Ah, the movie soundtrack; such a staple of American pop culture. Nowadays the soundtrack of a film is just as important as the film itself. A lot of thinking goes into which tracks are to be included and which artists are going to contribute.
There are basically two types of movie soundtracks; the score (which is just composed music like the “Star Wars” theme) and compilations (many different songs thrown together).
While I adore certain movie scores (is there anything better than John William’s theme for “Superman”?), my favorite movie soundtrack is a compilation. The movie is Tom Hanks’ creation “That thing you do!”
Yeah, I am not joking.
The thing that makes this soundtrack interesting is that all of the songs on the soundtrack are from fictional bands and artists that appeared in the movie, led of course by (the fake band from the film) the Wonders’ hit song “That thing you do!”
The Wonders also “contribute” four other songs on the soundtrack including my favorite “All my only dreams.” But there is also a good amount of different 60s music thrown in as well including surf music (Cap'n Geech And The Shrimp Shack Shooters), jazz (Del Paxton) and female trio (The Chantrellines).
OK, I know the idea of oldies music turns some people off, but the music is good. And if you are one of those people who love oldies, then you will love this soundtrack. I remember buying a copy for my father when it came out and I double-checked and it is still in his car’s stereo. Hanks not only directed the film and put together the soundtrack, but he also co-wrote four of the songs on the soundtrack. The main person behind the music was Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger, who also got nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Original Song” in 1996 for the track “That thing you do!” but lost to Andrew Lloyd Webber for the film “Evita.” I guess if you are going to lose, it’s great to lose to someone like Webber.
You can listen to samples of each song on the soundtrack here:
http://www.amazon.com/That-Thing-You-Do-Soundtrack/dp/B000002BQD/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0139782-9743102?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1185752820&sr=1-1
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Overrated? Oh yeah!
Finding underrated films is easy. Everyone can tell you a bunch of movies that they love that really didn’t get noticed by the general public.
The same can be said for movies that everyone loved that you believe shouldn’t have tons of attention. For me there are so many, most recently with “Sin City” which I walked out of and demanded my money back (I have a little problem with men smacking around women… and when it happened for like the fourth time that was it.)
But for the purpose of this blog I decided to focus in on two movies that are seriously overrated. I used a simple way of choosing these films; both of these films won an Academy Award for Best Picture and shouldn’t have.
<>It not only beat those films for Best Picture, but won 10 other awards (basically sweeping the night.) I still feel the same way about “Titanic” now as I did almost 10 years ago… “Uh… people liked this movie?” We know it wasn’t the best acted film of the four, “As Good As It Gets” had three acting nominations and two wins. “L.A. Confidential” nabbed Kim Basinger a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. And say what you will about Robin Williams, but no one can argue that he was an acting tour-de-force in “Good Will Hunting,” and won the Best Supporting Actor award.
No, I do not know why “Titanic” made billions of dollars… nor do I care. It was not the best movie of 1997 by any means and therefore is vastly overrated.
<>http://www.bsnews.org/pictures/images/1153466988_movie_mistake_gladiator.jpg
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Greek was on fire... literally.
The best 21st birthday present could be alcohol and the zoo. But in this case, it was Canadians and... well, alcohol. The Greek Theatre was the place to be May 29 of this year. The Arcade Fire was due to give one of their signature performances, including megaphones, mandolins, french horns and more surprises.
The best part of the concert was getting there. No, it wasn't just the enormous Transformers ad in downtown Los Angeles. It was no traffic, good food (Baja Fresh is good stuff) and a memorable-yet-brief exchange with a bird that flew overhead... think about it.
The opening band nearly ruined the experience. A chick band called Electrelane bashed through several horrifying "songs." It seems that Arcade Fire took pity on some high school dropouts and gave them 45 minutes to make the Canadian group look that much better. If it wasn't for an ice cold drink and a new wallet, I would've cried. The wallet was just cool enough.
Finally, Arcade Fire saves us from the hell we were in. The lights go out in the canopy-covered arena, and a symphony swells in the darkness. The crowd goes wild as close to ten men and women break into a beautifully synchronized rythym. By the end of the show, frontman Win Butler was throwing light pillars into the audience, his brother was beating on anything he could find and screaming choruses through a megaphone into the night sky. Regine Chassagne stumbled drunk around the stage, playing every instrument she came across for two minutes before getting bored and going to the next.
Amidst the chaos, not a beat was missed. One could say the same of Butler's sense of absurdity. While commenting on how "people down here have to wait for Entertainment Weekly to hear current events," he also mentioned the band's sole promise to the Greek's management.
After explaining how the Greek Theatre nearly burned to the ground, Butler proclaimed that he would not "say anything bad like... BURN THIS MOTHER DOWN!"
All in all, The Arcade Fire took a good day and made it the best concert I've attended. If you ever want a guaranteed good time, grab a copy of Funeral and Neon Bible, and go see the Arcade Fire prepared to sing along to some of the most underrated music of our time.
The best part of the concert was getting there. No, it wasn't just the enormous Transformers ad in downtown Los Angeles. It was no traffic, good food (Baja Fresh is good stuff) and a memorable-yet-brief exchange with a bird that flew overhead... think about it.
The opening band nearly ruined the experience. A chick band called Electrelane bashed through several horrifying "songs." It seems that Arcade Fire took pity on some high school dropouts and gave them 45 minutes to make the Canadian group look that much better. If it wasn't for an ice cold drink and a new wallet, I would've cried. The wallet was just cool enough.
Finally, Arcade Fire saves us from the hell we were in. The lights go out in the canopy-covered arena, and a symphony swells in the darkness. The crowd goes wild as close to ten men and women break into a beautifully synchronized rythym. By the end of the show, frontman Win Butler was throwing light pillars into the audience, his brother was beating on anything he could find and screaming choruses through a megaphone into the night sky. Regine Chassagne stumbled drunk around the stage, playing every instrument she came across for two minutes before getting bored and going to the next.
Amidst the chaos, not a beat was missed. One could say the same of Butler's sense of absurdity. While commenting on how "people down here have to wait for Entertainment Weekly to hear current events," he also mentioned the band's sole promise to the Greek's management.
After explaining how the Greek Theatre nearly burned to the ground, Butler proclaimed that he would not "say anything bad like... BURN THIS MOTHER DOWN!"
All in all, The Arcade Fire took a good day and made it the best concert I've attended. If you ever want a guaranteed good time, grab a copy of Funeral and Neon Bible, and go see the Arcade Fire prepared to sing along to some of the most underrated music of our time.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Best concert ever?
A fake New York City, two pianos and a bunch of drunken people.
What sounds like a really horrible date, ended up being one of my favorite concerts of all time. Sure I have been to a few real concerts. I saw the Gin Blossoms and R.E.M. (great show) in Devore and Weezer and Dashboard Confessional in Irvine (Weezer was beyond great). But this experience was just... different.
Back in April I took a long needed vacation to Las Vegas and I was looking for something to do (I don’t gamble and can’t afford to see a show there... $100 for Blue Man Group? I think not.). I had heard about this place at the New York New York Hotel that was supposed to be pretty cool and free. They call it the “Dueling Pianos.”
Yeah, I didn’t out too much faith into it either. As I was walking in the direction of the bar the concert was located I heard the opening bars of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on me” and it sounded just off the CD quality. As I get closer I realize that the music is not coming from a CD player, rather just two pianos.
That’s right. Two guys playing two pianos were playing (and singing) “Pour Some Sugar on me” almost perfectly. The bar was packed with tons of people singing along. The great thing about the bar was that it was an open air one, so even standing outside of it you can hear and see everything just as you could inside.
I sat town at a table right outside and there I stayed for almost two hours. These two piano players would take ANY request, no matter how odd. They even played the Norte Dame Football fight song.
My personal favorite was the almost dead on version of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer,” which had every person within a 50 foot radius singing along.
Most great concerts are a one time thing. This one can be seen all the time in Vegas.
What sounds like a really horrible date, ended up being one of my favorite concerts of all time. Sure I have been to a few real concerts. I saw the Gin Blossoms and R.E.M. (great show) in Devore and Weezer and Dashboard Confessional in Irvine (Weezer was beyond great). But this experience was just... different.
Back in April I took a long needed vacation to Las Vegas and I was looking for something to do (I don’t gamble and can’t afford to see a show there... $100 for Blue Man Group? I think not.). I had heard about this place at the New York New York Hotel that was supposed to be pretty cool and free. They call it the “Dueling Pianos.”
Yeah, I didn’t out too much faith into it either. As I was walking in the direction of the bar the concert was located I heard the opening bars of Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on me” and it sounded just off the CD quality. As I get closer I realize that the music is not coming from a CD player, rather just two pianos.
That’s right. Two guys playing two pianos were playing (and singing) “Pour Some Sugar on me” almost perfectly. The bar was packed with tons of people singing along. The great thing about the bar was that it was an open air one, so even standing outside of it you can hear and see everything just as you could inside.
I sat town at a table right outside and there I stayed for almost two hours. These two piano players would take ANY request, no matter how odd. They even played the Norte Dame Football fight song.
My personal favorite was the almost dead on version of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer,” which had every person within a 50 foot radius singing along.
Most great concerts are a one time thing. This one can be seen all the time in Vegas.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
There's Something About Uwe...
As evidenced by Tim’s segue, when you’re talking about the most horrendous directors in contemporary cinema, it is impossible not to mention Uwe Boll. The German filmmaker has made a career out of making god-awful video game adaptations (a term that nowadays seems redundant anyway), and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
My first unfortunate experience with Mr. Boll was 2003’s "House of the Dead." As I’ve said before, I’ve seen some crappy movies, and even liked some of them, but I’ve never been so irritated, never felt so bombarded with silliness as I did when watching this film. From the nauseating fight scenes that scream "Hey look! We can do those cool ‘Matrix’ tricks, too!" to the barely stitched-together plot, it’s the only movie I can think of that actually angers me just with its existence.
He’s continued this trend with other video-game adaptations like 2005’s "Alone in the Dark" and 2006’s "Bloodrayne," a tragic film in that it featured actors like Sir Ben Kingsley ("Gandhi"), Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs"), Billy Zane ("Titanic"), and, of course, Meat Loaf. It’s no surprise that this triad of gut-wrenchingly bad cinema has dug itself a permanent niche on the IMDb Bottom 100 Movies list.
But, see, it’s not only his films that make Boll a horrible director. He’s also made it painfully obvious (no pun intended) that he’s not quite the best at taking criticism, as in 2006, he challenged his most vocal of internet critics to fight him. Literally.
In addition to calling several of his critics "retards," the former boxer staged an event that saw him compete in actual boxing matches with five of his harshest critics, an event affectionately known as "Raging Boll." The bigger, more experienced Boll won all of his matches, setting his little German heart at ease, knowing he can beat the crap out of his internet critics. But fight or no fight, there’s no question that you’d be hard-pressed to find a worse director in the industry today than Uwe Boll.
My first unfortunate experience with Mr. Boll was 2003’s "House of the Dead." As I’ve said before, I’ve seen some crappy movies, and even liked some of them, but I’ve never been so irritated, never felt so bombarded with silliness as I did when watching this film. From the nauseating fight scenes that scream "Hey look! We can do those cool ‘Matrix’ tricks, too!" to the barely stitched-together plot, it’s the only movie I can think of that actually angers me just with its existence.
He’s continued this trend with other video-game adaptations like 2005’s "Alone in the Dark" and 2006’s "Bloodrayne," a tragic film in that it featured actors like Sir Ben Kingsley ("Gandhi"), Michael Madsen ("Reservoir Dogs"), Billy Zane ("Titanic"), and, of course, Meat Loaf. It’s no surprise that this triad of gut-wrenchingly bad cinema has dug itself a permanent niche on the IMDb Bottom 100 Movies list.
But, see, it’s not only his films that make Boll a horrible director. He’s also made it painfully obvious (no pun intended) that he’s not quite the best at taking criticism, as in 2006, he challenged his most vocal of internet critics to fight him. Literally.
In addition to calling several of his critics "retards," the former boxer staged an event that saw him compete in actual boxing matches with five of his harshest critics, an event affectionately known as "Raging Boll." The bigger, more experienced Boll won all of his matches, setting his little German heart at ease, knowing he can beat the crap out of his internet critics. But fight or no fight, there’s no question that you’d be hard-pressed to find a worse director in the industry today than Uwe Boll.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Worst director ever or unlucky?
“Batman and Robin” may be one of the worst movies ever made.
That is a bold statement, but I know I am not alone in thinking that.
And who should take the blame for it being a horrible movie? The director of course and his name is Joel Schumacher. From the over the top cartoony look of the film, the “makes my brain bleed” one-liners and the “what where they thinking?” costumes including the now infamous nipples on the bat-suit.
The entire film was a giant disaster and it bombed at the box office, effectively stopping any further Batman films for another ten years. I may have even cried leaving the theater...
I remember reading an issue of Entertainment Weekly when the Brad Pitt movie “The Mexican” was coming out and they interviewed the cast, including Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini. The reporter asked each actor which was the film they did that they disliked the most. Both Roberts and Gandolfini picked Schumacher films, “Dying Young” and “8MM.”
Schumacher has also directed such “memorable” films as “D.C. Cab,” “Bad Company” and “The Incredible Shrinking Woman.”
Note: None of those films won Academy Awards...
So just by looking at the films already mentioned you would think “This guy is the worst director ever?” But, his other films tell a different story.
I think that “Batman and Robin” is one of the worst movies ever made, but to the shock of everyone one of my favorite movies of all time, “A Time to Kill” is also a Schumacher film.
And that is not his only good film. I also liked “Phone Booth,” “The Lost Boys,” “Flatliners” and “Falling Down.”
Hell, he even directed “St. Elmo’s Fire!”
So what does that say? We know he CAN make good films, but the evidence is also there that when he fails to hit the mark, he really misses. It is the inconsistency that gets me. At least Uwe Boll is consistent enough to make all of his films horrible... I even think that is his gimmick now.
http://imdb.com/name/nm0001708/
That is a bold statement, but I know I am not alone in thinking that.
And who should take the blame for it being a horrible movie? The director of course and his name is Joel Schumacher. From the over the top cartoony look of the film, the “makes my brain bleed” one-liners and the “what where they thinking?” costumes including the now infamous nipples on the bat-suit.
The entire film was a giant disaster and it bombed at the box office, effectively stopping any further Batman films for another ten years. I may have even cried leaving the theater...
I remember reading an issue of Entertainment Weekly when the Brad Pitt movie “The Mexican” was coming out and they interviewed the cast, including Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini. The reporter asked each actor which was the film they did that they disliked the most. Both Roberts and Gandolfini picked Schumacher films, “Dying Young” and “8MM.”
Schumacher has also directed such “memorable” films as “D.C. Cab,” “Bad Company” and “The Incredible Shrinking Woman.”
Note: None of those films won Academy Awards...
So just by looking at the films already mentioned you would think “This guy is the worst director ever?” But, his other films tell a different story.
I think that “Batman and Robin” is one of the worst movies ever made, but to the shock of everyone one of my favorite movies of all time, “A Time to Kill” is also a Schumacher film.
And that is not his only good film. I also liked “Phone Booth,” “The Lost Boys,” “Flatliners” and “Falling Down.”
Hell, he even directed “St. Elmo’s Fire!”
So what does that say? We know he CAN make good films, but the evidence is also there that when he fails to hit the mark, he really misses. It is the inconsistency that gets me. At least Uwe Boll is consistent enough to make all of his films horrible... I even think that is his gimmick now.
http://imdb.com/name/nm0001708/
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