modvod-blog
modern voodoo
"Name's Kong. Flava Kong."
10 posts
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
mstfaakrm-blog
Untitled
profnescau
Everything is possible!
ssirenah
Sirenah
raikachan
Dreaming about Chu..♥
starsunderfog
Formerly An Tumbl
Text
THE BOYS AND GIRLS GUIDE TO GETTING DOWN - 2006
THE BOYS AND GIRLS GUIDE TO GETTING DOWN - 2006. Dir. Paul Sappiano
Not entirely sure what to make of this one. I think what initially drew me to this seemingly forgotten movies is the ground covered. I.E. partying, sex, social interactions.
This sort of stuff is an easy sell for me, and that's why when this obviously low budget effort bored me, it's gotta be especially uninspired.
The live action scenes are broken up with cheap analytic graphics and other scientific looking charts....The intent is to tie all of the disparate live action scenes together, and really visually hammer home the points that the movie is going for.
But it feels more like they had about 40 minutes of a movie, and needed someway to salvage all of the various bits and pieces.
The real issue is that the situations and facts are dry in execution. There's no specific voice or character's mindset to present the stories in an entertaining or fresh way.
Something that I thought of after the fact that really fits a more successful execution of a similar sub-genre is RULES OF ATTRACTION.
Bret Easton Ellis is certainly a writer with a particular voice. And the Roger Avary adaptation of his book starring Dawson as an alcoholic ivy league school student gets the tone and style pretty right on.
And while it covers the same ground as "Guide," everything is presented through an exaggerated, specific version of reality that enhances and brings depth to the frenzy of drugs and sex.
0 notes
Audio
TUNESDAYS: Cheers Elephant - Like Wind Blows Fire
Where did these guys come from?! Oh, Philadelphia…that’s cool.
Cheers Elephant occupy a particular slice of music that’s really difficult to do well. And for the most part, they do it REALLY GOD DAMN well.
There are bands out there that strive to create this sort of “perfect pop” music. A kind of timeless, yet very current pop sound, and always produced with precise sonic care. Bands like PB&J, Two Door Cinema Club or the king of the genre, Phoenix. They seek to marry the classic sound of The Beatles with modern sensibilities and playful production flurries.
Like their pop brothers, Cheers Elephant approaches their second album Like Wind Blows Fire from this same mantra. It bristles with youthful energy and charm to spare as tricky song structures and extra production detail add an impressive second level to the, on first glance, simple power pop tunes.
I find myself so knocked back by the opening two-fer of “Peoples” and “Doin’ It Right” that once the album ends, I immediately start from the beginning. It is only through this that the third track, “Falling Out” appears to be weaker, and is the only song I consistently skip on the album.
The only undoing of Cheers Elephant is when all of the elements that make them special don’t quite mesh like on “Party on Darwin.” Overall the song is not bad, and the pre-chorus (with “yeahs”) is excellent, but the experience is undone by an extremely weak “ba ba” style chorus.
However, these rough edges are part of what happens when a band strives to combine so many tangential pop elements into a palatable form. But they’re all fucking 23 or something probably. They’ll get it sorted. I say, for this band it will only be onward and upward.
P.S. I’m very much looking forward to seeing them live at Hotel Café in March.
0 notes
Photo
"I don't...have a weapon."
"That's very stupid...and you won't make it in television."
-SGC2C / "Fire Ant"
0 notes
Audio
Toro Y Moi - Say That
Anything In Return might be better titled "hope you like chopped up vox" because they're all over this record.
I've been following Toro Y Moi's progression over each album, and found Underneath The Pine warranting of multiple listens. That album has an overall dreamy feel, but it's undercut with upbeat synth lines that added an exciting, unexpected aspect to the tracks.
That feeling is still present on Anything in Return, but for the first time, the snippets of ideas that flowed in and out of previous TYM songs have been explored and developed to new depths, and new lengths. It is also the most coherent feeling TYM album to date.
The unfortunate truth is that as these songs stretch out over their moderate length, everything seems too connected, and the soul and spaced out bleeps and bloops, and "WOOH!"s sprinkled about each track start to blend together into a bland slow fog.
I still like it, but even when picking a track for this, I found myself clicking through the playlist going..."Which was that one track I really liked?"...Picking one, and not being sure if that was the right one, but, "Hey maybe I could use this one. It's also pretty good. And has chopped up vox."
It's hard to really tell a difference anymore.
0 notes
Photo
Just won the Cowboy Bebop Remix complete series set on Ebay. Rewatching it...I think it very well may be my favorite thing OF ALL TIME.
+ the 5.1 audio is ass blasting.
12 notes
·
View notes
Audio
From Drowned In Sound's top Singles of 2012. Hadn't heard of the guy before but I really dig this song.
0 notes
Text
KICKING AND SCREAMING - 1995
KICKING AND SCREAMING - 1995. Dir. Noah Baumbach
When I did finally decide to watch Kicking and Screaming, to be honest I was shocked when the Criterion logo popped up.
Could it be true? The poster with its bright annoying colors and ensemble of indie neverbeens (though of course Parker Posey is in this), lead to me to believe other wise.
I was expecting a lesser than Swingers, skewering the youth culture of the 90s, and that's exactly what I got. The characters all speak impossibly, and at unforgiving length about relationships, sprinkled with an occasional concern for the future, post college.
It's interesting to see that this comes from Noah Baumbach, and over time he certainly has developed into a distinct (though perhaps still derivative) voice.
In this, again the dialogue comes quick and wordy, but nothing expressed is ever interesting or fascinating.
That's why once it seemed like all that was happening involved random combinations of characters making out, I headed to do some dishes.
A few minutes later, I decided to pop my head around the corner, and into the window of shallow 90s-speak. And to my surprise, I rejoiced! Could it be...boobs??! Glorious boobs at that, belonging to a young Perrey Reeves.
It was as though Baumbach, or perhaps worried investors, knew that this movie was boring as shit, and so right about the halfway point, threw in some nudity. I will give the dialogue vomit credit at this point, because instead of the expected quick flash, Perrey and some annoying guy sit on the bed for about 15 minutes talking about whatever.
Are Perry's tits or Eric Stoltz as a pathetic Van Wilder eternal student enough to save this movie from being essentially pointless? Not by a long shot. Maybe if it only included the above elements and completely avoided the 20 other characters I don't give a shit about.
"How do you make God laugh? Make a plan."
-Stoltz
0 notes
Text
Movie Reviewing Format
I will sporadically be posting movie reviews here. This is a warning that they will probably never be full reviews, but scattered, disparate thoughts.
I've seen a lot of movies, so most of the time, I end up losing interest and proceed to somewhat pay attention while doing other things (usually washing dishes).
0 notes