Processed Grass

Taking On 2011: Top Films (Final List)

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

All good things must come to an end, and now I am in a position where I feel like it's time to close the page on the previous year in cinema. Alright, that's a bit of a lie.

Many of you may know that Oscar nominations were just announced, but why deal with the stuffy Academy when we (remember, read this "we" as "me," my friends) have a list of the real Best Pictures right here at Processed Grass? We don't need some silly rule that says maybe there are 10 films worth recognizing except when there aren't, we'll give you ten. In fact, there are plenty more that deserve recognition! But I have to show some restraint people, life must be lived.

This goes beyond performances. This is not a game! Who will be left standing when the music stops? It's time to find out!

10. We Need To Talk About Kevin

Lynne Ramsay's quasi-horror film caught me just as the year started winding down, and the chance to sit down with this chilling examination of a mother's fallout after horrible tragedy is as engaging as one of my favorite films all time form the same director, Ratcatcher. Anchored by Tilda Swinton firing, as usual, on all cylinders, the stunningly gorgeous cinematography in this movie and the haunting soundtrack will stick with me for years to come.

9. Drive

Movies that ooze style the way the latest from Nicholas Winding Refn are rare finds, but the ones we have ought to be treasured and celebrated. Though Drive is perfectly serviceable as a fast paced, yet oddly quiet, action film, presenting it as such would be doing a great disservice to the film's wealth of subtext. It's more of a horrifying character study of a wandering, deranged man who is always dangerously close to snapping. More of a harrowing condemnation of real human beings's unbridled terror than a celebration of real heroes.

8. Young Adult

The latest from overlooked auteur Jason Reitman seems to be the sob story of 2011 cinema: a highly accomplished character study that is witty, funny, and devastating all at once. Penned by Diablo Cody (meaning yes, this film re-teams the minds behind Juno, so feel free to insert misguided hate for a great film here, I guess), the dialogue fits perfectly within this universe when coming from Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, and other talents in the film. Between Thank You For Smoking, Juno, and Up in the Air Reitman has proven himself a master of fragile characters and subtly challenging traditional story telling codes in order to make increasingly heart wrenching and pointed examinations of American culture that contain more truth than I, being a part of all that he is critical of, would like to admit. At some point Reitman is going to make a film that is just a mass of sadness and harsh realities, but until then I'll continue taking top notch efforts from one of the nation's working directors. Don't be a part of the problem, go see this film immediately!

7. Meek's Cutoff

Much like Ramsay, Reichardt is responsible for one of my most beloved films, Wendy and Lucy, so my excitement for her followup to that film was immense. In many regards this exasperating struggle for survival in 1800's Oregon is, as has quickly become a staple of this list, on the surface an incredibly simplistic film that almost masks the complexity beneath the surface. A meditation on faith, trust, and community, this exercise in hopelessness builds to a stunning conclusion that shifts the entirety of the film.

6. Hugo

Though many have called Martin Scorsese's latest film a love letter to cinema in the way it plays to our nostalgic impulses, I feel that partially belittles the greater accomplishments. It's even easier to say that Scorsese is the first filmmaker working in the realm of fiction to justify the use of 3-D, assuming we concede that Cameron perfected the tech with Avatar but only had a mediocre story to tell, but even that doesn't completely highlight the way that Scorsese's latest film celebrates adventure and imagination. Hugo is a film that made me happy, delivered with the deft hand of a master filmmaker. Sometimes that's all you need.

5. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

The Cannes Palme d'Or winner of two years back finally hit US shores in 2011, and even though there's an apparent barrier to entry when it comes to grasping all of the Thai cultural intricacies (certainly I am no expert and it was intimidating to me), but there's plenty of decidedly universal qualities to engage with in what is a gripping character study. One of the year's most unique films that needs to be treasured.

4. Summer Wars

A carryover from last year's list, this beautiful animated film from Japan creates a lush digital world full of avatars and cyber warfare placed alongside a romance between two youths during, as the title may suggest, a summer. Though 2011 was not the best year for animated film (though Rango and Winnie the Pooh were notable standouts), I'm glad that Summer Wars remained a constant and hope that 2012 brings even more wonderful animation.

3. The Tree Of Life

Terrence Malick's 2011 Cannes Palme d'Or winner, much like Uncle Boonmee, takes a very traditional cultural idea (1950's suburbia America to be exact) and uses this as a jumping off point with which he is able to engage in a process of the very machinations of the world that surrounds, and shapes one way or another, each human being. It's a film where life is celebrated, treasured, mourned, and processed with the weight of the universe, brought to life with Malick's sprawling vision. The small and the large are united in the glory of Malick's latest film.

2. Somewhere

Another holdover from 2010, Sophia Coppola's tonal exercise is a film that I personally connected with on so many levels, to the point where it remains, by a wide margin, my most rewatched film in the past year. Each time I discover a new aspect about this film to love. Starting with the performance by Elle Fanning, to the magical montage set to The Strokes, and going far beyond the calculated pace through which each scene unfolds, Somewhere is an emotional, and more importantly a cinematic, triumph.

1. Martha Marcy May Marlene

I find that many of my favorite films become so intimidating that I have trouble doing full on reviews of them because they easily devolve in to me gushing over all the aspects that a filmmaker gets 'right.' Naturally that makes this list the ideal place to sing the praises of Durkin's debut feature. The title suggests a clash of identity that is mirrored through the struggle of titular main character, played by Elizabeth Olsen in one of the year's best performances, and advanced by some of the year's best editing in order to create a sense of tension that recalls Gothic literary techniques that help define this quasi-horror film. I was reminded while watching this film how much I loved A Turn Of The Screw, and any film with that power is commendable. A promising start to what I can only hope is a bright future.

And with that, the book on 2011 closes. Until the Oscars drag me back in to this trench. I'll leave some rations behind, we'll be here again. Thanks for the year, 2011! I'll always remember you for what we had, and what could have been.

As a bonus, here's a rough outline of all the other films I watched from 2011 in a (mostly) definitive ranking order. As for where the distinction between the ones I enjoyed and didn't enjoy occurs though I shall leave that task up to you dear reader. Learn me inside out!

Martha Marcy May Marlene
Somewhere
The Tree Of Life
Summer Wars
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Hugo
Meek's Cutoff
Young Adult
Drive
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Melancholia
Shame
Rango
Take Shelter
Jane Eyre
Cedar Rapids
The Sunset Limited
Louis C.K.: Hilarious
Winnie the Pooh
Poetry
The Guard
Scre4m
We Bought A Zoo
Contagion
My Dog Tulip
X:Men – First Class
Rabbit Hole
Another Year
4.3.2.1
The Art Of Getting By
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Arbor
The Adventures of Tintin
A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Umshini Wam
Source Code
Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred
Lady GaGa Live at Madison Square Garden
The Interrupters
Paul
The Green Hornet
Lemonade Mouth
Your Highness
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II
Super 8
iParty With Victorious
Thor
Batman: Year One
Hot Coffee
The Muppets
Immortals
Incendies
The Suite Life Movie
Diary of a Whimpy Kid: Roderick Rules
FISHTANK
Take Me Home Tonight
Best Player
Cars 2
Moneyball
30 Minutes or Less
I Love You, Phillip Morris
Fast Five
Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star
The Artist
Horrible Bosses
Kung Fu Panda 2
The Hangover Part II

So now you have it, what do you think about the list? Can you totally not believe that (insert film here) is ranked so much lower than (insert film here)? Let me know it comments!

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!

Taking On 2011: Lead Performances

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:35:00 +0000

As the previous year dovetails in to the ether, and we can all begin looking ahead to the year that will be rather than the year that was, I still find myself wandering down this old, dusty road. If there's one thing I can certainly say about 2011, it's that movies most certainly released. And in those movies, actors and actresses gave performances. Some of these individuals will even be nominated for Academy Awards. Others have even taken home the Golden Globes, so it's like the world is always looking back at them (or their house keepers I guess) each time they walk past that fireplace mantle. But sometimes the best awards are the ones without tangible counterparts, sometimes the best awards are right here on Processed Grass.

Eligibility requirements, because this is a super serious list that will probably effect the overall Academy Awards race if individuals happen to make the crossover, are discussed briefly in my Supporting Performances post. But we aren't supporting right now, now we're the stars, baby!

Top 5 Lead Actors

5. Samuel L. Jackson - The Sunset Limited

I don't want to oversimplify acting as being the best way to read lines, clearly a good deal more is going on beneath the surface than just reading. However, when you read lines as well as Jackson does in this HBO adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's play it becomes a little hard to ignore. And while I feel like either Jackson or co-star Tommy Lee Jones could have occupied this slot, when I think back to the film it's Jackson who displays a surprisingly vast range of emotion and experience. Jackson bleeds in to the character to the point where I forgot I was watching Samuel L. Jackson, and he simply became his character.

4. Bruce Greenwood - Meek's Cutoff

Playing the titular Meek, Greenwood is a cowboy. Last year Jeff Bridges played a similar character in True Grit, but given the varying tones of each film the way the characters are written and played become notably different. Meek is at times a man wandering alone, and Greenwood brings this sense of conviction to the role that allows this character to serve as the lightning rod that thrusts the film along, and, most importantly, stands next to Michelle Williams as an equal.

3. Ryan Gosling - Drive

Gosling plays disconnected probably even better than Keanu Reeves. Don't mistake this for a slight against Gosling, as the energy he brings to his character by being so far removed from reality is the exact energy that puts his role in Winding Refn's latest exercise in stylistic narrative over the top. He is no less than a real hero, and perhaps even much more than a real human being.

2. Michael Shannon - Take Shelter

Michael Shannon has always been able to play slightly unhinged, and he brings that ability with full force to this role. The film makes it difficult for Shannon because we are never supposed to know how crazy the character is, and the way Shannon walks this line is brilliant.

1. Michael Fassbender - Shame

Though 2011 was a huge year for Michael Fassbender, I suppose that X-Men: First Class where he played Magneto was mostly a coming out party for him on a major stage, all of his talent seemed to come to a head when he was able to reconnect with Steve McQueen, the director who truly started showcasing Fassbender's talents with his debut film Hunger. I wrote earlier that acting isn't just reading lines, and Fassbender may be the year's best proof. The way he uses his face to build his character, to convey so much information about what happens underneath the surface, is just as crucial to acting, to achieving a sense of truth. And no one may be more true than Fassbender in Shame.

Honorable Mentions: Tommy Lee Jones - The Sunset Limited, Ed Helms - Cedar Rapids, Johnny Depp - Rango, Hunter McCracken - The Tree of Life

Top 5 Lead Actresses

5. Michelle Williams - Meek's Cutoff

Though a good deal more reserved than she was in Reichardt's other film Wendy and Lucy, Michelle Williams revels in the desolation of 1800's Oregon. Though she plays quiet very well, when the character is allowed to flex her strength among the individuals that surround her, Williams nearly transforms. However, thinking back it's the quiet moments that stand out for me, and that the mark of a great actress. The mark of a great year for actresses is that Williams is only ranked at number five.

4. Charlize Theron - Young Adult

Diablo Cody's writing and Jason Reitman's direction could be credited for how well developed Mavis is as a character, but it's Theron's embodiment of this fractured author, constantly clinging to the past and sinking further in to pits of depression created by her own delusion that truly brings Mavis to life. She turns a character who should be alienating in to a character who is heartbreaking.

3. Mia Wasikowska - Jane Eyre

I imagine playing Jane Eyre is not an easy task, simply because much of the conflicts and turmoils within the woman are internalized and that is difficult to project on to the outside world when Jane is meant to be so composed throughout this story. Yet Wasikowska embodies most qualities of Jane Eyre (and I guess gets as close to a physical approximation any film version with a decently wide release can reasonably expected at this point in time) with relative ease and wonder. I'm not an expert on the novel, I have only read it once about six years ago, but I do know that Wasikowska is a captivating force on screen as this film's character.

2. Kirsten Dunst - Melancholia

Lars Von Trier got a powerhouse performance from Charlotte Gainsbourg in his previous film Antichrist and again from her here, but in hindsight I must concede that Dunst gives the (slightly) better performance of the two in this film. I was initially hesitant that I was a little fooled by her flash, she is given more to do and has a number of 'bigger' scenes, but when I thought about the range of emotion that Dunst showed I found it hard to deny her accomplishment in this role. She commands the screen, and that's what a lead performer needs to accomplish.

1. Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene

But, as was the case last year with Hailee Steinfeld, what I hope to find in a performance is a force that takes over the screen. Each number one on my lists have done this, including John Hawkes who gave my favorite supporting turn this year in the same film, and in her debut role Olsen is no exception. She doesn't just command the camera's attention, she demands it. She presents a fractured psyche and a fractured individual, a complete performance that fires on all cylinders from the opening frame to the haunting conclusion. Olsen dominates the screen, and I anxiously await her next project.

Honorable Mentions: Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin, Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Yun Jeong-hie - Poetry

Congrats to all the performers, it truly is an honor just to be nominated. Olsen and Fassbender are invited to contact me for their awards, otherwise I shall hold on to them until the next year. Who knows, perhaps they shall even repeat! If 2012 has nearly as many great performances as 2011, then I imagine it has a good shot to be a great year in cinema.

And with that we being running the numbers, taking the tallies, and moving on to the biggest of honors, Top Films of 2011, coming rather soon.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!

Taking On 2011: Supporting Performances

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:09:00 +0000

Now that I have finished up my music and video game coverage over the past couple of weeks, and with Oscar nominations right on the horizon, it seems fitting that I start focusing on the world of 2011 cinema. While I will withhold qualitative judgments until later, there are still plenty of films from last year that I want to see despite already watching a total of 67 2011 releases, as I was compiling these lists I realized that this year was pretty fantastic for actors (both male and female). The journey itself has been long, but that's the trip, baby. We are all along for the ride, and now it's time to start making sense of this crazy, mixed up world.

Before getting to the lists, I want to briefly outline my requirements for eligibility. Basically I needed to personally have some way to access a film in the year 2011 for it to make the list. That means films like Carnage and A Dangerous Method are going to be held off until next year's list. Similarly, because my unabridged list has some films that I included as 2010 movies, but didn't see theatrical distribution or DVD release until early 2011 I am going to include them one final time this year. So even if a performance made my list last year, if the film itself is on my 2011 Master List then it can win again, as the case may be.

And with that, on to the awards!

Top 5 Supporting Female Performances

5. Carey Mulligan - Shame

Despite Mulligan being the buzzed about debutante since her first major role in An Education, I have always been incredibly cold on her as an actress. While I have started developing more of an appreciation for facial actresses, her stare always seems so detached and vacant. That is, until she showed up in Steve McQueen's sophomore film Shame. Playing Michael Fassbender's younger sister meant that she was going to constantly be put up against a powerhouse of an actor, so when Mulligan shows off an ability to deliver an emotionally charged, occasionally bombastic performance of this attention starved, slightly whimsical youth I was completely blindsided. Maybe it was her American accent as well, that's usually impressive because I'm a dumb American who thinks non-Americans speaking like Americans is impressive. Or maybe she's just really great.

4. Lesley Manville - Another Year

Mike Leigh knows how to get performances out of his actors. Few directors working today are able to tap in to as much honest, raw humanity as Leigh, and the performance that Manville gives in his latest film is stunning. Though it has been about a year since watching Another Year, I can still vividly remember just how enjoyable, and simultaneously devastating, her turn is as the aloof Mary who time has apparently passed by without a care. The final scene in the film is stunning, but it's the way that Manville moves from one emotional extreme to the other that evokes a sense of pathos that you can only find in a Mike Leigh movie.

3. Emma Roberts - Scre4m

Roberts makes what seems like a yearly appearance on my list once again (and almost twice on the same list because of just how charming she is in The Art Of Getting By) for what may well be her best performance since Lymelife. Throughout much of the film it seems as if she is simply playing another Emma Roberts character, but as the killings start to progress and she finds herself at the center of the new string of Ghostface murders her performance also begins to shift. Throughout much of the film Hayden Panettiere actually gives the better performance, but what Emma does at the end reframes her entire performance in the film up to that point and really allows her to shine as an actress in the way other films have not completely allowed her to before (with 2011's 4.3.2.1 being the notable exception). Ultimately the way I was made to adjust my evaluations of her performance as a whole because of what she does in the third act pushes her into the upper echelon of 2011 Supporting Performances.

2. Jessica Chastain - Take Shelter

While I have not seen The Debt or The Help, I can safely say that 2011 was an impressive year for Jessica Chastain. Though her performance in Take Shelter allowed her the opportunity to flex her emotional range in a single film, this slot could just as easily be occupied by her turn as the Mother in The Tree of Life. Still, what makes this role a bit more well rounded than the other (aside from the fact that she is arguably a lead in Malick's film) is the amount that she is asked to do in this film. I know that usually less is more, but this is a perfect example where more is SO MUCH MORE!

1. Elle Fanning

You may notice that Elle Fanning is not listed for a corresponding film. While I would say that her best performance, and arguably the year's best performance, is her turn in Somewhere, she topped this list for that film last year. She's also great in Super 8 and We Bought A Zoo, but not as great as she is in the Coppola film. Fanning built upon her early success and solidified her spot as the up and coming actress to watch out for, and hopefully 2012 is just as great a year for her, because what she does in Somewhere is absolutely magical.

Honorable Mentions: Anne Heche - Cedar Rapids, Charlotte Gainsbourg - Melancholia, Jessica Chastain - The Tree Of Life

Top 5 Male Performances

5. Uggie - The Artist

In many ways 2011 was the year of canines in cinema. Between Snowy in The Adventures of Tintin, the beagle in We Bought A Zoo, the Doberman in Hugo, and the dog in Beginners, you could basically take your pick. While I love the Doberman, Snowy, and the Beagle, the way Uggie was deployed in The Artist brought out a genuine charm to a film that felt far too artificial and manufactured. A great supporting performance lights up the screen and makes the lead even better, which, as unconventional it may seem, certainly applies to Uggie.

4. Sacha Baron Cohen - Hugo

The most likely reason I couldn't award my five spot to the dog from Hugo is because Baron Cohen, mostly of Borat and Bruno fame, was just so spectacular opposite the animal that he ought to be recognized for his turn as the orphan grabbing, gimpy antagonist in Scorsese's latest. Baron Cohen has shown acting chops before in Sweeney Todd, but for some reason he still has not seen his dramatic/comedic blends increase (I blame Russel Brand, I guess), yet when he is given the chance he tends to knock the roles out of the park. This is no exception.

3. Patton Oswalt - Young Adult

Much like Baron Cohen, Patton Oswalt could easily be written off as just another comedian, and while he is insanely funny in Jason Reitman's criminally overlooked film it's the moments of quiet humanity that cement his performance as one of last year's best. Again, like with Baron Cohen, Oswalt has shown in Big Fan an ability to handle these types of roles, but even knowing what he was capable of did not completely prepare me for just how engaging, lifelike, and engrossing he ultimately was across from Charlize Theron, playing an older nerd to whom society has effectively given the shaft.

2. Brad Pitt - The Tree Of Life

Though the accomplishments of Terrence Malick's latest film are almost too numerous to list, the near central performance from Brad Pitt is as stunning and imposing as even the most grandiose of themes going on in the meditative family drama. One could boil down the performance by saying that Pitt plays the daddiest dad of all dads, which would not be too far off the mark, but the way he projects a reserved affection that is always underscored by a sense of supreme authority makes for one of the most fully realized performances from 2011.

1. John Hawkes - Martha Marcy May Marlene

After last year's menacing performance in Winter's Bone, I figured that Hawkes would be hard pressed to ever top that unless his character on Eastbound and Down took a hard left turn in the upcoming season, but then he popped up as the cult leader in Martha Marcy May Marlene where he was completely terrifying. Though I feel that any of these top three actors could easily occupy this top slot, what I feel earns Hawkes this spot is the way that I was always guessing when he was on screen. I had an idea where the character was going, but the offhanded way in which he delivered his dialogue, the way he built this character, was, to use the most generic of words, impressive. But sometimes those words become generic because they are effective. Hawkes is just damned impressive.

Honorable Mentions: John C. Reilly - Cedar Rapids, Bryan Cranston - Drive, Michael Fassbender - Jane Eyre

In hindsight, the number of great supporting performances from last year, especially from the male actors, was staggering. When I move on to Lead Performances later in the week I hope I don't have as much trouble formulating the list, though with Dunst, Olsen, Gosling, Fassbender, and others all starring in 2011 films, I know I am going to have some tough decisions to make.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!

We Can't Live This Way, No We Can't Live This Way Hey Hey

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 03:21:00 +0000

Frenemies (Mayer, 2011)

The latest Disney Channel Original Movie, Frenemies, starring Shake It Up starlets Bella Thorne and Zendaya Coleman was marketed as the second coming of Princess Protection Program, but in actuality is a much more disparate affair. While watching the opening credits I was surprised to see that multiple screenwriters were credited, in fact this sequence identified that the film was three acts (no shocker there) and each act was penned by different writers. Coleman and Thorne play two girls who start a fashion website, a plot line that is used as a framing device to explore three narratives that each involve friends turned enemies turned friends. In a way this takes a cue from the pages of Valentine's Day, but because the three stories all involve kids from the same town the characters occasionally intersect, basically providing new spins on traditional movie plot lines.

Kicking off the film is a plot focusing on super smart science mastermind Jake (Nick Robinson) who is taken advantage of by resident popular girl Julianne (ANT Farm's Stefanie Scott) in an attempt to score her a better grade. She hates Jake's dog, who also happens to be his best friend. At some point an unpopular skater girl, Savannah (Mary Mouser), with a crush on Jake interferes to wrap everything up. The next act follows Avalon and Halle (Thorne and Coleman) as they start their GeeklyChic blog, get recognized by some huge fashion publisher mogul, and must compete for the editor in chief job at a magazine by submitting the best article. Friendly rivalry turns bitter, fights are fought, and eventually all ideas of friendship are reaffirmed.

Finally a Prince and the Pauper story line is explored when Savannah meets rich socialite Emma Reynolds, who happens to look exactly like her (and is also played by Mouser). They switch lives for a week, swap kind of boyfriends when Jake is asked out by Emma pretending to be Savannah (and if there's a great performance in here it's definitely in the form of Dylan Everett as self absorbed rich boy Lance), and fight over each other's man. Then there's a musical number where Avalon and Halle show up for some reason. Because why not, right?

Though these plots are all fairly pedestrian, most of them are told incredibly well, with the actors all bringing a specific type of charm to their characters. What I found most interesting about the film though is the way sexual codes are overtly presented. It's expected in a Disney Channel movie that the most conventional markings of sexuality and relationships would be reinforced, but they are presented in such a direct manner they sort of become the focal point of the film. Considering that these shows draw in so many young viewers, these ideas are what the nation's youth recognize in real life as acceptable behaviors and codes, and as such I think inspecting how relationships, gender codes, and coping mechanisms for developing sexual awareness is crucial in understanding how they function both in media and for the nation at large. In the first story we see Julianne as manipulative, framed as a seductress and the evil character. She controls her sexuality and is very cognizant of it, but her position as villain frames the woman's sexual side as evil, ultimately punishing her for her manipulation.

So yeah, I understand Disney reinforcing traditional monogamous codes, but what unnerved me was in the second story when the school's newpaper reporter (I am blanking on his name and imdb is currently not helping) uses his connections, status and power as leverage over Avalon seemingly in an innocent attempt to win her heart. But not really, I mean she basically pays him back with a hug. Maybe that's innocent, it's not like the two had sex or even kissed, but it's definitely presented as a form of sexual coercion that, when employed by a male, is rewarded. Certainly I wasn't the only one unsettled by this plot point. Luckily Savannah acts as a saving grace, openly resisting boys holding doors open for her as her own way to assert independence, and even getting Emma out of a clearly unhealthy relationship. In a film cluttered with troubling gender politics, it was great seeing the care taken with her character. She's not flawless (is any teenager capable of perfectly advocating for gender role re-evaluations?), but any progress is still progress.

I wish that this film was a bit more cohesive, despite stories having overlapping characters all three parts never feel completely connected, but as a collection of stories with enough of a thread uniting them the film works. I have expressed worry that Disney's original programming was potentially running dry, but between this, Lemonade Mouth, and Sixteen Wishes, at least the movie front is picking up the slack.

Rating: ***/*****

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Taking On 2011: Video Game Positives

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:53:00 +0000

Despite some of the disappointments from 2011 that I wrote about earlier in the week, 2011 was a pretty good year for video games. Yeah, there was a bit of over-saturation, and we probably are on the precipice of a new console generation, but it is usually in these closing years that consoles tend to peak. And there were some mighty impressive peaks, even with the deluge of sequels. Again, as a refresher, I only played 17 games from 2011, so if you do not see a title on this list or the Negatives list just assume that I have not gotten around to it yet. I am not a machine.

Like with the other list I will say which console I played these games on, and even though this is a positives list, and a de facto Top Eleven, some of these games have problems. At times, I may not even call them all great games, but these are games I can certainly say I had a positive experience with during this year.

11. Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox 360) - Though Spicyhorse Games's latest has its share of problems in terms of camera control and monotonous objectives, the aesthetic layer on top of everything and the narrative being told sets it apart from games I had with Modern Warfare 3 where the gameplay was great and the narrative serviceable or Shadows of the Damned where the writing was great but the story and gameplay were middling. The mechanics here are solid, but it's everything else that earns Alice this spot.

10. Assassin's Creed: Revelations (Xbox 360) - I will defend the Assassin's Creed franchise as the single greatest new IP of this console generation, but in many ways Revelations feels a bit stale. I come to this franchise for the narrative, both the actual stories that intertwine with one antoher while building on the previous entries as well as the way the story is presented. Sadly, at times the most important parts of the story are presented in first person puzzle sequences that make Portal 2 seem enjoyable by comparison. However, the gameplay here is still top notch and the large portion of the story, even though we learn more than we discover this time around, remains of the highest quality. However, I'm also ready to just move on to, presumably, the modern era in Assassin's Creed 3.

9. Pokemon: Black Version (Nintendo DS) - It's more Pokemon, and though I didn't put as many hours in to this entry as I did in other versions that I played as a child, this is still probably the best entry in the series. It's mechanically the same game, though as a narrative it at least feigns change, but those mechanics work while continuing to be enjoyable. Whether you measure the game by the endgame, more expansive than most other entries, or the beginning (where I usually find the most enjoyment in Pokemon games), it's a charming experience. I'll play another Pokemon game, and perhaps that makes me part of the problem.

8. Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Xbox 360) - I should lead here that I never finished this game. I got to the final form of the last boss and, after a lengthy session and dying on the very final portion, I quit in frustration with an intention of coming back that I never made good on; however, even with that said one boss battle (three outsourced battles developed by other people, really) does not sour what is one of the year's most comprehensive and deep experiences. Though hacking seems essential to excising as much information as you can from the world, the myriad of augmentations for your character, and some impeccable level design, allow players to find various ways through any main quest or the surprisingly numerous side quests in this quasi-open world. The shooting mechanics are not great, even when properly augmented, but they are serviceable if you decide sneaking is not your style of play. It's not an MGS level of balance, but it's there and it works.

7. L.A. Noire (Playstation 3) - I admire the audacity of Team Bondi's latest game, and I had been anticipating the game even leading up to its release when it screened at as part of the Tribeca Film Festival earlier last year. Though the facial capture technology that allows the player to navigate the interrogation sections of this open world/point and click adventure hybrid is the star, it's hard to overlook the beautifully realized LA. And the game would only be as strong as its narrative, which thankfully (despite being a bit predictable) is sustained by high quality presentation. Is this game a 'game changer?' I'm not sure, but damn if it's not one of the year's most unique experience.

6. Mortal Kombat (Xbox 360) - The return of MK is a, mostly, highly polished fighter, but what sets it apart from other titles, aside from its accessibility that the komplex supers the Street Fighter games employ, is the amount of kontent packed in this title. Aside from the traditional ladder, where each character has their own mini story they work through, the Krypt unlocks, minigames (I really wish the chess game was tucked in here though), and insanely (twisted?) fun Test Your Luck where a slot machine is spun that enables random kombinations of kombat modifiers such as armless fights, paintball mode, falling comets, or many others, add variety to the package.

Yet what allows me to actually call the newest MK a true game changer is the single player mode. A surprisingly effective, and lengthy, story mode doubles as a way to allow the player to experiment with each kharacter in the game for three battles while reliving klassic moments through previous MK games by employing a split timeline narrative similar to the latest Star Trek film. This is now the package by which all other fighting games should be measured from this point forward.

5. Bastion (Xbox 360) - Debut title from Supergiant Games was stunningly beautiful, amazingly complex (what with all the combat modifiers and combinations of weapons/upgrades to be selected), and even distinctly funny. What could have easily been a button mashy action title turned in to a softer emotionally resonant affair that once again proves (as Processed Grass's very own 2010 game of the year, Super Meat Boy, can attest), the strength of creativity in the downloadable realm. Oh yeah, and that narrator, what a fantastic way to engross you in the game.

4. Catherine (Xbox 360) - I have the highest reverence for the Persona Team that developed Catherine, and while this is a different beast entirely, being a block pushing puzzler rather than a JRPG, a number of their sensibilities are apparent in this title. While the narrative devolves into the silly, and occasionally being too black and white when you're making the relationship choices, the trip there and the themes it tackles are handled deftly and with respect. As a narrative, synthesizing this with all types of narrative, Catherine delivers the most complete, fulfilling story of the year.

3. Batman: Arkham City (Xbox 360) - There's a lot in this game. Despite being a sequel to Arkham Asylum, and refining the combat in ways that were particularly illuminating, this game is completely different. The open world component, as opposed to the Metroidvania formula of the first entry, throws so much at the player from the very beginning that it almost becomes overwhelming. But that's what the game's strengths also shine, in establishing tone and creating a place in total disarray. Much like the first game, by the end of Arkham City I wanted to become engrossed in the world of Batman. Add that to the game's technical polish, and you have one of 2011's best games.

2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Xbox 360) - What else can be said about a game that has seemingly dominated reddit since its release? A game that is basically all of Bethesda's best ideas refined to near perfection. A game that has practically garnered universal praise. Yes, it is still problematic in the same way that most Bethesda games are, and the main narrative is fairly dull, but I've spent so much time in the game, and its dynamic systems do such a nice job of masking these short comings and providing me with distractions that I found it near impossible not to join the masses and sing the praises of Skyrim.

1. Saints Row: The Third (Xbox 360) - I would not have guessed at this time last year that Saints Row: The Third would top my list. But you know what? As a video game, SR3 is the most video gamey of all the video games. It's a game where literally anything can happen at any time, and I believe the game is at its best when it is completely off the rails. While its narrative may not make the traditional case for games as art, this game synthesizes so many aspects of the medium that it probably makes one of the strongest and most unique cases yet.

In a year of open world games, Saints Row: The Third was not only the best open world game I played, it was also the best wrestling game I played, the best text adventure I played, the best top down shooter I played, and it even let me jump out of a helicopter while Kanye West's "Power" played in the background. At the end of this game, I turned my character, a woman who went through the majority of the game dressed as a member of Party Down Catering Service, in to a toilet. But you know what is really impressive? Saints Row: The Third found a way to make zombies enjoyable. And that, perhaps more than anything else, deserves recognition.

Let me know what you think about the list in comments, and look forward to my 2011 Film Wrap Up beginning next week!

Rich

Note of Interest:

I also played a bit of The Binding of Issac and Rayman Origins, but despite enjoying my approximate two hours with each title, I don't feel like I've gotten enough of a feel for them to properly rank them on my list.

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Taking On 2011: Video Game Negatives

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 16:28:00 +0000

As much as I love games, I sadly only had the time to play a total of seventeen new games in the past year. Without a PC I missed out on The Witcher 2, I have not had the chance to dive in to The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and I only purchased Rayman Origins yesterday. So I clearly cannot claim to be an expert on all things video games in 2011, and as such I present you a list of all the games I have played without claiming it to be a definitive list that represents my opinion of the medium's year in the same way that my Top Tracks, Top Albums, or upcoming Top Films do. Despite my love for this medium though, what I have experienced from the year, one marked by a console stagnation and a deluge of third entries in franchises, has varied greatly in terms of quality.

A caveat, my friends, for approaching this list. I'm not saying all of these games are 'bad' or without any sort of merit. In fact, in each case I can think of, and will write about, aspects of each game I enjoyed. However, these are meant to reflect games I played where the negatives outweighed the positives, and ultimately my time with these titles could probably have been better spent with other games. I'm also going to include the consoles I used to play these games, in the interest of fairness.

And with that warning, let us move on to the main event!

Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360) - This is not a bad game. I cannot stress this enough, because if there's a game that just teetered on the edge of making the potential positives list, it was the latest Call of Duty production from Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games. The actual narrative in the campaign was just as successful as the second entry in the franchise, and all the moments of bombastic spectacle work, for lack of a better word, spectacularly. The game also uses the rumble feature better than any other game I played this year, creating a sense of synesthesia that other games should strive to emulate.

Even the multiplayer continues to be robust and enjoyable, I'll continue to call it the best competitive multiplayer on the market by a large margin, but where the game falls short for me is in the level design. Nearly all of the multiplayer maps feel constrained and small, with very few expansive fields built for sniping (which I don't do anyway, but I hate running through small city streets). The campaign mirrors this feeling so small scale as well, clocking in at just over four hours. It cleans up as many loose ends as possible, but taking a little time to flesh out the new characters could have put this title over the top.

Shadows of the Damned (Xbox 360) - If a game could get by on humor alone, Shadows of the Damned could very well be the game of the year. Seriously, rarely has toiler humor ever been so enjoyable. Spending time with Garcia Hotspur and his talking skull companion/weapon/motorcycle Johnson as they blast their way through a wonderfully realized Hell piles on the laughs. The demon storybooks scattered throughout the worlds, including one where Garcia struggles to read gems such as "You probably do more fapping than flapping," spawn some of the year's best moments. And the way the game completely pulls the rug out from under the player at the end is Suda 51 at his finest.

But then there's the entire part where you're left playing the game, and while it's rarely offensive it's basically never an enjoyable experience. Perhaps one day Suda 51 will create a game that's enjoyable to play, but until then I'm fine entering the twisted worlds he creates.

Rock of Ages (Xbox 360) - This downloadable title, where you take control of Sisyphus as he takes the boulder he is condemned to eternally push up a hill and instead rolls it downhill in an attempt to crush a myriad of historical figures that include Napoleon, Leonardo da Vinci, Leonidas, and many more. Coming from the team that made Zeno Clash I had hoped for flashes of Father-Mother, but that was supplanted by a humorous Monty Python~esque aesthetic mixed with Super Monkey Ball, tower defense, and fart sounds.

Despite being beautiful to look at, playing against the computer is a nightmare in the late game because their build order is simply too good. When I won it felt that I was quicker, not more competent. And then there were the boss battles, puzzling additions that infuriate rather than breaking up the game's monotony. While I'm sure this is a fun game for multiplayer, last I checked the serves were basically dead. Perhaps there's fun to be had on the couch, perhaps I just need more people to play games with me.

Portal 2 (Xbox 360) - We've now gotten in to the bad games. I adored the first Portal upon release, but when expanded out to a full game I had a ton of trouble finding a compelling narrative or the same degree of enjoyment from the puzzles. Yeah, Wheatley is a great, funny character, and GLaDOS is still there to bring some sarcastic bites, plus now there's Cave Johnson or something. But nothing feels cohesive, the sense of discovery is replaced by a feeling of going through a set of levels, which is odd because the first game is largely a set of sectioned off levels while this one is crafted to feel more 'natural.' Perhaps if I had played the multiplayer, again there was a lack of another person to play with so I never experienced that portion of the game, all the extraneous narrative threads that fill in this world come together, but I don't think that's a valid excuse.

When most of your fiction is presented through what may or may not be built in to the game, or hidden in the game's code, or inferred from outside websites, or maybe is not even valid if Valve decides to change the ending of a game post release or issue a press release, the feeling of a unified work is completely shattered. Now maybe Portal is all planned, a grand exercise in new-age narrative that does not simply end with the work itself and is constantly ongoing. I'll be glad to come back to this game and evaluate it with that in mind, but as it stands now it's not, and even if that turns out to be true it can't change this game not being fun to play.

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Playstation 3) - I don't like the characters in this franchise, and I like them even less when they are so underwritten and inconsequential to the overall story that is being told. Why keep Elena and Chloe separate throughout the entire game? Why bring in Cutter and then just abandon him in the second half? Why are there pirates kidnapping Sully? Why can this man with Marlowe turn in to some crazy fire demon guy? Is it all just in the water? Did it have something to do with that ancient artifact? Was he actually magical or not? Does Marlowe even do anything?

Yeah that pirate ship sequence, all of the chapters that includes, narrowly edges out the train sequence from Uncharted 2 as the most thrilling sequence the series has ever accomplished. And the multiplayer is still fun enough, despite not being compelling aside from it simply being there. But the shooting, despite not changing much on the surface, felt a lot more loose in this entry. The combat of Uncharted has never been satisfying, but I never thought it would get downright infuriating coming off of the previous entry in the series. I wouldn't mind watching portions of this game be played, but I never want to touch Uncharted 3 again in my life.

From Dust (Xbox 360) - While the idea of berating downloadable titles, usually smaller endeavors that deserve support to keep the market afloat, I struggle to find much nice to say about God simulator From Dust. It looks really great for a downloadable title. Unfortunately the controls are dicey at best, flaunting imprecision and leaving most of the decision making to the frustrating AI. I should say, for what it's worth because some people may say that I am discredited from writing about this game as a result, that I did not finish this game. I made my way about three quarters of the way through before I couldn't find the desire to play it anymore. This is the only game in this post that I did not play to completion.

I understand that there are some interesting powers in the last few stages that I never toyed around with, but it's also my understanding that the levels and puzzles themselves, which is where my problems lie, don't change. Apparently the PC version, which could have addressed the controls, was an even bigger debacle than the console version. Perhaps if the free play mode was unlocked from the start I could have at least seen what would come and find the motivation to close the game off, but from top to bottom I can't think of a game I played from 2011 that was worse than Ubisoft Montpellier's latest.

Do these games deserve the hate? Am I completely off base on any of these? Should I have forced myself to play Duke Nukem Forever so that he could have trotted out old jokes about that game? Did I make any 'egregious oversights?' Let me know in comments!

And since the negativity is now out of the way, I am able to move on later in the week with all my favorite games of 2011! Thankfully these January doldrums give us all the time to wait and build that anticipation.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Taking On 2011: Top Albums (Final List)

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:10:00 +0000

Continuing my year end music coverage I decided to not undergo the crazy undertaking of my second quarterly review when writing about the sixty six albums that I have listened to from the previous year. Last year was a fantastic year for music, with just about every genre delivering top notch releases. I read an article on the AV Club a while ago that brought up the idea that 2011 was a year of many very good albums without any definitive "Important Album," and that's a sentiment that I can partially agree with; however, when I started compiling my list I couldn't help but wonder if some of the higher ranked albums will have a lasting impact on the industry. Hard to know without the ability to see the future, and despite nothing hitting quite as hard as My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, I hope this list demonstrates that 2011 was a great year in music.

20. The Weeknd - Echoes of Silence

As I mentioned in my latest Top Tracks post, starting off with "D.D." is a shot of fire that has mostly been lacking from the two earlier mixtapes in The Weeknd's work. This tape synthesizes all of the aural strengths of this newfangled PBR&B movement with the confessional vulnerability and remorse of the early 2011 release House of Balloons. I can't wait to see how this movement and sound evolve in the coming years.

Standout Tracks: "D.D", "Montreal"

19. Childish Gambino - EP

Childish Gambino, actor/writer/rapper Donald Glover, is at his best in short doses where he can cover a range of sounds and pair them with focused lyrics. While his latest album Camp was littered with misfires, EP blends the flossing/flexing/balling/shot calling with the more emotional turmoil. Nothing stretches itself too thin across the length of five tracks, and comes together for a surprisingly effective EP.

Standout Tracks: "Freaks and Geeks", "Be Alone"

18. Lady GaGa - Born This Way

It would be easy, after two stunning initial records, to call this album a bit of a failure; however, GaGa's most indulgent and expansive release thus far in her short career has remained in my mind, and on this list, more for its successes than its failures. Musically she continues to demonstrate an ability to write and sing unlike anyone else with her level of acclaim, and as she continues to release lengthy music videos GaGa reaches beyond her medium of comfort to further solidify her position as artist. And that's never really a bad thing to celebrate.

Standout Tracks: "Judas", "Born This Way", "Marry The Night"

17. Cults - Cults

Cults released what I consider to be one of the year's best music videos for 2010's lead single "Go Outside," but even with that track's steam I was delight to find it wasn't even the best song on the album. For a sound so marked with cheer, a good deal of this album is marked by sadness and hesitance. This juxtaposition works to set Cults apart from many of the other top notch debuts of 2011.

Standout Tracks: "Go Outside", "Rave On", "Abducted", "Never Saw The Point"

16. Danny Brown - XXX

The hybrid, Danny Brown himself, should be abrasive. And damn if he's not at times, but in what is 2011's best hiphop mixtape the way he switches styles on the fly is both impressive and slightly jarring. When thinking about 2011 hiphop it's hard not to talk about the year's most overrated release, Kanye West and Jay-Z duo album Watch The Throne, in terms of energy and bravado. However, those qualities which are mostly absent, or simply offputting in that other album are apparent in full force on Brown's joyride of drugs, misogyny, and alcohol binges.

Standout Tracks: "Blunt After Blunt", "Outer Space", "Monopoly", "Bruiser Brigade"

15. Cut Copy - Zonoscope

I expressed reluctance that Cut Copy's joyride of Beach Boys~esque rock pop would hold the same appeal in the colder months that it did for me over this past summer, but thinking back it's a damn fine album of joy. Realistically this is the part where I should mention how Cut Copy, despite having more in common with The Beach Boys (but not being quite as good just yet) are also an easy comparison to The Beatles (and have already surpassed the overrated group's 'best' work), but I'll refrain from doing that (oh wait...) to herald the previous year's most blissful record.

Standout Tracks: "Take Me Over", "Pharaohs and Pyramids", "Sun God", "Need You Now"

14. Miranda Cosgrove - High Maintenance

When I made my first Top Albums back in April, I didn't exactly expect Miranda Cosgrove's follow up to debut album Sparks Fly to hang around the top of my list, but this five track offering had much more staying power than I anticipated. Unlike Selena Gomez, another excellent actress who is still looking for musical success, Cosgrove's attempts to work in many different musical styles actually works because she seemingly dives in head first to these different sounds. It's fun, and damn if that's not what this kind of pop is supposed to be.

Standout Tracks: "High Maintenance", "Dancing Crazy"

13. Destroyer - Kaputt

Another longstanding entry on this list, there's really not that much more that can be said. This album is poetic, expansive, and beautiful without ever becoming stagnant. For an album that has very few songs clocking in at less than five minutes it never feels long. In the past I have been critical of instruments without lyrics, but even those stretches here culminate in a wonderful soundscape that is quite truly musical.

Standout Tracks: "Suicide Demo For Kara Walker", "Blue Eyes", "Bay Of Pigs"

12. Tyler, The Creator - Goblin

Much has been said about Odd Future frontman's huge ascent to stardom, and his sophomore album hit with much expectations. It's not a flawless record, but thinking back I can't really think of one 'bad' song. And the high points are damn high, allowing Tyler to showcase his talent as a complete package artist. Blog buzz, publicity nightmares, and personality aside, just looking at Goblin you have a damn fine album.

Standout Tracks: "Nightmare", "Tron Cat", "Golden", "Bitch Suck Dick", "Yonkers"

11. the Mountain Goats - All Eternals Deck

In what seems like a yearly tradition, John Darnielle has put together an incredibly solid release that, even compared to other recent greats is a cut above the rest. A recurring theme that I notice on this list is the way artists embrace different sounds, and this album is no different. Though a good portion has the Mountain Goats working in similar constraints, the barber shop quartet feel of "High Hawk Season" is simply magical. Oh yeah, and Darnielle is one of the nation's greatest living poets, so you know, that's kind of important.

Standout Tracks: "Estate Sale Sign", "High Hawk Season", "Birth of Serpents", "Damn These Vampires"

10. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Easy to overlook this album, as it's rather unassuming and doesn't have quite the same highs as the other other albums that made the cut, but the consistency of Lykke Li's second album is remarkable. Plus, despite not having the same tracks that hang with the heavy hitters, the reason it is so difficult to pick a single song that stands out is because all of them are incredible. This album creates a portrait, perhaps of a speaker or perhaps of Lykke Li herself, and that's a major accomplishment. She can do slow, she can do fast, Lykke Li can do it all.

Standout Tracks: "I Follow Rivers", "Unrequited Love", "Get Some", "Sadness Is A Blessing"

9. Various Artists - The Book Of Mormon Soundtrack

What needs to be said? Matt Stone and Trey Parker bring their talents to Broadway in what, judging by these songs, I can only assume is a hilarious musical. Just listen to it, obviously.

Standout Tracks: "Hasa Diga Eebowai", "Turn It Off", "All American Prophet", "Making Things Up Again"

8. Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation

We're at the point in the list where just about any of these albums make a strong case for a top five finish, and the debut from Youth Lagoon almost found its way above some other fantastic albums. The songwriting here, while simplistic, actually finds its depth in the simplicity. I struggle a bit with the vocal distortion at times, but when the lyrics and music are showcased the album becomes incredible.

Standout Tracks: "17", "Cannons", "July"

7. James Blake - James Blake

I still contest that James Blake does not only make dubstep, but that's largely irrelevant in relation to the greatness of his debut album. The man manipulates sound in ways that constantly build, at times even using his vocals as another instrument in the grander scheme. Much of this year's buzz was directed at the vastly overrated Bon Iver album, but Blake makes practically the same music in new and interesting ways while being much more approachable. And the lyrics become chilling, sparse but harrowing.

Standout Tracks: "Limit To Your Love", "I Never Learnt To Share", "Lindesfarne"

6. tUnE-yArDs - W H O K I L L

Let's be real, everything about typing about tUnE-yArDs is fun. Even if this album wasn't one of the year's best, I would have needed to find a way to write about it because W H O K I L L is just enjoyable to type. Thankfully I didn't need to be conflicted, as the second album from tUnE-yArDs covers so many different sounds so perfectly, with nothing ever feeling out of place, and with the songwriting functioning to aid the sound it stands as a damn unique experience.

Standout Tracks: "Bizness", "Gangsta", "Wooly Wolly Gong"

5. Demi Lovato - Unbroken

Demi Lovato's third album is not flawless, in fact the first four songs are all varying degrees of terrible, but looking past those songs is simple (they are the opening four songs and the only ones on the album to feature other artists, which suggests they are simply there to make the album more pop accessible and to add silly bulletpoints) when the real album starts going. At that point it isn't just pop perfection, but thanks to Demi's highly personal song writing, incredible singing voice, and the instrumentals it nears musical bliss.

Standout Tracks: "Lightweight", "Skyscraper", "For The Love Of A Daughter", "Unbroken", "In Real Life"

4. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

We have now reached the point in this list where any of these four albums could potentially hold the number one slot. PJ Harvey's latest (concept?) album weaves a wonderful narrative that showcases beautiful songwriting from PJ Harvey touching on wars gone by, corrupt politics, and countless other intricacies.

Standout Tracks: "The Last Living Rose", "The Words That Maketh Murder", "In The Dark Places"

3. Cass McCombs - WIT'S END

Expansive in song length, few if any clock in at under six minutes, yet focused in content, the sheer amount of lyrical content packed in to Cass McCombs's latest album invite comparisons to the quieter portions of Bob Dylan's career. Though easy to lump this album in as a meditative piece that is easier to appreciate than enjoy, McCombs uses instruments that make the listening process immensely enjoyable and rewarding, even with the occasional hint of humor finding its way to a few lines. Along with Darnielle, McCombs is one of the country's best writers.

Standout Tracks: "County Line", "The Lonely Doll", "A Knock Upon The Door"

2. EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints

I said it was a strong year for debut albums, and EMA's is easily the strongest. EMA brings a fresh voice and sound that, combined with her tragically beautiful lyrics create a sense of melancholy. The album itself is not one note though, and as the sounds change, occasionally becoming frantic while other times acting harmoniously. However, what makes Past Life Martyred Saints so exciting is what may still be to come from EMA.

Standout Tracks: "California", "Coda", "Marked", "Butterfly Knife"

1. St. Vincent - Strange Mercy

Since learning that St. Vincent was releasing a new album in 2011, I had a sneaking suspicion that it would top my list, and even though the end battle was a lot closer than I thought it would be the full experience that Annie Clark delivers, once again, is second to none. Though this is Clark's third album, her new recording method allows the instruments and sounds to come alive like never before, and as expected her songwriting is top notch. Add in her singing voice, and St. Vincent's sensibilities continue to grow as she evolves as an artist. Each work is leaps and bounds better than the last, and St. Vincent once again deliver's an incredible accomplishment.

Standout Tracks: "Strange Mercy", "Champagne Year", "Cheerleader", "Cruel", "Surgeon"

And for good measure, here is the complete list of all the albums I have listened to in a ranked order:

St. Vincent – Strange Mercy
EMA – Past Life Martyred Saints
Cass McCombs – Wit’s End
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Demi Lovato - Unbroken
tUnE-yArDs – W H O K I L L
James Blake – James Blake
Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation
Various Artists – The Book of Mormon OST
Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes
the Mountain Goats – All Eternals Deck/All Survivors Pack
Tyler, The Creator – Goblin
Destroyer – Kaputt
Miranda Cosgrove – High Maintenance
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Danny Brown - XXX
Cults – Cults
Lady GaGa – Born This Way
Childish Gambino – EP
The Weeknd – Echoes of Silence
WU LYF – Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
Ellie Goulding – Bright Lights
M83 – Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow
Girls – Father, Son, Holy Ghost
Drake – Take Care
Chamillionaire – Major Pain 1.5
Das Racist - Relax
Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
Lil B – I Forgive You
Holy Ghost! – Holy Ghost!
Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire – Lost In Translation
Marissa Nadler – Marissa Nadler
Lenka - Two
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Weird Al Yankovic – Alpocalypse
Cities Aviv – Digital Lows
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin – Tape Club
Selena Gomez & The Scene – When The Sun Goes Down
Various Artists – Lemonade Mouth OST
Fleet Foxes – Helplessness Blues
Lil B – Im Gay (Im Happy)
Big K.R.I.T – Return of 4Eva
Various Artists – Victorious: Music From The Hit TV Show
Twin Sister – In Heaven
Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
The Weeknd – Thursday
Childish Gambino - Camp
Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire – Merry eX-Mas & Suck My Dick!
MellowHype – BlackenedWhite (re-release)
Frank Ocean – nostalgia, ULTRA
Curren$y – Weekend At Burnies
Panda Bear - Tomboy
The Throne – Watch the Throne
Atmosphere – The Family Sign
Iceage – New Brigade
The Pains of Being Pure At Heart – Belong
The Weeknd – House of Balloons
Curren$y – Back in the Winner’s Circle
The Antlers – Burst Apart
Gang Gang Dance – Eye Contact
Kurt Vile – Smoke Ring for My Halo
Pusha-T – Fear of God
The Lonely Island – Turtleneck and Chain
Team Teamwork – Team Teamwork Presents Super Nintendo Sega Genesis
The Beets – Stay Home

And that will just about wrap up 2011 music coverage here at Processed Grass. Did I get it 'right' or did I completely miss out on your favorite album? Did I maybe not even get time to listen to your favorite? I'm only a real human being, and a real hero, but still just a real human being. Let me know in comments either way! And here's hoping to an even more incredible 2012.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Final Farewells: Thoughts About, Reflections On, and Saying Goodbye To Wizards Of Waverly Place

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 04:05:00 +0000

As some may know, about a year ago I wrote a post about the end of Hannah Montana and how that ushered in the beginning of the end of Disney's latest golden age. And now, only about an hour ago as I type this, Wizards of Waverly Place concluded its run as Disney's longest running original series. As a whole the episode really allowed every cast member time to shine as the writing was as sharp as ever. It all built to a fairly predictable, but still emotionally engaging, conclusion that results with everyone happy.

But I'm not here to discuss the episode, I'm here to pay my respects to what is likely the channel's most accomplished series and to look ahead.

It's hard when talking about Disney Channel shows to take them completely seriously, and certainly Wizards is (I'm sorry, was) far from a flawless show. The laugh track was grating at times, the jokes were occasionally too simplistic, and there were breakdowns in the logic that the show created. But in a larger sense, I hope to remember Wizards for the risky moves it willingly made throughout its run. How many shows aimed at the audience that Wizards targets have an episode where most of the jokes and references relate to Charlie Chaplin, including a full on silent, black and white chase sequence? Not many.

Yes, it's the show that brought Selena Gomez to a wide audience, and I believe she's a Hell of an acting talent when given the chance, just look at Ramona and Beezus, but the entire cast was a coming out party of sorts. David Henrie, playing older brother Justin Russo on the show, is who I consider to be the most talented cast member, demonstrating a capacity to blend dramatic and comedic acting perfectly. He even started writing episodes as the show went on, and I can't wait to see what his next project is post-Wizards. Jake T. Austin nailed the Max character, but he showed acting ability in Hotel For Dogs, but since then he's seemingly grown as an actor. So who knows how his career will turn out? Hopefully great.

This is a show that blazed trails. In a world where it's simple to serialize programming, the Wizards vs. Vampires episode arc showed a willingness to tell continuous stories that had lasting impacts on the character dynamics and relationships within the program. A far cry from Alex's early spats with now forgotten rival Gigi, this turning point of the series established a running emotional thread where we actually were able to see Justin's romantic life grow and then collapse. Similar tactics were used with Alex and future werewolf beau Mason, and Justin and dark angel Rosie. The important thing is that once the show started telling stories, it made that commitment and formed an identity that set it apart from basically any show that had come before. These mini-arcs were contained to four episodes usually, but their impacts were lasting, a trait that transferred to contemporary (and now all concluded) programs Sonny With A Chance, The Suite Life On Deck, and Hannah Montana.

A characteristic that Disney would be smart to not forget if they are concerned at all with quality of their live action programming.

But as shows like Shake it Up, Good Luck Charlie, Jessie, ANT Farm and Austin and Ally seem to be suggesting, it has been brushed aside for the more traditional formulaic serials of Disney's past. And that's a shame because each of these programs at least had an actor to anchor the programs. Sure the times of the Sprouse twins, the Selenas, Mileys, and Demis has passed, and none of these shows have a cast quite as complete as even the worst of Disney's previous programs, but I don't want to lose hope.

Yet that's kind of how I feel right now. Yeah Bella Thorne and Zendaya have great chemistry, but Shake It Up has not grown since I last wrote about the show. The same can be said of Good Luck Charlie and Bridgit Mendler (who has a wonderful reappearance as Juliet in the final episode of Wizards). ANT Farm actually gives me the most hope, but I think that's just because the cast is basically talented all around, and there have been hints of a larger narrative, but a bit too early to call that show since it's still in its first season. Jessie is still young, though Debby Ryan brings a solid core for that show to build up even if all indications are that it shall remain a serial, and Austin and Ally is far too new for me to have much of a read on the show yet.

I don't want to get bogged down in these fears though, Disney is on the decline and I'm mostly concerned right now with saying a final goodbye to a magical show. Wizards was quite literally magical. The fantasy world allowed for anything to happen, but it never lost sight of the emotional core that tied the series together. Simple pleasures that reinforce the familial unit, a loving family and a heated rivalry. The world didn't always work out, there were fights, but in the end everyone helped each other through the hard times.

Yes, it's sappy and it's generic. No, it's not entirely realistic. But it's honest, it's comforting. But we all sappy and generic and cliche at times, so I hope you'll allow me to indulge in that right now. This show started in 2007, the first year I began college. I'll be finishing graduate school in May, and it seems fitting that as I close a chapter on my life I am able to firmly see a large part of that time come to a close as well. Everything becomes a memory, some bad and some enjoyable.

I'm rambling, as I figured would be the case. I didn't expect this to be as focused of a dissertation as my farewell to the Golden Age, partially because I never really cared for Hannah Montana. Now I just want to say farewell, I just wanted to write something for purely selfish reasons. Because I was satisfied, but I am also saddened.

But that's how goodbyes are, I guess. A thank you for everyone involved with Wizards of Waverly Place. You'll leave, I'll move on, and maybe even forget. But like all great art, I've been moved, and in the end that's the most important aspect. I didn't expect to find this seemingly innocent Disney program to shape the way I approach culture, but it did, and for that I am grateful.

Farewell, Wizards, we call can leave happy.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Taking On 2011: Top Tracks (Final Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:19:00 +0000

It's that time of the year again. Mostly everything has been released, certainly this is the case with music, and it's time to start putting the year into perspective. I found 2011 to be a fantastic year for music, perhaps without the highs or 'Important Albums' of years past, but still fantastic nonetheless. We saw dubstep rise (and fall?) in about the course of twelve months, Katy Perry reached insurmountable levels of annoying, and that Lulu atrocity even released. What more could you want? It's definitely been a year, and moving on from my previous three Quarterly Reviews, the final list of best tracks has risen. Moves have been made, shakes have been shook, and as usual all titles link to Youtube versions of the songs whenever possible, and for some that are not on Youtube, I put all the songs on Spotify into a playlist!

15. "Pharaohs and Pyramids" - Cut Copy

The suspicion that I had about Cut Copy, my personal Best of Fest at this year's Pitchfork Music Festival, was that their music wouldn't hold up as well once the cold weather started settling in because this album took almost the entire beginning of the year to grow on me. Luckily, perhaps in nature's attempt to add as much longevity to the Australian band's album, the summer held out for quite a long while this year. And even though the recent days have been chilly, I still find myself drawn to the most complete - if not the most audacious - song from Zonoscope

14. "Raconte-Moi Une Histoire" - M83.

Translating, roughly or directly I am not sure, to "Tell Me A Story" this track jumps out to me even more than the seminal "Midnight City" as the definitive track from M83.'s Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. The little girl who tells the story of a presumed hallucinogenic trip mixes beautifully with the constantly building, repetitive instrumental in the background. Like Animal Collective's "My Girls" or "Brothersport" without all the vocal distortion and production, "Raconte-Moi" may very well be the most distinctive song of 2011.

13. "D.D." - The Weeknd

Despite the previous year being a huge one from The Weeknd, it took quite a while for me to personally latch on to this brand of R&B. Oddly, it was the song that covers Michael Jackson (a man whose music I am mostly hot and cold on) that has me anticipating the 2012 output. Though it doesn't capture the essence of The Weeknd, the sinister undertones and self destruction are present but marginalized by the original, yet there's a chilling energy that climaxes in a penultimate shriek before the chorus kicks back in one last time. He makes it his own and turns it in to a The Weeknd song, which is impressive.

12. "Video Games" - Lana Del Rey

Few artists came blazing on to the scene as quickly as Lana Del Rey, but her lead single from her forthcoming album Born to Die has her disconnected, calm vocals at their strongest. The reserved, almost defeated tone in her voice is tragic for any number of reasons, but perhaps most because it calls our attention to all the distractions in life. As an advocate for video games I can't say I'm supportive of the stereotype that Lana Del Rey evokes here, but in the interest of art I'll let this one slide.

11. "Nightmare" - Tyler, the Creator

Overall successes and failures of Goblin aside (we'll get to that when the Top Album list rolls around), Tyler, the Creator always seems to be the best when he's openly venting, with the perception of personality seeping through his music. Though, as I have written before, I think the true genius of this song is when it is allowed to directly bleed into "Tron Cat," the way he slowly crumbles as this song progresses serves as perhaps the best microcosm of Tyler. There's the menacing, the bravado, and the vulnerability all documented.

10. "High Maintenance" - Miranda Cosgrove featuring Rivers Cuomo

Perhaps the year's greatest surprise, Miranda Cosgrove's pairing with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is pop at its purest. Much has changed through my quarterly reviews, but this song has remained completely constant throughout the year for the title track from her High Maintenance EP. It's the most fun to be had with any track of this year, listening, pondering, singing, there's just a bliss that's simultaneously present and undercut by the creepiness of the subject material. Straight meta.

9. "The Lonely Doll" - Cass McCombs (no Youtube Version)

Cass McCombs speaks to the poet inside me, and few songs have appealed so directly to my poetic sensibilities than this track. Though it's easy to speak about hints of Edgar Allan Poe in the song, certainly it takes a fairly unassuming object and makes it creepy, McCombs's instrumentation is so key to complementing this song that it's hard not to see it as something that is distinctly modern. McCombs tells a story, something not seen a lot in songwriting. Perfectly self contained, completely satisfying, consistently replayable.

8. "Suicide Demo For Kara Walker" - Destroyer

At times feeling like a triumph of stream of consciousness writing, the standout from Destroyer's Kaputt has Bejar threading together ideas while the rest of the band integrates the lush instruments to create a sense of wonder that carries throughout this (quick) 8 and a half minute song. I have a strong predisposition to songwriting, so Destroyer hits close to home with the priority given to the lyrics. New York City just wants to see you naked...and they will.

7. "Lightweight" - Demi Lovato

Big year for songs that begin with a distinct sound device and carry it throughout. Lovato's "Lightweight" has the former Disney starlet continuing to grow artistically. It's easy to label Demi Lovato as tween pop, but the connotations that come with the genre diminish her accomplishments as a vocalist. When thinking about which song to select from Unbroken I was tempted to pick one of the more personal ones, either "Skyscraper" to focus on her ability as songwriter or "For The Love Of A Daughter" so I could go off on a diatribe about that song's messy history and how it serves as definitive proof that she has always been an artistic figure worthy of more attention, but "Lightweight" just feels more complete than anything else on the album, and sometimes a sense of completion is comforting.

6. "Bizness" - tUnE-yArDs

Self liberation defines part of what makes tUnE-yArDs successful, an outpouring of frustration in an almost hedonistic plea. At least that is the case with "Bizness," even if it the idea is slightly undercut by the myriad of sounds within which the band operates. There's a sense of freedom that has been taken up by the band's use of tribal imagery both on stage and in videos. Like a modern day "Howl" if we take Ginsberg to be an outdated referential figure.

5. "Cheerleader" - St. Vincent

Fairly easy to write this track off as just another relationship song, but St. Vincent doesn't make simplistic music and I think it's probably able to be argued that this song is the most empowering, for females and males alike, on this list. With lines like "I've told whole lies with a half smile" and "I've seen America with no clothes on" St. Vincent is able to create a type of remorse that also frames her in a position of power and knowledge. What is seen is never fully revealed, but it's enough to want to bring about a change. In an album packed full of fantastic tracks, "Cheerleader" rises.

4. "A Case Of You" - James Blake

I have a hard time elevating covers of songs, especially because James Blake is an artist who has been mislabeled as a dubstep musician and a below average writer. I wanted to select one of his many fantastic original songs from 2011 to occupy this spot, but I couldn't do it. In a year where Bon Iver was buzzed about the internet around, James Blake didn't even need to write a new song to out-Iver, Iver. There's a stunning natural quality to Blake's voice here, despite some hints of vocal modulation, along with his skillful piano. This isn't a song that validates James Blake as a dubstep musician, it validates him as a legitimate artistic force.

3. "California" - EMA

Another of the early year standouts that withstood the test of time, EMA's "California" is still as hard hitting as it was the first time I heard it. The sheer amount of lyrical content crammed in to this song sets it apart from most of the other tracks on Past Life Martyred Saints, and that's to the song's benefit. It gives the track room to breathe and to grow, as it all hurtles toward a stunning finale. A common complaint I have heard, and disagree with, about EMA's music is that it takes a while to get going and simply maintains a stationary position instead of fluctuating. "California" begins with a punch and doesn't let up, but the hits just keep getting harder as the song progresses.

2. "17" - Youth Lagoon

With this song it's better to just listen to it rather than reading all of the reasons why it touches me. I could tell you that the poetic devices here are simple, sparse, but effective, that the sound manages to slowly crawl upward as the song itself grows, or that I get all sentimental about nostalgia not too far (but far enough) removed from my past. That maybe I haven't completely moved on, but maybe that's also not completely bad. The chorus is gorgeous, lines like "Surrounded by nothing, but the nothing's surrounded by us" and "At least God doesn't judge me by the thoughts in my head / the snakes I couldn't find, I don't want to find" pierce deep inside myself, and this song is only marginally better than "Cannons," another Youth Lagoon heater. It's a song that makes me want to write again.

1. "The Last Huzzah" - Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire featuring Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown, and El-P

If that name didn't clue you in, there will be cursing ahead.

Hip-hop is my favorite musical genre. I enjoy the way it draws out the lyrical prowess of its top artists. I'm not really sure if any of these individuals are top working artists, actually it's easier to call most of them hip-hop's misfits, an idea that is toyed with with the egregious play on the seminal The Warriors line that recalls a Chapelle's Show skit that recalls a P. Diddy track that opens up the song.

There's a plethora of styles that shouldn't work together on this song, the more cerebral flows of Despot and El-P are a far cry from the yaps of Danny Brown and the fast/slow contrast of Das Rascist. Then Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire comes on and just goes off. I could write more, but just look at some choice lines from each verse to get a feel for the genius of the year's best hip-hop song, and possibly one of the best group rap tracks of all time:

Despot: "Don't beat him while he down off whatever his favorite swill be / I ain't a killer but don't kill me"

Kool A.D.: "I don't got guns dude / But let's battle and see who sons who / I'm readin' Sun-Tzu, translating Don Killuminati into Spanish / Wrappin' my body in bandages"

Heems: "I got three shirts and they all look expensive / 2000 Volkswagen mad old and dented / Skateboard P, Ashanti: foolish / Worst rapper on this track, third coolest"

Danny Brown: "I'm about my bread, ya ain't ya can roll / Try and stop that, get a bagel sized hole / Cause it has been nice, heat the house, use the stove"

El-P: He counts from 1 through 16 in his verse, culminating in these fantastic lines: "With inverted 31's and other unlucky omens / That's why I chug 7 and 7's til I'm fuckin' homeless / And every time you think my 15 minutes of fame are up / I spit another 16 and prove to the world I fuckin' own it"

Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire: "No food in my system and my pockets fucked up / Plus my mother still work, so why should I give a fuck? / Fuck a blog, fuck a label, fuck a meetin', fuck an A and R / Fuck a cosign, motherfucker, fuck it all!"

Poetry, right?

So what do you think? Did I leave anything out? Do any of these songs not 'hit' you like others from these artists did? Let me know what you think in the comments section, and see you soon for more Music 2011 coverage as the week continues!

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

In The Courtroom Of Honor, The Judge Pounded His Gavel

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:16:00 +0000

Hot Coffee (Saladroff, 2011)

I was going to give Hot Coffee a full write up, but decided against it because I'm really not sure what I have to say analytically. It's hard to even call this post a review. There's a lot going on in this film, and as such it feels a bit unfocused throughout. The title itself is misleading, which I'm mostly glad about because it meant I didn't need too see a bunch of pictures of an old lady's burnt loins. That was traumatizing, which was the point. So that worked. But the larger point, so it seems, is that the legal system is quickly being framed in a way that ignores the common man in favor of big businesses. This is probably true.

It's a standard message, but the film also makes a point of presenting the American people as misinformed about a lot of the workings of the legal system. This is probably also true. I really liked The Cove because, despite being 'about' dolphins, I thought the greater tragedy was the way the people interviewed were constantly and effectively deceived by their own government. That kind of happens here, but there's less distance. So it's not really tragic, it's kind of masochistic. I'm aware that I'm not the most politically informed person, I don't need a film to remind me of that, but I know what I can and read when I get interested. So the bad guy in the film is big business, except when the bad guy is the lazy American people, so I'm the bad guy because, like the man who voted to pass some Prop that ultimately screwed him over, I always vote but I don't always research.

But the American people are also the victim, because it's the way the media has covered these cases that has left us misinformed. This, I know, is also true. So there are a ton of bad guys. Which is sort of where the film falls apart. It wants us to take action, I suppose through some grassroots movement since the call to action coda isn't all that specific. But it ignores the larger concept that can't be changed: the government is in a position where it will not be shaken up. These big businessmen are in government (like Rove, they talk about this) and legislation will constantly be pushed through slowly but surely that sneaks in a few lines here and there that add up to bigger changes to better protect these businesses.

The other branches of government are so tied to these business interests and the need to maintain their position of power, hence the two party system, that it's going to inevitably stay the same. The system itself is too protected, and the stakes for the other branches are too high. Ultimately this film just reinforces the notion that the common man is screwed, and maybe it hasn't always been this way, but I think it probably has been as far back as history allows us to look. Our system gives individuals some ability to move up to a position where they fight to maintain a position of power, which is good. The media is not going to change because they have a hand in everything, the businesses won't change because they are businesses, and the government won't change because they are run by business men and lawyers who don't want to give up their financial security.

So ultimately this film left me feeling desperate, angry, and depressed. I don't think that's what it set out to do, but maybe it did because that effects change. If change could happen, which it can't. The technology could let it happen, but the government is doing all it can to keep that from happening as well.

But it's cool that this film was directed by a woman. The world needs more female filmmakers.

If I were to give this film a rating, I would give it a 3/5 stars or whatever, because I was informed but not entertained. It's competently made and presented, but it doesn't do all that much special as a film.

Rating: ***/*****

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

I Really Want To Go Outside And Stop To See Your Day

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:30:00 +0000

Winnie the Pooh (Anderson and Hall, 2011)

Growing up I watched, as I am sure many people did, a ton of Disney movies. Personal favorites include Hercules, The Lion King, and Bambi. I never really had too soft of a spot for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, despite enjoying a lot of the stories that were told. However, when the reboot, or continuation as the case may be, was announced I found myself excited to get back to the 100 Acre Wood and rediscover all of these characters again.

A surprisingly beautiful rediscovery as well. Winnie the Pooh does an excellent job of giving the viewer a tour through these childhood escapes by compiling three shorter stories from original author A.A. Milne and stringing them together in to one cohesive narrative. For the most part this film has exactly what you would look for in a Disney movie and a Winnie the Pooh joint. Pooh (Jim Cummings) is hungry, Piglet (Travis Oates) is endearingly cowardly, Tigger (Cummings) bounces, Eeyore (Bud Luckey) is depressed, and Owl (Craig Ferguson) spouts off pseudo-intellectualism in a British accent that barely masks the reality that he is just a silly blowhard. Even Kanga (Kristen Anderson-Lopez), a character I always found slighted in the original, becomes a more fully realized figure than she has ever been (despite still mostly just being identified by her existence as mother, which I suppose is problematic). It's all packaged in an aesthetic that recalls the original films, so despite the advances in animation technology it always feels as if you are truly returning to childhood.

The successes of the film are twofold. It's funny. I have been harsh on many of the recent Disney and Pixar films for failing to create any sense of sustained humor, mostly relegated to a few gags that hit and fade away quickly. When this film isn't charming, it's telling a joke. Smart jokes even that have the narrator (John Cleese) guiding Pooh throughout the world, or brilliant acts of confusion where every character attempts to have a conversation about not knotting knots that, as Eeyore says, is all for naught. The levels of charm are simply irresistible.

And what makes this even more infectious in its cheer is the music. All of the cast songs here, while hard to say how they stand up to Disney classics without the benefit of time, are magical. Standouts are Tigger's song and the Backson tune, but for the most part each time the cast performs I found myself swept away with joy. That was occasionally undercut when Zooey Deschanel's voice cut in with the movie's lesser songs (aside from a pretty good rendition of the opening theme), but these portions are so minor that the complaints become almost insignificant in the larger tone that is created.

Though the film doesn't have the emotional heft that I was hoping for, I really would have liked them to do a goodbye sequence that matches what is found in the books, this also leaves the series open for potential future entries. Certainly there are more stories to be told, as this movie only clocks in around sixty minutes and really left me wanting more. If they are as lovingly created and fully realized as this one, I hope we get many sequels. This movie sets itself up as a way to introduce a brand new generation of children to a wonderful cast of characters and top notch animated filmmaking. While I cannot call Winnie the Pooh a perfect film, I do like this new tale.

Rating: ****/*****

Rich

Notes of Interest:

I do have experience with the older characters to an extent, and a more limited exposure to the books, so I feared that it would take a while to adjust to new voice actors. They do sound different, but the way that these voice actors make the characters their own and give them new, unique identities while still staying true and being just close enough to the originals means the film is packed full of excellent performances. Though I doubt any of them win awards, I hope this gets nominated for an Oscar.

I did not include a review of The Ballad of Nessie, a short film attached to this in theaters, because I have not watched it yet. I also hear that in some theaters there was a Regular Show short attached to the film. Now Regular Show is probably the best cartoon 'for kids' on TV right now, but if the short was anything like the show I can't think of a more jarring contrast in style and purpose than that show and this movie.

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

There's A Cold Wind Coming Off The Ocean

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:17:00 +0000

The Adventures of Tintin (Spielberg, 2011)

Earlier this month I wrote a post about nostalgia in film, with The Muppets and Hugo being the focus of that piece. After stepping out of the theater I could not help but think of the term nostalgia when considering The Adventures of Tintin. Though Spielberg may be appealing to a certain nostalgia by adapting the reporter-detective Tintin (Jamie Bell) for the big screen, it seems odd because I am sure the vast majority of the US audience (myself included) has little familiarity with the character or the comic series. What this leaves then is Spielberg working in a realm where he is evoking nostalgia for his past adventure movies. The Indiana Jones, Jaws and Jurassic Parks of the world. Now aside from those dinosaurs I have a great displeasure for the majority of 'classic' Spielbergian movies, yet seeing Tintin I think I finally realized why many of his movies are so beloved.

From the opening credit sequence, Spielberg establishes an aesthetic. Now it may be an outdated aesthetic from a land where all the adventures were plentiful, everyone seems strangely upbeat, and all music was written by John Williams, but the point is he establishes it and begins setting expectations for the movie immediately. This movie oozes a style akin to the Indiana Jones films and the Jonny Quests of our world, an unabashed earnestness for a type of movie that simply does not exist in a time where most people are familiar with these things because of Uncharted and The Venture Brothers. There's a sense of globetrotting and discovery, the old meeting the new. All of this is underscored by the performance capture used to bring these characters to life, creating a visual space that exists between reality and cartoon.

All of this is great for establishing a world where Tintin's quest to find the sunken treasure of the Haddock family is bombastic, exciting, and believable. And the mystery is compelling enough to sustain the time between the action set pieces. These are the film's greatest strength, creating a true sense of wonder both through the 3-D and the engrossing action.

Actually, let me put this in to perspective for you. At one point a ship comes crashing through the desert as the scene transitions to a flashback, so we see the water basically wash away the entire sky and sand! And it's wonderful and crazy and beautiful. Spielberg's use of visual trickery throughout the film with something akin to matchcuts is brilliant, and even slightly echoes the comic aesthetic that permeates through the film.

Sure a lot of the big scenes are mirrors of what some people have seen in the two latest Uncharted games, but what Spielberg smartly does is establish early on the severity of these situations. For a film that is rated PG, the number of guns fired is truly impressive. Admirably deployed, there's a tangibility to the situations that Tintin finds himself in. Sure, we all know he's not going to be killed, but the ruthless nature of these bad guys is established early on and carries throughout the film.

However, despite some great action there is a hollow center that I could never get past. This movie is fun, but I feel like if you remove the spectacle of the theater there's not much else going on beneath the surface. Part of this does have to do with the motion capture used to bring the world to life. Though it goes a long way to establishing a tangible world and creating tension, there's a strange disconnect between characters.

Tintin and Haddock, the latter of which is brought to life by the mo-cap master Andy Serkis, look almost completely real except for a few facial features that constantly reminded me of cartoons. On its own that's not a huge deal, but the bad guy Sakharine (Daniel Craig) looks so much like a real person that these characters seem to exist in completely different worlds. Then there are the two Thompsons (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) who look just like cartoon characters without any of the realistic traces found in the other main characters.

Just a really strange disconnect.

I was also troubled, at least in the early portions of the film, with the way Tintin's character was created. In a way he's basically there to be an observer of the mystery and is a pretty flat character. I actually found that to be effective, because in many similar shows and films the main characters tend to put me off. But before he actually gets kidnapped, Tintin is presented in such a way that made him seem inept. Spielberg presents all these newspaper clippings of his past successes, but it's not until the halfway point of the film that he beings to have any sort of agency.

Actually, for the most part his dog Snowy, another great animal in what is slowly becoming the year of the dog in cinema, does most of the early work. Of course Tintin's ineptitude is minimal when compared to the bumbling, and mostly annoying, Thompsons, but that's not really an excuse for having this charismatic sinkhole at the core of an otherwise riveting adventure movie.

The Adventures of Tintin is fun. For me, even surprisingly fun. Yeah, for a script that was written by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), and Steven Moffat (Dr. Who), it's steeped in Britishisms, but isn't uproariously funny. But when you are constantly snapping from one sweeping action sequence to another the filler in between seems marginally important. Actually, marginally important is the best way to describe this film. It may not have lasting power, but it's enjoyable for a wintertime popcorn adventure movie, a look back to a type of film that has all but disappeared in our modern world of irony and hyper-awareness. I almost can't believe I'm writing this about the director, but Spielberg proves that magic only gets better with age.

Rating: ***/*****

Rich

Notes of Interest:

If I used half stars in my rating system, this film would have scored a 3.5/5. Though, again, numbers are mostly meaningless.

It's really strange to see a film released today where there's absolutely no romantic interest. For a movie, and a director, so closely linked to playing up the traditions of standard Hollywood blockbusters the lack of this component was particularly refreshing and allowed the film to keep clipping along and make the breaks between action a bit more focused and palatable.

There also appear to be a ton of references to older Spielberg movies littered throughout the film. I think I noticed Indy, Jaws, Jurassic Park, and either Close Encounters or E.T.

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Don't Stop Imagining. The Day That You Do Is The Day That You Die.

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:28:00 +0000

It's Awards season, and the time where year end wrap ups begin to hit hard. As a result, I need to begin writing at a much more rapid pace in an attempt to crystalize my thoughts on all the wonderful (I know, but bear with me) film that are sure to be released in this time. So what we have are an upcoming series of shorter reviews that will rarely delve in to the same type of analysis synthesis that I attempt to craft with my writing. Then there will be a huge onslaught of year end lists. I'll try and sprinkle a few editorials in there as well, and there's probably a major site overhaul coming up. So there's the state of Processed Grass, and now on to the review!

We Need To Talk About Kevin (Ramsay, 2011)

The new film from acclaimed Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, We Need To Talk About Kevin, recently had a one week limited pre-Oscar qualification run type deal in NYC and I had a chance to see it during that time. Basically what we have is a quasi-horror film that, much like other indie standout Martha Marcy May Marlene, takes many of its cues from psychological horror and Gothic tropes than delving in to new age cinematic scares.

Actually, I'm not sure this film is all that scary. Sure Ramsay has a ton of arresting visual shots (doesn't she always?), especially early on where the color red is used to chilling effect to both underscore and act as the focal point of many scenes, but even considering the subject matter it never becomes a full on horror. More of a surreal drama that inter-cuts the past and present of Eva, played wonderfully by my almost best actress of 2010 Tilda Swinton, as she copes with the fallout and build up to her son Kevin's (great performance here from Ezra Miller of Afterschool fame) murder of his father (John C. Reilly) and sister along with the shooting of his school. Tangential facts, mostly revealed in the beginning of the film, but the way it's presented is astounding.

What is most striking about the film is how it doesn't really vindicate Eva much at all, nor does it definitively portray her as the 'bad' character. It's established early on that we are seeing the world filtered through her judgmental eyes, and we are constantly reminded throughout the movie that she is not a great person. She literally tells her baby son that he is the reason she is miserable and has had to give up all of her passions. But Kevin, as we see him grow up, also constantly torments his mother for seemingly no reason.

Reasons, in fact, do not seem to be the film's primary concern. Rather than concerning itself with the why regarding Kevin's actions, it forces the viewer to sit with the consequences. As such, it becomes much more haunting. This film is not Elephant, nor does it ever pretend to be. In fact, the way it mostly erases the shooting itself from the film works to establish a chilling tone that has the flashbacks brimming with sinister undertones and the post-shooting portions colored with a melancholy.

It's easy, when tragedy strikes and is made in to a fictitious film, to focus on the act itself as a way to shock the audience. As a result the action itself which we find so horrid and shocking becomes perversely glorified, an anticipatory scene that is meant to be a pay off more than an avoidance. It's easy to forget that life still goes on, and We Need To Talk About Kevin explores the after with an assured hand. Though the pacing is a bit methodical, slowing down to make the more strenuous scenes more pronounced, the end product is an examination of what tends to be overlooked. As that, it's an unbridled success, and a film well worth the time of anyone interested in meditating on the lost, the forgotten, and the overlooked. Not heartbreaking, but certainly harrowing.

Rating: *****/*****

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

All The Points Where Contact Fails Us, All Of The Dead Spots In The Zone

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:54:00 +0000

Shame (McQueen, 2011)

Addiction is tough. Each day, I would imagine, we confront it in many different ways. This seems, certainly at first, to be at the core of Steve McQueen's Shame, the visual artist turned director's sophomore follow up to the harrowing (it will be fun to see how many times I use this word in the forthcoming paragraphs!) Hunger. Moving from Ireland all the way over to the red blooded American soils of New York City, McQueen crafts a movie that confronts, in an admirably direct fashion, main character Brandon (Michael Fassbender) as he grapples with a crippling sex addiction. What results is a deliberately paced character study that has sent critics all aflutter, and produced some of the year's greatest pull quotes. Take, for example, this gem from Tony Macklin's review of the film:

"Shame is a noxious porridge of porn and pointlessness. It's a penis in search of a plot. Its protagonist is a masturbating cipher."

With a glowing endorsement like that, how can Shame be anything but excellent?

Though addiction is a driving force in the movie, the title of the film itself becomes undeniably linked when thinking about thematic nuance in McQueen's latest. From the beginning of the movie Brandon is seemingly trapped in a routine. Much like any normal person this involves waking up, showering, and going to work. Wonderful use of sound - show water running, clocks ticking, and the blinds being raised - creates a certain monotony that encapsulates Brandon's stagnation. All brought to life by the wonderful cinematography and the captivating presence of Michael Fassbender (who between Magneto in X-Men: First Class and Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre is having quite an impressive year), but also not particularly riveting until his sister Sissy, in an unexpectedly fantastic turn by Carey Mulligan, shows up seeking to maintain a connection with a brother she has seemingly lost.

The movie itself becomes an intense dichotomy between an individual who yearns for connection and intimacy and another who seems to actively avoid them. And for a film that does not have much of a traditional plot all the thematic heft helps. I mean we can only watch Brandon masturbate and have disconnected sex with hookers so many times before it becomes boring. Theoretically, anyway. Each new encounter, every layer that is added, creates a better understanding of the character. The distance, at times, hurts the understanding of the relationship between Sissy and Brandon, but in the grand scheme that seems like a minor quibble in an otherwise entertaining character study.

A good deal has been written about the NC-17 rating of the film, and going in I mostly just assumed there would be a bunch of gratuitous sex scenes that overly sensitive critics have misconstrued as porn. Oddly, not the case! In fact, I was surprised that there was really only one elongated sex sequence toward the end that happens in such a heartbreaking context that any sense of the erotic is completely removed. Without giving away too much in terms of the plot, McQueen uses the film's climax in a way that has it in line with Brandon's most notable orgasm. Never have I wished so much that I could just take a bunch of screen shots of a movie I was watching in a theater as I did whilst viewing the gripping third act of Shame.

But looking back those ideas were always there. In one of the most discussed scenes of the film, where Brandon is on a date, a good deal of humor manifests itself as he and the woman he is with attempt to have a conversation that is constantly interrupted by an overbearing waiter. At times it seems like communication is really at the heart of the film.

But maybe it's just a part of the heart. Or Shame is sort of like an earth worm, with a bunch of different hearts all giving it life.

Shame is not a film for every viewer. Though not nearly as graphic or unbearable as many have led me to believe, it does get intense as the film reaches a crescendo. It's not a perfect movie either, and the aversion to a traditional plot could be a bit too impenetrable for some viewers; however, if you stick out the set up the payoff is well worth the time.

Rating: ****/*****

Rich

Notes of Interest:

Add this to the growing list of films I should just do a spoiler post about because I feel as if I did the film (and myself through pretty sterile writing) a disservice since I kind of have to tiptoe around spoilers. Or should just start including spoilers in my reviews because why not? What do you think, reader? Tell me in comments. Should I throw caution to the wind and risk being thrown in to spoiler jail by the spoiler police?

Anyone who took the under on 1.5 occurrences of the word harrowing appearing in the final review proper won!

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Knowing Nostalgia: Ruminations On HUGO And THE MUPPETS

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:19:00 +0000

Nostalgia is a funny concept. It clouds our judgment, making us elevate astoundingly mediocre art to positions of transcendence. As an avid video game player I find that I am at my most nostalgic when going back to staples of my childhood (the Metal Gears, Marios, Sonics, and Final Fantasies of the world), but even with my most beloved titles I can still recognize fundamental flaws in game design. But you know what? I'll still gladly play Princess Tomato: Adventures in Salad Kingdom, or watch Hercules for the umpteenth time, or maybe even give that old Marshall Mathers LP CD a spin in the car stereo. And I can be, at least momentarily, happy. Sure it's a hollow kind of happiness, but it's there and it's real. Sometimes I just like to get nostalgic.

And over the Thanksgiving holiday I found myself at the movie theater watching two particular films that approach the idea of nostalgia in vastly different ways.

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving the new film from famed director Martin Scorsese, Hugo, was released. Now despite not being too hot on the older Scorsese films I have seen - most notably Taxi Driver - I do consider The Departed one of my favorite movies and have a high respect for other recent outputs.

Combined with this prolific filmmaker's first foray in to the world of 3-D cinema, I had reason to be excited.

For the most part I was not disappointed. Scorsese crafts a beautifully realized early France that is actually enhanced by the new technology. In fact, if we take concert films as the big event movies to popularize 3-D, and the generic storytelling technology vehicle Avatar as basically perfecting the technology, Hugo is likely the first film to validate the use of 3-D as a film-making tool. I don't often get lost in a world, but this movie had me completely engrossed; however, it's not until the latter half of the film that the plays to nostalgia really start showing up in full force.

AND GUESS WHAT PEOPLE THERE ARE GOING TO BE SPOILERS FOR HUGO AND THE MUPPETS AHEAD

Eventually titular character Hugo finds out that an older man who he has been working for is actually famed silent film director Georges Méliès. Cue flashback to this man's films as Scorsese gives the audience a crash course in film history through a combination of actual archival footage and stunning set recreations that are more wonderful than watching bigfoot's pet unicorn poop rainbows. But it's not exactly silent films or Méliès that I became nostalgic for; instead, it was the artistic medium. I was taken back to my childhood, sitting in the theater watching The Pagemaster for the first time. There's a loving reverence for film that, interspersed with Hugo's quasi-hero's journey through childhood that hooked me. I left the theater in awe, invigorated and ready to take on all of the world's challenges (namely these silly final papers).

Then the next day, as is customary for my family on Thanksgiving, we all took a trip to the theater together to see Jason Segel and James Bobin's reintroduction to The Muppets. I'm not a huge Muppets fan. I have not seen all of their films, but to this day I am still able to sing along to most of the songs in A Muppets Christmas Carol. Plus it was the holidays, engaging in a family tradition. I was ready for the nostalgia to kick in full force.

What the Muppets are.

But it never happened. I casually watched what was a mostly serviceable resurrection of these long dormant characters of my youth. Yet aside from a few laughs here and there it never clicked, and I left feeling a little depressed. Surely there was something wrong with me, as it seemed like everyone I knew was overtaken with joy after seeing The Muppets. Now I realize I am a heartless monster with a robotic heart of metal and stone who detests the idea of fun, but even that has been penetrated in the past. Just a day before, in fact. What was I missing?

In retrospect, I don't think I was missing much. The most effective moments of Bobin's film are, undoubtedly, the ones that set the cross hairs directly on the nostalgic bone. Even without watching much of The Muppet Show, the recreation of the theme song late in the film was concentrated joy, as were most of the bits of the Muppet fundraiser. And it all led up to a beautiful rendition of "Rainbow Connection" that even had me tearing up a bit at the sheer magnificence of the scene. So if it's not these Muppets Greatest Hits moments that aren't working, something else has to be breaking that nostalgic pull.

What the Muppets aren't.

It seems to me to be the way the nostalgia mingles with what is new. Gary and Mary, the human component to this film, along with Muppet newcomer Walter completely feel flat. They all adored the Muppets, made their love for them apparent, and this should have let me fall right in line with the film. Though having them mix with the Muppets seemed to fight against evoking this nostalgia. I know in older Muppets movies celebrities make a number of cameo appearances, and the ones used in this film are mostly brilliant, but those movies are also always about the actual Muppets themselves. I don't need to main characters to tell me how i should fear, or help me share in a sense of wonder, that's what the movies themselves are for, that's why I go with other people. When the movie tries to mix the new with the old, it all becomes a bit of a mediocre mess.

That's where Hugo shines.

Even without any affinity for or knowledge of Méliès and his films, I was still brought back to my own childhood. And having the movie be so much about childhood, even one so far removed from my own, appealing more to a universal love through a specific occurrence makes a good deal of sense. Here's where the 3-D also plays a huge part in the film. Aside from being about childhood, it is very much about movies. With the 3-D, we are able to look back on the old through a completely new lens, both literally and figuratively. There's an intermingling of childlike wonder with critical thought, and once Scorsese and the film establish that connection I found myself completely vulnerable to a flood of emotions.

Rarely am I able to revel in the joys of nostalgia without hesitation, so when it happens it becomes just a bit more magical. It really is an odd phenomenon, and as I continue to grow I'm sure I'll develop even more types of nostalgia. For now though, I'm happy that films can still make me feel this way sometimes. Even with some faults, Hugo was joyous. Maybe in the future I'll even find myself with a bit of nostalgia for that first trip to the theater to see Martin Scorsese's stunning attempt at a family film.

That would be just fine by me.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!

© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Update On The Status Of Processed Grass As Filtered Through My Lens Of Hope And Joy And Triumphant Returns With Long Blog Title Posts Words!

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:47:00 +0000

Loyal readers, followers, friends, and admirers alike, as you may have noticed I have been quiet as of late. Part of this, as always seems to be the case around this time of the year, is a result of school. This year, particularly, it is a result of Grad school. However, that is not the biggest determining factor of my blogging absence.

Some of you may remember, in an older post after my first prolonged silence, that I had a Great Computer Collapse of Summer 2011, which I thought I had rectified. Sadly, that was not the case. Now, after another month or so without a steady computer from which to post or listen to new music/watch films, I have returned. At least for now. But probably for good because I plan on buying a desktop this Black Friday! So as long as this laptop holds out until that thing ships and arrives, you can start expecting posts soon. Or relatively soon. There are a lot of papers coming up.

I thank everyone for their patience, and for those who care here a couple of brief reactions I have in regard to some recent culture across multiple mediums! And yes, I'm going to make a numbered list because I love them. You probably love them too, this is the internet.

1. Martha Marcy May Marlene is a fantastic film that you should check out. It reminds me of the Henry James novel A Turn of the Screw, and of some of Edgar Allan Poe's work. The film itself deals with identity in interesting ways, both thematically and from a technical perspective, and makes for an engaging psychological thriller with enough complexity to spark wonderful discussions. Just don't see it with older people, I guess. Or rather don't see it with the lady who sat in front of me in the theatre and then immediately turned around after the credits started to ask me if I liked it then spoke condescendingly and gave me judgmental eyes when I gave an affirmative response.

2. Melancholia was also pretty fantastic. Not as great as I hoped for whilst watching it, as I really enjoyed Antichrist and hoped this would approach the visual brilliance of that film along with the thematic depth. The more I think about this film the more I enjoy it, but it didn't hit me during the first viewing. Odd, I know, but that's just how it goes some times. The theatre for the 1 o clock show was packed though. von Trier packs them in!

3. Arkham City, Skyrim, Catherine, and Deus Ex probably are competing right now for my game of the year. Play them all!

4. I have probably underrated the brilliance of Cass McCombs. He did an interview on Pitchfork that I fell in love with, and upon listening to his albums (that's right, it's plural!) again he's climbing up my lists. I also really need to listen to Youth Lagoon and Kate Bush. Any other recommendations for 2011 music should be left in comments if you'd be so kind!

5. I still haven't seen The Art of Getting By (I"m so sorry, Team Emma) nor have I caught Monte Carlo. That double feature will happen this Christmas break though!

So yeah, not sure if I'll get full reviews up of those first two films or not, but this return has been brought to you by my happiness. We're in the thick of culture right now, pardners! Saddle up! Throw down! Consume. Culture. Process!

With more to come soon,

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!

© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Breaking Boundaries: Journey To The Center Of The Film

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 15:55:00 +0000

This morning I caught wind of this new trend going around that seems to have originated from Top 10 Films where you (and I suppose me in this case!) are given a magic ticket that lets you jump in to any movie world that you wanted. I wanted to see this in action, and luckily Jessica at The Velvet Cafe and Alex at BoaCE both gave me a template to work from. The idea is apparently based on The Last Action Hero. Now I haven't seen that film, so instead of a ticket I will think of this more in the sense of time traveling device in Chrono Trigger. This time though it's like I'm my own Lucca!

The exercise seems fun, because I usually don't go in to films with the hope to escape from my real world. Instead, I want to learn more about myself and the world around me, so with that idea in mind let's take a trip down in to the bowels of my imagination. Welcome to my desires!

Which Character Would I Like To Sit Next To On A Plane?

Now, obviously being incredibly selfish, the obvious choice would be to pick someone who was both small in size and who would give me their extra snacks. But mostly I would want a great travel companion who could make the flight itself enjoyable. Two clear choices spring to mind. The first would be Scott Pilgrim, from the aptly titled Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Conversations about video games would abound, I'm sure. But I've read the comics, and Scott is kind of a dullard. So how about cutting out the middle man? I would definitely choose Michael Cera, a character played by Michael Cera in the film Paper Heart. Now this may seem like cheating, after all I don't want to pick an actor, I want to pick a character. Well, from what little I know of the actual man, the movie itself indicates to me that he does in fact play a heightened, occasionally cartoonish riff on the public perception of the greatest comedic actor of all time. Hilarity would about, I'm sure. And, at the very least, this guy could probably tell me about poutine.

Another honorable mention here would be Lucy from Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy because she seems like a great dog, and I love dogs. I'm a man of simple pleasures.

Which Character Would You Like To Enjoy A Passionate Romance With?

This question is difficult, because it makes the most sense to pick the hyper-vivacious Maria Elena played by Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona; however, that language barrier I'm sure would be a killer. That leaves the next best option as Molly from the movie Twelve. In a world where she is unknowingly best friends with a brooding drug dealer, Molly remains focused, determined, and undeniably sweet for most of the film. She's a strong independent presence in the film who, while not without flaws, lights up each conversation in which she engages. And she makes me smile. Plus she doesn't have a last name, apparently, which would make for great conversations about identity. It almost seems like she's a more mature version of Adrianna Bragg from Lymelife. Also, Emma Roberts is beautiful. I told you this would be a look in to my mind.

Additionally, if I were to reimagine this fantasy next year, I would likely pick Roberts's character from the upcoming film Adult World, where the plot synopsis implies that she will be portraying someone who hits close to the heart: "A recent college graduate who believes she's destined to be a great poet, instead winds up working for an adult book store."

If I Were A Cop Who Would I Want As My Partner?

Gerry Boyle from The Guard, and it's not even close. Danny Butterman in Hot Fuzz would come closest, but at some point work would have to get done and I fear the Butterman/Thorne tandem would be too inept at police work. Boyle knows how to enjoy himself on the job, but he's also always on top of his shit. And really, I'd rather hear him make off the cuff racist jokes than be forced to talk about Bad Boys II.

What Animated Feature Would I Love To Walk Around In?

Hercules, being my favorite animated film, is the correct answer most of the time, but because I have played so many Kingdom Hearts games I have practically already explored all of my Disney worlds of choice. That means no Nightmare Before Christmas, nor any Lion King either. And, at the risk of getting too meta, I will pass on picking Paprika to instead select whatever the most recent Pokemon film that I have not seen is, because I want Pokemon to be real. I want to be able to catch them all, and raise them, and play with them. Sure, it's a world of silly binaries and innocence, but damn if it's not a fun world that I've lost myself in for hundreds (thousands?) of hours through the games. Now I have the chance to get all tactile!

What Adventure Based On Earth Would I Most Like To Go On?

Keeping with the inadvertent theme of exposing my age and biases toward incredibly modern films, I would be remiss to not mention Somewhere. Not an adventure in a traditional sense, shadowing Johnny Marco and Chloe would still lead me to high class hotels that let me revel (and despise) my superficiality the world over. And in the end I would become a better person, which is all that I can strive for on a daily basis. Is there any more rewarding quest?

What Adventure Based In An Otherworldly, Fantasy Based Location Would I Like To Go On Most?

Since we are sticking to real life, and because I don't really want to die, I can't select A Song Of Ice And Fire, which means that I would be letting myself down if I didn't mention The Nightmare Before Christmas. I'm not big for adventures, but I honestly don't think that would matter very much if I was following Jack Skellington around. Sure, some of the film takes place on Earth proper, but between the world of Halloween and Christmastown there would be more than enough fantasy to go around. And maybe...just maybe, we'd get to go in to one of the other holiday doors as well.

What Movie Gadget Would I Like To Try Out (Or Steal?)

Gadget, to me, implies something mechanical, which means that the cloak of invisibility is out of the question here. Naturally, that leaves me with one of the coolest movie tools ever, the DC Mini from Paprika that lets you enter in to other people's dreams. Sure, you probably run the risk of getting lost in a world where you cannot distinguish between reality and dreams, but most of us willingly exist in such a world on a day to day basis anyhow. So why not take that chance?

What Film's Plot Would I Alter And How Would I Do It?

A difficult question seeing as how almost every film would be enhanced by having the main character(s) die at the end. Which film would benefit most from having the protagonist die though? The answer I arrive at is Wall*E. Few films are hurt by an underwhelming second act quite so much as this one. I would either cut out all the space stuff, effectively removing the overt references to the strengths of communism and attacks on the corporate culture which marks the America I love/detest so much, or I would just have EVE continue to have her memory lost. Both would make that film incredibly more enjoyable.

What Film Would I Want To Be Transported Into, Simply To Be Part Of The World

I should have technically limited myself to films that were not adaptations, but I have not done that and I will not start now. The answer is clearly the world of Harry Potter; however, I have the stipulation that I would like to inhabit such a world well after the Voldemort era. Like, basically no one even remembers it outside of History of Magic text books. If I had any competency in the electronic realm, I would be pursuing my long time dream of creating a Harry Potter game with a structure similar to Bully that allows the player to simply exist in the world. Above characters and plot, that world is what I fell in love with, so this selections seems like the easiest of all.

Worlds of fiction are fun, (sometimes literally) magical creations that artists have crafted for consumers to enjoy. Which worlds would you like to take a trip in to? Let me know what you think below in the comments about my picks and your own selections!

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!

© 2011 Richard James Thorne

I Came In From The Wilderness, A Creature Void Of Form

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:56:00 +0000

Take Shelter (Nichols, 2011)

It seems after months of waiting, 2011 is starting to get real. Yes, there have been a number of great films released so far this year (specifically I think of The Tree of Life, Drive, and Jane Eyre), but now that I'm looking ahead and making a schedule of films I must see I am almost overwhelmed with options. Take Shelter, the new film from Shotgun Stories director Jeff Nichols, has the type of pedigree that I get all flustered about, so when I saw it was opening at my local theater I became giddy with anticipation to dive in to the film. Knowling little about the movie I was simply hoping to revisit the domestic sphere that Nichols presented so well in his debut feature. Little did I know that I was in for so much more.

Take Shelter is basically about Curtis, played by a delightfully subdued yet still super creepy Michael Shannon, as he confronts night terrors that indicate the coming of a massive storm. He's a working class family man, and the film makes it abundantly clear throughout the two hours of run time that he always acts in the best interest of his family. This aspect becomes most notable when, frightened by his nightmares, Curtis decides to put his family in financial jeopardy by building a state of the art storm shelter where they can retreat when(/if?) this storm ever arrives. By the way, he does all this without telling his wife (Jessica Chastain) and knowing full well that his daughter (Tova Stewart) needs surgery in order to help restore her hearing. Plus these nightmare may not be real because his family has a history of paranoid schizophrenia. Drama!

And yes, drama does abound in this film. In Nichols's style a good portion of the film is spent slowly building up these characters, and his always steady camera wonderfully captures all of life's small occurrences between tense dream sequences that, according to lauded critic Richard Thorne, work to create a sense of psychological terror and uncertainty that permeates throughout the film. At times the pacing may seem a bit too slow for some people, but even in the slower scenes we are learning about Curtis's motivation and setting up events that pay off in huge ways (one major confrontation in particular) as the film progresses. Of course the film could also be undone by having the central relationship feel inauthentic. Placing Chastain, a highly personable and emotive actress, alongside Shannon, a much more nuanced and stoic presence, could produce disastrous results, but the two contrast each other perfectly, in a thematic sense, while still selling the lovers's ties that hold them together.

This film is difficult to discuss without spoilers since much of the personal value I derive from writing comes from processing themes. However, instead of directly referring to what happens I can praise the film for being wonderfully open to multiple interpretations. One trendy line of thinking going on right now is to read the movie as an examination of the economic crisis that weighs down upon America right now. While watching I was struck by how jarring many scenes were that dealt with both the insurance industry - including one where Curtis is confronted with dealing with his co-pay - and credit card institutions. I mean, a character warns Curtis to be careful of credit cards because they will eat you alive. Not necessarily profound statements, and I don't find them to be integrated all that well in to the film itself, but it's a legitimate reading that is supported from the very start of the film. However, I also read the movie as a meditation on the inevitability of death and the reaffirmation of familial connections, which is very much in line with Nichols's past work. These are only two readings that I offer up here, but I can think of many more that exist. And I hope people watch this film and generate more and more of those readings instead of settling on one and remaining complacent.Wolfgang Iser would have a field day with this film!

In many ways Take Shelter is not only an example of all I look for in film, but more specifically all I want when experiencing art and culture. I had an emotional reaction to certain scenes, but it was not simply about my emotion. At one time I felt emotion interacting with my mind, creating a sense of fulfillment that I have achieved only a select few times with film this year. At first I was appreciating the film for its technical prowess, but almost suddenly I was gripped by Curtis's struggles, and then I started contemplating the larger statements the film seemed to be making to me. But it wasn't until that final sequence, that ultimate credit role, that I found myself smiling. The feeling was magical. And we all just want to smile, don't we?

Rating: *****/*****

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Thinking About Terror: Why Does Horror Scare?

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 22:15:00 +0000

Every October I feel as if the obligated to watch horror films. Like watching It's A Wonderful Life around Christmas it becomes a yearly tradition. Growing up I had a huge aversion to horror, brought on by one too many nights spent staying up past my bed time to watch Ernest: Scared Stupid. Now I go back and look at the films I was terrified of as a child and they seem silly, yet as I grew older and started watching more types of films I have still avoided horror. This is particularly odd to me as one of my favorite writers, Edgar Allan Poe, is always associated with the genre. In an attempt to combat my hesitancy to embrace these films I even decided to watch all four of the Scream movies earlier in the year. I even went to my local theater to see The Shining when it played a week ago. After this brief confrontation with some notable entries in the scary movie oeuvre, I was left with one nagging question in the back of my mind: do horror films need to be scary?

The short answer to this question would be a simple yes. I don't mean to imply that they only are meant to scare, there is a ton of artistic quality in this art form in craft, theme, and pathos. However, most people even use the terms 'horror film' and 'scary movie' interchangeably. But while watching The Shining I did not find myself nearly as scared as I did when I was watching Scream. I may even say that I didn't feel scared at all. Certainly not in the same way. And that's really where I find horror films incredibly interesting. Much like comedy, horror is such an umbrella term that it can encompass so many different types of movies. Using my limited knowledge of these kinds of movies, I want to take a look at exactly how these movies scare.

Atmosphere is not just a hip hop duo, it's actually a pretty great way to set the mood for a film. A movie that makes good use of atmosphere can suck you in, it can make you feel a part of the movie that you are watching. The Shining is a film that completely nails the atmosphere. By blending score with a camera that perfectly frames the three individuals in a massive hotel it creates a sense of isolation. The world we see here is expansive, but it's also unexplored and unknown. Early on the movie establishes that these events are happening in Colorado, but when the mother and son are running in the snow we might as well be with Victor Frankenstein on his way to Antarctica. A film like The Shining creates a dread through isolation and desperation. Sure it uses ghosts as a common device to evoke the supernatural, but knowing that there is practically no communication with the outside world creates the fear without needing any cheap thrills.

Tapping in the psyche is another way to generate scares, and though I don't like the idea of being terrified I think this is my personal favorite. Though all films interact with the psyche on some level (even films like Scary Movie create some kind of mental stimulation - incredible!), these films actively play with the notion of reality. One of the most recent horror films to rely on these techniques is a movie you may not even consider horror. Black Swan is basically a werewolf movie mixed with a dash of Satoshi Kon. Maybe a dash of Santa Sangre as well. Breaking the boundaries between reality and perceived reality will always scare me.

The most famous type of scare is the good old fashioned jump scare. I have a love/hate relationship with these. Scream makes pretty fantastic use of them by first building with a score and keeping corners hidden from the camera. Even classics like Psycho have relied on the jump scare to create a quick sense of terror in a viewer. They are easy, they can be cheap, but they are undeniably effective. These staples aren't going anywhere.

But you know what might be going somewhere? All of the new age torture porn. Now I don't want to imply that I'm writing off the entire genre, I've actually only seen one of the Saw films and it was at least conceptually interesting. And gore is certainly one of the genre's staples. I mean where would modern horror be without all of those 80's slasher films? Hockey masks would still be innocent! Butcher knifes would be used properly! Texas would be unmassacred by chainsaws! The humanity. Actually the use of gore seems to be profitable for American films, but artistically relevant for many recent Asian horror films. What is blood if not another hue of paint for the canvas of celluloid? I never considered gore to be scary, but it's certainly unsettling, and that is certainly a characteristic of fear.

Characteristics of fear are helpful in thinking about horror because just about every film plays on a singular fear inside most people: a fear of the unknown. It's this fear that creates all the monsters that occupy all the classic horror movies. Not knowing what is out there allows these stories to manifest themselves, and it's certainly a fear that all horror filmmakers I have watched experiment with in some capacity. Who knows what is out there, what's lurking around the corner, where the killer could be hiding. That is terror.

Of course the best horror films blend all of these together. I'm still searching for the perfect horror film, just as I'm searching for the courage to watch that movie. But next time I'm watching Hocus Pocus I'll at least have a small idea (there are plenty of other subgenres of horror that use other techniques as well) why I'm scared. Aside from the obvious fact that I have no tolerance for fear. And knowing, as they say, is half of my prattle. Or something along those lines.

I'd also really like to hear some horror films that I absolutely must watch, so let me know below in the comments. Just assume I have seen no horror films, it's probably easier that way and it is mostly true!

Rich

Are Notes Not?

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:27:00 +0000

So last night I found myself watching a White Stripes concert film/documentary hybrid, The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights, and as I started to type up a reflection on the film I found that the actual substance to the film was not nearly as consequential as the thoughts the film raised. In fact, the film made me realize two very important things, and I keep questioning a few ideas in relation to these revelations.

The first realization I came to is that I do not listen to enough The White Stripes. Their music may be a bit too loud and instrumental for my tastes, but these two sure know how to put a fantastic live show. Why do I not listen to enough White Stripes? Few, if any, would have the answer, so perhaps my next query will be a bit more ripe for discussion.

Can concert films and docu-concert films have any sort of relevance outside of fans of a specific genre? Can these films be evaluated in a traditional sense and are they subject to the same criticism that I would apply to the latest Pixar film or the newest feature from Ramin Bahrani? I would like to think that I can, and the recent trend of concert films likely will not slow down in the future, but after watching this film and Rian Johnson's document of the Mountain Goats' latest album in The Life of the World to Come earlier in the year I struggle as to where I should place them on my year end lists. Particularly in the Johnson film I love the music, and between performances we gain some kind of insight to the artists, but these discoveries only help perpetuate the intentional fallacy without offering much toward the overall interpretation of these works of art within a work of art.

But the camera work in both the Mountain Goats film and the White Stripes film are varied and interesting, technical aspects that I would scrutinize in any other film. But these films are considerably different than stand alone documentaries like Don't Look Back where the emphasis is placed on the musician and the legacy, not the music. However, a film like the Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus place the focus on the music but also explores the idea of fame clashing with adolescence. Though even these ideas are minor peripheral concepts in the films. Yet I was able to take a good deal away from these films and find ideas on which to reflect, and these ideas are present in both the White Strips and the Mountain Goats films, but I think my enjoyment of all these films is tied to the music just as much, if not more so, than the craft and themes explored.

So is the only difference between these concert films and a film like Fantasia the music on display? Perhaps there is another separation that I am having trouble seeing. Is it possible to enjoy a concert film, to rate it highly and hold it in high esteem, without liking the music on display? Should these films even be inspected like traditional films? If not, how should I approach these films? These are questions I should probe further in the future and will likely continue to be fascinated on until I find an answer to satiate my interest.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Manufacturing The Movie Star: Musings On Ryan Gosling

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 22:27:00 +0000

I like to imagine that somewhere in the annals of Hollywood exists a factory. In this factory the overlords/taskmasters/biological engineering geniuses have boxes stacked upon boxes of body parts waiting to be assembled and brought to life in some kind of insane ritual that straddles the line between heretical and miraculous. These Victor Frankensteins toil away all hours of the day mixing and matching parts until the day when the big studios of the world place an order for a superstar. An order was placed some years ago, and the latest creature to be unleashed upon the unsuspecting world was Ryan Gosling, star of Drive and The Ides of March. A man whose star has seemingly risen to insane amounts in the last few months that it has fallen into place, as Bob Dylan may say, so perfectly, it all seems so well timed. But, as a fan of Ryan Gosling's career thus far, I find myself slightly conflicted.

Gosling appears to me to be another in a long line of individuals who Hollywood, through the use of its studio system and a well timed release schedule, has propped up to be the next megastar. The problem with attempting to manufacture movie stars, and I think what is currently happening with Ryan Gosling is a conscious effort to brand him as the industry's new superstar, is that such attempts tend to come off as incredibly artificial. Sure, Gosling has always had the talent, between his roles in Lars and the Real Girl, Half Nelson, and Blue Valentine, to be a headlining actor, and he certainly has the physical appearance to leave the nation swooning, I mean come on it's like he's photoshopped!

When thinking about Gosling as the new star, it seems useful to look at the most recent case of sure-to-be-superstar. To me Ryan Reynolds seems to almost perfectly fit this bill. Reynolds is a fairly talented actor, just look at his work in Adventureland, he's a good looking guy, and he practically assaulted each and every genre in the past year. Big action film? Check. Generic romantic comedy? Naturally. Suspect quasi-independent film? But of course. And after one major bomb and two tepid films Reynolds has seemingly disappeared from the public's radar.

So what does this mean?

Now if that's not a face that makes you wonder,
'what sort of machinations are rumbling around in that skull' then I don't know what is.

Well you better make some money, Ryan Gosling, or else you're going to be kicked to the curb as well. It can be argued that Gosling's obligatory romantic comedy, Crazy Stupid Love, performed well at the box office, but when the cast also boasts the likes of Jullianne Moore, Emma Stone, and Steve Carrel it's hard to be labeled as a 'Ryan Gosling vehicle.' That basically sets the stage for the next, almost too literal, Ryan Gosling vehicle, Drive. This one pretty much doubles as his quasi-independent film too if we're overlooking Blue Valentine. While critics seem to have latched on to the movie, and given the type of film it is, I would call this a financial success. Hardly a rousing success, but still a success. And now The Ides of March, being marketed basically as a Clooney/Gosling hybrid, may be his real chance to demonstrate some box office pull.

So good, at least half of the equation has been met. Potentially anyhow, as we still haven't seen a solely Ryan Gosling film be a rousing box office behemoth.

That still leave the glitz and glam lifestyle that gets tabloids and paparazzi all abuzz. Even if you're not in a film being advertised on every television in the nation you are still in the collective conscious. On this front I fail to see Gosling's viability either. I said it before, but he's good looking. Naturally cameras will be attracted to him, but even with my limited knowledge of the TMZosphere I have heard little of Gosling's non film related adventures. Even if we are not talking Brangelina~esque scandals, I would at least have expected Gosling to generate a human interest story by now. I mean there are dolphins to be saved, you know?

The jury seems to still be out on the status of Ryan Gosling as the next super star. And if he's not does that mean that Hollywood will have stripped us of another quality actor who just wasn't good enough? Sure there's always a place for Gosling in smaller films, but unless you're in the right market many of these smaller affairs can easily fly under the radar. This weekend may very well be the tipping point for Gosling, his last chance to make a splash. Will he begin a race to join the ranks of Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and George Clooney, or will he join the ranks of the Shia LaBeoufs, Ryan Reynolds, and Larry the Cable Guys of the world? The fires are burning, I'll be interesting to see what the landscape looks like when the smoke clears.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Taking On 2011 - Top Tracks (Q3 Quarterly Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 03:46:00 +0000

Another three months have passed, and as has become a yearly tradition here at Processed Grass it is about time we take a look back at all the yearly developments in the world of culture. As is also tradition my Quarterly Review will be broken in to three parts (songs, albums, film) and list some random number of these entries that have been dominating my ear space and mental functions for the past however many months! We are approaching the time of year when monumental changes occur in these lists. Don't believe me? Just check up on the first and second quarterly reviews to see how things have changed...or how orders have stayed the same.

We all like comfort, right?

Just a reminder, each artist is only allowed one song on the list. These are the rules I use to stay sane, and you care about my sanity, right? And to listen to the songs just click on the title/artist name!

11. "Freaks and Geeks" - Childish Gambino

It seems fitting that writer/actor/comedian/rapper/all around talent Donald Glover, currently co-starring on one of television's best comedies Community, has taken the name of another well beloved television program for his stand out track on this year's five song untitled EP. It's not fitting because of the comedy connections though, no it's what those connections sort of represent for Childish Gambino's entire oeuvre. It sort of captures all the qualities that could easily be misapplied to Gambino's music, he's just another outsider attempting to seem cool, but that mostly misses the larger point. When you have wordplay that fires at such a rapid and well executed pace, you're not an outsider, you're just a rapper.

10. "High Maintenance" - Miranda Cosgrove ft. Rivers Cuomo

You know what I still find baffling, ever since I first reviewed this album? That Miranda Cosgrove and Rivers Cuomo are on a track together. Even more crazy, as I have mentioned before and continue to be slightly creeped out by today, is that this song seems to be about an implied relationship between the two singers. Maybe not Cosgrove and Cuomo (Cuomgrove? Cosmo?), but definitely between the two constructed speakers in the songs. Maybe there's a weird daddy complex going on here. If that's the case, I hope more taboo relationships find their way in to easily digestible pop singles.

9. "The Lonely Doll" - Cass McCombs (Not on Youtube)

Cass McCombs is probably the closest living artist to classic Bob Dylan that we have, at least in terms on song composition and length. This song is also delightfully creepy and kind of reminds me of Poe. Poe, poetry. You see what I'm doing here? Really though, I love Edgar Allan Poe.

8. "Slow Motion" - Holy Ghost!

Despite the Holy Ghost! album not hitting as well as it should have with me, I have been completely lost in the sounds of "Slow Motion" since first hearing it. I may just associate it with the terribad Juvenile song, which makes me like this one more in comparison, but mostly it's just great fun with a touch of despair. And really, what more can I ask for from my music?

7. "Suicide Demo For Kara Walker" - Destroyer

Hard to pick just one of the many beautiful songs from Destroyer's latest album, but I think "Suicide Demo For Kara Walker" not only works in the context of the album as sort of a central point that encapsulates the many elements of the band that work so well together doing just that, but also works as a stand alone single. Poetry. Music. Sometimes it doesn't matter, it's just art.

6. "Lindisfarne" - James Blake

As much as I love this song, or songs depending on when you first heard them, if you haven't listened to them by now you probably never will. You see that? That's a challenge! Just click the link and listen to Blake! If you have already done so, just click it and listen to it again. He's not going anywhere.

5. "Lightweight" - Demi Lovato

Feels like it was only a matter of time before Demi Lovato showed up on this list, though as I have written before I initially had some hesitations about this album. I plan on having a review up in the next week or so, but I can say this is not the only song that competed for a spot on this list. It's just kind of the perfect blend of all things Demi, old and new.

4. "Nightmare" - Tyler, The Creator

I still really wish this and "Tron Cat" were the same song so that I could just call it the best of the year and be done with it. But they aren't, and they won't be. You need that break in the context of the album. Regardless, this is Tyler working at his finest. It's not horrorcore, it's just personalized hiphop with a bit of the old ultraviolence.

3. "California" - EMA

I had a tough time selecting an EMA song for this list as well, but I still feel as if "California" is the strongest track on her debut album. What I love about "California" though is the sheer amount of lyrics that EMA bombards me with, each one hitting a bit harder than the one before.

2. "Bizness" - tUnE-yArDs

The former number one song has dipped slightly, but don't let that fool you. tUnE-yArDs's standout song is still an incredible tour-de-force of sound. In class about a week ago we listened to some lady performing scat, and while I did not much care for that performance I can definitely see how that type of music has found its way in to the work of tUnE-yArDs. Thinking back to when I saw them in Chicago over the summer, this may be the second coming of scat. Or not. But it's a damn great song.

1. "Cheerleader" - St. Vincent

St. Vincent being on this list is also no surprise, though as I was thinking of which song of hers I felt deserved top honors I actually had a good deal of trouble narrowing down the selections. What makes "Cheerleader" my favorite song from her new album, Strange Mercy, is how it combines all of the wonderfully musical elements of Annie Clark's music with a fairly simplistic, but completely identifiable, feeling.

Honorable Mentions:

"Go Outside" - Cults (best music video, but this song was technically released last year despite the album dropping in 2011)
"Come Threw Looking Clean" - Young Ni**a (Technically Tyler, The Creator already has a song on the list)
Any song from The Book of Mormon
the Mountain Goats (they'll probably be back in the year end round up)

So, what did I miss? What do I absolutely have to listen to before the end of the year? Let me know below in comments!

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Don't Blame Us For Visions Of Princess Cuts On Our Fingers

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 23:04:00 +0000

Moneyball (Miller, 2011)

October, or more specifically September if we are going by calendar release dates, are the days of baseball. Sure the NFL usually comes back around this time, but America's game is beginning to wind down from an exhausting summer marathon. It makes sense then to release a movie that revolves around the sport around this time of the year. It makes even more sense, with Oscar nominations looming in the not too distant future, to release a film that stars Brad Pitt. All the chances for Moneyball, the story of Billy Beane's attempt to reinvent the dynamics of Major League Baseball, to thrive in a major market are certainly in place. This is when champions are made. This is when A's fan actually have a chance to watch their team (or well, a lovingly designed simulation of their team of years past) in the post season! But is the simulation enough?

Hardly. Despite only being a casual fan of baseball, I actually have a fairly decent knowledge of the actual story behind the events that make up latest film from Capote director Bennett Miller. That being said, you basically do not need a working knowledge of the sport or the events on which the film is based to comprehend the fairly standard sports story that Miller and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin explore. Actually, it's probably for the best if you do not know too much about the Oakland Athletic's because, unlike other based on real life events films, being privy to the results of the A's season pretty much sucks out most of the stakes from this overly bloated affair.

Unlike sitting in on an actual baseball game, the film's languid pace is not highlighted by striking marks of beauty in what should be an overly plain affair. I'm not entirely sure if the scenes themselves are not constructed so well or if the director is just making poor use of space, but when the frames don't feel too constrained they are so incredibly open without actually serving the scope of the film. In fact, all of the director's choices seem deliberately designed to slow down the pacing of the film. I understand that, perhaps, it is meant to mimic actually watching a baseball game, but when you're watching a game live the end result is still completely up in the air, and the way the game gets to that result is much more interesting than most of the scripted beats that line Moneyball. There are a collection of enjoyable scenes, mostly where Beane is wheeling and dealing in the off-season and around the trade deadline, but even at its best moments the hot stove barely feels lukewarm.

It is easy to say that I was underwhelmed by this film, though even in that disappointment I can appreciate many of the performances on display. As Billy Beane, Brad Pitt turns in an enjoyably unhinged turn that, while it doesn't completely sell the emotional motivations of the character, is constantly a delight to watch. The supporting turns from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Chris Pratt are also great, especially Pratt's work, but the movie does not utilize either one to their full potential. For the most part they are simply relegated to insulated moments where Billy Beane barks an order at them and moves along. Jonah Hill, after a great turn in last year's Cyrus, also underwhelms in the role of a fictional assistant to GM Billy Beane. He has a few moments where he's funny, but as a character the man seems all over the place.

I feel as if I am being needlessly tough on what is, in actuality, a fairly mediocre affair. Aside from the pacing, and clocking in at slightly over two hours, there's little to be offended about when it comes to Moneyball. Unfortunately, there's even less to drum up any sort of excitement about either. Perhaps it is because I knew the outcome, perhaps it's because I never was given much of a reason to care about the real Billy Beane. I mean, he's pretty much delusional, and what successes he had could just as easily be attributed to the players on his team left unmentioned (including MVP Miguel Tejada and Cy Young Winner Barry Zito) as they could to his moneyball strategy. Where does that leave you? Well it leaves you being called an idiot, albeit lovingly, by your daughter while the credits roll. Where does that leave me? Nowhere I want to be.

Rating: **/*****

Rich

Changing Of The Guard: The End Of Disney's Latest Golden Age

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Another classic from the Processed Grass Wordpress Vault:

A few hours ago the Disney Channel Original Series juggernaut, Hannah Montana, aired its final episode. As a fairly big fan of Disney Channel I was compelled to watch this episode, sadly I missed the first half. Actually, I am not really a fan of Hannah Montana, but as a fan I cannot help but feel a sense of sorrow at the end of Miley's time with Disney. The starlet's departure ushers in the end of an era, a changing of the guard of sorts, and given Disney's recent scramble to find any sort of replacement has me worried about the quality of the programing as a whole.

I am not sure what the time table Disney has, but my guess is that within the next year the Mouse House will not have only lost Miley, but fellow icon Selena Gomez as well with Wizards of Waverly Place (as second part of the Disney trifecta I refer to as the Big Three) in its final season, meaning the most talented cast of any of the sitcoms, boasting Jennifer Stone, David DeLuise, Jake Austin, and the insanely talented, and incredibly versatile, David Henrie, will have also been lost. Along with the cast being lost so are the writers, a group who have strung together a series of pronounced mini-arcs within a mostly cohesive whole throughout a four season series, a quality that demonstrates an ambition for the show that few, if any, other like minded series possessed and a respect for its audience. Additionally, this season of The Suite Life On Deck marks the end of the Sprouse twins's six year run with Disney, spanning two original series, and taking away a remarkable chemistry as well as the best sustained comedic writing Disney has seen in quite some time.

So where does that leave us?

I am not entirely sure. JONAS L.A. demonstrated a unique venue for Disney, essentially relaunching and reskinning a failed sitcom formula for a more mature, yet still fairly goofy, show more akin to a soap opera or drama than any other program put out, but the ages of each of the Jonas Brothers leave doubts that the show will return, or even retain the identity it experimented with in its second season. Demi Lovato is, as far as I can tell, the most talented member of the Disney cast period (slightly edging out Selena and Henrie), but her recent personal struggles have left her show, at least partially, going on without her and falling apart in the process. I have said before that I wish all the best for Demi, she is not at fault for anything, but as an amateur analyst I need to take everything in to account, and it seems unlikely that the Sonny break will bode well for Disney in this time of flux. So let us count that show as a wash for right now.

That means, after the Big Three have all ended, we are left with Phineas and Ferb, Fish Hooks, Good Luck Charlie, and Shake it Up. The hollow, aimlessly self referential and painfully self aware Phineas and Ferb can ride its popularity to commercial success, but the show is the epitome of lazy writing, a Family Guy for the Disney crowd. And if Phineas and Ferb is the Family Guy then I suppose its animated companion Fish Hooks exists as The Cleveland Show of the Mouse House. As far as live action goes, Bridget Mendler is a captivating lead in Good Luck Charlie, fantastic turns from episode to episode that are a great follow up to her role on Wizards, but the show's humor is as generic as the serialized sitcom formula it follows. All the lessons learned from the Big Three have apparently vanished with this show's construction. Disney may be prepped to go from a wonderland to a wasteland faster than many other television stations.

Or perhaps not, because there is a glimmer of hope. Chemistry, laughs, potential for arcs, talent. They are all being developed, ever so slowly, from week to week, on Shake it Up. Now the show has about a decathalon's way to go before it can even hope to achieve status of even the Big Three's weakest (Hannah), but the sparks between leads Bella Thorne and Zendaya are apparent, each bringing an energy to each scene. However, I must stress the use of the word glimmer, because in front of this chemistry and charm are still cheap laughs, tired tropes, and marks of throwaway entertainment. Still, if there is a horse in the Disney stable to bet on it seems, of the main contenders, Shake it Up gives the best chance for profit.

Oddly, where the most notable successes have been found are on Disney's embryonic station Disney XD. Shows are willing to strip away the laugh track and let the actors and writers work, found in Zeke and Luther. While Ryan Newman, and probably the two leads Hutch Dano and especially Adam Hicks, shines the most in the role of the Zeke's younger sister, but even supporters like Daniel Lee Curtis make the most of their screen time. The writing does not support the actors the way it does in Disney's most successful programs, but the willingness to drop the laugh track, a smart move also apparent in the Jonas series, is a massive step in the right direction. The station is still cluttered with blunders like Kick Butowski and I'm in the Band, but Pair of Kings has emerged as a nice compliment to Zeke and Luther, featuring another excellent duo headlining in the form of the underrated Doc Shaw and the under-appreciated Mitchel Musso. The show suffers from the same problems as Zeke and Luther and Shake it Up, along with the inclusion of the laugh track, but the potential is also present. All of these shows can easily fall in to obscurity, but in part a chance exists that they can, with time, come in to their own and make for good, if not great, entertainment.

And so we have the potential successors to the Big Three: Shake it Up, Pair of Kings, and Zeke and Luther.

I feel discouraged, I attempt to remain hopeful, but I feel discouraged. It takes the space of two networks to even possibly fill in a fraction of the space left by Hannah Montana, The Suite Life On Deck, and Wizards of Waverly Place. Perhaps the stars were simply aligned. I will continue to hold out hope that Disney can pull everything together, despite the scramble they appear to be making in order to find the next replacement. However, regardless of how the search ends. Regardless of whether or not these new shows live up to their potential. In the end I am glad that the Big Three have provided so much quality entertainment, have attempted to elevate the shows beyond the general form of dismissal that so many are ready to give to Disney's original programming. These shows mark an era that should be celebrated. As a motion picture studio Disney has had tremendous runs of success, from the initial release of Snow White that marked the Golden Age of Disney, to the release of The Little Mermaid ushering in the Disney Renaissance. And from 2006 until, potentially, 2011, Disney has experienced a third Renaissance, even if few were there to notice.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blogfilled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all gaming news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne

Losing The Legend: Too Linked To The Past?

noreply@blogger.com (Rich Thorne) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:48:00 +0000

We are at the end of days, my friends. Not in the 'watch out for the Rapture' sort of way, more like the 'sorry I ran your Teddy bear through the wash, you probably shouldn't have left him in the hamper with all of the other clothes perhaps you should just pay more attention to where you're playing pretend so that I do not have to go sorting through these filthy rags that keep you decent' sort of way. We are, in fact, on the cusp of the Nintendo Wii's demise. But in one final gasp for air, an attempt to find relevancy in the zeitgeist, a way to rekindle all those old nostalgic flames of glory before the fire is doused and the Wii-U rises from the remains. And in that final breath we are met with a familiar shield, a green tunic, and a whole lot of waggling. Yet as the November release date of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword draws ever closer, an entry in a franchise that I have been enjoying since I was a child, I struggle to garner any sort of excitement for the game. And there has to be something wrong with that.

I think it's easy to simply blame my reluctance to plug my Wii back in to the television as partially responsible for my aversion to the latest Link adventure, after all that is certainly a lot of dust that I would be responsible for getting out and those cans of compressed air do not come cheap. But the more I hear about the title the less interested I become in actually slapping down the $70 to enter. As a frame of reference, I still do not own a Motion Plus controller. I never finished Twilight Princess because shortly after the fourth dungeon I felt as if I were simply going through the motions.

By nature many video game sequels rehash similar plot structures, but few games rely on repetition as much as the Zelda franchise. Yes, temples are going to be slightly modified. Yes, the puzzles will be different. Maybe we'll even get a few new items for Link to pull out of his magical back of wonder. But where is the innovation? Mechanically it appears to be with the Motion Plus, forcing me to swing the remote either up and down or left and right to cut down enemies. I have played game with Motion Plus before and there is no reason to doubt this will work. What I have trouble accepting is that it will actually improve on the traditional Zelda formula. The least enjoyable bits of Twilight Princess were the portions where I was moving my hands around to swing the sword. In a game without blood, and a series that has never asked me to be great at combat, making that one of the focuses of the latest entry puzzles me.

You know which aspect of Zelda could use improvement? The story. I realize that we still need to work in archetypes because that's what Zelda does, and while I haven't played Metroid: Other M I realize that making any change to a beloved character could theoretically result in a quantum collapse that destroys our beautifully ruined planet, but would it be so bad if Link and the other characters spoke? Or at least if the silent swordsman had some sort of text or agency in his story? This month Game Informer did a series retrospective where they rounded up all of the Zelda titles, and looking it over only Majora's Mask stands out as pushing the franchise in drastically new directions both in terms of mechanics and narrative complexity. I should say that I consider Majora's Mask to be the franchise's best entry, just slightly edging out Link's Awakening for the honor, because in many ways it feels like a Zelda game without being as shackled down by tradition.

And perhaps that has been the larger problem with Nintendo. For a company that is so willing to innovate with their hardware, the game design of many of their franchises has become stagnant. Now I'm not entirely sold that this is actually Nintendo's fault, they are a company after all and need to sell products. No, I am going to place the heft of the blame at the feet of the fans. The people who cry with joy each time a new Zelda trailer is shown, those who snatch up every platformer with the Mario name attached, those who had written off Other M without ever touching the game. The same fans who identify themselves as hardcore, the ones who complain that there are no games to play on the Wii, the ones who feel that the machine is too casual.

Would it be so bad if Link talked? Would it retroactively shatter childhood memories? Or would it, perhaps possibly, allow Nintendo to start making more complex games that synthesize the best of their imagination with modern design? I'll play Skyward Sword out of obligation, but I'm not sure when I'll play the game, and I may not even finish it. Twilight Princess all over again. I'll fight a miniboss that dies in three hits, find a new item, hit a regular boss three times, and gain a heart before cycling that five or six times. And fans will be happy, and gamers will suffer.

Rich

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure. Or if video games are more your thing, I have a blog dedicated to all movie news, reviews, and opinions.

Also, I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

And if you want to know what I'm watching, listening to, playing , and reading you can follow my tumblr account!
© 2011 Richard James Thorne