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(02/23/11 10:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It isn’t always obvious just how important casting is. Every second of “I Am Number Four” is a reminder that this could have been a somewhat acceptable movie if it only had a better cast.The main problem is with Alex Pettyfer, who plays Number Four, also known (creatively) as John Smith. Pettyfer has the relentlessly good-looking face of a model or perhaps a soap actor but not of a major film star. His ability to read dialogue is as unremarkable and cold as his face. Nothing in his performance can be remembered 10 minutes after the movie ends.And then there’s the actual story. A race of incredibly good-looking, yet bland aliens who happen to be exactly like humans but with superpowers, have fled to Earth for safety. The “aliens who look exactly like humans” thing was silly enough back in the “Star Trek” days, and now it’s just sad.The film leaves the door to a sequel wide open, but I’m pretty confident we won’t have to bother with Number Five.
(02/22/11 12:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A new Radiohead album is usually a time for celebration. The band has recorded some of the most critically respected albums of the last few decades, and it remains equally popular with fans. Since the release of “In Rainbows” in 2007, the band has become known for innovative marketing campaigns, and the release of “The King of Limbs” has been no different.Early last week, the band announced the album would be available as a deluxe “newspaper album” (the world’s first, according to the band’s website), as well as simple downloads. Unlike the release of “In Rainbows,” there isn’t any option to legally purchase the album for free. Just as fans were preparing for the album’s Saturday release, Radiohead bumped the date up and announced Friday that the album was available for download (perhaps to thwart leaks, or maybe just because the band is impatient).So now that all Radiohead fans have had time to scramble to their computers, it’s worth taking a look at “The King of Limbs” and how its sound differs from Radiohead’s previous releases.The first thing that sticks out is a jazzy influence. The first track, “Bloom,” has a prevalence of keyboards in place of guitars. The funky but delicate bass line and repetitive drum lines sound like they could have come right out of a Miles Davis album circa 1972.By track two, “Morning Mr. Magpie,” a trend toward more ambient music can be felt. Perhaps the drums are a little too energetic, but the other instrumental textures wouldn’t seem out of place in Brian Eno’s work. The band is more concerned with creating textures than the standout melodies of old, with abstract rather than figurative art.The drum patterns are one of the biggest changes on “The King of Limbs” from previous Radiohead albums. Phil Selway’s patterns have always been somewhat minimalist, but these tracks take it to a new level. It sounds like the drums are just created from loops. I’m not sure if that’s actually the case or if Selway is just able to keep his attacks incredibly consistent.So what about the emotional texture? The stereotype with Radiohead albums is that they are always depressing. Such a broad statement just sounds ignorant, but there has been some truth to it in the past. All of Radiohead’s albums have some pretty dark moments. In a sense, “The King of Limbs” is a bit of a departure from that. There’s only one song that could perhaps be called “happy,” and that’s the final track, “Separator.” However, the album also eschews the kind of morose songs that populated parts of every previous album. The songs just end up sounding more relaxed. Instead of the apocalypse, the darker songs on the album evoke a rainy day. And that’s even broken up somewhat. The second half of the album is considerably lighter in mood than the first half.The final element that must be mentioned is length. At approximately 38 minutes, “The King of Limbs” is Radiohead’s shortest album to date. Where albums like “OK Computer” and “Kid A” took multiple routes to their final destination, “King of Limbs” follows a single progression.Regardless of what the critical consensus ends up being for “The King of Limbs,” it is difficult to deny that this is a new direction for one of the most closely watched band in the world.
(02/17/11 2:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Films about the loss of a family member are a tricky affair. They usually exploit the audience’s emotions and rarely convey any meaningful truths about life after loss. Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Still Walking” is stunning in how deftly it avoids the pitfalls of the grief film.The film mostly takes place in two days during the anniversary of the death of a beloved eldest son. His younger brother, Ryota, visits for the occasion, but he is unable to live up to his brother’s idealized image in his parents’ eyes.Ryota never became a doctor like his father. He never had the glowing personality of his brother. And now he has married a widow with a young son, still something of a taboo to his traditional parents. The film ends on a note of resignation, suggesting nothing will ever change.The film’s use of a mostly static camera and its focus on generational conflict is reminiscent of the great Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Like Ozu, Kore-eda has created a work of great beauty and emotion.
(02/17/11 2:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sunday night was host to the Grammy Awards, and unlike recent shows, viewers weren’t complaining about how boring the show was (although it was still pretty boring). Instead, they were complaining about one of the night’s upsets: Arcade Fire’s win for Album of the Year. The honor showed the Grammy Awards splitting down the middle, torn between a desire to award the best artistic statement and the need to award the biggest selling artist.Arcade Fire’s award seemed completely out of place. The band seemed puny next to Eminem, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga (which is a bit misinformed, considering that Arcade Fire can sell out venues like Madison Square Garden). But once they won, the vitriol started to fly across the web.Tumblr created a special page just to house social network comments from people who were angry about the band’s victory. Most of the commentators were simply mad that a band they weren’t familiar with had won Album of the Year. I’ll avoid the cheap shot of trying to find a correlation between the percentage of correctly spelled words and IQ, but it’s hard not to pay attention to what was actually said.Most of the comments revolved around the idea that Eminem or Lady Gaga should have won because they sold considerably more albums or were better known, which shows a complete lack of understanding of the award’s purpose. The best album is not necessarily the most popular, something many people fail to grasp. I would even argue that the better an album is, the less likely it is able to appeal to huge populations. In order to be enjoyed by as many people as possible, an album has to shave off some of its more ambitious elements, which are bound to frighten or turn off more conservative listeners. The Beatles might seem like a notable exception to this theory, but they hooked listeners with the early pop albums, then held on to them as the albums became more ambitious.So where does this leave the Grammy Awards? Will they continue to choose the year’s best album or will they revert to choosing the year’s best-selling album? My suggestion to them: If sales are more important than quality, then change the award’s name. Best-Selling Album of the Year wouldn’t leave anyone surprised, and it would fit in nicely with the show’s usual corporate bent.
(02/10/11 1:02am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Faust’s longevity is something to be admired. Forty years after the release of the band’s debut album, Faust is still capable of making an engaging album that flirts with both chaos and consonance.“Something Dirty” follows a somewhat normal path for Faust of combining more conventionally beautiful songs with dark experimental pieces. Tracks like “Herbststimmung” and “La Sole Dorée” create a soothing, enveloping mist. Yet the band is quick to shatter the mood with songs like “Dampfauslass 1,” a bit of industrial music hidden on the album.Sometimes Faust’s sense of variety works against the band. At only one or two minutes, multiple songs beg for a little more development. A few seconds of demented folk music on the album’s penultimate track make sense neither as a transition nor as a discrete track.Faust is responsible for legitimizing the term krautrock on their seminal album, “Faust IV.” Now, decades later, that term means very little, but Faust is just as concerned with navigating the possibilities of experimental music.
(02/10/11 12:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Ducktails is the side project of Matthew Mondanile, guitarist for Real Estate. While his other band tends to focus exclusively on a hypnotic form of surf music, Mondanile’s ambitions have grown in his newest album, “Arcade Dynamics.”There’s still plenty of incredibly fun surf-ish music to be found. “Hamilton Road,” “Sprinter” and “Sunset Liner” are the most obvious examples. Each song features guitar tones so clean you could eat off them.Yet other songs on the album venture into chillwave territory, with their funky and low-fi bass and simple drum patterns. “In the Swing” and “Arcade Shift” allow the listener to momentarily reject the outside world and just soak up the groove.Aside from those detours, Ducktails occasionally has trouble distinguishing itself from Real Estate, but that’s a forgivable offense. The quality of the music is great enough that similarities don’t matter.Some versions of the album include an alternate take of “Killin the Vibe,” featuring Animal Collective’s Panda Bear. It’s largely superfluous — evidence that Ducktails can make great music on its own.
(02/02/11 11:22pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>James L. Brooks was looking out for us when he made “Broadcast News” in 1987. Recently re-released in an excellent Criterion Collection edition, the film is a time capsule sent to remind us of what a great (romantic) comedy is like.The film charts the decline of evening news programs as anchors who aim to educate are replaced by news celebrities who aim to entertain. William Hurt represents this new generation as an anchor who doesn’t even understand the news he reports. Albert Brooks plays his polar opposite, a hard news reporter who drowns in sweat when he tries to anchor a show.Holly Hunter plays a producer who is stuck between her loyalty to Brooks and her lust for Hurt. She is a stand-in for the audience, which must constantly fight for substance over mindless entertainment.There are surprisingly few laughs in “Broadcast News,” and the movie delves into rather dark territory at times. Still, having characters who act like real human beings is exhilarating and something that most comedies have forgotten how to do.
(02/02/11 11:11pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Deerhoof albums are about contrasts. Light and dark, consonant and dissonant, soft and loud. “Deerhoof vs. Evil” falls short of recent albums due to a lack of contrasting textures.It’s difficult to explain the appeal of a band like Deerhoof. The group has made its name by mixing hard-rocking songs with bursts of noise and feedback, all while bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki chants Dada phrases.The band can easily write joyous, exuberant songs, but its penchant for noise prevents the music from being that simplistic. Each explosion of static and white noise makes the melody that follows all the more beautiful.The current album focuses too much on the melodies while forgoing the dissonances that make them more meaningful. Songs like “Super Duper Rescue Heads!” and “Hey I Can” have no secrets to reveal. The album still has wonderful moments, like “Behold a Marvel in the Darkness,” but those are sadly in the minority.Deerhoof is on a progression toward making more commercial music. With “Deerhoof vs. Evil,” it may have gone too far.
(02/02/11 11:03pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Americans have some kind of perverse infatuation with movie awards shows. It’s hard to explain. We always watch them, regardless of whether we have even seen the films that are nominated. Most people don’t even seem to care about who wins the awards. The topic that gets the most discussion in the news is how well the host performed.These award show hosts toe a very thin line. On one hand, they have to entertain the Hollywood community, which usually requires telling a bunch of completely inoffensive (and consequentially, unfunny) jokes, with the occasional pre-taped sketch thrown in. That may make the celebrities feel good about themselves, but it is rarely a recipe for great television viewing. The host that is more concerned with those viewing the ceremony than those attending is forced to use riskier humor, which inevitably upsets the celebrities and results in a lack of future invitations.So which of these polar opposites is the correct approach for an award show host? Is his or her job to entertain and babysit actors, or to boost the ratings and cater to a television audience? Considering that the event is so widely publicized, it’s hard not to believe that it’s really meant for a television audience. Something that is only supposed to appeal to those who make films would not receive the kind of publicity that the Academy Awards receive. Also, there are so many ceremonies that could actually have some societal benefit that are difficult to come by compared to the Oscars. It’s easier to see an acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actor than for the Nobel Peace Prize.The most recent host to feel the anger of celebrities was Ricky Gervais. Gervais dared to make fun of the people in the audience, and even though he was often hilarious, his comments about Tom Cruise being a crazy person were just way too offensive. Apparently the only people who don’t think he was crazy were the people in the audience.The fast approaching Academy Awards will take a different route; they will have two hosts this year, James Franco and Anne Hathaway. Both are excellent actors, but neither is really a comedian, and it’s hard to imagine either of them taking any chances at that ceremony. It’ll be 11 hours of charmingly boring banter. Perhaps Ricky Gervais will get drunk and crash the ceremony. I can only hope.
(01/27/11 12:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Natalie Portman starred in a great film this year. Unfortunately, “No Strings Attached” is not that film.The movie opens with a camp scene where two loner teenagers awkwardly try to converse. He’s a spoiled loser, and she’s a robot. The two meet multiple times during the next few years (except they have turned into Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman).Portman is a busy doctor who’s afraid of relationships, so she eventually proposes that the two just have mindless sex all the time. Kutcher doesn’t mind, until (spoiler alert!) he suddenly wants to spend the night and cuddle. It might be a little more interesting if Kutcher didn’t play (is it acting?) such a dope.The best romantic comedies are the ones that subvert the standard clichés of the genre. “No Strings Attached” revels in those clichés. It has emotionless sex with those clichés, until it realizes that it actually loves them.So when you have to pick a Natalie Portman movie this year, go with “Black Swan” and skip this waste of time.
(01/20/11 3:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Is there any genre more American than the Western? They take place almost exclusively in the American West, after all.Westerns also examine themes that Americans have claimed exclusively for themselves (much to the chagrin of other nationalities, I imagine).They usually focus on the exploration of a foreign land. Those living on the frontier are portrayed as industrious, honest, salt-of-the-earth people. Then throw in the occasional bandit and criminal because Americans also like to let loose now and then.Despite the fact that the Western is essentially designed to be an exclusively American genre, filmmakers from other countries have taken a stab at it. In fact, some of the greatest Westerns ever made were created by non-Americans, usually from Italy or Japan.Although foreign-born directors had long worked in Hollywood and directed Westerns, the first person to really extract the Western from its intended setting was Akira Kurosawa whose first Western was “Seven Samurai.”The film is about a group of samurai who are hired by a poor village for hardly any compensation to defend it from bandits who will steal all of the crops.The film has many parallels with Westerns. The samurai stand-in for noble gunslingers or old-West sheriffs, and the bandits are much like desperados who wreak havoc on unsuspecting Western towns.The film was remade in America as “The Magnificent Seven,” a good movie that still fails to live up to its inspiration.Kurosawa’s next great Western was “Yojimbo,” which is about a Samurai with no name who cleverly tricks feuding crime syndicates into killing one another off.The film greatly influenced Sergio Leone, an Italian director. Working with international financing and shooting in Italy, Leone remade the earlier film shot-for-shot as “A Fistful of Dollars.” Like many of his films, it blends American actors (Clint Eastwood) with Europeans.Leone would go on to use that character and similar men in “Once Upon a Time in the West” and “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” Leone’s films were part of a new group of gritty and extremely violent Westerns, often eschewing the easy moralizing of earlier films.In this changing global society, there is less of an appeal for films that present the greed and self-assuredness of American exploration. But somewhere in the world, a director is waiting to revolutionize the genre (again).
(01/20/11 3:18am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Have multiple delays in the release of “The Green Hornet” really been worth the wait everyone has been anticipating? Well, no, not really. For the most part, “Green Hornet” is pretty disappointing.I should clarify, though: This is a fun movie. Unfortunately, there just isn’t anything beneath its shiny surface.“Green Hornet” stars Seth Rogen — who also co-wrote the screenplay and is an executive producer — as Britt Reid, a shallow playboy who has no interest in living up to his father’s legacy as a crusading journalist. After his father’s sudden death, Reid decides to fight crime, largely with his father’s assistant Kato and his weapons-outfitted cars. The duo pretend to be criminals in the hopes of getting close enough to the actual criminals. Interestingly, Kato (Jay Chou) does most of the actual fighting, as Reid has no skills whatsoever. The new crime fighters/criminals eventually come to the attention of L.A. crime boss Benjamin Chudnofsky, a manic but mostly uninteresting Christoph Waltz.“The Green Hornet” is often a pleasure to look at, thanks to director Michel Gondry’s arresting visual sense. Unfortunately, this doesn’t live up to his past films, including “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” one of my favorite films of the past decade.The character development is certainly lacking. Tom Wilkinson as Reid’s father seems like he’s just a mean old man, not a figure to be respected. Cameron Diaz, as Reid’s secretary, is barely there.Ultimately, the film looks great, but doesn’t focus enough on the whole package.There has been much gossip about studio problems with “Green Hornet.” It’s difficult to know if this was always the intended version, or if there is a cut more to Gondry’s liking hidden in a vault. As it stands, this is a misstep for both Gondry and Rogen.
(01/20/11 3:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Kevin Costner’s directorial debut “Dances with Wolves” has recently been re-released on DVD. After having subsequently directed some rather poor movies, it’s amazing that his first still stands so well.Costner plays Lt. John Dunbar, a Union officer in the Civil War. After an attempted suicide that somehow allows Union forces to carry the day, Dunbar is given his choice of assignment. He chooses to go out west and live in an abandoned fort by himself. Eventually, he befriends nearby Sioux Indians and becomes part of their tribe.Parts of the film are a bit problematic. For instance, Dunbar’s romance with a white woman living with the tribe is too convenient and suggests he hasn’t completely assimilated. One character puts it well: “It makes sense. They are both white.” The film’s greatest strength lies in its breathtaking visuals. Costner makes the prairie look not like a barren wasteland, but rather a vibrant, golden sea. Even the battle scenes are beautiful, more like a ballet than a battle.Though always beautiful, the extended version is long at four hours. Although it still works well, the inclusion of the three-hour theatrical version would have been a smart move.Perhaps Costner will try to make another great film. Until then, “Dances with Wolves” isn’t going anywhere.
(01/13/11 12:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Season of the Witch” has to be one of the most realistic films released
this year. Nicolas Cage spends most of the movie trudging through
excrement and rotting matter in medieval Europe, and after seeing the
film, I felt like I too had been dragged through a huge pile of crap.
I’ll get the plot (what little there is) out of the way as quickly as
possible so I can concentrate on making fun of Nicolas Cage. Cage plays a
knight named Behmen, who has been enlisted in the Crusades with his
best bud Felson, played by the usually dependable Ron Perlman. Behmen
doesn’t mind killing hundreds of Muslim men, but when he accidentally
kills a woman (who looks strangely European), he suddenly develops a
conscience and leaves for Europe with Felson.
Behmen and Felson are recognized as deserters, and their only way to
avoid imprisonment is to deliver a girl accused of being a witch to a
distant abbey, where she will be put on trial. On the way there, the
knights’ caravan is decimated by cheesy special effects. Eventually they
realize the girl isn’t a witch — she’s possessed by a demon. Then there
are some special effects that are so horrible that they kill both Cage
and Perlman (no qualms about spoiling this movie for anyone).
So why does this movie suck? It’s obvious that little time and effort
were spent on it. Besides the horrible effects, it’s poorly edited (in a
dubbed scene where Cage and Perlman are on horseback, they speak
without their lips ever moving). The acting is also stilted and
unintentionally hilarious at times. And don’t get me started on Nicolas
Cage’s haircut. It’s sad that he’s stuck in this forsaken movie; the man
used to be an interesting actor and has been in some damn good movies
in the past (“Adaptation” is one of my all-time favorites).
What’s worst about this film, though, is its revisionism on the subject
of witchcraft. The witch hunts of Europe and early America were designed
to root out the “lesser” elements of society. Women and the
disadvantaged were killed as a scapegoat for society’s problems. By
pretending that there may have actually been a few real witches hiding
out there, the film risks legitimizing at least some of the thousands of
deaths due to witch hunts.
Skip this movie, if not for your sake, then for the sake of someone who cares about you.
(01/13/11 12:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Since the release of “The Social Network” (and long before it), people
have been musing about the impact of Facebook on society.
“Catfish” makes an interesting companion to that film. This (possible)
documentary explores the consequences of an identity created online.
The film, directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, begins almost as a
side project. With Ariel’s brother Yaniv (Nev), the group films and
photographs dancers.
When Nev receives a painting based on one of his photographs in the
mail, he starts up a correspondence with the 8-year-old girl who painted
it and her family.
Eventually, he has some form of Internet relationship with the girl’s older sister.
Throughout time, Nev notices inconsistencies in his contacts with the family.
While travelling to shoot a dance film nearby, Nev and friends show up unannounced to meet the family.
He then discovers that he has been participating in an elaborate fiction.
The conclusion of this film is sad, even heartbreaking at times. Without
revealing all the details, I can say that the final meeting destroys an
elaborate fantasy world.
“Catfish” may be both painful and exploitative at times, but it’s ultimately necessary.
(12/08/10 11:35pm)
The show must go on
(12/08/10 11:30pm)
LCD Soundsystem tops WEEKEND's list of the best albums of the year.
(12/08/10 11:15pm)
WEEKEND breaks down the Top 20 movies of 2010.
(12/08/10 10:47pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Steve Wynn, former leader of the 1980s band Dream Syndicate, has been making solo albums for quite some time now. Although “Northern Aggression” is not his most ambitious album by any means, it finds him reaching an impressive level of consistency.Wynn’s music is an amalgam of post-punk and alternative music with the occasional Bob Dylan nasal voice thrown in. Wynn’s backing band, The Miracle 3, never show off, instead focusing on creating the perfect groove. The band even sounds a bit rootsy at times with some great slide guitar work.Most of “Northern Aggression” has a dark, mellow feel, but it’s never depressing or boring. Its main problem is also its greatest strength: consistency. Wynn never sounds as if he’s trying something new, nor even working up a sweat. Two songs, “Consider the Source” and “The Death of Donny B” don’t have much distinguishing them from each other.There are still some great moments on “Northern Aggression,” it’s just hard to tell them apart.
(12/01/10 11:53pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Robyn’s decision to release her latest album, “Body Talk,” in three parts was an astute move. It made people who would never venture beyond Lady Gaga actually listen to her music. But for the end of the series, Robyn has released two different versions of the concluding volume in a rather confusing move.You can get an 18-minute EP called “Body Talk Pt. 3” or go with a volume simply called “Body Talk” that includes all the songs from the latest release, plus a selection from the first two volumes. Unfortunately, not all the older songs make it, even though there are no obvious duds.The newest EP is the most consistently excellent, although one of its tracks, “Indestructible,” is a superior version of the previous song. Its strings have been replaced with grooving synth-bass. The newer tracks focus more on dance pop than ballads, a welcome addition.With her “Body Talk” releases, Robyn has been telling America to give her some of the attention reserved for native pop stars; hopefully she’ll get it now.