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entertainment
The Dictator Directed by Larry Charles Sean Hiller Staff Writer If you are looking for another “Borat” then unfortunately “The Dictator” is not going to meet your expectations. This is not saying that “The Dictator” is bad, in fact it was surprisingly decent. Sacha Baron Cohen, the comedic mastermind behind “Borat” and “Bruno”, creates a comedic satire of dictators that will have you cracking up as well as cringing in disgust constantly throughout the film. Needless to say, like most of Baron Cohen’s films, “The Dictator” is NOT for the faint of heart or easily upset. “The Dictator” is the story about ruthless Dictator Aladeen played by Sacha Baron Cohen that, through the pressure of the United Nations, visits the United States for peace talks. While he is there, he is betrayed by his second in command who then, through the use of a Aladeen double, begins to strike oil deals with other dictatorships and communist regimes that will take all power away from Aladeen’s beautiful country of Waadeya. Aladeen, who is presumed dead by his betrayer, is actually on the streets, beardless and unrecognizable. He soon befriends a hippie activist named Zoey, played by Anna Faris. Although their
stances on politics are completely on different sides of the spectrum they begin to fall for each other. Aladeen while in the city of New York meets a scientist that used to work for him and who he had presumed dead due to the fact Aladeen had him executed. Together they figure out a plan to get Aladeen back into the U.N. headquarters so he can regain his power. Where “The Dictator” differs from Sacha Baron Cohen’s films is that it actually has a plot. This, of course, is because it is not done in a documentary style filming, which is why some people who did not like Cohen’s other films might enjoy this one. I t
has a beginning, a middle, and an end, not just a bunch of nonsense bunched together. What this film does have in common with Cohen’s other films is its over the top, raunchy, and at times incredibly distasteful humor. For example, there is one scene in the film where Aladeen is forced to help a woman give birth in the grocery store he is living above. This scene is extremely wrong, and for some might be too much. This film has a great deal of nasty humor but it also has a lot of clever jokes and situations. Cohen sticks to his roots and lays down racist joke after racist joke, and while some were clever and some were not, most were hilarious. Cohen took a shot at every race imaginable so at least it was fair. And just as every other one of Cohen’s films, there is uncalled for nudity. If you were disgusted by seeing Cohen naked in “Borat” and “Bruno” then get ready because it is going to happen again, and when you least expect it. Overall this film is actually pretty good. It has some really stupid moments, but it also has a great deal of hilarious ones. All of the actors do a great job of portraying their characters and add to the hilarity of the strange situations they find themselves in. This film is by no means a “21 Jump Street” caliber comedy, but by no means does this movie fall short.
Strange Clouds Performed by B.o.B. Nikita Zakladnyi Staff Writer B.o.B. should’ve crashed his airplane along with his shipload of CDs for his new album when he had the chance. Unfortunately, B.o.B. was able to land safely to spew his sewage on the music industry with his new instrument of pollution titled “Strange Clouds”. This album is a mashed and compressed product of all the generic rap/ pop noise that gets ejaculated as a package for distasteful rap and hip hop listeners. Heck, they even slapped Nicki Minaj’s ever so featured squeaky voice on it. This album is a scad pile of rentan-orchestra and overused tone patterns. B.o.B. does switch up his rapping, so this murky pool of bad and
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Born & Raised
Performed by John Mayer Nanxi Tang In-Depth Editor John Mayer knows he’s talented: he has won multiple Grammys and his four previous albums have been successful, all certifying platinum and reaching top 10 of the Billboard 200. However, what sets his new album, “Born and Raised”, apart is that Mayer has finally found his humility.
“Born and Raised” was released on May 22, 2012 after Mayer’s two-year hiatus from the temptations of Hollywood. Back then, following Mayer’s fall from grace as a result of a couple years of bad publicity coupled with the consequences of his devil-may-
of his former CDs, reflecting his intent to draw listeners into his intimate and revealing tracks. Unfortunately, this is the first album release that Mayer won’t be able to support with a live tour. Last fall, Mayer had undergone surgery for a granuloma that had grown on his vocal chords. As luck would have it, Mayer had announced in March that his granuloma had grown back, prompting Mayer to indefinitely can-
cel his previously upcoming tour. Critics of Mayer contend that his personal retreat from the city doesn’t make the epiphanies that drove this album unique by any means; his story is one as old as the ages. Also, Mayer’s lack of talent as a lyricist are
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horrible does have some variation. The lyrics are simple and don’t have much meaning to them and the deepest line one could find is about “lighting up” or “drinking up” . B.o.B. even does the “heyyyyuu” and the incompre-
hensible slurring in the beginning of his songs that so many rap artists do. This album is indeed a gasp of air from all the Rack City wannabe rappers and the repetitive RnB musicians crying a river about the same girl who
took his money and is now apparently some ho-fo-sho who broke his heart. Maybe we can just pretend that airplanes in the night sky are taking his new album away somewhere cold and dark to some place that no one knows about except for a man in Uzebekistan who is sick with a terminal illness. This album was conceived from a cesspool of Minaj, Weezy, simple song structures that had a miscarriage, and brought to life by necromancer B.o.B. that was later dropped down the tree of awful and landed in the laps of eager listeners who cannot tell a piano chord from a fart. It’s understandable how someone could like this artist, but compared to other rappers nowadays this album is no good, don’t buy it, listen to Earl instead.
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care attitude, he retreated to the countryside in Montana. His return from isolation produced an honest offering of tracks, with its roots in the flavor of the 70’s: soft rock, country blues, and acoustics. “Born and Raised” is the story of Mayer’s rediscovery of self, inspiring an album of reflective and soul-searching tunes. With his first single off the album, “Shadow Days,” Mayer is able to deliver the underlying theme of his new work: “I’m a good man with a good heart/Had a tough time, got a rough start,” Mayer sings. “But my shadow days are over now.” Mayer is apologetic, defending his past choices while also acknowledging his missteps. He also reminisces on the past; in his track “If I Ever Get Around to Living,” he sings of his teenage evenings spent playing guitar in his room. The songs reflect both an impulse to move forward into the future while looking back into the past; this new album is overall softer, slower, and more acoustic-oriented than any
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said to detract from his album, with the cheesy song “Love is a verb” and almost turn-of-phase “A Face to Call Home.” What critics of Mayer can agree on, however, is that Mayer’s new album offers expert musicality filled with charm, honesty and a peaceful easy melody, backed by appropriate instrumental touches. His 12 tracks feature primarily blues and folk elements: violins, slide guitars, pedal steel guides, blues harp. His guitar prowess, accompanied by his increasing harmonica talent are evidenced and shine through to blend into Mayer’s most diverse and exploratory album yet.
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