There was a time when I new everything about music. Seriously. But. . .guess what? Pavement and Medeski Martin & Wood aren’t new bands anymore.
Turns out there’s a whole sub-genre that’s been stewing for decades from such odd places as Virginia and Arizona. Some call it Doom Rock, others call it Stoner Rock.
I call it awesome.
Low, heavy, endless jams, oftentimes about Valkyries traversing great distances to bring ganja to Jerusalem. . .or something.
This doc will give you a solid intro education. Some sweet clips, too.
The fourth screening was the best.
I noticed tons of new things. The introductions of Kirk and Spock rhyme visually (bloody lips), Kirk nearly slides to his death three times, the lighting on Pike is straight out of TOS, maybe this Universe’s Chekov is really Wesley?
It’s a fabulous movie and every time I’ve seen it it feels about fifteen minutes long.
Can’t wait to see it a fifth time.
Prepare the Red Matter!
No amount of recutting or added voice over narration can make sense of this sloppy movie. Did you know that only 4 people were alive during 1776? It sure seems that way, cause these characters keep bumping into one another.
Not the disaster some might lead you to believe (Pacino didn’t work for four years after, Hudson for eight), but Lord knows who thought this was worth “revisiting.”
I don’t normally blog about DVD extras but, hey, this is its own separate disc and, hey, it’s something special.
If you buy (or receive, tut tut) the Blu-ray box set of the first six Star Trek films, you’ll also receive this disc. At about 80-something minutes, it features a roundtable schmooze hosted by Whoopi “Guinan” Goldberg with Shatner, Nimoy, Stewart and Frakes.
It is surprisingly watchable. Here’s what you’ll learn.
Whoopi is the biggest fan and she knows more about Star Trek than any of them.
Stewart and Frakes are total class acts.
Nimoy is an impish prankster with a good sense of humor and solid comedic delivery.
Shatner, while endlessly entertaining, is a complete prick.
This book, the first of a series from Wanted’s Mark Millar, has already been optioned for a movie.
I say it is merely okay.
The “what if” of a J.C. reborn in the guise of a 13 year old average kid from Peoria, Ill in the 1980s? Yeah, sure, fine.
There’s a twist, though, in the last three pages that almost makes the whole thing worthwhile. Almost.
As I’ve mentioned before, I am a devotee of Rick Remender’s comic Fear Agent. The last series is almost done, and I gobbled up the first five of six issues yesterday.
Frankly, it is the least successful of all of Heath Huston’s tales. While generally I like Westerns, there’s something flat about sticking Huston is this off-brand Westworld when he could be battling Dressites or Teltaldians. Looks like the last issue (if it ever comes) will blast off to someplace wild. Hopefully it’ll tie up most of the loose strings (virtually impossible) as the rumor is that Remender needs to take a 3 yr Fear Agent hiatus while he works at Marvel so his damned kid can have health insurance. Sounds like something Heath would have to do.
There’s a reason Roman Catholicism has more devotees than any of the other leading brands. These guys really know style. No other belief system looks so beautiful on film and Ron Howard’s cinematography and design team work the devil out of each statue, bas relief, stained glass, cassock, catacomb, nave, reredos, Pieta and ecumenical seal they come across. The ambigramatic symbols of the spooky “Illuminati” aren’t too shabby either, nor are the smashing Swiss atoms at the CERN supercollider. The upshot for all this is that Angels & Demons is such a dazzling visual treat you almost don’t realize how idiotic the story is. Perhaps the Vatican is less-than-pleased with this film, but the Italian Board of Tourism should be thrilled.
More at UGO.com.
I’ve always wondered if you could just, you know, pick up one of those glossy, shiny Marvel trade paperbacks from the middle of a series, dive in, and understand what the hell is going on.
The answer is: of course you can. It’s comic books. It’s for kids! (And they are meant to be addictive.) Sure, you won’t get all the references, but if you have half a brain you’ll catch on quick.
This particular TPB was under a pile of stuff in my house for Lord knows how long. It is written by Joss Whedon (feh on that guy, generally) and illustrated by John Cassaday who truly is a (ahem) marvel with color. The book truly is beautiful and not just because the women parade around in underwear.
There’s some funny business, referenced above, where Wolverine becomes a fancy lad. Entertaining stuff.
Despite some disagreements with how some of the characters are developed, I have carbombs full of praise for this movie. Some of the scenes in The Hurt Locker make Platoon look like an episode of M*A*S*H. I love the documentary-style shooting, the grainy stock, the easy performances. . . and the most nerve-wracking slow-as-shit sniper exchange scene I’ve ever seen.
I liked this movie a lot when I first saw it, but days later I think I love it.
1/2
I am finding it a little bit difficult to jump right back into the Project post-Abrams. Maybe I need some time to realign my thinking.
This particular episode doesn’t invigorate me. Jake & Nog find themselves “behind enemy lines” on a ship run by Red Squad cadets have gotten battle-hardened too quickly. It isn’t a bad idea, but the execution is a little half-baked. And, frankly, right now, if I wanna see cadets take over a ship. . . .
My review is embargoed – in fact, I don’t even think I am allowed to tell you that I liked this movie. So shhhhhhh!
But in the mean time, you should read my interview with McG. It is funny.
A somewhat mean spirited look at the build-up to the release of Phantom Menace. Uninspired and completely amateurish. I’m amazed this got sold to a distributer, but, hey, *I* watched it.
Sometimes you gotta give a movie extra points just for being strange.
The DVD box aptly describes it as a cross between Eric Rohmer and Roman Polanski. Imagine if the characters from Claire’s Knee hopped aboard the boat from Knife on the Water. That’s the jist. Throw in some early Breillat (Une Vraie Juene Fille or 36 filette) and just a dash of Funny Games, too. Which isn’t to say this is a thriller or anything, but there is an undercurrent of creepiness from, basically, the first frame.
I really must talk to my friend Jurgen Fauth to see if German vacations are really like this.
A very straightforward fable with a “nice” message that is both elevated and marred by its animation style.
Let me explain. Some of the time the animation looked like horrible video game cut scenes. I almost turned it off. But when our hero left soggy old France for “The Orient” then BLAM there was an explosion of color and patterns that had me ooohing and ahhhing. I can’t say anything too nice about the story or voice acting but the animation, a combo plate of computers and hand-drawn is, at times, breathtaking.
As my mother said, there’s a reason you’ve never heard of this movie.
You’d think Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers running around a Banana Republic under Cold War auspices would be a recipe for hilarity. Hardly the case. Maybe you have to be English to find the humor here. The film isn’t entirely devoid of laughs, and just listening to Terry-Thomas’ accent is some measure of fun, but I don’t really recommend this film.
The only thing I don’t like about this movie is the fakery of its name. It should be called Prevention of Panic in the Streets. But agree that doesn’t look as nice on a marquis.
Although it has noir elements, this is not a noir. Frankly, it follows more tropes of 1950s “B” Sci-Fi. Only the Sci isn’t Fi – this shit could happen. Look at the Swine Flu nonsense from last week.
The performances are really top notch. Kazan’s theater background is made very obvious with long takes and wide shots, but there’s plenty of good visual stuff happening as well. Great flick.
Some people are absolutely nuts for Office Space. I’m not that way, though I do find it very funny. The story, let’s face it, is a little thin. And not all the comedy works. (The neighbor isn’t that funny, in my opinion.) Maybe I’d love it more if I worked in a more corporate environment, but I’ve only spent 4 or 5 of my working years in an office and I’ve always been encouraged to wear giant Styrofoam hats and people generally leave me the fuck alone.
Now – that aside – the printer scene (referenced above) is one of the funniest moments on film ever. Period. It isn’t just a funny idea, it is executed beautifully. And there are lots of little nuances in the performances. Watch it again to see what I mean.
Fun! But for the second (or in my case, third) screening only. See it the first time in regular-max. The screen is just too damned big and the camera moves a lot – ironically, you might miss a few things. Our eyeballs aren’t trained to see things this way. Shots that are static, though, are fantastic and that’s when the IMAX allows you to see shit in the frame you’d never see otherwise.
Unlike Dark Knight (or the forthcoming Harry Potter) there are no scenes shot in IMAX, so it is just like seeing the world’s biggest letterboxed TV.
