Music:
Cut Copy-Zonoscope
I've been on a neo-1980s electronic kick for a while now thanks to La Roux and Mark Ronson's Record Collection (2010), which I reviewed for Doc Spender's Egg Radio a few months back. Cut Copy's newest release Zonoscope, thanks mostly to the infectious single "Take Me Over," has continued that obsession.
Foster the People-Torches
So. Cal. power pop group Foster the People has drawn simplistic and obvious comparisons to the musical stylings of MGMT and Peter Bjorn and John. The whistling, the electronic blooming, the catchy lyrics, etc. Yet, what people fail to notice about two of the best tracks on Torches ("Helena Beat" and "Pumped Up Kicks") is how their bold and fun musical style clashes with their incredibly dark lyrics. "Pumped Up Kicks" may sound like a Peter Bjorn and John (henceforth PB&J) song like "Second Chance," but the narrator is a murderous sociopath ready to take out his repressed vengeance on his classmates. Torches is better described as PB&J meets Steely Dan. My complete review can be found on Egg Radio.
Little Dragon-Ritual Union
While Swedish electropop band (noticing a trend here?) Little Dragon's third album, Ritual Union, pales in comparison to some of their most recent collaborations with Maximum Balloon (AKA producer Dave Sitek) and the Gorillaz that's only because they were collaborating with some top-notch talent. Ritual Union contains a diverse selection of earworms ranging from the title track, "Little Man," and "Nightlight," all defined by the dreamy, smoky vocals of lead singer Yukimi Nagano, they just need to push their style outside of the box a bit more.
Radiohead-King of Limbs
Radiohead's newest album seemed to draw initially polarized responses that eventually settled in the middle. King of Limbs is a short record and, aside from the lead single "Lotus Flower," a quiet and yet dense album. I initially described it as a musical riddle, a paradox: a Kid A (2000) companion of thick minimalism. Yet, the album's latter half, beginning with "Lotus Flower" and ending with "Separator" spins narrative about frustration, suicide (the album's most beautiful track, "Codex"), and closure. For those interested, my complete review can be found at Egg Radio.
TV on the Radio-Nine Types of Light
After 2008's Dear Science, TV on the Radio had essentially condemned themselves to failure. Producing an excellent string of three straight releases in six years, Dear Science was the top of the mountain, quite possibly impossible to surpass. While Nine Types of Light is ultimately a slight step down, it's both a hell of a lot of fun and still one of the best albums of the year (thus far, of course). The album's blend of energetic destruction ("Repetition") and heartfelt ballads ("Will Do") perfectly captures the eclectic range of influences the band pays homage to, from Peter Gabriel to Prince, David Bowie to Radiohead.
Film:
Bridesmaids
After the summer comedy season kicked off the the dreadful The Hangover Part II, my hopes for director Paul Feig's Bridesmaids were kept low and in check. Yet, finally, after years of bromances, producer Judd Apatow finally gave the ladies their due. The film does have it's share of issues: the gear-shifting between gross out comedy (food poisoning at a wedding dress gallery) and dramedy (moving back in with mom because of the recession) is a bit awkward and some of the hilarious maids of the title (most notably the gutbusting Wendi McLendon-Covey from Reno 911) get lost in the background. The film heavily favors Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne and Kristen Wiig and, like most Apatow movies, the whole thing goes on a bit too long. Yet, it's refreshing to see a comedy that both has a heart and with women who can kill a Wolfpack.
Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D
First, a disclaimer: Cave does not come near the greatness of Werner Herzog's other documentaries, specifically Grizzly Man (2005) and Encounters at the End of the World (2007). Yet, it's not really his fault: the Chauvet Cave in southern France is a protected anthropological site. In order to preserve the cave’s fragile ecosystem and the cave paintings, Herzog was only allowed to have three additional people in the cave (cinematography Peter Zeitlinger, a sound recorder, and an assistant). This stripped down production team is almost paradoxical to the aim of the project, representing these glorious cave paintings in 3D, as the 3D shooting process normally requires a great deal of manpower and more forgiving environment. Moreover, Herzog was only allowed into the cave for four hours a day for six days, meaning that he had to turn out a feature length film out of only twenty-four hours of footage. Making the task even more Sisyphean, Herzog and his team could not traverse the space of the cave as desired—-they were required to follow pre-forged paths. Yet, Herzog's use of 3D, despite the obstructions, ultimately rivals James Cameron's. It's a stunning spectacle. My complete review can be found at Pajiba.
Cedar Rapids
While Bridesmaids ultimately had a difficult time of shifting between comedy and drama, Miguel Arteta's Cedar Rapids ironed out the kinks. Like the film that launched his career (along with writer Mike White's) Chuck & Buck (2000), Cedar Rapids does a great job of setting up the pins of dark comedy, subverting our expectations, and then finally knocking them down. Yet, Cedar Rapids is also a comedy that ridicules while holding up its childlike protagonist (Ed Helms) as ultimately being an endearing and caring figure, all while lampooning the Midwestern mentality - something this Wisconsinite can appreciate - and the darker sides of human nature it can conceal.
Rango
Gore Verbinski's Rango was a pleasant, cinematic, surprise. Not only did the film embrace it's own, unique, surreal animation aesthetic (the first full CGI animated film by Industrial Light and Magic) but it had the cojones to aim for the adults first and children second. The self-reflexive Western, owing as much to Chinatown (1974) and Hunter S. Thompson as it does to Sergio Leone, pays off for cinephiles while, not surprisingly, leaving some children scratching their head. Yet, despite the mismarketing of the film, this is fun, baroque, and smart Western; the latest addition to a genre that just won't quit.
X-Men First Class
After X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), I had gone from scorching hot to ice cold when it came to affection towards the Mutant supergroup. Yet, Matthew Vaughn's genre-bending vision of the franchise, blending Nazi hunting revenge flick, spy thriller, and alternative history/Civil Rights allegory within the shell of the superhero genre, revitalized both the franchise and my interest in it. While the film had its share of issues, including an disjointed pace and a resolution that was both poetic but separated Prof. X and Magneto far too quickly, it was the best action film the summer had to offer. Of course, casting James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender greatly helped...
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