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Needing/Getting
by OK Go
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Against The Grain
by Hudson
Chungking Express
The Criterion Collection9;s latest release, Chuingking Express (Chung Hing Sam Lam, 1994), is the first film the label has released on Blu-Ray as well as DVD. Moreover, it9;s a film that has long deserved the Criterion treatment. Released under Miramax9;s label Rolling Thunder a few years ago, Chungking Express was lost among the slew of ostensible Asian genre films promoted by Quentin Tarantino. Little about the previous edition indicated that the film is actually one ...
G3 2007 – Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and Paul...
It has been over a year since I first watched the 2007 G3 tour on DVD. But even today, when I played it again, for the five hundredth time, I still enjoyed all those melodious tunes as if I were listening to them for the very first time. Such is the feeling of inner refreshment that only a G3 concert can provide, where three true guitar maestros come together on stage to create music that nourishes the listener’s mind, heart and soul.The late 1980s saw guitar playing reach ...
808s and Heartbreak by Kanye West
One of most anticipated albums of the year, 808s and Heartbreak is the third album from the Chicago-native producer and rapper who decided to use Auto-Tune and put together an entire album where he9;s basically "singing" as opposed to just rhyming on tracks.The result? Creatively, it9;s amazing. The guy -- like him or not -- is at the top of his game. Despite the bombast in his act, Kanye West has successfully transit ...
Quantum of Solace
Quantum of Solace is the second chapter of the re-launched and revitalized James Bond franchise begun in 2006 with Casino Royale. The previous film was easily the best action movie in several years, though an argument could be made for fellow spy-actioner The Bourne Ultimatum. In any case, spy movies are as good as they9;ve been in years, certainly much better than they have been since the 1960s. Quantum of Solace, whatever its faults, is no exception to this ...
The Host
Stephenie Meyer has yet again painlessly brought a fantastical world to life. This time it wasn9;t vampires or any mythical creation of her own, it was something that each of us contain within ourselves, the soul. A mysterious journey through the distinct worlds of human and soul societies, Meyer has created another different ambience in which she envelopes the reader.Although she has already tried the one-girl-two-guys plot in her soon to be quadrology, The Host does not lose its audience due t ...
Prospects of a Cinematic Marvel Universe
Continuing to adjust to life in the big city and absolutely uninterested in Adam Sandler9;s latest anyway, it9;s been a couple weeks since I9;ve seen a film. Until then, I thought I9;d address an issue I know is on everyone9;s minds these days: the Cinematic Marvel Universe.For the uninitiated, the Marvel Universe refers to every character, plot, and setting owned by Marvel Publishing Group, the comic book publishers who own such familiar characters as Spider-Man, The X-Men, Iron Man, Captain Am ...
Techno Depression
In this day, we age faster everyday, a lot faster than our parents did. Everyday, new technology is introduced on to the market and what we bought only a week ago, thinking it was 9;the latest hi tech blackberry9; has suddenly become yesterday9;s news and will soon be obsolete. If it weren9;t for the oil price hikes, we may not be far from the day when air traffic matches the jams our roads face daily. But what is it that makes technology so attractive to man despite having to get rid of working ...
Brighter Than Creation’s Dark by Drive-By ...
I feel like sometimes bands who live and die by the southern rock or ::gasp:: country moniker are unfairly thrown into a similar, uncouth category that many associated with unsavory music that wouldn9;t or shouldn9;t appeal to people who live in cities.But hello folks, they have cities in the South too. And folks out West like country just as much as the next person, as do people in cities in the northeast and pretty much everywhere else. It9;s got a following or else, it9;d die like ...
Religulous
The title of Bill Maher9;s film (directed by Larry Charles) makes the message clear: religion is ridiculous. Lest I be accused of bias in this review, allow me to clarify that yes, to a certain extent I agree. In the 21st century, as the palpable truths of archaeological and scientific discoveries increasingly contradict the abstract truth of word on paper, it9;s hard for 16% of us to believe the latter over the former. 16%, as Maher tells us, are those Americans who identify with no religion an ...
Death Magnetic by Metallica
In today’s ever-changing world, consumers of most commodities keep asking for a newer feel to the product they are buying. Yet, in the case of popular music, it seems that Marginal Utility works backwards. This fact is particularly relevant to Rock music, whose present-day fans are in a continuous state of nostalgia and one often comes across phrases like “Rock is dead” and “If rock existed”. Whenever a rock band has tried to change its style in accordance with the ...
hasLayout
Recently in the adventures of online programming, I have stumbled upon a new and exciting, yet old and determined bug. One so devious and yet so illusive and incredibly large that I can9;t believe I have never caught wind of it before. I am describing the hasLayout bug in IE. Let me explain. Elements rendered in IE are given certain dimensional variables. "Layout" is one of those variables that allows IE to draw and bound the content currently being worked on. Well, w ...
Three Cups of Tea
The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share tea, you are family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die. (Haji Ali) And so the unsung hero of this multi-award-winning book, Dr. Greg Mortenson, became an integral part of the Balti people9;s family. In essence, looking back at all the trials and tribulations endured by Mortenson during his 13 year triumphant journey ac ...
Flavors of Entanglement by Alanis Morissette
For a grand total of seventeen years, Canadian singer-slash-songwriter Alanis Morissette has graced many an ear with her up-beat pop tunes, the most infamous of which being her 1996 US top 10 and UK top 20 hit, 9;Ironic9;. Lest we not forget either Alanis9; whopping seven Grammy awards, which I9;m sure fit quite nicely in her platinum-lined awards cabinet, including one in 1996 for Best Album of the Year with 9;Jagged Little Pill,9; and Best Rock Song in 1999 for 9;Uninvited9;. It is hoped then ...
Pineapple Express
The latest brainchild of Superbad writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Pineapple Express fits comfortably into the canon of classic stoner-buddy comedies which revel in the misadventures and male comraderie associated with the illegal herb. Like previous entries such as Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and Cheech and Chong9;s Up in Smoke, a summary of the plot reads like either a "what if" story thought up while stoned or one of those exaggerated ...
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Hellboy movie franchise, much like the comic series on which it is based, is an oddball among others of its type. At a time when most comic book films are produced on a budget of upwards of $150 million, the two entries have cost Universal only $145 million combined. And while comic book films released by rival companies have set box office records (Spider-Man 2 in 2004, The Dark Knight this year), the Hellboy films perform modestly. The first one, in fact ...
Eat, Pray, Love
When I first heard of the title, I wasn9;t the least bit interested in reading a self-obsessed woman9;s spiritual journey across three countries which each coincidentally began with the all too selfish letter "I". Then again, that9;s exactly what the book9;s description read out - can you blame me? Still, I went ahead and picked up Elizabeth Gilbert9;s "Eat, Pray, Love"; let9;s just say I became her in less than half a page.The entire book has no climax (or has infin ...
X-Files: I Want to Believe
By insisting that all plot details be shrouded in secrecy, I worried that 20th Century Fox and X-Files creator Chris Carter were merely providing a likely excuse for their decision not to offer advance press screenings of the new film, a usual sign of a studio’s lack of confidence in a product. If this had been their reasoning, it would have been unnecessary, as X-Files: I Want to Believe is not a bad film and is far better than others that have received press screenings in the pa ...
Victory all My Life by Klum
Klum’s debut album “Victory all my life” sees the LA five piece take a variety of musical styles and re-invent them as their own. At times they could be compared to Radiohead, at others they’re as melodic as Sigur Ros and others as chaotically organised as Arcade Fire and Guillemots, whilst never treading on the toes of the aforementioned artists. However there is one thing we will all agree on: you’ll either love or despise their debut. Album opener, “Focus”, seems to be lackin ...
Love Marriage
Love Marriage is the literary equivalent of an art movie. It is written in a very unique genre. It talks of love, hate, marriage and war all at the same time; yet the tone of the book is very serene.The book is a very medium paced gradual progression of events across time moving to and fro, unlike a regular novel that would follow a certain sequence and time line. V. V. Ganeshananthan has used a very unmatched style to demonstrate the role of marriage in Sri Lankan society and provides a brillia ...
The Dark Knight
Much of the buzz, press, and reviews surrounding The Dark Knight seem to border on hyperbole, as do the laudatory cliches I am resisting hurling your way right now. If you find this film to be over-hyped, over-saturated, over-played and over-praised, then friend, this website is not for you. Because I am about to launch into what might be one of the most enthusiastic reviews of Christopher Nolan9;s The Dark Knight on the entire internets.Nolan and his co-writer, brother Jonatha ...
The Slip by Nine Inch Nails
After the huge success of the more than popular Ghosts I-IV, Nine Inch Nails comes back with another album that is full of adrenaline pumping beats and riffs, called The Slip. And to top that, this one is available for free to download, with the disks still under production. The apparent reason for the release of The Slip online may be that NIN is about to have a tour at the end of this year, and this album will serve to build some hype for it. Front man ...
Evil Urges by My Morning Jacket
Have you ever wondered if there was more to Kentucky than Fried Chicken? If you have, you would have probably discovered that there is also a lake, a zoo and a Science Centre. Well, now I bring you its best export. And no it doesn’t involve mutated meat covered in breadcrumbs. It instead appears in the form of five young men, dipped in nothing but rock and roll sauciness (see what I did there). They consist of Jim James on vocals and guitar, ‘Two Tone’ Tommy on bass, Carl Broem ...
Untitled by Nas
This is one of those albums that from the start, it9;d be really hard to like it. First, Nas wanted to name it after a slur. After causing a stir and using that whole thing as a media tool, he decided to simply call the album Nas, figuring the imagery of the album cover would do the trick. (The reality is, the label wanted to avoid the fights that would9;ve broken out at music stores when the 5 kids who still buy CDs went to look f ...
Get Smart
This review is rather late in coming, so I feel it9;s fair to discuss the critical reception of Get Smart. Most reviewers have dismissed this film, basing much of their arguments on its dissimilarity with the old Don Adams TV show. (By the way, for you kids my age who didn9;t stay up for "Get Smart" on Nick at Nite, you9;ll remember Don Adams as the voice of Inspector Gadget.) And true, Get Smart the film lands somewhere between True Lies and Spy Hard on the ...
Wanted
Meet Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy). He works in an unspecified capacity at an unspecified business in Chicago and is prone to anxiety attacks, frequently brought on by his abusive boss Janis. While Wesley toils away at the office, his girlfriend cheats on him with his best friend in their Wrigleyville apartment, right next to a bar I pass every day on the train (cool!) - or, as Wesley9;s nagging girlfriend points out, right next to where the train passes every day. Wesley is broke, ...
Seeing Sounds by N.E.R.D.
The thing about N.E.R.D. is that it9;s really the one act where you see Pharrell the most comfortable. It9;s spaztastic, genre-busting music that9;s not intended to fit anywhere. Unlike past releases by N.E.R.D., this album isn9;t intended to 1) sell beats or 2) transcendent hits by a concept band.Seeing Sounds is basically a concept album, but it9;s full of tried an ...
Hancock
Will Smith, whose career I worried was in jeopardy between Wild Wild West (1999) and i, Robot (2004), returns with another $100+ million blockbuster in Hancock, a mere seven months after the hit I Am Legend. Both are very good choices for the man who might just be our last true action hero (as the careers of Vin Diesel and The Rock continue to idle and superhero movies increasingly cast "real" actors); horror-actioners and superhero flicks are ...
Kung Fu Panda
The will to survive, to prove oneself and to have access to great powers distiguishing one from all others in an already competitive and saturated world differs in degree amongst people, or say, animals. Kung Fu Panda is one such tale of a panda who9;s willingness to prove himself worthy of acclaim won him Shifu9;s belief. Kung Fu Panda is an ordinary story of a panda who is the son of a noodle restaurant owner. His father has a lot of dreams for him in the noodle business, but his dreams are fa ...
Wall-E
In the 29th Century, 700 years after humans abandoned their polluted planet, the last sentient being on Earth is Wall-E, a trash compacting robot – unless you count his oddly intelligent cockroach friend. Wall-E continues to compact trash and pile it into towers which rise higher than the remains of the skyscrapers of the metropolis which he calls home. Over the last 700 years, with the aid of a video tape of Hello Dolly and a curiosity spurred by the artifacts of human ...
Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III
Weezy F Baby serenades with an album of epic clumsyness in Tha Carter III. I have to say that Lil9; Wayne has had the most remarkable career trajectory in rap history. He went from afterthought to hip-hop maven in a relatively short period of time. He9;s a witty kid, who clearly seems to have learned from spending time around the brainiest in the game and has taken notes and crafted a style of his own.It9;s clear that he9;s trying to use this album to burnish his credentials at the t ...