Movie Review: Super 8

Super 8 was a film surrounded by mystery prior to its release. In true J.J Abrams fashion, there was a teaser trailer released over a year ago that got everyone buzzing about the film without even knowing much about it. It was an effective tactic for Abrams, Super 8 doesn't only live up to the hype, it greatly surpasses it.

Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney) and his friends are out of school for the summer. His friend Charles (Riley Griffiths) goal is to make a film and enter in a Super 8 film contest. One night while shooting a scene for Charles's film, Joe and his friends see a pick-up truck drive onto the train tracks to derail a train. The kids witness a monumental train crash in which the cargo of the train has escaped. Soon after, strange things begin to happen in the town. The military arrives, people and animals begin disappearing, and other strange phenomenons occur. Joe's father Jackson (Kyle Chandler) is the deputy in the town and the people are coming to him for answers which he can not supply. Joe and his friends are also busy looking for answers to what they saw the night of the crash and what could possibly be destroying their town.

Super 8 is the type of old-school entertainment we don't tend to get very often. This is a throwback to the 70's and 80's adventure flicks such as The Goonies with the alien elements of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. Super 8 is a near-perfect film that provides non-stop fun for two hours. J.J Abrams is able to create one of the most original and engaging films in year. Abrams, who has already proved his brilliance with films such as Star Trek, shows yet again why is he is one of the elite filmmakers in Hollywood. Along with Abrams's outstanding script and direction, is the wonderful young leads. These kids really stepped it up. Every single one of them does an amazing job and should have long careers ahead of them.

Super 8 is just an awesome movie. It's one of the most original,fun, and entertaining films to come out in the past few years. J.J Abrams has made a film with literally something for everyone. Hollywood needs more films that are as good and original as Super 8. I am not necessarily opposed to the recent Hollywood trends of remakes and adaptions (as long as they are good), but it's always nice to see a film with an original idea during a time where they are few and far between. Super 8 is easily among my favorite films of 2011 and I can expect it to finish in my top 5 (at the very least) at the end of the year.

4.5/5 Stars 

Album Review: In Flames-Sounds Of A Playground Fading

There are really no words for how low my expectations were for the new In Flames record. Their last record, A Sense Of Purpose was pretty awful and when I heard their vocalist Andres Friden say the record "was darker and would have less screaming" a red flag went off in my head. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, I find out the album is called Sounds Of A Playground Fading. With a title like that, you would think this is a HIM record. Against all odds, the new In Flames record is actually pretty decent.

Sounds Of A Playground Fading is pretty much nothing like other In Flames records. It has a lot more clean vocals, but it still maintains the heaviness that In Flames is known for. Even with the enchanced focus on clean vocals, you still tell this is an In Flames record, which is the big reason this blows the doors off of A Sense Of Purpose. "A New Dawn" is the best track In Flames has made since at least Reroute To Remain, maybe even Clayman. It opens with a catchy, vintage In Flames riff and it throws twists and turns (including a symphonic mid-section) in it's near six-minute duration. Unforunately, the rest of the tracks aren't even close to as good as "A New Dawn", but there are a few other gems here. "The Puzzle" and "Fear Is The Weakness" are the two other tracks that remind of vintage In Flames and are easily among the standout tracks on this record.

Sounds Of A Playground Fading is not exactly a full return to glory for In Flames, but it's a decent enough record. It has a few missteps ("Liberation" being the biggest), but it's such a huge improvement over their last record that I can forgive them for the flaws on this record. If you're looking for the next Clayman or Whoracle, you're out of luck. But if you are an old fan and want to hear the new version of In Flames, check out Sounds Of A Playground Fading and you might be pleasantly surprised like I was.

3/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.A New Dawn
2.The Puzzle
3.Fear Is The Weakness

Revisiting 2010's Albums

At the halfway point of every year, I like to look back at the previous year's albums and where they stand at the current moment in time. It also gives me a chance to revise my list and add the album I didn't hear until after 2010. This year's revisions aren't quite as a big of a shake up of last year's, but there are still some shake-ups. Here is my revised list of 2010's albums.

EP's
4.(4)The Devil Wears Prada-Zombie EP(3.5/5)
3.(3)Chiddy Bang-The Preview(3.5/5)
2.(2)Atmosphere-To All My Friends...Blood Makes The Blood Holy(4/5)
1.(1)Fleshgod Apocalypse-Mafia(4/5)


LP's(Previous ranking from my year- end list in parentheses, albums I listened to after making my making my year list have new in parentheses)
72.(57)Eminem-Recovery(1.5/5)
71.(56)Carnifex-Hell Chose Me(1.5/5)
70.(55)Bring Me The Horizon-There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret.(1.5/5)
69.(54)Godsmack-The Oracle(1.5/5)
68.(53)Iron Maiden-The Final Frontier(1.5/5)
67.(52)Rob Zombie-Hellbilly Deluxe 2(2/5)
66.(new)Pendulum-Immersion(2.5/5)
65.(new)Kid Cudi-Man On The Moon II:The Legend Of Mr.Rager(2.5/5)
64.(51)Bullet For My Valentine-Fever(2.5/5)
63.(50)Disturbed-Asylum(2.5/5)
62.(49)Avenged Sevenfold-Nightmare(2.5/5)
61.(new)I,The Breather-These Are My Sins(2.5/5)
60.(47)Mutiny Within-Mutiny Within(2.5/5)
59.(48)Black Tusk-Taste The Sin(2.5/5)
58.(46)Exodus-Exhibit B: The Human Condition(2.5/5)
57.(45)Fear Factory-Mechanize(2.5/5)
56.(43)The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza-Danza III: A Series Of Unfortunate Events(3/5)
55.(42)A Day To Remember-What Separates Me From You(3/5)
54.(41)Demon Hunter-The World Is A Thorn(3/5)
53.(44)Kylesa-Spiral Shadow(3/5)
52.(39)Beneath The Sky-In Loving Memory(3/5)
51.(40)Miss May I-Monument(3/5)
50(38)Arsis-Starve For The Devil(3/5)
49.(new)The Damned Things-Ironiclast(3.5/5)
48.(36)Abigail Williams-In The Absence Of Light(3.5/5)
47.(new)Trash Talk-Eyes and Nines(3.5/5)
46.(35)Korn-Korn III:Remember Who You Are(3.5/5)
45.(33)Dark Tranquility-We Are The Void(3.5/5)
44.(34)Cephalic Carnage-Misled By Certainty(3.5/5)
43.(30)Whitechapel-A New Era Of Corruption(3.5/5)
42.(37)Nachtmysitum-Addicts:Black Meddle Part II(3.5/5)
41.(new)Zoroaster-Matador(3.5/5)
40.(32)Cancer Bats-Bears,Mayors,Scraps, and Bones(3.5/5)
39.(new)Cruel Hand-Lock and Key(3.5/5)
38.(27)After The Burial-In Dreams(3.5/5)
37.(31)GWAR-Bloody Pit Of Horror(3.5/5)
36.(28)Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers-Mojo(3.5/5)
35.(new)The Ocean-Heliocentric(3.5/5)
34.(26)Through The Eyes Of The Dead-Skepsis(3.5/5)
33.(29)Parkway Drive-Deep Blue(3.5/5)
32.(new)Sick Of It All-Based On A True Story(4/5)
31.(23)All That Remains-For We Are Many(4/5)
30.(24)Terror-Keepers Of The Faith(4/5)
29.(22)Bison B.C-Dark Ages(4/5)
28.(17)Vampire Weekend-Contra(4/5)
27.(21)Eluveitie-Everything Remains As It Never Was(4/5)
26.(16)-Annotations Of An Autopsy-II: The Reign Of Darkness(4/5)
25.(new)The Contortionist-Exoplanet(4/5)
24.(new)Kingdom Of Sorrow-Behind The Blackest Tears(4/5)
23.(new)The Ocean-Anthropocentric(4/5)
22.(new)Periphery-Periphery(4/5)
21.(19)Veil Of Maya-(id)(4/5)
20.(20)War Of Ages-Eternal(4/5)
19.(14)Finntroll-Nifelvind(4/5)
18.(new)Arcade Fire-The Suburbs(4/5)
17.(18)Black Breath-Heavy Breathing(4/5)
16.(15)The Acacia Strain-Wormwood(4/5)
15.(new)Decrepit Birth-Polarity(4/5)
14.(13)Coheed and Cambria-Year Of The Black Rainbow(4/5)
13.(12)Unleashed-As Ygdrasil Trembles(4/5)
12.(11)Volbeat-Beyond Hell/Above Heaven(4/5)
11.(25)Deftones-Diamond Eyes(4/5)
10.(8)Nas/Damian Marley-Distant Relatives(4/5)
9.(9)Howl-Full Of Hell(4/5)
8.(7)Landmine Marathon-Sovereign Descent(4/5)
7.(10)Son Of Aurelius-The Farthest Reaches(4/5)
6.(6)The Sword-Warp Riders(4/5)
5.(5)Overkill-Ironbound(4.5/5)
4.(4)Intronaut-Valley Of Smoke(4.5/5)
3.(3)High On Fire-Snakes For The Divine(4.5/5)
2.(2)As I Lay Dying-The Powerless Rise(4.5/5)
1.(1)The Dillinger Escape Plan-Option Paralysis(5/5)

2010 records I still want to check out:
Watain-Lawless Darkness
Conducting From The Grave-Revenants
Misery Index-Heirs To Thievery
The Red Shore-Avarice Of Men
Triptykon-Eparistera Daimones
Orbs-Asleep Next To Science
Fleshwrought-Dementia/Dyslexia
Allegaeon-Fragments of Form and Function

Congrats To The Dallas Mavericks

I would like to take the time to congratulate the Dallas Mavericks on winning the NBA title. The Mavericks have been one of my favorite NBA teams for a while (I'm not a bandwagon jumper, I honestly have been a fan of theirs for a long time.) and it was great to see them after getting so close so many times. It was even sweeter that they took out the trash-talking shitheads also known as the Miami Heat. Seeing the Heat lose was extremely satisfying. Their arrogance is sickening to me and hopefully Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh will realize how big of assholes they are. Don't hype yourself up with a giant show and guarantee eight titles before you've even stepped on a floor together. The Heat are going to play as a TEAM to win a title, not rely on three players. The Mavericks played as a team and everyone stepped up and they are the ones that came away with the title. Congrats to the Dallas Mavericks for winning the title, they completely deserve it.

Movie Review: The Roommate(Film Number 4 In My Goal For 2011 Films)

This might be a new record, three straight films I have seen on DVD have taken over the title of worst film I've seen this year. The Roommate is complete fucking garbage. It's mind-numbingly generic and overdramatic. How a film this utterly ridiculous takes itself so seriously is insane. Every event that happens and the characters reactions are completely preposterous. The whole film is a big fucking joke, but the actors and filmmakers are blissfully unaware. The Roommate is the first film this year that was exactly as bad as I anticipated it to be. This is the epitome of a thrill-less thriller. Stay far,far away from The Roommate.

1/5 Stars  

Album Review: Job For A Cowboy-Gloom

A lot of metal bands get shit talked about them, but few bands get more than Job For A Cowboy. "TrOO" metalheads always talk about how are they are deathcore garbage because of their first EP and the scene kids are pissed that they have evolved from their pig squealing beginnings. Job For A Cowboy has silenced their critics with their furious new EP Gloom.

Gloom is straight death metal. I have to say I absolutely love the new direction Job For A Cowboy has gone in. Their earlier stuff really wasn't anything special, but between this and their last studio album Ruination, they have become a pretty damn good death metal band. Gloom is the heaviest and fastest thing they have ever done. When album opener "Misery Reformatory" kicks in you know Job For A Cowboy has gotten even better. The bands sounds tighter than ever and everybody is at the top of their respective games. "Misery Reformatory" is just a small sample of what Gloom has to offer. The next two tracks "Plastic Idols" and "Execution Parade" are the two best songs Job For A Cowboy has ever made. These tracks have crazy blast beats, solid riffs, and guitar solos galore. If there were two songs to silence Job For A Cowboy' critics, these would be it.

Job For A Cowboy has made a damn fine EP. Despite it's short length (it's fifteen minutes long), This is the best material they have made. They have proven over the past couple of years how much they have improved as a band. This is not the same band that made Doom in 2005. They have evolved from the pig-squealing deathcore record to become a legitimate death metal band. I hope some of the legions of Job For A Cowboy haters, check out Gloom. This is a strong, straight death metal EP. I am very excited for the next full-length, Job For A Cowboy keeps getting better and better.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Plastic Idols
2.Execution Parade
3.Misery Reformatory

Movie Review: X-Men: First Class

Among the barrage of superhero films being released this summer, X-Men: First Class was easily the one I was most excited for. X-Men is pretty much the only comic I read on a consistent basis as a kid, and I have enjoyed all the films so far. I am happy to report that X-Men: First Class is a near-perfect origin story of the X-Men, and is among the best superhero films ever made.

The main story line relates the early friendship between mutants Charles "Professor X" Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik “Magneto” Lensherr (Michael Fassbender), who bond over their common goal to unite mutants and present themselves as a benefit to humanity and not a threat. They end up teaming up with FBI agents Moira McTaggert (Rose Byrne) and the Man In Black (Oliver Platt) to assemble a team to take out a band of evil mutants, known as the Hellfire Club, led by the villainous Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a mission that Erik takes particular interest in because Shaw was responsible for the death of his mother when he was a child. The team they put together consistins of Raven aka "Mystique" (Jennifer Lawerence), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Havok (Lucas Till), and Dr.Hank McCoy aka "Beast" (Nicholas Hoult) to help save the world from Shaw and his cronies and hopefully make the world see mutants in a positive light.

X-Men: First Class is an exceptional comic book film, which expertly tells the story of the beginnings of the X-Men. The script is quite strong, with a great blend of action, story, and even some comedy, anchored by two excellent lead performances from McAvoy and Fassbender. They were two perfect choices for this film, and they brought so much depth to their characters, you couldn't help but believe they were indeed the best of friends, despite the fact that you know it was doomed to failure. I would go as far to say that McAvoy and Fassbender outperformed Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, who portrayed the same character in the first three films. The supporting cast also does a fine job, and Kevin Bacon actually made a damn good villain. He was actually the only casting choice I was skeptical with and he proved me dead wrong. He did a fantastic job, albeit in a very cartoony way.

Matthew Vaughn deserves a ton of credit for how good X-Men: First Class turned out. His direction was completely brilliant. As he proved with last year's Kick-Ass, he is complete natural at directing comic-book films. His style is a perfect fit for these types of movies and I really hope he does even more in the future. At this rate, he may soon approach a Christopher Nolan-level of genius when it comes to comic-book adaptions.

X-Men First Class is, hands down, the best superhero film since The Dark Knight. It's brilliantly acted, scripted, and directed. This film captures the origins of X-Men to a the letter. I hope they make another installment soon, because I am really intrigued by this story arc and I would love to see it continue. I know it's a little early to say, but I can just about guarantee X-Men: First Class will be the best superhero film of 2011, and likely the best one until The Dark Knight Rises next summer.

4.5/5 Stars