New Mini Movie Reviews

During the last while I have been quite lazy and decided not to review movies I saw so here are some quick ratings...

The Simpsons Movie ***1/2
-superior to most of the episode quality of the last few seasons but not near how good The Simpsons was during it's golden age.

Stardust *** 1/2
-a very fun film, with Shakespearean like qualities in it's storytelling that are impressive yet outdated

Rescue Dawn ****
-very unique and sometimes masterful, the movie's weak points are rescued by Christian Bales's acting

Once ****1/2
-an impressively beautiful musical that surpasses most classics but will never get the recognition it deserves due to it's low budgetness and all too real screenplay

Transformers *
-LeBeouf tries his best to win over the audience with his charms, but he can't overcome poor writing and astoundingly terrible direction, the film earns it's only star from how cool Optimus Prime is

Superbad

Quite often we hear from people how much they love a certain movie. A lot of the time it's a comedy, usually a teen comedy. They rant about how it's the best comedy ever made. The truth is that that comedy probably came at out at a time when it was relevant in their lives. However, that shouldn't take away from that hypothetical comedy as it takes an incredible film to define a generation. It is pretty much tradition that certain comedies define certain people, think American Pie, Fast Times At Ridgemont High, Animal House. To most of us, those are great comedies, but for some it holds an even higher value due to the age and place in their lives when they saw it. While recent masterpieces The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up are excellent, they are not in this category. Superbad most definitely is. Considering the screenplay was actually written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg whilst still attending high school, it's not hard to believe that Superbad flawlessly captures life as a teenager. I would go as far as to say that the portrayal of a high school student body has never been so accurate. The movie takes place over a 24 hour or so period and follows three graduating friends making one last effort to get in with the cool kids. Where as most comedies show the geeky kids as, well, really, really geeky and the cool kids as the awesome partiers who are either douche bags or well, really, really cool, Superbad gets it right. The geeky kids are actually cool in their own right, and as normal as everyone else and the cool kids are occasional drunk morons but more commonly, decent human beings. Approaching teenagers with honesty and sincerity rather than follow the stereotypes is one of the film's many strong points. But more than anything else, the movie is hilarious. The best thing is that every joke comes as natural as gun fire in a James Bond flick, rather than the popular trend of throwing in random punchlines that don't truly fit in with storytelling (thanks Family Guy). Also, as with every Judd Apatow/Seth Rogen film, at the center of the story is overwhelming heart, something severely lacking from the industry. Superbad is tremendous, an absolute classic and nothing should stop you from seeing it. I mean, why go see a re-hashed buddy cop movie (Rush Hour 3) when you can see a film so outstanding that it defines a generation.

Adam's Highlights of Comic-Con 2007

Well, we are back and I wanted to make a post about all the amazing stuff that happened to me.

Wednesday (Preview Night)...
on wednesday only the exhibit hall is open but it's freakin' sweet. There are retailer booths, publisher booths as well as several movie production booths (warner bros., new line cinema, etc.)Thursday...
I met Bill Willingham and Mark Buckingham, the writer/creator and artist of Fables, my favourite comic book. Bill signed my #1 Fables issue and Mark did a live sketch of my 2 favourite characters.


I went to a "Lost" panel with the creators/ head writers of Lost as well as a special guest.


I went to the world premiere of Shoot Em Up. They handed out carrots after the movie (if you see it you will understand why).


Friday....

I met Richard Kelly, writer/director of Donnie Darko and the upcoming Southland Tales.



I met Nick Frost (actor) and David Wright (director), the men responsible for Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and one of the best TV shows ever, Spaced.



We went to the Kevin Smith Q&A which may have been the funniest hour of my life. During the panel the premiere of the TV show Reaper was shown. My cousin Kyle, who lives with me has a role in the show.



Saturday...

Dark Horse Comics announced a Joss Whedon signing at the beginning of Comic-Con. Everyone got a ticked and there was a raffle for who gets to meet Joss. About 150 out of 2500 people were chosen, Parker and I were not one of them. However, with a perfect display of the type of people that are Whedon fans a guy who had previously met Joss won but decided to give away his ticket to someone else. I asked him for it and all he asked in retunr was that I donate some money to Equality Now (Joss's favourite charity). I of course agreed. So it was a random act of kindness that lead to my meeting with my hero.

I also got to meet the artist of the Buffy comic, Georges Jeanty.

Next up was the Joss Whedon Q&A which included some huge announcements:
-there will be a Giles tv special on the BBC titled "Ripper"
-Oz will return in season 8
-Joss has written a horror movie "Cabin in the Woods"
-Joss will be making a short film, a ballet starring Summer Glau
-there will be a season 9
-Joss will return to musicals eventually
-there will be more "Fray"
-the script for "Goners" is being edited right now
...I may have missed something but that's a lot.

After that, we checked out a radio type show called "The Comic Book Club", it was hilarious. Check out their site: www.pulpsecret.com

Then it was a 10th anniversary celebration of Buffy held by whedonopolis.com, t wasn;t well organized but singing along to the musical with 1000 people was awesome.
I have tons of other pictures I'll eventually put on my flickr page which can be accessed from the sidebar.

Well that's it for my highlights of Comic-Con, a loth of other fun stuff happened on our trip but that's my "Greatest Hits" collection. I'm sure Parker will post more and I may at another time.
Overall, Comic-Con was pretty much the best thing ever and we will be going again next year. We plan to blog live from San Diego so it should be pretty cool.

Joss's handshake was amazing...

Countdown To Comic Con

Two Men...
Two Men and a thirty-six hour bus ride...
Two Men, a Thirty-six hour bus ride, and Joss Whedon...
Equal one hell of an epic journey.
A true tale of life, love, and the trials of redemption as two travelers traverse the landscape leading to what they both so desperately seek...acceptance.
Follow them on their quest (figuratively speaking, unless you really want to follow us) as they survive the harsh winter of San Diego on the streets; living as those who are less fortunate must: one day at a time. Hungry, cold, and caring for the small abandoned orphan child they took under their wing, they must find a way to free hat little family they have left from Sergio Montane Guilioma Francesca Coompadret, the evil beast of a man who guards the princess in the second tallest tower of the castle right across the street from the San Diego Convention Centre. Armed with only their wit, cunning, and an A-bomb they stole from the peruvian government in a previous adventure, they must free said princess without using said A-bomb. Can They Succeed? Will they succeed? How can they not with the power of mediocrity and the power of not-good-but-not-evil-somewhere-in-the-gray-area on their side.

I'm Excited.

Are you?

DUN DUN DUUUNNN.


P.S. that should have been read in an epic voice. All of it.

P.P.S But seriously, comic con is only 6 days away. And yes, it will ROCK....YOUR...WORLD!!!!!!!!

Coming this fall to a theatre near you.

New Album Review: Hospital Music by Matthew Good

*please note that Hospital Music will not be released until July 31st.

Matthew Good’s career spans over a decade at this point. In that time he has released 7 full albums and 3 EPs and 1 greatest hits collection. A lot of other things have happened to Matt during his career; he holds the record for the best selling independent rock album in Canadian history (1995’s Last of the Ghetto Astronauts), he has won several Junos (not that they mean anything), he has been banned from Winnipeg (and then let back in after a couple years), had a disease in his throat that lead to surgery and he actually had to learn how to talk again, he has quit smoking, he has broken up with his band, been married and eventually divorced, he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, of course has taken up smoking again. However, there is one thing he hasn’t done, and that’s disappoint. Every release has been at least great, and occasionally phenomenal. I am glad to say that that does not change. In the last year, Matthew has been to the hospital a couple times, because during last year’s tour he collapsed with exhaustion, and more recently, due to taking too much medication. During his stays he wrote a lot of the album, which explains the title, Hospital Music. Most of his albums have been extremely complex and rich, however this is not the case here. His lyrics are no longer masked with metaphors but are straight to the point; the music is also more simple. This is not necessarily a bad thing as the most straightforward song is also the most emotionally effective (She’s in it For the Money). Some might say that on old material Matt hid behind his poetic writing but now, for lack of a better term, he is completely naked. He has nothing to hide, to hear this album is to become close to someone you have never met. The experience is at times heartbreaking, but we are better for it. Music naturally makes us feel alive, it unites us, but with such honest lyrics as on Hospital Music we feel in touch with humanity to an even greater extent. To understand another human being through his art, we take their pains with us and relate to it, and sometimes come out as better people then we were at first. The power of music is incredible but not usually used to it’s full potential like it is here. One thing has always amazed me about Matthew Good, the fact that every album he changes his style. You can never predict what his next release will sound like. I am not sure if there is another artist I could say that about, possibly Radiohead, but there aren’t many. On Hospital Music, Matt reinvents himself again, and we are treated to his most personal work to date. Because of it’s simplicity, it lacks the astounding depth of his masterpieces Audio of Being and Avalanche, but it still kicks the asses of most of the popular stuff around today. It may not be Matt’s best or the best album of the year but it makes for another worthy part of a truly remarkable career, as well as a worthy part of any music collection.