AMEN: IN A WORLD OF GHASTLY UNCERTAINTIES, THREE CERTAINS, RISK FREE

F-STOP

THE LORD OF WAR
Dir. Andrew Niccol
A wonderful canvas, decorated with the blandest of colors - namely, Downer Cage, an off-purple who's heyday has passed.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR
Dir. Tim Story
Absolutely, positively horrendous. Far and awy, the biggest travesty of '05.

SERENITY
Dir. Joss Whedon
Entertaining space western that packs a sarcastic punch, even for those not initiated on the small screen.

THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE
Dir. Andrew Adamson
Sadly, Adamson is more skilled at getting the right notes out of his CGI creations than getting an audience interested in their fleshy counterparts.

THE SQUID & THE WHALE
Dir. Noah Baumbach
Wonderfully observed ode to childhood angst, with Baumbach out Wes Andersoning Wes Anderson. Billy Baldwin, never better.

DOG SOLDIERS
Dir. Neil Marshall
Some inspired moments, but overall a rather ho-hum entry in the werewolf genre.

DAWN OF THE DEAD
Dir. Zack Snyder
Anything wrong with stripping Romero's satirical vision and making it a straight-up actioneer? Not really.

BUBBLE
Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Wondrously subtle with nary a hint of technique - the film I so wanted FARGO to be, with a Robert Pollard score to boot.

Page Turners

DOWN & DIRTY PICTURES
Peter Biskind
If the concluding chapters illustrate one thing without saying it, its that Martin Scorsese shouldn't have been working for Miramax to deliver Oscar glory, but rather prepping the eventual Harvey Weinstein biopic, which will undoubtedly be one hearty slab of raging bull.

ULTIMATE X-MEN VOL. 1: THE TOMORROW PEOPLE
Mark Millar
Marvel's Ultimate line suffers from poor beginnings, this revisitation of the origin of this mutant superteam being no exception. With the exception of The Ultimates, always start with Vol. 2.

A HEARTBREAKING WORK OF STAGGERING GENIUS
Dave Eggers
A stream of consciousness masterpiece wrapped niftly in a made-for-tv-tearjerker with just the right amount of self-loathing. Staggeringly good.

MUSIC EXCHANGE NETWORK

LATEST ACQUISITIONS

Deerhoof
The Runners Four

The Raconteurs
BRoken Boy Soldiers

Chamillionaire
Sound of Revenge

The Coup
Pick a Bigger Weapon

Danielson
Ships

The Flaming Lips
At War With the Mystics

Gnarls Barkley
St. Elsewhere

Loose Fur
Born Again in the U.S.A.

Minutemen
The Punch Line

The National
Alligator

Part Chimp
I Am Come

Robert Pollard
From a Compound Eye

Slim Thug
Already Platinum

Slint
Tweez

Spank Rock
YoYoYoYo

The Streets
The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living

ON THE PROWL FOR

Mason Jennings
Boneclouds

Mobb Deep
Blood Money

Jolie Holland
Springtime Can Kill You

Neil Young
Living With War

Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam

The Stills
Without Feathers

Field Music
Field Music

Pearls & Brass
The Indian Tower

AFX
Chosen Lords

Murs
Murray's Revenge

Liars
Drums Not Dead

Man Man
Six Demon Head

« CHANNEL NEVERFAILS | Main | BEGINNINGS BIRTHED FROM ENDS »

IN A WORLD OF GHASTLY UNCERTAINTIES, THREE CERTAINS, RISK FREE

ONE - this is a movie poster...

...meaning that it accomplishes with one sighting a sudden urge to smoke dope, be merry, and officially begin counting off the 37 days until this preordained masterpiece lands in a multiplex near you.

TWO - this is supposedly the chorus of the Huey Lewis-penned theme song...

We got trouble,
we got to get out of here.
I’ve got you,
you’ve got me.
We are as high as we can be.
That’s all right.
How did we get into this mess?
Pineapple Express!

...which even if the film is an absolute disappointment, will undoubtedly signal a slight resurgence in the cultural significance of both movie soundtracks and the alto sax.

THREE - this is what they call a casting coup.

PREVIOUSLY GHASTLY: THE DARK KNIGHT, PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, SOUTHLAND TALES

Posted on July 2, 2008 at 09:15 AM in F-Stop | Permalink