More Little Known Bands You Should Know

Thousand Foot Krutch

Why this band didn’t make my first post (Bands You Should Know), I have no idea. TFK is my longest running favorite band, and the only one to survive my changing tastes since those fickle teenage years. Heck, they even made my random post on Tim Horton’s.

TFK is also one of the few bands I can confidently introduce to any fan of alternative music and witness an instant connection. They have uncanny ability to combine lyrics, vocals, and instruments into a unique sense of rhythm that’s as catchy as it is hard.

You can’t go wrong with any of their albums. If I had to give one favorite, it would probably be “Phenomenon” based solely on the merits of the title song, “Bounce,” and the iconic “Rawkfist.”

If you can sit still through “Bounce,” “Move,” “Rawkfist,” or “Smack Down” you’re probably dead. Their albums are stuffed with the adrenaline-infused car ride songs that make you want to clean your garage or rake leaves.

Check out “Rawkfist” if you can only sample one song and get a crash course in the rhythmic magic that is TFK.

Ok, now I have to go for a long drive with my TFK mix.

House of Heroes

Panic! at the Disco’s “Vices & Virtues” has officially reached gold status in my mp3-player (mainly because my preschooler has latched onto “Memories” and forces an endless loop of track 4 when he’s in the car). But this blog is about bands you don’t know, not bands you do, which brings us to one of my favorites: House of Heroes.

I have a thing for alternative bands with leads who can actually sing. Not just sing well enough for an alternative band, but actually sing sing. Think Incubus, not Weezer. I like a good Weezer song as much as the next person, but you’re not on board to be blown away by vocals.

House of Heroes can sing. They are also quirky and fun, similar to the style of Panic! at the Disco (hence the correlation). Yet, many of their songs have an edge missing from Panic! which better fits my tastes. Without hesitation I recommend “The End is Not the End.” It’s not their latest, but by far their best, and it’s the album that set-off our love affair. This is a band for those who like clever tongue-in-cheek lyrics, funky beats, and slick harmonies.

If you like Panic! at the Disco, you will like House of Heroes. If you don’t, you will probably still like House of Heroes.

Blindside

While we’re celebrating mp3-player gold status, it’s time to give proper accolades to Blindside and welcome them back after a short hiatus. This Swedish band had a bit of a stumble on their last album and then disappeared for a while which turned out to be a wise move.

Their latest offering, “With Shivering Hearts We Wait,” put them back into old form and reminded me why I never gave up hope.

“Silence” will always be my favorite album, with “About a Burning Fire” a close second. But the newest release stays true to their hard alternative roots as well and comfortably fits into my 80/20 singing to screaming ratio. (Ironically, most of the other bands I’ve mentioned on this blog do not, but I like them anyway).

Their lyrics are in English, so don’t let the Swedish background scare you away. They mix melody and alternative edge about as well as any band I’ve heard. Not every song on the album is a homerun (some are), but they’re all at least solid doubles.

Still, there’s some great music coming out of Sweden, and this is the band that’s hooked me.

SciFi Movie Reviews

For whatever reason I found myself indulging in a SciFi weekend. So without further ado, here’s my take.

Tron: Legacy (2010)

What a pretty movie. I’m sure all the killer robots and egomaniacal minds would cringe to hear me say that, but it was. The world they created was stunning. I enjoyed the unique transportation of each scene and watching the place come to life. I also had no clue what was going on.

I guess that doesn’t matter. There was a Cute Guy and a Cute Girl and a Long-Lost Father and an Evil Villain. You already know the plot from that information alone. The rest I’m sure is Tron lore which probably made total sense to fans of the original film and the game. (Is there even a real game? I’m in my 20’s so I grew up on Mario Bros, not blinking dots.) Stuff happens, things blow up, people race around chasing each other. That’s usually not my thing, but when it was so darn pretty to look at, I forgot that for a while. For a while.

Was it weird watching Garrett Hedlund parade around in the same body pads my parents made me wear to rollerblade as a kid? Surprisingly, no. Am I glad I saw it? Yes. Would I see it again? No.

I Am Number Four (2011)

First off, I’ll say this: I didn’t think the first two-thirds were as bad as everyone said. (The ending: ok, yeah.) As a life-long fan of many escapist CW (formerly WB) cheese, I’d be a hypocrite to decry the familiar formula of 20-something beautiful actors pretending to do teenage things real teenagers don’t actually do.

Having said that, I got the sense early on that I’d seen this movie before. And it was better. Probably because I did. It was a series called Roswell and ran for a few seasons on the WB. I really liked it. I even have the first season on DVD. It made a whole lot more sense than this movie and the characters were much more interesting versions of the same clichés.

Alex Pettyfer is a very attractive young man. A little old for a high school kid, but they all are. Hollywood has established a different conception of what high school “kids” look like so we don’t even notice anymore that the boys need to shave twice a day and the girls have figures like no 15-year-old I ever knew. John (Alex Pettyfer) also clearly isn’t from Sante Fe as he tries to convince his new classmates. The accent that slips out in several heated seats indicates he’s probably not even from this country. (Although England is a lot closer than whatever galaxy he’s supposedly from, so there’s that).

Still, young girls aren’t watching this movie for the superior writing and acting. They’re watching because there’s a totally hot alien in love with a totally hot non-alien and they can’t be together which totally sucks.

Oh, and they’re both outcasts. Right. Like anyone would believe 25-yr-old blond bombshell Dianna Agron is an outcast. I don’t care who dumped whom or who said what about whom “way-in-the-past-so-you-should-just-take-our-word-for-it-that-she’s-an- outcast.” There’s no high school in this country where that girl would be sitting on her own at lunch scribbling in a notebook. That’s where I was in high school and there were no supermodel blonds nearby. (Well, figuratively. We weren’t allowed outside.) 

And sorry, Alex Pettyfer wouldn’t have found himself in loner purgatory either. If you’re super hot and mysterious, coming to the aid of the weird kid only bumps you into the extra-super hot and mysterious category. Hottness elevates the status of your non-hot friends. Not the other way around.

But again, why am I even trying to insert logic into a plot that doesn’t pretend to be anything but ludicrous. Well, maybe it does. Maybe that’s why I struggled with the ending. It took itself very seriously and even tried to convince me I’d want a sequel.

No thanks. I’d rather watch Season 1 of Roswell again.

Message to the Texting Driver on Route 309

 Look, I get it. You’ve been making googly eyes at Tommy all summer at the Subway where you both worked and he finally noticed you. That’s awesome. Really. He’s totally cute and I’m sure if I were 10 years younger, I’d think so too. Plus, he wears those cool graphic tees that make him look hot, but not at all like he’s trying.

And yeah, I know Tabitha has to know what he said in the parking lot at school which could mean, like, 500 different things. Only a 4hr conversation with her is going to sort out the true meaning behind “I like your shirt.” That’s so cryptic. I bet it means he wants to marry you or something.

But here’s the thing, I’m guessing you’re not one of those rare people whose brain has the ability to separate and direct visual stimuli from each eye. I can tell this because you almost killed three people in the last two minutes. If you’re looking at your phone to spread this delightfully confusing message to all your friends, you’re not looking at the road.

You know how you said your new iPhone is magic? You think it’s so awesome that ever since you got it there’s no traffic on the road. You’re queen of the highway. Sorry to ruin the royal fantasy, but we’re still there. We’re just scared to death of you.

You don’t notice us because you’re too busy typing on your phone as we hang back an extra 600 yards or so. We’ve been watching you ride the shoulder every ten seconds for the last four miles, and then swerve back into the other lanes as you overcompensate. Shoulders are for cars in trouble or kids who have to pee. The D.O.T. gods aren’t smiling down on you, they’re terrified.

I get it. I do. The crap in your life is so important that it can’t wait until you get home to call your friends. If you don’t sort out Graphic Tee Tommy’s comment now, it might be too late to connect with your obvious soul-mate. The problem is, the crap in everyone else’s life is important too and we’d really like to get to our own destination to deal with it.

Get. Off. Your. Phone.

September Movie Reviews

Here are last month’s movie reviews. As always, they’re the best and worst I saw in the previous month (September).

Best Movie I Saw in September: Black Swan (2010)

This film was captivating and visually stunning. It was also terrifying. Sure the concept’s been done before: writer/musician/artist/actor goes to the brink of madness and obsession for their craft, but it still felt fresh, edgy and dark. That’s an accomplishment in itself.

I was thinking about why I found it so scary. There were some intentional bumps in the night and deliberate camera angles to generate scares, but it was mostly a psychological terror. That’s even scarier.

It occurred to me that watching a dark side emerge is instinctively horrifying because there’s a small ember of conscience that we’re all vulnerable. Anyone striving to be the best will have to walk a fine line between dedication and obsession, devotion and madness.

Some tread it well, usually those grounded elsewhere. But those are probably the ones who are very good at something, not the best. Can you truly be the best without falling into obsession with your craft? Without delving into insanity to some extent? I don’t know the answer to that. History’s common theme of the big names and madness must mean something.

I think even though most of us strive for accomplishment, we’re not truly dedicated to the pursuit of being the best at one particular goal. And that’s a good thing. We need people to be the best and advance our society, even if slightly crazy. But for our world to function, most of us need to stay well-rounded, and yes, sane. That means striving to be good at a lot, but not insane about anything.

And that’s why Black Swan was so disturbing and so beautiful.

Worst Movie I Saw in the Month of September: You Again (2010)

This actually wasn’t a terrible movie, but made the list because of lost potential to be a good one. The premise is interesting and relatable. Who doesn’t have someone from their high school days they’d rather not see again. Ever. If you don’t have one of those people, you probably are one of those people.

Toss that premise with Kristen Bell and it should work. I love Kristen Bell. If you’ve never watched Veronica Mars, rent Season 1 now. You won’t be disappointed.

The problem I had was the way they squandered the premise. A better movie would be Bell’s character meeting a truly reformed bully from her past. Joanna (Odette Annable – who is unbelievably beautiful by the way), should have been legitimately sweet, regretful, and striving to make amends. In that movie a paranoid Marni (Kristen Bell) keeps reading into each situation the duplicitous nature of each well-intentioned gesture only to learn in the end that people can change.

Instead, we were given several reasons to believe Joanna hadn’t changed and was just as cruel as ever. Automatically the jokes became less funny. It killed the obligatory “change of heart scene” at the conclusion. Nothing even remotely rang true or seemed cathartic in any way.

The other major problem I had was the moms’ past feuds. Even after a few flashbacks, it wasn’t clear to me whether Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) had reason to hate Romana (Sigourney Weaver) or the other way around until the final flashback that rehashed the whole story. It made the tension between both women awkward because we couldn’t identify the aggressor and the victim. Whose motives do we question? Who do we root for to be vindicated?

This could have been a good movie. It wasn’t.

Writers' Math

Editing + Perfectionism = More Editing

Editing + Frozen Pizza = More Editing

Therefore:

Perfectionism = Frozen Pizza

Letter To My Ignored Fans

I have an apology to make to a large segment of my fan base. Yes, I’m talking about you spammers and spam bots. I’ve been deleting your comments on a mass scale. Ignoring them even. It’s terrible, and I apologize. It occurred to me recently that you may be the only ones visiting my site. We’ve already established my mother doesn’t even check in. (Prove me wrong, Mom. C’mon!) In light of that fact, it seems the least I can do is acknowledge this group on a collective level. So here we go:

To My Previously Ignored Fans: The Spamming Community

Thank you for your diligence in perusing my site. Not only do you take the time to spam the main page, you dedicate yourselves to spamming every post and sub-page as well. I can’t imagine how exhausting it must be to come up with enough variations of the same sentence to cover so much ground.

I must admit, however, that I’m a bit bothered by the fact that my site is the best one you’ve encountered on the web. I know I should be flattered, but I was kind of under the impression that those people over at MSN and Google really knew what they were doing. What with there multi-million dollar web development budgets, I figured there was no way my $15 annual budget could compete, but apparently I’m doing better than I thought. Thanks for enthusiastically recognizing my minimal funds and effort.

I agree with you that my posts are full of “mcuh imagine to cover all this subject” and I’m so happy you think “it asnwers many of question on this particular topic.” I know I’m brilliant, beautiful, talented, and insightful. I won’t let myself believe I’m the most brilliant, beautiful, talented, and insightful person in the world as you so adamantly attest, but thank you for the encouragement. Really. It makes my day to think some bot chose me (ME!) of all the millions of sites out there.

To those posting in Russian and Arabic, I think that’s fantastic. I love languages and studying other cultures. I’m surprised you didn’t have more to say on my posts about international films. I devour them. Having said that, I have no clue what you wrote. Actually, that’s not true, I do have a clue. I just can’t read it.

And thank you for the countless offers to indulge in your incredible cost-saving opportunity for C^I a Li S. I’ve been meaning to look into that for quite some time, but you know how schedules go. One minute you’re brushing your teeth after breakfast, and the next, you’re brushing your teeth for bed. It’s only then that I realized I missed the chance for that free trial you so generously offered. What a relief to wake up the next morning and find the opportunity within my grasp once again.

I also appreciate the many offers to raise my Google rankings. Marketing is extremely important to me. I have no desire to have my work sell itself based on its quality and appeal to those who read it. Word of mouth is pointless. No, my aim is to shove it in the face of every person who searches on the letter “A” or “S.” Because let’s be honest, it’s more important that people click a link, realize they made a mistake, and leave, than actually read my posts and my books. And of course, when I decide to spend my $7 marketing budget at some point this year, it will definitely be on your solid, upstanding enterprise. I can’t wait to sit down and discuss the business plan.

To those who hate me and are offended by all aspects of the content, I appreciate you taking the time to write as well. I’m sorry you had trouble spelling those tricky four letter words, but I applaud you for thinking outside the box. If I don’t post all those positive comments extolling my many many countless virtues as a person, web designer, and writer, then perhaps I will acknowledge those who despise everything about me and my work, which I’m sure you’ve read and reviewed thoroughly.

So to all of you: “much thanks and happy to you very smrat.” Thank you for keeping my overall stats up and skyrocketing the unique domains served each week. I couldn’t do it without you.

P.S. I don’t want to cause any embarrassment, but I feel like we’re close enough now for me to let you know that I’m female. You can stop calling me “pal,” “sir,” and “dude.” It’s a bit off-putting.

August Movie Reviews: Best and Worst

Best movie I saw in the month of August: Tangled (2010)

So cute. And can I just say that I love Mandy Moore as a singing actress? I really do. Her music career doesn’t exactly fit into my preferences (see previous post), but as a singing actress in “cute” films she gets points from me every time.  

Tangled had it all for the current, much-appreciated trend of witty children’s movies. The plot certainly earned its PG rating and was a little darker and more violent than I expected. You know me, I have no fear of dark, but for a supposedly kid’s movie, I was surprised.

The songs were decent in the moment, although I couldn’t remember a single line from any of them the next day. I particularly loved the scene in the pub with all the colorful burly scumbags hiding big dreams of embracing their inner kitten hearts. A movie about them would be fun.

Both leads were appealing, and somehow avoided being total clichés (just partial, which is a big step for these things). Likewise with the villain who perfectly embodied an eerie sweet evil.

I’d watch this again, for sure. It doesn’t come close to supplanting Elf as my favorite “kids” movie of all time, but it was definitely one of the better ones I’ve seen in a while.

Least favorite movie I saw in the month of August: Miss Nobody (2010)

Miss Nobody earned this distinction mostly for lost potential. It wasn’t that it was terrible, it just could have been so good. It had everything going for it: sleek, stylish, and brimming with potential to be the darkly humorous film I was expecting. But it wasn’t. I didn’t find any of the dark humor, well, humorous, and in fact, I almost cringed at the obvious attempts. I prefer my humor and satires subtle. I may be in the minority, I don't know. Others may like it.

The problem is my interest nose-dived in the first ten minutes. Interest level after the opening scenes was at a stunning cliff overlooking a serene Colorado vista. Five minutes in, I could feel the rocks below digging into my back. I hung on for another forty-five minutes until my sleepy brain decided it wasn’t better than anything my bed could do for me.  

I stared at the title in my DVR queue for a minute or two during my next free moment to work on my DVR backlog. I stared, but I could finish it. I couldn't, not when there was an unwatched episode of “The Glades” waiting for me. I never went back to it and just didn’t care enough to spend any more precious free time on it. It was deleted. There’s only so much you can store on those things.

Maybe the plot picked up in the second half. With the introduction of Adam Goldberg’s detective, there’s a good chance it did. Maybe. But Miss Nobody missed the opportunity to make me care enough to find out.

Music Review: Little Known Bands You Should Know

Music is a big part of my life, probably as much as writing. I’m classically trained on two instruments and taking lessons on a third. More importantly, I listen to it voraciously.

I should disclose before we begin that my tastes tend to rest with lesser known alternative bands. Many happen to crossover into the Christian genre which tends to be a goldmine for small bands trying to make a start, but I listen to anything edgy with quality lyrics and musicianship. I like a good hook as much as the next person and a little screaming is perfect but not required. Not too much though. I need a melody. Other than that, I’m not picky and will latch on to anything well-done.

I also have a heart for smaller up-and-coming bands that deserve a chance. Here are some you probably don’t know, but should. Feel free to jump on the bandwagon while you can still get a seat.

After Edmund:

This band tops my list for several reasons. First of all, their sound is unique and addictive. They have it all: the lyrics, the hooks, the musicianship. They also are quickly making a name for themselves in the alternative world, even nominated for a Grammy.

But the icing on the cake is the fact that they have the humility and talent to back up their rising fame. They’re just plain good people you’d love. The closest I ever came to star-struck was my encounter with this band. Not because they act like the rock stars they are, but because they don’t. Not at all. You wouldn’t know they weren’t your long lost friends from junior high.

                                                                                               

And don’t let the drums and electric guitars fool you. This is not a band that learned a few chords and stuck a song together. They put my musical training to shame. After one conversation with lead Mitch Parks while I was demonstrating my own instrument, it was clear that he was way over my head. I’d bet they can take on the best in the musical theory department.

“Clouds” is a song that I can only describe by saying it makes me jealous. I wish I wrote it. I wish that every time I hear it, which is often. It’s pretty much the perfect song. Darkly emotive, catchy, and a chorus that will blow you away.

“Backwards” is another gem. It’s one of those songs when you hear live for the first time before it’s out, you just have to smile because you know your favorite band is still serious about making amazing music. You can’t wait for the next album. You just have to hear that song again as it repeats in your head after the show.

If you like alternative with a twist, check out After Edmund.

The Almost:

If you prefer your less famous alternative a little more mainstream, this is the band for you. That is not a criticism in any way. That’s just shorthand to describe this band as bursting with catchy hooks and choruses. The album “Monster Monster” has been playing in my car non-stop for about a year. It’s now my four-year-old’s favorite record. He gets upset when I play anything other than “the Monster song” as he calls it. If you only want a taste, check out the songs “Monster Monster” and “Young Again.” That should tell you everything you need to know about this band that deserves every penny of our $.99 of support.

Balance and Composure:

If you really want to delve into the alternative world with a rising star, this is it. That’s not to say they don’t have hooks, but they don’t seem as concerned with following the traditional musical formula. Every song feels like its own adventure. It’s almost exhausting to listen to, but in a good way.

I know some of these band members personally and they have the integrity and earnest devotion to their craft that deserves every bit of their increasing popularity. I always love supporting musicians who are still in it for the love of music despite the fact that fame and money haven’t validated them yet. Like the others on this list, they don’t need anything else to validate their worthiness. They’ve got the love, the talent, and the benefit of being humble dreamers still in awe of their steady climb up.

Kimber Rising:

This is so not my usual genre, but I’m a fan of talent in most forms and these women could sing the crap out of a dictionary if they wanted to. They’re also amazing people you want as your friends. If you like catchy melodies, sick harmonies, and just listening to a song that makes you smile, check them out. I guarantee you they were smiling when they sang it. I’m sure there are times they aren’t happy and thrilled to be doing what they love, but not that I’ve ever seen or heard about.

There are plenty of other bands I could highlight, and maybe will in subsequent posts, but for now, this is a good start.

Movie Review: Country Strong (2010) – with bonus Public Service Announcement

I didn’t think I’d like this one. There was no reason I should. I’m already on record as not being a country music fan. In fact, I really don’t get that style at all. But alas, this movie may have converted me.

Ok, maybe not, but not only did I like this movie, I didn’t hate the music. I turned it on expecting to turn it off after a few scenes, but ended up watching the whole way through.

Sure the plot was a bit idealistic, but aren’t most movies? Isn’t that kind of the point of fiction? I was thinking about that the other day as I scoured reviews of books and movies. People’s main complaints seem to be the fictional nature of the fiction they’re absorbing. And yes, I know fiction needs to follow its own rules. And yes, I’ve been frustrated by writers and directors who didn’t. That’s not what I’m talking about.

In general, based on what I’m reading, people seem to be expecting realty when they encounter fiction.

“I’ve been to Mexico City. That’s not how you catch a cab.” I’ve been to Mexico City too. It’s enormous. There are probably dozens of ways to catch a cab. How do you know?

“Oh, no one would ever get discovered like that in the real music business.” Possibly. I’m sure it’s happened. It would be an extremely long, probably boring, movie if you watched the real way most musicians pay their bills.

“A doctor wouldn’t be allowed to do that in real life.” Probably not. So? If the hero dies in the opening scene, would you be happier?

Maybe I’m just biased because my own book was once described as “poorly researched” which I found to be an interesting assertion. As if the reviewer knew enough about the subject matter and my own biography to make that superior claim. I could write an essay defending myself, my research, and the fact that many of the details were autobiographical, but why should I have to? It’s fiction. Even if I didn’t know a thing about the subject (which I did), it’s not real. I made no claims it was. In fact, there’s a whole page in the opening making it very clear it’s not.

How about this movie: Protagonist wakes up, eats a bowl of cereal, takes an uneventful car ride to work, stares at a computer for 9 hours, drives home. Stops for gas. Eats a plate of pasta. Watches TV for two hours. Does a load of laundry. Goes to bed. Closing credits.

Even fiction about reality needs to have fiction to make it watchable. Fiction about reality takes the most fantastic and noteworthy parts of reality and mashes them together in a story. It doesn’t take the average day of the average person. Only the most incredible day of the average person. Or, more often, a combination of many incredible days of many incredible people spliced into one story about one person. It’s fiction. You can do that. We want you to do that.

Back to Country Strong. You already know the plot from the trailer. It doesn’t diverge much from exactly what you think it will be about, but I like Gwyneth Paltrow. We knew she could sing (Duets, 2000), act (plenty of others, not all gems though), and be just plain likeable. She’s one of those actresses that you don’t hate for being beautiful because she seems like she’d be a decent a person. She also seems intelligent. Whether she’s either, I have no idea, but she comes across that way here and in many other films I’ve seen.

It may not be the best movie of the year, but it’s definitely worth the time to watch it. I liked it more than I thought based on the subject and reviews.

Bonus Public Service Announcement:

Although it didn’t bother me (see above), this movie does make it seem like the path to success is a pretty easy one for musicians. Chiles Stanton (Leighton Meester) went from a beauty queen nobody to recognizable star after a lucky break and few brief shows. The more common path is that of Beau Hutton (Garrett Hedlund) – years of hard work in local bars while working a day job.

Eventually a band or artist that works a bunch of local gigs may get picked up enough to tour, but even that is hardly the beginning of a rock star life. Most of the bands out there struggle and struggle, scraping together just enough cash to keep their van running to get to the next gig. Many can’t even make it without a spouse at home to help pay the bills or a bed in the basement of their parents’ house when they’re not touring. I’m not even talking about your neighbor’s start up garage band. I’m talking about those with a real shot who you would think have made it. Record deals. Tour managers. Agents. The whole deal. By the time everyone gets their cut, there’s not much left for them. Trust me.

This leads to my PSA.

Please don’t steal music from these people. I read a lot of “comment sections” on articles and message boards. I’m curious about public opinion and where people are in terms of their thought processes. It’s frustrating to read people whining about how these “multi-million dollar rockstars” should stop complaining about the $.99 they’re losing because of a ripped song. One less vacation home. So what?

You know what, there are some multi-million dollar rock stars out there. Most of them aren’t. You’d probably be shocked to know how little a lot of your favorite bands earn. I know first hand there are bands who had invites to the Grammys and are barely getting by. That $.99 may seem inconsequential but they’ve invested everything they have into writing and recording that song.

I was at a show recently and one of the bands I liked was literally wearing t-shirts for the band they opened for. Why? Someone broke into their van and stole all their clothes and some equipment. They were begging for their fans to buy a CD or some merchandise so they could at least get some clothes to finish the tour. That’s not an unusual financial situation for even a band you could say has made it.

Just give them their $9.99 for an album or $.99 for a song. If you like their music, the only way they can afford to keep making it is if we support them. That’s true of most art. People spend years putting together a book or an album or a movie.

End of Public Service Announcement. Enjoy your day.

July Movie Reviews: Best and Worst

Time for the July Movie review. July was more difficult than June, I have to say. I had a clear favorite and least favorite in June, but July turned out to be murkier. (Not to mention I didn’t watch many to begin with).  But since it’s “best and worst movie I saw” and not “brilliant film I’d recommend to the masses” I suppose I can muster support for something in the Best Category. The worst was easier, although I cheated.

Best Movie I Saw in the Month of July: Five Fingers (2006)

It was by no means an amazing film and I’m not even sure I’d recommend it, but I liked the concept and construction. I put the pieces together pretty early, but that didn’t change my appreciation for the exploration of this dark subject.

A pianist (Ryan Phillippe) is captured and tortured for information by an unknown party.

The plot twists in several ways that kept my attention, even if at times some of the scenes were slightly awkward. Still, my only major complaint, as usual, was the ending which had a few scenes too many in my opinion. I keep imagining what a punch in the face the director could have achieved if he’d scrapped those last scenes and went to black after the initial “big reveal.” Instead, the movie had to explain and preach at the end which completely removed us from the film. Maybe that was the point. I don’t know, but explanations and preaching are usually a big turn off for me (see my review of “The Experiment”).

I typically don’t have much patience for these types of political statement films, but the construction of this one worked as an engaging movie as well and drew me to the end.

Worst Movie I saw in the Month of July: Just Married (2003)

Technically I’m not sure I can choose this one as my worst. The category is “worst movie I saw in the Month of July.” That probably means I should have seen it. Since I only got through five minutes of “Just Married,” I’m not sure that counts.

I like some romantic comedies. I’m not against the cheesy formula and fabricated chemistry. It can work and has its place if done well. There are plenty of “cute” films that have a high re-watchability factor and are great for a diverse audience viewing. Not everyone wants to sit through an acclaimed Czech drama at a party.

I also like Brittany Murphy and was sad when she passed. She was fantastic in “8 Mile” and even “Clueless,” among others. I’m also not on the bandwagon that can’t stand Ashton Kutcher as an actor. I think he fits the types of roles he typically plays. Pretty face, goofy character. Heck, I even liked “What Happens in Vegas” more than I should have. Certainly more than I thought I would.

The problem is, Rom-Coms are based entirely on chemistry. You already know the entire plot the second you see the preview. You’re not watching to use your brain and be amazed. It’s all about the comforting formula and suppressed attraction of the main characters. Kutcher and Cameron Diaz had in it Vegas. I didn’t sense any at all in the little I watched of “Just Married.”

Who knows, maybe the chemistry built later, but the opening sequence of shtick comedy just didn’t do much for me. In their first few flashback scenes together I didn’t find their interaction cute or funny. I didn’t like either character. Zero chemistry is the death blow for these things. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for silly, I don’t know. But after five minutes I decided I had better things to do.