Album Review: Lamb Of God-Resolution

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

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

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

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

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

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

2/5 Stars  

Movie Review: Contraband

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

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

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

4/5 Stars

   

Movie Review: Killer Elite

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

4/5 Stars

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

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

0/5 Stars

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

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

2.5/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

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

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

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

4.5/5 Stars