So Dark the Con of Man..I just finished reading this book and can't recall seeing this line anywhere in it. Maybe I just missed it. At any rate, this is the tag line to the successful movie starring Tom Hanks. I haven't seen the movie, so this is a book review. My first book report since high school!
The book is about an academic sybologist and a french cryptographer attempting to locate the Holy Grail through a series of hidden symbols and word / logic puzzles. It is a very fast read with an emphasis on logic puzzles and religious conspiracy theories. Characterization seems spotty at best but the alleged religious facts and sudden plot twists maintain interest throughout.
Ultimately, this book is an enjoyably light read. It's not to deep, no matter what the material in the book suggest, and will take you on a fantastic adventure across France and England. Now, I can't wait to see the movie! The book rates a 9 out of 10.
In order to move to the next topic, I will introduce it in the speak pattern of the Da Vinci Code:
Number 94! Galore! 1234567, all good children go to heaven!
The Go-Go's - Beauty And The Beat (1982)
The Go-Go's were the first self contained all female band to score a number one hit single, "We Got The Beat." The success of this song made the quintet the "it" band of 1982 and their single became one of those songs you could not escape from. The steady, insistent beat and the near call and response vocals made the song irresistably catchy all summer long.
An additional single made the Top 20, "Our Lips Are Sealed." "Sealed" was written about an affair between guitarist Jane Weidlen and a member of British group Fun Boy Three (they recorded a version of this song as well). The song matched "We Got The Beat" in terms of having a sunny pop mood and an effective song hook.
The rest of the album had strong points as well. Drummer Gina Schock turns in an almost manic drum performance, proppeling songs such as "How Much More" and the excellent "Skidmarks On My Heart". Slower songs, like the languid "Automatic", show a deeper side to the band's music.
In the end, the deciding factor for this band's success was audience size. Although the Go Go's sold many records they were never as successful as they were here. I can remember going to see the Go'Go's on the talk show tour. Man, were they wasted!. Everything they played seems off time and half hearted.
The Go-Go's stardom began with this album and slowly faded over time. The biggest surprise is to find out the Go-Go's were a punk band until cleaning up and taking pictures in a sudsey bath tub. Sometimes the right producer (Richard Gotthard) and the right image can make a big difference.The Go Go's officially broke up a while back but still reunite for charity concerts.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
MI3 and Number 95
Yesterday I went to the movies to see Mission Impossible 3. Before starting, I've got to say I've never been the biggest Tom Cruise fan. That's not to say I don't like him or feel he's talentless, I just never thought he was a great actor. As a result, much of the recent hoopla about what Tom Cruise says, thinks or does really hasn't affected me. I find the gossip about him entertaining, but that's about it. In terms of movies, Tom Cruise has appeared in many good movies but the only movies that have really grabbed me are the Mission Impossible movies.
I also enjoyed the TV show and generally like spy movies, so the Mission Impossible movies fit in with my tastes. The first (and best) one was directed by Brian Depalma. Depalma pulled almost every trick out of his I'm-so-ripping-off-Hitchcock bag that the movie gets by on pure style. In opposition to many of this films critics, I enjoyed the winding plot and was able to follow it during the movie. However, the producers listened to the critics and heavily watered down MI2. MI2 was directed by John Woo who pulled every trick out of his I'm-so ripping-off-Old John Woo bag that the movie seems tired from the start. It doesn't help that the plot is also a rip off of the old Hitchcock film Notorious. Still, the dumbed down plot and slo mo gunplay made this film hugely successful.
Which brings us to the current film, Mission Impossible 3. This time, JJ Abrams (of Alias fame) takes control of the film and infuses it with Alias' mix of high tech espionage and personal relationships. Unlike his predecessors, Abrams directs effectively in the style of televison with minimal flourish and economical use of framing and shot length.
The first hour to hour and a half are the best in any Mission Impossible movie. It begins with a cliffhanger where Tom Cruise is told he has an explosive device placed in his head and he must answer a bizarre question to keep his wife from being shot in the head. The opening is a classic cliffhanger and the film actually improves from there. Cruise accepts a mission to attempt a rescue of a captured spy whom Cruise trained. Cruise gets an actual team to work with, a move that makes the film pay homage to the original Mission Impossible. In this part of the film, much of the high tech hardware gets displayed and the heavily timed strategies build tension throughout.
Unfortunately, once the movie catches up with the cliffhanger flashback opening, it quickly goes downhill. The generic action movie final battle and coda are dull and implausible even at B movie standards. The supporting cast give fine performances all the way around, but it is clearly Tom Cruises' show. Given the weak box office performance, it is unlikely that there will be an MI4. If you stop watching the movie two thirds of the way through, I will rate it a 10. But, with the ending included its an 8 out of 10.
Speaking of sequels, my favorite CD at number 95 is:
Journey - Arrival (2001)
In the late 1990's, Journey attempted to reform with lead singer Steve Perry to take one more shot at greatness. Sadly, after recording and releasing the CD vocalist Perry suffered an injury that sidelined him for years. In the meantime, the rest of Journey (sans drummer Steve Smith) decided to continue without Perry. Instead, lookalike and soundalike vocalist Steve Augeri was recruited. Augeri could mimic the Perry vocal style and somewhat resembled him at a distance. Enough fans stuck by Journey without Steve Perry to encourage the recording of an album, Arrival.
Arrival is the first Journey album to not feature Steve Perry since 1976. For the most part, the approach of the band is similar to their approach with Perry. The CD is chock full of ballads (All The Way, Loved By You, With Your Love and Lifetime Of Dreams) and includes a few rockers (To Be Alive Again, I Got A Reason and Higher Place). The ballads follow a similar pace to the band's earlier hits (Open Arms, Faithfully) as do the rockers, but Perry's R&B influence is sorely missing. Without Perry, the album stiffens as everyone performs the music with energy but without much soul.
So, why is this album 95 if it doesn't seem that good? It's because I'm such a fan that even hand me down Journey is better than most other bands. The anthemic "To Be Alive Again", the dark rock of "Higher Place" and the bluesy "Livin' To Do" all stand out as first rate songs. While I will always miss Perry, the truth is the last few albums with him weren't all that great. It sounded like Steve Perry solo albums with members of Journey as guests. On Arrival, it is truly a band album as all members get to contribute. If you like Journey, I do recommend this album though I cannot to nonfans.
I also enjoyed the TV show and generally like spy movies, so the Mission Impossible movies fit in with my tastes. The first (and best) one was directed by Brian Depalma. Depalma pulled almost every trick out of his I'm-so-ripping-off-Hitchcock bag that the movie gets by on pure style. In opposition to many of this films critics, I enjoyed the winding plot and was able to follow it during the movie. However, the producers listened to the critics and heavily watered down MI2. MI2 was directed by John Woo who pulled every trick out of his I'm-so ripping-off-Old John Woo bag that the movie seems tired from the start. It doesn't help that the plot is also a rip off of the old Hitchcock film Notorious. Still, the dumbed down plot and slo mo gunplay made this film hugely successful.
Which brings us to the current film, Mission Impossible 3. This time, JJ Abrams (of Alias fame) takes control of the film and infuses it with Alias' mix of high tech espionage and personal relationships. Unlike his predecessors, Abrams directs effectively in the style of televison with minimal flourish and economical use of framing and shot length.
The first hour to hour and a half are the best in any Mission Impossible movie. It begins with a cliffhanger where Tom Cruise is told he has an explosive device placed in his head and he must answer a bizarre question to keep his wife from being shot in the head. The opening is a classic cliffhanger and the film actually improves from there. Cruise accepts a mission to attempt a rescue of a captured spy whom Cruise trained. Cruise gets an actual team to work with, a move that makes the film pay homage to the original Mission Impossible. In this part of the film, much of the high tech hardware gets displayed and the heavily timed strategies build tension throughout.
Unfortunately, once the movie catches up with the cliffhanger flashback opening, it quickly goes downhill. The generic action movie final battle and coda are dull and implausible even at B movie standards. The supporting cast give fine performances all the way around, but it is clearly Tom Cruises' show. Given the weak box office performance, it is unlikely that there will be an MI4. If you stop watching the movie two thirds of the way through, I will rate it a 10. But, with the ending included its an 8 out of 10.
Speaking of sequels, my favorite CD at number 95 is:
Journey - Arrival (2001)
In the late 1990's, Journey attempted to reform with lead singer Steve Perry to take one more shot at greatness. Sadly, after recording and releasing the CD vocalist Perry suffered an injury that sidelined him for years. In the meantime, the rest of Journey (sans drummer Steve Smith) decided to continue without Perry. Instead, lookalike and soundalike vocalist Steve Augeri was recruited. Augeri could mimic the Perry vocal style and somewhat resembled him at a distance. Enough fans stuck by Journey without Steve Perry to encourage the recording of an album, Arrival.
Arrival is the first Journey album to not feature Steve Perry since 1976. For the most part, the approach of the band is similar to their approach with Perry. The CD is chock full of ballads (All The Way, Loved By You, With Your Love and Lifetime Of Dreams) and includes a few rockers (To Be Alive Again, I Got A Reason and Higher Place). The ballads follow a similar pace to the band's earlier hits (Open Arms, Faithfully) as do the rockers, but Perry's R&B influence is sorely missing. Without Perry, the album stiffens as everyone performs the music with energy but without much soul.
So, why is this album 95 if it doesn't seem that good? It's because I'm such a fan that even hand me down Journey is better than most other bands. The anthemic "To Be Alive Again", the dark rock of "Higher Place" and the bluesy "Livin' To Do" all stand out as first rate songs. While I will always miss Perry, the truth is the last few albums with him weren't all that great. It sounded like Steve Perry solo albums with members of Journey as guests. On Arrival, it is truly a band album as all members get to contribute. If you like Journey, I do recommend this album though I cannot to nonfans.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Shopgirl and Number 96
Yesterday I saw the DVD of Shopgirl, a movie starring Steve Martin and Claire Danes based on a book (sorry, Novella) by Steve Martin. The movie seemed to be about the feeling of loneliness while residing in a large society (in this case, Los Angeles). The movie features three main characters, each of whom suffer from neurosis and personality problems that keep them from belonging with general society. The lead character Marybelle, played by Claire Danes, is a struggling artist working is Saks who is desperately lonely. Steve Martin is Ray Palmer, a wealthy man who is lonely due to his fear of being close to people . The final lead character is Jeremy, played by Jason Swartzham (sp?), a creative artist who can only express himself in half random outbursts.
The movie follows the structure of a romantic comedy, but the somber, lonely mood drains much of the humor out of it. Instead, the movie seems like a bittersweet fairy tale. Dane's character, desperate for a partner, endures bizarre and insensitive behavior from her suitors Jeremy and Ray. The movie follows a slow pace and the jagged dialogue adds to the realism of the charcters and setting. The occasional shots spotlighting characters alone with the corners darkened around them added to the isolated feeling (the shots reminded me of REM's Losing My Religion video). All of the actors give strong performances, though Steve Martin's performance reminded me a lot of Robin Williams in "serious actor" mode and Jason Schwartzham's performance is a little too comic compared to the rest of the characters.
Ultimately, the slow pace that adds to the realism at the beginning starts to drag the movie down halfway through. Given that all of the characters are odd, there is difficulty in finding anyone for the audience to directly relate to. Without giving away the ending, the movie's final subject doesn't seem to be Claire Dane's Shopgirl but Steve Martin's Ray Palmer. And like Palmer, this movie has everything going for it externally but keeps everyone at arms length. I'll give this movie a 7 out of 10.
Following the popular theme of isolationism in a large society, particularly one ruled by instant electronic communication is the Number 96 CD:
Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)
Unlike many of the fans of Radiohead I have read about on the internet, I can't claim to love this band. I've read a lot about them and all the reasons why they are great, but outside of this album I can't see what the big deal is. Still, this particular album OK Computer stands out to me as one of the few modern albums to effectively capture a mood of restless disappointment caused by a society where all human interaction has been standardized by monalithic rules of behavior.
The hit song, "Karma Police", is a great example of this feeling. The song lyrically tells about how people who do bad things will eventually get what's coming to them. The lyric, "This is what you'll get when you mess with us" sounds intimidating but is sung in a detached, whiny manner that makes it seem like an idle threat. Musically, the album seems to alternate between U2 styled distortion and Pink Floydish pastoralism. My favorite track is "No Surprises", a song which to me is about the struggle between the safety of a planned life versus the lament of having everything be predictable. Another great song is "Paranoid Android", a six minute song that plays out like an alternative progressive rock band in top form with many sudden changes from quiet passages to slashing guitars.
While Radiohead seems a bit overhyped to me as a band, this album is definitely worth listening to.
The movie follows the structure of a romantic comedy, but the somber, lonely mood drains much of the humor out of it. Instead, the movie seems like a bittersweet fairy tale. Dane's character, desperate for a partner, endures bizarre and insensitive behavior from her suitors Jeremy and Ray. The movie follows a slow pace and the jagged dialogue adds to the realism of the charcters and setting. The occasional shots spotlighting characters alone with the corners darkened around them added to the isolated feeling (the shots reminded me of REM's Losing My Religion video). All of the actors give strong performances, though Steve Martin's performance reminded me a lot of Robin Williams in "serious actor" mode and Jason Schwartzham's performance is a little too comic compared to the rest of the characters.
Ultimately, the slow pace that adds to the realism at the beginning starts to drag the movie down halfway through. Given that all of the characters are odd, there is difficulty in finding anyone for the audience to directly relate to. Without giving away the ending, the movie's final subject doesn't seem to be Claire Dane's Shopgirl but Steve Martin's Ray Palmer. And like Palmer, this movie has everything going for it externally but keeps everyone at arms length. I'll give this movie a 7 out of 10.
Following the popular theme of isolationism in a large society, particularly one ruled by instant electronic communication is the Number 96 CD:
Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)
Unlike many of the fans of Radiohead I have read about on the internet, I can't claim to love this band. I've read a lot about them and all the reasons why they are great, but outside of this album I can't see what the big deal is. Still, this particular album OK Computer stands out to me as one of the few modern albums to effectively capture a mood of restless disappointment caused by a society where all human interaction has been standardized by monalithic rules of behavior.
The hit song, "Karma Police", is a great example of this feeling. The song lyrically tells about how people who do bad things will eventually get what's coming to them. The lyric, "This is what you'll get when you mess with us" sounds intimidating but is sung in a detached, whiny manner that makes it seem like an idle threat. Musically, the album seems to alternate between U2 styled distortion and Pink Floydish pastoralism. My favorite track is "No Surprises", a song which to me is about the struggle between the safety of a planned life versus the lament of having everything be predictable. Another great song is "Paranoid Android", a six minute song that plays out like an alternative progressive rock band in top form with many sudden changes from quiet passages to slashing guitars.
While Radiohead seems a bit overhyped to me as a band, this album is definitely worth listening to.
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