Full Title: The Shield Around the K Director: Heather Rose Dominic Year: 2000 Comments:
The title says it all. The metaphorical shield truly represented K’s mythical way of battling the corporate ogre in a unique and highly confrontational manner. For those sad souls out there that are unfamiliar with K, here’s a brief breakdown. K was and still is a defiantly and charismatically independent label; one of the greatest models for how an indepedent label can successfully operate. Calvin Johnson (K founder and Beat Happening frontman) challenged his audience and contemporaries by creating and documenting music that was unabashedly simple, coy, and as far away as possible from the mainstream. These kids challenged the mold of expecation of what a Punk band should look, sound, or act like. By making poppy, “twee,” love rock (as some call it), artists like Beat Happening distanced themselves from not only the corporate world, but also the oft-macho hardcore scene, which was dominating underground music at the time. All in all, this doc does a great job of articulating this important aspect of K Records as well as offering some great archive footage, interviews, and music videos and ultimately a detailed, informative backgound of said topic. One thing I (sorta) didn’t like was the fact that the film focused too much on Beat Happening; after all it was supposed to be about the K label and not about Beat Happening solely. Then again, they and their history are obviously vital to the K tale and since they are one of my all time favorite bands, I don’t mind seeing them on screen. Lastly, this doc features various key figures including, Ian Mackaye, Gerad Cosloy, Slim Moon, John Foster, amongst others. So, if you dig cutting edge (well, then cutting edge) Punk Rock or want to learn more about seminal, underground music then grab some black candy and check it out.
Grade: B+
Author: Carl Jung (published as C.G. Young) Full Title: Psychology and Religion Year: 1938 Comments:
Well, here’s a rather unique addition for our little Subversive Book Joint. The broad topics of Psychology and Religion have barey (if at all) entered the sphere of Book Club reviews and what other better way to kick off this occasion than with Psych’s Spock, Carl Jung! Jung, unlike his mentor, Sigmund Freud, focused less on the role of sex in our psyche and more on shadows, archetypes, and all that jazz. As you can probably guess my knowledge of Psychology is very limited to a couple of general psych courses, so much of this work was a bit too “heady” for me, but I appreciated delving into deep thought with Jung’s musings. Specifically, I dig his theory that it is our thoughts that are actually the most dangerous elements in life and not things like torandos and nuclear bombs. Sit on that for a while…. Overall, I like the way Jung isn’t dogmatic with his approaches, like most others are.
I’m not going to grade this because I do not feel like I am in any position to judge it as a “good” or “bad” book, but I enjoyed doing a little exploring.
Artists: The Big Big Bucks, Uninhabitable Mansions, Thalia Zedek, and Ketman (we did not see) Location: Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA Date: Friday, May 7, 2010 Comments:
The Big Big Bucks: They were a decent band and a good start to the show. The guitars were nice and loud, but not too loud. I could sense they had some pop sensabilities, but the songs did not come all the way through as major hooks. One of their jams, “New Socks,” stood out to me as a little catchy and definitely rocking (and not just because they announced its name, Glen!). Alas, there were some technical difficulties, which truncated the group’s set a teeny bit, but they dealt with the mishap with delightful humor and audience interaction. Overall, I liked them and they served as a good act to warm up for the Mansions. I think I am the only one who has ever referred to them that way lol. Maybe not?
Uninhabitable Mansions: Ahh yes the band we came to see! They created some exciting vibes without being over the top in their showmanship; the songs spoke for themselves. I really dug the adorable Annie Hart and her skillful keyboard playing, something I had overlooked previously while listening to their recordings. The group played a relatively quick set consisting of the classic, “Speed is Deceiving,” which was easily one of the best musical performances I have ever seen. I was like in a trance for a few minutes, it was really that outstanding. The vocals particularly stood out to me as they not only sounded extraordinary, but they also did total justice to the recording, which in itself is fabulous and one of the best from 2009. They closed their brief, but invigorating set with “We Already Know,” another classic from their last LP. Okay, I’ve sucked their dick for enough now, better move on before I start deep throating….
Thalia Zedek: Uhh yeah this is simply music I do not have time for lol. They suffered from the Tulsa effect of playing what seems more like a jam session than a performance of songs. The first number was ok and I was a bit interested, but after that, actually by th end of it, my focus was far from fixed! When that shit is broken, I’m mentally finished with an artist. Perhaps, it’s just me and some other musicians would find real meaning and entertainment in their work, but for me there’s nothing fascinating about it. I typically dig exciting, fun, catchy pop music (what I see as pop, i.e. Jay Reatard). So, if you can’t wow me with explicitly “stuck in my mind, sing along” tunes than you should wow me with something else really unique or mind blowing i.e the performances of Deerhunter and Sonic Youth, amongst others, whom have many catchy songs, but clearly they explore further terrirtory outside the pop landscape and do not rely on the hooks and what have you. If you’re band, as in the case of TZ cannot satisfy these two musical needs of mine than you have lost my attention. Now, that does not necessarily mean the band is bad (TZ are probably decent musicians), it just means I have absolutely no desire to listen to them. Alright, alright, I’ve ranted for wayyy too long lol. So, yeah TZ bored the fuck out of me.
Full Title: Black Lips: Wildmen In Action Concert Location: Madrid, Spain Year: 2007 (concert itself: May 18, 2006) Comments: THE BLACK LIPS! Naturally, since they are my favorite band, I really dig this performance. Musically, it’s a typical (which is atypical for almost every other band) BL show: fun, wild, and great, simple, stripped down Rock N Roll! Since this video takes place pre-Vice days we see no material off Good, Bad, Not Evil (2007) and 200 Million Thousand (2009), save “O Katrina!” which was recorded (or at least written) during the bedlam of the tragedy. We hear most of the Let It Bloom era classics along with some other early, sloppy, Lips era jams as well as some other unknowns, like “Hott Pistil.” My only complaint is that there are virtually no shots of the crowd, which is usally a crazy site to be seen. The show ends with Cole whipping out his wee wee and punishing it with his guitar. They then come back for an encore of “Wildman,” which is featured as a music video documenting the euphoric abandoment and chaotic times of their 2005 tour including Cole drinking his own piss and spitting it at the camera, ohh Cole… The video looks more like a trailer for a movie that was never released as far as I know. Also featured is the timeless music video for “Fad.” Here’s the set list:
1. Born To Be A Man
2. O Katrina!
3. Boomerang
4. Sea Of Blasphemy
5. Buried Alive
6. Stranger
7. Time Of The Scab
8. Dirty Hands
9. Not A Problem
10. M.I.A
11. Hott Pistil
12. Gung Ho
13. Hipi, Hipi, Horah
14. Take Me Home (Back To Boone)
15. Ain’t Coming Back
16. Make It
17. Juvenile
18. Freak Out
Encore: Wildman (after credits, so watch for it, I missed it the first few viewings!)
Grade: A-
Here’s a live video of”Wild Man,” they used to have a video for this DVD’s trailer, but I cannot find it, so y’all will have to settle fot his vid
Full Title: Small Town Ecstasy Year: 2002 Director: Jay Blumenfield Comments: Small Town Ecstasy is a documentary that offers us an up close and personal look at the perils of a modern suburban family: divorce and the resulting custody issues, generation gaps between kids and their parents, oh and a father that attends raves and does ecstasy with his children and other young people. Whattttttttt?! you must be thinking. But, it’s true. This man is cuckoo for E and we watch as it tears him apart from his beloved ones. His son, an experienced drug user, questions why his father is acting the way he is and why he does not feel the need to intefere with the well being of his children (i.e. them experimenting with E and other drugs). Despite what you have just read (and yes it is nauseating and uncomfortably laughable) this man in many ways is a good father and clearly loves his children, but because of his increasing drug use and resulting loss of custody, he sees them less and less. That’s one thing I dig about this doc, the fact that he has redeeming qualities; in most of such videos, the parent steals their little babies’ lemonade money and buys crack with it on their birthday or slaps them senseless in the midst of a vicious meth binge… Here, instead we see a different kind of dysfunctional family. Overall, this is a good doc, highly entertaining and fascinating, but at the same time, I always asked myself, “where is this going?” It didn’t move that much, but it was a nice slice of life, which is exactly what this kind of documentary should do. A spin on the mid-life crisis hoopla! If you want to find out what happens to the man and his family, then see the film, part one can be seen below.
P.S. All seriousness aside for a moment, wouldn’t this premise of your clean cut, forty something, dad suddenly dropping E and attending raves make for one helluva of It’s Always Sunny style sitcom?! It could be called “XTC Dad!” as Glen referred to the leading man. Producers reading, take notice, I think I have something up my sleeves!
Full Title: Anarchism In America Director(s): Steven Fischler and Joel Sucher Year: 1983 Grade: B Comments:AIA is a good starting point for those that want to learn about Anarchsim, because (as displayed in the documentary) most people have little to no idea of what it really is. The doc does a good job of explaining to viewers that anarchism is a strong social, political, economic, and spiritual philosophy and/or movement built on individualist principles and the belief that society would be better off without the state. The filmmakers distinguish this from the narrow minded view that anarchists are just about chaos and throwing bombs, which unfortunately most folks believe. The film features various anarchsits including, Emma Goldman, returning to America after having been deported for years in rare video footage, veteran Murray Bookchin, tax resisting, “market” anarchist, Karl Hess, the Dead Kennedys (interview and performance), amongst other famous and unknown anarchists. The film also shows various implicit anarchists including American workers committed to the rugged individual ideals of America and they associate this with anarchism, or at least the filmmakers do as well as a sowing company in which the workers run the show a la Chomsky! Speaking of Noam, he is nowhere to be seen and other prominent anarchists and related groups/organizations like the trailblazing paper, Fifth Estate>. I suppose they can’t document everything, but still they focused too much on the implicit Americanism rather than the explicit characteristics; albeit a nice feature. In addition, we see footage of the Liberatarian Party and how this connects to the anti-government (or anti-state power) stance of anarchism, historical events such as the Spanish Civil War, Russian Revolution, and the execution of Sacco and Vanzetti. Lastly, my only other complaint is the fact that they didn’t include any anarchists that used violence or force as a political means, justified or not. Granted, this might reenforce the negative connotations of the philosophy that naive viewers have, but at the same time, it would be nice to provide a balanced picture, considering some anarchists are violent. Overall, it was worth a watch and I would recommend it, not for those who want an in depth history of anarchism, but rather for those who are curious or unaware of it and want to learn about the philosophy/movement, at least the American aspects up to the early 1980s.
The following site has a lot of information on this documentary as well the film itself, which can also be viewed on Youtube as seen below.
Here are some cool quotes from the movie, which also appear on the above site.
“Almost anyone, I suppose, can call himself or herself an anarchist, if he or she believed that the society could be managed without the state. And by the state—I don’t mean the absence of any institutions, the absence of any form of social organisation—the state really refers to a professional apparatus of people who are set aside to manage society, to preempt the control of society from the people. So that would include the military, judges, politicians, representatives who are paid for the express purpose of legislating, and then an executive body that is also set aside from society. So anarchists generally believe that, whether as groups or individuals, people should directly run society,” Murray Bookchin
“My understanding of anarchism has as part of its element a connection between ends and means. To me, if one is an anarchist, then, from my point of view, one also must be nonviolent, and if one is nonviolent, one must be an anarchist—I see the linkages very clear[ly]. A person who believes in nonviolence is a person who believes that the sort of society we want to achieve is a society without violence, without wars, and without injustice; and to use wars, violence, and injustice to achieve that society is to be counterproductive,” Ed Hedaman
“Well, it’s hard to tell on the basis of the Party’s rhetoric, after all they’re running for state office, but my experience is that most people who are in the Libertarian Party have pretty decent anarchist impulses, even if they do not say they are anarchists—most of them will say they are libertarians, at any rate. And one thing that is useful is that they have a fairly well-refined analysis of why they aren’t conservative. It took the New Left to do a proper analysis on American liberals, it seems to me, and I suspect that the libertarians are doing the best analysis of American conservatives. I think that they are quite good people, and that the Party contains within it probably more people of an anarchist tendency than any other organisation in the country,” Karl Hess
Artists: Harlem, Tulsa, Girfriends, DJ Carbo Location: Great Scott, Allston, MA (not Austin, Texas as my French Professuer thought I said lol) Date: Sunday, April 25, 2010
Act I: Girlfriends: For starters, they were a notable opening band, a treat I as a fairly common concertgoer am not always acustom to. The songs were modestly catchy, meaing they didn’t hit you a la Box Elders, but they had an inviting aura, which kept me paying attention and possibly will make me check out their music further, a rare feat for opening acts, for me at least. The guitartist displayed some sweet showmanship: playing guitar with his teeth and behind his back. As a whole they rocked out and delivered a rather energetic performance.
Glen:Girlfriends are pretty special. About two or three songs deep into their set, I became convinced that they are awesome. Their flavor of power-pop/garage rock/punk was simply catchy and fun. It was nice to see the guitarist/vocalist rock out and play with a kind of passion that seems to be lacking from most openers. If I was forced to compare them to some bands I’d go with Blue Album era Weezer and The Ponys. They have a shit ton of local and national dates booked up through August. If you like this kind of music, do some reading up, yo.
Act II: Tulsa – I don’t have much to say here. About two songs in, I was mentally through with them. I just couldn’t wait for the singer to say, “this is our last one tonight.” They’re talented musicians and all, but their songs don’t come through to me. It’s more of a case of individal parts, rather than a sum. It’s the sum that matters to my ears. That’s what makes a memorable band. In other words, they bored me.
Glen: Tulsa, guys. You had me going for a little while. A little while! It’s kind of hard to describe your sound; all I know is that I was feeling all fast-paced and shit until you came on. Buzzkill, kind of. Listening to you after the fact (aka right now on MySpace), I actually dig y’all. That said, your set was draggy and maybe you shouldn’t have played that extra fan request at the end. Just saying. Random pairing I guess?
Act III: Harlem: I can see why they named their album Hippies. Looking and behaving like mellow, “yeah dude,” hippies, really enthusiastic to put on a show. They must have taken giggle juice before the show, because they were lit up with laughter and smirks, snickering the entire performance. It was amusing as a crowd member. Their joy came through in their energetic, astonishingly fast (not of the Jay variety, but pretty damn quick) performance. Unfortunately this energy didn’t seap into the audience, whom were really boring fucks! I mean I was rocking out and pogoing and what have you, and a few others were too, but most just stood and stared. Alas, the trio didn’t seem as into the show as one may have hoped and their set was under 30 minutes, if I’m not mistaken. I appreciated their humor about the situation. They constantly amused themselves and the audience with their lighthearted demeanor. I really dug the way the members switched back and forth from drums to guitar, something I rarely see live unless it’s just for fun, which of course all of this is, but these dudes were playing some of their best material, not just random strummings lol. In mellow, hippie fashion, they asked each other on stage which songs they would play, without having a big Congressional hearing about it either. So, one could find humor in it, without getting impatient with the artists. I must say they have a great pop sensability and I hear a lot of the Kinks in their music. Maybe it’s just me… Most of their songs sound the same or very similar and I DO NOT mean that in mean manner lol. It’s a great sound and it works like a charm. If it was AC/DC’s sound I can only deal with that for a few tunes, but not Harlem, it works everytime for me. In other senses, their numbers are not all the “same,” but I really dig that big ass drum beat, the jangely, garagey guitars, and the poppy, sing along vocals. But, I digress… Anyway, they played many of my favorites from their recent LP: “Friendly Ghost,” “Be Your Baby,” “Gay Human Bones,” “Torture,” and others. FG and GHB were wise openers and closers, respectively. I wish they played other Hippies tracks like “Poolside” and “Pissed,” but what are you going to do? My other complaint was the length. I expected them to play wayyyy longer, oh well, if the crowd was more engaging than perhaps we would have seen/heard more jams. They came back for what I call a “reluctanct encore” and then goodnight.
Glen: So it’s pretty known. Hippies is currently the best long-player (out of about fifty) I’ve heard in the Year 2010 and that’s that. You probably know Harlem’s deal: they got a huge ass bass drum leftover from the Middle Ages AND Michael Coomers and Curtis O’Mara alternate between drums and guitar. That’s that. It was a pleasurable concert experience for me having them bang out ditties in Jay Reatard 25 minute fashion. I also noticed that most songs were way more sped up live than on record like the opener “Friendly Ghost.” “Beautiful and Very Smart” was touching, as was the encore “Caroline” — both of these off the band’s 2008 LP goodie Free Drugs;-)
Set Included (no particular order, save the first one):
1. “Friendly Ghost”
2. “Torture”
3. “Number One”
4. “Be Your Baby”
5. “Gay Human Bones”
6. “Tila And I”
7. “South of France”
8. “Caroline”
9. “Beautiful and Very Smart”
10. “Someday Soon”
Final Grade: Chris: (B+)- I enjoyed myself and was stunned at how great Harlem sounded, but I just needed more! Overall, a good show. Glen: (A-) —–> A great show, but I wouldn’t say a top one.
Bands: Black Lips, Box Elders, Movers and Shakers Venue: Middle East Downstairs (Cambridge, MA) Date: Thursday, March 25, 2010
Pre-Show: Once a year or so the Black Lips come to town. For me, Chris, and all big fans of the best band in the world, a Black Lips show is always highly anticipated. 2 months away! 1 month away! 2 days away! The day! The excitement builds intensely and progressively as the day nears. This time around was special though; Box Elders, openers for Jay Reatard at Harpers Ferry in October and favorites among Chris and I, were opening for the Lips! So we arrived at our favorite venue, the Middle East Downstairs, way before doors opened to secure a cozy spot in front of what would be Jared Swilley’s stage monitor. Doors at 8. Show at 9:30. We’re used to that. I always thought that was kind of lame, but not on this night. Chris spotted what he thought were the Box Elders hanging around the merchandise table at back. He was right. First, we killed a good deal of time chatting with Clayton, the long blonde hair guitar player and singer. Clayton explained to us, amongst many things, the meaning of a couple of songs like “Ronald Dean” and “2012.” Chris pointed out his particular admiration for “Atlantis” calling it his favorite and Clayton agreed with him on that account. He also said that his mother was NOT the drummer for Box Elders in the early stages. All she did was sing. The internet is wrong! After a short little break from discourse, we spoke to another member of the Box Elders, drummer Dave Goldberg. Our conversation with Dave was another great one and included a short discussion about Our Band Could Be Your Life and the late great Jay Reatard.
Movers and Shakers: Pretty boring. Some pretty good songs, but still pretty boring.
Box Elders: They are one of our favorites because they play brief and incredibly catchy ditties. They don’t fuck around. If the drum beats aren’t good enough for you, then you are a sad sad person. Dave has incredible command of his set and his left side organ, which doesn’t sound as apparent as it does on record, but is definitely pretty damn obvious and fun. As I’ve said before, just watching Dave do his aerobics and drumstick biting is a joy. Listening to the songs themselves, I felt, at the moment, as if Box Elders were the main act. The crowd certainly got more into Box Elders than pretty much all other openers I’ve ever seen. Whether they actually knew the songs is a different story, but whatever! They played all my favorites, which is pretty much every song on Alice & Friends. The most memorable song for me was “Hole in My Head” for no particular reason. “Atlantis” and “Jackie Wood” were just as entertaining as well. I’m just eagerly anticipating the next Box Elders show! Hopefully it will come sometime this year.
Black Lips: Chris and I were having some discourse after the show about watching the Black Lips from a non-moshing/standing view. I looked yesterday and somebody put up a video of a recent Lips Canadian show and had in the description that the boys are getting sloppy. Accusations of their alleged musical sloppiness have been tossed around for years, be it from Raconteurs fans or sidelined cinematographers. Screw all that garbage. You haven’t seen a Black Lips show until you’ve been in the center of crowd craziness. Great tunes and fun times. As customary, the guys opened with “Sea of Blasphemy” which instantly started up the chaos amongst fans. After that they played two tracks off their most recent release 200 Million Thousand, “Drugs” and “Short Fuse.” That was it for 200 Million Thousand cuts and nobody really seemed to give a shit, considering they toured behind that last year and played more numbers from that release at that time. They made up for not playing “Take My Heart” or “Starting Over” by performing B-Side “Make It” along with “Raw Meat” (which will be off their forthcoming release). As far as their 2004 We Did Not Know The Forest Spirit Made The Flowers Grow LP is concerned, they played “Stranger,” which I did not expect. Of course, they ended their set off with usual classic “Juvenile.” More on that in a few sentences. Magic time, another staple in Black Lips live performances, began with the playing of “Hippie Hippie Hoorah” and never really ended to be honest. It was all magic at that point. The band loves re-hashing Let It Bloom/Los Valienteles Del Mundo Nuevo classics and this night was no different with “Not a Problem” (my favorite Lips song!), “Take Me Home (Back to Boone)”, “Fairy Stories,” “Dirty Hands,” and “Buried Alive” all played. As far as Good Bad Not Evil is concerned, we got to enjoy a few really great pieces like “O Katrina,” “I Saw a Ghost (Lean),” “Lock and Key,” “Cold Hands,” and the Lips most recognizable track in catalog: “Bad Kids.” By the time the first chords of “Juvenile” were struck, I was sad! The Black Lips were potentially playing their last song until next time. I had memories of last year when Ian handed beers to us, Jared crowd surfed, and the worst: security getting all uppity and dismantling all equipment on stage at the end of “Juvenile,” before the band could even come back. Normally one to just hang back and watch others climb on stage or do whatever, I decided mid-song to pull myself on stage and jump off. I was expecting this song to be the band’s last (if last year was any indication) so why not? Well, security got really pissed and got me down from people’s hands. He walked me over to the exit, but instead I made a little turn to the merch table where who else but Dave from Box Elders was sitting! Dave kindly explained to security that I was with his band and that it won’t happen again. After sitting the rest of the song out, I made my way to the front as the Lips were coming out of the back room to play the Encore. And what an encore! We got surprised with “Ghetto Cross,” a We Did Not track which one can only expect to be a live rarity, as well as a brand new ditty. That was it. Side note: this was definitely one of the most exhausting and rough concert experiences I’ve had. The crowd was as tightly packed as can be and there was a tremendous amount of contact amongst all of us. That’s fine, though. We’re troopers.
Post-Show: Fun stuff didn’t end there. Chris got to chat with Cole and Joe after the encore and I got to hang with Dave behind the merch table. He said that that night was the best of the tour, performance wise and merch sales wise. He also hooked me up with a customized Black Lips t-shirt, personally painted and presented to me by Lips very own guitarist and vocalist, Cole Alexander. Cole’s the man. Dave’s the man. I’m very grateful of their showing of kindness to a random fan.
Grade: A+ – I’m not going to lie. I don’t remember much of Black Lips set and only fragments of Box Elders set. Nevertheless, I knew I had fun. I had a lot of fun…pre, during, post. Best concert experience? Definitely. There weren’t as many song memories as in past shows, but based on everything else it’s the best I’ve had.
Chris– Yep, Glen pretty much covers my sentiments. It was absolutely the greatest concert experience! To me, concerts are measured musically, viscerally, visually, and as an overall experience. I’d say the viscreal is the key ingredient in the memorable concert dish. That’s the difference between most seated concerts and “crazy” shows like the Black Lips. It’s like an altered state of consciousness, for me at least, for others this is literally the case! Seemingly, time is suspended and everything is possible. You feel more alive than ever. An amazing feeling. If you have experienced viscreally, what I am speaking of, and if you attended last Thursday’s show and was amongst the fun, wild, bedlam, then you know what I’m saying. I’m making no exaggeration, when I say, you do not know what will happen next. That’s exactly the appeal, and yeah sometimes it’s a challenge, sometimes you get thrown back and forth and lose your spot, or sometimes you can rest your head on a smokin’ femme :) I can’t imagine it any other way. And what better a band then the Black Lips to experience this visceral abandoment with?! In short, the Black Lips are synonimous with Rock and Roll today. They are our Beatles.
P.S. Box Elders rocked as well and if I had only seen them it would still probably be amongst my top ten favorite shows.
Full Title: District 9 Director: Neill Blomkamp Year: 2009 Grade: B Comments: To begin, why am I reviewing this now? Well, originally I planned on seeing this film in theaters, but I was unable to make it. Now, for my Cultural Studies course, we are discussing it and its various themes. Thus, I recently viewed the picture and as always whenever we read, hear, or see a new piece of art (or some piece of work that does not deserve such a flattering label) we review it. Ok, so not being a huge Sci-fi/Action fan, I am biased in my somewhat lack of enthusisasm, considering how much praise this film has received. I liked it very much and thought it was a decent flick with more meaning and substance to it than most films in its genre. Such heady themes as racism, immigration, and xenophobia, etc. are carefully layered in this sea of madness. The film itself is conceptually unique: the first half (the far superior half) resembling a documentary, reality TV show, Office esque set up. The second half, on the other hand, is your blow shit up and fire endless rounds of ammo action movie. The latter makes the film drag on increasingly and totally loses my interest in the story. At the very end, my interest is salvaged for its remaining minutes. I’d say, this piece is solid and worth a watch, but definitely overrated, at least for my taste.
Matt “Bob Matthews” Ramsden post an image of the film to accompany his review of the novel, so I’ll do the opposite.
Full Title: Shutter Island Director: Marty Scorcesse Year: 2010 Grade: A- Here’s Why:
!SPOILERS AHEAD!
COME TO SHUTTER ISLAND! Where there’s always something exciting to do. You will meet a cast of colorful characters. You may have so much fun, you never leave! You could say, you’ll discover you are not actually who you think you are…. ok scratch that one BOSS. Essentially, Matt’s review, sums up the plot real nice, here’s a link, https://klyam.com/2010/01/10/book-review-shutter-island/. So, Leonardo Dicrapio and Mark Rufalo play the leading detectives and perform the fuck out of ther dramatic roles; it’s too bad this flick was released so damn early in the year, because it is worthy of numerous awards, certainly for acting, with regards to the aforementioned actors as well as Ben Kingsley. Not to say that awards measure the substance of a film or any form of art, they don’t at all. But, credit should be given, where it is due and far too many average flicks receive awards. Enough of that rant for now! SI dishes out more than its share of suspense, action, thrills, shills, and skills in just about every area. As the story unravels, we’re just as quizzical as Leo’s character. And since he’s totally mad, fucked in the head :) as viewers we’re all the more left with a “WTF is going on feeling?” But, we never get lost in the bedlam, a key aspect of Shutter’s success. Since, most of these “everyone’s against me andeverythng I ever knew as true was a lie” brand of films get tangled up in their own webs of conspiracy to the point that not even the filmmakers know what they’re thinking. Our umbilical chords to the story are never severed and thus maitain the suspense and our concern for the characters. In the end, the plot twist is pretty damn sweet, but a bit overrated. It ain’t Bruce Willis is a ghost, Vader’s my daddy, Bates is his mommy material! In fact, I thought the ending woudl come sooner; it drags toward the end, not too much, but enough to note. I haven’t read Dennis Lehane’s novel of which the movie is based and Matt wrote his review of, but I hear this stays true to it. Perhaps. Overall, a highly enjoyable experience at one of my favorite pastimes and definitely a KLYAM Recommendation.
Kids Like You & Me (KLYAM) 