Toy Story 2: Blu-ray (1999)

As I said in my earlier review of the Toy Story blu-ray there's no real point in giving my opinion on the movie since everyone has seen it already. It seems a lot of people prefer the sequel to the original and while I have a hard time going that far Toy Story 2 more than lives up the original and is very close to being it's equal. All the characters from the first are back with some fine new additions. Woody takes on even more human emotion as he is forced to make an extremely tough choice. The action is upped and there are more pop culture references as well. The animation is also improved as Pixar really developed their ability to render affective humans in the 4 years between films. The only thing that keeps it slightly below Toy Story for me is that I just don't get quite as much of a sense of excitement from it.

I thought the blu-ray for Toy Story would be hard to top but Toy Story 2 manages to do it. It's just as amazing as you would expect it to be. The higher level of detail in the animation comes off fantastic in high def with detail being an incredibly strong point. Colors are bright and pop right off the screen. The audio as well is a sonic force. Constant surround usage, perfect directionality, massive low end and perfectly rendered dialogue make it a reference quality track.

As with Toy Story the is virtually no reason to not own this blu-ray. It's a fantastic movie for everyone and technically the disc is as good as anyone could ask for.

Ratings:
Movie 5/5
Blu-ray 5/5

Toy Story: Blu-ray (1995)

Is there really even a point in writing a review for Toy Story? Everyone has seen it. Everyone loves it and if you don't I feel sorry for you and your lack of a soul. It's also one of the most important movies of the last 20 years.  It changed the way cartoons were predominantly made, ushering in a new era of CG animation. It brought a whole new level of characterization and imagination as well. There are so many fantastic things to say about Toy Story, it even made Tim Allen entertaining! The only downside is that CG animation has come so far in the last 15 years that some of it just doesn't hold up but that is such a minor issue it's easily overlooked.

Toy Story deserves every accolade it's ever received and seems to be another perfect movie for a high quality blu-ray transfer and thankfully it is. There's nothing wrong with the picture quality at all. Colors are amazing, the level of detail is outstanding, the whole thing just looks fantastic. I was very surprised with the audio track as well. I wasn't expecting it to be as active as it is. There is a tremendous amount of low end in all the right places, surround usage is constant, directionality is spot on and dialogue is never lost in the mix.

There is absolutely no reason  not to own Toy Story on blu-ray. The movie is as good as you remember and the blu-ray is reference quality. No Pixar movie has failed yet on the format and the one that started it all is just as impressive as Wall-E, Up, Monsters Inc. etc.

Ratings:
Movie 5/5
Blu-ray 5/5

The Men Who Stare at Goats: Blu-ray (2009)

I was pretty pumped up for The Men Who Stare at Goats when I first saw the trailer. It had a great cast (George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey and Ewan McGregor) and looked to be a quirky style of comedy that I really enjoy. My excitement faded drastically based on critical reviews and early word of mouth that it just wasn't that great a movie.  Now that I've seen it I can safely say that I enjoyed a lot of aspects of the film but it is in no way something I need to see again. The film is fairly entertaining but suffers from tonal inconsistencies and a plot that is lacking in any real story arc.

The movie is very loosely based on a book of the same title. The book features 16 different chapters who's only real connection is the use of psychic experiments so the plot is pretty much entirely made up.  Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a small time journalist who's wife is leaving him for his editor. Anger gets the best of him and he attempts to fly to Kuwait to cover the Iraq War. While there he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) who claims to be an undercover Special Forces agent (a self described Jedi) who specializes in psychic warfare. While learning firsthand Cassady's back story he also gets dragged into Cassady's current undercover mission.

There's a lot to like in The Men Who Stare at Goats and the highlight is watching Clooney and Jeff Bridges (who plays Cassady's unit's founder) do their stuff.  Clooney is amazing at playing 2 different types of roles, the suave, smooth talker we've seen in Up in the Air and Michael Clayton and the crazy eyed comedic roles he usually does in his work with the Coen Brothers. He's definitely in the latter mode here as we are never sure if his character is actually psychic or if he's just delusional. Clooney plays it up to great affect and there was more than one time that I found myself laughing just at his eye movements and facial expressions.  Bridges is also in wild man mode. His character is basically an Army hippie and he's allowed great room to go crazy with it to fine comedic affect. There are also a lot of humorous situations scattered throughout the movie with an Army dance sequence and a group LSD trip being my personal favorites.

Now for the bad, the movie treads a middle ground, it's not a bright and sunny, wacky comedy nor is it really a dark satire either. It's somewhere in the middle and the movie suffers by not really going full on for either one. There's also no real plot as it alternates from flashbacks to the present and is mostly just a series of scenes without an overriding arc to bring it all together. The tone is frustrating as well. It swings from serious to wacky on a consistent basis and more than a few times within the same scene. The movie also has a bad tendency to put characters in wigs and expect it to be funny, I'm not saying wigs can't be funny but it doesn't work here.

As good as Clooney and Bridges are, McGregor and Spacey don't hold up their end as the straight men. McGregor is fine in the role he's given but by no means excels, his performance seems to lack emotion and his narration doesn't really add much. There's also a running joke about him possibly being a Jedi which I assume is a reference to him playing Obi-Wan but it never delivers a laugh. Spacey's role is a waste of his talents. He doesn't get much to do and needed more screen time to make his character (the main villain) effective.

The Blu-ray is technically solid but also unspectacular. The video features a high level of of detail but it's not really the type of movie that comes off as amazing in high def. It doesn't feature bright colors or have anything much in the way of fancy set pieces. The audio is front heavy but does open up in the films few action scenes. Dialogue is the most important aspect of the movie and it comes across fine.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is about what I expected going in. It's got some great parts that don't quite add up to a great whole. My early hopes were too high but it's not the disaster I had heard it was either. It's a decent enough movie for wasting time, as it is entertaining, but ultimately I doubt anyone will fall in love with it.

Ratings:
Movie 3/5
Blu-ray 3.5/5

The Fantastic Mr. Fox: Blu-ray (2009)

I don't think I read the book Fantastic Mr. Fox as a child and if I did I definitely don't remember it. This means I have no idea how accurately Wes Anderson's (Rushmore, Royal Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic) film adaptation is. I do know that after watching the movie I can't think of any filmmaker that could possibly make it any better than Anderson did.

Mr. Fox (George Clooney) is a master chicken thief who's family issues force him to retire from a life of crime. He ends up writing a newspaper column that he's not sure anyone even reads while longing for the days of excitement and wanting a better place in his world for his family. After buying a fancy new tree house (getting his family out of the tiny fox hole they were living in) he decides to do one last big heist to secure plenty of food for his wife (Meryl Streep) and son Ash (Jason Schwartzman). Mr. Fox is going to rob the three wealthy farmers who live in close proximity to his new home but the farmers don't take kindly to being robbed. Ash has his own problems growing up and feeling awkward and when his cousin Kristofferson comes to stay with them for an indefinite period he is forced to be around a person who seems to excel at everything he does not, even though he badly wants to.

The story line in itself is very good as it speaks to adults and children alike. Mr. Fox struggles with his desire to be wild and free but still be there for his family at all costs. Ash struggles with his desire to be like his cousin who has talents Mr. Fox seems to appreciate more than Ash's. There are a lot of funny and interesting side characters scattered throughout as well.

The voice talent on hand here is exceptional. Joining Clooney, Streep and Schwartzman are Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson and Willem Dafoe. All give fine performances with Clooney and Murray's scenes together being one of the highlights of the movie for me.

Anderson uses stop motion animation to bring the characters to life and while I'm sure some people will find it off-putting, I really enjoyed it.  If you've ever seen a Wes Anderson movie before you will know what to expect from the feel of the movie. Even using animation there are Anderson staples everywhere, eclectic pop songs, quirky characters, offbeat humor and heavy use of title cards are prevalent throughout the film. His use of heavily detailed sets in his films works incredibly well in animation as well and I can guarantee there are tons of things in the backgrounds that I missed the first time around. Anderson's movies have also always had a dark side to them but for the most part that is not present here. I don't think it would have fit tonally with the movie although I have a feeling there's some undercurrent in there I didn't notice. For the most part it's a fairly simple story told exceptionally well and with a great sense of fun and energy. The only downside is that in fleshing out the book to feature film length there are a few times when the pace slows just enough to notice. This only happens a very small amount during the movie and it is easily overlooked but it does keep the film from being a classic in my mind.

The Blu-ray's technical aspects are excellent as well. As with most animated features there is an amazing level of detail throughout the movie with individual hairs being easily distinguishable and a fantastic use of colors that look great in high def. The audio is not as exceptional as the video but is quite strong nonetheless. It's more front heavy than I was expecting and there's not a lot of bass present. On the plus side dialogue comprehension is outstanding and when the soundscape does open up in the few action scenes as well as when music is playing it sounds fantastic.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an excellent movie for people of all ages and the Blu-ray is great as well. The animation is beautiful, the characters are fun and the voice work is outstanding. Unless you have a real problem with this style of animation or just don't like things that are family oriented there is no reason not to see it.

Ratings:
Movie 4.5/5
Blu-ray 4.5/5

Drive-By Truckers: The Big To-Do (2010)

Economic downturn affects everyone differently.  For the Drive-By Truckers it means a lot of new subjects to write songs about. DBT have always written songs featuring characters who struggle with day to day living and The Big To-Do is no different. Musically this is the loudest album they have made since 2001's Southern Rock Opera.  It's an electric guitar showcase throughout most of the album with only a bit of calm (mostly) after the storm.

One of the great things about the Truckers is that they write songs from a very strong southern perspective but make them universal enough to be understood by people who have not spent much time there. I'm not usually a giant lyrics guy but DBT is one of a handful of bands who's lyrics I actually pay full attention too. I feel like I know these people even though I live a world away from where their story's are happening.

Front-man Pattersoon Hood wrote 8 of the 13 songs here and as usual they are all solid. Hood writes in a straightforward storytelling style and you get a really strong sense of the people involved. Whether it's from the perspective of a child who's father has died ("Daddy Learned To Fly"), a man who has lost his terrible job ("This Fucking Job"), or a guy lost in the depths of a bender ("The Fourth Night of My Drinking") his characters ring true.

Hood's longtime sidekick Mike Cooley has always been my favorite part of the band. He's not nearly as prolific a writer as Hood and his songs are lot more ambiguous but no less effective. "Birthday Boy" is a humorous tale of a lap dance gone wrong. "Get Downtown" (a revved up rockabilly number) chronicles the the attempts of a wife to get her lazy husband to get a job no matter how menial it is. Bassist Shonna Tucker delivers 2 great tracks as well with "(It's Gonna Be) I Told You So" (a rocking mix of motown and southern rock) the standout for me.

As I said before most of the album is a straight southern hard rock affair with a few exceptions. Tucker's "You Got Another" is a slow and haunting number while Hood's "The Flying Wallendas" and  Cooley's "Eye's Like Glue," a fantastic acoustic ballad of a father trying to relate information to his child, close the album out on a soft note.

I really enjoy everything this band does and The Big To-Do is no exception. The only problem I have is that the album just doesn't quite reach the levels they have in the past. It just feels like something is missing. Every song is good but I don't know if more than a couple are great. A lot of their past albums have taken a while to sink in for me and it's very possible that will happen as I listen to it more but for now I think it's a highly enjoyable album that falls just short of greatness.

Rating: 4/5

Track Listing

1. "Daddy Learned to Fly" (Hood) - 4:44
2. "The Fourth Night of My Drinking" (Hood) - 4:45
3. "Birthday Boy" (Cooley) - 3:36
4. "Drag the Lake Charlie" (Hood) - 3:17
5. "The Wig He Made Her Wear" (Hood) - 5:47
6. "You Got Another" (Tucker) - 5:18
7. "This Fucking Job" (Hood) - 4:58
8. "Get Downtown" (Cooley) - 3:13
9. "After the Scene Dies" (Hood) - 4:07
10. "(It's Gonna Be) I Told You So" (Tucker) - 2:03
11. "Santa Fe" (Hood) - 3:26
12. "The Flying Wallendas" (Hood) - 5:16
13. "Eyes Like Glue" (Cooley) - 3:16

Big Star: Radio City (1974)

In honor of the life of Alex Chilton (he passed away yesterday) I feel it is appropriate for a couple quick write ups on the first 2 Big Star records. Even though they are usually purchased as a combo pack I will be reviewing each individually because they both have different feels.

Radio City is Big Star's second album and the first to be entirely written by Alex Chilton. Co-founder Chris Bell left the band before the recording of the album and while he is believed to have been involved in some of the songwriting he is not credited as such. The album is a bit more experimental than #1 Record and also sacrifices much of the harmonies that dominate that album. That doesn't mean Radio City is any less effective however. There is still no lack of amazing melodies and the loss of Bell enabled Chilton to incorporate more of his weird tendencies and they all work wonderfully. Drummer Jody Stephens also gets to do a lot more in the way of drum fills throughout the album. There's also not as much of a difference on this album between the rockers and the ballads with most of the songs having elements of both or falling somewhere in the middle.

"O My Soul" is a fantastic opener. It's a mix of hard rock and sweet ballad with a lot more instrumental interplay than Big Star had previously shown. "Life is White," "You Get What You Deserve" and "Back of a Car" all are great examples of "jangle pop" done perfectly. "She's a Mover" and "Mod Lang" are the closest thing the album has to straight forward rock songs. "What's Going Ahn" and  the short closing track "I'm in Love With a Girl" show their acoustic side off well with "Love With a Girl" being a personal favorite.

No review of Radio City would be complete without a mention of "September Gurls." To me this song represents power pop at it's finest. Jangly guitars, a beautiful melody, memorable lyrics and emotional singing all combine in perfect symmetry. It's one of my favorite songs of all time and in the last year or so I've fallen in love with it even more.

The lyrics on Radio City expand beyond failed relationships (although that aspect is still prominent). Chilton sings a lot more about fame or more accurately a lack of fame, than ever before. You can also get a much better feel for his disdain for the record industry here as well.

Is Radio City better than #1 Record? I can't decide. While I miss the harmonies the experimentation and inclusion of "September Gurls" make up for it. Like so many other great bands with more than one classic album the best one to me is the one I'm listening to at the time. You simply can't go wrong either way.

Rating: 5/5

Big Star: #1 Record (1972)

In honor of the life of Alex Chilton (he passed away yesterday) I feel it is appropriate for a couple quick write ups on the first 2 Big Star records. Even though they are usually purchased as a combo pack I will be reviewing each individually because they both have different feels.

It's hard for some people to listen to Big Star for the first time and be impressed. You've undoubtedly heard the many bands they've influenced and that can make the music seem less groundbreaking than it was. There weren't many bands playing the power pop style of music at the time (Badfinger, The Raspberries perhaps) and none of them were nearly as good. Big Star never achieved any commercial success but they were one of the most influential bands of the 70's with R.E.M. and The Replacements being among their notable fans and devotees.

The first Big Star album #1 Record was released in 1972 and is the only Big Star record in which Chris Bell plays an equally large a role as Chilton. Their recording relationship was modeled after Lennon and McCarthy  so they share co-writing credits on almost every song ( bassist Andy Hummell's "The India Song" and "My Life is Right" attributed to Bell and Eubanks being the exceptions). I honestly have a hard time distinguishing who sings lead on certain tracks but they work so well together in harmony it doesn't really matter.

Big Star was excellent at combining loud rockers with acoustic ballads while always providing memorable vocal lines. Album opener "Feel" establishes the overall feel of the album very well.It features a mix of electric and acoustic instruments and a first glimpse of Big Star's amazing harmonies. "Don't Lie to Me" and "When My Baby's Beside Me" are both excellent examples of their loud rock. Either one could have been a huge hit under the right circumstances. "In the Street" is probably the most well known of all their songs due to a Cheap Trick cover version being the theme song for That 70's Show. The Big Star version is much better as it doesn't contain the generic feel of the cover.

The rest of the album focuses on slower songs. "The Ballad of El Goodo" and "Thirteen" are two of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. "Goodo is electric and "Thirteen" is acoustic but both are equally as impressive.  The second half of the album is slightly weaker but that's only because of how amazing the first half is. The second half is almost entirely acoustic with "My Life is Right," "Try Again," and "Watch the Sunrise" being standouts. Any one of them would be the best song 90 percent of most bands will ever right. Here they're almost afterthoughts.

Lyrically on #1 Record Big Star tended to focus on the pains of relationships and the contrast between the sunny melodies and the dark lyrics is one of the most interesting things about the album. It's easy to get caught up in the vocals without actually listening to what they're saying but once you do it opens up a whole new level of appreciation.

#1 Record is definitely an all time classic album but whether it's even Big Star's best is debatable. My only complaint is that I wish there was one more rocker on the second half of the album but that's a very minor problem as pretty much every song is fantastic.

Rating 5/5

The Princess and the Frog: Blu-ray (2009)

Princess and the Frog is Disney's first traditionally animated film since 2004's Home on the Range, it's also their best one since the Lion King. What it lacks in originality it more than makes up for with the beautiful animation and with the soundtrack.

The film revolves around Tiana, a young woman trying to fulfill the youthful dream she shared with her late father of being a restaurant owner in New Orleans. Arriving on the scene is Prince Naveen of Maldonia, he's been financially cut off by his parents and is looking for a wealthy woman to marry while still wanting to maintain his independence. Tiana's best friend Charlotte happens to be rich and so all three of their paths are bound to cross. No classic princess story would be complete without a memorable villain and so lurking in the shadows is voodoo master, Dr. Facilier. He takes advantage of the Princes naivety and turns him into a frog. The prince needs a princess to kiss him to return him to human form and away we go.

The storyline is nothing special at all. It follows the princess story play-book almost 100%. There are talking animals, kisses at midnight, and lots of singing. The voice actors all do a fine job, with Keith David as the evil Dr. being the highlight. What makes the movie really work is setting the film in New Orleans and getting the music and feel completely right.  The animation as well is beautiful, I love Pixar movies as much as the next guy but there's something great about hand drawn animation. It speaks to my youth I guess. The music features a wide range of New Orleans styles from Dixieland Jazz, Zydeco and Boogie Woogie. Any movie that starts off with a Dr. John song gets bonus points in my book. The songs are easily the highlight of the film for me and every time I found myself getting a little bored with the story a song would play and completely grab my attention. Obviously this is a children's film first and foremost and I doubt they will have any complaints about a lack of originality in the storyline so there's no reason for kids not to love this movie.

The Blu-ray is about as good as you can ask for. Animated movies always transfer really well and Princess and the Frog is no exception. Colors pop and detail is very impressive. I didn;t notice anything to take away from the visual presentation. The audio is just as good. The songs are very full sounding and the action scenes come alive with surround use and low end. Dialogue is never lost in the mix as well.

While Princess and the Frog isn't the most original animated movie ever made it's still highly enjoyable for adults and I bet children will love it even more.

Ratings:
Movie 3.5/5
Blu-ray5/5

Armored: Blu-ray (2009)

I'm writing this literally minutes after watching Armored because if I don't I'm pretty sure I'll forget the whole thing. Nondescript is the best way to describe it. It's surely not bad but and it's definitely not good,it's just pretty unremarkable. It's got a bunch of actors you'll recognize in it (Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishburne, Jean Reno, dude from Heroes, dude from Prison Break, Skeet Ulrich) who all are fine but unremarkable. The pacing is brisk, the runtime is short, the direction is acceptable and some things blow up real good.

The plot involves a group of Armored car officers who plan to rob their own car and things don't go according to plan. Friends turn on each other. Some dudes get killed Things work out for some, they don't for others. The end. Everything is seen coming from a mile away and I bet you could get up at any point, leave for 15 minutes, come back and know exactly what happened while you were gone.

The Blu-ray is better than the movie. Picture quality is highly detailed but don't expect a lot of pretty colorization as it's not a colorful movie. A lot of the settings are dark and black levels appear to be fine. The audio is aggressive and loud with a lot of surround use and low end, while still maintaining dialogue comprehension.

There's not much to say about Armored. It's perfectly acceptable and completely forgettable. If you watch it I doubt you'll find it terrible but you are not missing out by skipping it either.

Ratings:
Movie 2.5/5
Blu-ray 4/5

10 albums you either forgot about or missed (1995-1999)

While I first really got into music when grunge broke in the early 90's, most of my musical tastes developed a few years later. 1995-1999 is when I first really discovered punk rock, realized that mainstream music was lacking in a lot of areas and kind of went my own way. It's also when my obsession for CD collecting really took off and probably why I still buy them today (mp3's are fine but I just like to own something physical). As I recently was listening to a bunch of albums from this time period that I really loved but hadn't listened to for a few years, it dawned on me that most of it is really fun stuff. Most are by either bands that never broke through to the mainstream or bands that maybe had some earlier hits but time had passed them by. This was before every band had a Myspace page and Napster was just beginning so the internet wasn't a viable an option for distribution. The radio was really the only way to make it big and most of these albums were overlooked by mainstream stations. All these albums are probably not classics but they are excellent, at least in my mind, albums to put on and be happy . Here are my 10 favorites, in alphabetical order by band.


Citizen King - Mobile Estates (1999)

Citizen King were 100% a Beck rip off, just not as eclectic, so innovation was not their strong suit. What were their strengths were catchy choruses mixed with basic hip hop beats and easy to sing along with half-rapped verses. Pretty much everything a rural white kid with very limited hip-hop experience would appreciate. While it probably hasn't aged all that well and is far from groundbreaking, it's still an excellent party album. The single "Better Days" got some airplay and is an obvious highlight.


Cracker - Gentleman's Blues (1998)

Cracker had a huge hit in 1993 with "Low" They followed that up with the worst album of their career 1996's The Golden Age. It seems Cracker then gave up on being popular which led them to make Gentleman's Blues. Basically being a 70's roots rock album, enabled main songwriter David Lowry to focus on his strengths, namely writing solid rockers with no hope for radio play or regard for the popular style. The album flows very well but it is a little long with some weaker moments in the 2nd half.


Dance Hall Crashers - Honey I'm Homely (1997)

Remember when ska was popular? That was a pretty quick 2 weeks or so. While No Doubt, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish were among the most noticeable bands to emerge, Dance Hall Crashers were just as good and this is their best. They had 2 female lead vocalists who played off each other very well. The songs are all bouncy, energetic and fun while coming from a female perspective and never losing their sense of humor. Every track is very well written and nothing comes off as forced as most of the really bad ska from this era did. This album holds up well today even with ska long gone from the public conscience.


The Hippos - Head's are Gonna Roll (1999)

This is easily the pussiest album on the list. The Hippos were nothing more than a bubblegum pop band with an overly nasal lead singer disguised as a new wave influenced ska band. They also wrote insanely catchy melodies and had a ton of energy. Lyrically every song is about getting rejected by women which I totally identified with in my youth (and still do). The album breezes by and I still find myself singing along with every track.


The Lillingtons - Death By Television (1999)

This might be the the best pop-punk album of the 90's. There's nothing fancy going on at all, just solid 3 chord Ramones inspired rock. Every melody is a sing along masterpiece. They're easy enough to remember the first time you hear them without being completely pop either. The lyrics are different than most pop-punk albums as well, with very few references to girls. Instead the whole thing is a sci-fi nerds wet dream. References to alien take overs, maggot superheros and Neil Armstrong are all over with a strong sense of humor holding it all together. It doesn't get much better than this.


Local H - Pack Up the Cats (1998)

Local H was a later 2 man edition to the grunge wave. They had a pretty sizable hit with "Bound to the Floor off 1996's As Good as Dead. While that album is excellent the follow up Pack Up the Cats was a step forward. It's a loose concept album about the up and downs of a struggling band, a subject Local H knows quite well. There's a lot more humor in Cats than previously shown and while the production is more radio friendly the band didn't lose any power. Tracks like "All the Kids are Right" and "'Cha!' Said the Kitty" rocked hard while maintaining their pop skills. This album could have been a huge hit but their record label folded soon after it's release and the band was left in limbo.


The Refreshments - Fizzy Fuzzy Big and Buzzy (1996)

I have probably listened to this album more than any other on this list. The Refreshements played alternative influenced roots rock at it's finest and funnest. FFBAB features less of a country influence than they would show on other albums so it's not as varied but there's not a bad track here. Smart-ass lyrics abound and most of the songs are about drinking or Mexico or drinking in Mexico. Musically the album is nothing original but is full of solid rock with sing along choruses. You may remember "Banditos" as it got airplay for at least a few weeks, and yes the world is full of stupid people because this album should have been huge.


Rocket From the Crypt - Scream, Dracula, Scream (1995)

Rocket From the Crypt were together for about 15 years and they weren't really a band that evolved very much in that time. Their garage rock with horns never strayed too far from it's roots and it never got any better than on Scream, Dracula, Scream. The album (like all RFTC) is a short blast of energy and excitement. "On a Rope" got some MTV video play and is their most recognizable song but the rest of the album is just as strong. What lead singer "Speedo" lacks in technical skill, he more than makes up for with an energy that fits the music extremely well. The lyrics are range of intentionally dumb to surprisingly insightful and the rest of band always keeps things rocking. This album is a party waiting to happen.


Screaming Trees - Dust (1996)

Screaming Trees had the biggest hit of any band on this list with "Nearly Lost You" off of 1992's Sweet Oblivion as well as the Singles soundtrack. While the rest of that album was a pretty straight forward grunge affair the band added a lot of variety on Dust. They add some middle eastern beats to a couple tracks and delve into folk on a few more. This is also the album where singer Mark Lanegan really came into his own. He added subtlety to his powerful baritone here instead of solely singing at the top of his lungs as in previous efforts. There's still some excellent hard rock here as well with "All I Know" and "Dying Days" being the highlights. The album was not a success and the band broke up soon after but at least they went out on top artistically.


Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key (1998)

Superdrag is best known for their minor hit "Sucked Out" from their debut album Regretfully Yours. That success enabled Superdrag to expand on the 3 chord pop-rock of that album on Head Trip in Every Key. That style still remains on tracks like "Hellbent" and "Do the Vampire" but they also branch out into pure pop on a number of occasions. There is also a much wider range of instruments used as well. There's a lot more acoustic guitar on display here while strings and horns are heard on at least a third of the tracks. I won't say this is Superdrag's best album but it's their most ambitious. Once again record label problems and a lack of a hit single kept it from going anywhere commercially but it's a great listen.

Weekend Video: Shane MacGowan & Friends - "I Put a Spell on You"

Shane MacGowan, Nick Cave, Mick Jones, Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie, Chrissie Hynde, a bunch more. I love Shane's voice so much, especially when you can sort of understand what he's saying and his scream is perhaps the best of all time. Everybody else is cool to see (especially Jones) and I enjoy Cave and Hynde's work as well but MacGowan just yelling in the background is the highlight for me. There's not much more to say, the song and video speak for itself.


Rating: 5/5

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club: Beat the Devil's Tattoo (2010)

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club started off as a kick ass garage rock band for their first 2 albums, 2000's B.RM.C. and 2003's Take Them on Your Own. For a while they were thought to be the saviors of rock. Their 3rd album, 2005's Howl, was a huge change as it was an album of americana/folk rock before going back to the garage for 2007's Baby 81. Their latest album mixes both styles with an emphasis on the heavier side. It's their best and most complete album yet.

If you want flat out rock there's "Conscience Killer" and "Mama Taught Me Better" for a softer folk there's "Sweet Feeling" and "Toll." Most of the album falls somewhere in the middle with "Bad Blood" and "River Styx" being standouts. They also venture into a sort of delta blues with the Title track. The album closer "Half-State" is B.R.M.C.'s most ambitious track ever recorded. It's 10.5 minutes that mixes everything that makes the album great into one.

B.R.M.C. still wear their influences (Jesus & Mary Chain, Stone Roses) proudly and openly and they will never be considered a deep lyrical band but they are very good at what they do. While never living up to the expectations they faced early in their career, they have never before released an album as eclectic and exciting as this. If you have never heard them before Beat the Devil's Tattoo is the perfect time to start.

Rating: 4/5

Cold Souls (2009)

Is your soul getting in the way of you achieving true happiness? Is it affecting your performance at work? If so why not have it removed, it's then one less thing to worry about. That's the premise for Cold Souls a existential comedy starring Paul Giamatti.

Giamati plays a fictionalized version of himself. He's rehearsing for a theater run of Uncle Vanya and it's not going well. He just feels like something is weighing him down. He sees an ad to have your soul removed and stored and decides to check it out. With his soul extracted he becomes a horrible actor and attempts to have it reinstalled. This proves more problematic than it should be and away we go.

First time writer/directer Sophie Barthes lifts a page from the Charlie Kaufman playbook and does a fine job balancing weird existential comedy, some slapstick and manages to make a statement about commercialism in the process. Giamatti is one of my favorite actors and he does not disappoint. His simple facial expressions left me chuckling constantly and he plays exasperated as well as any actor working today. David Strathairn is great in a supporting role as the head of the soul removal company as well.

It's not all fantastic, whenever Giamatti isn't on screen the movie drags. Also the ending, while fitting with the tone of the movie, felt tacked on and rushed to me. The movie looks really good for a low budget affair, it portrays a very dreamlike atmosphere that really helps to set the overall tone.

I enjoyed Cold Souls quite a bit but it's probably not for everyone. It's weird and deliberately paced but Giamatti's performance is worth watching in itself and the rest of the movie is interesting if nothing else.

Rating:
3.5/5

Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day: Blu-ray (2009)

I first saw the original Boondock Saints when it was a blockbuster exclusive rental on VHS around 2001. I fucking loved it. It was like watching an amazingly violent, vulgar and slightly offensive little secret. The years have not been kind to my opinion on it. As more and more people viewed the movie (and considered it a classic), it just wasn't as cool anymore and without the "coolness" factor what's left is a fairly unoriginal, emotionless and amateurish flick. There are tons of people who love it but at this point I can't be considered one of them. I don't hate the original, it's got energy and (borrowed) style, but there's not much there under that.

It took 10 years for writer/director Troy Duffy to make the follow up and while I wasn't exactly looking forward to it, I was curious to see if he would add anything different to the sequel. It turns out he has not. All Saints Day is basically a rehash of the original but a lot more boring. Somebody frames the Brothers MacManus in the killing of a renowned priest and they come out of retirement to get revenge. They run into pretty much every character from the original (even the dead ones) and go on their way to kill a lot of bad people. That's basically it and I doubt most fans of the original would want much more than that anyway.

The movie just didn't work for me at all. It's 2 hours long and spends the first hour setting up the plot and introducing new characters. Duffy's relative strength is writing and shooting action scenes not character development or even comedy and the first half really drags along slowly without much action in it. The humor in the first wasn't exactly highbrow but it was a whole lot smarter than what is presented here. A prime example is when a bad dude says he shit his speedos, Duffy then shows his ass with a poop streak, hilarious.  I love a good shit joke but the key word is good, it just wasn't funny. There's also numerous scenes that just feature people yelling at each other for no apparent reason, I think they were supposed to be funny but it didn't work. Things pick up a but in the second half I guess but I had pretty much checked out at that point.

The actors all seem to go through the motions. Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery aren't exactly Oscar contenders but they both seem to be mailing it in big time. Billy Connolly is fine but plays a pretty minor role in regards to screen time. Julie Benz basically replaces Willam Dafoe's character and she is allowed as much leeway to go crazy with it as Dafoe was but her performance just doesn't add anything. Clifton Collins plays the new sidekick but he is given nothing much to do at all as well. Most of the other supporting characters are just annoying.

The Blu-ray is nothing special either. All Saints Day is pretty low budget and the picture quality shows that with softness all around. It doesn't look bad by any means just nothing spectacular. A bigger disappointment was the Audio. For an action movie it's very front heavy and there is very little surround use at all, even during shootouts.  Bass level is fine but nothing overwhelming either.

I'm sure there will be lots of people who will enjoy All Saints Day for what it is (it's got a 77% approval rating by the Rotten Tomatoes community) but I found it overly long and pretty boring. There are a lot of nods to the original for fans to spot but I wish Duffy would have spent more time putting together some more action scenes or a tighter pace than trying to cram every character and situation from the original in. Fans of Boondock Saints will probably still want to watch it but I wouldn't recommend anyone go out and buy it without watching it first.

Ratings:
Movie 1.5/5
Blu-ray3/5

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

I finally got around to watching The Passion of Joan of Arc, widely considered one of the greatest films and lead performances off all time, and I can clearly see why it is held in such high regard. Yes it's a silent movie but spoken words are not needed to convey emotion and this film is proof positive.

The movie is based on transcripts of the trial records of Joan of Arc. With apologies to history buffs for my bastardized version, she led a French revolution against the English based on what she believed to be God telling her to. She was very successful but ultimately captured and this film is based on her trial.

There are two spectacular things this film has going for it: Carl Theodore Dreyer's direction and Renee Jeanne Falconetti's performance. This is one of the first films to feature actors faces in close up shots and it does that prominently with almost half the film being in that style. There are lots of other interesting and previously unseen (at the time) camera angles as well. Dryer positions it from above and below the action making for a new cinematic experience.

As great as the direction is, it's Falconetti's performance that really shines. The range of emotions she shows based solely on facial features is astonishing. Fear, contempt, anguish, acceptance and forgiveness are all conveyed so remarkably it can really hold even a modern audiences attention. It's virtually impossible to describe in words what happens in silence on screen.

I am so glad I finally watched this film and if you're at all interested in film history or just great movies in general it is essential viewing.

Gentlemen Broncos (2009)

When I first saw the teaser for Gentlemen Broncos sometime last year I was very excited for the movie. All it consisted of was Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Concords) as his character, Science Fiction writer Ronald Chevalier, spouting off nonsense in the most self indulgent manner possible. I knew that this character could pretty much carry a comedy all by himself, even as a supporting player. I was wrong.

Gentlemen Broncos focuses on aspiring teenage writer Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano) who attends a fantasy writers convention only to have his story plagiarized by the once acclaimed but now struggling Chevalier. There are other subplots involving Purvis' home life and the movie is interspersed with acted out scenes from Purvis' story (starring Sam Rockwell as Bronco).

It's fairly obvious right away that the movie is co-written and directed by Jared Hess of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre fame. It's got the same offbeat style and the same quirky type of characters that filled both his earlier 2 movies. While not a giant fan of his previous work I enjoyed both movies enough to not discount his future projects.  I knew this movie got really bad reviews but with comedy in particular, my personal taste doesn't always match up to professional critics so I usually ignore reviews for comedies. I wish I hadn't.

There's just not much that struck me as funny in the movie. Clement is great as Chevalier but he's not given much to say that's actually humorous. Being a self-indulgent ass can be hilarious but not without some great lines to back it up. Rockwell also is a bright spot, he portrays the hero in both Purvis' vision and Chevalier's of the same material and had me cracking up a few times but his screen time is relatively small.  The rest of the cast just floats along mostly looking weird but not really doing anything funny. It feels like Hess just throws weird looking people on the screen and expects people to laugh at them. It works on a real superficial level but can't sustain much humor for a full length movie.

The movie does have a few laughs here and there but they're pretty spread out. It's mostly full of general weirdness and far to many slow spots where nothing happens dramatically or on a comedic level.  I guess it's entirely possible that I just didn't "get" Gentlemen Broncos and maybe there's an audience for this movie out there but it seems doubtful.

Rating: 2/5

2012: Blu-ray (2009)

How can the destruction of the world be so boring? That's the question I asked myself throughout all 2.5 hours of 2012. I had pretty low expectations going in so I can't really say I was disappointed but I thought the movie would at least be viscerally exciting.

If anyone is not aware of the plot, it involves the ancient Mayan prediction that world would end in the year 2012 coming to fruition. The focus is mostly on John Cusak's character and his attempts to save his estranged family from peril. Chiwetel Ejiofor also plays an important role as a gov't official with a strong sense of compassion. There's a bunch of other people involved including Amanda Peet, Danny Glover Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and most memorably Woody Harrelson. If you're wondering why I haven't named any character names it's because the movie doesn't establish any of them as real people so why should I refer to them then as anything other than the actors who play them.

The actors all give acceptable performances, for a giant popcorn movie, with Harrelson as the standout but acting isn't really the point. Director Roland Emmerich has shown over the course of his career (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow) that he loves to blow things up in spectacular fashion with characterization an afterthought. The point is to watch all the destruction occur and for a while it's pretty cool to look at. The problem I had was that it all starts to look the same after a while. How many times can a plane take off on a runway that's falling apart at the seams? How can Hawaii being destroyed look the same as the annihilation of Las Vegas etc etc? The run time is also very problematic, at 2.5 hours there's only so much CGI earth crumbling I can take and the lack of any emotional ties to the characters means when shit's not blowing up or crashing down there's nothing to keep an interest.

The Blu-ray itself is very high quality but it falls short for me as a reference disc. The picture quality is excellent but a lot of the CG looked very, very fake. I didn't see 2012 in the theaters so maybe that's how it's supposed to look but on Blu I found it very distracting. The Audio is reference quality. It's extremely loud and powerful as expected. There is tons of Low end, constant surround usage and dialouge is never lost in the mix (not that what they're saying is of great importance).

I'm sure there are tons of people out there that really enjoy this movie and can take it for what it's worth. I just found it overlong, very repetitive and devoid of almost all emotion. It's a great looking and sounding movie, even if the affects don't look all that real, and probably worth viewing on a good HT system but I have no interest in ever sitting through it gain.

Ratings:
Movie: 2/5
Blu-ray 4.5/5