i just got done watching “hamlet 2.” it was on the dollar rack at my video store, so i figured i would check it out. it was an oddly entertaing film, with a nice sense of parody on the inspirational teacher films (i.e. dead poets society, dangerous minds, etc.) the cast was great, the story was fair, and the ideas contained within the film were interesting. it is funny on a few levels, mainly because of the literary references. the movie tells you what it is going to reference, and then mixes in the references well enough to make you unaware of the reference at first. when i rented it, i was wondering if i would make it through the first thirty minutes, but i actually enjoyed it. it does move a little slow at times, but when amy poehler came into the film she basically took over every scene she was in. her best quote from the film comes at the very end when she says “well this play is gonna bitch slap broadway like a cheap hooker in a gang bang,” and follows it up with “and those bible humping protesters can suck a bag of dicks because all they ended up doing was giving you free publicity.” the cast also includes steve coogan, david arquette, elizabeth shue, and catherine keener, who were all great in the film. it is not a must see, but if you can get it for free or for a dollar check it out.
this is jet lag gemini.
i finally got their album, “fire the cannons,” and i think it is brilliant. it has musicianship reminiscent of bayside and letter kills, melodies as catchy as motion city soundtrack’s “i am the movie” album and new found glory’s self titled record, and harmonies on par with punchline. the song writing is average lyric wise, but the melodies, phrasing, and musical production takes the emphasis off of the weaker areas of the album.
it is truly a pop punk gem. my problem with that genre is everyone seems to take the same thing done before and make it worse, with a few exceptions along the way, including this record. it has forced me to look back on some of my pop punk/power pop/emo favorites. don’t get me wrong i love this new record, but it really rejuvinated my interest in some of my most loved bands of the past decade and a half. i bought a cheap new mp3 player and loaded it up with some hot rod circuit, cooter, ultimate fakebook, the julianna theory, fenix tx, the movielife, MxPx, nofx, screaching weasel, and of course this new jet lag gemini record.
according to mark hoppus’ twitter, he is going to produce their next offering. i see great things in their future.
i just watched this movie. i thought it was pretty good. i only rented it because i like ben stein, but i thought it was actually a good film. it is a documentary about the lack of free speech, in the world of science when discussing intelligent design. it was not, however, a “god vs. evolution” movie, which i was happy about. it basically explored two points about the debate. the first point was that modern science will not acknowledge anything that has to do with intelligent design, whether it is from a respected collegue or anyone else. i think this is a fair concern on the behalf of the filmmakers, because one of the points of science is to always question itself, and one of the cornerstones of america is to be free to question things. one of the other parts of the documentary focused on how darwinistic beliefs can lead to a world that disvalues the individual life and places value on the betterment of the species. this is one of the foundations of hitler’s beliefs. in his mind jews, handicapped, etc., were to be killed because they were not capable of breeding and producing offspring as developed as his perfect race. the idea was not even unique to hitler and his staff, but was a worldwide way of thinking called eugenics, meaning eutopian genetics. i think this is an interesting idea that i would like to see explored in some more detail.
either way ben stein still kicks ass.
this is work by nina friday. shis is an artist, who is originally from st. petersburg, russia, and currently works from michigan. i think her work is amazing. the beautiful faces of her depressionesque characters are captivating. she uses acrylic paint on wood panels, which i feel gives her work a distinct look. most canvas’s are the same, but wood panels are all infinitely different from one another, so even if she wanted to reproduce the exact same piece, it would be impossible, because the medum would be different.
no matter the piece, i always seem to focus directly on the eyes of the subject. the eyes seem to convey a beautifully innocent yet menacing soul. from young to old, from rich to poor, from dracula to frankenstein, and from young brothers to beautiful debutantes, the story is in eyes. the surroundings, to me, work well to shed light on why the eyes look the way they do.
the colors of each piece seem to help convey the emotions of the artist during the production of the piece. as a musician this is how i tend to see art pieces. i see them as visual stories, as i see music as audible stories. i use key and tempo, amongst other tools, to convey my emotions as i’m writing, while still getting the story across through the lyrics. but the lyrics on their own are strained to convey my emotions. miss nina friday uses color masterfully to convey emotion, while still getting the story across through the actual subject. when done correctly, as in nina’s case, the color allows the audience to feel the story, not just see the story. when looking at an entire gallery of pieces of nina’s work, i feel as though the color, or lack their of at times, really creates a world with each piece representing a character.
you can check out her work at ninafriday
she is also in a badass garagerock band called the ruiners
this is almost exactly where i stood for the mason proper show at the blind pig in ann arbor, mi on friday. was the show awesome?…yes. were all of us drunk as hell for the show?…yes. did three out of the eight of us that went to the show together get thrown out?…yes. however, this band is amazing, if you get a chance you should go see them live, but save the multitude of shots for after the show. you should also go purchase their record on itunes. that shall be my first post for my new tumblelog, wherein i review music/concerts.
tsexrex
