Reviews: November 2004 Archives

Heather and I watched The Punisher (version 2, featuring less Dolph and more Thomas Jane) tonight. What an uneven pile of crap. I mean, there were moments of "Hey that was cool" and then long bouts of "Oh this is just stupid".

I wish that people would sit down at Marvel and go "Really folks, we're commited to making sure that comic book movies NEVER SUCK AGAIN, and to that end, Bryan Singer and Sam Raimi will lead seminars". I mean, you would think that Jonathan Hensleigh, the guy who wrote the screenplay and directed "The Punisher" would be half-decent, as he's worked with Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay on many of their best movies (The Rock, Con-Air, etc)...but come to think of it Michael Bay inflicted Pearl Harbor on us...so maybe it's a wash.

This was a movie with uneven timing, uneven flow, and an uneven atmosphere. It seemed like the director was more interested in showing us what the lives of the three madcap misfits that live in the same apartment building as Frank Castle are up to than what he was doing to avenge his family's death. Do we really care that Rebecca Romijn-Stamos' character has been "sober for over a year"? NO! Do we care about them eating ice cream and dancing to Verdi? NO!

Too often, the movie tried to make you laugh, and that took away from the starkness of the Punisher's mission.

So, it was not really worth seeing. Man on Fire took the same basic premise and did it much better. Bad Boys & Bad Boys II does a much better job of combining the laughs with the action.

3 out of 10 stars.

I promise that I'm not ignoring the election results. I'm just digesting it. Plus, you're all probably sick of hearing about it.

Anyway, I've been picking up on some music I really like lately:

The Music: Someone cloned Geddy Lee, or at least, his vocal cords. It's not a perfect match, but holy hell, it's close enough. The band's not quite Rush either. Picture early-Rush, but if they decided to be a party band instead. If you've got iTunes, get your free loving here.

Speaking of cloning...Interpol. I already picked up both of their albums (Turn On The Bright Lights and Antics)
Someone put a whole bunch of Joy Division with a dash of Psychedelic Furs into a blender and poured out diecast replicas of the very best things that Joy Division EVER put out. They're breathtakingly good. Wow. These are my two favorite albums right now, and they're getting a lot of spin.

Frou Frou: Someone burned me a copy of Frou Frou based on the song on the Garden State soundtrack. I don't know what to make of the album, other than I love it. It's hard for me to describe because it kind of lays across a couple of genres I like, and some I haven't paid any attention to. It's simultaneously beautiful and deep, while still retaining some sense of dance and pop. It's like Bjork and Dido got together to make a Top 40 album, but kind of missed the mark. It's very listenable, great for late nights and deep thoughts filled with longing.

The Earlies: As if we didn't have enough free-wheeling, loving Texans making music (Flaming Lips, The Polyphonic Spree, or for that matter ANYONE from Austin), some Texans joined forces with some guys from England and made The Earlies.
Think Polyphonic Spree, think sweet and light music, like a delicate custard, nah, it's heartier than that. And tastier. What a delight.