http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Thu, 17 Nov 2005 14:26:14 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/11/17/142614.php Bat BoyOnce again I shall try to beat the rush of reviews by about nine hours. Don't worry, the movie doesn't suck... well, at least that is not the view of a Harry Potter fan from his first viewing. It was exciting, daring, fun, frightening and of course beautiful. Most of the problems the movie had reminded me of The Sorcerers Stone its problems. What do you do with tons of characters and plot lines? The first movie dealt with this issue in a straight forward way: get as much in as possible and don't worry about the rest. Movie three, The Prisoner of Azkaban, had a much better approach: tell a story that people will remember. As an audience member, the story is what I really want to see, not a useless interaction that pertains to nothing in the movie. In movie one I felt Nearly Headless Nick was pretty pointless, yet he spoke more than just a few lines. Movie four has that sort of character, and her name is Rita Skeeter. She is introduced, makes a fuss over, and then is dropped like owl guano out of the plot. I couldn't tell you, at this point, what purpose she had in the film at all. The new director lacks something... oh.... what is that thing called? Oh yeah! Subtlety (something I wasn't blessed with either). At times I felt like I was being prodded in the rib by the director as if he was asking for my acceptance. To his credit there were fits of greatness in the film, some of Mad Eye Moody's scenes were absolutely wonderful, but with so much plot to plow through it is a wonder we got so see any character development at all. Maybe that sort of attention to detail was just leftovers from Prisoner (which was the best "movie" out of the four, although some complain it was too unfaithful to the book). When all was said and done the movie was still a pleasure. To see the book on film was a treat, with wonderful visuals and pretty good acting as a whole to boot just made my day. At times it was even thrilling and almost scary, but just heed this caution: If you don't already know the subtext you won't learn it from this film (exceptions being blatantly obvious non-subtle pokes in the rib). Video39670@blogcritics.org Thu, 17 Nov 2005 14:26:14 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/14/061900.php Bat BoyImagination is something we all cherish, but director Tim Burton brings his to life like no one else. Sure most credit goes to the awsome Roald Dahl who wrote the book, but watching Burton's visions is a treat to the eyes. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory hits the "oooo-aaaaah" button in your brain quite a few times with its' whirlwind of colors, fun props, and scenery, beautifully rendered on screen.The cast is wonderful, and Johnny Depp does a fantastic job of Willy Wonka. Teetering on the line between insane and inspired, the character of Wonka is enjoyably removed from reality, a real nut job whose off the cuff comments are rude but poignant. One aspect of the film which I deeply enjoyed was that the characters were well set up and fleshy. You know who these people are, even Willy has a wonderful back-story, and you want to go on the journey with them.I would suggest seeing this film, even if you gotta pay full price, because it is unique, fun, and will keep you entranced for two hours in a neat little world where physics may or may not apply.Trying to decide what to see this weekend? Fantastic Four Review Ed:NB Video32543@blogcritics.org Thu, 14 Jul 2005 06:19:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/07/060629.php Bat BoyThe Fantastic Four? you gotta be kidding me. This movie is a flaming pile of crap.The movie should be split into two parts (farts might better describe the sections of the film: Producer Brain Fart #1 and Producer Brain Fart #2). Part one feels like a movie that knows it sucks and makes jokes at its own expense. While this half of the show is decently paced with scenes that might make you laugh (with each joke you feel the integrity of cinema kicked down a notch) it also has the unfortunate duty of setting up the audience for brain fart two: the "action."The second part of the film gets caught up in the action, and in the rapping of plot lines, which no one cared about in the first place, and it veers off track into the uncharted territory of actually trying to be a decent film. Perhaps the spirit of the film got stuck under the hailstorm of product placements, or maybe it is just trapped under the things foot, but there is a point in this film where the end is the only redeeming value you can foresee.If I had to pick an MVP for the film I would say Chris Evans who portrays Johnny Storm/The Human Torch. His comedic timing is pretty good, but his ego is goes sour, has a cliché aftertaste.In case you aren't following let me recap. First half is good because it does not seem to take itself too seriously. The second half tries to be a superhuman film and fails. How much should you pay to see this film? About as much as I did: $0.00.The box office slump of '05 is about to get dumped on. Video32169@blogcritics.org Thu, 7 Jul 2005 06:06:29 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/02/16/121454.php Bat Boy Sounds come from a singer, a keyboard, a guitar, an upright bass, two trumpets, a trombone, and a drum set. Together they make a jazzy and lounging, but still rocking young group who want to make you dance and sing. Singer and songwriter Scott Klopfenstein has spent years singing backup and blowing his trumpet for popular ska band Reel Big Fish but you wont find any ska on this disc, only his tremendous voice exploring octaves and toughing it through the sad times which he writes about. It isn't all sad though, there are several upbeat songs to get you swaying. The debut CD which is titled Better Book Ends is absolutely wonderful in all its diversity. Try out "Stayed Away too Long," (free for download on their Web site) for a starting glance at the band. The song, which is about a man neglecting his girlfriend, sounds like something that, at its core, could have been written by Ray Charles. Other influences include Tom Waits, John Lennon, and Brian Wilson.The band has one of the best Web sites out there. It has a pleasurable design once you get past the splash page and once you register the whole site recognizes who you are, not just the message board. Unfortunately Amazon.com does not carry their album yet, but iTunes does, and they have a pay and play deal where if you buy the album from them you'll get the mp3s immediately and then the CD in the mail a few days later. If you're at all interested check out Scoot K. on the DVD below where he plays with RBF in a two-hour concert and does the audio commentary which has some very funny moments. The Littlest Man Band, my friends, is a truly unique band that must be heard to believed. I suppose that statement renders a reviewer pretty useless in most cases, myself included because I don't have a big basis to which classify the sound. Give them a whirl and let me know what you think.The Littlest Man Band dot com Music25584@blogcritics.org Wed, 16 Feb 2005 12:14:54 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/03/17/015208.php Bat BoyThis article from the New Times - San Luis Obispo makes a good point about radio nowadays."...people don't realize they're being tricked. They don't know radio isn't live, they don't realize when they call in to enter a 'local contest' that it's not local and they're competing to win against 50,000 people from all over the country."Now, I listen sometimes to keep updated with the mainstream, but I didn't know the stuff mentioned in the article. It really makes me want to listen even less. Culture13801@blogcritics.org Wed, 17 Mar 2004 01:52:08 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/12/27/043626.php Bat BoyWoa, my sis rocks. She got me "Avenue Q" The broadway cast recording and its really hilarious. It's like a Sesame Street for adults and the song titles say it all. "The Internet is for Porn," "Everyone's a little bit Racist," and "You Can Be as Loud as the Hell you Want (when youre making love)" are some of my favorites. But it's not all puppet sex and profanity, theres a bunch of heart injected for more good times.The music is lively and the songs have intriging harmonies that ring through to the next song. I hope I make it to New York before this show closes, it will definitly be atop my list now with Urinetown closing and Bat Boy: The Musical a few years gone. Trekkie Monster says: In Volatile market, only stable investment is porn! Music11246@blogcritics.org Sat, 27 Dec 2003 04:36:26 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/30/184106.php Bat BoyOh wow, I went to the sneak preview saturday for The Last Samurai and I was very suprised by what I saw.If you saw the first trailer for this film you may have wondered why Tom Cruise was in the film. The first trailer made it seem like they were passing him off as Japanese (though I was told afterwards that another trailer was released that doesnt make it look that way). This is not the case, thank god.The lobby display for this movie is extremly cheezy. It's Tom Cruise coming at you head on like theres an army behind you. It's really ugly, and if you see it you might think the movie is cheezy too.But its not.The Last Samurai is probably the best movie I've seen all year, beating out Pirates of the Caribean, Lost in Translation, Camp, and X2. And by the sevral applauses that happened during the movie I think other people are going to agree as well. Video10560@blogcritics.org Sun, 30 Nov 2003 18:41:06 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/26/044113.php Bat BoyA government that supports a free nation only steps in when people are hurting (emotionally, physically, economically and whatnot) each other. Under Bush things like the Patriot Act take away your constitutional rights, and more importantly your individual, human rights.More than any other president before him bush has pushed his personal agenda into congress. Hopefully his greed, his hate towards gays, his apparent love for war and killing, and his sinister dishonesty will not leave a lasting imprint on America.No, my blog is not about politics, the underlying meaning of this post is philosophical. The wonderful philosopher Kant argued that to find the true moral worth of something you did you must not look at the consequences of the action but the morals behind the action itself.Now you may or may not have seen this comparison before, but allow me to lay it out for you the way I think it should be.Clinton and Bush both lied. It is a world wide proven and accepted fact that Bush lied about the need for war in Iraq. It is also widely thought that it is not moral to lie. If everyone in the world lied the state of things would be very sorry indeed.Now, I don't know about you, but there's a bell ringing here. Why hasn't Bush been impeached? Why did he slip through the cracks.Perhaps you don't like Kant and won't accept this rag on Bush. Would you rather expand your moral judgment on these two men?Clinton screwed the intern. Bush sent 432 Americans, 53 British, 17 Italians and one Polish, to death in the Iraq war as of November 25, 2003 (CNN.com). Also remember that over 10,000 Iraqis died by last July and tens of thousands more humans have lost their limbs or been injured.Clinton apologized and created a national surplus. Bush insists that we continue the war and has created record breaking deficits.Get rid of the trash in the next election. Politics10453@blogcritics.org Wed, 26 Nov 2003 04:41:13 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/08/10/143551.php Bat BoyDestino short wins at an australian film festival. Fragments of the unfinished film "Destino" along with story boards, sketches and an original score were painstakingly put together by a team assembled by Disney's nephew Roy Disney after they were discovered in the studio's vaults. I cant wait to find see this short. I love Dali and Disney, and never had any idea that they were ever connected in any way. I hope they find a way to release it widely. Video7489@blogcritics.org Sun, 10 Aug 2003 14:35:51 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/06/11/190823.php Bat BoyIt seems that Broadway is going to be bombarded with more movies over the next few years. Im not saying thats a bad thing, I love the Producers, Hairspray, and Lion King. Even Full Monty the musical was enjoyable.However this article makes it sound like every movie and its brother are going to be coming to broadway. The movies listed could make awsome spectacles, but how heartfelt would a Batman: the musical really be? Ill stick with Bat Boy: The Musical thank you very much.The most promising on the list of possible broadway shows are pleasantville and Strictly Ballroom. Pleasantville for the design possibilites and Ballroom for sweet love story and dancing. Its sorta odd, but i do see Catch me if you can turning into a story about a lonely tortured guy who, bye the way, steals millions of dollars. Video6103@blogcritics.org Wed, 11 Jun 2003 19:08:23 EDT