Music Review: Johnny Cash Remixed (2009)

The release of this album pissed me off so much I couldn't even stand it. I had to write a review to explain how truly disgusting this is to techno music critics like myself.

First of all, let's give this bold idea the benefit of the doubt. What exactly is it trying to accomplish? Well, according to Amazon.com's review, "The goal was to bring the sensibility and technology of 2009 to recordings universally accepted as timeless with the endorsement and cooperation of the custodians of Johnny Cash's legacy."

Woops.

In today's music industry, remixing is one of two things: an art form, or commercial milking. This album is an unequivocal example of the latter. Who exactly thought it would be a good idea to take songs like "I Walk The Line" and "Folsom Prison Blues" and turn them into techno/electronic/rap songs? Dumb producers who are hoping that fans of Johnny Cash will forget their good sense and respect for the Man in Black and buy this compilation, that's who.

But enough about that. Let's examine the music directly. First track is the main single "I Walk The Line" (QDT Remix featuring Snoop Dogg). Yes, you heard right, the D-O-double-G. It's a rap song structured around Johnny Cash's original chorus. Seriously?! Yep, seriously. Besides the fact that the song is SO ICONIC in American country music and can't really ever be topped as an original, so-called "remix" is an absolute piece of trash. It blows my mind (another Snoop reference) that tha Doggfather would EVER EVER EVER have the audacity to lend his rapping and filthy lyrics to a remake of Johnny Cash. The beat is idiotic, the rhymes are lame, and the production quality is worse than amatueur! You can almost hear the vinyl scratching as the play the Cash vocal sample next to the bleeping electronic hook. It's not a pretty sound to hear poor Johhny 's soulful lyrics mismatched with hip-hop beats, obnoxious violins, and synthesized "ooh-ooh"ing. Oh, and hear that sound? Really faint in the background. Yep, the moaning. That's Johnny rolling over in his grave.

But wait...there's MORE. The rest of the album either continually dabbles in awkward hip-hop with shitty production quality, or commits cardinal sin #2 by venturing into techno. Techno?! Indeed techno. The rest of the album tries to pull a Fatboy slim and make the album funky, underground, and upbeat to disastrous effects... Take the pitiful "Big River" (Count de Money Remix) for example. It's got the same grainy production quality and dumb instrumentation. The worst of these has got to be "Folsom Prison Blues". THERE IS NO BLUES in this remix! The heart and soul of the song has been erased by a repeating drumbeat and synth-piano hook. ARGH! No longer is Johnny's call of "Now I can't be free" relevant. No longer are we able to take the song and the message seriously.

The only somewhat decent remix is the "Get Rhythm" (Phillip Steir Remix), which like Elvis's "A Little Less Conversation" (JXL Remix) manages to correctly match the flavor of the original with some new funky electro. Here's the difference: they re-master his voice with synthesizers and eliminate the background static! GENIUS! Why didn't they do that in the first place?! I will never know, but it makes the album at least not abominable. Plus the original song was never THAT iconic or interesting in the first place, so you're allowed some leverage. But how in the world are you expected to remake "I Walk The Line" successfully? The answer is...you can't.

For me, albums like these are a symptom of a almost-fatal disease that is pervading today's music world. Producers decide that if they can't make new music, it's best to rehash old music. There's nothing wrong with that, per say, but the problem is that shoddy producership and the lust for quick profits ruins the project. I've seen too many albums like "Billie Holiday Remixed", "Donna Summer Remixed", "KC & The Sunshine Band Remixed" absolutely FAIL not because it was such a bad idea in the first place, but because the record label won't let good DJ's and remixers in on the project. And then there are some albums, like Johnny Cash Remixed, that should never have been made in the first place. It's an embarrassment to good dance/electronica music and an embarrasment to the memory of Johnny Cash.

MY RATING: Terrible. Truly terrible and miserably bad. But don't take my word for it. See it yourself at http://www.spinner.com/new-releases#/3 you can listen to it free for a limited time and let your ears bleed. Once you realize the health dangers of listening to it, follow the advice of Johnny Cash and "Leave That Junk Alone."

Movie Review: Revolutionary Road (2008)

As Mr. Garrison of South Park would say, the film was "Only Mmmmkay." Revolutionary Road just doesn't have a lot of "there" there. It was enjoyable in the sense that it was fun watching completely warped characters systematically fuck up their lives even more. Like a train wreck.

The plot deserves almost no introduction, so I won't spend too much time on it. Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are two "special" people who buy in to job security and the 50's suburban culture. This, along with their inability to communicate with each other and reignite the passion of their early years together, lead to a lot of drama and unnecesary shenanigans. Not a particularily dynamic plot, and there aren't any car chases or explosions, but certainly interesting on a psychological level.

Revolutionary Road hinders on the rather presumptuous notion that EVERYONE in the audience holds the viewpoint that the 50's Consumer Culture, Conspicuous Consumption, and Suburban Lifestyles were inherently flawed and hollow. It's a little risky to just lump history into a 2 hour movie, and certainly ballsey to fearlessly tote around this thematic viewpoint so OBVIOUSLY. My biggest thematic problem with Rev. Road was the lack of subtlety. The blatant discussion of the death of the American dream (eg. that long speech by Winslet about how they are "special") is nothing short of a pathetic attempt by the screenwriting crew to make the movie more faithful to the themes of the novel (written in the 60's by Richard Yates). But instead of doing it WELL through subtlety, good shots and character development, Revolutionary Road has the tendancy to editorialize. And it's not a good thing.

The film-making itself is decent. Kate and DiCaprio are VERY good actors and are extremely powerful in the lead roles. Their performaces are enough reason to see the movie, and the combination of tension, physical violence, sexual frustration, and sheer rage is remarkably realistic and intriguing. The subsidiary cast, however, does a terrible job of keeping up with the two leads' power and dynamic development. Essentially, the movie falls apart whenever Kate and DiCaprio aren't onscreen togher. However, the movie is redeemed by good cinematography and a decent original score. If anything, I'd nominate Revolutionary Road for an Oscar simply based on the great shots of Leo DiCaprio in the train station, surrounded by dress-conforming businessmen. Again, blatant, but well-done.

MY RATING: Good acting and mediocre everything else. See only if you're a fan of DiCaprio and/or Winslet. Otherwise leave it to the pile of forgettable American dramas.

Snow day

It was a snow day today. Most of my classes were canceled, due to the fact that the University doesn't want people tripping and dying on snowy bricks. A good policy, in my opinion.

I got to thinking about snow. Tiny fluttering bits of snow falling to the ground and making a neat little layer of white tufts on the pavement. The snow that nips your face with cold, no matter which direction you go. Snow got me thinking about life in general and what a strange metaphor it is for humanity. In my mind, I associated snow with fragility. How pure and innocent it seems when lying on the sidewalk, or on a bridge, paved with bricks. A hand running across the stony rail could disrupt the entire thing, leaving uneven streaks of white with brick showing underneath. Small, almost petal-like drops of snow falling from a hand when it leaves the rail.

"How fragile is our existence!" is what my brain wants to scream. "How easily marred by our own interventions!" You see, a hand running across a rail can not only disrupt an almost completely natural scene, but it can also be used for far more nefarious things, like forming a snowball to throw at passers-by. This "innocent" act (which I was prone to twice today) isn't so much a question of small annoyances, or even potential but a question of instinct. There's something inside of us all that wants to deform that perfect line of snow, to trudge down and make footprints of out own on a canvas where there are none. There's something inside of us that wants to take nature, or each other, and subject it to our will. You see what I mean? Human instinct has unlimited potential for creativity. Freud's "Id" idea, again, says that all untapped creative potential lies in our subconscious. But at what cost? Our instinct to "mess with things". To mess with nature and to mess with each other. It's frightening sometimes.

Sometimes it seems to me that mankind can't leave well-enough alone. Of course, if we followed the "do no harm" instinct, we wouldn't even be able to create pine boxes to bury ourselves in time to keep up with our extinction from this earth. In short, out ability to "mess with nature" is useful. But it's also destructive. And I'm not one to go onto lengthy preachy discourses on this, but examples are obvious.

My concern is where the line is drawn. Isn't enough enough sometimes? And how far do we pry into the lives of others? That's, as Hamlet would say, the rub. I pose no solution to this dilemma. All I ask is that you think of that the next time your instinct tells you to sweep your hand across a snow-covered table, or tread a new path through snowy bricks.

People who inspire me: David Bowie and Dane

Hey guys, quick update before I start bloggin'. Yes, I am back at school. I'm approaching the semester with a whole lot of hope and a whole lot of honesty. As such, I hope you'll keep with me and listen to what I have to say.

The following series idea came from a discussion that Dane came up with (inspired by Steven Spielberg's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes). The question was, which people inspire you? What kinds of authors, directors, musicians inspire you to create (in my case, blog and write creatively)? I've decided to extend this a little bit and pick one person in culture who inspires me and one person from my everyday life who inspires me. I hope you enjoy the series. And as always, comments are greatly appreciated.

1. David Bowie. David Bowie has only very recently begun to inspire me. I'd always been aware of his music, hits like Let's Dance, China Girl, Heroes, and Under Pressure. Famous stuff. I began to delve into his pyramid-like discography further once I discovered "Sound and Vision", a track off of "Low" that served to inspire Trent Reznor on his work with "The Downward Spiral" (as you probably know, one of my favorite albums).

David Bowie has a remarkable talent at storytelling. From Ziggy Stardust's "Starman" and "Ziggy Stardust," it's easy to get enraptured in his ballad-esque retelling of Ziggy and his life. I can only hope to imitate the ease in which Bowie's lyrics blend brilliantly with his acoustic/electric guitar pairings. For me, it's like Poetry's clever dance with rhythm and meaning. When it works, it works beautifully. The other thing that inspires me about Bowie is his daring in adding little-teensy-tiny bits of social commentary without seeming overwhelming or in-your-face. My favorite song of his is easily "Rebel Rebel," which (masked behind a rockin' melody) tells the story of a rebellious girl who is opressed by society into conforming to traditional girl stereotypes. Brilliant stuff, and not nearly as preachy and stupid as so-called "Social rockers" like Allanis Morrisett, John Mayer, and Mellisa Etheridge.

2. Dane K. Dane has always served as an inspiration to me, not only the fact that I've known him for 17 years (go figure), but just because he is a real friend to me. It's with Dane, more than anyone else, that I can have intellectual conversations and meaningful discussions. Dane is one of those persons who you can always pick up conversations exactly where we leave off (though our inundation of text messages through the day ensure there's few gaps). His knowledge of classic movies, music, pop culture, politics, social trends, and so much more continue to fascinate me, along with his amazing ability to remember EVERY DARN LITTLE DETAIL about everything. Whether it's quoting a movie, line by line, or asking him what year an album was released, Dane's knowledge is 100% accurate...Though there's only a 33% chance of that :P I could go on for pages, but I just want to touch on some tiny inside jokes that always serve to amuse and inspire....such as...*deep breaths* "Is space time continuum remote mine?", Tori Amos, David "Boowie", "Oh...Apples!", Burnout Revenge, "I can't stand him!", "None more black", and so much more... So anyways, here's to Dane and David Boowie, who will always keep me on my toes.

Music Essay: An ode to Nu Metal. It’s significance, rise and fall, and hopes for revival

I was walking through Target today (go figure) and saw a copy of Disturbed’s album “The Sickness.” Remember that? Catchy, frantic, angsty, METAL! Great music to rock out to. Disturbed, and all the other bands that were pegged in the late 90’s-early 2000’s as “Nu Metal,” essentially dominated the popular metal scene, establishing some of the biggest names in modern rock (Linkin Park, Korn, Slipknot, etc.) and producing some classic albums.

But almost as quickly as it caught on, the very same angsty, chains-wearing teenage boys listening to the stuff suddenly decided that Nu Metal wasn’t cool and started ditching Nu Metal bands like the plague (or the Sickness, if you will). Bands like Linkin Park, Staind, Papa Roach, and P.O.D. were forced to adapt or die. And in many instances, some bands didn’t get off the Titanic quickly enough and are now swimming in the oceans of obscurity. The question that I want to explore today is “why?” Why was Nu Metal so popular, important, and (in my opinion) awesome in the late 90’s-early 2000’s and suddenly completely culturally IRRelevant today?

To find the answer, it’s necessary to briefly examine the history of Nu Metal. Anthrax is widely accepted for creating the genre with their song “Bring the Noise,” both a remake and collaboration with Public Enemy in 1991. The distorted, syncopated guitar riffs combined with the rapping created a decidedly noisy rap-metal combination that worked brilliantly (check out the original song). Out of the spark of Anthrax came the fire of Korn. Korn’s 1994 eponymous debut album ranks as one of the most influential metal albums of all time, matching hip-hop drumming, funk baselines, and rapped/sung lyrics with moody, dark guitar riff and a LOT of screaming. This would become the hallmark Nu Metal sound. Korn’s success with “Korn” and “Follow The Leader” inspired other bands to do the same, notably Limp Bizkit, who became the posterchild for the genre as time went on with albums “Three Dolla Bill, Yall$” and “Significant Other”. In 1999, something extraordinary happened. “Significant Other” exploded and gave Nu Metal Top 40 mainstream success with songs like “Nookie” and “Break Stuff” (metal, catchy, and awesome). Along with this came a horde of Nu Metal bands within the next three years. Notably, Papa Roach (“Last Resort”), Slipknot (“Wait and Bleed”), Staind (“It’s Been A While”), P.O.D. (“Boom”, “Youth of a Nation”), and the most popular Nu Metal band of all time, Linkin Park.

Linkin Park is worth mentioning separately for a minute. At the time of Linkin Park’s wildly popular debut “Hyrbrid Theory” in 2000 (which later went diamond), Nu Metal was at its apex. Mike Shinoda’s rap-metal fusion had worked well, creating a classic album that really can’t be paralleled or exceeded. It was at this time that Nu Metal was doomed.

Nu metal’s ultimate demise comes from the fact that the genre is surprisingly inflexible. Nu metal is by definition unable to do much that isn’t metal or rap. The metal-inspired guitar riffs are generally too simple to yield experimentation and most band DJs were unable or unwilling to draw more samples from hip-hop or electronica to explore more of Nu Metal’s potential. Faced with these limitations, Nu Metal MCs/lead singers were unable to crank out catchy new songs that could beat Linkin Park’s grip on the genre, Nu Metal gradually became hackneyed and boring.

By 2002 Bands were forced with the not-too-difficult choice. Ditch Nu Metal or die. Bands who continued to try failed, such as Crazy Town’s pitiful second album “Dark Horse,” Korn’s “Untouchables,” and Papa Roach’s “Lovehatetragedy.” Limp Bizkit’s 2003 effort “Results May Vary” is considered by many to be one of the worst albums of all time. By Linkin Park’s less-successful “Meteora” in 2003, it was clear that Linkin Park was no longer able to carry the genre on it’s own. Nu metal was dead.

Established bands like Staind and Korn began to drift into the broader world of Alternative Rock, wielding more organic sounding guitar riffs, while some like Slipknot and Disturbed, abandoned the hip-hop element almost entirely and dove headfirst into Alternative Metal. Even Linkin Park changed its tune on “Minutes to Midnight” in 2006 to a much lighter, much less electronic rock.

Today, no successful Nu Metal band exists. The genre has become extinct. Is there hope for a revival? Chances are, not for a few years at least. The genre is still far too fresh in the minds of Top 40 kids and too painful for metalheads to remember (who now consider Nu Metal a blemish on the face of rock, due to their painful failures towards the end of the period). Rumor has it that Linkin Park will be returning to Nu Metal on their 2009 album, and thus, have a hope of reigniting the genre.

In my opinion, if any band wishes to learn from the rise and fall of Nu Metal, it’s that you can’t be inflexible. There’s constantly more room for experimentation. Not EVERYTHING has to be hyper-heavy, driven by hip-hop beats, and feature a catchy syncopated guitar riff/electronic hook. Let’s take Linkin Park’s “Given Up” off of “Minutes to Midnight,” which is brief restyling of their older work. It starts off with completely different instrumentation: organic clapping, and live-recorded drum beats. Still the syncopated guitar riffs, still the scratching and the dark baseline with screaming. But new song structure: a bridge with a build up to screaming and an synthesized guitar riff, then back to the main chorus. Inventive, no?

I’d like to see more of Nu Metal in the future. But until then, I’ve still got some “Issues” with Korn, and some “Chocolate Starfish” with Limp Bizkit to tide me over. If Nu Metal can “Break The Cycle” (Staind reference, for all you fans), maybe we’ll see a resurgence.

Humor: Oh my random work life...

Hey guys, just wanted to share something funny that happened at work today. Thanks to the miracle of blogs and anonymity, I can fully divulge the story, getting into the gruesome and hilarious details.

So, I'm helping this woman at Target check out. She's probably in her mid forties. She was dressed FAR too sluttily for her age. Low low cut black top, mega-eyeshadow, middle-aged Southern accented housewife, wrinkling, angsty, distracted by kids... Urgh. Not my favorite kind of person. Inevitably, they're the kind of person who'll get frustrated with their own inability to shop and then somehow take it out on me...

Which is ironically what happened. Her kids were running around like possessed pineapples (quite a site), pulling on her skirt and saying 'MOMMMYYY I WANNTTT THISSS..." in whiny almost-constipated voices. Mommy was a little busy checking out. Mommy, as I'm now referring to her, pitifully failed at keeping her kids quiet, allowing one to scream bloody murder when the toy wasn't placed on the belt. Screams...

Screams and more screams....And some screaming occured. In the meantime, I'm trying to be friendly. Distract the kids (so they'll stop screaming, dammit) and asking her about the price of some item ('cause the computer didn't have it on file). She starts getting snippy with ME, saying literally "Can't you see I've got my hands full?" Jeez.

Well, I was feeling rather smug while she glared at me. She asked to borrow my pen to write a check. So I hand her the pen. And as God's divine providence would have it, the pen seemed to magically FLIP out of her fingers...and into her open shirt. Wedged RIGHT BETWEEN HER BOOBS.

So, I'm TRYING to hold back the laughter erupting in my chest. She turns a bright shade of pink and waves her hands around frantically. It was like she was trying to shoo away a fly nipping at her boobs, and all the while squeeking awkwardly. Her kids by now had stopped their whining and paid attention to Mommy's plight. Unfortunately what COULD have been mildy humorous shenanigans turned into MORE awkwardness when she got the courage to gently remove the wedged pen with her highly-manicured nails.

I had kind of lost track by this point (blown away by what I was seeing). It took some time for her to get it out (why I am not sure). She smiled at me awkardly, put the pen down beside her, and paid with her credit card.

"Have a nice day," I said...CRIKEY! Incidentally, the kids walked away without a word. Crikey.

Re-introduction

Hey guys. Well, freewebs was not working too well for me. It was too hard for people to post comments and just generally hard to use. I've decided to switch to Blogger.com for now, to both streamline the process and to give me more user-friendly access. The only downside is that the layout is not longer quite as cool. As always, I appreciate your support and continual COMMENTS! One step closer to world domination!!

Shout Outs:
rosiebeast for being my first official follower!

Music Review: Thr33 Ringz - T-Pain (2008)

I'll always remember when I discovered T-Pain (and as my close friends know, I'm very proud of my discovery of T-Pain). I heard "I'm Sprung" on internet radio, a interesting little ditty about T-Pain's obnoxious woman-on-the-side. I instantly fell in love with the song and with T-Pain's sexy synthesized sanging. Using a vococorder in R&B? Back in 2004, that was unheard of! Synthesized singing was relegated to techno and late-90's Cher-esque pop. Certainly not R&B material. From his breakout in 2005 with "I'm N' Luv (Wit a Stripper)" he has singlehandedly changed the game and restructured the components of what makes a sucessful R&B single.

It's not hard to hear T-Pain's effects on the music world. Synthesized main vocals in pop/R&B is now commonplace. And, let's face it, T-Pain has been so damn successful, he's featured on just about every Top 40 song known to man. Since "Epiphany" in 2006, some might think that T-Pain has lost the ability to become original. Far from it. Thr33 Ringz could be his strongest album ever.

Thr33 Ringz has all the classic elements of his previous albums. Catchy club jams, and witty jams featuring guest performers like Ciara and all that. "Freeze" and "Can't Believe It" are fun and catchy, and so is "Blowin' Up" and "It Ain't Me". But in Thr33 Ringz, T-Pain gets experimental like never before. "Chopped N' Screwed" is hilariously chopped and screwed, leading to a perfect beat and clever arranging. And "Reality Show" exhibits what T-Pain does best. Take a melodramatic/raunchy subject and make it somewhat plausible as song material in a semi-comedic way. Like "Yo Stomach" and "I'm 'N Luv (Wit a Stripper)", Reality show made me laugh out loud for a few minutes and then think "You know, that's actually not a terrible idea...". I'm embarrassed to say I didn't think of it myself.

And I must quickly mention that his vocals have gotten even better. Since "Fly Away" on his first album "Rappa Ternt Sanga", there's been quite a lot of debate in the music industry over whether or not he can ACTUALLY sing or if he's covering his poor voice with electronics. On Thr33 Ringz, he sufficiently bashes all haters and proves that he can sing, with a synthesizer-free ballad about his family. I'm hearing some Donny Hathaway influences on here, plus some good ole Marvin Gaye. T-Pain has yet to show that he's got the vocal range, though he certainly has soul.

Thr33 Ringz is not without its misses, however. "Change" is VERY disappointing, especially given the caliber or it's guest performers. And DJ Khaled ruins everything (DJ Khaled's only skill set) on "Karaoke". It's nice to see that there's only about 4 songs that really suck from the 15 we are given (a higher ratio for a T-Pain album). Thematically, the other thing that Thr33 Ringz lacks is the serious sort of adult introspection that we heard during his early dayz on Rappa Ternt Sanga with songs like "Fly Away" and "Going Through a Lot". Even Epiphany had some serious content with "Suicide"'s exploration into drugs and AIDS. Songs like that made T-Pain unique in this word of pimpin', club-hoppin', and pimp-slappin' R&B. I'm sort of sad to see T-Pain's serious side disappear, though his fun side is equally as witty. But Thr33 Ringz is essentially a jam album, not a sob fest.
MY RATING: Hard to be dissapointed by the major singles and the clever b-sides, especially if you liked Rappa Ternt Sanga.

Movie Review: Twilight (2008)

Ah, Twilight. The series that everyone loves to hate. I broke down finally and decided to see the movie, hoping that all the fuss about Edward Cullen was actually based in fact, and not the fantasies of adolescent teenagers. I was unfortunately disappointed to realize that Twilight is neither substance nor style. It’s a bit more “suck.”

I’ll provide a brief plot summary: Bella is an awkward high school girl who has moved to be with her father. There are vampires at her high school and she gets the hots for one in particular named Edward Cullen. Hijinks ensue. A rival vampire tries to eat Bella and Edward wants to eat Bella, but doesn’t at the same time. Lots of drama.

Not to say that Twilight wasn’t enjoyable. But enjoyable in the sense that it was just good enough to give the audience some hope of getting involved in the Bella-Edward love story without reading the series and just bad enough to tear these hopes apart. It’s a good story and all, but the moviemaking is just generally shitty.

The acting is sub-par. Bella is awkward in places when she shouldn’t be and overdramatic and “gaspy” everywhere else. Edward acts stoned and boring. It’s hard to see what’s so admirable or attractive about him when all he does is be mean and overprotective to Bella without showing much tenderness. I don’t get it… But the 14-year-old screaming teenyboppers certainly think differently. The rest of the Cullen family gets very little chance to develop in 2 hours and is also pitifully under-acted, especially Jacob, who indeed looks too much “in pain” to be taken seriously.

The special effects look like they were rejected from the early seasons of “Smallville”. The “glitterface” effect on Edward is awfully embarrassing and the strength/speed effects are boring. But hey, at least it makes for fun inside jokes.

However, there are some redeeming moments. The costumes are badass, with Edward, Alice, and James being the most notable. The direction is generally good, with truly impressive scenes, such as Bella and Edward on the top of the trees. And there’s a decent amount of suspense towards the end, though that in itself poses a problem because it moves too quickly to be stained.

MY RATING: Twlight is one of those book-to-movie translations that is mandatory for fans of the series and is decent for 14-year-old girls. For the rest of us “adult” viewers and for film critics, Twilight is decidedly unimpressive

Movie Review: Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)

It’s been called the worst movie of 2008 and one of the worst movies of all time. Of ALL TIME.
This strange, twisted, violent, hilarious futuristic musical is not all that bad, and it certainly IS a must-see.

Brief plot Summary: Due to an epidemic that causes organ failure, GENECO finances replacement organs for money like one would a car. But if you don’t make your payments…GENECO sends out…the Repo man who will (in the words of Graverobber) “rip the still-beating heart from your chest!” Shilo is an invalid teenager who catches the eye of the President of GENECO, Rotti Largo who is dying and hates his three kids who will inherit his empire. Shilo’s dad Nathan, however, hides many secrets, including the fact that he is a Repo man. Drama and plot twists ensue.

Like a circus sideshow, Repo! is hard to look away from. Since it was produced by the same people who made the “Saw” series, there’s plenty of bodies and gore. The general “problem” or strength or Repo! depending on how you look at it, is the fact that this semi-comedic, semi-serious treatment of very mature themes is wrapped up into a futuristic industrial rock musical. It’s sometimes hard to know when you’re supposed to cover your eyes in fear or to laugh hysterically. If this sounds dumb to you, then you’ll probably hate the movie. If it sounds awesome, then you’re sure in for a thrill ride.

The acting is surprisingly decent. Repo! sports good performances and *gasp* decent singing from the likes of Alexa Vega (of Spy Kids fame), Paris Hilton, Ogre (of Skinny Puppy, the best Industrial band ever) and Sarah Brightman.

The cinematography reminds me of traditional opera structures, returning to leitmotifs and a central image (the huge television floating above GENECO) to move the plot along. The use of comic-book panels to explain background flashback quickly also is extremely effective at imparting crucial bits of information without wasting too much time. And in this film with as many plot twists as dead bodies, it’s extremely necessary.

The soundtrack is really where it’s at. Catchy industrial rock pairs with humor and musical glee in hilarious numbers like “Mark It Up” and “We Started This Opera Shit” and serious numbers like “Chase The Morning”. And the ending…well, by the time you uncover your eyes, it actually is heartfelt and meaningful, making the audience feel like this wasn’t exactly a huge waste of time.

MY RATING: Amusing for fans of the genre (and by that I mean musicals, horror, and industrial rock). A cult classic at its core, but pretty inaccessible to the general movie-going population.

Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

To call “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” one of the best films of 2008 is an understatement. To call it one of the best films of the 21st century is more appropriate.

I can’t stop raving about Benjamin Button and its amazingness, and apparently, neither can other critics. There’s so much to talk about, I’ll have to relegate my commentary to stuff that you can’t find on other critical websites. It’s no secret that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the new “Forest Gump”. Eric Roth “adapted” both the sucky novel by Winston Groom and the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. And “adapted” in both instances means improved. Mr. F. Scott’s story is not one of his best and Eric Roth took the best elements (the science-fiction element of a man living his life backwards) and created an almost-original story with which to examine the human condition.

From the start of the movie’s remarkable technique of explaining the story through flashbacks between the past and 2005 Louisiana being ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, we know that we’re being given something different. The strengths of Benjamin Button come from its excellent storytelling, largely due to the efforts of directorial genius David Fincher (who brought us Alien3, Fight Club, and Se7en). There are a multitude of brilliant eye-waterin’ visuals. My favorites are the excellent boat shots during WWII and the scene of Ben and Daisy on the fog-covered veranda. It’s such a joy to watch a director who really knows what’s visually attractive and knows how to exploit it in a way that’s not corny, melodramatic, or overreaching. In the face of so many so-called “modern epics” like “300” that use such sweeping visuals and Matrix-inspired stop-motion techniques, it’s nice to see a little subtlety to make a good scene. There’s no shortage of tension and drama in Ben Button either. You get emotionally invested in the characters and their fates, to the point that if you look around in the theatre near the end of the movie, there’s hardly a dry eye.

There’s so much emotional and thematic depth that I want to just briefly touch on without spoiling the plot. The symbols of the hummingbird and the backwards clock both bridge the story from start to finish, acting as a motif for change and permanency. The fact that life is fleeting and death is inevitable, but also beauty to be had in the life that one can live. Brilliant stuff. Couldn’t be better written in a novel, and certainly works great on the big screen.

And all the other elements of the story work great too. The characters of Benjamin and Daisy are compelling and extremely well-acted by Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. The special effects are worth mentioning too, and I’m confident in their ability to secure Academy Awards.

Speaking of those daggum little gold statues that mean so much, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button should be a shoe-in for Best Picture in any other year besides the 2009 Awards. 2008 had some of the best movies in decades, so it’s a little unfair that Ben Button, Doubt, Slumdog Millionaire, Burn After Reading, Gran Torino, and The Dark Knight have to be running all together for the same spots. Let’s hope the Academy given The Curious Case a little somethin’ somethin’ on February 22nd (day after my birthday, mind you) and give it the recognition it deserves.
MY RATING: Benjamin Button is one of those films that will be considered classic for years and years to come. It’s indeed another Forest Gump. Heartfelt and extremely replayable.