ANOMALY //>

2012-01-09T13:28:00.000-08:00

Upcoming In 2012
Here's a list of my most anticipated things in 2012...

Music

Lana Del Rey "Born To Die"
This is my most anticipated release of 2012, and luckily i don't need to wait long with the album out on January 30th. I've heard 9 tracks from the album already and they're all fantastic. It will be a great record to kick off the year, and an album that will no doubt be a very hard one to beat as the year rolls on.

Santigold
There have been rumours about a second album release from Santigold for a couple years now, but it seems like 2012 is pretty much the year she's officially giving us a full length new release. Her debut was good, hopefully this next album is just as strong. No idea when it will be released.

Skylar Grey "Invisible"
She was featured on a Dr. Dre track, and other acts were singing songs she had written ["Coming Home" Diddy Dirty Money, "Love The Way You Lie" Eminem] throughout 2011, however in 2012, she finally releases her own debut album. I've heard a couple live tracks, they sound promising, she even did a duet with Marilyn Manson on one of the songs. There's no official release date yet, but it should be out before June.

Kanye West
There's no word as to when this will be out, or what the album will sound like, however, he did hint at possibly experimenting with dance music this year. Only Kanye could explore that genre and actually come up with something that doesn't sound like everything else right now, so i look forward to hearing what it sounds like.

Ellie Goulding
Not sure if she'll try something new or go down the same route musically as her debut album, either way, i like her style, so i'm excited to hear whatever she releases next. No date is set for the release, but i'm guessing it will be near the end of the year.

How To Destroy Angels
Trent Reznor and his wife teamed up to create this project, they released an EP a couple years ago which was pretty cool, and tis year we get a proper full length album.

Also this year:
Marilyn Manson "Born Villain",
Nicki Minaj "Roman Reloaded"
Air
Madonna

Movies

The Dark Knight Rises
'The Dark Knight' was incredible, and one of the best cinema experiences i've ever had. My anticipation for this is huge, as it is for pretty much everyone else out there.

Snow White & the Huntsman
There's another Snow White film called 'Mirror Mirror' coming out earlier in 2012 that's for kids, this one however is a much darker adult version of the story. Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth star. Out in June.

Prometheus
The loosely based prequel to Ridley Scott's 'Alien'. Same Universe, different characters and storyline. Or so Ridley says. Out mid year.

My Week With Marilyn
It had a limited run in America end of 2011, but everywhere else gets it in 2012. Early reviews have been good, and it will be interesting to see if Michelle Williams can pull off her role as Marilyn. Out early 2012.

Chronicle
This "handy cam" style movie centres around 3 friends who discover they have super powers. Cool concept, looks fun. Out mid year.

The Hobbit: Part 1
I doubt it will live up to the epic scale of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but Peter Jackson is back as director and so are some of the original cast, which means it's in good hands. I'll love going back to Middle Earth!. Out end of 2012.

In The Land of Blood and Honey
Angelina Jolie's directorial debut! preview screenings in December 2011 were positive, and as a Jolie fan, it will be interesting seeing her pull off her role as a director. No idea when this will be released properly, but it will be sometime this year.

The Hunger Games
It sounds like it's borrowed a little from Battle Royale, but you can't really go wrong being inspired by such a great film. I've just picked up the books now.

Dark Shadows
I'm a bit over Tim Burton as a director at this point, but this movie does sound interesting and has a great cast. There's no trailer for this yet, but i do know that the movie is a fantasy drama about a family of vampires. Out end of 2012.

World War Z
Based on the famous zombie book, this is Day of the Dead meets Contagian. The books take a very scientific and serious approach to what would happen if the world was over-run by zombies after a viral outbreak that starts in China. No idea how different this will be from the books, but it stars Brad Pitt and is the first part of a trilogy. Released end of the year.

Video Games

Tomb Raider
It's been a good few years since the last game. I've been on board with this series since the early days, hard to believe it's still going after so long. The series is getting a complete overhaul from start to finish, that's never happened before, so i'm curious to see how the new game plays out. Out end of 2012.

I Am Alive
I don't know much about the game, but you play one of only a few survivors in a city that's been destroyed. It's basically an exploration game where you try to survive while helping those around you. Looks interesting.

2011-12-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

The BEST + WORST of 2011

Music of 2011

The BEST

10 // Zola Jesus Conatus
A little lighter than her last album, but still trademark sythy Zola.
Best track: Hikikomori

09 // Kimbra Vows
A great debut from an underrated artist. You'll be surprised at how easily she can go from popstar to soul singer.
Best track: Good Intent

08 // Gotye Making Mirrors
I can't believe it's taken me all these years to finally discover him. I love the cinematic feel of the production on the album.
Best track: Somebody That I Used To Know

07 // Nero Welcome Reality
It's a shame David Guetta and Calvin Harris get more radioplay than these guys, i really enjoyed this album, best dance record of the year for me.
Best track: Guilty

06 // Natalia Kills Perfectionist
What Natalie lacks in personality and charisma she makes up for with great production and melodies. For those who like their pop a little darker.
Best track: Wonderland

05 // Jay-Z & Kanye West Watch The Throne
There were big expectations for this collaboration, and not surprisingly, the guys delivered.
Best track: Murder To Excellence

04 // Katy B On A Mission
Haven't heard this sort of downtempo club sound since the first Sugababes album over a decade ago. Great debut.
Best track: Witches Brew

03 // Florence + The Machine Ceremonials
Florence doesn't tread any new ground with this album, but it does expand nicely on her previous record. It's bigger and better than her debut.
Best track: Leave My Body

02 // Lady Gaga Born This Way
Gaga explores some new sounds while still staying close to her trademark style. My favourite "popstar" album of the year.
Best track: Heavy Metal Lover

01 // Adele 21
There isn't one song on this album i can fault, it's perfect from start to finish. The only problem with 21 is she may never top it because she set the bar so high.
Best track: Someone Like You

Honorable Mentions:
Electric Lady Lab Flash!
Bjork Biophilia
iiO Exit 101
Beyonce 4

The WORST

Avril Lavigne Goodbye Lullaby
Avril Lavigne has become a bit of a by the numbers type of act nowdays. She follows the same formula with each record, going between annoying upbeat first single and dull and uninspired second and 3rd singles following. She's gone as far as she can creatively, at this point, no one cares anymore, and one has to wonder how long she can keep dressing like a 15 year old emo as she edges close to turning 30 and selling her tweeny tinged product.

2011-12-26T13:20:00.000-08:00

Songs of 2011

The BEST

20 // David Guetta & Sia Titanium
Epic chorus, Sia's vocals are beautiful on this.

19 // Kelly Rowland Work It Man
I prefer Kelly doing r&b over dance.

18 // Taryn Manning Turn It Up
One half of Boomkat, Taryn is going solo!.

17 // Bjork Crystalline
Love the dupstep outro and melody on this.

16 // Wynter Gordon Till Death
Best dance track by a girl this year [yes, even better than than God awful 'We Found Love'].

15 // Zola Jesus Vessel
Love me some Zola Jesus!

14 // The Rapture How Deep Is Your Love
Caught onto this one a bit late, but better late than never i suppose.

13 // Electric Lady Lab Follow You
Could have used a couple of there songs on here, but i went for this one, underrated duo.

12 // Adele Someone Like You
Overplayed, but still such a great song.

11 // Calvin Harris Feels So Close
I'm not usually into his stuff, but this was a great track.

10 // Florence + The Machine Shake It Out
An epic song to compliment an equally epic album.

09 // J. Cole Work Out
His album disappointed me, this track was oddly missing from it, but i loved it anyway.

08 // Example Changed The Way You Kissed Me
Love the alternative style vocals mixed with the hard dance production.

07 // Katy B Witches Brew
Catchiest chorus of the year?

06 // Ms Dynamite Neva Soft
The UK is really delivering with underground acts this year. Love this song.

05 // Kimbra Good Intent
I fell in love with it the moment i heard it. Also became my favourite music video of the year.

04 // Beyonce Run The World [Girls]
I know pretty much everyone hated this, but i loved it.

03 // Natalia Kills Wonderland
It's an old track, but her debut album came out this year and this was on it.

02 // Gotye & Kimbra Somebody That I Used To Know
For a while it was my #1 song of the year. Amazing song and i love Kimbra's part.

01 // Lana Del Rey Video Games
She came out of nowhere this year, and Video Games became a sleeper hit on iTunes all over the world. The production on the song is beautiful and her voice is very haunting. 2012 will be a big year for her.

The WORST

Cher Lloyd // Swagger Jagger
It's hard to believe this song was actually a serious release. It sounds like a cheap Black Eyed Peas attempt with a video that's one of the most cringe worthy things i've ever seen. Worst song of the year.

Bruno Mars // The Lazy Song
Bruno is a talented guy with a great voice, but i can't stand his music. It's annoying "songs for my cute sweet girlfriend" crap that bores me to tears. 'The Lazy Song' however the worst of the worst when it comes to his single releases. The annoying video that goes along with it makes it even more unbearable.

Jason Derulo // Don't Wanna Go Home
You may not want to go home, Jason, but i want you to. Awful use of a cringe sample.

2011-12-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

Movies of 2011

The BEST

10 // Toast
This will no doubt fly by a lot of peoples radars, which is a shame because it's a great little feel good drama. Helena Bonham Carter always adds a little something "extra" to films she's in, i loved her in this.

09 // We Need To Talk About Kevin
Kevin is one fucked up kid, and this movie will no doubt leave feeling ill afterwards. Tilda Swinton was amazing in this, probably one of the best performances of the year.

08 // Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2
A fitting, if slightly short end to a mostly entertaining series. What really sells this finale is the emotional aspect of the story, which much like the book, is quite powerful.

07 // The Woman
Definitely not a film for everyone, but if you can handle the graphic nature of the story, you're in for an intense and dark movie experience.

06 // Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I love that Andy Serkis is causing an uproar in the film industry by bringing up the debate over whether motion cpature is a legitmate form of acting. His work in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong was fantastic, but he really hit his peak this year with 'Apes', he brought a lot of genuine heart to his character, Ceasar. A surprisingly moving film.

05 // X-Men: First Class
I've loved all the X-men films, but the franchise did need a bit of an adrenaline shot after ther rushed 'X-Men: The Last Stand'. 'First Class' gave the franchise the life it needed. We haven't had a X-Men film this strong since the brilliant X-Men 2 almost a decade ago.

04 // Black Swan
I know this came out in the U.S. in late 2010, but the rest of the world got it early 2011. It's a dark mind bending experience into madness with Natalie Portman giving the performance of her career. You literally watch a girl lose her mind for 2 hours, you almost feel tired by the end of it all.

03 // 50/50
The mixture of serious drama and comedy was done so perfectly, you'll find yourself laughing and crying at the same time. Joseph Gordon Levitt proves he's still one of the best young actors in Hollywood, Seth Rogen is hilarious, Anna Jendrick is as charming as always, and Angelica Huston was fantastic but sadly underused. I had this film stuck in my head for days afterwards, i loved it.

02 // Jane Eyre
I'm unfamiliar with the book and the previous film adaptations, so i'm not sure how this stands up against them. As a stand alone film though, i thought it was beautifully shot and the chemistry on screen between Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender felt very natural and genuine. It was very romantic, i even cried like a baby in the end *turns red*.

01 // Bridesmaids
It's not common for me to pick a comedy as my #1 film of the year, but this is one of those rare moments. Not only was this my favourite movie of the year, but it's also one of the funniest movies i have ever seen in my life. I haven't laughed this hard non-stop over a movie in a long time. The film doesn't just bring the laughs though, it also addresses some relatable depressing moments in peoples lives, especially around the main character, played brillianty by Kristen Wiig.

Honorable Mentions:
The Help
Wasted On The Young
Martha Marcey May Marlene
Thor

The WORST

Cowboys & Aliens
Is it just me, or has Steven Spielberg been attaching his name as a producer to some SHOCKING work over the last few years? First the last 2 Transformers movies, and now this mess? You'd think cowboys shooting lasers at aliens would send your imagination wild, but this ended up being a massive bore.

Sucker Punch
Visually it's fantastic, and the soundtrack is great too, the rest however is the biggest clusterfuck mess of ideas i've ever seen. Nothing flows, nothing makes sense, nothing feels like a complete film. The sexy, yet cardboard thin characters didn't help either.

Tree of Life
Congrats to anybody who can sit through this over blown, boring as hell, pretentious mess of a movie. Shots of buildings, people whispering endlessly, and footage from "the best of National Geographic" is all you'll get from this load of self indulgent garbage.

Green Lantern
There were some great comic book films this year, Green Lantern wasn't one of them. Who's idea was it to cast Ryan Rynold's as a serious superhero? the guy cannot do drama, he constantly look like he's trying not to laugh, he has that face in ALL his films. And don't even start me on the mess that was his costume.......glowing green eyes, pouty lip glossed lips, perfect hair, practically naked body suit, he looked like a gay Mardi Gras float character. Awful.

2011-12-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

Music Videos of 2011

The BEST

05 // Robyn Call Your Girlfriend

It's nothing but one continuous shot of Robyn freestyle dancing. Simple, but strangely re-watchable thanks to Robyn's energy.
Directed by: Max Vitali

04 // Gotye & Kimbra Somebody That I Used To Know

It's art house to the max, but it's still great. Gotye really does need to clean his feet next time he chooses to film them though.
Directed by: Natasha Pincus

03 // Lady Gaga Marry The Night
Gaga channels David Lynch and Kubrick in this dream-like biographical story of her rise to fame. As a first time solo directing effort, Gaga shows a lot of promise with an interesting eye for detail.
Directed by: Lady Gaga

02 // Kimbra Good Intent
She makes great use of having a low budget with her music videos, this one features some fantastic choreography and a great 1950's noir style.
Directed by: Guy Franklin

01 // Lana Del Rey Born To Die
The only way to match the rich production of the song was to create an equally grand music video. With dynamic colours and wide sweeping cinematic camera work, Lana and Woodkid have created a beautifully visual music video that captures Lana's haunting vocals perfectly.
Directed by: Woodkid

The WORST

Cher Lloyd Swagger Jagger
It's bad enough that the song is so horrendous, but Cher seems to have made an even worse music video, yes....i didn't think it was possible either. She acts and looks ridiculous, it feels like a parody from a comedy sketch show. Unfortunately for Cher, it's not.

Kat DeLuna Drop It Low
You'll find it so unintentionally hilarious that you'll no doubt watch the whole thing. From the awful attempts at looking sexy, to the weird choice to wear helmets during bizarre crotch thrusting dance moves and a random piano dance breakdown that will have you laughing off your chair. It's like watching a train-wreck right before your eyes, but most of what Kat DeLuna does is like that, so i can't say i'm shocked.

2011-12-26T12:50:00.000-08:00

People of 2011

BEST Person of the Year: Adele
No one is more deserving of the success they've achieved this year than Adele. With so many artists in the pop world vying for the cameras and their need to be #1 and make history at every moment of their careers, Adele casually walked through her blindingly huge year as the biggest artist on the planet, and she did it all without a gimmick or a controversial story behind her.
Her reign hasn't even stopped, she no doubt has another huge year coming up in 2012 as her album continues to break records and the demand for her music keeps on thriving.
My only regret is that i never got a chance to see her live since she's been plagued with medical problems and has had such a lazy approach to her tour for most of the year. Touring doesn't seem like something that sits well with her, seeing one of her shows seems to be a lucky opportunity for those that manage to catch her on one of her good days. I'm sure i'll get another opportunity in the future with her next record [whenever that may be].

WORST Person of the Year: Kim Kardashian
Throw in the rest of her horrid media whoring family under this title as well. I'll never understand the weird obsession the world has with Z list celebrities who filter every corner of the media for doing absolutely nothing.
Kim has been the worst offender of that this year, from her horribly scripted and acted "reality" TV show, to her endless need to try her hand at every possible thing, whether it's doing television, releasing a song [God help us], or shoving her face onto any product she can to make a buck. We haven't seen pointless fame from anyone like this since Paris Hilton 5 years ago. This is a style of celebrity i thought had died out with the last decade. Sadly, it hasn't.

I'm the first to tell people to "look away" or "change the channel" when it comes to being bombarded with people they can't stand who are in the public eye. However, with someone like Kim, it's hard to get away from her. Every magazine cover, every news report, every tv channel has SOMETHING to say about her or her family. The family members have about 10 shows between them, they may as well call the E channel, the Kardashian channel considering how many times a day they appear on a different program.
And just when you thought Kim couldn't get anymore ridiculous, she showered the world with her self indulgent need to showcase her 10 million dollar wedding, which was then followed by a divorce only weeks later.
Thankfully, the public responded with mostly eye rolling, as people finally started to get sick of the fuckified lifestyle Kim kept opening herself up to so everyone could give her the attention she so desperately craved. Since then, she seems to have started her slow decline into irrelevancy, which imo can't come soon enough.

That's all. Till next year :)

2011-11-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

The BUFFY Top 20! Part 2

10 Conversations with Dead People [Season 7]

Buffy goes art house! Season 7 was a bit hit and miss, but Conversations with Dead People was one of the few major highlights of the season. Each of the main characters are visited by The First who takes the form of a dead person they once knew. Buffy has an honest sit down conversation with an ex-student who is now a vampire, Willow gets a visit from a girl who died a few episodes earlier, and Dawn has the most bizarre visit of all, with The First appearing as her Mother during a group of very creepy hauntings while Dawn is home alone.

09 Prophecy Girl [Season 1]

This was the first time the series showed potential as a serious drama, and not just a funny monster of the week style show. It works perfectly as a teaser for whats to come in season 2 as far as writing goes, and it's also the perfect way to end an overly fluffy first season.

08 Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered [Season 2]

Xander casts a love spell on Cordelia which backfires and makes every woman in town fall in love with him instead. They could have played this safe, but they actually went all out in this episode with Willow chasing Xander with an ax, Buffy getting turned into a rat and even Buffy's Mom lusting after Xander when he tries to find sanctuary in her home.

07 Band Candy [Season 3]

What a hilarious concept for an episode! The adults of Sunnydale revert back to acting like teenagers when the town starts eating some new [and suspicious] chocolatete bars that clearly have a secret ingredient not listed on the back of the wrapper. The sight of a rock n' roll bad boy Giles and a vandal happy gum chewing Joyce Summers is something you'll only ever see once in this series, so this episode is a must!.

06 The Body [Season 5]

Joss Whedon goes for a much more realistic style of direction in this episode, when Buffy has to deal with the consequences of finding her Mother dead. The deafening silence of the episode [which features no music whatsoever] is very powerful and makes the entire experience the characters go through that much more effective.

05 When She Was Bad [Season 2]

Buffy comes back from summer vacation and it seems like she has a few unresolved issues after dying [and coming back to life] at the end of season 1. Unfortunately for everyone around her, they have to deal with her rather nasty and unpleasant attitude. Other than her bipolar character turn in season 6, you won't see Buffy as far removed from her usual self as you do in this episode. Buffy's a bitch!

04 Hush [Season 4]

The town of Sunnydale have their ability to speak taken away from them when a group of creepy floating fairytale demons come to town. Buffy and friends have to try and find a way to solve the mystery behind how to stop the creatures, all while awkwardly signing/miming their way throughout the episode. The scene where Buffy motions using a stake, but looks like she's masturbating makes the episode worth it alone.

03 Living Conditions [Season 4]

In my opinion, this was the funniest episode from the whole series, and there were many of those, so that says a lot. Buffy goes to college for the first time in season 4 and finds herself sharing a dorm room with the most annoying roommate on Earth. She borrows Buffy's clothes, eats Buffy's food and is constantly listening to Cher's "Believe", much to Buffy's horror. The Scoobies think Buffy is starting to lose her mind when Buffy announces she wants to kill her roommate to end the torment, but later it's revealed that the roommate is in fact a demon, which Buffy is more than happy to use as an excuse to destroy her.

02 Restless [Season 4]

From a direction point of view, this was the best thing we ever saw in the series. Joss Whedon goes all David Lynch as he weaves in and out of characters dreams as they recieve prophetic messages from a dark figure that stalks them in their sleep. The weird moments and fantastic transitions between worlds are perfectly executed, i also love the confrontation between Buffy and the first Slayer during the last part of the episode. The visuals are hypnotic, but the interesting use of music and sound in the episode also adds to the strong eerie atmosphere of the dream worlds the characters encounter.

01 Becoming, Part 1 & 2 [Season 2]

I know technically i'm cheating with this since i've included both episodes in the #1 spot, but if i had to choose just one side of this epic 2 part finale, it would be part 2. I figured i'd write about both of them since they work best as one long double episode anyway.

It doesn't get any bigger in terms of "wow" moments for me in Buffy than it does with Becoming parts 1 and 2. From the death of Kendra, to Angel's plot to open the gates of hell, through to Buffy being framed for murder and eventually taking Angel head on in a battle to the death, it's like a mini movie!. While part 1 builds up the momentum to part 2 perfectly [especially with Kendra's death], it's part 2 that brings it all full circle.
I'm sure every fan who watched this back in the day remembers how tense the lead up to Buffy and Angel's confrontation felt. It was even more shocking when Angel's soul was finally restored thanks to the Willow's magic, only to have Buffy still need to kill him to close the portal he already opened. It was the most dramatic the series got at the time, and the cinematic feel of the story showcased how capable the series was at telling really great epic stories.

Honorable mentions:

Lie To Me [Season 2]

The Joss Whedon directed episodes were the best, weren't they!? I loved the terminal illness spin on this story.

The Gift [Season 5]

Buffy dies, well.............she's died before, but this time she sacrificed herself to save the ones she loves.

Tabula-Rasa [Season 6]

The Scooby Gang get different personalities when a spell Willow casts goes wrong. Naturally it's hilarious.

Wrecked [Season 6]

Willow's magic addiction finally makes her hit rock bottom. The exchange between Buffy and Willow at the end is fantastic, as are Willow's tripped out visions during her "magic/drug" sessions.

2011-11-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

The BUFFY Top 20! Part 1
After 15 years of watching Buffy episodes over and over again, i had a fair idea as to what would make my top 10. My top 20 however took a bit more thought. I could swap a few episodes here and there with others that didn't make the list, but overall i'd say this is pretty much the definitive top 20 for me.
Naturally, fans will agree and disagree with a few of my choices. I could have easily made my list based on the biggest and most popular fan favourites that are always picked, however, my selection process was a little broader. Here's part 1, episodes 20-11...

20 Passion [Season 2]

As Jenny Calendar tries to find a solution to restoring Angels soul, Angel begins sending cryptic messages to Buffy and the gang via dead fish [Willow] and drawings during sleep time [Buffy]. Eventually Angel comes head to head with Jenny, and kills her. Well......he snaps her neck to be more precise, and i'll always remember it as the first genuine shock of the series, completely unexpected and proof for the first time that no one was safe, even if you're part of the Scooby Gang.

19 Chosen [Season 7]

I still think it should have been a feature length finale, but as a final episode it still delivers the goods. After living for 7 years with these characters, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing them finally close the Sunnydale Hellmouth for good in the last ever episode of the series.

18 Grave [Season 6]

Season 6 comes to a massive finish when an evil and heartbroken Willow tries to take down the entire planet after her girlfriend [Tara] is killed. The episodes final scene between Willow and Xander is one of the most touching moments from the series.

17 Storyteller [Season 7]

Ex-villain and geek supreme, Jonathan, is held captive in the Buffy house. To pass his time, he records a day in the life of the Scooby Gang with a hand held camera. The slow motion kitchen scene is a highlight.

16 Who Are You? [Season 4]

The return of Faith in season 4 was a big one! Just when you thought she may redeem herself after the events of season 3, she comes rampaging back into Buffy's life, swaps bodies with her and causes yet another mess. It only gets worse once she makes her way to Angel in L.A for another double episode in his series where she really loses it.

15 Double Meat Palace [Season 6]

This gets hated on by a lot by fans, i'm not sure why. I've always found Buffy's attempt at an everyday dead end fast food job kinda hilarious. The weird staff, Spike ordering a meal, the constant state of depression Buffy is in ect. Sure the monster at the end is a bit silly, but it all adds to the weird vibe of the whole episode.

14 Witch [Season 1]

My second favourite episode from the first season. 'Witch' is the first time we see Buffy deal with something other than vampires in the series. A highlight from the episode is a scene involving Buffy attempting cheerleader try outs under a hyper actively dangerous spell.

13 Once More With Feeling... [Season 6]

A demon turns the entire town of Sunnydale into a singing and dancing cast from a musical. The Scooby Gang try to restore the town back to normal all while breaking out into random outbursts of song and dance.
Joss Whedon's dream to write a musical comes true with original songs and real singing from each of the cast members. There's actually some really great tracks in the episode and it's the weirdest you'll ever see the characters in the series.

12 Dopplegangland [Season 3]

Anya tries to regain her powers while accidentally bringing in a vampire version of Willow from an alternate reality into the "real" world. Willow as an evil vampire is a lot of fun to watch, especially when she's so out of place with the rest of the confused cast.
Willow's comment about her vampire alter-ego being "gay" was also a funny hint at what was to come of Willow in season 4.

11 Ted [Season 2]

Forget the awkward robot episode from season 1 [I, Robot...You, Jane], in season 2 of Buffy, the writers created a much more entertaining way for Buffy to come head to head with a robot in the evil form of Buffy's Mom's new boyfriends, Ted [played by John Ritter].
Sarah and John play opposite each other perfectly, it's very tense between their characters. John's guest appearance was the best one the series ever had.

Part 2 next week!...

2011-10-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

Florence + The Machine
Ceremonials: Deluxe Edition [2011]
4/5

The new Florence album doesn't tread any dramatic new ground, in fact, if you've heard her previous album, 'Lungs', you'll know exactly what you're in for as far as tone and sound goes. What Ceremonials does is build on an already signature sound for the singer, while taking it to a much bigger, yet still familiar place.

Lungs was a very whimsical and light sounding album, pretty harps and organic production were littered throughout the songs, and there was a child-like innocence to the overall sound of the music. 'Ceremonials' puts a much louder spin on that by amplifying the drums, and giving the songs a much more booming and epic scope.
There's an anger and sense of urgency in Ceremonials that was missing from Lungs, and even the more lighter songs on the new album maintain a very vast sound.

The beautiful, 'Shake It Out', is the perfect throw-back to Lungs and works well as the lead single off the album. The anthem sounding, 'What The Water Gave Me', hints at a song that would sound incredible with a live audience singing along, and the build up towards the final minutes in the track are perfectly produced. Other songs like 'Never Let Me Go' and the romantic sounding, 'All This And Heaven Too', have a similar build up.
The witchy and dark, 'Seven Devils', is slow and powerful with a beautiful choir on backing vocals, that choir is used again just as well in chorus for, 'Leave My Body' [my favourite song off the album]. The tribal-esque drums on 'Heartlines' are deep enough to shatter your speakers, and the drum and chant heavy, 'No Light No Light', is just as lively.

There are moments where the album feels a little "samey". There is so much use of the same sorts of instruments and chants that certain songs can get lost within the similar production. 'Spectrum' is a decent track, but i feel by the time i get to it, i've kinda heard it all before, so it loses a bit of impact for me. Personally, i think the bonus track, 'Strangeness and Charm' should have replaced it on the standard track listing. It packs a bit more of a catchy punch.
A couple songs are so over produced to the point of being a little overbearing as well, 'Breaking Down' and 'Lover To Lover' suffer because of that, and the melodies within the songs border on the cheesy side a little.

What the standard tracklisting lacks is made up for with a few of the bonus tracks from the deluxe edition. 'Remain Nameless' is a nice change of pace for Florence, less organic than the rest of the album, it would have broken up the standard track listing nicely, it's a great song. 'Bedroom Hyms', is a nice one also.

Much like 'Lungs', 'Ceremonials' is nearly perfect, but stumbles in a few areas that stop it from being flawless from start to finish. However, the good certainly out-weights the bad, and 'Ceremonials' is a strong sophomore effort from Florence. In many ways, it's actually stronger than her debut, and if you liked her previous work, you'll love this.

2011-10-13T19:31:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Films of ALL TIME! #20Terminator 2: Judgment Day [1991]
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
Directed by: James Cameron

James Cameron has a bit of a reputation of outdoing original films by giving them much stronger sequels. The first time he did this was with Aliens [sequel to Ridley Scott's Alien], which wasn't an easy thing to do since Ridley's first Alien was such a classic. James however managed to take the sequel to a new and much bigger place, and that's exactly what he did with T2 as well.

T2 picks up a few years after the original Terminator film left off, with Sarah Connor [survivor from film 1] being locked in a mental ward due to her crazy rants about being stalked by a cyborg from the future. Her teenage son, John Connor, is living with foster parents. Arnold reprises his classic role as The Terminator in T2, however this time, he isn't playing the bad guy, he's the good guy. He's been sent back again in time to protect John from a different Cyborg, who's job is to finish the job 'bad guy Terminator Arnie' failed to do in movie 1.
In film 1, Sarah Connor was the target because her future son was going to lead a resistance against the future Cyborgs who will declare war against mankind. Since she escaped first time around, she was then free to have her son, which now means John is the new target for assassination. Once all of this is revealed to John after he escapes near death at the hands of the new terminator [who's metallic form can melt into shape changing liquid metal], he sets out on a mission with the Arnie-bot to free his Mother from the mental institution she's being held captive in so they can fight against the newly upgraded assassin cyborg that is out to kill John.
To say T2 is an upgrade from the first film is putting it lightly, the scope is 10 times bigger, the story is more developed and the biggest change of all comes in the form of a newly buff and tough, Sarah Connor, who is transformed from a puffy haired screaming woman in the 80's to a muscle punching, shotgun shooting warrior of the 90's. The change Linda went through to become the new Sarah is incredible, and not only does she look the part, but her acting in the role is incredible. Many critics and movie fans over the years have labeled Linda's performance in T2 as one/if not the best female action role in movie history, only ever being close to Ripley in the Alien franchise. In fact, James knows how to create really powerful female leads in his stories [Aliens, Avatar].

At the time, T2 was also showcasing brand new special effects, mostly due to the liquid metal effects of the evil cyborg. They still hold up today, and there are some really iconic moments in T2 that showcase how far they pushed the visual effects back then.
With so much action and sparkling effects on show, James still manages to put together a very moving and powerful story. Whether it's Sarah Connor dealing with having to work alongside the cyborg who tried to kill her years earlier, or the Father-like relationship John Connor develops with the Arnie-bot, there are some great character moments within the story that are very moving.
The impending apocalypse within the story gives the movie a strong atmosphere as well, one scene in particular is quite eerie and used to really creep me out as a kid. It revolves around a dream Sarah Connor has, where she watches children play in an outdoor playground just as an atomic explosion hits the area and her silent muted screams of danger are met with a volcanic explosion of fire and destruction as the city is destroyed and Sarah's body is burnt away to the bone. It's a strong image, and you can't help but wonder "what if?" when thinking about this sort of thing happening in our world today.

Terminator 1 is a favourite of many, but to be honest, it's never been a film that has blown me away. For me, T2 is where the series really does something special. There's a great nostalgia attached to T2 because i've been watching it since i was a kid, i even remember being 7 years old and seeing it at the cinemas. It's one of my earliest memories of going to the movies for the first few times in my life. The classic film score is also one of my favourites.

Trailer

2011-10-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Most Underrated Movies EVER!
These are my personal picks, i know there are a few you may think are underrated that i haven't included in the list, so let me know what they are in the comments section....

Freeway [1996]
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Keither Sutherland
This had a very small cinema run [i think only in the U.S.] and was eventually released straight to video and has since become one of those random old movies that not many people i know have seen. I do stumble upon a few people every so often on the web who have seen it at some point though, and it did have a very small cult following which got it a direct to video sequel [without Reese].

Cube [1997]
Starring: A bunch of nobodies
More of a known treat for watchers of sci-fi, but generally a small indi forgotten gem that passed a lot of people by when it was released.

The Faculty [1998]
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Clea DuVall
The way this movie was marketed was wrong. Robert Rodriguez's tongue in cheek approach to the film trailer seemed to not sit well with people. It just sounded like a really stupid premise when watching the trailer. The film however was actually really great, and the old skool sci-fi throwback genre fit in perfectly with Robert's hip high school setting. Josh Hartnett and his badly cut hair can grate on the nerves a bit, but the rest of the cast put in some good performances. It's a fun movie, but one that seems to only live on through people my age who lived through it back in the late 90's.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame [1996]
Starring: Demi Moore, Jason Alexander
Disney was on a roll during the 90's with one massive release after another [The Lion King, Aladdin ect], and even though Hunchback did well on it's release, i've noticed it's really fallen to the bottom of the list amongst such massively popular films that came before and after it. It's in my top 3 favourite Disney flicks of all time, and features some of the most dynamic animation and music Disney has ever put out.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World [2010]
Starring: Michael Cera, Anna Kendrick
Based on a popular cult comic series, this was set to bring the geeks flocking to cinemas to make it a box office hit, however, the movie severely underperformed at the box office and was a flop. It still found a certain audience though, and ironically like the comic book series, has become a bit more of a "cult" affair.

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love [1996]
Starring: Naveen Andrews, Indira Varma
It's beautifully filmed and acted, but Kama Sutra seems to have disappeared into no mans land over the years. It's one of those movies i ask people about and they've never heard of it. Maybe it's low key cast and sexual subject matter made it zoom past peoples radars. It's one of my all time favourites.

Lost Highway [1997]
Starring: Patricia Arquette, Bill Pullman
Certainly known amongst David Lynch fans and people who watch a lot of art house cinema, but compared to Lynch's other more high profile films [Blue Velvet, Elephant Man, Mulholland Drive], this one always felt like it fell through the gaps of the public audience a little. Maybe it was too dark or too explicit, but it's never really mentioned by critics or regular cinema folk compared to his other films. Personally, this is my favourite Lynch film.

Pitch Black [2000]
Starring: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell
Not as low key as some of the other films on here, but it does seem like a bit of a forgotten gem, especially since Vin Diesel took the Riddick character from Pitch Black and gave him his own much more high profile adventure [The Chronicles of Riddick]. It's a low key film, shot in Australia, and features a fairly unknown cast [at the time Vin was making his debut in this]. I think it's one of the best sci-fi flicks to come out of the last decade, it doesn't get enough re-visits from a lot of casual movie goers in my opinion.

Legend [1985]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Tim Curry
There were so many sword and sorcery flicks in the 80's, this was the best one in my opinion. Beautifully directed by Ridley Scott, and perfectly scored by Jerry Goldsmith. The U.S. version came with a crappy score by Tangerine Dream, which sucked all the atmosphere and other worldly feel out of the the Jerry Goldsmith version. It's no surprise it flopped badly on initial release in America with how much of an edited mess it became, had they stuck to the original version which is a visual and audio masterpiece, maybe it would have received better reviews. The non-U.S version faired a bit better outside of America, and it was the version i grew up with.

The Prophecy [1996]
Starring: Christopher Walken
This actually was a popular straight to video film that spawned a few sequels, but i still find it's a film not a lot of people have stayed connected to over the years. I feel like i'm the only person on Earth who not only saw it, but owns it too.

Leon: The Professional [1994]
Starring: Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, Gary Oldman
This has certainly held a strong cult status over the years, and is also well known for it's controversial casting of a very young Natalie Portman playing a very Lolita-esque child assassin. Even though it has it's fans though, i've always felt more people should see it. I've introduced this to a good few people over the years and they've all loved it. It's a classic to me, and the director's cut adds so much more to the original film, if you ever get the opportunity to see it, make sure it's that version.

Go [1996]
Starring: Katie Holmes, Scott Wolf, Sarah Polley
Similar to The Faculty, this seems to be a film that has stayed with teens at the time it was released, but has since been forgotten by everyone else. Great film, critics called it Pulp Fiction for a younger audience.

The Doom Generation [1995]
Starring: Rose McGowan, James Duval
This is a Gregg Araki film, so you can't help but have this be a lot more low key than you're usual indi film. Still, it's a great mind fuck of a movie with an awesome soundtrack and a wacky over-sexed cast. Not for everyone, but still underrated.

2011-09-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

True Blood
Season 4 Re-cap

As much as i love True Blood, i'm more than happy to be honest about the shows flaws, which it has a good few of. Over the last 3 seasons, True Blood has gone from a smooth paced supernatural drama to an over populated melodramatic fantasy series. I don't have a major issue with that, as over crowded as it's become, it's still as entertaining and well acted as it ever was. However, season 4 of True Blood has brought some much needed change to the series [spoilers ahead! you've been warned].

Marnie [who was played amazingly by Fiona Shaw] is the best thing to happen to this season since Russell in season 3. After the annoying Mary Anne from season 2, it's good to see a well written female villain in the series that didn't make you want to pull your hair out. Not only was Marnie powerful and dangerous, but you also felt sympathetic towards her, which isn't usually how many of the True Blood villains make you feel. They tend to be bad to the bone.

Sam had some welcome changes to his storyline. His irritating parents finally died, as did his brother Tommy. Tommy was like-able, but i found i started getting bored with his endless fuck ups and arguing, they took him as far as they could. Sam also found himself in a new relationship which i enjoyed watching.

Jason's boring "Panther people" storyline finally ended, even if we had to sit through a few episodes of it in season 4 which seemed to go nowhere. However, his blossoming romance with Jessica has been a surprise twist in the series that i liked. In fact, Hoyt and Jessica breaking up would have been the last thing i wanted to see a year ago, but i like the new confident person Jessica has become after their relationship fell apart, she's very sexy and more fun than she ever was.

Sookie didn't seem to have much to do outside of having sex this season. Not that it bothered me, after all, we finally saw her and Eric get together which was more than satisfying after 3 years of sexual tension. However, i prefer Eric as the cold killer he usually is, even if seeing him act like a pussy whipped infant in early season 4 episodes was kinda adorable. Drinking blood from a heart he ripped out of a witches chest like a milkshake was definitely a highlight.

Bill also seemed to have little to do this season other than look at Sookie all the time with regret and sadness. I did like his change of career though, it freshened up his story nicely.

Tara started off with a great new start this season, but she quickly fell into the very boring "scream and be angry" storyline she always seems to get given by the writers this season. I do still like her, but i can't say that seeing her die wasn't somewhat satisfying. She's probably better off dead, she's a mess. Not sure if having her whole head blown to bits was the most respectful way to get rid of her though? she can't even die in peace it seems. They really do need to find some positive direction for her, enough of the drama with Tara, it got old 2 seasons ago. Coming back as a ghost maybe????

Alcide had a low key, but entertaining enough storyline this season. I didn't like seeing his crazy ex-girlfriend back, but Alcide profusing his love to Sookie was a nice way to end his story this year. I also LOVE seeing Sookie put a bullet in his ex girlfriends head too, another tired character thankfully coming to an end.

Other than having a really bad haircut, Lafayette was given plenty to do this season with Jesus finally given into the dark magic his Uncle forced onto him his whole life. I loved the monster face that would appear every time Jesus did "his thing".

Arlene and Terry still seem to have no point whatsoever. Their "evil baby" storyline went absolutely nowhere, and was another indication that the series is bogged down with way too many needless side characters. They should just keep these two as background folk who don't get involved supernatural drama.

Pam had the best one liners this season, her hatred for Sookie was hilarious ["gash in a dress" anyone?], and her rotting face storyline gave this season some much needed comedy. I didn't like seeing her relationship with Eric fizzle out, but if it didn't, then we never would have seen her hilarious outburst over Sookie in her office at Fangtasia in the final episode [see above picture]. More Pam, please!.

Overall, season 4 smoothed out a few of the bumps that the excellent, but cluttered season 3 had last year. Characters have been cut out and some new and interesting story lines have started up ready for season 5. The witches were a nice change of pace this season, and i hope to see more of them down the line.
The writers of the show have hinted at what we may see in season 5 with characters and story lines being taken from book 5, 6 and 7. That could be anything from zombies [yay!] to the introduction of Were-tiger, Quinn, who plays a big part in Sookie's story and is a fan favourite of the people who read the books.

Until next year!

2011-09-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

DEV
The Night The Sun Came Up [2011]
3.5/5

I haven't been the worlds biggest Dev fan over the last year. Her collaboration with Fast East Movement on "Like A G6" was beyond annoying, and her stand alone singles 'Booty Bounce' and 'Bass Down Low' seemed to show that she was a one trick pony who sang to the same beat over and over. The only time she did anything that caught my interest was when she released 'Fireball' earlier this year, it was a great track which sadly didn't make the final cut for her album.

After hearing 'The Night The Sun Came Up', i was surprised at how much more varied her production choices were throughout the album. There's a trademark vibe to a lot of the songs which have become very particular to her music thanks to production from frequent collaborators, 'The Cataracts'. Songs like 'In My Trunk', and early single 'Bass Down Low' carry Dev's signature dirty electro beats which long time fans will no doubt love. Other songs like 'Breathe' and 'In The Dark' go down a more Euro-house route, which mixes up her dance tracks nicely.

The opening track, 'Getaway' is proof that Dev should go deeper into more trip hop type of music with the song starting as a piano ballad and then quickly changing into a slow pumping rap tune. Production wise, it's one of the most interesting tracks on the album, and works perfectly as the first song on the record because it shows the listener you'll be in for a few surprises.
'Take Her From You' uses a more rockier sound, complete with whistle hook, 'Lightspeed' is another euro dance heavy track that changes direction ever minute, keeping things fresh throughout the song, and 'Kiss My Lips' could have been handed to anyone from Rihanna or Britney and gone straight to #1 as the next big pop hit if it had a more high profile performer selling it.

Where the album starts to fall apart is with the ballads. None of them are particularly strong, but a couple of them are enjoyable enough. 'Me' is a charming little track and 'Perfect Match' has some nice production sprinkled through it. 'Dancing Shoes' was awful on first listen, it has grown on me more on repeat listens and i can play it, but i find it a bit too sickly sweet, especially for an album that can be very bass heavy at times. It should have been given to Taylor Swift. Another ballad that falls flat is the last track on the album, 'Shadows', it's not awful, but it doesn't really go anywhere and it's a bit dull.

As a debut album, there's enough to enjoy on 'Night'. I can appreciate that Dev has tried to actually offer an album full of different sounds rather than just singing 'G6' 12 times. She has an interesting sense of direction with some of her tracks and it shows she has real potential to take things further on future records. Outside of a couple tracks, there isn't anything overly amazing about the album, but it's a good introduction to Dev as an artist, it's an easy listen.

2011-08-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

Kelly Rowland
Here I Am: Deluxe Edition [2011]
3.5/5

After years of one off singles, Kelly has finally taken the time to put together another solo album. Kelly found a lot of success outside of America when she jumped from r&b to dance music after being featured on songs with David Guetta and The Freemasons, but Kelly's newest album takes a surprising leap backwards to her old skool r&b days.
I've enjoyed a few of Kelly's dance songs over the last few years, but i'm glad 'Here I Am' is an r&b record. As much as i like the current sweep of dance music all over the world, it's refreshing to hear a straight up urban album that doesn't sound like everything else that's on radio atm. Not that the album offers any sort of grand production that we haven't heard before, it's all very generic, but as an r&b music fan, it's nice to hear this early 2000 sound back on the radio.

The album isn't completely dance free, it does feature the Guetta produced single , 'Commander' and another euro track, 'Down For Whatever'. The rest of the album is pretty much straight up r&b though. The best songs on the album are the faster ones. 'I'm Dat Chick' is an amazing way to open the record, and other tracks like 'Work It Man' and 'Turn It Up' are fun club bangers.
The album is also fantastically over-sexed, which may be eye rolling for some as being a cheap way to sell the record, but i always enjoy that sort of stuff, so it doesn't bother me.

Where the albums suffers a little is with the ballads. They aren't terrible, but most of them are boring and a bit too generic. The only two that stand out for me are, 'Feeling Me Right Now' and of course the sexy, 'Motivation', which reminds me a lot of an old skool 90's slow jam.

Another issue with the standard edition of the album is how short it is. After so many years since her last album, and after releasing so many one off singles, you'd think they'd have enough material to bulk up the record with more than just 10 songs??? The last 2 tracks on the record do stick out like a sore thumb since they aren't r&b, why not just add 2 or 4 more dance tracks to give the ending of the record a bigger euro dance finish?
The deluxe comes with a few decent bonus tracks that help fatten up the track listing, 'Each Other' is a hot mid-tempo club track, and the urban mix of 'Commander' is a nice bonus, however, with so many singles out there with her name attached to them, they could have easily given us a bit of what has been on offer from her over the years. She has a new single called, 'What A Feeling', which isn't on the record, even though it's all over radio outside of the U.S. It's a bit odd how all over the place she is atm with her music.

Minor gripes aside though, 'Here I Am' is a decent enough effort from Kelly, and certainly a big step up from her last record, 'Ms. Kelly' which was a really uninteresting and boring album. 'Here I Am' may not get any points for being unique, but it at least does generic well, and Kelly has a great voice.
Play Beyonce's '4' for some good slow r&b this year, play Kelly's new one for some good r&b club tracks.

2011-07-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 [2011]
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ralph Fiennes, Emma Watson
Directed by: David Yates
4/5

Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their search to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that will once and for all put an end to the Dark Lord and his quest for immortality.

Finally, the Harry Potter series comes to an end. Last years 'Hallows, Part 1' was a slow burner. Some people thought it was a bit too heavy on the drama and not heavy enough on the action, i disagreed. Characters needed to be established before the big finale, and the struggle of trying to survive the Dark Lord's obsession with Harry's death was a burden that needed to be explored properly. Part 1 may have been lacking in the action department, but they well and truly made up for it with 'Hallows, Part 2'.

Essentially, 'Hallows 2' isn't really a part 2, it's more of a 1.5. The story set up was pretty much completed in part 1, and the bulk of part 2 is the final battle at Hogwart's where Harry finally has his big showdown with Voldemort. Event though there are a couple of big secrets revealed within the story in part 2, most of what we see on screen is wizard fighting and Harry rushing around to find and destroy the final Horcruxes.
The movie runs at a very fast pace. That's both good and bad. After the slow burning Part 1, the lighting speed of Part 2 was needed. Part 2 is the "pay off" movie that Part 1 teased at. At the same time though, i did feel that certain sections of the film were rushed through a little too quickly. The battles could have lasted a bit longer, and a key scene involving Snape's big reveal should have been fleshed out more. The running time for the film isn't as long as the HP films usually are either, so i'm not sure why an extra 10 minutes of story development wasn't added to the film to bulk it up a bit. This isn't a major issue though, and other aspects of the film make up for any short comings.

Where Part 2 succeeds is both in scale and emotion. The movie certainly feels epic, the danger of the battle is felt very strongly as the teachers of Hogwart's set up their protection barriers for the dark wizards oncoming assault. You really feel like Harry and the gang are desperately trying to remove Voldemort's immortality so they can have a chance at killing him. The urgency is tense.
Emotionally, it has the same strengths as the final book did. Harry's struggle feels like a burden as you watch him frantically crawl and run for dear life, and when he is faced with possible death, you can't help but get teary. The meeting between Harry and his dead loved ones was a beautiful way to lead into the start of his confrontation with Voldemort, i thought it was very moving.
Snape's final moments were perfectly done as well, his last breath as he looks into Harry's eyes was heartbreaking. Th following scene about Snape's true intentions makes it that much more depressing.

Even though there are strong parts of 'Hallows 2', it still didn't give me the PERFECT shot of brilliance i wanted from a closing film. It should have been longer, it should have tired me out, it felt like they could have pushed it a tiny bit further. Maybe it will feel more complete watching it as one big movie right after part 1?

Overall, they did a good enough job at finishing up the saga in a big way. It served up enough magic and drama to satisfy any Potter fan i'm sure. The series has been a lot of fun, and the last few films have really been what's kept me on board all these years waiting for the end. I can't wait to own all of the movies in one big mouth watering blu-ray box set!.

2011-07-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

Beyonce
4 [Deluxe Edition]
3.5/5

Beyonce has always seemed like a bit of a dark horse to me when it came to being a serious contender in the pop music scene. A lot of her music is generic r&b/pop [i mean that in a nice way], but there's also been a slow growing need to go against the grain a little throughout her career.
On her first album, 'Dangerously In Love', it was a fairly standard affair as far as music production goes. R&b ballads and urban dance floor fillers were pretty much what the album was full of. Her second album, 'B'Day', showed a bit more musical experimentation, with a more old skool urban influence on the record, and a more organic use of instrumentation on the production of the music. Her 3rd album, 'I Am...Sasha Fierce', was an even bigger leap forward as far as bringing in different musical styles was concerned. Between more electronic urban beats and more simple guitar driven ballads, it was obvious Beyonce's palette of influences were broader than we were led to believe based on her earlier work.

Her 4th album, '4', is certainly her most interesting album to date. Not so much because i think it's her best, it's not [i give that title to her last album, 'Sasha']. But '4' marks an important time in her career, and that is reflected in the music on the album. This is the first record Beyonce has done without the guidance of her father, who has been her manager since her Destiny's Child days. With Beyonce asserting herself in her own career, comes a new found confidence and freedom to branch herself out even further as an artist.
After the huge success of 'Sasha', you'd think '4' would have been an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of that album and offer more of them same. To my surprise however, Beyonce has chosen to put together a much more sombre body of work this time around. Instead of jumping on the dance bandwagon that's filling mainstream radio right now, Beyonce has decided to go completely in the opposite direction and has created more of an old skool 90's r&b record with very little club bangers to go nuts over. In many ways it pays off, and in other ways it kinda fails.

The majority of the album is well produced. The ballads are nicely done for the most part. 'I Miss You' sounds like something Phil Collins could have sung back in the day, '1+1' takes obvious notes from Prince and features a gorgeous electric guitar solo and 'Dance For You' could easily fit on any sexy early 90's r&b slow jams album.
The more dance heavy tracks offer some nice moments too. 'End of Time' uses infectious drum beats, 'Countdown' has a catchy big band sound, and my favourite off the album, 'Run The World', features a hot tribal beat and aggressive vocals. I know a lot of people dislike that song, but i think it's fantastic, i love the 'Diplo' inspired production on the track. If 'M.I.A' did more commercial music, it would sound something like that.

Credit has to be given to Beyonce for not churning out an album that fits into the mold of what is popular right now. Don't get me wrong, most of the songs on '4' don't necessarily tread new ground. We've heard Beyonce do r&b music before, this isn't surprising to anyone. However, it's not a genre that's really selling right now though, especially with an album like '4' which consists of mostly slower tracks.
As a lead single, 'Run The World', wasn't an ideal choice either. The genre it borrows from is way too particular, and not something mainstream listeners are into. As much as i love it, i can see why so many people hated it.
Beyonce has my respect for doing an album she truly wanted to make, regardless of how unexpected it may be. She seems to be more focused on growing as an artist, rather than JUST selling records. It's refreshing to see after her last massive album.

Technically, there isn't anything really wrong with '4', however, it does have a few bumps along the way.
As nice as most of the songs are, the album can feel a bit dull as an overall listen. A couple more upbeat or heavier tracks wouldn't have hurt, especially ones along the lines of 'Run The World'. There's a bit of "meat" missing from the album. It all plods along a bit TOO comfortably at times, and i find that i really need to be in the right mood to listen to the album in full.
Also, the track listing order is a fucking mess. '1+1' is an awful way to start the record, it's just way too slow and feels more like a closing track than an opening one. Following that sort of slow opener with another 2 ballads really doesn't set up the album well. It's just too "sleepy". I shuffled around my track listing on my iTunes and found the album flows a lot better with the mid-tempo tracks and ballads mixed around more. The official track listing feels like i've started the album half way through the play list when i play track 1. It's just odd and it really kills the flow.

'4' is a decent album. It has a couple strong moments, and even though the rest of the album is nice enough, i don't feel like it reaches any truly great heights for me. There could have been a bit more of an energy in the music to liven it up a more, and some of the songs are a bit bland production wise. If i'm not in the mood for the album, it can be boring. I find that it works more when i listen to tracks individually than as a complete record. There's SOMETHING missing, it feels like it needs a bit of a "fun" injection. As a ballad heavy record though, it's enjoyable enough if you like that sort of thing.

2011-07-02T15:20:00.000-07:00

Bridesmaids

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne

Directed by: Paul Feig

4.5/5

Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, Annie looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids.

I'll be honest, the first time i saw the trailer to this movie, i wasn't impressed, in fact, i thought it looked pretty awful and unfunny. Once the film got released though, in came the endless critical praise, and audience rave reviews. In fact, pretty much everyone i have bumped into since the films release has urged me to go see this movie. I was surprised by the reaction to the film, and decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad i did, because Bridemaids has become one of the most funniest movies i have ever seen. I was laughing non stop throughout the whole thing, that hasn't happened in a long time with a comedy, not to that extent.

What's great about Bridesmaids, is that it's written as an every day comedy. The characters are real and relatable, the situations could actually happen, and the general story actually has some genuine heart behind it.

The lead actress, Kristen Wiig, carries the movie perfectly. Not only is she hilarious with the comedy [her penis impersonation, lol!], but her character is layered and not 2 dimensional. At times you want to slap her, at other times you feel really bad for her, she puts in a fantastic performance. The other stand out in the cast is Rose Byrne. I'm used to seeing her do more serious roles, so it was a nice change to see her play something like this. The hateful chemistry relationship between Wiig and Byrne's characters is hilarious. The ''toast off''' they compete in at the brides engagement party is genius writing.

Thinking back on the film, i've lost count of how many great moments the movie had. From the pilled up plane sequence to the giant cookie attack, the funny moments were endless.

Another great thing about Bridesmaids, is that even the none comedic parts of the story are written well. Wiig's character finding new love is charming, and the crumbling of her sanity while at work or dealing with a bastard ex is depressing and realistic. The film has a lot more going for it under the surface than a lot of other "chic flicks", and for that, the movie opens itself up to a broader audience. This isn't a cliched movie just for women, it's not 'Bride Wars', it's much smarter than that and would appeal to pretty much everyone.

Forget any other comedies this year, the tired 'Hangover 2', the hit and miss 'Bad Teacher', they don't hold up well against something as fantastic as 'Bridesmaids'. It's become one of my favourite films ever, i can't wait to see it again.

2011-06-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

X-Men: First Class
Starring: Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne
Directed by: Mathew Vaughn
4.5/5

In 1962, Charles Xavier starts up a school and later a team, for humans with super human abilities. Among them is Erik Lensher, his best friend.....and future archenemy.

There's a lot of story to get through in First Class, and although some people have said it felt a little rushed in parts, i personally thought it all flowed nicely and the pacing was surprisingly more fast paced than i expected.
The great thing about First Class is that as an origins film, it establishes the characters and relationships perfectly. There's a lot of links between all of the X movies that join it together to create a cohesive universe, and with so many characters involved in the X films, it could have been a messy delivery, but it all works well in First Class.
Director Mathew Vaughn has separated the more meaningful relationships away from the smaller ones to reconnect the dots to the previous films. The main storyline in FC is centred around Magneto and his revenge story on the man who killed his Mother during World War 2. That then opens up the doorway for the second storyline which serves more of a purpose to the previous X films, the relationship between Magneto and Xavier and how they helped each other to create the first class of X-Men mutants. There's also a smaller, yet still important 3rd storyline which revolves around the early friendship between Mystique and Xavier, and how Magneto later became her mentor and drew her away from Xavier's plans for the future. Although i would have liked to see more scenes establishing Xavier and Magneto's friendship further, there's still enough emotional pull within the story to make up for any minor short comings.

Casting wise, everyone delivered their roles on point. Jennifer Lawrence was great as a young Mystique, not only re-capturing Rebecca Romijn's natural sex appeal from the previous films, but also giving Mystique a layered story arc. Next to Magneto, she pushed the emotional aspect of the story the strongest. Her search for inner acceptance between Xavier, Beast and Magneto felt very genuine. For me, she's the most interesting character from the X films.
Nicholas Holt as Beast also did well with his role, especially with his mutation struggle being mirrored with Mystique's and January Jones was believably dangerous as Emma Frost.
Acting wise however, the film belonged to Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Not only was he threatening and powerful, but the amount of emotion he brought to the character opened up his performance 10 fold. It's not easy to make audiences feel a connection with a villain, but Michael's portrayal of struggle was one you couldn't help but stand by. He completely carried the film.

There's a return to quality with First Class that reminded me a lot of what made the first 2 X-Men films so fantastic. I personally still enjoyed X-Men 3, but it did have it's flaws and Bryan Singers absence as the director was felt. First Class brought back a bit more elegance to the franchise. The story was rich, the characters were well developed and you really connect with the universe on screen. There were also a few cameos in the film featuring actors from the previous movies that were really fun to see unexpectedly pop up during the movie, loved those.

2011-05-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

Lady Gaga

Born This Way [2011]

4.5/5

Born This Way was always going to be a big transition album for Gaga. We already had 2 albums worth of the types of songs that have made her famous over the last 3 years, and as entertaining as those albums were, she needed to showcase herself more as an artist than a pop star with her latest record. Luckily, she seems to have fully understood this, and has pushed herself as hard as she could on her new album. There are only tiny glimmers of old skool Gaga on BTW, mostly on the tracks, 'Judas', and on the ballad, 'You and I'.
New genres are explored, new ways of using the full ability of her voice are showcased, and more depth has been added to her writing. It doesn't come off as trying too hard or contrived either, she really pulls off every new direction or idea on the album perfectly. She's obviously been waiting to spread her wings for a while.

1 // Marry The Night 4/5

Big and bold, the perfect way to open the album. The song opens as a piano ballad, but quickly turns into a heavy disco track. It sounds a lot like old skool Whitney Huston.

2 // Born This Way 3.5/5

I've learned to enjoy this over time, and even though it's one of the weaker songs on the album, i still think it made sense as the first single and it works within the context of the whole album. It's catchy.

3 // Government Hooker 5/5

The amount of time Gaga has been spending in Eastern Europe is very obvious on this track. It sounds like something out of grimy Euro sex club. Production wise, it's the coolest song on the album. If Marilyn Manson was doing pop music, it might sound a lot like this.

4 // Judas 3.5/5

It took me a while, but i've finally warmed to it. It's rating would be much higher had the melody and structure of the song not sounded like Bad Romance part 2, for that, it loses a bit of wow factor due to RedOne's lazy production. I do love the heavy tribal beat though, and since the album offers so much stronger material, i don't mind this as a filler track. I still think it shouldn't have been a single though.

5 // Americano 4/5

The most oddball moment on the album. It sounds like a pop song written for a Broadway production. It's very boisterous and silly, but also very catchy. I would have really fallen in love with it if the mariachi aspect of the music was even stronger.

6 // Hair 4/5

I need to be in the mood for it, but when i am, i think it's a lot of fun and the message behind it is sweet. The carefree vibe of the music reminds me of Cyndi Lauper.

7 // Scheisse 4/5

I don't seem to be as amazed by it as most other fans of the album are, but i still think it's a cool song. I love the faux German, i wish we heard more of it in the lyrics.

8 // Bloody Mary 5/5

I can't get enough of this song, i love the sweeping melody of the chorus and the creepy music during the verses. I'm not sure why, but it reminds me of ABBA.

9 // Black Jesus + Amen Fashion 5/5

The early 90's production on this track is perfect. It sounds like something that would be played all over runway shows in New York. It reminds me a lot of something Madonna would have done on her Erotica album.

10 // Bad Kids 4/5

I've noticed people tend to get turned off by the overly upbeat vibe of the chorus after they hear the much more aggressive verses. I think it works though, and the song has really grown on me over time. I kinda love it.

11 // Fashion For His Love 3/5

Cute song, but obvious filler. Another Whitney Huston 80's inspired track. I like it, it has a great upbeat vibe, but it's also forgettable.

12 // Highway Unicorn [Road To Love] 5/5

I can see why a lot of people don't like it, i admit, first time i heard it, i thought it was really messy, but i've grown to adore it and it's now one of my favourites on the album. It sounds exactly like the type of song you'd listen to driving on a highway, the beats have such a great thumping rock momentum to them, and the chorus is big and loud. Production wise, it's the most experimental track on the album. There's all sorts of crazy shit going on in this.

13 // Heavy Metal Lover 5/5
It's one of those songs you hear that you know everyone will love. The beat is dark and sexy, and i love the Daft Punk inspired bridge with the distorted vocals. Hot song.

14 // Electric Chapel 5/5

The 80's metal guitar intro to this is bad ass. If Alice Cooper did dance music, it would sound something like this. Can't wait to see this live.

15 // The Queen 2/5

I struggle with this song. The first half is a bit too cheesy sounding for my taste, like something Avril Lavigne rejected from her first album. The music transition halfway through however is really great. I love the slowed down tempo, and when the guitar comes strumming it, it sounds beautiful. I only wish the whole first half sounded like the second half.

16 // You and I 3.5/5

This reminds me a lot of a Motley Crue rock ballad meets Elton John. It's a great song, but one that is mostly enjoyed when i'm in the right mood for it.

17 // The Edge of Glory 5/5

It's so uplifting and beautifully produced. The chorus is massive and Gaga's vocals soar of the music so perfectly, it almost gives me goosebumps. There's such strong emotion behind the track, it's euphoric. One of the best songs she's ever done, and an amazing way to end the album.

There's some really great production scattered throughout BTW. The fusion of rock and dance music is mixed perfectly into some of the songs on the record. Gaga said the album was created around the idea of the album working in a live setting, and that's exactly what the album sounds like, a body of work waiting to explode properly on stage. That's probably why the production works so well, Gaga's strong side has always been her ability to take her music from album to stage and improve on it because of her ability as a live musician and performer. The stage gives her an opportunity to interpret her work in different ways.

With a "live setting" frame of mind being used to create the music, it's allowed the songs to have a much bigger sound, as well as letting her voice truly shine on many of the tracks.

With so much image marketing behind Gaga's product, it's easy to forget that she is first and foremost a singer and songwriter. Vocally her voice is fantastic on BTW, and writing wise, she has expanded the types of issues she covers in her songs when compared to her more superficial first 2 albums.

The albums themes aren't only heavily related to Gaga's personal life [Marry The Night, Edge of Glory], but they also address many world issues as well, ranging from the political [Government Hooker] to the social [Born This Way, Americano]. She doesn't do it in a boring preachy way either, even though the topics themselves are serious, they're all presented to us a with a trademark Gaga wink. Gaga wants us to have fun, not feel depressed.

The album isn't perfect, there are a few bumpy turns along the road. RedOne continues to showcase how tired his sound is becoming, especially on 'Judas', which is a decent enough song, but a step back as far as doing something new is concerned. He does much better on 'Hair', but still seems unable to let go of that stupid trademark sound effect he always has appearing in all his work. He only appears on the album a tiny bit though, so it's not a major issue.

A couple of the bonus tracks on the special edition also add little to the overall experience of the standard album. I do love one of them in particular [Black Jesus], but they aren't essential when it comes to looking at the album as a whole product. Aside from that though, there really isn't much else to fault on BTW.

Gaga hailed her new album as "the best album of the next decade", a ridiculous and over the top statement for sure, but after hearing the album countless times, there's no doubt BTW is a very strong record. A decade from now, who knows where the album will stand, but as of RIGHT now, Gaga is hitting pretty much every right note she can with the release of this record. By the time the BTW era is at an end, she will have no doubt proved she's here to stay for the long haul.

2011-05-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Insidious 2/5

Starring: Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson

Directed by: James Wan

A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their son in a supernatural realm called The Further.

I held off torrenting this because it recieved a decent reception from critics. It's hard to come by horror movies that actually do well on a wider scale like that, so i thought it'd be worth my while to check this out on the big screen. Plus, the trailer was impressive. I wish it could have lived up to my expectations though based on the reviews i had read, sadly, it didn't.

Insidious stars off really well. Right from the opening credits, you feel like you're in for something creepy and interesting. The entire first half of the film is executed perfectly, with some nice slow pacing and a few genuinely creepy scares. I did jump a couple times, and i was loving the sense of dread growing throughout the story. Once the film starts heading into the second half of the story however, we lose all sense of tension and scares, and start watching a completely different movie all together.
The movie takes a dramatic turn, and goes from being a slow burning haunted house thriller, to an over the top demon fantasy adventure. At first i was surprised by the sudden switch in tone, but thought maybe the film would take more of a horror fantasy route, similar to Poltergeist [which is a great movie]. I certainly loved the introduction of the demon character, and seeing it appear behind people and in dreams was rather startling.
Sadly, an hints at Insidious being Poltergesit 2.0 were quickly washed away once we enter the realm of 'The Further'.

At that point in the movie, everything was an over the top mess. The story change wasn't the problem, i accepted the fact that we were heading in more of a fantasy direction, but the director seemed to lose any sense of what he was actually trying to do at this point and it all started feeling disjointed and uneven.
A whole group of new and unintentionally hilarious spirits were introduced into the story, and rather than being exciting or creepy, it was all just silly and almost like a horror parody. The spirits looked like extras from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video, it was hard to take any of it seriously. The demon they perfectly presented as a ghastly figure in the first half of the film, all of a sudden became some sort of ridiculous cheesy movie monster, at one point it even sat at a sewing machine making clothes for string puppets [don't ask]. It was all over the place.

It was frusturating watching Insidious because it showed a lot of potential. There are some great things in the movie, but it all gets so muddled by the end, that i was laughing rather than feeling scared at anything i was seeing. The casting is good, and some of the creature design was nicely done, especially with the demon. Some of the creature design howeverwas just way too cheesy, and the movie didn't know what the hell it wanted to be. At one point we are even introduced to 2 ghost hunters, who for whatever reason were meant to provide some un-needed comic relief, it just didn't fit the tone of the movie at all.

If you want an entertaining horror fantasy that knows how to mix atmosphere with over the top visuals, watch Poltergeist. Insidious however is a wasted opportunity filled with great ideas that sadly don't know what direction to go in.

2011-04-23T16:30:00.000-07:00

Thor [2011]

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

3.5/5

The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic ream of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

I knew very little about Thor going into this. I was aware of the character of course [being a comic reader myself], but i've never read anything from the Thor comic series. Similar to Hulk and Iron Man, Thor has never been something that looked all that interesting to me.

After seeing the movie though, i'm surprised to say that the origins of the character are actually very original and creative. Thor could have turned out to be a huge fucking mess if it wasn't done right. While watching it, i couldn't help but be reminded by bad 80's "fantasy/real world" cross over movies like He-Man and Beastmaster. Mixing such vastly different styles of worlds without being hokey or cheesy is a tricky thing, but they really pulled it off in this.

The world Thor comes from, Asgard, is beautifully created on screen. The mix of magic and technology that is littered throughout the architecture in Asgard would have been a designers wet dream. It can be a bit jarring when you first visit Asgard, simply because it's such an odd mixture of styles and colours, but overtime, you get used to it much more. There are other realms to be explored in their Universe [9 to be exact], but the only other none Earth one we see in this movie is an icy barren planet [can't remember the name], inhabited by giant blue skinned and red eyed creatures, that are the villains of the story. Their world was even more exciting to see, with it's eerie deserted, crumbling mountains and massive rampaging monsters. The villains in the story were very cool.

Casting wise, everyone did a great job. Chris Hemsworth completely embodied Thor, not only physically [drools], but he was also very charismatic and like able when he spoke, especially in the later parts of the film where his character loses the arrogance and becomes a true hero. Natalie Portman [who i love] looked like she may have ended up with a really boring part in this, but her character was surprisingly like able, funny, and complimented Thor nicely once the romance aspect of the story kicked in. She looked beautiful too.

Thor's brother, Loki, was played well by Tom Hiddleston. Even though he ends up being one of the "bad guys" of the story, there was till a sympathetic side to him that made his plight somewhat understandable, even if what he was doing was wrong. Anthony Hopkins was, well......Anthony Hopkins, strong presence, elegant, and believably loving between both of his sons.

The movie does feel like it could have been a little meatier. By that i mean, i wanted to see more of the worlds that we saw in the story. It all felt a bit too short [even though it wasn't running time wise]. I wanted more backstory about Asgard, about the icy race of giants that they waged war with, more of Thor and Jane's romance, ect. I just feel like it could have pushed itself a tiny bit further to be even more larger scale than it already was, more fleshed out. Mexico was the perfect setting for Earth once Thor arrives on our planet, but it was also the most boring of the 3 realms we see. More of the unique and interesting locations they visit would have made my personal experience with the movie a little more fun.

There was also an unanswered question about Loki which i would have liked to see explained. I can't get into that without spoiling a big secret though.

Overall, Thor was an entertaining origins story that feels like it needs to open up even more with a few more sequels. There was a lot of light humor in the script which worked really well against the more dramatic parts of the story, and the entire cast bounced off each other nicely.

It's certainly one of the more interesting super hero movies to be coming out this year, i look forward to seeing more of it down the line.

2011-04-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

Scream 4 [2011]

Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette

Directed by: Wes Craven

3.5/5

Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. Unfortunately, her home town appearance brings about the return of Ghostface, which puts her and the entire town in danger.

A Scream movie in 2011 has a lot working against it. The last time this franchise wrapped up, we were left with a slightly underwhelming finale, Scream 3. It wasn't a bad film, and it certainly tied up the series into a comfortable trilogy, but compared to the first 2 Scream films, it all felt a bit tired and messy. A new Scream also has a whole new generation of young horror fans to adapt to. The writers won't be able to play on the films of the 80's and 90's anymore because horror has changed a lot over the last decade, so adapting to a new audience while still remaining true to the old fans is important.

Luckily, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson managed to pull their ideas together well enough to make a decent 4th entry in the series.

Imagine Scream 3 with all it's problems ironed out. That's exactly what Scream 4 is. Firstly, Scream 4 takes viewers BACK to Woodsboro, where the original murders took place. Scream 3 always felt a bit disconnected to me because it didn't take place around the same locations the first 2 films were set in. It was set in Hollywood, and although the setting made sense within the context of the story, it still felt a bit too far from where i liked seeing my characters. I appreciated the creators trying to keep it fresh by giving us something new, but Scream 4 really needed to bring things back to the beginning, and thankfully it does. Middle class suburbia is where things fit best for this series, and seeing Woodsboro again gave me happy fan butterflies in my stomach.

Character development was also a must in Scream 4. In Scream 3, Sidney was written well, but the rest of the cast had little else to do, and most of the side characters that were killed off were very boring. In Scream 4, i wasn't exactly jumping for joy with the new teenage cast, but i didn't enjoy seeing the characters i liked die either. Plus, bringing back the old cast was always going to win me over even if the newer characters failed. Luckily though, all the characters were well placed within the story.

It's always heartwarming seeing Sidney again. A lot of us grew up with her story, so seeing her all these years later much older [she has wrinkles!], was fun to watch. I also liked how much stronger she has developed as a person since Scream 3. She finally seems at ease with her life at the beginning of 4, which makes the return of Ghostface that much more uncomfortable to watch. She seems forever unable to escape her past, and at one point in the film, i thought maybe she should just finally die to bring peace to her and everyone else around her. Sidney doesn't represent death though, she represents survival, as fucked up as her life has been, she's managed to fight her way through it all and still remain standing. After all these years, even if you know her death would mean the end of all the bloodshed, you still hope she will come out alive.

Another great thing about Sidney in 4 is that she's developed a similar relationship with Ghostface that Jamie Lee Curtis's character developed with Michael Myers in Halloween. We've watched Sidney and Ghostface fight against each other for so long, that there's an odd familiarity in Sidney's eye when she faces against him now. She runs for her life, but she also seems almost comfortable with having him around. It's almost like she isn't exactly running for her life anymore, but running because she knows what to do next.

Gale Weathers had the second most interesting storyline in the movie. Washed up and bored with her life, it was hilarious seeing her try and find something to do when the murders start happening. I only wish she was around more in the second half of the film.

The rest of the cast did well, Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere were good, even though Hayden had really ugly and distracting hair. Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell also have a great cameo in the beginning of the film. David Arquette was typical Dewey, though i'd say this was Dewey at his most boring, and Adam Brody seemed completely pointless. Maybe he took the role because he was a fan and was desperate for a cameo? who knows, but it was useless.

The kills this time around have also been improved on. Deaths seem to have lost their more old skool drawn out style, and things happen a lot quicker, with focus on tension rather than cheap jump scares. Everything also seems at it's most bloodiest, there was a decent amount of gore [guts on the bed!].

Screams opening death scenes have become a trademark for the series, and although the opening does put a clever spin on things in the way that it's presented to the audience, the actual scene death scene itself is fairly standard.

Cultural references in Scream 4 are thrown in by the bucket load, with swipes at horror remakes and new survival rules being used all the time. The younger characters in this story are even more self aware than the teens from the last series were. The killer reveal at the end of the movie also gets a chance to make a nice social commentary on today's media obsessed youth culture and how fucked up we all are. Like the old films though, it never feels forced, in fact all of it rings very true and is relevant to the times.

Is Scream 4 as good as part 1 and 2???..........no, it's not, but it IS a worthy inclusion in the franchise, and a MAJOR step up from Scream 3. You need to look at 4 from a certain perspective, this is the 4th film in a slasher franchise, the fact that it turned out as good as it did, is in itself a major achievement. They clearly tried to create something decent with Scream 4, and even though it's not as fresh or brilliant as it was back in the day, it does resurrect an old story successfully while trying to put an entertaining spin on what is common in horror movies today.

I see little room for growth from this point forward though. I really cant see how much further they could take some of these characters in a 5th chapter. I did have my doubts about 4 turning out as good as it did though, so maybe Wes and Kevin will surprise me again and pull off another trilogy over the next decade. I guess time will tell. Until then though, this was a lot of fun.

2011-03-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears
Femme Fatale: Deluxe Edition [2011]
4/5

I'll admit, this is the first Britney album i've heard that has taken me a good while to absorb. Her work is usually a lot more instant for me, and even though a lot of the album was great on first play, there was a good portion of it that i had to take my time with. Of course there's nothing wrong with that, getting to know a record over a period of time and slowly having songs unravel is a great way to discover an album, it was just an odd change of pace for me as a Britney fan.

1 > Till The World Ends 5/5

This is the best opener she's ever had. The song builds and builds into a beautifully vast dance song with a blistering euphoric chorus that blasts it's way right into your ear drums. I only wish it was longer, the chorus is so big, it should have been repeated at the end.

2 > Hold It Against Me 4/5
This took a while to really grow on me, and even though it feels slightly less than what it could have been for a lead single to a new album, i've come to really enjoy it.

3 > Inside Out 5/5
It's been years since Brit has released a slow track as a single, this song is the perfect opportunity to do so. This track isn't only the best song on the album, but one of the best songs of her entire career. The slow pumping bass line is really sexy, and the lyrics are cleverly written, they reference a couple lines from her old songs.

4 > I Wanna Go 4/5
I really liked the build up of bass line from the first chorus to the second chorus. I can't say it's one of my favourites, but it's nicely produced and i can see why people really love it.

5 > How I Roll 3/5
I really hated this when i first heard it, i was shocked that Bloodshy would produce such a tuneless mess. Over time it has grown on me though. When in the right mood, i can live with hearing it, but i do think it's the weakest song on the album. Don't take my word for it though, everyone seems to adore it.

6 > [Drop Dead] Beautiful 3.5/5
Britney's vocals on this sound great, i love the conviction behind her voice. An unknown rapper named, Sabi is featured on this, no idea why, her 20 second rap is pointless. Great outro though.

7 > Seal It With A Kiss 3.5/5
This could have easily come off Kylie's 'Aphrodite' album. It's a cute upbeat track with a hot dubstep dance break during the middle 8. Filler, but decent filler.

8 > Big Fat Bass 5/5
Will.i.Am's involvement in this seems to have really turned some people off this song. I can understand why, he has produced some awful dance music over the last couple years, but to his credit, he has given us a few decent ones as well. Personally, i think this is one of the strongest songs on the album. I love the mix of the piano melody with the dance beat.

9 > Trouble For Me 4.5/5
Best pre-chorus on the album? i think so!. The beat in this is amazing.

10 > Trip To Your Heart 5/5
It's like Heaven On Earth 2.0, except about 1o times better. The dreamy Ibiza production on the song is gorgeous, and the repetitive beat is really catchy. The way the beat stops and then kicks in again during the middle 8 is perfection, that's the best part of the entire album.

11 > Gasoline 4/5
It took a while to grow on me, but i really enjoy it now. It's got a hot beat and i love the music breakdown during the bridge.

12 > Criminal 4/5
One of the most unique tracks she's sung. The guitar with Britney's melodic vocals sounds great, her voice also seems a bit less processed on this song. It's nice to hear her actually sing.

13 > Up 'n' Down' 3.5/5
Another Kylie-esque dance track, the chorus can be a little annoying, but it's nicely produced overall.

14 > He About To Lose Me 4/5
Criminal is certainly the best choice as the main albums mid tempo ballad, but this track is just as good quality wise. Great mellow summer beach song.

15 > Selfish 5/5

One of the best bonus tracks she's ever had, and my second favourite song from the album. The hook in this is insanely catchy and the beat is really sexy. It should have been on the album.

16 > Don't Keep Me Wating 3/5

As a stand alone song, i like it. As a song on this album though, it doesn't make any sense. The entire album is electronic/dance, and then this track randomly pops up as a pop rock Kelly Clarkson reject. Surely she could have added something that suited the rest of the tracklisting a little better?. Oh well, i guess i can't deny she's pretty versatile genre wise.

How does Femme Fatale fair against her other albums? well essentially Femme Fatale is Circus 2.0, except a lot more slicker and less dated sounding. There have been some reviewers comparing Femme to Blackout, but i really don't understand why. They aren't similar at all in style or tone outside of some very minor similarities. Fatale shares more of the bubblier pop qualities of Circus than it does with the much darker and sexier Blackout.
I think Fatale completes Britney's essential album trilogy along with Blackout and In The Zone. Which one comes in at #1 changes depending on my mood, so for now i'll just say they're all her best albums for different reasons, with Femme Fatale having the slightly more appealing complete package between the 3 of them.

Fatale is great because it mixes Britney's usual sound with some really fresh production. Every song [even the weaker ones] all focus in on strong hooks and a familiar vibe that binds the tracklisting together making it her most cohesive album since Blackout. Every song makes sense, and it's less muddled with too many styles [like Circus]. It doesn't feel like a compilation, but a proper body of work with a beginning and an end.

2011-03-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Jessie J

Who You Are [2011]

3.5/5

Jessie has been building her profile for a good year now with YouTube videos and writing credits [she wrote Party In The U.S.A for Miley]. It was a smart move because she got to really showcase her vocal ability and create a good reputation for herself before launching herself into the music scene. Her debut album offers a mixed bag, some of it great, some of it not so great, but there's a lot of potential and versatility that shows she can pull out something incredible if she does it right.

The main problem with Who We Are is that it suffers from way too much dull filler. There's no denying that the vocal ability from Jessie is impressive, in fact, she's got the best voice i've heard in years, but it can get lost in hook-less ballad production. There are a couple of nice slower tracks on the album, like Big White Room, which may be a little over long, but it's got a nice quiet flow to it, and the addition of the live audience give it a bit of extra life. The albums only true high point when it comes to ballads however is the title track. It's a gorgeous song that builds and builds into a beautiful melody and really showcases Jessie's vocals. These are the only two ballads that do anything for me, the rest just aren't catchy enough, and are bogged down with messages about being yourself and staying strong [Stand Up] , which is great and all, but it only adds more to the already pedestrian production. There's no LIFE in them.

When the album does get good though, it gets VERY good. Her debut single 'Do It Like A Dude' is the best track on the album, Jessie can bring a lot of attitude to her music and it fits in perfectly with this song. Her second single, 'Price Tag', is a lot more upbeat, but has a great hook and is a nice intro to the rest of the album. 'Nobody's Perfect' reminds me a lot of American r&b, something that Mary J. Blige or Keiysha Cole would sing. So do other upbeat tracks like, 'Rainbow', 'Who's Laughing Now' and 'Abracadabra'. Those are the types of songs she shines the most on.

She even goes a little old skool Motown on 'Momma Knows Best', which has a very similar vibe to her track that was featured on the Easy A soundtrack, 'Sexy Silk'. A bit more of this sort of type of style would have elevated the album a lot more in my opinion.

As a debut effort, there's a lot to like on Who We Are. There are some boring ballads, a bit of outdated production and a lack of attitude that brings it down a few points, but the good out weights the bad, and there's more than enough on the album to enjoy. I don't think it's a blistering debut, but it's a nice introduction.

2011-02-07T13:58:00.000-08:00

Burlesque [2010]

Starring: Christina Aguilera, Cher

Directed by: Steve Antin

2.5/5

A small town girl runs away to L.A and finds a job as a dancer in a run down burlesque club.

We've seen this story 100 times before, and Burlesque doesn't really offer a new spin on this over used "small town girl in the big bad city" type of movie. It does however attempt to give audiences something a little more meaty as far as acting goes, and even though it doesn't really cross any overly impressive lines in that respect, it's nice to see that they at least tried.

The first 30 minutes of this film was almost unbearable, with every cliche under the sun being thrown at us at a very fast pace. There are some unintentional laugh out loud moments where Christina's character prances through the streets practicing her new dance moves, or whipping her hair stupidly while serving customers as a bar waitress. It makes you wonder how the director wasn't laughing at it while cutting the film together, it's cringe central.

The film does pick up a little after the half way mark though, and even though the story stays as obvious as it was from the beginning, it at least started to hold my attention a little more. Sadly, it never managed to really take me anywhere i hadn't been before.

Even the dance numbers offer a mixed bag, with some of the performances being really dull, to others being well choreographed and fun. There are a couple of good songs performed also.

For her first movie role, Christina actually does pretty decent with the type of role that was given to her. She shows real potential as an actress, and even though she does fall into the trap of giving some crappy lines, that isn't really her fault, it's the script writers. Cher was good, and even though her face is stiff as a board, she does look great for her age [she's in her 60's]. Stanly Tucci has great chemistry with Cher, but his need to play gay in nearly every movie he does is really starting to get annoying. Does this guy not get sick and tired of playing the same role over and over?. Outside of those 3 actors, the rest were fairly average. Kristen Bell was boring as the bitchy rival dancer, Eric Dane looked good, but had little to do, and although Cam Gigandet is good looking, his endless pouting and shirtless posing became cringe worthy and tiresome.

I knew exactly what i was in for going into this, so i can't say i was all that disappointed by it. I do feel however, that the movie wasn't written well enough to be truly good [like Chicago], or retarded enough to be entertainingly shit [like Coyote Ugly], so what you get is a fairly "in the middle" average movie that just doesn't really do anything except boringly run it's obvious course while offering a couple nice moments here and there.

It's watchable enough, but you'll forget it soon after.

2011-01-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

Black Swan [2010]

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

4/5

A ballet dancer wins the lead in 'Swan Lake'. She is perfect as the delicate White Swan, but slowly starts to lose her mind when she tries to embody the dark Black Swan.

It's hard to describe Black Swan to people. It's part thriller, part fantasy horror, part ballet drama, it offers a mixed bag of genres and styles that aren't easy to explain in just one word. Black Swan is all about the experience, it's a movie that tugs on your senses and forces you to feel what is happening on screen in front of you. That's where the movie is at it's strongest, when it feels more like a personal diary rather than an actual movie.

Darren Aronofsky completely lets us absorb ourselves into Nina's [Natalie Portman] world. I don't think there were that many shots in the film that didn't focus on Natalie, whether it was her face, or body or her visions. The camera comes in real close, every eye brow twitch and focused stare from Natalie is inescapable. In a way, it's almost claustrophobic, but it's needed to really get us right into Nina's mind, too experience the story from her eyes.

That sort of approach to telling the story allows Darren to pull off some really great direction. The ballet segments are beautifully shot, the opening scene being the main highlight of those shots for me. Nina's slow descent into madness offered a much darker 'blink and you'll miss it' type of editing that really toys with your mind and puts you on the exact same roller coaster ride Nina is on. Did she just see what she saw? or was it just a trick of her eye?........you actually do have to focus in on a few scenes to pick up on the subtle images that scattered throughout some of the scenes. The scene involving Nina venturing into a night club is probably the best way Darren showcased this, with the dance floor soaked in red lighting, and flashes of Nina dancing frantically hidden amongst shots of the Black Swan's face making an appearance within the crowd. You'll see certain things for half a second before you realize what is actually going on in front of you, it's very effective.

Obviously the films next big strong point is Natalie Portman's portrayal as Nina. She was fantastic in the role, not only is she beautiful, but as an actress, she's always had a very strong access to her emotions, and that ability was put into good use in Black Swan. From her uptight innocent beginnings in the film to her out of control, emotionally broken ending final act, Natalie eats it up from start to finish. It's not only her emotional side as Nina that was impressive to see, but the role also asks a lot of her sexually. From her graphic, but awkwardly hilarious masturbation scene, to her aggressive, but very sexy lesbian scene with Mila Kunis, you haven't really seen Natalie be as open as this before.

If the acting itself wasn't impressive enough, her dedication to the role is most obvious when you watch her dance. An entire year was set aside for Natalie to train in ballet for the role, and she pulls it off perfectly. As an entire package, the role was incredibly demanding, and it's amazing to see her pull it off so effortlessly.

The remaining cast in Black Swan do a great job also, Mila Kunis was perfect in her role as Nina's hot rival, she also did well in giving the movie a more relaxed vibe since so much of the film is focused around Nina's incredibly stiff and serious personality. Vincent Cassell was also cast well in this, his character gives the movie a few needed moments of light comedy, and even though his character can be seen an somewhat inappropriate, he's also very like able.

Black Swan is much more than what the movie trailer for the film makes it out to be. It's a fascinating look into the mind of not only peoples obsession with perfection, but also how much mental instability can affect us if we can't grab a hold of ourselves. Essentially, Black Swan is a 2 hour hallucinatory journey into the mind of a very unwell young woman, while she tries to not only grow up, but also follow her dreams. The movie will really pull you in and shake you up, it stays with you.

2011-01-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

The Greatest Films of ALL TIME! #19

Hellraiser [1987]
Hellbound: Hellraiser II [1988]
Starring: Clare Higgins, Ashley Laurence, Sean Chapman
Directed by: Clive Barker

"What's your pleasure?"

I'm going to do a write up on both Hellraiser 1 and 2, because essentially what we are given is one big movie cut into two chapters. Yes, one could be better than the other when it comes to certain aspects, but essentially, i like them both equally, and feel both movies should be watched one after the other as double feature.

Hellraiser 1 & 2 follows the story of Frank, a man who purchases a strange puzzle box from a street dealer in North Africa. He takes the box back to his home in the U.S. and eventually solves the puzzle. Unfortunately for him, the solving comes at a price, and Frank is immediatly ripped to shreds by chains and falls victim to a group of demonic Gods called, Cenobites, who take his body and soul to another realm, leaving Franks house abandoned.

Soon after these events, Franks brother, his wife, Julia, and their daughter, Kristy, move into

Franks home assuming Frank is still away on his North African trip. Eventually, Franks presence in the hell realm is awoken as he breaks free from his demonic prison, and uses his brothers wife, Julia, to feed him human victims so he can rebuild his body within the physical world once again.

Eventually, Julia, the young daughter, discovers what is happening in their home, and before Frank can use her body to build his strength back, she escapes with the puzzle box in hand. As Julia learns the secrets of the puzzle box, she becomes aquainted with the demonic Cenobites, who offer her a trade: they'll spare her life, if she can give them Franks back. As Julia sets out to put a stop to her flesh hungry Uncle's rampage, she'll soon learn that her mission won't be short lived, or as finished as it may seem once she reaches the end of her journey.

That's as far as i'll go in explaining the basic storyline of Hellraiser. That pretty much covers the first films synopsis, if i go any further, i'll be giving too much away.

Both Hellraiser films are heavily connected with the same characters from movie 1 being crossed over to movie 2. The storyline is also an exact continuation from part 1. There are a few different qualities each film has that help seperate themelves from each other though.

Hellraiser 1 is a much more contained film. Most of the events that occur in the film take place within the confindes of a house, we see little of the outside world, and the horror of what happens to the characters feels almost claustraphobic. In Hellraiser 2, the story breaks free from those sorts of contraints, and really broadens it's horizons. We aren't being held prisoner in a dark house anymore. Not only is the human world expanded on, but so is the Hellraiser universe. We get to see a lot more of what the magic puzzle box is capable of.

Another big change in tone between both films is the different presence of a male and female villain. In movie 1, we see the Hellraiser experience from a male perspective, in part 2, we see it from a females. This doesn't put a major change in how the story is told, essentially both villains aim for the same outcome, but it's interesting seeing how both genders react to powers of the puzzle box.

Although some of the flashier computer visuals in Hellraiser 2 have dated a little, it still holds up enough without ruining the asthetics of the film. Where Hellraiser really shine visually however is in movie 1, mostly around the scene where the main villain comes back to life via a puddle of blood and guts. For a film pushing 30 years old, it's still impressive to see how they went about pulling off his ressurrection so effectivly, especially since it's all done CGI free.

What i love about Hellraiser 1 and 2 is that it doesn't soley depend on horror imagery or gore to sell itself. It actually has an interesting and dark story with a rich histroy behind it. We are also given unique and likeable demon characters with Pinhead and the rest of the Cenobites as well. You'll find yourself rooting for the wrong team every so often just because the Cenobites are so cool.

I'm also a big fan of horror fantasy, and Hellraiser 2 really brings that side of the story out with giving the viewer a first hand look at the weird and trippy world within the puzzle box. The flow between both films from the darker smaller introduction of Hellraiser 1 to the more explosive and exciting colourful finale of Hellraiser 2 is a lot of fun to watch.

There have been a lot of sequels within the Hellraiser franchise, some are better than others, but none really have the quality of the first 2 films. Also, you don't need to see the rest of the series to enjoy the first 2 movies, they work perfectly enough as a pair with a contained 2 part story.

Hellraiser 1 and 2 are great for horrors fans because it offers enough gore to satisfy what horror fans are after, while still being original and interesting enough for none horror fans who want a bit more meat with their storylines.

2010-12-22T12:43:00.000-08:00

BEST ALBUMS

10 // Ellie Goulding Bright Lights

The original release of this which was called ''Lights'' was enjoyable enough, but the re-release gave it a bit more life and replay value.

09 // Daft Punk Tron Legacy [Original Soundtrack]

The mix of orchestral and electronic production creates an epic and moody score. Even cooler when seen on screen with the futuristic visuals of the film. My favourite score of the year.

08 // Linkin Park A Thousand Suns

Doing an experimental album and branching out their sound was the perfect move for Linkin Park. A Thousand Suns Proves they have more in them than you'd expect.

07 // The Pretty Reckless Light Me Up

They remind me a lot of 90s rock bands i used to listen to. The UK iTunes edition comes with some great bonus songs.

06 // Kyu Kyu

While i wait for the new Bjork album, this will fill in that space nicely.

05 // M.I.A. MAYA [Deluxe Edition]

Fans were split down the middle with this album. Personally, i think it's her best record yet.

04 // Nicki Minaj Pink Friday [Deluxe Edition]

It's very ecclectic musically and surprisingly more personal than you'd expect. The lack of old skool ghetto Nicki may bore some people, but she still gives us some great club bangers while also showing the world who she really is and what type of varied artist she wants to be.

03 // Rihanna Loud

She goes from strength to strength with each album she releases. My favourite pop album of the year.

02// Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

You'll get some surprisingly honest writing on this album, with some really amazing production sampling on some of the songs. It's easily his best record.

01 // Janelle Monae The Archandroid

What gets Janelle the #1 spot is how ambitious this album was for a debut. It's very concept heavy, and the production on the songs are very rich and cinematic.

Honorable mentions:

Ciara Basic Instinct

Crystal Castles Crystal Castles II

Goldfrapp Head First

Auf Der Maur Out of Our Minds

Hurts Happiness

How To Destroy Angels Self Titled

Robyn Body Talk Part 2

UNKLE Where Did The Night Fall

Erykah Badu New Amerykah Part 2

Jessica Mauboy Get Em' Girls

WORST ALBUMS

The Black Eyed Peas The Beginning

A tired, uninspired, and boring album. It's like they collected every b-side from their previous album and threw it into a generic Euro dance blender. Lazy and shit.

Cheryl Cole Messy Little Raindrops

Her first album was a decent enough debut, but this follow up is just so dull in every way. Where are the hooks? did she honestly enjoy making this record? doesn't bloody sound like it.

MGMT Congratulations
Their first album is one of my all time favourites, not sure what went wrong with album #2 though. It's possibly one of the most boring records i've ever heard in my life.

Hole Nobody's Daughter
A by the numbers re-hash of their previous [and much better] albums. Their sound is beyond tired at this point, and Courtney's endless screaming and whaling bores me. Time to hang it up guys, it's not 1994 anymore.

2010-12-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

BEST SONGS
They're all on YouTube, so just give them a search if you want to hear them...

20 // One [Know Your Name] Swedish House Mafia ft. Pharrell

With so much dance/house filling radio this year, this was the only one that left any sort of lasting impression on me.

19 // Dreaming Goldfrapp

Their new album got a mixed reception, but i liked it. This is my favourite from the record.

18 // Oh My God Usher ft. will.i.am

So many urban acts are jumping ship into dance music this year. I won't lie, it annoys me, but out of all of them, Usher came up with the best product.

17 // Take It Off Ke$ha

There's always room for some sleazy pop on my end of year list.

16 // The Flood Katie Melua

I find her rather boring usually, but this song is so beautifully produced.

15 // Ride Ciara ft. Ludacris
It deserved to be a bigger hit.

14 // Devotion Hurts

The build up to the end section of the song is gorgeous.

13 // Clap Your Hands Sia

I find it hard to not listen to it a few times in a row when playing it. Great chorus.

12 // Dance The Way I Feel Ou Es Le Swimming Pool
Shame the singer commited suicide this year.

11 // Cold War Janelle Monae

If i want people to hear her album, this is what i play them. Epic production.

10 // Monster Kanye West ft. Jay Z, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj

It's like Clash of the Titans on this song, with Nicki Minaj surprising everyone and owning the track with her crazy verse.

09 // The Space In Between How To Destroy Angels

Trent Reznor does Massive Attack.

08 // In The Dark JoJo

Not what i'd typically expect form Jojo. Guess they all gotta grow up.

07 // What's My Name Rihanna ft. Drake

I could have added the song, Skin, from her new album here since it was my personal favourite, but What's My Name comes in at a very close second and it's definitely the best pop song on 2010.

06 // Waiting For The End Linkin Park

I've always loved Chester's voice, the hook in the chorus to this is perfect.

05 // Hypnotize U N.E.R.D.

Sexy!.

04 // Do It Like A Dude Jessie J

I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of her in 2011. This song is a great start.

03 // Roman's Revenge Nicki Minaj ft. Eminem

Best collaboration of 2010.

02 // Whip My Hair Willow Smith

It's easy to forget she's only 10. Unlike Justin Bieber, her music isn't corny and shit. It reminds me a lot of old skool TLC.

01 // T iamamiwhoami

After a whole bunch of individual songs were released on iTunes, this one stuck out the most for me. I love it.

WORST SONGS

I Like It Enrique Iglesias
People loved this shit, i have no idea why. It's so obnoxious sounding.

The Time [Dirty Bit] The Black Eyed Peas

I've said it once and i'll say it again, will.i.am uses samples in the worst ways.

Nothing On You B.O.B.
God he's so fucking boring.

Vanity Christina Aguilera

Want to know how to make yourself sound like a complete fucking tool. Listen to this song. Worst. Lyrics. Ever.

2010-12-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

How To Destroy Angels The Space In Between

Trent Reznor's love of David Lynch has never been more obvious than in this video.

Honorable mention:

Janealle Monae Cold War

The simplicity of this video is what makes it work so well. Janealle has such an interesting face.

WORST MUSIC VIDEO

Keri Hilson The Way You Love Me

What i assume is supposed to be a sexy and dirty display of female sexual power, turns out to be one of the most unsexy and hilarious displays of music video sluttery i have ever seen. Stick to Christina's "Dirrty" video to see this pulled off a little better.

Dishonorable mention:

Jessica Mauboy Get Em Girls

Budget restrictions are a big player in why this video looks so cheap, but that still doesn't excuse the obvious lack of a stylist and the unflattering lighting and camera angles that flood nearly every shot of this cheap wreak of a music video. Believe it or not, this video was shot by the very talented Hype Williams, whos given us some great videos over the years. The only decent video he turned out this year was Nicki Minaj's "Massive Attack", both "Get Em Girls" by Jessica and Kesha's "We R Who We R" seem to be displaying some sort of new hideous style Hype is presenting to us all where he purposely goes out of his way to create ugly and high school student level music video production. Weird.

2010-12-22T12:15:00.000-08:00

BEST MOVIES

10 // A Single Man

The cinematography and direction is perfect. Colin Firth puts in a great performance.

09 // Tron Legacy

Anyone who doesn't want to visit The Grid after seeing this movie has something wrong with them. Give me a damn Light Cycle!.

08 // Splice

People either love this or hate it. It's an odd film that explores some.....uh....questionable themes, but i guess that's why i liked it.

07 // Scott Pilgrim vs The World

If you have Epilepsy, don't see this movie! If you love comics, video games and general geek epicness, you'll love this. It's like an orgasm for the eyes.

06 // The Kids Are All Right

What i liked most about this movie was that it didn't glorify the reality of gay families. Annette Benning was great in this.

05 // The Social Network

Who would have guessed a Facebook movie would be so tense? This had the best script of the year for me.

04 // The Runaways

Kristen Stewart peeing on guitars, Dakota Fanning passing out on drugs, what's not to love?

03 // Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Some people may feel like this lacked some action, but i thought it had more than enough. It was the emotional journey of the characters that made this my favourite Potter movie so far.

02 // Tangled

Toy Story 3 may be everyones favourite animated film of the year, but this was mine. The mix of comedy and action was perfect. The songs were great too, surprisingly.

01 // Kick Ass

A super hero movie like no other!. The over the top violence and unapologetic use of a 10 year old girl as an Assassin made it all the more better.

Honorable mentions:

Inception

Triangle

Twilight: Eclipse

Easy A

Toy Story 3

Paranormal Activity 2

The Loved Ones

Tomorrow When The War Began

Let Me In

WORST MOVIES

Sex and the City 2
What was once a well written TV series with a likeable cast, has now turned into an unintentional comedy about the most narcassistic women on Earth. I loved the series, i loved the first movie, and i gave S&C 2 a fair review after my initial viewing of the film. During my second vieweing though, the cracks looked a lot bigger, and although this has some funny moments, it also well and truly run itself off the tracks. If you love this movie or can relate to it in any way, i'm sorry to tell you, but you're a dumb bitch.

Law Abiding Citizen
It's a stupid over blown by the numbers thriller with nothing going for it except Gerard Butler being naked for a scene. Law Abiding Shitizen.

Prince of Persia
Not a Persion in sight, they're all American or British, which is a bit odd considering....you know....it's set in Persia. There's also a few other things missing..........like a good script, good set design, and a good story. It's like a made for TV piece of crap, and will someone please stop Joel Schmuck...i mean Jole Shumacker [no, i can't fucking spell it] from producing films, they always blow chunks.

Legion
Theres a reason why this was so under the radar when it came out, because everyone knew it wasn't worth the time or the money to see. The fate of the humanity is apparently at stake in this, and we are told to expect a war between Angels and Demons.........we got none of that oddly enough. What we did get though, was a whole bunch of annoying people stuck in a diner for 90 minutes and an open ended finale leaving room for a sequel. Why anyone making that film assumed people would want to actually see a sequal is hilarious.

2010-12-22T12:11:00.000-08:00

Person of the Year

Nicki Minaj

She's been around in the underground hip hop scene for a few good years now. I didn't get my first taste of her until recently though when she released her single Massive Attack earlier this year, and since then, it's been one long Minaj love affair. Forget the Lil Kim comparisons, beyond the Barbie image, Nicki is her own creation. She fused together hip hop and pop and gave us one of the most versatile rap albums of the year, while also making endless amounts of memorable cameos on other peoples songs for the last 12 months. She was stealing scene after scene on nearly everything she was popping up on, Diddy's "Hello, Good Morning", Trey'z 'Bottoms Up" and of course, Kanye's "Monster".

Don't think Nicki is only just a rapper though, she's not. She brings an interesting mix of creativity to everything she does, whether it's writing her own raps on EVERY song she puts out [no ghost writers thankyouverymuch], dabbling in some singing on her debut album, and setting out to not only be a musician, but creating a Barbie Empire that will showcase every side of her very multi-dimensional personality.

Not only has she finally set up her own career in the music bizz, but she's also opened the doors for other female rappers to come forward once again and make a mark on the music charts. Nicki had the first #1 rap single with 'Your Love' earlier this year, a female rapper hasn't accomplished that for the last 7 years. Her debut album, 'Pink Friday' also had the second highest selling first week sales for a female rapper in the history of rap music, coming in second to Lauryn Hill's classic album, 'The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'.

Nicki has been spreading her seed all over the place this year, and 2010 has only been the beginning!..............2011 will no doubt be the year that Nicki sets up her entire future with even more record breaking acheivements and more obsessed fans who follow her every move.

Nicki does things HER way, she isn't anyones puppet and she's crafting the career for herself SHE wants. Long gone are the days when Female MC's are catering to their male creators and doing what everyone expects of them.

Nicki stands on her own two feet, she's her own boss. IT'S BARBIE, BITCH.

Until next year :)

2010-11-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

Nicki Minaj
Pink Friday [2010]
Standard edition: 3.5/5

Deluxe edition: 4/5

Pink Friday offers something for everybody. Its accessible to hip hop fans and people who may not typically follow rap music . Nicki promised to showcase many sides of her personality on her debut album, and she's certainly delivered on that promise.

The standard 13 track edition of Pink Friday isn't full of club bangers. Instead of just throwing together a "hood rat" album, Nicki has taken a more mid temp approach to the style of music she's used on the record. This may be a negative for people who were wanting a more heavier sound throughout the debut, but there are still some great hooks and nicely produced tracks throughout most of the track listing regardless. The album is surprisingly more melodic than i expected, and lyrically it's a very personal record. Musically, it also crosses the lines between hip hop and pop, giving her songs their own distinct flair. Nicki doesn't seem like she wants to be pigeon holed as an artist, and her varied taste in music which she's spoken openly about is evident in her output.

--------------------+--------------------

I'm The Best 3.5/5

This track is quintessential Nicki from start to finish. It's bubbly and upbeat without being cheesy, a perfect reflection of her personality. It's a good opener for the album because the lyrics address her climb to the top from her old skool days to now. It's also a nice indicator for listeners as to what type of album they're in for [which isn't your traditional rap album].

Roman's Revenge 5/5

The production on this song is insane, the music is heavy and chaotic, and the raps are angry and loud. The energy in the track is enough to make the walls of your house shake. The song features Eminem who appears as his alter ego, 'Slim Shady'. He battles it out along with Nicki's gay alter ego, 'Roman Zolonski'. They throw rhymes at each other perfectly, and the song only gets weirder and more entertaining during the last minute of the track when Nicki channels Roman's Mother, 'Martha', who warns Roman of the trouble he's causing in her heavy British accent. It's an incredible song that showcases Nicki's snappy lyrics nicely, as well as having the most unique production out of all the songs on the album.

Did It On'em 4/5

Dis be street, dis be hood, the most ghetto song on the album. It features a very slow, grinding, heavy bass line with Nicki's vulgar rapping on top of it. The lyrics are also fucking hilarious. This reminds me a lot of old skool mix tape Nicki.

Right Thru Me 4/5

It's got a great hook, and it's very romantic sounding.

Fly 4/5

This features one of the best choruses on the album. The song has potential hit single written all over it, it'd sound perfect on radio. I really like it, it's very pretty. The chorus is sung by Rihanna.

Save Me 5/5

Nicki sings on this instead of rapping, and her voice sounds quiet nice on record when trying to hit a few higher notes. What makes the song though is the music, it's a nice really pretty drum and base, down tempo instrumentation that flows nicely.

Moment 4 Life 4/5

This song has really grown on me over time. It's got a great mid-tempo beat and Drake's rap fits nicely in with Nicki's parts. It's an obvious single and perfect for radio.

Check It Out 3/5

I hated it when i first heard it, but it's since warmed up to me, but only a little. I'll always have a love/hate relationship with this song. Parts of it i like, other parts i can't stand. I need to be in the mood for it, but it can be catchy at the right time. It's the sample that drives me nuts on this, it's just so shit sounding. I do like the second half of the song though when the beat breaks down a lot more and it gets funkier. Could i do without it? yes, but i don't mind that it's there. will.i.am is featured on this.

Blazin' 4/5

will.i.am should take some notes from this song, this is how you use a sample perfectly. I really love the synths in this, the production is really strong. The song has a strong anthem vibe to it, love how vast it sounds, and the build up to the chorus is perfect. Kanye West raps on this.

Here I Am 5/5

I really love this song. The heavy synths throughout the verses, and the loud motorbike revving sound effect after each chorus sounds really fucking cool. It's dark and grimey, i only wish it was longer. It's my second favourite song from the album.

Dear Old Nicki 3/5

It's one of the weaker tracks on the album, mostly because the production is a bit generic and dull. I don't mind it being on the record, but i find it slows down the last section of the album a bit too much. Lyrically it's fantastic, i love how it's written in letter format and she makes some great personal references in it. It's cute, but very forgettable.

Your Love 4/5

The first #1 rap single by a female MC in years!.....great song, well written, very catchy, very simple.

Last Chance 2.5/5

Probably the weakest track on the album for me. It's certainly catchy, and i can see how others may like it, but it's a bit too sickely sweet for my taste. It's listenable, but i would have gone with one of the bonus tracks as the closer for the album, preferably 'Catch Me'. Natasha Beningifled is featured on this.

Super Bass [Deluxe bonus] 4/5

This could have fit nicely onto the standard edition of Pink Friday. The music during the verses and Nicki''s quicker than usual raps are a nice build up to a very upbeat and catchy chorus. A good summer track.

Blow Ya Mind [Deluxe bonus] 4/5

Similar to Did It Oném, this reminds me a lot of old skool Nicki. I love the mix of the guitar in the chorus and heavy bass of the verses. It's a heavy sounding track, it would sound great live and loud.

Muny [Deluxe bonus] 4/5

Another bonus track that should have made the standard tracklisting. It has the same sort of hook that gets stuck in your head like Beyonce's "Single Ladies"did.

Wave Ya Hands [Best Buy Deluxe only bonus] 4/5

I like the simplistic approach to the music in this. It has a nice anthem sort of vibe to it, like something she'd sing to a massive crowd of fans.

Catch Me [Best Buy Deluxe only bonus] 5/5

It's amazing that a song as good as this was left off the standard release of the album, especially considering the few questionable songs Nicki opted to use instead of it. This is my favourite song from the record, the blasts of electronic effects after each chorus and the endless hypnotic drumming beat throughout the instrumentation is perfect. I fucking love this song.

Girls Falls Like Dominoes [iTunes only bonus] 3.5/5

The sample in this is a bit too heavy, the chorus should have been taken back a notch and worked Nicki's vocals into it more. Either way though, this is very catchy and the lyrics are funny.

--------------------+--------------------

The first half of Pink Friday is stronger than the second half. It opens up nicely with some heavy club songs and good ballads. The middle section of the record consists of mostly mid-tempo type tracks, so a couple of more dancier tunes would have helped the album flow a little easier towards the end of the track listing. Still, it's real flaws are far and few between, with peoples reactions to the album being based more on what type of rap they prefer listening to, rather than the actual production of the songs, which in my opinion for the most part is very nicely done.

It's the deluxe edition of the album that livens up the record nicely though, with a big chunk of club tracks extending out the track listing into a more varied play list. Any slight short comings from the standard edition are ironed out nicely once you get a better mix of slower and faster songs. A few of the bonus tracks could have replaced a few of the standard album songs, but i can listen to both versions of the album and be content with both.

Pink Friday is a good way to welcome Nicki to the music industry as a viable artist with versatility. She isn't just a blow up doll with big tits, she can be quiet introspective and is capable of writing some great lyrics. As an entire project [combining all the songs from each edition], it's an enjoyable listen with her stamp firmly punched into the music. The album will definitely draw in an eclectic mix of fans, which is what will help her career in the long run.

2010-11-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Rihanna

Loud [2010]

5/5

For her first few albums, Rihanna was very much a throw away pop princess. There's nothing wrong with that, i am a Britney fan after all, but Rihanna never seemed to really click with me and i never thought all that much about her outside of a few decent songs here and there. Once Rated R arrived in 2009, she finally delivered something worth my while and i fell in love with the album.
Loud follows a very similar pattern to Rated R. It's more cohesive when compared to her first few albums, it's fairly mid-tempo heavy with only a couple "club bangha" tracks, and it also offers a big serving of synths and electric guitar. In a way, Loud is the perfect sister album to Rated R. Rated R is the darker more urban sounding first half, Loud is the slightly lighter more dance/rock lite second part.

--------------------+--------------------

S&M 4/5

It sounds like the album could use a little intro to start things off, but it doesn't have one, it just goes straight into track #1. Not that i mind, the opening song is really hot. It's made for the clubs, and reminds me of a darker, sexier 'Only Girl'. It sounds like a good single, but i'm not sure how well the lyrics will go down on the radio.

What's My Name? 5/5

I absolutely love this song to death. The track is one complete hook from start to finish, the melody, the arrangement, it's perfect. This song features Drake.

Cheers [Drink To That] 3.5/5

This track samples Avril Lavigne's "I'm With You", i'm not sure if the song needed it really, the rest of the track without it sounds perfectly fine. It's a grower.

Fading 4/5

It's filler, but good filler. The electronic lite music and the chorus are very pretty.

Only Girl [In The World] 5/5

I know it's an odd word to describe a euro dance song, but this is really gorgeous. The chorus is so massive and epic, the video featuring Rihanna shouting off the mountain tops and jumping through the air is a perfect visual to go along with the vibe of this track. It's so vast and grand sounding, i love it.

California King Bed 3.5/5

I didn't like this when i first heard it, the verses are weak and it's my least favourite track on the album. It's grown on me over time though and i enjoy it now, the chorus is nicely sung. This is a big favourite among others listeners.

Man Down 5/5

The most interesting song vocally and production wise on the album. The chorus gets stuck in your head something crazy, and the Caribbean vibe of the music fits Rihanna's voice perfectly.

Raining Men 4/5

It comes across as filler, but it's good filler. I love the heavy low synths that come in during the chorus. It's the most ghetto track on the album. Queen of Rap, Nicki Minaj is featured on this.

Complicated 4/5

Some people think California King Bed is "THE" ballad off the album, but this is the one i prefer personally. I love how she sings the chorus.

Skin 5/5

Heavy synths, sexy vocals, slow pumping beat, it's the "G4L" off the album, but better. The song is really great from the start, but turns amazing once the electric guitar comes blasting in during the last section of the song. Gives me chills. My favourite track from the album and my favourite Rihanna song ever.

Love The Way You Like [Part II] 4/5

This is much better than the version Eminem released, and it's been given a soft rock make over that really suits Rihanna's voice. The chorus on this is one of the best ones i've ever heard on a pop song. This features a quick Eminem rap, not needed, but i still like him on it.

--------------------+--------------------

As great as Loud is, the album title is very misleading. There is nothing Loud about the record, it's a fairly low key sounding collection of songs, and the lead single [Only Girl] really shouldn't be used as a way to showcase what the entire album is like. If you're expecting Good Girl Gone Bad part 2, you'll be very disappointed. As i said before, Loud follows the same pattern as Rated R, so if her last album wasn't really your thing, then this will most likely bore you to tears. If you're like me though, and prefer Rihanna doing more melodic slower music with a few faster tracks thrown in, then you'll love Loud.

Rihanna continues to grow as an artist, and after a second offering from her that i've fallen in love with, i'm officially keeping her on my radar. Rated R is still a big favourite of mine, and i honestly didn't think she'd be able to top it, but she has with Loud. I think this album is perfect, and it's the best pop album of the year for me.

2010-11-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Social Network 4.5/5

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake.

Directed by: David Fincher.

A story about the founders of the social networking website, Facebook.

Who would have guessed a movie about Facebook would have turned out to be so controversial?

I was unaware of the back story behind how Facebook was created. I knew a few lawsuits had come up over the last few years against it's creator, but i didn't really pay all that much attention to them. After seeing The Social Network, it's almost unbelievable to me how over the top and ridiculous the entire history behind something like Facebook is. All this time i assumed Facebook was the result of one geeky Harvard student [Mark Zuckerberg] who just got lucky by creating a website that happened to go viral across the world. That is partly true, but there's a lot more mud slinging and backstabbing that went along behind closed doors during the process of Facebook hitting the internet big time.

How much of this movie is true is something we may never be 100% sure about. The movie is based upon a book which contains the stories of the people who sued Zuckerberg over the ideas he apparently stole from them. The cases themselves were real, and the people did get massive amounts of money from the lawsuits, so in that sense they were payed their dues FOR A REASON. What does get mentioned a lot in other reviews about this film however, is how accurate the portrayal of Zuckerberg actually is. He is no doubt a genius, but is he the conniving lying snake they show to the audience in The Social Network?..............Zuckerberg doesn't seem to think so from what he's said in interviews regarding the movie. How accurate he may be in the film doesn't really matter though, because the films storyline is based around an actual case anyway, so the stories authenticity is as up in the air as it would have been in court in real life during the trials anyway.

The only part of the story that really made me question just how much the filmakers knew about Zuckerberg, was the inclusion of a girlfriend who breaks up with him during the first scene of the film. She pretty much becomes the reason why the website was created in the first place, and pops up a couple times during the story as an obvious strong link between Zuckerberg and some of the decisions his character makes. There's also an interesting scene at the end of the film, which is one of only a few hints at Zuckerberg having any sort of heart at all throughout the story. In an interview only a few days ago, Zuckerberg denies having anything to do with a girl who influenced his decisions in making the website. Whether or not that's true, it was still an interesting part of the story, and it broke things up nicely.

The film features a fairly low key cast, but they all do incredibly well with the material they are given. Jesse Eisenberg plays Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg perfectly. It's his endless smart ass banter that keeps a lot of very heavy dialog filled scenes flowing easily. He was definitely the standout. Justin Timberlake played Napster creator, Sean Parker surprisingly well. I wasn't sure if he'd fit the part, but i think he did. He had some great moments. In fact, if that is how Sean Parker really is? i'd be fucking scared of ever doing business with the guy. What a hideous person. There were twins in the film who did great with their roles as members of the trio who gave Zuckerberg the idea to create Facebook that did a fantastic job as well, but i can't seem to find any trace of them online. I did learn however that they weren't actually twins at all, but one guy who's face was digitally pasted onto a second person, haha. Nice subtle effect.

I've heard a few complaints about the lack of strong female characters in the movie. I'm not really sure if it needed any to be honest, and i don't see why it's even an issue. Maybe there isn't a prominent female character in the story because there wasn't one involved in the real life case to begin with?.....................at least that's how i saw it.

Aside from a really engaging story and perfect casting, the movies strong point is most definitely the script. I wouldn't be surprised if it's awarded an Oscar next year at the Academy Awards. Aaron Sorkin did an AMAZING job with the dialog. There are times when you are so immersed in the scenes because of how they're written. I loved it.

David Fincher as usual shot the film beautifully, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross created a very cool soundtrack.

It's amazing that someone so socially incapable like Zuckerberg managed to create the biggest online social network in the whole world. Then again, maybe it being online is what made him so perfect at being the person to bring something like that to life. If he's as awkward, blog obsessed and techno geeky as the film depicts him, then he well and truly deserves to sit in his CEO chair at Facebook head office.

It's hard to like Zuckerberg, and it's even more hard to like Sean Parker. Their intelligence unfortunately has a dark side, and with a great idea between friends, comes a lot of arrogance and self importance that leads to a lot of shockingly bad actions within personal relationships.

I can't help but laugh at the irony of it all though, a group of people coming together to create a social website that connects everyone together, yet they themselves seem barely capable of doing that in real life. It's just bizarre, and it pushes the point of maybe having a good helping of REAL social interaction OUTSIDE, instead of just in front of your computer day in and day out.

As much as i enjoyed Inception, it failed to live up to the hype for me. The Social Network however does. I was nearly turned off by how much i was hearing about it, but i forced myself to check it out and i'm glad i did. It was one of the best films of the year.

2010-11-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

Blu-ray review: THE EXORCIST

Film: After years and years of waiting for The Exorcist to hit Blu-ray, it's FINALLY getting the treatment it deserves for fans.

Both the extended cut [also known as 'The Version You've Never Seen'] and the original 1973 cut are featured in this Blu-ray set. Fans have always de

bated over which version is better. Personally, even though the original cut of the film is brilliant, and does have a more darker ending [which i prefer], the extended features some nice added scenes and effects, most notably the epic spider walk scene which has become such a favourite among viewers over the years, it's hard to imagine such a bizarre and creepy scene not in the film, so i'll go with the extended cut as my personal favourite.

The film is presented in 1080p High Def, and it looks fantastic. You can see marks on faces that you haven't seen before, and the AMAZING sound design in the film will no doubt sound great with a good pair of surround speakers [which i sadly don't have, tear].

Packing: It comes packaged in Warner's very nicely made [and popular] hard cover booklet Blu-ray style sets. The cover features a slight foil finish, so the front image is a bit metallic and shimmers all pretty. Each disc sits behind the front and back cover, with the middle section of the packaging consisting of a cool 38 page booklet featuring images and footnotes about the movie and the cast. There's also a separate letter from the director about the Blu-ray release.

Special Features:

Disc 1:

Extended Director's Cut [2000 Version]

There's a commentary by Director William Friedkin on this version that i haven't heard because it apparently covers all of what is found in the special features anyway. I'll give it a listen at some point though i'm sure. All features on this disc are in HD as well. The major features are....

- Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist [30 min approx]

This is the first of 3 newly made documentaries about the filming of the film. There's lots of new behind the scenes footage in this. You'll get a lot of Linda on set and a good look into how a few of the effects were created. It's amazing to see how it was all done with NO computer effects.

- The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now [8 min approx]

A good short doco about the locations the movie was filmed in. There's some cool comparisons of Georgetown now and then which are fun to see. Did you know the beginning scene of the movie was actually filmed in Iraq!?........every weird looking person in that opening shot were just street people.

- Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist [10 min approx]

Both the director and writer of The Exorcist speak passionately about what they like and don't like between both versions. Interesting hearing their thoughts on it.

Disc 2:

Original Theatrical Cut [1973 Version]

As well as the features i talk about below, there's also 2 commentaries for this version, one by the Director and another by Producer/Screenwriter. There is a story board and concept art gallery, as well as a video introduction by William Friedkin and rough footage of the original ending. The film itself is featured in HD, but the special features aren't on this disc.

- The Fear of God: The Making of The Exorcist [78 min approx]

A pretty cool feature length doco that first aired back when The Exorcist was re-released to cinemas in 2000. It's more distinctive than the other features on disc 1, and even though there is a guy hosting it, he isn't annoying and we don't see a lot of him. Less backstage footage than disc 1, but more cast stories and interviews.

- Interview Gallery: The Original Cut, The Final Reckoning and Stairway To Heaven [9 min approx]

A bit of this is featured in The Fear of God, this is more of it. Mostly for die-hard fans who want to hear some more personal thoughts from the Director and Writer. I liked it.

Overall: As a complete package, it's a very nicely put together, and the fancy book casing adds that little extra something to make it more special. It's great to finally have a worthy release for the film, it took fucking long enough.

Film: 5/5

Special features: 4/5

Blu-ray overall: 5/5

2010-10-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Paranormal Activity 2 [2010]

Starring: Nobodies

Directed by: Tod Williams

4/5

I loved Paranormal Activity 1, i still do, but i was really not very interested in seeing a second installment created. Once the second movie went into production, i was mildly interested, but pretty much sure it would be a mess. Now with PA2 released, i was surprised to see yet ANOTHER slew of strong reviews [just like movie 1] commenting on what a good job the producers have done a second time around. Although the buzz was great, i still went into PA2 with an open mind, but low exceptions.

I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the film, in fact, it worked better as a film than movie 1 did at times.

The first PA relied solely on atmosphere and scares. There was a bit of background about the characters who were experiencing the demonic haunting, but overall, it was a fairly low key plot based movie that was all about what happened to a couple on a daily basis, rather than a big story. That wasn't a bad thing, in fact, it worked perfectly in the first film. In PA2 however, we get the usual things that made the first movie so effective, as well as a more fleshed out storyline.

Visually and atmospherically, PA2 is pretty much the same as PA1, and in a way that detracts from how effective the movie can be at times. In PA1, you weren't sure what to expect, you didn't know how anything would look or feel, it was a NEW experience. In PA2, you know what the playing field is like this time around. You know about the night cam, the slow build ups, the endless daytime goings on between characters, and the types of "bumps" and "bangs" that occur over the course of the haunting. Still, as less fresh as some moments can be, the feeling of danger and dread is still effective, just not as strong.

What really separates part 2 from part 1 is the connections between story lines between both films. It keeps things interesting. This time, you actually KNOW something about these people because of what happened in the first film. That familiarity brings on a new kind of creep factor, which puts a different spin on how you feel about what you see on screen. It's not fear of the unknown anymore, it's the KNOWING that actually makes you ask more questions because you are aware of what to expect.

Scare tactic familiarity aside, there are some genuinely creepy moments in this movie. Although the budget for the film has been duplicated by 10, they still keep everything fairly realistic and minimal when it comes to what we see on screen. The sudden creaks in the dead of night, and the intimidating thuds that rattle the house grab a strong hold of the viewer all over again. But it's the more over the top events that make the audience REALLY have a lot of fun. In fact, one scene in particular in the kitchen scared the living day lights out of me, and the ending of the film really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

As i mentioned before, the story does open up a lot more which for me is what really pushes this movie from a 3/5 to a 4. Without spoiling anything, there are a couple very cool twists that occur throughout the film that i didn't expect. The story also gets a bit more of a fleshed out background, while still not revealing too much. In PA1 we were dealing only with a young girl, this time, the haunting spreads out and reveals a lot more about the family Katie from PA1 came from. I actually REALLY look forward to seeing how deep they take this story, because there's some seriously interesting and creepy history behind why all this demonic evil is happening. I won;t say anything else though, best to go in with as little knowledge as possible.

One major complaint i heard from fans of the first PA was the cast. A lot of people found Katie and Meka rather annoying. Personally, they didn't bother me. This time around though, i think the characters are a little more likable, especially the young teenage girl in the family who actually TRIES to find out wtf is going on. The addition of the dog and baby make the stakes a bit higher as well.

PA2 really could have gone down the wrong path, but i'm surprised to say that they have taken the story into a pretty cool direction. There are still unanswered questions, and enough mystery to keep things fresh for a 3rd film, but the scares come second to story development this time around, which works in the sequels favor because it doesn't make it pointless.

If you didn't like part 1, there's nothing new for you here. If you liked PA1 and are curious for more, definitely give this a go. I hope this becomes a trilogy, i'm having a really great time with this series for now. Blair Witch 2, THIS AIN'T, the critics are rights, see it.

2010-10-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

Let Me In [2010]

Starring: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Directed by: Matt reeves

4/5

A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.

I've seen the original Swedish version of this film that came out a couple years ago, and even though i didn't think it was the untouchable masterpiece everyone else thought it was, i still enjoyed it. It's a film i learned to appreciate more on repeat viewings and i can see why it has had such a strong following, but it didn't blow my mind.

When i heard it was being re-made, i was actually curious to see what else they could do with the story, maybe this time they'd make a version that captivated me a little more than the original.

Is the American version better than the Swedish one?......as an overall product, i'd say yes, but both films are pretty much similar for the most part, with the American version upping the anti a little in certain parts.

Both films share a similar cold atmospheric feel to them. I was glad they kept that moody tone for the remake. It's the main part of the original that i remember the most. The American version takes place in snow covered New Mexico, and it works surprisingly well. The feelings of isolation and dread in the locations the characters occupy reflect the two main leads and their personalities perfectly.

The casting is pretty much spot on, with the most obvious change being the vampire girl in the story [named Abby in the U.S version]. In the Swedish version, the character had a more interesting quality to her because she looked more androgynous, which added something different to her presence on screen. In the U.S. remake however, she very much looks like just a girl. That's not a bad thing though, because Chloe Moretz still brings her own unique quality to the character without looking like she's simply copying the actress from the original film. Chloe was actually really great in this. She played depressed well, she said a lot with her face without having to go over board with obvious emotion, similar to what the original actress did.

What i liked more this time around was how Abby was depicted in vampire form. In the original, her vampire appearance was a lot more subtle, in the remake, it's much more obvious. She has creepy wide icey blue eyes with veiny skin. Her vampire attacks are a lot more vicious than the original character as well. The feeling of danger was a lot more obvious in the remake, Abby was scary when she lost control.

The bullies in the U.S. version who victimize the young boy in the story came across a lot more dangerous as well. The violence and gore was increased, but not in an over the top sort of way. It was just enough to give the very sombre and quiet tone of the movie the punch it needed. That was lacking a little with the original in my opinion.

Hints at Abby's gender are only slightly referred to in the script, it definitely wasn't as much of an obvious hint as it was in the original [no scarred vagina scene this time around], but Abby's strange relationship between her male carer seemed to point to a more obvious hidden meaning than it did in the original, from what i can remember of it anyway.

Some scenes were executed better than others when you compare both films, for instance, the scene where Abby walks into her young friends house without an invitation was executed a bit more interestingly in the original, but, the scene where Abby's female victim is strapped to a hospital bed feeling the vampire change within her take over had A LOT more impact in the remake. In fact, it was probably my favourite scene.

What you'll get with 'Let Me In' is a VERY faithful remake of an already interesting and original foreign film. One isn't too much better than the other, but personally i preferred the more dangerous feeling remake to the more low key Swedish version. Don't get too excited, the remake isn't some pumped up super vampire movie, not at all, but it does feel like they pushed the vampire aspect of the story a little further by making Abby seem much more out of control and demonic on screen.

If i knew someone who had only seen ONE version of the film, that wouldn't bother me, because they're both good in their own ways. If i HAD to recommend one over the other though, i'd actually go for the U.S. version.

I know die hard fans of the original want this remake to be shit, but i'm sorry to say, it really isn't. Not only is it on par with the Swedish version, but in some ways, it's better.

2010-09-30T15:34:00.001-07:00

Katy Perry

Teenage Dream [2010]

4/5

I haven't been the worlds biggest Katy fan over the last couple of years. There's been a real "star quality" missing from her that made me not take as much notice as i probably should have during her first album. Then again, her first album was never really something that grabbed me all that much anyway back when it was released. As a debut, it did the job, it had strong enough singles, but as a complete album, it fell a little short. 'I Kissed A Girl' and 'Hot and Cold' are NOT indications of how the rest of her debut album sounded. In fact, it moves pretty strongly away from her pop singles into more of a Avril Lavigne-esque rock album. That's not a bad thing per se, the album certainly has some decent songs on it, but it's all a bit boring, and didn't bring anything new to the table.

With competition from other popstars like Rihanna, Britney, Ke$ha, and of course Lady Gaga, i always felt Katy really needed to step up her game once she released a second album. There isn't any room for being under the radar when these girls are competing year after year with new music and controversy and whatever else is selling their careers on a daily basis to their rabid fans. Katy needed to get the big guns out if she wanted to stick around. Thankfully on her new album, 'Teenage Dream', she does!.

I'll admit, i haven't liked the lead single, 'California Girls' at all over the last few months, so my interest in giving the new album a try was very small. Once her second single, 'Teenage Dream', was released though, i started to really like what i was hearing, so i gave the album a chance, and i'm glad that i did.

Katy's really stepped up her game on this album, Max Martin and Dr Luke have created potential hit singles with pretty much every song on the record, and the upbeat 'California Girls' isn't the only type of direction the rest of the album goes in. There are other summer themed songs like, 'The One That Got Away' and the very cute, 'Last Friday Night' [which i didn't like at first]. These songs remind me a lot of her first album, but sound a lot more polished and catered to pop radio.

The album highlights for me though are the less Summery songs. Tracks like 'Circle The Drain' and 'E.T.' REALLY have her going for the pop queen crown and pushing over all her popstar competition. The production on those two tracks is perfect, and they're both my favourites off the album. Other highlights are, 'Fireworks', 'Who Am I Living For' and 'Pearl'.

The great thing about this album is that it isn't all just superficial pop, Katy actually writes a lot of personal songs on the album. This record is half a love album [thanks to Russel Brand] and half a bitter break up album [thanks to her ex, Travis??]. It's an interesting mix, you can tell the album was created in two very different periods of her life.

There were a couple songs that didn't do much for me when i first heard this album, but on repeat listens, i can happily say there isn't ONE song that i don't like from the record. Even 'California Girls' works better as part of an entire track listing, rather than on it's own.

Katy Perry has FINALLY made a bleep on my radar, hopefully she keeps up with making strong pop albums in the future and drops the 2002 sounding Avril songs from her first album. The pop sound does more for her.

2010-09-15T16:21:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Films Of ALL TIME! #18

Closer [2004]
Starring: Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen
Directed by: Mike Nichols

"Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off"

Holding hands, kissing by the beach, finding your one true love...............the perfect mix that goes into a romantic movie. We see it a lot, not that it's a bad thing, i'm a sucker for them just as much as the next person, but what happens when you take away all the fantasy bullshit, and actually LOOK at real life relationships?. Are they as picture perfect as our imaginations like to make them?.
If you're looking for a movie to show you the humorous ups and downs of love, you're not looking in the right place with Closer. In fact, Closer may force you to run for the hills
screaming in terror the next time a possible relationship heads your way!.

Closer is about 2 couples, Dan [Jude Law] and Alice [Natalie Portman], and Anna [Julia Roberts and Larry [Clive Owen]. Dan is a writer, and Alice [who is much younger]
is a waitress [and ex stripper]. Anna is a photographer, and Larry is a doctor.

It's complicated how these 2 couples cross paths, but basically........Dan meets Alice after she gets hit by a car, after starting a relationship with her, Dan then meets Anna who is hired to take his publicity photo, he falls in lust with her, and then Anna bumps into Larry when an online sex chat between Dan [who pretends to be a woman] and Larry accidently places him in Anna's path, Larry and Anna start a relationship. Eventually, Anna and Dan begin an affair, and the interaction between both couples gets more intense and personal as each relationship begins to crumble. By the midway point of the story, everything escelates into a mess, as each person struggles to deal with lies and betrayel.
What grabbed me most when i first watched Closer was how honestly the film was written. There's no sugar coating, no unrealistic concepts about what love is or how relationships work. People can fall out of love, and couples can be very cruel to each other.
For a serious drama, Closer is surprisingly easy to watch repeatedly, mostly due to how quickly the story moves along. We get no obvious time frame of the events that take place in the story, it all unfolds so fluidly with no need for obvious time frames.

The acting in Closer is what stands out the most after the AMAZING writing. In fact, you've never seen such FILTH come out of Julia's mouth before!. Jude is good in his role, but his character is so unlikeable, you'll spend most of the film wanting to punch him in the fucking mouth. The stand outs for me however were Natalie and Clive. Both of them share a scene in the the movie set in a strip club that features one of the most badass exchanges of dialog put on screen EVER!. The amount of sexual chemistry between them both will make your TV melt.

2010-09-02T15:19:00.000-07:00

Salt [2010]

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Shreiber.

Directed by: Pillip Noyce.

3.5/5

A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian Spy.

I enjoyed Salt, it was a decent little spy thriller that had some pretty cool moments. The storyline was fairly basic, but it was the "twists and turns" that kept it fresh along the way. The main problem with Salt was that it was TOO SMALL. The movie ends with an obvious lead in to a sequel, but the first film suffers a little for that, because the movie feels more like a teaser than an actual complete movie. It really felt split in half, so the abrupt ending was a bit random and i felt like i had just watched an 80 minute lead into an epic 2 and a half hour movie or something. I think it will benefit from a sequel [or part of a series] to give it a more complete feel, which was really lacking in my opinion.
There was also a lack of scale and excitement that really made the movie pack some punch. It all moves along nicely, and it's entertaining, but it all seems to just be bubbling over a little, rather than exploding with energy. I guess that may also come down to the short running time and "introduction" feel of the storyline [like i mentioned earlier], which could be bettered in a second movie.

Angelina Jolie as usual was fantastic. She's a great action star, tough, believable and incredibly beautiful. You can't take your eyes off her, and she really helped the whole thing hold together a bit more. She looks like she could kick your ass really hard, she was great.
The rest of the cast were good too, Liev did well and i liked his interaction with Jolie, they had good chemistry, but sadly that wasn't explored as much as i would have liked because Salt goes on the run so early into the film. I also think Salt and the other CIA agent who was tracking her had some good chemistry too, i hope we see a stronger relationship established between the two of them future films.

Reviews for this have been mostly steady, but some have criticized the story for being a little over the top, especailly when it came to Salt' abilities as a spy. I dunno, it didn't really bother me to be honest with you, she claimed she was the only one like her in the world, so maybe she was just a complete badass who had amazing skills. I did think her lift leap was a tad far fetched though, is she Spider Man? lol. Anyway, no biggie, it is a movie after all, and there were some other really great action moments. Salt's chase from the interrogation room, through to her scaling her apartment building and then jumping between trucks on the freeway was pretty badass.

It's nothing you need to run to cinemas to see, and it doesn't reach any major heights, but it is entertaining enough and i'd recommend it in between waiting for films you're dying for. What it needs now [if it happens], is a really big sequel, really branch it out, give it wings and go nuts with it. Send Salt around the world, give her mission more scale, then maybe we will have something a little more memorable on our hands.

2010-08-28T16:45:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Albums Of ALL TIME! #4

Marilyn Manson Mechanical Animals

Out of every Manson album out there, i think this one really showcased how creative and conceptual he could be as an artist. Although the previous album 'Antichrist Superstar' was strong, 'Mechanical Animals' proved he could do more than just hard metal.

There's a more glam rock vibe to the songs mixed in with Manson's token thrashy rock. Songs like 'Rock Is Dead' and 'Dope Show' sound like trademark shouty Marilyn, and 'Fundementally Loanesome' is probably the most unique track on the record, with obvious inspiration taken from old skool glam David Bowie.

As great as the faster songs on the album are ['Posthuman' has a bit of a Prodigy vibe to it], it's the slower tracks that really stand out for me. 'Coma White', 'The Last Day On Earth' and 'Speed of Pain' are probably my three favourite songs from the album. All 3 of them are beautifully produced with eerie synthy verses and big sweeping choruses.

As far as image goes, Manson played a lot of with gender reversal during this era. He's depicted as an androgenous alien with breasts and no genitals on the album cover, and he dropped the the darker gothic look he'd been carrying for years and coloured it up with silvers and bright colours in his costumes. It was all very Ziggy Stardust.

His popularity and relevancy has wained over the last decade, but i'm still a fan of his current music. He knows how to write a good hook, and that's not an easy thing for me to find when it comes to metal. Say what you will about how "done" he is now, but Mechanical Animals is a masterpiece, and a good representation of the highest point of his career. I love it.

2010-08-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

Scott Pilgrim vs The World [2010]

Starring: Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick

Directed by: Edgar Wright

4/5

Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriends 7 evil exes in order to win her heart.

I haven't read the comics this film is based on, so i won't be doing any comparisons to it in my review. I am familiar with the artwork and general vibe of the comics though, so i can see how it does look like a loyal adaptation based on what little i know. From what fans have said, its a good translation from book to screen, so if you're worried about that, don't be.

As a stand alone movie, Scott Pilgrim is REALLY entertaining, in fact, it turned out a lot better than i expected. I thought i'd go in experiencing cool action and quirky scenery with not much else, but i was wrong. The characters themselves were really great, and the dialogue is odd, but funny. The movie is borderline pretentious with it's quirk factor, but not in an "i'm an asshole, punch me" way. It's nothing like 500 Days of Summer, which was so tedious to sit through with it's moronic characters and fuckified take on love. Scott is much more light hearted, and really doesn't take itself all that seriously. It does however take it's pop culture references and video game throwback visuals seriously, so that may rub some people up the wrong way, i didn't mind though, i liked how it was all put together.

Michael Cera who plays 'Scott' is an actor i'm starting to get a bit bored with, but in this, i thought he did an AMAZING job. I'm sure it's due more to the writing of the character, but still, he was matched perfectly with Scott and he was adorable and funny in the role. Everyone else was good too, with other standouts being Keiren Culkin as Scott's gay room-mate, and the female drummer from Scott's band, Sex Bom Omb [forgot her name].

Visually the movie is incredible, and when the action starts you won't ever get bored. The fight scenes are all creatively put together and each one is very different to the last. You may feel like you're on a sugar high watching the film, because it runs on A.D.D. from the very first scene,but that just adds to the fun of it all. The 8-bit soundtrack and other songs featured in the movie were great too.

The only couple of faults i can give the film are, the running time, which i felt was a tiny bit over long [thankfully the fantastic finale made up for any lagging], and one scene involving the theme music from Seinfeld with a laughing track thrown in, it just didn't make any sense and i wasn't getting the joke. Maybe there was nothing TO get, i'm not sure, but it felt so out of place.

There have also been a few comparisons between Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim. As much as i liked Scott, i think it's Kick Ass that will hold up longer down the line. What Scott lacked that Kick Ass had was an emotional impact, Scott also didn't have 'Hit Girl'. Kick Ass also offered more with it's story, whereas Scott was entertaining, but lacked any sort of real point at the end of the day.

If you like video games and comics, you'll most likely love this. I thought it was one of the coolest things i've seen all year, and i can't wait to check out the 'making of' for the film once it hits blu-ray, i may even check out the comic at some point.

2010-08-04T16:43:00.000-07:00

Splice [2009]

Starring: Sarah Polley, Adrian Brodey

Directed by: Vincenzo Natali

3.5/5

Two young, rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism.

This movie really divided audiences when it came out earlier this year, and i can sort of understand why. It certainly presents a very strange set up as a storyline, which can border on a little over the top and sometimes kinda gross. For me though, those were the qualities that added to the films charm i think, and since it IS a sci fi movie, suspension of belief should pretty much automatically happen when watching Splice.

With all it's melodrama, there's still no denying how entertaining the whole story is. This isn't just "fun" either, the movie is actually really interesting at times.
In the earlier parts of the story we get to see Dren [the creature] grow and learn how to adjust to her surroundings. Not only is Dren cute, but it's interesting to see how she adapts to her life and how her "parents" bond with her. As she grows into more of an adult, we see the story go from an entertaining "creature feature" to more of a layered film about relationships and morals. Dren isn't a kid anymore, and with that comes hormones and a whole mix of other problems. This is where Splice seemed to make viewers a bit grossed out, because a bit of hybrid/creature and human....erm....RELATIONS start to make things a little freaky. I admit, the movie is very strange at times, if i wasn't raising my eyebrows over the sexual themes of the story, then i was staring at Dren and trying to come to terms with how her face looked, she was so weird looking, while still being kinda...pretty, it was odd.
None of this turned me off the movie though, i still found it to be a really interesting direction to take the story in. I thought the film would have been a little more straight forward than it was, so i was surprised to see that the film makers really tried to give us something with actual ideas behind it.

Another great thing about Splice was the cast. Brody and Polley carry the film well, and they come across as genuinely caring "parents". There's a realistic feel to their relationship with Dren. As for Dren [Played by Delphine Chaneace], the design behind her is pretty cool, and i found myself liking her a lot. There are moments where you feel bad for her, and other times where she comes across as creepy. I liked seeing her evolve as the film went on.

My only major gripe with the movie would be that it could have pushed it's themes a little further. The sex part of the story was taken far enough, but Dren herself should have been explored more. It felt like there was so much more to her than they showed us. She is kept as a prisoner throughout the story, and her freedom is something she brings up a few times. Just ONCE i would have loved to see her break loose like crazy and go nuts. It NEARLY happens at one point during a roof top scene [my favourite scene in the movie], but they quickly reel her back in, and it doesn't go any further than that.
Don't get me wrong, i'm sure the restrained feel of her character was intentional. Dren is kept as a prisoner [for her own safety] , so it makes sense the viewer feels just as tied down as she was. Still, it would have been cool to see her abilities REALLY showcased.

Some people could find Splice a bit too weird, especially if they are squeamish, but i personally liked the fact that the film made me a little uncomfortable. I thought it was a fascinating movie, both this and Inception are two of the most unique things i've seen this year. I think a lot of people on here would get a real kick out of this.

2010-08-04T16:13:00.000-07:00

DVD Roundup: JULY 2010

The Craft [Blu-ray]

Who grew up in the late 90's and didn't see or love this?. One of my favourites.

Closer [Blu-ray]

2nd fav film ever. Fact.

Predator [Blu-ray]

"GET TO DA CHOPPA!"..............epic classic action movie. Don't bother with Predator 2, skip that shit, just watch this and then check out the new one, Predators.

Claymore [Blu-ray]

My favourite anime ever, and about 100 times more awesome in crispy HD. The look of this is mouth watering.

Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith

Hilarious. This man can talk for hours on end and never bore me.

Degrassi Junior High & Degrassi High: The Complete Series

Imma tease ma hurr and wear ma fluro parachute pants when i watch this. High school 80's fuckery, MINE.

2010-07-26T15:39:00.001-07:00

Inception [2010]

Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

4/5

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception.

If you're expecting an easy watch with this film, you'll end up with a big punch in the head, because this isn't your basic summer blockbuster style of movie, and if you go in wanting to "switch off your brain", you may end up leaving with a sever headache.

The basic storyline of the film is fairly easy to follow, some people are saying they had NO idea what the hell happened even though they liked it, but if you pay attention it's not that hard to understand. The movie does throw everything at you in one big maze like mish mosh though, and you can lose track of what's going on a few times if you aren't focusing on where the story is going, but that's what's so fun about watching this, it makes you pay attention and try and keep up. Plus, it has huge replay value, because there's so much to pick up on. The movie will definitely need a few watches from me.

Christopher Nolan is an incredible director, his style of film making is very hard and fast. There's real MEAT in the way he captures action and suspense. I remember seeing The Dark Knight for the first time and being completely immersed in how he shot everything. The same goes for Inception, it looks really cool. The action scenes are fun and the editing and cinematography are perfect.
Another thing Nolan is good at is making MUSIC a big part of his films. The score by Hans Zimmer is really powerful at times, and similar to The Dark Knight, it kind of becomes a character in itself because it's so prominent during the movie.

The cast were all good. Leonardo Dicaprio seems to be invincible when it comes to picking movie roles, has this guy ever made a truly shit movie????. Ellen Page was an odd choice for this, but she ended up fitting in nicely with the rest of the cast and i liked her relationship with Leo's character. Joseph Gordon Levitt is always a favourite of mine, he's a great actor, and Marion Cotillard was well cast as Leo's tragic, but kinda creepy wife.

There has been some comparisons to The Matrix with this, and there are some similarities with the themes of alternate realities, going into peoples minds, and being hunted by "Agent" like enemies, but that's about as far as it goes with how much alike they are. Inception is a lot more layered, mostly because the way it's told is like a puzzle that you need to piece together, whereas The Matrix presented an intelligent storyline, in a more accessible way.

As far as originality goes, the movie definitely wins over any other film this year. It's probably the most interesting thing you'll see in a long time. Is it my personal favourite film of the year though?...............no, it's not. It didn't BLOW MY MIND like it has for everyone else, but i thought it was well made and entertaining. It's the type of movie i'll need to sit with for a while actually, similar to something like Blade Runner, i'll need to revisit it a few more times over the next few years to really appreciate it on a more "deeper" level i think. I don't mean that in a negative way though, like i said, it has major replay value. The Dark Knight left me breathless at times, it was SO engaging, Inception didn't have exactly the same sort of heavy impact on me.
The only small gripe i had with the film was that i felt it was a little overlong, mostly around the snow scenes near the end.

It's a cool movie, if you liked The Matrix or Dark City, you'll enjoy this. It has bits and pieces of those scattered through it, but offered in a more complex package. I think Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors we've got at the moment, i look forward to seeing this again at some point.

2010-07-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

M.I.A.

MAYA [Deluxe Edition] [2010]
4/5

I wasn't sure what to expect from this album, not because i was worried about it being weak, but the few songs that leaked prior to the albums release didn't give me a strong indication of what this album would sound like. I figured we'd be offered the same sort of heavy electronica we always get from her, and we do for the most part, but when 'Born Free' hit the internet with it's epic 9 minute music video, it was obvious MIA was dabbling in a few new sounds.

The electric guitar that bashes it's way through 'Born Free' was a nice indicator of how loud and angry this album was going to be. We hear more of the rockier sound in songs like 'Steppin Up' and 'Meds and Feds', the latter also having the heaviest bass she's ever used in a song. It makes your ear drums explode.

Once the first official single hit, 'XXXO', there were even more signs of experimentation. The track is heavy on the electronica, but it was also very commercial sounding, which isn't very usual for MIA's music. With a bit more tweaking, the track could be given to a number of pop stars to sing. Some fans started complaining about MIA "selling out", frankly, i couldn't give a shit. The song was fantastic, and the more mainstream sound was a welcome change in my opinion. She isn't completely foreign to more commerical songs anyway, 'Paper Planes' is her biggest hit to date, and that follows a more accessible sound.

The album isn't too much of a departure though. There's still plenty of tradmark MIA in the songs, with some nice newer sounds and instruments introduced to freshen things up. The hypnotic 'Lovealot', and anthem sounding 'Tell Me Why' could have come off one of her previous albums, and you can't get anymore token MIA than the epic, 'Teqkilla', which runs for 6 minutes, and sounds like MIA amped up to 100, with every sound effect and beat thrown into a trippy none stop dance masterpiece. It really fucks with your head.

The only weak point in the album for me is the Carrabien sounding, 'It Takes A Muscle'. It's just boring. Reviewers seem to be name dropping it as a highlight though, so i'm in the minority on that one.
The deluxe edition comes with 4 extra songs, the stand outs for me being 'Illygirl' and 'Believer'.

Overtime, this may end up becoming my favourite MIA album. It's certainly her easiest one to listen to, and i like that she's given us a few new sounds to enjoy. I really like it.

2010-07-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

Predators [2010]
Starring: Adrian Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace.
Directed by: Nimrod Antal
4/5

A group of elite warriors are hunted by a relentless alien race known as Predators.

I thought it was as enjoyable as the first Predator film, except this time they are given a bit more to play around with thanks to expanding on the Universe of the Predator, so everyone has a bit more to do.
The story itself was exciting. The earlier section of the film is very reminiscent of the original Predator with all the tension build up they give us as the characters try to find out where they are while hearing strange noises and seeing weird figures through the trees. Once it all kicks into gear though, it's none stop action with each member of the group being picked off one by one.

I actually preferred this cast to the first film. Adrien Brody is no Arnie of course, but he was an interesting choice for the lead role, and he did surprisingly well with the character. He was believable and likeable. The rest of the cast were your typical "bad boy" bunch, with one chic thrown in. She wasn't anything exciting, but her chemistry with Adrian was a nice addition to a mainly male dominated cast. Topher Grace was given a few nice comedic moments and Laurence Fishburn had a cool cameo. Danny Trejo however, was sadly wasted in this. Why did they get rid of him so fast???

The Predators themselves were badder than before, mainly due to the fact that we are introduced to a more "dangerous" species of Predator, as well as the same sort we saw in the first movie. The rivalry introduced between both species was a nice addition also, but wasn't explored all that much outside of a quick fight scene. The rabid alien "dogs" were a cool addition to the film as well.

I agree with Digi that the twist at the end probably wasn't needed, but kudos to them for trying to keep things happening within the story and not just fading into a long winded end battle with no "oooh" moment. The planet itself wasn't all that exciting either, outside of a few "weird" plant moments, it didn't look too much like another world. Maybe that was the look they went for though, something close to Earth?............either way, it wasn't a major issue or anything.

If another film is made, i'd like to see a bit more about the Predators history. I know that was touched upon with the Alien vs Predator films, but lets GET SERIOUS, we all ignore those fun, yet disposable movies when it comes to referencing the original franchises both monsters came from. We all enjoy a bit of Alien/Predator dumbery, but really, who actually bothers with those when we get the chance for NEW additions to the already existing series? especially when they're done as fun as this.

Offered everything i expected, with a few nice surprises thrown in.

2010-07-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

DVD Roundup, June 2010

Precious [Blu-ray]

Poor brave Precious. Always getting told to take her fat ass to the Welfare, always having to steal fried chicken because she can't afford to pay for food, always being hated on by everyone, especially her pig foot eating Momma. Poor poor Precious.

The Doors [Blu-ray]

Wow, man, i'm like....tripping out. Oliver Stone's trippy arty interpretation about Jim Morrison's life. Love it.

The Dark Crystal [Blu-ray]

Cute movie, mainly got it for the features. I own Labyrinth on Blu-ray as well, and you can't own that one without this.....gotta complete the "childhood" series!

Leon: The Professional [Blu-ray]

Badass. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour and watch it, BUT, make it the director's cut, because it's so fucking more amazing than the theatrical version.

Mean Girls [Blu-ray]

It was time this was added to my collection in HD. Best teen comedy EVER.

2010-07-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Directed by: David Slade

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner

4/5

Bella, whose high school graduation is fast approaching, is forced to choose between her love for vampire Edward, or her friendship with werewolf Jacob, all while trying to stay alive from the clutches of hell bent vampire Victoria, who wants her revenge on Bella and The Cullen family.

The Twilight series has finally come full circle with Eclipse. As i've mentioned before, i found the first 'Twilight' film to be enjoyable, but it's very uneven most of the time and i still find it to be the weakest of the series. 'New Moon' improved on the first film A LOT and i was very happy with the final product [minus ONE hideously cheesy forest frolic scene].

Eclipse is hard to fault though, not because it's a perfect film, but because it's ironed out a lot of the issues that have plagued this series so far.

Director David Slade does a great job bringing the book to life. In fact, i would have liked to have seen him direct all the 3 of the first films, he has a more darker take on the story which i think would make the movies more appealing to a wider audience. Not a big deal though, i still like the fact that each film has had a different style.

The cast FINALLY settle into their characters properly. I'm not sure if playing a punk rocker lesbian in 'The Runaways' had anything to do with it, but Kristen Stewart loosens up a lot in this, and she isn't stuttering and moaning her way through the whole thing. Granted Bella is less annoying anyway, but still, Kristen seemed to look like she was comfortable being the character. The same can be said for Robert Pattinson as Edward. Less constipation face, more smiling and relaxing face. Jasper and Rosalie get nicely beefed up roles in this film, and both actors did great with their scenes.

The new cast members were all decent. Riley, Victoria's newly born right hand man was a strong addition to the cast, and even Bree Tanner had a small role in the film. As we all know, Rachel Lafavere was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in the role of Victoria for Eclipse, and that would be my only minor gripe about this movie. I didn't NOT like Bryce in the role, in fact, i thought she did well, i just preferred Rachel as that character. There was a maturity and strength about her that Bryce lacked. Bryce was way too girly looking. That blank stare and deep voice Rachel had was perfect for Victoria, it was a shame she couldn't finish up the character properly.

The make up on the cast is still over the top, why hasn't anyone from the town the vampires live in asked why on Earth they all have the most fucked up eye colour ever, lol!?..........to David's credit though, he did pull back a lot on making Edward look like a butter face, and Jasper lost his Spaghetti hairdo. Bella was given a wig throughout the film [Kristen had cut her hair for another role], most of the time i actually liked it, but every so often it would change shades of brown and sit a whole bunch of different ways. Random. Overall though, everyone looked a lot better.

The pacing of the film was a lot faster than the previous movies. There's no need for introductions anymore, so we get right into the action from the first shot of the film. The character arcs have become more interesting, Bella actually has more to think about other than Edward, she's facing a decision that would change her life forever, and that brings in a whole bunch of issues about where she wants her life end up in the future. The flashback scenes a few of the Cullen's get in this film flesh out the Cullen history well, especially with Rosalie, which sets up her character nicely for the next couple of films. Hopefully we get to see the remaining Cullen's history in the next two movies.

I think most fans would agree that the series is going from strength to strength, and it's been interesting seeing a different director have their own take on each film.

If you've hated these movies from day one, you may get some more enjoyment out of this movie, i wouldn't hold my breathe though. For Twilight fans, it's perfect and for the casual viewer who doesn't have any bias opinion of the series, it's enjoyable.

I loved it, and i can't wait to see it again. Now all i have to do is wait for 'Breaking Dawn part 1', it's only a year and a half away [sad face].

2010-06-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Films of ALL TIME! #17The Rules of Attraction [2002]
Starring: James Van Der Beek, Jessica Biel, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon
Directed by: Roger Avary

"Since when does fucking somebody else mean that I'm not faithful to you?"

This comes from the same people who gave us American Psycho and Pulp Fiction, so you have a fair idea of what style of movie i'm talking about when i try and describe this to you. I remember reading the book a few years back before the movie came out. I found myself laughing out loud on the train while reading it, so once the movie hit screens, i was glad to see it lived up to the enjoyment i got out of the book. They needed to make this fucked up, it needed to be done a specific way. Luckily the right team got behind it.....

Rules follows the lives of a group of college students, and the "interaction" they have with one another during their mundane day to day lives. It deals with relationships, sex and drugs. Most, if not all the characters are dealing with all 3 of those things at one point or another. There's a whole collection of quirky characters. There's the main guy, Sean [James Van Der Beek], who spends his solitary days selling drugs and trying to find as much pussy as he can. He develops a crush on Lauren [Shannyn Sossamon], who has her eyes set on her teacher, and can't stop thinking about her ex boyfriend Victor [Kip Pardue]. Then we meet Paul [Ian Somerhalder], a gay student who has a crush on Sean, but doesn't know how to go about once they become friends. Then there's Lara [Jessica Biel], who is Lauren's roommate. She spends her days being the resident slut, and becomes the object of Sean's lust when he can't get his hands on Lauren. Sean actually hates Lara, but feels she'll do in the meantime while he tries to get Lauren to fall for him.
In the midst of all that we have a whole bunch of other misfit weirdo characters who try not to get murdered by drug dealers, try not to overdoes, try to deal with obsession, and a whole mix of other angsty issues. Basically, it's a mess!.Two things stand out the most when you watch Rules. The first is the direction by Roger Avary, the guys got some style and nifty camera techniques. The movie is scattered with lots of cool editing and camera shots. You see it right away once the movie starts during the 'End of the World' party. Out comes the vomit [you'll need to see the movie to know what i'm talking about], and back in it goes as the entire party scene is on backwards replay. There's also a great split screen meeting between Sean and Lauren, which is broken down in detail in the special features of the DVD. There's also some GREAT camera work during a suicide scene, and a fast paced Europe trip montage made up of hundreds of photographs and a quick voice over. I imagine this movie would be a film students wet dream. You could sit and talk about the camera styling all day.

The second thing that will stand out to you is James Van Der Beek in the title role. When i think of James, i think of that shit Dawson's Creek show, his giant forehead and that stupid wavy hair. You'll soon forget all about that once you watch him in this. Talk about a polar opposite of what you're used to seeing him play!.........he eats up this role like crazy. You can tell he loved every minute of it. He's really good in the role. It's such a departure for him. Have you ever wondered what Dawson would look like fucking? well you'll see that. Have you ever wondered what Dawson would look like taking a dump? well you see that too! haha!
He's not the only one trying to break away in this film either. Jessica Biel sheds away her WHOLESOME 7th Heaven tv show fuckery by slutting around in her underwear and getting gang banged by footballers. There's also a cameo from The Wonder Years kid, Fred Savage, who's credited as The Junkie Named Mark, ha!. He's certainly changed since his childhood star years in this.

It's s dark comedy, so it's funny, but with a fucked up twist. You'll be laughing at the character shenanigans and then be really focused on the more serious aspects of the story. The movie goes between the two easily. See it, if only for how fucked up everyone is, ha!.

2010-06-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Runaways [2010]

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning

Directed by: Floria Sigismondi

4/5

No idea when this will get a indie cinema run here, but i managed to catch an early screening of it at the Sydney Film Festival last night. I'm glad i did, because the movie was fucking badass!.

First time movie director Floria Sigismondi is best known for her music video work. She's directed a lot of rock videos [including collaborations with singers like Marilyn Manson], and has even thrown a couple pop videos into her portfolio as well [both with Christina Aguilera]. Her slick music video style is PERFECT for this type of film. Not only does she KNOW how to shoot rock and roll and make it look cool, but she captures the feel of the 70's really well. It looks authentic. She has a good eye for colour and editing as well, there's some great camera work in this, and she gets very up close and wild with the live performance sections of the film.

The story isn't anything we haven't seen or heard before. Band gets created, band gets big, singer gets all the acclaim, other band members get pissed off, and drug habits and sex antics run rampant. What really makes this film move beyond a predictable plot however are the lead performances. Talk about a 360!!!! Dakota and Kristen are both FANTASTIC in this. I've been vocal about Kristen's shaky acting in the Twilight films on many occasions, and although she's been perfectly fine in her other films, this is the first time we REALLY get to see her actually BECOME someone else and show off her acting ability. She really surprised me in this, and she looked like she loved every minute of it. Butch dykey rockstar suits her very well.
We all know Dakota can act, she's been tackling adult roles she was a kid. She really steps it up a notch in this though. She is completely magnetic on screen, she has a great presence for such a young actress and she stole every scene she was in. I absolutely loved her in this. Michael Shannon as their eccentric manager was good in this too. He got some good laughs out of the audience i was with.

The band may not have been around for too long, and they may only be famous for one song [Cherry Bomb, they did have a few albums though], but it wasn't their hits or record sales that made such a big impact. They were the first EVER all girl rock band, and not only were they all girl, but they rocked it out like THE BOYS too. They changed the rules, and it was after them that a window for female rockers really opened up.
Also, it was the early starting point for Joan Jett, who as we know, later became one of the most iconic female rockers in the history of music. Their short lived run certainly made a special impact.

If you like rock, if you like music bios, or are a fan of either Dakota or Kristen, you'll find SOMETHING to like in this movie. It may not offer anything original, but it still has some great performances, direction and music that's bound to entertain you. The audience of aged hippies and young punks only made my viewing experience even MORE special than it already was!.

It's my second favourite film of the year so far. I loved every minute of it.

2010-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Music Videos #3

The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself

2010-06-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Sex & The City 2 [2010]

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker & her usual crew

Directed by: Michael Patrick King

3.5/5

Carrie Bradshaw decides to run away to Dubai with her "girls" to try and think through her stupid and insignificant marriage problems. Wacky adventures and lots of high heels soon follow.

I'm a big fan of the tv show, and the first movie. I think the series finished a little too open ended, so it was nice to see lose ends tied up with the first film. At this point though, i think they have taken these characters as far as they possibly can with their story lines, and S&TC 2 is showing the cracks of an over long stay.

I'm all for care free comedies, and the tv series certainly had A LOT of that. However, the more serious side of relationships that the show used to get into have now become really banal. There are only 2 series plots in the film, one revolving around Miranda and Charlotte and their struggles with motherhood, and the other revolving around Samantha and her uncontrollable vagina in a very conservative country. Although, Samantha's story line is supposed to be comic relief, so they don't go too crazy with making a statement. It is the highlight of the movie though, so it didn't bother me that they handled the issue of women's rights with inappropriate comedy. Deep down, we all agree with her on the matter anyway, even if we know it's a......touchy subject.

The rest of the movie revolves around Carrie and her ever growing shrinking brain. I like Carrie, but she really is one of the dumbest women i've come across on film ever. The woman cries about finding a man for 7 years on tv, finds one, gets married, lives in a nice place, has a guy who worships her, and STILL.......she has something to complain about. Turns out Carrie doesn't want to sit on the couch at night with her HARD WORKING HUSBAND, she'd rather complain about the fact that she can't go out at night and party. Wow, Carrie, your marriage issues are just.......so awful. The writers need to focus more on making this woman GROW UP, because she's a damn immature moron. And don't even start me on the AWFUL metaphor for finding the SPARKLE in her marriage through a bloody black diamond ring. What kind of stupid retard woman relates to that mess of a character? Awful.

Minor gripes about stupid women aside, the movie is entertaining from start to end. It's hugely unrealistic, over the top, gay to the extreme, and slightly annoying in parts, but i did have a blast. The girls are just way too funny.

If another film is made, i'd happily see it again, but after the reception this film has gotten, i think maybe it's time Carrie said goodbye.

See it if you're a big fan. Avoid it if you've never liked anything about it.

2010-06-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Christina Aguilera

Bionic: Deluxe Edition [2010]

3/5

With people like M.I.A, Santigold, Goldfrapp, Ladytron and Sia on board for this project, it's hard to imagine how the final product for this album became so uninteresting. Christina chose the best people for this album, and she seems to have merely sprinkled their work over a handful of tracks, and chosen more generic pop songs produced by 'Tricky Stewart' to make up most of the tracklist.

What's even more baffling is that this album was meant to be her big first step into electronic music, so how the 'electronic' artists helping her out got pushed to the back of the line just makes no sense. Either she had NO idea what she got herself into, or she wanted to play it as safe as possible. Either way, she's missed the boat.

There are a few songs that do stay in line with what direction this album should have gone in. The title track, 'Bionic' [produced by the epic Santigold] is a nice opener to the album, 'Elastic Love' [produced by M.I.A] has a cool new wave sound sound to it, and 'Glam', although lyrically cringe worthy and forced, does have some decent electro production on it. Other than those three songs though, we don't get much else from the world of electronic music. The Ladytron produced track 'Birds of Prey' was even pasted onto the bonus disc of the deluxe edition, while awfully bland songs like 'Desdunodet' and 'Vanity' made the "official" standard tracklist. Huh?............a bit of a mess, yes.

Speaking of 'Vanity', talk about atrocious!!!!! it's the worst song she has ever done in her career and one of the most inflated ego driven pieces of crap i've ever heard. The lyrics MUST be heard to be believed! it's just unbearably tragic to hear. How anyone can stand listening to anymore than 30 seconds of it is beyond it. Just awful. Not to mention how it made it on the album when Goldfrapp's entry didn't event make ANY of the discs!.

It's not ALL bad though, as generic as most of it is, and as awful as a few of the songs are, there is some enjoyable stuff on the album as well. 'WooHoo' is an IMMENSE club track, and some of the ballads are really nicely produced, mainly 'Lift Me Up' and my favourite off the album, 'I Am', such a beautiful track.

If you think of the album and see the producers it had on board, it comes across as a bit of a failure. If you ignore that though, it's a DECENT ENOUGH pop album for the most part. After 4 years, you think she'd be a little MORE adventurous with it though. I'm certainly playing the album a lot, but it's nowhere near what it should have been, and it barely touches the records her peers put out like Britney or Gaga, who know pop like the back of their hand. I struggled with giving the alum a 2.5 or a 3, but i decided with a 3 after i heard the bonus disc.

I appreciate Christina's attempt, but maybe she should stick to what she does best.............which ain't electronic pop music.

2010-06-04T16:00:00.000-07:00

DVD Round up: May, 2010

A Nightmare On Elm St [Blu-ray]

I wish the whole series was in HD, but this is the only one.....for now. Classic 80's horror, gotta love it.

Gunslinger Girl 1 & 2

Ah, 2 dorra, 2 dorra! It's been a while since i've watched an Anime. I better get around to seeing volume 2. 1 was good stuff.

The Neverending Story 2

Omg, my childhood!............well, sort of. Not one of my most beloved kids films, but one i enjoyed catching as a kid anyway. Found it for like....$3!.

A Clockwork Orange [Blu-ray]

Trippy, smart and funny..........well.....funny in that sick sort of way. I appreciate this movie the more i see it over the years. I look forward to catching it again when the mood strikes me. Kubrick was a cool director. Love the music in this too.

Never Sleep Again: An Elm St Legacy

A 4 hour long doco covering the 7 original Elm St films. The only making of doco's iv'e seen that come anywhere near as thourough are the ones found on the Lord of the Rings extended DVD's. It's a beast of a film! It's getting raves all over the place. LOVE IT, and worth EVERY penny!

Wild Things

Omg, remember this!.......Neve as a goth, Denise getting champaign poured on her giant tits, and Kevin Bacon's big dick in the shower!!!! trashtastic!

True Blood: Season 2 [Blu-ray]

I was going to wait to get this for a few months, but i couldn't help myself. I'm such a big fan, it'd drive me nuts knowing it's just SITTING there down the road in my local shop and that i haven't got it in my hands.

2010-05-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

My Favourite Albums Of ALL TIME! #3 Boomkat A Million Trillion Stars [2008]
Boomkat released their first album way back in 2003. They had a minor hit with the lead single 'The Wreckoning' [great song!], and vanished soon after that. I assume they were dropped from their label, because we didn't hear much else from them for 5 years. I was disappointed, i wanted to hear what else Taryn and her brother [forgot his name] could come up with.

Then, one day in late 2008, Boomkat put up a website containing 13 streaming new songs. I was so excited to hear them, and when i played the songs one by one, i soon realized they had something REALLY special happening with their second album. I played the album over and over, i loved it, but i also realized that the album wasn't as commercial as it needed to be to get radio attention. I figured it would go nowhere, and a year and a half on, the album still hasn't even had a physical release. It has hit iTunes, thankfully, but the exposure for the album seemed to never reach any decent heights, so Boomkat have become one severely underrated act.

Boomkat have a very original sound to their music. Their second album is a mix of pop [Runaway], lite rock [Lonely Child], electronic [Run Boy] and a lot of scratch board/trip hop [Four Track Dub]. They're very eclectic, but still have enough of their own vibe in their music to not sound like a mish mosh. That's a hard thing to do.
Taryn Manning provides all the vocals, and her brother does all the music. You may recognize Taryn from the big screen as well. When she's not singing in Boomkat, she's doing movies. She's most famous for her role in 'Hustle & Flow', where she played a hooker. She also starred in 'Crossroads' with Britney Spears [among many other movies].
Taryn's voice is full of attitude, it's raspy and sexy, but it can also be soft as well for the right song. I guess a diverse voice needs to match the diverse sounds of this album, so it makes sense that she can go between each style of song so easily.

I have NO idea where the album will end up, maybe it will forever remain unreleased and be loved only by their very small fan base online? Either way, it's a fantastic record, and until things change, it will remain one of my most unknown loved albums ever.

1. Run Boy [Here I Come] 4/5

2. Lonely Child 5/5
3. Stomp 5/5
4. Runaway 5/5
5. Elated 4/5
6. Not My Fault 4/5
7. Four Track Fub 5/5
8. Don't Be Shy 4/5
9. Instead 5/5
10. Fall On Me 5/5
11. Wish I Could 2/5
12. Burn 5/5
13. Say Hi 4/5
14. Dressed In Grief 3/5

2010-05-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Kelis

Fleshtone [2010]

2.5/5

Kelis ditches her urban sound for some euro dance on this album, and i can't say the result is all that amazing.

My first issue with the album is that it follows the same sound throughout all 9 songs, so by the time i get to track 5, i have no idea where the hell i am and which song is what. The only song on the whole album that really deviates from the rest of the tracks is the first song, 'Intro'.

The blending of each song into the next is a nice touch, but sometimes the small outro each song has attached to the end of it is actually better than the full length track that follows it.

My main gripe with this album though is how uninspired the whole project is. We've heard all this since Ministry of Sound decided to release house mix albums in the 90's. There's just nothing here that makes me want to care, since it's all like one long generic dance remix. Madonna released her own euro dance inspired album back in 2005 with Confessions on a Dancefloor, and that was FULL of life. Good lyrics, great atmosphere, and samey songs that at least were unique enough in their own way for me to separate them from each other. On Kelis's album, it all drowns in itself.

This review is coming from someone who finds house music a bit tedious at times. I like it, but when i get too much of it, it starts to bore me, and this is why Fleshtone to me isn't all that spectacular.

On a positive note, if you LOVE this sort of thing, chances are you'll think the album is amazing. I'm certainly in the minority with my opinion on this record, people seem to think it's really fantastic, so maybe i've missed the boat on this one, i'm not sure, but it just isn't clicking for me. I think she had displayed much more creativity when she was doing urban music.

If you want an all out house dance album to party to, you've found it with this. For me, 'Fleshtone' isn't a BAD album, it's just kinda dull. If you'd rather something with catchier hooks and richer production, stick to your Confessions album, i sure will be!.

2010-05-13T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wake me up from this nightmare!

It's been a while, but i've joined forces with Super Marcey again to talk about the ELM STREET remake!!!!! The good, the bad, and the slashery!!!!! Stream it here................ >>>>> CLICK

2010-05-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

A Nightmare On Elm Street [2010]

Starring: Jackie Earl Haley and some random teens

Directed by: Samuel Bayer

3/5

A serial killer who wields a glove with four blades embedded in the fingers stalks the dreams of a group of teenagers, resulting in their real death in reality.

Maybe my expectations were punched down into the gutter due to the bad reviews this film is getting, but i was honestly entertained enough by this remake to enjoy it. It didn't reach any massive heights, but it was never going to anyway, the original has been out for years, this is a remake, other than a few new changes here and there, it's all very "been there done that".

I've been hearing about how atrocious the acting was, can't say i was all that horrified by it. The actors were serviceable enough. They certainly had to take on more than the original cast of kids did, and for that i think they did fine. I thought the new Nancy was likeable enough, and i didn't care that the kids were emo. That seems to be an issue for some fans, they're apparently sick of seeing emos in horror movies. Only a couple of the cast were, so i didn't see the fuss really. The movie reflects the generation this was geared to. Whatever.

The story was fine [though i had some minor gripes, i'll talk about them later]. I certainly think they tried to give the movie a meater feel, and there was at least more depth to the conversations and back story than the original offered. Some fans mentioned they were really bored by it, i wasn't, i liked that in some ways it became a horror mystery rather than a by the numbers hack and slash fest from start to finish.

The music was great and the look of the film was good. The slightly cheeky side of Freddy that we all know and love wasn't evident AT ALL in this, but i didn't have an issue with them taking the material as seriously as they did. I've seen enough funny Freddy in my lifetime, at least they tried to give us something a little different when compared to the original series. That's what a remake should do, offer something new. Whether or not that's the style of Freddy you like is another story though.

As for Jackie, i enjoyed his portrayal. His face was odd to look at, i wasn't sure if i liked it that much, but at times i kinda did. It's hard to wipe the image of Englund's Freddy out of my mind, i had to keep trying to do that in this to focus on critiquing this Freddy on his own merits. He certainly LOOKED like a burn victim, but his eye area at times made him kinda look like a cute kitten face or something, lol.
I liked where he took the character though. He wasn't "scary" [though Freddy doesn't scare me anymore as an adult anyway], but he certainly felt dangerous in parts, and i liked the little mannerisms he had at times, like the way he would quickly moves his fingers together playing with his knives. Nice touch. He was a bit of a creepy pervert too, he certainly liked getting close with the girls. I thought he did a good job in making it his own.

Now for the stuff that i had some issues with.....

I wasn't sure if i liked that Freddy was a paedophile instead of a child murderer. The movie didn't have enough emotional impact to take that route. They should have kept him as a creepy child killer. I dunno, that just wasn't really meshing well for me. The scene where Nancy finds the peado pics of herself as a kid didn't really leave any impression on me. Making the kids victims of molestation added a whole new weight to the story that should have been a very intense and emotionally unfolding experience. They didn't really do it that way, opting to just have the kids "remember", freak out a bit, and then go on with their day. I realize they had more important things to worry about, like DYING, but if Freddy was simply a child killer, they could have just gone straight to that instead of giving the teens this extra burden to focus on and sweep under the table quickly.

The one thing that the original Elm St does best when compared to the remake, is tension and build up. Freddy is a creepy shadow for most of the first half of the original. We don't see him too clearly, he's a voice in the darkness, he stalks you, he plays with you. In the remake, he doesn't do any of that. He seems to go right in for the kill a bit too fast for my taste. SCARE the teens, HAUNT them, get them shitting their pants, make them feel like something is coming for them. The new Freddy seemed so desperate to see them all dead, the only thing keeping them alive was the coincidental times the teens "woke up" and got away from Freddy. That's kinda boring.

The one major moment where atmosphere and tension was lost was with the 'Freddy coming through the wall scene'. In movie 1, that's executed SO perfectly. We get a brief shot of Nancy sleeping with that giant white wall behind her and the cross hanging above her head. That in itself looked creepy. Then when Freddy comes through the wall, it's done in a way that makes you feel like he's watching her. He isn't going to kill her right now, he just wants to let the viewer know he's a presence in her dream. He melts through the wall, and goes away.
In the remake, there's no quiet build up or atmosphere to that scene. He literally just randomly melts through the wall, and quickly moves down to make an attack. Wtf? give us a little suspense please!. The scene seemed to come and go in 5 seconds. Didn't like how that was pulled off, but the scene itself wasn;t "bad"..

Another part of the film that i thought could have been remade frame by frame was Tina's death. Again, Freddy just goes in for the kill with no build up. She rises off the bed [that was cool] and is then thrown from wall to wall violently????? no. What made the original Tina death so iconic, was HOW he killed her. It was SLOW, he took his time, and having her be pulled UP the wall and over the ceiling was a REALLY GREAT moment. She was being dragged to her death and it looked creepy doing it upside down. They really should have done it that way in the remake. Having her simply thrown around was boring and completely took away from what made the original so memorable.

The dream sequences i didn't mind. They weren't overly interesting, but they went for a more "realistic" type of film, so i guess they didn't want to go to crazy with the over the top dreams. Still, the dream sequences are when they could have been really creative, but they kept it a bit too low key for my taste.
I loved the re-creation of the of Tina/body bag school hallway scene [her name wasn't Tina in the remake], that was creepy. I also liked Nancy falling through floor of liquid, and then her falling out of the blood ceiling. The pharmacy dream was REALLY cool, and the only dream throughout the whole thing that had a sense of fun to it. Loved the constant micro sleeping that was going on while Nancy was trying to stay awake while crawling for help with Freddy's image flickering towards her between both worlds. That sort of stuff reminded me of what i loved about the dreams in the original series. They were fun. I would have liked to have seen more of that.

My last issue with this film was the line Nancy delivers right before she cuts off Freddy's head. I'm all for cheesy one liners, but they need to be used right. In that scene, it just came off a bit random and stupid. "This is my world now, bitch!"...........erm, when did she start talking like this?...........she was reserved and quiet, and all of a sudden she becomes Stallone in Rambo. No. Shut up. Drop the "bitch" and just get to the killing. Awful cringe worthy moment.

Overall, was it as good as the original? no, but as a remake i certainly didn't mind it. I think it improved on a few things, like the script and acting, but with atmosphere that wasn't as strong as it should be, and with the imagination being sucked out of the dream sequences, it all felt a little too empty in parts. It's a decent enough effort though, and not the blazing turd disaster critics and some fans are making it out to be. It's light years better than cap like Zombie's Halloween and the Friday the 13th remake.

If you completely remove the original from your brain, it's easier to enjoy. That's hard to do though. Not sure how it'll hold up on repeat viewings, could go a tiny bit higher, could stay the same. We'll see.

2010-05-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

Iron Man 2 [2010]

Starring: Robert Downey Jnr, Done Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Gwyneth Paltrow

Directed by: Jon Favreau

4/5

Billionaire Tony Stark must contend with deadly issues involving the government, his own friends, as well as new enemies due to his super hero alter ego Iron Man.

I was originally going to wait to catch this on DVD, but found myself being dragged to see it by a friend. Don't get me wrong, i've seen the first Iron Man, and i thought it was enjoyable enough, but it never left me with any lasting impression, and i wasn't going to "rush out" to see it's sequel. I'm glad i did though....

Robert was BORN to play this role. He is SO good as Tony Stark. As intelligent as his character is, he's also a massive douche bag, so for Robert to play him and make him the most likeable guy on screen is pretty impressive. If he was any more charming, the screen would have exploded. Paltrow, who bored me to tears in IM1, seemed a lot more comfortable in her role, and the chemistry between her and Robert was fantastic. The new characters were also fun to watch. Samuel L. Jackson has a small role, but does well with what he is given. Scarlett's role may have been kind of throw away, and she doesn't serve any MAJOR purpose in the film, but it was cool seeing a tough girl in the mix, and she does sultry very well, and that's pretty much what her character was all about. I have no issue with having to look at a hot chic for a couple hours, and she looked VERY good in this. She was great with the action scenes as well, i'm not sure if her way of fighting in the film was a specific style, but i loved how they made her move. I hope to see more of her in future IM films, she's badass. The only other actor who can steal the spotlight from Robert though, is Mickey Rourke. Man, that guy has MAJOR screen presence, he was incredibly intimidating in this, and looked like he had a blast playing the villain. I only wish there was more of him.

When compared to the first movie, i feel like this story had a lot more to offer. Tony Stark doesn't really go anywhere new, but he does learn a couple of new life lesson that move his character along nicely within the series. I also think the new addition of characters bulked up the story nicely and gave us a few different things to look at. Yeah a few of them didn't add any life changing moments to the IM universe, but it was still enjoyable seeing some new faces on screen. I like Iron Man with friends.

Aside from a more entertaining story, i thought the action was more exciting, the villains were more dangerous [including Sam Rockwell] and it was a lot more funnier than the first film. You genuinely care about the characters, and the movie doesn't take itself too seriously along the way.

Iron Man 1 may not have impressed me all that much, but Iron Man 2 did. I'm actually really looking forward to seeing what comes up next.

2010-04-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hole

Nobody's Daughter [2010]

2/5

It's been a good 4 years since Courtney Love released her first solo album, 'America's Sweetheart'. It's been even LONGER since her band, 'Hole', released an album too, over a decade in fact. When i heard a new Hole album was being released this year, i was surprised, but excited. 'Celebrity Skin' and 'Live Through This' are two of my favourite albums ever, so i definitely had high expectations for the new album. Sadly, now that 'ive heard the new release a whole bunch of times, i can't say that it's left any sort of major impression on me.

It suffers the same fate as 'America's Sweetheart', which is that it lacks a lot of hooks. There's some nice melodies and lyrics on the new album, but there's nothing that really GRABS you in a lot of the songs. They simply start and finish with no pay off. In 'America's Sweetheart' it worked a bit better, and the album itself never went through any final polishing, so the rough sound and slightly hookless songs worked. On the new album though, it comes across as a bit too much of a dull mess.

The album isn't a complete loss, there are some good songs on it, mainly found in the first half of the tracklist. It starts off on a good note with the title song, 'Nobody's Daughter', then kicks into 'Skinny Little Bitch' and 'Honey'. All enjoyable enough. 'Pacific Coast Highway' is next, average yet listenable, but a good indicator of where the bulk of the album is going to be heading next, which isn't anywhere interesting. My favourite song from the album, 'Samantha', is next, and that's pretty much where my interest in this album comes to a stop. What you'll find after that song is one droney, messy sounding, out dated ballad after another.

My main issue with this album is how much it showcased to me how truly DONE this band is. They have some GREAT work in their back catalogue, but that era of music, and their sound, has really run it's course. It's tired, it's not fun anymore, and it's gone a far as it can. Courtney sings the SAME melodies, hits the SAME strings on her guitar, and just recycles the same thing she's been doing for her entire career. There's no growth and there's no passion anymore. It's just Courtney on auto pilot.

If you're new to this band, i wouldn't have this record anywhere near you. Start off with one of the older albums first. If you're a fan of them like me, i'm not sure what you'll make of it. Some fans love EVERYTHING Courtney does, so many of you may enjoy it, i on the other hand found it really lazy and uninspiring. Maybe if Courtney had more focus on music rather than drugs and plastic surgery, the album would have a bit more soul in it. As it stands though, it's simply a shadow of a once great band, which has replaced angsty emotional driven grungy rock, with re-hashed production and noisy vapid screaming from it's lead singer.

Time to hang it up Courtney.