What came first? The music or the misery?

High Fidelity.

It's hard to say what specifically puts this 2000 film in my personal collection of "must re-watch over and over while salivating over its pure brilliance and unabashed simplicity." Summarized, it's a film about relationships. Relationships that grow develop and become lost. Not loss in the sense of death, but loss in the sense of wallowing in a room alone while you picture your now fresh ex lying in the arms of someone else and not being able to do a damn thing about it. What is worse, is those of us who are able to relate to being the direct cause of that loss.

It’s interesting to me that the film seems to be so embraceable due to the fact that the majority of us, if not all of us, have been in Rob Gordon's shoes.
The extremely brilliant John Cusack plays Rob Gordon, a vinyl store owner / aficionado, who right at the beginning of the film is dealing with the loss of Laura (Iben Hjejle): "Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

Rob speaks directly to the viewer throughout the film, voicing his inner dialogue in a candid and direct way. This approach is usually tiresome, and when used inappropriately it is not unusual to see it abandoned without notice (see the Pilot episode of Sex and the City). John Cusack delivers every line in a real and relatable way, simply because what he says is so very honest and direct. This very intelligent approach leads right into the highly quotable nature of the entire film. “What would you think if I told you I haven’t seen Evil Dead II yet?”

It’s a Cosby Sweater Rob…….A COOOOOSSBBBYYYY SWEEATAR!!

Following Rob as he rounds out his “desert island, all time Top Five memorable breakups”, we meet multiple characters both in the past and present. Rob employs the “musical moron twins” part time, though they show up everyday regardless. Jack Black is truly brilliant as Barry, in a role that was cast long before he became a mainstream name. He is spastic and over the top in a character that you would expect to find in any elitist form of nerdom that a vinyl record store here represents. Todd Louiso plays opposite Black as quiet and introverted Dick. He is the type of guy to share exponential bits of knowledge on his chosen obsession in a quiet hushed tone due to the fact that even his elite status as vinyl geek isn’t enough to give him any sense of self confidence.

These two characters fill out the scene that is Rob’s life, and the film is sprinkled with more than a few great moments that remind you why you love those friends that annoy you so much. I am of the opinion that everyone possesses geek-level knowledge of some topic; And if you have ever spent time with someone “geeking out” on your topic of choice because you found a fellow Klingon linguist, then you know exactly what I mean.

Moving through Rob’s life we meet the likes of Charlie (Catherine Zeta-Jones), the upper class chick who helps to round out his top five breakups, among other women who have moved on and provide Rob with comedic and hysterical realizations that manage to also border on the sad.

I’m Tired of the fantasy, because it doesn’t really exist.

It’s a combination of brilliant writing, great acting and reliable directing that the story is able to explore what would normally be dark and depressing territory but manage to stay refreshing and extremely funny, if not totally heartwarming. The film is chock full of ‘moments’ that completely expose the inner workings of your stereotypical guy. One beautiful moment finds Rob flattered that a local celebrity has found his record store, immediately following the knowledge that his ex is possibly with another guy, named Ian. “What Fucking Ian Guy?” Another has Rob celebrating the knowledge that his ex hasn’t slept with anyone since him, by going out and immediately sleeping with someone else. I’m sure many loathe the prospect of such an action, but again, this is a film and it brilliantly shows the inner workings and justified logic of a man like Rob.

Ultimately, it's a movie where I can't just pick one scene and say "this is the reason I love the film." The film has to be watched from beginning to end over and over because it is that good, and that watchable. From the many hilarious debates between Barry and Dick, Rob's candid retelling of his top five break-ups, to the brilliant scene with Joan Cusack where she first confronts Rob with her new found knowledge: "Hello Rob....You ASSHOLE!"

If you haven't seen it yet, your missing out. That is not coming from a cinephile who loves to recommend his favorite films just because he thinks they are good. It's coming from the fact that the film was overlooked when it came out, and it is a true tragedy, when I meet someone who hasn't seen it.

"I have demons you can't even imagine..."

The above quote came from David Fincher on the set of Seven, when an actress commented on the grisly nature of the crimes depicted in the film. That Fincher, a creative genius behind the camera, would have demons we can't even imagine should be no surprise. If you listen to the commentary on the same film, you'll hear Fincher describe how he sold the ending of the film to his financiers by claiming it will always be known in the future as "the head in the box movie!"

I love the guy.

Last night, to celebrate the evening of my 31st, my wife and I attended Fincher's latest, The Social Network. If I were to sum up the impact of this film in one sentence, without trying to sound like I want to cross the line with a Man-Crush on David, it would be: "We need a new fucking Fincher film in the theater every week."

Out with this shit!...and in with Fincher!

"A guy who makes a new chair doesn't owe money to everyone who ever built a chair."

The Social Network is a brilliant movie, and I guarantee that it was no easy task to accomplish.

The film revolves around it's central character, Mark Zuckerburg - the creator of Facebook - and contains absolutely no action, no gunfire, no explosions and no nudity (though one scene does flirt with it).

2 hours of dialogue, driving a plot forward at rabid speed. So much so that the film feels like it's only 90 minutes long, when in reality its 2+ hours of solid and engaging story.

When my wife and I first sat down in the theater, I was sure I was going to end up going crazy and yelling at the back row - which was full of a mixed bag of teens, pre-teens and barbie dolls - to SHUT UP, as they were loud; And I have a thing about ANYONE talking during a movie. Yes, I do believe all "Tommy Texters" and "Sally Soundtracks" should be fucking hanged!

Anywho.......Literally two and a half minutes in to the film the theater was completely silent. They were all actively hooked before the opening title cards were complete. It's interesting because the film is not made dumb simply for an audience that is easily duped. The story jumps forward and backward in time, geek-speak prevails throughout the nerd dorms, and there are more than a few character arcs to follow. It is truly great to see films like this still being made.

Aaron Sorkin cannot be ignored for his contribution to what surely is one of the best of Fincher's catalog. Aaron wrote so intelligently that the fact that your watching nerds furiously type out computer code completely goes unnoticed because your too busy witnessing a callous, emotionless, robotic human being - who comes close to being a douche bag were it not for the anti-hero syndrome - destroy every human connection he has while simultaneously revolutionizing the way we all interact. The irony is obvious but it doesn't lesson the impact that this situation represents to our current culture.

I have heard before that it's now cool to be a nerd. Perhaps that is true; but that is not what this film is saying. Mark did not become cool because he learned any lessons, taught any lessons, or grew as a human being. Really, over the entire scope of the film all we witness is Mark get richer as he simultaneously alienates everyone around him. His tunnel vision is so encapsulating that he doesn't eat or sleep.

Before this film I compared Jesse Eisenberg to Michael Cera. Not in an insulting way. More so in the way that they both did similar films, and have dabbled in both mainstream Hollywood and the indy world. I know he won't be standing up on the Oscar stage for this - I could go on about that too - but he certainly showed the level he is at with this film. Jesse is a truly brilliant actor, and to hear him deliver some of the films best in-your-face dialogue elevates the film, and his character in the eyes of the audience. Already you can see some of his snappy straight-laced insults being quoted from the audience.

The Social Network is bar-none the best film out right now, and I'm hard pressed to find a film this year that is more impressive - with the exception of Inception (say that 5 times fast).

Fincher himself said that it takes 5 or 6 years minimum to really tell if you have made a great film. Seven, Fight Club, and Zodiac are three of the finest films to come out in two decades, and all three are in almost every cinemaphiles top 10 list. Suffice to say that I think he knows what he is doing, and this film will definitely be another one on the classics list.

For those of you who can't understand seeing "The Facebook Movie," I'm afraid there is no hope for you if you judge it purely on that fact; and you ought to stick with what you know.

Year XLV......and he turns 31

Today I would like to start writing more, as I let this blog lag due to my limited ambition, or incredibly hectic schedule. Whichever is a more convenient excuse I guess.

I'm 31 now. Not an overly significant number, but birthdays - regardless of the number - are important to me none the less. What is more important then celebrating the day you were born?

I plan to now take the advise of ever so witty - I won't call him controversial because it is a lazy word to apply to someone who applies simple logic - PZ Myers. "Don't overly edit your posts. Just write them, and get them out there."

I'm off to go see Fincher's new masterpiece and I'm sure my review will be just as praising.......just not written as well.

"Spending time with the Cougars from the Dookie days..."

If there is anything to be said about Green Day, it is that they know how to connect with their fans better than any live band that I have ever seen. It can be argued, for little more than argument's sake, that because I have seen the band play six times that my opinion could be biased based on my rabid repeat consumption of their live offerings.

If that is so, I'm not apologizing for it.

During their almost three hour set Green Day brought no less than six fans on stage to take part in the performance by singing the lyrics we all know and love to the 12,000 plus crowd. One of these six fans was 10 years old, another was approximately five. It goes to show how far the pop-punk California trio has come. Their fans ranged in age from 5 to 50, and all ages were represented on the crowded arena floor.

Though their show has changed a lot over time; From back-alley grottos, through full-size arenas to the two day Milten Keynes event where a total of 120,000 fans packed into the bowl to prove why Green Day is way above the Sums, Charlottes, and 182's; their core performance has remained. It has and always will be, about the connection to their fans.


Standing on the floor, less than 10 feet from the powerhouse front-man Billie Joe Armstrong, it is hard not to be swept in by his all encompassing performance. Utilizing three back-up performers; Jason White, Jason Freese, and Jeff Matika, Billie is freed up from constantly having to riff his guitar and now moves consistantly across the stage engaging the audience with "A-ohs," handwaving and singing.

Not to be forgotten are the equally engaging performances that emanate from Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool. Truly these three guys have been together so long that you can visually see the communication between them across the stage. At one point, while ripping Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Billie skipped a lyric and almost went into the chorus early. He caught himself and a glance back at Mike and Tre showed him where he should be. Truly a great band. The audience seemed none the wiser.

Moving through their new material, and touching upon many of their classics that span almost two decades, Green Day fulfilled the experience for both young and old. Not excluding the nods to their longtime live fans as well; From the orgasm bit during Hitchin a Ride, to their bait-n-switch completed just prior to launching Brain Stew, it was all there in its nostalgic glory.

For six shows these guys have been at the top of my list every year of bands I want to see live. They are definitely within the rare ranks of bands that people must see at least once in their lifetime. 5 years was too long a time to wait and I truly hope they don't wait that long to hit the road again. Sure, they may be pushing late 30's. Though you wouldn't know it by the way they continue to bring it to every show.

*A deck of cards is built like the purest of hierarchies, with every card a master to those below it, a lackey to those above it.

There is nothing I love more, when it comes to simple pleasures, than the successful application of sleights to a deck of 52 paste-boards. Presented as a magical application or as honest to goodness cheating is not really the point to me. Either way the viewer is still looking at a deck of cards in a display completely unfamiliar to them for the most part. Stunningly and frustratingly moving, changing, vanishing without any explanation save for......sleight of hand.

*But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new.

Not that there was anything really new here. Michael Bay took a simple concept and turned it into a fanboy's wet dream; albeit with very little substance.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen completed the opening weekend with a 5 day haul of $201 million; which puts it right behind The Dark Knight for a 5 day opener. It also opened with a 21% rating on Rotten tomatoes, which in this case I am not so sure is deserved. Here me out.

I don't at all believe that Revenge of the Fallen was a quality film deserving of the highest praise. Simply put, it is a Michael Bay movie. Bay. Not Fincher, not Cameron, not Soderberg, not VonTrier, not Stone. The latter directors put out material to a wide audience for mass appeal, but the quality of work cannot be denied (I refuse to get into how some deny that it is art, and how wide audience appeal is a sell-out to the indy world etc. etc. add naseum). Bay simply makes popcorn fluff for action fans. Nothing more, nothing less.

Some of the criticisms leveled at the film are definitely deserved, don't get me wrong. There are issues in the very basic storyline that just don't make sense within the context of the universe that the movie exists in. For instance, if the Autobots are sentient beings, how come they need to be stored in a hanger on a military base in their basic vehicular forms, when they aren't out kicking Decepticon ass? When a team of Autobots show up to rescue Sam (yet again) why does Prime's back-up disappear and leave him to take on an army of baddies all by himself, only to show up once again after he has been killed? How does Mikaela fly across the country to meet Sam in one afternoon - with a tiny Decepticon in her carry-on? Why doesn't Starscream take out the US army in the Egyptian desert with a couple of bombing runs when he is flying overhead, instead of just taking out their radio communication? Was there any doubt that the 'magic dust' would bring Prime back from the dead, after it had already brought back Megatron, among other inanimate kitchen utensils?

All of this is besides the point though. Anyone who nitpicks the above and more in a serious fashion is seriously over-thinking the film. I understand the argument that we as an audience should be demanding more for our money. Iron Man and The Dark Knight are two prominent examples that are continually pointed out in that arguments defense when it comes to the comic-book genre. (On a side note I will thank Christopher Nolan publicly for smashing all previous incantations of Joel SHMUCKmacher's Batman films). I don't deny that the quality of the entertainment needs to be there. I am a big advocate of the films that make you think, make you mad, or that make you feel good. Filmmakers like those mentioned above, and studios like the gargantuan Pixar are now pushing the boundaries and countinually raising the bar.

In unapologetic defense, I believe a film that falls into the mass appeal, spit-em-out while you can, popcorn entertainment category should be taken exactly at face value. The two robot twin characters in the film, Skids and Mudflap, have been criticized en masse as racist representations of a stereotypical hollywood approach to African-Americans. Seriously. These are the same people with far too much time on their hands who ban Cookie Monster from eating only cookies, and take the time to spot what they see as phalic symbols in Disney's The Little Mermaid's Poster art. I don't understand the reasoning behind these over-zealous adults who feel the need to raise and wave their flag of moral justice in the face of mainstream enterainment "by and for the people." If you think the twins are racist, then that says more about you than it does Michael Bay. That's not even taking into account that their total screen time in the whole film is less than 12 minutes.

Other critics are attacking the editing, claiming that nothing can be seen when these giant metal titans clash. I would definitely agree with that argument in the first film. With Revenge of the Fallen it is clearly apparent that Bay listened to what some had to say as his camera is pulled back wide so the action can be seen in all its computer generated glory. He has also pulled some tips from the work of Zack Snyder and the Wachowski Brothers with regards to slowing some of the action down in order to give the audience that moment to take in the awesomeness that is mass destruction. Is it perfect? No. Are the characters discernable from one another? Absolutely. I don't think they are any less identifiable than the main caricatures who populate your average 'chic flick' (not that those films do better with the critics).

All of these criticsims and arguments aside though it still comes down to what that ever so intelligent executive decides to green light. All critics may be using Revenge of the Fallen as their top target of choice right now, but the fact remains that the garbage churned out of late far exceeds that of Michael Bay's robot sequel. Come August, these same people will have a whole other film to attack by a wholly different director. That film being Stephen Sommers "G.I. Joe" adapatation. Let the tomatoes fly.

*Anton Ego - Ratatouille

*Smack your child every day. If you don't know why - he does.

Lincoln Rainn was born on April 13th, 2009. At 5:13pm. After he was born we moved to our nursing room in the hospital, room 2813. A very fitting replication of the two digit number that usually causes a raised eyebrow among the massess.

I recorded the first sound he every made on a digital recorder.



Think of that. To me, that is just crazy. I have the absolute first vocal sound that my son made recorded. To the uninitiated (meaning no children) that most likely means less than nothing. Of course, that would mean less than nothing to anyone who isn't sentimental in the least.

I am extremely sentimental. I keep things that I respond to emotionally, usually linked to a memory. In this recording I have a perfect sound, a real sound, that reminds me of the exact moment that Lincoln let me know he was alive and well.........with a scream.

It has only been six weeks and already Lincoln has grown. Gaining weight, gaining awareness and gaining everyone's attention. His big blue eyes are constantly wondering when he is awake, looking for the next bright object to stare at. At times, he will make eye contact, and then the biggest smile forms on his little face. It gives you a feeling in your chest that nothing else in the world will ever be able to duplicate. I promise you that.

**Don't worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.

Your children just know when you are around, and the feeling when you hold them envelopes both of you in a reciprocal of relaxation and calm. They know your smell, and they know your voice. They know what they like about you versus what they like about the other parent. They like to be held differently, patted differently and rocked differently.

Suprisingly, they know all of this when they don't even know how to control their arms and legs yet. It's a feeling. A bond.

Our other two kids have adjusted very well to having him around. They love holding him. They love singing to him, especially when he cries. Although.....it could be the singing that is causing the crying, but does it really matter?

Now it is just a matter of getting all three of them to adult hood and survive. Lincoln's eventual first birthday will be our last hurah in the land of babies. From there we plan to send them to good schools to learn valuble and hard lessons. We plan to stick by all three of them as they go through their respective ups and downs; as a family and as individuals. I want to be close to all three of them. Not in the way that I pretend that it is possible to be forever young and their absolute best friend. I'll leave that to the pundits of eternal youth. Instead, I plan to be in the position where my kids trust me. Trust me as a parent, trust me as a friend, and trust me to be honest with my opinion. I think that is fair. Moreso I feel it is achieved easier than people think.

Family commitements don't always seem to mean the same thing to everyone anymore; And if your not careful, that seems to get passed right down to the kids. I feel that there is more responsiblility owed than that.

I plan to live long enough to see the results of all our efforts.

*Joey Adams
**Robert Fulghum