Reviews by JxSxPx

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is the kind of trash you’d watch at three in the morning on HBO when you’ve got a bad case of insomnia, which is what I did. You watch junk-food movies like this for the clever kills, and this was such a disappointment on that front. Basically, it’s about an hour and fifteen minutes worth of watching the four main characters getting tortured and then all of them get stabbed to death with the chainsaw in the closing final minutes. Oh, and every so often a random character shows up long enough to get shot, beat to death with a hammer or cut in half with the chainsaw because they fell on it. Yawn. Luckily, there were two good things – gorgeous looking cinematography and Matt Bomer, who is one exquisite looking man. Pity he gets his face cut off, but there’s always that shirtless swimming pool scene at the beginning to remind and watch. Even as trash this fails.

No Doubt, much like Garbage, have got a great collection of rarities and b-sides. Why wasn’t “New Friend” shoved onto Rock Steady? Its twitchy New Wave-meets-ragga beat would have slipped right in perfectly between “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Start the Fire.” Why didn’t “You’re So Foxy” get included on Return of Saturn? Its Blondie-esque disco-rock would have lightened up the second half of that album’s gloomy ballad-heavy string of songs. They only could have improved already great albums.

The b-sides and three of the rarities are familiar to hardcore No Doubters, but they should be a welcome listen to people just now discovering them. The dubbed out “Sailin’ On” and skater-brat take on “Oi to the World” prove that the band has always moved between reggae, punk and New Wave with ease. They’re also great covers of Bad Brains and The Vandals, respectively. “Cellophane Boy,” “Under Construction” and “Beauty Contest” feature some of Gwen’s best lyrics, and the band expands their musical styles far and wide while digging deep into their influences. Elvis Costello even pops up for the previously soundtrack-only song “I Throw My Toys Around.” Costello's production and song writing brings out the warmth and humor in Stefani's voice with aplomb. 

The new songs though are the real treats: “Panic,” both versions of “Everything in Time” and the above mentioned “You’re So Foxy” and “New Friend” all showcase the band’s ability to fuss together their main genres of choice. Not every track is successful though. Though the three remixes tacked onto the end lose me. I’d rather have heard the demo versions of “Sushi Experience” or “It's a Fight,” a Timbaland track, or the Dr. Dre produced "Wicked Day". The latter two were dropped because their hip-hop inflected beats clashed with the rest of the album, allegedly. What would Dr. Dre/Timbaland and No Doubt have cooked up? Who knows. But I’d trade in the Ms. Dynamite and Sweetie Irie remixes to hear them. Same goes for the ridiculously long "New & Approved Remix" which doesn't build the song in any interesting new direction.

Like practically any rarities or b-sides album, this aims mostly at the hardcore fans. And as one, I absolutely adore it. But there’s enough interesting and good material for the curious and uninitiated to give it a listen. DOWNLOAD: “You’re So Foxy,” “Oi to the World,” “New Friend”

Missing Persons were the most plastic of the Los Angeles New Wavers. With their layers and layers of keyboards and synthesizers, they could create glorious sonic confections. The problems arose with the lyrics and vocals. Often pedestrian and simple minded, the lyrics were never the strongest selling point for the band. Dale Bozzio’s hiccupping Kewpie doll vocals are a part of the band’s charm, but her limited vocal range and tendency to try to over-sing and over-work her vocals grates after a while. Unlike Berlin’s Terri Nunn, who had a bigger voice, Bozzio doesn’t know when to reign it in and lay off the cutesy mannerisms. The first half of the album is solid New Wave, the second half is where the filler creeps in, “U.S. Drag” is the crème of the crap. The singles really make the album. “Words” and “Destination Unknown” are classics, but nothing tops “Walking in L.A.” as far as pure infectiousness. Spring Session M isn’t a bad album, but it’s not a Los Angeles New Waver classic like Oingo Boingo’s Only a Lad or The Go-go’s Beauty & the Beat. DOWNLOAD: “Walking in L.A.”

The Sounds’ debut album is a fun piece of knock-off fluff. They pose and dress just like a modern day Blondie, but they sound just as plastic and chirpy as Missing Persons. They often sound like a cover-band, but the specific songs they sound like they’re covering are hard to point out (although the title track does dance dangerously close to “Kids in America”). They’re a lot of fun, even if unoriginal. And nowadays, what more can we ask from our guitar-based bands? With bands being signed because of the number of plays on their MySpace pages, it’s nice to see a band that can actually write, play and perform live all of their songs. It’s a manic forty minute set that sounds straight out of 1985. I played this a lot when I was in high school. Mostly to prove to my classmates that I did, in fact, listen to modern bands.

DOWNLOAD: “Living in America”

Before Tom Waits created albums full of percussive instruments that sounded like plastic tubs and trash cans, he was Beat poet giving his jagged croon to jazz-like numbers. The Heart of Saturday Night is a fantastic album for a rained out, slightly depressing Saturday night, preferably if it’s in the middle of the night. These songs might not all be depressing, but they sound subdued and melancholic.

“Drunk On the Moon” is one of the many fantastic songs on the album. It features the Jack Kerouackian lyrics that pervade the album and has the soft jazz-like percussion throughout. And no Waits album is complete without one spoken-word piece. This album has two: “Diamonds On My Windshield” and the closing “Ghosts of Saturday Night (After Hours at Napoleon’s Pizza House).” “Ghosts” is particularly startling since it appears to be done with the barest of instrumentation. It’s mostly just Waits’ voice. But it’s imagery that will really get to you. Listen to his albums with your headphones on and really pay attention to his Beat-hipster poeticisms. They’re just as great as anything the actual Beats produced on an off day. DOWNLOAD: “(Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night”

Candy-O is not as winning as The Cars debut album, but it’s a solid follow-up full of hit singles and great album cuts. While every song on the debut sounded radio ready, and most of them did, Candy-O sees them exploring arty territory. The title track hits as many dark and ominous nerves as “Warm Leatherette,” which the songs bares a slight resemblance to. It has always been my favorite cut from The Cars. “Let’s Go” was the big hit, and with good reason. It’s a solid track from top-to-bottom. The more alternative sound suites the band, and it would have been exciting to hear them explore the darker sounds and textures they try out on this album. Even if they don’t always work out (“Shoo Bee Doo” is a better concept than song). And any New Wave band worth their influence knows the power of a great album cover image. Candy-O has one of the best. DOWNLOAD: “Candy-O”

The Brother Bloom is one thing and one thing only: a very fun film. It’s not perfect, but you can tell from every performance in the film that they were having a good time. And it’s really the performances that make the film. Rachel Wiesz’s delivery of “I think you’re constipated in your fucking soul” is a classic piece of comedic timing. If you’re not laughing to the point of tears during that exchange then something is seriously wrong with you. I consider Mark Ruffalo is very solid character actor, always reliable in some indie film, but here he really ups his game and brings his best. How could he not when surrounded by four Academy Award nominees/winner? Adrien Brody stops the brooding young man long enough to crack wise and act elegantly tortured. And Rinko Kikuchi is quickly becoming an actress that I admire. Her performance in Babel was amazing, and her performance here (just as silent, not as serious) is hilarious. She has one line, and it’s one of the biggest laughs in the film. Look for it. Who knew a film about grifters could be so amusing, charming and fun?

Before it descends into a “shit goes boom real pretty!” action film, District 9 is a glorious return to brainy science-fiction. The continuing cutaways to talking heads and news footage only enhances the viewing experience. How? They ground the aliens in a real world setting, in a real world plot. Complete with allusions to the awkward and fear-based racial tensions that mark just about every nation. This is grand summer entertainment that doesn’t come around often enough.

The special effects and makeup are fantastic. Top notch really. More proof that huge budgets don’t always equal better production values. This film was made on the near cheap ($30 million isn’t much for a film of this scope) but it looks three times as expensive, if not more. The shot towards the end where Wikus looks up and half of his face is starting to turn is oddly beautiful. The seamless blend of alien and human in his face deserves the Oscar nomination, if not win, for visual effects. Or is that makeup?

Speaking of Wikus, the performance of Sharlto Copley is an extraordinary thing. At some point I just bought what he was selling. His performance was so immersed and lived-in that you can’t help but feel for him by the very end. He carries the film and helps you to overlook the flaws which creep up towards the end. As mentioned above, at the very end of the film does show one too many people exploding upon impact from alien technology, but this minute flaw can’t ruin the film. This is quite possibly the best summer film that I’ve seen in a very long time.

Dancing is both an art and a sport. Every Little Step is a documentary about two things: a look into the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line and a history of the show. Yes, it’s a bit of a snake that eats its own tail, but it’s fascinating to see how willing some people are to sacrifice and suffer for their art. The auditions are the best part. Some of these people are veterans – their bodies are in peak form, their abilities as well – but when the new comers perform, the veterans get nervous and start to steal from the new comers. Even in dancing there’s ageism! Yes, there’s even a bit of a point teetering on a real-life dancing Margot Channing-style meltdown. There’s a huge interest in dancing right now, but with the exception of So You Think You Can Dance? very little of it shows you the reality. Watch this and see the phrase “suffering for your art” played out before your eyes.

A greatest hits collection should always make your band appear better than they actually were, or showcase how great your band was to begin with. This collection of Missing Persons songs does the former. They were as plastic and relentlessly chirpy as anything else associated with the Hi-NRG/synth-pop New Wave scene.

Dale Bozzio barely had a voice – it was mostly nasal vocal ticks and hiccups – but she had an impressive group of musicians backing her up. From the early almost punk-dance hyperkinetic beginnings, like “Mental Hopscotch,” to the funkier sound they adopted, like “Color in Your Life,” Missing Persons was a group of talented musicians. The Los Angeles New Wavers could deliver on the singles front – “Words,” “Destination Unknown,” “Walking in L.A.,” “Give” – but the album cuts get a little iffy towards the end. They deserved a better vocalist, but there’s some charm in Bozzio. Her shockingly sky-high pink hair and brazen outfits spring to mind. She aimed to be like a more accessible, and artificial, version of Debbie Harry. But no one else could squeak out a semi-decent New Wave cover of The Doors like she could.

But the problem with anything related to Missing Persons is that they never really evolved as a band. They tried to be punk, they tried to be funkier, but they never adapted their plastic sound to a more mature beat. It was all manic energy all the time, and this collection does wear thin after a while. But no one can deny that when they put everything together and made it work they could create great alternative dance-rock singles. DOWNLOAD: “Walking in L.A.,” “Words,” “Mental Hopscotch”