DIARY OF THE DEAD

Ok, I’m still every bit as busy as I suggest in the above entry, however – I saw some stuff I wanted to comment on:

DIARY OF THE DEAD (DVD)
This is the 5th entry in the Romero DEAD series. NIGHT and DAWN are classics. DAY is considered the weakest but still great 3rd part of the trilogy. Regular readers of this blog know that Romero never got to film his original script for DAY – he refused to deliver an R rated film so he was forced to cut his budget (in today’s age of DVD, pay cable – it’s hard to imagine that happening again.) In any case – Last year saw the release of LAND OF THE DEAD – Romero’s first Zombie film in about 18 years. It sucked royally. In every possible way. Some cool zombies in the unedited dvd version, but really – very comparable to the new STAR WARS. So – here we are again – Romero once again tries to make a zombie film – this time with better results – in something called DIARY OF THE DEAD. This is essentially the BLAIR WITCH of the series – modern day kids are recording the dead returning to life with digi-cams and uploading into the internet, where we get to see lots of different scenes of mayhem from around the country. So already, premise wise, we’re well ahead of the really over-baked LAND OF THE DEAD. That said – these are some of the most scary and impressive zombies we’ve seen in quite some time. The look itself is MUCH closer to NIGHT and DAWN since this is super duper low budget production. The action, the zombie bites, all very good – especially since it’s being shot in an ultra-realistic way. The bad news – the voice over and the script and acting in general. These kids who are supposedly shooting a horror movie when the shit breaks out – isn’t that a cliché’ in itself? – are all fairly bad actors. The voice over, written after the film was finished – is truly God-awful, with Romero philosophizing over subjects with words no kid going through this phenom would ever use in a million years. That said – again, there is much to recommend here – the zombies and the action are particularly well done. If only the story and dialog wasn’t so fucking hokey. So – this is somewhere in between DAY and LAND – not a great place to be, but this guy is 66 and still pumping out zombie films.
The DVD has some great extras, including some cool little docus on the making of the film, the effects, we learn that Romero has split from his long-time girlfriend and producing partner and now has a new girlfriend. And Romero’s commentary is arguably more entertaining than the film’s dialog. From what I understand, he's going to do another Zombie movie in this subjective cam way - I just wish he would follow the example of the great OPEN WATER, which used it's DV camera like a fly on the wall (as well as another great low-key gem, THE ANNIVERSARY.)

As far as DIARY goes, all in all, a mixed bag – but for Romero aficionados, a can’t miss. For all others:
Grade: B -

MEATLOLAF: IN SEARCH OF PARADISE (DVD - NETFLIX)
This was supposed to be included in the 3 BATS LIVE dvd and then they released it seperately. It's a 90 minute docu of Meat prepping his 1997 SEIZE THE NIGHT tour (otherwise known as BAT 3 - but Steinman wouldn't give him the rights to the name.) Meat comes off as fairly genial, insanely sensitive and hardworking and very very critical of his own performance night after night. He's never happy with the way he sounds and at 59, feels like he's climbing an uphill battle - and he is. He's losing his voice in a huge way. But he's still the Meat - and the show still works - and when Meat finds his voice on the road near the last half hour of this docu, it's the Meatloaf from 1979 that comes across and it's great. For serious fans only.
UPDATE: I hadn’t finished watching this when I wrote that – but it was more of the same. Mostly you get a bunch of Meatloaf running through songs, losing his voice, being called out on the section of PARADISE where he and the new backup singer, who looks about 12, make out for a while and Meat’s funny solution to the problem (to have them all dress back like it was the famous 70s video clip.) But mostly, Meat is pretty disheartened over his recent performances and so are we. This is definitely for serious fans of Meat only – but for them – it’s pretty revealing. There are zero extras, and the biggest disappointment is that there is virtually no discussion of the Jim Steinman relationship nor the fallout over the recent BAT 3 CD. Maybe that was a legal thing, but it’s sorely missing from this docu. They should’ve just included this in the 3 BATS LIVE dvd like they did overseas, but maybe they thought they could make an extra buck this way.
Grade: B -

JUNO (DVD)
I realize I’m really late on the bandwagon here – so in short, this film was way better than I thought it would be (I thought maybe it suffered from overhype.) It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s relevant, it’s sweet – very sweet – and it’s exceedingly well written. If you haven’t seen this yet, do so. It’s the best film I’ve seen in a while. And the soundtrack is killer, as are turns by both Jason Bateman and Michael Cerra.
Grade: A

FLAVA OF LOVE 3 (VH1)
So…he went with Thing 2 – then he decided on the reunion show that he loved the mother of his recent child. I don’t know what to make of it, but these shows are always fun and this was no exception.
Grade: C +


PROSTI (DVD)
A foreign film about a whore house. The film tries to be cute with its subject – not recommended.


A REAL YOUNG GIRL
Another foreign film - this one about a 15 year old girl coming to terms with her sexuality – unwatchable.

I'm LOVING the new COLDPLAY CD. Loving it.

The new Al Green CD rocks. Buy it. Download it. Get it.

QUEEN ROCKS MONTREAL (PBS)
Is a must-see. It's a 1979 (I think?) concert - shot on film - lots of old school Queen hits - Freddy is in PEAK form as is the band. It's striking to watch the show and realize just how much of a solo show Freddy Mercury turned those concerts into. He was one of the very best stage performers with such a solid catalogue - the few songs I've watched so far were PLAY THE GAME and SOMEBODY TO LOVE. He's in great voice and the sound is awesome - watch this and just get happy.
Grade: A +

ALANIS MORISETTE (Rules Of Engagement 2008)
I like Alanis a LOT – but this disc is like….how do I say this - it's kind of like really bad disco. Like the kind Elton John made when he and Bernie Taupin split up for a few years. There are one or two songs that seem cool that have her signature sound - but it sounds like a bad dance record to me - I will give it another listen or two to make sure my assessment is correct, but she's just talented and arrogant enough to have made a truly awful record.
Grade: F
UPDATE: I have given another listen or two – it's even worse than I thought.


AIMEE MANN - SMILERS (CD 2008)
Very new disc finds Aimee Mann moving ahead with tense ballads and quietly lush production values. The songs are really quiet, building into personal convictions and impressive songwriting all around.. Very compelling, if not as immediate as her hits ONE and WISE UP. This is a mature cd, for mature people - which means I can't listen to it. On the other hand – this is all a bit on the boring side.
Grade: B -

Just how unfunny is Vanessa Williams in her on-air promos for her TVLAND appearance where she WARNS the GOLDEN GIRLS not to upstage her: "Betty, this could get ugly." I guess she's supposedly "funny" on UGLY BETTY, but those ads are the exact opposite of comedy. Nothin' funny about those promos. Reminds me of the zany comedy of Ryan Seacrest on those ON DEMAND promos where he reprises his lame tirade from KNOCKED UP (the one really lame moment in the whole film belongs solely to Seacrest.) Vannessa Williams - maybe relax with the being "in" on the joke thing. Seriously.


TEETH (DVD)
About a girl with teeth in her Vagina. It's played as a sort of CARRIE horror film with the lead coming to terms with her sexuality and her powers then using them for revenge against the people that have wronged her. As bad as some of the acting is - the movie is sort of a kick and at 90 minutes - somewhat watchable. The inclusion of Jon Hensley (the horrible actor who plays the son in NIP/TUCK) is one reason the film never rises above mild tedium. But the first half hour or so is really good. And there are some funny/gruesome moments. The gynecologist with the "special " technique is especially eye opening.
Grade: C +

The new REM - ACCELERATE - is really good. It kind of sounds like REM from around 12 years ago - after the novelty hits but before the really boring period.

How great is the Dylan song, VISIONS OF JOAHANNA?

How bad does the new INDY JONES movie look? I'm not sure, but I hear that ALIENS play a role in this thing. Seriously. Fucking aliens.


AL GREEN - new cd "LAY IT DOWN" 2008
I know I said i was ending the blog, but this cd is freakishly good. This CD made me write another blog because I had to talk about how good this is. It's like a pristine Al Green CD that was recorded in the 70s but somehow didn't get released and now it's been mixed and revived to sound pristine. In it's own quiet, devastating way, it's the pipe bomb of 2008.