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The Indiana Daily Student

Sidetracked

Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 7:22 p.m.

In this week's Sidetracked, three WEEKEND reviews cuss and discuss the week's hottest tracks.

Blanket of darkness

By Chris Pickrell · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 7:18 p.m.

Dark stories do make for good dramatic twists, but to make a blanket shift to dark movies would ignore what makes most of these stories worth watching, and what made “The Dark Knight” the success it was. The best we can hope for is that Hollywood will realize this so it can worry less about making perfect movies and more about making the right ones.

Meet Glen Campbell. Seriously, meet him, he's pretty cool.

Covering the (future) classics

By Tyler James Perry · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 7:08 p.m.

Country legend Glen Campbell has returned after a long hiatus and released Meet Glen Campbell. On the album, the country crooner covers songs from artists ranging from Green Day and the Foo Fighters to Tom Petty and U2. The heartfelt “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)” and “Times Like These” are standouts.

Earth to dreadful haircuts, come in, come in.

Out of this world awful

By Danielle Fleischman · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 7:05 p.m.

... Earth to the Dandy Warhols ... is a poorly conceived, terribly executed album that has none of the heart, soul or fun of the band’s previous work. The album seems to wrestle with its drug rock roots in an ill-informed attempt to sound like My Bloody Valentine.

Pop quiz: Spot which of these characters is a Terminator.

Cyborg crazy

By Cory Barker · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:58 p.m.

For a weekly television series based on five hours of film (the show thankfully ignores “T3”), “Chronicles” is a refreshing, honest addition to the “Terminator” mythos. In the first season the show covers a lot of ground, including stopping Skynet, Terminators with non-killing missions, and how John deals with his destiny.

Like most of us, Denis Leary is still ticked at Kevin Spacey for "Superman Returns."

No recount needed here

By John Barnett · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:54 p.m.

This being a crucial election year, movies like “Recount” strike a little closer to home than the average political fare, if only because there always looms the threat of such an electoral disaster happening again. Roach, Strong and an engaging cast manage to nail the prime characteristics of both sides (Republicans: ruthless, logical, calculating; and Democrats: determined, intellectual, fragile), to suggest that even in the most tempestuous of political climates, there’s still hope for our Constitution to prevail.

Shwayze: The best musical act to have an MTV show since 2ge+her.

Gotta be buzzin' to like this

By Joe Jasinski · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:49 p.m.

Shwayze’s tracks wouldn’t be a horrible addition to any summer beach mix tape, but listening to the entire album is a bit of a repetitive chore. It’s clear that having a TV show doesn’t necessarily equate to having much talent whatsoever, even if Shwayze would like you to think differently.

Walk and roll

By Amanda Lowry · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:45 p.m.

Some of Bloomington’s hottest staple entertainment events and venues are less than a mile away from campus, and anyone any age can attend.

This photo was taken during Staind's brighter years.

Not much progress

By Tyler James Perry · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:37 p.m.

The Illusion of Progress finds the band completely eschewing the metal sound of their first two albums. This is good news to fans of their newer albums – those who likely haven’t even heard of Tormented and only remember “Mudshovel” from Staind’s second album Dysfunction. Almost all of the tunes are soft and radio-friendly, with gentle verses leading to predictable choruses. Although the album will likely garner Staind more enormous tours and success, one has to wonder how much longer this formula can provide the same results. Considering this, The Illusion of Progress seems to be the perfect name for this album.

"Raise your hand if you love bears, beets and 'Battlestar Galactica'."

A light rock affair

By Cory Barker · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:30 p.m.

Although Wilson and his co-stars seem like they care about their performances, nothing in “The Rocker” is remotely memorable. The plot is predictable and paper-thin; none of the jokes really hit; and clichés about the rock-n-roll lifestyle are everywhere. Just like many of his TV cohorts, Rainn Wilson’s first headlining film is a far fall from his work on television. It’s not that “The Rocker” is overly awful or that Wilson doesn’t have the chops to carry a film on his own, it’s just that we all know he can do much better.

"Death Race": Pretty good for a remake based on a video game from 1975.

Middle of the road action

By Brent Williamson · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:20 p.m.

Let’s take a prison movie, throw in some race cars, and strap machine guns to them; that’s how “Death Race” is born. A slammin’ action movie that doesn’t aspire to much, “Race” provides two hours of speed, sex and shooting. It holds no surprises; fans of this type of movie will be entertained, and critics will pan it mercilessly. Is it high art? No. Does it try to be? No. Besides, what were you expecting from a movie remaking a '70s movie that was based on a video game?

Anna Faris has clearly moved up since starring in "Scary Movie."

Not a funny bunny

By Megan Clayton · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:13 p.m.

And despite the early presence of a smart voice, the movie’s ultimate message is also disappointing. “The House Bunny” tries to make a point about accepting individuality, but the message that comes across a bit more strongly is this: As long as you’re not a frumpish loser and can change yourself enough to be conventionally pretty without becoming a valley-girl vamp, life will be peachy.

The Indiana Daily Student

Fall Forward

By Brian J. McFillen · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:09 p.m.

It all begins again Tuesday: classes, homework, projects, exams ...  Some of you might be asking: What is there to look forward to in fall of 2008? A few campus groups tipped WEEKEND to new and unusual offerings they are planning for the upcoming semester (and, in a couple of cases, beyond).

Wanna get inked up?

By Dion Hazelbaker · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:07 p.m.

WEEKEND takes a closer look at body art in Bloomington.Whether it’s a butterfly on your shoulder or your frat’s Greek letters below your waist, a tattoo tells people something about who you are as an individual. Maybe you’re thinking about getting a tattoo, or maybe you’re just intrigued by this art form.

In the sequel, the "Tropic Thunder" cast will set their sights on Bigfoot.

The summer's best comedy

By Brent Williamson · Wednesday, Aug. 27,2008 6:04 p.m.

“Tropic Thunder” is comedy gold, if not quite the platinum of “Zoolander.” It is well-crafted and funny, while delivering good elements of action as well. It is a standout film in a currently crowded genre and will most likely be watched by groups of drunken college students for years to come.

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