Belligerent and Numerous: Weekend Media Roundup

Monday, June 13, 2005

Weekend Media Roundup

Just a quick review of the new media over the weekend to start things off.

The new White Stripes CD is without a doubt one of the most bizarre things I have ever bought. These people are very famous. And it is very good, but individually, there is only one song that I can ever imagine being on the radio. It's a very self contained CD, involving marimbas and much less guitars than you would expect. And I'm sure it's just a design choice showing off their artistic genius and presenting a commentary on the nature of recording a CD or what have you, but nearly every song seems badly mixed. Like, they forgot to tone down the level of guitar on a couple of the songs, or the cymbals will be just out of control all of a sudden.

Still, it's good stuff. A couple of the songs are sort of creepy, though, in a way that only The White Stripes could achieve.

Man, my CD reviews suck. Music...

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Mr. & Mrs. Smith is basically a movie designed to appeal to every single person on the planet, no matter who they may be. You've got your Brad Pitt, your Angelina Jolie, your Adam Brody, your big explosions, your huge gun fights, and your semi-charming dialogue. Something for everyone. And while there is no plot beyond the two leads shooting hot glances at each other, that's all you really need to make this movie completely enjoyable.

Yes, it goes on forever. And the plot makes not one lick of sense. But I was completely charmed. At the first sign of Adam Brody, I knew that I was beat. I don't think you can genetically engineer a movie more suited to my tastes than this one. Or, I guess you could, but it would probably not have the widespread appeal the Hollywood is looking for, since Adam Brody would have completely ruined the whole marriage dynamic.

At least this way, all the OC fans got the catharsis of seeing stupid season two Seth get the crap beat out of him with a phone.

We takes our victories where we can gets them.

1 comment:

erin said...: Come on, that White Stripes cd is AWESOME. So is the Oasis cd, good god, I love Lyla. Also the beck and coldplay cds. Ok, it is now obvious that I spent all my money on music lately.; 8:19 PM

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Where My Opinions Count

(500) Days of Summer - Let's start with the caveat that this movie is nothing but a stacked deck against me. You've got Joseph Gordon-Levitt (seriously my favorite actor in the world), in a funny role of a guy unsure of what he wants to do with his professional life while his love life is in constant turmoil. Oh, and Regina Spektor songs keep playing in the background. If there is such a thing as a movie marketed directly to me, this is it. But y'all, this movie is so good. Not in a traditional storyline sense. Or even in an acting sense (although JGL is on fire the entire way through). It's about the feeling it gives you - liberally borrowing from every cliche available - musicals, old black and white cinema, jumping timelines, everything - all working in concert to give you the feeling of a relationship as it ends, and the things you remember. The overrall impression is so great that I forgive the minor quibbles I have (hammy sidekicks are over the top, Zooey Deschanel is playing her stock character #2, much as she has for the last 4 things I've seen her in). This is my movie of the year, right here. Absolutely stunning.
Push - So much better than I was expecting that I may have wrapped myself so far around that I actually enjoyed it. There are some terrible, terrible parts (the Casio-grade Music of Love that they played every time that Chris Evans and Camilla Belle were in the same room, for instance). But Dakota Fanning was pretty great, and I'm up for anything that gives Cliff Curtis or Ming-Na more work. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's kinda too bad that it tanked - I could totally be up for a sequel.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Got my nerd on and wrote a whole boring essay on it.
Let The Right One In - A good movie that gets better the more I think on it. Despite being a mildly gory vampire movie, it's surprisingly subtle. They don't try to hit you over the head with anything, it's all underplayed. The mother's soft neglect, the father's hints of homosexuality, even the parallels that can be drawn between particular characters - nothing jumps out at you. That, combined with the natural way that Oskar and Eli's relationship is handled, paints something like a real life picture that just happens to have a vampire somewhere in there. It's more than a little unsettling, especially the way the bullying keeps escalating as the movie continues. Overall, the movie's a little methodical for my tastes (I like my supernatural horror scary, not just ungodly depressing) but it's undeniably a great film.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - So bad I exceeded the character limit. If you care enough: Go Here
The Hangover - Delightfully vulgar and meandering. That's pretty much my the sum of my thoughts. "Genuinely and shockingly funny" is another soundbyte I could add in there as well. After seeing his Fiona Apple music video, I always assumed Zach Galifianakis would remain an unacknowledged American treasure forever, since the combination of that plus his standup act had still left him in obscurity against all odds. But I am gleefully overjoyed to be proven wrong. May he blossom and go on to larger-scale fame. He made this movie.