A Rather Bland Congratulations
Posted by movieguyjon
Let's get this out of the way immediately. I don't like MGMT. They're bland psychedelia with an extra helping of bland for good measure. Their initial charm for me was in their EP with "indie rokkers." I was able to get behind the workings of that song and the musical directions present therein. With Oracular Spectacular, they went in the direction of their song "Kids," and lost my interest completely. Did their new album Congratulations change anything for me?
Absolutely not. The new album is a bust, with every song bleeding into each other without anything to distinguish them apart from each other. The first track shows promise in much of the same way as "indie rokkers" did, but the interesting sound pretty much ceases after that and the whole affair becomes the familiar psychedelic whining that we were given in the first album. The band has stated that this was a "no singles" album, and it shows. Here's hoping they grow and mature some in their next outing. You can check out the "Oracular Spectacular B-Sides" over at NPR, where they have an advanced preview. The album goes on sale on April 13.
If you want something along these lines that has a more of a unique sound, you might consider the Islands' Vapours
Trailer Watch (3/26/2010)
Posted by movieguyjon
We've got a documentary about Disney animators, a documentary of a young man who crosses the world to become a dancer, another Dreamworks CG animated "masterpiece" and an interesting looking thriller with the dumb blonde from Mean Girls. Oh yeah, and there's also a little epic you may have heard of that features a bunch of Titans clashing in all sorts of violent ways. In short, it's a pretty decent weekend to go to your local cinema. I would recommend checking out Waking Sleeping Beauty as well as Chloe. Train Your Dragon looks somewhat humorous, but it's difficult to tell based off the standard-fare trailer. Bluebeard seems like it would be an interesting film, but that one might be a little harder to find.
Anyway, get your ass to the multiplex or art house and check out at least one of these films. Who knows, you might get some entertainment out of it.
Volume 2 Has More Pop, And I Approve
Posted by movieguyjon
You may or may not have heard about a little musical pairing called She & Him. It's a folk band by M. Ward and my super-crush Zooey Deschanel. This is a band that's always maintained a place just under my radar. Volume 1 was a solid album, but I found it slow and dragging in more than a few parts. Even the album's single "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" kind of moseyed its way into my heart with the speed of a teenager asked to wash dishes...by hand. That's not to say that I didn't like the album, because I did. It just didn't appeal to my more "pop" sensibilities.
Enter Volume 2, which dropped on the 23rd. Having seen the music video for "In the Sun" I was anxious to hear how the rest of the album played out. NPR once again had a play-through of the entire album, and I finally gave it a listen. From the get-go, I was drawn in thanks to the livelier tunes and the tighter songs. Instead of wondering when a song would end, I found myself wishing songs would go on just a little bit longer.
I realize that complaining about the pacing in a folk album is somewhat akin to bitching about Pizza Hut pizzas having too much grease, but for me it's truly the difference between a "good" album and a "REALLY GOOD" album. And folks, it IS a REALLY GOOD album. Even if you're not that big of a Deschanel fan, I suggest you give the band a second chance with this album. Who knows, you might even tap your toes a bit.
How Much Is Too Much?
Posted by movieguyjon
I try to hold off on seeing trailers as long as possible. There are a few reasons for this, but the biggest reason is that they tend to spoil too much of the film for me. It used to be that I could ignore the spoilerific content and still have a good time when I eventually saw the movie, but nothing on screen would ever truly surprise or thrill me. Never was this more glaring to me than when I watched the trailer for the Iron Man sequel coming out in May.
A movie trailer has a lot to do in the minute or two that it has in front of your eyes. It has to give you some sort of idea of the story and what the main plot is going to be while at the same time showing off just enough whiz-bang to get you into the seat. In short, trailers need to excite you. This is the rule with action, comedy, sci fi and comic book films and there are absolutely no exceptions. If Spider-man were to face the camera and talk about how awesome his new movie is going to be, would you actually go? No. You want to see the webhead dodge traffic while swinging from his white, gooey vines in pursuit of Doctor Octopus who has taken the effervescent Mary Jane Watson captive. It's these money shots that are going to get you into the film.
And it's these money shots that are making movies less fun. Back to Iron Man 2. We see War Machine in full outfit fighting side by side with Iron Man. There's one scene that will no longer impress me. There's another shot at the end of the trailer where Iron Man essentially reveals his portable Iron Man suit and steps into it on the race track. It's an impressive shot, and now completely old hat.
What's left, now that the creators have shot their load? Is there going to be something even more awesome in the film than what I've seen in the trailers? It's hard to imagine that since what I saw was already really damn cool. I hate to say it, but the chances of me going to see the movie in the theaters has dropped from 100% to about 60%. I think I might be able to wait for the DVD..
Boobs! Pirates! Jokes!
Posted by nordwood
Great News! I was going to make my first post an insightful and academic essay on the state of modern music, but instead, boobs distracted me. Feel free to forgive me at your leisure.
It turns out that Disney is not interested in fake boobs--and who is, right? Right? Anyone?--for their new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. You can follow the link if you want, but I’m going to go ahead and quote the important part for you.
“Filmmakers sent out a casting call last week, according to the paper, seeking 'beautiful female fit models. Must be 5 feet 7 inches-5 feet 8 inches, size 4 or 6, no bigger or smaller. Age 18-25. Must have a lean dancer body. Must have real breasts. Do not submit if you have implants.' The potential ladies will also have to undergo a test involving jiggling and jogging to determine their breasts' authenticity, the Post says." From: http://www2.seattlepi.com/articles/417172.html
Now, obviously we, being logical and rational individuals, can deduce that, since this movie involves pirates who aren’t from Somalia, it is probably set in a time period where fake tits would be anachronistic at best and a surgical nightmare at worst, but where's the fun in that? Instead, because this story broke an hour or so ago, I’m going to get the jump on every other blog site and post every possible joke anyone can make about this situation. Click "Continue Reading" to see what I'm talking about.
Trailer Watch
Posted by movieguyjon
I thought I would brighten your hump day by showing off a few trailers for films coming out this week. We've got a Matt Damon goes to war movie, a forgettable Robert Pattinson movie, and a movie about an exploding girl. I may just have to see that last one. Anyway, here you go, in no particular order.
Tron Legacy Trailer
Posted by movieguyjon
Found via CBR (THANKS!):
The film looks like it will be pretty cool. I just hope it's not another Alice in Wonderland in that it's pretty but with no substance. That would just be a dick move on Disney's part, right? Also, who's the Bowie wannabe in this trailer? He seems interesting. Note: If the trailer doesn't work, just follow the link to the CBR site.
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