It's the End of the World As We Know it: R.E.M. Breaks Up

   

        I think it was around 2000 or so when I became familiar with R.E.M.  I had watched Man on the Moon (1999) with my mom and heard the title track during the end credits and I immediately fell in love with it.  A loving tribute to the late Andy Kaufman, the lush and soft melody of the tune moved me.  Whether it be Michael Stipe's crooning vocals, Peter Buck's slick and stark guitar lines, Mike Mill's elegant and soft bass or Bill Berry's swift and steady drumming, this is a band that has been an important one for the last three decades and one I have grown to love over the last few years.
        Back in 1980, R.E.M. formed in Athens, Georgia and eventually released their first album in 1983 called Murmur.  It was an interesting record that sounded like nothing of its time.  You couldn't decipher what the hell Michael Stipe was saying and that only made you want to listen to it again and again.  His stream of consciousness vocal and lyrical stylings really struck a chord with me and even though it's said about many songwriters, the man is quite the wordsmitb; he's a poet in many ways.  Bands like Nirvana, Pavement and Radiohead, among many others have cited this band as a major influence and indeed their influence is omniprescent in each of these band's sound.  R.E.M. were pioneers of what has become known as alternative rock and they opened up the doors for many bands that would follow during the 80s and onward.
        When I heard R.E.M. had broken up during the mid-afternoon of September 21st, I was not quite sure of how to react and it was interesting to see people's reactions on the web.   Some were shocked and others were not the least bit surprised.   You could argue R.E.M. lost their way when Bill Berry left in 1997, but to say they did not make a single track worthy of any attention would be a bold faced lie.  Sure the post-Bill Berry albums lacked a certain punch, but they were by no means awful and certainly a lot better than most of the music dominating the airwaves during this past decade.   If I were to choose a favorite R.E.M. album, well that's like choosing a favorite child, they really are all wonderful in their own, individual way.  But, Automatic for the People always resonates me, I actually own the album (a rarity these days) and I appreciate it more and more with each listen.  Whether it be on a drive home from work or a run around the neighborhood, it's always a delight to hear.  R.E.M. may have broken up after an impressive 31 years, but their music is still apart of many people's lives and they couldn't have done it with more class.  While U2 are losing their way (especially lately), atleast R.E.M. has ended on a respectable note.  Cheers to that.

Image: http://www.musicko.com/wp-content/uploads/rem.jpg

The Art of Misdirection

   
        Perhaps it's become a stale topic by now, but marketing and adversiting have certainly made a great impact on the viewing public and not in a positive way.  Of course commercials are meant to gain our interest in all the new movies to be released each and every new season, but is that all they do?  It seems to me that trailers are doing more than just making you aware of a new movie, they're literally give you a concise 2 minute version of the movie.  Not only that, but sometimes you get a completely different movie than what you expected.  Hell, sometimes the trailer is even better than the movie.

       It's hard to say exactly when this trend began, but it seems it's only becoming more and more common.  For example, the trailer for Green Lantern is not even worth watching (you could make the same argument for the movie, but that's another issue).  It literally tells you the entire movie, oh and what's up with these 3 minute movie trailers?   As if American audiences don't have a short enough attention span, why the hell would you make a trailer any longer?  Honestly, don't you want people to actually go to the movie.  Well, I suppose they're doing their job, because people did go to see it (myself included).  Also, it seems very typical for a trailer to misrepresent a movie by making it appear to be something that it is not.  An example of this would be Thor.  Sure, it was a decent movie, but it's not the all out action comic book movie you'd expect it to be after seeing the trailer.  Literally, most of the action is at the end, but the movie wasn't awful, so I can't be completely dissatisfied.

      Okay, so maybe I am overreacting or maybe I am being more than fair.  However, this trend has got to stop.  I know people who choose to view a movie with an open mind and not watch any previews prior.  Perhaps this is the best and only solution.  Until then, Hollywood executives, before I decide to completely give up on you, could you please reconsider your marketing methods and fix this ever so pressing problem.  Until then, I may start to read books again.

Image: http://cinemasights.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/movietrailer-trap.jpg

The Downfall of Hollywood...And Then Some

 

                   
      So, summer is nearly over.  The wonderful people over at Hollywood have churned out a rather high number of incredibly awful films this year, especially during the summer.  You name it and it probably was a dud.  Oh, where to begin?  From the "blockbuster" fare of Green Lantern and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strange Tides to the striving for gold drivel of One Day, Bad Teacher and Hangover 2, it was a rather depressing time to go to the movies.  Not only that, but who wants to spend $11 dollars for all of that?  Not to mention another few bucks if it's in 3D.

       So, of course, the big question is, why?  Why does Hollywood continue to make such trash?  Well, maybe, these films all sounded better on paper, not to mention these rich executives know how to market the hell out of these damn movies.  I am not going to lie, none of the films I mentioned looked truly remarkable, but it's nice to be surprised.  My hopes were clearly a fluke. You look at a movie like Hangover 2 and you wonder what went wrong?  After all, it replicated the formula that made the first one so successful, but therein lies the problem.  There were no surprises, the screenwriters literally rehashed every joke, granted with more raunchiness and envelope pushing humor.   But still, their efforts were wasted.  Hell, the movie was basically the same as the part one, even down to the music cues.   They literally just remade The Hangover and figured it would be just as successful and unfortunately they were correct.  The movie broke records and it's very sad to know that my own money contributed to its massive success.

       Hollywood is banking on nothing (of brilliance), there were literally 3 or 4 very solid films this summer, especially in regards to the big, blockbuster fare.  X-Men: First Class, Super 8, Horrible Bosses, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 are a few titles that come to mind.  But it was still very lackluster, it always bothers me that I have to wait until September or so for the so-called Oscar-caliber films to be released (and even those can be huge disappointments).  Perhaps, I am being a bit too cynical, but Hollywood is going bankrupt with ideas.  Sure, there are great films every year, but they are few and far between and that's truly maddening.  This has got to stop.  I recently saw a video of Rolling Stone's film critic Peter Travers yelling about how much garbage Hollywood has released lately.  While it's always amusing to see a 50 year old guy losing it, he couldn't be more right.

      Ahhh, when will Hollywood learn?  Perhaps, there's more to art than trying to please the masses by actually making good, well-thought and constructed films.  Oh, and when they stop charging me a ridiculous $11, let me know.   I'll stick to Netflix till then.

Images: http://www.blogcdn.com/blog.moviefone.com/media/2009/07/lanternreynolds.jpg
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Time to Look Back - My Top Ten Films of 2010

        Every year, it's always fun to look back at reflect on the films tbat made me proud to be a movie buff and then there are the ones that made me gag and only continue to endorse the death penalty (if only there were such a thing for bad filmmakers).  As I look back on 2010, this was a pretty respectable year for films, (a definite improvement over the dud-fest of last year, for sure) and while I was not able to see every flim released in 2010, I did see quite a few and these were the ones that made the most lasting impression on me.

The list:

1) The King's Speech - Simply the best, featuring arguably the best male performance of the year from Colin Firth, in addition to other excellent performances from Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter.  A film about King George VI of Britain and how he overcame some tough challenges, courtesy of help from his speech therapist.

2) Inception - A great premise boasted by a great cast, a true mind-bender that gives me hope that Hollywood isn't burnt out of ideas. Who thought a film about dream thieves could be this hypnotic?  Some say it's too dense and filled with many layers, but I argue that is the point and beauty of this film.

3) Rabbit Hole - An incredibly moving film about grief, loss and love and featuring some powerhouse performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhardt.  Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Lindsay-Abaire and it does not disgrace it, in anyway.  I cried, I laughed, I yelled, literaly a rollercoaster of emotions and I loved it every minute of it.  Arguably the most emotionally grueling film of 2010 and a must see.

4) The Kids Are All Right - Honest, funny, heartwarming, upsetting, all of these describe this film.  Well written and acted, this is a gem.  Julianne Moore, Annette Benning, Mark Ruffalo and Mia Wasikowska (from Alice in Wonderland) all shine.

5) True Grit - The Coen Brothers can really do no wrong as they've been on (mostly) a winning streak for the last four years.  Here comes the champion remake of 2010 and it is one of those rare remakes to eclipse the original.  Featuring some sharp dialogue, wonderful performances and nice cinematography, this is a terrific flim.  Some say it may collapse slightly at the end, but it didn't slight this film greatly.  See it for the debut performance of Hailee Steinfield, who is nothing short of stunning.

6) Black Swan - Darren Aronofsky knows how to make a film.  Taking a lesson from Roman Polanski, he crafts a film that is part psychological thriler, part horror and part lurid melodrama.  With influences from Repulsion and The Tenant, this is the kind of the film that will we wonderfully welcomed in the so called 'mind-fuck' subgenre.  Ballet as a blood sport, who would've ever thought? With some evocative cinematography and starting images, not to mention Natalie Portman's tour de force performance, this is a film to see.

7) The Social Network - David Fincher is arguably one of the most underrated filmmakers out there and perhaps he will get more recognition with this film and his upcoming remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  While this film is fairly normal, considering it's made by a man who's made some incredibly stylish and dark movies a la Fight Club and Se7en.  The story of Facebook and how it all began.  This is a very good motion picture, featuring a great script by Aaron Sorkin and some great performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake.

8) Toy Story 3 - Definitely the best animated film of 2010.  Pixar makes the best animated films and it's no wonder why as there films can appeal to literally anyone.  While, I thought this film was a bit past its welcome, it proved me wrong.  The toys are back and facing more challenges, sort of a retread of the past two films, but arguably better.  I was shocked by how moved I was throughout viewing this film, I nearly cried.  A film that is as equally moving as it is funny, definitely see this one.

9) The Millenium Trilogy (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with
Fire & The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
-Now you're probably thinking, wow, way to be a cheapskate and put three films down, but I could not help myself.  I enjoyed all the films, however, I feel the first film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is definitely the strongest.  A exciting mystery full of twists and turns,  dealing with murder, deception and so much more.  Noomi Rapace gives perhaps the best and most overlooked female performance of the year, go see it!

10) 127 Hours - To all the naysayers, James Franco can definitely act and this film proves it.  Danny Boyle making a wild turn from his last award-winning Slumdog Millionaire delivers an exciting story about survival at the most unlikely odds.  James Franco gives the best performance of his career.  While there is some grueling and graphic imagery, it serves the purpose of the story.  Also, a wild and evocative soundtrack from A.R. Rahman of Slumdog Millionaire.

Honorary Mentions: Fish Tank, Winter's Bone, The Fighter, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World, The Red Riding Trilogy & Blue Valentine

As with every year, it's tough to choose ten films that represent an excellence in film, but I feel that these movies did their job and did it oh so very well.  Some will disagree with my list and that's more than fine as everyone is entitled to their opinions.  I should note that this is a list of my ten favorite films of the year as I feel it is hard to label it as it the ten best films of the year, since I did not see every single film released in 2010.  In my opinion, The King's Speech boasts possibly the best male performance of the year, Colin Firth, who is simply superlative.  Albeit, James Franco does great work and offers the best performance of his career in 127 Hours.  This will be a tough year and perhaps, a little unpredictable too, unlike other ones.   Alas, this year was quite good, so let's hope 2011 brings about some gems as well.   Till then!

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A Depressing Look Back - The Worst Flms of 2010

        In 2010, as with every year, there were some staggering duds.  This year, I saw films that should be banned in every possibly way from the public.  I saw a load of crap this year and a lot of it was simply bad (not even in the 'so bad, it's good' kind of way).  I warn you, watching any of these films could inflict severe blindness and massive upchucks galore.

You've been warned!

1) Skyline
2) Jonah Hex
3) The Last Airbender
4) Killers
5) Eat Pray Love
6) Burlesque
7) Valentine's Day
8) Nightmare On Elm Street
9) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
10) Life as We Know It

Honorary Mentions:
The Tourist.  Also, there were a whole lot of movies that I didn't see, but I was told that they were pure, unadulteratd excrement.  These titles include: Sex and the City 2, The Bounty Hunter, Vampires Suck, Furry Vengeance, Gulliver's Travels and MacGruber, among many others).

It's 2011 and while I have not seen it, we already have a contender for dud of the year with Season of the Witch.  Ahhh! Make it STOP!

While all these films were bad, none were really redeeming in any way whatsoever and were not as funny in their badness as i had hoped.  Alas, if you dare, go ahead and watch these films, but prepare to lose some valuable hours of your life.

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