Music Review - Cults

Cults
Cults
In the Name Of/Columbia Records

The debut album from the young New York-based duo of Brian Oblivion (why can't my last name be something like 'Oblivion'?) and Madeline Follin, Cults, is an impressively polished and confident release considering the band's inexperience. Wikipedia classifies Cults as an "indie-pop" band, and while that might be true, it's not incredibly helpful - I think of the duo as belonging to something of a 60s girl-pop revivalist trend, following recent acts like Best Coast, Dum Dum Girls, and The Pipettes. Cults definitely has a retro, summery feel to it, but beneath much of the innocent sounding pop music there are somewhat darker lyrics and conceits than it's bubbly surface would indicate.

TV Review - Doctor Who (S3.1)

Doctor Who
"Smith and Jones"
Writer - Russell T Davies

The first proper episode of series three, "Smith and Jones" should feel mighty familiar to those who have seen the opener of series one, "Rose," as we are introduced to the Doctor's new companion, Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman). While the episode was far from the best that the show can produce, it provided a largely entertaining introduction that provides some hopeful signs of more good things to come.

TV Review - Torchwood (S1.1)

Torchwood
"Everything Changes"
Writer - Russell T Davies

Welcome to the start of my coverage of Torchwood, the spin-off of Doctor Who! I'm excited to see what Torchwood has to offer, as I'm pretty much going into this without any knowledge of where the show will go or really what it's like. My first impression, based on series opener "Everything Changes," is that the show seems to be playing the Angel to Doctor Who's Buffy right now - it takes a slightly darker, less overtly comical tone than its progenitor and it has the potential to tell some different types of stories in the same universe. Another realm of similarity to Angel is that both shows start with episodes that are well-constructed and promising, while simultaneously seeming a bit timid and inconsequential.

TV Review - Doctor Who (S3.0)

Doctor Who
"The Runaway Bride"
Writer - Russell T Davies

I've decided to start reviewing the third series of the revived Doctor Who for a couple reasons. First, it's a really good show that's well worth discussing, and second, I've decided that if I have to write about each episode it might slow down the pace I'm watching them - because I have a confession to make: I've become a Doctor Who addict. I sped through the first two series with a rather alarming alacrity (alliteration!), and it might be a good idea to have a little more time to think on and savor the show - also, it'll do wonders for my sleep schedule. With that said, I'm really excited to start writing about the series - and I've also decided to cover spin-off series Torchwood alongside Doctor Who, so we'll see if my appreciation and addiction spreads to that as well.

Film Review - Super 8

Super 8
Director: J.J. Abrams; Writer: J.J. Abrams
Paramount Pictures

This review will likely be on the short side, since it's been quite a while since I actually saw Super 8, but I feel like I owe the movie at least a little bit of my time since it was one of my favorite films of the summer. Every review of Super 8 is required to mention the debt it owes to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the oeuvre of Steven Spielberg, and with good reason - the movie looks and feels like a throwback to that era in a number of interesting ways. That being said, Super 8 is also unmistakably a J.J. Abrams flick, and the melding of the two styles works quite nicely, delivering a not-quite-transcendent but very compelling experience.

Random Topics: So I Went to the Movies...

I went to go see Super 8 earlier this week (look for a review of that soon), and I thought I'd write a little bit about my favorite part of going to the movies: the previews. Alright, maybe that's a bit of an overstatement, but I really do love watching trailers at the theater.



Above is a trailer for Real Steel, which is apparently about boxing, but with robots. The sheer fucking stupidity evident in this trailer absolutely astounds me. I mean, am I crazy, or does this not seem like the dumbest fucking movie ever? I like Hugh Jackman as an actor, and director Shawn Levy also helmed Big Fat Liar (with Frankie Muniz, Amanda Bynes, and Paul Giamatti - and is exactly as awesome as that sounds), but how in the hell did anybody think this was a good idea. From the trailer, it's got some real promising signs of awfulness: cliche feel-good underdog drama, extremely annoying and terrible child actor (named fucking Dakota Goyo, for fuck's sake), a plot based around robots punching each other. Ugh.



On the other hand, the above trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 got me so unbelievably excited for the final film. Until, that is, the very end of the trailer, where it invites me to "complete the journey in 3D" - the trailer that I saw at the theater then proceeded to assure me that the journey could also be completed in 2D in "select theaters." Fuck that. I don't for the life of me understand how people could think that the prospect of seeing a blurrier, gimmicky version of a film would be an exciting idea - one worthy of touting. I read that as a giant 'fuck you' at the end of a trailer that, as I said before, made me really want to see the movie. I'll acknowledge that I'm ranting and nitpicking here, but it's my blog, so I'll feel free to make an ass of myself as much as I want, thank you very much.