Don't call it a comeback! No...really...don't.
Welcome back, my friends, to the hiatus that never seems to end. I am back, perhaps not in full force, but back nevertheless. This month was chock full of so much work and celebration that I’m pretty sure they need to find a drainage hole on me somewhere to dispense all the overloaded brainfarts in my wee little noggin. See, a statement like that alone proves how burnt out I am.
Ya see, I had two weddings, a West Coast birthday celebration, numerous late night/overnight work days, the release of the IBC Project’s rough cut (I think you’ve noticed!), near-completion of Mynt 1792 launch video, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, maybe not the pear tree, but you catch my wordy drift. To delve into all of those things individually would bore you (and especially me) to tears. But I’m slowly going to bring myself back from the catacombs, I pray, and continue to entertain you as best I can.
I was reminded recently of two sworn posts I would make this year, both of which I’ve failed to deliver so far. I have to admit, my desire to fulfill my needs have surpassed yours, so, well, deal with it. These two were: 1) watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua to give an honest review, and 2) to make a mega top ten list of superheroes and villains in the Marvel and DC universes. Have I made any headway on either? Negative. But here’s hoping I do before year’s end! That’s right, no promises. Get over it.
But to placate the masses (all four of you), I am going to provide quick reviews of ten things I saw, heard, read, or whatever other additional sense coincides with said list, during my blogatus. Welcome to another TOP TEN!
TOP TEN CRAPOLA MATT ENJOYED DURING HIS HIATUS FROM BLOGGING/BITCHING
1. Beatles Rock Band
Whoa nelly! I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned how big a Beatles fan I am. Sure, pretty much everyone is a Beatles fan (and all those guys who think you have to choose Stones or Beatles are, well, idiots considering the two bands were all colleagues and friends), but I grew up tuning all great music in comparison to the longevity of John, Paul, George, and Ringo. So even though I’m not to keen on video games that replace actual musical training with Guitar Hero or Rock Band or DJ Hero or Donkey Kong-has-drums-now-because-he’s-an-ape-and-clearly-must-own-bongos, the idea of playing along to a Beatles song (and not in the normal way I do with a really bad acoustic performance) was an amazing concept to me. Especially since this music is so coveted and what many would consider “untouchable” to a game franchise such as Rock Band. Yes, the limited amount of songs is lame and clearly a moneymaking ploy to buy more songs (and it has worked on me so far), but the storyline, the animations, and well, the music, are all so good that you keep coming back for more of the Fab Four. Can’t wait till December for the rest of Rubber Soul.
2. Up
Every time I see a new Pixar movie, I always come out saying “That was much more mature than most cartoons, but probably as adult theme-y as they’re going to get without scaring kids.” I said this about Wall-E when I saw it last year. And then I saw Up and they proved me wrong (again). They can still go for very adult themes without making a baby cry (though they had me watery from time to time). En route to Yakima this month, I put on my little TV screen (the new Continental 737-900 is diesel!), and Pixar decided to deal with growing old, long-term loneliness, becoming a widow, and death as an actual concept. And all at the same time with silly animal jokes, a fat kid making a fool of himself, and two crickety old guys acting like superheroes. At times sweepingly action-packed, other times quiet and emotional, and all times brilliant, with Up, Pixar just can’t seem to do wrong. And always glad to see Ed Asner can still bring the awesome.
3. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
After an uneven fourth season, season five seems…equally uneven. Lately, the Sunny team has been churning out two types of episodes: 1) in your face hilarious and 2) run of the mill funny. The fact of the matter is, for every also-ran they run, the downright riot-worthy episodes blow my mind. Specifically, this season’s “The Gang Hits the Road” and “The World Series Defense” could possibly be two of the best episodes they’ve ever produced. Whether passing out from ablaze wicker chairs in the back of a U-Haul or Green Man getting the snot kicked out of him by the Phillie Phanatic, Dennis, Mac, Charlie, Sweet Dee, and Frank continue to prove that bad people are also funny people.
4. The Walking Dead
So I’m late to the game with this comic series, but if you like zombies, have we got a winner for you! Robert Kirkman’s frustratingly morose ongoing series about a handful of post-Zombified World survivors is brutal, cliché in all the right ways, heart-wrenching, gross, and beautifully black-and-white. While I miss the art of the first volume, the writing never wavers. Rick Grimes, the leader of this not-so-merry band, is equally intriguing and annoying as the self-proclaimed king of the crew, and what Kirkman does so well (besides never letting the story get too redundant) is introducing characters we can learn to care about within a matter of one to two pages. Yes, it’s a bit talkie, but it’s also insightful and, unlike most zombie stories, unwilling to provide a light at the end of the tunnel. And that also makes it something a lot of zombie tales are not: scary.
5. Dollhouse: Season 2
Yes, I’ve claimed this show mediocre at best, and it still is, more often than not. But I also think it is way more intelligent a show than I give it credit for. I think that’s what most people find dull about it; it presents real-life questions and we, as an audience, would rather watch the action sequences. As many critics have already exclaimed, the most recent episode focusing on Sierra was perhaps the show’s greatest; performances continue to be top notch (especially from Olivia Williams and Fran Kanz — but I am missing Amy Acker desperately), and the overall mood of the show is darker and, in many ways, ugly despite all the beauties on screen. Sadly, considering a House rerun trumped every one of its episodes in terms of ratings, expect this season to be its final, so enjoy the Whedon lovin’ spooonfuls while it lasts.
6. Star Wars: Clone Wars: Season 2
While we’re on the subject of awesome show returns, why not mention how ridiculously fun this season of Clone Wars has been. Yes, the voice acting is as stiff as the cartoon facial expressions, but bounty hunter Cad Bane brings a whole lot of awesome to a show spun off from a bunch of movies that I hear some folks didn’t like all that much. But what actually makes this season so great, despite only being a few episodes in, is the storyline. With Bane helping Sidious find backdoors to the Jedi’s destruction, creating an overall season arc, we actually can garner some genuine excitement and tension, despite knowing how everything unfolds. And I have to admit, Ahsoka is finally becoming a character I can tolerate instead of flat out hating and praying endures an imminent Order 66-esque demise.
7. Moon
I’d been meaning to see Duncan Jone’s epic since it was released but, surprisingly, I didn’t have any time! Whoda thunk that? Anyway, in what may be the best performance I’ve seen all year, Sam Rockwell brings a tour-de-force as an astronaut on a three-year contract to harvest…the moon. What follows is a trippy, wonderfully confusing and beautiful shot and scored mystery when Spaceman Sam seemingly starts to lose his mental stability in the last two weeks of his stay. Add in Kevin Spacey as a Hal-esque robot named GERTY whose flat affect somehow invokes as much emotion as Rockwell’s tortured astrofarmer and you’ve got one hell of a ride. I may even watch it again tonight, now that I’m just thinking about it. Plus, um, hello, he’s on the moon!
8. Star Trek
Oh, while we’re on the subject of space epics, why not talk about a movie I already said I liked, but now have decided I pretty much adore. Having watched it now on DVD, this being the first time I’d seen it since May when it was released, I have to say J.J. Abrams’ entrance into the franchise has created one aspect of a Star Trek movie that I don’t usually get from the others: incessant desire for a repeated viewing. While the Mayor McCheesiness of some ST stock lines can bring certain scenes to a halt, we are once again won over by story and character development. And while everyone complains about Kirk being a d-bag, I’m fairly certain such people would exist in the future, even if we want our heroes to be as unrealistically modest and reserved as me…I mean…as our idealized selves. Plus, Simon Pegg as Scotty is still fucking brilliant.
9. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union
I’m reading a book, guys! And I’m actually only halfway through it, but Michael Chabon’s saga of an alternate history’s Alaskan Jewish settlement plagued by a mysterious murder under the nose of alcoholic and closet-case neurotic detective Meyer Landsman is epic in scope and hard to put down. Listen, I’m normally very loathe to read from contemporary writers who are called “geniuses” among their critics, if only because the term should be saved a bit more, but I guess having a Pulitzer Prize and being willing to use Yiddish as common novel vernacular sort of intrigues. Plus, talk about a storyline; I keep telling people it’s Blade Runner with Jews instead of robots. Maybe not the best tagline sale, but coming from me, it means a whole lot. Plus, the beautiful noir feel is so palpable you could cut it with a meser!
10. Finally, there are no words…
-M
