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My Top Five Favorite Sequels

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Shot of young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro) gaining his first taste with murder as he is about to shoot public enemy Don Fanucci in the Godfather Part II

1) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (James Cameron, 1991)- Perhaps the greatest action flick of all time and certainly a milestone for special effects. An overall fun time by all!

2) The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)- One of the greatest (summer) blockbusters of modern times. You couldn’t turn your head without hearing a patron poorly imitating the Joker’s, “why so serious?” Action was entertaining, characters were well developed, dialogue was memorable, and the story closely followed the original comics. All in all, far more enjoyable than it’s predecessor. RIP Heath Ledger

3) Clerks II (Kevin Smith, 2006)- Quite frankly, I was shocked this film was so marvelous! Being a huge fan of the original Clerks (1994) (# 3 on my list of all time favorites), I honestly did not anticipate Smith’s sequel to the live up to the first film’s greatness, but I was dead wrong. The unlikely duo of Dante (Brian O’ Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are just as funny and pathetic (perhaps more pathetic!) in their 30s as they were in their 20s. Smith maintains the witty raunchiness we love in our View Askew joints and simultaneous creates a heartfelt masterpiece.

4) The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)- How do you top The Godfather (1972) arguably the greatest film in cinematic history? Well, you can’t! On the other hand, audiences fell in love with this sequel and many fans favor it over numero uno. In fact, it was awarded Best Picture at the Academy Awards, I believe the only sequel to do such a thing. Anyway, this picture continues the disturbing story of Michael Corleone and follows him into his darkest hour. By the end of the film, Michael is truly all alone with his sinister self.

5) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kirshner, 1980)- The darkest and for many the greatest of the original Star Wars Trilogy. There are no victories, no happy endings and no cuddily ewoks. This time the good guys don’t win, but it leaves we, the viewers lingering for more, like any good story should. With the introduction of the incredibly small, but sagacious Jedi Master, Yoda, the shocking revelation that Darth Vader is actually Luke Skywalker’s papa, and the badassness of Boba Fett, Empire is Fantasy Drama at it’s finest.

Note: Technically, Kill Bill Volume 2 (Quentin Tarantino, 2004) should be number one, but I do not think of it as a sequel, rather I view both Volume 1 and 2 as an entire, epic masterpiece.

Chris

Books, Entertainment, reviews

Book Review: Shutter Island

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For this review, I read Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island. You might be thinking “Thats a book?! I thought it was a Martin Scorsese movie!” Well it is. It was just a book first. Author Dennis Lehane has a knack for writing phenomenal books that turn into phenomenal movies (Lehane wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone.) Anyway, to Shutter Island. Shutter Island tells the story of U.S Marshals Edward “Teddy” Daniels and Chuck Aule as they are sent to Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane to investigate the disappearance of inmate and multiple murderess Rachel Solando. As they deepen their investigation, a bigger picture becomes revealed. A picture of horrifying surgeries and radical experimental treatments. Meanwhile, a massive hurricane strikes the island, knocking out communications and electricity (ergo security measures.) Teddy and Chuck struggle for their lives and their sanity as the truth becomes revealed. Lehane establishes these two characters as well as others including Chief Of Medicine Dr. John Cawley, Daniels’ dead wife Dolores Chanel, inmate George Noyce among others. Lehane makes characters that are deeply defined in their goals and their methods of achieving them. As for the writing, it is flawless. Lehane creates a sense of being lost in a world where there is no truth and no information can be trusted as well as creating suspense that equals that of Stephen King or even Hitchcock himself. But the main reason why I love this book (and why you should either read it, see the movie or both) is a certain major plot twist that is one of the most breathtaking surprises that I’ve ever read or seen. When I read it, I literally flung the book across the room, not wanting it to be true. I cannot recommend Shutter Island highly enough. And I am very anxious to see what Scorsese and DiCaprio do with one of my new favorite books.

Overall Grade: A++

Here is the trailer for the Martin Scorsese film

Art, CD Review, Entertainment, Music, pictures, reviews, Video, Weather

Classic Album Review: Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.

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Artist: Deerhunter
Album: Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Length: 81 Minutes
Label: Kranky
Year: 2008\

Microcastle

1) Cover Me (Slowly)- 9- Epic as fuck! Deerhunter kicks right in with a trippy, psychedelic, almost Pink Floydish triumph. I’m sure fans will cover it slowly over time.

2) Agoraphobia- 9- The first track perfectly flows right into this ditty. Lyrically, Pundt desperately moans, “Come for me, cover me, come for me, comfort me,” thus making these first two numbers inseparable.

3) Never Stops- 9- The flow keeps going. This is a pretty catchy tune actually. As spacey as Deerhunter can be (and they really are on this record) they never stop reeling you in with their pop hooks. Ok, I’ll cease making retarded puns from here on!

4) Little Kids- 9- This track is a bit slower than the others and doesn’t necessarily jump out at you, but it works in its own way. I dig the little bell like sounds in the background. They’re barely noticeable at first listens and yet so vital. That’s what I really appreciate about Deerhunter, the little things you continually discover after much needed ear time.

5) Microcastle-9- Very atmospheric, much like the opener: slow vocals in the background, really spacey. The emotion lies far more in the sound of the vocals than the actual lyrics themselves. I really dig it when the music unexpectedly explodes into a massive rocker. Truly a surprise that makes this track stand out as a Deerhunter classic.

6) Calvary Scars-8- This track makes heavy use of strange sound effects.

7) Green Jacket- 9- As with most of the songs, the previous track smoothly weens it’s way into this track. The highlight of this track is the beautiful piano work.

8) Activa- 8- Not much to say here lol.

9) Nothing Ever Happened- 9/10- Certainly one of the record’s strongest tracks. Unlike, other Deerhunter songs, this one is rocker you can bop to. The lyrics are demented and disturbing, but insanely catchy.

10) Saved By Old Times- 9- Starts with some simple strumming on an acoustic guitar, just like Old Times, bluesy garage stuff of the Black Lips fashion. Speaking of the Black Lips, midway into the song, everyone’s favorite cocksucker, Cole Alexander provides some bizarre, hilarious vocals. I swear he mentions being trapped in a basement, well he would know.

11) Neither Of Us, Uncertainly- 8- Psychedelicly like the others. It’s a decent track, but doesn’t particularly stand out.

12) Twilight At Carbon Lake- 9/10- Fantastic closer of grandiose proportions; just as epic, if not more, than the opener! In fact, it has a reprise feel to it, like you are just picking up where you left off at the beginning and everything in between was just a haze. Simply, the number has a very pop like, inviting sound to it, supported by 50s-60s era vocals, which makes you feel all warm inside ahah. Of course, the experience culminates into a heavy meltdown, as manic as anything else on this record. It’s an explosion of all the instruments and passion these Atlanta fellas have to offer. To Be Continued…



Weird Era Cont.:

Unlike Mircro, for Weird Era I will provide some deep analysis as always, but not track by track rundown. First things fucking last, Micro is the superior of the two, but Weird Era perfectly complements it’s predecessor. With the first track, “Backspace Century,” the ambient, shoegaze flow is continued. In “Operation,” we find ourselves dancing and prancing to it’s catchy, electronic beat. As I said, much of this record shares the psychedelic/ambient sound of Micro, but it lacks in popability. The tracks have cool sounds that are stimulating to my ears, but they don’t make the hair on my testes jump up in excitement, like memorable Rock and Roll songs should do. In many ways Weird Era and Micro are like brothers and sisters and other ways they are their own entities, to be heard separately.

Final Comments/Grade: A-, this is the kind of album that you have to experience as an album, from start to finish to really appreciate. And, I’m positive several, if not many listens will be required to truly grasp the brilliance of Deerhunter. There are pop songs and rock songs and yes even dance songs here. But, they do not jump out and dangle their naked bodies at ya and beg you for acceptance. In contrast, you have to dig deeper. May I suggest, a quiet place, alone perhaps, when it’s dark, just getting dark, dusk, early in the wee hours of the morning before you start to see light. I can imagine this would be a terrific record to lie back and stare at the stars to. Personally, there is a wintery feel to this record that enhanced the beauty of the record. All in all, a kudos to Cox and crew, I hope their musical/emotional exploration never stops…

Chris

Art, CD Review, Entertainment, humor, Music, pictures, reviews, Video

Classic Album Review: The Mollusk

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Artist: Ween
Title: The Mollusk
Label: Elektra
Year: 1997
Length: 43 minutes
Fun Fact: This LP is often considered the band’s magnum opus and supposedly (wikiquote) Dean Ween himself stated, “I will say that the only record that I ever felt really confident about was The Mollusk. That’s my favorite record we’ve ever done.” I am a huge Ween fan and before hearing this record, Chocolate and Cheese (1994) was my favorite Ween album, but I am now convinced that Dean is indeed correct in his confidence.

1) I’m Dancing In the Show Tonight- 9- A cute, funny, little opener. Funny in the weird Ween way, if you know of Ween’s music, then you know what I’m speaking of. This tune reminds me of little girls dancing with their grandpas at some family function. Don’t know why. It just carries a sort of innocence with it, I suppose.

2) The Mollusk- 9- Wonderfully catchy; not catchy in the mindlessly humming to the songs on the radio sense of catchy, but rather creating memorable songs that become etched in your psyche. Lyrically, this song kicks off the album’s theme of ocean like subject matter. I particularly dig the line, “Let’s be forever and forever be free.”

3) Polka Dot Tail- 9/10- Bizarre, trippy images of whales with polka dot tails, shrinking ice creams, and squishing fans in your hand. Yeah, I know crazy, but Ween’s uplifting music satisfies the ears so much that you just take it all in; no questions asked.

4) I’ll Be Your Johnny On the Spot- 8- Unlike, the first three tracks, this number is fast paced and not as humorous.

5) Mutilated Lips- 9- Of course, it’s fucked up, it’s the Ween boys. For a song with such a violent title, this tune is actually quite satisfying to my mutilated ears.

6) The Blarney Stone- 9- Haha, completely hilarious, drunken sing song about fucking some chick! Yeah, not the most savory of songs. This would be apropos in some Irish pub or on a pirate’s ship. Perhaps, the latter, considering the ocean theme.

7) It’s Gonna Be (Alright)- 10- Fantastic pop song! I’ll chop up my limbs to say this is the best tune in the brothers Ween catalog. Sure, lyrically it sounds more like an AM top 20, Madonna love song, “It’s just not our time, but you’ll find a new love and you’ll be fine.” The only flaw here is the brevity: 3:18, which actually isn’t that brief, but still it’s too short, when you have gold on your hands.

8) The Golden Eel- 8- I love how the tempo shifts back and forth from slow to fast and I dig the strange, low vocals. There is some pretty cool jamming going on toward the end. All for this very special eel.

9) Cold Blows the Wind- 8- Back to the more “traditional” vocals. This is a slow number about the powerful desire a man has for a kiss, a kiss of Lilly White lips. Go figure.

10) Pink Eye (On My Leg)- 7- It’s an ok tune, nothing bad, but I don’t have anything special to say about it.

11) Waving My Dick In The Wind- 9- Fast and hilarious. For no apparent reason, the narrator is waving his dick in the wind until he reaches his lover. The old Gee Tar is pretty nasty here. Simple, but nasty.

12) Buckingham Green- 9/10- One of the best tracks on this record. I really dig the sorta low-fi vocals. I don’t honestly know how to describe Ween’s music, which is kind of cool in a way. It’s so spectacular and they switch it up so well, you never know what you’re going to get…. yeah, I just watched Forrest Gump.

13) Ocean Man- 9/10- Good shit! This is perhaps, the album’s most accessible song with it’s danceability, upbeat music/lyrics, and almost Disney/Nickelodeon character like vocals lol.

14) She Wanted To Leave- 9- Solid closer, very passionate lol. If I were “she” I’d feel important. The second half of the song is a subtle reprise of the opener. It’s a perfect way to transition to silence.

Grade/Final Thoughts: A, I highly recommend this crazy, little ditty to anyone that wants to expand their musical horizons and especially to any Ween fans who haven’t heard this.

Chris

Art, CD Review, Entertainment, Femmes, humor, Music, pictures, reviews, Video

Talking and Whiny Voices: Worst Album Ever Made

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Artist: The Moldy Peaches
Title: The Moldy Peaches
Label: Rough Trade
Year: 2001
Length: 44 minutes

Just to clear things up, the title is an “attention grabber,” and in fact I loved the album, that was actually my mom’s opinion of the record lol. Anyway…

1) Lucky Number Nine- 9.4- Solid opener, in many ways sets the tone for the rest of the album: minimal, soft, child like vocals, off beat lyrics, garagey, low-fi production. Vocals. Guitar. Drums. Simple

2) Jorge Reugla- 9.0- Funny little ditty (Yeah, I think I’ll stick with this spelling over “diddy”). Vocals are mostly spoken and Adam Green sings one line, then Kimya Dawson repeats it and so on. Then they both sing doo dit doo dit doo… There’s even a tuba thrown in there… I think lol.

3) What Went Wrong- 9.3- This track is noisy and fuzzy and just downright wacky, but it works. It’s mostly screaming and shouting, “Take Me to Your Leader.”

4) Nothing Came Out- 9.7- Maybe the album’s best track, not sure yet. A Complete departure from the previous track and really the other two tracks as well. This reminds me of Kimya’s solo work, but with drums and better guitars. Her vocals are really top notch though. It’s a slow, ballady, love song about our heroine’s desire to be with her man and ride bikes and watch cartoons with him.

5) Downloading Porn with Davo- 9.6- Hilarious song, perhaps the most licentious tune in the Peaches’ catalog. Adam and Kimya and (I believe others?) rock on their guitars, drums and keyboards, creating a fast, funny track.

6) These Burgers- 9.1- Weird track, to say the least. Soft spoken singing about wild hipsters and the “happy pill.” I really dig the 70s kung fu sound, I don’t know what that is, but I like it.

7) Steak For Chicken- 9.5- Another ballady kinda song. Sorta.The dynamic duo share great vocals duties on this track. I especially adore the line, “Who mistook the steak for chicken, who am I going to stick my dick in.”

8) On Top- 9.3- A really unexpected catchy, rap number. Play that funky music white moldy peach boy!

9) Greyhound Bus- 9.0- A simple song about the joy of riding a greyhound bus. Not much else I really have to offer here.

10) Anyone Else But You- 9.7- Ahh yes, we’ve all heard the Juno induced, love ballad by now. Indeed, it is a classic and certainly has exposed the Peaches to the rest of the world and still has not lost its integrity. The pair’s vocals perfectly complement each other as they usually do. It’s an adorable song!

11) Little Bunny Foo Foo- 9.3- Short, but sweet. Highly catchy and inspiring with it’s unpolished production style. And of course, it gives me a chuckle… makes me want to toss on my bunny suit, cause when I wear it I feel cute! I just had to say it.

12) Ballad of Helenkeller & Rip Van Winkle- 9.2- Yet, another ballad. It’s very good and similar to the previous ballads. I know if Helenkeller was alive and had the ability to hear, then she would dig it and dance to it at her Commie get togethers.

13) Who’s Got the Crack- 9.6- Definitely, one of the Peaches’ strongest tracks. Just a great, off colour, bizarre, hooky number. I really dig how the song starts off slow then erupts into a mini rocker, then slows down a little again, then back to rocking, and back and forth with bunch of shouted vocals. Perhaps they found the person with crack.

14) Lucky Charms- 8.9- Not a bad track, but it doesn’t bring that much to the table for me. Still decent and I dig the little, incredibly modest drums in the background. Lyrically, it is pretty funny, like most of their songs, I must admit.

15) D.2 Boyfriend- 9.0- A strange number about boyfriends, Duran Duran, and middle school lol. Just Kimya here on vocals and they remind me of the lady’s voice on those Garment District commercials. Anybody else hear this, if you remember those ads, since I haven’t seen them in a while? lol. The percussion is just simple tapping. It works.

16) I Forgot- 8.8- See 14 basically. Though, I will add, I like how they don’t care about their vocals here and just fuck around. I also dig the weird noises at the end.

17) Lazy Confessions- 8.7- Lower “quality” production for some reason, but in a way it gives the track, its own feel, so I guess it’s a good thing. Overall, it doesn’t stand out though, but it’s a good song.

18) NYC’s Like a Graveyard- 9.4- Fun Fact: This album was released on 9/11/01, so coincidentally this title is kind of creepy. Anyway, I dig the garage rock guitars and overall sound. The vocals are of the punk variety, in a way. It’s a rocker and once again the lyrics make you smile; suckers, fuckers, and retards. I haven’t been to NYC, so I’ll take their word for it.

19) Goodbye Song- 9.0- A good closer, nothing too epic, but it does the job. Very soft and as usual great duet between Adam and Kimya. But, this time it’s unique because Adam is singing some lyrics and Kimya is simultaneously singing entirely different words. Goodbye!

Overall: A, Most music fans will write this group and this album off as amateurish, talentless noise of low quality,but to me quality means passion, integrity, and creating memorable songs; The Moldy Peaches satisfy all of these desires with the highest of “quality.”

Chris

Art, Entertainment, Holiday, humor, pictures, reviews, TV

Direct to Video Release Review: It’s A Very Sunny Christmas

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Title: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia in A Very Sunny Christmas
Length: 43 minutes (about 2 episodes worth)
Grade: A-
Here’s Why: We join the demented gang for a no holds barred, fun, wacky Christmas in the Sunny style of unpredictable mayhem. This time around, Dennis and Dee devise a scheme in which they can show their Scrooge of a father, Frank the Christmas Past, Present, and Future, to show him how much misery he has put his children through. Meanwhile, Mac and Charlie discover their Christmas traditions and memories are not as wholesome as they seemed; so this year they try their darnedest to make things right. Prostitution, burglary, and constant deception make this Christmas special very sunny and definitely a must see for all fans of the series.

P.S. if you want to learn more behind the meaning of this line, “Did you FUCK my mom Santa Claus?!” then you’ll just have to see the video yourself!

Chris

Art, Entertainment, Film, reviews

Movie Review: Ink

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Let me start off this review by saying: OOOOHHHHH MMMMYYYYY GGGGGOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!!!! I can’t describe how PERFECT this film is. I can’t even describe the plot that does it justice. Here is the plot as told by Netflix: “Late one night, a lost soul named Ink snatches 8-year-old Emma (Quinn Hunchar) into the world of dreams. There, he hopes to use her soul to join the ranks of the evil Incubi. In the real world, Emma lies comatose, to the despair of her father, John (Chris Kelly). But the Incubi’s benevolent opposites — the Storytellers — rally to help Emma, motivating John to wage war for his daughter. Jessica Duffy co-stars in this dark fable.” After I finished this movie, I couldn’t breathe. It’s one of those. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful and horrifying at the same time. The Storyteller characters will warm your hearts. The Incubi will give you nightmares (its kinda their job). Director Jamin Winans has given a gift to the cinema world. I dare you to watch this film and not want to watch it as soon as you finish it.

Overall Grade: A++++++++++++++++++++++++. Words cannot describe this film. I’ll let the film do it itself.
Here is the trailer.

Art, Entertainment, Femmes, Music, pictures, reviews

Album Review: ALBUM!

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Artist: Girls
Title: Album
Year: 2009
Label: True Panther Sounds

1) Lust For Life- 10: This song makes me, how should I say, a little crazy, totally mad, and perhaps fucked in the head lol. I remember when Glen first showed me this, it was one of those instantaneous pop hooks. You just want to jump up and start dancing and singing along even, if you’re 100% straight: “I wish I had a boyfriend, I wish I had a loving man in my life,’ are some of the finer lines. Singer, Christopher Owens does a great job with the lead vocals, but I really adore the doo da doo da backing vocals mixed with clapping and a groovin’ bass line. It’s a classic.

2) Laura- 9.4- Wearing it’s 50s-60s pop rock influence as Needle Dropper, Anthony Fantano cited; in this track the Girls boys (haha!) are bundled up in a catchy love number for the one and only Laura.

3) Ghostmouth- 9.7- Another classic, lonely love number, which seems to be a recurring theme in this LP. Owens likes the bad boys, but he has a girl, and “nothing compares to you.” Well, guy, girl, whoever “you” is referring to is causing our hero to go bananas, riding on a ghost train, hoping to reach Heaven If he arrives there, he can chill with my ears cause this is a killer track. Cheesy, I know lol.

4) Goddman- 9.1- Not as good as the previous tracks, but still exceptional. It clearly demonstrates the group’s ability to switch up their sound; here we have some fine bongo tapping.

5) Big Bad Mean Motherfucker- 9.2- Ahh, good old rock n roller. 50s greaser anthem. Reminds me of some of the songs off the Grease Soundtrack and specifically I’m getting a David Bowie Ziggy Stardust era feel.

6) Hellhole Ratrace- 9.9- I often play this song two, sometimes three times in a row. It’s just too exquisite for one listen. Simply, one of those tunes, you never want to end, and I often garner that feeling from a brief number, but this track is one second shy of seven minutes, so kudos to Girls! Very chill, sharp departure from Big Bad, which makes the album that much more fantastic.

7) Headache- 9.4- I love the low, soulful vocals here, which offer everything, but a headache! Lyrically, it’s pretty simple, but it works perfectly: “I only want to be with you all the taahhimee.”

8) Summertime- 9.5- High vocals, akin to the earlier track “Lust For Life.” It’s too damn bad that we’re in the dead of Winter, since this song obviously reminds me of the Summer and even when we reach that time of the year it just fucking rains! Anyway, enough for seasonal rants for now.

9) Lauren Marie- 9.6- Epic, to say the least. Great percussion, fabulous Elvis/Bowie like vocals, and simple guitar strumming. If I was Lauren Marie, I’d feel honored.

10) Curls- 9.6- For some reason, the guitar riff is etched in my brain. Echoes (no pun intended) to Darkside era Pink Floyd.

11) Darling- 9.4- Nice little closer. It’s not as far out there as some of the other tracks, so in other words it brings our melted brains back to the surface. This track also shares a memorable guitar riff.

Overall: For such comically generic LP/Band names, these guys (lol)are anything but; based on this debut, Girls have a promising future and are amongst my new favorite artists.

Chris

Books, reviews

Book Review: Choke

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I recently read the novel “Choke” by Chuck Palahniuk. Palahniuk(I don’t know how to pronounce his name either) is also the author of the phenomenal “Fight Club” which I also recommend. But the topic at hand is “Choke.” The story follows Victor Mancini, a Med school drop-out who nows works at a living colonial museum, trying to pay for his anarchist mother’s elder care by choking on pieces of food in high end restaurants. He allows people to “save” him and then, feeling responsible for Victor’s life, these people go on to send him checks. He is also dealing with his Fourth Step in a Sexual Addiction recovery workshop. The style of the book is very much kind of inner monologue like. There is dialogue (very funny dialogue at that) but it is a bit sparse. The action takes place in present day but it flashes back to when Victor was, as the book says, “a stupid little shit” and his days of breaking and fleeing the law with his mother. This book is a great satire for anyone who loves black humor. There is also a movie to accompany it starring Sam Rockwell (which is always a good thing.)

Overall grade: A. A solid read worth your time.

Cover for Chuck Palahniuk's "Choke"