Great New(ish) Music!!!

I just want to tell everyone about a couple of new CD's you all ought to pick up. And these are probably two artists you've never heard of, because they're just beginning to get some radio play (at least in Utah).

CD #1: Holly by Justin Nozuka

The song you might know from this album is "After Tonight." It's just beginning to get radio play, but you don't hear it all that often. And while I do think that song is a great one, the whole album is really, really good. Out of 11 tracks, there's only one (or maybe two) that I don't really care for.



CD #2: Some Mad Hope by Matt Nathanson

This one's a bit older, released in 2007, and there are two tracks from this one seeing some radio play: "Car Crash" and "Come On Get Higher." The first is good, the second is better. And again, the whole album is great, with the exception of track 4 ("Gone"), which is just okay.

Seriously, check these guys out. They're kind of this alternative sound with some kind of folksy influence (in a good way). It's great stuff. And if you're getting audio here, the first two tracks on my playlist (at the right) are the radio hits from these albums.

The Riddler

This isn't my idea, but it's a great one, so I'm putting it out there.

Obviously, there's going to be another Batman with Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, right? Well, there ought to be anyway. And they've got to get the Riddler into this incarnation of the franchise.

JOHNNY DEPP!!!

Write to the studio. Johnny Depp as the Riddler: How awesome would that be?!

I So Wanted to Believe

Okay, let me just start off by saying that I love The X-Files. I've seen every episode, even though the eighth and ninth seasons kind of sucked after Mulder left I still watched. It was the only TV show I ever got really into in the nineties. And I even thought the first movie was pretty good.

That said, I'm not an obsessed fan. Yeah I have the DVD's, but I don't have t-shirts and posters and I don't go around quoting lines from the show. I do have a shrine to David Duchovny in my closet, but that's another matter. (Not really, I don't have a shrine.)

But I was surprised when, in the midst of Sex and the City hitting the big screen and rumors about a Friends movie (seriously, who would watch that?), I heard they were making a new X-Files flick. I didn't know anything about it, but I so wanted to believe they could really turn a great, cancelled TV series into a workable movie (not that I thought Sex and the City or Friends was a great show, but you get what I'm saying).

Now when I think of The X-Files, I think of aliens and black oil and government conspiracy. This movie has none of that, not even a little. And you at least expect some kind of paranormal activity, right? The most paranormal thing about this movie is that one of the characters is a little bit psychic. So the only thing to relate this movie to the television series is the fact that Mulder and Scully are the main characters.

Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible movie. It's a decent enough thriller, but it's just not The X-Files. It's just a crime thriller that happens to involve some X-Files characters. It's almost two hours long but moves so quickly it doesn't feel it. And sure, it's interesting. I can't help but feel, though, that someone totally unacquainted with the series would enjoy the film a lot more than I did.

What it really boils down to is this just feels like a long episode from the show that Chris Carter never got around to making, and an episode that isn't really woven into the serialized plot of the X-Files franchise.

Heath Ledger is every bit as good as you've heard, the movie isn't.

I gotta start off by letting you know a couple of things. First off, I think Christopher Nolan is great. Memento is outstanding, Insomnia is great, and The Prestige is one of my favorite movies of all time. The second thing I have to get out there is that I don't typically like movies based on comic books. The only comic book film I've actually really been impressed by is X2. There are a few I consider to be at least worth seeing, like Batman (the one with Jack Nicholson) and the first X-Men, but typically I just don't like them. (As an aside: I haven't seen Iron Man yet, even though everyone raves about it.)

All that said, I have a soft spot for Batman. I used to watch the old series with Adam West after school. And the animated series was a cartoon staple for my generation. I think Batman Returns is alright, and though it's not that good I enjoyed Batman Forever. Batman and Robin, on the other hand, is on my list of the five worst movies ever made (hey, there's another blog topic); it may be the absolute worst.

So you put Christopher Nolan together with my favorite comic book franchise, I ought to like the product right? You'd think so.

The fact is, I do like Batman Begins and I do like The Dark Knight. I just don't love them, and I certainly don't think they're as spectacular as everyone keeps saying. I don't have anything more to say about Begins because it's been a long time since I've watched it. But let's examine The Dark Knight:

Like I said, Heath Ledger is incredible. I was skeptical, honestly. I thought everyone was just raving because he died after filming the movie. And I thought the idea of a posthumous Oscar nomination was preposterous. Boy, was I wrong. The guy's amazing and I'd give him an Academy Award any day. It's truly an awe-inspiring performance.

The pacing is good and only seems to drag in a couple of places. And running just over two and a half hours, it really doesn't feel it's length. But with about ten minutes left, it does feel like it's taking its time wrapping things up.

The story's decent, and even interesting. And while the role is just a really weak one, Maggie Gyllenhall is far better than Katie Holmes as Rachel. But how could she not be?

So why didn't I like it?

I did.

But why didn't I love it?

It should be better. Christian Bale's good, but his low, gravelly Batman voice is really irritating. The development is good from act one, all the way through act two, and even into act three. But there's the problem. Act III. It builds and builds to a terribly disappointing climax, where little gets resolved. Now I can't give things away here; so without proper context, the only word I dare use to describe the way things wrap up is "unnecessary."

I really, really, really hated the ending. I was so disappointed.

It's a good movie, but it should be better than it is. And it doesn't deserve all the four-star reviews.

Worst Movie in Years!!!

Spoiler Alert: I can't properly convey how much I hate this movie without giving away some key points of the plot. So if you really want to waste two hours of your life on this thing, then you might not want to read this until you've finished the movie. At which time, instead of saying I wonder what Chris thought of this movie?, you'll probably be shaking your head and thinking Wow, that's 111 minutes of my life that I could have spent playing with a puppy or watching the sunset. Instead, you opted for a skewed moralistic assault from a subpar filmmaker.

Sorry, I tried to warn you.

So what movie am I talking about? It's not exactly a new movie. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2007 and was then picked up by Fox Searchlight. They recently released it on DVD. The "movie" (and it's in quotes because it's more propaganda than anything else) is called Under the Same Moon.

You've probably never heard of it. Neither had I until it popped up as a recommendation on Netflix. I ignored that but someone recommended it to my wife. We watched it. It was awful.

Basically, Under the Same Moon is a film exploiting the plight of illegal immigrants in the United States. Yes, I did really mean to say "exploiting," because this is the most lop-sided, heavy-handed view of the issue you can find. The movie's more manipulative than Oscar-winner Crash, but at least Crash had a good script, solid performances and was, above all else, watchable. Under doesn't have any of that going for it.

Let's stay away from the moralistic, beat-you-over-the-head "theme" for a moment and focus simply on the technical aspects of the film. The script is just downright terrible, replete with cheesy dialogue, both in English and Spanish. It's chock full of outrageous plot twists. The acting is painful, even from Golden Globe-winner America Ferrera. (I'll admit that most of the way through the main boy, nine-year-old Carlitos, gives a pretty good performance; but not always.) The pacing is atrocious, plodding along and making the whole thing feel twice its length. On the production side of things, this one's got absolutely nothing going for it.

Now back to the story. So this is how it goes, basically: Rosario is a Mexican woman who loves her five-year-old son so much that she leaves him in Mexico, while she crosses the border into America. Fast forward four years to Carlitos' ninth birthday. His mother has sent him some new sneakers and calls him every Sunday morning from a payphone near a laundromat, a Domino's pizza, and a mural. She describes the spot for him (hmm, I wonder if this foreshadows anything).

Throughout, we hear a radio talkshow about how all Mexicans just want to come to the U.S. to work but Governor Schwarzeneggar is mean and doesn't want them to, oh and also all the Americans are just rude and hateful and cheat all the illegal Mexican immigrants out of everything they're entitled to. Then we hear some more music, sung in Spanish with English subtitles, about how all the Mexicans want to do is love and pray and work, but everyone else is just mean.

Then there's some blatant exposition (for absolutely no reason) about how Carlitos has a father in Tucson, AZ (think that'll come into play later? I'd bet on it). Then Carlitos' grandma dies, so he takes a bunch of money and decides to find his mother in L.A. He finds some Americans of Mexican descent (who are hated by the Mexicans, but not out of jealousy. So why? I don't know) and they smuggle him into El Paso, where things just get ridiculous.

Oh yeah, there's also a woman who smuggles people across the border as a profession, but she has promised Carlitos' mother and grandma that she'll never smuggle Carlitos across. Why? Couldn't tell you for the life of me.

So he's in El Paso, locked in a van at the impound, but he gets out and (uh-oh) loses all his money. Then he meets this shady drug addict guy (played by the world's most colossally terrible actor) in the bus station bathroom. He realizes his money is gone so tries to get back to the impound. He's walked to the bus station, but apparently needs a ride back to the impound. He offers the drug addict $100 to take him back. What the hell?

Okay, so the money's gone and he can't pay. What will he do now? Well, the drug addict's pissed and in a virtual whirlwind of atrocious acting he tries to sell Carlitos to a pimp. Luckily for Carlitos another illegal woman is walking by just then and rescues Carlitos from the pimp and drug addict. Whew! I was worried.

Carlitos is ushered back to a cramped apartment where seven or eight illegals live and bitch about how all they want to do is work but everyone's so mean. Then they watch a soccer game.

Because the director really wanted to work an INS raid into the plot, Carlitos (for no logical reason whatsoever) is taken to work in a greenhouse the next morning. Of course INS comes in and beats the hell out of half a dozen or so illegals. But Carlitos and this other guy hide. This other guy is supposed to be the out-for-himself guy who changes, but the fact is he's not that guy, he only says he is. He constantly bends over backwards to help Carlitos on his way to L.A.

They hitchhike together and guess where they get dropped off (just by coincidence)? That's right. Tucson, AZ! It's like fate (or contrived screenwriting, one or the other). Of course they find his father, who turns out to be a total deadbeat. So it's off to L.A.

The address Carlitos has for his mother is just a P.O. box, so however will they find her? Hey, I know, he should find a pay phone that's by a laundromat, a Domino's pizza, and a mural. Brilliant! This is storytelling genius!

So what you'll be thinking now is Ah, so they'll find a phone book and look up Domino's and figure out which intersection. Wrong! They did use the phone book to find the kid's father but not now. Oh no, now they're going to walk all over east L.A. hoping to stumble upon the correct pay phone.

Before we finish the story, let's get back to Rosario, because there's been some b.s. woven about her throughout this painful plotting. She's been fired and cheated out of some money by this white American woman (another colossally bad actress), then she misses her son, then she lets this guy drive her home from work one day and two days later they're supposed be married. That's right, two days later. He drove her home, then all of a sudden she's in a wedding dress. But she can't go through with it. So she calls it off. Just then she gets a phone call from Mexico telling her that Carlitos has come to look for her in America. Obviously this means that she needs to take the next bus back to Mexico, right? I mean obviously. That makes perfect sense.

So she gets on a bus the next morning but before it leaves she sees someone on a pay phone and it dawns on her. Of course Carlitos will go to the pay phone. He's never been out of Mexico, but he'll easily be able to travel from El Paso to L.A. and find the exact pay phone that she calls from every Sunday. Oh, and it is Sunday morning.

And guess what? After some absurd drama, Carlitos runs away from the police and just happens to stumble right into the pay phone, but on the wrong side of the street. Across the road (in a metaphorical masterpiece) he sees his mother, but with all the traffic he can't cross over to her. High art at its finest, nothing over-the-top about this. Finally, the don't cross changes to the green walk sign and the family can finally be reunited so that they can work, because that's all they want to do, and I just hope no one is mean to them anymore.

Oh, and you're supposed to cry at the end.

Top 5 of 2007

Okay, I know it's kind of late for this, since it is July 2008. But this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. And on this blog I'm going to talk about movies and television and books and any other media that I want to talk about, and what it's going to be is basically me just providing reviews and opinions about this kind of stuff. That doesn't mean that I'm going to review every movie I watch, just the ones that I have something to say about.

Anyway, I'm kicking it off by going back to last year and giving you my top 5 movies. Why? Because that's what I want to do, and because they're all out on DVD now (three on Blu-Ray, which is so worth it), and I think you ought to rent them if you haven't seen them yet.

So here's the list (in reverse order):


5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I really don't like the stage version of this musical. I find it boring, too operatic, and just plain unbearable. But I love the movie. And honestly I find it amazing that they can take a play that I just detest and transform it into a movie that I'm enamored of. Okay, take Johnny Depp or Tim Burton out of the equation and this movie would probably be a miserable failure, but with the two of them this thing borders on genius. It is incredibly gory, so be warned -- but in my opinion if it wasn't for the disturbing violence, the tone would have been much too callous and the movie may have felt like a joyous romping murder spree.


4. No Country for Old Men

It's number 4 on my list of favorites from the year, but in terms of quality, originality, and artistic merit it really probably was the best film of 2007. (Amazingly, this was the first time in history that I've agreed with the Best Picture Oscar winner.) In any case, it's an intense and captivating film. I still like Hudsucker Proxy better, for it will always hold a special place in my heart, but No Country for Old Men is easily my 2nd favorite Coen Bros. movie.


3. I Am Legend

Like I said, No Country for Old Men is a better movie, but for some reason I just really enjoyed this one more. It's just as intense as Old Men, but in this one there is heart (something disturbingly lacking in the Coens' film). I'll admit it, I even cried in this one; the only movie all year to bring me to tears. And Will Smith is so perfectly cast. I've seen it three times now, and it's equally powerful (and equally heart-wrenching) on every viewing.


2. Sunshine

A lot of people I know, if not all of them, are going to disagree with this pick. But I don't care; this is my blog and my opinion. I can say what I want. I love this movie. Without giving too much away I'll just say that I know many were disappointed with a twist that comes roughly two-thirds of the way through the movie, and I agreed at first. But in the end, I think the filmmakers worked it out well. And the movie has beauty and heart and one of the best first acts in recent memory. The scenery is captivating enough but the story elevates this one to number 2 for the year.


1. Lars and the Real Girl

This is a great little movie. Fantastic. And the fact that Ryan Gosling didn't get an Oscar nomination for this one just blows my mind; he's incredible here. The real art though lies in the movie's subtleness. Everything is so simple, so understated, and so quaint. Not to mention quirky and charming. It's an incredible and unexpected treat. Make sure you add this one to your Netflix queue today. You don't want to miss it.