Keep in mind that as I post this list of live-action motion pictures I've seen in the past two weeks, that my summer job affords me a mind-numbing amount of free-time, otherwise, I probably couldn't responsibly account for seeing this many movies in such a short time span.
In any case, these are the films I've been up to my eyes in lately, reviews for some of these are pending. Bear with me.
-I Z O, directed by Takashi Miike (nihilistic, existentialist, samurai splatter extravaganza!)
-Ichi the Killer, directed by Takashi Miike (avoid the R-rated cut version at all costs, see this brilliant adapatation of Hideo Yamamoto's manga the way it was meant to be seen)
-Gozu, directed by Takashi Miike (Gozu means: "Cow-Headed Demon")
-Sonatine, directed by "Beat" Takeshi Kitano (plan for a sunny, saturday afternoon: relax on the beach, play frisbee, then some russian roulette, kill some yakuza...)
-Violent Cop, directed by "Beat" Takeshi Kitano (plan for later that evening: act like a Japanese Dirty Harry, beat up some junkies, stab a dude in an alley, shoot some more dudes...)
-The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, directed by "Beat" Takeshi Kitano (see no evil, hear all of it)
-Uzumaki, directed by Higuchinsky (so many spirals!)
-Save the Green Planet, directed by Jun-hwan Jeong (kidnapping, kung-fu, torture, killer bees, aliens, and a plea for peace from South Korea)
-Oldboy, directed by Chanwook Park (Oldboy makes Death Wish look like a birthday wish)
-Versus, directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (I can't even count how many times I've seen Versus, but it must be seen to be believed. Yakuza, escaped convicts, zombies, and a demon all converge in the Forest of Resurrection for two-hours of non-stop neo-chanbara crazyness!)
-Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee (Spike Lee's best film in years)
-Ladyhawke, directed by Richard Donner (this isn't great cinema, it barely rates as good, but..it's a part of my childhood nonetheless)
-Tommy, directed by Ken Russell (I actually prefer the original cast recording of this film to the
original album by The Who, if you like Tommy, look for Quadrophenia)
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For better or worse, lately I've been absorbing more media than I have been commenting on, but here are my most recent record reviews. I've got some new albums coming in the mail shortly and I just recieved a few the other day so in a week or so I should have substantially more reviews posted.
Gogol Bordello - Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike
Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike is a new classic for the age of globalization. Eastern-Europe-cum-New York immigrant gypsy punk extra ordinaires Gogol Bordello have made an album rich with musical history and variety; weaving Ukrainian gypsy folk, Slavic folk, dub, hip-hop, and post-punk together into a sonic tapestry at "60 revolutions per minute". Gogol Bordello are more Clash than the Clash themselves. Singer and lyricist Eugene Hutz cries, croons and laughs- screaming and shouting in and out of broken English and intelligibility itself with an equal mix of passionate punk-sneer, wild humor, and an unquenchable thirst for socio-economic justice. Whether hes rallying for a party, a wedding, or a cultural revolution- never for a second does Hutz sound insincere. The group's eclectic assortment of accordions, violins, guitars, percussion and electronics clamor, collide, and polka with a gleeful, dizzying insanity that will have you smashing plates and swinging from the chandeliers in no time. Gogol Bordellos transnational sounds and stories have honest resonance and meaning which can and should be taken to heart by anyone who has ever felt the highs and lows of joy, alienation, defeat, victory, and an empty wallet with a head full of exotic hallucinations- all in one night.
"That be it punk, hip-hop, be it a reggae sound, it is all connected through the Gypsy part of town.."- Gogol Bordello
Don Cabellero - World Class Listening Problem
Six years have passed since the release of American Don, Don Caballero's supposed swan-song. Drumming genius Damon Che, defying the expecatations of fans and critics alike, reformed the band in 2003. The resulting recruitment featured an all new line-up composed of Creta Bourzia guitarists Jeff Ellsworth, Gene Doyle, and bassist Jason Jourver. Three years, one tour, and a label change later, and Don Caballero have returned to prove that even with their fifth record, they can can still make math music polyrhthmically rock. World Class Listening Problem is yet another example of Damon Che's ability to deliver one mathematical masterpiece after the other, delivering post-rock cock-rock with technical bravado and electric sweat.
I have to admit, when I first heard that World Class Listening Problem was to be released on Relapse Records, I was confused, and skeptical. What was Don Caballero doing on the same label as The Black Dahlia Murder? I'll tell you what they're doing: damage control. On this record, Don Caballero have managed to balance the aggressive shredding of For Respect and Don Caballero II, with the dissonant harmonics of What Burns Never Returns, without aping the incomparably distinct work of former guitarists Ian Williams and Mike Banfield. New bassist Jourver provides tight grooves and original tones, perfecting anchored to Che's consistently unpredicatble drum work. Don't let post-ironic song titles like "Mmmmm Acting, I Love Me Some Good Acting" fool you, Don Cab's latest instrumental rock record is no laughing matter, unless that huge grin on your face is the result of a stroke- of genius.
Don Caballero - World Class Listening Problem, will be released on May 16th, 2006.
Mindflayer - Expeditions to the Hairier Peaks
Expedition to the Hairier Peaks opens with a blurry maelstrom of messy noise bursts that whirl about in a harsh, barely discernible rhythm- setting the tone for an album whose appeal is limited at best. Let's face it, you don't make friends with noise. This isn't exactly a criticism, or an indictment of Brian Chippendale (see also, Lightning Bolt) and Matt Brinkman's (see also, Forcefield) electro-grind soundscrapes, as much as it is stating a fact. As the radioactive fallout begins to settle, Chippendales psychotic drumming fades into the mix, and by the third track- "Netherworld Bike Patrol C.H.A.O.S."- a pattern can be made out of the ruins Mindflayer have left in their wake. "Time Tunnel (Cosmic Crypt Chronoscape Collision Course)" draws the listener deeper into the album's painful psychedelic keyboard and drum jihad, and the repetetive nature of the piece gives the noise an entrancing power.
Where previous releases had Mindflayer tagged by some as the mere bastard lovechild of Lightning Bolt and Forcefield, this is no side-project. The duo have proven themselves to be an altogether different animal- a beast with blood dripping from it's frothing rabid maw. The album features three epic pieces, the fourteen minute "Nasty Meeting at Peak Park (Exploding Remains)" stands as the most terrifying amalgamation of Matt Brinkman's throbbing electronic gristle, and Chippendale's drumming is the stuff to inspire prog-genocide. Throughout the record, vocals are barely audible, buried deep beneath layers of sound. When heard, the vocals are distorted, demonic, and screamed like scraped nails across a chalk board of white noise. To the curious, be warned- you can't get blood from a stone, and there is little rock to be find in the noise at the Hairier Peaks. You'll either get it, or you'll get Tinnitus.
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