Movie of the Week (9/30/2011)

50/50
Director: Jonathan Levine

Mostly, 50/50 is just terribly funny and sad and beautifully acted and terrifically feel-good for being, you know, a cancer comedy. Considering that any one of those elements could have scuttled its fragile mix of drama, comedy and life-and-death stakes, it beats the odds with modest, utterly winning ease. A movie handled with this kind of care is a rare gift. Refusing to hide from pain or bow to it, 50/50 makes its own rules.

Album of the Week (9/27/2011)

Primus
Green Naugahyde
Genre: Whatever Primus is...funk-rock, maybe?

PRIMUS IS BACK! Here, Larry "Ler" LaLonde plays his complimentary role so well it's scary, Claypool has never sounded better, and Jay Lane jumps back onto the train before it takes off without him again. Overall, the writing is richer, peaking with the somber songcraft of "Last Salmon Man." Green Naugahyde is very much a return to their glory years, which makes it a great introduction for new ears and a satisfying addition to the catalogue for long-time fans.

Movie of the Week (9/23/2011)

Moneyball
Director: Bennett Miller

A smart, intense and moving film that isn't so much about sports as about the war between intuition and statistics. The movie is an absolute triumph of culturally relevant filmmaking--a film that will thrill and fascinate sports junkies and non-fans alike. If you like baseball, you will love this movie. If you hate baseball, you will still love this movie. Funny, furious, and full of front-office drama, Moneyball is the perfect sports movie for these cash-strapped times of efficiency maximization.

Album of the Week (9/19/2011)

Neon Indian
Era Extraña

Era Extrana's lavish electro-pop proves that Neon Indian can be more than just chillwave. It sports the admirable trait of being so much like many of the best psychedelic pop records in recent memory (Oracular Spectaular pops to mind rather often), while going a long way in forging Neon Indian's own, very distinct musical identity. By focusing more on originality and the aural progression of this album, Palomo is clearly honing his craft and proving that the musical trend he helped to create, won't be going out of style anytime soon.

Movie of the Week (9/17/2011)

Drive
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

As with any Refn film, you have to go into Drive knowing two things: (1) people don't talk very much, and (2) there will be blood...LOTS of blood. So no one dies for the first hour. Then everyone dies, horrifically, in the most stylistic and, dare I say, beautiful way imaginable. The entire film is really an exercise in style, but it's a dazzling and mythic testament to the appeal of fast cars, dangerous men, and high tension that can only be caused by slow-motion shotgunning. The entire movie, however, seems more real than any of the usual action-crime-chase flicks we've grown so tired of paying $10.50 to see. When I was watching it, it reminded me a lot of David Cronenberg's A History of Violence, in that it's fairly quiet at the start, but then ramps up until the very end, where it just cuts off. It is also similar in its stylistic approach to showcasing ultra-violence in a slower, neo-noir setting. It's cool, smart, and feels like some kind of masterpiece. Never before have I seen a movie that was both this beautiful, and this unnerving.

Album of the Week (9/12/2011)

St. Vincent

Strange Mercy

Genre: Art Rock

Like the best art, Strange Mercy lets you know that it means something--though what the point is is as much open to interpretation as it is a matter of its author's intentions--which is how it should be. The modulations and switches in pace remain as bold as ever, and Clark has a knack for memorable melody and a winning voice with shades of Kate Bush and Leslie Feist. Her approach is confident and challenging, but not the most important--several direct, haunting love songs are as delicate and affecting as any Adele tear-jerker. Yet, far from a liability, Clark's bare, sedate St. Vincent persona is the highlight of Strange Mercy, reflecting all the terror, beauty, and allure of her music more effectively than any other narrator could think of.

Album of the Week (9/07/2011)

The Field

Looping State of Mind

Genre: Ambient techno

The title of the Field's third album, Looping State of Mind, might have you thinking the Axel Willner is getting back to basics, returning to the sound that made his project a crossover favorite with rock kids a few years back. But in a few instances, the music on Looping is barely recognizable as "the Field" at all. The tracks may be still be built from loops, but Axel Willner has never organized or layered so many of them so beautifully. His dense-yet-listenable soundscapes put his contemporaries to shame.