The Road, and No Country for Old Men.

A very good movie. I didn't know much about it going in, other than it stars a semi-retired Viggo Mortensen and was based on a book written by Cormac McCarthy of "No County For Old Men" fame. The acting was superb, especially from Mr. Smit-McPhee. It was a heart-wrenching story of loss and hope after the end of the world. I would definitely recommend to any fan of serious and emotive films. As with other serious films of this caliber, I'm not sure I have grasped all of the subtly on my first viewing. McCarthy's previous story-turned-film was not my favorite on my initial watching, when it was first released on dvd. However, in the intervening time, I had a good friend and film buff explain it to me. I had failed to grasp the characterizations and the point. The aging sheriff is the main character, and all action is to be viewed with an unfamiliar eye. The explicit, unmotivated violence is supposed to be shocking, foreign, and disconcerting. We are to see that the world has passed us by, like it has the sheriff. Watching it with this in mind, I loved it. It made perfect sense. Although, in retrospect, I feel silly and stupid for not understanding that myself. Symbolic interpretation is usually something I am fairly good at, and pride myself on it. Its a bit humbling.

Mastodon and Dethklok.

I saw them last night in Virginia. The doors for the show opened at 5:30, but I didn't get there until just before 6:30. It was nice to arrive early, giving myself plenty of time to get lost and find a nice parking spot. I didn't get lost, thanks to a GPS which I bought for the purpose of not getting lost. But there were two opening acts. High on Fire and Converge. High on Fire wasn't great. Now, don't get me wrong. Almost nobody was there at that point. They were the first band. But they were fairly good. Nothing great about them, but they were high energy and played metal. Converge, though, was terrible. The lead singer looked like he would fit in better in a rap group. And they were all trying way to hard to have post-punk vocals. I can't stand when a band has talented musicians who can play instruments and a lead singer who just screams into a mic. I couldn't understand a single thing he said, except in the one song where he actually used a human voice. But the band wasn't really all that great either. They could play, sure, but they couldn't play a decent song. It was all just loud, fast, and noisy. And not in a good way. I enjoy some noise rock and some loud and fast stuff, but this was just annoying. Good thing they weren't the only ones playing. At around 8:30 or so, Mastodon came out. They basically played all of Crack the Skye. It was awesome. I'm amazed that a band that talented plays metal. Don't get me wrong, I love them. But they could really branch out and take over the world. They played a song from Blood Mountain and one from Remission. I would have loved to hear something from Leviathan, like Naked Burn, but alas, they did not. But they were amazing. I'll definitely seem them again if I get the chance. Then came Dethklok, the fictitious band from Metalocalypse. It was pretty cool how they pulled it off. Brendan Smalls is the creator and does the voices for the band. He also shreds on the guitar. So, he sang and played, along with a bassist, drummer, and second guitarist. On the screen behind the band, they showed what amounted to music videos, featuring the cartoon band, with their typically metal imagery of warriors fighting and things dying. It was brutal. What surprised me was how far from corny the whole thing seemed. It could have been sort of laughable to see middle-aged guys on stage, backed by cartoons, but it wasn't. I definitely enjoyed it. I was particularly happy that they played Murmaider and Go Into The Water, my favorite Dethklok song. It was a good time.

Muse's The Resistance.

I'm listening to this album on my ipod, since it came up on random. I pre-ordered the deluxe boxed set before I'd even heard anything from the album. I enjoy Muse, more and more each day, so I thought, "what the hell?" and "I'll regret not getting it", so I did. I've listened to it once all the way through, and enjoy it. I'm not sure how I like it compared to their other albums. The first one I heard was Origin of Symmetry. Its still probably my favorite. I love the pure rock and the breakup songs. Its so raw and powerful and great driving music. But in a review for this new album, the reviewer said Muse is a good up and coming band, but they get lost in their influences, such as Queen. And its probably sort of true. Several of these songs could be Queen songs, with soaring vocal harmonies and swelling guitars. But I don't think that's a bad thing. I mean, come on, its Queen. One of the best stadium rock bands ever. If Matt Bellamy can achieve 10% of the awesomeness of Freddie Mercury, he deserves an award. I mean, really, why not imitate the best? It would be like someone dismissing a band because they are heavily influenced by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. I mean, nobody can say that Oasis is talentless. Sure, they may be overrated and at this point most of us are sick of them still sounding like the Beatles, but they've become immensely popular with that style, so if you don't like them, don't listen to them. I have (Whats the story) Morning Glory. Who didn't in the early 90s? Its like everyone of my generation also has Weezer's Blue Album, Ace of Base's The Sign, Silverchair's Frogstomp, Beck's Odelay, or Sublime's self-titled? Those are classics of our generation. If a band tried to mimic or borrow from those albums, and did it well, I'd give them credit, as they'd have made a damn enjoyable album. So, I say, carry on Muse.

Trick 'R Treat

Holy shit. This tries to be an horror anthology. But, holy balls, does it fail. This movie was a complete waste of time. The trailer showed potential, but it couldn't make up its goddamn mind as to what it was about. Was it a supernatural flick? Or was it a creepy story about a psycho killer who was actually a single father? Or a vampire/werewolf movie. It was all of these things. Not because they are all awesome and therefore the movie was awesome. No, it was because the screenwriter and director were shitbags. These douches couldn't decide what this piece of shit should be about, so it was about every goddamn thing imaginable. Therefore, it didn't make sense, wasn't scary, and was also terrible. Do NOT bother to watch this lame excuse for a movie. If you do, you will be sorry you wasted your time and your Netflix rental.

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The new Pearl Jam is pretty good. The first three songs are probably the best. The energy is so high. My favorite track on the album is "The Fixer". To borrow an idea from the Rolling Stone review, this album feels like a breath of fresh air and party after the Bush years. That is the best way to describe it. The fuzz is still there, but the grim of the grunge has been washed away by the surfing. Its a album.

12 Rounds, with John Cena.

This movie was pretty excellent. I was told it was an 80s action movie, with all the cornball one-liners, the ridiculous action, and unbelievable plot. I was told right. But it strangely balanced the cheesiness and the fun. John Cena makes an excellent action star. He is physical, but also a complete ham. You never once dislike him, but his brand of do-good action is actually interesting. He's like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop, both a muscleman and a cornball. But I think he has potential as an actor to do that sort of role for the next twenty years. Yes, I would watch him do that. Yes, I would enjoy it. This movie has my seal of approval. A totally watchable and entertaining stupid action movie.

Passengers.

This movie was so mediocre, it took me three viewing to finish it. The twist was predictable and boring. This movie is not really worth your time. It was like the Sixth Sense meets a movie where there is a plane crash.