Maitland's Madness: Movies, Music, Sports and More!

Album Review: Van Halen-A Different Kind of Truth

2012-02-11T10:34:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of hoopla about the new Van Halen album. David Lee Roth is back for the first time since 1984, this is Van Halen's first album since the last Sammy Hager disaster in 1998 and they have a huge tour lined up for the next few months. You would think this would be great right? Not so much.

I will say my expectations for this album were very low and they surpassed them, so at least Van Halen succeeded on that front. A lot of Van Halen's peers from that era have made far worse reunion albums than A Different Kind of Truth. Thankfully, there is only a couple tracks that are god awful ( The Hagar-era sounding"Tattoo" and the bluesy disaster "Stay Frosty"). That being said, there just isn't anything remotely special about it. It just seems like they were on auto pilot throughout the album. There is really no redeeming qualities to most of this album. The songs just lack the punch that old, Roth-era Van Halen had. There is a lack of great hooks, riffs, and just overall catchiness. David Lee Roth doesn't really do a bad job (especially considering his age), but let's just say he's seen better days. It's kind of a shame considering the glory days of Van Helm were when Lee Roth was the frontman. It's awesome that he's back, but I just wish this was more of a landmark record to celebrate his comeback. Even Eddie Van Halen can't make this album memorable. Sure Eddie Van Halen is still arguably the best guitar player of all time, but his solos are (for the most part) surprisingly pretty bland here. I will say at least his guitar playing is back where it belongs instead of on the insultingly bad material that was produced when Sammy Hagar was in the band.

A Different Kind of Truth did indeed surpass my expectations, but that doesn't excuse it's mediocrity. This is an album that just doesn't go anywhere for 90% of it's duration. It's mostly inoffensive yet very so-so hard rock. It's good to see David Lee Roth back and Van Halen going back to their roots, I just wish that they had made a better comeback album than A Different Kind of Truth.

2.5/5 Stars
Standout Track
1.China Town (the only track on the album that is actually good!)

Quick Movie Reviews: Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules, Contagion, and A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas

2012-02-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

I had a good number of films to write reviews for, so I figured I would just do some brief ones on each to conserve some time.

Diary Of a Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules (Film Number 47 In My Goal For 2011 Films): An almost completely joyless and unfunny kids movie. The jokes are just so dumb I can't imagine anyone above the age of 8 thinking they are funny. When the funniest thing in the movie is the presence of a Brutal Truth poster in Roderick's room (being a big metalhead, the fact that there was a visible poster from such a legendary grindcore band in a kids movie was hilarious to me and probably no one else.), you know you have a major problem. The cast doesn't really make things better. The characters are mostly just annoying and you just sigh every time they enter a scene. Unless you have kid that is age 8 or under, stay away from this one.

1.5/5 Stars

Contagion (Film Number 48 In My Goal For 2011 Films): A pleasant surprise. Steven Soderbergh turned what could have been a very boring film into a pretty good disease film. What struck me most about this film was the fact that it's incredibly realistic. This could ACTUALLY happen and that is just incredibly scary. The film also makes good use of it's large cast of A-list actors. This is a great ensemble of talented actors and they are pretty much all on the top of their game here ( Jude Law, Matt Damon, and Laurence Fishburne give the standout performances out of this elite cast of actors). The only downside to Contagion is the narrative is a little too scattered and manic. If it had a better structured story, it would have reached it's full potential. Nevertheless, a good and effectively eerie disease movie.

3.5/5 Stars

A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas*: Irrelevant to the quality of the movie, but it's very strange watching a Christmas movie in February. Anyways, back to the movie itself. As expected, it's hilarious. It's exactly what a Harold and Kumar Christmas promised to be and should be: lots of drug use, sex, vulgarity, stupid humor, lunacy and of course, another amazing cameo from Neil Patrick Harris, and even some holiday cheer and charm for good measure. It's good to have Harold and Kumar back, John Cho and Kal Penn really are a great comedic pair. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first two, but it's still a great comedy.

4/5 Stars

Top 100 Modern Metal Guitarists

2012-02-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

This has been something I have been working on for a long time. I've put a lot of effort into analyzing the playing of all the guitarists on this list, even if I didn't enjoy their respective band's music. There was only one rule I had when compiling this list: The band had to be formed from 1990 to the present day (so great players like John Petrucci, Fredrik Thordendal, and Terrence Hobbs are excluded). Another quick note is I listed some players that played or are currently playing in bands that were formed before 1990, but their main band formed within in the eligible time period (which is why Chris Broderick did not make the list and Erik Rutan did). Feel free to comment, I appreciate the feedback. I hope that clears everything up and without further ado, here is my list of the top 100 guitar players in modern metal.

100.JB Brubaker (August Burns Red)

99.David Sullivan (Red Fang)

98.Robby Baca (The Contortionist)

97.Oli Herbert (All That Remains)

96.Ryan Waste (Municipal Waste)

95.Pete Adams (Baroness)

94.Ryan Butler (Landmine Marathon)

93.Mike Sprietzer (Devildriver)

92.Per Nilison (Scar Symmetry)

91.Mike “Gunface” McKenzie (The Red Chord)

90.John Abernathy (Conducting From The Grave)

89.Joel Grind (Toxic Holocaust)

88.Robb Flynn (Machine Head)

87.Willie Adler (Lamb Of God)

86.Josh Middleton (Sylosis)

85.A.J Harvey (Last Chance To Reason)

84.Peter Wichers (Soilwork)

83.Josh Travis (The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, Glass Cloud)

82.Rob Arnold (ex-Chimaira, Six Feet Under)

81.Bjorn Gallette (In Flames)

80.Matt Pike (High On Fire, ex-Sleep)

79.J.D Cronise (The Sword)

78.Cristaino Trionferia (Fleshgod Apocalypse)

77.Luke Kilpatrick (Parkway Drive)

76.Doc Coyle (God Forbid)

75.Chris Marchteal (Powerglove)

74.Nick Hipa (As I Lay Dying)

73.Mark Morton (Lamb Of God)

72.Matheiau Marcotte (Augury)

71.Charles Elliott (Abysmal Dawn)

70.Greg Burgess (Allegaeon)

69.Joe Haley (Psycroptic)

68.Dan Gapen (Lazarus A.D)

67.John Gallagher (Dying Fetus)

66.Travis Montgomery (Threat Signal)

65.Corey Beaulieu (Trivium)

64.Marc Lambert (Painted In Exile)

63.Fransisco Auerado (All Shall Perish)

62.Sebastian Nilson (Aeon)

61.Branon Bernatowiz (War Of Ages)

60.Arde Oswitari (Burning The Masses)

59.Nergal (Behemoth)

58.Sammy Duet (Goatwhore, ex-Acid Bath, ex-Crowbar)

57.Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold)

56.James Malone (Arsis)

55.Jonathan Donais (Shadows Fall)

54.Brandon Small(Dethklok)

53.Scott Corstairs (Fallujah)

52.Chase Fraser (Son Of Aurelius, Decrepit Birth (touring), ex-Animosity)

51.Muhammed Suicwez (Necrophagist)

50.Shane Clark (3 Inches of Blood)

49.John Laux (Warbringer)

48.Kris Norris (The Kris Norris Project, ex-Darkest Hour)

47.Chris Valenzula (Burning The Masses)

46.Reece Scruggs (Havok)

45.Joe Cochi (Within The Ruins)

44.Christopher Bradley (Beneath The Massacre)

43.Jason Richardson (Chelsea Grin (vomit, hasn't done any studio stuff with them yet), ex-Born Of Osiris, ex-All Shall Perish)

42.Trent Hafdahl (After The Burial)

41.Johan Sodderberg (Amon Amarth)

40.Adam Dutekiwicz (Killswitch Engage, Times Of Grace)

39.Josh Elmore (Cattle Decapitation)

38.Misha “Bulb” Mansoor (Periphery)

37.Vogg (Decapitated)

36.Erik Nelson (Vektor)

35.Emil Wrestler (Chimaira (hasn't recorded any studio stuff with them yet), Daath)

34.Devin Townsend (Devin Townsend Project, Solo, ex-Strapping Young Lad)

33.Nate Garnette (Skeletonwitch)

32.Kurt Ballou (Converge)

31.Luke Hoskin (Protest The Hero)

30.Matt Sotelo (Decrepit Birth)

29.Adam Jones (Tool)

28.Buz McGrath (Unearth)

27.Gus G (Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne)

26.Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, ex-Morbid Angel)

25.Ivan Bornson(Enslaved)

24.Scott Hull (Pig Destroyer, Agoraphobic Nosebleed)

23.Chimp Spanner (Solo)

22.Christopher Amott (Arch Enemy)

21.Christopher Arp (Psyopus)

20.Ben Weinman (The Dillinger Escape Plan)

19.Ol' Drake (Evile)

18.Alexi Laiho (Children Of Bodom)

17.Mikael Aferdelt (Opeth)

16.Michael Keene (The Faceless)

15.A.J Minette (The Human Abstract)

14.Chris Lectford (Scale The Summit)

13.John 5 (Rob Zombie, Solo,ex-Marilyn Manson)

12.Phil Demmel (Machine Head)

11.Paul Ryan (Origin)

10.Ryan Knight (The Black Dahlia Murder, ex-Arsis)

9.Michael Amott (Arch Enemy)

8.Karl Sanders (Nile)

7.Christian Munzer (Obscura, Spawn Of Possession, ex-Necrophagist)

6.Brent Hinds (Mastodon)

5.Jeff Loomis (ex-Nevermore, Solo)

4.Colin Marston (Behold...The Arctopus, Kralice, A lot of other projects)

3.Paul Waggoner (Between The Buried and Me)
2.David Davidson (Revocation)

1.Tosin Abasi (Animals As Leaders)

Concert Review: Machine Head, Worcester, MA, Februrary 4th, 2012

2012-02-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry it took me a couple days to post this. My internet was down yesterday and the Super Bowl also interfered with me writing this. Now that everything is back up and running, I can finally do my write-up on this great show.

My friend and I got there around 6:30 and managed to secure a very good spot right above the floor. I was surprised that there was so few people there at that point in time, which was very unfortunate for this show. After about 30 minutes, Darkest Hour hit the stage. They were great as usual. John Henry never fails to impress with his stage presence. He just commands the stage and gets the crowd amped even if they aren't huge fans of the band. On top of his great stage presence, he sounded spot-on vocally. The set was pretty similar to what it was at Summer Slaughter, which was fine because they still played great (Although I wish they would break out a couple more from Deliver Us and Undoing Ruin). They were even better than the first time I saw them and I hope I get to see them again soon.

Suicide Silence was up next. Thankfully the crowd started to get bigger and remained large for the rest of the night. What else can I say their live shows? This marked my sixth(!) time seeing them and I'm just getting really damn bored of seeing them live. I don't really have anything horribly against them, they just don't do anything for me. They are like the herpes of metal for me, they will go away for about six months and then they just pop up and I end up seeing them again (I have never gone to a show to see them specifically, they are just kind of there every time). They played for 45 minutes, which is way too long for them to remain interesting. Mitch Lucker gets on my nerves more and more each time. His stage presence is obnoxious. He just yells out stupid shit like "smoke fucking weed" and "Bounce!" (I don't know why he kept asking the crowd to do this, this isn't a fucking mainstream rap concert) the whole time and it gets really annoying really fast. Also adding to the annoying sections of their performance was the frequent use of the airhorn that appears in every bad rap song of the past couple of years. That was absolutely nothing short of puzzling and I honestly couldn't believe what was I hearing. On the plus side, they did play "Smoke", which is the only song in their discography that I really like. Not completely repulsive, but not enjoyable either. I really hope I don't have to see them again for at least the rest of this year.

Machine Head was finally on next. I had seen Machine Head twice before, but it was in support slots on Mayhem Fest, so my excitement level was through the roof to see them headline. As expected, they completely crushed. For almost two hours, Machine Head mightily impressed with their great stage presence and stunning musicianship. Their style of metal is made for mid-sized venues like The Palladium. They just blew the roof off of the place. Even weak songs from their nu-metal days like "Bulldozer" and "The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears" were immense in a live setting. Robb Flynn sounded amazing all night. How is he able to scream and sing that well for that long of a set at his age is extremely impressive. The band was tight as all hell too. Phil Demmel hit every solo perfectly, Dave McClain was a beast on the drums and Adam Duce was great when you could hear the bass. I can also say that without fail, "Halo" remains one of the most epic live songs ever. It just hits so hard every time and it becomes even more grand in a live setting than on disc (which is very impressive considering how perfect that song is on disc). The only thing preventing me from giving Machine Head a 10 was the fucking lame vocal effects Robb Flynn used on the intro to "I Am Hell" and a couple more times during the set. It was really corny and lame and took away from how awesome Machine Head's performance was. Still, even that small complaint wasn't enough to take much away from the amazing show that Machine Head put on. It was an absolute pleasure to finally see them headline and I hope it won't be another four and a half years before their next headlining tour.

Scores
Darkest Hour 8.5/10
Suicide Silence 4.5/10
Machine Head 9.5/10

Setlists:
Darkest Hour:
The World Engulfed in Flames
No God
Savor the Kill
With a Thousand Words to Say but One
Violent By Nature
Your Everyday Disaster
Doomsayer (The Beginning of the End)

Suicide Silence:
You Only Live Once
Wake Up
Unanswered
O.C.D
Bludgeoned to Death
Slaves to Substance
Lifted
Smoke
Disengage
Fuck Everything
No Pity For a Coward

Machine Head:
I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
Be Still and Know
Imperium
Beautiful Mourning
The Blood, The Sweat, The Tears
Locust
This is the End
Aesthetics of Hate
Old
Darkness Within
Bulldozer
Ten Ton Hammer
Who We Are

Encore:
Halo
Davidian

Album Review: iwrestledabearonce-Ruining It for Everybody

2012-02-04T08:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I am even writing this review right now. If you had told me a couple of months ago that I was going to write a positive review for an iwrestledabearonce album, I would have told you were out of your god damn mind. Well I'll have to eat crow on this one because it's happening, Ruining It for Everybody is a quality release.

Ruining It for Everybody doesn't really do anything vastly different than their previous material, it just works this time around. Where their past material was disjointed and sloppy, this album prevails with a sense of organization to the chaos. Everything just flows a lot smoother and you can tell they took their time to craft their unique brand of lunacy this time around. It's not just the flow of their music has improved, it's everything about it. They took a lot more risks with their experimentation and it pays off. Their music has always been abstract and strange, but now it's weirder than ever. From the use of a gospel choir on "Dedorant Can't Fix Ugly"to the piano-driven "This Head Music Makes My Eyes Rain" to their usual video game-style bleeps and bloops, iwrestledabearonce makes sure there is not a single moment where chaos isn't ensuing. Vocalist Krysta Cameron also steps her game up. Her screams are very much improved from the first album. That being said, her real strength as a vocalist is her clean vocals. She truly has an amazing singing voice and range. She can go from one extreme to the other at the drop of a hat and that really impressed me.

Ruining It for Everybody is a surprisingly good record. iwrestledabearonce has found their groove when it comes to making weird, spastic metal. They kind remind me of if Dillinger Escape Plan and Converge became obsessed with video games and had a dumb, oddball sense of humor. This is some unpredictable, catchy stuff that just flat-out works for whatever reason. Kuds to iwrestledbearonce for converting me into a fan and getting a hold of their abstract niche.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.I'm Gonna Shoot
2.Deodorant Can't Fix Ugly
3.Button It Up

Movie Review: Drive

2012-02-02T06:29:00.000-08:00

Warning for anyone who sees the film: the trailers are extremely misleading. This is not the Fast and the Furious type action movie the trailers make it out to be. That being said, Drive is a great film if you're willing to take a chance on it. It's definitely not a film for all audiences, but for those who are patient, it's very rewarding. Drive is a combination of two films in one. The first half is a romantic drama and the second half is a brutal crime/revenge film. What unifies the film though is it's unique style throughout. Director Nicolas Winding Refn's style is abstract, but undeniably cool. The film is able to blend a layered romantic story with brief sequences of incredibly graphic violence effortlessly. His choice of shots is remarkable and it's easily the most impressive camerawork I've seen in a long time (the elevator scene is nothing short of mesmerising from a technical standpoint). There is a very art-driven approach to the whole production, but it's not pretentious or douchey in any way. On top being very well made, Drive is full of top-notch acting. Ryan Gosling's work as the lead is amazing. His performance is subtle yet very bold. His character doesn't say much, but his actions speak louder than his words. The second half of the film his character shows that beneath his calm demeanor is a beast that can destroy anything or anyone that is put in his path. Just as good is Albert Brooks's performance as the film's antagonist. Brooks is playing really off-type, but it might be the strongest performance of his career. His character is a ruthless mobster that strikes fear into everyone around him. Brooks isn't on screen for very long, but when he is, he is absolutely electric. Drive is an ambitious film that succeeds on almost every level. It's definitely not for everyone. It's slow, there are sequences with no dialogue, and there is no action for the first 45 minutes or so. But that doesn't take away from how great this film is. Drive is the most brutal romantic film ever made and it's kind of a shame it didn't get more attention from the Academy Awards this year.

4/5 Stars

February In Film

2012-02-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

February is the transitional period from the smaller releases of January to the semi-large releases of March. Some of the films are on a larger scale and others are carrying over the low-aim fare from January. Here are my thoughts on all of the February films.

Films I Want to See
2.Wanderlust(2/24)-Even though the film was delayed for months, I still really want to see it. David Wain and his writing team that was behind the great Role Models are behind this film. Throw that on top of a great cast including Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Joe Lo Trugilo, and Alan Alda you have the potential for the first great comedy of 2012.

1.Safe House(2/10)- Denzel Washington looks to be a sinister villain and it looks to be filled with suspense and twists. I am very excited to see this and I hope it's the thrill ride that the trailer makes it out to be

Film I Am Not Sure About
Chronicle (2/3)-I am really on the fence about this one. The early reviews have been great and the concept is interesting, but it's done in the damn found-footage format which I can't stand. Hopefully it can restore my faith in the found-footage format and not continue the trend of god awful films.

Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance(2/17)-The first installment was very average, but I am holding out hope for this one. The trailer looks to be better than the original and the presence of the warped minds of Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine (Crank, Gamer) in the director's chairs make me think this film will embrace a manic, crazy tone which is exactly what a film like this needs.

Act of Valor (2/24)-The concept definitely intrigues me. Having Active Duty U.S Navy Seals make an action movie is going to add a lot of realism and could make for a great action film. My only issue is the trailer makes it look like they could have wasted the potential plus you have no idea how well these guys can act because they are soldiers (not that really matters because this is an action film, but if the acting is really bad it will definitely drag the film down).

Gone(2/24)-Looks like a better female-driven version of Abduction, which isn't exactly praise or criticism.

Film I Have No Interest In
Big Miracle(2/3)-Look way too standard plus I don't really animal-based movie (I don't really hate animals, but I'm not really an animal love either).

The Woman in Black(2/3)-I really don't like horror films like this. The haunted-house genre has never really appealed to me and this does not look like it's going to change my mind.

Journey 2 The Mysterious Island(2/10)-I actually kind of liked the original, but this looks like all the fun is gone and just become a really dumb adventure film.

The Vow(2/10)-The obligatory sappy romantic drama tearjerker of the Valentine's Day season. Anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis should not be surprised that I have absolutely no desire to see this.

This Means War(2/14)-The obligatory romantic comedy of the Valentine's Day season. This film does have a strong cast with Tom Hardy and Chris Pine in the two lead roles, but the idiotic looking trailer does do it any favors.

Good Deeds(2/24)-This may be the best looking Tyler Perry film ever, but it's still a Tyler Perry film.

Album Review: Aborted-Global Flatline

2012-01-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

Belgian death bringers Aborted return with their first full-length in four years and not much has changed. Aborted still has the chops to make quality death metal and Global Flatline drives that point home even further.

Global Flatine is familiar territory for Aborted and it still suites them pretty well. This is gore-soaked brutal death metal with grindcore undertones and full of eerie spoken world samples from unknown sources (It still mystifies me where they are able to find all these weird, creepy sound clips. Is there some kind of underground directory or something?). It rarely reaches greatness, but when it does it rivals Goremageddon in terms of quality. "Of Scabs and Boils", "Grime", and especially "The Kallinger Theory" stood out to me. These tracks are when Aborted's twisted, chaotic, sinister nature reaches full on bat-shit crazy status. If the whole album was like these 3 songs, it would have been completely awesome and rivaled Goremageddon as their best record. Besides that we are left with 10 other solid, but not spectacular songs. On the plus side, Sven De Calume can still growl with the best of them and there are some pretty cool solos and progressive breaks in the action that make the whole record worth listening to, but doesn't quite match the greatness of those three aforementioned tracks.

Global Flatline is vintage Aborted. They haven't lost a step in their four-year absence. They still know how to crush skulls and make brutal death metal that takes no prisoners and goes straight for the jugular. Though it rarely reaches the heights that some of their previous material did, it remains pretty damn good throughout. Global Flatline is a nice return to the scene for Aborted and hopefully it won't take them another four years to release another record.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.The Kallinger Theory
2.Of Scabs and Boils
3.Grime

Concert Review: Lamb of God, Boston, MA, January 25th, 2012

2012-01-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, last night was just incredible. It was a special experience getting to see a band of Lamb of God's caliber in such an intimate setting.

The evening started off on kind of the wrong foot with Maine's Too Late The Hero. Their brand of emo-laced post-hardcore made them terribly out of place on this bill (though they did get a somewhat favorable reception overall). I do respect their enthusiasm and decent stage presence, but their music missed the mark with me.

The Acacia Strain followed. As always, they put on a really good show. The only downside of their performance was I spent most of it crushed up against a pole (the only thing I didn't like about the Paradise was the vast amount of poles that obstruct your view, it gets kind of annoying after a while). They too did not fit in really well with Lamb of God, but it doesn't really matter too much because they are always enjoyable no matter who they are playing with. Frontman Vincent Bennett was truly honored to be there and seemed genuinely surprised at the reception they got (not sure why though, they are from Massachusetts). Probably the best performance I've seen from The Acacia Strain and I look forward to seeing them again sometime in the near future.

It was finally time for Lamb of God and as expected, they were spectacular. They came out and just crushed skulls for an hour and a half. I honestly forgot how good Lamb of God was live, but after last night, I will never forget again. The new stuff kicks ass live (especially "Ghost Walking") and the old stuff hit just as hard as ever. The energy in the room was just awesome. The crowd was feeding off of the band's energy so well and everyone was going 110% the whole time. The only thing that sucked about that was that I lost an earplug early on in the set (I just bought them so suffice to say, I was kind of bummed). Beside that small problem, the whole set was perfect. They absolutely killed it and I hope they roll through Massachusetts again later this year.

Scores
Too Late The Hero 3/10
The Acacia Strain 8.5/10
Lamb of God 10/10

Setlists:
The Acacia Strain:
Beast
The Hills Have Eyes
Burnface
Whoa! Shut It Down
Bay of Pigs
Dr.Doom
JFC

Lamb of God:
Desolation
Ghost Walking
Walk With Me in Hell
Set to Fail
Now You've Got Something to Die For
Ruin
Hourglass
The Undertow
Descending
Contractor
The Number Six
Laid To Rest
Encore:
In Your Words
Redneck
Black Label

Mayhem Fest 2012 Lineup

2012-01-25T13:51:00.000-08:00

After months of wild speculation (most of which wasn't even close to true), the lineup for this years Mayhem Fest has been revealed:
Main Stage:
Slipknot
Slayer
Special Guests TBA March 5

Rotating Main Stage Opener/ Side Stage Bands
As I Lay Dying
The Devil Wears Prada
Asking Alexandria (FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK I will probably just heckle them relentlessly)

Jager Stage:
Anthrax(headlines all dates)
Whitechapel
High On Fire
Jager Band

Overall, I am pretty happy with the lineup. I like almost all of the bands to varying extents (Slipknot, Slayer, Anthrax, As I Lay Dying, and High On Fire being my favorites on the lineup). Asking Alexandria is the only band I dislike on the bill, but they more than make up for the rest of the lineup being solid. Besides Asking Alexandria, I really don't have any complaints and it should be another great Mayhem Fest.

Movie Review: The Ides of March (Film Number 46 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2012-01-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

Just in time for the Republican primaries, we have the release of The Ides of March on DVD. The timing couldn't possibly more fitting considering the shit show that is going on with all the Republican candidates right now. The Ides of March which is centered around corruption and greed during a Presidential campaign doesn't really offer up any up shocking truths or revelations, but the content is effective in driving it's message home. These kinds of things happen in politics all the time and the public is none the wiser. That alone makes this an important film to watch, but the real strength of The Ides of March is the acting. Ryan Gosling is enough to drive the film by himself in the lead role, but the supporting players (George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Paul Giamatti) are also excellent. Great acting can be enough to make a film and The Ides of March has a plethora of wonderful performances. The actors carry this movie on their back and it's a pleasure to watch these spectacular actors work their magic throughout.

3.5/5 Stars

NFL Conference Championship Picks

2012-01-21T08:15:00.000-08:00

It all comes down to this weekend. A trip to the Super Bowl is at stake and we have four great teams that are very evenly matched set to duke it out in the AFC and NFC championship games. I wouldn't be surprised if any of these teams won their respective games, but here are my picks for the conference title games this weekend

Last Weekend's Record: 2-2 (2-0 for the AFC and 0-2 for the NFC ironically)
Overall Playoff Record: 3-5

New England Patriots over Baltimore Ravens: There is a lot on the line in this one. The Patriots want to show that they can recover from the beatdown the Ravens gave them in the playoffs a couple of years ago. The Ravens want to show that Joe Flacco can step up in the playoffs and that they can take out the greatest team of the past 10 years out in front of their hometown fans. While this should be a very entertaining and close game, I see the Patriots taking it. Tom Brady has a chip on his shoulder and that is never a good thing for opposing defenses. It also helps he has the near unstoppable tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The Patriots defense is terrible, but Baltimore's offense is too inconsistent and the Patriots offense is too good for that to be a deciding factor in the game.

New York Giants over San Fransisco 49ers: This has the potential to be as good as the Saints/49ers game last weekend (which might have the best football game I've ever seen). This game is going to be a defensive struggle. These two defenses are arguably the two best in the league and are going to bring tremendous pressure on each other's offenses. At the end of the day, it's going to come down to a couple of big plays and that's where the Giants have the edge. They live for the big plays (which has been proven in their two playoff games so far). Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz are extremely explosive wideouts and I think one of them will end up scoring the game winning touchdown. Expect a tight one, but the Giants should be able to pull it out.

Album Review: Lacuna Coil-Dark Adrenaline

2012-01-20T07:12:00.000-08:00

Lacuna Coil is a strange band. Not because of the style of music they play, but because of how their albums have gotten progressively worse over time without much of a change in sound. Maybe the lack of change in sound is the problem, I don't really know. What I do know is that Dark Adrenaline while still decent, is their weakest record to date.

Dark Adrenaline starts off with some promise. The first half of the record is actually pretty damn good. There are some good hooks, the songs are catchy, there is a couple of good solos, and Cristina Scabbia does a great job on vocals. Album standouts "Kill the Light", "Against You" and "Give Me Something More" are better than anything on their previous record Shallow Life. I was starting to think this record was going to be a step-up from Shallow Life and be a pleasant surprise, then the second half of the album happened. The second half ranges from middling to just plain awful (with the exception of "Fire" which is the only good songs on the second half of the record.) They just completely run out of ideas and the album becomes pretty boring. "I Don't Believe In Tomorrow" is a dull ballad that fails to recreate the magic of some of their earlier slow songs like "Within Me" or "Not Enough". "My Spirit" is almost six minutes long and does absolutely nothing interesting during that time and closes the album with a whimper. But the real lowlight of the album is the painfully bad cover of R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion". I am not a fan of R.E.M.'s music, but I was hoping throughout the song that Michael Stipp would come in and cut them off to put me out of my misery.

Dark Adrenaline is really two different records. The first half is pretty good and worth listening to. The second half is dull as hell and seems thrown together. Even though at times it's a frustrating record, The first half does overpower the second half which leads to a mild recommendation from me. This isn't going to really win over any new fans, but if you like Lacuna Coil, you should enjoy this record.
3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Kill the Light
2.Against You
3.Give Me Something More

Album Review: Lamb Of God-Resolution

2012-01-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

To say Lamb of God is an impressive band would be an understatement. They have been at the forefront of the metal scene for over a decade and have continued to make quality records as their popularity has increased. After a quiet last couple of years from them, Lamb of God has come back with a vengeance on their new record Resolution.

Resolution achieved what I didn't even think was possible for Lamb of God: they topped their landmark masterpiece Ashes of the Wake. When I first heard Resolution, I was in utter disbelief at how good it was. Weeks later, I still have the same feeling. Lamb Of God has turned it up to 11 and just gave all they got for this record. They waste no time showing everyone they mean business with the full throttle, crushing, opening track "Straight for the Sun". The track showcases some Crowbar-esque sludge riffing and it hits harder than a freight train. The fury of "Straight for the Sun" carries right over to the next track "Desolation". "Desolation" is a contender for my favorite Lamb of God song ever. It's heavy as all hell, the riff is perfect, the energy is relentless, and Randy Blythe has never sounded better vocally. The pure and furious energy and incredible riffs and solos throughout are only part of the reason Resolution is so special. Resolution is also the most varied Lamb of God record to date. The best example of this is the epic closer "King Me". There is prominent violin and piano use, which is something I would never come to expect from Lamb of God. It's an immense piece of music that is the perfect closer to this monumental album.

Lamb of God has truly outdone themselves on Resolution. It's one of those rare album where I was rendered speechless after listening. I could not fathom the insanely high quality of the material on this record. Every song on this album is perfect. The musicanship is off the charts. Everyone stepped their game up big time. Mark Morton and Willie Adler have never played better solos, Chris Adler has never had more intricate and complex drumming, and Randy Blythe has never sounded more fierce or written better lyrics. Resolution is fucking flawless and is an early contender (and more than likely frontrunner) for album of the year.

5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Desolation
2.King Me
3.Invictus

Movie Review: Water for Elephants (Film Number 45 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2012-01-17T11:39:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had the feeling when watching a movie that the movie you are watching isn't bad, it's just that you don't enjoy it? It's a rare occurrence, but when it happens it just feels odd. That's exactly how I felt while watching Water for Elephants. It's a pretty well-made film, it's just not my cup of tea at all. I guess I shouldn't be surprised (considering my taste in movies), that I didn't like a drama/romance film about the circus. This is the type of film that is a crowd-pleaser and will be enjoyed by many people, it just didn't really interest me. I will say that it does do some things right. Mainly the direction and cinematography. Francis Lawrence brings his experience directing large-scale action films to capturing the frenzied uproar of the circus with ease. This is also one of the most beautifully shot films of the year. It's breathtaking to look at and Rodrigo Preito deserves a lot of credit for his work behind the camera. I also have to give Christoph Waltz a lot of praise. He is excellent as always and his performance alone almost made me enjoy this movie. Surprisingly, even Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon weren't bad. I am sure this review will cause confusion and for that I am sorry. This is a film that I can respect and understand that it's not a bad movie, i just didn't enjoy it.

2/5 Stars

Movie Review: Contraband

2012-01-16T09:32:00.000-08:00

After a few years doing more serious dramatic and comedic fare, Mark Wahlberg goes back to his roots doing a gritty action film. Wahlberg's last action flick, Max Payne, was pretty awful. So in a way Contraband serves as kind of a redemption film for Wahlberg (when it comes to the action movies he's been in, I was a huge fan of The Fighter and The Other Guys). Contraband returns Wahlberg to the early days of his acting career gracefully and gets rid of the bad taste that Max Payne left.

Contraband is a sly little action caper that is a lot stronger than most of the material released in early January. The story is basic, but effective. It moves along briskly and remains compelling throughout with no downtime. You can not wait to see what happens next. There is also quite a bit of suspense in this film. As the story unfolds, There was many times where I was on the edge-of-my seat. It reminded me a lot of a heist film in that regard. You are trying to figure out how the heroes will accomplish this near-impossible feat and when they do at the climax of the film, it's pretty damn satisfying. In addition to the exciting story and abundance of thrills, Contraband benefits from having a very strong cast. Mark Wahlberg delivers a solid performance in the lead. Giovanni Ribsi makes a pretty good bad guy. What he lacks in stature, he makes up for in pure menacing presence. Ben Foster is also great (but underutilized) as always.

Contrband is a very good action thriller. It's an exciting, suspense-filled, pretty well-acted, and entertaining caper flick. The only thing preventing this from an absolutely excellent film is a few plot holes in the middle and a very obvious (and unnecessary) plot twist. Contraband delivers the goods for a January film and provides a nice start for 2012 films.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Killer Elite

2012-01-15T09:49:00.000-08:00

Killer Elite may be just another Jason Statham vehicle, but that really isn't a problem at all if it's still good. Killer Elite is Statham's best film (with him in the leading role) since Death Race. What pleasantly surprised me about Killer Elite was good the story was. It weaves a pretty complex tale of espionage, assassins, and government cover-ups, which is uncharted territory for a Jason Statham film. It's always nice to have a good story in an action film, I was not really expecting that at all. Of course, it wouldn't be a Jason Statham film without great action. The action scenes are more elaborate, intense, and realistic then they have been in his past few films, which give them a unique edge opposed to the over-the-top approach we are used to seeing from Statham. Statham is charismatic as always, but he is surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast. Dominic Purcell shines for the first time since Prison Break got off the air, Clive Owen is a pretty fucking good villain, and Robert De Niro is visibly having a lot of fun when he is on screen. Killer Elite is another great action flick from Jason Statham and is well worth a watch for Staham fans and non-Statham fans alike.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Tree Of Life (Film Number 44 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2012-01-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

Where to begin with The Tree Of Life? It took me two days to even think about writing a review for it. Not because I enjoyed it, because I was too pissed at this film to even state my opinion on it. I figured I wouldn't like The Tree Of Life, but I figured since I'm pretty open-minded and with the heaps of praise it had been given, I would give a shot. I instantly regretted that decision. It was 1000x worse than I expected it to be. I can't even remember the last time a movie made me this angry. For months, I've heard about how "challenging" and "thought-provoking" this film was. The only thing "challenging" about The Tree Of Life was staying awake through the whole thing. There is absolutely no coherence to it. It's just a 2-hour string of Terrence Malick using nature shots (some times with voiceovers!), quick-cut editing, random examples of Brad Pitt's character being an asshole to his kids, and whispering dialogue that tries to convey "the true importance of life". If this is Malick's vision of the true meaning/importance of life, I don't know what fucking planet he lives on. He needs to maybe stop putting LSD in his breakfast and try to write a movie that makes sense and not just a series of shots that will please only the snobbiest arthouse crowd and no one else. Saying this film is pretentious would be understatement, this is full-on douche porn. It's so self-absorbed and beats you over the head with it's message, then pretends it's being subtle with it's blatantly obvious symbolism. The only thing missing were captions on the screen saying when you should be moved or be thinking "deeply" about the importance of life on earth . I know I am in the minority on this film, but I just loathed every minute of it. The acclaim on this is absolutely baffling to me. It almost seems like people are enjoying it just because they were told to. I know this is being dubbed as an experimental film. Well Terrence Malick, your experiment failed miserably. The Tree Of Life is a completely pointless, tedious, and sickeningly pretentious exercise that is amongst the worst films I've ever seen.

0/5 Stars

Movie Review: Hanna (Film Number 43 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2012-01-11T05:53:00.000-08:00

Hanna is a completely polarizing film. It's odd how a film can be so ambitious, yet have absolutely nothing to it. On the plus side, it's a unique action film. It maintains an indie vibe, but it's still a relatively commercial action movie. The short bursts of action are pretty fucking good. Joe Wright uses a refreshing approach in capturing the action. He leaves you in the middle of it the whole without any quick cuts or anything of that nature. The film also features a strong performance in the title role from Sairosee Ronan. This is the first film I have seen her in and I can now say she deserves all the praise that she gets. Even though it has does somethings right, the film has it's fair share of problems as well. The biggest of which is the pacing. It starts off very fast paced then slows down for about an hour (which would be fine if the story wasn't bland as all hell) and then picks up again with about 20 minutes left. The middle section was in dire need of some action. The story wasn't nearly strong enough to go such a long time with zero action sequences. Another major problem is Cate Blanchett. Her character and performance is laughable. She's such a lifeless and dumb villain that could have easily been replaced with a cardboard cutout. It also doesn't help that the plot twist completely sucks and the ending is beyond lame. Hanna isn't the worst thing ever, but it could have been much better with better pacing, plot, and a solid antagonist.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-09T09:44:00.000-08:00

For a couple years now, I've heard a lot of talk about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. The novel and Swedish version of the film have garnered a lot of buzz and acclaim. When the remake was announced, it stirred up a strong reaction to say the least. Some people were very pleased they were making a remake, others were skeptical and mad that they were making an English language-remake so soon after the Swedish one was released. I never read the book or saw the Swedish film, so I was going in completely blind to the American version of the film. I am glad that I went in blind, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was one of the best damn movies from 2011.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is an enthralling mystery thriller. It's a slow-burn type of movie. It takes some time to get going, but once it does, it's just incredible. Every detail is essential and it just gets you more engrossed into the story by the minute. The tension just keeps building and building and when it gets to the payoff at the end, it's incredibly rewarding. I haven't been this satisfied with how a mystery film ends in a long time. What drives the film though, besides it's excellent script and pacing, is the acting. Rooney Mara's performance as Lisbeth Salander is the best I've seen all year by anyone. She should win Best Actress without a doubt. Her performance is so tortured, smart, and deep and she gets to the root and complexity of her character with ease. Every minute she is on screen is just electrifying. Daniel Craig should also gain some Oscar buzz for his performance. His character is looking for redemption after a scandal and Craig brings his desperation and will to save his image and solve this case to the screen effortlessly. Easily his best performance since Layer Cake, if not ever. Of course, I can't go my entire review without mentioning David Fincher. He deserves every ounce of praise that he gets. The guy just has a gift for directing films (especially films with dark tones). He had his taste of lighter fare with The Social Network, but he is at his best when directing bleak and dark films. (Fight Club is one of my favorite films ever and his direction is a big part of why I love that film so much.) He was the perfect choice for this film and I hope he comes back for the sequels, he is too special of a director to let go with this franchise moving forward.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a brilliant movie. The acting, directing, and writing are all top-notch (it also has the most impressive opening title sequence I have ever seen. I have never had an opening title sequence blow my mind before this). This is one of those special films that you enjoy more and more the more you think about it. The execution is just damn near flawless and it will stay with you for days after you watch it. If this doesn't get Oscar nominations, it would be a travesty. It's too damn good to go unnoticed. It's not for everyone, but if you don't mind a very dark and sometimes disturbing film, I can't recommend The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo enough.

4.5/5 Stars

2011 In Film: A Year In Review

2012-01-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

2011 brought a lot of interesting film experiences. I set a goal at the beginning of the year to see as many films as possible, regardless if I wanted to see the film or not. It has been a fascinating and eye-opening experience so far to say the least. Half the films I saw this year I either didn't want to see or was indifferent on seeing. Some of them have been surprisingly good, some have them have been god awful, and others have been in between. Overall 2011 has been a good year for film. Not the greatest ever, but it could have been a lot worse. I still have plenty of films left to see (most of which I don't want to see), but here is my wrap-up of the year in film.

(* is a film that I did not want to see initially)
86.Beastly*(0/5)
85.The Roommate*(1/5)
84.Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son*(1/5)
83.Madea's Big Happy Family*(1/5)
82.Apollo 18*(1/5)
81.Red Riding Hood*(1/5)
80.Bellflower(1/5)
79.Shark Night 3D*(1.5/5)
78.Spy Kids: All the Time In the World*(1.5/5)
77.Season of the Witch*(1.5/5)
76.Gnomeo and Juliet*(1.5/5)
75.Sanctum*(1.5/5)
74.Zookeeper*(1.5/5)
73.The Rite*(1.5/5)
72.Priest*(2/5)
71.The Dilemma*(2/5)
70.I Am Number Four*(2/5)
69.Cars 2*(2/5)
68.The Eagle*(2.5/5)
67.Larry Crowne*(2.5/5)
66.Green Lantern*(2.5/5)
65.Colombiana*(2.5/5)
64.Hanna*(2.5/5)
63.Rango*(2.5/5)
62.Tucker and Dale Vs Evil(2.5/5)
61.Take Me Home Tonight*(2.5/5)
60.Red State(2.5/5)
59.Rio*(3/5)
58.Mr. Popper's Penguins*(3/5)
57.Battle: Los Angeles(3/5)
56.Everything Must Go(3/5)
55.Captain America: The First Avenger*(3/5)
54.Your Highness(3/5)
53.Fright Night*(3/5)
52.Real Steel*(3/5)
51.Arthur*(3.5/5)
50.No Strings Attached*(3.5/5)
49.The Greatest Movie Ever Sold(3.5/5)
48.Kung Fu Panda 2(3.5/5)
47.Friends With Benefits*(3.5/5)
46.Hesher(3.5/5)
45.The Change-Up(3.5/5)
44.Conan the Barbarian*(3.5/5)
43.Limitless*(3.5/5)
42.The Adjustment Bureau*(3.5/5)
41.The Mechanic(3.5/5)
40.Just Go With It*(3.5/5)
39.Our Idiot Brother*(3.5/5)
38.Bad Teacher*(3.5/5)
37.Immortals(3.5/5)
36.Scream 4*(3.5/5)
35.Win Win(3.5/5)
34.Drive Angry(3.5/5)
33.Hall Pass(3.5/5)
32.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides(4/5)
31.Cowboys and Aliens(4/5)
30.Kill the Irishman(4/5)
29.Crazy, Stupid, Love*(4/5)
28.The Green Hornet(4/5)
27.Transformers: Dark of the Moon(4/5)
26.Beats, Rhymes, and Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest(4/5)
25.Cedar Rapids(4/5)
24.Conan O'Brien Can't Stop(4/5)
23.Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol(4/5)
22.Super(4/5)
21.Bridesmaids*(4/5)
20.Rise of the Planet of the Apes*(4/5)
19.Paul(4/5)
18.Unknown(4/5)
17.Thor(4/5)
16.The Hangover Part II(4/5)
15.13 Assassins(4/5)
14.30 Minutes or Less(4/5)
13.The Lincoln Lawyer(4/5)
12.Sucker Punch(4.5/5)
11.Hobo With a Shotgun(4.5/5)
10.X-Men: First Class(4.5/5)
9.Horrible Bosses(4.5/5)
8.Moneyball(4.5/5)
7.Attack the Block(4.5/5)
6.Source Code(4.5/5)
5.Warrior*(4.5/5)
4.Super 8(4.5/5)
3.Fast Five(4.5/5)
2.The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (4.5/5)
1.50/50(4.5/5)

2011 Films I haven't seen yet (That I actually want to see):
Drive
Killer Elite
The Rum Diary
A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas
Tower Heist
J.Edgar
The Sitter
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows
Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy

Movie Review: Shark Night 3D (Film Number 42 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2012-01-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here we go again... The "stay out of the water" horror genre as I like to call to it, got a bit of a revival last year with Piranha 3D (which is still the only film I've ever seen that I can't form a solid opinion on). Shark Night 3D is the latest attempt to keep the genre going and let's just say it's not particularly successful in it's goal. Shark Night is basically Piranha's tamer, lamer PG-13 cousin. There are spurts of dumb fun to be had here, but it's mostly just bad. If the movie had fully embraced it's B-movie status and amped up the gore and had a more comic tone, it could been a lot of fun. Instead we are left with a half-baked and relatively bloodless movie were a bunch of college kids on a lake are taken out by sharks that were released into the water by a couple of revenge-seeking rednecks. That's really about all there is to Shark Night and then it just ends abruptly. I will say there is a couple of hilarious death scenes (one in particular involving a jet ski had me laughing my ass off for a solid 2-3 minutes), so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Shark Night is a dull and safe take on the B-movie and it could have been a lot of fun if it wasn't restrained by it's PG-13 rating.

1.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Kung Fu Panda 2

2012-01-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw Kung Fu Panda during a free preview weekend of HBO. I couldn't believe that a non-Pixar animated film was that funny and clever. Fast forward to last week when I watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and was again surprised that the sequel was almost on par with the original. The sequel is able to recapture most of the magic of the original by following a similar formula without feeling rehashed or stale. The great ensemble voice cast (including Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, Dustin Hoffman and of course, Jack Black in the title role) returns and is just as good as the original. Jack Black again makes Po one of the most likable animated heroes in recent memory. His goofy charm comes through even when it's just his voice on screen. Kung Fu Panda 2 is a fun time and is without a doubt the best family film of 2011. It doesn't quite live up to the original, but it's still a sucessful film.

3.5/5 Stars

NFL Wild Card Picks

2012-01-06T10:52:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I've written about sports. With the start of the NFL playoffs this weekend, I felt like I should offer my thoughts/picks on this weekend's slate of games.

My picks:
Cincinnati Bengals Over Houston Texans: If this game had been played in October, I would have went with Houston all the way. But with the slew of injuries the Texans have suffered, I really can't see them winning. Rookie T.J Yates (who was the third string quarterback at the beginning of the season) is getting the start, despite his shoulder injury suffered last week against the Titans. Yates is going against the great defense of the Bengals, whose pass rush has been extremely effective all season long. The Bengals also have the advantage of being healthy and the leadership of Andy Dalton (who is without a doubt the best rookie quarterback in the league in my mind, sorry Cam Newton). It should be a good game, but I foresee Houston's fairy tale season coming to an end tomorrow night.

New Orleans Saints Over Detroit Lions: The Lions have been the surprise team of the year. I called before the season that they would be much improved, but even I didn't expect them to make the playoffs. Unfortunately, they have the daunting task of playing the Saints in their first playoff game. The Saints are one of the hottest teams in the league right now. They have been decimating their opponents in the last few games. Drew Brees has been playing like a man possessed and has showed just how elite of a quarterback he is. Their playoff experience and the chip on their shoulder from their shocking early playoff exit last season gives them an extra advantage.

Atlanta Falcons Over New York Giants: This is my upset pick of the weekend. The Giants have been way too inconsistent to advance in playoffs. If they bring their A-game, it's very possible they could win this game, but I wouldn't be willing to gamble on them. On the other hand, Atlanta has been looking very strong recently. Matt Ryan has stepped up big time in the second half of the season after a sluggish start. He looks to be very determined to lead this team on a run in the playoffs. The Falcons have a lot of weapons (not to say the Giants don't) that should overwhelm the Giants defense (especially in the passing game). It's going come down to a couple of big plays to decide the outcome and I think the Falcons will take it because of that.

Pittsburgh Steelers Over Denver Broncos: Even with a banged up Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall going down for the year, I don't see the Steelers losing this game. Their defense is too good and they don't really need to score too many points to beat Denver. The Broncos also limped into the playoffs. They played absolutely awful in their last three games (especially the last two). Their one-dimensional offense will get eaten alive by Pittsburgh's defense. The only advantage the Broncos have is that this game is in Denver. Denver is the hardest place to play in the NFL, but I don't see it being too much of a problem for Pittsburgh. Unless Tebow Time strikes again, I don't see Denver having a chance in this one.

Movie Review: Mr.Popper's Penguins (Film Number 41 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2012-01-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

I am probably in the minority of people in my age group that didn't read Mr.Popper's Penguins as a kid. With having never read the book, that didn't give me any form of nostalgia factor when watching this film. To my surprise, I actually end up enjoying Mr.Popper's Penguins a decent amount (even without any fond childhood memories of the book). Every once in a while, you see a film that's flawed, but you can forgive those flaws because it's entertaining. Mr. Popper's Penguins is a prime example of this type of film. It has it's downsides, but it's harmless, light, and is good for some laughs so you can forgive it's flaws. Jim Carrey has a good time with the role. He gets to use his impecable gift of physical comedy for a new generation. This is an old-school Carrey role and he really is this heart and soul of this film. Mr. Popper's Penguins is not a great film, but that doesn't mean it's not worth watching. It's an innocent, simple film that has just enough laughs and charms to work.

3/5 Stars

Movie Review: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

2012-01-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Mission Impossible franchise took a pretty long break after the third installment. The third one had a mixed reception overall and I was surprised when I heard they were making a fourth one. I am so glad they decided to make a fourth one because Ghost Protocol is the best Mission Impossible film to date.

What really drives Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is the quality of the action. This is the type of old-school, smart, non-stop entertaining action film that isn't made nearly as much now-a-days. Every sequence is done on such a grand scale that it captivates the audience and takes their breath away. The much-talked about scene in which Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) jumps out of a 100-story plus building completely lives up to the hype. It's one of the most exhilarating scenes not only in a 2011 film, but any action film ever. Though the action is the main attraction, Ghost Protocol is also a very-well made film. Brad Bird shines in his live-action directing debut. He has a great sense for directing, he manages all the gigantic action scenes with ease. I hope he continues to direct live-action films. He brings the same brilliance that be brings to animation to live-action. The new cast additions around Cruise are also solid. Jeremy Renner's character make for a good number 2 and Paula Patton is a believable female action star. That being said, Simon Pegg gives the standout performance in the film. He is hilarious as always and seeing him getting a much bigger role than in the third film was awesome. The only thing preventing Ghost Protocol from being completely amazing is the lack of a strong villain. All of the villains are paper-thin and really don't do anything at all. It was kind of a buzzkill when everything else about this film is so strong.

Ghost Protocol is a thrilling blockbuster. This will sure to please. The action scenes are big, loud, and exciting. Ghost Protocol is a full-fledged revival of the franchise. It's my favorite installment of the series so far and I hope they make another one after the success of Ghost Protocol. Ghost Protocol is a very entertaining spectacle of a film that is perfect for the holiday blockbuster season.

4/5 Stars

January In Film

2012-01-01T09:54:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! January marks the start of the new year and I am very intrigued to see what 2012 can bring. The film slate for 2012 has some potential, but you don't really know until the end of the year what the overall quality will be. Anyways, here is my take on the first crop of films of the new year with my thoughts on all of January's films.

Films I Want To See
3.Man On A Ledge (1/27)-It's not the most original concept ever, but the trailer looks pretty good. The solid cast adds to the my excitement level.

2.Underworld: Awakening(1/20)- Having Kate Beckinsale back is a huge boost. I'm also glad they are going back to the roots of the franchise and not continuing on with the prequel series. I only hope this is in the same ballpark in terms of quality as the original.

1.Contraband(1/13)-This might be the best looking film for the first few months of 2012. Mark Wahlberg is back to his gritty-film past, Ben Foster should make a good villain, and the plot is very intriguing. The second week of January the past few years has produced some great films and I hope Contraband will join that list.

Films I'm Not Sure About
Red Tails (1/20)-This could end up being great (George Lucas is producing it), but I feel like I don't know enough about the film right now to make a decision about weather or not I want to see it.

Haywire(1/20)-I am not a huge fan of Steven Soderbergh's work, but the trailer for this isn't bad. I will probably give it a shot.

The Grey (1/27)-I just saw the full-length trailer a few days ago and I am more interested in seeing it now than I was after I saw the teaser. I still feel like this could end being kind of dull (depending on the length), but it has some potential.

Films I Have Zero Interest In
The Devil Inside (1/6)-Yet another exorcism movie. This one looks particularly bad. I actually can't think of the last time an exorcism movie looked this bad (and there has been a LOT of bad ones in the past 5-10 years.) I will be avoiding this one like the plague.

Joyful Noise (1/13)-I really can't stand musicals and this isn't going to change it. It is really funny to me that Dolly Parton is in this though.

Movie Review: Apollo 18 (Film Number 40 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-12-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

If there was yet another case needed that the found-footage horror genre needs to die a horrible death (Paranormal Activity is already enough of a reason by itself), Apollo 18 provides more than enough evidence. This film is just flat-out repulsive. It is so fucking boring and ridiculous that I felt like sticking sharp objects in my eyes. Even at an incredibly short 86 minutes (the movie itself is only about 73 minutes, the end credit sequence is very long), it feels like it's over 3 hours in length. I found myself checking the time every couple of minutes and being incredibly disappointed at how little time had passed. Pretty much nothing happens and when something does happen, it's so dumb you can't help but laugh and shake your head at how any screenwriter could this was a good idea. When you find out "the reason we haven't been back to the moon" you can't help but laugh hysterically at how lame of a reveal it is (Spoiler Alert: It's rock aliens with spider legs. Yes, you read that correctly.) About the only thing that saves this film from the dreaded 0 star rating is the the way it's shot. The style was interesting and it captures the moon in an oddly pretty yet eerie way. Besides that, this an absolute pile of shit. It's not scary, It's not entertaining, It's just astonishingly stupid and dull. Please don't waste your time on this disaster of a film.

1/5 Stars

Album Review: The Black Keys-El Camino

2011-12-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

I wasn't really into The Black Keys for a while. I listened to Brothers earlier this year and it didn't really do anything for me. Earlier this month, they were the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and they sounded awesome live. I figured I would give them another chance, so I downloaded El Camino. El Camino successfully got The Black Keys to finally click with me.

El Camino is full of solid bluesy rock n' roll. Style-wise, this reminds me of a more blues-driven version of The White Stripes. The White Stripes comparisons don't end there, like The White Stripes, The Black Keys also have no shortage of catchy tracks and riffs. Album opener "Lonely Boy" has the best riff and hook of the album. It's a really upbeat and rocking tune that gets the album rolling with some great momentum right out of the gate. It's near impossible to not have that song stuck your head after listening to it. The momentum keeps rolling with the next track "Dead and Gone", which is another one of the album's standouts. The pace slows down a bit with "Gold On The Ceiling" and "Little Black Submarines", but the quality remains the same. The second half of the album doesn't match the quality of the first half. Some of the songs kind of drag and lack the flare that the first half of the album has. The weaker second half ultimately took away from some of my enjoyment of the album, but it's not enough to derail it completely.

El Camino converted be into The Black Keys fan. Blues/Rock combos are kind of hard to come by right now and The Black Keys do it well. There are plenty of catchy hooks and excellent riffs that make you want to keep coming back to it. The weaker second half definitely did take away from my enjoyment and prevented this record from getting a higher score. I am sure people who are bigger fans of the genre will enjoy this record a lot more than I did. I plan on revisiting their discography soon. If El Camino is any indication, I'm sure they have done plenty of quality work over the course of their career.
3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Lonely Boy
2.Little Black Submarines
3.Dead and Gone

Quick Movie Reviews (Films Number 36-39 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-12-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

I've been busy over the past week with Christmas and catching up with my friends that are home from college. Also during that time, I saw 4 films towards my goal for 2011 films. Instead of giving them separate posts, I figured I would knock them all out in one post and not procrastinate in writing full posts about each of them. Without further ado, here the reviews.

Larry Crowne: Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts reteam in this bland romantic comedy/drama. This is the type of film you have seen a million times before (inspirational story about a guy who is down on his luck, but then he finds something that makes him feel better again) and it doesn't do anything to add any enjoyment to this familiar concept. Hanks and Roberts both do a fine job acting and that's about the only bright spot in this film. The rest is just extremely mediocre. Not terrible, but it's just so mind-numbingly average that it's not worth the watch.
2.5/5 Stars

Columbiana: You would think a great action writer like Luc Besson could do better than this? Despite a promising beginning, Columbiana soon becomes a subpar action flick that doesn't really go anywhere and takes a long time to do it. Zoe Saldana does a pretty good job in the lead. I would like to see her do more action flicks in the future, she definitely has the chops for it. The only thing that really pissed me off about this film was the ending. It could not have a worse ending if they had tried. Besides the solid beginning and awful ending, I am completely indifferent on Columbiana.
2.5/5 Stars

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes: After watching the two previously mentioned mediocre films, I was delighted that a film that I didn't want to see was actually very good. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as a lot of people did, but it's still a great film. Caesar, the ape, is one of the most compelling characters of 2011. You grow a strong emotional bond with the character throughout the film. Very well done by the writers humanizing an ape and making the audience sympathize for him. I wasn't a big fan of the last 25 minutes or so, but the rest of the film is very well-made so I can't complain too much. Great film and definitely wouldn't mind seeing more of this series. Kudos to Rupert Wyatt for reviving the Planet Of The Apes franchise.
4/5 Stars

Warrior: Holy shit, this was awesome. I didn't even come close to expecting how good this film would be. I am not a fan of UFC or MMA at all, but you don't need to be to enjoy this film. It's more a story about family and redemption, it just happens to involve MMA. It's brilliantly-acted by the entire cast, extremely compelling, deeply emotional, and incredibly entertaining (It's 2-hour plus runtime flys by). It's a shame that this was overlooked by audiences. I beg anyone who reads this to see this film if they haven't already. It's the epitome of a hidden gem film. It packs a serious punch (no pun intended) and is amongst the best films of 2011.
4.5/5 Stars

Bands Added to NEMHF 2012

2011-12-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, there were a handful of lineup additions (link to the full lineup http://maitlandsmadness.blogspot.com/2011/12/new-england-metal-and-hardcore-festival.html) to the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival 14 (2012) lineup . Here are the lineup additions for each day

Friday:
Carnifex
Gaza
Dead End Path

Saturday:
Goatwhore
Structures

Sunday:
The Air I Breathe
Glass Cloud

I'm stoked that Gaza and Goatwhore were added, both great bands. Structures are pretty decent as well. Carnifex and The Air I Breathe both suck and I have no comment on the other bands.

2011 In Music: A Year In Review

2011-12-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe 2011 is pretty much over. From a music standpoint, I am kind of sad to have it end. I listened to 92 (!) albums this year and over 70% of them received a 3.5 star rating or higher from me. That speaks volumes for how good the music was in 2011. This has been the best year for music of my entire lifetime. Being primarily a metalhead, I had a field day pretty much all year with quality release after quality release coming out. I discovered some brand new bands (Last Chance To Reason, Uneven Structure), I finally took the time to listen to some great bands that have been around for a while (Obscura, Septic Flesh) and some of my favorite bands released their best records to date (The Black Dahlia Murder, Revocation, Protest The Hero). The rest of the genres were not as good as metal, but they didn't really have to be with the exceptional quality of a lot of the metal release this year. Hoepfully 2012 can be even close to as good as 2011. Without further ado, here are my full-rankings for all of the EP's and LP's I heard this year with star ratings.

EP's
7.Childish Gambino-EP(1.5/5)
6.Whitechapel-Recorrupted (2.5/5)
5.Periphery-Icarus(3.5/5)
4.Within The Ruins-Omen(3.5/5)
3.Dying Fetus-History Repeats....(3.5/5)
2.Job For A Cowboy-Gloom(4/5)
1.Between The Buried and Me-The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues(4.5/5)

LP's
92.Metallica/Lou Reed-Lulu(0/5)
91.Emmure-Speaker Of The Dead(0/5)
90.The Crimson Armada-Conviction(1/5)
89.Incubus-If Not Now, When?(1.5/5)
88.Morbid Angel-Illuid Divinum Insanus(1.5/5)
87.Rings Of Saturn-Embryonic Anomaly(1.5/5)
86.Black Tide-Post Mortem(1.5/5)
85.Rise Against-Endgame(2/5)
84.Limp Bizkit-Gold Cobra(2/5)
83.Five Finger Death Punch-American Capitalist(2/5)
82.Devin Townsend Project-Ghost(2/5)
81.Suicide Silence-The Black Crown(2.5/5)
80.Dream Theater-A Dramatic Turn Of Events(2.5/5)
79.Jay-Z/Kanye West-Watch The Throne(2.5/5)
78.Red Hot Chili Peppers-I'm With You(2.5/5)
77.Winds Of Plague-Against The World(3/5)
76.Bury Your Dead-Mosh N' Roll(3/5)
75.Lazarus A.D-Black Rivers Flow(3/5)
74.Wu-Tang Clan-Legendary Weapons(3/5)
73.Harm's Way-Isolation(3/5)
72.Betraying The Martyrs-Breathe In Life(3/5)
71.Jedi Mind Tricks-Violence Begets Violence(3/5)
70.blink-182-Neighborhoods(3/5)
69.The Devil Wears Prada-Dead Throne(3/5)
68.In Flames-Sounds Of A Playground Fading(3/5)
67.Molotov Solution-Insurrection(3.5/5)
66.Toxic Holocaust-Conjure and Command(3.5/5)
65.Saviours-Death's Procession(3.5/5)
64.Jamey Jasta-Jasta(3.5/5)
63.Death Grips-Exmillitary (3.5/5)
62.Abysmal Dawn-Leveling The Plane Of Existence(3.5/5)
61.Alkaline Trio-Damnesia(3.5/5)
60.Title Fight-Shed(3.5/5)
59.This Is Hell-Black Mass(3.5/5)
58.Texas In July-One Reality(3.5/5)
57.Cave In-White Silence(3.5/5)
56.Primus-Green Nogalydte(3.5/5)
55.Tyler, The Creator-Goblin(3.5/5)
54.Vader-Welcome To The Morbid Reich(3.5/5)
53.Sepultura-Kairos(3.5/5)
52.Threat Signal-Threat Signal(3.5/5)
51.Devildriver-Beast(3.5/5)
50.Crowbar-Sever The Wicked Hand(3.5/5)
49.Touche Amore-Parting The Seas Between Brightness and Me(3.5/5)
48.TesseracT-One(3.5/5)
47.Megadeth-TH1RT3EN(3.5/5)
46.The Black Keys-El Camino(3.5/5)
45.Chimaira-The Age Of Hell(3.5/5)
44.Dropkick Murphys-Going Out In Style(3.5/5)
43.Hate Eternal-Phoenix Amongst The Ashes(4/5)
42.Becoming The Archetype-Celestial Completion(4/5)
41.Cannabis Corpse-Beneath Grow Lights Thou Shall Rise(4/5)
40.Scale The Summit-The Collective(4/5)
39.Amon Amarth-Surtur Rising(4/5)
38.Evan Brewer-Alone(4/5)
37.Uneven Structure-Februus(4/5)
36.Ulcerate-The Destroyers Of All (4/5)
35.Thomas Giles-Pulse(4/5)
34.Atmosphere-The Family Sign(4/5)
33.Anthrax-Worship Music(4/5)
32.Origin-Entity(4/5)
31.Arsonists Get All The Girls-Motherland(4/5)
30.Children Of Bodom-Relentless Reckless Forever(4/5)
29.Decapitated-Carnival Is Forever(4/5)
28.Havok-Time Is Up(4/5)
27.Textures-Dualism(4/5)
26.Warbringer-Worlds Torn Asunder(4/5)
25.The Human Abstract-Digital Veil(4/5)
24.Grieves-Together/Apart(4/5)
23.Animals As Leaders-Weightless(4/5)
22.Red Fang-Murder The Mountains(4/5)
21.Landmine Marathon-Gallows(4/5)
20.Septic Flesh-The Great Mass(4/5)
19.Beastie Boys-Hot Sauce Committee Part 2(4/5)
18.August Burns Red-Leveler(4/5)
17.Devin Townsend Project-Deconstruction(4/5)
16.Foo Fighters-Wasting Light(4/5)
15.Darkest Hour-The Human Romance(4/5)
14.Last Chance To Reason-Level 2(4/5)
13.Obscura-Omnivium(4/5)
12.Times Of Grace-The Hymn Of A Broken Man(4/5)
11.All Shall Perish-This Is Where It Ends(4/5)
10.Born Of Osiris-The Discovery(4.5/5)
9.Fleshgod Apocalypse-Agony(4.5/5)
8.Arch Enemy-Khaos Legions(4.5/5)
7.Skeletonwitch-Forever Abomination(4.5/5)
6.Machine Head-Unto The Locust(4.5/5)
5.Mastodon-The Hunter(4.5/5)
4.Unearth-Darkness In The Light(4.5/5)
3.Protest The Hero-Scurrilous(4.5/5)
2.Revocation-Chaos Of Forms(4.5/5)
1.The Black Dahlia Murder-Ritual (5/5)

Albums I didn't get the chance to check out before making this list, but plan to in the near future:
Russian Circles-Empros
Diamond Plate-Generation Why?
Fit For An Autopsy-The Process Of Human Extermination
Black Cobra-Interval
New Found Glory-Radiosurgery
Sylosis-Edge Of The Earth
YOB-Atma

Album I heard some of, but not enough to rank:
Trivium-In Waves
Volumes-Via
Structures-Divided By
Rotten Sound-Cursed

Album Review: Obscura-Omnivium

2011-12-20T11:13:00.000-08:00

German tech-death juggernauts Obscura really didn't catch my attention until earlier this year. I had heard so many good things about this band that I just couldn't ignore them anymore. I am so fucking glad I finally checked them out, Omnivium is one of the best albums of 2011.

Omnivium is nothing short of a musical spectacle. Obscura's technical precision is off the charts. From the face-melting guitar solos to the insane blast beats to the godlike use of fretless bass, Omnivium will leave you in awe at how much talent Obscura has. Obscura is not only gifted technically, they are also great songwriters. There are many twists and turns in their music and they are able to transition seamlessly between calm progressive sections to crushing heaviness at the drop of a hat ( Album opener "Septuagint" is a prime example of this.) Omnivium is a lot more ambitious than their previous outing Cosmogenesis. The progressive elements are a lot more prominent this time around. The enhanced focus on the progressive side of their music has made Obscura a better band. Their music is more varied and better written than ever before. That's not to say that Obscura's music still isn't heavy, it's heavy as a motherfucker, it's just more progressive and refined than their previous material.

Omnivium is the crowning achievement of Obscura's career thus far. It's faster, better written, and more progressive than their previous work. This is a band that is becoming a force to be reckoned with. This is a must-listen for fans of progressive and technical death metal, you don't hear album this good in the genre very often. Omnivium is a lock for my year-end top 20.
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Septuagint
2.Celestial Spheres
3.Velocity

Movie Review: Spy Kids: All The Time In The World (Film Number 35 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am going to make this short and sweet because there really isn't much to say about Spy Kids: All The Time In The World. It has the same problems the past couple kids films have had: it's too stupid and unfunny to work even as a kids film. Robert Rodriguez does not use his genius on kids films. It almost seems like he intentionally dumbs down his writing and just puts out kids films for the hell of it. This is no exception, the story is nothing short of mind-numbingly stupid. The one positive thing I can say about Spy Kids: All The Time In The World is that's an improvement over the past two Spy Kids films (which I hated even as a kid). This is a completely pointless sequel and bad film, Rodriguez should go back to his R-rated films and retire from family films permanently.

1.5/5 Stars

Update

2011-12-17T14:48:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting recently I've been swamped with work over the past few weeks for the end of the semester. I am done with finals on Tuesday, so you can expect more regular updates after that. I hope to post a review or two before Tuesday. The end-of the year list season is approaching so look for that next week. I will also be posting some other reviews and other fun articles. Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned next week for more regular posts!

Movie Review: Cars 2 (Film Number 34 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-12-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

Pixar is not invincible. Cars 2 ends a long run of brilliant Pixar films. Cars 2 doesn't even seem like a film that was made by Pixar. It lacks all the charm and laughs that most Pixar films have. Replacing the charm and laughs is a dumb plotline and unfunny jokes. The storyline tries way too hard to be a spy film and it's not even good at that. It's a half-baked, ridiculous concept that feels completely forced (which is evident by the poor execution). Cars 2 is plain and simple the worst film in Pixar's arsenal. It's not funny, clever, or charming. It's just a stupid spy film that just does not work. This is far from the demise of Pixar, but it's uncharacteristically weak and unfunny.

2/5 Stars

New England Metal and Hardcore Festival 14 (2012) Lineup

2011-12-12T14:18:00.000-08:00

Here is the lineup for the 14th installment of New England Metal and Hardcore Festival at The Palladium in Worcester, MA on April 20th-22nd, 2012

Friday, April 20th
The Black Dahlia Murder
The Acacia Strain
Oceano
All Shall Perish
Nile
Skeletonwitch
Lionheart
Fleshgod Apocalypse
First Blood
Molotov Solution
The Contortionist
Reign Supreme
Conducting From The Grave
Fit For An Autopsy
Hour Of Penance
Palehorse
Legion
Relentless

Saturday April 21st (My birthday!)
Special Headliner to be announced January 2nd
Overkill
Protest The Hero
Periphery
iwrestledabearonce
Bane
Shipwreck
Cruel Hand
Aborted
Blackguard
System Divide
The Greenery
Diamond Plate
The Mongoloids
Rotting Out
Malefice
Expire
Trump The Harlot
Manners
Eliteist

Sunday April 22nd
Killswitch Engage(god damn them for playing with a mostly shitty lineup on this day)
Every Time I Die
Vanna
For Today
Chelsea Grin
Sleeping Giant
Stick To Your Guns
Atilla
On Broken Wings
Mychildren Mybride
For The Fallen Dreams
Texas In July
Upon A Burning Body
Volumes
Like Moths To Flames
Hundreth
No Bragging Rights
Counterparts
Gideon

My thoughts on the lineup
Friday: HOLY SHIT. Great lineup from top to bottom (with the exception of Oceano). Highlights: The Black Dahlia Murder, The Acacia Strain, All Shall Perish, Nile (I finally get to see them!!!), Skeletonwitch, Fleshgod Apocalypse, The Contortionist

Saturday: Good, but not great. An incentive for be going that day is that most of the bands I want to see I haven't seen before. Very curious to see who the special headliner is (It has to be someone huge because the tickets are $5 more expensive than the other days). Highlights: Overkill (Hell yes), Protest The Hero (they are number 1 on my band's that I need to see live list right now), Periphery, Bane, Cruel Hand, Aborted, Blackguard

Sunday: Pretty god damn bad lineup. It's a shame because I really want to see Killswitch Engage again. Unfortunately, I can't justify buying a ticket to see them and a couple of other bands when I have zero interest in 90% of the lineup. Highlights: Killswitch Engage, Every Time I Die, On Broken Wings, Texas In July

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Album Review: Red Fang-Murder The Mountains

2011-12-08T18:54:00.000-08:00

Since December is a slow time for new music, I figured I would go back and review some albums that I heard earlier this year, but never wrote a review for. I am actually glad that I didn't write a review for Murder The Mountains when I heard it back in April. My views on this record have radically changed and it has grown on me alot since my intial listen.

Plain and simple, Murder The Mountains rocks. It's the perfect combination of straight rock n' roll with stoner/sludge metal. It really blows the doors off their debut in every way shape and form. They took the formula of the first record and just made everything bigger, tighter, and better. What makes Murder The Mountains rock so fucking hard is the riffs. Red Fang definitely drinks the riff juice. The riffs range from sludgey and pretty damn heavy ("Dirt Wizard", "Into The Eye", "Malverde") to cleaner more rock based stuff ("Wires", "Hank Is Dead"). No matter what style they are playing, the riffs hit hard. On top of every song having excellent riffs, every song is catchy as hell. The hooks are normally not this effective in this type of metal, but Red Fang gives each and every track a chorus that will get stuck in your head. Another big boost is the production. The biggest flaw of their debut was the poor production. That record sounded very cheap with it's muddy mix. By comparison, Murder The Mountains has a clear, immense production that really brings out the best of Red Fang's sound.

Murder The Mountains is a great release from Red Fang. This is a record that should captivate a wide variety of listeners from all over the worlds of rock and metal. It's a catchy, hard-rocking, riffy piece of stoner metal that becomes better after each and every listen. They have vastly improved since their debut in every possible way. I am expecting big things out of Red Fang in the future. A band that rocks this hard with this many killer riffs won't fly under the radar for long.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Dirt Wizard
2.Into The Eye
3.Malverde

Album Review: Uneven Structure-Februus

2011-12-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

I love finding out about new bands. There has been a decent number of bands I have found out about this year and France's Uneven Structure is one of the best. Their debut album, Februus, is a very good way to start of their career.

Uneven Structure reminds me of a more ambient version of a band like Textures or TesseracT. Unforunately, this means people are going toss to around the dreaded "djent" term when describing Uneven Structure. I can't fucking stand the "djent" term and it really makes me angry that a lot of people will write this band off because of it. I'm telling you, this is some of the more interesting and unique progressive metal I have heard in the past few years. At times, it's crushingly heavy and almost death metal-esque (the first few minutes of album opener "Awaken" is skull-crushing). At other times, it's very atmospheric and ambient. On paper, it doesn't really sound all that good, but Uneven Structure executes with a ton of precision. Another thing that really stood out to me was the vocals. Matthieu Romarin has very soulful clean vocals that will catch people some my surprise. Also when called upon, he unleashes a monstrous scream. He alternates between the two styles as the band makes it's drastic (yet oddly slow and smooth transitions) tempo changes between it's layered combination of haunting slow sections with sections of solid groove.

Februus is a very promising debut. It's a unique combination of progressive and post-metal with groove and ambiance thrown in. Fans of Textures and TesseracT should instantly fall in love with this band. If you are an open-minded progressive metal fan, you should find a lot to like here. This is an unconventional and very enjoyable prog metal record.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Frost
2.Awaken
3.Buds

Movie Review: Friends With Benefits (Film Number 33 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-12-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

God damn you Hollywood making two films about the same thing within a year! All kidding aside, Friends With Benefits does have a lot common with the January release No Strings Attached. When it comes to what film about having sex without the emotional investment is better, I give the edge to Friends With Benefits (although it's really not by much). Friends With Benefits works because of the chemistry between Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. There is as definite spark between them every time they are on-screen together and it's fun to watch these two together. The supporting cast also helps the quality with a hilarious turn from Woody Harrelson as a gay friend of Timberlake's character. I wish Harrelson was in it more, his character was easily the best in the whole film. The biggest advantage Friends With Benefits has over No Strings Attached is the dialogue. Writer/ director Will Gluck (Easy-A) is a gifted dialogue writer. There are a good number of quick-witted, sharp one-liners that are a trademark of Gluck's style of writing. I can see him becoming a pretty in-demand writer in the coming years. Of course, the same thing that brought down No Strings Attached brings this down, the god damn sappiness. It's not quite as sickeningly sappy as No Strings Attached, but it's definitely sappy enough to bring down my enjoyment of the film. At the end of the day, Friends With Benefits ends up being a pretty good film. It doesn't reinvent the romantic comedy wheel, but there is enough laughs and good comedic performances to justify a watch.

3.5/5 Stars

December In Film

2011-12-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it's the end of the year already. It's been a solid, but not spectacular year for film this year. I have seen a lot of films this year and December brings even more films to add to my already full plate of 2011 films I need to see (I have seen 70 on the year and I still have a shitload to go). December has a decent number of films and looks to be one of the stronger months of the year. Here is my thoughts on the slate of December films.

Films I Want To See
4. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (12/21)-I will admit I am not completely stoked to see this, but there is enough here to make me want to. A solid cast (Jeremy Renner is a big plus) and a talented director in Brad Bird giving his first shot at a live-action film could put life into Tom Cruise's career and this franchise.

3.The Sitter(12/9)-This looks pretty damn hilarious. Jonah Hill looks to be perfectly cast and the over-the-top premise should lead to a lot of laughs.

2.Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows(12/16)-The first one was a lot of fun and the return of the same cast and director is promising. The trailer looks to be even better, so I am pretty damn excited to see this.

1.The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo(12/21)-I have been beyond excited for this film since I saw the teaser with X-Men: First Class. It looks like David Fincher has struck gold again and the early buzz is saying it's better than the original. I have a feeling like this could end up being the best film of the year and I plan on seeing it as close to opening day as possible.

Film I Am Not Sure About
The Adventures Of Tintin(12/21)-The feedback from overseas has been very strong, but the trailer doesn't do much for me.

We Bought A Zoo(12/23)-Good cast and director give it some hope, but it could end up being overly sappy.

The Darkest Hour(12/25)-Doesn't look too bad, but the alien films of late haven't been particularly good. I definitely have reservations about seeing this one, so I am not going to get excited about it.

War Horse (12/25)-Speilberg making drama again could end up being some special, but the trailer looks pretty damn boring. Will have to wait and see the reviews on this one.

Films I Have Zero Interest In Seeing (But Will Anyways Due To My Goal For 2011 Films)
New Year's Eve(12/9)-A remake of Valentine's Day except on New Year's Eve? No thanks. This looks to be just as tedious and generic as Valentine's Day, maybe even more so.

Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (12/16)-I can't even believe they made another one of these movies. They will probably make another one after this makes $200 million dollars. That just make me sad/nervous about people that go see movies in America.

Early Mayhem Fest 2012 Rumors

2011-11-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

It's getting close to that time of the year again. The first wave of Mayhem Fest rumors are out including two confirmed bands, a few that are most likely playing, and some more that may appear and are rumored to be in talks. It's still early and most of the lineup is still up in the air at this point in time. I'm sure within another month, more information will come out and I will be sure to report anything I hear when it happens. Without further ado, here is the rumors for Mayhem Fest 2012.

Confirmed Bands:
Slipknot
Five Finger Death Punch

Most Likely Appearing (Not 100%):
Korn
As I Lay Dying
Hatebreed

Might Be Playing/ Rumored To Be In Talks
Anthrax
All That Remains
Lacuna Coil
Whitechapel
The Faceless
After The Burial
Revocation

Movie Review: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (Film Number 32 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son achieves the impossible: it manages to be FAR worse than it's predecessors. Considering that the first two aren't exactly good films, it's kind hard to believe that this one is so much worse. At least the first two had their moments, Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son is completely absent of laughs. This has to be one of the most painfully unfunny films of the past 5-10 years. Absolutely nothing sticks and at times, it's attempts at humor are downright embarrassing. I can't even believe Martin Lawrence agreed to make this film. I am one of the few that actually likes him as an actor, but he is really is wasting his talent in garbage like this. I would have honestly rather watched the first two 50 times each then watch this uninspired third film, at the least the first two had some mildly amusing moments. Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son is a pitiful excuse for a comedy. Not many comedies are this lazy, dumb, and just plain unfunny. This is an embarrassing film for all parties involved and easily the worst straight-comedy of 2011 that I have seen.

1/5 Stars

Movie Review: Immortals

2011-11-26T06:37:00.000-08:00

Judging by the trailers, Immortals looked like 300 part 2. I was extremely excited to see it and it was easily one of my most anticipated films for the last section of 2011. Unfortunately, Immortals wasn't nearly as good as it looked. Immortals isn't a terrible film, it's just a case of the trailers making the film appear better than it is. The problem with Immortals is the lack of a strong storyline. I know it could be construed as a ridiculous statement to insult a film like this because of it's plot, but that's pretty much why this film isn't awesome. 300 was such an awesome movie because it had a great story along with epic action sequences. Immortals actually starts off pretty bad with the low point being a scene with Mickey Rourke hamming it up as the villain and smashing someones balls with a hammer. After that cringe-worthy scene, it did pick up. The gods got involved and there is some pretty fucking cool, bloody action scenes. The action is very well-done, I just wish there was more of it. When there was action in the film, it was very entertaining. When it focused on the story, it became pretty ridiculous and over-the-top (not really in a fun way). Immortals is a good, but not great action film. The action (when it's present) is excellent and the visuals are very impressive. The weak story really just bogs it's down. Even as a diehard action junkie, I can't call Immortals a must-see.

3.5/5 Stars

Update

2011-11-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

Hello readers of my blog. I have been a bit busy this week so I haven't really had time to post. I hope to be able to post a review for Immortals tomorrow as well as some other things next week. The end of the semester is approaching as well which means posts won't be as frequent. I will try to post as much as possible during this time, but I can't promise how regular it will be due to the work I have to do in the next few weeks. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and didn't get trampled today during the madness of Black Friday.

Concert Review: Mastodon, Boston, MA, November 21st, 2011

2011-11-22T15:15:00.000-08:00

Holy shit. Those are the only words that I had to say last night after Mastodon left the stage. I was rendered speechless after what I had witnessed. That was a common theme throughout the show at the House Of Blues last night as I went to one of the best shows not only of the year, but of my entire life.

Red Fang opened the night with a bang. They are a perfect opener for Mastodon. Their style is very similar with Red Fang essentially being the more straight-up rock version of Mastodon. Their performance was definitely better than when I saw them at Mayhem Fest earlier this year (though both times I've seen them the crowd reception hasn't been very good, which is a shame). Hell, Red Fang even lured me into going into the pits for the first time in a year and a half. The only letdown of their set was the lack of "Dirt Wizard". I really wish they would play that song live, I have felling it translate really well. That minuscule complaint aside, Red Fang kicked ass.

The Dillinger Escape Plan were up next and as always, they were insane. Seeing them live is a complete spectacle that needs to be seen to believe. Their unmatched energy makes for utter fucking chaos on stage. Even with this being my third time seeing Dillinger, it was a very eventful set from them. Some of the highlights were Greg Puicato tossing the microphone to someone in the crowd at the end of "Milk Lizard" and that person breaking the mic, Greg stagediving during "Sunshine The Werewolf" and not missing a beat vocally despite the fact that's he's getting thrown around the crowd, and last, but not certainly least, Greg picking up the cymbal stand during "43% Burnt" and swinging it around like it was a towel. All that was on top of the typical Dillinger madness including climbing on the top of the amps, jumping off the drum set, stack amps, monitors, anything in sight, and running around spinning their instruments around their bodies. Seeing Dillinger live is always an intense experience. I really need to see them headline at some point on their next album's (which is apparently coming out sometime next year) touring cycle.

The moment had come for Mastodon to hit the stage. This marked my fifth time seeing them and it was by far the best. In the past, despite Mastodon being my favorite band, their live shows had been extremely scattered in terms of quality. The first two times I saw them, they weren't very impressive. They got better when I saw them on the Crack The Skye tour in 2009 and they were amazing opening for Alice In Chains last year. After last night I can now say that they FINALLY got their shit together live. I honestly could not be happier to say that. It's so fucking awesome that they are finally playing up to the level of their studio work. Their entire set was mesmerizing. It only took me about 2-3 songs to realize that this was one of the best performances I've ever seen, It was completely flawless. Troy, Brent, and Brann all sounded amazing vocally. Brent can still scream like a fucking madman (thankfully he's not doing many clean vocals on this tour, but when he did, he did sound good) and Brann might be tied with Troy for the honor of being the best vocalist in the band. The setlist was spectacular. It blended a lot of new material (which sounds fantastic live, the standouts being "Blasteroid" and "Spectrelight") and most of the best stuff of their older records. "Megalodon", "Iron Tusk", and "March Of The Fire Ants" are pretty much the heaviest songs ever live. Of course, "Blood and Thunder" was epic and I was stoked they kept in the set after leaving it out for a couple of years. Even the worst song in their discography "Creature Lives" was cool live. What made "Creature Lives" a lot better live was the fact that Mastodon was joined on stage by Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang. Having the guys from the other bands out there was equal parts cool and hilarious (Jeff Tuttle from Dillinger Escape Plan was eating a banana and offering it to members of Red Fang). It was an interesting way to close out to say the least.

To put it lightly, the show was fantastic. It's very rare that you have every band on the bill blow you away. Like I stated earlier, this is one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Every band was amazing (seeing my favorite band finally blow me away live was such a special experience) and getting to hang out with a lot of my friends, some of whom who just got back from college for Thanksgiving break, was just so much fun. This show was one for the ages and I will never forget this fucking mind-blowingly awesome concert.

Scores
Red Fang 8.5/10
The Dillinger Escape Plan 9.5/10
Mastodon 10/10

Red Fang:
Hank Is Dead
Throw Up
Malverde
Wires
Good To Die
Reverse Thunder
Prehistoric Dog

Dillinger Escape Plan:
Farewell, Mona Lisa
Room Full of Eyes
Milk Lizard
Panasonic Youth
Gold Teeth On A Bum
Good Neighbor
Chinese Whispers
Sunshine the Werewolf
43% Burnt

Mastodon:
Dry Bone Valley
Black Tongue
Crystal Skull
I Am Ahab
Capillarian Crest
Colony of Birchmen
Megalodon
Blasteroid
Sleeping Giant
Ghost of Karelia
All the Heavy Lifting
Curl of the Burl
Spectrelight
Bedazzled Fingernails
Circle of Cysquatch
Aqua Dementia
Crack the Skye
Where Strides the Behemoth
Iron Tusk
March of the Fire Ants
Blood and Thunder

Encore:
Creature Lives (with Red Fang and Dillinger)

Concert Review: Unearth, Hampton Beach, NH, November 19th, 2011

2011-11-20T12:00:00.000-08:00

What a show. This was the most intimate show I've ever been to. It was at a bar and it was just insane that I got to see bands of this caliber in such a small venue. It was a completely surreal experience to say the least.

I got to Wally's Pub around 6. My friends and I got there in time to catch the second local opener, Carnivora. They are from Danvers, Massachusetts (which is near where I live), which was kind of surprising. Unfortunately, they weren't very good. They did have some talent. Their drummer was excellent and they had some good solos, but the vocals were just terrible. They ruined any momentum that the band had built up. It's a shame too, if the vocals were better these guys would be pretty good.

The last local band, Acaro, was up next. I have seen Acaro a couple of times before and they are always great. I would go as far to say that are the best local, unsigned band from Massachusetts. They have a hell of a stage presence(their singer did the entire last song walking through the crowd) and they play a brand of old-school metalcore that is pretty rare now-a-days. I wish I had a record label so I could sign these guys. If you haven't heard of them, check them out. Great band and it's always a pleasure to see them.

The first band from the Unearth tour, Molotov Solution, hit the stage next. I checked out their new record, Insurrection, and it's pretty standard deathcore, but it's actually pretty good. This was my second time seeing them and they don't come across as good live as they do on disc. They go have a good stage presence and they are still a pretty decent live act, it's just that they have too many breakdowns. They somewhat remind of Within The Ruins in regards to having too many breakdowns. It waters down their music and makes it not as good as it could be. They are still a solid band and I enjoyed their performance.

Skeletonwitch was on next and as usual, they killed it. They are one of my favorite bands right now and their live show just solidifies that. Chance Garnette is just such an amazing frontman. He just has so much fun on stage and sounds pitch-perfect vocally. A lot of people were actually there for them which kind of surprised me considering how different they are than the other bands on the bill. The setlist was awesome and evenly divided between all three of their albums. It was especially cool to hear the stuff of Forever Abomination live ("This Horrifying Force" was fucking amazing live). I talked to Chance, guitarist Nate Garnette and new drummer Dustin Boljtes, all of them are extremely nice and humble guys. They thanked me multiple times for buying a shirt and for the kind words about their new record. Skeletonwitch destroyed as always and I am stoked to see them again whenever they come to the New England area again.

Chimaira was up next on the bill. I was really happy to see them on this tour considering it's their last tour with guitarists Rob Arnold and Matt DeVries. This was my second time seeing them and they were great. I like them better live than on disc. Mark Hunter sounds great live and the band was very tight. The new stuff came across very well live (especially "Clockwork" and "Losing My Mind). My only complaint is there wasn't enough old stuff and too many songs off The Infection (easily their weakest album). I don't how much longer Chimaira will be around due to their insane number of member changes in the past year, but I hope they can stick it out. They are a damn good band and I would really like to see them live again at some point.

Unearth closed out the night and they were in top form. This was a pretty much a hometown show for them. It was the closest they were playing to Massachusetts on this tour and they had a ton of their family and friends in attendance. I have never seen them play this good in the prior times I had seen them. They came out rolling and their relentless energy was kept up for the entire 50 minutes they were on stage. It was awesome to see how into their performance they were. The setlist was top-notch. It blended old favorites with some new stuff and older songs that aren't played that much live. I finally got to hear older stuff like "Giles" and "Zombie Autopilot" which I hadn't heard before live. They also played "Arise The War Cry", my favorite track off their new record Darkness In The Light. Watching Buz McGrath play the intro to that song was worth the price of admission by itself. Best performance I have ever seen from Unearth and I can only hope they are as good the next time I see them.

This was an incredible show. Unearth and Skeletonwitch tore shit up, Chimaria was great, and Molotov Solution was pretty solid as well. This is a great overall lineup and if they are coming to your city on this tour, please go. I still can't believe I saw this lineup in a bar, it was almost too good to be true.

Scores
Carnivora 4/10
Acaro 8/10
Molotov Solution 6.5/10
Skeletonwitch 9.5/10
Chimaira 8.5/10
Unearth 9.5/10

Setlists
Molotov Solution:
Sin and Sacrifice
The Final Hour
Awakening
Injustice For All
Collapse
Rise

Skeletonwitch:
Blinding Black Rage
Reduced To the Failure Of Prayer
Beyond the Permafrost
This Horrifying Force (The Desire To Kill)
Sacrifice For the Slaughtergod
Repulsive Salvation
Crushed Beyond Dust
Choke Upon Betrayal
Within My Blood

Chimaira:
The Age Of Hell
Clockwork
Losing My Mind
Power Trip
Nothing Remains
The Flame
Pure Hatred
Destroy and Dominate
Severed/Drum Solo
The Disappearing Sun
Year Of the Snake
Born In Blood
Secrets Of the Dead
Resurrection

Unearth:
My Will Be Done
Giles
Watch It Burn
Endless
This Lying World
Arise the War Cry
The Great Dividers
Disillusion
Zombie Autopilot
Sanctity Of Brothers
Black Hearts Now Reign

Movie Review: Zookeeper (Film Number 31 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-19T13:19:00.000-08:00

It's really a shame Kevin James has been reduced to films like this. He's really been in a slump since The King Of Queens got off the air, but Zookeeper might be the worst project he's ever been involved in. This makes Paul Blart: Mall Cop look like a masterpiece. I get that this is a kids movie, but this film is just flat-out dumb. Most of the characters could have been replaced by cardboard cutouts (Joe Rogan's character is so annoying that I wanted to cause him physical pain). Even with the lifeless, annoying characters, the biggest flaw of Zookeeper is the severe absence of laughs. The whole film is just a barrage of unfunny poop jokes. I don't even think the target audience of 8 year-old kids would think the jokes are funny. Hell, I think if I was 8, I would have hated this movie. Zookeeper is a joyless film without laughs or charm. This is definitely amongst the worst films of 2011. Kevin James, I really hope you make better films soon. You are too funny of an actor to be wasting your talent in garbage like this.

1.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Green Lantern (Film Number 30 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-15T12:12:00.000-08:00

2011 has been full of superhero films. After seeing all of them, it's safe to say that Green Lantern is the worst of the bunch. Green Lantern is just a giant ball of mediocrity. There are moments where it can be mildly entertaining, but ultimately it can't escape it's average-film tendencies. Pretty much the sole reason this film isn't enjoyable is the script. For a film that is almost two hours long, it seems like there is a lot missing in terms of back story. The alien race that chooses Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds) to be the Green Lantern origins are left pretty much unexplained. In addition, there is a lot of dead air in terms of storyline. There is long sequences where pretty much nothing happens. The villain is also completely underdeveloped. He doesn't even turn fully into the villain until the last 20 minutes of the film. Not helping matters is Peter Sarsgard's performance as the villain. His performance is lifeless and completely awful (if he doesn't get a Razzie nomination this year, I will be stunned). This film isn't all bad though. The effects are pretty damn good, especially the outer space shots. The $200 million budget actually went to good use on the effects. Ryan Reynolds also makes a good hero. He's got solid charisma and his likability as an actor made him a good fit for the role At the end of the day Green Lantern is not a horrific film, it's just not a very good one. The weak and unfocused script deters from the strengths with the effects and Reynolds's performance. If they are to make another installment, get a better writing team and that could probably turn this franchise around.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Change-Up

2011-11-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

The body-swap comedy has been around for quite some time (although I don't believe there has been one since the Freaky Friday remake), but I doubt there is one even close to as vulgar as The Change-Up. Hell, I haven't even seen that many films that are more vulgar than The Change-Up in my lifetime. This is not one for the easily offended or those with a weak stomach. This really is a hard film to critique, I haven't flip-flopped my opinion on a film this much while watching in it a long, long time. It's kind of odd how much I enjoyed considering how flawed it is. The jokes are heavily hit-or miss, but when they hit, they are hilarious. The humor in this film is definitely crude, low-brow stuff, but my ability to appreciate dumb humor helped me enjoy. The biggest asset of the The Change-Up though is how it's able to mix it's high level of vulgarity with a surprising amount of heart. That really caught me surprise and really enhanced my enjoyment of the film. Also aiding my enjoyment, was the chemistry of Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. They are both strong comedic actors and their different styles complimented each other very well. Despite it's flaws, I ended up enjoying The Change-Up. The laughs, although not non-stop, are big when they come. The surprising heart of this film also boosted the quality. It's by no means a great or particularly memorable comedy, but it did manage to be enjoyable enough to make it worth seeing.

3.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Bad Teacher (Film Number 29 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-12T08:24:00.000-08:00

Bad Teacher continued a trend of me being pleasantly surprised over the past few films I've seen. I had heard a lot of negative feedback on this film going into it, which could been of a factor in how much I enjoyed it. A big reason this film works is Cameron Diaz's work in the lead role. She hasn't been this good since There's Something About Mary. Her character is such a despicable person, yet she bring this undeniable likability to the character. Her vulgarity and deadpan delivery also makes for most of the film's biggest laughs. The supporting cast (minus Justin Timberlake, he was pretty bad in his role), is also pretty good. Jason Segel is his typical, hilarious self as a gym teacher going after Diaz's character. Adding to the fun in small roles are Reno 911!'s Thomas Lennon as a state test administrator and Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet as Diaz's roommate, both of whom get solid laughs in their limited screen time. Bad Teacher is not a comedy for everyone with it's mean-spirited, dark humor, but for those who enjoy that style, I suggest checking it out. There is a good number of laughs throughout and it was pleasure to watch Diaz nail a comedic role again.

3.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love (Film Number 28 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-10T11:53:00.000-08:00

God damn, Crazy, Stupid, Love pulled off a hell of a task. It managed to be the biggest pleasant surprise of the entire year so far. I really had little to no interest seeing this film, but it turned out to be a refreshing romantic comedy. This film is filled with laughs, heart, and an authentic feel. A good number of romantic comedies feel phony, Crazy, Stupid, Love moves away from that genre stereotype. The characters here are completely realistic and you identify with all of them very easily. It also benefits from not having a sickeningly cheesy ending. The only other straight romantic comedy I've seen this year, No Strings Attached, was a pretty good film, but the ending made want to vomit. Thankfully, Crazy, Stupid, Love ends on a good note and wraps things up pretty nicely without being overly corny or sweet. The cast here is excellent on top of the writing. There is a lot of talent here on display here and most of them don't even do comedy normally (this was Ryan Gosling's first comedic role and he nailed it.) Crazy, Stupid, Love was a surprisingly great film. It was hilarious, touching, and real. More romantic comedies need to be in the same vein of this film, this is one of the best I've seen in quite some time.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Madea's Big Happy Family (Film Number 27 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-07T05:42:00.000-08:00

Now that I've seen a Tyler Perry film I can understand why he gains so much criticism. It's an absolute mystery how his films could be so wildly popular, yet are demeaning towards it's target audience. Although Madea's Big Happy Family is the first Tyler Perry film I've seen, I can now tell what his movies are about. His films are filled with negative stereotypes, poor writing, and a muddled mess of unfunny comedy and over-the-top melodrama. It's kind hard to have a film that's supposed to teach values and have characters that the audience identifies with the characters when the characters are about as realistic as an alien in a sc-fi film. If there are people like the characters in this film, I would be beyond shocked. It's not only the characters that don't seem real, it's also the situations they get into. I am sure there are things that are similar that happen in real life, just not to such a melodramatic and ridiculous extent.Every situation is so extreme, there is just no sense of realism to anything. This is apparently Tyler Perry's best film and if that is the case, I don't want to imagine his worst work. Madea's Big Happy Family is a racist, unrealistic, and just plain awful film. The comedy sections aren't funny and the melodrama is so overdone it's preposterous. Madea's Big Happy Family is near the bottom of 2011 films at this point in time and I don't really see that changing by the end of the year.

1/5 Stars

Album Review: Animals As Leaders-Weightless

2011-11-06T08:21:00.000-08:00

Over the past two years, Animals As Leaders has earned quite a name for themselves. Guitarist Tosin Abasi has become a world-renowned guitar player earning high praise from legends like Steve Vai. With this success, they have toured with everyone from Circa Survive to Between The Buried and Me to Decapitated and easily become the popular active instrumental band. They have just released their second album (and first since blowing up), Weightless, which only solidifies their reign on the instrumental music world.

Weightless is not only better than their debut, it blows the doors off of it. The biggest improvement on Weightless is the songwriting. The songs flow much better and you can tell there was more attention to detail on this album. It's not just about Tosin's solos on this album (although those are just as mind-blowing as ever), there's an enhanced focus on melody and riffs. Album standouts "Cylindrical Sea, "An Infinite Regression" and "Weightless" are the biggest examples of blending the two seamlessly. You have got all these insane solos blended with some truly gorgeous and immense melodies. Another big improvement is the fact that there is an actual band backing up Tosin this time. The first album was just a drum machine behind his guitar playing and it had kind of an artificial feel behind it. This album benefits so much from the presence of an actual second guitar player and a drummer it's not even funny. It makes the whole album sound better and not feel like Tosin is playing with a bunch of robots. Yet another improvement is the production. Drummer Naven Koperweis and guitarist Javier Reyes do an awesome job with the production. The production is a lot more clear and balanced than the first album, which had kind of a fuzzy tone to it.

Weightless is essentially Animals As Leaders 2.0. It takes everything that was great about the first record and substantially improves it. Tosin's guitarwork is awe-inspiring as usual and the presence of a full band on this album pays dividends. Animals As Leaders is my favorite instrumental band and Weightless raises my enjoyment of their music even higher.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Cylindrical Sea
2.An Infinite Regression
3.Weightless

Movie Review: Bridesmaids (Film Number 26 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-11-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Every year has the tremendously-hyped comedy that gains a lot of attention from both critics and audiences. This year that film is Bridesmaids. The trailers made this looks pretty subpar, but I held out hope this would be good with this many funny people involved. To my surprise, Bridesmaids actually lives up to the hype. Now I feel pretty bad that I actually doubted this film going into it. I love Kristen Wiig on Saturday Night Live and in other projects and I am glad she got a leading role to show her immense comedic talent she to a larger audience. Along with her great work as the lead, she wrote a great script. The whole film is pretty fucking hilarious with just the right amount of heart and drama to balance the film out (you can tell why Judd Apatow agreed to produce this, there is of similarities between this and his films). This isn't your typical chick flick humor, this is some raunchy and hilarious stuff. I am glad in went that direction. I can not express enough how much benefits from straying from the standard rom-com formula. This movie is essentially a female-dominated version of The Hangover. It's a group effort to make this film funny. Everyone does their part and creates a good amount of laughs. Bridesmaids is every bit as good as the hype is made out to be. This is one of the funniest films of 2011 and a potential breakout for Kristen Wiig.

4/5 Stars

November In Film

2011-11-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

November marks the start of the crazy, two-month, winter movie season where movie studios throw out blockbusters and award-contenders almost non-stop. This November looks to be one of the best months of 2011 so far with a good number of films I want to see. Here are my thoughts on the whole crop of November films.

Films I want to see
4.J.Edgar (11/11)- I am going to be completely honest, I know very little about the events this film is portraying. That being said, you really can't go wrong with Clint Eastwood in the director's chair. Just about everything he has done has been brilliant. Leonardo Decaprio in the lead role as J.Edgar Hoover makes this film that much more intriguing.

3.Tower Heist (11/4)-Could this be Eddie Murphy's comeback film. He looks like his old self in the trailers and with the very talented cast surrounding him, it very well could be. I am very excited to see how this film turns out, it looks hilarious and the cast is top-notch.

2.Immortals(11/11)-I am a sucker for 300-style adaptions and this looks amazing to me. The trailers are completely amazing. I really hope this isn't a letdown, this has the potential to be the best action film of the year.

1.A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas(11/4)-I was beyond excited when they announced this. The concept of a Harold and Kumar Christmas film is too good to be true. The trailer looks to be more of the same, but with the key players and writers back, this should be an amazing film.

Films I Am Not Sure About
The Muppets (11/23)-The trailers are actually somewhat funny. The parody marketing was a very smart and often funny tactic for Disney. This very well could be the best kids movie of the year, but after Muppets In Space, I can't really get overly excited about a Muppets film.

Films I Have No Interest In Seeing (but will anyways do to my goal for 2011 films)
Jack and Jill(11/11)-Adam Sandler pulls an Eddie Murphy in this film. No thanks, this looks really stupid and painfully unfunny.

Happy Feet Two(11/18)-I can't even believe they made a sequel to this. There was enough of a demand for more singing and dancing penguins? I am really not looking forward to seeing this one.

The Twilight Breaking Dawn: Part One (11/18)-Fuck Twilight. That is all.

Arthur Christmas (11/24)-Looks like a dud of a Christmas film.

Hugo(11/24)-Even with Martin Scorcese directing, I don't find myself remotely compelled to see Hugo. Look like way too generic of an adventure film.

Concert Review: Between The Buried and Me, Boston, MA October 30th, 2011

2011-10-31T15:09:00.000-07:00

Last night was a magical evening at the House Of Blues in Boston. The Saints and Sinners Tour with Between The Buried and Me, Animals As Leaders, and TesseracT was in town. To make things even better, it was a special Halloween show that also featured Cave In and The Red Chord on top of the regular tour lineup. Putting it simply, the show was fucking amazing.

A few of my friends and I arrived at the House Of Blues around 5:45. After getting in, I browsed the merch. Between The Buried and Animals As Leaders shirts were $20 for those interested and I didn't look at TesseracT merch. I ended up purchasing an Animals As Leaders shirt with a picture of Tosin Abasi on it with "Tobama" written under it (the shirt featured the color scheme that are on the Obama shirts/posters). After I purchased my shirt, we were able to get extremely close to the stage. I have actually never been that close at the House Of Blues, which made this show that much better.

TesseracT kicked off the festivities for the evening. I was very curious to see what the band would sound like with their new vocalist, Elliot Coleman. Let me just say if you're a TesseracT fan, don't fret about Elliot's vocals, he did a great job. I actually preferred his vocals over their previous singer Dan's. Elliot's cleans and screams (his screams are vastly superior to Dan's) were great. Their material sounded better and heavier live. I think Elliot has injected new life into the band and made them all-around better. I was very pleasantly surprised by TesseracT's performance.

The first of the two special guests on the evening, the pride of Revere, Massachusetts, The Red Chord, was up next. When The Red Chord got added to the bill, I was completely stoked. They have been one of my favorite bands for a few years now and they always bring it live. This go-round was no exception. This was their first show in 6 months, but you couldn't tell by the way they played. They did not show any signs of rust and they dominated the stage like they always do. The setlist was really solid. "Birdbath" and "Hymns and Crippled Anthems" were really awesome surprises. Charn from Job For A Cowboy did a fantastic job filling in on drums. There is a rumor going around that he will be their new drummer. If that's true (I honestly don't see that happening), he would be a good fit for The Red Chord. I really want The Red Chord to make another album soon. It's been too long since their mad genius since has released new material.

Animals As Leaders hit the stage next. Basically all I can say about their performance is that Tosin Abasi is a beast. Watching him play for 45 minutes had me in complete awe. The crowd was going ballistic the entire set. People fucking worship this guy ( at one point,some dude screamed "Tosin, I want take you home with me". Tosin was laughing so hard, he had to delay the intro to "Song Of Solomon" for a few seconds). Animals As Leaders is my favorite instrumental band of all time and it's always a treat seeing them live.

The second special guest of the evening, Cave In, was up next on the bill. Despite being from Methuen, Cave In rarely plays shows, ever around the Massachusetts area. I had only heard 1 or 2 Cave In songs prior to last night, but after their performance, I will definitely be examining their music further. They have a very dynamic sound. It was part Converge/Dillinger Escape Plan, part Thursday/Touche Amore. The crowd wasn't entirely into them, but it wasn't completely dead either. A polarizing reaction like is to be expected due to the radical shifts in tone from song to song. I am glad Cave In was on the bill last night, they put on a damn good show and they for sure gained a new fan in me.

Finally, Between The Buried and Me, hit the stage. This was my 6th(!) time seeing them and as always, they were beyond amazing. They are pretty much in a league of their own when it comes to live bands. They absolutely command the stage every time they play. Their musical precision is out of this world. It impresses each and every time I see them how they can all pull of their music off live to perfection given how complex it is. The setlist was good. Alot of great setlist staples such as "Disease, Injury, Madness" and "White Walls", as well as a really cool medley of some older songs off of the first three albums. Blake Richardson did an excellent drum solo in a break during "Specular Reflection". It was also cool to see them play "Mordecai" for the first time (I am surprised it took me until the sixth seeing them to hear it live). I can't wait for the next Between The Buried and Me tour to roll through Massachusetts.

The show was amazing. Every band killed and the presence of The Red Chord and Cave In made this even better. This tour is hitting up pretty much everywhere in the country, so if this is coming to your city go. Boston lucked out and got two more kick-ass bands on top of the rest of the lineup and I am really fortunate that happened.

Scores
TesseracT 8/10
The Red Chord 9/10
Animals As Leaders 8.5/10
Cave In 8/10
Between The Buried and Me 10/10

Setlists
TesseracT
Intro
Concealing Fate Part Two-Deception
Concealing Fate Part Three-The Impossible
Concealing Fate Part Four-Perfection
Concealing Fate Part Five-Epiphany
Concealing Fate Part Six-Origin
April
Concealing Fate Part One-Acceptance

The Red Chord
Demoralizer
Black Santa
Hymns and Crippled Anthems
Nihilist
Hour Of Rats
Birdbath
Clients
Pray For Eyes
Antman
Dreaming In Dog Years

Animals As Leaders:
An Infinite Regression
Tempting Time
Song Of Solomon
Point To Point
Isolated Incidents
Thoroughly At Home
Wave Of Babies
Cylindrical Sea
CAFO

Cave In(jacked for setlist.fm, the only songs I knew were Vicious Circles and Centered, which were announced):
Serpents
Halo Of Flies
Vicious Circles
Air Escapes
Centered
Summit Fever
Sing My Loves
Moral Eclipse
Juggernaut

Between The Buried and Me:
Mirrors
Obfuscation
Augment Of Rebirth
Foam Born B: Decade Of Statues
Disease, Injury, Madness
Specular Reflection/Drum Solo
Medley (included Alaska, All Bodies, Shavnel Cut A Flip, Arsonist,Fire For A Dry Mouth, Lost Perfection: Anablephobia, and 1 other from the s/t that I am forgetting)
Viridian
White Walls

Encore:
Mordecai

Album Review: Megadeth-TH1RT3N

2011-10-30T10:25:00.000-07:00

After hearing what their fellow Big 4 members Metallica did with the disaster Lulu, I was excited to see hear what Megadeth's new album would be like. Megadeth was coming off Endgame, which I thought was their best release since Countdown To Extinction. Naturally, I had very high expectations for TH1RT3EN after the greatness of Endgame. The bad news is THIRT3N doesn't hold a candle to Endgame. The good news is that THIRT3N is still a solid release.

Considering that THIRT3N feels rushed (4 of the 13 songs had already appeared on other Megadeth releases), it's still a pretty good record. It maintains the sound that has been found on Megadeth's albums since they reunited in 2002. Dave Mustaine still has it vocally and Chris Broderick is still the best guitarist Megadeth has had since Marty Friedman left. It was also cool to hear Dave Ellefson back in the band. I don't know much his presence contributed to the album, but it's always good to see a founding member come back into the fold. Ironically, the songs that Megadeth had already released are better than most of the material was written for this album. "Black Swan" is a classic Megadeth rager that has a lot more energy and focus than the rest of the album. "Sudden Death", which was originally written for Guitar Hero, is a damn good song as well. Broderick and Mustaine trade off manic solos, which is not done enough on the rest of the album. When it comes to the material that was written for this album there is one problem, it's good, but it rarely reaches great. The songs just never really reach the next level (with the exception of "Fast Lane"). The flare and brilliance of Endgame isn't really present here unfortunately.

THIRT3N is a good, but not great record. It's definitely thrown together, but thankfully Megadeth is such an amazing a band that it's still quality music. It's on par with most of the 2000's-era Megadeth, so fans of albums like The System Has Failed! and United Abominations should enjoy this. At the very least, Dave Mustaine can take pride in the fact that he didn't stoop to Metallica's level on their new album. It's a shame that Megadeth couldn't follow up Endgame with a better album, but THIRT3N is still a respectable release from Megadeth.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Black Swan
2.Sudden Death
3.Fast Lane

Movie Review: Captain America: The First Avenger (Film Number 25 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-10-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

Captain America: The First Avenger was probably the worst-looking superhero of all time in my opinion. Based on the trailers, I was really not looking forward to see it. After it was released, there was a lot of really good feedback on it from critics and audiences. The positive reception definitely increased my interest in seeing it. After finally watching it yesterday, I can now say that it's neither really good or really bad, it's just decent. There is nothing horribly wrong with the film, it's just too plain and standard to be anything special. The acting, script, and action sequences are all serviceable. Chris Evans makes a pretty good Captain America. He has always been a solid, likable actor and that really helps with this role. The villain, Red Skull (Hugo Weaving), is probably the biggest reason this film doesn't get to the next level. He has to be one of the lamest villains in comic book history. There is nothing wrong with Weaving's portrayal, it's just the character itself is pretty stupid. On the whole, Captain America: The First Avenger, is entertaining enough to warrant a mild recommendation, but nothing more. I enjoyed this year's other Marvel comic adaptions Thor and (especially) X-Men: First Class a lot more than this. Captain America didn't live up to the very good reception, but at least it wasn't the awful film I expected it to be.

3/5 Stars

Album Review: Lou Reed/Metallica-Lulu

2011-10-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

I have never been a big fan of collaboration albums. They just tend to be a bad idea and they rarely work (the Nas/Damian Marley album from last year is the only recent example of a completely successful collaboration album I can think). On paper, the combination of Lou Reed and Metallica doesn't make sense. Once you hear the album, you'll wish it never happened. You would have to try really hard to make music as bad as the material on Lulu.

I really don't know where to start with my criticisms of Lulu. Everything that could possibly go wrong, goes wrong. Lulu is so bad that it's almost impressive. It reaches levels of unholy shit that were previously unfathomable to the human mind. I really don't know how anyone involved thought this was good and should be released for the public to hear. The album sounds like Lou Reed is a crazed war veteran telling his incoherent stories while Metallica is practicing rhythm riffs in another room. Honestly Lou, if you wanted to read your awful poetry, go to a fucking open mic night. Don't call up Metallica and ask them to play boring riffs while you go on monotonous,incoherent ramblings. You know when album starts off with the lyrics "I would cut my legs and tits off when I think of Boris Karloff and Kinski in the dark of the moon" that there is some serious problems ahead. Why I didn't turn this album off after that is beyond me. The next 60 minutes or so of this monumental turd just got more and more painful.

"The View" is one of the worst songs on here and it starts the theme of Reed repeating the same words over and over again in almost every song. Just when don't think the song can get any worse, James Hetfield joins in on the party and repeatedly screams the lyrics "I am the table!". I am honestly shocked my head didn't explode after I heard the man that was responsible for masterpieces like Ride The Lightning and Master Of Puppets screaming about how he is a fucking table. Just when I didn't think the album could get any fucking worse, "Pumping Blood" came on. The idiotic lyrics reach new lows when Reed's crusty, emotionless ass proclaims "If I waggle my ass like a dark prostitute, would you think less of me?" and even better this gem "I will swallow your sharpest cutter, like a colored man's dick". Torture porn was used as a term to describe horror films like Hostel and Saw, I would like to bring back the term an apply to this album after hearing this song. After hearing that song, I wanted to track Lou Reed down and demand him for compensation for exposing me to this fucking abomination. Keep in mind, I was only three songs in at this point in time. The first disc of this feces-ridden double album continues with a failed attempt of capturing Metallica's sound on a track with the confusing thrashy sections of "Mistress Dread" which is the "best" song on the album and "Iced Honey" which I have pretty no comment on. The first disc closes out with the worst song of the bunch, "Cheat On Me". I thought "The View" and "Pumping Blood" were pretty much unmatched in the pure, unadulterated shit department, let's just say I fucked up. "Cheat On Me" is an 11-minute long tidal wave of shit. After 3 minutes of dull ambiance, Reed comes in and starts whining and repeating the phrase "Why did you cheat on me?". This is pretty much all the happens for the next 8 minutes. The 11-minute duration seems to go on for so long you feel like just watched the entire Lord Of The Rings franchise by the time it's over.

The second disc is just as painful. All of the songs are extremely long, which only adds to the pain of this album. There really isn't much to say except that it's at the same level of shit as the rest of the albm After yet another 11-minute snore/crapfest "Dragon", I threw in the towel. There was only one song left the 19-minute long "Junior Dad", I couldn't bring myself to listen to yet another one of Reed's fucking retarded, perverted old-man ramblings for almost 20 minutes. The first 60+ minutes gave me an enough of idea of how fucking awful this album is. This is the first album in a very, very long time that could not complete listening to. Normally, I will finish an album no matter what, but I just could not do that with Lulu.

Lulu is easily the worst album of 2011 (I listened to the new Emmure this year... didn't think it could be topped in the shit department) and one of the worst album I have ever heard. The idea was bad and the execution was even worse. Lou Reed's various spoken-word ramblings are grating, awful, and just plain cringe-inducing. On top of Reed's awful presence and vision for this album, Metallica doesn't do anything to help this out either. Kirk Hammett is reduced to playing generic, simple riffs and Lars Ulrich's drumming has never sounded worse (the drums on this album sounded like they were recorded in outer fucking space.) Shooting heroin, robbing a bank, sleeping with a hooker, are all better choices than listening to Lulu. I beg everyone to not listen this album. It's such a landmark failure on every level. Both acts should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for releasing this album and expecting their fans to pay for money this garbage.

0/5 Stars

Update

2011-10-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

Howdy people. I have been busy studying for a major test on Thursday, so I haven't been writing and I won't be until I'm done taking it. After Thursday, things will get back to normal. Expect a few reviews before the end of the week and a review of the Between The Buried and Me show on Monday. Thanks for reading my blog and stay tuned for more posts later this week!

Chris Maitland

Concert Review: OFWGKTA, Boston, MA, October 21st, 2011

2011-10-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

Last night marked the first time in my life that I attended a rap show. Despite primarily being a metalhead, this year I've been to a few non-metal concerts (3 so far, easily the most of any other year in my life.) There were really few acts that could have possibly introduced me to the world of rap concerts than OFWGKTA.

Plain and simple, this was a great fucking show. I could tell from the second I arrived that the energy was going to be off the charts. Syd (Odd Future's DJ for those who don't know) did her 15 minute DJ set. The crow broke into a frenzy when she played "Drop" by Earl Sweatshirt. Soon after, Odd Future came out and gave it 110% with a high-energy, fun set. The whole group had a great stage presence and were completely hilarious between songs. They had a stuffed wizard named Harold on stage that Tyler and Hodgy kept throwing out into the crowd and it eventually just got destroyed (I was near the back of the venue and my shoes were still covered in stuffing from it). Not only that, but the interactions they had with the crowd were priceless. At one point in time, someones shoe got on stage. Tyler was trying to give it back to the kid, but another kid was claiming it was his. Tyler proceeded to yell at the kid about being a liar and asked if his parents beat him as a kid. The setlist was pretty fucking good, aside from the lack of material from Bastard. "Orange Juice" was easily the highlight for me, that song is probably my favorite in the extensive OFWGKTA catalogue. The crowd was decent. A shitload of hipsters and a few assholes (like the fucking kid who kept grabbing me during "Sandwitches" and screaming the lyrics into my ear), but it was fine for the most part. The crowd was going apeshit almost the entire time, but the crowd reached it's peak during "Orange Juice", "French!" and "Yonkers" (obviously). The energy during those songs were beyond explosive. It felt like the floor was going to collapse due to the vast amount of movement. This was my first time at the Royale and it was a pretty good venue. Really, really upscale place that kind of looks like a fancy dungeon. The only downside is that's it's a nightclub and the floor is elevated. I got knocked off the floor about 15-20 times because of the moshing and overall crowd movement. Normally, this would be completely straight with me, but getting knocked off an elevated dancefloor got pretty goddamn annoying after awhile. A metal show at this venue (which is very, very rare and I can see why after going there) must be complete fucking chaos.

Overall, this was a great time. OFWGKTA puts on a damn good performance. Their shows are more like rock/metal in terms of atmosphere and the way they perform, which I think is a really cool way to approach a rap show. Although I don't see myself starting to go to rap shows on a regular basis, OFWGKTA was a great act to pop my rap show cherry with.

OFWGKTA 8.5/10
Setlist (This is my best attempt at remembering it. The order of the songs could be off and it's not a complete setlist).
64
Transylvania
Rolling Papers
Tron Cat
? (first time being played in some time,Domo forgot the lyrics)
?(first time being played in some time,Tyler forgot the lyrics)
Timeless
?
igotagun
Splatter
TANGGOLF
Orange Juice
Seven
Turnt Down
Cool
Yonkers
?
French!
Benediction
Bitch Suck Dick
Double Cheeseburger
Sandwitches
Fuck The Police
Radicals
Earl (outro)

Album Review: Warbringer-Worlds Torn Asunder

2011-10-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

The resurgence of thrash metal that past few years has given birth to a good number of quality bands. Although my favorite bands from the new wave of thrash (Revocation and Skeletonwitch) blend thrash and other styles of metal, Warbringer is at the top of the heap when it comes to new straight, old-school thrash. Their new record, Worlds Torn Asunder, adds another fast, ass-kicking record to their arsenal.

Worlds Torn Asunder isn't necessarily anything new for Warbringer, but it's their most focused effort to date. It's faster, heavier, and full of better songwriting. The faster, heavier Warbringer worked wonders for me. Every track is approached with the raw ferocity that we've come to expect from Warbringer, it's just elevated up a few notches.There is even some interesting slow parts on tracks like "Echoes From The Void" and "Demonic Ecstasy" that give the listener a brief and well-placed break from the utter fucking madness of the rest of the record. Vocalist John Kevil sounds better than ever. He has been my personal favorite new thrash vocalist and he sounds even better than usual. New drummer Carlos Cruz rips shit up on drums. He definitely is a more skilled drummer than former drummer Nic Ritter. His drumming gives Warbringer yet another leg up from their previous material and (most) other bands in the new thrash movement.

Worlds Torn Asunder is the most furious, frenzied, and most importantly, best Warbringer album to date. It takes the sound that Warbringer is known for and just improves on it every way. It's refreshing to have a straight-up thrash band in the new thrash genre that doesn't suck hard or has slowed down or sold out over the years. Good old-school straight thrash is hard to come-by these days, but Warbringer delivers the good once again on Worlds Torn Asunder.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Echoes From The Void
2.Enemies of The State
3.Demonic Ecstasy

Album Review: Five Finger Death Punch-American Capitalist

2011-10-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

Five Finger Death Punch is a band that has absolutely exploded in the past few years. With that increase in popularity, has come a decrease in the quality of their music. Not to say I've ever been a big fan of their music, but The Way Of The Fist isn't too bad and War Is The Answer has some decent songs. American Capitalist doesn't really have much to like and is easily their weakest release to date.

The problem with American Capitalist is that Five Finger Death Punch have gotten so full of themselves it's almost sickening. Their faux-tough guy attitude has reached sky-high levels. You can hear their inflated ego in almost all of the album. Not to say that their older material wasn't written with the same attitude, but now it just seems like their entire sound is aimed at meathead UFC fans. The biggest examples of this are in the lead single "Under and Over It" and "The Pride" (which features Ivan Moody rapping...no joke). Pretty much all of the lyrics on American Capitalist are completely laughable. These songs are so filled with cheesy, macho attitude that it's incredibly hilarious that they take themselves so fucking seriously.

American Capitalist is a pretty bad album. There is no denying that Ivan Moody can sing and Jason Hook isn't a bad guitar player, but when the lyrics are this bad and the music is this generic, it's all null and void.This is music for faux-tough guys and UFC bros and pretty much no one else. Five Finger Death Punch has been going downhill and I think they will continue to do so as they get more popular

2/5 Stars

Movie Review: Real Steel (Film Number 24 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-10-15T11:51:00.000-07:00

I am going to be completely honest, I did not want to see Real Steel in the least bit. The concept of a robot boxing movie was mind-numbingly stupid to me. I ended up seeing it last night for free (I love having one of my best friends work at a movie theater, it has saved me a TON of money on tickets) out of pure boredom and much to my surprise, it wasn't a bad movie.

Real Steel is a simple and straightforward film, but it managed to entertain me for me two hours. Sometimes that's really all you need in a film and Real Steel is a perfect example of just that. My previous statement about this being Rock'Em Sock Em' Robots meets Rocky reigned true, but it's not even close to as stupid as I expected it to be. It's definitely not without it's corny moments, but I expected this to be an onslaught of full-on dumb throughout and thankfully, it wasn't. What surprised me the most about this film was how well choreographed the action scenes were. It captured the robot boxing atmosphere in a really interesting that made it seem almost exactly like traditional boxing. The camera work during the fight scenes was well done as well. It remained fluid throughout and captured the fights from every possible angle, making them a lot more thrilling for the viewer. Another surprising feat about this film, was the serviceable acting from the entire cast. I was expecting this film to be terribly acted, but everyone involved turn in pretty decent performances.

Real Steel is far from perfect, but it's shockingly a decent film. It's able to provide a light, harmless piece of entertainment that should appeal to a lot of audiences. This is the definition of a crowd-pleaser film, I am sure the masses will like this film a whole hell of a lot more than I did. Real Steel is pretty entertaining and much than better expected and that's good enough for me to give it a mild recommendation.

3/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Adjustment Bureau (Film Number 23 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-10-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

The Adjustment Bureau was a film I thought looked horrible. The trailer made the concept look stupid and the film look ridiculous. The Adjustment Bureau is one of the rare occasions where false advertising ended up being for the better. The plot is actually the strong point of the film. It's a highly original concept that ends up working pretty effectively. Sc-Fi/thriller love stories is a genre that doesn't seem like it would work, but this film is able to balance the two without becoming muddled or stupid. The film also benefits from strong performances from both of it's leads. There is an undeniable chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. They are a pleasure to watch together and they couldn't have possibly gotten a better pair in those roles. The downside to this film is the third act. It kind of unravels and becomes a little bit annoying. The ending is pretty lame and tops off the flawed third end act in a disappointing fashion. The film is able to overcome it's issues with the ending due to it's strong acting and plot. The Adjustment Bureau was a much stronger film than I anticipated and I am happy to admit I was completely wrong with my judgements prior to watching this film.

3.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Skeletonwitch-Forever Abomination

2011-10-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ohio blackened thrash outfit Skeletonwitch shot up to my list of favorite bands with their completely fucking awesome second album, 2007's Beyond The Permafrost. Since then Skeletonwitch has continued tearing shit up with amazing consistency. Their newest release, Forever Abomination, continues their hot streak and might even be their strongest release so far.

I have always dubbed Skeletonwitch as "80's Metallica with Satan as a vocalist". While this is still true for the most part, Skeletonwitch has embraced a more melodic sound on Forever Abomination. From the acoustic guitar sections on "This Horrifying Force (The Desire To Kill)" to the melodic black/death metal inspired soloing on "Cleaver Of Souls", Skeletonwitch is able to work melodic influences in with their frenzied thrash attack effortlessly. The new-found melody makes Skeletonwitch sound more refined and varied and makes for some of the best material Skeletonwitch has ever crafted. While there is still plenty of straight-up thrash on this album, I found myself enjoying the melodic tracks (especially the aforementioned "This Horrifying Force" and "Cleaver Of Souls") more than the fast, raging ones. This new style has given guitarist Nate Garnette even more of a chance to shine. He has been one of the best guitarists in metal for a while, but he really stepped his game up on this record. He lays down great riffs and fret-ripping solos like they are going out of style. His brother, vocalist Chance Garnette, still delivers his trademark demonic vocals in top-form. His screams are amongst the most sinister and bad-ass in all of metal. It's a shame he doesn't get more recognition for what he does vocally.

Forever Abomination is a furious and fast yet melodic record. It's the classic Skeletonwitch sound with more of a melodic vibe and it works on every possible level. It takes their sound to new heights and explores a lot of previously uncharted territory for the band. The riffs, vocals, solos, and production are top-notch as always. It's going to take a few more listens, but this record might be better than Beyond The Permafrost. Forever Abomination is yet another gem of a record from Skeletonwitch and will be placing very highly on my year-end list.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Cleaver Of Souls
2.This Horrifying Force (The Desire To Kill)
3.Of Ash And Torment

Movie Review: 50/50

2011-10-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Every since I have started watching movies, I have noticed that every year has had at least one film that sticks with you. That you want to watch over and over again and makes a lasting impression on you. Up to this point, 2011 has been lacking that. Don't get we wrong, there has some excellent films released this year (Fast Five, Super 8, Source Code, Moneyball, some others), but none that made a vast impact on me. That all changed, when I saw 50/50. 50/50 is a film that I already want to revisit and plan on revisting many times in the future.

50/50 tells the story of Adam Lerner (Joesph Gordon-Levitt), a young man who is diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. Adam as well as the people in his life react to the news in various ways. Adam's best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen) puts a positive spin on it and reassures him he is going to be ok. His girlfriend, Rachel (Bryce Dallas Howard) doesn't really know how to react and ends up distancing herself from Adam. Adam's mother (Angelica Houston) becomes hysterical and worries Adam is going to die. With all the stress surrounding him, Adam begins to see a therapist (Anna Kendrick). With the therapy sessions and every thing else going on around him, Adam goes through a roller-coaster ride of emotions as he tries to beat cancer.

50/50 is the best film I have the had pleasure of seeing in 2011 so far. It covers the entire spectrum of film flawlessly. The shifts in tone are very impressive. It goes from emotional to hilarious to heartfelt on a whim. I commend Will Reiser's script for being able to pull off this incredibly hard task. This approach was innovative to say the least. No film about cancer has ever been done like this before. I really identified with all of the characters and the level of realism achieved. You can tell that Reiser's first-hand experience with having cancer gave him an insight that most people don't have. He knows what the heartbreak and trauma of cancer feels like. Even with that awful experience, he is able to find humor in it. That is completely remarkable to me.

On top of the excellent script, the cast is fantastic. Joesph-Gordon Levitt nails the role of Adam. He is such an amazing actor and it was great to see him in a film like this. He gives Adam this incredible depth. His character goes through every emotion and he gives it his all with his emotionally-invested performance. Seth Rogen does just as good or better than Joesph Gordon-Levitt. You can tell his experience has Will Reiser's real-life best friend make a big impact on the film. He lived this and that's evident in his performance. Rogen is his typical, hilarious self, but with more of emotional side at times. Angelica Houston and Anna Kendrick also shine in supporting roles. Their characters help Adam along in his recovery process and are a vital part of the film.

50/50 is a must-see. This film has a big heart, big laughs, spectacular acting, and real emotion. This film stuck with me instantly and made a gigantic impact on me. I already want to see it again and I just saw it yesterday. I really can't say enough good things about this film. I really hope it can get some Oscar nominations this year (If it only gets one, please let it be for Will Reiser's screenplay). This is the best film of 2011 so far and I really don't see anything topping it.

4.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Scream 4 (Film Number 22 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-10-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

It's feel like 1996 all over again. It's been over a decade since the last Scream film came out and 15 years since the iconic original was released. In 2011, Scream 4 successfully manages to bring the Scream formula into a new decade. Even after all these years, these films have not lost their edge. Scream 4 maintains the self-aware, comic tone that the past films in the franchise have had. Sure it's not as innovative of an approach as it was in 1996, but it still makes for a fun and often quite funny film. Scream 4 reminded me of the fun of the original, just updated for current times. The spoofing of remakes was an interesting and funny touch. Horror remakes are the most common remakes and often the worst out of all remakes. I was glad that these films were able to get a good bashing in the typical, satirical Scream fashion. Scream 4 isn't groundbreaking by any means, but it's solid, amusing slasher film that provides two hours of gory fun.

3.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Eagle (Film Number 21 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-10-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

I am going to be completely honest, I don't have much to say about The Eagle. I'm completely indifferent on the film as a whole. It's a rarity that a film is this average. I almost want to say it's impressive in the levels of mediocrity it hits. During it's near-two hour runtime, not once did I have any feeling positive or negative towards this film. I kept expecting it become good or bad, it did neither. Normally even average movies have their up's and down's, The Eagle is just completely average all-around throughout the film. When the film was over the only thought I had was "Wow, that was mediocre", The Eagle is one of the most subpar films I've ever seen and I don't see that changing any time soon.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Season Of The Witch (Film Number 20 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-10-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well I finally was able to completely finish watching all the films that were released in a given month. Unfortunately, I closed out watching the films released in January with the dud that was Season Of The Witch. Season Of The Witch just proves that Nicolas Cage will be in anything. I will say it's not Cage, Ron Perlman, or any of the actors fault this movies sucks, they did the best they could with the rotten material they were given. Season Of The Witch is a ridiculous, boring, and just flat-out dumb (not in a good way). The whole movie drags along at a snail's pace with stupid event after stupid event occurring. I really don't get how the writers thought this film could be taken seriously with the amount of sheer stupidity running rampant throughout this film. Just when I didn't think it could get any dumber, the ending happened. The ending had me laughing my head off, though I don't think that was the intended point. Season Of The Witch is one of the worst films I have been subjected so far this year. It's a slow, lifeless, and beyond dumb action/fantasy film that probably won't even please fans of the genre.

1.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Moneyball

2011-10-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am going to be completely honest, I am a sucker for sports dramas. I don't know what it is specifically about them, but I find myself loving just about every sports drama I see. Even with my slightly bias love for sports dramas, I can safely say that Moneyball is the best sports drama I have seen in years.

Moneyball weaves the tale of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) during the 2002 season. After the 2001 season, three of the A's biggest players (Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Jason Isringhausen) left for bigger market teams. Beane was struggling for answers with a low payroll and scouts that didn't see the bigger picture of building a championship team. Beane's solution is bringing in Yale graduate Peter Brandt (Jonah Hill) as his assistant general manager. Brandt brought in a unorthodox tatic to sign undervalued players that were overlooked by other teams for cheaper money. The tatic is know as "moneyball". The system had a lot of critics, but the critics were silenced once the approach turned into wins for the A's.

Moneyball is a near-perfect sports film. It's brilliantly acted, written, and directed. Brad Pitt is in top-form as Billy Beane. He makes Beane a multi-dimensional character that the audience really wants to see succeed. Even (normally) comedic actors like Jonah Hill and Chris Pratt do a great job in their respective roles. This was a nice change of pace for both of them and showed off that their acting skills translated to serious roles. The strongest part of Moneyball though is the script. It gets very in-depth to not only the A's season, but Beane's failed playing career and his relationship with his daughter. It was a fascinating approach and really made this film very well-rounded.

Moneyball is a winner. It paints the entire picture of the 2002 Oakland A's with a sense of authenticity while remaining highly entertaining. When it comes to sports drama, this in the top-tier. It's very well-made and acted from all points. Moneyball is a film that I won't be forgetting about at the end of the year and is almost a lock for my year-end top 10.

4.5/5 Stars

October In Film

2011-10-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

This October might be a new low. I don't want to see a single film coming out this month! There are a quite a few films that I am unsure of, but not a single one that I want to see. Despite that spoiler, here are my thoughts on this month's crop of new films.

Films I Am Not Sure Of
The Ides Of March (10/7)-Looks to be a pretty standard political thriller. The excellent cast boosts it's potential, but I still don't see this film being anything special.

The Thing(10/14)-The trailer is actually alright looking and considering The Thing has a good reputation this could be pretty good. Only issues are the mediocre cast and unproven writer.

The Three Musketeers(10/21)-Could be a kind of fun action film, but I have feeling like it will end up being mind-numbingly average.

In Time(10/28)-I think this has the most potential out of any October film due to it's pretty cool concept and great cast. The only issue is that with a concept like this it's either going to hit or miss horribly.

Film I Have No Interest In (but am going to see anyways due to my goal to see as many 2011 films as possible)
Real Steel (10/7)- This looks like Rock Em' Sock Em' Robots meets Rocky. Or in other words, this film is probably going to suck massively. The trailer is completely laughable and I am assuming the film will be too.

Dirty Girl(10/7)-I can just tell from the nauseating trailer that I am going to hate this film.

The Big Year (10/14)-How can 3 great comedic actors reduce themselves to a film about bird watching? The PG rating hurts it's chances of being funny even more.

Footloose(10/14)-I was stunned that a brilliant director like Craig Brewer was directing this remake. This has to be one of the stupidest remakes to date. It looks completely awful and looks like they made into a Step Up ripoff with increased melodrama.

Paranormal Activity 3(10/21)-Can they please stop with these movies? They aren't scary, they aren't suspenseful, and most of all, they aren't even close to good. Really not looking forward to seeing this one.

Anonymous(10/28)-I really don't care if Shakespeare was a fraud.

Johnny English Reborn(10/28)-The first one was ok when I was 11, now not so much....

Update

2011-09-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posting that much recently. I have been busy with various schoolwork (studying, papers, etc) and playing Gears Of Wars. I plan on seeing a couple of films this weekend and reviewing them. As well as doing my monthly film preview and posting reviews for the new Warbringer and Skeletonwitch albums in the next week or so. Thank you for understanding the lack of frequency in my posting and for my reading my blog.

Chris Maitalnd

Album Review: Mastodon-The Hunter

2011-09-26T13:12:00.000-07:00

Mastodon is my favorite band of all time. The first time I heard them in 2006, I was instantly captivated and they became my favorite band right away. Their entire discography is comprised of nothing but amazing music. The Hunter is no exception to the rule, Mastodon's streak of excellence is still in tact.

The Hunter is sure to divide Mastodon's fanbase. It's easily their strangest, most varied release to date. It sounds absolutely nothing like any of their other material. Some listeners might even go as far to question if it's even the same band that released records like Leviathan and Blood Mountain. Personally, I had no issue with the new sound. It shows yet again how dynamic and musically diverse Mastodon is as a band.

The Hunter shows a little bit of everything Mastodon has to offer. You have some classic-rock inspired jams ("Dry Bone Valley", "Stargasm"), some very heavy stuff ("Blasteroid", "Spectrelight") and even some really trippy, Pink Floyd-sounding material ("The Hunter", "All The Heavy Lifting"). The beauty of The Hunter though is how Mastodon is able to capture all the different styles with a clear vision and consistent quality. It takes a lot of skill to pull that off and Mastodon does it effortlessly. Even with all the styles played on this record, there is one thing that is constant, Mastodon's stunning level of musicianship. Guitarist Brent Hinds is a riff-writing machine. He pulls out headbang-worthy riffs on almost every song on the album. The vocals are approached in a different yet fascinating way on this record. Drummer Brann Dailor now contributes a solid amount of vocals to give Mastodon 3 vocalists. Dailor, Hinds, and Troy Sanders compliment each other incredibly well and give every song has a unique flavor.

The Hunter is excellent stuff. It's able to blend classic rock, prog rock, and balls-out metal to make a highly original sound. It's a much different direction for Mastodon, but that's part of the reason it's so good. Without a doubt, It's going to alienate some fans of the band and take time to sink in for some others. It takes a special band to successfully reinvent themselves this many times. Mastodon continues to put out genre-bending masterpieces and (hopefully) won't change anytime soon.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Blasteroid
2.Spectrelight
3.Dry Bone Valley

Album Review: blink-182-Neighborhoods

2011-09-23T15:52:00.000-07:00

Blink-182's reunion was one of the biggest pieces of news in music in the past few years. The anticipation for them to release new music once they reformed was incredibly high. Personally, I was a bit wary to see what it would it sound like. Almost three years after they reunited, their new record, Neighborhoods, has finally been released.Neighborhoods is a decent, but uneven record that is only somewhat worth the eight-year wait.

On the positive side, Neighborhoods is a big improvement over their last album. When this album is good, it's the best stuff Blink has made since Enema Of The State. The Bad Religion/NOFX-inspired "Heart's All Gone" is one of the best Blink songs ever. It's a genuine punk track that reminded me of Blink's older material with a bit more of an old-school punk edge. "Ghost On The Dance Floor" and "Wishing Well" have more of an alternative/indie feel to them. These tracks take Blink's sound in yet another different direction, but they work quite well. They are filled with genuine emotion, yet maintain a really catchy vibe. This is easily the most experimental album Blink-182 has ever made and this formula makes for an interesting listen... at least at times.

The major downside to Neighborhoods is the severe lack of consistency. About 1/3 of this album is good, 1/3 of this album is ok, and 1/3 of this album is complete and total shit. When this album is bad, it's really, really bad. I would go as far to say that the bad songs on this record are the worst things they have ever done. The absolute lowlight, "Love Is Dangerous", is vomit-inducing. It's even more emo than most of the stuff on their last record, which is saying something. The lame synth-line and cheesy lyrics are completely pathetic. Another problem is the lack of cohesion on this album. The listening experience gets kind of annoying since they can't really build up any momentum from song to song due to the scattered quality of the album. They can't decide on what they want this album to be. At times it's insanely and annoyingly emo, and at others, it's pretty emotional and powerful. I understand this album is supposed to be dark, but sometimes it crosses over from dark to just plain emo whining. I also still can't get over how boring Travis Barker's drumming is with Blink-182. I thought with the new sound Blink is going for, it would give him an opportunity to utilize more complex drumming. He is such an amazing drummer, but his work with Blink is completely underwhelming. The next album needs more interesting drumming, it's a crime wasting Barker's immense talent.

Despite being heavily flawed, Neighborhoods is a decent enough record. It takes Blink-182's sound in a different direction, which turns out to be both a good and bad thing. When it's good, it's the best stuff Blink has made in years. When it's bad, it's the worst material of their career. Neighborhoods could have been a lot better, but it also could have been far worse. Hopefully Blink can find a more clear vision and drop the emo sections completely for their next record. I am really eager to see where the band goes from here.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Heart's All Gone
2.Ghost On The Dancefloor
3.Wishing Well

Album Review: Machine Head-Unto The Locust

2011-09-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

It's been four years since Machine Head released their amazing last effort The Blackening. The Blackening really brought them back into the forefront as a force in the metal scene. Of course, with all of the acclaim for The Blackening, the expectations for Unto The Locust were quite high. Thankfully, Unto The Locust lives up to hype and proves to be another success for Machine Head.

Unto The Locust keeps a lot of the elements of The Blackening in tact while adding some interesting experimentation to the mix. There are a lot more melodic elements thrown into the fold which works really well for Machine Head. Album opener "I Am Hell" should surprise a lot of Machine Head fans. It starts off with a slow, orchestra-esque intro then thunders into an expectational riff and breakneck speed for the rest of the song. It really is a staggering, epic track and one of the finest of Machine Head's long career. "Darkness Within", another one of the unique standouts, is a ballad that is slow and genuinely beautiful for most of the song then closes out with a heavy bang. The diversity and experimental sections of Unto The Locust keeps Machine Head's sound fresh.

On top of the diversity, Machine Head sounds as good as ever. Robb Flynn's screaming and clean vocals are still powerful and make an impression on the listener. The most impressive element of Unto The Locust though is Phill Demmel's guitarwork. Every single solo on this album blew my mind. He is able to blend melodic, gorgeous soloing with inhuman speed flawlessly. His solos are like a workout for your ears. Unto The Locust is also one of the best sounding albums of the year. Robb Flynn's production is clean sounding, immense, and just plain excellent all around.

Unto The Locust was completely worth the long wait. I really dug the enhanced melody that was used on this record. It really complemented the relentless fury of Machine Head's music very well. I didn't like this quite as much as The Blackening, but Unto The Locust is another great record from Machine Head.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.I Am Hell (Sonata In C#)
2.Darkness Within
3.This Is The End

Album Review: Anthrax-Worship Music

2011-09-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Out of the Big 4, Anthrax has gone the longest without releasing new music. It's been 8 long years since We've Come For You All was released and it's just great to hear some new Anthrax after all these years. Worship Music is a welcome return from Anthrax and it turned out better than expected.

Worship Music marks the return of original vocalist Joey Belladonna. Worship Music is the first Anthrax record he has sung on since 1990's Persistence Of Time and his return is glorious. No disrespect to John Bush, but Belladonna is easily the best vocalist Anthrax has ever had. Just hearing his vocals on new Anthrax is awesome.

Worship Music might catch some Anthrax fans by surprise. This is more of a straight-up heavy metal release then thrash. Personally, I liked the approach Anthrax took on this record. There is a lot of catchy, memorable hooks on this record that Anthrax doesn't normally do. "I'm Alive" and "The Giant", in particular, were stuck in my head for hours. No need to fret though, there is still plenty of heavy material on this album. "Earth On Hell" comes out of the gate and grabs the listener by the throat with it's speed and ferocity. The two singles "Fight Em' Till You Can't" and "The Devil You Know" are also amongst the heavier and best stuff on the album.

Worship Music is definitely a really solid release. It takes Anthrax's music in a different direction without selling out or dumbing down. Joey Belladonna's return on vocals is triumphant and he still sounds amazing. Anthrax might have alienated some fans on Worship Music, but don't let some of the negative feedback fool you, Anthrax is a still a force when it comes to making great music.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Earth On Hell
2.Fight Em' Till You Can't
3.I'm Alive

Album Review: Textures-Dualism

2011-09-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

The Netherlands's Textures has gotten a lot of hype over the years. I have never actually listened to them until this album. It's really a shame I didn't listen to them sooner. If Dualism is any indicator, Textures is a great band.

Textures reminds me a lot of Periphery and TesseracT. They mix groove with a lot of melodic undertones. What sets Textures apart from Periphery and TesseracT, is their incorporation of death metal elements in their music. The death metal parts aren't overly prominent, but they are used tastefully and effectively throughout the album. For the most part, this is just really, really good progressive metal. A big part of what make Textures special is the vocals. I can't say how Daniel de Jongh is compared to Textures's past vocalists, but this guy really impressed me. Jongh's vocals are stirring and completely chilling. His clean vocals and death metal-esque growls are equally impressive. The album's strongest tracks are driven by the mesmerising vocals. The instrumentation is almost as good as the vocals. They are able to create alot of atmospheric stuff that is really cool and intricate. I was kind of surprised how haunting the instruments were on this record, I really didn't expect that at all.

Dualism is a great fucking record. If you are a fan of Periphery or TesseracT or even Meshuggah (first time in a long time I have said a band sounded like Meshuggah), check out Textures ASAP. The blend of prog and bursts of groove and death metal provides a very eclectic sound that hooked me instantly. Their vocals and instruments deliver a haunting vibe that sticks with you after every listen. I am really glad I finally checked this band out, they are a great band and I need to check out their earlier material. Dualism is amongst the top tier of 2011 albums so far and during this excellent year for the metal, that is quite the accomplishment.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Reaching Home
2.Singularity
3.Arms Of The Sea

Movie Review: Arthur (Film Number 19 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-09-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen the Dudley Moore original, so I can't comment on how the remake compares to the original. What can I say that is Russell Brand makes Arthur worth seeing completely by himself. Without Brand, Arthur's straightforward storyline would have made this a very standard, average film. Brand completely owns the role of Arthur. His charm and charisma is what makes this film work. It's not that rest of the cast is bad, it's just that Brand is so great he just puts everyone else to shame. Russell Brand really bolsters Arthur and makes it a solid piece of light and fluffy entertainment. If you're a fan of Brand, watch this film. If not, stay far away because Brand is the only reason this film works.

3.5/5 Stars

Mastodon Fall Tour

2011-09-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

I don't tend to announce tour information on my blog, but I figured I would make an exception for my favorite band. Mastodon first headlining tour for their new album The Hunter starts on November 1st in LA and closes on December 2 in a mystery location. Support on this trek will be provided from The Dillinger Escape Plan and Red Fang. Personally, I am beyond excited for this tour. I was really bummed when The Dillinger Escape Plan backed out of the Between The Buried and Me show in Boston, but this makes up for it 1000 times over. November 21st can not come soon enough.

Mastodon
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Red Fang
Dates:
Nov 1 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theatre
Nov 2 Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades
Nov 3 San Francisco, CA - The Warfield
Nov 5 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
Nov 6 Seattle, WA - Showbox SODO
Nov 7 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
Nov 8 Salt Lake City, UT - The Depot
Nov 9 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
Nov 11 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
Nov 12 Milwaukee, WI - Rave Ballroom
Nov 13 Sauget, IL - Pop's
Nov 14 Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont
Nov 16 Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
Nov 17 Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room
Nov 19 New York City, NY - Terminal 5
Nov 20 Philadelphia, PA - Trocadero
Nov 21 Boston, MA - House of Blues
Nov 23 Montreal, QC - Metropolis
Nov 25 Toronto, ONT - Kool Haus
Nov 26 Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom
Nov 27 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
Nov 28 Norfolk, VA - The NorVa
Nov 29 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
Dec 1 Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues
Dec 2 The Missing Link

Album Review: Jay-Z & Kanye West-Watch The Throne

2011-09-10T13:43:00.000-07:00

I found myself confused why I was listening to Watch The Throne. I've never been a fan of Kanye West and Jay-Z hasn't put out anything worthwhile since The Black Album. I am kind of glad I did listen to Watch Throne as it greatly surpassed my expectations, but it isn't really anything worthwhile either.

Watch The Throne does have quite a few things going for it. When it's good, it's pretty damn good. Album opener "No Church In The Wild" caught my attention from the start (unfortunately, no song on here is even close to as good as this.) Jay-Z and Kanye trade off solid verses with a catchy chorus from OFWGKTA's resident R&B singer Frank Ocean. The biggest plus on this record though is Kanye West's production. He is able to provide the album with a stellar array of beats. There are quite a few memorable beats on here and he is definitely not afraid to go outside of the box unlike most mainstream rap. It was also good to hear Jay-Z not rapping like shit on this record. After his disastrous last effort The Blueprint 3, I was pretty sure Jay-Z rapping ability was DOA. Although nowhere near top form, Jay-Z definitely brings some of his flow and creativity back here. Even Kanye West, who is one of the most inconsistent rappers of all time, shows moments where he actually raps well.

The problem with Watch The Throne is the amount of filler. There are plenty of tracks on here where you can tell Jay-Z and Kanye West's huge ego's got in the way. The subject matter of their tracks is pretty much bragging about how rich and how good they are at rapping. Sure they have plenty of money, but their lyrics aren't nearly clever enough to warrant such self-praise. The best rappers around don't tend to brag every chance they get and that's most of what Watch The Throne is. The perfect examples of this are on the awful "Niggas In Paris" and "That My Bitch". These tracks are just complete shit and left me with a really bad taste in my mouth. Some of the good tracks even have annoying sections that drag them down. Album standout "No Church In The Wild" has an obnoxious auto-tune section in the middle and "Who Gon Stop Me" has a highly grating sample in it. Stupid sections like these are far too frequent throughout the album and definitely play a part in dragging the quality down.

Watch The Throne is a lot better than anticipated, but it's a heavily flawed record. There are moments that are quite good, and there are moments that are abysmal. I will admit I really didn't even expect this album to be at this level, so kudos to Jay-Z and Kanye West for that. If this album had more consistency (lyrically and musically) and was made with a less cocky vibe, this could have been a damn fine record. Watch The Throne has it's moments, but at the end of the day it's just a middling, wildly uneven album.

2.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.No Church In The Wild (ft. Frank Ocean)
2.Otis (ft. Otis Redding)
3.Gotta Have It

Movie Review: Priest (Film Number 18 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-09-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I knew a film from the same team that brought us last year's disastrous Legion wouldn't be a good film. Priest did manage to surpass my expectations, but it's still pretty bad. Priest is a case of being a ridiculous film that takes itself way too seriously. It's kind of hard to have a film about a vampire-killing priest with loads of cheesy dialogue with the tone of a stone-serious film. If this film had a sense of humor or even a less serious tone, it probably would have been watchable. Karl Urban is the only person involved with this film that get the memo of how stupid this film is. His performance as the villian, Black Hat, is gloriously over-the-top. Every time he is on screen, the film becomes kind of fun. The rest of the cast is completely lifeless. It's actually kind of sad watching Paul Bettany, who really is a great actor, drone through this role. The only saving grace of Priest is the action. The action sequences are highly-stylized and well-shot. It's really kind of a waste that quality action like this is wasted in a below average film. It's not a complete failure, but Priest falls short with it's overly serious tone and lack of excitement.

2/5 Stars

Album Review: The Devil Wears Prada-Dead Throne

2011-09-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

The Devil Wears Prada have been a guilty pleasure of mine since their inception. A lot of bands that play a similar style of metalcore I am not a fan of, but there has always been an edge to Devil Wears Prada that made them standout from the pack. Their last release, Zombie EP, was their strongest to date. The quality of Zombie EP heightened my anticipation for their next full-length record, Dead Throne.

Dead Throne is the most musically complex The Devil Wears Prada record to date. You can tell this is a band that wanted to mature and take their songwriting to the next level. There are less breakdowns and more of a focus on melody and aggression. Even the clean vocals, which I normally found to be the low point of The Devil Wears Prada, aren't bad here. They have improved so much since their early records where the clean vocals were completely grating and made me want to write off the band entirely. I was really surprised how heavy Dead Throne was for a Devil Wears Prada album. I didn't expect them to release a record heavier then Zombie, but they managed to do that pretty easily.

The problem is there is one big issue with Dead Throne, Mike Hranica. His vocals bring Dead Throne down an astronomical amount. It's kind of strange how the whole band has gotten better on this album, but Hranica's vocals have taken a severe dip in quality. The band creates all this momentum, only to be brought down by lackluster vocals. His main scream is a pretty annoying, high-pitched shriek that began to become obnoxious very early on. Everytime he screams, it just takes away from the music. The biggest mistake The Devil Wears Prada made on Dead Throne was having Tim Lambesis from As I Lay Dying do guest vocals on "Constance". The 20 seconds that Lambesis is on the record he just completely embarrasses Hranica vocally.

Dead Throne is the strongest effort musically from The Devil Wears Prada, but the vocals really take away from the record as a whole. Dead Throne would have been a much stronger record if one of the genre's best vocalists such as Tim Lambesis or Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage did the screaming, but instead it's just a decent effort. The Devil Wears Prada desprately needs a new vocalist. They will be stuck making decent records for the rest of their career if they continue on with Mike Hranica. Dead Throne shows a lot of growth for The Devil Wears Prada, but at the end of the day that growth is brought drown by Mike Hranica's vocals.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Holdfast
2.Constance (ft.Tim Lambesis Of As I Lay Dying)
3.Kansas

Movie Review: Rio (Film Number 17 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-09-04T11:38:00.000-07:00

Rio was able to accomplish a pretty impressive feat: This is the best non-Pixar animated film since Shrek. I often find myself finding kids films to be too bland or unfunny to enjoy them, Rio was neither. There was definitely enough laughs and heart on display to make this engaging. The visuals are also impressive. The animation is very colorful and vibrant and fits in perfectly with the fun, happy atmosphere of the film. In addition, the voice-cast is top-notch. Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Tracy Morgan, Jermaine Clement, George Lopez, and the other cast members clearly had fun with their roles. It was cool to see such an ensemble cast that all did well in their roles (a rarity for animated films). Rio doesn't reinvent the wheel for animated films, but it provides enough laughs and heart for the whole family to enjoy.

3/5 Stars

Movie Review: Gnomeo and Juliet (Film Number 16 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-09-04T09:48:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering, Gnomeo and Juliet is as stupid as it's title as sounds. Was there really any point to retell Romeo and Juliet with lawn gnomes? I will admit, I was actually pleasantly surprised at first. The first half-hour isn't too bad. There was a decent amount of laughs and the plot came together nicely. The last fifty minutes is where it all falls apart. It becomes a lazy, tired, and downright annoying film. The love story comes together so fast and sloppily that it's hard to follow. The Romeo and Juliet tie-ins become nauseating, especially the apperance of a William Shakespeare statue voiced by Patrick Stewart. The moment the statue appeared was the last straw for me enjoying this film. Despite a not-too-bad start and talented voice cast including Emily Blunt, James McAvoy, Michael Caine, and Jason Statham, Gnomeo and Juliet is not worth a watch. The horrid second half of the film ruin all the postives of the first half and turn this film from watchable to pretty bad.

1.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Our Idiot Brother (Film Number 15 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-09-03T08:34:00.000-07:00

Our Idiot Brother is owned by Paul Rudd. I don't think another actor could have played Ned with as much as charm and innocence. The audience really identifies and relates with Ned right off the bat. Ned is one of the most likable characters in any film released this year. Rudd's performance along with the charm of this film get it through the rough mid-section of the film. This film might throw audiences for a loop because it's a not straight comedy like it was advertised to be. There is a fair share of drama worked in with the comedy. Don't get we wrong, there is a lot of laugh-out-loud moments in this film. The jokes come in bursts, but when they are present, they hit the target. Our Idiot Brother is a charming, funny film that is driven by an excellent performance by Paul Rudd.

3.5/5 Stars

September In Film

2011-09-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

September is the transitional month between the end-of summer films and the bigger-budget films of the rest of the year. September tends to be a dumping ground where studios release shitty movies, but this year looks to be an exception. There are a good amount of films I am excited to see in September. Here are my thoughts on the whole lot of September films.

Films I Want To See:
5.Shark Night 3D (9/2): This is only in this section because it looks so bad. I really love bad films of this nature. The PG-13 rating and ridiculous plot should add to the unintentional comic gold mine.

4.Killer Elite(9/23)-Me being action whore and this great cast made want to see this instantly. Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro should feed of each other well and make this a fun action flick.

3.50/50(9/30)- The concept is unconventional ( a comedy about cancer), but that's part of the reason I want to see it. I think this could be a really hilarious movie weaved together with some good dramatic elements and emotional depth. Joesph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen are both awesome and the director Johnathan Levine made The Wackness, which brilliantly weaved together comedy and drama. I am really excited for this.

2.Drive(9/16)-The trailer had me hooked and then I read all the extremely positive reception and I got even more excited. I hope this one live up to the hype.

1.Moneyball(9/23)-I am sucker for sports dramas and this looks like a god damn good one. It also helps I was alive when this happened and I remember the season that is documented in this film. The cast, director, and writers are all excellent. I have really high hopes for this one, could end up being one of the best films of 2011.

Films I Am Not Sure About
Apollo 18(9/2)- I really don't know much about this film, but the concept seems like it might be kind of cool.

Contagion (9/9)-The cast is certainly large and talented, I just have a feeling this could end up being really boring.

Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star (9/9)-This looks pretty bad (even the redband trailer isn't very funny), but I am holding out a small amount of hope that Nick Swardson and Allen Covert were able to come up with something funny here.

Warrior(9/9)-The positive reception is definitely a plus, but I am not really a big fan of mixed martial arts. Maybe this will prove me wrong and be as good as the early reviews make it out to be.

Dream House(9/30)-This looks better than a lot of other films from this genre. The cast is also pretty good, but this could very well end being very generic.

Films I have zero interest in seeing (but will anyways due to my quest to see as many 2011 films possible.)
I Don't Know She Does It (9/16)-Sara Jessica Parker annoys the hell out of me and this looks really, really generic.

Straw Dogs(9/16)-This looks basically like The Strangers with rednecks. No thanks...

Dolphin Tale 3D (9/23)-This looks cheesy as hell. I am definitely not the target audience for this film.

Abduction(9/23)-Taylor Launter is such a bad actor and this movie looks completely ridiculous. Every time I see the trailer, I laugh hysterically. It's a shame that a solid director like John Singelton is involved with it.

Courageous (9/30)-Another Christian-themed film about values, fuck that.

What's Your Number?(9/30)-Looks like every other bad romantic comedy out there.

Concert Review: Uproar Festival, Mansfield, MA, August 30th, 2011

2011-09-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

Uproar Fest is essentially the hard rock answer to Mayhem Fest (Rockstar sponsors both tours) Normally I wouldn't of went to this show, but my cousin gave me free tickets. The show ended up being better then I expected.

My friend and I arrived a bit late, so we missed the local opener. We got there about halfway through (regular Uproar opener) Hell Or Highwater's set. Hell Or Highwater was really standard hard rock that fell pretty flat. Their whole set was bland as all hell, they were even bad by radio rock standards. Completely forgettable set that turned out to be one of the worst of the day.

Art Of Dying was up next. They were similar to Hell Or Highwater, but they were a lot better. Their vocalist and guitarist were respectable and they were pretty energetic on stage. The only problem with their set was their music is just really average. Not bad at all (especially after Hell Or Highwater), but nothing special either.

Black Tide was next in line. I was a fan of Black Tide a few years ago when I saw them at Mayhem 08 and they sucked. Not much changed this go-round except Black Tide is touring off of a shitty album now. Gabriel Garcia is an awful singer. After the second song, his voice already sounded strained and raspy. It's not even like he is doing anything crazy vocally, that really shouldn't happen. I will give them a few points for Garcia's guitar playing and their drummer's completely balls-out energy. Despite a few bright spots, Black Tide put on a pretty lackluster performance.

Sevendust closed out the second stage and completely destroyed everyone else on that stage. I really didn't know what to expect because I hadn't listened to Sevendust in a long time and even then I barely listened to them. Their energy and stage presence really struck me immediately. They worked the crowd exceptionally well and you could tell they were having a blast on stage. I probably won't be buying of their albums anytime soon, but Sevendust was pretty damn good live and put one of the best performances of the day.

On the opposite of the spectrum, Escape The Fate opened the main stage. They were way out of place on this lineup and their terrible performance didn't do anything to change my opinion of them. It seemed the only people into them were the 12-13 year old girls in attendance screaming their fucking heads off. Escape The Fate's scene image and really bad emo-ish metalcore was just sad to me. I will admit their guitarist is pretty good, but other than that, watching Escape The Fate was a pretty painful experience.

Bullet For My Valentine was up next and they were pretty good. For whatever reasons, their material sounds better live. Their set was made up of mostly tracks off their middling last record Fever, which was kind of a bummer. Thankfully, these tracks sound a lot better live. The older material was without a doubt the standouts of their set. I really wish they would play more old stuff, it would make their set quite a bit better. Bullet For My Valentine was on par with the last time I saw them and I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

Seether was the next band up. Their performance was pretty decent. They sounded pretty similar to the studio recordings which is always a plus and their fans were really into them. I really only had one major gripe with their set, the fucking feedback after every song. After every single song, there was just a giant wall of feedback that lasted for a minute and a half until they went into the next songs. It got extremely annoying and they could have played another song or two instead of having obnoxious feedback between every song. It actually brought my grade of their performance down from a 7 to a 6.5. Besides that, Seether's set wasn't bad.

Three Days Grace was the surprise of the day. I have always considered them to be one of the best hard rock bands around and their live show solidified that. I really didn't expect them to be that enjoyable live. Adam Gontier is a damn fine frontman and he sounded spot-on live. His crowd interaction was great and he was funny as hell. Their setlist was pretty predictable, but that really wasn't a issue for a festival like this. I don't know if I would pay to see them headline, but they fit in really well on a festival like this.

Avenged Sevenfold was on next, and they were great. Definitely the best performance out of the three times I've seen them. The setlist had quite a few surprises including most notably "I Won't See You Tonight Part 1". I could not believe they played that, it was one of the most pleasant surprises setlist-wise out of all of the concerts I've been to. The whole band was having a lot of fun. M.Shadows was smiling throughout the show and you could tell he was having a great time on stage. On top of that, the whole band played really well. Synster Gates is a such a great guitarist and their new drummer is damn good as well. Avenged Sevenfold is always a good time live and they closed out Uproar on a high note.

Not a bad festival overall. I probably wouldn't have paid to go, but it was definitely worth taking the free tickets for.Avenged Sevenfold was worth it by themselves and some of the other bands exceeded my expectations.I had a pretty good time and the bands (for the most part) kept me entertained.

Scores
Hell Or High Water 3.5/10
Art Of Dying 5/10
Black Tide 4/10
Sevendust 7.5/10
Escape The Fate 2.5/10
Bullet For My Valentine 7/10
Seether 6.5/10
Three Days Grace 7/10
Avenged Sevenfold 8.5/10
Setlists:

Art Of Dying included:
Whole World's Crazy
Die Trying

Black Tide:
Warriors Of Time
Bury Me
Let It Out
That Fire
Honest Eyes

Sevendust (jacked from setlist.fm):
Splinter
Strong Arm Broken
Forever
Pieces
The End Is Coming
Face To Face

Bullet For My Valentine:
Your Betrayal
Pleasure and Pain
Waking The Demon
The Last Fight
Guitar Solo
Scream, Aim, Fire
Tears Don't Fall
Begging For Mercy

Seether:
Rise Above This
?
Gasoline
Fine Again
Broken
Tonight
Country Song
Fake It
Remedy

Three Days Grace:
The Good Life
Break
Pain
I Hate Everything About You
I Don't Care
Home/Lose Yourself (Eminem Cover)
Never Too Late
Riot
Animal I Have Become

Avenged Sevenfold:
Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Beast and the Harlot
Welcome to the Family
I Won't See You Tonight Part 1
Afterlife
Not Ready to Die (live debut)
Scream
A Little Piece of Heaven
Bat Country
Unholy Confessions

Album Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers- I'm With You

2011-08-30T07:43:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since we have heard from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's been five years since their incredibly disappointing double-album Stadium Arcadium was released and I was surprised how quiet they have been since then. I didn't even know they were making a new record until a few months ago. With my disliking of Stadium Arcadium, I had low expectations for I'm With You and it didn't do much to surpass them.

I'm With You is one of the most sub-par albums ever made. Each and every song is mediocre. A few songs ("Brendan's Death Song", "Factory Of Faith", "Did I Let You Know"), had some good elements, but even those songs were still average. It just seems like they threw together random elements from their past few albums, but forgot to throw in the spark that made their older material great. Anthony Kedis is still a good vocalist, it just seems like he is going through the motions. He kind of just coasts through the whole album with little to no effort. The band still has a lot of talent too, it's just that music (for the most part) they are writing isn't anything special. New guitarist Josh Klingoffer is certainly a competent replacement for John Frusciante. He did bring some life into the Chili Peppers sound at times during this album with some funky riffs that Stadium Arcadium was sorely lacking, but those moments are (sadly) few and far between.

I'm With You is a the epitome of mediocrity. None of the songs on here really seem to go anywhere and lack a clear vision. This is an album that is made completely out of spare parts and there is none of the spark and energy that the Red Hot Chili Peppers are known for. It's really not a bad album (I liked it better than Stadium Arcadium), it's just so average that I can't get enthused about it. I'm With You kind of falls flat as a whole and if this the "rebirth" of the Chili Peppers, I think they might never make great music again.

2.5/5 Stars

Standout Tracks
1.Brendan's Death Song
2.Factory Of Faith
3.Did I Let You Know

Movie Review: Fright Night (Film Number 14 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-08-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

Surprisingly enough during my journey watching 2011 films so far, I haven't really seen any horror films (I saw The Rite and The Roommate, but let's be honest, they don't really count). Fright Night is the first film that I would actually classify as a legitimate horror film that I've seen so far this year. On top of being the first horror film I've seen this year, it was the first film I've seen all year that was hard to form an opinion on.

Fright Night is one of those rare films that (for me at least) that made me change my opinion of it constantly while watching. At first, I thought it was pretty bad. The first half is a tonal mess that wasn't very funny or scary. It seemed like the film was on autopilot. The acting wasn't bad, but I didn't really care that much about the characters. Then at the halfway point, Peter Vincent (David Tennant) is introduced into the film. Vincent is a magician that is an expert on vampire killing that assists Charley (Anton Yelchin) in hunting Jerry (Colin Farrell). Tennant is fantastic as Vincent. The minutes he gets on screen he injects so much life into the film. He really makes the second half of the film pretty enjoyable to watch. The second half everything just begins to gel. There's laughs, the characters before more interesting, the acting improves, and the vampire action picks up. The only issue is that I couldn't really enjoy this film that much due to the weak start. I might need to see it again on DVD to solidify my opinion of it, but for the time being I can't really recommend this film. Fright Night is part bad, part enjoyable which adds up to an average film.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Limitless (Film Number 13 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-08-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what it would be like you if you could use 100% of your brain power? Limitless explores the advantages and dangers of what could (possibly) happen if a drug let you gain complete and total access to your brain. Limitless is essentially a film about drugs, it's just not a conventional one. The premise works well and it's an interesting spin on the "drug movie" genre. Bradley Cooper really carries this film on his back. His charismatic performance and electric screen presence help overtake the film's flaws. In the hands of a less-gifted actor, this could have been a useless film that dropped from you memory almost immediately after watching. I really don't think Cooper gets enough credit as an actor and hopefully that changed after this film, he really took this from being average to being pretty good.It does get kind of bogged down in the second half with the subplots and negative effects of the drug, but it's not enough to completely nullify the enjoyment of the film. Limitless doesn't use 100% of it's brain, but it uses enough to be a pleasant movie-watching experience.

3.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: Conan The Barbarian (Film Number 12 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-08-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Conan The Barbarian is among the first 2011 films that I did not want to see that ended up being enjoyable. I will admit, Conan The Barbarian is a completely stupid film (that's obvious), but that doesn't mean it's not fun. My expectations were pretty low going in, but if you take it for what it is, it's a pretty solid film. It has a B-movie vibe written all over it. Jason Momoa is gloriously corny and expressionless as Conan or in other words, he nailed the role. Stephen Lang and Rose McGowan provide more camp value as the film's two villains. Lang comes across obnoxious as always. McGowan, on the other hand, turns in solid-B movie performance as the half-witch/half-human daughter of Lang's character. Of course, what makes Conan fun is the action. During the near-two hour runtime, Conan packs action into every corner of the film. The battle scenes are campy, gory fun and they are pretty much non-stop. Marcus Nispel set out to make this a campy, brainless, entertaining, old-school action film and he succeeded. The one downside to Conan is the 3D. If you are going to see this movie, please see it in 2D. This has to be the worst 3D I have ever seen. There is next to nothing in 3D for most of this movie, Lionsgate should be ashamed of themselves for making theaters charge the extra $4 or $5 bucks to see it in 3D. It's a sham, thank god I saw this for free. I would been livid if I paid 15 bucks to see this film in 3D. Conan is not brilliant, high-art by any means, but I found to be a lot better than it was made out to be.

3.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Black Tide-Post Mortem

2011-08-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

Black Tide kind of disappeared after their debut album Light From Above in 2008. At the time I thought Light From Above was a pretty good record. It definitely showed some promise for Black Tide at their very young age. I figured I would give their new record, Post Mortem, a shot because I liked Light From Above to see if they had progressed any. I immediately regretted that decision.

Post Mortem is a gigantic step down for Black Tide. Gone is the thrash/classic metal sound from Light From Above, It's been replaced with shitty metalcore/hard rock. It honestly sounds like a watered-down Bullet For My Valentine record (Ironically, Matt Tuck makes an appearance on album opener "Ashes".) The whole record sounds as if they just wanted to make money by completely changing their sound. I understand that Gabriel Garcia went through puberty, but that doesn't mean you need to become a fucking emo whinecore band because of it. It's really just an embarrassing record overall. Black Tide just seems to be going through the motions with the formulaic approach on this record. By the time I got to "That Fire", I was 100% sure that this was a shittier version of last year's Fever by Bullet For My Valentine (which is a completely average record). There is some ballads, there is some faster songs, it doesn't really matter because none of the songs work. The only reason this record is not a complete failure is Garcia's guitarwork. There are a few pretty good solos on this record, it's a shame they are on such a bland record.

Post Mortem is the one of the most half-assed records in recent memory. It's a completely tedious listening experience with very few bright spots. It's really a shame they are wasting their potential. They were a respectable young thrash/ traditional heavy metal band, now they are just a Bullet For My Valentine rip-off. Post Mortem has not even an ounce of creativity and is an instantly forgettable record.

1.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Chimaira-The Age Of Hell

2011-08-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Chimaria went through some serious changes prior to the creation of The Age Of Hell. They lost three longtime members (keyboardist Chris Spicuzza, drummer Andols Herrick, and bassist Jim LaMarca) in a under a year. They didn't even find new members until they were done recording this album. The Age Of Hell was made under terrible circumstances and it's pretty impressive that Chimaira was able to make a quality record.

My expectations for The Age Of Hell were pretty low, which might be part of the reason I enjoyed it as much as I did. Their last record, The Infection, was a very plain and mediocre record that abandoned most of what made Chimaira a good band. On top of that, the first two songs they released from the album "Born In Blood" and "Trigger Finger", were really subpar. Thankfully, the rest of the album is pretty damn good. The Age Of Hell brings back the more catchy, groove-oriented sound that Chimaira is known for. It makes a big difference in terms of quality for Chimaira. The change in sound is what made The Infection their weakest record to date. The first six songs really set the tone for the record ("Losing My Mind and "Time Is Running Out" being the standouts). Chimaria lets the listener know they are going back to the angry and raw sound they are known for. The riffs, tasteful use of clean vocals, and groove make the first chunk of the record the best. The Age Of Hell does loose a little bit of steam on the second half of the record with the aforementioned two songs and others that aren't as good as the material on the first half. The album does end on a high note with the six-minute instrumental track "Samsara". Rob Arnold's guitarwork is excellent as usual and this song really shows off his talent to the fullest extent.

The Age Of Hell is a welcome return to form for Chimaira. It bring back their old sound and (thankfully) gets rid of the experimentation from their last record. It's not their finest work, but it's pretty fucking good. It's even more impressive that is album was pretty much entirely made by vocalist Mark Hunter and guitarist Rob Arnold. It shows their insane dedication to the band even with the shortage of members during the time of recording. The Age Of Hell is a nice comeback album for Chimaira.

3.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Losing My Mind
2.Time Is Running Out
3.Samsara

Movie Review: Paul

2011-08-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have been one of my favorite comic pairings since I saw their brilliant film debut Shaun Of The Dead. Paul is a little bit of a different style film for this duo (this is the first film of theirs to not have Edgar Wright as a director and feature an ensemble cast of more well-known actors.) Although Paul might be slightly different, it still has Pegg and Frost's clever humor written all over it. This is such a dead on spoof of sc-fi films. The barrage of sc-fi film references and homages is hilarious. As a bit of a sc-fi nerd, I really enjoyed the wit and frequency of these references. The supporting cast complemented Pegg and Frost very well. Great comedic talents such as Bill Hader, Jason Bateman, and Kristen Wiig were all great choices for their roles and provide of the biggest laughs of the film. Paul is an original, zany comedy that satires sc-fi in a smart, hilarious way.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Take Me Home Tonight (Film Number 11 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-08-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

The 80's were a glorious time for classic coming-of-age comedies (so I hear at least, I wasn't alive). Take Me Home Tonight tries to be the classic 80's film for the modern day, but it comes up short in that department. That's actually the main issue with Take Me Home Tonight, it tries far too hard to be an 80's comedy classic. There is nothing horribly wrong with it, there's just nothing really special about it either. There are some laughs, a little bit of charm, and some decent performances, but it's not enough to make this film enjoyable. On the positive side, I will say I did enjoy this film more than I thought I would. Plan and simple, Take Me Home Tonight is an inoffensive, average film.

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: 30 Minutes Or Less

2011-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

30 Minutes Or Less was one of the very few films for the rest of 2011 that I was really excited to see. The trailers were quite amusing (the red-band trailers, in particular) and the cast was stacked from top to bottom with comedic talent. 30 Minutes Or Less lives up to the hype and provides a hilarious ride.

The concept is simple: Dwayne (Danny McBride) and his best friend Travis (Nick Swardson) need money to pay an assassin (Michael Pena) to kill Dwayne's father and get his money. Their plan is to get someone they don't know to rob a bank to get the 100,000 dollars to pay the assassin. That person happens to pizza delivery boy Nick (Jesse Eisenberg). After being attacked delivering a pizza to Dwayne, Nick wakes up with a bomb strapped to his chest and he has ten hours to rob a bank or he will get blown up. Nick enlists the help of his best friend (Aziz Ansari) to help rob a bank and the duo begins their bank-robbing quest which may or may not be the last thing they ever do.

30 Minutes Or Less stars with the laughs early on and continues to bring them throughout the film. It really makes the most of it's 83-minute runtime. It packs a ton of high-quality jokes at a rapid pace in a very short period of time. The cast, as expected, does a fantastic job. Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride are responsible for the biggest laughs. They are two of the finest comedic actors around and time and time again they prove that with their excellent comedic timing and skill for improv. Michael Pena also does a good job and provides a surprising number of laughs in his (first?) comic role. Despite being the lead role, Jesse Eisenberg isn't really given much to do comedically. It's not that he's bad in his role, it's just that the supporting cast really carries the weight of the laughs.

30 Minutes Or Less succeeds with it's solid tone, cast, and number of laughs. It's a short, relentless comedy loaded with laughs that is sharply scripted and paced. It's nice to see another great comedy out of 2011, for a while they were few and far between. 30 Minutes Or Less is a fun ride and it's easily one of the funniest films of 2011 so far.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: Red Riding Hood (Film Number 10 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

2011-08-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

I was just on Wikipedia getting the poster for this review and the first sentence on the page read: "Red Riding Hood is an American/Canadian epic fantasy film". This sentence made laugh hysterically, there is nothing even remotely epic about Red Riding Hood. Hell, there is nothing even remotely watchable about Red Riding Hood. Red Riding Hood is a complete turkey. This film is filled to the brim with bad acting, cringe-worthy dialogue, and unintentional laughs. Even the normally awesome Gary Oldman is awful here (his character is so stupid, I don't think anyone could have made it work.) Not to mention, it's also really boring. I was fighting sleep watching this at noon time. If I had been more tired, this movie would have put me to sleep instantly. The effects aren't even good. The wolf look like it came straight out of a low-budget 90's horror flick. I really can't even believe the filmmakers thought the effects were good. The effects are easily among the worst I have seen in the past five years. Red Riding Hood is a lifeless, poorly acted, poorly written, Twilight wannabe that is a miserable movie-watching experience.

1/5 Stars

Album Review: Revocation-Chaos Of Forms

2011-08-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

Revocation emerged as force to be reckoned with over the past couple of years. They gotten a ton of critical acclaim, "Dismantle The Dictator" has almost 675,000 views on YouTube, and David Davidson was recently named best modern metal guitarist by MetalSucks.net. They deserve every bit of praise they get because they truly are something special. Chaos Of Forms takes Revocation to the next level and then some.

Chaos Of Forms takes Revocation's thrash meets death metal sound and adds a plethora of twists, turns, and surprises. These surprises range from the horn section on "The Watchers" to the prominent acoustic guitars in "Conjuring The Cataclysm". Revocation kept the songwriting fresh with adding these surprises that you wouldn't normally except from them. There is also more of a focus on hooks on this record. "Cradle Robber" and "No Funeral" both have insanely catchy choruses that have a very different vocal approach then you are used to hearing from Revocation. No need to fret Revocation fans, this still has all the elements of the previous two Revocation albums ,they are just amped-up to the next level. David Davidson wrote the best riffs and solos of his career so far. There is a reason he won best modern metal guitarist, the guy can fucking shred. The solos on this album are completely awe-inspiring especially on "Chaos Of Forms"and "Beloved Horrifer". When you have a guitarist as special as Davidson, you need to use that talent and Revocation does just that.

Chaos Of Forms is the most diverse and best Revocation album to date. The more melodic, catchy vibe is perfectly fused with the fast, heavy, thrashy style Revocation is known for. David Davidson solo's are among the best (if not the best), I've heard all year. If you are a fan of thrash or death metal in any form, do yourself a favor and listen to this album. Revocation is one of the finest bands to emerge in the past few years. Chaos Of Forms is one of the best albums of 2011. It gets better by the listen and I can see it finishing very,very high on my year-end list.

4.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Chaos Of Forms
2.Beloved Horrifer
3.Harlot