ADEN DREAMS OF PAVEMENT

Upcoming Southern California Film Screenings

2012-02-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

Comedian Doug Benson will be giving comedic commentary during his screening of "The Twilight Saga- Breaking Dawn, Part 1" at The Cinefamily at The Silent Movie Theatre on February 22.

Also at Cinefamily: accidental cult movie director James Nguyen will attend a screening of his overnight midnight sensation and Hitchcock rip-off "Birdemic: Shock and Terror" on February 24. At the Cinefamily screening, Mr. Nguyen will also present brand new clips from the upcoming "Birdemic II: The Resurrection 3D".

Zombies On A Plane!: 'Quarantine 2: Terminal'

2012-01-28T15:13:00.000-08:00

Film Review In Brief By Aden Jordan

Considering the popularity of both zombies and found footage aesthetics in the horror genre, it's a little surprising that the "[Rec]" (short for 'record') films and their "Quarantine" remakes are so under the radar with viewers. The first "[Rec]" is a Spanish horror film that revolves around a group of people quarantined by local police and government agencies in an apartment building after a tenant becomes infected with the same man-made zombie virus seen countless times before in other films including "28 Days Later" and "The Crazies". The visual premise of "[Rec]" is that the film's footage has been recovered from a newswoman and her cameraman who happened to be in the apartment when it was being quarantined. "[Rec]" has the clever illusion of being one lengthy single shot, as if the cast and crew had shot the entire film in one long, uninterrupted take. There is a poorly acted American remake, "Quarantine", that largely feels like a shot-for-shot adaptation of the original film and a sequel, "[Rec] 2", that picks up where "[Rec]" left off and reveals that the zombie virus was no virus and was instead demonic forces passing from person to person through bites.

"Quarantine 2: Terminal" is now on DVD, and the film has almost entirely cut ties with the other three "[Rec]" and "Quarantine" films. Firstly, it abandons the found footage and long shot aesthetics of the other films. "Terminal" is not shot as a fake horror documentary or piece of found footage, and the movie's cinematography and editing are more effective because of this. The other "[Rec]" and "Quarantine" films cheat a little because they give the illusion that they are shot in darkness so the viewer's experience is on the edge of his or her seat not out of suspense but out of straining to see what is in front of them. Secondly, "Quarantine" was a remake of "[Rec]" while "Terminal" completely ignores the demonic possession plot of "[Rec] 2". That second "[Rec]" film took place in the same apartment building as the first film while "Terminal" takes place on a plane that is forced to land when one of the passengers becomes infected with the zombie virus (which is still just a virus, no demons are involved). After being forced to land the plane, the crew and passengers are quarantined in an airport hanger and one by one become infected or die off.

"Terminal" earns few points for originality with its cliched zombie virus premise, but the film has a greater sense of visual style and pacing precisely because it leaves out the now tiresome found footage horror tropes of recent fare such as the dreadful "The Devil Inside". Despite the typically bleak premise, the film does feel less fatalistic than its three predecessors and works for what it is- a solid, one time use midnight horror flick.

Southern California Concert Update

2012-01-25T23:05:00.000-08:00

Reinbert de Leeuw will be conducting the music of Louis Andriessen on February 28 at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Punch Brothers, the bluegrass band that warmly and seemlessly moves between folk, rock, and jazz music, is performing at the El Rey Theater in L.A. on March 10.

The Kronos Quartet will be playing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall alongside the Billy Childs Trio on March 11.

Classical pianist Timothy Andres will be performing with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra on March 24 at the Alex Theater in Glendale.

New music composer John Adams will be conducting a series of concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall on April 5, 6, 7, and 10. Mr. Adams will be performing his own songs along with pieces by Philip Glass, John Cage, and others.

John Adams will also be returning to Disney Concert Hall to premiere his new 'The Gospel According to the Other Mary' on May 31, June 1, 2, and 3.

New Music And DVD Releases Out On Tuesday

2012-01-22T01:18:00.000-08:00

Coming to stores, Tuesday, January 24

The Hold Steady's front man Craig Finn is releasing his first solo album, "Clear Heart Full Eyes", this week.

"Paranormal Activity 3" arrives on DVD this week too. By some miracle, the "Paranormal Activity" films have stayed consistently fun, creepy, and aesthetically clever over the course of three films. The third film is just as strong as the first two films, and fits smoothly within the franchise's cryptic horror mythology.

A Celebration Of Steve Reich At Walt Disney Concert Hall

2012-01-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

Concert Review In Brief By Aden Jordan

The traditional and predictable world of classical music doesn't always mesh well with the experimental and mercurial world of avant-garde contemporary music. Somehow the disparate domains smoothly and pleasurably combined on Tuesday night with the all Steve Reich set of compositions performed last night at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Reich is one of the four founding fathers of minimalism music along with Philip Glass, John Adams, and Terry Riley. Out of these four forward-thinking composers, Reich often seems to be the most postmodern in both his process and final product.

Reich's unorthodox methods and music, in both their strengths and weaknesses, were on full display at last night's concert. The show began with Reich and percussionist David Cossin performing 'Clapping Music' using only the two musician's sets of hands as instruments. During 'Clapping Music', the entire symphony hall sat in rapt attention as the two men clapped their hands together to create the piece. There was something almost comical about an enormous venue of concertgoers quietly watching and listening to four hands clap together. 'Clapping Music' is one of the Reich pieces that is interesting in terms of philosophy and aesthetics- Reich set out to write something that only required the human body as instruments -but not particularly fun or enjoyable to listen to. The piece simply sounds no more and no less than two people clapping.

The second piece of the night, 'Video Phase', fared better than 'Clapping Music', but its emphasis still seemed to be more on innovation than harmony. During 'Video Phase', Cossin played MIDI percussion pads behind an screen projection of a pre-recored video of himself also playing the same pads that activated piano samples. Watching the skilled Cossin do this was strange because he looked like an unsmiling four armed man stuck in cage, and the piece sounded cold and overly repetitive even for a brand of music such as minimalism which is built upon the subtle manipulation of repetition.

'Clapping Music' and 'Video Phase' were somewhat disappointing and felt overly experimental, but the show dramatically picked up steam with the Bang On A Can All Stars performing Reich's '2x5'. The piece is arranged on electric instruments for two sets of five musicians. I've heard '2x5' many times on CD, but the piece sounds fuller, grander, and nothing short of mythic when performed live. Like most of Reich's pieces, '2x5' is repetitive by design, but the electric instrumentation gives the piece the formidable feel of two rock bands playing against each other. With two sets of thunderous drums playing at once, BOAC's performance of '2x5' was epic, cool, and nearly intimidating.

After intermission, Bang On A Can joined the musical ensemble red fish blue fish for a fifty-five minute rendition of Reich's most famous work, 'Music For 18 Musicians'. Mostly played with classical instruments and displaying a calm beauty, 'Music For 18 Musicians' was the most traditional of the four piece played last night and also the best. Spanning nearly an hour, the performance was moving, graceful, and seemed to fly by in no time. Reich, Bang On A Can, Mr. Cossin, and red fish blue fish put on a beautiful night of music that stimulated both the mind and the heart. It was very inspiring to see a packed concert hall full of people who had come to support the unconventional sounds of Mr. Reich. His boundary-breaking pieces deserved and earned the great joy that they were performed with by the musicians and the hearty applause and appreciation from the crowd.

Grade: A

A Note On 'Aden Dreams Of' Comments

2012-01-19T01:44:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

My Blogger account has been odd for the past week, and has not been allowing me to respond to comments on my own blog. I am working towards fixing this problem, and am guessing that there is something I have done incorrectly to make this happen (though I would prefer to think Google or Blogger has messed up somehow). If you posted a comment on this blog and I have not responded, I apologize and hope to resolve this minor issue soon.

Aden

Television Updates

2012-01-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

Two of TV's best programs return on Tuesday night, and both of them are also television's best cop shows. TNT's gritty and realistic "Southland" returns at 10 p.m. on Tuesday night. "Southland" is one of the few cop shows where the main characters face real consequences in the line of duty. One of the show's most likable and sympathetic main characters was unpredictably and disturbingly killed off last season, and another one of the show's good guys ended up severely betraying his partner over a meager amount of money. Unlike most procedurals, the characters on "Southland" don't always do the right thing and their solving of cases rarely seem to bring any peace to the world. For a cop show, "Southland" is believable and almost existential in its dark worldview.

Also returning on Tuesday night is "Justified' on FX at 10 p.m. Based upon a character featured in stories by novelist Elmore Leonard, "Justified" follows U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens as he hunts bad guys and struggles with his many personal demons in his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky. Givens is played by the previously underrated Timothy Olyphant with humor, wit, charm, and a long range of simmering anger. Olyphant's performance on the smart and pulpy show is some of the best lead acting to currently be seen on TV. The show has been such a surprise critical and commercial success that Mr. Leonard has written an entire novel on Raylan Givens, titled "Raylan", which will be published on Tuesday as well.

This Week's Music

2012-01-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

PJ Harvey, "Let England Shake"
Steve Reich and Kronos Quartet, "WTC 9/11"
Kronos Quartet, "Floodplain"
Kronos Quartet, "Uniko"

This upcoming Tuesday, January 10, San Francisco's Kronos Quartet will release their newest album "Music of Vladimir Martynov". In anticipation of the K. Quartet's new album, I mostly listened to the group's music this past week. First up, "Floodplain" was released in 2009, and it's one of my least favorite Kronos recordings. The music on "Floodplain" is complex and elegant, but the Kronos are valued for their taut precision and "Floodplain" is one of their few pieces that feels digressive and somewhat unfocused. Far better is the group's collaboration last year with Steve Reich, "WTC 9/11". Structured with quartet composition and tape recordings of interview and archival footage, "WTC 9/11" combines music with dialogue related to the events of September 11, 2001. The music of "WTC 9/11" feels far larger and deeper than just audio footage played over string music. Filled with dread, anxiety, and mystery, "WTC 9/11" is one of the best works by both Kronos and Mr. Reich. Far better than "Floodplain" but less ambitious than "WTC 9/11" is last year's "Uniko". For some reason I haven't been able to discern, the Kronos released "Uniko" last year and the recording felt distributed under the radar. The recording wasn't released through the K. Quartet's usual label Nonesuch, and I didn't know that "Uniko" was even available on CD until last week. "Uniko" is surprisingly heavy and brooding, and it carries an enigmatic darkness that borders on sounding angry. These three Kronos recordings all further bolstered my long-standing opinion of the K. Quartet as a thoughtful and talented band who often makes innovative music and occasionally makes ponderous compositions too. Whether innovative or ponderous, their music is always interesting and unique.

Lastly, I revisited Ms. Harvey's "Let England Shake" record from last year, and continue to think that the album deserves every kind word it's received since its release.

Film In 2012 Is Off To A Bad Start With 'The Devil Inside'

2012-01-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

Film Review In Brief By Aden Jordan

There's little reason to write a full review of horror film "The Devil Inside". The film is so poorly made, offensive, exploitative, and lazy that "The Devil Inside" deserves to take up only a few sentences in reviewing space. "The Devil Inside" is offensive in its ignorance of both Catholicism and mental illness. The filmmakers didn't seem to bother to read up on how much demonic possession does or does not really fit into Catholic dogma, and they also have a shallow, judgmental perspective on mental illness and disorders. In the film, a young girl named Isabella travels to a mental asylum in Rome where her mother has been living for several years since she killed two priests and a nun while they were performing an exorcism on her in Hartford, Connecticut. The implausibility of a Hartford woman being sent to Rome for mental treatment by the Roman Catholic Church instead of the U.S. court system alone shows how little effort the filmmakers make to suspend audience disbelief. Mostly, "The Devil Inside" is just lazy: much of the dialogue, horror film tropes, jump scenes, and scare tactics feel lifted from other recent films about demonic possession (including the strong "The Last Exorcism" and the dull "The Rite"). In all likelihood, "The Devil Inside" probably exists because of the popularity of "The Last Exorcism" and the "Paranormal Activity" films which have strangely popularized a new genre of film in less than three years. The 'fake found footage horror film' started with "The Blair Witch Project" long ago and has been granted new life with the "Paranormal" franchise. What makes the subgenre so creepy and fun is the feeling of watching something found and untampered with. "The Devil Inside" is purposefully filmed and edited to appear as a documentary instead of found footage, and the film feels dumber, cheesier, and less believable for doing so. This gets to my last point. The "Paranormal Activity" movies and "The Last Exorcism" are fun, and they find wit, surprise, humanity, and the pure please of good horror in odd places. "The Devil Inside" isn't fun to watch. It's not funny, original, clever, or even scary. It's offensive, lazy, dumb, dull, and bleak.

Grade: D

Editor's Note: I saw several box office articles yesterday, mostly from 'The Los Angeles Times', that all predicted that "The Devil Inside" would be a huge financial hit by the end of this weekend. Judging by the sold out showing I saw last night, and the long lines for other showings at the theater I attended I don't doubt that the movie will be a success. This is unfortunate because "The Devil Inside" is an awful movie, and there are still so many better films in theaters right now including "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", "A Dangerous Method", "The Descendants", "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows", "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol", "The Innkeepers" on Video On Demand, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", and "The Artist". Even such forgettable movies as "The Sitter" and "The Darkest Hour" are superior to this awful movie.

Robert Levine Takes A 'Free Ride', Don DeLillo Haunts With 'The Angel Esmeralda', And Batman Looks Into 'The Black Mirror'

2012-01-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

Book Reviews In Brief By Aden Jordan

"Free Ride" by Robert Levine

The Internet seems to grow ever more pervasive throughout the world so it makes sense that more and more books seem to be published on how 'The Net' affects individuals, communities, and governments. One of the most thoughtful, professional, and direct books written about how the Internet affects both consumers and companies is Robert Levine's "Free Ride". Having written for 'Billboard' magazine, Mr. Levine is very educated and experienced to write about the book's manifest thesis- that Internet piracy through illegal downloading and user-generated sharing of music, movies, TV programs, print publications, and books negatively affects both the industries that finance these materials and also destructively affects the creativity of the artists and creators responsible for these works. Levine is smart and sincere enough to openly state his opinion that piracy and online copyright infringement are bad for consumers as well as artists and media companies, and he deserves credit for trying to state and reason his opinions instead of passing them off as black and white truths. The issues of Internet copyright and online piracy are hot-button issues, and Levine is aware of how argumentative the subject is. Regardless of your opinion on the effects of Internet piracy, "Free Ride" is mandatory reading for anyone interested in how laws related to online copyright and piracy are continuing to evolve, and why they have evolved in the way they have.

Grade: A-

"The Angel Esmeralda" by Don De Lillo

Don De Lillo, the famed American author behind such esteemed novels as "White Noise" and "Underworld", presents his first anthology of previously published short stories in "The Angel Esmeralda". Comprised of nine stories, "The Angel Esmeralda" feels like a good place for readers new to De Lillo to start with his work and writing style. The subject matter spread through the short story collection isn't warm or uplifting: one story takes place in a bleak future as astronauts receive transmissions from the past, the title story is about a young girl who is murdered and then appears at a Bronx orphanage as a tragic angel, and all the other stories include a general feeling of impending doom and unspoken darkness. One of the stories is a hands-down masterpiece. In "The Runner", a young man goes for a jog and witnesses a sudden kidnapping as a man jumps out a car and grabs a child from its mother. One of the jogger's neighbors also witnesses the abduction and assures him that the kidnapper was probably the child's father, and that a stranger couldn't have possibly done this to the child and the mother. The man is terse with his neighbor because he doesn't believe her, and reminds her that they only saw the kidnapping and know nothing else about the people invovled. Later, he seeks his neighbor out to apologize. He realizes she was only trying to comfort him by telling him that the world couldn't possibly be so bad that a complete stranger would abduct a child from its mother in broad daylight. In the seven brief pages of "The Runner", De Lillo paints a short and profound snapshot of the human condition, and how much comfort we can give ourselves and others by not wanting to accept the truth or think of sad possibilities.

Grade: A

"Batman: The Black Mirror" by Scott Snyder

It has been years since a writer and artists have created a Batman graphic novel as ambitious as Scott Snyder's "The Black Mirror". The premise could have been standard Batman fare: Batman comes across a new series of crimes and murders, and must find the criminal while doing his own brooding Bruce Wayne introspection. Snyder's twist here is that Batman isn't inhabited by Bruce Wayne in "The Black Mirror". Like Frank Miller's classic "The Dark Knight Returns", Snyder's story takes place in a future where the original Robin, Dick Grayson, has now taken on Wayne's former job as Gotham City's Dark Knight. Grayson is not a brooding and raging vigilante. He is a kind, compassionate man who would rather put murderers in prison than hurt or kill them. Unlike Bruce Wayne, he has made a kind of peace with his own parents' murder, and accepts the position of donning the Batman costume and responsibility with optimism for making the world a better and safer place. At the beginning of the book, a title card mentions that Wayne is now old and lives with Grayson at Wayne Manor, but Bruce Wayne is never shown. He is only mentioned by Grayson, Alfred, and Jim Gordon, and his unseen presence haunts the story like a ghost. As Grayson fights the bad guys and confronts Gordon's murderous son, he learns that becoming Batman can never be easy because he lacks Bruce Wayne's rage, cynicism, and lack of forgiveness. Snyder's theme is dark and original: a completely good guy like Grayson can never be the best at being Batman because Batman requires good and bad in the same person.

Grade: B+

Happy New Year's From AdenDreamsOf

2011-12-31T00:43:00.000-08:00

To those of you who read this blog regularly or are just reading it today, thank you for any time you have ever taken out of your schedule to read these posts.

I wish all of you, both regular readers and visitors, a healthy, successful, and rewarding new year.

Sincerely,

Aden

Ritchie And Downey Jr. Return For 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows'

2011-12-30T17:08:00.000-08:00

Film Review In Brief By Aden Jordan

It sounds a little on the overstating side to say that Guy Ritchie has had a return-to-form with his 'Sherlock Holmes' adaptations, largely because 'return-to-form' implies that the filmmaker has a previous track record of exceptional work. Ritchie has never been an exceptional director, but his early British gangster films had a sense of fun and originality that was missing from his work for several years after he departed from the genre and made an awful drama with Madonna ("Swept Away") and a pointless, nonsensical crime movie ("Revolver"). Ritchie's talents and career started to recover with his efficient action comedy "Rock 'N Rolla", and he is now back to making films that are fun and cheeky with Robert Downey Jr. in the new Sherlock Holmes films.

Ritchie's take on the famed Sherlock Holmes isn't particularly intelligent or even plausible, but his version of Holmes makes up for this with levity and impressive visuals. "Snatch", Ritchie's best film, has a great deal of inventive and humorous timing and visuals achieve through sharp editing and cinematography, and the recent "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" is full of similarly creative editing and cinematography. Philipe Rousselot, the film's director of photography, creates a visual palette with a wonderful attention to detail and texture. Never have fake mud, trees, and snow look so rich and detailed in an action movie. The film's plot is largely forgettable as Holmes and Dr. Watson (played by Jude Law) race around the world to outwit and outfight the evil Professor Moriarty (elegantly inhabited by Jarred Harris), but the ride is fun and every frame pulses with artistry.

Grade: B-

The Ten Best Films of 2011

2011-12-29T15:53:00.000-08:00

By Aden Jordan

Despite what you may have heard about box office revenue being at its lowest since 1995 and noticing the slew of sequels, prequels, and remakes that mostly seemed to populate theaters this year, 2011 was actually a very good year for independent film, foreign cinema, and the art house crowd in general. I had a difficult time putting together a top ten film list for this past year because so many first rate films were released into theaters last year. I've chosen ten films, but the list could have easily been fifteen films or even twenty films. In a year or even another month, I might change my mind and think I've made a mistake in putting this list together. However, I am confident about the top three films on my list. They are simply the cream of the crop, and I've included my thoughts on why they're the best. The rest are fine films too, and I'm also going to include the year's honorable mentions. Here's to hoping that 2012 is as exciting a year for film as 2011.

1. "The Tree of Life"

Mysterious auteur Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" is quite possibly the most experimental mainstream movie ever made (maybe even more than Kubrick's "2001"). Despite having the presence of two of the world's most famous movie stars, Brad Pitt and Sean Penn; "The Tree of Life" is a film that firmly fits into the realm of avant-garde cinema. The film moves both fluidly and abruptly between three different points in time: Sean Penn plays a brooding adult who wanders around high-rise buildings in modern day Houston, Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain play the adult parents of the Penn character when he and his younger brothers are children in Waco during the 1950's, and there are also scenes of the universe forming and life coming to inhabit the earth at the dawn of creation.

Despite the grand scale of scenes of the universe forming and some moments that take place in the after life, "The Tree of Life" is a truly intimate movie. The film's narration never sets on one character, and we hear the most personal thoughts, feelings, joys, and fears from the characters played by Penn, Pitt, Chastain, and Penn's character as a young boy. Even with its ambitious subject matter, "The Tree of Life" is full of emotion and merges the personal with the profound. "The Tree of Life" is accomplished on every level- the cinematography is beautiful, the performances (especially Pitt) feel authentic and thoughtful, and it's definitely the most original film of the year, completely unlike anything that was released in theaters this year. Malick's entire career may have been leading up to this exceptional piece of filmmaking.

2. "The Descendants"

Alexander Payne, to our benefit as viewers, doesn't make movies about explosions, raunchy jokes, or other standard elements of mainstream American movie fare. Mr. Payne makes small-scale, intelligent, character-driven films that seamlessly combine the best elements of both drama and comedy with a keen eye on the human condition. His characters are never perfect, and yet there is always something heroic in their efforts to improve their lives and make sense of their problems.

Joining Payne's long list of flawed protagonists is George Clooney as Matt King, a work-driven lawyer dealing with a coma-stricken wife and two daughters he simply doesn't know how to communicate with. King already has a lot on his plate as he struggles with his wife's coma and an enormous real estate deal he is brokering for his cousins when his older daughter informs him that his wife was having an affair before the boating accident that put her in the coma. The material may sound bleak, but the film is actual bittersweet, hopeful, and full of compassion for its many imperfect souls. Clooney has never been more human on screen, and he is among other great performers in the film including Beau Bridges, Robert Forrester, Judy Greer, and Matthew Lillard.

3. "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"

No other film released in theaters this year assembled such a rich ensemble of character actors for its story than "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy". The cast is stellar, and includes Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones, and Stephen Graham. The acting is strong and understated while complementing the first rate source material, John Le Carre's book of the same title.

Many critics complained that "TTSS" was difficult to follow, and I while I can understand that feeling because I was often confused while reading Le Carre's book; I do believe the film's more confusing elements were intentional. In a cinematic era where most big budget films go out of their way to pump their stories with needless exposition that removes all mystery and audience participation from the experience; "TTSS" is the type of film that demands close attention and focus from its viewers. As an espionage thriller, "Tinker Tailor" isn't particularly profound or has much to say about the human condition, but the filmmakers understand their characters and the dark, dangerous, and lonely world they inhabit.

4. "Another Earth"

5. "Midnight In Paris"

6. "A Dangerous Method"

7. "Margin Call"

8. "Cold Weather"

9. "The Guard"

10. "Warrior"

Honorable Mentions:

"Project Nim"

"Win Win"

"Moneyball"

"Tyrannosaur"

"J. Edgar"

"Captain America"

The Best Television of 2011

2011-12-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

This blog mainly covers films, music, and literature so I would be a little overzealous and undereducated to make a top ten list of television shows that aired on TV this year. Having acknowledged this fact, here are the shows I enjoyed most this year, starting with the year's best show and following in no particular order.

"Breaking Bad"

No other fictional program on television this year was as strongly written, acted, and all-around executed as AMC's "Breaking Bad". Part realist drama, part drug dealing thriller, and part character study; "Breaking Bad" is unlike anything currently on television. Bryan Cranston seems incapable of ringing a false note as Walter White, the show's protagonist and anti-hero who has gone from mild-mannered pushover to conniving criminal in four stunning seasons. Cranston has had a great deal of acting support in Anna Gunn, Aaron Paul, and most notably Giancarlo Esposito as the show's ruthless villain Gustavo Fring. There are a lot of 'bad guys' as the main characters on cable and premium cable right now including "Dexter" and "Boardwalk Empire", but none of them come close to feeling as taut, intelligent, and thrilling as "Breaking Bad".

"Southland"

Cop shows on television no longer seem to make an effort to represent reality. Countless cop shows including "The Closer", "Rissoli & Isles", "The Mentalist", and the updated "Hawaii Five-0" all have the same implausible premise: a crime (almost always murder) is committed and then over the course of an hour the show's cops quickly and rather effortlessly solve who committed the crime mostly through tense, cliched interrogation scenes. Somehow these TV cops always happen to look like movie stars instead of regular people, and their arrest rate is always perfect.

The one cop show on television right now that ignores these foolish formulas is TNT's "Southland". There is never just one crime or murder being solved on "Southland". Instead there are usually several crimes or murders, some of which we don't see solved. Unlike most cop shows, "Southland" isn't very polished either. Nearly every shot of the show looks shot on hand-held cameras, and it doesn't make its location, Los Angeles, look like a nice or safe place to live. The cops are far from perfect too: one is a less-than-functioning pain killer addict who lets his back pain justify his addiction and semi-corrupt methods of gaining pills, another is a self-involved alcoholic who puts his drinking before his job and the well-being of his fellow cops, and one of the show's biggest good guys ended up betraying his former partner for a small amount of money last season. "Southland" can be an unpleasant show with its violence, realism, and flawed characters, but it's never boring and it never loses its quiet moral center. Thank you to TNT for rescuing this show from an NBC cancellation.

"Workaholics"

"Workaholics" probably isn't appearing on many TV top ten lists this year, and that shouldn't come as a surprise. The show is immature, sophomoric, and crude. It's also funny on an unusual consistent level. The show follows three major slackers as they deal with work life at a temp agency (named TelAmeriCorps, which might be mocking the nonprofit group AmeriCorps). Occasionally, the show produces scenes so original (such as the hand puppet show which brings the characters an ironic point of self-awareness) that "Workaholics" nearly transcends its silly subject matter.

Honorable Mentions:

"Justified"
"Boardwalk Empire"
"Game Of Thrones"
"South Park"
"Burn Notice"
"Homeland"

The Worst Films Of 2011

2011-12-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

Fans of snarky writing might assume that writing about the worst quality films of the year might be a pleasurable endeavor, but let me assure you it is not. Seeing a bad film is never enjoyable. Watching a bad movie can be annoying, angering, or even depressing. Bad movies are a waste of time unless you're as resourceful as someone like the late Robert Altman who learned from bad movies what NOT to do when making a movie. These are the five worst films I saw in 2011. May you be fortunate enough to never see them.

The Worst Film Of The Year
1. "Something Borrowed"

"Something Borrowed" is not only stupid, predictable, and cliched; it is also offensive. In the film, Ginnifer Goodwin plays a young lawyer (we never learn what type of law she practices) who starts a guilt-free affair with her best friend's fiancee. Goodwin's best friend is played by Kate Hudson as a loud, selfish, crude, and materialistic drinker. The script essentially casts Goodwin as the quiet ugly duckling to Hudson's beautiful party girl. This alone is offensive that the filmmakers would want to present Goodwin as being physically unattractive compared to Hudson when they are both obviously conventionally attractive movie star material. What kind of message does this send to young girls? Basically, if you're not as pretty as Kate Hudson, then you're unattractive, and if you're less attractive than Ginnifer Goodwin then God help you. In the female world of "Something Borrowed", you can be the unattractive quiet one, the pretty party girl, or an even less attractive stalker figure.

From the film's unlikable characters to its offensive worldview that all a girl wants is a spineless pretty boy who will cheat on your life-long best friend with you, "Something Borrowed" shows the many levels on which a movie can be awful. Hudson and Goodwin are both rather grating though this might be less their fault than the awful script they work from. John Krasinski is even more annoying than usual (which is saying a lot) as Goodwin's 'writer' friend who never seems to do any writing or talk about books. The film is also disgustingly materialistic. Goodwin, Hudson, and Krasinski's characters are all super rich though we never learn how or whether they earned any of their money. I've never seen so much product placement for Heinekin in my life nor have I ever seen New York's Shake Shack so overtly displayed on a movie screen and shoved into the movie's dialogue. This is a movie made by people who obviously know NOTHING about film, culture, or even relationships.

2. "Horrible Bosses"

Step 1: Blatantly steal the premise of Hitchcock's "Strangers On A Train" to the point where you have characters reference the film in your lazy script. Step 2: Fill your cast with performers of varying levels of talent and have them play the same characters they always play. Step 3: Use the current poor economy to give the illusion of giving your film topical relevance instead of looking for any economic commentary on your own time. Step 4: Mix, stir, and serve. Congratulations, you've made something stupid enough to simultaneously become a huge hit and help contribute to the dumbing down of American film.

3. "Cowboys & Aliens"

The most succinct way to describe "Cowboys & Aliens" is as a Science Fiction Western made by someone who knows nothing about science fiction or westerns. There is never even a chance for "Cowboys & Aliens" to be good because the film is dumb, loud, and overdone from the moment the story starts. The movie opens with Daniel Craig beating a few threatening jerks to death to illustrate- what? that the viewer is in for a bad*** movie? If that was director Jon Favreau's intention, then he certainly fails along with the remainder of the movie.

There are actually quite simple things to make good science fiction and good westerns. A strong sci-fi movie invents its own imaginative world and mythology. "Cowboys and Aliens" has no such thing. We learn almost nothing about the aliens in the film. All we know is that they are evil, powerful, and intent on destroying mankind. How original. A good western has characters wrestling with moral dilemmas and an affinity for landscape and nature. "Cowboys & Aliens" has no interest in landscape or how to compose a pretty shot since Favreau and Co. are too busy pumping the film with violence and special effects. As for the moral dilemma, the movie takes a predictable page from the book of "Terminator Salvation" by making Craig's character into an amnesiac who did bad stuff before he lost his memory and, sure enough, needs to redeem himself. Filmmakers don't need millions of dollars to make a good movie, and "Cowboys & Aliens" shows that enormous movie budgets can't buy intelligence, creativity, originality, or quality.

Dishonorable Mentions:

"Transformers" the III, "Green Lantern"

The Best Music of 2011

2011-12-11T13:50:00.001-08:00

By Aden Jordan

1. The Black Keys, "El Camino"

The Black Keys finally made it big last year. After years of making solid blues-tinged rock albums, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney finally hit the big leagues last year with a financially successful record, "Brothers", and wins at the Grammys. Their recently released album "El Camino" is a wonderful addition to the duo's body of work, and all-around fun, catchy, and vibrant piece of rock music. The Black Keys long ago started off as a supremely lo-fi band and now make rock that is simple and polished at the same time. It's a rare thing for a rock band to release two great records in less than a year and half, but somehow the Keys have done it.

Standout Tracks: "Nova Baby", "Hell Of A Season", "Lonely Boy"

2. Stephen Malkmus + The Jicks, "Mirror Traffic"

Stephen Malkmus has had an inconsistent track record since going solo from his former band Pavement. Mr. Malkmus still creates discordant guitar rock with playful and esoteric lyrics, but his solo songs often feel either gimmicky or reaching for emotions that don't align with the singer's lyrical sense of irony. Fortunately for Malkmus and his followers, "Mirror Traffic" lacks the narrative gimmicks and gags of previous solo albums and also largely skips some of S.M.'s occasional over-emoting. In the song "Senator", Malkmus even reaches for topical relevance with a song about a senator putting sexual pleasure before his civic duties (Weinergate, anyone? John Edwards?).

Standout Tracks: "Senator", "Tigers", "Forever 28"

3. TV on the Radio, "Nine Types of Light"

TV on the Radio is a band that uses a great deal of electronic sounds to propel their songs so it is fitting that their music often comes across as both cold and distant. Their release from 2011, "Nine Types of Light", is possibly the band's warmest collection of songs and also one of its most accessible. "Nine Types of Light" avoids much of the political overtones that pervade the band's last two records ("Return to Cookie Mountain", "Dear Science") and the album is better for it because it feels more made to groove to than instruct. TVOTR will hopefully continue to grow and progress as the talented group of musicians they are.

Standout Tracks: "You", "Will Do"

4. PJ Harvey, "Let England Shake"

PJ Harvey never made uplifting music. She seems to make her best music when focusing on emotions and subject matter that is melancholy, bitter, or even downright disturbing. Those kind of dark emotions are proudly on display on Ms. Harvey's "Let England Shake", an almost sprawling record that thematically explores the bleaker side of life in Britain. Harvey hasn't sounded this ambitious or focused in years, and now has another great album to include with such classics as "Dry" and "Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea".

Standout Tracks: "Let England Shake", "The Last Living Rose", "Bitter Branches"

5. Radiohead, "The King of Limbs"

With their last record, "In Rainbows", and now with "The King of Limbs", Radiohead seem comfortable with making solid, creative music without feeling pressured to make The Next Important Concept Album That Will Save Rock And Roll. The mood of "TKOL" is typical Radiohead: gloomy, futuristic, and slightly experimental. In a big way, Radiohead makes mood music that isn't always fun but always worth experiencing.

Standout Tracks: "Bloom", "Feral"

6. Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"

7. The Head and the Heart, "The Head and the Heart"

8. Wilco, "The Whole Love"

9. Steve Reich/Kronos Quartet, "WTC 9/11"

10. Wire, "Red Barked Tree"

Honorable Mentions:

Brad Mehldau, "Live In Marciac"

Bright Eyes, "The People's Key"

Death Cab For Cutie, "Codes and Keys"

Dum Dum Girls, "Only In Dreams"

Faust, "Something Dirty"

Handsome Furs, "Sound Kapital"

James Farm, "James Farm"

Levin Torn White, "Levin Torn White"

John Adams, "Son of Chamber Symphony"

The Best Books of 2011...And Some Other Releases

2011-12-07T01:23:00.001-08:00

In a way, books are the most difficult medium for putting together a 'best of the year' list. A dedicated music critic could probably listen to most new music releases in a given year. Seasoned film critics are expected to see most of the films that are released into theaters each year. With DVR technology television critics can catch up on prime time shows spanning network, cable, and premium channels and still have time left over to watch other shows. Books are a far more time-consuming experience than music albums, films, and seasons of individual television programs. Most CDs span less than an hour, most movie durations hover around the two hour mark, and an entire season of "Southland" on TV might take up to ten hours including commercials. A book could take far longer to get through. Most books are not read in single sittings. They can take days, weeks, or months to finish. Reading a book is a far more active experience than the largely passive act of listening to a record, viewing a film, watching TV, or even going to a play. Even the most blissfully enjoyable book takes time, focus, dedication, and an active imagination to turn words on paper into something alive in our minds.

Being able to honestly say that I didn't read most of the books that came out this year, I've decided to cover all of the books I read this year that were first published in 2011. What I noticed as I looked over the books I read this year was that even some of the weaker books I read this year weren't a waste of time because they unintentionally included a perspective or style that was significant for illuminating a current trend or two in the publishing world.

The Best Book of the Year
"Shock Value" by Jason Zinoman

The best book of the year is also by far the best film history book that came out in 2011. In "Shock Value", journalist Jason Zinoman clearly documents the revolution in the horror film genre that blossomed from the 1960's and into the 1980's under directors including George A. Romero, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Dan O' Bannon, Roman Polanski, Ridley Scott, and William Friedkin. There is a behind-the-scenes quality to Zinoman's writing style where the reader is informed of how these films were made while simultaneously listening to great directors like Romero and Friedkin thoughtfully reflect on their films and what they think of their work with hindsight. "Shock Value" notes many trends related to horror films during the time period the book covers- theories of how the surge in popularity with these violent films may have reflected widespread anger regarding the Vietnam War, ways in which fear of the unknown relates to psychoanalytic theory, etc- without ever becoming esoteric or pretentious. Zinoman also deserves a great deal of credit for keeping himself on the sidelines of the book. He was smart enough to know that he was interviewing master storytellers and writing wonderful subject matter, and he never makes the book about him or his journey in putting the book together. Instead Zinoman lets the directors and films essentially speak for themselves. "Shock Value" largely revolves around the big name directors that are known for contributing to and transforming the horror genre, and it also pays tribute to some of the creators such as Dan O' Bannon who are now deceased and somewhat forgotten. Zinoman should be proud of himself for writing a book that is intelligent, thoughtful, professional, and the ultimate fan's guide to the history of the horror movie.

The Rest of the Best

"From The Elephant To Hollywood" by Michael Caine

Memoirs and autobiographies are inherently self-involved affairs. The people who write these books are writing about their own lives and make the focus on 'Me! Me! Me!'. A memoir spent with a writer who is particularly selfish or narcissistic can be similar to spending time with someone unpleasant to be around. Fortunately for those who have read "From The Elephant To Hollywood", Sir Michael Caine is excellent company to spend a memoir with. Caine starts off by saying that he wrote the book because he wanted to share his joys, laughs, and good times with his fans. The sentiment may or may not have been true or sincere, but it's apt description of what Caine accomplishes. "From The Elephant To Hollywood" is a fun, humorous, and warm memoir that largely avoids the usual cliches of celebrity memoirs. Caine's book is not about redemption or a rise and fall. It's Mr. Caine's life story with a great deal of emphasis on charming anecdotes and funny asides. Caine somehow paints a portrait of glamorous Old Hollywood that is exciting without being gossipy. Some parts of the book are terribly moving, especially Caine's late-in-life discovery of a half-brother he never knew who was debilitated by untreated epilepsy. If Mr. Caine set out to share the joys, laughs, and many of the most human aspects of his life, then he succeeded in spades.

"Robert Redford" by Michael Feeney Callan

Writing the biography of someone else is never going to be a completely fair and objective endeavor no matter how much an author might be inclined to try. A good case in point is Mr. Callan's biography of Robert Redford. Callan clearly likes and admires Mr. Redford as both an actor and a person, and his writing goes to great lengths to show the former Sundance Kid in the most favorable light possible. A braver and more challenging biography might have been more suspicious of some of Redford's flaws including mistakes he made while running the Sundance Institute. Callan's portrait of Redford is rosy, but not fawning enough to become poor nonfiction. The book often functions as a successful piece of film history and includes some sharp quotes from accomplished directors including the late Sydney Pollack and the late George Roy Hill.

The Rest...

"Zombie Spaceship Wasteland" by Patton Oswalt

The smart, schlubby Mr. Oswalt is probably the most skilled comedian working today. Unfortunately, his onstage skills as an observant and creative comedian do not transfer well to his writing. Oswalt notes near the beginning of his book that creative types can be classified into three categories- zombie, spaceship, or wasteland. His articulation of this theory is not very well thought out or explained, and he notes that he is from whichever category likes to keep journals. "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland" is essentially journal material and nothing more. Oswalt has a few chapters that are stories from his life, some essays that cover pop culture, a comic strip, and other ramblings. The book feels unfocused and somewhat unformed. Nothing really seems to tie together. Oswalt has some funny ideas including the comic strip about what a real-life vampire would look like and a chapter that is supposed to read like a script editor poorly changing a story to meet cliched Hollywood standards, but that's really all the book is- several clever ideas jotted down and not terribly expanded upon. Maybe with more editing and focus, Mr. Oswalt will publish a better book in the future.

"The Secret Knowledge" by David Mamet
"Holy Terror" by Frank Miller

2011 was a year in which two very accomplished writers, both pioneers of their respective mediums, published works that championed conservative values and caused many fans to erupt in fury at their former heroes. In "The Secret Knowledge", playwright David Mamet created a polemical book that largely sets out to attack current liberal values in American society. Anyone educated in the nonfiction writings of Mr. Mamet would know that this type of argument piece isn't anything new for him. His books "True and False" and last year's "Theatre" are attacks on how theater organizations are run in the U.S. and his "Bambi vs. Godzilla" is an out-right assault on hypocrisy, greed, and abuse in Hollywood. "The Secret Knowledge" is written in a similar vein, only this time Mamet puts what he classifies as liberal agendas in his cross hairs. Overall, the book is funny in an abrasive, defensive, and passive-aggressive manner. One of the most outrageous analogies Mamet makes is by comparing Americans who want to negotiate with terrorists to the little boy in "Where The Wild Things Are" who naively tries to tame the wild beasts. Despite some of the humor to be found in Mamet's anger, "The Secret Knowledge" is still not a well argued book. Mamet frequently makes statements without giving supporting reasons which is an easy way out of making thoughtful points.

Another writer who bravely alienated his fan base this year through a book with a conservative agenda is Frank Miller. As the author of such ground-breaking graphic novels including "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Batman: Year One", Mr. Miller is a well-deserved household name in the comic book industry. The graphic novel he wrote and illustrated this year, "Holy Terror", is a poorly written, beautifully illustrated little mess. "Holy Terror" was originally conceived as a Batman project, and Miller has made very little effort to distinguish the characters in his story from Batman, Catwoman, and Jim Gordon. In the book, the Batman stand-in (lazily named The Fixer) fights and kills an army of Islamic terrorists intent on destroying America. The book is bad all around: the characters are poorly developed, the bad guys are purely evil and have little depth to them, and the plot is a predictable revenge fantasy.

Like "Zombie Spaceship Wasteland", "The Secret Knowledge" and "Holy Terror" were published this year, but they hardly deserve to be on a 'best books of the year' list. I do think there is a great deal of significance to the ways in which "The Secret Knowledge" and "Holy Terror" were received upon publication. "The Secret Knowledge" wasn't reviewed by critics so much as it was disagreed with. None of the reviews I read on Mamet's book analyzed his writing style and instead focused on how little the book critics agreed with Mamet's political opinions. The reaction to "Holy Terror" was similar: Miller openly made a piece of propaganda and critics reviewed the book based upon how much they agreed with Miller's political views as expressed in the book. "Holy Terror" has a simplistic story and the writing is bad. Critics could have focused on the book's many narrative flaws, but the emphasis was always on how incorrect they felt Miller was in his political views. Both Mamet and Miller angered their fan bases and critics by writing books that were outspoken and aggressive. They didn't seem to anger any groups for writing bad books. I'm disappointed that both authors published weak material, but I'm also disappointed that book critics were more concerned with judging their opinions that critiquing their writing.

"Retromania" by Simon Reynolds
"Kid A" by Marvin Lin

"Retromania" by Simon Reynolds and "Kid A" by Marvin Lin are two concrete examples of rock music books published this year with compelling subject matter that are both ultimately undone by their separate authors' overwhelming narcissism. In "Retromania", Simon Reynolds poses an interesting question, in an age of rapidly growing technology why are pop culture consumers so increasingly interested in movie remakes, television reboots, older music, and other forms of cultural nostalgia? Reynolds explores this question, but he quickly comes up with possible answers including the obvious fact that many consumers today now have easier access to older films, television shows, and music releases thanks to ease of purchase or free downloading on the web. As "Retromania" rolls along, the book quickly becomes just a full-length excuse for Reynolds to name drop the bands he's passionate about while only superficially covering the more promising premises and questions of the book.

Marvin Lin makes an identical mistake with his contribution to the '33 1/3' book series on Radiohead's album "Kid A". Instead of directly and only focusing on the text ('Kid A'), Lin spends a great deal of the book constantly reassuring the reader about just how important the music of Radiohead is to him. Lin comes across as an articulate, fortunate fan and little else. He also contributes nothing new to discourse on Radiohead's music and their larger role in music history. "Retromania" and "Kid A" are included on this list because they're significant in pointing something out: writing about music can be personal without becoming egotistical.

The Best Books of the Year

1. "Shock Value" by Jason Zinoman
2. "From the Elephant to Hollywood" by Michael Caine
3. "Robert Redford" by Michael Feeney Callan

The Rest Books of the Year

"Zombie Spaceship Wasteland" by Patton Oswalt
"The Secret Knowledge" by David Mamet
"Holy Terror" by Frank Miller
"Retromania" by Simon Reynolds
"Kid A" by Marvin Lin

The Best Music EPs of 2011

2011-12-03T16:38:00.001-08:00

Music Post by Aden Jordan

The EP is somewhat of a lost art form. EPs are collections of songs by the same artist which are too short to make a full album and too long to pass for a single and B-side. In an age of music downloading where listeners can choose to download individual songs instead of entire albums and ignore the order artists want their songs to be heard in, EPs can often seem pointless. Fortunately for music fans, many bands and artists are still putting out EPs that cover music that didn't make it onto their most recent album releases. 2011 wasn't a groundbreaking year for EP releases, but the number of strong ones that did come out are a good sign that the EP isn't dead.

Kiev, "Ain't No Scary Folks" and "Be Gone Dull Cage"

Kiev, the promising indie band from the California town of Orange, released not one but two EPs this year. The five song "Ain't No Scary Folks" shows the band's ability to make impressive, intricate music that is also fun, limber, and loose. Their second EP from this year, "Be Gone Dull Cage", includes three songs that smoothly seem to pick up where "Ain't No Scary Folks" leaves off. Kiev is somehow able to sound like a combination of Radiohead, Menomena, and Local Natives while creating their own distinct sound.

Broken Bells, "Meyrin Fields"

Only a producer as skilled and multi-talented as Danger Mouse could take the dopey, whiny vocals of The Shins front man James Mercer and turn his overly emotive wails into a necessary element of clear, catchy indie rock. That is exactly what Danger Mouse and Mr. Mercer accomplished on their self-titled debut album as Broken Bells. Their follow-up four song EP from this year, "Meyrin Fields", sounds stranger and more experimental than the band's debut album, and the EP's lyrics also feel more puzzling and worth wrestling with than their full-length album.

Southern California Concert Update

2011-12-02T23:29:00.001-08:00

Former Modern Lovers front man Jonathan Richman will be playing the Constellation Room in Santa Ana on December 8.

Handsome Furs, comprised of former Wolf Parade singer and guitarist Dan Boeckner and his wife Alexi Perry, will be performing at the Constellation Room in Santa Ana on January 16. The married music duo released a new album this year, Sound Kapital, which should make for some strong live material.

The always evolving Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra will also be playing the Constellation Room on February 7.

Steve Reich and the Bang on the Can All-Stars will be playing several Reich compositions at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on January 17. Their impressive roster of Reich works includes Clapping Music, Piano Phase/Video Phase, Music For 18 Musicians, and 2x5.

The Music of 2011

2011-12-02T00:21:00.001-08:00

I'm going to wait until the end of the month to post a list of the year's best music releases. For the time being here are some of albums that are in the running for a 'Best Albums of the Year' list. When I put the actual list together I will expand on the albums here that are most worthy.

Art Brut, "Brilliant! Tragic!"
Brad Mehldau, "Live In Marciac"
Brad Mehldau, Kevin Hays, Patrick Zimmerli, "Modern Music"
Bright Eyes, "The People's Key"
Broken Bells, "Meyrin Fields EP"
Coldplay, "Mylo Xyloto"
Cold War Kids, "Mine Is Yours"
Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi, "Rome"
David Lynch, "Crazy Clown Time"
Death Cab For Cutie, "Codes and Keys"
Dum Dum Girls, "Only In Dreams"
Faust, "Something Dirty"
Feist, "Metals"
Foo Fighters, "Wasting Light"
Handsome Furs, "Sound Kapital"
John Adams, ICE, St. Lawrence Quartet "Son of Chamber Symphony"
James Farm, "James Farm"
Jonny Greenwood, "Norwegian Wood"
King Creosote & John Hopkins, "Diamond Mine"
Levin Torn White, "Levin Torn White"
Moonface, "Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped"
Nick Diamonds, "I Am An Attic"
Patton Oswalt, "Finest Hour"
PJ Harvey, "Let England Shake"
St. Vincent, "Strange Mercy"
Stephen Malkmus, "Mirror Traffic"
Steve Reich, Kronos Quartet, "WTC 9/11"
The Strokes, "Angles"
Wilco, "The Whole Love"
Wire, "Red Barked Tree"

Media Man Ken Auletta Explores New Media In 'Googled: The End Of The World As We Know It'

2011-12-01T18:16:00.001-08:00

Book Review by Aden Jordan

Discourse related to changes in traditional media from new media and technology have become repetitive to the point of cliched and redundant. Magazines and newspapers continue to document and profile their own demise at the hands of free internet publications. Record labels and movie studios publicly complain about online piracy. Print publications, physical music distributors, television networks, and movie studios are all affected in different ways- both positive and negative- by the advent of advanced search engines, free content downloads, and other results of technological innovation changing how media is discovered, obtained, and experienced. One company that seems to be a big culprit in the financial decline of old media is the mammoth search engine provider Google which is profiled in the 2009 book "Googled".

One of the best pieces of nonfiction writing related to the ways the internet affects traditional media, "Googled: The End of the World As We Know It" by Ken Auletta is a must read for Media Studies scholars and anyone interested in the evolving nature of online media. Auletta is a long time writer at The New Yorker and the author of several books that have profiled Ted Turner, Microsoft, the network television stations, and other big media movers and shakers. He is one of the best living media writers and reporters working today. Like the best works of nonfiction, Auletta's "Googled" is an intricately researched, thoughtful, probing, and mostly fair piece of reporting.

The book starts off as an average profile of Google's founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and their CEO Eric Schmidt. Page, Brin, and Schmidt don't make particularly compelling biography figures. Fortunately for them, the three heads of the company do not come across as abusive, mean, or tyrannical unlike many other major company leaders (such as the late Steve Jobs, Harvey Weinstein, Eli Broad, etc.), but they also don't come across as particularly heroic or inspiring either. Page and Brin both come from wealth and means, and they seem both spoiled and naive in some of the ways they run their company including their entitlement to put their objectives before the privacy of their users. Auletta must have been smart enough to realize that Page, Brin, and Schmidt weren't fascinating enough to warrant a full biography so his book gradually becomes an exploration of how online companies like Google affect traditional forms of media including newspapers, magazines, record labels, and others.

One of Auletta's best observations is that advancements in technology are not the only factor to strengthen or weaken success in the world of media, and the author stresses that the choices made by the leaders of a company are far more important than the technical advancements themselves. Auletta notes that there were search engines before Google and mp3 players before the ipod, but it was the marketing, aesthetic, and user accessibility decisions that made Google and Apple more popular and successful than the companies that made the first search engines and mp3 players. Auletta also provokes thoughts related to how the government, economy, and user privacy are all affected by trends caused by Google and other online media. Auletta's book is a must-read so find yourself a copy. You can even Google it.

Grade: A-

New Weekend, New Play List

2011-11-25T13:50:00.001-08:00

"The Killing Moon", Echo and the Bunnymen off "Ocean Rain"
"Big Mouth Strikes Again", The Smiths off "The Queen Is Dead"
"Anyone's Ghost", The National off "High Violet"
"10 X 10", Yeah Yeah Yeahs off "Is Is EP"
"The Last of the Famous International Playboys", Morrissey off "Bona Drag"
"Bury With It", Modest Mouse off "Good News For People Who Love Bad News"
"Men In Black", Frank Black off "93-03"
"Incinerate", Sonic Youth off "Rather Ripped"
"New Killer Star", David Bowie off "Reality"
"Los Angeles", Frank Black off "93-03"

Sandler And Sandler In "Jack and Jill"

2011-11-21T22:55:00.001-08:00

Film Review by Aden Jordan

Few movie stars have formulas for their films built so concretely around them as Adam Sandler. Their premises are barely interchangeable: A jerkish loudmouth with a temper problem learns to be a better guy and appreciate what he has through the love of a good woman, family, and/or friends. Sandler's newest venture into his own genre is "Jack and Jill" where he plays a jerkish brother with a temper problem to his obnoxious, friendlier sister (who is also played by Sandler in drag). Jack, the brother, is an accomplished L.A. commercial writer with nice kids and a pretty wife (Katie Holmes) while Jill, the twin sister, is a lonely single woman in her forties still living at their childhood home in the Bronx. Every year Jill comes to visit Jack at Thanksgiving, and Jack can barely hide how little he can stand being in his sister's premise. Jack desperately wants to send Jill back to New York until the two of them run into Al Pacino at a Laker's game. Pacino is immediately and implausibly taken with Jill, and offers to do a Dunkin' Donuts commercial with Jack if he can arrange some romance time between Mr. Scarface and Jill.

"Jack and Jill" is predictable and lazily written, but it has a few good laughs and the Pacino storyline is ludicrous enough to elevate the generic quality of the film as a whole. The dynamic between Jack and Jill is barely developed. Jill annoys Jack, but her loud demeanor and his short fuse with her barely explain why they don't seem to get along. A film with a stronger script would have developed their relationship more. None of the film's characters are very sketched out, and Holmes especially just has a character that gets by on smiles and the occasional disapproving comment. A homeless character played by Allen Covert pops up near the beginning of the film and then seems to abruptly disappear as do characters played by Nick Swardson, Tim Meadows, and Gieff Pierson. Even with these flaws, "Jack and Jill" provides some funny diversions especially in the Al Pacino scenes where the great and serious Mr. Pacino goofs off with a good sport sense of self-parody. "Jack and Jill" is far from cinematic art, but it works as a daft comedy.

Grade: C+

Kevin Smith Seriously Shifts Gears With "Red State"

2011-11-11T20:50:00.001-08:00

Film Review by Aden Jordan

One established filmmaker whose appeal I've never understood is Kevin Smith. The writer-director-actor behind "Clerks" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", Smith has gained a great deal of financial success and fan appeal through his vulgar, lowbrow, one dimensional comedies. After his recent box office flops "Zach And Miri Make A Porno" and "Cop Out", Smith inched closer to cinematic irrelevance. Smith has received a lot of media coverage for his unusual promotional decisions behind his new film "Red State". The film was first premiered at a film festival where Smith planned on auctioning the film to whatever distributor put forth the highest bid. At the screening, Smith sold his own film to himself for twenty dollars and announced that he would self-distribute the film by carrying the film across the country to screen. "Red State" is now on DVD and viewers can behold a film that I feel is just as interesting as the unusual tactics Smith used to promote the film.

A smooth synthesis of the horror, action, and thriller genres, "Red State" is a short, violent, and surprisingly unpredictable piece of work. In the film, three ordinary male teenagers find a listing online for a local woman (Melissa Leo) willing to have sex with multiple men for a small fee. Upon arrival at the mysterious woman's trailer, the three boys are drugged and kidnapped to a fundamental Christian church where they have been scheduled to be executed by a truly evil and self-righteous church leader played by Michael Parks in a standout career performance. At this point, "Red State" both abruptly and fluidly shifts gears from a horror movie about teenagers kidnapped by a church cult to a cop movie featuring John Goodman as an honest federal agent. Goodman's character wants to rescue the kidnapped teenagers and arrest the crazed members of the church, but things become increasingly bloody and lethal between all three parties. The film's blunt and rapid nature feels like a Tarantino film without the bloated sense of humor and irony. "Red State" is nasty, brutish, and short, and shows a promise that Kevin Smith has never shown before.

Grade: B-

Tap Dance Of The Penguins: "Happy Feet Two"

2011-11-11T19:49:00.001-08:00

Film Review in Brief by Aden Jordan

Some filmmakers behind family movies try to tell stories that are complicated and nuanced enough for adults as well as children. Pixar is particularly skilled at making these type of films with such wonderful films for both adults and children including "UP" and "Wall-E". Animated franchises including the "Shrek" films are aimed at children while stuffing themselves with bad popular culture references for parents to catch. In these days of media savvy kids, few films feel made solely for child consumption. One of the most strictly for children films I've seen in a long time is George Miller's "Happy Feet Two".

Like the first "Happy Feet", this computer animated sequel follows a group of talking penguins as they struggle with their place in the world and learn important life lessons about family, self respect, and solidarity amongst species. The film is so complete with family film staples- the anthropomorphized creatures, the touching cover songs of music hits, and the emphasis on family values- that "Happy Feet Two" easily qualifies as the most kid friendly film of the year so far. Elijah Wood, Pink!, Common, Robin Williams, and Hank Azaria voice the penguins and Brad Pitt and Matt Damon portray a pair of brotherly krill. The simple story- a bunch of animals group together to help save a group of penguins stuck in a big ditch- will be easily accessible and understandable to even the youngest of children. This same lack of sophistication will probably bore parents and adult fans of animated films, but will probably keep the attention span of most children.

Film buffs will probably be surprised to know that both "Happy Feet" films were directed by George Miller, the Aussie auteur behind the groundbreaking "Mad Max" trilogy. Miller basically started his career with the violent Road Warrior films and thirty years later he now mostly makes family films. "Babe", the touching movie with the talking pig, was written by Miller and Mr. Miller also wrote and directed the wildly imaginative and strangely dark sequel "Babe: Pig in the City". With "Happy Feet Two", Miller has largely left behind some of the melancholy and poignancy of the "Babe" films. In doing so, he has also missed some of the risks that made the "Babe" films stand out from the crowd. The final verdict? If you have kids, take them to see this movie and rest assure that there is nothing in it to upset or offend your family. If you don't have kids, skip this one and check out the "Mad Max" trilogy.