Album Review: Devin Townsend Project-Epicloud

As pretty much everyone in the metal community knows, Devin Townsend is the most unpredictable artist in metal. He experiments with different sounds on every record and you really never know what to expect from him. Of course some of his experiments don't work and unfortunately Epicloud is one of those.

Epicloud is a primarily poppy record with bursts of Townsend's heavy and acoustic sides. It's essentially an even poppier and not even nearly as good version of his brilliant, genre-bending 2009 effort Addicted. What made Addicted so special was the catchy, memorable melodies and the stunning vocals of Anneke van Giresbergen alongside Townsend. Epicloud's biggest issues is the fact Anneke is criminally underused and  that the catchy melodies are few and far between. Anneke is given a few moments to shine, but it's really a damn shame she wasn't give more time to sing on this record. Her vocals are absolutely perfect for this style of poppy rock/metal and she has one of the best voices I've ever heard in my life. Even with the occasional burst of Townsend's greatness, Most of the tracks here just kind of drag and make very un-Townsend awkward, unnatural transitions from heavy riffs to poppy, keyboard-driven stuff ("True North" and "Liberation" are perfect examples of this). The album pretty much goes nowhere for most of it's 50-minute duration. There are only a couple of standouts and misfires with a whole lot of mediocrity that kills any momentum it builds up. The re-recording of "Kingdom" was really the only track I want to frequently revisit in the future. It kicks the shit out of the original version and fully shows the musical growth that Townsend has gone through in the past decade. This version of "Kingdom" gives us a studio version that finally matches the power of the live version.

Epicloud is a so-so record that missed the mark for me. When you're a musical mad scientist like Devin Townsend, Not everything he brews up in the lab is going to be good. This record just seems too rushed and comes across more as Addicted-lite than anything truly special. I think this record could've been great if it had more memorable hooks/melodies and more of Annneke's stunning vocals. Some Devin Townsend fans will love this record, but it just didn't work for me. I know it won't be long before he pulls another mind-blowing record out of his hat and that's the beauty of his music, You never know what he's going to come up with next.

2.5/5 Stars
Standout Tracks
1.Kingdom (re-recording)
2.More!
3.Where We Belong 

Movie Review: Premium Rush

The end-of summer tends to be one of the times of year that acts as a dumping ground for studios to release shitty movies. On paper, Premium Rush sounded like one of those movies. Delayed from January to August, stupid-sounding concept, ridiculous trailer, and pretty minimal advertising in general. I saw Premium Rush out of boredom and a good amount of positive feedback from critics and audiences (the fact that I didn't pay to see it helped as well) and to my surprise, it was actually an enjoyable movie. It's a low-key, entertaining romp that more than held my attention for ninety minutes. It has a simple yet effective plot (Dirty cop wants to steal an envelope containing a ticket worth a large sum of money that a bike messenger is carrying across New York City) that moves along at the perfect pace and doesn't outstay its welcome. The bike messenger concept also allows for some high-octane and unique action sequences. It's a concept that isn't really explored too much in the world of action movies and the filmmakers completely use that to their advantage. There are some particularly cool sequences where Wiley (Joesph Gordon-Levitt) maps out all the possible routes he can take when he is in a bind and what the results of each one will be. These sequences have a very interesting style behind them and they could not have been executed any better. On top of the cool action scenes, the actors have a lot of fun with their roles. Gordon-Levitt makes for a likeable wise-ass hero and Michael Shannon makes a great, beyond dirty, sleazeball cop. Premium Rush is a good, simple, fun time at the movies. Think of it as mindless entertainment for those who don't like mindless entertainment. It's always nice to be pleasantly surprised at the movies and Premium Rush delivered much, much more than I thought it would.

3.5/5 Stars

NFL Preview: NFC West

Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals are the definition of overachievers. Somehow with subpar quarterback play and generally sloppy play last year they went 8-8. This is a team that won't blow you away with talent, but they are smart and know to how play close, tight games and often times they come out on top. They are making the right choice going with John Skelton at quarterback. He's not an incredible quarterback by any means, but he's a good game-manager and can make some plays here and there opposed to Kevin Kolb who looked awful just about every time he was on the field last year. Skelton also has the luxury of throwing to Larry Fitzgerald, who is the epitome of  a game-changing receiver. They also have a solid running back option in Beanie Wells and a decent defense anchored by pass-rushing defensive end Darnell Dockett and a beyond respectable and underrated secondary led by Adrian Wilson and Patrick Peterson. The brunt of the Cardinals problems come in the receiving game. Besides Fitzgerald, They have an unproven bunch of wideouts including unspectacular veteran Early Doucet and unproven rookies Michael Floyd and LaRon Byrd. The lack of second receiver is preventing from contending for the division title. The Cardinals are an alright team, but the lack of a strong quarterback and a second receiving threat takes them out of the hunt of being playoff contenders.

St.Louis Rams: The Rams are definitely a team in rebuilding mode. This year will probably be another rough one for Rams fans, but there is hope on the horizon. New coach Jeff Fisher is one of the best coaches of the past 20 years. He's got a great track record and his attitude and coaching will no doubt turn this team around in the future. Fisher's expertise will probably help the growth of young quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford had a pretty solid rookie year (He won Offensive Rookie of the Year), but he followed that up with one of the worst sophomore slumps in recent memory. The presence of Fisher and pretty much all new coordinators should help improve Bradford as a decision maker, game manager, and as a quarterback overall. The Rams also had a great, deep draft class. Fisher tends to be great at finding value in the draft. Clearly it's too early to tell for this year, but I'd be willing to wager that he found some gems in this draft. The Rams, of course, still have All-Pro running back Steven Jackson who has and will continue to help stop the bleeding in St.Louis. That being, the Rams are pretty much screwed at the moment at every other position. Sam Bradford has next to no one to throw too (His top wideout is Danny Amendola has a whopping 4 career touchdowns in three seasons) and their defense (minus Chris Long, James Laurnauntis, and newly acquired cornerback Cortland Finnegan) is woefully inexperienced and pretty damn bad. The Rams should be good in a couple year, but for now they are stuck in the NFL's basement.

San Fransisco 49ers: The 49ers surprisingly great 2011 year that ended in a heartbreaking NFC Championship game defeat at the hands of the Giants pro might not be topped this year, but this is still a great team that should coast to the NFC West title. Of course, the 49ers are a defensive-based team. They have one of the best defenses in the league and their play on defense are the main reason they were so successful last year. They should have no trouble being dominant again this year. Patrick Willis, Donte Whitner, Ahmad Brooks, and Carlos Rodgers are all in the prime of their careers and Justin Smith is still a scary pass rusher deep into this career. Their offense was not particularly great last season, but they made some moves in free agency that should help them improve as an offensive unit this year. Randy Moss and Mario Manningham give them depth and the potential for some big plays at wide receiver. More importantly the addition of Moss and Mannigham are going to at the very least give elite tight end Vernon Davis and productive, but overworked wide receiver Michael Crabtree a bit of a break and they should see their respective stats improve due to Moss and Manningham's presence.The addition of Brandon Jacobs gives them a power back who should be extremely productive as a 3rd down back. I expect him to get his fair share of carries and I really like how he fits into the running back mix with Frank Gore and Kendall Hunter. If Alex Smith can come out and improve on his career-best year at quarterback last season and the new offensive pieces fall into place, then the 49ers could potentially make a repeat appearance in the NFC title game.

Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks are kind of a rough team to call at the moment. They went out and signed quarterback Matt Flynn in the offseason, but he got overshadowed by rookie Russell Wilson. I will say that Wilson has looked damn good so far in the preseason and absolutely deserves a chance to start the year at quarterback. Save for Andrew Luck, I think Wilson has the best chance of having a breakout rookie year. Wilson could benefit from having the potential resurgence of top wideout Sidney Rice this year. Rice has the injury bug hit him pretty hard the past two years, but if he remains healthy he could be poised for a excellent year like his last healthy season with the Vikings in 2009. It also helps the Seahawks have an explosive running threat that is Marshawn Lynch. Lynch is another guy who gets a hurt a lot, but when he is on the field is a huge playmaker. He will burn you when gets the oppurtunity and should easily have another 1,000 year barring injury. The Seahawks potential strengths, are also their potential weaknesses. Sidney Rice could have another subpar year and the Seahawks have a collection of respectable, but not particularly dangerous wide recievers besides him, they could be in trouble in the passing game. Their defense is alright, but they aren't good enough to win games for the Seahawks if the offense struggles. The Seahawks are one of the biggest crapshoot teams in the league and their health and how well Russell Wilson performs this year are going to determine their fate.

My Predictions for the NFC West Standings
1.San Fransisco 49ers (11-5)
2.Arizona Cardinals (8-8)
3.Seattle Seahawks (7-9)
4.St.Louis Rams (4-12)     

NFL Preview: NFC South

The NFC South is another closely contended NFC division with no clear winner. Here are my thoughts on how the NFC South will shake out this year.

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons made the playoffs last year and with no major additions or losses, I don't see them doing any better or worse this year. Matt Ryan is a solid quarterback that produces pretty consistent numbers. He's got proven receiving options in Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez and Juilo Jones is poised for a breakout year in his second NFL season. The Falcons only notable pickup in the offseason was veteran cornerback Asante Samuel. Samuel adds depth to the already great Falcons secondary and an otherwise respectable defense. The Falcons biggest concern going into the season is the production of Michael Turner. Turner has apparently looked awful in training camp and the preseason and could have a really off-season. Atlanta does have depth at running back with the decently productive Jason Snelling and the potentially dangerous Jaquizz Rodgers so they be alright even with Turner not performing at his usual production levels. Atlanta is a good football team and I think they have a pretty good chance of winning the division this year.

Carolina Panthers: The Panthers had a better than expected last year thanks to Cam Newton's freakishly productive rookie season. I will fully admit I was a doubter of Cam Newton when he came into the league, but I am now fully on board with him as a legitmate NFL quarterback. He has proven to be a duel threat as a great passer and great rusher, making him an absolute nightmare for opposing defenses. He reminds me of an ever better version of Michael Vick and I think he has a really bright future ahead of him. Unless the sophomore slump hits him (I think he's too good for it to effect him),  He should be in line for another great year. The problem with the Panthers though is that's about where the positives end. They have no receiving weapons outside of Steve Smith (One could argue if Smith is as productive as he was last year you don't need anyone else though). As good as Newton as is, he can't guide this team to the playoffs with only one legitimate threat in the passing game. The Panthers defense is also suspect at best. First-round draft pick Luke Kuchely has a ton of potential at outside linebacker, but he's not going turn around the weaknesses they have at just about every other spot on defense. The Panthers aren't a bad team, but they need to improve their defense and depth on offense if they want to make that next step and become a playoff team.

New Orleans Saints: Clearly if you even somewhat follow you heard about the Saints bounty scandal. The fallout from that scandal will no doubt have a negative effect on the Saints season. Besides the cloud hanging over them from the bounty scandal, head coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma are suspended for the season. Payton is one of the top coaches in the league and Vilma is arguably the best player on the Saints defense. Their absences will absolutely bring down the Saints this year. Their success this season is going to come down to how the Saints handle the massive off-field distractions they have facing them. They certainly have the talent, it's just going to come down to their mental toughness. On the brighter side, Drew Brees is coming off of the best year of his career and their offense is still very much in-tact. Jimmy Graham should continue to cement himself as an elite tight end and Marques Colston and Lance Moore have a great chemistry and consistent production with Brees. The Saints season is going to be a crapshoot. They have the talent to win the division, but they might not have the right psyche to have a good year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Buccaneers completely retooled after their disastrous 4-12 season last year in which they lost the last nine games of the season. They brought in a new coach in Greg Schiano and several high-profile free agents including wide receiver Vincent Jackson, guard Carl Nicks, and tight end Dallas Clark. These additions instantly improve them. Jackson gives them a top receiver which they hadn't had in a long time, Nicks is a spectacular lineman, and Clark, when healthy, is a fantastic tight end. Throw in a pair of solid first-round draft picks in safety Mark Barron and running back Doug Martin and you have a team that's bound to improve from their abysmal 2011 season. A lot of people forget that this team made the playoffs two years ago and I think they are only a year or two away from making it back again. The Buccanners issues are primarily on defense. Last year they were awful and they are going to need a lot of people to step up to improve this year. They drafted mostly defensive players this year and the veterans they have are pretty much all unproven making their defense a huge question mark going into the season. They have some promise and they could surprise a lot of people this year, but their shaky defense will keep them out of the playoff hunt.

My Predictions for the NFC South standings:
1.Atlanta Falcons (10-6)
2.New Orleans Saints (9-7)
3.Carolina Panthers (6-10)
4.Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-10)

Movie Review: Lawless

There has been a lot of crime drama to come out recently, but none have focused on the dangerous trade of bootlegging in 1930's America. Enter Lawless which brings the true story of the Bondurant brothers, some of the most iconic bootleggers in history to the big screen. Lawless is a very well-done, thoroughly entertaining, and often darkly humorous crime drama. This film is driven by strong performances from an immensely talented cast. As expected, Tom Hardy is excellent and steals the show as Forest Bondurant, The badass, miserable leader of the Bondurant brothers. Every minute he is on the screen the film becomes more interesting and he delivers an award-caliber performance. Guy Pearce also shines as the corrupt deputy from Chicago sent to end the Bondurant's bootlegging reign. His character is incredibly menacing and he creates one of the best villains, if not the best to appear in any film this year. The real surprise here though is how good Shia LaBouef is. LaBouef proves he can actually act when given the proper material. His performance here should take his career in a different direction and get him a lot more serious roles that show off how talented of an actor he is. The film also benefits from being absolutely stunningly shot. The cinematography is easily amongst the best, if not the best I've seen this year. Lawless is a damn fine entry in the crime drama genre. The action scenes are tense and well-shot, the story is engrossing, and it's able to paint what seems to a very accurate portrayal of what the days of bootlegging were like. Hopefully this movie doesn't go unnoticed by the Academy come awards season.

4/5 Stars 

NFL Preview: NFC North

The NFC North, in my opinion, is the most wide-open divisional race in the league. Outside of the lowly Minnesota Vikings, the other three teams all have potential for big years. Here are my thoughts on the NFC North squads for the year.

Chicago Bears: My beloved Chicago Bears are coming off a season where they started strong and finished  rough and injury-plagued. This year the Bears are retooled and for the most part healthy and could be primed for a huge year. The offseason brought in the huge additions of star wideout Brandon Marshall via a trade with the Dolphins and running back Michael Bush in free agency. Marshall gives the Bears the top wide receiver they have lacked for quite some time and his playing history with Jay Cutler (the two played together in Denver before Cutler was traded to the Bears) could make them an elite quarterback/wide receiver pairing. Bush gives them a viable second running back threat that should take some of the workload off of Matt Forte. Their defense is aging, but they are still damn good and should be a top 5 defense yet again. Of course they also Devin Hester returning kicks and punts who has the potential to be a game-changer every time he touches the ball. I am really high on the Bears chances this year. This is a team that was on the fast track to make the playoffs before the injury bug got them last year and this team has improved substantially going into this season. The playoffs should be attainable this year and hell if they really excel they could be an NFC championship contender.

Detroit Lions: The Lions had a breakout year last year showing how dangerous they can be if Matthew Stafford is healthy. I expect a similarly successful campaign this year if Stafford can stay healthy. Stafford is a top 10 quarterback and he will continue to improve after his first injury-free year in the NFL last year. Of course, Stafford wouldn't have been successful if he didn't have such a great receiving corps anchored by Calvin "Megatron" Johnson. I'm expecting a breakout year from Titus Young after Johnson was given the kiss of death appearing on the cover of Madden 13 (Sorry to sound like a superstitious moron, but the Madden Curse is pretty much always true.) The Lions also have a vastly underrated defense that should continue to improve after having another year playing together. The Lions lone problem is having the lack of a strong running game. That is really the only thing that is keeping from top contenders in the NFC. The Lions are a great team that is just shy of being contenders.

Green Bay Packers: The Packers followed up their Super Bowl campaign with a dominant 15-1 season that ended abruptly after the eventual Super Bowl Champion Giants knocked them out in the divisional round of the playoffs. I expect more of the same from the Packers this year. Their passing offense is in contention for being the most deadly in the entire league. The amount of weapons they have is staggering. Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Jemichael Finley, James Jones, Randall Cobb, Tom Crabtree, and Donald Driver along with Aaron Rodgers electric play at quarterback make for an unstoppable passing attack. The Packers even fixed their running back problem by signing veteran Cedric Benson at the start of training camp. Benson has had three straight thousand yard rushing seasons and should give the Packers their first legitmate rushing threat in a long time as well as provide them with a more balanced attack to make their passing attack even more effective. Once again the Packers crutch is their terrible defense. They were only ahead of the Patriots last season in overall defense and I expect more of the same this season. Once again though, just like the Patriots, their passing game is so scary that should guide them to another playoff berth without much of a struggle.

Minnesota Vikings:The Vikings have really fallen apart in the past couple years and the decline should continue this year. The NFC North is stronger than ever and the Vikings have not been in a worse position in recent memory. Star running back Adrian Peterson is coming off a torn ACL that should sideline him for the first few weeks of the season as he continues to rehab and will more than likely bring his production down substantially this year. Peterson's absence will put an additional burden on unproven starting quarterback Christian Ponder. Ponder was awful in his rookie season last year and it looks like he is another for another long year with a banged-up Peterson, a subpar backup running back in Toby Gerhart, and only one healthy offensive weapon in Percy Harvin. The defensive side of the ball is definitely brighter. Jared Allen is still an elite pass rusher and Kevin Williams is an expert run stuffer. Veterans Antoine Winfield, Chad Greenway, and Erin Henderson should make solid contributions as well. The only problem is the defense is going to be incredibly fatigued due to their awful offense. The Vikings will definitely be at the bottom of the heap not only in the NFC North, but the entire NFL.

My predictions for the NFC North standings
1.Green Bay Packers (14-2
2.Chicago Bears (11-5)
3.Detroit Lions (10-6)
4.Minnesota Vikings (3-13)

September In Film

September is the transitional month between summer and the beginning of the bigger Fall film. Even though the films aren't as big-budgeted, there are a lot of intriguing movies coming out this month. Last September brought four of my favorite movies of the year(Drive,Warrior, Moneyball, and my number 1 movie of 2011 50/50) and this year very well could repeat that trend. Here are my thoughts on the whole lot of September's movies.

Films I Want To See:
4.Trouble with the Curve (9/21)-The same weekend last year brought us Moneyball which focused on using computers to scout players and build a winning team on a small-market team. Trouble with the Curve takes a different approach by focusing on old-school scouting and it also marks Clint Eastwood's return to acting. The trailer is a little melodramatic, but with Eastwood, Amy Adams, and Justin Timberlake you can count me in.

3.End of Watch (9/21)-I am a sucker for gritty cop dramas and this looks to be a good one. It's got a great pair of leads in Jake Gylenhall and Michael Pena and writer/director David Ayer is responsible for Street Kings and more importantly one of all-time favorites Training Day, so it's definitely in the right hands. I'm excited to see if it stand up

2.Looper (9/28)-This has to be one of the most interesting concepts for a movie in quite some time. A time-traveling assassin movie starring one of my favorite rising actors in Joesph Gordon-Levitt and my all-time favorite actor Bruce Willis  Also throw in Rian Johnson as writer/director, who's first movie Brick is pretty much universally praised, and we could be looking at something truly amazing.

1.Dredd(9/21)-Dredd is the exactly the type of ultra-violent, stylized, action movie that I just eat up. I was already excited for this movie than I heard the really positive reception from Comic-Con and saw the red-band clip Lionsgate released and my excitement went through the roof. This has action-movie gold written all over it and I hope it can live up to the hype.

Film I'm not sure on:
The Words(9/7)-Bradley Cooper is a good actor and the concept is somewhat interesting, but at the same time based on the subject matter(stealing someone's manuscript for a book) it could end up being pretty dull. I'll definitely be waiting for DVD on this one.

The Master(9/14)-Paul Thomas Anderson is lauded by critics and arthouse filmgoers, but for as talented a filmmaker he is, his movies bore the shit out of me. This looks to be almost exactly like There Will Be Blood, it looks to very well-acted and made, but it looks boring as hell. Might see it eventually depending on the buzz, but I'm not too stoked on it at the moment.

Won't Back Down (9/28)-Haven't seen the trailer, but I read the synopsis and it could be alright. I'll wait and see the how the reception is.

Films I could care less about
Resident Evil: Retribution (9/14)-As much as I love the Resident Evil games, the movies do nothing for me. I feel like they are just a much-worse version of the Underworld franchise and this one (the fifth installment in the series) looks to be no different.

The House at the End of the Street (9/21)-Jennifer Lawrence doing her obligatory "great actress in shitty generic horror movie" role. This has to be one of the most generic looking, PG-13 rated horror movies in the past few years. No chance in hell I'm seeing this.

Hotel Transylvania (9/28)-Just simply not my bag for a kids movie. Despite having a solid cast including Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Steve Buscemi, Andy Samberg, and Molly Shannon, the trailer is pretty bad and it just doesn't look funny or interesting.