Tuesday Video: Foo Fighters - "Walk" on SNL

Today is the day that the new Foo Fighters album, Wasting Light is released here in the U.S.A.!! The band played a couple songs on Saturday Night Live last weekend and here is the second one, "Walk." At the time of writing this I've only heard the 2 songs they played but I'm pretty pumped for this record. Special thanks to the Audio Perv for the links.

Tron Legacy: Blu-ray (2010)

I won't lie, I've only seen the original Tron once in my life and I hardly remember anything about it other than not being overly impressed. The good new is you don't really need to have seen the original to understand Tron Legacy. The movies likely not going to make complete sense to anyone anyway and it's probably better off that you just shut up and enjoy the ride. The whole point of the movie seems to be a to wow the viewer into submission with a visual style that is both hyperactive and incredibly impressive. I could go into a long list of things that are lacking in this movie but really there's not point. Even with Jeff Bridges in the cast, anyone expecting high quality acting, character depth, sensible plotting or emotional attachment should really check their expectations at the door. The movie sets out to provide pure entertainment and in that regard it largely succeeds.

As expected the blu-ray quality is perfection. Imagine a perfect looking and sounding disc and that's what you get here. There's really not much to say, as a A/V experience Tron Legacy on blu-ray is as good as it gets. I foresee many many demo's of Tron LEeacy in people's homes and retail stores for quite a long time.

It's hard to criticize Tron Legacy the movie sets out to be a great experience and it accomplishes just that. Sure there are a lot of shortcoming in the plot, acting and depth departments but I doubt too many people will care while they're watching it all play out.

Ratings:

Movie: 3.5
Blu-ray: 5

Ranking the Films: The Sidney Lumet Version

The world lost a great director Saturday morning when Sydney Lumet passed away from Lymphoma at age 86. While he never won an Oscar for any of his work (aside from a honorary career achievement award) he made no less than 5 stone cold classic films and over 50 total in his career. While I only have had the privilege of seeing 8 of those films, almost all of them are sitting in my personal dvd/blu-ray collection. Consider this ranking of those 8 as my tribute to a great artist. R.I.P. Sidney.

8. Find Me Guilty (2006)

I honestly have no recollection of watching this film and if my Netflix account hadn't told me I watched it when it came out on video I wouldn't have included it here. I gave it 3 stars at the time so I must not have hated it but it obviously didn't make any sort of impression on me either.

7. Fail-Safe (1964)

This cold war apocalypse film came out right after Dr. Strangelove and even though it boasts a fantastic cast (highlighted by Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau) it's nowhere near the level of Kubrick's masterpiece. It's still a good film that was (and is still) hurt by the timing of it's release.

6. Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Lumet's late career highlight is a high quality look at inept criminals and the trouble they get themselves into. Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney and Marissa Tomei are all fantastic. The story is engrossing and the ending is unrelenting. It may not reach the heights of the best of Lumet's work but as the last film he ever helmed, it's a worthy exit point.

5. The Verdict (1982)

Lumet was always known for his work with actors and The Verdict is no exception. Paul Newman absolutely owns as an alcoholic ambulance chaser who fights to overcome his own demons and do the right thing. The Verdictis a fine film and one that would place higher on the list if not for the depth of quality in Lumet's filmography.

4. Serpico (1973)

At this point it's nearly impossible to distinguish between what's left on the list. Serpico is so fantastic that it seems like a shame to rank it fourth but here we are. Pacino is great as one of the only honest cops in the NYPD and it's indictment of society and corruption still resonates today.

3. Network (1976)

It's absolutely amazing how relevant Network is in today's era of 24 hour news channels, infotainment and ridiculous sensationalism. Paddy Chayefsky's script is full of insight and dark humor that Lumet brings to life with excitement and a twisted sense of joy. Peter Finch's "mad as hell" speech is one of the most famous rants in movie history and the rest of cast (Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall, William Holden, Ned Beatty, Beatrice Straight) achieves perfection. Watch it today and think about what likely goes on being the scenes at Fox News and MSNBC. It's uncanny.

2. 12 Angry Men (1957)

Lumet's first feature film remains one of the finest courtroom drama's ever made and a terrific showcase of fortitude, integrity and one man's willingness to stand up for what he believes in. The cast (Henry Fonda, Jack Warden, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, Jack Krugman) is as good as it gets and Lumet add's a visual style that is simple, effective and perfect for the film. Speaking of perfect, that's about the best way to describe 12 Angry Men.

1. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Quite simply, Dog Day Afternoon is one of my 25 favorite movies. There's not much more to say. It's amazing on so many levels. It works great as a character study, heist film, a look at homosexual/trans gender roles, an examination of fame and it's inevitable 15 minutes of run time. It only gets better with multiple viewings and will remain a staple of my film rotation.

Monday Video: Foo Fighters - "Rope" on SNL

The Foo Fighters have long been one of my favorite mainstream rock bands. Even though I haven't loved their last few albums like I do their first couple, Dave Grohl and company are still better than 99% of what else gets played on modern rock radio. Their new album, Wasting Light, releases on Tuesday and the band played Saturday Night Live over the weekend to promote it. "Rope" is the first single off that album and if it's any indication, Wasting Light is gonna kick some ass. Special thanks to the Audio Perv for the link.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle is one of the earliest movies to focus on the day to day dealings of criminals and is heavily influential in both the worlds of film noir and heist flicks. Don't get confused though, The Asphalt Jungle is more than just an influential relic. It's full of genuinely exciting moments and performances. Aside from Sterling Hayden and a young Marilyn Monroe (in a small but important role) the cast isn't well known to day but deliver fine character performances that at some points are a little dated. If some of the acting doesn't necessarily stand the test of time, the plot holds up remarkably well 60 years later. The robbery sequence is both thrilling and tension filled and the aftermath is hard edged and unforgiving. Film noir fans need to see The Asphalt Jungle.

Rating: 4.5

The Asphalt Jungle

Top 10 Albums of the First 1/4 of the Year.

There's been a lot of real good music released in the first 3 months of 2011. Here's a quick ranking of my ten favorites so far. These are not based on any initial ratings I gave these albums but on how I feel about them currently.

10. North Mississippi All Stars - Keys To the Kingdom: A fine tribute to Jim Dickinson and a solid album of blues based roots rock.

9. The Strokes - Angles: It's not the masterpiece I was hoping for but there's a lot of enjoyable stuff present on the Strokes long awaited return.

8. Lucinda Williams - Blessed: Lucinda rocks a little harder and looser than in the past and the results are quite fulfilling.

7. Gregg Allman - Old Country Blues - One of the Allman Brothers singer's best solo albums, Gregg is in fine voice throughout.

6. Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes: This is the long running punk bands most Stones influenced album and features a nice mix of classic Social D and some new wrinkles.

5. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now: It's safe to say that R.E.M.'s comeback is complete. Collapse Into Now is a fine collage of all sides of the band.

4. Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears - Scandalous: The best party record of the year so far.

3. Screeching Weasel - First World Manifesto: Yeah Ben Weasel can be a giant asshole and the band has already broken up (again) but I can't help it. I love this record.

2. Drive-By Truckers - Go Go Boots: Going from hard rock to soul is not something a lot of bands could pull off effectively. The Truckers are one of those bands and Go GO Boots is awesome.

1. The Decemberists - The King is Dead: I have never been into this band at all but I just can't stop listening to The King is Dead. It may ape early R.E.M. but at least it's a gorilla and not one of those monkeys that throw their poop at the zoo.

All Good Things (2010)

I'll keep this short; if you'd like to watch a frustrating murder mystery with a couple good performances, naked Kirsten Dunst, non meme Ryan Gosling (who is also in drag for a while, if that's your thing) and develop an empty feeling afterwards, then by all means watch All Good Things. It's not that the film is bad but it could have been so much more. Director Andrew Jarecki (Capturing the Friedman's) tries so hard to keep everything ambiguous that the movie suffers and fails to satisfy as either a mystery or a character study. There's a lot of talented people involved here and they say All Good Things must end but I wish this movie had never started.

Rating: 2.5