Archive for February, 2008|Monthly archive page
No Country For Old Men
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No Country For Old Men has won four Oscars the other day. So now it should be considered as the best thing from Hollywood recently. It’s quite weak in my view, but that’s probably not a coincidence. I wish I could find the original novel though, as it just has to be a better experience.
The movie does feature a some good scene views, a vivid portrait of a (dull) Texas life where it seems very few individuals have not ever shot at another human. The hunting psycho (the big shadow on the poster) who seriously considers killing practically everyone he encounters, has a few interesting tricks (small gas-pump as a lethal weapon), but he quickly became totally predictive to me and actually before half of the movie through I knew that in the end pretty much everyone will be either dead or at least left disillusioned on the burned soil in a depressing, life-has-almost-no-point conclusion which otherwise means just a short break from more senseless violence.
I see many people comment how the movie being so tense, with a deep meaning questioning fatalism, man fighting destiny, facing the death etc. But, you know, here in Europe we’ve seen much better movies (which unfortunetely often do not appear as torrents)… or maybe it’s just that I didn’t happen to like this rendering of nihilism, which btw seems to be very nicely ideologically aligned with the orchestrated mainstream.
No matter how it ends, no matter how it starts
The Raveonettes – Lust Lust Lust
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The Raveonettes‘ third album is their best one yet. I kind of liked their previous stuff but I though it was often too bubblegum. Here though they move very close to early Jesus and Mary Chain, although Sharin Foo’s vocals are sugary as always, floating above the distortion. It’s worth downloading solely for the first track, Aly Walk With Me, which has a killer groove with an echoing warm sound and a sweet melody filled with guitar fuzz. Frankly, other songs are not as good as that one but some do stand out, such as You Want the Candy (a metaphore of course) and Dead Sound and Blush.
Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
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Oh what pleasure I find in the music of Zach Condon, aka Beirut. Recently a friend has given me his first album, Gulag Orkestar. Probably in large part because I live in the part of the world from which music he takes some of his inspiration, I immediately liked his work, and have been listening to it frequently.
The Flying Club Cup is his second album, and it undoubtedly meets my expectations. It is even more orchestrated, and his bittersweet voice is wrapped in an enthusiastic and slightly clumsy arrangements (in the positive sense, as you would expect from such young folks) including brass instruments, keyboard, violin, marching drums, tambourine, harmonica…
Note: At the same the Lon Gisland EP has been posted, which has otherwise been released between the two albums.
Toots Thielemans – For My Lady
I am particularly happy to see this this album from Toots Thielemans (a re-seed from Demonoid), as I saw him play a concert on Novi Sad jazz festival this past winter, and it was a very nice experience. From the short show I got the impression that the 85 year old harmonica player is a real gentleman and very pleasant person. In between the songs he talked a bit about his life and past, always smiling, in a very relaxed and warm atmosphere that he had created.
On this album he plays with the Shirley Horn Trio, slow songs to keep you warm.
Michael Clayton
So who is Michael Clayton? A “fixer” or a “janitor” in a large law firm. Someone who specializes in resolving difficult situations, when an “important” person is in legal danger after committing a certain crime in affect. The movie itself pictures the time when he is in a tough life and financial situation, revealing that his firm’s leading attorney, who has just broke down mentally, has been building up a case against their own client, a biochemical giga-corp selling chemicals which causes cancer – which they are perfectly aware of, and have even written a memorandum about it.
It is quite interesting and captivating, and probably one of the best movies that have come out of Hollywood in 2007. However the bottom line that I feel is that it is sad that this is the kind of a society that we are creating.
High Places – 03/07 – 09/07
High Places make one of the strangest, kind-of-pop in the way they strive for simplicity, music forms I’ve heard recently. Don’t know how to describe it… “Hawaiian hardcore chinese pop” as on their myspace page? Yeah, something like that. There is this sense of playing and singing as one feels in most relaxed moments, making it feel like a unique sunny music collage assembled by children. I’m listening to it now before going to sleep and all I feel is tranquillity.
Daft Punk – Alive 2007
Daft Punk are one of the biggest revelations to me recently. I’ve heard some of their songs before of course but none somehow caught my attention. From what I’ve read this recording (of excellent quality) from Paris seems to be the ultimate mix of their songs. I don’t know, but this does sound so exciting + upbeat + meaty (with a little sense of irony if I’m not mistaking) that I just gotta blog it even though it might be old by now and say that, if you’ve missed it as I at first have, no matter how much you like or dislike electronic music in general, you totally must hear this.
Into the Wild
A fascinating movie about Christopher McCandless, a man who, after graduating from college, “abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encountered a series of characters that shaped his life.” I really admire this person, and I kind of regret that the movies strongly portraits his parents, and not that much the modern human society as the cause and motive for his actions. At the end of the movie, he writes the most memorable words in one of many classic books he always kept with himself:
happiness only real when shared
Yuri Buenaventura – Lo Mejor De Yuri
I found this compilation of salsa songs by Colombian artist/singer Yuri Buenaventura (named after Gagarin of course) by accident. They’re all very good, and although I’m not that much into latin music, you might love it.
We Own the Night
We Own the Night is both a captivating crime movie and a family drama involving sons of a veteran cop (Robert Duvall), one (Joaquin Phoenix) running a night club where drug business begins to emerge and another being in the police (Mark Wahlberg). With beautiful Eva Mendes. Even if you’re not generally into these kind of stories, I think that you should see it. Acting is excellent, especially by Phoenix. I completely agree with the following comment on rotten tomatoes:
The always charismatic Phoenix is the highlight; he carries the film, rising above the occasionally uninspired dialogue and plotting to give a powerhouse turn as a man caught between ambition and duty.
