OWR: Mean Girls
53: Vapid
Posts
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Unyielding Commissioning Talkin' Takeovers
See the Future, Today -- The Futureheads are doing an advance stream of their new album This Is Not The World. What we've heard here so far doesn't really impress us all that much, but we're surely going to listen to the rest of it. Click here for sounds.
Cab Fare for Bloggy -- Death Cab for Cutie has taken over the reins at Stereogum today. They've posted about all kinds of stuff, from "The Radiohead Model" to Nate Dogg and Warren G. Check out the main page for all their bloggy goodness.
Better Dead Than Red -- JD's excellent Top Ten Red Scare Movies of all time. Yes, the new Indiana Jones makes the cut!
Weird Science -- It's not just the science of "Man Getting Hit By Football", it's the silly explanation of the science with blustery commentary over the whole thing that makes us laugh hysterically at this. Enjoy!
What's Steve Martin's Deal?
When you hear the name Steve Martin, what comes to mind first? Most of us probably think of The Jerk and then follow that up with Planes, Trains and Automobiles. While these are both justifiably deemed modern comedy classics and in their day were considered innovative and original, I've noticed something about Martin. Has appeared in more non-pornographic remakes than anyone in the history of cinema. Martin's illustrious career has featured him as lead actor in 30 films. Of those, 14 have been remakes or sequels to remakes.*
It wasn’t always this way. Martin’s first film, “The Jerk,” scored big with audiences and put him on the map as a lead comedic actor. In 1981, Martin reprised Bob Hoskins’ part in a remake of “Pennies From Heaven.” It was his second leading role, though the movie flopped with little fanfare. From there, he was the centerpiece of several quirky, but largely uneven comedies including Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains, and All of Me. Along came ¡Three Amigos!, panned by critics but a significant box office success.
Martin's prolific run of remakes began to ramp up in the summer of 1987 with Roxanne, a modern day version of Edmond Rostand's oft-filmed play, Cyrano de Bergerac. The inspired choice drew rave reviews and did pretty well at the box office. A year later came Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Michael Caine, a successful remake of the 1964 Marlon Brando/David Niven film, Bedtime Story. Father of the Bride (with Martin in the Spencer Tracy role) followed in 1991. Then, from 1994 to 1999, five consecutive Martin vehicles reprised old, familiar territory: A Simple Twist of Fate, Mixed Nuts, Father of the Bride Part II, Sgt. Bilko, and The Out-of-Towners.
Recent "covers" include Cheaper By The Dozen (and its sequel) and the new Pink Panther, which brings us up to date. That's a whole lotta remakes. The only two movies currently slated for Steve Martin the actor are The Pink Panther 2 (please let that simply be a working title - I'll offer up "The Regurgitation of the Pink Panther" if they need ideas), and Topper, a remake of a 1937 Cary Grant film.
Are all these remakes a good idea? Going by the IMDb ratings, of his top ten films, only two fall in the remake category. Seven of his nine lowest are remakes. The work for which he's most revered and successful is almost exclusively of the original, made-from-scratch variety. Perhaps more damning, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was the only remake that bested its original counterpart. The average drop in rating is a whopping 1.66. Translation - most of these are not building upon the original work, but have an established concept and require less imagination, creativity and effort. Surely, nearly all remakes fall short of the original pieces, but must we then question why he continues to do them?
I come not to bury Mr. Martin, but to try to understand. Surely there must be some behind-the-scenes Hollywood business playing a role in this phenomenon. When remake projects come up, do industry powers automatically think that Martin should be the centerpiece? Is he turning down six remakes a year? Clearly Martin is the one making choices, and clearly the guy's gotta eat. Yet there must be some sort of fascination for him. He must be cognizant of these trends - it's not like he is unaware of the original films' existence.
I also have to wonder why nobody's mentioned this before. When Topper comes out in 2010, will the public (or at least the critics) finally be on to Martin's trend? Will they care? Better yet, does it even matter? My urge is to question the man's work ethic, but as I said above, clearly something else is going on. I'm about as excited for Topper as I am for The Pink Panther Comes Back All Over Again. At least we'll always have The Jerk. Maybe in 2011, Martin can remake that one. That's a project I can get behind.
*I didn’t count Little Shop of Horrors to goose up the numbers since he wasn’t the movie’s star, though it is another remake. Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid was not considered a remake. It’s one of the 30, but a spoof, not a remake.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Thursday Youtube
A downright gorgeous piece of video set to a Beatles-esque church choir:
(ht: Andrew Sullivan)
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
First Blush: Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs
Bellingham, Washington's Death Cab for Cutie have achieved popularity few of even their most ardent supporters would have predicted. Being featured on The O.C. at the height of
its run certainly didn't hurt. On their first three releases, the band still felt "small," with frontman Ben Gibbard's songwriting being its main strength. The addition of drummer Jason McGerr along with increased participation from guitarist Chris Walla took the impeccably crafted 2003 release, Transatlanticism, to a higher level than previous efforts. 2005's Plans, while not as dynamic as their previous release, strongly blended Gibbard's low-key songs with atmospheric crafting from the rest of the band, giving the group their biggest hits to date. Narrow Stairs, out today, is their sixth full-length release and has many people expecting even bigger things from the band. I could go on like this, but enough of my yakkin', let's boogie!
Track 1 - Bixby Canyon Bridge
Echoey guitar sets up Gibbard skwawking a first-person narrative. The vocals nearly swing in the early going before we get to a light, quick-thumping middle section. The drums are pretty active, but everything else is just kinda there. Its simplicity feels new but also less than what the band is capable of.
Track 2 - I will Possess Your Heart
We start with an interesting baseline that continues for about 32 minutes. A van just drove by here with the insignia "Lemoncello Plumbing." Is that the owners name? Limoncello is a sweet, tasty liqueur. WTF? Maybe they set up piping so that you can get the limoncello directly from your freezer to your mouth without any getting-up-off-the-couch. Gibbard finally chimes in at 4:30. This single came out several weeks ago, so I already know that it's really catchy if a bit straight. We get a classic DCFC gear shift at the 6:42 mark: "You reject my advances and desperate pleas. I will let you let me down so easily." But then we go back to the same thing as before. It's a solid track, but far from dynamic. I'm getting impatient.
Track 3 - No Sunlight
Another really straightforward track, this sounds like it belongs on The Photo Album (their weakest release). It could be a hit single, of course. But it's not why I got into the band.
Track 4 - Cath...
It wouldn't be a Death Cab album if we didn't have a track named after a girl. But now I look up the discography and quickly realize that I'm full of shit (the only previous one is "What Sarah Said"). More busy drums accompany their classic style. This is the kind of song that could appear on any of their albums and just makes your head bob whenever it comes on. The kids are gonna sing their brains out to this song at the live show.
Track 5 - Talking Bird
"1-2-3-4 -- Oh, my talking bird. Though you know so few words. They're on infinite repeat. Like your brain can't keep up with your beak." I think this is not really about a bird. More likely an old friend that Gibbard's sick of, right? "The longer you think, the less you know what to do." OK, maybe it's a bird. Either way, it's another tune on this album that has few changes, except this one is slow and low. Could be good live, though.
Track 6 - You Can Do Better Than Me
We get a little organ and tambourine at the start of this one. Again, it's pretty straight, but a new sound with excellent percussion. It's rock doo-wop that reminds me a bit of The Beatles. "You can do better than me, but I can't do better than you." I'll call this one "cute."
Track 7 - Grapevine Fires
A sweet, mellow track which features long vocal tones. So far, it's a real nice track, and I have the feeling it will grow with time. Could be the gem of the album, even though it doesn't rock in the least.
Track 8 - Your New Twin Sized Bed
More beds. This has the vibe of DCFC covering Cat Stevens, told in the second person. I mean that in a good way. Again, things keep going straight and are pretty basic, but it's another song you just want to enjoy, and the band's made it easy to do that. Could be a huge, sentimental hit.
Track 9 - Long Division
Driving drums and bass give way to guitar melody. It's very "We have the facts and we're voting yes." Even down to the lyrics. This will satisfy the band's fans for sure. The booklet with the CD has pages of different size. I'd compare it to the Hungry Hunger Caterpillar, but "We have the facts..." fit that bill much better. I'm sure there's some children's book I'm forgetting. Whatever, I'm boring you right now. Sorry.
Track 10 - Pity and Fear
Dark beginning (it's about damn time). "I have, such envy, for this stranger lying next to me." The drums pick up at 1:39. It's a solid track, but once again, we're missing the coda section that has long been the hallmark of DCFC's best work. It's not a departure for them, but an avoidance of what they do best. Then the song just abruptly ends.
Track 11 - The Ice Is Getting Thinner
We're coming to the end of the album, and I don't think I've been excited once. It's sparse; just vocals that sound like "why you have been sooooo sad" with a little counter from the bass. The guitar adds to the sadness with a small solo. And we wind down this album meekly.
A lot of the tracks intentionally blend together, which actually works pretty well. So many of the songs start and end with the same beat/line/plan without any adjustments in between. That the tracks connect gives some degree of flow that wouldn't be there otherwise. I keep wanting Transatlanticism, and this certainly isn't that. Maybe I'm just being selfish. Right now, I have to ask myself, "Is it better than The Photo Album?" As I said, it's their weakest, but it's by no means without merit. I'm inclined to put it ahead of that one, but behind all their others. Plans grew on me in unexpected ways. Maybe this one will also.
Amazon.com and Circuit City are your best bets on price (9.99). With the a full "sticker price" of 18.98, the time to purchase is now. I realize this isn't exactly a positive review. The songs are all good, I just feel like they're missing something. I'll give it more blushes and see how it grows on me. What does everyone else think?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
