Movie: Angel Heart

There are a few different contexts in which the devil shows up in pop culture. One, which as of late seems to have been forgotten by the movie industry, is in the Louisiana Voodoo context in which Satan has a southern drawl and is surrounded by acts of sacrifice, hexes and shrines with animal bones etc. Angel Heart, a Robert De Niro classic, capitalizes on this sort of Satanic representation and does so with a noirish approach following a private detective played by Mickey Rourke. Rourke is initially sent to investigate a debt long overdue, but in time realizes what he's chasing is his own identity guided by none other than the dark lord himself.

I'll admit that the voodoo approach rarely instills the feeling of horror i crave from a satanic premise, but horror wasn't the focus of Angel Heart. I never felt the feeling of loss that horror movies take advantage of because we were always under the watchful protection of Rourke's charming character. The way he interacted with people, and the way he went about his investigation was comforting, giving us the sense that he was always in control. This feeling of trust was reinforced in every aspect of the storyline until the ultimate conflict, which was simply the question of whether his actions were of his own choosing or at the will of Satan.

Highly recommended for those who appreciate darkness.

4/5

TV Series: Kings

A few weeks ago I discovered the browse shows option on Hulu and found a few shows cancelled in their first season that should've gotten at least a second chance. The first i happened upon was Kings. It wasn't the concept that attracted me to this show rather the presence of Ian McShane as the primary character. After watching the HBO Deadwood series McShane has my full attention with anything he chooses to do.The characters he portrays are unbelievably good, full of passion and charm, but with the ability to cut your throat without hesitation.

The show's premise is simple: Modern society under the rule of a monarchy with challenges as large as battling the current war with a neighboring nation and as small as family disputes between the King and his wife and children. The show initially comes off a little soap opera-esque, but the linear storyline definitely keeps you interested with plot twists coming often and unexpectedly. My favorite aspect of the show was the strong theme of fate and it's hold on reality. There were many times in the storyline that a "sign" was revealed to lead a particular character through a conflict. It's a very attractive and unique concept when contrasted to the directionless reality we inhabit.

McShane is certainly the driving force of the show with younger actors following his lead and from my opinion they do a damn fine job. After the 13 episodes of it's first season i wanted there to be much more to delve into, but alas, NBC aborted and the show was lost forever. After doing a little research apparently most of the reason the show was cancelled was due to poor advertising leading up to the premier, which is certainly true from my perspective considering i hadn't heard of Kings until i stumbled upon it now, but i'm certiainly glad i did and would recommend it to anyone.

Movie: Avatar

So... After all the negative opinions surrounding this film, i finally sat down and took it in, trying to be as open and unbiased as possible.
First i'll explain the flaws as i saw them:

1) Poor casting: Namely Giovanni Ribisi and Sigourney Weaver. As Parker Selfridge, the commander of the operation on Pandora, Giovanni had hopes of playing a shallow business man looking at the bottom line of a financial transaction, but with his whiney voice and weak delivery he came off spineless and never posed any threat as the primary villain.
Sigourney had intended to play the harsh but motherly scientist, but this was also lacking because she came off as cold and somewhat detached. Of course this could have been easily avoided with a very simple amount of character development, but alas, such a thing was never attempted.

2) Forced Dialog: There were several moments in this film where a character would say something that was obviously intended to describe them but seemed out of place in natural dialog. Stephen Lang (the colonel) had a few of these moments, where he was saying things that fit the character of a "badass," but with no reason and with little effect on whoever he was talking to.

3) Flexing 3D muscle: Some scenes were obviously only part of the movie because they would look neat in 3D, which in my opinion defeats the purpose. As soon as you notice something like that it removes you from the experience, reminding you that you're just watching an illusion rather than being immersed in the environment.

4) Music: I'm not sure why Cameron would skimp on something that caused great success before. I mean we all remember that god damn Celine Dion song (Titanic) no matter how much we want to forget it. There was nothing even remotely memorable in the score for Avatar and that's a real shame.

Now for the pros:

1) Real human emotion: With Avatar i really think Cameron has combined the basic strengths of two summer movie creators: Michael Bay and Michael Mann. Bay obviously for the effects, but Mann because of the emotion. Although Mann has flopped on his most recent movies i've always thought his presentation of human expression evokes empathy in the viewer on a level not many artists can achieve. Cameron has demonstrated this a few times before, but this is his strongest example. There were moments between the main character and his love interest that i felt what they were feeling, even under all the CG of an alien face which is unbelievably impressive. The technology and creativity they used to capture human expression and convey it through an artificial face must have been astounding. So props; I felt something Cameron.

2) Originality: There were some creative quirks presented that really surprised me. The one that stood out the most was the connection the alien race had with their environment, not only on a spritual level, but on an actual physical level where they would literally plug into their environment and feel what each creature was feeling. This allowed for a really novel presentation of the evidence of actual spirituality and evidence of an afterlife in the form of a large tree that captured the memories of ancestors long dead. Really neat imagery, really beautiful idea.

3) Confirming Zoe Saldana as a fox: I explained before the detail in human expression from these aliens. Well, this girl comes off as down right sexy even though we never see her actual face or body. Just awesome. And she's my nomination for best performance in the film. Her war screams and desperate cries were spot on.

The last thing I'll mention is a really substantial risk Cameron took writing this:

4) Hatred for American culture and the killing of a butt-load of enlisted men as a statement: I understand that this movie was at the heart a social commentary against the slash and burn mentality of the US, but damn did a lot of innocent men die in this film. I had some mixed feelings about this mostly because i was relating to the alien race more than the human race, but i think it was deliberate and constructed to do exactly that; to give the viewers mixed feelings and provoke them to ask questions. A pros list aspect for sure.

So, yes, it had flaws, but i'm tired of pretentious people sticking their nose up at this film, especially those who refuse to see it. It's just a movie, and it's certainly one worth seeing and talking about.

3/5

Movie: Thirst

Great choice after getting through Daybreakers. Another vampire movie but with real emotion, real human conflict and an intimate look into Korean culture. It's a ground up movie beginning with the original creation of the vampire, a priest, then following him through denial then acceptance while interacting with characters along the way. The most important supporting character, his love interest, is equal parts charming and psychotic, which is a perfect complement to the priest's somewhat peaceful approach. The priest's inner conlfict takes center stage for most of the movie, but mixed with great acting from the supporting characters, odd, sometimes surreal plot twists and the final scene, this is a focused, balanced instant classic in the vampire movie genre.

Movie: Daybreakers

Spoilers for sure, beware:

I saw a trailer for this a while back and it somewhat piqued my interest. I know the resurgence of vampire movies is getting a little bit overwhelming but being a big fan of the classics (Dracula, Nosferatu) and an advocate of all things dark and bloody, I generally keep an eye on any new entries into the genre of Vampire Movie (except the twilight bullshit, fuck that)

The setting in this one is what sets it apart from the rest. The storyline begins at a point where most of the world is inhabited by vampires and there is only a very small percentage of the human population left for the vampires to feed on. The idea is unique and certainly screams social commentary, but the execution falls somewhat short. I see this scenerio happen to a lot of ambitious films. The premise is new and exciting, but the writer spends too much time explaining the situation and not enough time creating a sense of intimacy with the characters and the plot. Instead of feeling like we're following the characters closely through a series of conflicts, we're forced to take a passive observatory role, not really caring what happens to the characters or being curious of where the plot is going. This is how I felt most of the way through Daybreakers even though Willem Dafoe did all he could to save the weak scripting job.

Another thing that bothered me was an introduction of a few rules of being a vampire, not that i'm against new rules (i'm all for innovation on an old idea) but the over-simplification of them ruined any credibility. The first rule: You can become a human after being a vampire by sitting out in the sun for just the right amount of time before being baked. This one is pretty sketchy considering the point at which the story takes place. You'd think a couple vampires would discover this some time before the entire world was inhabited by them and the idea that a dead organ, your heart, would just start beating again after years of being dead... probably not.

Second rule: Once you become human after being a vampire, your blood will turn any vampire who bites you back into a human. This is just a simple reversal of the original rule of if you're bitten by a vampire you become a vampire, which is a nice thought, but this one just seems like a simple plot device to return the vampire population back into humans.

To sum up, human life is complicated. Vampire life should be just as complicated, so any simple explanations are just hard to believe, even if we're dealing with the most ridiculous of fantasies.

Good atmosphere, a couple good ideas, poor execution.

2/5

Comedy Performance: Jimmy Carr Telling Jokes

Awesome, the man is a genius. Half of his show was based on audience, based on complete improv and it was like he does that all the time. Carr can make a legitimate joke out of any subject material given to him. And, the final segment of most offensive jokes ever was priceless in the most insanely horrible ways. Please be a fan of this epic comedian with me.

5/5

Movie: Harry Brown

Fairly respectable vigilante film about an old man seeking revenge against local hoodlums who killed his only friend. I watched this after having seen multiple positive reviews and comments like "Best UK film in years" etc. Statements like this got my hopes up a little too high. The final product was decent, but it didn't have as much depth as i was looking for. And, the plot twist at the end was a little too convenient to be realistic. Michael Caine was perfect for the role and gave a great performance, but i was feeling a little let down by the simplicity of the story when the ending wrapped up to a neat package of justice. So, if you're looking for blood and vengeance against mislead youth, this is the ticket. But if you have a taste for rich story and character drama i'd say to look elsewhere.

3/5

Movie: Broken Flowers

I rewatched this movie last night specifically to be able to write a little blurb so i can look back on it in years to come. Broken Flowers is one of the many Jim Jarmusch movies i've enjoyed over the past couple years, although the story is shrouded in controversy. According to an MSNBC article the original script was stolen by some unknown producer and adapted by Jim Jarmusch into what is known as Broken Flowers. It's not that i completely deny this, but i'm skeptical. It's possible that many of the events were taken for basic plot lines but this movie wreaks of Jarmusch, with sparse but meaningful dialog, lots of emotional pauses, twists and underlying themes that create color but never divert focus away from the deep characters. Broken Flowers is one of my favorites from Jarmusch simply because he chose Bill Murray as the lead role. The charm and subtle curiosity in his character was spot on perfect and every other character even though briefly introduced and fleating was surprisingly memorable. I think my favorite moment though was when the pickup truck driven by a couple of bikers pulls up to him blasting Dopesmoker by Sleep which means not only is Jarmusch a brilliant film maker but listens to some badass music. So even though the story may have been unjustly lifted from the hands of the less fortunate, the final product is a perfect example of an indie film done right.

5/5

Matt's 2009 Top 10

1. Katatonia - Night is the New Day



2. Ancestors - Of Sound Mind



3. Muse - The Resistance



4. The Bakerton Group - El Rojo


5. Giant Squid - The Ichthyologist



6. Kylesa - Static Tensions



7. The Company Band - The Company Band



8. Russian Circles - Geneva



9. Gorod - Process of a New Decline



10. Sunn O))) - Monoliths & Dimensions

Movie: The Insider

Russel Crowe's best role that i've seen and always nice to see Al Pacino doing his thing with ferocity. The way this story was portrayed was interesting. Instead of focusing on the strength of the public on the issue of tobacco addiction, the writers chose to focus directly on a few major characters and forget about public opinion completely. From this perspective i expected it to lack a certain strength in numbers, but this movie wasn't lacking on emotion. For an issue that would seem aged and uninteresting today this story hit hard with me on an emotional level. I found myself hanging on every conflict overwhelmed with anticipation of the outcome. Superb film all around.

5/5

Best of 2009

#1 - Ahab - The Divinity of Oceans

I love concept albums. To take a story from the past and express it musically you are attempting to capture the emotion that was felt while the events actually took place. This abum is based on the whaling ship Essex. I'll describe the story for you: While at sea the crew of the ship was attcked by a freakishly large sperm whale. The whale rammed itself into the side of the ship until it was destroyed and sank into the ocean. The men managed to escape the wreckage by way of three life boats and found an island on which to wait for help to come. Instead of conserving their resources the men gorged themselves on all the island had to offer and within weeks they were starving and seemingly doomed. Two groups ventured back out to sea to increase their chances of being rescued. Three men chose to stay on the island. The situation became more and more dire with starvation taking the first few lives. The men decided to resort to cannibalism feasting on the corpses of their shipmates. After the dead were consumed, the remaining men chose to draw straws to see who would be killed, and from another set of straws, decide who would be the executioner. 95 days after the Essex sank those who survived in the life boats were rescued by the Daughin, another whaling ship. It was said that the men were so dissociative that they didn't even notice the Dauphin alongside them. The men on the island were also eventually rescued moments away from death.
Now imagine the emotion that might have been felt during those 95 days. Ahab took it upon themselves to retell the story in such a way that we might know what happened to the crew of the Essex, that we might feel what it was like to face that level of desperation. This is the album of the year because it provides insight into the unthinkable and does so by redefining the genre of funeral doom. The Divinity of Oceans is expertly composed, perfectly executed, and will remain in my memory as the high point of 2009.

Best of 2009

#2 - YOB - The Great Cessation

I haven't been seeing The Great Cessation on many year end lists and that's sort of surprising. When this first came out i saw all sorts of forums with conversations that went as follows,
"Hey! did you hear the new YOB???"
"Dude, knocked me on my ass, heaviest fucking album of the year"
"I know! god damn beast"
It's possible with time the initial effect wore off and people were left feeling unsatisfied. I was not one of those people. Although not my number 1 pick, it is the album i've listened to most this year with spins comfortably into the double digits. I enjoy this one from start to finish exposing myself to new levels of distortion and surprises of ambient noise with each listen, but there are a few moments that knock me right on my ass. Not much music these days can give me that feeling that rushes up my spine and makes the hair on my neck stand up but for these moments it happens every time. It's the only album that makes me feel like the 800 watt stereo in my car isn't loud enough. At times i think i would willingly sacrifice my inner ear because it makes me feel close enough to transcendence that i can actually feel my worldly existence burning away. So anyone who wants to go on a road trip and maybe transition into the ether with some YOB, call me.

Best of 2009

#3 - Urna - Iter ad Lucem

Urna is a band who's musicians have no interest in the stage or having fans or ever attaining any exposure on a grand scale. They stay strictly in the studio creating music for one environment as described in an interview with Mortem Webzine, "...turning the light of your room off, lying alone in your own bed and then wearing your headphones playing the cd on stereo." This approach might come off as pretentious but i appreciate their decision to remain in obscurity. Iter ad Lucem is a work of art that was only meant to be experienced on a deeply personal level. The passages on this album lead the mind into darkness and loss and places normal people won't explore willingly. With each passing track you become more and more accustomed to the style, but in a way that exposes you, that identifies your weakness and capitalizes on it. If you're already prone to question yourself, listening to Iter ad Lucem isn't going to give you any answers. It's going to emphasize the futility of existence and leave you feeling alone. Listen with caution, but appreciate the profound emotional effect this can potentially evoke.

Best of 2009

#4 - Altar of Plagues - White Tomb

I'm very content with how diverse black metal has become over the years. There was a time when black metal was simply blasts with screams of satan mixed with the most primitive equipment possible all for the sake of being "true." Those days are gone. More and more bands are taking black metal as an influence and creating something unique and in the case of Altar of Plagues, profound. White Tomb begins blasting full speed ahead with a traditional approach but as time passes it deconstructs itself piece by piece until you find yourself lost and buried by the oppressive atmosphere. It's as if this album creates a void for the listener; an actual place to exist as the experience becomes less like listening to an album and more like being trapped in a horrible nightmare. White Tomb is an album to be listened to from beginning to end in darkness. Certainly not reasonable material for your gf's mix tape.

Best of 2009

#5 - Gorod - Process of a New Decline

Sometimes i feel like i'm getting somewhere as a guitarist, actually making some amount of forward progress, but then Gorod releases another album and that thought is quickly extinguished. Damnit Gorod... You don't even have the decency to post the full names of your band members so i can look up their life stories and worship them. The guitar work on Process of a New Decline is unbelievably expressive, making use of everything music theory has to offer. But, unlike a lot of other material in this genre it's actually fun to listen to. Tech death bands often sacrifice memorability for liberal amounts of wanking, and honestly Gorod is no exception. However, Gorod has an approach that i find incredibly attractive. The guitar leads are all really fun to listen to, taking advantage of major scales and runs based on classical composition. The percussion is equally impressive, transitioning fluidly from blasts to funky grooves. There's just so much material here, so many brilliant ideas, it seems impossible for a human being to come up with this amount of material in a lifetime, much less 2 years. Process of a New Decline is an incredibly ambitious offering from these guys and it's a work that should be respected by the entire music community.

Best of 2009

#6 - Nile - Those Whom the Gods Detest

Ever since "In Their Darkened Shrines" i've made sure to pay close attention to the work of Nile. I've always been fascinated by modern art that takes strong influence from ancient civilization. I think the interest comes from the brutality of those times. An individual life seemed so insignificant, faced with spiritual cleansing, disease, famine, all at the hands of a supreme deity, either in the from of a man or an illusion. Reality was brutal and life could be taken away from you on a whim. Nile capture this idea and deliver it accurately to the listener. Their bludgeoning execution would seem right at home in that sort of environment which is an odd thing to think about considering electric instrumentation wasn't around back then. Nile has been building upon each release from the start of their career, noting strengths and weaknesses and always comparing their sound to the embodiment of ancient evil, of death, of senseless destruction. Those Whom the Gods Detest is the product of that constant effort; it is their masterpiece in every quantifiable way. This album raises the bar quite high, but i'm confident Nile has a few albums to come that may raise the bar even higher.

Best of 2009

#7 - Ulcerate - Everything is Fire

With each passing year i encounter bands that beg the question "How many times can music redefine the word extreme?" Ulcerate answers the question with a resounding "As many times as we fucking like." This is a visceral offering of music with surgical precision, face melting speed, and abundant discordance capable of making ones skin crawl. On first listen the delivery seems relentless, too chaotic to swallow at times, completely overwhelming, but given time and patience the chaos that was driving you insane starts to become memorable. Once this material begins to germinate in your skull it invades you with infectious groove and layered composition. If you choose to give this a listen, be patient, be open and run through it a few times. I can almost promise the appreciation will come.

Best of 2009

#8 - Katatonia - Night is the New Day

This was a year of progressive music with lots of bands breaking the rules of traditional song structure. Katatonia released this album toward the end of the year and completely ruined the progressive theme. Night is the New Day is the accessible album of the year. Katatonia's style has evolved over the years into something that should be very attractive to the masses. Gone are the days of harsh vocals and 8 minutes tracks. This collection of songs is emotionally charged and memorable. Each track sounds like it could be the single of the album and i thought that on the first listen and each subsequent listen. The only track that really stands out as different from the rest is the final track, and only because of the guest vocalist, which was a bold move for the closer but ultimately satisfying. I remain hopeful for the day Katatonia is played on the radio, but i'm certainly not holding my breath...

Best of 2009

#9 - Process of Guilt - Erosion

This is the first of a few down-tempo death/doom albums that made it onto the list this year. I had not heard of Process of Guilt before, but i'm glad i finally discovered them. This is one hell of a dark album. The atmosphere conveys an unrelenting sense of devastation with waves of massive guitar riffs and forward driving percussion. These musicians have a very well honed sense of tension and release that keeps this album surprising at every turn. With guitar riffs based on bludgeoning heaviness, i expected them to get boring and redundant, but it's the accompaniment that keeps them from repetition, namely the drumming, which was the most refreshing aspect of this album for me. They maintain a slow methodical pace, but manage to stay interesting with tension building fills reliant on the coming riff to resolve them. Erosion is a great example of how relatively simple pieces can come together and create something really extraordinary. Erosion is patient, it's brooding, it's unsettling and easily one of the best albums of the year.

Best of 2009

#10 - Wodensthrone - Loss

There's a lot of boring black metal out there; Black metal bands that focus too much on the message they're trying to convey, and not enough on making interesting passages that keep the listener involved. Wodensthrone accomplish something really special on Loss. They remain loyal to most of the tried and true techniques of black metal: tremelo picking, blast beats, shrieking vocals, but present them in ways that seem fresh by layering them with heavy synth work, growling vocals, momentary Gregorian chant, acoustic passages etc. With these extra techniques one might assume the ultimate composition would seem bloated or cluttered, but not the case with Loss. The composition is tight and underneath all of the musical prowess lies pure emotion. It doesn't take the listener long to sink into the album and forget about comparisons to other black metal. Wodensthrone have created a classic of nature inspired black metal and hopefully they keep churning out music of this caliber in the years to come.

Movie: Spun

This was a fun trip. Apprently the film maker is a recovering meth head and created this movie to convey the idea of being "spun" to his audience. The filming style is shocking at first, but after a few scenes you forget completely about the odd delivery and sink into the story which is involving but fairly light. I sort of expected there to be really dark moments in the life of the drug addicted, but it was all fun even the arrests and explosions. I guess maybe that was part of the perception of being on meth, it's an upper so depression wasn't really included at all in the story. The characters ran about until they were arrested then ran about some more. Jason Schwartman's character was slightly unbelievable just because i don't think he would've been that successful with women. He didn't seem to have much going for him, but it threw some stunning female characters into the mix. Especially his ex-gf who found success while he was shitting away his life on meth; She was fucking beautiful, although only had one line. Overall a bunch of good performaces and it was nice to see Mickey Rourke again so soon after the Wrestler, really great actor. His character stole the show for me as the Cook. The only reason it gets a 4 and not a 5 is because i think the film maker had the opportunity to capture some real darkness with his delivery but kept it a little light and fluffy for my tastes.

4/5