He don't have a heart. I just keep feeding him shells. He gets it poppin' in the hood, so his name ring bells.

8.19.2005

Movie: 4 Brothers


The parade of summer popcorn movies continues! Last night was John Singleton's 4 Brothers, a movie that reminded me just how hit and miss this man can be. When he's on, his movies come out great (Boyz n the Hood, and... ok, just Boyz n the Hood, but that movie is kickass); when he's not, they suck pretty bad. And up until last night, there was only one movie of his that I just "really liked, but wasn't anything special": Higher Learning. A movie that proved that ridiculously over-the-top racial stereotypes are a little more palatable when you get Tyra Banks, Kristy Swanson, AND Jennifer Connelly into your movie.

But now, there is another movie in that category. Its not Oscar-worthy... Hell, its not MTV Movie Award worthy. But its fun, and there is some ass-kicking, and its low ambitions allow it to succeed quite admirably.

Plot: Nice old lady helps children in hood. Acts as mother to 4 orphans who were so delinquent they couldn't have paid parents to take them. They grow up as the world's most ridiculous-looking family. Boys leave. Mom gets blasted with a shotgun in a convenience store. Marky Mark decides to murder all of Detroit. Other singers follow along.

Which is the most amazing thing about this movie: when was the last time that 3 singer-turned-actors helmed a movie that didn't suck? Spice World? Possibly. Turns out Andre 3000 Benjamin is a pretty fine actor. Tyrese isn't, but all he has to do here is be P-whipped by Sofia Vergara and shoot a gun occasionally. Mark Wahlberg is actually pretty good here, as he always is when the role isn't too weird. And Garrett Hedlund has possibly the easiest acting role ever invented to merit lead billing in a major motion picture. The best actor in the movie, Fionnula Flanagan, was criminally underused... possibly because she is shot dead in the first 5 minutes. I love her though.

I realize this isn't the most comprehensive review. Here's my opinion: you like artsy movies? Stay away. You like to see people get shot, and get angry, and say funny, tough guy shit? Sign yourself up. In a summer that started strong and got real bad real fast, you could do a lot worse than 4 Brothers.

Oh, I almost forgot the real reason I went to see this: Chiwetel Ejiofor as main baddie Victor Sweet. I am scouting him, since he is the main new character in Serenity, which I went down on earlier this week. And the verdict is: he was easily the most captivating character in the movie. Moreso than Terence Howard, Mark Wahlberg, and Andre 3000 combined. All of which bodes well for September 30th.

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8.18.2005

TV: Firefly

This show has been cancelled for over a year now. So why even bother to write about it?

1) It is finally in syndication on the Sci-Fi Network.
2) The film version/follow-up, Serenity, is due out next month.
3) You can buy the entire series on DVD whenever you want.
4) It might be the best TV show I have ever seen.

Well, point 4 might be a bit of a stretch. It would be difficult for any show, in just 14 episodes, to overtake the 7 years of genius displayed in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Yes, I have a bit of a Joss Whedon hard-on.) However, I do think it is safe to say that had Whedon been given a chance to continue with Firefly for a second season, it would have become a phenomenon beyond what Battlestar Galactica has been able to muster.

The success of Firefly begins with its unbelievably talented ensemble cast. Director/producer/writer Whedon has said that it was his intention to create a self-sustaining family on the spaceship, to enable him to tell compelling stories without a need to land on some weird planet to do so, and he succeeded admirably. Having 9 actors, each of whom is capable of stealing an entire episode, is simply amazing.

Secondly, there are a lot of backstory decisions made here that should delight sci-fi fans. Most notably in my eyes, NOTHING MAKES NOISE IN SPACE! When ships take off, it is silent. When there are collisions, they are silent. I think Whedon might be one of the first directors to capitalize on using space's silence to create a vulnerability of the people on board. It reminds me at times of Wolfgang Peterson's Das Boot, seeing a crew become a family in very close quarters. It is also nice to see people use guns with bullets instead of the typical laser exclusivity we have gotten used to in similar series. There are very few aliens; everyone seems to be at least mildly fluent in Chinese; prostitutes are among the societal elite... so many things to love here.

This reminds me of the role-playing game that every geek wishes they were a part of. Nine people, playing whatever characters they want (pilot, ex-military, priest, mercenary, hot mechanic, crazy psychic with troubled past, whatever) on a smuggling ship with new adventures to tackle every week. When Serenity comes out next month, you are going to be amazed at how good it is. And then you will be disappointed that it answered questions that you didn't know you had, because you never happened to see the show. Do yourself a favor: watch as much Firefly as you can between now and then. Begin to know and love these characters and this spaceship. And then bring as many people to Serenity as you can. Who knows? Maybe we can get the movie enough business to put the show back on the air.

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8.17.2005

CD: 311, "Don't Tread On Me"


Disclaimer: For those of you who might not know this about me, I am a HUGE 311 fan. Call it a guilty pleasure if you must (I don't), but they are the band that first introduced me to the joy of live music. In my world, there is no bigger event in music publishing than 311 album release dates. Sad, I know, but true. So I am not going to pretend that this is an objective look at their new album; it is far from it. These are my initial reactions to an album I have been anxiously anticipating for almost two years.

So, Don't Tread On Me is finally here. Leading up to the release date, I don't think I have ever been more curious about the sound of a 311 release in my life. After the maturation of their sound on 2003's Evolver, I have been dying to find out if the gems from that album were a wonderful accident or a new trend in their songwriting. I still think that Evolver's "Sometimes Jacks Rule The Realm" and "Beyond The Grey Sky" are two of the best songs they have ever written. It has been evident for years now that the rap element of their sound is disappearing, and the music is becoming more melodic over time. Did Hexum & Co. find new ways to surprise their fans? Did they continue down the road they paved on Evolver, or make the return to their mid-Nineties form that many of my friends have been clamoring for?

I know the album was just released yesterday, but I have listened to DTOM in its entirety at least 10 times in the last 24 hours. Like most of 311's output in the new millenium, the songs get better and better the more you listen to them. There isn't a bad song anywhere to be found, which is rare. I also don't think there is a single track that elevates quite as high as "Jacks" did, although there are a couple that are very close, and one specifically that further expands my concept of what a 311 song is capable of being. Another pleasant surprise is that, while Nick might never win a Pulitzer for his lyrical outpit, none of the lyrics are bad enough as to detract from the music beneath them. Overall, I think the tone is a little less silly, and it makes for a more focused effort than we have seen from the guys in years. There are a couple singles on this album ("Don't Tread On Me", "Speak Easy") that should at least match the success they've enjoyed over the last few years.

But the real treat for me so far is hearing the drastically improved vocals of SA Martinez. I don't know how SA was able to sneak so much of his live energy into the mix, especially with Hexum's Steely Dan-like obsession with technical perfection in his records. But the result is some of the most engaging singing that the band has ever recorded. We haven't heard Nick or SA strain for a note since "Down" became an MTV staple, and it adds a sense of adventure and creativity that has been missing from their records for years. 311 has been trying something new for years now, but this is the first time it really sounds that way, and it results in an album that sounds like Evolver recorded with Grassroots' excitement.

There are a couple tracks for every kind of 311 fan. For those of you who think the band peaked with 1993's Music and have been going downhill ever since, "Solar Flare" will be a welcome change of pace. For the fans who prefer the "Amber"-type of reggae song, then "Speak Easy" might be the only song you play in your car for the next two months. And for those of us who were dying to hear how they were going to blow our minds next in the post-"Jacks" era... we have "Waiting".

SA describes "Waiting" on the website as what might have happened if the Beatles visited Jamaica instead of India, and as weird as I thought that comment was when I read it, I can't think of a better way to describe it. I had a grin on my face as soon as the first notes bounced over the speakers, and I don't think it has left yet. This song is nothing that I expected, and everything that I hoped for. It alone is worth the price of the CD. It is funny, sarcastic, and so effortlessly perfect that I can't even stand it.

Some other quick notes about individual songs: I hope that someone at Volcano Records has the foresight to release "Long For The Flowers" as a single. It isn't your typical choice for a radio song, but it is catchy without sounding simple, and I think might be one of the only tracks to make non-311 fans pay attention to this record. SA also wrote the music for two songs on this album ("Getting Through To Her", "Whiskey & Wine"), and unlike his prior penchant for writing driving rap-metal, he proves that he can write melodic rock on par with Hexum. These don't feel like compromises, they feel like solid contributions to 311's most consistantly enjoyable album in years. Highly recommended for anyone who has enjoyed the new directions that 311 has taken since Transistor, and wants to see where they are headed next.

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