A Movie Review: Edge of Darkness

Edge of Darkness: This is a tense thriller staring Mel Gibson. It revolves around a father (Mel Gibson) who investigates his daughter’s murder. He is a police officer who witnesses his daughter’s murder. Initially, he suspects he is the target, but preliminary investigations soon reveal that his daughter was the target. I’d recommend seeing this movie, but I do have one complaint: due to the East Coast accents, I had a hard time understanding what the characters were saying. I might recommend to those of us living on the West Coast to wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray, making sure to select the subtitle option.

A Movie Review: Young @ Heart

Young @ Heart: An interesting documentary about folks 70 plus who sing rock songs on stage. They appear to be a solid audience draw, filling up auditoriums that fit a couple thousand. A handful of the individuals in the documentary are close to death. If one is close to death, this seems like a great way to leave this world. There are in fact a couple deaths in the movie. There are also a couple examples of individuals who are gravely ill who stay with the group no matter the health consequences.

One small thing: if you listen to the music, you know who is going to die.

A Movie Review: Daybreakers

"Daybreakers." I enjoyed this movie; gory, bloody, vampires are evil type of movie.

SPOILERS!!!

The main plot points is an attempt to find a blood substitute that vampires can use. The main reason is that there isn't a large enough human slave population to support the majority vampire population. See, vampires can't just kill humans for their blood. They must keep them alive and bleed them. There are so many vampires that humans are near extinction and therefore you have a supply problem. If vampires don't get their necessary blood intake, they transform into ugly, unrecognizable creatures. This results in the need for a human blood substitute. This is where Edward (Ethan Hawke)comes into play. He's a vampire hematologist trying to find a cure, not just a blood substitute.

One night, Edward runs into some humans. He helps them avoid the police. They in turn come to him for support in their effort -- which is to find a cure for turning vampires back into humans. In this group of humans is a former vampire that turned back into a human, Elvis (Willem Dafoe). This transformation was by accident when Elvis was driving during the daytime, got into an accident, and got tossed from his car in full daylight. Luckily, he landed into some water. The light; however, somehow got his heart beating again. Edward re-enacts this in an experiment. It works, but it is a painful process.

Obviously, there has to be a less painful way to transform vampires back into humans. Here's where I liked the movie. Instead of finding a cure within two hours by going through an amazingly quick paced scientific process, the solution is instead found via accident. I think often times this is how progress is made, via chance. The cure found is that the blood of a vampire-turned-human individual transforms a vampire. This finding both leads to a potential cure, but also to a 28 Days Later in reverse scenario. With the vampire population nearing starvation, the vampire army pounces on the handful of vampire turned human individuals. Blood and gore for about ten minutes.

The one thing I enjoyed about this movie is the fact that the plot doesn't have massive holes in it -- my opinion, of course. Some movies (like last summer's Transformers) have plot holes that you can drive a truck through. Admittedly, there are some holes such as when Edward walks into Bromsley Marks Corp as a human and isn't fed upon by the vampires though a few minutes later in the movie military men feed hungrily on Charles Bromley (Sam Neill), CEO of Bromsley Marks Corp, who is unknowingly given the cure. The explanation could be that Edward is met by more discipline employees of the company while others are met by less disciplined, more aggressive military personnel.

A Movie Review: Extract

"Extract" is a movie I recently saw on DVD. It follows the story of a small business owner, Joel (Jason Bateman). His business manufactures food extract. He wants to sell his business to General Mills, which has shown interest. One of the reasons that he wants out is because he has to deal with his factory employees, who aren’t the brightest people on the block. He also wants more personal time. He and his wife, Suzie (Kristen Wiig) seldom have sex – once every three months he tells his friend, Dean (Ben Affleck). A beautiful temp worker, Cindy (Mila Kunis), shows up. From earlier scenes, we know she’s a con-artist. An accident happened in the factory and she is there to gather some intelligence and see if she can make any money off of the settlement. Cindy is stunning (obviously, since the actress is Mila Kunis) and Joel feels the need to have an affair. Well, he feels he can only have an affair with Cindy, if his wife cheats on him. Dean suggests hiring a gigolo. Joel is an honorable man and can’t do this, but his friend gets him to take some drugs and in an induced state he agrees to hire the gigolo. Oops. He finds out that his wife goes for the affair. And well, he actually gets seduced towards the end of the movie by Cindy.

It all ends happily. One assumes Cindy ends her con-artist ways. Joel decides not to see to General Mills. Joel and Suzie reconcile.

I saw this movie after seeing “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men.” For some reason, I found this part of the movie topical: Joel goes for the cute bad girl while Suzie goes for the dumb fun guy.

I don’t think this is a movie classic, but I did enjoy it. I think the whole frustration regarding managing/running a small factory was told in a classic fashion.

A Movie Review: Book of Eli

"Book of Eli." Another post-apocalyptic story, which follows "The Road" and "2012."

SPOILERS!!!

Eli (Denzel Washington) is heading west with the Bible (we learn that this is the only Bible known to man as the Bible was ordered destroyed since people felt that the influence of the Bible had caused the war, which we as the audience now witness the aftermath). The world around him is desolate. It is essentially the wild west out there with small, chiefdom towns scattered across the U.S. In his travels, he runs into various street criminals who loot and rape.

He comes across a small town run by Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Eli finds himself not welcomed in the local bar. A fight breaks out, which leaves more than a couple individuals dead. Carnegie finds this intriguing and wishes for Eli to stay in town. Eli isn't persuaded as he wishes to continue heading west. Carnegie attempts to persuade Eli by sending him his step-daughter, Solara (Mila Kunis), as a prostitute. Eli refuses; however, Solara uncovers the fact that Eli is carrying the Bible with him. Carnegie is in search of the Bible. He wishes to use the Bible at a means of religious control.

And so we get to the thrust of the movie. Eli feels he is called by God to head West. Carnegie wants the Bible to control the population. Eli escapes town. And Solara, encouraged by her mother (Jennifer Beals), joins him -- via a bit of persistence. They are chased down by Carnegie and his gang. (There is a bit of a humorous plot twist here that I won't give away in full. Eli and Solara come across a house occupied by an elderly couple. Much fun, in a sick way.) Carnegie leaves Eli for dead and carries Solara and the Bible back with him. Solara is not some push over girl and manages to take control of one of the vehicles. She returns to get Eli. Carnegie, having what he wants and not having the fuel to give chase, let's her go. Solara finds Eli, not dead, pushing onwards. And so the head onwards to San Francisco where another lovely plot twist occurs.

I enjoyed this movie. Well made. Dark. And if it does well enough at the box office, maybe there will be a sequel with Mila Kunis leading the charge . . .

The Hundred Days, Bathroom Murders and The Mulhollands @ Club Moscow

It was an interesting night at Club Moscow with a nice variety of musical styles. Nearly everyone should have seen a band that met their musical style.

First up was The Hundred Days. They hail from San Francisco. I’m betting they could fit in just great at Spaceland. Interestingly, they started to play just as people were being allowed inside. When they started to play, there actually might have been more people waiting in line than those inside the venue. Sorry, but Club Moscow should have opened the doors five minutes earlier or given The Hundred Days a slightly delayed start time. Too bad more folks didn't get to see them.





The next band up was Bathroom Murders. They had a huge sign that they hoisted above the stage. I have to say that initially I had no clue what it said. I couldn’t read it, honestly. It said, “Bathroom Murders,” but for the life of me I wouldn’t have known that except for the fact that they mentioned their band name. (This may be a sign that I'm getting old.) They could probably fit in perfectly at a club attended by various Hollywood starlets. Their set was fun and they pumped up the audience. I loved the fact that they had a song called “Freaks Come Out At Night.” I say this band is like Michael Buffer (“Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” fame), pumping you up for thirty minutes of mad dancing.









My final band of the night was The Mulhollands. They had some technical problems that made watching their set-up amusing. Sarah Jeanette was trying to get the microphones set-up. The wires weren’t reaching across the stage. Jeff on bass was having issues plugging into the right socket. And then when they started their set, their new guitarist, Taylor, had wire/pedal board problems. These are the occasional problems that one hits when being in a band. It doesn’t matter, of course, to me. I thought they were awesome. A number of their friends were up close to the stage. Sarah Jeanette was looking rather sophisticated. Murray on guitar was playing rather dramatically. And The Mulhollands' sound: sweet vocals backed up by a pop-rock sound.











I am always amazed by how quickly bands at Club Moscow switch in and out. If you took a stopwatch out, I'm betting the switchover is quicker at Club Moscow than any other music venue.

A Movie Review: Youth in Revolt

"Youth in Revolt." I must say I found this movie a bit dull. Recent teen movies I've seen (and perhaps it is because these are the only teen-type movies I will see) have this more-sophisticated-than-I-was-when-I-was-a-teen feel to them. This one is no different when within ten minutes the two teen lovers are talking above the heads of probably many of the folks who are watching the movie. I do love these types of movies, but in this case the whole thing got on my nerves -- maybe I've just seen one too many of these types of movies recently.

Anyways, the whole plot line with our lead male (Michael Cera) going to extremes to unite with the girl of his dreams (Portia Doubleday) is stupid. I just felt it when on and on and on with him doing the dumbest most parent-disrespectful actions. This is one of those few movies where you actually have to say the parents are more likable than the teenager.

We Barbarians and Union Line @ Bootleg Theatre

I caught We Barbarians and Union Line at the Bootleg Theatre this past Tuesday. I’ve wanted to catch Union Line for awhile. I noticed in the past that they were occasionally on the same schedule as Local Natives. I just wasn’t ever able to go on those specific nights. Well, Tuesday was the night I finally got to see Union Line.

First off I caught We Barbarians.

Comment from the lead singer: We have a new LP out. Not many people know it is out according to the iTunes sales. Hopefully, that will change after tonight.

Observation: There were times when I thought that two of the band members were close to knocking heads.

Next up was Union Line.

Much like Local Natives, there was a bunch of switching around on various musical instruments.

There was a lone cymbal out there that eventually got some love.

Comment: Someone say something!!!

Last song of the night was called “Pearls.” This would appear to be the fan favorite. As they were about to play their last song, the band teased, “We’re not playing ‘Pearls’ tonight.” There was an audience cry, but as soon as they started playing it there were screams of delight.

It seemed like an OC girls night out.

We Barbarians Photos:







Union Line Photos:

Forest Lawn Glendale: Museum

Forest Lawn - Glendale. I headed off to Forest Lawn - Glendale recently. I've lived near Forest Lawn for five years and never entered the grounds. I decided to break that streak and visit the museum.

Below are some pictures of the grounds.











The below is where "The Crucifixion" is seen. No photos of "The Crucifixion" since that isn't allowed, but let me tell you it is something to see. A massive painting.



Photos in the museum were allowed so here are some photos of Christmas Windows.





Oh, and a photo of an Easter Island statute -- small scale, of course.




And one thing I did not know, theft of flowers at a cemetery can send you off to jail.

A Movie Review: Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Saw a movie on DVD recently called "Breif Interviews with Hideous Men." The basic plot of the movie is about a young lady named Sara Quinn who is working on her graduate thesis. She is interviewing men regarding how feminism has impacted them – at least, I believe this is the direction her questions take (the ending of the movie implies that she could potentially have taken a different direction). She interviews various men, which is then juxtaposed with her own life. The interviews were interesting. There was an interview with an African-American man who had distanced himself from his father. He was obviously a successful man while his father had worked as an attendant in a high end hotel men’s bathroom. The man was disgusted that his father made a living doing that sort of work, but he also realized that his father had made sure his children grew up with opportunities. Many of the other interviews dealt with relationships men had with women.

I’ll admit I didn’t enjoy the movie very much. First, the silly complaint, in my opinion, there were too many characters, some who looked very similar to each other. This sometimes caused some confusion regarding the plot line. I wasn’t the only one feeling this way as at least one other person who saw this movie that night had the same impression. Second, the movie looks for the raw base hideous human motives, but I’m not sure that this is really what drives us. Yes, we all have these hideous desires, but I think we human beings (less serial killers and such) are more complex than just these base desires.

Updated February 2nd: I discovered that this movie doesn't street until March. This must have been a pirated/stolen copy. It wasn't a screener. I feel a bit dirty at the moment.

The Ignorant and Pu$$y Cow at Juanita's

This is one of those nights I wish I could have shown up earlier and stayed later, but I was feeling rather ill. Anyhow, it was a must attend, because it was Pu$$y Cow's double CD release party.

I have to admit I wasn't even planning on seeing The Ignorant. I atttempted to time my arrival so I'd just catch Pu$$y Cow and then hopefully head straight home. Thinking about it now (when at the moment I'm feeling better, though not well) I'm happy I caught their set.





The main event was Pu$$y Cow, of course. They had about a four song set list and then allowed their friends to shout out song suggestions. As always, they had an all-girl mosh pit going. For one song, the lead singer from Bobot Adrenaline took over the lead singer role.

I have to admit I struggled to stick around towards the end. I could feel my fever spiking. All worth it though. I wouldn't have wanted to miss the night.

Resonant Heads and Silver Needle @ El Cid

I headed off to El Cid for a Rob Z night. First up for the night were the The Resonant Heads.

Next up was Silver Needle.

It was a night of Kiss or Kill bands. There might not be many who come across this blog who have heard of Kiss or Kill. It was a weekly club that featured three bands a night. Many of the people who went to this club have formed friendships.

It was a nice night. I had to leave before the final band of the night as I was feeling a bit under the weather. Oh well.

Photo of Resonant Heads.



A couple Silver Needle shots.






Rob Z always has the coolest theme decorations.

Aushua @ Silverlake Lounge

I saw Aushua briefly at Spaceland back during Local Natives residency. I decided I’d check out a full set at Silverlake Lounge.

Observation: I’ll go right to the end. The lead singer thanked the audience and then gave us all a nice round of clapping.

Comments: “Anyone else want to take a deep breath?” “Is there anyone in love with me at the moment? Can they get me a water?” Someone did eventually bring up a water bottle. I believe I heard the lead singer say it was his sister. Of course, I’m not sure he actually drank any water.

Quote: Today is powerless against a reckless thought.

I wanted to stick around for the residency band, The Steelwells, but the night seemed to have started a bit late with Aushua not going on stage till 10:45-ish. Yes, sounds a bit early for the music crowd, but The Steelwells didn’t look like they would go on until closer to midnight so I had to call it in for myself. Totally worth the trek; however, to check out Aushua.