Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz



So a few days ago the new Yeah Yeah Yeah's album leaked onto the net. The press for the album has had the band saying something along the lines of its different but will "still sound like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs." and have talked about recording it in an abandoned barn in the snow or something stupid, while predominately using old analogue syths. Now, already it sounds like I hate the YYY's, which is not true at all, Show Your Bones is one of my favourite records, and Cheated Hearts is one of my favourite songs, but I am very unimpressed by this album as a whole.

I decided to do a real time write up for each track as I listened to it. The following was from the second time I had listened to the album. Maybe it'll grow on me further, but I doubt it. However, if it does, I will write a retraction.

1. Annoying chorus vocal melody. Synths are far to overused. Uncreative, boring drumming, boring programming, shit obvious lyrics Bad 80s track.

2. Intro sucks, sounds like a crappy 90s rave synth line. Chorus guitar line is fantastic, then ruined by crappy synth line again. Lyrics suck, really suck. Unnecessarily repetitive, could've been half the length. Drums sound nothing like YYY, just dull synth resurgence drum machines.

3. Drums are written better, melodies are interested and layered. Sounds like a YYY remix. Lyrics are more esoteric / interesting. Base line is annoyingly omnipresent. Builds to a wonderfully power full crescendo, where all parts of the song meet, to fantastic effect.

4. They're letting Karen sing in the beginning of this one. Elating but haunting synth intro, with great introduction of drums and guitars. Again builds to a power full crescendo through the use of guitar pedals and layers, with complimenting synth use. This albums Maps. Probably the best song on the album.

5. Sounds closer to more familiar YYY's; Vocals and Guitars following each other, with heavy rythm section from the drums. Sounds similar to a not shit KT Tunstall. Pretty stock structure wise, but the most exciting song so far. Lyrics suck.

6. Funky oldskool roland-like intro, sounds out of place with familiar Karen O style vocals. Live drums sound awesome though. Once layers have fallen into place song becomes more interesting and better written. Strong use of heavy deep synth lines compliment rest of the song, especially near the end.

7. Wonderfully piano lead intro, with for once great lyrics from Karen. The song builds with low rumble-like guitar tones, breaking into a great drum line and nice echoey guitar textures. The synth use is minimal, but compliments the rest of the composition. Then pulls out with song very Beatles like string sections. A fantastic piece of song writing.

8. Fucking horrible 80s throwback, it sucks when Chromeo does it and sucks now. The synth line is almost identical to that of Eminence Front by The Who, which is a much better song. Guitar lines are good, but far to similar to Eminence Front. Fuzz bridge is cool, but then reverts back to shitty 80s nostalgia. Vocals suck on this song too.

9. Fuz sounds awesome, as does the drum machines rhythms. Vocal melodies are more akin to Karen O's usual work. Atmosphere is effectively constructed with echoey guitar lines, sparse complimenting synths and glockenspiels. Sounds like a YYY's lullaby. Brass section sounds cool too. This feels like the description of the album given by Nick Zimmer: "Its different, but definetly YYY's".

Ill be honest, at that point I got too bored to carry on.

As I sad before, I am sorely disappointed in this album. After how good Show Your Bones was, I expected them to keep progressing in that direction, with what I hoped to be their geatest work. This is not it. There are some really great tracks on here, without a doubt, but overall the album feels like a horrible exercise in nostalgia and synth wankery. It's not that I don't like synths either, I am a fan of lots of synth lead music, but this type of music and song writing just does not lend itself to heavy synth use. Even beyond my distaste for the use of heavy synths, the songs are mostly very dull on this album, and lyrically the record is very plain.

I am sure a lot of people will thoroughly disagree with me on this review, so prove me wrong. Plus, it's a fucking terrible album name.

From now on, Joe will posting on Mondays and I will be posting on Thursdays, so keep checking back. The next post will be Joe's half of the top 10.

Max

Joe and I decided that a good way to give people a handle on where our tastes and sensibilties lie would be to both put out a Top 10 films list. It was tricky for both of us.

I have managed to whittle my list of favourite films into a solid 10, which I feel very happy about.
The only problem I face with writing this list is that I just cannot put one film at the top spot. I just can't. So I have opted to do this is in alphabetical order.


"It's got a wonderful defense mechanism. You don't dare kill it."

Alien



This is film is just the perfect suspense sci-fi for me. Giger's mise-en-scene is incredibly convincing, engadging and intriguing, while the script is razor sharp, with what is still considered one of the best bits of pro-feminine characterisation and casting. The directing is super tight, while still allowing for scenes to breath and the atmosphere to completely consume the audience.
Although most people seem to enjoy the action fuelled sequal, the original will always take the prize from me just for the chilling atmosphere and pacing alone.
5/5



"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the darkness at Tan Hauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die. "

Blade Runner



Although Alien wins on the suspense sci-fi front, the world which Ridley Scott created in Blade Runner is truly gripping, saddening and reflective of our own society. The themes dealt with in the film are so complex and are dealt with in such a subtle way, that you find yourself gripped by the idiosyncratise of the film. The performances are consistantly fantastic throughout the film, which also has one of Rutger Hauer's only great performances, aside from The Hitcher. The pacing and visual indulgence, married with the emotionally rich Vangelis score, results in a truly beautiful film, which my humble opinion will always be top of it's field. Just make sure when watching it to avoid the version with the studio mandated voice over, which really does deminish the subtlety of the writing and characterisation.
5/5



"I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to."

Donnie Darko



Most films which "deal" with teen problems, or being a teenager, are very shallow sex comedies, with very little real representation of teens, or deal with the issues very briefly in favour of more laughs. This is why I love Donnie Darko so much. Donnie Darko represents and expresses many of the feelings and issues that trouble teens, myself very much included. The film maturely presents alienation, fear of failure, fear of the future and fear of ones path in life, but in a way
which is compelling, esoteric and fascinating. Most people find that films esoteric presentation a little off-putting, but I think that may be down to certain peoples lack of brain power or interested in using said brain power. The film is superbly written and delivered with such believability and conviction from Jake Gyllenhall and the rest of the crew that it is almost
not to identify with the offbeat struggle that Donnie goes through in the film. Visually the film is very striking in its bleakness and dark tones, and also has a fantastic soundtrack consisting of pop from the 80s, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears and Echo and the Bunny Men really shining through. Sadly, a sequal is being made, but I will refuse to acknowledge it's existence upon release.
5/5



"Hey, you in the mall! We don't like people who don't share. You just fucked up REAL bad!"

Dawn of the Dead (1978)



I am a big fan of Zombie films in general and of 70s Horror films, and the original DotD fits both of these perfectly. The film is suitably cartoony, action filled, gore filled with a scathing subtext of the rampant consumerism that started to come into effect in the 70s. The gore is still at a fantastically high level, and although not especially shocking, is still awesome. One of the reasons that the film is still so enjoyable is the inclusion of the fantastic soundtrack by Goblin and Dario Argento, which adds to the already thick atmosphere and aesthetic of the film. On subsequent viewing the film reveals itself to be even more relevent now than it probably would have been on it's release. The films lenths can render it inaccessable to some, but fuck them, its awesome.
5/5



"I fear that the only way to stop those possessed by the spirits of the book is through the act of... bodily dismemberment."

The Evil Dead



When it moves onto the discussion of the Evil Dead movies most people prefer the second and dont know the third exists. I saw the Evil Dead movies at an age which was probably younger than ideal, at around 10 or so, and the first film has always been my choice of the series. The creativity of the cinematography and creation of tension and scares is almost unrivaled. I still maintain that it is one the jumpiest films you can ever watch, specifically the scene when ash places his ear to the cellar door. The use of sound is another example of the films creativity, with the low budget possession scenes being bought to life through effective use of jarring sound design and off kilter camera work. Ultimately I feel that the low budget aesthetic of the film only adds to the tension and makes the film even more frightening and enjoyable. I love the humour of the second and third in the series, but it'll always be Evil Dead 1 which wins everytime, on creativity and shocks alone. Shame Sam Raimi has gone off his rocker now.
5/5



"Your mother's in here, Karras. Would you like to leave a message? I'll see that she gets it."

The Exorcist



This film is the pinnacle of demon possession films. Based off of a novel, which is turn is from an apprently true story, about an 11 or 12 year old girl who becomes possessed by the demon Pazuzu after pissing around with a Ouija board. As a non-Christian demonic possession doesn't exactly keep my up at night, but this film manages to make it not just terrifying but believable.
As with Evil Dead, this is achieved through fantastic sound design, including the chilling Tubular Bells, brilliant cinematography and almost entirely physical special effects, in fact, the only SFX which wasn't achieved on set was one piece of video matting to achieve proper placement of puke on screen. I feel that the strict use of on set SFX and fantastic performances leads to a much higher level of realism, which for a film of this subject matter, is of the utmost importance. Even on multiple viewings the film is still chilling and leaves you with a distinct atmosphere of fear. A lot of people laugh off the film, which I think is probably a much more easier way to deal with the implication of the themes and content of the film. If you want to let the film scare you it will. I know people who still cannot watch The Exorcist because the find it so deeply disturbing.
5/5



"Listen... do you smell something?"

Ghostbusters



Let me start with a brief story about me and Ghost Busters. When I was 4 or 5 my dad got a VHS and Cassette of the film and I became obsessed with it. Give or take a few days for holidays and not being at home, I watched it every morning for a year. No exaggeration, every morning. I have watched this film over 300. It killed our first VHS machine. Ghost Busters represents
what was so great about 80s family cinema. The script is superbly written, with gags and jokes which are bought to life through fantastic performances from all involved. Even now, the film is still hilariously funny. 80s New York is always cool, but never cooler than when covered in burnt marshmallow. If only I could find my proton pack and then remember not to cross the streams.
5/5



"I warned you. With mogwai comes much responsibility. But you didn't listen."

Gremlins



As with Ghostbusters, Gremlins played a very important role in my childhood. I fucking loved it as a kid and I fucking love it now. I have a fantastic placement of tight humour and tension against each other, which, with the content, works almost as an anti family film, which is hilarious. It is almost a reversal of ET, in that the cute little creature turns into a fucking horrible anarchic murderous thrill seeker, that drinks, smokes and causes mayhem. Superbly directed by Joe Dante, with a great synth led accompaning score by Jerry Goldsmith. The horror is spot, as is the wonderfully dark sense of humour; remember the gremlin being blown up in the microwave? Genius.
5/5



"Who's going to believe a talking head? Get a job in a sideshow."

The Reanimator



This film the closest to perfect match of horror, 80s aesthetic and comedy that you can find. The gore is top notch throughout with a dark as hell, sick sense of humour underpinning everything, with Jeffery Combs providing the perfect performance. Even on recent viewings with people who had never seen it before, it still has the power to make people laugh and squirm in equal
measure, the "giving head" scene being the pinnacle of this. I still watch this film frequently, just as it never gets old.
5/5



"Suzie, do you know anything about... witches?"

Suspiria



My Dad is also a massive fan of Horror movies from the 60s, 70s and 80s, and also of Dario Argento. So as soon as he got Suspiria on video he rushed me to watch it straight away, saying it was one of the strangest and wondeful movies ever made. He wasn't wrong. Suspiria is Argento's best film, without a doubt. He hit the perfect balance of all the elements that one expects from his films; bold cinematography (specifically colour), stylised violence, grandeose camera work and a Goblin score. As always, the plot is so over-the-top that it baffles most people of first watch, however, it is the marriage of utterly unique art-deco mise-en-scene, menacing atmosphere and the most deranged score you can ever hear (once described as hundreds of cats being thrown down a stair case!) that creates a genuinely spooky and tense film. Plus, the first kill has one of the highest amounts of tension of one scene that I have ever witnessed. Argento truly is Italy's answer to Hitchcock.
5/5



RUNNER UP:

"There's no point in stealing a car if you're not going to wring it out."

Streets of Fire



This is one of those movies that you know you probably shouldn't enjoy so much. It is terrible, but I love it sooo much. Its relatively unknown, even though it stars Willem Defoe as leader of a debauched biker gang called Raven and was directed by Walter Hill. Walter Hill has said that the idea for the movie was to colate all of the elements of films he enjoyed as a child, then give it a modern (read: made in the 80s) makeover. So the movie is almost ALL classic cliches; one liners, fights with bikers kissing in the rain, the loaner who comes back to town, all completed with a great 80s original soundtrack. The film is just pure 80s fun, but is filtered through this strange alternate reality where the 50s and 80s have collided. Its a wonderfull cheese film,
which is sheer comfort for me. It is the ultimate escapist, forget the world film and for that holds a fond spot in my heart.
3/5




Thats my list done. Joe's will follow shortly.

“Bitch! Learn how to fuckin' make coffee, you fucking whore!”

Cookie to those who know where that quote comes from…

Oh what a wonderful life…

This is really quite sad but at the moment there is practically nothing going on in my life that is interesting enough to talk about. I had a day off today and spent most of it doing nothing. Awful. So to make up for it I had to sit down and write this and whatever it turns into. Who am I making it up to? Who knows? But the good news is there is always movies to watch and always work to do, and keeping busy no matter how much of a drag is always good for the soul. “Idle hands are the devils playground” and all that jazz. Speaking of Jazz, I’ve started listen to music again (Not jazz, funnily enough) so if you’re lucky and well behaved before bedtime you might even get a music review every once in a while. Hope you like Hip-Hop…

To Clarify…

Let’s get a few things out of the way before we take this relationship any further…

Bad VS Bad – This is difficult to explain and relies on you the reader to be able to distinguish between something that is bad (enjoyable and full of potential) and bad (well made but ultimately boring and lacking in aspects). This is a huge difference, and usually most important when discussing the Horror genre. It’s one I love and know quite well, subjecting myself to both the mainstream (e.g. The Saw films) to the more indie, so bad they’re good, films like the British Freak Out. Like everything in life this comes down to taste and context, so if you read what I write and agree with some of my thoughts, you just need to be able to put what I’m saying into context. If I write a rave review and end it by saying “An awful movie, but…” then that’s Bad movie. And so on. Here’s an example…

Re-animator

This is an awesome film. Someone said to me the other day that Stuart Gordon’s undead film was awful. He actually sat there and said it right to my face. When I was trying to recommend it to someone else no less! Well he’s lying! Or at the very least we disagree on some issues. This film is the definition of a bad horror movie for me. It’s low budget, over the top and funny as hell. I’ll admit to a lack of scares, but I don’t think the film loses anything from it. It’s got some classic scenes such as the one featuring the undead cat being chased around a room. And Jeffrey Combs gives a Bruce Campbell-esque performance as Herbert West, the man who creates the serum to bring people back from the dead. The rest of the cast hold their own, and this film is millions of times better than the two sequels it spawned later on that are no where near as good as the original. Few horror films are in my opinion. I’d need to watch it again to give you a hardcore review as it’s been a while, but this comes recommended highly. Truly awesome, 4/5

Gothika

I’m in no mood to review this film to a fuller extent. I haven’t seen it in like a year, only once since I took it out of the DVD case and slid it into the player. It was awful. Halle Berry, no matter how hot I think she is, is totally disengaging in this film. And that is important readers, because I’m exactly the kind of guy that gets swayed by good lucks and a few sultry glances. I just so don’t care about her, and because of that I didn’t really care about the story. Robert Downey Jr does his thing, but adds nothing to a horror film that is lacking in scares and…well, horror. No redeeming features, nothing to bring it back from the dead, no sodding rating. -5/5 if you must. Please don’t watch, thank you.

So now that that’s hopefully cleared up, lets move onto some short reviews of some stuff I’ve checked out recently…

I...AM...IRON-MAN!

Tetsuo

Released in 1989 Tetsuo, the Japanese Cyberpunk film by cult-film director Shinya Tsukamoto, is a crazy film. It’s just over an hour long and that time flies by at an incredibly fast rate. The plot is a bit hard to keep up with, while it’s story is sort of lost in all the gory moments you’re faced with. The first scene sets the tone as we see a man shove a metal rod inside his leg before getting hit by a car. From what I could gather the rest of the film follows the man (Taguchi Tomorowo is actually awesome in this, fantastic physical actor) who was driving as he begins to find pieces of metal growing out of his body. This mutation gradually increases throughout the movie as we learn that the guy who got run over has come back from the dead for revenge via some serious metal violence/porn. The acting is totally over the top, the dialogue is minimal, the camera work is innovative and the ending is so over epic it almost ruined the rest of the film.

This movie is an experience, no doubt, but it wont be for everyone. And that’s a shame really, the film is amazing to look at, the special effects always look good and it’s got one hell of an intense soundtrack.

There’s a lot of metal love in this movie, complete with what can only be described as a drill-penis and a metal tube anal rape sequence. I can’t straight out say I enjoyed it, but I’m looking for the sequel so it’s definitely caught my eye. Intense, industrial but ultimately a difficult and uncomfortable watch…3/5

The Wrestler

I watched this flick the other night and it’s left me torn down the middle. There’s a problem here, and it’s the fact I hate Darren Aronofsky. I liked Pi , which is a great film that I recommend to anyone who likes that whole conspiracy thing. But Pi suffers from the same things I usually complain about when it comes to Aronofsky, his edgy visual style covering what I feel to be pretty weak story telling skills. Both the films between that and this were in my opinion, very over-rated (Requiem for a Dream) and rightly panned (The Fountain).

So when it came to The Wrestler I went in thinking it was going to be the usual flashy crap, only to find it was the exact opposite. Aronofsky just lets the camera watch his star (Mickey Rourke as Randy Robinson) live out (I presume anyway) the last big moments of his life. The wrestling scenes are superb and painful, leaving me feeling very nostalgic. In general, this is a very good movie.

Like Tetsuo though, I just cant bring myself to say I liked it. I thought that Mickey Rourke was better as Marv in Sin City. The wrestling scenes are as I’ve just said “superb and painful”, but there isn’t really that many of them.

This is a movie lacking a clear beginning and ending. The fact that the only real back story we know comes from the fliers and posters on the wall of Randy’s dressing room at the beginning of the movie is quite clever, but it doesn’t give us much time to get to know the man we’re about to watch for two hours. It’s almost like a documentary, there’s the Randy the Ram before the movie who we know was very successful but didn’t get to see, there’s the Randy who’s life falls apart when he is unable to wrestle anymore after a heart attack and loses what little he has left when we meet him, and finally the Randy who may or not have lived on past the movie depending on how you perceived the ending.

You aren’t given someone to root for at the start, you follow a character who is awkward and has nothing without wrestling through the middle, and then see that character make a sacrifice at the end choosing wrestling over a ‘normal’ life. I saw the ending a few times to make sure I hadn’t missed something and came to the conclusion that in the end, it doesn’t matter the outcome of his final wrestling move, because he chose wrestling over the stripper (I thought she was a pretty boring subplot anyway) and may/may not have died doing what he loved.

I’m not sure how articulate I’m being but basically I felt like this film needed more. As it stands it is a strong character piece, detailing the fall of someone who used to have it all. But as controlled and honest a film as this is, I still hate Aronofsky and have lost complete faith in his story telling. No Oscar will save this from feeling incomplete in my mind, but you’ll enjoy it if you like Wrestling or powerful emotional drama’s.

If Aronofsky does end up doing the Robocop Remake, the world will burn…3/5

The Foot Fist Way

Danny McBride had pretty big roles in both Tropic Thunder & Pineapple Express, but this is absolutely his best and funniest performance in all three. He plays Fred Simmons, a Taekwondo expert who owns his own dojo and views himself as the cool kid of the martial arts scene. I didn’t realize it before now, but this movie is basically a light hearted comedy version of the Wrestler, complete with the Hollywood ending the latter was missing. We get to know Simmons, see how he lives and what he’s about. Then everything begins to disappear and we’re left to watch him struggle to keep both his dojo and the respect of his students. There’s some awesome fight scenes, a great final act and some really, really funny laugh out loud moments. I hope to see more of Danny McBride in the future, he’s an extremely cool guy and was probably my favorite thing about Pineapple Express. I don’t want to say too much about the film itself because I don’t believe in over-evaluating films that admit themselves to be not much more than a lengthened sketch scene, but this is a laugh out loud heartfelt film with a hero that’s very easy to root for. That in itself gets this a 4/5.

The Spirit

I wont waste your time trying to tell you how many ways in which The Spirit is an awful movie. I will take the time just to tell you that if anything this is Frank Miller having a case of “Tarantino Syndrome”. He’s had a few success’s in Hollywood and now believes he’s a movie making bad ass, and that whatever shit he makes the fans will shine it up and call it gold. Visually and as a comic book fan, I have no problem with Miller, he just chose a pretty rubbish comic and went all Sin City on it. No amount of hot semi naked women can save this film. Nor can Samuel L Jackson, who’s career seems to have taken the same turn as Nic Cage, both of whom seem to just be racking up the cheque's no matter how bad the movie. I suggest instead you get tucked up in bed, watch Sin City and pray that Robert Rodriguez doesn’t become interested in other projects and leave it in the hands of someone who just proved themselves to be a less than competent director. 1/5

Santa’s Slay

Bill Goldberg as an evil Santa Claus who goes around killing people in horrific ways. He rides a “Hell Deer” which from what I can tell is a bull of some kind. Awful acting, great fun and a barrel of laughs. What more do you want from a bad horror movie. So I’m a month out, 4/5

TV is DEAD!

Okay, maybe not, but I’m still in my own personal TV hell at the moment. Lost is back, which is great (even with the low audience figures), but we’re only two episodes in, so I cant really tell you anything other than I enjoyed it. I’m trying to figure a better way to format these television reviews, but there isn’t much I watch on at the moment so it’s going to take a while. What will be coming soon though will be my review of Season One of The Wire. This is my third time through and I still cant recommend this enough. So fantastic. More on that soon, and I promise to try watching more good TV. If that’s even possible…

And finally…

I think my challenge this week is to compile together my top 10 film list. This is difficult and is constantly changing so should be quite a laugh. And I don’t care if you don’t care about my favorite films, in my world my opinion matters. If I believe and click my heals together then one day it will be more prestigious than the IMDB top 250 list. Which actually isn’t that prestigious. Oh well. I think that along with the list I’ll also throw together an in-depth (by my standards) review of the number 1 film, and some shorter reviews of the other 9. Or you might just get the top 10 list. It’s like Deal or No Deal, you just have no idea…

Until we meet again…

Joe