An Empress and the Warriors

Epic in scope, this is a simple tale of unrequited love, palace intrigue and several large scale battles..and yes, Donnie Yen does take on an entire army with a sword. Ok, so there is all the synopsis you are going to get..
Swords, arrows and cool armor bathe this cross and double cross in blood rather than speeches. There is one speech, given by a "pharmacist" that decides the course of a nation. Apparently back in the day people actually listened to their pharmacist.
It helped a little that this pharmacist was the sole survivor of a fierce warrior tribe...
Not sure I need to say more, but this is a love story, and a heartbreaker to boot. You could watch it for Donnie Yen alone and not be disappointed, but there is nothing wrong with the double treat of being able to bring the other half to a kung-fu movie and having her like it..
Recommended

Like a Dragon

The picture above is for the video-game that this movie is based on..but do not let that deter you, the director is Takeshi Miike! His movies are nearly comic books in the best sense of the word -- picture driven, graphic, lightning fast. I'm prettty sure the whole "storyboarding" business has more than passing commonalities..
I'm not sure Japanese Schoolgirls without socks would be labeled an innovation, but certainly the young foil in this film begs the question! "Like a Dragon" no doubt references Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon," and, as such has a lot of kung-fu on display, sans Yuen Woo Ping. How many other choreographers can I name? Have you not read my review of "City of Violence?!"
One of my favorite recent Yakuza Characters was "Big D" from Johnnie To's outstanding "Election". Big D tore up the screen with his flamboyance, boasting, and a sadistic streak on full display via brutal acts of ultraviolence. He didn't have Majima's bat! Majima is the pirate patch wearing over the top crazy bastard..and Miike spells over the top with 2 eyes!
Kazuma is the good guy here, and quite a fighter. These sequences fall under the new term, mixed martial arts..though I can't seem to recall the Japanese Character for "shotgun".
All this being said, this is a gentler Miike film than even "Blue's Harp", and might be a good intro film, perhaps better than "City of Lost Souls".
Recommended

Southland Tales

What do you do after "Donnie Darko?" You have managed to capture the minds of smart girls like no other movie this side of "Edward Scissorhands" and had one of the coolest songs ever, "Mad World", on the soundtrack, so what's next? I suppose you might hire the Rock and make a sci-fi satire of today..
I was sold when the backup for the cop named Taverner said "Flow My Tears..."
Yes, this is that kind of movie. Be prepared to connect the dots, and, like "Bladerunner" I suppose, be prepared to ignore the narrator.
This is a tale of an alternate near future, soaked in Hollywood, and served cold. Hippies and Republicans are skewered equally, as are the rest of us in this diamond hard, teeth clenched during the laughter film.
Recommended

I Read the News Today..

Struck by short captions from the NYT, here they are, and why:
1. "European countries plan to use coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth, in new power plants." Well, I live in Kansas, not a particular hotbed of environmental action, where 2 new coal plants were shot down by a courageous politician: she was overridden, naturally. Anyone remember the Clamshell Alliance?
2. "The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population but almost a quarter of its prisoners." Land of the Free. Land of the Wiretap. Land where we came up with "Enemy Combatants" and began deciding that we don't really hold any truths to be self-evident if there is a no-bid contract involved.
3. " It is past time for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton to acknowledge that the campaign’s negativity, for which she is mostly responsible, does nothing but harm to her, her opponent, her party and the 2008 election." To say nothing of the country that has been mired in a foreign occupation its populace doesn't understand but finally gets the picture that we truly messed up looking for revenge. For the 3 misguided conservatives that thought Saddam had to go, I suggest you look at our history, namely the Shah of Iran and General Pinochet.
and finally:
"The Supreme Court has repeatedly ignored the barbaric history of the death penalty."
Barbarians. A civilization is measured by its compassion -- where is the clause in Intelligent Design that allows us to stop moving towards it?

Forbidden Kingdom

"Forbidden Kingdom" is a great movie for 8-13 year old kids. I mean that in the same sense that the late 60's early 70's Tarzan films helped cultivate a sense of wonder in yours truly...
The things we know:
This is a Hollywood Film
Jackie Chan and Jet Li are the pull
The adolescent American boy is the viewer connection
Every die hard Fan Boy will be disappointed, as they haven't been 8-13 for at least a decade, and take this stuff way too seriously -- stick to your Tarantino filters guys!
This movie also has the guy who guarded the Oracle in Matrix 2, Collin Chou as the "sinister immortal tyrant".
There is terrific wire action throughout courtesy of Woo Ping Yuen, and even an explicit homage to the "Bride with White Hair".
My belated review of this does see the film as being accepted by the mainstream if not the critics, which I can only hope translates to more Kung Fu films making it in alongside the deluge of "Male Chick Flick" comedy-romances. It appears that acceptance is all about the subtitles, or lack thereof.
On a side note, it is great to see the foreign stars, in addition to being in top physical shape, learn English. It is a darn shame to read mean reviews by critics here in the United States making fun of Jackie Chan and Jet Li's accents. Nationalism is ugly wherever it rears its head, and the ugliness of English Only needs to go away.
During my time in the military I had a Dutch friend who translated German for me, which means he spoke Dutch, German and English, at least. The closest we get seems to be JFK calling himself a Berliner.

Recommended

Black Book

"Black Book" is Verhoeven's "Lust, Caution", but this review is not going to be a side by side comparison! Suffice to say you must see them both, if only for the differences in geography..
"Black Book" is on the surface an espionage thriller set in WWII. Underneath that is a desire to see people as they can be under duress, and the ugliness of human shortsightedness. Somehow I can see Nicole Kidman's character in that Lars Von Trier meta-movie in the tenacity of the female lead in this film. Both actresses throw their all into the roll and I am not talking just about the bodice shedding without body-doubles.
"Schindler's List" shared some of this movies narrative, in a darker more bleak style..so here we are, talking about Spielberg, Ang Lee and Paul "Robocop" Verhoeven in the same review. All three directors took chances with their respective films, all three succeeded artistically if not commercially for their efforts. We win too.
Recommended.

Appleseed Ex Machina

Appleseed Ex Machina is apparently part 3 of the Appleseed Saga...but I don't think it is necessary to start at the beginning on this one. John Woo was one of the producers on this, so you can bet it is a slow, languid float down a river of sadness...
Or you can watch cyborg on cyborg gun ballet with some cool matrixized camera not because they have to, but because they can!
The story is another post apocalypse that hasn't decayed infrastructure-wise but is suffering the moral rot that seems to grip even the cyborg and genetically enhanced citizens of this computer controlled city.
Akufen is on the soundtrack again, who would have guessed glitch was the music of action?
Recommended!

RIP Arthur C Clarke

Childhood's End
Islands In the Sky
2001
Rendezvous with Rama

These are some of his novels that brought joy to my mind way back in the days before things got hectic. More than that they shaped my worldview into something a little more hopeful. Special 2001 showing on movie night this week.
He will be missed.

The Wire

Best show on TV is over. Now we wait for the DVD set to re-watch. I am not in such a hurry this season -- the season seemed rushed and incomplete compared to the sprawling labyrinthine constructs of the 4 prior.
Still strong, still heartfelt, and still staring with bloodshot unblinking eyes that is modern life in the city of Baltimore.

The Bank Job

We all enjoy a good heist, particularly at the expense of the "rich", don't we? This is a terrific Bank Job based on an early '70's robbery. This robbery involved safe deposit boxes, and some of the secrets contained within. Pretty a propos considering that Spitzer cat in NY, n'est-ce pas?
Highly entertaining, well shot, briskly paced. Did I mention based on a true story? It is the Stander of 2008. Go ahead, enjoy the show that "Fun with Dick and Jane" should have been the second time around!
Recommended.
Some may argue that my love of "Crank" (the film kids) has distorted my judgement in re Jason Stratham -- far from the case, let me be the first to reassure thee..

My Blueberry Nights

"Oh that's too easy."
"Seems too simple." As if turmoil and failure are the only options where the modern heart is concerned! Watched this hot off of the NC17 Lust Caution (superb) by Ang Lee, and wow, what a contrast in tone and style from 2 terrific directors. I am of course disqualified from "reviewing" (some would suggest my reviews are hardly) any films by Won Kar Wei as I am in fact a card carrying fanboy. What? Laurie Anderson on a soundtrack (Fallen Angels) wouldn't hook you for life? Who's Laurie Anderson? What! Next you'll be telling me Operation Condor was a James Bond film!
"My Blueberry Nights" is a "road movie" that follows the inevitably appropos Laurie Anderson lyric, "...at the beginning of the movie they knew they had to find each another so they rode off in opposite directions.."
The cauldron of love is a boiling pot and I need a drink.
See it you cynical bastards.

U23D

That widget above provided by National Geographic. Yeah, my work browser crashed too!
No Grendahl, no Joli, and not loud enough for me -- but great 3D regardless!
It is startling to me to think that I have been listening to these guys since 1981. I bought my first U2 Album way back in the day, in Europe, while I was in the Army. I noted then that the cover for their second US release was the cover for the first EU (which was still a concept, as the cold war was on.
MTV playing "Sunday Bloody Sunday" over and over nearly killed my listening as completely as Van Hagar! Then came the Joshua Tree. Oh my. Achtung Baby. Rattle and Hum. Bono picking up where Geldof got ground into the dirt. And now this!
National Geographic presented this show, looks taped live in Buenos Aires. Nate Brent and I got a private show at Carmike, but the 3D crowd was sitting right next to me. Cellphones have replaced lighters. Movies have replaced concerts. iPods have replaced stereos. Home theatre has replaced the movies. MMORPGs and Halo have replaced hanging on them cornas. Plug in, turn on, drop out was never meant for all of us until now. Turn in your weapons first.
U2 3D doesn't outdo Stop Making Sense as a concert film, but man it is good. Not sure how it will translate to 2D on DVD, but at least at home I can crank it.
Recommended.

FreakAngels

We all (mostly) hate camelcaps, but what can you do when the project is as cool as this? Warren Ellis and Paul Duffield have dropped a gift into the intertubes. You follow this far, the pill you are going to take is no longer a choice. You have 10 seconds to comply. Click it! This, darling, is a lot more than a link to a webcomic. Dig deep into the site, marvelous stuff here, including the mix I'm listening to typing this 2 finger style into the big cathode eyed box.
Before you know it you will have found "The Authority". Pity the fool that tries to make a timeline in the Stormwatch Universe. Dig your own hole.

Vantage Point

Quaid, Whittaker, Weaver, Fox, and Hurt...how can it be as bad as the critics say? Can we get inside a "critics head"? Is it fair to start from: they have seen more films, spent more time watching than I have? Can we say that all this time spent watching and comparing should have some weight?
What was I hoping for when I went to see AVPR?
Well, I set no expectations for this: "Vantage Point", and got what I expected. 2 hours of exciting entertainment with some terrific actors along for the ride. You could do worse -- and you could have done better with Tony Scott's panned "Deja Vu" which is about ...vantage points!
Harmless, taut, occasional gripping and completely today. I am hoping that terrorists don't become America's Gojira. I am also hoping Dennis Quaid makes some more movies like this and Saviour!
Lightly recommended.

Burnished Abstraction

 

1431 Macro

Detail of door frame, new construction, in stark contrast to the chromed bling Tarkus tile..

4 Eyes 1 Building 2 Pics

Nate and I shot the same building on the same day. Individual shots available on his site and here, just below.

1431 Poyntz

 

New Office Tim Clark Architect

Squint to detect roofline, structure geometry

 

Spaceshuttle Tiles

 

Hood, Detail

 

Steve's apartment!

The Wire

Finally a recording of my favorite version of the opening song. "All the Pieces Matter" is 100% true for the show, and this disc. I will refrain from thinking about this coming out while a season is still showing -- can you say future double dip?
This CD from Nonesuch is yet another terrific release from a label that apparently can do no wrong. This would be as opposed to the heroes and vilains of the Wire who can, apparently, do no right without paying for it.
Being a Wire fan will of course deepen the understanding and enjoyment of this record, but, like having an understanding of any of the worlds at cross-purpose in The Wire will help you say "best show on TV" with even more conviction, it is not necessary.
Blues, soul, rap rock and punk co-exist alongside various pull-quotes in a dense packed CD of terrific material. Thanks Darren, I loves me some Xmas in February!
Recommended.

Mo' Music (I Know, Right?)

Nate brought this CD over on Wire night. We listened to it between episodes. Great from note one. Concept is straight forward enough, Onra went to Viet Nam to visit some relatives. Went to a record shop, bought 30 slabs o' wax. Mix/blend and repeat. Sharp blunt lo-fi goodness..GI Funk with a hip hop edge..recommended!

There I was on Myspace, just browsing. For every 10 loud abrasive obnoxious "page" songs there is a diamond.I have no idea who used "Bonfire Madigan", but cello and female voice together put the Reese cup to shame. I cruised to her site, Bonfire Madigan and bought this 10 year retrospective right from the site. On Saturday. Got here today in a cloth bag..who says small mobile independent is last year? I'm sure you would be pleased if you go to her site, listen to some cuts and do the right thing.
Recommended.

Vladislav Delay - Whistleblower

Music is hardly dead, contrary to RIAA reports. Electronic music is not just for dancing anymore You Want a Piece of Me? just in case you were reading the mainstream press... and just because it ain't 4/4 doesn't mean it is unlistenable!
Here are a couple reviews by those better than I (and perhaps less susceptible to the power of dub):

Pitchfork Review
The Wire Cover Boy
...and of course Sasu Ripatti's (aka Vladislav Delay/Luomo/Uusitalo/Sisto)site.
The astute reader will put together AGF and Mr Delay, and realize I have been a fan for awhile!
Steve and I blasted this one end to the other late last night, at Mark volume, sinking back into the couch and letting the dub unfold. A sublime listening experience was had by all. Actually this was our second teleportation this week, earlier we explored Jon Hassel's superb Power Spot. That album cover is a Navajo Sand Painting, and I am reminded of the spirit-space pioneer "Carlos Castaneda," whose Power Spot novel was a map of psychic places. Hassel's work was done in 1986. Whistleblower, the Delay album, hit the streets this month, Feb 2008. In spite of the end of 8 dark years being in sight this albums beats and blips are informed by the turbulence of our times..but no less enthralling than the kindler, gentler 4th World Musics, and an absolute must hear.

Rescue Dawn

Herzog directs, Bale acts, and no one goes? Well, that may be because no theater showed the film! We didn't get to see a trailer that revealed every detail for 6 months before it came out and Adam Sandler doesn't even guest star. There is precious little stoner humor within, no teen pregnancies and everyone in it probably had sex before they were 30, so there is absolutely no reason anyone from the 18-35 year old demographic would go.
Not showing it any theaters makes it so.
There are far more criminal things happening than not showing this fantastic film going on right now. I wish I could say the public was too busy marching against torture, the shredding of the constitution, or the beating of X by 15 year police veteran Y, but today, while the President waterboards science itself into submission, Britney still pulls the column inches and the big crime is showing the "big game" on a 57 inch TV in the church vestibule.
Rent it. Buy it. But see it.

Takeshis

Takeshi Kitano, director of "Sonatine", and "Hana Bi", star of "Blood and Bones", and, apparently, a comedian back home, turns the clock back. Back to Fellini, back to Godard, with a does of Gondry less the stop-mo.
This is a non film. Yeah, it starts, ends, has sfx, music and writhing multi-layered chicks.
Kitano is powerhouse director, so viewing is required, but don't start with this one. Truth be told plainly, hold off until you have half a dozen of his films swirling around in your mind. This is a self-reflexive, fourth wall breaking time-tunnel of gags, exposition and set pieces by the quiet guy with the big guns.
Recommended!

New Music Jan/Feb 08

Piano Jazz cover of Iron Man. Nuff said!
Rolling Stone Review

An out of the blue purchase from PBE. This is some terrific music. Not a lot of info on the www, but found this excerpt -- scroll to the bottom of Dirty Linen Mag Issue 95 for a little Delgado review action...

AGF is a must, she does the beats for the funny as fuck Quio. Someone else's opinion: Electronic Beats to be exact!

Queen Adreena -- got this one from their myspace page. I went looking for reviews to link and found this: " On the 13th December, the group (with Richard on bass) took to the stage of the ICA in London to provide a unique live soundtrack to David Cronenberg's adaptation of J.G. Ballard's novel about car-crash erotica. The night was very popular with the band receiving praise from the music press."
Wow. A live Soundtrack to a Cronenberg film written by JG Ballard -- and a vaguely pornographic one at that! Can we say synergy? I pulled the above quote from Room-Eleven.org

Here is yet another terrific Nonesuch Records Release. Can I get on a catch and release program? Read about this surprisingly prog Spanish band on their own site.

Descent

This is not the movie about the caves!
This is a Rosario Dawson project. She has been doing quite a few independent things -- from graphic novels to this NC-17 For Brutal Rape film. Never mind that she was in Sin City, this film has teeth.
"Hard Candy" for adults if you will. This film takes on the gender gap at its most basic -- the physical differences between men and women. No, not all women, no not all men. The strength issue is part of the Libertarian argument for all women to carry a concealed handgun -- the great equalizer.
I would like to note here that my review of a "feminist" film following the review of "Rambo" is purely coincidental.
Hard to say "I liked this film", I am more embarrassed for humanity than anything. Descent will leave me in a funk for awhile, it is that thoughtful. The camera and music are terrific, the cast on point.
Please seek the film out, it is more than female empowerment, more than the next "Ms 45" or "The Brave One". There are nuances of power and control and futility at work around us that revolve around gender..and in this case race and gender.
I will never listen to NPR interviewing a person that is black and a woman and "how does that make you feel, having to betray one or the other to vote democrat.." the same way again.

Rambo

The 50 Cal pictured above is actually the co-star of this movie. This fast paced, violent, apparently simple minded war as meaningless meat grinder flic was only as easy to sit through as the CG enhanced lawn the 50 cal mowed would allow. It is a fearsome, deadly weapon when used on personnel, which was its exclusive target this Rambo outing.
They got the destructive power right, they got the sound right. The AK47 seemed to be a child's toy in comparison.
The plot was a straightforward rescue mission, all complications providing additional fodder for the mower. Stallone looks good, carries the movie (but not the gun) and makes the uselessness of it all apparent.
Action fans looking for something less cartoon than "Shoot 'Em Up" may rejoice and drink from the blood red cup of Burma!
The guy carrying the 50 cal sniper version played Max in D.O.A.

Big Screen Only

There is not a movie made that doesn't look better big.
Hell, for those born into VHS and DVD, you probably will never seen a porno on a 30ft screen...but I digress.
This season has given us 3 films that simply cannot be felt on a TV. I am leaving Sunshine out because it must be seen..
Transformers
Beowulf
and still in theaters, Cloverfield.
This is another high concept film brimming with style that is so clever that to miss it would be a darn shame. Sure, the pacing is funny, the "story within the story" not particularly interesting, but the film rocks! A little too hard for some, as motion sickness is a fairly common response.
These guys hold the pose like Rodriguez did in "Planet Terror" and it works!

The Golden Compass

The film this could have been! Art direction is superb, the vehicles, the animals all top notch..
The story, such as we are able to glean from the movie, is full of invention and ideas. The movie shows us one idea -- that a persons soul is manifested as a companion animal, and follows through with it in every corner. What a cool idea that animation now makes seamlessly possible.
I was sold the moment Daniel Craig graced the frame while his Ocelot bristled...
Watch this one for what it could have been, and hope by the time the sequel comes out the studios grow some balls...

Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street

A Broadway musical brought to the screen, played straight by the bad boy we all love Johnny Depp. Tim Burton directing his wife and Mr Scissorhands in a gore fest set in dark dank London I mean are you not sold on the concept?!
Tarantino bloody, Burton certainly had a good time with this one. Depp is at once old and timeless enough that moms and their daughters do the cricket sounds without shame..
I was left with the same dread that I got from Gangs of New York. The acts that propel this film require only one response, and then we are left watching the horror play out as our shell of a lead plays the hand dealt him..

Election

I thought this was Johnnie To's masterpiece when I first saw it a year ago. Then I thought Exiled was. Then Election 2 -- which I got at the same time as this -- superseded both of those. I am going to suggest that perhaps To is just getting warmed up!
Consistently challenging and enjoyable films make him a director to watch. Once again i am caught having several of his films in the drawer without knowing. He directed the femme team "Heroic Trio" and the sequel, "The Executioners", "Throwdown" and "Fulltime Killer"...all waiting patiently for me to spread the word on.
"Election" is a more recent film, and is probably not the best place to start. To has developed his style, and there is no reason to mistake deliberate pace and nuance for slow and boring. I could spend pages fawning over the camera and colors but that would be telling!
I got the region 2 deluxe edition of this film and it is a great transfer, packed with extras. Unlike most of the R2 special editions there are actually subtitles on the special features.
I am waiving my geek flag proud here!
Come back to Election once you have so To under your belt.
Highly Recommended.

Halo 3

Halo has been the new Quake for the 2.0 kids, and as such one should be thankful for the 2 excellent single player campaigns that came before this. Halo had stunning graphics back in the day...Halo 3 is no "quantum leap" but has moments of beauty.
Great vehicle integration, F.E.A.R. style cutscenes, and a fun co-op mode got this nearly as good a rating as Gears of War in my book. Steve and I blasted through this one in the course of a few nights, and I must say fun was had by all -- even those 2 nitpickers!
Be warned -- if you don't play online (which, in truth, is what this game is about) you may want to rent this, the campaign is fairly short (I say this as we prepare to hit it again on a higher difficulty)...