Peggy Sue, an indie folk band from Brighton in England, announces their debut album, Fossils and Other Phantoms, on Yep Roc. It’s a very tough album to write about, though, because it is so unique. Sure, they sound a little like Heartless Bastards, but they’re really just a very good indie rock-and-blues band with smart lyrics, amazing vocals, and excellent songwriting.
This album has been growing on me with every listen. And it oughtta be good–the band has been touring together for years, amassing a large collection of originals.
See for yourself in one of their three remaining U.S. dates!
Okay, so I had to go to Prince of Persia with the kids. Boy was that painful. As I muscled through the relentless barrage of clichés and predictable plot developments, I thought to myself, “Is this the worst Video Game Movie ever?” Answer: Probably not. But are there ever any good ones? Surprisingly, there are . . . Of course, I’m not including any of the Pokemon movies because, well, it’s Pokemon.
One more thing: There are a few hidden song goodies in here, too. Just ’cause you’re all so dang special.
Runners up: Movies that weren’t as bad as they should have been: Doom and Hitman.
10. Silent Hill (2006).
I don’t have much to say about this first entry. I can’t say I liked it, but I didn’t hate it, and lots of people I know liked it. So it gets the number 10 slot.
9. Street Fighter (1994).
Street Fighter was directed by Steven E. de Souza, a comic book writer who is currently attached to direct the Sgt. Rock movie. On the one hand, he’s the guy who wrote Die Hard. On the other, he’s the guy who directed Beverly Hills Cop 3. From the foundation of such ambiguity came this strangely satisfying film. It’s also the best Jean Claude Van Damme film ever, and also starred Oscar winner Raul Julia in one of his most screen-eating roles. Don’t concern yourself with plot or acting, just come for the cheesy violence.
8. Tommy (1975).
Okay, pinball isn’t a video game, but it is an arcade game. It’s on the list, but I ranked it low for lack of being an actual video game. I had to include it, though. If nothing else, it’s an excuse to post Eric Clapton’s brilliant performance of Eyesight to the Blind . . .
This post notwithstanding, I’m not much of a gamer. I think most video games are pretty boring. So I had no idea that this movie, in which the always compelling Timothy Olyphant plays a dude raised by monks to be the perfect assassin and spends an hour and a half pretty much shooting everything he sees, was based on a series of video games. If I had known that, I might have avoided the movie. But I really enjoyed it. Of course, I like pretty much everything Olyphant does, including his current TV series, Justified.
6. Wargames (1983).
“It’s still playing the game!” Not just a good video game movie, a good movie in general, about a game called Global ThermoNuclear War and a little hacker boy played by Matthew Broderick. Who appears not to have aged a day since he made that movie. Must be all the lovin’ he gets from Sarah Jessica Parker. So although the movie is a little dated, he isn’t.
Anyhow, this is one of several films on this list that were not based on video games but were about them. Think that’s cheating? Well, you try to do a top 10 list like this and not include crappy movies like Tomb Raider. This was the only way to make it work. And everyone knows every list worth a damn has to have at least 10 items.
One of two films on this list directed by Paul W.S. Anderson–talk about having a niche specialty–Mortal Kombat starring Christopher Lambert and a group of unknown, young and attractive martial artists was surprisingly good. Particularly if you went in expecting it to be a steaming pile of crap. The effects might not be impressive by today’s standards, but the fight scenes still hold up well. Caution: Do not confuse this film with Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. You’ll be sorry.
4. Tron (1982).
I’m too lazy to investigate whether the game or movie came first, but the game was pretty awesome. This was the quintessential video game movie: It’s all about being in a video game. The special effects, for its time, were great. It was the first film to specifically target gamers as an audience, and it actually received some fairly positive reviews. With Tron: Legacy coming soon, and Jeff Bridges reprising his role from this film, everyone should get a hold of this on DVD and check it out again. It’s more than a little dated, but it’s a classic.
3. EXistenZ (1999).
First of all, by way of disclaimer, I have to note that this is a David Cronenberg film. Now, I love Dave’s work–he’s one of my all-time favorite directors–but I recognize he’s not for everyone. Particularly because this isn’t a Scanners/History of Violence/Eastern Promises Cronenberg film. It’s a Shivers/Videodrome/Dead Ringers Cronenberg film: One apart from the mainstream, freaky and disturbing as hell. It’s about a fictional virtual reality game that plugs into users’ spines, looks suspiciously like an umbilical cord, and gradually takes over their existences. The word “isten” means God, which fits the philosophical themes of the film. It is an exploration of the role of fantasy and faith in our lives. Like a few other films on this list, this is a movie about a video game, not based on one. Starring Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law.
2. Resident Evil (2002).
First of all, you get to see Milla Jovovich’s bare rib balloons, which is always a good thing. Second, this is actually a very solid zombie flick and is even occasionally scary. The sequel was pretty good, too, but the third one was godawful. The fourth comes out this year, and based on the first two, I’ll probably go see it, but it will probably be a huge let down. All the films are directed by Paul WS Anderson, also known for directing the remake of Death Race starring Jeremy Statham, another very good, very violent B-movie.
1. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007).
If you love to stare at geeks, marvel at mullets, or enjoy a good slice of life documentary, Seth Gordon’s film about the competition between the two best Donkey Kong players in the country is perfect. It is a truly excellent film and, surprise of surprises, is actually touching. It should be required viewing for all video game fans, and is far and away the best video game film in history. Winner of several best documentary awards, including a People’s Choice.
Y’all know who the terrifically talented Kurt Vile is, right? He’s that Philly dude who also plays with moodyindierockers “War On Drugs.” I’ve been a big fan of his WODprojects over the years, as well as his solo work. Well, he recently got signed to one of the best indie labels around–Matador Records–and his first project for them is an EP titled Square Shells, which Matador gave away for free (for just 24 hours). Sorry I didn’t tell you folks about it sooner–I don’t write about anything until I’ve listened to it, and I have a backlog that stops me from getting to listening in a timely manner. I truly regret it, in this case, because it’s a fantastic EP. It’s worth buying if you’re a fan of his old work, or if you dig Beck, Pete Doherty’s acoustic work, or just want to hear some of the best of this genre.
Become a Berkeley Place corner boy (or girl) by going here and voting for the best reinvention of a character in comic-book history. I really want to get a lot of votes for this. You can also just shoot me an e-mail with your list. There’s already lots of votes for Frank Miller’s Batman and Garth Ennis’ Punisher, of course, but I’d love to hear from you!
And now, this week’s news . . .
1. FANTASTIC FOUR GETTING WHITTLED. I haven’t read any of the Jonathan Hickman F4 books yet for two reasons: (1) I’ve never really loved the FF (except during John Byrne’s run nearly 30 years ago); (2) It’s not out in trade yet. But I plan to. I’ve heard tremendous things about it. And in September, one of my favorite artists, Captain America’s Steve Epting, will sign on for a 6-issue arc titled, “Three.” They’re gonna kill one of the four. My prediction: Johnny Storm. Sue has ties to Atlantis, and Namor is getting his own book soon; Reed is part of the illuminati; and The Thing is supposed to be signing up with one of the Avengers teams. Also, Hickman will bring Doc Doom into the mix for the first time under his reign. That’s got to be a favorite moment for any FF writer, no? And while they’re being killed in the books, they’re being reborn in the movies! The next FF movie (with a whole new cast/director/writer, thank you very much) will be a complete reboot and origin story titled, “Fantastic Four Reborn.” Note: The property is still owned by Fox; it will not be a Marvel Studios deal.
Oh, and by the way: The pictures accompanying this item are just the two reprintable ones you get if you google “Fantastic Four Porn.” Who knew there was so much “fan fiction” out there?
2. BATMAN GETTING ANIMATED. One of my favorite Batman stories, by my absolute favorite Batman writer, is getting the cartoon treatment. Frank Miller’s Batman year One will be the next DC DVD after they wrap Batman: The Red Hood.
3. MARVEL NOT GETTING ANIMATED. Sadly, Marvel has no planned animated movies. I guess Planet Hulk didn’t do too well. They still have Thor in the can, and I guess that’s it (other than their Avengers cartoon for 2011).
4. GREEN LANTERN GETTING SEQUELED. Already? Does this mean they can film them simultaneously, and cut down the gap-time between films? Also on the GL Movie front, there are now rumors that Superman will make an appearance in next year’s flick. At the same time, though, Christopher Nolan nixed any talk of crossovers into his third and final Batman movie, stating that in his view iconic characters should be able to carry their own movie. And that really was the difference between DC and Marvel back when Marvel started, as an upstart company. It took a long time before DC characters would just randomly show up in a DC book, whereas it was common to see Human Torch fly by back in a Lee/Ditko Spider-Man, or to have Doc Strange make a house call. What do you all think about that? Should the universes be touching each other all the time, or does it just overstuffing and distraction that hides a less-than-adequately developed independent storyline?
5. AND SPIDER-MAN KEEPS GETTING BETTER. The team of Mark Waid and Paul Azaceta (of the gritty indie “Potter’s Field,” as well as some Spider-Man: Gauntlet stories) will return for the next big arc after the Kraven The Hunter/Gauntlet story wraps. The story will involve a sinister seven (of sorts)–Sandman, Lizard, Electro, Rhino, Screwball, Kraven, and Vulture–facing off against Menace, who is currently carrying Norman Osborn’s baby. Yes, you read that right. And yes, if you’re not reading Amazing Spider-Man, you’re missing out on what may be the most consistently fun, “superhero-ey” book on the market. It’s old-fashioned good guy/bad guy stories told with modern sensibilities.
That’s all for this week! Please remember to vote–I need your help!
I just missed Pete Francis at Jammin’ Java in Vienna last month, and man am I pissed. Pete’s latest album, The Movie We Are In, is fantastic. It’s retrospective retropop–a collection of perfectly crafted, well sung, and deftly played tunes, with spot-on production, an acoustic feel (with electronic accents), and vivid, bright colors. The album seems bursting with sunlight, glowing warmer with each listen. It’s the kind of thing you hear once and immediately want to hear again.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and say this one of the best releases I’ve heard so far this year.
There, I said it. For fans of: Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson’s solo work, Phish.
Business note: With this review of what will probably be the most reviewed comic book this year, I introduct a new post-tag, “Comics review.” If you’re looking for good stuff to read–or bad stuff to stay away from–you’ll be able to use that tag to find all the reviews I’ve done. I’m still using the “comic books” tag to separate out all comic-related posts, too, like the “Best Comics of the Decade” post I did with a bunch of other bloggers last year.
Okay, so now for my review of Batman #700.
The good: Grant Morrison actually tells a story. Yes, it’s a little confusing at first, but it’s actually a story that makes sense and can be figured out if you hang with it, even if you don’t know everything that’s happened in Batbooks for the past three decades. In this regard, I think it’s a first for Morrison. In this regard, it’s also a perfect anniversary issue, because a lot of folks (like me) are going to be picking it up on that basis. (I don’t regularly read the Batman or Detective titles–I only read Morrison’s “Batman and Robin” title.) In fact, Morrison shows a winking self-awareness when Batman tells a confused Robin, “It’ll all make sense one day,” as they jump off a rooftop. Robin (Damian Wayne version) has a look of savage, unbridled glee as he leaps through his confusion. It’s ironic that with three of the industry’s most popular artists on the book, Scott Kolins has the best panel.
The bad: The story isn’t all that imaginitive, and it’s one you’ve probably read a dozen times in other books. Hell, you might have already read it in an old Batman comic. Still, it’s fun enough, and it gives Morrison the opportunity to write multiple characters. As much as I generally find him obtuse, one thing he is quite good at is establishing distinct characterizations in a few words. The characterizations of Joker, Riddler, Mad Hatter, etc., aren’t novel, but they are funny, interesting, and creative.
More good: It’s the first time we get to see David Finch’s interior D.C. art. And it’s on Batman, the Finchiest D.C. character of them all. And we get to see a Frank Quietly story as well, who is easily the best translator of Morrison’s nebulous scripts. Which brings be to . . . .
More bad: Quietly only draws the first 2/3 of his story, with Scott Kolins finishing it. I’m not giving much away to tell you that the book takes place in three different time periods (but doesn’t have anything to do with the current time-skipping Bats is doing in “The Return of Bruce Wayne”), and one of the ways that the time jumps are displayed is through the use of multiple art teams–one for each version of Batman. When Quietly’s story is broken up, it greatly impairs this narrative device. I wonder if there’s an interesting backstory here, or if Frank just couldn’t get it together to finish up.
More good: It’s fun to see Morrison’s visions of Batmen of the future.
More bad: The stories of each Batman are so short that the vision is never really completed. Morrison’s talent lies in creating worlds and visions, but his weakness is that he needs a lot of time to spread out. He’s a long-form storyteller, and this is a one-and-done. Perhaps that is why the best actual story in Batman #700 is the first one, involving the current Batman (Dick Grayson) and Robin (Damian Wayne)–they’re the characters he’s writing about on a monthly basis.
More good: The “art gallery.” In the ’70s, Marvel called these pages “pin-ups.” Yeah, they’re filler, but in BM#700 we get to see, among others, the likes of Dustin Nguyen, Tim Sale, and one of the most influential comic artists of the last century: Bill Sienkiewicz.
More bad: More filler. A completely useless 4-page map of the Batcave and a 5-page “preview” (advertisement) for the upcoming Neal Adams Batman project. Yeah, of course it looks good. It’s Neal Adams. But you’re charging me five bucks for a comic–don’t screw with the content by making me subsidize your promotions.
Final verdict: Buy it. The pluses outweigh the negatives by a lot. If you read this and don’t have fun, you just don’t like comic books.
Psychedelijazz doesn’t get a lot of play here, so if I’m going to write about it, it’s got be very good. Tame Impala fits the bill. Let’s start with “It Is Not Meant To Be.” It’s got Beatles-ish vocals, like from the Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds era, but the music has elements of Yes, modern electonica, crashing cymbals . . . It’s complex, but’s got a groove. And it’s pretty much the standard for the album. “Desire Be Desire Go” may have more fuzz and a harder sound, and Alter Ego may have more Pink Floyd than the other cuts on the record, but the sound remains similar throughout. A definite, high-quality album by a band to watch.
For fans of: Yeasayer, Flaming Lips, Dungen, and The Beatles.
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WHAT THE HELL IS BERKELEY PLACE?"Berkeley Place" has been a blog since 2000.
Berkeley Place is also 6 blocks of Brooklyn real estate, emerging from Sackett St. and ending at Banana Hill, a small park that grows a foot each year from dog shit and the corpses of dead rats. Though its residents have gotten wealthier over the decades, Berkeley Place still houses folks of all backgrounds with interests in, well, everything.
WHAT THE HELL GOES ON HERE?Ekko reviews independent music, comic books, and whatever else interests him.
WHAT THE HELL IS INDIE MUSIC?An independent record label (or indie record label) is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels.
- Wikipedia.org
That means they ain't in the RIAA, dude.
Peggy Sue, an indie folk band from Brighton in England, announces their debut album, Fossils and Other Phantoms, on Yep Roc. It’s a very tough album to write about, though, because it is so unique. Sure, they sound a little like Heartless Bastards, but they’re really just a very good indie rock-and-blues band with smart lyrics, amazing vocals, and excellent songwriting.
See, it’s things like this that make me wish I hadn’t given up my career in advertising.
And now, this week’s news . . .
the movies! The next FF movie (with a whole new cast/director/writer, thank you very much) will be a complete reboot and origin story titled, “Fantastic Four Reborn.” Note: The property is still owned by Fox; it will not be a Marvel Studios deal.
retrospective retropop–a collection of perfectly crafted, well sung, and deftly played tunes, with spot-on production, an acoustic feel (with electronic accents), and vivid, bright colors. The album seems bursting with sunlight, glowing warmer with each listen. It’s the kind of thing you hear once and immediately want to hear again.
post-tag, “Comics review.” If you’re looking for good stuff to read–or bad stuff to stay away from–you’ll be able to use that tag to find all the reviews I’ve done. I’m still using the “comic books” tag to separate out all comic-related posts, too, like the “Best Comics of the Decade” post I did with a bunch of other bloggers last year.
