“Inception” is one of those films that defy easy description. Though the reception to “Inception” has largely been positive and the box office highly profitable - a rare case of public and critical sensibilities lining up in tandem- one look at the message boards at any given major critical site shows a house divided. Continue Reading

The summer is almost in full swing. Memorial Day was a few weekends ago, and Fourth of July beckons. That means cook-outs, fireworks, and, of course, Hollywood blockbusters- and maybe the odd indie fluke hit or two, one hopes. Continue Reading

“Kick Ass” blows up the boundaries between comedy, action and superhero movies with wit, style and ass-kicking action.

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is an avid comic book fan and self-admitted high school nobody that has a simple question. Why has no one ever tried to be a superhero? His friends, Todd (Evan Powers) and Marty (Clark Duke), quickly inform him that it would be completely impossible to survive such an experiment. After our main character is mugged, he continues to question the society in which he lives. Continue Reading

Director Jim Field Smith’s “She’s Out of My League” is a vapid profile of romantic politics that half-heartedly addresses the notion of outer-beauty being supremely important in a relationship.

The film strives to be a social commentary on the shallowness of American culture, but it is actually just a textbook example of poor comedic writing.
The film’s main focus is on Kirk (Jay Baruchel), a romantically inept TSA officer who simply tries to get through each day without having to endure some form of embarrassment. Continue Reading

If Italian poet Dante Alighieri had seen “Legion” he would have written in his “Divine Comedy” that there are 10 circles of hell instead of nine — the last being reserved for movies that are so lame, uninspired, poorly crafted and vile they are sinfully bad. Continue Reading

By Mark Trammell

The Fiery Furnaces aren’t for everyone, and that’s precisely why the White Rabbits are appearing on the likes of Letterman and the Fiery Furnaces aren’t.

The Fiery Furnaces were formed back in 2000 in New York City.

Though on record they are a primarily brother-and-sister team ,Eleanor and Matt Friedberger, the Furnaces are supplemented by Bob D’Amico on drums and former Sebadoh bassist Jason Lowenstein on bass.

Matt primarily writes on a keyboard, and the vast majority of their songs feature prominent keyboards of some kind.

This makes for some radically different versions of their songs unless you’re familiar with their oft-obscure lyrics. Their music ranges from the critically-adored psychedelic rock epic “Blueberry Boat” to the revisionist techno-pop of “Bitter Tea.”

Their latest, “I’m Going Away,” features a prominent punk-rock influence, but also some bar-band style blues and even a little jazz.

Furnaces is a band that thrives on audience participation and has been featured on the local-based live show “We Have Signal,” thatcrops up from time to time on PBS.

They often shift from one genre of music to another within the same song, all the while Eleanor talk-sings ninety miles-a-minute.

The White Rabbits were infinitely more audience-friendly.

White Rabbits are a New York City-based band, though their members originally met in Missouri at college.

There are six members in all, with two of them drummers, although several of them switched up instruments throughout the show, including the singer, who mostly played keyboards.

The lead guitarist also sang co-lead for most of the songs, giving the whole of their sound a very layered-effect.

As for their sound, they were like a mash-up of Spoon and Aztec Council, with the dual drummer aspect of Mutemath thrown in for good measure.

They were a little too much the same between songs for my tastes, but anything would sound the same coming after the wackiness of The Furnaces.

Still, they were nothing if not slick and together live, which is probably why they’ve enjoyed more commercial success than the Furnaces.

When all is said and done, which you liked better probably comes down to your personal tastes.

I myself have always thought the best rock and roll was a bit rough around the edges, so the Furnaces are more to my personal liking. However, I also get the appeal of White Rabbits.

Their songs may not have veered too far from a particular style, but they nailed that style handily. There certainly weren’t a lot of complaints from either crowd afterwards.

In short, everyone went home happy, and really, what more could you ask for?

The Furnaces may never quite break through to a wider audience the way White Rabbits have, but fans wouldn’t have their music any other way.

And after all, you have to give credit where credit’s due for Rabbits even choosing such a left-of-center band as their opening act.

And isn’t that what it’s all about? Exposing people to a cool band they might not have heard before?

Therefore, as one who was already a Furnaces convert, my hat’s off to Rabbits for at least having the good taste to feature a band not afraid to take chances — even if they themselves didn’t. 

To contact this writer, drop him a line at ripmrgordo@hotmail.com.

By Mark Trammell

Within the first minute of seeing the trailer for “Inglourious Basterds,” director Quentin Tarantino’s latest, you probably knew whether it was your cup or tea or not. You should trust that instinct. Either the idea of a mustachioed, redneck Brad Pitt and his merry band of Jews out “killin’ Naht-zees” is your bag or it isn’t, simple as that and actually giving the movie its day in court isn’t going to change that initial gut reaction.

Brad Pitt in "Inglourious Basterds"

The good news is, after the minor misstep of “Death Proof,” Tarantino is indeed back in fighting form. Not that “Proof” was that bad, by any means, just subpar in comparison to what came before it (including its sister “Grindhouse” feature, “Planet Terror”—not to mention the faux trailers). With “Basterds,” however, Tarantino is back to his strengths: clever dialogue with more going on beneath the surface than in most scripts, rich characters that make their mark almost immediately even in only a scene or two, and abrupt, startling violence that you rarely see coming—or if you do, manages to be even worse than you might have imagined.

The film features a number of Tarantino trademarks: the book-like chapter structure of the “Kill Bill” saga, the Mexican stand-offs of “Reservoir Dogs” (not to mention the Tarantino-penned “From Dusk Till Dawn,” “Natural Born Killers,” and “True Romance”—this is a guy who likes his Mexican stand-off!), and the withholding of crucial information that slides into place in the end, making you want to immediately see the film again, a la “Pulp Fiction.” In short, it’s everything you ever loved about Tarantino and then some, down to the cribbing of other films’ soundtracks, is present and accounted for. Oh yeah, and stuff blows up real good.

The story is ludicrous and knows it, but doesn’t let that get in the way of showing the viewer a good time. Essentially a revisionist history piece, the film revolves around several groups intent on sabotaging a Nazi Party get-together, including the most crucial member—the man himself, Hitler. That the most vital leaders of the Nazi Party would all be together in one place in such a highly-public fashion at the height of the War when all of the Allieds are gunning for them is, of course, ridiculous and highly improbable, but who cares?

It works because it’s pure and utter fantasy, wish fulfillment of the highest order. The old “if you could go back in time and take out Hitler would you?” query made flesh and blood, with a particular emphasis on the latter. Indeed, over the course of the film, people are scalped, shot, bludgeoned with a baseball bat, knifed, and plenty more atrocities where that came from. Hey, what did you expect, a tea party? This is a “killin’ Naht-zees” free for all!

Still, the film isn’t above giving the viewer—and its characters—time to breathe. Despite the prominence in the trailers, Pitt and his marauding titular troop are actually a minor part of the story, though Pitt doesn’t let that stop him from handily stealing every scene he’s in. It may well be his best work to date, in fact—or at least his most consistently entertaining.

The real focus is on two main characters: Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), an escaped Jew masquerading as a French theatre owner; and Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), who is the more subtle—most of the time, anyway—Nazi equivalent of Pitt’s hunter character. It is at Shoshanna’s theatre that the aforementioned get-together occurs, putting her in prime position to do a little Nazi-killing her own bad self. Meanwhile, Landa is making the rounds, looking for Jews at Hitler’s behest and exterminating them accordingly. Both are singular and exceptionally-rendered characterizations. Don’t be surprised if either actor ends up with at least an Oscar nomination for their efforts here. Waltz in particular runs the gamut from scarily charming to silly to scary as all get out—sometimes all at once, and that’s no mean feat. The opening scene alone, with Landa scrutinizing a potential Jewish sympathizer, is fraught with all manners of tension to the point of being nearly unbearable. It isn’t long before we realize every scene featuring Landa will be as well, which is a testament to Waltz’s incredible skills as an actor. He’s worth seeing the film for alone.

Also worth mentioning is a brief appearance by erstwhile Austin Powers Mike Myers, redeeming himself for “The Love Guru” in a manner of minutes; and a strong turn by German-born Diane Kruger, doing the same for…well, pretty much her whole career thus far, save perhaps the underrated “Wicker Park.” Even the supporting actors manage to make a strong impression in a handful of scenes, including “Hostel”-director Eli Roth as the aforementioned bat-wielder known as “The Bear Jew;” “The Office” star B.J. Novak as Pitt’s right-hand man; “Kill Bill” co-star Julie Dreyfus as the posh Francesca (love the tiger hat!), Goebbels’ French concubine; and especially Til Schweiger, who has one of the best movie introductions ever as the take-no-prisoners Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz, a German-born Nazi killing machine.

Okay, so this is more Tarantino having a good time than anything else, but it still ranks right up there with the best of his work thus far, with more memorable scenes than you can shake a bat at. Oh yes, it is jarringly violent—movies that use violence properly should be—but it’s also a hell of a wild ride, and at half the length of either “Grindhouse” or “Kill Bill” in their entirety, so there’s that. In short, if you’ve always wanted to see wholesale Nazi killing, boy, are you in for the ride of your life. Strap in and hold on for dear life!