Movie Review: Dinner For Schmucks

Rarely does such a great comedic cast get assembled. Dinner For Schmucks brings together comic all-stars Paul Rudd and Steve Carell. On top of these brillant comedic actors throw in a great supporting cast incuding Zach Galinfinakis,Jermaine Clement and Ron Livingston. Safe to be said I was pretty damn excited for this movie and for the most part it delivers.

Tim Conrad(Paul Rudd) is a mid-level executive at a powerful company. Conrad wants a promotion very badly so he can get married and mantain his nice apartment. After making a great proposal at a meeting he finds out that his boss Lance Fender(Bruce Greenwood) has a dinner each month and whoever brings the biggest idiot to dinner gets a promotion. Tim at first doesn't like the idea and does not plan on attending. Then when driving he hits Barry(Steve Carell) with his car and he has found his solution Barry will be his idiot at the dinner.

Dinner For Schmucks is a very good comedy. Like I said earlier when you get a cast like this it has to be funny. Rudd is good in the lead but he is overshadowed by Carell as Barry. Carell is a bumbling idiot in this movie but he still just as funny as ever. Throw in two scene-stealing supporting roles from Jermaine Clement as Tim's girfriend's zany artist friend and Zack Galinfinakis as Barry's Boss and you have a well-rounded cast that produces many laughs. The only thing I think they could have done better is made it R. It could have been even better if it wasn't PG-13.

Dinner For Schmucks is another solid entry for comedies in 2010. 2010 is shaping to be a banner year for comedy and with "The Other Guys" coming up next week I am hoping it continues the trend. Dinner For Schmucks is well-acted,very funny and just an overall enjoyable film.

4/5 Stars

Album Review: Avenged Sevenfold-Nightmare

Avenged Sevenfold has really went through a rough time creating this record. In the early stages of the record their drummer Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan died. After The Rev's shocking death Avenged Sevenfold regrouped and has called upon Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy to record the drums on Nightmare. Nightmare has been dedicated to the memory of The Rev and as a fan of the band it pains me to say that this record is really not too enjoyable.

Nightmare starts off with the title track. Its very much done in the typical Avenged Sevenfold style. Nice riff,dizzying guitar work and its a pretty good song. Sadly the record for the most part is a downward spiral after that. Their is way too many slow songs on this record. Slow is not Avenged Sevenfold's forte. Songs like "Victim" and "Fiction" are really tedious,boring tracks that are just straight up weak songs. I know Avenged Sevenfold is a mainstream band and they have always had ballads but they blew it out of porportion this go-round. What saves the record from being completely awful is the talent of Synster Gates and Mike Portnoy. The guitar solos are flawless and well executed as usual and Portnoy does an excellent job on the drums on this record. There is also a few songs here that rise way above the rest and are really good. If there more tracks like the fantastic,heavy "God Hates Us"(by far the best song on the album) or the mid paced,tempo changing "Buried Alive" then this record would most likely would have been very good.

I really did want to like this record and I have an enmorous amount of respect for Avenged Sevenfold coming out and making this album following the tragic death of The Rev. You can absoultely feel the emotion that was put into this record and I commend them on that. Sadly the songs for the most part just aren't good. A lot of weak songwriting and boring songs cancel out the few gems that are to be found on this record.This record is a big letdown and is by far the worst thing this band has ever done.

2.5/5 Stars

Standout Tracks

1.God Hates Us

2.Buried Alive

3.Natrual Born Killer

Concert Review: Rockstar Mayhem Fest Mansfield,MA July 27,2010

Got to the Comcast Center a little bit later than I expected but wasn't much of a problem got into the venue pretty quick and didn't miss a band(even though I didn't really care about the first 3 bands).

In This Moment was up first. I really don't like this band and live they were pretty unimpressive. Maria Brink does have a pretty good singing voice but her screaming is pretty weak. I am not really to into their music. I will say that they did do a pretty cool thing during their last song Maria went out into the crowd and stood at the soundboard and had the crowd circle pit around her. Side Note Maria Brink is really,really hot.

Stemm was the Jager Band at the last Mayhem Fest as well. My thoughts are still the same. They are a pretty decent band they have good energy and they got shit going. Good for them.

Norma Jean was up next so I wondered off to the Rockstar Tent so I got some Rockstar and picked up a 3 Inches Of Blood Shirt while they were on. I did see most of their set despite doing other things and they were pretty shitty.

It was finally time for one of the bands that caused me to come to this year's Mayhem Massachusetts's own Shadows Fall. It was my 1st time seeing Shadows Fall and they put on a good show. The setlist was good and the band played really well. One small complaint is that Brian Fair was a little off on vocals but he is a good frontman who knows how to work a crowd and it is hilarious to watch him circle headbang because of his dreads. I am surprised he hasn't fallen and completely fucked himself up on stage because of them. Anyways Shadows Fall was good and I will most likely see them again.

Went and met 3 Inches Of Blood near the end of Shadows Fall's set. Really cool guys. After getting autographs and talking to them for a few minutes Winds Of Plague was about to start. I know Winds Of Plague is frowned upon by most of the metal community but these guys got their shit together. I personally loved their last record The Great Stone War and in my opinion it is the best deathcore record ever. Winds of Plague has greatly matured in the past year. They have greatly stepped up their live show. The last time I saw them they are a bit of a letdown but this time they were great.

Chimaria was fantastic. Great stage presence and their songs just are so much heavier and better live. The main example is song like Secrets Of The Dead which I personally don't like at all on disc was sick live. The Dehumanizing Process was also a nice surprise addition and best of all we were the first date to get it on the whole tour.

Atreyu played next. I was meeting Winds Of Plague during their set but the Revolver Booth was pretty close to the Silver Star Stage so I could see and hear them from the line to meet them. I used to love Atreyu when I was in middle school but I soon grew out of them. They weren't too good live. It was kind of fun for nostalgia purposes they played a lot of older material that I knew but still they weren't good at all.

Hatebreed as usual was fucking insane live. Jamey Jasta is a such an insane frontman and puts 110% into their performance. The setlist was fantastic Smash Your Enemies and Hands Of A Dying Man were great additions to the set. Fantastic performance and one of the best bands of the day.

3 Inches Of Blood closed out the side stages and all I can say is holy shit. I had seen them live once before with In Flames last October but they were even better today. Even though the crowd was not that large due to Five Finger Death Punch playing on the main stage the people that where there were going apeshit. Insane performance and I am so happy that Deadly Sinners is back in the setlist.

Lamb Of God was 2 songs into their set when I made to the Main Stage but I wasn't really too sad. Lamb Of God crushed as usual. One of the best live bands in the whole metal genre. That being said even though they were still fantastic they were not as good as the last time I saw them.

Avenged Sevenfold was playing the Massachusetts date only on Mayhem. Once again this band that is frequently shit talked and I guess they do deserve some of it(They do have kind of a gay image and stupid stage names)but I do enjoy most of their music. I hadn't seen them in 4 years so I really did not know what to expect from them. Avenged Sevenfold was great. A lot of energy and it was such a pleasure seeing Mike Portnoy behind the kit. He had some crazy fills that are not in the original songs on the older material. A pleasant surprise for sure.

Rob Zombie was one of the greatest performances I had ever witnessed. Absolutely jaw-dropping amazing. Zombie is a born showmen and in a live environment he is pretty much unbeatable. The craziest thing about the set was probably John 5's solo his playing was insane. I don't know if Zombie did this on all dates but John 5 smashed his guitar after School's Out and it was awesome. I will make an effort to see him next time he comes to MA he was amazing.

Pretty much ditto for Korn. Insane live really not much else I can say.Such a fantastic show pretty much every band slayed. It was pretty much a dream come true seeing Korn and Rob Zombie two of the artists that got me into metal at the same time. Can't wait till Mayhem 2011. I would like to thank my friends that I attended this with. You guys are all fucking awesome and added to the already fantastic experience.

Scores
In This Moment 3/10
Stemm 6.5/10
Norma Jean 3/10
Shadows Fall 7.5/10
Winds Of Plague 8.5/10
Chimaria 8.5/10
Atreyu 4/10
Hatebreed 9.5/10
3 Inches Of Blood 9/10
Lamb Of God 9.5/10
Avenged Sevenfold 8.5/10
Rob Zombie 10/10
Korn 10/10

Set Lists

Shadows Fall
King Of Nothing
War
Thoughts Without Words
Still I Rise
The Power Of I and I
Bark At The Moon(Ozzy Osbourne Cover)
The Light That Blinds

Winds Of Plague
Earth(Intro)
Chest and Horns
Decimate The Weak
Angels Of Debauchery
The Impaler
One Body Too Many
Reloaded

Chimaira
Black Heart
Pleasure In Pain
Power Trip
Secrets Of The Dead
Resurrection
The Dehumanizing Process
Pure Hatered

Atreyu
Bleeding Mascara
Becoming The Bull
?
Right Side Of The Bed
You Give Love A Bad Name(Bon Jovi Cover)
?
Ex's and Oh's
Lip Gloss and Black

Hatebreed(Order might be off on a couple of songs in the middle but all the songs are correct)
Everyone Bleeds Now
In Ashes They Shall Reap
Hands Of A Dying Man
As Diehard As They Come
Smash Your Enemies
Live For This
Tear It Down
Perseverance
Last Breath
To The Threshold
Defeatist
This Is Now
I Will Be Heard

3 Inches Of Blood
Battles and Brotherhood
Silent Killer
Trial Of Champions
Call Of The Hammer
Wykydtron
Deadly Sinners
The Goatrider's Horde

Lamb Of God
The Passing(intro)
In Your Words
Set To Fail
Walk With Me In Hell
Now You've Got Something To Die For
Laid To Rest
Redneck
Black Label

Avenged Sevenfold
Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Welcome To The Family
Beast and The Harlot
Buried Alive
Unholy Confessions
Almost Easy

Rob Zombie
What Lurks On Channel X?
Superbeast
Scum Of The Earth
Living Dead Girl
More Human Than Human
Sick Bubblegum
House Of 1000 Corpses
Joey Jordison Drum Solo
Never Gonna Stop(The Red,Red Kroovy)
Mars Needs Women
Thunder Kiss 65
John 5 Solo
School's Out(Alice Cooper Cover)
Dragula

Korn
Right Now
Here To Stay
Did My Time
Oildale(Leave Me Alone)
Falling Away From Me
Somebody Someone
Let The Guilt Go
Freak On A Leash
Blind
Shoots and Ladders/One(Metallica Cover)
Clown
Got The Life

Movie Review: The Crazies

The Crazies is a remake of the cult 1973 horror flick(I had actually never heard of it untill the remake surfaced). Unlike most horror remakes this film was praised by the audience and critics alike. I had pretty much zero interest it before hearing all the postive feedback so I decided I would give it a go on DVD. I will agree it is better than most horror remakes(let's be honest that doesn't take much) but it is not anything special.

The plot focuses on a small town Ogden Marsh,Iowa. A series of strange events and behavior has been scaring and confusing Sheriff David Dutton(Timothy Olyphant) and Deputy Russell Clark(Joe Anderson). After the two lawmen make a disturbing discovery in the town lake all hell breaks loose. The townspeople slowly start becoming infected by a poisoned water supply that force everyone to become cold-blooded killers. The Sheriff and the Deputy along with the Sheriff's wife(Radha Mitchell) and one of the wife's employee's(Danielle Panabaker) go on the run and try to save the town. They are not only on the run from the infected townspeople they are also on the run from the millitary who is trying to cover up their mistake and destroy the entire town of Ogden Marsh.

The Crazies is just an average horror film. It really doesn't bring any new or exciting to the table. Granted I don't expect every horror film to do so especially a remake but a couple of curveballs would have been nice. Pretty much everything was middle of the road on this film. Acting,plot,directing,scares etc. The only things that were below average were the film relies way too heavily on jump scares. You can pretty much predict when something is going to pop out at all times. Seriously the only that is missing is something that pops out and says Boo! The only that I did enjoy about this film was the camerawork. The camerawork had a wide variety of angles and the director did a good job laying out his shots.

The Crazies is the definition of an average film. There really is nothing scary or good about it but there isn't much glaringly wrong with it either. The Crazies is basically a film that could do the job at 1:30 A.M. on HBO but outside of that its just alright.

2.5/5 Stars

Album Review: The Acacia Strain-Wormwood

Massachusetts's own The Acacia Strain doesn't break promises. With their new record they said they would break away from the pack of bands they are clumped in with and would make their heaviest record to date. I couldn't possibly think of a better way to describe Wormwood myself.

The Acacia Strain has never been a jolly,happy band but Wormwood is by far the most pissed off Acacia Strain record to date. Vocalist Vincent Bennett made Wormwood his therapy session to express how displeased he is with various things in the world from religion to violence. The Acacia Strain has always had a niche for coming with very heavy songs that stick with you and with this record they expand that even further. Songs like "BTM FDR" and "Jonestown" are among the best material The Acacia Strain has ever recorded. These tracks are extremely memorable in their approach with crushing riffs/breakdowns and the diversity in the guitarwork. They take the sound so many bands in this genre attempt to do and just do it much better. Most of the record does come together rather nicely and the songs complient each other in a great fashion even though for the most part the tracks sound completely different from one another. The only tracks that don't work too well are the last two "Unabomber" and "Tactical Nuke. "Unabomber just kind of drags and does not really amount to anything and "Tactical Nuke" is just a very odd instrumental track that really shouldn't even be on the record.

Wormwood is a heavy and exciting release. The Acacia Strain has pretty much blown all of their peers in the deathcore(even though I really don't think The Acacia Strain is deathcore) genre out of the water. The songs are memorable and pretty much all the tracks pack a pretty serious punch. It will take a few more listens but Wormwood might be The Acacia Strain's best work to date

4/5 Stars

Standout Tracks

1.BTM FDR

2.Jonestown

3.Nightman

Album Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis

(Note: I reviewed this album in March when it was released.)

The Dillinger Escape Plan is a band that severely changed the landscape of heavy music. They have influenced so many upcoming bands in their 10 year career with their trademark unique sounds that draws influnces from a vast array of musical styles. With their latest release Option Paralysis The Dillinger Escape Plan continues to awe and build on their legacy.

The Dillinger Escape Plan doesn't stick to a set mold and this reigns true again with Option Paralysis. The record starts with the epic lead single "Farewell Mona Lisa" a 5 minute plus track that twists and turns and is just the first stroke of brillance on this record. The Dillinger Escape really does do it all on this record. You have short pieces of sheer utter heavy fucking chaos ("Good Neighbor","Crystal Morning"). Then you have the tracks with the balance of Dillinger's ridiculous time changes and vocalist Greg Puciato blend of wide ranging screams and clean vocals(the aforementioned Farewell Mona Lisa.Gold Teeth On A Bum). Finally you have the experimental tracks. These tracks(Widower,Parasitic Twins) are even more ambitious than a typical Dillinger track and work just as effectively.

Option Paralysis is an absolutley astonishing album. The Dillinger Escape Plan always steps up to the plate with highly layered and complex material and set the bar so high for every other metal band that its almost unfair. Another masterpiece has been made and The Dillinger Escape Plan has most likely locked up album of the year.

5/5 Stars

Standout Tracks

1.Widower

2.Farewell Mona Lisa

3.Endless Endings

Concert Review: The Cool Tour(As I Lay Dying,Between The Buried and Me,Underoath etc) July 20,2010 Boston,MA

I got to the House Of Blues around 4. There was a pretty long line to get in, but it moved quickly and I was in by 4:10. Before the show started, I checked out the merch a bit and bought an As I Lay Dying shirt. If anyone cares, merch for As I Lay Dying,Underoath, and Between The Buried and Me is $20 and the other bands are all $15.

At 4:30 the first band of the day, War Of Ages, hit the stage. They play a similar style of old-school metalcore as As I Lay Dying plays. War Of Ages had a ton of energy,great guitar solos and were a great start to the show. I am absoultely going to check more of their studio stuff outside of the few songs I already knew. War Of Ages are a band to watch for the next few years and I can see their popularity blowing up.

Next up were the Cancer Bats. Their new record Bears,Mayors,Scraps and Bones is pretty damn good(my review for it is right below this post) , so I was pretty excited for their set. I got to say the Cancer Bats suck live. They really have no clue what they are doing on stage. The lowlight of their set was their horrendous cover of Sabotage by the Beastie Boys. Their bassist blew the bassline on Sabotage and a kid in front of me said "The bass is supposed to go (insert the proper basline noise to Sabotage)" and the bassist whipped a half-eaten cookie at him and ended up hitting one of my friends in the face. I lost a lot of respect for the Cancer Bats today. Good on album, shit live, and they are total douches. Complete and total letdown.

The Architects were on next. Good God were they bad. I thought they were bad on album, but they are even worse live. 2nd worst live metal band I have ever seen. No words for how fucking awful they are and I hope they go back to England and take their equally sucky partners in crime Bring Me The Horizon and Asking Alexandria back with them and all 3 of them never make music again(or at least don't go on a tour that I want to see).

After two straight shit performances, the hometown boys The Acacia Strain were up. I know The Acacia Strain is a deathcore band that gets a lot of shit talked about them, but these guys flat out crush live. I think they are a highly underrated band. Heavy as shit and Vincent Bennett, their vocalist, is absoultely hysterical. The crowd was going nuts for them and their pits were intense and a lot of fun and for the most part hardcore dancer free.

Bless The Fall was on next. They were better than I expected, but they still weren't anything special. The singer has a decent scream, but his clean vocals are a bit too whiney for my taste. Bless The Fall performs well and does have good energy. A few of my friends were really into them, but they were just alright to me. Hell the most impressive thing of their set was how far their singer could throw a water bottle. He has an absolute cannon.If Jay Cutler ends up having a shit season this year I say the Bears sign this dude.

The moment had finally come for Between The Buried and Me. This was my 4th seeing them and as usual, they slayed. I will say they were still amazing, but it is the weakest I have ever seen them live. They still played great and of course I will be there next time they are around.

Underoath was next up, so it was time for me to go to the back and sit down. As expected, Underoath sucked. This is sadly the 2nd time I have had to endure them live. They really just are an awful band, they don't have anything going for them. I won't shit on them too bad though because they seem like good dudes. Underoath just isn't really my thing. The crowd was really into them and they had a fantastic light show, but besides that Underoath was lame.

This was my 2nd time seeing As I Lay Dying and all I can say is wow. As I Lay Dying delivers live. Their songs sound even better live and with the exception of August Burns Red and The Dillinger Escape Plan I don't think I have ever seen a more energetic band. Bottom line: If you are an As I Lay Dying fan or a metal fan in general As I Lay Dying is a top-notch live band that gives it 110% every time they hit the stage. Kudos to them for an excellent performance and I look forward to seeing them again.

Other Notes One of my friends caught an Acacia Strain drumstick and another one of my friends was handed a pick from Phil Sgrosso of As I Lay Dying.

The subway ride back was hysterical. People started crowd surfing on the subway and it was a blast. The people on the subway that weren't from the show were most likely horrified.

I was surprised how well a majority of the bands were recieved. The audience was almost completely dead for the Cancer Bats and pretty dead for the Architects but besides that every other band got excellent crowd reception.

The crowd was fantastic. Very few douchebags and everyone was very respectful to each other. A pleasant surprise for sure.

As I Lay Dying had the first good wall of death I have seen in a long time.

Scores
War Of Ages 8/10
Cancer Bats 3.5/10
Architects 0.5/10
The Acacia Strain 8.5/10
Bless The Fall 6/10
Between The Buried and Me 9.5/10
Underoath 2/10
As I Lay Dying 9.5/10

Setlists
War Of Ages
Through The Flames
?
?
Stand Your Ground
All Consuming Fire

Cancer Bats
Sorceress
Luicfer's Rocking Chair
?
?
Sleep This Away
Sabotage
Hail Destroyer

The Acacia Strain
Whoa Shut It Down
See You Next Tuesday
Balboa Towers
The Hills Have Eyes
Angry Mob Justice
Jonestown
JFC

Between The Buried and Me
Foam Born B:The Decade Of Statues
Obfuscation
Disease,Injury,Madness
White Walls

As I Lay Dying
94 Hours
An Ocean Between Us
Anodyne Sea
Beyond Our Suffering
The Sound Of Truth
Within Destruction
Drum Solo
Vacancy
Condemned
Nothing Left
Through Struggle
Confined

Album Review: Cancer Bats-Bears,Mayors,Scraps and Bones

Canada's Cancer Bats have always been a high-praised band that I have just kind of avoided. I have known about for a couple years and I kind of dug a few songs off their last relase Hail Destroyer. I finally decided I should check out an entire release by them. Bears,Mayors.Scarps and Bones makes me wonder why I didn't start listening to these guys sooner.

This record stars off with a bang with opener "Sleep This Away". It showcases why the Cancer Bats are something special. It has the frantic hardcore vocal stylings of Liam Cormier and the first of many kick-ass riffs from guitarist Scott Middleton. The whole record is packed with genre bending hardcore that is unlike any hardcore I have heard for a while. Songs like the sludgy masterpiece "Snake Mountain" or the heavy as a ton of bricks "Black Metal Bicycle" show off the many influences the Cancer Bats have. There is a lot to like on this record and I think the only complaint I would have is a few of the songs do sound a little bit similar.

Bears,Mayors,Scraps and Bones is absoultely worth checking out. The Cancer Bats have a wide appeal with their sound as they are not your typical hardcore band. They got traces of Southren Rock,Sludge Metal and of course old school hardcore punk. This record is full of excellent riffs,manic vocals and just great songwriting. It is a shame it took me so long to finally listen to this band but damn I am happy that I finally did.

4/5 Stars

Standout Tracks

1. Snake Mountain

2.Sleep This Away

3.Trust No One

Movie Review: Inception

Inception the latest entry from one of the finest directors around right now Christopher Nolan(Memento,The Dark Knight) has been getting a huge amount of hype. From its first two trailers that told you nothing about the film but still had you really excited to see it to insane amount of viral advertising for it months before it was release. Hell it wasn't even untill the 3rd trailer was released with Iron Man 2 that anyone knew what it was about. Now that is the film has been released and it makes even more sense why this film had such a mysterious aura about it.

The plot centers around Dom Cobb(Leonardo DiCaprio). Dom is a master extractor which means he is an extremely smart thief that is hired to steal ideas in people's dreams. Dom and his partner Arthur(Joesph Gordon-Levitt) are offered a proposal by powerful business man Saito(Ken Watanabe) to attempt inception the act of a planting an idea in a dream. Cobb accepts and starts to put a team together consisting of Eames(Tom Hardy) a forger that can change his idenity in dreams, Yusuf(Dileep Rao) a chemist that creates the compunds the teams needs to get in and out of the dream world and Aridane(Ellen Page) a young college student that becomes the architect who builds the world of the dream. The team must perform the inception on the heir of a business empire(Cillian Murphy) to convince him to the split up the company. The job is extremely difficult and inception had never been done before. It is made even more difficult with Cobb's frequent visions of his dead wife Mal(Marion Cotillard) that distract from completing the task at hand.

Inception is a complex, smart and truly fantastic film. Rarely is a film's idea this unique and is this deep. Christopher Nolan deserves all the praise in the world for this film. How he frequently comes up with such sharp scripts is mind-blowing. Nolan is truly one of the finest filmakers around right now. Another huge plus is the cast. The cast is fantastic and everyone brings their A-game. I am going to be seriously annoyed if DiCaprio doesn't get nominated for Best Actor for this. Dom Cobb is a deep,troubled character and DiCaprio was the absolute perfect casting choice for the role. In addition to the top-notch writing, directing and acting is the visuals. The visuals are very impressive and add even more to this film.

Inception is a near perfect film that is easily one of the best films of 2010 so far. Christopher Nolan has put together another masterwork. Inception is original,perfectly cast,visual feast, and a complete mindfuck that will have you thinking for hours after watching what more do you need from a film?

4.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Brooklyn's Finest

Interlocking storylines tend to be a risky storytelling technique. Sometimes they work to perfection(Pulp Fiction I don't think there will ever have with better interlocking storylines that work so well in a film ever again) and there have some serious misfires(Vantage Point). Brooklyn's Finest has some good and bad storylines but when interwoven it becomes a mess

The stories of Brooklyn's Finest focus on the lives of 3 different Brooklyn cops. Eddie(Richard Gere) is a cop on the edge of retiring that is bitter and has nothing postive in his life besides his utterly strange realtionship with a prostitute. Sal(Ethan Hawke) is a cop that is going insane about getting the down payment for a new house for his family. The current house he lives is infested with mold and doesn't have room for his expanding family and Sal starts stealing drug money to attempt to pay the down payment and move into his family's dream home. Tango(Don Cheadle) is a cop that has been undercover as a drug dealer for years. He has been begging for a desk job for years to finally get out of the double life he has been living. Due to poor treatment from his police surperiors and his loyality to a drug dealer he has befriended(Wesley Snipes), he is not sure whose side he is on.

Brooklyn's Finest is one of the hardest films to form a clear opinion on in a long time. It is just such a mixed bag of a film. Let me start with the positives, what holds the film up and keeps its interesting is the acting. Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke especially turn in quality performances and characters that you actually identify with and care about. Another thing I liked was where the script was headed in the first half and it had great build up. Sadly the film doesn't really go anywhere in the 2nd half. The stories also vary on how interesting they are. Cheadle's is cleary the best and makes up the best sections of the film. Gere on the other hand has such a dull and uninteresting story I feel like they put in there as filler. A big issue i had with the film was that there are so many plot holes and events the seem important but then are never brought up again for the rest of the film. I also have to say the ending is beyond stupid, lazily written and feels tacked on.

Overall I would say Brooklyn's Finest is a decent film. It has its flaws in the script and Antione Fuqua could have done a better job directing but it is very well acted all around. I expected more simply based on the fact that it was the first crime drama Fuqua had done since Training Day(which one of my favorite films of all time). Fuqua proved that not every crime drama he touches can be a masterpiece. Hopefully he gets back on the right track and makes another masterpiece, I hope he has it in him.

3/5 Stars

Concert Review: Warped Tour July 13, 2010 Mansfield,Massachusetts

Overall it was a really fun day. That being said the day did not start that way. I got into the venue pretty fast surprisingly but after walking around for a few minutes I could find no signs of set times anywhere. When I finally did it was 11:20 I found out that the main band I was there to see The Dillinger Escape Plan had already been playing for 10 minutes. After being misguided by a Comcast Center employee I ran as fast as I could to what I thought was the Main Stage and af it turned out to be the Glamour Kills Stage/AP Stage. I finally found a map and got there they already had just about finished 43% Burnt. Despite missing half their set watching Dillinger was amazing. Spot on live and off the walls energetic. The setlist was amazing as well a lot of the best new material off of Option Paralysis was played.


After Dillinger I made a promise to my friends that I would give Bring Me The Horizon a chance live. I tend to be pretty open minded when it comes to music and I will give anything a fair chance. I give Bring Me The Horizon a chance but they were still fucking ungodly awful. Oli Sykes is one of the worst metal vocalists ever. Some of his high pitched screaming he just spoke the words instead of screaming and he had some of the gayest gestures when he was on stage. Another whale of a tale from these bitches was how Sykes kept complaining about the lack of circle pits. Dude you have to realize that your fans are gold medal invisible ninja fighters they don't like circle pits. One thing these ninja fighting douchers do like though is putting together the worst wall of death I have ever witnessed. I couldn't stop laughing it was one of the saddest things I have ever seen at a show. The only compliment I can give them is that they have good energy. Besides that Bring Me The Horizon is a detriment to metal and should stop making music ASAP.


Every Time I Die was up next for me. After Bring Me The Horizon it was refreshing to see a band that knows how to work the crowd properly. Anyone that is going to Warped Tour for the remainder of the tour should watch these guys. They are a great live band and they were a lot of fun to watch. One of the standout performances of the day.


While walking over to the Altec Lansing Stage to watch Whitechapel I watched Four Year Strong's last two songs. They weren't particularlly good but they weren't bad.

Whitechapel was up next. They were a lot better than they were at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in April but they still had shit sound and they need to make some setlist changes. They play the same songs non-stop. Whitechapel played pretty well but they still aren't as good live as they used to be.Parkway Drive came on right after them.

I got to say Parkway Drive is a great live band. The vocalist Winston McCall is fantastic and he is hillarious. Great performance all around by them and I was surprised that they had circle pits going for almost the entire set.

After Parkway it became a waiting game for me untill Alkaline Trio came on as they were 0 bands that I wanted to see during this so me and my friends sat at the Glamour Kills and AP stage for a little bit simply because there were seats. During that span I witnessed this band called Artist Vs Poet. Holy shit they were one of the worst bands I have ever heard in my entire life. Beyond whiney pop-punk that made All Time Low sound like Iron Fucking Maiden in comparison. After that shitshow Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band came on. I could not stop laughing at these guys. I understand they are trying to make fun,brainless music but they were just ridiculous. They had some talent but they sounded like music Borat would listen to. After that Sparks The Rescue played. They were still pretty weak but in comparison to the other bands that I just endured they weren't that bad.

Finally after the horrid array of sounds ended I watched Alkaline Trio. It has been a while since I had seen Alkaline Trio but they played pretty well. I will say the setlist was not the strongest mainly due to the lack of songs off of Crimson my favorite record by them. Despite the issue I still enjoyed there set a good amount and Armegeddon and 97 are two of my favorite songs by them.
I didn't watch any bands for another hour and a half after that because during the span In Fear and Faith,Alesana, We The Kings,Hey Monday,Never Shout Never,Emarosa,Emmure,Mayday Parade and a few other awful bands were occupying their respective stages.

I made a very bad choice to watch Suicide Silence over Sum 41. Sum 41 i'm sure would been a lot of fun for the nostalgia and I highly regret not watching them. I am not even a big Suicide Silence fan at all. I am take it or leave it on them on disc but they do put on a pretty good show. They were still pretty decent but Mitch wasn't on the top of his game vocally. His voice kept cracking when he was doing his highs. That being said the crowd was really into it and besides the final act of the night(who I will be getting to in a moment) they got the best reception of the entire day. My friends that I went with all had their minds blown and just kept talking about they blew everyone else on the bill out of the water but they went back to the car prior to the last act who was.


...........Andrew W.K!!!!! I knew Andrew W.K was going to be good and fun live but I didn't think he was going to be that good. He was fucking unbelieveable. I have rarely seen a crowd so excited to see an artist in my entire life. He had circle pits going from the barrier all the way back to the Vans VIP Tent. Andrew W.K is such an amazing performer and he played the best show of the entire day. I was speechless after his performance and rarely had as much fun at a show then I did during his show.Overall a good show with a couple of letdowns and long waits with no bands I wanted to see but it was still worth it.

Scores
The Dillinger Escape Plan 9/10
Bring Me The Horizon 1.5/10
Every Time I Die 8.5/10
Whitechapel 7.5/10
Parkway Drive 8/10
Artist Vs Poet 1/10
Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band 2.5/10
Sparks The Rescue 3/10
Alkaline Trio 7.5/10
Suicide Silence 6.5/10
Andrew W.K 9.5/10

Setlists

The Dillinger Escape Plan(missed half the set due to the aforementioned incident)
43% Burnt
Room Full Of Eyes
Chinese Whispers
Good Neighbor
Sunshine The Werewolf
Farewell Mona Lisa

Every Time I Die
No Son Of Mine
The Marvelous Slut
Ebolorama
After One Quarter Of A Revolution
She's My Rushmore
The New Black
Floater
Apocalypse Now And Then
Bored Stiff
We'rewolf

Whitechapel
Of Legions
The Darkest Day Of Man
Posession
Vicer Exciser
Breeding Violence
Eternal Refuge
Prostatic Fluid Asphyxiation
This Is Exile

Parkway Drive
Samsara(Intro)
Unrest
Idols and Anchors
Romance Is Dead
Sleepwalker
Dead Man's Chest
Carrion
Boneyards

Alkaline Trio
Cringe
Armageddon
Emma
Dine,Dine My Darling
Stupid Kid
In Vein
Private Eye
This Addiction
97

Suicide Silence
Wake Up
Lifted
Smoke
Unanswered
Disengage
No Time To Bleed
No Pity For A Coward

Andrew W.K.
It's Time To Party
Girls Own Love
You Will Remember Tonight
She Is Beautiful
Tear It Up
Ready To Die
We Want Fun
I Love NYC
I Get Wet
Party Hard

Movie Review: Predators

When I first heard about the sequel/reboot "Predators" I had mixed emotions. Being a big fan of the original I had become rather disgruntled with the shitty sequels and beyond stupid "Alien Vs Predator" series. I did not want another ghastly entry in the franchise. My biggest concern was the cast did not look promising. Adrien Brody and Topher Grace being in it in particular did not sit well with me. That being said Robert Rodriguez's involvement and an intriguing plotline gave me hope. Now that I have actually seen it the finished product gets the job done and then some.

The premise behind "Predators" is that group of 8 people including a disgruntled mercenary (Adrien Brody), a doctor(Topher Grace), Spetnaz Solider(Oleg Takatrov),Israleli sniper(Alice Braga) and a death row inmate(Walton Gaggins). The only thing these people have in common is that they are all cold-blooded killers and they were air-dropped into the same jungle. The group tries to figure out what is happening on the planet. After a series of discoveries the group finds out they are being hunted by a group of super-smart,strong,large and deadly creatures that brought them to their planet for the same reason to hunt and kill them. The group of killers must band together to kill these creatures before the creatures kill them.

Predators brings back the integrity to this series. It doesn't try to get fancy with the plot like "Predator 2". The plot is simple,effective and it works brillantly. My main worry going was in the cast but I must say they all did a good job(surprisingly Topher Grace gave the best performance out of the whole cast). Most of the characters were memorable and each one of them had their own quirks that kept it intresting. Most importantly though I must commend how much better the action sequences were than in the previous shit Predator films. The action scenes recaptured what was so good about the original's action sequences they were well-thought out and were not overlong and boring.

Predators is a great,gory ride. If you are a fan of the original film you will love this. It goes back to the original's style and winning formula. Producer Robert Rodriguez and Director Nimrod Antal knew what they wanted to do with this movie and they did quite well. Predators is a worth sequel/reboot and the duo of Rodriguez/Antal get my endorsement to stay at the helm for the next Predator film.

4/5 Stars

Album Review: Korn-Korn III: Remember Who You Are

Korn was one of the band's that was highly influential into getting me into metal. The infectious grooves and originality of their earlier work was excellent and started the wave of the mostly shit genre of nu-metal. After 1999's Issues Korn started to slip a little with 2002's Untouchables and 2003's Take A Look In The Mirror. After these records is when all broke loose. 2005's See You On The Other Side was pretty awful but the following record 2008's Untitled was an absolute abnomination and would go down as easily the worst Korn record ever and for me at least one of the worst albums I had ever heard in my entire life.

Thankfully with Remember Who You Are Korn does just that. They went back to the sound of their earlier records. It is a good thing they went back to their musical roots on this record because it is clear this is where they belong on the sound spectrum. Unlike most bands who hype up their new record to be something Korn does follow through with their promise of going back to heavier,simpler style that brought to where they are today. Tracks like "The Past" are heavy and bassy and sound like a rare,missing track from Life Is Peachy. As usual Jonathan Davis brings his highly intense and unique vocals back to the forefront and the lyrics are much better than on the past 2 records. That being said not everything works on this records. They a couple of songs that are very average on this record. For example "Pop A Pill" is one of these tracks. It starts off heavy but then about half way through it become really slow. Normally I am fan of contrasting parts in a song as long as they blend together in Korn's case they really don't blend together and it just sounds really terrible.

I will say that this is a good stepping stone for Korn. They are playing what is working again for them and the results for the most part click. The only problems that really stick out are the lack of excellent songs. Don't get me wrong They are plenty of good ones but this record doesn't have a "Blind" or a "Got The Life" or a "Make Me Bad. Korn has crafted a solid album and it good to see them back on the right path in their career.

3.5/5 Stars

Standout Tracks

1.The Past

2.Lead The Parade

3.Never Around

Movie Review: The Last Airbender

I think I jinxed myself last night during my mid-year review write up. I said I had not seen a film so far that I did not least marginally enjoy. Lets just say that The Last Airbender abruptly put a halt on that streak. 2010 had a good run leading up to this 16 films in a row that I enjoyed that is good.


The plot (if you could call it that) centers around a 12-year old boy named Aang(Noah Ringer). Aang is the latest reincarnation of the Avatar who can bend all the elements. Aang is discovered frozen in a block of ice by two members of the Southern Water Tribe Katra(Nicola Peltz) and Sokka(Jackson Rathbone). Upon melting Aang is kidnapped by the firebenders who soon discover he can only bend air. After Aang escapes and joins Katra and Sokka on a quest to master the remaining three elements starting with water.


This film is an absolute mess from top to bottom. I know it is just a summer blockbuster and it is a family-oriented film but that doesn't excuse from its absolute horse-shit script. This is honestly some of the worst writing I have seen in a film in a while. I mean I tend to just take a blockbuster for what it is for the most part and not over analyze it but The Last Airbender is just plain stupid. The plot is all over the place and a lot of scenes make little to no sense. There are plenty of random moments that will make you laugh out loud at how dumb they are. It also suffers from terrible miscasting. I wasn't that big of a fan of the show growing up but the main character is not white. I don't understand why they cast a white kid in the role of the Avatar. Apparently this and Prince Of Persia must of had the same casting director and apparently both of those casting directors are blind.(I apolgize for the rant about the casting it just really bugged me) The only positive in the whole film would be the effects. The effects are gorgeous especially in one of the final sequences where Aang learns to bend water.


The Last Airbender is easily the worst film I have seen this year. Its misguided,poorley written and at times laughable. It is hard to believe M.Night Shamalayn would decline so rapidly after "The Sixth Sense". He really does not know how to write anymore and I think the only reason I would see the sequels to this is to laugh. Avoid The Last Airbender unless you want to laugh or you are picking between this or the new Twilght film.


1.5/5 Stars

Mid-Year Report:Music

After a fanatastic 2009, 2010 would most likely pale in comparison and that it does. There has been a plethora of decent to good releases but a only select few have excellent. 2010 has been home to a lot of dissapointments with some normally great artists (Rob Zombie,Eminem, a couple more) dropping the ball and coming out with really lame records. There has been a few very pleasant surprises(Annotations Of An Autopsy a band that I used to loathe with a passion coming out with a very good record being the most notable).Along with such always reliable favorites of my mine(The Dillinger Escape Plan,High On Fire,As I Lay Dying) meeting expectations and making excellent records that currently top my list. Hopefully 2010's 2nd half can deliver some excellent records but after 2009 2010 is pretty much a hard act to follow. Here is the rankings of all 30 records I have listened to up to this point in the year complete with star ratings.


1.The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis(5/5)
2.As I Lay Dying-The Powerless Rise(4.5/5)
3.High On Fire-Snake For The Divine(4.5/5)
4.Overkill-Ironbound(4.5/5)
5.Nas/Damian Marley-Distant Relatives(4/5)
6.Landmine Marathon-Soverign Descent(4/5)
7.Howl-Full Of Hell(4/5)
8.Unleashed-As Yggdrasil Trembles(4/5)
9.Annotations Of An Autopsy-II: The Reign Of Darkness(4/5)
10.Coheed and Cambria-Year Of The Black Rainbow(4/5)
11.Eluveitie-Everything Remains As It Never Was(4/5)
12.Black Breath-Heavy Breathing(4/5)
13.Veil Of Maya-(id)(4/5)
14.Vampire Weekend-Contra(4/5)
15.Whitechapel-A New Era Of Corruption(4/5)
16.Parkway Drive-Deep Blue(3.5/5)
17.Through The Eyes Of The Dead-Skepsis(3.5/5)
18.Deftones-Diamond Eyes(3.5/5)
19.Dark Tranquillity-We Are The Void(3.5/5)
20.Nachtmystium-Addicts:Black Meddle Part 2(3/5)
21.Arsis-Starve For The Devil(3/5)
22.Beneath The Sky-In Loving Memory(3/5)
23.Demon Hunter-The World Is A Thorn(3/5)
24.Mutiny Within-Mutiny Within(2.5/5)
25.Exodus-Exhibit B: The Human Condition(2.5/5)
26.Black Tusk-Taste The Sin(2.5/5)
27.Bullet For My Valentine-Fever(2.5/5)
28.Rob Zombie-Hellbilly Deluxe 2(2/5)
29.Eminem-Recovery(2/5)
30.Carnifex-Hell Chose Me (1.5/5)

Mid-Year Report: Film

2010 has been a good year for film the most part. A lot of solid, entertaining films but a lack of geninuely amazing ones. 2010 has been a standout year for comedy though. A lot of hysterical films have been released thus far. Another postive for 2010 is so far I have liked every film(to an extent at least) that I have seen up to this point. Clearly that will change I hope 2010 can pull some out some nice surprises in the last 6 months of the year. Anyways here are my rankings for the 16 films I have seen up to this point from best to worst with the star rating I gave them on the side.


1.Kick-Ass (4 .5/5)
2.The Book Of Eli(4.5/5)
3.Hot Tub Time Machine(4.5/5)
4.Get Him To The Greek(4.5/5)
5.MacGruber(4.5/5)
6.Shutter Island(4/5)
7.Iron Man 2(4/5)
8.Death At A Funeral(4/5)
9.The A-Team(4/5)
10.She's Out Of My League(4/5)
11.Clash Of The Titans(4/5)
12.The Losers (3.5/5)
13.From Paris With Love(3.5/5)
14.Cop Out(3.5/5)
15.Youth In Revolt(3/5)
16.Daybreakers(3/5)