They say there's nothing new under the sun. I think, perhaps, that the writing team behind
Mission: Impossible III took this proverb to heart. "Since there's no origniality anyway," I imagine them saying "we may as well not think of any new ideas for this movie!"
Granted, it's a movie based on
a 60's TV show, so pehaps it is unfair of me to expect so much. But seriously, when you're movie is merely 1 parts
True Lies, and 1 part
Alias, the latter being created by the co-writer and director of this movie, you're not even trying.
That being said, it was a fun ride. Even though I can't look at
Tom Cruise anymore without thinking about his media antics, he still commands the screen, and shows why he's the big star that he is. The action is intense- if anything, the action is too intense, you never really get a chance to process the story. On second thought, maybe that was intentional. But it does get a bit exhausting to watch Mr. Cruise's character run at full speed in every single scene.
There is a bright spot, and it is
Phillip Seymore Hoffman's villian. I'm not a huge PSH fan, but this character's non-chalant cruelty and complete badassness is amazingly effective. In this one character, the lack of story and originality is absolved. He creates tension when he's not even on screen, because you know how powerful he is.
So if you're looking for a popcorn summer thrill ride, M:i:III may be for you. If you're looking for a truly scary villian, this movie is definately for you. If you're looking for something original and intellectually stimulating, stay home and watch
Lost.
In a remarkable instance of pan-media marketing, the folks in charge of marketing for the hit TV show Lost have begun to string together a game, nay an online puzzle- one might even call it... The Lost Experience!
This venture was launched in an appropriate way: during last week's show, there was a TV commercial during a break for The Hanso Foundation, including a toll-free number. When called, the number gives you a password for the web site (see title link). The website gives you information and documents relating to the fictional company behind the Lost Island's Dharma Institute. Dizzy yet?
Well apparently, the cross promotional possibilities of this 'experience' are beginning to be leveraged. Today, we discovered that the Sprite ad in the hold music for The Hanso Foundation's phone number leads you to a
Sprite website which eventually gives you another password for The Hanso Foundation. Also today, ad space was purchased in major metropolitan newspapers in the name of The Hanso Foundation, decrying the supposed lies contained about the company in
Bad Twin, the book by 'Gary Troup,' the manuscript of which was on Oceanic Flight 815, and is now being read by Sawyer on the show.
If you want to play along, you can start by calling the number (877)HANSORG. If you need help (I can't imagine you won't), check out
thelostexperienceclues.blogspot.com. Happy experiencing!
Well, better late than never.
A few months ago, my brother Jeremy told me about this dude who was making albums for each of the fifty states. My first impression of what that would be like was somewhere between
John Linnell's State Songs (celebrating the geography geek in all of us) and
Atom and His Package (obviously some guy with a mic and a computer making records in his bedroom). The best I hoped for was an amusing novelty record. Boy, was I wrong.
Last week, Jeremy finally let me borrow the second of these albums by Sufjan Stevens:
Illinois. I know, I know the cover says "Come On, Feel the Illinoise" But I am assured that the title is, in fact, simply Illinois. In addition to this kitschy entreaty, you may notice the cartoon drawings presumably designed to reinforce the feeling that this is a homemade endeavor. But the product is anything but amateur.
This album is astonishingly well-produced and the complexity of the sound in some places is dizzying, while it's simplicity in others is truly moving. The first time you listen, it's nearly impossible to not be swept up in the beats and melodies, or to not be impressed with Mr. Stevens vocal range and delivery. It took me a full 3 listens to even get my bearings due to the delightfully unconventional track breaks and titles, but once I was oriented I was in heaven.
Today was my first listen where I was able to begin deciphering the lyrics. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I like a puzzle with my song lyrics, and Illinois does not disappoint. The difference with this record is that part of the puzzle is discovering the myriad references to the titular state (I've taken to keeping
Wikipedia open while listening), which vary from
Casimir Pulaski Day to
Metropolis. It also serves as somewhat of a vocabulary lesson- maybe you know the word revenant, but have a go at
Xylophagan.
Add these elements together, and the experience is like a sonic cornucopia, a highly stimulating virtual tour of The Land of Lincoln, a veritable musical road map of the soul of a state, as drawn by one man. I only wish I had known about it sooner! Apparently, this album was universally acclaimed by critics when released last year. In fact, this album was the most highly rated CD of the year according to
metacritic.com's tracking of music critics, and it made 27 different critic's 10 best lists (the most of any 2005 CD).
So if you haven't heard it, at least check it out at
Amazon or
iTunes. As for me, I'll have it on repeat until
The Avalanche comes out!
It is often assumed that movies are for entertainment purposes only. I think that's why so many were confounded when it was announced that Universal Studios was making a movie about the events of September 11th on board the doomed United flight that was hijacked and crashed. It doesn't seem like a subject that it likely to cause entertainment. Even horror movies and disaster movies only provide release and catharsis because we know they aren't real.
Not so with this film, on several levels. First of all there's the obvious: this movie depicts not only a real event, but one so recent that the memories of even the youngest viewers will still seem fresh, one so immediate to a nation that watched it happened live on television. Furthermore, this movie is written and directed so impeccably (kudos to Paul Greengrass) that it is less like watching a movie and more like traveling through time and spying. A documentary generally has narration and limited footage. The characters spoke, but never seemed to 'have dialogue,' as the viewer, you see what is happening, but there doesn't seem to be 'camera work.' This ultra-realism makes it even more disturbing and even less entertaining. Add in the lack of score, paucity of titles, and low
Q Score of the cast, and it makes for less of a viewing and more of an experience.
So the critics have something right- this film is not entertainment. But that's okay. In my book, films are not merely for entertainment. Some of them are for art. And art is often not easy or fun or soothing. It is designed to make us see something we need to see or feel something we don't normally feel. And this film accomplishes this in many ways. You are made to see how the men who perpetrated the largest mass murder in American history were just that: men. You are made to feel the frustration of stymied communication. You are made to remember that it is just people who cause horrors and just people who give everything they have- including their own lives- to save others.
It's not for everyone. But art rarely is.
It's a phrase you've heard bandied about. And it seems especially prevalent when talking about music. In
Garden State, Sam (Natalie Portman) tells Andrew (Zach Braff) that The Shins will change his life, and at the time I thought she was just being precocious.
A few months ago, we bought an iPod. I had resisted due to it's price and my tendency to have all of my music stolen, but I was drunk on carbohydrates, and when we got home that fateful day, we were the proud owners of our very first Apple product. And you know what? The damn thing has changed my life.
When I was younger, I listened to music constantly. I distinctly remember spending my evenings in my room, not caring about TV or books or movies, just listening to tapes. Then at some point school, then life pushed music to the fringes of my life. I listened to music in the car, and occasionally while at work, but I was listening to the same few artists:
TMBG,
Ben Folds,
Barenaked Ladies &
Cake (who are all still awesome, by the way).
Then the iPod came into my world. What it accomplished was nothing more than convenience. I was suddenly able to listen to music much more easily and readily than was ever possible before. I didn't have to remember to bring a particular CD around with me, or for that matter, carry around a CD player. All of a sudden, my day was a
Cameron Crowe movie. Walking out to my car, grocery shopping, waiting in line at a fast food restaurant, I had wall to wall music. I started to remember how the right music can put me in a good mood, or relax me, challenge me, or wake me up.
Then, since I had so much more listening time, I began to crave more music. Fortunately, I have 2 younger brothers who are much more hip to these things than I am, and they started suggesting CDs for me to check out. First came the very same band who I thought was overhyped in Garden State:
The Shins (Oh, Inverted World). And let me tell you: Sam was right. Okay maybe not in earth-shattering ways, but it certainly changed my perspective on what contemporary alternative music can be. No screaming guitars, no whining, and an alarming old-fashioned approach to music making from this band opened my eyes to the landscape of music that I was missing out on. And the lyrics? Wonderful. I'm a person who loves music that is a puzzle- you know it makes sense on some level, but it takes a lot of thought and a lot of listening to crack it (see TMBG's whole catalog). The Shins deliver this enigmatic quality on every track.
So, I'm probably going to talk more about music on here. I just have to listen to this
Sufjan Stevens album a few more times to get a handle on it... but it is amazing.
They say there's nothing new under the sun. I think, perhaps, that the writing team behind Mission: Impossible III took this proverb to heart. "Since there's no origniality anyway," I imagine them saying "we may as well not think of any new ideas for this movie!"
