O’Loughlin knows how to show a woman out to dinner.
If anyone remembers the famous gluttony scene in Se7en, Feed is two hours of that. Since Feed is based on true events, the movie could write itself. Unfortunately, the film is all over the place and never directly confronts the several societal topics floating about. Instead, the film relies heavily on grossing people out, and this boils down to lots of scenes of fat people sitting around being fat.
Americans are fat.
Fat people are gross.
This about sums up Feed. Of course there are explorations of topics such as fetishes, the Internet and society’s take on beauty, but all that stuff is secondary because fat people are gross. Watch them eat. Gross.
Ever since some pervert realized the Internet could mean big things for porn, a plethora of new, kinky fetishes emerged. If Pervert A had an obsession with funky, yellow toenails, he could meet Perverts B-Z who also had obsessions with funky, yellow toenails. But as the Internet grows, so do the fetishes. The infamous “feed” fetish are people who purposely feed overweight women (or men, supposedly) to get them dangerously fat. Most of the women (the “gainers”) are bed ridden and are reliant on their “feeders,” the men who feed them. Go on, do a search on Google. It’s as real as apple pie.
If anyone remembers the famous gluttony scene in Se7en, Feed is two hours of that. Since Feed is based on true events, the movie could write itself. Unfortunately, the film is all over the place and never directly confronts the several societal topics floating about. Instead, the film relies heavily on grossing people out, and this boils down to lots of scenes of fat people sitting around being fat.
Michael (Alex O’Loughlin) is a suave, hard ass cop who tracks down Internet pervs with style. Oh, except he’s unattractive, overweight and couldn’t kick his own ass. He also has a girlfriend whose sole purpose is to lie around, be naked and be abused. After stumbling into a feeders fetish site, he flies to the United States to track the owner. After being in the country for a day, he finds the pervert’s family and meets the pervert (Patrick Thompson) later that afternoon. At this point, the film has only been on for 45 minutes and there’s nothing else to explore, but the film keeps going.
After a confrontation with Le Pervert, Michael heads back to his hotel where Mr. Pervert shows up again, this time with hamburgers. Yum! The pervert leaves again for some unexplainable reason and the film is back to where it started. Michael tracks him down again and it’s all quite repetitive.As if it wasn’t obvious enough, Feed is a huge critical eye on American culture. All the psychos, fatties and perverts are conveniently American, while the protagonist (by the way, this is an Australian film) flies all over the world because no perverts exist in his own country. In one scene, Michael tells an American woman he’s from Australia. The woman replies with, “Australia? Is that, like, near Japan or something?” Stereotypes are a pain, but this time it’s probably not far off the mark.The biggest failure of Feed is it doesn’t know how to balance the many themes present. Society’s beauty standards, overweight people in America, fetishes, the Internet, uncommon relationships; all of these topics are brushed over so the viewers can see a fat woman vomit on herself. Obviously the director was not oblivious to these themes because there were several traces of them. Occasionally, characters sprouted philosophical rants about consumption and survival, but these scenes were meaningless and empty. It just seems the director spends more time trying to make the film look like a music video than trying to make any effort to tie this thing together.
For example, the film gives a glimpse into Michael’s troubled relationship with his girlfriend, but says nothing in these scenes. The two have lots of violent sex and then one day the girlfriend leaves. Trying to analyze their relationship is impossible, especially since the director doesn’t seem to care. The deleted scenes on the DVD gave more insight into their relationship, but those scenes were left on the cutting block in exchange for more pointless sex scenes.
Since Feed is a B-horror movie, most viewers will only care for the gross out factor and ignore the mistakes. Who says violence must be brainless? If a film can combine thoughtful, intelligent analysis with disturbing imagery, it’s brilliant. Why applaud a film that only gets half the formula right?
Extras:
The deleted scenes give more insight into Micahel’s complicated relationship with his girlfriend. In the film, the decomposing relationship is blamed on the girlfriend, but in these scenes it shows it was Michael’s fault. There’s also interviews, an interesting alternate ending and behind the scenes footage of the infamous fat suit.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Movie Review: Feed
Movie Review: Black Night
If you ever have sex in a horror film, expect to die.
Whoever decided to create Black Night knew they could make a quick buck. These PanAsian films are all the rage, don’t you know? Movies like Three, Three…Extremes and, uh, Three…Extremes. It was only time until a new one emerged and here it is, featuring acclaimed directors like, uh, Takahiko Akiyama, um, Tanit Jitnukul and…Patrick Leung. Wait a minute, who the hell are these people?
But then again, it’s not directors that pull people to theaters, it’s the story. Black Night is three stories from three countries.The first one, from Hong Kong, is about a guy (Dylan Kuo) who cheats on his girlfriend, Hosie, with his ex-girlfriend, Jane, who decides to drop by for a surprise visit. Somehow during all these events, the girlfriend becomes a ghost who mopes around leaving puddles of water behind. The ex-girlfriend (a stereotypical chain smoking, guitar playing badass) decides she has had enough of these annoying little puddles and storms into the girlfriend’s apartment. Some spooky things happen and then we find out how Girlfriend A dies. Apparently, it was an awkward mishap involving handcuffs, a marble and a tub full of running water. If you’re chuckling while reading this, then you know this story’s affect. The fact that vengeful ghost/jealous girlfriend is so set on revenge just because she’s so damn clumsy is a weak plot to build a story. But that’s just the first one, there’s still two more.
From Japan, the second story is about Yuki (Asaka Seto), a woman who can’t keep these pestering ghosts from bothering her. They also leave annoying puddles in her apartment (notice a theme here?) and show up at inopportune times at work, probably to get her fired. She goes to a shrink to see if there’s something wrong with her. Under hypnosis, she is able to remember a pet sea monster she had as a child named Hyu. Yuki believes it is Hyu who does all the killing, which would explain all the drippy ghosts. The shrink, on the other hand, believes it is really Yuki doing the killing, which all leads to the most anti-climatic ending — ever. This story makes the first one seem acceptable. At least “Next Door” had a nice look, while the blurry picture quality of “Dark Hole” looks like an old beat up VHS tape. The acting here is also the worse - it’s either too shrill and annoying, or just dull. Eventually you’re crossing your fingers that the magical sea lion kills everyone.
The last, and from Thailand, starts off promising. Prang (Pitchanart Sakakorn) has amnesia and can’t remember what has happened in the last couple of years. She lives alone with her son and a watery ghost who likes to pop up occasionally. She decides to investigate this ghost and it leads her to a woman named Praew (Nutsha Bootsri) who recently drowned in a pool and apparently used to be her friend pre-amnesia. Things happen and, not to give anything away, but other aspects are revealed and Prang and her husband must fight for their lives against ghostly family members who like to leave slippery soap on the floor near toilets. This story wins simply for being the most unintentionally hilarious.
In case you haven’t noticed, water is the key theme of all three stories. I don’t know if all three directors sat around and planned this or if it was all just some unfortunate mistake. All the ghosts are watery, drippy and look exactly the same. It gets old after the first time you see it. There’s also lots of fish tanks and strange bathroom mishaps. I don’t know what kind of metaphor they were going with this. Maybe one of the directors fell into the toilet as a kid and still can’t get over it. But really, the theme means nothing, which is disappointing.
The PanAsian films were a good idea. It worked well with Three and Three…Extremes, but Black Night is abysmal. It could very well be the movie to end all PanAsian films, and hopefully that doesn’t happen. What they should do is when they bring this to the States, market it as a comedy. This will save the directors, actors and producers from anymore embarrassment. Then, for the next PanAsian film, they’ll remember to go with merit instead of quick cash.
Movie review: Brick
Brendan sees the light
What is with society's obsession with high school? Most people, at least to my knowledge, never speak highly of high school and are simply lucky they made it out alive. But of course, Hollywood sees things otherwise, and in their world high school is cheerleaders, jocks, football games and four glorious years. But to believe this fantasy the viewers need a suspension of disbelief...and that's fine. After all, not everyone is a realist. What Brick does is take the contemporary, ordinary high school setting and dress it up in such a way to make it unenjoyable unless the viewer suspends their belief. So basically, Brick is your fantasy high school movie, but turned on its head.
The characters in Brick don't talk or behave like real teenagers. Everyone speaks a little too fast and uses jargon that hasn't been used since the '40s. There are no teachers at the school, the hallways and parking lots are always half empty, and there are no adults...anywhere. For someone going into this film not knowing what to expect, the first 15 minutes will probably be tough to get through. But eventually, the viewers realize that the film is a contemporary spin on the film noir genre and just happens to be set in high school. Once that point is clear, the events that take place are somewhat endearing. Teenagers being fast talking schemers and witty detectives; it kinda makes you grin.
But Brick isn't a cute high school play. Besides a few scenes, Brick is a serious film about love and death, much like the film noir genre. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Brendan, a loner who is trying to solve the mystery of his ex-girlfriend's death. After interrogating (and beating the crap out of) an assorted group of colorful characters, his search takes him to an underground drug ring run by The Pin (Lukas Haas), which he learns has made a huge contribution to his ex-girlfriend's murder.
In Brick, everyone is a suspect, everyone is hiding something and everyone has a secret. Just like the typical film noir, there's the femme fatale, the tough guy, an old seductive fling and a domineering boss. But once again, since this is all set in high school, there are mild changes. For example, when Brendan first meets The Pin and is threaten and beaten by his croons, afterward they go upstairs where The Pin's mother serves them milk and cookies.
Although all the actors deliver, the one minor critique is the relentless old-timey slang that is spit out faster than one can comprehend. I had to watch the film with subtitles. For those who saw it in theaters, well, I guess they were just lost. I can see they wanted to try their hardest to stay loyal to noir, but there were other noir rules that were broken. For example, the typical film noir is very dark and shady, while Brick is a bright film with plenty of shots of cloudy skies. There were plenty of good one liners, and Brendan always had witty things roll off his tongue, but it could have been toned down just a notch.
But besides minor critiques, Brick is a successful fantasy high school film. We know high school wasn't like this, but who cares?
Movie review: Burst City
In the future, aluminum will be our new friend.
Whenever you mention the name Sogo Ishii it's a cardinal rule to also mention Tsukamoto and Miike - for obvious reasons anyway. Many of the trademark techniques that are praised of Tsukamoto and Miike was influenced by Ishii and Burst City is usually the example that is thrown around. Made in 1982 (and only recently getting a proper DVD release), it has never quite received its fair share of praise.
Burst City worked to truly capture the essence of the early '80s Japanese punk movement. Every inch of the film is made in a way to completely disregard conventional film rules and capture pure anarchy through film. There is no clear storyline or characters and everything is done through the lens of complete chaos.
Although the storyline, if you can even call it that, is not particularly important, the film takes place in a dilapidated Mad Max-esque wasteland where bike gangs, yakuza bosses and punk kids swarm the area. To protest against the building of a nuclear power plant, a few punk bands show up and put on a concert. All of this is somehow connected to a bike gang, the yakuza, and a group of disgruntled construction workers who are building the plant. All the groups collide and, by the time the police show up, everything erupts into complete chaos.
Of course, there are the usual critiques - it's too disjointed, mildly unwatchable and lacks a solid storyline. This was my first impression as well, but all of these are somewhat irrevalent. Burst City succeeds by concentrating on being chaotic first and a film second. What makes Burst City endearing is its way of staying true to its punk roots. This is a film about punk music and everything else in the film are mere visuals. You have to admire its guts and give praise to where praise is due.
DVD Features
There's a few interesting film notes that discuss the nature of the film, the bands that were shown in the film and some general information about the history of Japanese punk music. Good stuff.
Movie review: Gemini
Rin gets the word mud is no longer fashionable.
People always like to carry on about how different Gemini is to other Shinya Tsukamoto films. True, there are no frantic camera angles, disturbing social commentary on the human body or much violence, but if everyone used those guidelines when applying to Tsukamoto films he would be pigeonholed. And that's never a good thing. We should be proud of our directors who step outside their comfort zone (if it's done well, anyway) and luckily Tsukamoto succeeds.
Released in 1999, Gemini is a period horror film set in the Meiji Period (for all you Japanese historians out there). Yukio (Masahiro Motoki) is a successful and famous doctor who has a reputation for being intelligent and well-mannered. He lives a pampered, yet bland life with his upper class family, who are all quiet, reserved and quite emotionless. The one spark of spice in his life is his wife Rin, a woman who lost her memory after a fire. Slowly, Yukio starts to feel he's being watched. Other strange occurrences happen when Yukio's parents die mysteriously. One day, while walking outside, Yukio is attacked and thrown into a well (don't you hate it when that happens?). The plot thickens when it turns out the culprit is the twin brother he never knew he had.
There's plenty of social commentary on class systems here. Yukio's family is seen as being very boring, quiet and reserved. No one cracks a smile, no one laughs - everything is about quiet subtleties as a sign of deep respect. This greatly contrasts with "the slums," the lower class village nearby. Yukio thinks all slum people are inheritantly evil and crawling with diseases. In one scene, Yukio has to choose between giving medical care to a mother and baby from the slums, or the mayor. His decision is tough, but his actions are not much of a surprise. Although the slum people are more likely to succumb to crimes due to poverty, they are portrayed as being emotionally passionate people. Everyone wears bright colors and express their feelings conspicuously. Tsukamoto does a good job of showing these scenes as fast paced, loud and candy-fied for the eyes. There's even an interesting cameo by Tadanobu Asano who is only in the film for a minute and somehow still steals the show. Motoki's performance is equally amazing and manages to play two roles so realistically I thought the characters were played by real twins.
Gemini doesn't get as much attention as A Snake of June or Vital, but it's a charming and impressive little film with stunning cinematography and mystical storyline. It's nice to see it finally get a proper region 1 DVD release.
DVD features:
There's some interesting behind the scenes footage. Although there's not much talking and is mostly focused on showing the technicalities of the film, there's a funny part where well-known actor Renji Ishibashi (who plays a beggar in the film) asks why he never gets to play normal roles.
Movie review: Kamikaze Girls
Leather and parasols, oh my!
Lately, it seems a lot of movies have been taking advantage of our generation's short attention span. There have been a lot of movies (for example, "Survive Style 5+") that rely on fast cuts, cartoonish characters and over the top colors and physical action. It's like the equivalent of watching a two hour Fanta commercial. While many might find this distracting, it has a weird allure that makes the film more interesting than it really is. Even though the audience can predict what happens next, it is the strange characters and titillating eye candy that keeps them watching.
Before I continue this review, there a few things I should probably explain about Japanese culture in order for this review to make sense.
Lolita - these are young people who are into the Lolita fashion scene that took off in the late '80s. The clothing is inspired by French Victorian women and children and focuses on looking very elegant, child-like and cute. The dresses are very frilly and are usually in light pastel colors with floral prints. Although the fashion is growing in popularity, the people who wear them are in the minority and are rarely seen outside large fashion districts like Harajuku or Daikanyama.
Yanki - these are young people in bike gangs who dye their hair and wear heavy makeup to appear intimidating. They modify their bikes in elaborate ways using flags and sometimes Chinese symbols. They are most likely drop outs.
Okay, now that the vocabulary lesson is over..."Kamikaze Girls" is about the friendship between a Yanki and a Lolita. On the surface it seems like the typical and horribly predictable "buddy comedy." Buddy A likes this, while Buddy B likes that, and the audience is expected to find this amusing. Unfortunately, this is that kind of movie, but all the elements of the film makes it too endearing to hate.
Momoko (Kyoko Fukada) is a girl who feels she was born in the wrong century. She's obsessed with 18th century France's Rococo style and longs to be like those women who had nothing to do but look pretty and carry parasols all day. Unfortunately, she's stuck in a small, isolated town where the people "are born in a tracksuit and die in a tracksuit." While everybody else shops at Jusco (Japan's equivalent of Wal-Mart), Momoko prefers buying expensive frilly dresses from Lolita shops in Tokyo.
After her father (Hiroyuki Miyasako) is caught selling counterfeit Versace shirts, hats and fans, she is forced to move to Shimotsuma to live with her grandmother. There, she meets Ichiko (Anna Tsuchiya), a Yanki who spits, curses and rides a modified pink motorbike. She's the complete opposite of Momoko, which Momoko finds disgusting. But of course, since this is a buddy comedy, we know they'll love each other eventually.
"Kamikaze Girls" is based off a famous novel by Novala Takemoto, which gained a cult following among Lolitas and Yankis. His empathetic outlook on social outcasts struck a cord with most young girls who were considered misunderstood loners due to their questionable fashion taste. Although "Kamikaze Girls" is a fun comedy for young girls, there are a lot of subtle critiques on alienation and how outcasts are perceived by the rest of their peers (especially those in small country towns). When Momoko and Ichiko first meet, it is Ichiko who goes out of her way to befriend Momoko. Although both had nothing in common, Ichiko admired the way Momoko marched to the beat of her own drum. Gradually, they both see what they needed was each other to complete the element of themselves.
But skipping over all the cultural analysis, the real meat of "Kamikaze Girls" is that it's, well, funny. The movie begins with a shot of Momoko spiraling through the air in a white frilly dress after getting hit by a truck. She narrates that before she dies, the audience should know the whole story. So, in "Fight Club"-like fashion, the movie is literally rewinded to show a hilarious introduction to her life. It's one of the highlights of the movie.
The official region 1 DVD is bare as far as special features go. There's a lukewarm interview with the two lead stars and a music video starring Anna Tsuchiya, who has a double career as a J-rock star. The most beneficial feature is the "sideways mode" playback that explains certain aspects of the film for Western audiences who might not know what a "pachinko" or "yakuza" is.
Although it's clear this movie is marketed to teen girls (especially with two pop stars in the leading roles), the film can be enjoyed by anyone, especially those with eyes for fashion. Maybe these commercial-turned-film directors are on to something. In a culture where people get impatient watching two characters in a moment a silence, these fast paced Colorvision films seem to be where audiences are heading. And hey, if it's all as engaging as "Kamikaze Girls," then so what?
Music review: Yasushi Yoshida - Secret Figure
Noble records has made a good name for itself; it's home to some of the best Japanese musicians working today. Because Yasushi Yoshida is the newest member of the Noble family, he instantly gets good press. Pre-orders for his debut album Secret Figure has been on the Dotshop charts for months now. It seems most people could care less if the album is actually good or not. He's on Noble!
So with Yoshida's comfortable spot at Noble, on first listen, the "best musicians in Japan club" doesn't exactly shine through. Sure it's all sparkly, pretty and typical for Noble, but when compared to people like World's End Girlfriend, Yoshida doesn't seem dynamic enough. On second listen, I stopped comparing Yoshida to others and just listened to the music for what it was. As a stand alone, the album comes to life (as cliched as that sounds). It's a superb exploration of everyday sounds and emotional calmness.
Based on cinematic music, Secret Figure fuses the piano, guitar and violin with splashes of electronic beats. Opening track "Silent Park" begins with a dramatic piano solo and quietly a violin swoops in and builds the rest of the song. The next track, "Parade for Closure," isn't a real track and is basically just a warm up for "Parade," another beautiful arrangement that relies on guitars and strings, carrying the song above our heads and beyond. "Chair Father" is a stand out track that starts off sad, then builds to give a sense of quiet hope.
The album pauses for a brief intermission with "Octave Leaves" and then eases back into the action with "Dance Piece," which starts off somber and then kicks in with a loud bass and a piano immersed with strings. "Remembrance in Glass" is the most forgettable track, but luckily things pick up again with the best track, "Picture of Three Life." The song, which starts off like early World's End Girlfriend, begins with happy bleeps and bloops fused with joyous chimes; then the strings kick in and carry the song, while keeping the cute chimes in the background.
Yoshida has proven himself to be among like-minded people at Noble. If this is what his debut album sounds like, one could only dream where he'll be next.
Movie review: Cache
The not-so-subtle commentary of Cache.
Let's get some of the major critiques of Cache out of the way:
1. It's too slow
2. What's the point?
3. The ending sucks!!!11 (as quoted from an IMDb poster)
Well, no one said Michael Haneke's films were easy. Anyone who has seen The Piano Teacher should know what to expect. Haneke is known for showing complex characters in simple light. It's up to the viewer to decipher what to do with these characters and intelligently analyze their actions. Haneke is known for pulling out of his films too early and letting the subtleties speak for itself. This will naturally upset some people, but perhaps viewers should stop expecting the director to hold their hand and guide them along.
Cache begins with a long shot of a front of a random house. The shot turns out to be an anonymous video sent to the owners of the home, Georges (Daniel Auteuil), his wife (Juliette Binoche) and his son (Lester Makedonsky). Not knowing what to make of the video, they ignore it. When the tapes keep coming (and accompanied with strange childish drawings), they go to the police, but have little success. Gradually, Georges begins to have an idea who the culprit might be. This opens a door of secrets, guilt, and a past Georges wish he could forget.
Although Cache is marketed as a thriller, it has no thrills and instead relies on long, quiet shots to build tension. Cache shouldn't be seen as a "whodunit" and is unfortunately marketed as one. The mystery of the tapes isn't what's important, but the drama between Georges and his past. Not to give anything away, but the current relations between French and Algerian immigrants is important. It seems appropriate that Cache was made so close to the Paris riots. It only seems to magnify the current racial problems currently in France.
Now the biggest complaint about Cache is its ending. There's lots of questions left unanswered and this might be frustrating for many viewers. Once again, not to give anything away, but anyone who has seen Lost in Translation will understand. Cache doesn't pull out as some kind of cheap way to end a movie that's hard to end. Yes, some thinking is required, but all the important themes that needed to be said were already said. What's leftover is actually secondary and, for the realists, it is the perfect ending.
DVD Features:
Besides the usual, there's an outstanding interview with Haneke as he answers many of the questions people wanted answered, including the infamous ending. Definitely recommended.
Music review: Dani Sciliano - Slappers
Siciliano never gets enough credit. Sure she's mostly known for loaning her voice to Matthew Herbert's music, but Siciliano is as talented a producer as she is a singer. When first popping in Slappers, many might roll their eyes at the amount of Herbert-ness flowing from the tracks. True, there are slight traces of Herbert here and there, but then again, there are slight traces of Siciliano in Herbert. The two influence each other, so it's logical for this to happen.
But Slappers isn't a Herbert album, which is probably what most are expecting. Siciliano is dynamic, personality wise, and exerts herself on every track with cocky sassiness and humor. One of the most amazing things about Siciliano is how her voice transcends genre. Slappers mostly relies on electronics, but often wanders into country and hip hop territory. Siciliano's voice never sounds out of place and is always reigning the track, barking out the lyrics often coyly or Peaches-esque.
Opening track "Slappers" fittingly opens the album with a dynamic hip hop beat and then hops (pun intended) to "Didn't Anybody Tell You," a track that is fun to listen to, but easily forgettable. Stand out track "They Can Wait" is sinister and whisper-y one second, and then assertive the next. Apparently, all the beats on this track were taken from a recording of a high school and then fed through a drum kit.
"Why Can't I Make You High" borrows a country beat and a catchy hook, while "Frozen" is a quiet, throwback trip-hop track. "Think Twice" is easily one of the best tracks, bursting into an array of bleeps and bloops and then shrinking back inside itself. "Wifey" is a glitch explosion that chops Siciliano's vocals in interesting ways. Closer, "Be My Producer," is an inside joke between Siciliano and Herbert. The track, which was entirely produced by her and uses only her voice to supply the beat, openly mocks the sexual relationship between singer and producer.
Slappers is a surprisingly accessible album and could easily be a club hit if she was, ya know, Britney Spears. She might not get the credit, but it's hard to ignore good talent.
Movie review: Tsotsi
Studies show hoodies increase badass-ness by 80 percent.
Tsotsi won the Oscar for best foreign film and now is forever engraved into the "That won an Oscar? It was good, but not that good" hall of fame. In some sense the critics are right. On one hand, there's no reason not to like this film. The storytelling is compelling, emotional and well-acted. Unfortunately, it's a bit cliched.
Tsotsi is about, well, Tsotsi - a young, merciless thug played by Presley Chweneyagae. After having an emotional and violent confrontation with a fellow gang member, feeling flustered and frustrated, he runs to an upper class neighborhood, shoots a woman and steals her car. It's not until after he crashes the car that he realizes he overlooked the woman's baby who was in the backseat. Not feeling badass enough to leave the baby there, he takes the baby home in a bag. Despite his naivete toward babies, he attempts to take care of the baby while changing his outlook on life and his thug ways.
When Tsotsi first appears, he seems almost laughably cliche. He's cold, merciless and not afraid to beat the crap out of his own friends. If this was a Takashi Miike film, he would be wearing sunglasses, a trench coat, and walking everywhere in slow motion. Of course, Tsotsi isn't what he appears to be. There's a slight ounce of gold in his heart, which is enough for the audience to feel empathetic. Tsotsi has a dark past that is told in flashbacks. On the outside he's a ruthless thug, but inside he's a crying little boy, etc etc. So what makes Tsotsi so different from other similar films? Nothing. The reason Tsotsi succeeds is because it takes a simple, old formula and does it well. It's a good story with characters people care about. And to an extent, that's all that is needed for a good film.
On the IMDb Tsotsi message board, there are plenty of comments comparing this film to City of God (for obvious, mildly racist reasons). Of course both have won Oscars and both deal with gang violence, but that's all they have in common. If the IMDb users want to compare the two films just because there's lots of brown people in them, then it says a lot about the IMDb users. You can't compare the two because it belittles Tsotsi. Tsotsi isn't nearly as ambitious as City of God, but it shines through its simplicity. Some people obviously can't tell the difference. Not everything was made to be so complex.
Music review: Fovea Hex - Huge Ep
This might sound a bit strange, but the first thing I thought of when listneing to Huge Ep was Legend; you know, that ’80s movie starring Tom Cruise. Not to say this album is overflowing with unicorns and pixie dust like the film, but the music here reminded me of the soundtrack done by Tangerine Dream.
Although currently Tangerine Dream is taking a dive into the world of New Age (ugh), they used to be pioneers in ambient music and did some stunning soundtracks in their heyday. In a way, Fovea Hex (a collaborative band that fuses electronics, film compositions and ambiance) sounds like what the current Tangerine Dream should sound like. So pardon my strange comparison, but ask any Tangerine Dream fan and they could probably spot the similarities, too. But trust me, this is all a good thing.
Fovea Hex is a collaboration between Brian Eno, Roger Eno, Andrew McKenzie of Hafler Trio, composer Carter Burwell and a trio of talented singers. With so many heads crammed into this project, it would be easy for an album like this to feel cluttered and eclectic, but Huge Ep is the opposite. Huge Ep manages to stay quiet, restrained, and burrowing with subtle brilliance. It’s modern, but has an old ancient soul; it’s electronic, but also traditional folk.
“Huge (The Joy of Trouble)” is a trembling atmospheric opening that is accompanied by Clodagh Simonds’ striking voice. The song could easily be on the soundtrack for a nameless dramatic film. After the strings kick in on the second half, the song stops building and simply marinates for a while and dissolves into “A Song for Madga.” This is the shortest track, but the most pensive, allowing electronics to swell and shrink beneath the gentle vocals. Last track “While You’re Away” is where my Tangerine Dream reference sprouted from. It reminds me of a moodier “Love By The Sun," and the vocals sound alike, too.
The ambient genre flourished in the ’80s, so it’s easy for modern ambient music to somehow awaken memories of older music. But Huge Ep is a forward stepping album, but cunningly disguises itself from that. Those brilliant tricksters.
Music review: A Cloud Mireya - Singular
The last time we heard a collaboration between Prefuse 73's Scott Herren and Claudia Deheza it was on last year's Prefuse 73 album, Surrounded By Silence. The album received mixed reviews, but their teamwork didn't appear ingenious to me. Deheza has a beautiful voice that sounds comfortable displayed in the middle of Prefuse 73's usual cut, ripped and glitched music. But I suppose both of them saw that something better was brewing between them, and so A Cloud Mireya was born and, honesty, it sounds like nothing I would have expected.
"Our Alejandro" starts the race and quickly transforms into "Those Nights," a wispy and soaring song tapping into the realms of bedroom pop. "Illustional" is one of the best tracks that fuses gentle glitches with the plucks of a guitar and then quickly builds into a beautiful arrangement, but sadly ends a little too early. "Wasted Time" is a simple structure one minute and then full blown bells, chimes and electro glitches the next, with splices of samples throughout. "Safety In Number One" is a simple, yet sadly innocent track, while "These Flowers" is a folkish trip through the countryside with a strange vibrating bass underneath.
From here the album begins to dip a little. The songs blend together and it becomes harder to remember what was just heard. "Bliss Inseclusion" for some reason is eight minutes longer than the other tracks, so it stands out like a redheaded stepchild. It drags and drags, but it's only a minor distraction from the rest of the album.
What can I say? It's a beautiful album, but I wonder how much of my opinion is biased because Prefuse 73's name is stapled to it. Although nearly every track on Singular is bustling with flowery compositions, it could very well belong to some unknown European band consisting of a couple of ugly guys in beards and the obligatory blonde earthy chick.
So, I'm conflicted. It's a pretty album, but anyone could have made it. I'm glad to see Scott Herren stepping away from his typical Prefuse 73 style and trying on some new shoes, but there are plenty of ways to add a new formula without changing the root of who you are. Just don't ask me how.
Music review: Broadcast - Future Crayon
When I first heard "Future Crayon" I assumed it was a new release. I was bit surprised, considering "Tender Buttons" was released just this past year, but I quickly dove into the 18 tracks with optimism. It turns out that "Future Crayon" is actually a compilation of rarities, including b-sides, live favorites and tracks previously only available on compilations. For an album full of old songs, I'm quite astounded. This could easily be a new release and I would still be at least partially impressed.
Songs like "Illumination" makes you wonder why it was demoted to "b-side" status in the first place. Others like "Small Song IV," Locusts" and "Distant Call" are moody tracks brewing with an icy aura, but unfortunately are all a bit hard to decipher from one another. The instrumental tracks, like "Hammer Without a Master," is the equivalent of slipping into a sinister '60s gangster film with a booming bass and a subtle overflow of electronic bleeps. Other tracks like "Minus Two," a sad attempt at experimentation, succeeds in being nothing but tedious. Luckily by then, the album is almost over.
Broadcast has a trademark sound of modern electronics mixed with '60s pop music. Although their sound hasn't changed much, it has been tweaked and perfected. For a compilation that spans 10 years of their catalog, there doesn't seem to be much variety. Most of the songs seem to come from the same musical period, and it's hard to tell which songs are older or newer than others. In a way, "Future Crayon" magnifies Broadcast's weaknesses, and that weakness is that their formula rarely changes. If a compilation spans 10 years, I should be able to hear the difference; instead, all the songs sound like leftovers from "The Noise Made By People." On the plus side, it also showcases their strengths, which is Trish Keenan's vocals. The instrumental tracks feel so bare and it's not until Keenan shows up, even if it's just for a second, that the tracks revive itself.
This is obviously a must for Broadcast fans, but there's plenty of interesting things brewing to capture the interest of the new "Tender Buttons" fans as well. Ace.
Music review: Cut Chemist - The Audience is Watching
Cut Chemist is a turntablist mostly known for being an ex-Jurassic 5 member. "The Audience's Listening" is his first solo album and, depending if you have any history on Cut Chemist, the album is either good or not good enough. For those who are loyal Cut Chemist fans, they might be expecting a little more for a first time solo album. Others without a preconceived notion to base their judgments will find this album an enjoyable party romp through the land of samples.
Cut Chemist doesn't take him or his music too seriously; all the tracks echo this mentality. Not to be confused with laziness, Cut Chemist makes music that's fun, but not in a "leave your brain outside" way, but in a free thinking way. First track "Motivational Speaker" is spliced with hilarious samples about DJ music and ends with,"if you don't like the product, keep your mouth shut." A proper introduction into this chaos and probably partially true.
It quickly jumps to "(My 1st) Big Break" which jokingly probes the idea of robot music. Standout track "The Garden" is a Brazillian rumble through the countryside with gentle, yet danceable beats. "What's the Altitude" and "Storm" brings out the breakbeats with vengeance. Here, the rappers - Hymnal, Edan and Mr. Lif - emerge and throw it down. "Storm" particularly is my favorite, combining throwback old school rap mixed with quick cuts of distorted noises.
Unfortunately, the excellence of "Storm" is hard to top and the album begins a slippery slope to a quiet death. "A Peak In Time" brings things back to a normal pace, but by the then, the album is almost over.
Most DJ albums seem to appear and disappear quickly while riding through the media machine. I guess the public has a hard time deciphering between them all, and so it's hard for one to emerge and demand attention. "The Audience's Listening" is a surprisingly impressive record that will hopefully get some well-deserved attention.
Music review: Niobe - White Hats
In Greek mythology, Niobe was a tragic figure who bragged about her 14 children and was punished by the death of her entire family. Justifiably upset, she ran to Mount Sipylus where she wept until she turned into stone.
Niobe's music (real name Yvonne Cornelius) is much like the icy cliffs of mountains, which is also pictured on the cover of "White Hats." Although the first track sends a vibe of dark seediness, the following tracks are warped versions of something someone would create while sniffing a little too much thin air on the top of a mountain.
This has been hailed as Niobe's "accessible" album, but there are only two real pop songs and the rest are only accessible if you compare them to her past album "Voodooluba." It's a little strange to go from "Drei Zinnen," a distorted version of '30s music to "Up Hill and Down Dale," a song that spews glittery disco balls.
The real win here is Cornelius' voice, which in some songs are distorted or layered in interesting ways. "Touch This Flower" has her best vocal work and is one of the few songs where her voice is bare and unfiltered. "None But One," easily the best track on the album, would have benefited from more songs like it, but instead it sticks out like Paris Hilton at Harvard.
Unlike "Voodooluba" and "Tse Tse," "White Hats" doesn't feel unified. It seems Cornelius is getting in touch with lots of new ideas, but it's not all coming together. But then again, the ups and downs of the album could also be tied to the feeling of weaving through hills. Whatever the interpretation, "White Hats" is sure to capture some new fans.
Movie review: The Chumscrubber
William Fichtner shows the productive way to keep kids off your lawn.
Oh, these youth today. With their strange music, questionable behavior and disregard for rules and organization. Thank goodness grownups can pop them with pills so they can shut up and stop acting like kids for once. Then the adults can dwell on their mundane cocktail parties and neighborhood get-togethers, all while secretly envying the youth they pretend to hate.
Of course, the paragraph above is only true if you're a fan of sweeping generalizations. But this is the typical life depicted in "The Chumscrubber," a film that takes a dark and sarcastic look at youth relations in suburbia. In their world, all kids are unhappy, pill popping misunderstood rebels, while the adults are social climbing, unhappy soul suckers. Think you heard this before? You're right, you have. But let's move on anyway.
Jamie Bell plays Dean Stiffle, a social outcast who walks in the on the suicide of his only friend . Not knowing what to do, he leaves the scene of the crime without telling anyone what he saw. He is constantly teased and taunted by his pill happy peers who hold him partially responsible. His father (William Fichtner) is a self-help author who believes his son is mentally unstable and forces him to take pills (hence the not-so-subtle jab at the Ritalin generation).
Events change when a few drug dealers from school mistakenly kidnap a kid they thought was Dean's younger brother in order to blackmail Dean into stealing back a secret stash of drugs in his best friend's room. During all of this, the secondary plot follows their parents who are more preocuppied with planning their weddings, funerals and cocktail parties than be bothered to pay attention to their children.
The "chumscrubber" is actually a title of a video game that is omnipresent in the kids' lives and is about a post-apocalyptic anti-hero that carries around a severed head while fighting off the drones of the Earth. The point of chumscrubber is to parallel his existence to what is happening within the suburban neighborhood and is also seen as a representation of Dean as well.
The parents are all played by well-known actors, such as Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Carrie-Anne Moss and Rita Wilson. Their presence in the film is somewhat odd, and perhaps it was from the direction by Arie Posin, but they all come across as vacant beings from another planet. Their characters seem like exaggerated stereotypes of real people and are too easily depicted as the bad guys leading their children down a path of destruction.
All of the kids are played convincingly enough (excluding Camille "Dead Eyes" Belle) and bring a sense of suspense to the movie when events begin to get a little too bizarre. Unfortunately, actors can only carry a movie to an extent. Although Posin's critique on the prescription generation, suburbia and parent/teen relations are interesting, it's not done well. Considering these types of movies have been done before and done better, "The Chumscrubber" just seems like someone's red-headed stepchild. Yes, we know suburbia isn't perfect. Yes, parents don't listen to their children. If anything, there should have been more concentration on the growing use of prescription drugs by children, but this theme is merely brushed over.
Probably the biggest criticism against "The Chumscrubber" is there is no believability here. This just doesn't feel like the real world. Although I'm not a realist, I can tell when a movie could perhaps benefit from a healthy dose of it. For example, Dean is constantly hounded by his parents and peers for not telling anyone about his friend's suicide and is thought to be crazy. It's clear Dean was merely in shock and not insane and the fact that the entire neighborhood is completely oblivious to the obvious seems a bit of a stretch.
In a general sense, there are two types of indie films. There are the stereotypical art house flicks that are mostly watched exclusively by indie film lovers. And then there are the cult indie films that gain a sense of quiet notoriety and acceptance by mainstream movie goers (Donnie Darko, Napoleon Dynamite). "The Chumscrubber" wishes it could be the latter.
"The Chumscrubber" is like the nerd in high school who so badly wants to hang with the cool kids that he pathetically tries too hard. "The Chumscrubber" wants to be the new "Donnie Darko;" all the usual elements are there. A young leading star, set in the 'burbs, a sense of phlisophical mystery with a heavy bias on the youth generation. Unfortunately, when "The Chumscrubber" showed up to school in all its cool clothes, it was merely laughed at.
"The Chumscrubber" has several good intentions and shouldn't be ignored, but to expect anything other than mediocrity would be a stretch. When will directors realize that creating satire about suburbia is like beating a dead horse. It's no longer different, innovative or eye opening. No one will leave this film thinking they learned a bit about those neighborhoods that try too hard to be perfect. No one will learn a bit about parent/teen relations that they didn't already know. It's all redundant..
Music review: Cortney Tidwell - Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up
I was a little surprise when the press release for Tidwell's mini album described her music as "gothic country." I was completely taken aback by the description and started to wonder if there was a plethora of underground avant garde bands making leftfield country music. Perhaps this shows my ignorance about country music, but who knows, they might exist....wherever they are. Fortunately, Tidwell doesn't allow herself to be pigeonholed, and her full length album is a varied mix of gentle electronics, jazz and acoustics. The most common comparisons are Bjork and Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins. But honestly, Tidwell sounds like neither of the two and it's mostly the attitude of the music that stems the comparisons, not the music itself.
"Don't Let Stars..." is a dream-like record that's very gentle in its compositions and careful with each direction it turns. It's never too abrasive or so minimal it provokes boredom. Although some critics are branding Tidwell as a singer/songwriter, I would say she belongs more in the genre of bedroom pop. Tidwell's music is a bit more spaced out and loose for the typical singer/songwriter (and trust me, this is a good thing).
Tidwell's voice is another major plus that makes this album stand out. It's not entirely unique, but it really commands the music, forcing the instruments to take the backseat and let the real star take over. In a way, it's a lot like Broadcast (I'm using them as an example because they just happen to be on my mind right now) where the vocals sometimes make the songs better than they really are. The standout track "Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up" could easily be an instrumental track thrown on some overlooked IDM compilation. But it's Tidwell's voice that makes it one of the best tracks on the album.
It's a little strange that both of Tidwell's albums are UK imports. Although it doesn't seem like it, but there's an adequate amount of people who would be interested in Tidwell's work over here, too. Coming from Nashville, you would think Tidwell would empathize with her fellow citizens going broke to listen to good music. Here's hoping a nice US release will be in the near future.
Music review: Various Production - The World is Gone
Well, it's about time.
Various Production has made a name for itself for releasing rare 7" records. Although the copies were always out of stock or under "limited time only," the praise was always the same: You're going to die if you don't hear this. This is the future of dubstep music. Since most people don't own record players, we just had to take their word for it.
Fast forward a year later and now the anonymous people behind Various Production have finally released their first full length album. Perhaps this is an important lesson on how hype can ruin a perfectly solid album. What can be done when an album offers silver and you were expecting gold? Instead of seeing the album as silver, the album becomes brass.
And so, this is the unfortunate affect of "The World is Gone." There's really nothing negative to add here besides that we set our expectations a little too high. "The World..." is a pounding, frenetic summer album that's dubstep one minute and electronic folk the next. Tracks like "Thuunk," "Hater" and "Sir" can easily become club favorites, while tracks like "Circle of Sorrow," "Deadman" and "Fly" halts the fun and introduces from stunning female vocals accompanied with an acoustic guitar.
One aspect that's a disappointment is only two tracks from their rare 7"s are on the album. It would have been nice to see "In This" or "Home" on the album instead of tracks like "Circle of Sorrow" or "Soho," which are just updated versions of them.
My advice is to forget whatever you just heard about Various Production and come join the party with an empty head. Then, perhaps you can appreciate how silver this album is.
Music review: Aco - Mask
Aco seems to suffer from identity crisis. Maybe while growing up she thought she wanted to be a teacher, than an astronaut, than a doctor, a dancer and a pet shop owner. All the adults thought it was perfectly normal for her, being a child and all, and that she would decide on something eventually. No one knew it would last this long.
Although Aco has not switched careers, her music seems to lack a true identity. It appears Aco has no idea what she wants to write about, convey to, or sound like. Like Madonna, it seems each album has a new persona, a "new" Aco to unleash on the world, and up until this point it surprisingly worked.
Aco started her career in the mid '90s as a cheesy r&b singer. She wore tons of make-up and slithered around in tight clothing. Gradually, her maturity set in and her music became more soulful and laid back. The clothes came back on and the make up was wiped off. Aco made a complete turnpoint in her career after the releases of "Absolute Ego" and "Material," two albums that showed Aco gradually getting in touch with electronic experimentation. Her past album "Irony" was a remarkable record that even rivaled Bjork's "Vespertine."
So what happened?
Perhaps Aco got bored of her past persona and knew she could not live up to the greatness of "Irony." What else could persuade her to produce "Mask," a mini album with every ounce of creative juice sucked dry as if attacked by mutant vampires?
"Mask" Aco sounds nothing like "Irony" Aco. This Aco sounds like an amateur J-pop singer, producing cheap songs on a Casio keyboard. First track "Ya-Yo!" is incredibly cute and catchy, but also comes across as repetitive and cheesy. "Guilty" can fit easily on any '90s soundtrack to a teen flick and "Rikunoritou" will fit neatly on one of Aco's older albums.
"Cover Girl" shows Aco trying to exert sassy by pouting, "You're so jealous of me...it's so irritating." The track is a throwback retro, electro pop piece, which is surprisingly one of the better numbers. "Faun Nano" shows Aco transforming into a club princess with a very hardcore house track, possibly the most hardcore song in Aco's entire catalog.
The stand out track is a cover of The Waitresses' "I Know What Boys Like," produced by laptop extraordinaire Aoki Takamasa. Although Aco seems to lack the personality to truly show the cocky aura of the song, the production by Takamasa spins the song into an updated tribute full of trademark blips and bloops.
Any artist is expected to go through some type of transformation in their career. If not, then there's no reason for people to keep buying their albums and showing up to their concerts. "Mask" is proof that not only has Aco run out ideas, but she is also taking huge creative steps backward. It's very disappointing to see it happen to such a promising artist, but there's always next persona
Music review: Ammoncontact - With Voices
The title of Ammoncontact's new album is like the label on a bottle of kitchen cleaner. New and improved! Now with lemon! Now with faster grease fighting action! Well, this is Ammoncontact's "new and improved" album, now with voices!
The blunt title says it all. The once instrumental hip hop duo are now trying their chops with the addition of many guest rappers and vocalists. All of this could easily crash and burn (see Prefuse 73's "Surrounded by Silence"), but the inclusion of voices simply show what was missing from Ammoncontact all along.
Ammoncontact has always been known as a band with potential. The talent was there and the music was solid, but it always felt incomplete, as if other elements were missing out of carelessness. For "With Voices," producers Carlos Nino and Fabian Ammon scrounged around LA for a wide variety of artists to accompany the new album. The collaborations are as varied as singer/songwriter Mia Doi Todd, to electro mastermind Daedelus, to hip hop performer/producer Abstract Rude.
Daring enough to stretch the genre of hip hop and take leaps outside the box, the music is a mixture of many genres - mainly jazz, soul and electronic. The first track "Children of the Sun" is a burst of '60s nostalgia with 21st century blood flowing through its veins. "One of Ayler" is one of two instrumental songs on the album, which contain the obligatory splash of electro glitches. "Into 77" is when the voices actually emerge featuring rapper Sach, a guy you probably never heard of. This track and "Like This" take a step back for more conventional hip hop as the rappers steal the show and overshadow whatever impressive production techniques are happening in the background.
"A Zillion Tambourines" takes a break from the domineering rappers and takes a more soulful approach, featuring Kamau Daaood in a poetic rhetoric. Stand out track "Elevation" takes an otherwise repetitive riff and sample and stretches it into three minutes of absolute atmospheric solitude. "Drum Riders" is an upbeat, clever track with several interesting samples of bells, which somehow results in being strangely cute. "Earth's Children" is a mellow downtempo ballad brewing with the gorgeousness of Mia Doi Todd's voice. The song is almost careful in its production, only allowing splashes of violins and layered samples to surface at the right moments. "Love Needs No Destination" is another poetic track featuring Imiuswi whose confidence is so glaring that it sounds like it was her own song.
Ironically, the album that very loudly declared itself to be new, improved and with voices ends with an instrumental track. Perhaps Nino and Ammon were trying to say something more subtle with this track being the closer; maybe they wanted to show that the true underlining life force is not the voices, but the music that supports it. A gentle, yet subtle reminder.
Ammon and Nino have come very far with this record. In a society that currently sees hip hop as a dying genre running out of interesting things to say and creative steps to take, it's refreshing to see Ammoncontact and the rest of the underground artists showing the music is much alive and with every inch of creative juice (and not pimp juice) flowing through its veins. Perhaps Ammoncontact will never find its audience with this album, but it's comforting to know it exists.
