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(11/12/12 7:13pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Local Business” is an admirable attempt to create a heavy and lyrical rock ’n roll record.The sheer sound of the record hits first, an intense rock sound all too rare in today’s indie landscape. “Local Business” is unapologetic, stripped-down guitar rock. This sound isn’t what carries the album, though. It’s the lyrics that really shine.The one-line riff of “Titus Andronicus Vs. The Absurd Universe (3rd Round KO)” fits the rawness of the record but is actually out of place here. More typical is the opening track, “Ecce Homo,” in which lead singer Patrick Stickles waxes metaphoric on the nature of life.“Local Business” isn’t a perfect record. Not every track keeps the power of the opener going. But it’s strong all the way through and certainly worth a listen.By Rabi Abonour
(10/31/12 11:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With Minneapolis roots and a punk-rock pedigree, P.O.S. is not your average rapper. And that’s just what makes his fourth solo LP “We Don’t Even Live Here,” work.Since releasing “Ipecac Neat” in 2004, P.O.S. — real name Stefon Alexander — has carved a place in the indie hip-hop scene with scalding lyrics and undeniable energy. “We Don’t Even Live Here” is, on first listen, a very different record. Along with engineer Andrew Dawson, best known for his work with Kanye West, P.O.S. has crafted some of his most mainstream-sounding work. Synths abound as P.O.S. comes out swinging with a new style.Once you get past the beats, it becomes apparent P.O.S. hasn’t left his social consciousness behind. The track “Weird Friends” sums up the counter-cultural lyricism P.O.S. has come to be known for: “This world’s got a whole lot of locked doors / We decided not to live here anymore / Kicked though the norm didn’t fit / Didn’t stick to the script / Didn’t care.”With this move towards a more modern, polished sound, P.O.S. clearly doesn’t want us to stop thinking about society. He just wants us to dance at the same time.By Rabi Abonour
(09/11/12 5:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hollywood is a fickle mistress. One day’s superstar is the next day’s nobody. It is common for an actor or actress to have a hit, or even a string of hits, before fading forever into obscurity. But occasionally, the end isn’t the end. Second chances do happen. The 2000s have brought success for several actors who had appeared as if their time in the spotlight was over. Neil Patrick HarrisIt’s hard to remember that Neil Patrick Harris was ever anything but a giant. The former child star has been in the spotlight since the 2005 premiere of “How I Met Your Mother.” But his first shot at stardom came years earlier. Many people still remember him as the title character in the television show “Doogie Howser, M.D.” Like many young stars, he had difficulties making the transition to adult stardom. Things changed in 2004 when Harris made a cameo appearance in “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.”Harris played a fictitious version of himself as a coked-up, dysfunctional has-been. What could have been a less-than-notable attempt at self-parody took off, and with his casting in “How I Met Your Mother” the next year Harris was once again a star.Robert Downey, Jr.Perhaps no actor in recent memory has had a fall and comeback as dramatic as Robert Downey, Jr. By the mid-1990s, he had been on the Hollywood scene for decades. He enjoyed success in the early ’90s with films such as “Chaplin” and “Natural Born Killers.”But in 1996, things went downhill. Downey was arrested on drug charges and began a five year struggle with addiction. He spent almost a year in rehab and was released in 2000. His troubles weren’t over. It took a couple years of before Downey could get film roles again.2008 was the true comeback year for Downey. He starred in “Iron Man,” a film which, according to Boxofficemojo.com, has made well over half a million dollars internationally. Downey starred in an Iron Man sequel, 2012’s “The Avengers” and two Sherlock Holmes films. Mickey RourkeIn the 2008 film “The Wrestler,” Mickey Rourke played a washed-up wrestler who must deal with the physical and emotional tolls of an unsuccessful career.In some ways, it was a role meant for Rourke. The actor had numerous leading roles in in 1980s. In 1991, he withdrew from Hollywood to return to the world of boxing, which he had trained for during his youth.The numerous facial injuries he sustained as a result of his boxing career and the ensuing reconstructive plastic surgery left Rourke with but a shadow of the looks that had helped make him a star.His new looks, as well as the experiences he had as a boxer, made Rourke perfect for “The Wrestler.” The film earned him a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.
(04/12/12 12:40am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I suppose it isn’t surprising that a movie about nostalgia would rest on the laurels of its franchise.Thirteen years after “American Pie,” the high-school seniors of that film are unhappy 30-somethings eager to relive their glory days. “American Reunion” is essentially the same teenage sex comedy as the first film but with an ever-present air of discomfort. Characters pay lip service to the idea that high-school misadventures are not appropriate more than a decade later, yet we’re supposed to find it funny when a grown man takes a dump in a teenager’s beer cooler.The jokes in “Reunion” are going to be familiar to anyone who has seen the original. If they aren’t the exact-same setups (Jim and his dad having awkward conversations about sex), then they’re generic raunchy jokes that were already tired in 1999. (Genital trauma, anyone?)I did actually enjoy parts of this movie, though. There are laughs to be had. But in an age with great comedies, “American Reunion” just feels lazy.I don’t think it is unreasonable for audiences to expect more than “Dancing with the Stars” parodies and gratuitous nudity. Even the nostalgia the film relies so heavily on is lazy, with characters being brought back for a line or two before disappearing.The idea of bringing the cast of a teenage comedy back together years later could make for an interesting movie, and “American Reunion” does wrestle with the conflicts of aging. Unfortunately, while the film’s characters realize that growing up is important, the film itself never really does.
(03/22/12 1:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The idea of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill playing undercover cops infiltrating high school drug culture might sound like a disaster, but “21 Jump Street” manages to make it work.Tatum and Hill are a jock and a nerd, respectively, who have turned into a police team. They return to high school to find a world where the cool kids are not jocks, but environmentalists. The cliques don’t make sense, but that’s the point: Stereotypes are deconstructed by being turned upside-down.While “Jump Street” shouldn’t be oversold, it’s a hilarious movie, even if the jokes come at the expense of depth. The challenge of going head-on against buddy cop and high school stereotypes is not really undertaken.“Jump Street” is just self-aware enough to make its ridiculous concept work. It is crass but smart. If you’re looking for a game-changer, you won’t find it here. But if you believe the job of a comedy is to be funny, then it’s hard to be overly critical.
(03/01/12 12:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As a collection of action set pieces, “Act of Valor” is a success. Unfortunately, it forgets to be a movie.The gimmick or, um, backstory of “Act of Valor”: The film, while fictional, stars active duty SEALs and was shot in part during actual SEAL training missions.The idea, directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh said, was to portray the SEALs more realistically than would be possible with actors. During combat scenes, this might be true. The SEALs were working in their natural environment, and it shows.The problem arises when they leave the battlefield. The SEALs are the best fighters in the world, but that doesn’t mean they can act. As much as the incredible action brings you into the world of these men, the stilted delivery of just about every line of dialogue rips you out of it.The story was clearly an afterthought here. A loose plot ties everything together, and character development is next to nonexistent.With “Act of Valor,” McCoy and Waugh had an opportunity to set a new high water mark for war films. Instead, they ended up with a 100-minute Navy SEALs recruitment video.
(05/26/11 12:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“No warrant, no entry! No warrant, no entry! No warrant, no entry!” So chanted the crowd at a rally protesting a recent Indiana Supreme Court ruling. The ruling prohibits citizens from resisting police officers who enter their homes without warrants.Over 200 people gathered at the Statehouse on Wednesday May 25 to protest the ruling, which they saw as a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.IU sophomore Stephen Stolnick and Loyola sophomore Emily Veno organized the rally. Neither had significant prior experience with political organizing, but after the Supreme Court ruling they felt a need to speak out.“We just decided to start this because we didn’t see an outcry about it,” Veno said. The two created an event on Facebook, expecting to only get some of their friends to attend. However, activists saw the event and began contacting the two about speaking, and the event began to grow. Speakers at the event ranged from former “Survivor” contestant Rupert Boneham to Libertarian political organizer Evan McMahon. The message was clear throughout the afternoon: this ruling is unconstitutional and cannot be ignored.The rally drew a crowd of residents of all ages from areas such as Anderson, Terre Haute, Muncie and Indianapolis. Many attendees carried signs, and some dressed in costume. The rally’s organizers said they see the event as a starting point for a campaign against the ruling. “We’ve gotten the ball rolling,” Stolnick said. “Now, it’s really in the hands of the people of the communities.”
(11/30/10 3:53am)
Junior Lia Kohl performs Robert Schumann's Fantasiestucke, Op. 73 at her\n cello recital Monday in the Ford-Crawford Recital Hall. Kohl was \naccompanied by painist Aleksey Aremyev, and performed pieces by Johann \nSebastian Bach and Cesar Franck in addition to the Schumann composition.