The Film Junkie

In this age where kid’s movies are just assumed to have been completely designed on computer with character’s voices done with stunt casting choices like Bruce Willis, Chris Rock or Cameron Diaz, it is so refreshing to see a film made with attention and care, with voices chosen for the character’s best interests.  Claymation is an amazing craft and this is the style at its best.

This is a charming film from the makers of ‘Chicken Run’ and the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ short films. It follows the title duo as they work to protect the vegetables of their community from rabbits with a humane removal method.  The story goes a little crazy when one of Wallace’s inventions creates a were-rabbit that seems unstoppable.

The story is sweet, funny and sends a good message to kids about treatment of animals, as well there are many well-hidden adult vegetable jokes.  The perfect film for the whole family, I wish they made more like this and I only wish this one was longer.

Grade: A- 

I can’t believe it took me this long to go see this movie, but that’s how life is sometimes.

Anywho, I have long been a Joss Whedon-addict, due to his amazing series: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Angel’, as well as his being a long-time writer for my favorte sitcom: ‘Roseanne’.  So a few years ago when he introduced a new show, a cowboys in space show, I was a little skeptical.  After all, this is the, arguably, first male TV show creator feminist and now I was gonna lose him to cowboys?  The most macho misogynistic creations known to man?  Thus I skipped the brief stint ‘Firefly’ had on FOX back in 2002.  How wrong I was.

‘Firefly’ is a remarkable series now available in DVD that concerns a gang of thieves and others aboard the spaceship ‘Serenity’.  It is so much more than it appears, not just a ‘Star Trek’ ripoff, nor a ‘Doctor Quinn’ wannabe.  The show has deep roots in a future that seems not so unlikely.  There are no strange aliens, all planets are occupied by humans who speak a mixture of the two dominant cultures of Earth: English and Mandarin.  Check out this show.

When ‘Firefly’ was cancelled, Whedon swore to not let it die, and thus we have ‘Serenity’ which follows the characters almost immediatley after we last left them in the series.  It is approachable for non-’Firefly’ viewers, but for those of us inducted into the club of Browncoats, it is especially meaningful and sweet.

The plot follows Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion, smoldering sexy leading man) and his gang as they try to uncover corruption in the Alliance (the ruling force behind all the planets that controls everything, perhaps a comment on American culture?).  Every character you love gets a good storyline and some payoffs and surprises that will please and disturb you, respectively.

I highly recommend this movie in that it is sooo well written and if enough of y’all go see it, then maybe they will return it to TV or make more movies.  Trust me, rent the DVDs and then check out ‘Serenity’.

Grade: A-

I am a rock geek; not nearly so much as many other people in the world, but in the circles in which I run, I am the rock geek (also film and TV geek).  So out of my many albums, I decided to suggest 15 that I think any well-rounded individual should have to keep it real.  There are some artists for which I could not pick a single album and thus, I have suggested that:

YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE ALBUM BY EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS:

PJ Harvery:  Feminist rock icon, singer/songwriter, the new Patti Smith.  All of these descriptions cannot truly capture what Polly Jean Harvery is, but she is amazing.

David Bowie:  If you don’t have at least one Bowie, what are you doing with your life?  He is a god and you shall worship at his feet!

The Smiths:  So many great albums, so moody, emotional and so led the way for modern emo.  Morrissey kills it every time, if you don’t have ‘The Queen Is Dead’, I don’t know you!

The White Stripes:  Sure, they are somewhat new but every one of their albums are amazing and I cannot pick.  Changing modern rock in a way no one else does, Jack and Meg take chances with our very definitions of rock vs. country vs. blues vs. folk. 

Radiohead:  Maybe you don’t like their progressive stuff, then sure, but you should still have ‘The Bends’. Anyone without ‘OK Computer’ should be disowned.

Rufus Wainwright:  Another consistent rule-breaker.  What this man can do with a piano and his own tortured voice should be studied.

Tori Amos:  The voice of a somewhat silent generation of struggling women.  I admire and look up to her and own 4 of her albums, though I should have more.  An artist.

YOU SHOULD OWN AT LEAST 2 ALBUMS BY THE FOLLOWING ARTISTS:

The Beatles:  If you need to be told why, you have issues.

U2: See above.

THE 15:

15. Beck- ‘Sea Change’: Because never was there a more tragic break-up album.  Because though we look to him for fun normally, at his weakest point he is his most beautiful and poignant.  Because he bleeds as we all do.  Essential tracks: “Guess I’m Doing Fine”, “Paper Tiger”, “Round The Bend”

14. Paul Simon- ‘Graceland’:  On a more upbeat note, this album was one of the best to experiment with African chanting.  As well it showed that there is so much more talent in Paul than a cappella skill.  Fun and meaningful at the same time, everyone should have this perfect chill out album.  Essential tracks: “Graceland”, “Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes”, “Homeless”

13. Madonna- ‘Music’:  Madge has made so many great albums and many people (including myself) count her ‘Immaculate Collection’ as a must-have.  Yet above all the singles and hits, I think ‘Music’ is her best album, because it is the most complete and it shows the vulnerability beneath the most influential woman in music today.  Essential tracks: “Deserve It”, “Don’t Tell Me”, “What It Feels Like For A Girl”, “Gone”

12. Joan Osborne- ‘Relish’: Counted as a one-hit wonder for that song about god being one of us, Joan is so much more.  One of the most haunting blues voices I’ve ever heard, and from his strange white chick.  This album is a timeless treasure, overlooked as it may be.  Essential tracks: “Right Hand Man”, “Pensacola”, “Dracula Moon”, “Ladder”

11. Led Zeppelin- ‘IV’:  Just one of the best rock albums ever made.  Lord of the rings references and all, little rocks as hard as this. The sound of a decade as far as I am concerned.  Essential tracks: “Rock & Roll”, “Stairway To Heaven”, “The Battle of Evermore”, “Going To California”, who am I kidding, every one is a classic.

10. Soundgarden- ‘Superunknown’:  During the grunge years I was entering puberty and identified way more with his album than just about anything else ever or since.  The sound of angst, depression and frustration relieved.  Chris Cornell’s voice is the most beautiful and painful I’ve ever heard.  Essential tracks: “Fell On Black Days”, “Spoonman”, “Black Hole Sun”, “The Day I Tried To Live”, “Fresh Tendrils”

9. Janis Joplin- ‘Greatest Hits’: As far as I am concerned, it all starts here.  The most important woman in the history of rock and roll, second only to Tina Turner.  Think you know heartache?  Janis knows worse.  Think you know pain?  Janis lived worse.  You can hear the life she led in every note and it doesn’t leave you.  Essential tracks:  “Piece Of My Heart”, “Summertime”, “Me and Bobby McGee”, “Mercedes Benz”

8. Outkast- ‘Stankonia’: No one does it like Andre and Big Boi.  The best rappers alive with their masterpiece.  This is the first hip/hop album since Biggie and Tupac died to really challenge listeners.  Get with it. Essential tracks: “Gasoline Dreams”, “So Fresh, So Clean”, “Humble Mumble”, “B.O.B”

7. T.Rex- ‘Electric Warrior’:  The sound of sexuality changing forever.  Androgyny, bi-curiousness, self-expression.  These are all things that T.Rex epitomized.  Bowie and Jagger idolized them, and you should too.  Essential tracks: “Cosmic Dancer”, “Planet Queen”, “Girl”, “Life’s A Gas”

6. Fiona Apple- ‘When The Pawn…’:  Her second album perfectly describes how it is to be a woman, to survive all that men put her through and the realities of her own existence.  Few can put it so beautifully and with such a tortured voice.  Essential tracks: “Limp”, “Love Ridden”, “Paper Bag”, “The Way Things Are”

5. Weezer- ‘Pinkerton’:  The album that got a lot of us through high school, university, hell, life in general.  At times funny, depressed, searching and sarcastic, but above all, real.  A classic.  Essential tracks: “Why Bother”, “Across The Sea”, “Pink Triangle”, “Butterfly”

4. The Clash- ‘London Calling’: Simply one of the best bands ever.  They sound like everything all jumbled up into one, not just the punk band they are labelled.  An album I can always listen to beginning to end and never feel bored.  Essential tracks:  “Londo Calling”, “Hateful”, “Clampdown”, “Wrong Em Boyo”, “Train In Vain (Stand By Me)”

3. The Pixies- ‘Doolittle’: Yes it is their most commercial album, but it is also the most approachable.  For a band that influenced everyone after them (most notably, Nirvana), they sound like nothing before or since.  Random, stream-of-consciousness writing, the yelp of Frank and the soothing voice of Kim.  Classic.  Essential tracks: “Debaser”, “Mr. Grieves”, “Crackity Jones”, “Gouge Away”

2. Joni Mitchell- ‘Blue’: The perfect song for the lonelies, the peaceful in-betweens and every other day.  Joni’s stunning voice and profound songwriting make this one of the most perfectly complete albums ever made.  Essential:  “All I Want”, “Blue”, “My Old Man”, “River”, “A Case of You”

1. Nirvana- ‘MTV Unplugged in New York’:  Why this and not ‘Nevermind’?  Because Unplugged is so much more digestable that I think even my parents could enjoy it.  This shows Nirvana at their most stripped down and best demonstrates why Kurt Cobain is the haunting cultural phenom he remains.  Raw, real and gorgeous.  Essential tracks:  “All Apologies”, “Come As You Are”, “The Man Who Sold The World”, “Something In The Way”, “Lake of Fire”

Not to be preachy, my friends, but as this week’s ‘Gilmore Girls’ episode stated, most of today’s TV involves people opening up other people to poke at their organs and solve crimes with the information.  There is nothing wrong with a good procedural now and then, but don’t let these shows rule your life, give yourself a little variety.  That is why I give this brief list of shows I love, but the ratings prove you are not watching!

1. ‘Arrested Development’:  I have said it before and I will now say it again, this is the best and most original comedy on TV.  Why don’t you see this?  What else are you watching Mondays @ 8?  ‘Surface’???  Come on.  Wry witty writing, stellar perforamces and an episode to episode plot that is easy to follow. Give it a chance and become a Bluth! (Mondays, 8 PM, FOX)

2. ‘The Office’:  The second best comedy on TV is an American version of the slightly superior Brit version.  But don’t confuse the two offices, each holds its own brand of humour and the sexual tension and awkward silences are no less biting here.  Don’t turn the channel after ‘My Name Is Earl’, stick around for Steve Carell.  (Tuesdays, 9:30 PM, NBC)

3. ‘Veronica Mars’:  I know, I know, it is on during ‘Lost’.  But do yourself a favor and go check out the first season on DVD and then either tape it or check out the weekly weekend re-run.  This show works as the charming title character tracks down the evil truths of the rich and powerful of her home of Neptune, CA.  In a world with no Buffy, a becoming-Republican Rory Gilmore and a pregnant Sydney Bristow, Veronica is the guardian of the intelligent girl who does good.  Trust me, this show is excellent, and hey this season they got Guttenberg!!!  (Wednesdays, 9 PM, UPN)

4. ‘Threshold’:  Lots of shows came out this year trying to be ‘Lost’ and this is BY FAR  the best one because it mixes the mysteries of Lost with the complexities of ‘The X-Files’.  Amazing cast of personal favorites for me: Carla Gugino (’Sin City’, ‘Son-In-Law’), Brent Spiner (Data from ‘Star Trek: TNG’), Peter Dinklage (’The Station Agent’, ‘Living in Oblivion’).  This show is worth your attention much more than ‘Surface’ or even ‘Invasion’.  (Fridays, 9PM, CBS)

5. ‘Kitchen Confidential’:  Okay it started out a little rocky and it is on in the same slot as an arguably better sitcom (’How I Met Your Mother’, CBS), but I cannot resist Bradley Cooper and his band of misfits.  The John Larroqutte episode won me over, give it a chance, come on, you loved Cooper in ‘The Wedding Crashers’. (Mondays, 8:30 PM, FOX)