Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Mr. November


I would like to thank the American populace for voting for hope today. I am excited to see what the next four years have in store for our nation. Congratulations President Obama!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Blindness


This review will be brief; however, I do plan to expand on it at a later time. On to the film!

It should first be noted that I have a slight bias towards the director of this film, Fernando Meirelles, as he is responsible for both City of God and The Constant Gardener, but with this stated, Blindness is a fantastic film. Altohugh not related to my thoughts on the film, I must say the reviews it recieved are rather shocking, and feel that part of the reason for the spite comes from misconseptions about the film, and this will be brought about shortly.

Although marketed as simply another sci-fi thriller, the film is really a meditation on the nature of man. This is where the problem lies. The main critique on the film appears to be that the film's subject matter is simply to dark, which is difficult to argue with. In fact, if one were to borrow from Thomas Hobbes, the film would basically describe the basic life of man to be "nasty, brutish, and short." While this is all true, one must understand that this is an adaptation of a novel of the same title, by
Jose Saramago, and this film only scratches the surface of what is depicted in the book. This is no complaint, as few would be willing to subject themselves to viewing a film like that.

However, as dark as this tunnel is, the film offers the same glimmer of hope, thus asserting the goodness of man. While natural instinct may make us animalistic, we have the ability to pursevere of these raw sates and keep our humanity. This is the true meaning of the film.

As a quick note, the acting and technical aspects of the film were rather well done, although not nearly as inspired by previous efforts by the directer and crew.

B+/A-

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Lessons on How to Disappear Completely

So, I make it no secret to those that I know that I absolutely love the band Radiohead. To say the least I wear my heart on my sleeve when it comes to describing this band....and care rather little about the controversy the fell upon them for the several years when they decided to experiment with the sound that made them endearing to the masses. This sounds can best be seen in the song "Creep"...an anthem for all those that feel alienated and wish to be loved

With a basic introduction out of the way, let us get to the heart of the post: the opportunity to see my favorite living music artists live.* To sum up my experience in one simple phrase: it was religious.

With a a catalog as rich as theirs (seven albums, several solo projects, and plenty of B-Sides), to put together a set list must be particularly daunting. So, they said to hell with it and played the songs the enjoyed from their older albums (played all of their last album, In Rainbows), which made the experience all the better because they really appeared to enjoy themselves on stage. It also helps that they played mainly music from their later albums, like Kid A (my favorite album by the band) and Hail to the Thief.

However the moment of the show....hell of my musical life...came when they came on to play a heartbreaking rendition of my favorite song: "How to Disappear Completely." This is a song that already has the ability to break down the emotions of your humble narrator and to see it live was bittersweet. It is a song that will leave its listener feeling cold, empty, and alone; however, a sense of light seems to stay, thus creating a perfect emotional balance.

Overall the concert was perfect, or as close to it as it gets. I really did not think the band could reach the expectations that I had for it, but I was wrong. Oh...has it never felt so good to be so wrong.

*Favorite musical artist is Elliott Smith, but he is not with us anymore.