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

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

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)

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

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

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

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)

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

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)

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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)

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 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

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)

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)

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)

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

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)

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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)

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

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