Searching for Sugar Man/ Interstella 5555: CR #39/40

This week's double review is one that has only one aspect in common, they both involve music that I love. One is an award winning documentary from last year that resurrected a forgotten artist's career, the other combined two art forms of media to form a special film. This is my double review of

Searching for Sugar Man

PLOT

Back in the late 60's and early 70's, there was an up and coming musician named Rodriquez who was said to be the next big thing, but after releasing two albums he never got anywhere and quickly faded into obscurity. What no one knew or expected, is that he became a huge sensation in South Africa where his music helped to inspire the revolt in there. He is now considered a music legend, yet no one outside of the country knows who he is. Since they knew nothing about him, rumors sparked that he had committed suicide on stage in a dramatic fashion. This wasn't enough for two South African journalists who began a search for the truth of their musical idol.

PROS

First of all, I need to praise the music of Rodriquez. I heard the soundtrack for this movie before I actually saw it, so I already knew how awesome this man is. The music is great and plays throughout the whole film. While it does tend to repeat some songs more than two times, it's still great music that I personally love.

Rodriquez's story, while one that happens in the music industry a lot, is still interesting to watch. It's fun to see people really just gush about him and see just how much this man has impacted peoples lives.

The mystery behind this artist is interesting and it's entertaining to see these two journalists put the pieces together and solve the mystery. 

CONS

While I do love the music, the film has too many times when it just stops dead in its tracks to play a minute of a song over some random images. It's a little jarring and really slows down the pace of the film.

CONCLUSION

I will admit, I love this movie for personal reasons. I listened to his Rodriquez's music before seeing the film, so it had more emotional resonance with me. If you don't like his music then you might not like this movie, but I implore anyone to watch this movie and find out for themselves. 

RATING

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Interstella 5555

PLOT

The film follows an extremely popular alien pop band that is loved across the galaxy. At one of their concerts, they're kidnapped by an evil man and brought to Earth to become music legends. It's up to one man/alien to save them from this mad man and return them to their home planet.

PROS

What makes this film unique is that there is no dialogue in the whole movie, the story is told through its images and with help from the Daft Punk album "Discovery". What's even better is that you can completely understand what's going on and you never miss the dialogue. 

The music by Daft Punk fits perfectly with the movie and helps to amplify the scenes. While the movie was made to accompany the album, it's still awesome that it worked.

The plot, while sounding a little cliched, is still creative in other aspects, and the cliched parts are done so well you never really think about it. 

The animation is very well done, it moves very fluidly and is fun to watch.

CONS

While most of the film is perfectly understood, I still don't quite understand the villain's motive. It's not a major problem, but it does muddle the story a bit.

CONCLUSION

This film is perfect for fans of Daft Punk, like myself, or fans of animation. If your a fan of both, well this is perfect for you. I loved this film and it gave me a new appreciation for the album "Discovery", which I already loved. (If you want to know where to see it, just go on YouTube!)

RATING

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World War Z: NR #45

Sorry for missing last week, I didn't really have anything for ya. So this week, I decided to finally see a big summer blockbuster, one that's been somewhat controversial. It's been in a development hell for a while and that's made people even more skeptical. Has it proven those people wrong, or does it live up to those expectations? Let's find out in my review of...

PLOT
Gerry is an ex-UN operative and now lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters. One day, the city is overrun by ravenous infected people, essentially zombies, who number in the thousands. After escaping and finding refuge on a UN navel cruiser, it's confirmed that this epidemic has spread all over the world and is toppling major cities. Now, in order for Gerry and his family to stay aboard the ship, he needs to travel the globe and find a cure for this infection.



PROS
"World War Z" may be the most intense movie you'll see all summer. There are many tense and nerve racking scenes that make the movie something special. You'll be on the edge of your seat whether Brad Pitt is sneaking through a small hallway or are running in the big city.

While the zombies are the new fast runners and are mostly CG, they are still terrifying. You've probably seen the parts where they are climbing on top of each other to get over obstacles, and that is truly scary in context.

The film starts at the beginning of the apocalypse, and that's great to see. Very few apocalyptic stories take place at the beginning and I wish more of them did. The first 20 minutes or so are chaotic and intense and really make for a great start to this film.

The pace is very fast and rarely lets down. It moves at break net speed and stops for no more than 3 minutes. It's very exciting and keeps you entertained for the whole 2 hours.

There's also a new twist on the zombie genre that's introduced near end that I really enjoyed. It's creative and makes this somewhat cliched story a little more unique.


CONS
The film follows a very repetitive structure. Brad Pitt goes to a place he thinks his safe, all hell breaks loose, he escapes, rinse and repeat. While this formula does work and never fails, it does become a little tiring near the end.

Brad Pitt's family in the movie are more of an object than characters themselves. This makes it a little hard to care about them. While they are a motive for Bard Pitt to keep fighting, they're just that, a motive, nothing else.



CONCLUSION
While I could go into more detail about how this film is flawed, it doesn't matter. You won't care about the small things when Brad Pitt is going down a dark hallway in absolute silence, you on the edge of your seat, just waiting for that one zombie to pop up, scare you half to death, and start the next big action set piece that'll leave you sighing in relief, if just for a moment. I loved this movie and recommend that you see it in 3D. While they don't do much with it, whenever they do take advantage of the 3D, it's awesome. For those still on the fence or are die-hard skeptical fans of the book, I highly recommend this movie and can't wait to see it again.


RATING
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Spill.com: You May Not Know #10

A few weeks ago was the 2 year anniversary of this blog...wow. Never thought I'd be in it this long, But, I've decided to keep to tradition (at least the one from last year) and do a You May Not Know. I consider this one, the 10th one, to be special because I rarely update this series and making it to 10 is kind of a mile stone. Anyway, let's move one to a website that I wanted to gush about ever since I started this series. A website that inspired me to start this blog and inspired me to be the person I am today. You may, sadly, not know about...

So what is "Spill.com"? Spill.com is a movie review and news website that excels in community involvement and comedy. How did this all start? Well, Spill began life as a public access show in Austin, Texas called "The Reel Deal" with Korey Coleman, Chris Cox, Martin Thomas, C. Robert Cragill, and Tony Guerrero. These five guys reviewed films, took calls, and performed skits in-between for many years. In the mid 2000's, Korey decided to end the "Reel Deal" because he didn't want to do access television for 10 more years. While he did end that show, he still wanted to continue it in a new format, through the internet. Thus, "Spill.com" was born, with the same critics as before. While all of them returned, they came back under different aliases, all except for Korey. Chris became Cyrus, Martin became Leon, Cargill became Carlyle, and Tony became the Co-Host 3000!

 Since 2006, Spill.com has been delivering audio and video reviews of the newest and latest films. Their rating scale goes in order from highest to lowest; Better Then Sex, Full Price, Matinee, Rental, Some 'Ol Bullsh*t!, and the rarely used F*CK YOU!!. As you can see, this is one of the many ways Spill inspired me in my movie reviews. The audio reviews are uncensored and can go on for over 30 minutes, while the video reviews are animated, censored, and 5 minutes or less. The video reviews were just shortened versions of the audio reviews, but since last Fall, have become their own thing. Don't knock these video reviews, though, because those are what got me interested in the first place. In 2009, I was looking up a review for "Resident Evil: Apocalypse", why? I don't know, but that's not important. What is important is that I found Spill's video review of that movie and was instantly hooked. It was funny, had great personality, and looked like it had some production value behind it. I began to watch every Spill review I could find on Youtube, and then I watched them again, and again, and so and so forth. Then in the spring of 2009, I made the leap and went to their website. Once I did that, my world was never the same. I became obsessed with website, rabidly awaiting each new video review, attempted each new audio review, and joining the website proper. Yet, I never could fully become involved because I never had an i-pod to listen to the audio reviews, that is until that fall when I finally had an i-Pod nano. I began to listen to every review I possibly could and I soon delved deeper into the rabbit hole by picking up the podcasts.

 Spill really thrives and becomes something else once you listen to their podcasts. At the time of me starting to listen to these, they included A Couple of Cold Ones (ACOCO), Let's Do This!!(LDT), The League of Extremely Ordinary Gentleman (LEOG), and the Spill Call in Show. ACOCO has Korey and Carlyle having a free-form discussion, the Top 5 movies at the box office, and reading tweets and e-mails. In 2011, Leon joined the two and soon took over Carlyle's spot when he left to focus on his novel and screenwriting career. The strength of this podcast is the chemistry between the hosts, first being Korey and Carlyle and later Leon. They all seem like close friends and know how to keep a show going and entertaining. ACOCO has been going on since January 2008 and seems to be going strong.

 Let's Do This!! is the podcast that first hooked me. LDT includes Korey and Co-Host, and later Billy

Brooks and Alan, talking about anything and everything for about 2 hours. The show is completely crazy and unpredictable. which makes it great. Let give you an example of how crazy this is. The show officially starts when Korey and Co-Host pump themselves up by asking each other if they're ready, then their goat mascot, Goatsy (not the kind you're thinking of) pops up and does something crazy, then Korey and Co-Host yell "LET'S DO THIS!!!" while the Arnold Schwarzenegger inspired heavy metal song "Get to the Chopper" plays in the background. After years of making fun of him, Billy Brooks joined the cast and, in my opinion, brought new life to the show. Soon after, Alan joined and while he didn't contribute a lot, but when he did it was gold. Since then, Billy has, for intensive purposes, left the show. It's unknown if he'll come back in some way, but we'll just have to wait and see.

I would go into more detail about the other podcast on the site, but there's a problem. A few weeks ago, Spill.com went through a serious shake-up. Korey felt that the site, while great, could be greatly improved. He felt that his complaints made to their parent site, Hollywood.com, were being ignored. While they're the reason the site even exists and he's extremely grateful, the site just wasn't up to snuff. After a week of phone calls and personal meetings, Korey was left with a tough decision. If he wanted to improve the site, he would need to make some major cuts including beloved shows and staff. Korey ultimately decided this was the right, if toughest, choice for the site. With that, four shows, The Loading Bar, Remote Viewing, LEOG, and the newly formed Untitled Billy and Korey Show were canceled.

This change is not a bad one. While it was sad and we had time to grieve, the Loading Bar did come back as Rage Select on YouTube, and it appears that Remote Viewing is going to have a spiritual successor as well. Even the LEOG lives on in a way, since almost everyone on the show has their own podcast now. Also, all of the podcasts can still be seen and listened to on Spill.com. This change also brought new podcasts, like The Daily Spill, which is a daily podcast with Korey and Cyrus where they go over the day's news and discuss a special topic specific to each day. The other new one, at least at this point, is Spoiled! which is a show with Korey and Co-Host where they discuss the newest in entertainment and can spoil it all to hell. Sadly, I haven't been able to listen to it yet since everything they've talked about is stuff I don't want spoiled.

This change is also great for new comers. It gives them a whole new and less crowded group of podcasts to listen to and if they're interested, they can still see all of the old stuff too, which if you have the time I highly recommend. But, through all of this I feel I haven't gotten across what makes Spill so great, and honestly, it's the people. They all of such great personalities, are such close friends, and are aren't afraid to be personal or open with the fans that you eventually feel apart of the group. I honestly feel that if it wasn't for my discovery of this website, I wouldn't be the person I am today. I may not have adopted my sense of humor, discovered my love of film, or realized that being nerdy doesn't mean I have to be a socially awkward recluse. If you don't mind crass language and wild opinions, Spill is the perfect place for any nerdy or comedy loving individual who loves some crass with their intellectual conversations.

UPDATE

As of last December, Spill.com has sadly shut down. Now when you type in Spill.com, you're redirected to their ex-parent site Hollywood.com. It's incredibly sad to see it go, especially since this site has influenced my life for 5-6 years. Even worse, all of their content is gone. All their reviews, podcasts, videos, blog posts, everything, is gone. While I do have a ton saved on my computer, there's still a lot that I don't.

Thankfully, it's not all doom an gloom. Right now, the founder of Spill, Korey Coleman, has a Kickstarter going to fund a new, better website that will have all of the stuff us fans have come to love. While the project has well exceeded it's $30,000 goal ( it's currently over $100,000), it still helps to contribute, especially if you want to see this community continue in a new form. The project ends on January 12th, so you have one week to contribute. 

Here, I'll even leave a link to help you out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/573779592/it-aint-going-down-like-that-korey-colemans-new-si?ref=live

My Neighbor Totoro/ Castle in the Sky (Laputa): CR #37/38

Last Tuesday was the 2 year anniversary of this blog. I didn't do anything because, well that's for later on today. I just wanted to bring it up to start some excitement, which there most likely will be none. Anyway, this week I saw two classic Studio Ghibli films that are considered some of their greats. Two films, while nothing alike on the surface, are still great individually and in a marathon. This is my review of...

My Neighbor Totoro


PLOT
"My Neighbor Totoro" tells the story of two young girls, Satsuki and Mei, who move to a new home in the country side with their dad while their mother is in the hospital. The place is a child's dream, it's huge and surrounded by forest with no restrictions. While there, the two girls befriend and furry forests spirit named Totoro.


PROS
Like in every Studio Ghibli film, the animation is spectacular, even in 1988 when this film was made. It's fun just to watch the animation and see the amount of tiny detail they put into each scene.

The voice acting in the movie is very well done. This is a big deal, since in a lot of foreign films that are re-recorded with English speaking people, things can go bad. Luckily, Disney always does a good job with Ghibli films, and this one is no exception.

The film was a sense of childlike fun and wonderment that's very charming and wins you over. Even though the plot is very simple, it's entertaining just to see these characters have fun for an hour and a half.

The music, like in every Studio Ghibli film, is great. The reason the music's always great is because it's always done by Joe Hisaishi, who's a genius. The music is very minimal and quiet, but it adds a lot to the film.


CONS
The children can be a little annoying at times. While it's not constant, their antics and voice acting, done by a young Dakota and Elle Fanning, can become aggravating.



CONCLUSION
While obviously made for little kids, "My Neighbor Totoro" is a treat for kids and adults alike. Kids will love Totoro and the sense of fun, while the adults will love the nostalgic feeling they get from it. I love this film and I can't wait to watch it again.


RATING
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Castle in the Sky (Laputa)

PLOT
"Castle in the Sky" takes place in a world while familiar, is still quiet different from out own. Our story follows two teenagers named Sheeta and Pazu who meet when Sheeta falls out of the sky and is saved by her magic necklace and Pazu. It turns out that this necklace is actually an ancient remnant from a forgotten flying city called Laputa. Now on the run from Pirates and and a mysterious man named Muska who want the necklace, Sheeta and Pazu must get to Laputa to discover its secrets before they're used for evil.


PROS
Just like with the last one, the animation and music are spectacular. I don't think I need to go into anymore detail.

The world this film is set in is very interesting and unique, it's basically steampunk before steampunk.

The voice acting, once again, is very well done.

The action scenes in the movie are a lot of fun and very exciting. Whether they be on foot or in air, each one is better than the last.

While the story and characters are a little cliche, they're still likable and charming, making you really care for them.


CONS
I don't have any major ones, just a few nit picks that are not worth mentioning.



CONCLUSION
"Castle in the Sky" is a fun and exciting movie for all ages and one, like many other Ghibli movies, I plan on watching again and again. It's great for kids, and even better for adults. Certainly one of the studio's best.


RATING
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Mud: NR #44

Um...Not much this week, in terms of movies or news. Yeah...anyway, this week's film is one that's been making the rounds through the indie scene and has been garnering high praise, but does it truly deserve it? Let's find out in my review of...

PLOT
Ellis and Neckbone are two kids in their early teens living in a small Arkansas town by the river. Both have little parental supervision and spend their days exploring the woods. One day they go to an island off the river to find a boat stuck in a tree. Once there, they discover that the boat already has an owner in a man named Mud. He's an odd man that's been living on this island waiting for his girlfriend to meet him so they can ride off into the sunset on this boat he's found. Mud recruits the help of Ellis and Neckbone to fix the boat, but as time goes on, more and more secrets are revealed about Mud and what his real situation is.


PROS
Matthew McConaughey has been on a roll lately in terms of acting, and "Mud" keeps the ball going. This really is a great performance from him and carries the movie.

Two other great actors are the kids, Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland as Ellis and Neckbone respectively. In a movie like this, which follows the kids for 95% of it, you need at least good kid actors. Luckily, these two go above and beyond and really give great performances.

The film is a coming of age story for Ellis and I like how it's handled. While it is similar to other coming of age stories, the twist comes in it's location and the story involving Mud. It helps to turn this seemingly tired plot into a fresh one.


CONS
I really don't have any major complaints with this film, not to say it's perfect, the complaints are just so minor that there's no point in talking about it.


CONCLUSION
"Mud" is the kind of film that isn't heavy on plot, but is more about the characters and story, and on that level it succeeds. All of the performances are great and the story, while not perfect, is still engaging enough to be entertaining. This is the first movie this year that I can honestly put on a list of best movies of the year.


RATING
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