Movie Review: The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen is a comic mastermind. For years he has been bringing audiences some of the most cutting-edge, ballsy comedy ever made and The Dictator is no exception. The Dictator is Baron Cohen's first scripted movie (that he wrote), but it maintains the effectiveness of his previous gurellia-style filmmaking As expected, The Dictator is clever and gleefully offensive. Baron Cohen's character, General Aladeen, is sexist, racist, and just generally ignorant (as almost of Baron Cohen's characters are). Of course it's going to piss off some more conservative and easily offended audiences, but that's a major reason why it's so damn funny.  If you liked the humor of his other work, you will without a doubt like this and if you weren't, this definitely won't convert you. He does not pull any punches with his work and I really admire that about him. The world needs more comics that are willing to push the envelope like him.  It was also really cool to see him with a cast of known actors this time around. Anna Farris was actually funny for the first time in a while. She should take more roles like this that show off her brilliant comedic timing and avoid shit like What's Your Number?. The real show stealer in the supporting cast though was Jason Mantzoukas (Rafi from The League if anyone watches that show), his scenes with Baron Cohen are especially priceless. Overall I liked it better than Bruno, but it still can't touch Borat.

4/5 Stars

Movie Review: The Avengers

I am going to try keep this short and sweet because chances are if you were interested in seeing The Avengers, you've already seen it at least once.

Marvel has been hyping up The Avengers for years now and rightfully so. It's the biggest alliance of superheroes there is and of course, it's going to be a spectacle watching all these heroes on the big screen at once. The Avengers 100% lives up to the years of massive hype. This was a film that was almost bound to be a letdown with all the buzz surrounding it since the first mention of it in the post-credit scene of the first Iron Man movie. The Avengers is one of the best pure comic-book movies ever. While darker superhero movies like The Dark Knight are excellent, The Avengers succeeds more as a comic-book film than The Dark Knight did. It's just pure fun and entertainment held together by a pretty good story and embracing the corniness of the source material. The humor was also a big plus. In an age where superhero films are becoming darker and darker, it was refreshing to see one where humor was so prominent and for the most part, pretty damn funny. What was a little bit strange about The Avengers was it didn't really fully hit it's stride until the final act. Don't get me wrong, it's very good throughout, but it does become full-on amazing until the last third of the film. It was just really awesome to see all of these heroes on the screen kicking ass together. All of the heroes are split up evenly in screen time. No one takes center stage, which is great. The Avengers is about the group, not the individuals, and Joss Whedon knew that and did a great job of balancing the characters. The Avengers is a must-see for fans of superheroes. Joss Whedon has done the nerds of the world proud and I hope he returns for the sequel.

4.5/5 Stars

Album Review: Death Grips-The Money Store

California hip-hop group Death Grips came out of nowhere last year with their debut mixtape Exmillitary. It caught my attention through word of mouth around the internet and I had to check it out due to the hype. I liked it overall, but it was too violent and too noise-based for me to get fully into. Fast forward a year to the their debut full-length The Money Store and all of the kinks have been worked out and they have made a truly great hip-hop album.

The Money Store is one of the most unique hip-hop albums I have ever heard. The tag "experimental hip-hop" was made for a group like Death Grips. Every song has a different quirk, twist, or turn to it, which makes the album an adventure to listen to. The style that they use is what makes them so fascinating as a group. The aggression that was on Exmillitary is still very much present, It's just much more controlled and effective this time around. Mixed in with the aggression is a new found knack for catchy hooks. Though the album has no shortage of brilliant hooks, the ones on "I've Seen Footage", "The Cage", "The Fever (Aye Aye), and "System Blower" especially will get stuck in your head for weeks on end. I have never heard hip-hop that is both angry and catchy, but Death Grips is just that. The biggest area of growth for Death Grips on The Money Store though is the production. Exmillitary was way over-the top from a production standpoint. The beats had way too much going on and it became distracting to listen to at times. The Money Store, on the other hand, is perfect from a production standpoint. The beats are completely incredible. The noise-influenced beats are not overwhelming in the slightest. They achieved the perfect balance of noise and clarity without causing any distractions. Having the secret weapons of a synth player and a drummer in the group allows for a lot more experimentation from a beat standpoint. It sounds a lot more raw and authentic than most rap and it's beyond refreshing. The beats on this album completely pound and I almost inclined to headbang like I was listening to a metal record. I will go as far as to say, "The Cage" is the best beat I've heard since "Shoulda Known" by Atmosphere back in 2008.

The Money Store is exactly what Death Grips and hip-hop needed. It gives a hip-hop a swift kick in the ass and establishes Death Grips as a force to be reckoned with in the scene. All the flaws of Exmillitary have been corrected and this is only their first full-length. It's almost scary how good their next one could be (It's due out by the end of the year). Hip-hop needs more acts like Death Grips to push the boundaries of the genre. The Money Store is definitely not for all hip-hop fans, but for those willing to take the risk, you might find it to be extremely rewarding.
4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.The Cage
2.I've Seen Footage
3.The Fever (Aye Aye)

  

Yet Another Update

I'd like to apologize for my lack of posting again. I just finished school on Tuesday and now I am helping a friend with a documentary for his film school project. I hope to begin posting actual reviews again on Saturday (hopefully a few of them actually) and after that, the posts should be coming regularly for a while. Thank you for your patience with the lack of new material, I promise I will make it up to you.

Chris Maitland

Update

I am in the last week of the semester and I haven't had time to post anything. I promise next week when I get out there will be a lot more posts. I appreciate you patience and there will be some good reviews and other fun stuff coming up soon (I might post something this week, depending on how much time I have). Check back next week for the return of regular posts!

Chris Maitland

Album Review: Job For A Cowboy-Demonocracy

Job For A Cowboy is a band that just keeps earning more and more respect in my book. They keep advancing their music and keep attempting to silence their critics. If anything is going to silence their beyond overly-harsh critics, it's going to be Demonocracy.

Demonocracy continues Job For A Cowboy's trend of greatly improving on their previous release. Last year's EP showed some more technicality in their music, while Demonocracy makes them a full-on technical death metal band. The songwriting has never been better and the band sounds tighter than ever. New guitarist Tony Sannicandro gives the band an absolutely fantastic player and a new element to the band that wasn't there previously. Sannicandro can shred and he knows how to write some damn catchy riffs. "The Manipulation Stream" and "Tongueless and Bound" were particularly impressive from a guitarwork standpoint. The intro riff to "Tongueless and Bound" is the best riff they have ever had and "The Manipulation Stream" is the fastest and finest Job For A Cowboy song to date. The rest of the band steps up big time as well Jonny Davy's vocals sound as tortured and evil as ever. He doesn't get nearly enough credit as a vocalist, he has some of the most menacing screams in all of death metal. On top of his vocals, he has shown his immense dedication to this band. He is the only founding member of the band left and this is easily the best lineup of musicians he has surrounding him in the history of the band. Good for him sticking with his band and striving to make his band better.

Demonocracy is by the best release from Job for A Cowboy. Their transition to a more technical death metal sound has payed dividends for their music. The new lineup has injected this band with new life. They continue to strive to advance their music and top their previous outings and they keep doing that. I honestly can't even believe this is the same band that made Doom. They have come so far since that record it's not even funny. Give this band another couple of albums and they will probably be at the top of the death metal heap. I'm sure there will be plenty of elitists looking for any excuse to continue to hate this band, but there is absolutely nothing even remotely close to deathcore on this record, so they're shit out of luck. Drop any previous bias you had with Job For A Cowboy and check out this record, it's great stuff.

4/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.The Manipulation Stream
2.Tongueless and Bound
3.Nourishment Through Bloodshed

May In Film

May provides the start of the summer season. As usual, May has only a few wide releases, but a majority of them are amongst the biggest releases of the year. Here are my thought on the first slate of summer movies.

Movies I want to see

3.Men In Black III (5/25)-I have a high level of nostalgia for Men In Black. The first two films were some of my favorite movies as a kid. Even after a ten year break and the fact that I'm now 20, I'm very excited to see these characters come back to the big screen. The plot is interesting and Josh Brolin playing young Agent K is perfect casting. I am a little wary that this will underwhelm due to the script being kind of rushed. Hopefully this is a fun throwback to the first two and not a disaster.

2.The Dictator(5/14)-Sacha Baron Cohen is a comic genius and I will watch anything he is in. Both trailers are hilarious and the departure from his normal guerrilla mockumentary style to a scripted, staged film should be an interesting one. Hopefully his comic brilliance translates to scripted filmmaking (I have feeling it will).

1.The Avengers(5/4)-The Avengers is not only my most anticipated film of May, but possibly the entire summer. This is something I've been waiting for years. The Avengers consists of pretty much the entire Marvel superheroes, which is too awesome for words. Adding to my initial excitement is the excellent early reception it's gotten. Joss Whedon is a very talented filmmaker and I can't wait to see what he did with the epic team of superheroes in The Avengers.

Films I Have Zero Interest In Seeing

Dark Shadows(5/11)-This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis. Yet another Tim Burton/Johhny Depp pairing and as usual, Burton's annoying "look at how weird and quirky I am" style of filmmaking is on display. Hipsters and other abstract people will love it, but I'll stay far, far away from this.

Battleship(5/18)-I still can't believe this is a legitimate movie. Easily one of the worst-looking action movies in recent memory. I mean aliens in the movie version of a fucking board game? One of the new lows for Hollywood for sure.

What to Expect When You're Expecting (5/18)-Another month, another generic romantic comedy. Pass.

Chernobyl Diaries (5/25)-More found-footage horror produced by Oran Pelli? Oh boy... I wonder if we'll get nuclear scary wind instead of the regular scary wind were used to from Pelli.