The legitimacy of American Idol...

To this day, I’ve still never seen a full episode of American Idol and although I often find myself somewhat curious, I can’t say as though I really have plans to. It’s not that I have anything against the show or the contestants, but I can’t help feel that there are a ton of highly talented musicians who will never get discovered while those chosen to be on this reality show can make millions without ever playing a smoky underground night club or packed up their van to tour towns where no one’s ever heard them.

I understand that the American people want other people they can cheer for and in a small way, it’s part of the American dream, but what about the dream of a singer who may happen to be 30-years-old (You must be under 30 to enter the contest) or who is dedicated to their band and doesn’t want to break from them to attend on of the try-outs? Millions of artist make their way up through hard work and years of perseverance while individuals who may or may not be able to write a song or play an instrument, get a chance to be a start in a manner of weeks. For pure entertainment value, I get the premise, but as for idols; I just don’t think they’re truly being represented.

Too many gimmicks and not enough substance in Quarantine!

Now and again we like to get some cheap thrills from a movie. These may be at our expense, or more importantly, not at the studio’s, i.e., through cheap production. Nothing was more evident of this than The Blair Witch Project, which had the right gimmick and enough suckers to buy the story line. That being said, it was scary and in the end, that’s all that matters.

Not unlike The Blair Witch Project or even Cloverfield, Quarantine is a movie that asks the viewer to watch through the lens of one of the characters and tries to show the plot unfold through real time drama. I recall when watching this, my wife asked me if it was “Cloverfield Jr.,” most likely due to the lesser known actors and lack of special effects.

Being the movie fan that I am, I hardly noticed many of the aforementioned gimmicks or even similarities to pervious movies. The issue I did have was the character build-up. I mean Jay Hernandez is awesome as an actor in anything he does and I loved that he was in this, but we didn’t need about 30 minutes to introduce us to the fire station crew. Why? Only two of them matter a few minutes later, and then shortly after that, one.

My point is that this movie has suspense, drama, horror, twists, and some shocking revelations, but they take too long to get to. Too much of the plot is predictable and this leads us to an ending that is reminiscent of The Descent. I suspect they went that route
‘cause there was no where else to go.

Hall & Oates still resonate with music lovers after 30 years!

Yesterday decided to talk about literature and for a second day in a row I continue to branch out into other pop culture arenas. Now it’s no secret that I’m a fan of music and even love to sign a note or two. On my other sites I’ve discussed some bands in particular that I’ve become quite fond of over the years.

And so with that, I think that I will do at least a weekly feature on a musician or band that resonates with me in some way. For my first selection I’ve chosen one of the most popular musical dues of the 70s and 80s and at the same time, one of the most over-looked bands regarding their fabulous contributions to the music scene.

While Daryll Hall and John Oates – together as Hall & Oates – formed as a band in 1969, it wasn’t until 1972 that they released their first album and four more years until they had their first top ten hits with “Sara Smile” and “She’s Gone.” The band’s mix of soulful riffs and poignant lyrics shot them to the top of the music scene in the 1970s, but they are often labeled as an 80s band. Not so. Yes, they had some hits in the 80s, but the crux of their best music was released between 1975 and 1980.

And I’d be remiss not to mention that until recently, I didn’t quite appreciate the musical impact these two had on others. Yet each year when the powers that be meet to discuss who should be on the ballet for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Hall & Oates continues to get snubbed.

Shutter Island deserves a read before the 2009 movie premiere!

When it comes to comparisons between novels and movies, I consider myself a book guy. That is to say that I find it rare that a movie adapted from a book or novel can live up to the original work. Such scrutiny is typically heightened when the novel in question is by an author I’m particularly fond of. That being said, I really think that Dennis Lehane’s novel, "Mystic River" was done extremely well and was able to retain the soul and feel of the story as told by the greater-Boston native.

While "Gone Baby Gone" was a decent movie, there were quite a few changes and necessary omissions that didn’t do the story or characters justice. Now with Martin Scorsese directing one of Lehane’s most ambitious works in that of "Shutter Island," I really am curious. If you’ve read the novel, you know that the story is not only mesmerizing and complex, but is done in such a way that the reader can’t help but be totally thrown off by the ending. I of course, won’t give that away, but I highly suggest that you go to your local bookstore and read the novel before the movie comes out next fall. For first time Lehane readers, I guarantee you’ll find yourself buying more of his work and you will understand why this mystery fiction master has had so much of his work transformed into major Hollywood productions.

There's always time to watch one's favorite show!

There are several television shows that I watch throughout the week. Some are ones that I DVR and can’t wait to tune in and then there are those that I watch because my wife enjoys them. That’s isn’t to say that I don’t like them, but it’s suffice to say that The Biggest Loser isn’t my first choice for shows to watch when there are alternatives like the Sci-Fi Channel and some cool shows on the Discovery Channel. That being said, we are both still in the first several months of our marriage and I think that it’s important to have some give and take. I know full well that if I really wanted to watch Battlestar Galactica, Julie would either go upstairs to another tv or just switch it, but the point is for us to be together. It doesn’t really matter what it is we’re watch because family time is family time. This is of course when the DVR becomes such a great thing to have. We can watch The Bachelor all night long and I don’t mind because I can still watch Jack Bauer take on the rest of the world after she goes to bed!

Cloverfield - Not a new idea, but masterfully done!

When Cloverfield came out on video last year, I was excited to see it. This J.J. Abrams monster-thriller had been hyped up a great deal and the reviews were pretty good for what is a essentially a horror flick. Admittedly, it actually took me a couple nights to watch it and it’s quite short. It’s not because I didn’t like it, but rather, I think it was because I had a lot going on. Anyway, the point is that I didn’t really get a chance to take it all in.

So when last weekend, Julie and I decided to stay home and rent a movie, decided that I wanted to see it again. Julie had mentioned an interest in seeing the movie after I had rented and so it was an easy choice.

For those that don’t know, the movie is basically filmed entirely from the point of view of a guy with a video camera. And while the person shooting the film changes from the beginning, there are no multiple camera angles or neat camera tricks. What we see happen in the movie we see through the eyes of one of the characters. This isn’t the first time this type of filming has been done, but I think that it was one of the more effective portrayals because throughout the drama, action, and horror of the events, we get a fairly intimate picture of how a group of friends in New York, cope with what has been thrust into their lives on a single night.

And like any review of sorts that I do, I won’t go into the plot or give away any details, but I can say that the movie is both shocking and even rewarding. Rewarding in the sense that the whole story is told and no loose ends are left untied. The shocking part… well, you’ll have to watch it.

It's more than an Oscar show, but like, a whole day!

Let’s be frank, I’ve been sitting here for the past 5 hours watching Oscar related television and I’m about to pull my hair out. Am I the one that wanted to watch all the red carpet show? No, that would be my wife. Are there other televisions in the house I could have used? Yes, but then again, I could have done something else all together and yet I didn’t.

If you go back to an earlier post, I think I may have mentioned my thoughts on all the garbage that goes with award shows. The “red carpet” is the epitome of this. I mean who the hell really cares what the stars are wearing and how they feel about the awards? Okay, I understand that millions and millions of people care, but it’s so damned boring. That being said, watching all of this invested me in this year’s awards show. I mean I can’t just not watch even that my wife has gone to bed. So I sit here so I can basically see who wins the award for the one category that I’m really interested in. Wonder how many guys sit in my shoes right about now?