So, these are just some of the things I've seen/heard over the last couple of weeks...enjoy.
Knocked Up-First, props go out to Mr.
Judd Apatow, for using
Shimmy Shimmy Ya in the opening credit sequence, I love it when people show some love for
ODB. Secondly, who was the genius that greenlit the idea for this movie to be over 2 hours long? Standard rule boys, 90 to 100 minutes for a comedy, unless of course, you're trying to market the film as Oscar worthy. If that's the case you need to have someone die at the end. The longer running time is then granted to allow enough time for proper emotional manipulation (this is usually achieved by having a character, preferably in a hospital, crying and punching a wall, or throwing a chair or two). Umm... no one died in this movie, and while I give you style points for referencing
Matisyahu and
Murderball within a ten minute period, the word derivative popped into my head a couple of times. I liked this movie, but I would have loved it at 95 minutes.
The ending to
The Sopranos---Dude, I think Tony got whacked, I'll totally bet money, or a nights bar tab on it. Bravo
David Chase...pure genius. I would have used
Lou Reed'sPerfect Day instead of the Journey tune at the end, but that's just me.
The Police concert-Back in February when it was announced that hell had frozen over (for the second time apparently...see
Eagles reuniting or depending on who you talk to, global warming) and
The Police were going to tour, I immediately turned into a racecar in the red, I was the
Guns of the Navarone...in other words, HYPED. I even floated the idea of traveling with the band from port to port, deadhead style. The idea was met with derision, and the plan was downgraded to two concerts, Denver and Las Vegas.
I almost didn't go to the Vegas show.
First off, I paid for a
Police concert, what I got more often than not was a
Phish concert. Had the incessant noodling been cut out, 5 more songs could have been played. Had they decided not to lean towards the slower version of
Don't Stand So Close To Me, and
Voices In My Head, had they decided that
Canary in a Coalmine and
Miss Gradenko were way superior choices for inclusion into the setlist than
Walking in Your Footsteps and
Invisible Sun; I wouldn't be sitting here self-loathing about what could have been the greatest concert of my life and actually talking about the greatest concert of my life. Maybe the build up was too much for any man or band to handle. I really shouldn't complain I got to see them live. They killed it on
So Lonely and
Synchronicity II, so I guess it's kind of a wash. But Stewart was right; Sting is kind of a petulant pansy.
White Stripes -Icky Thump-There should be a rule in rock music. Anyone of halfway decent talent that's involved in a halfway decent band, should that person feel the need to satisfy their id and get their hands dirty in a side project; that side project should be of lesser value and talent than the one that brought you to the dance. Jack White, apparently never got that memo, because he created the
Raconteurs, which are pretty sick. The result of Jack not reading his TPS reports, the Stripes have suffered. This album is better than the last one when Jack busted out mariachi's and dressed like
Zorro the Gay Blade, but the single is a busy mess of a song and the rest of album is achingly phoned in. Seriously Jack, just focus on the other band now, we'll always have
De Stijl.
Mr. Brooks-Am I the only one who still likes
Kevin Costner? Judging by the box office numbers for
Mr. Brooks, the previous statement may not be far off. But fear not people, this is not
Dragonfly, Sizzle Beach USA, Message in a Bottle, Kevin. This is
Perfect World,
OpenRange, JFK, Kevin, with the added bonus that he kills people because he likes it (he apparently enjoys killing his career as well, but that's beside the point... bada bum). I will admit there are some silly subplot annoyances and yes,
DemiMoore's talent is akin to having your family murdered right in front of your eyes, but to watch Kevin and
William Hurt play off each other for two hours is worth the price of admission. I just wish someone would've evoked executive decision, and cut Mr. Costner's nude scene...not needed or warranted dude...really, really not needed. I need to sleep with the light on because of it.
The Number 23-In about a month, when you, either by yourself, or with your significant other, are at Blockbuster, or Hollywood Video, or perusing Netflix, or doing whatever it is you do when renting movies, and you see this movie, and your significant other, or your inner thought tells you to pick it up...don't. When said significant other or inner thought combat that don't thought with, "seriously it's Jim Carrey and the idea seems really interesting, how bad can it be"?...don't. I made the mistake kids, do as I say not as I do. Whatever desire you have to follow the leader...don't. If you're the type that loves to see car wrecks and gets off on cheap tawdry thrills to see how bad something can really be...don't. I had to take a rape shower after seeing this, that's how violated I felt. I trusted this movie and you know what the movie did with that trust...slipped me a roofie. Don't be a victim.
Interpol-The Heinrich Maneuver-Alright guys, you got me on the hook with the single, which isn't that hard because I am a big fan. It's poppy, but I'm okay with that. I'm just hoping with your upcoming album, you don't turn into the
Killers...or worse yet, the
Hives.
The Beastie Boys-The Mix Up. You follow up
To the 5 Boroughs with this? This was supposed to be your redemption album for duping us with that last one. Great, I've always yearned for the feeling of hanging out at a
Starbucks when I'm sitting on a couch...in my house. Here's a rule for you, not every idea you get after a few rips off the old
Graffix are great ideas. This is not a great idea. It's nice and quaint, but nice and quaint are reserved for EPs fella's. If this takes up a chunk of your show at
Red Rocks, I will have eggs and tomatoes on stand bye...you've been warned.
On a side Red Rocks note...
Muse,
Arcade Fire,
Wu-Tang Clan,
Atmosphere,TheCure, The intriguing
Monolith Festival, and
Ryan Adams will all be making an appearance at Red Rocks in the next couple of months...nice.
Live Free Or Die Hard-The nice thing about working for
20 th Century Fox for as long as I have, I get to see things early, the bad thing, I get to see things early.
Case in point.
I love Die Hard but this movie was forced into production and the script is bad. A couple of good action sequences but...
It's PG-13 with a Subway tie in. Say goodnight Gracie.
Ocean's 13-I don't want to seem like a complete negative Nancy, I did enjoy this movie. Breezy, you bet it is. I just wish they would have spent a little bit more time on the script and given more screen time to
Eddie Izzard, but
Super Dave Osborne is in the movie, so it's a wash.
Your friend
Paul Hughes.