are still moments that raise a contemporary eyebrow. It should be noted that women had only been voting in America for less than thirty years when the show was written, and some actions and lines reveal the prejudices of the time. That said, the Lyric Stage Company has certainly chosen an energetic and well-cast season opener. With Tufts' first week of classes already piling on chapters of reading about oppression and war in foreign countries, a little comic relief is much appreciated.
Arts
Interview | Billy Gibbons
September 9The fuzzy spinning guitars, the hot rods and the epic beards — the iconography of blues rock band ZZ Top is practically more famous than the songs themselves, which comes as no surprise considering their '80s MTV explosion. But don't call it selling out. Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard have always kept one foot in the blues, playing good, old-fashioned rock 'n roll no matter what the decade. The characteristically cool Mr. Gibbons, guitarist and singer of ZZ Top, exchanged a few words via email with the Tufts Daily amidst a busy tour schedule: Ryan Zuckman: Cancelled shows aside, how was the recent tour with Aerosmith? Billy Gibbons: We loved it while it lasted. Great guys who we've know for a long while. We'd always wanted to tour with them anticipating how the bill would look. You know? "The A to ZZ Tour." RZ: Why play to much smaller audiences on this current tour, as opposed to the usual amphitheater or stadium shows? BG: We ran with an experimental tour last season called the "In Your Face Tour" playin' the smallest of theaters, minus giant stage production, by design. Much like our early days, which made for a fine, up-close and personal night out ... Truth be told, most of ‘em were wearing shades ... a very dark and mysterious evening's experience! RZ: ZZ Top has been together for 40 years now. What's the secret to maintaining a successful band relationship? BG: We're kind of a work in progress, so feel free to ask in another 40. Hey, it's still ... "same three guys, same three chords." RZ: I understand that you attended a Black Keys show, which resulted in some studio collaboration. How did you enjoy working with them and will any of this appear on the forthcoming record? BG: We think the world of them and admire how they've stripped it down, maybe even more than us. There's just two of ‘em out there, and it's a blaze! RZ: Do you have a process for writing and recording? Does ZZ Top have a specific goal for the new record? BG: Sometimes it's just a riff, and we build on that; other times it's a phrase that opens the door to the lyrics. That and divine intervention, of course. The goal for the new record is to get it as down and dirty as we wanna be. RZ: Are your collaborations with Queens of the Stone Age and Mastodon indicative of a taste for modern rock, and if not, what are you listening to these days? BG: Of course we were delighted to spend time with the Queens and to work with Mastodon on their new version of "Just Got Paid" from our "Rio Grande Mud" (1972) album. It was recorded in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Warner Bros. Records, so it reflected a whole lot of threads connecting. Listening to lots of great music, old and new. Country, rock, soul, but mostly the blues. Gotta have 'em. RZ: You've often expressed your passion for the blues. What continues to inspire you as a guitarist after all these years? Why pick up the axe every day? BG: B.B. King celebrates his 84th birthday just about exactly when we come off the stage the night of our Boston show. We play the Orpheum on the 15th and Mr. King was born on the 16th … in 1925. That's pretty inspirational right there. We like to throw down as often as possible to keep things rollin'. Talkin' 'bout the blues, you know? Some bands have something to say, others have something to prove, and still others are looking to change the face of popular music. ZZ Top, born of a reverence for the visionaries of rock and roll and a passion for playing music, are refreshingly content with simply doing what they love and enjoying the ride. They perform at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the Orpheum Theater in Boston.
Arts
Imogen Heap stays in orbit with 'Ellipse'
September 7"Ellipse," Imogen Heap's third solo album, is arguably her most mature. While it draws heavily on her previous work, it highlights both Heap's growth as a recording artist and her refusal to color inside the lines of pop. Heap's solo albums are marked by a reliance on computer-generated instrumentals, duets that are more like counter-melodies, and imaginative but convoluted lyrics that, if you can decipher the vague metaphors, dispense commentary on society and relationships. "First Train Home," the bouncy and addictive opening track and the album's first single, features a synthesizer throwback to the 1980s, a playful interweaving of vocal lines and the usual hard-to-follow lyrics ("I want to Play-Do waveforms in the hideaway"). The catchy chorus makes this single considerably more palatable for the casual radio listener than most of the other tracks on her albums. "Canvas," tucked away in the back half of "Ellipse," is nevertheless the most forward-looking track of the bunch, and showcases Heap's maturity as an artist. Composed in a driving waltz (9/8, for those of you keeping track), it stands out considerably from previous album "Speak For Yourself," which was written entirely in the standard pop two-time. Live instruments, such as guitar and violins, appear much more often on "Ellipse" than on Heap's previous albums, and they dominate the intro of "Canvas." Heap has also set aside generous portions of the song for the intro and outro, flexing her musical limbs instead of filling the space with more of her confounding lyrics. "Canvas" is preceded by, "The Fire," the album's instrumental track, another musical luxury Heap has not allowed herself until now. Heap gives herself more musical freedom on "Ellipse" than she did on "Speak For Yourself," which attempted to squeeze too much material into too small a space. "Ellipse," with its simpler but no less engaging arrangements, is a step in a refreshing new direction where each part to each song can be heard and enjoyed without being covered up by seven others. "Earth," a track composed entirely of Heap's own affected voice singing intertwining parts, is a prime example of such welcome simplicity. Heap has expressed herself artistically in many forms over the past decade. From solo artist to collaborator in the duo Frou Frou, she has steadily produced albums every four years since the 1998 release of her first solo album, "i Megaphone." Heap, however, is best known for songs that have appeared on television and movie soundtracks, most notably the over-played, over-loved and often-mocked "Hide and Seek," which aired on the season two finale of "The O.C." Vocally, Heap is becoming more confident, taking more risks and stepping outside of the mechanical box she was stuck in for the entirety of "Speak For Yourself." She retains much of her old style, jumping around within keys, switching between her low and high voices with eerie effortlessness, but lets her hair down on "Bad Body Double," playing around with recording techniques and experimenting with some well-placed spoken word. "Ellipse" is the product of Heap's 10-year on-again off-again career, one that has led her out of the obscurity of "i Megaphone" and into iTunes fame, as the album idles humbly at the top of the sales charts. It's uncertain where the future will take Imogen Heap, but for now she's off in her digital imagination with "Ellipse" trailing behind her.
Arts
Greek' serves up delectable college drama
September 7Despite ample plot recap, fans of "Greek" were probably not disappointed by Monday's third season premiere, "The Day After." Witty dialogue, decent acting and a few scandalous, soapy twists have made this dramedy the perfect guilty pleasure for two seasons — a feat all the more surprising given ABC's penchant for trite family dramas. "Greek" follows a group of students at the fictitious Cyprus Rhodes University as they navigate the ups and downs of the college's Greek system. From prim and proper sorority girls and hard-partying frat boys to a purity pledge support group, the cast of characters on Greek runs the gamut of the college social spectrum. The most recent episode was chock- full of "Greek" staples: a fantastic assassin-themed frat party, plenty of sibling bickering between nerdy engineer-turned-pledge Rusty (Jacob Zachar) and popular sorority sister Casey Cartwright (Spencer Grammer), endless will they/won't they intrigue for Casey and impishly adorable frat boy Cappie (Scott Michael Foster) and the exploration of the unorthodox friendship between fundamentalist Christian Dale Kettlewell (Clark Duke) and gay fraternity brother Calvin Owens (Paul James). The premiere certainly succeeded in familiarizing audiences with the cast of characters on the show, wrapping up last season's lingering plotlines and leaving a few doors open for the upcoming season. Unfortunately, with so much on its plate, the episode failed to serve up much of the lighthearted fun and zingy one-liners that "Greek" viewers are accustomed to. Much of the hour was filled with dry exposition rehashing last season's finale. In particular, Rusty's anger over the end of Casey and engineering grad student Max's (Micahel Rady) relationship felt misplaced and over the top. But the worst moment of the episode came during the big flashback, when the audience was led to believe that Cappie listened to long-time rival Evan and stopped pursuing Casey. While it is certainly understandable that the show's creators want to put off the inevitable Casey/Cappie reunion a little longer, Cappie and Evan's conversation felt very stilted and unbelievable. Despite the acting pitfalls, a few moments were truly memorable, such as Casey's sorority sisters breaking up her pity party to sing her the house's break-up anthem. The absurdity of a group of vapid girls singing, "Your cat is all alone, nobody loves you," while clutching stuffed ZBZ cats showcased "Greek" at its best — poking fun at some of the silliness of college life through a core of loveable, believable characters. Although not one of "Greek's" strongest episodes, "The Day After" did deliver a few great twists and more than enough dangling threads to leave viewers anxious for more. While it seems that Casey and Cappie are on the backburner for now, Calvin and his new love interest/fraternity brother/roommate Grant (Gregory Michael) are moving full steam ahead. It's heartening to see an ABC Family show portray not only a gay man, but also a gay relationship. Not to mention that it's always fun to see hot guys in boxers. The progressive nature of Grant and Calvin's relationship, however, is overwhelmed by the show's many clichés, including a catfight in the ZBZ house after Ashleigh (Amber Stevens) finds out that another sister made out with her boyfriend. While some may roll their eyes and lament the lack of originality, most "Greek" fans know that what the show does best is not designing original, shocking plot twists, but rather breathing new life into clichés with three-dimensional characters grounded in reality. This is perhaps most obvious in the endless back-and-forth between Casey and Cappie, a storyline that will most definitely continue to exasperate fans in the very best way this upcoming season. "The Day After" lacked a bit of the flair "Greek" fans have come to expect, but cemented the show's place as one of the most fun shows on television. "Greek" doesn't pretend to be intellectual or particularly innovative. Rather, it simply allows people to laugh and enjoy themselves for an hour. Given how few shows try to depict college life, it's one that Tufts students may find truly relatable.
Arts
The Final Destination' leaves viewers hoping that this is the last stop
September 7There is no fun to be had in "The Final Destination." Where the first three movies in the series had a sense of humor, the fourth features only despair, dread and violence, which says a lot about a franchise whose central hook is reveling in watching characters kick the bucket. Many critics attacked director Eli Roth for his "Hostel" movies, calling them torture porn, but with "The Final Destination," director David R. Ellis perfects this frowned-upon genre. In pornography the plot is only there to set up the sex scene; in "The Final Destination," poorly acted, stilted dialogue scenes are sandwiched between the money shots, with the blood from the deaths of nameless characters as the bodily fluid of choice. Although no one really cares about the people on screen during "The Final Destination," it's still horrible to watch them die, though not for the usual moral and civil reasons. Watching them die is terrible simply because it means that the movie isn't over yet. The grisly "Final Destination" franchise began in 2000 with "Final Destination." The first was a serviceable horror movie complete with thrills, scares, tension and, most notably, a plot. The second, with the clever title "Final Destination 2" (2003), boasted gory kills and special effects, but tried too hard to be a good film and failed miserably. By the series' next outing, "Final Destination 3" (2006), the filmmakers had quite obviously resigned themselves to making a laughable, campy movie. Each movie follows the same formula: someone has a premonition of a terrible accident, saves a small group of people by making a fuss about said event, and watches as everyone who survived dies off slowly. As we are told in each film, over and over, death cannot be cheated. Death as portrayed in "The Final Destination" would make Rube Goldberg himself proud. In the first few films, the absurdity of the deaths — for example, a man getting cut in half with a barbed wire fence — made it feel acceptable to watch the gore, sick as that may sound. In this edition, however, the bells and whistles accompanying each death only make it more excruciating to watch. Had this fourth movie kept the tone of the third Final Destination movie, easily the most cartoonish of all, it could have been enjoyable. Instead, it made the same mistake as the second film in the series: trying too hard (but only for about half of the film) and falling flat as a result. "The Final Destination" is one hour and 22 minutes. In 3-D it will cost anywhere between $13 and $20 to see. At $13, this movie costs 16 cents a minute. At $20 each minute costs about a quarter. Most movies, even in the most expensive markets, cost less than 10 cents a minute. It may seem silly, obnoxious even, to break down the movie by cost per minute, but "The Final Destination" drags. It drags so hard that after about a half an hour viewers will begin to ask the people next to them what time it is and when the abomination in front of them will be over. After its first half-hour, "The Final Destination" gives up completely. It seems clear that the screenwriter quit, was fired, or died, and the movie becomes a nothing but a series of gruesome death scenes. Even worse, in the final seconds of the movie audiences are treated to the biggest cop-out ever to appear on celluloid. It is completely unsurprising that the creative team behind this film is composed of the same people who brought unsuspecting audiences "Final Destination 2": writer Eric Bress and director David R. Ellis. Bress' involvement is to be expected, but Ellis is better than this. While many laughed at his opus "Snakes on a Plane" (2006), it was actually a great action movie that had an unfortunately blunt title. Maybe that was a fluke, though, as the direction in "The Final Destination" is uniformly terrible. If it turned out that the special effects team also directed the movie, no one would raise an eyebrow. On second thought, if the special effects team had directed the movie, it would have been a lot better. The effects are the only thing that "The Final Destination" excels at because, overall, the movie is just an excuse to showcase them. The only special effect that fails to impress is the film's use of 3-D, which is obviously little more than a gimmick intended to draw large audiences. Despite its title, "The Final Destination" will probably not be this franchise's swansong. After this movie, audiences will have the sense to avoid anything with the moniker.
Arts
Adaptations of "Lovely Bones," "Where the Wild," "Mr. Fox" bode for a lively fall and winter
September 1The fall season usually brings a mixed bag for moviegoers, as the leftover blockbusters, big-studio award bait and small indie films finally make their way onto the big screen. Compared to last fall, this particular season has stirred up a lot of anticipation for more than a few films. Whether or not these films can live up to their frenzied hype will be the main question for audiences during the next couple of months. Starting with the biggest and the boldest: James Cameron's "Avatar" will finally be released on Dec. 18. The film has been Cameron's pet project for nearly two decades, and he's spent a lot of that time building new cameras for its 3D technology and raising the nearly $250 million that the film's budget required. Initial footage Cameron displayed at Comic-Con left some viewers lukewarm. Another big-name director returns this fall on Dec. 11 with "The Lovely Bones." Director Peter Jackson based this film on the dazzling, melancholy book of the same name. The story follows a young girl who is murdered and watches her family from heaven. "The Lovely Bones" promises a balance of grounded human emotion and fantastical imagery that Jackson knows well how to concoct. One of the most publicized upcoming films is Guy Ritchie's updated "Sherlock Holmes," with Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams. One might wonder why "Sherlock Holmes," set for a Christmas release, didn't fit in with the summer blockbusters. Hopefully it's because "Holmes" will be a bit smarter than the average summer flick. Another favorite director, Wes Anderson, strays from his normal filmmaking path with an adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Fantastic Mr. Fox," set for a Nov. 25 release date. With a precious trailer and a voice cast including George Clooney and Meryl Streep, the film should have no problem finding followers, even with Anderson's polarizing reputation. Coming out the same day is director Rob Marshall's newest musical, "Nine," starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Dame Judi Dench and Kate Hudson. With a star-studded cast, fabulous music and costumes and an intriguing story focused on a tortured man and the women in his life, the movie is already rumored to be the front-runner at the Oscars. For those who like their weirdness prepackaged and pretty, Spike Jonze is releasing his take on Maurice Sendak's classic children's book, "Where the While Things Are," on Oct. 16. Taking a work of merely ten sentences and fashioning a feature film complete with dysfunctional families, nightmarish landscapes and loveable creatures, this film promises to be a must-see for more than just those with a penchant for the strange and unusual. A film that could be wildly entertaining or equally nauseating is Diablo Cody's sophomore effort, "Jennifer's Body," premiering on Sept. 18. Starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, the film is about Fox's character, Jennifer, who starts eating boys after she is improperly sacrificed and a demon takes over her body. Considering Cody's success writing "Juno" (2007), her newest film's script is bound to be witty, but there has been some controversy over director Karyn Kusama's interpretation of the screenplay. Many moviegoers are also anticipating the second installment in the "Twilight" series. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" is set for release on Nov. 20. While the first installment disappointed many fans, a larger budget and a new director may make "New Moon" bearable outside the preteen crowd. Director Chris Weitz has more experience with special effects than the previous director, something the introduction of Jacob (played by Taylor Lautner) and his pack of werewolves should put to good use. Once again, Kristen Stewart will star as Bella, a high school student in love with a vampire, but there will be a lot less of heartthrob Robert Pattinson as her love-interest Edward, since this novel focused primarily on the budding friendship between Bella and Jacob. In terms of good comedy, the pickings are slim. One film that will hopefully not disappoint is "Couples Retreat," coming out on Oct. 9, which is a story about four couples who go to an island in order to mend their marriages. Starring Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman and Kristen Bell, the film features a hilarious ensemble cast, but it remains to be seen if these stars can keep the laughs coming. A few other interesting films include Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, "Whip It!" with Ellen Page as a roller derby player, coming Oct. 9; an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" with Viggo Mortenson on Oct. 16; the story of Amelia Earhart, "Amelia," starring Hilary Swank on Oct. 23; Richard Kelly's "The Box," with Cameron Diaz, on Nov. 6; and "Invictus" with Morgan Freeman starring as Nelson Mandela on Dec. 11.
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