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Album dark, but still enjoyable
The album is dead as an art form. We're all to blame for its demise, with our iPods and our satellite radios and whatnot.
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"Monster House" not engaging
It was difficult to guess what "Monster House" would bring to the big screen. Could it skate the line between childish humor and enjoyable for adults, like the old animated "Scooby-Doo" episodes? Should it feed off some of the same innocent charm from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"? Would it be too scary for kindergartners? Unfortunately, the answer is "no" to all of these questions.
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'Who killed my wife?'
Is the murder of Bernita White going to remain an unsolved crime in the Lansing community or is the case close to being solved? On June 23, 2001, White was shot and killed in Lansing at Potter Park Zoo, 1301 S.
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'Super ex-girlfriend' misleading
It's always a good idea when making a movie that the longer you stick with your original concept the more entertaining your film will be. If audiences are deceived into thinking they are seeing a film about one thing, and then that concept barely appears in the film, audiences will not be able to enjoy the film to its fullest capacity. Ivan Reitman's new comedy, "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," suffers from this problem because there is very limited time when the "ex" concept is in effect. The film begins with the introduction of the film's lovable loser, Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson), an ordinary guy who has been out of the dating game for quite awhile and feels it's time to get back in the game. He suddenly sees his chance when Saunders runs after a thief who has just stolen a woman's purse and thinks what better way to pick up a girl than to become her hero. Impressed by his courageous act, Jenny Johnson (Uma Thurman) asks Saunders out on a date. As they get to know each other, Saunders begins to notice aspects about this girl that are both familiar and different from other women he's dated — from their extremely rough sex together to her very needy and jealous moods.
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Story line, suspense make film
After seeing the film, "Lady in the Water," I can now say, M. Night Shyamalan can be considered one of the best storytellers in Hollywood today. Not only does he display the ability of picking a normal subject we see in everyday society as his theme while mixing it with a supernatural background, but also he has the patience to develop a story to its fullest extent, as well. In his past films, Shyamalan has dealt with everything from superheroes to aliens, but then developed the film around issues like divorce or losing one's faith.
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Adult Swim needs Pee-wee Herman
I have always been a person possessed by irrational fear. Even in these trying times of "constant" terrorist threat and international conflict, nothing sends shivers down my spine like thoughts of an alien abduction or an overwhelming army of zombies. But as a child, my fears manifested themselves in three fairly harmless entertainment icons: gap-toothed Mad Magazine cover boy Alfred E.
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'Clerks II' builds on original
Gathering up all the movie references in "Clerks II" is like finding out you've won the golden ticket, but if you don't make all the connections, then you still have the chocolate.
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Last minute Casionauts fan enjoyed final performance
Note to self: Don't wait to see a band until its last show. It's like showing up at a party at 2:30 a.m., the beer drained, the happy guests and relieved hosts still wound up from the ride that you, unfortunately missed. Such was the case for me Saturday night, at Mac's Bar, 2700 E.
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The bartender
Bryan Allen, manager at The Landshark, 101 E. Grand River Ave., was leafing through a drink magazine at the bar recently when he came upon the recipe for Blue Street, a sky blue concoction that can be served as either a cocktail or a shot.
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Casionauts ready for last show
I've never cared much for The Casionauts. Given vocalist/keyboardist Ryan Balderas' suggestion for this story on his band's last show on Saturday at Mac's Bar, 2700 E.
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Happenings
Friday "Cobb" a tale of tortured greatness. Riverwalk Theatre. 228 Museum Drive, Lansing.
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Irish music group to give free performance
Rare Combination, an Irish/Celtic group, will be giving a free performance at 7 p.m. Friday at Lake Lansing Park-South, located at the corner of Pike Street and Marsh Road in Haslett. The band, which formed in spring 2004, garnered its name from the unlikely members in the group.
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Farm fresh snacks
Tuesday morning, Holly Markham arrived at the MSU Student Organic Farm, 3291 College Road, to begin harvesting produce to take with her to the MSU Agricultural Equipment Exposition, or Ag Expo. For the first year since its inception, people attending the Ag Expo could buy a snack that was not prepared by MSU Concessions.
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'Dupree' disappoints
Why is it people always seem to want to ruin a good thing when it is going well? In the movie "You, Me and Dupree," Owen Wilson decides to separate himself from his fellow frat packers and try to see if his luck is as good as it used to be. In the past couple of years, actors like Wilson, his brother Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell all seemed to be in the same films together, including "Wedding Crashers" and "Old School." This past year, each actor has decided to take on a solo project. So far Vaughn, who released "The Break-Up" earlier this summer, succeeded at the box office — the film broke the $100 million mark — but failed to please critics. In "Dupree," Wilson seems to suffer from the same problem, which is unlike his films of the past.
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Muse album lives up to former efforts, fails to evolve sound
Imagine a song that starts strong with pounding drums and bass, lilting lyrics and complex chordal melodies.
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'Little Man' is big disappointment
(Sigh) … ahhh, "Little Man." If you were to put together a list of the worst ideas for a movie in the past two decades, green-lighting a project with Marlon Wayans' face transposed on baby-like bodies might rank pretty high.
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WEB EXTRA: Lake Lansing Park hosts free Irish music concert
Rare Combination, an Irish/Celtic group, will be giving a free performance at 7 p.m. Friday at Lake Lansing Park-South, located at the corner of Pike Street and Marsh Road in Haslett. The concert will be held at the Lake Lansing Community Bandshell.
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Golden Smog album full of talent, needs to be more compact
It must be the summer of the super group. In May, hip-hop fans were taken to "St. Elsewhere" by powerhouse duo Gnarls Barkley.
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Common Ground festival wraps up successful year
It was a record-setting year at Common Ground Music Festival, with attendance figures for Friday night's concerts reaching 14,500.
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Happenings
Friday Book signing: Artis White, "Who Killed my Wife?" The Unsolved Murder of Bernita White.