The Armchair Critic

BAD KIDS GO TO HELL dvd

2013-05-23T13:24:00.000-04:00

There's a certain appeal for young folks in watching rich, spoiled, beautiful kids -- and in watching their downfall -- so it's no surprise that these sort of teens are the focus of the horror-comedy movie Bad Kids Go to Hell. This non-serious movie, based on the comic book of the same name, revolves around the elite teens of the world, stuck in the detention from hell. With echoes of The

Ljova, Melting River (2012)

2013-05-22T16:24:00.000-04:00

Whether working by himself or with his group the Kontraband, the New York-based violist and composer Lev "Ljova" Zhurbin is always worth checking in with. His latest offering Melting River is a collection of works originally commissioned by Canadian choreographer Aszure Barton for her work "Project XII." The pieces in Melting River evoke specific moods, from subtle agitation in "There You

XCON WORLD VI

2013-05-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, fans of science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics, gaming, and a lot more converged at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for XCon World VI, the latest gathering of fans for all things geek. The convention was a lot of fun -- albeit with the same problem that it faced last year. Held mostly in one big hall, XCon World VI managed to squeeze just about everything together --

STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

2013-05-20T12:42:00.000-04:00

When the Star Trek franchise got rebooted, writer-director J.J. Abrams opted for new takes on the series' original characters. This continues -- with mixed results -- in Star Trek Into Darkness, the latest (and most confusingly titled) movie in the series. Star Trek Into Darkness opens with Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) after getting in trouble -- again -- by ignoring the Prime Directive to save

Ashley Tisdale, GUILTY PLEASURE

2013-05-12T12:28:00.000-04:00

There's something about working for Disney that makes its female actors and singers go from wholesome, G-rated characters to highly sexual and rebellious individuals as soon as they can. Ashley Tisdale had wrapped up her work on the High School Musical series -- and had her first solo album, Headstrong -- when she released her sophomore album, Guilty Pleasure. Tisdale tips her hand about

Music Reviews May 2013

2013-05-05T14:04:00.000-04:00

Hedningarna, &: This month's reviews start with the return of a legendary Swedish band from the 90s called Hedningarna. Their albums Trä (1994) and Hippjokk (1996) are required listening for their groundbreaking combination of the most primal elements of Scandinavian folk and modern electronics. Their new album & is their first studio release since 1999, though. Original members Anders

IRON MAN 3

2013-05-03T16:02:00.000-04:00

It's armor time! There's lots of action -- and a good deal of investigation too -- as the Marvel superhero franchise continues with Iron Man 3. This latest film adds a bit more angst to the mix. Following the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a mess. He hasn't been sleeping, is worried about protecting his girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), keeps tinkering

Aegis Secure Key

2013-05-01T23:15:00.000-04:00

While we all would like our data to reside in "The Cloud," the reality for most of us is that our data is on a USB flash drive. When I look at my own data flow, I see 14 gigs of data, being used across no less than nine computers- five at home, and four at work. For the stuff I am actually working on, it is simply impossible to have it reside on one computer, and the flash drive is what

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES

2013-04-23T12:33:00.000-04:00

Not a lot happens in Schenectady, New York -- which may make it the perfect setting for The Place Beyond the Pines. This drama in three acts focuses on the lives of two very different people that wind up intersecting in a tragic way. Luke (Ryan Gosling) is a quiet stunt motorcycle rider for a travelling carnival. When he returns to Schenectady after a year, he is surprised to find out that

COMIC BOOK MEN

2013-04-11T15:23:00.000-04:00

Comic books can create an unlimited word of fantasy, imagination, and creativity. Comic book stores, however, aren't quite as fascinating. The cable series Comic Book Men covers both what buddies do and talk about all day at work, and some less-than-thrilling transactions. Comic Book Men revolves around the workdays of Ming Chen, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, and Mike Zapcic, four friends

EVIL DEAD

2013-04-05T11:02:00.000-04:00

It's time for head back to the woods with the cursed book, dilapidated cabin, and demonic possessions in Evil Dead, a remake of the cult classic horror series. This remake, directed by Fede Alvarez and produced by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, offers paper-thin characters and good scares. This time around, five young adults head to the family cabin to help Mia (Jane Levy) kick her drug

CD reviews, April 2013

2013-04-01T12:53:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I reviewed anything here -- life keeps getting in the way -- but I figured I could fit some quick reviews into my time constraints. The goal is to do this once monthly, and I'll start with a couple of things I got to a bit late but are worth commenting on. Rodriguez, Searching for Sugar Man (Original Motion Picture Soundrack) (Sony Legacy, 2012): Detroit folksinger

SPRING BREAKERS

2013-03-25T11:45:00.000-04:00

From the opening slow-motion shot of teens partying and drinking in the sun and sand in their swimwear, Spring Breakers might seem like a typical teen party movie -- or, with the women flashing their breasts, a Girls Gone Wild video. But despite the repeated shots of spring break hedonism, and the notoriety of several ex-Disney stars as sexy bad girls, Spring Breakers proves to be a memorable,

They Might Be Giants, NANOBOTS

2013-03-25T11:09:00.000-04:00

It's time again for the two Johns to bring us some musical weirdness, as They Might Be Giants release their new album Nanobots. This album is fairly typical for the band -- with maybe a fewer highlights than usual. Nanobots offeres the usual mix of themes from They Might Be Giants. There's odd romance ("Too Tall Girl"), odd sentimentality (mainly in an ode to eccentric genius Nikolai Tesla;

THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE

2013-03-18T15:26:00.000-04:00

Professional magic is all about illusion, enchantment, and entertainment -- all of which are missing from the new movie The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Worse, this film is also pretty devoid of laughs, which is pretty bad for a comedy. Friends since they were little kids, Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) seem to have it made as magicians, headlining

OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

2013-03-13T19:50:00.001-04:00

The Wizard of Oz was a groundbreaking movie in its time, from the visuals to the psychological elements. Its prequel Oz the Great and Powerful feels much more traditional and familiar -- but it's still entertaining. Like its predecessor, Oz the Great and Powerful begins in a black-and-white Kansas. Oz (James Franco) is a circus magician with a flair for the theatric, an incredible cheapness,

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Cheapass Games

2013-03-13T19:33:00.000-04:00

Sure, gamers love games -- but what about their cost? In the mid-1990s, James Ernest launched his own company: Cheapass Games, a company based on the idea that games should be both fun and inexpensive. The company philosophy was stated clearly on the back of the boxes: "We here at Cheapass Games are aware of two basic facts about board games: they cost too much, and they are at some level

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

2013-03-11T09:37:00.000-04:00

Sometimes Hollywood gets it right, and they certainly did with Silver Linings Playbook. This movie elegantly combines drama, comedy, and romance with a realistic treatment of mental illness. Pat (Bradley Cooper) just got released from a Baltimore mental institution in Baltimore, and he's living at home with his parents Pat Senior (Robert DeNiro) and Dolores (Jacki Waver). Pat is seeing his

Joseph Campbell, THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES

2013-03-05T11:29:00.002-05:00

Heroes have existed in virtually every culture in the world, at every time in the world, in a diversity ranging from the warrior to the spiritual leader. But what do they have in common? What themes are shared by them -- and what do they tell us about ourselves? In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell explores the heroic archetypes and messages through a variety of perspectives.

Aegis Bio – USB 3.0

2013-02-27T22:48:00.000-05:00

There are plenty of reasons to own an external hard drive. Whether as a simple backup, to free up space on a full notebook drive, or for data portability between work and home, a portable hard drive is the tool of choice to offload serious data off a system hard drive. Sure, a USB flash drive on a key ring is great for convenience, but when it comes time to move hundreds of gigs of data, a

ROBOT COMBAT LEAGUE

2013-02-27T13:55:00.000-05:00

Some people design, build, and operate robots to battle other homemade robots; others sit down at Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots and start flailing away with their fists. While the early show Battlebots featured the former type of mechanized combat, the Syfy Channel show Robot Combat League definitely skews towards the latter. Hosted by WWE star Chris Jericho, Robot Combat League is a pretty

Shania Twain, GREATEST HITS

2013-02-15T14:05:00.002-05:00

Shania Twain was one of the biggest country stars of the late 1990s and early 2000s, scoring hit after hit with up-tempo tunes and slower romantic ballads. She also proved mildly controversial, as her music seemed to be closer to top-40 pop than the country genre she aspired to -- and that she used sex appeal more than singing to push her music. Her 2004 Greatest Hits makes the case for both

Marco Glaviano, SIRENS

2013-02-05T20:19:00.005-05:00

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, supermodels strode forth upon the Earth like goddesses. They could cross from one coast to the other in a few strides, adoring fans followed them by the millions, and they could destroy any who displeased them with lightning bolts from their eyes. Okay, maybe it wasn't exactly like that -- but folks like Cindy Crawford, Paulina Porizkova, Angie Everhart, and

WARM BODIES

2013-02-05T12:54:00.001-05:00

I've heard plenty of origins for zombie outbreaks -- from the supernatural to the alien -- but I can't say I've ever heard that the cure is love. Still, this is the premise of Warm Bodies, a comedy that explores young love in the days of flesh-eating undead. R (Nicholas Hoult) is a zombie. Not knowing how he died or even what his name is, R shambles around an airport aimlessly, shoulders

DIXIT

2013-02-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

The best games often involve a type of balance, keeping a player from using the same strategy or technique over and over for an easy win. Dixit, a French game published in the United States by Asmodee Editions, achieves this balance by making itself a visual party game -- with a big twist. In Dixit, everyone has a hand of six cards. These cards have colorful, often surreal art that ranges