rotation report

The King's Speech

2011-01-21T20:57:00.002-06:00

The King's Speech has been getting a lot of "Oscar buzz" and for good reason - it's a nearly perfect narrative film with impeccable storytelling and an uplifting spirit. The film is based on the true story of England's King Edward VI (affectionately known as "Bertie"), a stammerer since childhood, and his speech therapist Lionel Logue, an Australian commoner. Lionel works with Bertie to manage his speech impediment as a series of circumstances lead to Bertie reluctantly taking England's throne at one of the most tumultuous times in modern European history. The daunting world circumstances are a backdrop to the real heart of the film, which is the unlikely friendship that forms between Lionel and Bertie, played brilliantly by Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth. The King's Speech is a great example of a movie that has no dead weight. From the performances to the cinematography to the editing and direction - every aspect of the film is tightly executed. Regardless of what happens at the Academy Awards this year, The King's Speech is a winner.

Jónsi - Go

2011-01-08T22:54:00.003-06:00

Every so often I take the plunge on an MP3 album when Amazon offers it for just a few dollars. Go is one of those albums and I have no reason to regret the money I spent. I'm not entirely enamored with the more upbeat/soundtrack-for-a-tv-ad songs, but there are also some real gems, such as Grow Till Tall and Hengilas, that probably have the other members of Sigur Ros scratching their heads and thinking, "How is this different than what we do together?"

Modern Family: The Complete First Season

2011-01-06T22:30:00.001-06:00

Given our schedules, it's tough for my wife and I to commit to a weekly TV show. In fact, all the TV shows we get into now are watched ad hoc, via Netflix streaming, DVD/Blu-ray, or DVR (an ingenious invention that we only recently latchted onto). We caught just a few episodes of the first season of Modern Family when it aired and that was enough to have me believing that it was on par with the best comedies currently on television. Watching through the entire season on Blu-ray did nothing but confirm my belief. Modern Family features a pretty large ensemble of characters for a sit-com, but the razor sharp writing gives each one a unique identity and distinct contribution to the show's many laughs. The Blu-ray does it's job perfectly with an image as sharp as the show's dialogue, lossless surround sound (somewhat superfluous on a mostly dialog-driven show) and some fun extras.

Boys Life - Departures & Landfalls

2011-01-01T23:15:00.001-06:00

Right around the mid-90s, a brand of dynamic indie rock typically referred to as "emo" was peaking, just before that term got hijacked and subsequently became something to be mocked rather than appreciated. Boys Life was one of many bands who typified the genre sound - soft/loud dynamics, driving riffs, poetic lyrics, and vocals that value expressiveness far more than accurate pitch. All of those elements are present on Departures & Landfalls and the results are certainly not for everyone. Brandon Butler's "singing" is more like raising his voice with varying pitch. The production is decidedly raw and lo-fi. The guitars are angular and dissonant. But all of this somehow works to create an album that really hits the spot for me and stands alongside other great albums of the era from Mineral, Roadside Monument, and Sunny Day Real Estate.

Joy Electric - Workmanship EP & The Ministry of Archers

2011-01-01T22:45:00.001-06:00

Joy Electric is a mood band for me. By that I mean, I have to be in the right mood for Ronnie Martin's all-analog synth sound, but when I am, it's the only thing that satisfies. A few months ago I expanded my Joy Electric library with these two CDs, the Workmanship EP and The Ministry of Archers full-length, thanks to a killer sale from Velvet Blue Music. While neither quite matches the brilliance of my long-standing favorite Joy Electric album, The White Songbook, both do offer some great sounds to scratch my Joy Electric itch.

Mastodon - Crack the Skye

2011-01-01T22:31:00.003-06:00

For whatever reason, Mastodon's music always takes a little while to grow on me and Crack the Skye is no exception. While I still don't think it quite measures up to some their earlier albums, after a number of spins it has managed to dig its cerebral metal claws into my skin and grab me with that uniquely-Mastodon grip.

Passion Pit - Manners

2011-01-01T22:22:00.002-06:00

I experienced an interesting phenomenon with Manners for the first handful of listens. I found myself really enthralled with individual songs when I heard them on their own, but not so much when I listened to the album as a whole. Regular readers of the rotation report (all two of them) may remember that I picked up a Passion Pit 7" with the song Little Secrets on it. I REALLY dug that 7" and yet when the song came up on Manners, I wasn't nearly as enamored with it. Likewise, I recently heard the song Moth's Wings on a TV show and thought to myself, "What a great song!" even though I'd heard it on multiple spins of Manners and never gotten too excited about it. I think the issue was that I really wasn't giving all my attention to the album, because upon further, more dedicated listening I've been able to fully appreciate and thoroughly enjoy Passion Pit's catchy, electro-pop.

DJ Shadow - Live in Milan

2011-01-01T22:18:00.001-06:00

Live in Milan is a live DJ Shadow performance from the late 90s. The album is unique in the sheer volume of scratching that he does throughout the set, but if you're looking for the best overall live performance in Shadow's canon, this probably isn't it. I don't think I'd call this album bad by any means, but I'd probably call it forgettable.

Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz

2011-01-01T22:11:00.003-06:00

I think the glitchy electronic undertones on The Age of Adz has thrown some Sufjan fans for a loop. However, this album is still full of his staples: highly creative orchestration, dynamic instrumentation, and serious lyrical prowess. For my taste, the electronic elements and somewhat darker overall tone add a welcome new dimension to the Sufjan sound.

The National - High Violet

2011-01-01T22:05:00.006-06:00

Obviously I'm late to the party for The National, given that High Violet is their latest offering and my first exposure to them. Better late than never though, as this is a really solid album that blends melancholy tones with layered production and slow, satisfying hooks. Bonus points for being an album that my wife really enjoys too. I guess I have no choice but to dig into the National's back catalog now.

Toy Story 3

2010-12-30T23:53:00.000-06:00

Toy Story 3 is the first and only Toy Story movie I've seen. To Pixar's credit, it seemed to stand well on its own without depending too much on the ones before it. Everything I had heard about the Toy Story movies was fulfilled in Toy Story 3 - while it's obviously geared toward kids, it's just as fun and entertaining for adults. (Well, maybe not quite as entertaining - I doubt I'll ever watch is as many times as my nearly-four-year-old nephew has).

DJ Shadow - Live in L.A.

2010-12-19T22:56:00.002-06:00

This all-vinyl DJ mix from Shadow was recorded live on Halloween in 2009. He mixes a variety of mainstream hip hop, classic soul, and some elements from his original tracks for a dynamic set that has your head bobbing the whole time. When people talk about a DJ "rocking a party," this album is exactly what they're referring to.

The Fighter

2010-12-18T17:53:00.001-06:00

If you forced me to summarize the plot of The Fighter in one sentence, you'd probably blow it off as just another underdog boxer movie. But that would be a mistake, because Micky Ward's ascent to professional boxing success in The Fighter merely serves as the vehicle for a rich exploration of complex family dynamics and personal redemption. Christian Bale gives an Oscar-worthy performance as Dicky, Micky's brother and trainer who is mired in a crack addiction that is destroying his life. Mark Wahlberg holds his own as well, playing Micky with a vulnerability I've not seen in the actor's previous roles. The Fighter is more than just a couple of good performances though - it's a well-told, redemptive story with a solid emotional core.

M83 - M83

2010-11-23T22:44:00.002-06:00

Back in high school and college, it seems like I was discovering new and interesting music all the time. Then I became an adult and "life intervened" to borrow a phrase from Willa Cather. One of the few musical gems I've managed to uncover in the midst of adulthood is M83, a group that has quickly become one of my favorites. This is my third M83 album and I seem to be going about it in random order, since this is their debut from the early 2000s. Everything that I've loved about M83's electronic, shoegazery sound is present here, if a little more raw and unrefined than their follow-on efforts.

DJ Shadow vs. Keane

2010-11-23T22:39:00.003-06:00

I've never really listened to Keane, but DJ Shadow's remix of their song, We Might As Well Be Strangers, displays his prowess as a producer who can branch out from the style usually exhibited in his original tracks. Keane's towering vocal melodies and DJ Shadow's light electronica make for a perfectly-matched pair, while the instrumental version also stands up pretty well on its own.

DJ Shadow - Def Surrounds Us

2010-11-23T22:29:00.003-06:00

DJ Shadow released this MP3 single for free on his website for a very limited time, so I jumped at the chance to grab some new tracks. Def Surrounds Us is a little different kind of track than most of the "vintage" DJ Shadow stuff that I'm used to - there are no scratches or hip hop beats here. The prominent vocal samples and heavy EDM vibe with a dark edge remind me a little bit of the techno-industrial music I gravitated toward in the 90s. It's a great song that builds in intensity and really delivers with its many-layered percussion. The "B-side" (is that really the appropriate term for a digital download single?) is a significant departure called I've Been Trying that sounds to me like an acoustic Bob Dylan song with some very spare scratches and drums added.

Psycho

2010-10-30T20:33:00.001-05:00

Speaking of Hitchcock's highest tier, I had the awesome opportunity to see Psycho projected on a big screen with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra playing the score live. While the movie was projected from a digital source that exhibited some visible de-interlacing issues, this was still one of the coolest cinematic experiences I've had in years. The live string arrangements of Bernard Hermann's iconic score filling Powell Hall were more dynamic and ear-pleasing than any surround sound system could ever hope to acheive. And it doesn't hurt that film on its own is high on my personal list of best movies ever.

Torn Curtain

2010-10-29T23:46:00.001-05:00

Torn Curtain is not among Hitchcock's highest tier, but it's nowhere near the bottom either. The story of international espionage starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews is an entertaining ride all the way through. One of the best sequences in the film is an intense fight that ends with an East German henchman's death in which, according to the extras, Hitchcock wanted to show just how challenging and laborious it is to really kill someone. This DVD in the Hitchcock Masterpiece collection matches the solid presentation and paltry but informative extras of the other discs in the set.

The Social Network

2010-10-29T19:42:00.000-05:00

My goal is to be the last person (under 40, at least) not on Facebook. Nevertheless, I was really interested in seeing The Social Network - a character study loosely based on the meteoric rise of Facebook and its creator, Mark Zuckerberg. The film is extremely engaging from start to finish and is filled with sharp dialog and effective drama. None of the main characters end up looking particularly rosy, but they're not left to be defined merely by their flaws either. It's this richness of the characters that ultimately makes The Social Network such a good movie and one I'll probably watch again someday, at least as a rental.

Arrested Development: Season 3

2010-10-21T18:58:00.001-05:00

There isn't much more I can say about Arrested Development that I haven't already said, except that it died way too young. The shortened final season is just as golden as the first two. Someone at Fox should be saying, "I've made a huge mistake."

Leon

2010-09-24T20:47:00.002-05:00

The way of life for a hitman has been the subject of many movies, but few are as engaging and emotionally charged as Leon. All of the leads - Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, and Gary Oldman - execute their characters to perfection, while Luc Besson delivers what I consider his most balanced and successful film as a director. This blu-ray release certainly does the film justice in its presentation. The included video-based extras (all standard-def) aren't particularly significant or memorable, although I will say that the optional trivia track that plays during the movie is pretty entertaining.

Arrested Development: Season 2

2010-09-22T13:20:00.000-05:00

The awesomeness of Arrested Development cannot be overstated and the second season features a wealth of comedy gold. Netflix streaming continues to deliver, but I will probably end up buying these on DVD because this is definitely a show worth owning.

Batman: Dark Victory

2010-09-16T13:18:00.001-05:00

Dark Victory is the follow-up to The Long Halloween and much of what I loved from that book returns here - the film noir elements, dynamically-drawn panels, and a very dark, violent story. The narrative, which notably includes a Robin origin story, gets pretty convoluted, but not so much that it completely falls apart. As a story element, the Robin thread seems a little tacked on, but I can understand the thematic purpose behind it. Ultimately, Dark Victory is a very good Batman graphic novel that falls just short of its potential to be truly great.

Batman

2010-09-15T23:16:00.000-05:00

Tim Burton's Batman hasn't aged very well in some respects, but it still holds a special place in my heart. The movie offers a few eye-rolling moments (most of them involving Vicki Vale), but it also delivers some thrilling sequences, a fantastic visual style, and one of the more iconic Batmobiles in Batman's long history. For as much as I love the recent Nolan Batman movies, they mostly eschew the "comic book feel" that Burton's visual design embraced wholeheartedly. Many frames of Batman absolutely nail the stylized and dynamic look of a comic book panel, which is one of the things I love most about it. The Blu-ray release from WB sounds incredible and looks decent, though a little soft. I suspect that's more a function of the film source than a poor transfer. The Blu-ray comes in an awesome digibook package and ports all of the on-disc extras from the previous DVD release.

Vivre Sa Vie

2010-09-15T23:13:00.000-05:00

Godard's Vivre Sa Vie (or "My Life to Live" in English) stars Anna Karina as a young Parisian who descends into a life of prostitution as she tries to figure out her life and her identity. The film is presented as twelve disparate episodes, each introduced with a curtly-descriptive title. It struck me as sharing many similarities with another French New Wave female character study, Cleo from 5 to 7, which incidentally features cameos from Godard and Anna Karina. Admittedly, I think I connected more with that film than Vivre Sa Vie, at least on a first viewing. Nevertheless, Godard does some very interesting things with the camera in Vivre Sa Vie and the more I reflect on it, the more the movie is growing on me. The Criterion Blu-ray shines in all categories. I'm interested to wade through the rest of the extras to see if they further influence my thoughts on the movie one way or another.

Stage Fright

2010-08-27T19:11:00.000-05:00

Stage Fright plays a very dirty trick on the audience and Hitchcock acknowledged as much in interviews, admitting that he didn't realize quite the effect it would have until it was too late to change it. Although the film is arguably marred by this, it is still an extremely well-acted and well-executed movie, with a great mixture of humor and suspense. Like most of the other discs in WB's Hitchcock Signature Collection, the presentation is excellent and the extras are sparse, but informative.

Kagemusha

2010-07-30T21:07:00.002-05:00

As a pretty big fan of Akira Kurosawa, I found Kagemusha to be a mixed bag. The movie suffers from an overlong first act bloated with non-essential exposition and a third act that sputters as well. That being said, the middle hour of Kagemusha is extremely engaging and there are some brilliant sequences sprinkled throughout the three-hour run-time. All in all, it ends up feeling a little like a less successful warm-up for Kurosawa's late-career masterpiece, Ran. Kurosawa's always-impressive visuals look awesome and very film-like on Criterion's Blu-ray with a stellar audio track to match. The extras package is solid, with particular focus on the watercolor storyboards that Kurosawa completed for the entire film before anything was shot, the last-minute lead actor shakeup, and the efforts of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas to help get the film made.

Michael Jackson's This Is It

2010-07-25T20:20:00.000-05:00

At the time of Michael Jackson's death he was prepping his first major tour in years - a self-proclaimed final curtain call entitled This Is It. This film of the same name presents extensive rehearsal footage and video elements created for the tour itself. Jackson was always an enigmatic figure, but had become a fantastical media charicature in his final years. This Is It never plays up that angle. Instead, it presents a very straightforward and mostly unsentimental look at Michael in his creative element. There are brief moments that reveal both his humanity and his eccentricity, but even that isn't the focus of the movie. Instead, This Is It presents the raw evidence that confirms, simply and powerfully, that Michael Jackson was an unparalleled genius of an entertainer.

Samurai Rebellion

2010-07-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

Samurai Rebellion is one of the best films in the samurai genre that I've ever seen. Rebellion is from the same director as Harakiri and much like that film, the first 3/4 of the narrative is a tightly-wound drama which sets up the emotionally-charged, blood-spilling, sword-swinging climax. Toshiro Mifune turns in another brilliant performance with the cast around him holding up their end extremely well also. Criterion's transfer is mostly clean and always film-like. Given what a great movie this is, I would've liked to see a few more extras, but this is one of the "budget" tier titles from Criterion with just a trailer and a brief director interview.

Inception

2010-07-20T19:38:00.004-05:00

The concept at the heart of Inception is a unique blend of the dubiously substantiated ability to have lucid dreams and the wholly fictional idea of shared dreaming. Given the science-fictional nature of this concept, Nolan can mostly make up his own rules about Inception's dreamworld and he uses that license both liberally and responsibly. Around the lucid/shared dreaming concept and its invented rules, Nolan builds a heist movie plot (or more accurately, an inverse-of-a-heist movie plot) jam-packed with epic-scale action and sprinkled with psycho-analytical drama. It all comes together to form a visually-stunning, emotionally involving, highly intense experience not quite like any other I can remember having at the movies. And the more I reflect on it, the more layers I've started to recognize, giving me an even greater appreciation and making me really eager to see Inception again.

I saw Inception in the IMAX theater at Ronnie's 20 in St. Louis. I did a little research and Ronnie's IMAX is what I would call partially-fake IMAX. It's the film-based IMAX MPX system installed in a converted theater. The screen has the traditional IMAX aspect ratio and is pretty large, but not quite as large as true IMAX. The seating arrangement is also not at the steep angle that traditional IMAX would be, so it goes too far back for the screen to fill your field of view. Nevertheless, you do get the added resolution of the IMAX print, the better sound quality of the IMAX audio system, and a very large, if not totally immersive screen. I'm lukewarm on whether it's worth the extra ticket cost, but I do think it was the best way to see Inception locally.

Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion

2010-07-19T19:36:00.003-05:00

While my wife and I were looking for a brief and funny diversion, we found this Zach Galifianakis standup special on Netflix. It fit the bill nicely as Galifianakis improvised with the audience in a small club, stared straight into the camera with various disturbed expressions, and pondered questions like, "At what age do you tell a highway that it's adopted?" while playing the piano. This was all intercut with some pretty hilarious scenes of Galifianakis playing his own maladjusted twin brother being interviewed about their relationship. The schtick isn't without its weak spots, but Galifianakis is the kind of comedian that can make you laugh without using a traditional joke/punchline formula and I definitely admire that.

Arrested Development: Season 1

2010-07-14T23:08:00.002-05:00

Arrested Development is one of those shows that's always been recommended to me and, well, the recommendations were right. The humor in this show strikes an impressive balance between the clever and the absurd. It's a lot like 30 Rock in that sometimes, the wit is so machine-gun quick that it passes you by the first time. This was also my first experience with Netflix streaming on the PS3 and I'm pretty impressed. For the most part, I'm a physical media kind of guy, but for rentals and catching up on TV shows, the streaming is extremely convenient. The image quality was always good and there was never a hiccup or stutter throughout the 22 episodes.

Notorious

2010-07-12T23:02:00.000-05:00

Most people don't immediately think of Hitchcock as a "spy film" director, but he actually made quite a few great movies centered on espionage. One of the best is Notorious which holds up extremely well today thanks to the stellar cast and signature Hitchcock tension. This particular DVD release from MGM is the movie's third incarnation on the format following the original release by Anchor Bay and the Criterion edition, both now out-of-print. MGM really comes through, offering very solid image quality and a prodigious set of quality extras that absolves me from any regret for never picking up the Criterion release.

Welcome

2010-07-10T21:26:00.000-05:00

Most movies with love as the primary theme offer very little depth and even less honesty on the subject. Welcome, on the other hand, presents an uncharacteristically genuine exploration of the brotherly love that develops between an older and younger man from different cultures, juxtaposing the complicated romantic love that they each have with a woman in their respective lives. That simple description doesn't quite do Welcome justice - it's an extremely emotionally-involving, multi-layered film that spans from the heart-wrenching to the hopeful. It's a perfect example of why Film Movement has quickly become one of my favorite DVD distributors. The films in their catalog are consistently high in quality and very deserving of the greater exposure that they otherwise would not have if it weren't for Film Movement.

Mastodon - Blood Mountain

2010-06-28T23:45:00.002-05:00

Blood Mountain was my introduction to Mastodon and admittedly, I didn't get it at first. Maybe I was expecting the polyrhythmic riff mastery of Meshuggah or the hyper-kinetic, tempo-change-every-other-bar chaos of the Dillinger Escape Plan, but in truth, Mastodon is a more musical and refined cousin of those bands and their sound. Blood Mountain does deliver some killer riffs and jazzy tempo changes, but it also offers interesting vocal diversity, intense transitions, and a musical depth that grows on you with each listen. Although I already owned Blood Mountain on CD, I picked up the limited edition red-vinyl Record Store Day exclusive release, because I'm a sucker for colored vinyl reissues.

Sonic Youth - Confusion is Sex & EVOL

2010-06-28T23:41:00.003-05:00

When I listen to Confusion is Sex, I'm kind of amazed that Sonic Youth managed to launch a long and successful career with such audacious cacophony. I don't mean that it's a bad album - it's actually really good and one of my personal favorites in the Sonic Youth catalog. It's just so raw, so dissonant, and so far from any kind of mainstream accessibility that you would never guess this band would still be around 20 years later.

EVOL found Sonic Youth refining and maturing their noise experiments a few years later. I know many people consider Daydream Nation to be the seminal Sonic Youth album, but for me, EVOL is really hard to beat. ORG re-released both albums on 180g vinyl this year as Record Store Day exclusives. Confusion is Sex is on white marbled vinyl, while EVOL is on pink marbled vinyl. The colored wax along with the joy of owning these albums on vinyl is about all the re-issues offer, but that's really all you need.

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works

2010-06-22T21:27:00.001-05:00

Ire Works is the first time I've been disappointed by the Dillinger Escape Plan. Calculating Infinity stands as the defining album in the math/jazz-metal genre. Irony is a Dead Scene brought us the as-obvious-as-it-was-brilliant marriage of insanities between the Dillinger Escape Plan and Mike Patton. Miss Machine saw the Dillinger Escape Plan settling well into a new permanent vocalist and incorporating moments of "straightforward" rock that mostly blended well with their signature, tempo-changing chaos. But Ire Works is just not doing it for me and there are two main problems. The first is that the jazz-metal elements are starting to sound formulaic and stale. The second is that they deviate further into standard rock melodies than ever before and the results range from mediocre to terrible. I'm all for a band expanding their sound, but that expansion has to be executed well and the promise shown in this area on Miss Machine was not realized on Ire Works. The follow-up to Ire Works has just recently been released, but I will probably skip it. It seems that the Dillinger Escape Plan has passed their prime.

The X-Ecutioners - Scratchology

2010-06-19T16:32:00.004-05:00

Scratchology is an album that doesn't quite live up to its billing for me. The X-ecutioners put together this mix of songs to highlight the art of scratching and its development throughout the history of hip-hop. Although it starts "at the beginning" with Grandmaster Flash, the track sequencing eventually goes awry, with songs appearing out of chronological and stylistic order. In defense of the X-ecutioners, this is a DJ mix and they can arrange things however they want, but I would have preferred a truly chronological history of scratching that made it easier to hear the way scratch styles developed over the years. That complaint aside, it still offers some fantastic moments in scratch history and for that reason alone, should not be missed by fans of the genre.

Samurai Spy

2010-06-18T21:42:00.002-05:00

Samurai Spy is a little more uneven than most of the other samurai films I've seen and occasionally the action is a bit over-the-top. However, the movie is carried quite well by the main character, Sasuke, who cuts through (ok, pun intended) all of the clan politics and fights for people and relationships, not political allegiances. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous and the image quality is stunning - there isn't a scratch or speck of dust to be seen on this mid-60s film. Criterion tosses in a video interview with the director and a text-based character guide as well. This isn't the best samurai offering from Criterion, but it's well worth a watch.

The Bothersome Man

2010-06-13T20:44:00.003-05:00

As a general rule, I like bizarre movies. I've always been drawn to films (and works of art, in general) that explore the subconscious or the surreal. The Bothersome Man is certainly a bizarre and surreal Norwegian film though I'm still not sure exactly how much I like it. The plot is a little difficult to describe, but it follows Andreas as he experiences life in a sterile, tidy, modern city in which everyone is nice all the time. Flavor, emotion, and human drama of any kind are notably missing, which begins to bother Andreas as he searches for an experience of genuine depth and beauty. I think some of the uniquely Norwegian flavor was lost on me, but even as I type this and reflect on the film, I realize that it was very well-crafted and made for a fascinating, if slightly challenging cinematic experience.

Le Samourai

2010-06-03T15:26:00.001-05:00

It was interesting to experience another Melville film having just watched Army of Shadows. Le Samourai immediately preceded Army of Shadows in Melville's career and is perhaps his best known film. The film's anti-hero is Jef, a "lone wolf" contract killer in Paris who performs a hit and gets brought in by the police in a large round up. Jef's well-crafted alibi is strong enough to see him released, but the cops aren't convinced of his innocence and establish various levels of surveillance to monitor him. The heat makes Jef's client nervous, so they decide to kill him instead of paying him. The tension peaks as both the police and the criminal element are hunting Jef down, culminating in a surprising and powerful ending that I won't spoil here.

Le Samourai has many striking elements, but the one that hit me immediately was the sparse dialogue. Melville tells the story visually with very little plot development occurring in verbal interaction between the characters. This is in stark and refreshing contrast to the modern crime drama approach of having characters exposit in excruciating detail. Melville is much more interested in building a slow-burning tension and the characters' silence works perfectly to that end. From the editing, to the mise-en-scene, to the composition and lighting, the film is so well-crafted that it's almost clinical. This might ultimately turn off some viewers, but for lovers of cinema and anyone interested in studying film, there is so much to take in and appreciate. The Criterion DVD presents a solid transfer with a clean mono soundtrack. Although the disc contains only about an hour of extra features, every minute of them is chock full of fascinating insight and analysis.

Independent Cinema

2010-05-31T15:01:00.002-05:00

Independent Cinema by D.K. Holm is part of a series film-related books called Kamera Books. I'd never heard of them until seeing some of the titles at Half Price Books on a recent trip to Ohio. The bargain price and simple, attractive design of the cover convinced me to take shot on Independent Cinema which proved to be quite a value. The book approaches its subject with a lengthy introduction that covers the history and definition of independent film. The real meat of the book highlights four independent filmmakers with discussions of some of their films and brief interviews with them about independent filmmaking and their films specifically. Then it wraps things up with a chapter on the future direction of independent cinema featuring some more interview questions with current filmmakers. The format really lends itself to a quick read that makes the wealth of information very easy to soak up. My only meaningful criticism is that there are some references that are very present-time-centric, presented in a way that I think will cause this one not to age very well.

In addition to the literary content, the book also comes with a DVD that has an hour-long documentary about Amos Vogel, entitled Film as Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16. Amos Vogel was an Austrian immigrant who founded a film society in New York City for independent, avant garde, and fringe cinema, which had a profound affect on the world of independent film in the United States starting in the 1940s. Quite frankly, this documentary was worth what I paid for the whole package. Vogel is a fascinating subject and the documentary is both extremely engaging and informative.

Only When I Dance

2010-05-28T09:25:00.001-05:00

I don't "get" ballet. It's a strange curiosity to me. It's hard for me to fathom how anyone even becomes interested in it or appreciates it. So admittedly, a documentary that follows a year in the life of two aspiring ballet dancers from the Brazilian slums is something I approach with a little hesitation. Only When I Dance was surprisingly entertaining though. Two very impoverished teenagers striving to break into a world that is decidedly upper class makes for a dramatic and engaging real-life story. Even though I really don't care about ballet at all, I did care about the people on-screen and was genuinely moved by their pain, anxiety, joy, and celebration. Kudos to the filmmakers and to filmmovement.com for once again delivering a winner to my doorstep.

The Velvet Underground - 1969: Velvet Underground Live, Vols. 1 & 2

2010-05-26T21:58:00.003-05:00

When I picked up The Velvet Underground CD box set, Peel Slowly and See in my mid-twenties, I had no idea it would be one of the best music purchases I've ever made. It compiles all of the proper studio albums, along with a number of excellent bonus tracks in one place, leaving little more for fans to seek out. The only area not well-covered is live recordings, of which there are few in existence. 1969: Velvet Underground Live is one of only three widely-available collections of live VU performances (the other two being the Quine Tapes and Live at Max's Kansas City). Originally released as a double-LP back in the 70s, it was later released on CD split into two separately-sold volumes. This year, those two volumes were re-issued as Record Store Day exclusives on 180g vinyl, and I jumped at the chance to finally pick up these songs. The quality of the source recordings isn't exactly stellar, with a mostly constant tape hiss present throughout, but considering this was just a fan with his reel-to-reel, what we get is pretty spectacular. And really, there is just something right about the lo-fi, DIY feel for a live Velvet Underground album. Though many pine for live recordings from the more visceral and noisy early years of VU, the advantage to a live album from 1969 is that we get a swath of songs from across their albums, performed by a more musically mature band. It's maybe the most effective and efficient way to experience their stylistic range and recognize the wide influence they've had on so many strains of rock music in the last 40 years. (For those who want to delve deeper though, you can't go wrong with Peel Slowly and See).

The Flaming Lips - Embryonic

2010-05-26T21:54:00.001-05:00

The Flaming Lips are an enigmatic bunch. They can deliver an album filled with light, accessible quirk like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, epitomized by Do You Realize??, a decidedly pop anthem with a sweeping chorus that begs you to sing along. And just two albums later, they offer up Embryonic - a hazy, fuzzy, dark, acid trip of an album that brilliantly succeeds at stripping away most of their pop tendencies. Embryonic is awash with minor keys, distorted vocals, odd samples, noisy outbursts, thick basslines and dynamic percussion that all blend together into an epic masterpiece of psychedelic rock. The vinyl release is fantastic, both to look at and listen to. The two eye-popping LPs are pressed on 180g colored vinyl, bright blue and bright yellow respectively. The double-LP also comes with a CD copy for which my car stereo is very thankful.

Army of Shadows

2010-05-22T21:44:00.001-05:00

Army of Shadows represented the perfect antidote to the taste left in my mouth by The Losers. Jean-Pierre Melville's raw and gritty testament of the French Resistance during World War II is subtle, gripping, and powerful. Melville was involved in the Resistance himself during the war and it shows. The film hits all the right notes with every frame smothered in authenticity. And of course, Criterion's presentation meets the standard of excellence so often associated with their work.

The Losers

2010-05-21T21:27:00.000-05:00

The Losers is, well, just not a good movie. It's terribly uneven, packed with bad action movie cliches, and over-the-top absurd action sequences while seemingly trying to take itself somewhat seriously. The cast is actually pretty good and the general concept has potential, but unfortunately all of that is wasted by the poor script and weak direction. It has moments where it borders on "so bad it's good" territory and if the acting had been worse, it might have achieved that lauded status, but instead it's just a badly missed opportunity.

Fist of Fury

2010-05-20T21:03:00.000-05:00

Fist of Fury (known as the Chinese Connection to many in the U.S.) was the second of Bruce Lee's Hong Kong films and in my opinion, the most emotionally charged of any of his performances. His ferociously quick and powerful martial arts skill is on full display as he gains revenge on the entire Japanese Bushido school that orchestrated the murder of his Kung Fu master. The now out-of-print Hong Kong Legends 30th Anniversary Box Set out of the UK is the essential set of Bruce Lee's Hong Kong films for serious fans, delivering great image quality, original cantonese soundtracks, informative extras, and gorgeous packaging.

Sword of the Beast

2010-05-16T20:46:00.002-05:00

Sword of the Beast would probably have been easier to follow if I had a better sense of samurai history and clan politics. In spite of my ignorance, the somewhat convoluted plot does come together quite well by the end, while offering fantastic swordplay action throughout. It doesn't deliver quite the same emotional punch that some other samurai films have, but what it lacks in dramatic buildup it makes up for in well-executed and voluminous katana battles. This is a barebones DVD from Criterion with a decent image and mono sound. I'm not sure if it's a symptom of the way it was shot or the transfer, but the image seemed to be squeezed on the edges. Other than that, it looks fantastic for a 50-year-old film.

Passion Pit - Little Secrets 7"

2010-05-16T15:28:00.003-05:00

On the night before Record Store Day (Record Store Eve?), a friend of mine happened to mention Passion Pit as music I would probably enjoy. Serendipitously, one of the 2010 Record Store Day exclusives was this shiny red 7" from the alliterative electronica outfit. My friend was right - I like Passion Pit, or at least the song Little Secrets, which is an infectiously upbeat tune featured in both an album version and a remix on this vinyl gem.

Grizzly Bear - Live On KCRW 7"

2010-05-10T23:53:00.003-05:00

Live on KCRW was actually a 2009 Record Store Day exclusive that one of the shops brought back out this year (apparently it wasn't terribly limited). Given that I've only had a cursory awareness of Grizzly Bear as recent indie music press darlings, but still had yet to really check them out, I figured what better introduction than a fun little 7" of live material. The songs are good - really good actually, but for some reason this is the record I've been least likely to spin repeatedly out of all my Record Store Day selections. I guess it's just a mood thing.

Modest Mouse - Autumn Beds 7"

2010-05-10T23:47:00.003-05:00

First of all, the image above does not do justice to the cover art on this fantastic limited edition 7". The sleeve is actually solid black with the imagery embossed in it beautifully. This record has everything I could ask for in a 7": amazing cover art, two great songs, and excellent sound quality (not to mention the limited edition number hand-written with a silver sharpie). Although it wasn't a Record Store Day exclusive, it was a limited release that I happened to pick up along with the rest of my Record Store Day haul (soon to be reported here).

Iron Man 2

2010-05-08T23:19:00.002-05:00

My assessment of Iron Man 2 is pretty much the same as that of its predecessor: a really fun superhero flick with its share of minor flaws. Just like in the first movie, I never got bored or felt as if the movie was dragging. Although I never felt a really strong sense of dramatic tension, I did get that "super hero movie exhilaration" at a couple of key moments. Downey Jr.'s performance was more of the same brilliance from the first film and the supporting cast did well enough around him. I have a couple of complaints with the screenwriting, but overall this was a great way to kick off the summer movie season and didn't fall into too many of the traps that mar many blockbuster sequels.

North by Northwest

2010-05-02T21:50:00.001-05:00

I don't think there's anything new I could say about one of Hitchcock's greatest films, so I'll just gush over this Blu-ray release. I love the classy digibook packaging, the gorgeously restored hi-definition image and the solid collection of extras. The only complaint I have is that the original mono soundtrack is not included. For all their excellent treatment of classics, WB is a repeat offender on this particular point. I have no problem with including remixed surround tracks such as the one on this release, but I'd at least like the option of also hearing the audio mix exactly as it was when it was originally released. That being said, the surround mix is actually pretty well-executed and never distractingly obvious, so I won't squawk too loudly. Here's to hoping more of Hitchcock's catalog hits Blu-ray soon!

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

2010-05-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said takes the Hitchcockian 'wrong man' motif and blends it with Dick's druggy, anti-establishment themes for another literary head trip. This time Dick explores the idea of one drug-user's hallucination temporarily changing aspects of reality for those around them. PKD squeezes some excellent dramatic tension out of this narrative concept and takes the reader on another well-paced, head-spinning ride. I was a little disappointed that the epilogue seemed to wrap up everything so neatly, but Flow My Tears still gave me a gripping story and some interesting themes to consider.

The Island

2010-04-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

Not to be confused with the Michael Bay movie from a year earlier, this Island is an engaging exploration of faith from Russian filmmaker Pavel Lungin. The central character of The Island is Father Anatoly, an old, eccentric monk at a remote Russian Orthodox monastery who lives isolated in a boiler room and is haunted by a war-time experience of his younger years. Anatoly is mystical and mischevious, a man of devout faith and confounding behavior whose methods of revealing truth are rarely straightforward, but always effective. Lay people believe him to be a "Holy Man" with spiritual powers to heal or provide special blessing, while his fellow monks see him as a half-mad, frustrating prankster. He's both really - a deeply spiritual man uniquely gifted to see the depth of his own sin and challenge the faith of all those who interact with him. The Island is another winner from the filmmmovement collection and one of the best movies I've ever seen about the subject of faith.

Danielson: a Family movie

2010-03-30T17:44:00.005-05:00

A lot of documentaries about bands end up amounting to glorified episodes of VH1: Behind the Music, full of dramatic contrivances and stereotypical trappings of the rock life. Daniel Smith, however, is not your stereotypical rock artist and Danielson: a Family movie is not your stereotypical rock documentary. If you're unfamiliar with Danielson or its variations (Danielson Famile, Brother Danielson, Danielsonship), then you're not alone. It is (or they are?) the musical brainchild of Daniel Smith, a warm-hearted, utterly sincere Christian man whose musical endeavors are eccentric, to say the least. The movie follows Daniel's musical adventures, born out of an art school thesis and constantly evolving creatively and collaboratively. Though Danielson's music has garnered plenty of critical acclaim, it isn't and probably never will be accessible enough to bring Daniel widespread success. Although the filmmakers could have easily told the "misunderstood artist" story, they thankfully avoided that tired cliche and instead present an inspiring movie that explores creative relationships and faith in art.

Now Wait for Last Year

2010-03-30T17:05:00.004-05:00

Now Wait for Last Year has all of Philip K. Dick's trademark ingredients: dark science fiction, illicit drug use, and a mind-bending narrative. However, when Dick is at his best, those elements are just the vehicle for personal depth and emotional honesty. That is exactly the case in this futuristic, war-time story about a doctor in a bad marriage assigned to the personal service of a high-ranking government official. The most fascinating element of Now Wait for Last Year is Dick's unique take on time travel in the form of a hallucinogenic drug called JJ-180 that temporarily sends users not only back in time or forward in time, but also "across" time to adjacent time continuums. It's enough to make your head swim, which only Dick can make such an enjoyable experience.

The Hurt Locker

2010-03-12T21:35:00.001-06:00

The Hurt Locker isn't exactly a movie that you come out of thinking, "Wow, I really enjoyed that." But it is one of the most intense cinematic experiences I can ever remember having. What I really appreciated about the film is the way that it transcends any one genre. The Hurt Locker is simultaneously a tense thriller, a massive action film, and a methodical character study. That is no small achievement for Kathryn Bigelow who deserves every bit of her Best Director Oscar.

Up in the Air

2010-03-05T21:32:00.002-06:00

Admittedly, the original reason I wanted to see Up in the Air was that multiple sequences were shot very close to where I live and work. When it started receiving critical acclaim, I had even more motivation. So, of course, many months after Up in the Air was released, I finally made it to a theater still showing it as a lead-up to the Oscars. While I enjoyed the character study about a contracted "termination agent" who lives to fly, I wasn't as enamored as many of the critics. I appreciate that it mostly avoids familiar cliches and does express a certain amount of heart. Honestly, I didn't find anything wrong with it in particular - I just didn't come out of it thinking "I just saw one of the best films of 2009." I probably should have avoided the reviews and gone in with more tempered expectations. Nevertheless, it was fun to see some familiar places on the big screen as the backdrop to a pretty good story.

33 1/3: Endtroducing...

2010-02-17T23:11:00.000-06:00

I've been intrigued by the 33 1/3 series of books for awhile and finally took the plunge on the entry for one of my all-time favorite albums, DJ Shadow's Endtroducing. When I was in my late teens, Endtroducing represented the ultimate marriage of so many musical elements that I loved. The creative use of sampling I'd gravitated to in the techno-industrial genre, the strong rhythms and funky scratches from hip hop, and the melancholy angst of post-hardcore/indie rock all came together in this raw, masterful debut album from DJ Shadow. It's one of those rare albums that defied convention and created a musical formula entirely its own.

Apparently many of the 33 1/3 books are mostly long-winded pontifications by someone completely unassociated with the album in question, but thankfully the Endtroducing book is as anti-conventional as its subject. Eliot Wilder does start off with the obligatory music nerd segment, which is both reasonably interesting and appropriately brief. The rest of the book's pages are devoted to a Q&A transcription of his interviews with DJ Shadow, which deftly navigate from Shadow's childhood up through the production and release of Endtroducing. It's essentially Shadow on Shadow, making this inexpensive and rather short book a true gem. My only complaint is that it left me wanting more.

This is Spinal Tap

2010-01-15T20:34:00.000-06:00

This is Spinal Tap is an armadillo in the pants of the "mockumentary" genre. It is stuffed full of quotable lines and memorable scenes, but what really sets it apart are the small comedic details, like the briefly-visible limo driver's sign that says, "Spinal Pap." The movie's intentionally rough look features plenty of grainy and out-of-focus shots which are reproduced well on Blu-ray, but won't wow anyone who equates high definition with a glossy sheen. This release follows MGM's trend of including the previously-released DVD in the package with the BD, which seems a little superfluous, but at least guarantees carry-over of extra features.

The Princess Bride

2010-01-08T23:25:00.000-06:00

The Princess Bride is one of the better cult classics to come out of the 80s. It's a movie that exudes fun - you can tell that all those involved were having as much fun making it as the audience does watching it. The Blu-ray presents a solid solid transfer that exposes some of the technical limitations of the film, but admittedly many of those just contribute to the charm. There's a nice collection of featurettes that don't delve terribly deep into the production, but do present a few fascinating anecdotes (and some hilariously dorky fairy tale scholars). Given the movie's almost unlimited rewatchability and the decent presentation, this is exactly the kind of disc that is well-worth owning.

Troubled Water

2010-01-04T21:41:00.001-06:00

Well, filmmovement does it again. Troubled Water is a gripping and intense film from Norway with powerful performances and nearly perfect direction. The movie starts out following Jan, a young man convicted of murdering a child, as he gets parole and secures a job as a church organist. Though Jan maintains that he did not murder the child, he hides his past from those around him, hoping to just move on and live a normal life. To that end, he begins to develop a relationship with the female pastor of the church, Anna, and her young boy, Jens. When we learn that the mother of Jan's alleged victim has seen him at the church, the dramatic tension really ramps up. I don't want to expose the entire plot here, but I will say that the narrative structure of the film is brilliant and the great directing and acting pack a serious emotional punch. Although the portrayal of Anna and her church isn't quite in step with orthodox Christianity, the film's themes do offer an interesting exploration of guilt, forgiveness, and atonement. Troubled Water is probably the best of the three films from my first filmmovement subscription, and that's saying something, considering what I thought of the first two.

Harakiri

2009-12-18T17:43:00.001-06:00

Harakiri is not exactly a deconstruction of the typical samurai film, but it is a biting dramatic assault on the samurai code and its so-called sense of honor. Don't expect high-octane, katana-wielding action, because Harakari has virtually none until the final act. Instead, the power of this film is in the slow-burning tension that pulls you in completely for the emotionally satisfying climax and tragic aftermath. This Criterion DVD was one of the best blind-buys I've ever made. The quality of presentation and extras is commensurate with the quality of this cinematic masterpiece that I will surely watch again.

For My Father

2009-12-08T21:27:00.000-06:00

Here's a filmmaking challenge for you: introduce a main character preparing to commit a suicidal act of murderous terrorism and then make that character sympathetic and likable. For My Father attempts to tackle that lofty goal and mostly succeeds. I admit that I don't know much about the modern Israeli-Palestinian conflict which is central to the plot, but the themes of For My Father were still clear and powerful: violent terrorism is utterly senseless and those involved on both sides are not necessarily the caricatures that we might assume them to be. This is my second film from the filmmovement.com subscription series and I'm impressed again with the quality of the film selected. These are films I would probably never be exposed to otherwise and they've been real gems so far.

The Swell Season - Strict Joy

2009-12-08T19:30:00.002-06:00

I'm a sucker for guy/girl vocal collaborations, catchy melodies, and dynamic musical climaxes, so how could I not love the Swell Season? Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova experienced the proverbial meteoric rise to fame thanks to their acting performances and Oscar-winning songwriting in the 2007 indie hit film Once. In the aftermath of that maelstrom comes Strict Joy, a new album that affirms the duo's simple charm and raw intensity have not yet been corrupted by fame and fortune. I tend to agree with Bubba that the Swell Season's studio recordings aren't quite as visceral as their live sets, but Strict Joy is still a pleasure to listen to, especially on this double-LP vinyl edition. The record features a bonus track not found on the CD called Somebody Good, which is actually one of my favorite songs on the album and a genuinely worthy bonus. The package is completed with a trackless fourth-side featuring an original etching.

La Femme Nikita

2009-12-07T19:28:00.000-06:00

If you want to give foreign films a shot, Nikita is a pretty safe place to start. Sure, it's a bit of an existential exploration of the human condition with an ambiguous ending, but it also has stylized gunfights, secret reconnaissance gadgetry, spontaneous assassination missions, and a hefty helping of dramatic intensity. Sony's Blu-ray presentation delivers solid A/V quality that surely squeezes the most out of the source material, but offers absolutely no extras.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2009-12-05T19:23:00.001-06:00

If I had to choose one word to describe Wes Anderson's films, it would be "endearing." He consistently manages to blend a certain naive charm with mature sensibilities and a distinct, literary visual flair. Anderson's tone and style find their logical manifestation in a stop-motion adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's story, Fantastic Mr. Fox. This is a film "for the whole family" to borrow a ridiculously overused phrase. The vocal reactions in the theater where Bubba and I caught the Fox confirmed that the children and adults were all completely engaged in the on-screen action. The film balances genuine emotional content with lots of innocent fun, never becoming too serious nor too childish. The 12 frames-per-second stop-motion imagery is massively refreshing in this age of soulless CGI. And the voice acting is wonderful across the board. Fantastic Mr. Fox is...yep, simply fantastic.

Alien 3: Special Edition

2009-12-04T19:19:00.003-06:00

Alien 3 is right up there with the Godfather Part III on the list of most-hated third installments in a franchise. And like Michael Corleone's swan song, I don't think Alien 3 is nearly as bad as its detractors make it out to be. The film does alienate (no pun intended, I swear) fans of the second film immediately by killing off every emotional investment from Aliens except for Ripley. This doesn't really bother me much, because it's a very effective way to set the dark, existential tone that it seems Fincher was going for. All of the main characters give outstanding performances, most of the effects hold up quite well, and the story offers a strong, moving end to Ripley's story. Considering all of the problems surrounding the production, it's a wonder that there are so many things to like about Alien 3. The special edition version on this Alien Quadrilogy DVD box set presents the editor's attempt to recreate the assembly cut that he and Fincher screened for studio execs (who ultimately hacked it up and caused Fincher to finally disown the whole thing). In my opinion, this assembly cut is clearly superior to the theatrical version, adding some needed dramatic tension and fleshed-out secondary characters. It still has problems that no cut of Alien 3 will ever overcome, but the assembly cut can at least stand next to Alien and Aliens without being too embarrassed. The Alien Quadrilogy is quite possibly the best DVD box set still in-print, offering pristine video and audio with a treasure trove of film-specific and franchise-spanning extras.

Vampyr

2009-11-23T18:24:00.002-06:00

I really expected to like Vampyr more than I did. For whatever reason, I just could not get engaged in it, although I will say that combing through some of the extras has given me a bit more of an appreciation. Criterion gives the film a particularly deluxe treatment in this two-disc set that includes what can only be called a paperback book containing the entire script and a not-so-short story that was a primary inspiration for the film. An additional booklet contains some essays that I actually found more interesting than the movie itself. The on-disc extras are aplenty as well, covering Dreyer's film career and the influences that lead to Vampyr. The extras ultimately made me want to revisit a film that didn't particularly grab me on initial viewing, so I'd say Criterion has done their job well.

The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

2009-11-21T12:26:00.002-06:00

Three years ago, when my wife and I got married, a friend of ours gave us The Crane Wife as a wedding gift. The album made Decemberists fans out of us in short order and soared to the top of our road trip music charts. For our third anniversary, my wife harkened back to that wedding gift by giving me the Decemberist's latest album, The Hazards of Love - an ambitious and unique effort from Colin Meloy and company. What sets this album apart immediately is that it doesn't play as a collection of disparate songs like most albums, but rather it's more like one continuous musical piece with recurring motifs, movements and themes across the various tracks. Essentially it takes elements of classical music and applies them to a rock album. While that may sound a little pretentious, I have to say it really works, at least for me. It's nice to see a band challenge the modern iTunes cherry-pickers with a cohesive album that demands end-to-end attention (more than even a mere "concept album" does). But pontifications on album form aside, it's ultimately all about the music and The Hazards of Love certainly delivers where it counts.

Last Year At Marienbad

2009-11-20T22:00:00.001-06:00

When I started watching Last Year At Marienbad, I was concerned that I would be trying to slog through a stereotypical sixties european arthouse film with no plot, pretentious dialogue, and a buried meaning that only the most serious of film geeks could possibly decipher. Some might argue that Marienbad is exactly that type of film, but about fifteen minutes into it, I began to see something else. I started to recognize discontinuity, incongruity and uncertainty, which are the three primary characteristics of dreams that set them apart from reality (according to some completely unofficial internet research from seven-ish years ago that somehow resurfaced in my brain). This gave me a new appreciation for the cinematic experience I was having and suddenly I was fully engaged. I found myself trying to uncover the conscious experience of the characters by interpreting this cinematic expression of their subconscious. Is it a daydream about an adulterous affair? Is it the repressed memory of a rape? Is it the paranoid dream of a jealous husband? The case could be made for a number of possibilities and the film itself very deliberately avoids a clear answer. I admit that this mystery makes for a challenging experience, but also one that I want to revisit. As expected, Criterion's Blu-ray brilliantly shows off the film's stunning set pieces and gorgeous black and white cinematography accompanied by a restored audio track that is clean and clear. This is surely the best way to experience Marienbad, for those willing to brave its subconscious mystery.

The Chaplin Mutual Comedies: 90th Anniversary Edition

2009-11-14T23:37:00.001-06:00

I think many casual movie fans today would never consider watching a Chaplin movie, because they erroneously assume it's just over-the-top slapstick. That's a shame, because the genius of Chaplin is in the subtlety and wit of his physical comedy, which is on full display in this DVD set of the twelve shorts Chaplin made for Mutual in 1916-17. The restoration on these films is impressive. Occasional dirt, scratches, and print damage reveal the age of these cinematic treasures, but at 90+ years old, the contrast and detail is nothing short of astounding. The crown jewel in this collection (for me at least) is Easy Street, which manages to blend sophisticated social commentary with comedic fighting sequences that would make Jackie Chan jealous. Two additional discs hold some solid extras: a documentary on the actor who played the "heavy" in all of Chaplin's Mutuals and a fascinating doc on Chaplin himself. This is a must-own set for any fan of classic cinema.

Damien Jurado - Ghost of David

2009-11-05T21:56:00.003-06:00

The lo-fi singer/songwriter types tend to be particularly prolific, making it difficult to decide just how many of one person's albums a guy should own. Ghost of David has been on my wishlist for years now, but since I have quite a bit of Damien Jurado's music already (and still only a fraction of his catalog), it has never been a priority. I finally relented a couple of weeks ago after finding the used CD for peanuts. This is vintage Jurado that approaches, but not quite equals his melancholy masterpieces Rehearsals for Departure and Four Songs. Lyrical prowess is essential in this genre and Jurado lives up to the billing. He tells simple stories marked by subtle tension and genuine emotion that have a way of staying with you well after the song is over. In that way, the album really is a haunting and beautiful Ghost.

Kid Koala - Some of My Best Friends Are DJs

2009-11-01T20:05:00.003-06:00

There's no denying Kid Koala's skill and creativity on the turntables. He stands out with his own distinct style among a sea of Q-bert imitators. That style is displayed admirably on Kid Koala's second album, Some of My Best Friends Are DJs, though it doesn't quite grab me the way that Carpal Tunnel Syndrome did. I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but at times it feels like a rehash of the same Carpal Tunnel ideas, rather than something new and fresh. However, given the debut album's status as a pillar of the genre, more of the same isn't necessarily such a bad thing. Some of My Best Friends Are DJs is still well beyond most "scratch" albums in it's musicality and melodious sample orchestration, which is what keeps me coming back to Kid Koala.

General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners

2009-11-01T20:02:00.003-06:00

You never really know what to expect with Mike Patton. This album is his experimental collaboration with the venerated hip-hop turntablist crew, the X-Ecutioners and the results are a mixed bag. In terms of accessibility, it falls somewhere in between Mr. Bungle and Fantomas and isn't quite as successful as the best from either of those projects. Actual "songs" do make some scattered appearances, but they are merely occasional interruptions of the calculated chaos that is most of the album. There are definitely some inspired moments to be found in the manic audio fragmentation, but fewer than on your average Fantomas album. It plays best as an interesting deconstruction of scratch DJ-ing injected with Patton's unique flavor. And I do have to give it special honors for sampling the english dub of Way of the Dragon.

Psycho

2009-10-31T19:56:00.000-05:00

What better way to celebrate halloween than by watching the grandfather of all slasher films? There's not much I could say about Psycho that countless others haven't already said before. This particular DVD version was from the excellent Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection that remains one of the best cinematic-quality-for-your-dollar box sets ever.

Sunny Day Real Estate - Diary and LP2 (reissues)

2009-10-07T21:12:00.003-05:00

When you're a lifelong music junky, there are certain bands that are prominently featured on the internal soundtrack to your teenage memories. In some cases, the music seems even more meaningful than the actual memories. Sunny Day Real Estate is one of those bands for me. They are inextricably associated with my youth, so I'm pretty sure I'm sitting right in the middle of the target market for these vinyl reissues of the first two Sunny Day albums. Both are double-LPs on colored vinyl - Diary being translucent red and LP2 being marbled pink. Each has two bonus tracks culled from rare 7" releases and studio archives, the best of which is Spade and Parade on LP2. Diary has a nice, nearly LP-sized reproduction of the original CD booklet with that memorable painted art for each song and some new liner notes. LP2, appropriately has no booklet, but does contain some new, fascinating liner notes on one of the record sleeves, with memories from the band and other musicians that have been influenced by Sunny Day. Both albums offer exactly what a good reissue should: high quality, nice bonuses, and nods to long-time fans. But the biggest revelation offered by these reissues is that some 15 years later, the songs are still really, really good.

The Clash - The Clash (U.K.)

2009-10-04T23:26:00.004-05:00

Though I didn't even get into the Clash until my mid-20s, they quickly pushed their way into my top ten rock bands of all time list (note: I have never officially made that list). Most people will tell you that London Calling is the Clash's best album, but for me nothing beats their raw, visceral, jaw-clocking self-titled debut. I've owned the U.S. version for years on CD, but I've been waiting for an excuse to pick up the U.K. version which has has a rearranged track list and a few entirely different songs. That excuse presented itself in the form of a 180g vinyl edition at Euclid Records. My turntable will never be the same.

Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home (Mono)

2009-10-04T23:20:00.004-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was in my car flipping around the radio to find something listenable when I landed on Bob Dylan belting out Subterranean Homesick Blues. When the song was over I asked myself, "Self, why in the world don't you own this Dylan record?" Shortly thereafter I remedied the situation by picking up the stellar 180g mono reissue of Bringing It All Back Home and now the universe is back in balance.

Gigante

2009-09-27T21:09:00.001-05:00

Gigante is the first DVD of my filmmovement.com subscription, which was a birthday gift from my sister and her clan. I'm pretty certain it's the first film from Uruguay that I've ever seen and it made a solid first impression. The plot of Gigante is pretty simple: a portly night-shift store security guard named Jara develops an attraction to one of the night-shift cleaning ladies as he watches her on the security cameras. His attraction turns obsessive as he starts to follow her outside of work (or "stalk her" as they call it here in the States). Sounds like a creepy thriller right? But actually, Gigante is a rather lighthearted story with a number of funny and poignant moments thanks to the strong and subtle performances in the two main roles. There is very little dialog and not exactly a sweeping narrative arc, but that is part of its charm. Gigante succeeds beautifully in being an engaging and fun exploration of insecurity, loneliness, voyeurism, and puppy love (if there can be such a thing).

Pelican - Ephemeral

2009-09-26T16:59:00.002-05:00

This record was a 30th birthday gift from the Bubs that I've been spinning for about a week now. Pelican plays instrumental, droning metal that becomes more infectious with every listen. The heavy, slow, densely layered riffs are like heroin for the ears - an aural injection of metal euphoria. I'm beginning to see why Bubba is a Pelican junky.

Serenity

2009-09-26T16:53:00.003-05:00

Though I've seen Serenity in my home theater a few times now, I had to jump at the chance to see it on the big screen at a local midnight showing. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be a 35mm print. Aside from Firefly, I'm not even that much of a Joss Whedon fan, but I really think this is one of the most underrated Sci-fi movies of the last decade (and possibly the best).

The Sword of Doom

2009-08-23T22:52:00.003-05:00

The Sword of Doom initially seems like it's going to be a straightforward story about retribution for the villainous acts of a heartless and deadly samurai, but it ends up being something much more abstract and fascinating. The cinematography is absolutely stunning and is delivered perfectly by Criterion's beautiful transfer. This is a value-priced Criterion with no extras except a short essay in the included insert. I'd love to see a more extensive special edition in the future, but extras or not, this is a fantastic presentation of a striking film.

The Godfather Part III

2009-08-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

The Godfather Part III is often maligned these days, but I think the criticism is mostly unfair. Sure there are flaws (Sofia Coppola's wooden acting chief among them), but I think the film stands up as a flawed masterpiece. The problem is that people hold it up against its predecessors, which are virtually flawless cinematic specimins. Paramount's Blu-ray release of the Godfather Trilogy is outstanding and although the quality of the third film isn't quite as much of a revelation as the first two, it's still the best the film has ever looked and sounded at home.

The Matrix

2009-08-12T13:53:00.000-05:00

After ten years, I think it's safe to officially declare that the Matrix is a true landmark of action cinema. This Blu-ray delivers the kind of image and sound quality that such a sensory-driven film deserves. I haven't made it all the way through the extras yet, but props to WB for including a PIP feature. I also love the digibook packaging for important and classic films, for which the Matrix certainly qualifies.

For All Mankind

2009-08-11T21:34:00.002-05:00

I love the approach that Reinert took with For All Mankind, portraying a composite experience of going to the moon rather than focusing on one particular astronaut or specific Apollo mission. The images that Reinert unearthed (no pun intended) from the NASA archives are wholly unique and absolutely stunning. Criterion does the movie justice with this Blu-ray release, offering a spectacular presentation and solid, informative extras.

The Departed

2009-08-08T21:41:00.000-05:00

I guess I've been on a bit of a Scorsese kick the last few months and The Departed is one of his best, in my opinion. It has perhaps the most dramatic tension of any of his films and I really love the themes that he explores - specifically, the irrepressibility of the truth. WB does a decent job with this Blu-ray, though I would have liked some advanced content or extras beyond what the DVD offered.

Office Space

2009-07-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

Even though I literally live out Office Space everyday, it's still fun to sit back and watch it in hi-def.

Trekkies

2009-07-11T19:33:00.000-05:00

Trekkies is, in a word, hilarious. I've seen it on DVD at least five times and it's just as entertaining as ever. The DVD is barebones, but there's not really much to add to this brilliant documentary that expertly expresses both affection and sly mockery of its subject.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

2009-07-10T18:43:00.003-05:00

It doesn't get much better for low-budget horror than The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It is both relentlessly horrifying and uncomfortably humorous. While this movie is never going to have that glossy HD sheen (and it shouldn't!), the Blu-ray presentation faithfully delivers the gritty, home-movie look that makes Chainsaw so effective. There is no advanced content, but the extras that are offered cover virtually everything you could ask for: production documentary, featurettes, blooper reel, deleted scenes, and trailers.

Dr. Bloodmoney

2009-07-07T21:48:00.000-05:00

Dr. Bloodmoney is the second of the five novels in this hardcover compilation and quite frankly, I'm still trying to process it. PKD's science fiction is never exactly straightforward and Dr. Bloodmoney is no exception. It presents an interesting and imaginitive portrait of post-apocalyptic America, but I found the story to ultimately be a bit anti-climactic. The first novel in the compilation, Martian Time Slip, provided a more engrossing and satisfying (in a Dickian way) experience. That being said, Dr. Bloodmoney wasn't bad by any means - just not among the best I've read from Dick.

Dr. No

2009-07-05T21:38:00.004-05:00

The first of the canonical Bond films is still a treat almost 50 years later. It doesn't quite match the pacing that modern audiences are used to in a spy flick, but it does introduce so many of the now famous Bond elements: fast cars, gorgeous women, beautiful locales, and that 007 charisma that only Sean Connery can fully deliver. Dr. No, along with all of the other classic Bond films, underwent a meticulous restoration prior to this Blu-ray release and it shows. The image quality is detailed, dynamic, blemish-free and film-like. The audio is also fantastic, though it gives away the film's age a bit more than the video. The extras package is outstanding and completes what is an essential Blu-ray, certainly for Bond fans, and for just about any fan of classic cinema.

For the record, I think that cover art is pretty bad. I much prefer this theatrical poster:

Public Enemies

2009-07-04T21:34:00.002-05:00

Public Enemies is the latest offering from Michael Mann, based on John Dillinger's depression-era crime spree. The movie focuses primarily on Dillinger, his girlfriend Billie Frechette, and Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent in charge of tracking down the infamous bank robber. It takes awhile to get fully engaged in Public Enemies, because there isn't much in the way of exposition or initial character development. Nevertheless, by the time the credits rolled, I found a lot to like about the movie and would put it just one tier below the truly classic crime dramas of the last twenty years, such as Goodfellas and Mann's own Heat.

Ghostbusters

2009-06-29T21:57:00.003-05:00

Ghostbusters holds up better than almost any other 80s comedy, in my opinion. The effects that look dated manage to be endearing and some actually still look fantastic, such as most of the shots of Slimer and the StayPuft Marshmallow Man. In fact, I would argue those two creatures look better than they would look if Ghostbusters was made today, when they would almost certainly be completely CGI. The main reason Ghostbusters holds up so well is that the comedy is executed perfectly and is mostly unchained from cultural mores of the day. The premise is just absurd enough to be timeless. This BD presents Ghostbusters in its most film-like presentation outside the theater, packaged with a solid set of extras (old and new).

Opeth - Watershed (Special Edition)

2009-06-23T22:07:00.003-05:00

After listening through this album five or six times, my reaction is lukewarm. On the one hand, I have a sort of cold appreciation for the original arrangements and technical skill that Opeth displays. I can recognize that they are better than probably most other current metal bands out there. On the other hand, practically nothing on this album reaches me on a gut level. Perhaps Opeth's sound is just simply not for me. I'll give it another shot in six months and maybe I'll have an epiphany.

Enter the Dragon

2009-06-18T21:14:00.000-05:00

I've lost count of how many times I've seen Enter the Dragon. It has to be at least 10. Though it's not my personal favorite of Bruce Lee's relatively small catalog, it is his best known and contains probably his most electrifying fight choreography. It also has some awesome 70s outfits, hilariously cheesy dialog and Jim Kelly in one of the greatest displays of bad acting in all of cinema. There is just so much to love. The movie looks better than it ever has at home on BD, though it was transferred from a 1080i master resulting in some noticeable jaggies. Thankfully, it ports over all of the extras from the special edition DVD (all in standard definition).

Baraka

2009-06-17T21:11:00.002-05:00

If you're looking for a high definition demo disc, look no further than the sensory feast that is Baraka. The absolutely stunning images were originally shot on 65mm film, scanned at 8K resolution, and restored frame-by-frame, resulting in arguably the highest quality release of any movie ever on a home video format (to paraphrase one of the restorers). This is the pinnacle of what Blu-ray can offer and it shows.

Portishead - Machine Gun + The Rip 12" Singles

2009-06-12T16:22:00.005-05:00

I'm a sucker for etched vinyl so when I saw these in the record store, I just couldn't resist. It helped that Machine Gun and The Rip are fantastic songs from the Third full-length and that my copy of Third is slightly warped and noisy (bad pressing I guess). These 45rpm, 12" singles sound as good as they look.