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8 I Thursday, June 29, 2006 | The Red & Black
VARIETY
Man of Steel returns, with flaws
By JOEL PENN
For The Red & Black
I’ve just never been a fan
of Superman. He is simply
too super for me.
That said, the latest effort
from the Superman fran
chise, “Superman Returns,”
does manage to do a fairly
good job of portraying the
Man of Steel.
The film, directed and pro
duced by Bryan Singer (of
“X-Men” and “X2” fame),
tells the story of Superman
returning to Earth after a five
year absence.
Superman arrives on
Earth after a long excursion
to the remains of his home
planet, Krypton, only to find
his old arch-nemesis, Lex
Luthor, up to no good as
usual.
Brandon Routh plays a
good-looking Superman,
although his acting, like most
of the acting in the movie,
leaves nothing memorable in
my mind.
Don’t get me wrong — the
acting isn’t bad by any
means. It’s just not anything
stellar. The dialogue is disap
pointing, too, and left me
with no quotable lines.
The only characters who
really shine are Lex Luthor
and Jimmy Olsen.
Kevin Spacey does a bril
liant job playing the dastard
ly, evil Luthor. His attitude
and mannerisms reek of evil
super genius. Jimmy Olsen,
played by Sam Huntington,
is by far the most memorable
character in the film, provid
ing much-needed moments
of hilarity.
SUPERMAN RETURNS
Grade: B-
Verdict: A long but entertaining
flick for those who already love
Superman.
The movie is funny at
times and dark and gritty at
others, making for a well-bal
anced film.
Singer does a good job of
making the Man of Steel
seem more human and acces
sible to the viewer. He lets
the viewer look in on Kal-El’s
struggle of juggling a “mild-
mannered” life as Daily
Planet reporter Clark Kent
and the constant demands of
being Superman.
This conflict is showcased
with Singer’s focus on the
relationship between
Superman and former flame
Lois Lane, played by the
ever-attractive Kate
Bosworth.
There is a good bit more
unexpected humor in the
film, particularly self-con
scious jokes about the fran
chise itself, than in past
films.
At one point, Singer even
pokes fun at the obviously
ineffective way a pair of
glasses is supposed to dis
guise Superman as Clark
Kent.
The special effects live up
to expectations and are fun
to watch. Superman’s powers
look fluid and cool up on the
big screen.
Though the humor and
special effects are nice,
there’s simply not enough to
fill the movie’s mammoth
two hour and 34 minute
timespan.
There are some unneces
sarily long scenes that pro
vide neither action nor plot
advancement making the
film grind along at a tiring
rate.
Maybe it’s because I’m not
a Superman fan, but I
became bored with some
parts of the movie.
When there is action, it’s
certainly exciting, although a
bit predictable — everyone
knows Superman always
SPECIAL | The Red & Black
saves the day, every time.
Despite the length and the
fact that the acting are mod
erate at best, the special
effects, the humor and the
presence of Kevin Spacey
make “Superman Returns”
decently entertaining.
If you’re already a
Superman fan, you will prob
ably love this movie uncondi
tionally, but if you’re more of
a Marvel fan, you may want
to wait until Superman
swoops its way into the dol
lar theater.
Comedy should ‘click’ with audiences
By MILES MOFFIT
mmoffit@randb.com
Adam Sandler is one of
the elite few actors capable
of playing essentially the
same character in all of his
movies, while keeping audi
ences coming back for more
every time.
Sandler’s latest movie,
“Click,” not only keeps the
tradition alive, but may also
be among his best.
The movie starts off typi
cally — corporate architect
Michael Newman (Sandler)
is trying to land the big part
nership at his job, which gets
in the way of his relationship
with wife Donna (Kate
Beckinsale) and their two
children.
Beckinsale plays a beauti
ful, devoted female lead who
is patient with her husband’s
hardship, yet tired of the
stress.
While she seems a touch
out of place and passive at
first, her character becomes
more fitting as the film loses
its predictability.
The film’s sense of humor
at this point is mostly just
chuckle-worthy, but the film
shifts into a higher comedic
gear when Newman encoun
ters a creepy mad scientist
named Morty (Christopher
Walken).
Morty presents Newman
with a true “universal”
remote, capable of rewinding
to any moment in his life, or
fast-forwarding him through
moments he’d rather not
experience.
A good bit of the film is
then spent with Newman
realizing, often hilariously,
just how much fun he can
have with the device.
If you know Sandler’s
sense of humor, the only
thing new to you here will be
the twist put on it via the
remote, but that’s not neces
sarily a bad thing.
Typical of Sandler,
Newman is an anger-prone
yet humble shmuck you just
can’t help but feel sorry for.
It’s obvious, as he explores
what his new toy is capable
of, that he’s going to do
something incredibly stupid
with the remote.
After doing so, Newman
begins to realize that all is
not as easy as it seems. By
the time he’s aware of the
remote’s true programming,
it’s too late.
This is where the movie
begins to come into its own
and where Beckinsale’s char
acter begins to work so well.
As unbelievable as her
patience may have been at
the start, you begin to realize
how good Newman had it.
As Newman’s life begins
spiraling further and further
out of control, there is a feel
ing of just wanting it all to go
back to the way it was. This
feeling lends itself to the
film’s growing and wonderful
sense of tragedy. Yes, tragedy.
The movie’s last half-hour
is unexpectedly heartfelt,
and though Sandler struggles
early on to show the raw
emotion required of such
scenes, he manages to main
tain his sense of humor in the
process.
But don’t let the “T” word
freak you out. The film’s end
ing is even more surprising
than its serious side.
Dashboard shows off a new sound
By PT UMPHRESS
pumphress@randb.com
For 2004’s “Spider-man 2,”
Dashboard Confessional
wrote a powerfully heroic and
romantically epic rock tune
called “Vindicated.”
Two years later, it seems
that Chris Carrabba — the
creative force behind
Dashboard Confessional —
has made “Dusk and
Summer” an album full of
songs similar to “Vindicated.”
This isn’t an entirely bad
thing. It was this stylish turn
away from Dashboard’s origi
nal stripped-down, acoustic
roots that catapulted the
band out of diehard closet
fandom into the mainstream
spotlight.
Songs like the first single
“Don’t Wait” and “The
Secret’s in the Telling” are
powerful songs. In fact, it’s
hard to find a lackluster song
on the entire album.
Fans of early, solo acoustic
Dashboard albums may feel
betrayed, but the fact is that
bands change and evolve to
find new ways of expressing
themselves.
According to Carrabba,
“When I started Dashboard
six years ago, I was reacting
to these other bands I had
been in. At the time, I need
ed something... simpler.”
A choir of falsetto
Carrabbas screaming and
harmonizing to climactic,
droning guitar and heart-
breakingly honest lyrics will
quell your concerns that this
is no longer the band you
once screamed along to in
your car after that terrible
breakup.
Early Dashboard is like
musical Robitussin for a bro
ken heart. It tastes terrible
and serves no purpose when
you’re doing fine and loving
life, but when you’re down
DASHBOARD
CONFESSIONAL
“Dusk and Summer”
Grade: A-
Verdict: Non-fans will say what
they want about Dashboard's roots
and diehards may hate the new
direction, but as far as emotionally
honest and vocally charged rock
goes, Dashboard might be the
hands down champion.
and out, nothing feels better.
This new Dashboard,
which was really hinted at
with the last album — 2003’s
“A Mark, a Mission, a Brand,
a Scar” — is a logical progres
sion into more complicated
and mature songwriting.
Welsh band puts
out more the same
By ALEC WOODEN
awooden@randb.com
“Liberation
Transmission,” the latest
catalogue of radio-driven
rock from the Welsh rock
group Lostprophets, is just
the kind of album the
group’s fans — and top-40
stations — have been hop
ing and praying for.
Band’s descriptions of
their own work can either
be the key that unlocks
their music or a complete
turn off to their sounds.
With that in mind, it’s
not surprising that after
hearing Lostprophets
describe its latest release as
“The Clash singing Bon Jovi
songs,” I wasn’t entirely
sure if the band’s members
were attempting to catego
rize their sound or dissuade
me from listening.
Go ahead and say what
you will about
Lostprophets (or their
entire genre of rock), but
it’s impossible to accuse
the group of having any
sort of identity crisis.
The band has been con
sistent in its message and
style across its discography,
and “Liberation
Transmission” brings more
of the same — harmonically
infused and tightly wound
rock.
To say that “Liberation
Transmission” is not a
groundbreaking piece of
material is not to say that it
isn’t a solid album with
some potential hits.
“Everybody’s
Screaming!!!” is sure to
have fans doing just that, as
the song rocks from start to
finish with a catchy melody
and suitable harmonies.
LOSTPROPHETS
“Liberation Transmission”
Grade: B-
Verdict: If you've heard the other
albums, you’ve heard this one.
Similarly, “Can’t Stop,
Gotta Date With Hate”
hops on the infectious
melody bandwagon and is
one of the better rock tunes
on the album.
Fans looking for a hint of
a new direction are offered
one on some of the less
screaming tracks, which
could easily end up serving
as the album’s biggest hits.
“Rooftops” and “4 AM
Forever” are toned down
from the harder rock filling
the rest of the album and
arguably are the two best
lyrical and musical efforts
adorning the album.
Lead singer Ian Watkins
delivers a solid performance
and makes this album his
strongest of the band’s col
lection.
“Liberation
Transmission” offers a third
consecutive album of the
same radio-friendly rock
that one would expect from
Lostprophets.
This is great news for
current fans, but it would
be surprising to see this
album convert the masses.
Classic punk band
to appear in Athens
By CHRIS HOMER
chomer@randb.com
Though many credit the
Sex Pistols and The Clash
as the forefathers of punk
rock, another band from
Britain — the Buzzcocks —
also was instrumental in
the early stages of punk,
and lucky for Athenian
punk rockers, the group will
play at the 40 Watt tonight.
One might wonder how a
band that has been playing
since the 1970s has kept
going for so long.
Steve Diggle, the group’s
vocalist and guitarist,
chalks it up to “the quest
for greatness.”
Diggle also said, “We’ve
been reborn again with our
last few albums...it feels
brand new again.”
If you’re worried that the
Buzzcocks may have out
lived their time, be assured
that they are no ghost of
what they used to be.
“See us live,” said Diggle,
“we can compare to any
contemporary band that is
touring today.”
According to Diggle, the
band has maintained their
relevancy throughout the
years with hard touring,
songs that are still high in
quality and “songs about
the human condition, which
will always be relevant.”
Riding the waves of the
recent punk rock revival,
the band has captured the
attention of a fresh genera
tion of fans, many of whom
SPECIAL | The Red & Black
A Punk rock legends the
Buzzcocks will perform
June 29 at the 40 Watt.
have gotten an earful of the
Buzzcocks on this sum
mer’s Vans Warped Tour.
“Two-thirds of the audi
ence are younger people.
They find bands like Green
Day and realize they were
inspired by us...it’s a delight
really,” Diggle said of the
new generation of
Buzzcocks fans.
“We are not the same age
as the audience,” said
Diggle. “We’re like the punk
professors, and the new
fans are the pupils.”
If the Buzzcocks are
teaching a lesson in the art
of punk rock, it’s a lesson
worth being excited about.
“People get soaked into
the Buzzcocks experience.
If it performs the magic on
you, it’s working,” Diggle
said of the band’s live per
formance.
At tonight’s show, the
Buzzcocks plan to wake up
Athens with a sonic blitz —
and it will be as loud, fast
and aggressive as punk
rock ever was.
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