The Host tries too hard to impress EntertainmentApril 12, 20138

KISSING IN THE RAIN- Characters Melanie and Jared enjoy their time together in the rain despite the life-threatening danger they face from invaders. IMAGE/FANDANGO.COM

By JOYCE OUSTAFF WRITER

Like the protagonist from The Host, the movie left me detached from its universe.

The Host, a movie adaption of Stephenie Meyer’s book of the same name, depicted a futuristic struggle between humans and parasitic invaders called Souls. Throughout the film, protagonist Melanie Stryder, played by Saoirse Ronan, battles for control of her body with a Soul named Wanderer “Wanda” that has invaded her body.

Frankly, “weird” is the only word that comes to my mind when I think of this movie. I did not understand the point of the movie, the characters, and the plot in general.

Although the writers had an entire book for reference, I still felt the writers had little grasp on what direction they wanted to take the movie.

For example, The Host is classified as science fiction, but the futuristic elements in the movie were flimsy at best. The elements, such as the ultramodern architecture, felt forced in and superficial, as if the director placed them in solely to meet a checklist for a science fiction film.

Perhaps this movie can be better described as a romance, because Melanie and Wanda’s conflicting feelings toward two different

guys were really emphasized. However, the film also randomly inserted car chases and murder attempts, which could have easily made it a thriller.

In short, the writers seemed to want to make The Host everything, and consequently, it was everything—just in the fashion of a dirty kitchen sink.

Sadly, the movie did show glimpses of potential that

ultimately never came to fruition because there was simply too much going on to fully develop one thing.

The alien villain, The Seeker, played by Diane Kruger, is a prime example of this disappointing underdevelopment.

As the movie progressed, she displayed flashes of an extremely intriguing mind; her obsessive chase after Melanie crossed the peaceful boundaries Souls sought to stay in. I wanted to see more development of her battle against her increasingly

violent nature because this struggle would have added much needed complexity to the plot and made her a much

more dangerous villain. Unfortunately, I did not

believe any of the romance amongst the love square because the film only took a superficial look at their complex love lines.

The chemistry simply was not there between Ronan and her costars, and the development of these romances was even worse. The film pretty much introduced

Melanie to Jared and Wanda to Ian, and in the next scene they were staring lovingly in their respective lover interest’s eyes.

The ending continued the movie’s trend of randomness. For being the big bad guy, The Seeker was far too easy to beat. I was expecting a final showdown at least, and instead The Seeker got shot down barely five seconds into the confrontation. Furthermore, Wanda figured out how to remove The Seeker for her host body by complete coincidence. The solution was painfully obvious from the get go, so the ending felt unearned.

In addition, a deus ex machina, or a contrived plot device, in the form of a brain-dead body inexplicably came out of nowhere to magically solve Wanda and Melanie’s struggle for Melanie’s body. This copout was simply the cherry on top of this lackluster ending.

Nonetheless, I would recommend this movie for females who want a mindless treat to enjoy for two hours; the visuals were very easy on the eyes. Only under careful scrutiny does the film’s plotline reveal its many weaknesses.

Overall, The Host tried to do too much and instead achieved nothing but a mess of undeveloped characters and random plot turns.

Music: The Heist and 20/20 Experience

By JESSICA LIMONSTAFF WRITER

Macklemore’s thought-provoking lyrics take on different personas and forms in his recent album, The Heist. With the help of Producer and close-friend, Ryan Lewis, the Seattle duo pop-tags and throw their hands up in the album featuring guest artists such as Wanz, Ray Dalton, Buffalo Madonna and more.

The feel-good and pumped up tunes, “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” are the yin to the yang of Macklemore’s usual melancholy songs that challenge the concepts and traditions created by society; making a dynamic in the tone of the album on a scale from ‘party music’ to ‘chill and cruising tunes’.

After years of waiting, Justin Timberlake has finally released The 20/20 Experience and has ultimately made quite the comeback.

With singles such as “Suit and Tie” and “Mirrors”, the album gives listeners the best of both worlds with his hit-the-dance floor style and his trademark love and romance songs.

“Let the Groove Get In” is a piece with many ethnic and cultural sounds revolving around Timberlake’s always original and unique vocals. This song is one of few tunes on the album that have the same format of incorporating a wide array of sounds and styles.

For a guy that has been out of the music game for quite a while, he most definitely didn’t lose his touch. The former NSYNC member has made his presence known and warned any competing artists that he is going to take back his rightful place in the popular music industry. IMAGE/GOOGLE.COM

The self-labeled, indie rapper tackles issues like the struggles of a homosexual and reveals his questioning of his own sexuality in the third grade in, “Same Love”. “Neon Cathedral” gives listeners a look into Macklermore’s past who, at the time, was struggling with alcoholism.

“BomBom” caught my ear whilst giving the album a once-over. It’s an instrumental only piece that begins with a piano intro and soon transitions into a heavy bass beat; followed by a brass only section and slowly building by adding more rhythms, instruments and texture to give way to the next song “White Walls”.

Overall, The Heist has proved itself to be a success; And for an artist who has been self-made since 2010, Macklemore’s first time ever teaming up with a major label (Warner Bros.) has put him on the map and most likely gave way to more opportunities to share his unique lyrics with the world.