MISSING!

I haven't posted this week because I've been bumming out.  The reason is because Wolfie's been missing for a little over a week.  He's always been one to go outside for a while, but he always comes back at some point, usually because he's hungry.  But after he spent a couple of days away, things started to get a little hairy.  It's possible that he managed to walk through the woods behind the house and came out on top of Bell Hill.  Once he got up there, he probably didn't know how to get back.  Of course, it's also possible that some sort of scary woodland creatures got him up there.  I know I've heard fisher cats up there before and those bastards can be really nasty.  There have also been reports of a mountain lion being in the area, but I have to say that if these people did not see said mountain lion from five feet away, they probably really saw Wolfie.  He's a notoriously big boy.

Truth is, Wolfie's missing and at this point we really don't know what to say.  In the meantime, Raton's bumming out because he's the only one in the house during the day.  Raton hasn't been an only cat since he was a kitten, so it's kinda weird for him.

How are things on the west coast?
On the lighter side, I've managed to work out a way to see Interpol next month without complications.  Well, there's only one... I bought two tickets, so I need someone to come with me.  I know that I'm absolutely pumped to see this show, and if anyone else would be pumped to at least go see a good show in Boston, let me know.  I'll fill you in on details if you get in touch with me.

One thing about the match I was interested to see was the excitement level in the crowd.  I'd noticed that when you watch Revolution matches on TV, the place looks packed.  Turns out it's because they only sell tickets to half of Gillette Stadium.  Guess that's why it was hard for me to get really good seats.  But the crowd wasn't really into it, except for the end behind the left-end goal (if you're watching on TV, it's the left end, anyway), where the closest thing to hooligans and ultras sat (or stood).  They didn't sing, but chanted and banged on drums.  The rest of the crowd seemed to be kids' soccer teams, families, and DUDE-HEY guys who complained that it wasn't Italian soccer and their girlfriends who bitched that they check your bag at the door.

Still, it was a good time.  It's the only place I've seen more than five people get together to celebrate their love of soccer, and that meant a multitude of different replica jerseys from around the world... I wore my new Manchester United strip, and I spotted shirts for Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool, Reading(!), Barcelona, Roma, the Brazilian nationals, German nationals, and plenty of others.  And "Beckham 23" shirts from either LA or Real Madrid.  On that note, with all of the excitement over David Beckham's arrival in MLS, it still won't make people watch soccer over here... that is, when he finally decides to start playing.  Truth is, even though I like him, he's not nearly as talented as people make him out to be.  He's good looking and makes some excellent lob passes and free kicks.  That's about it.  And he married a Spice Girl.  Pffft.

Don't you steal my Sunshine
Checked out the new Danny Boyle flick, Sunshine, last week.  Boyle's been one of my favorite emerging directors for a little while because of the array of movies that he's done, along with the fact that he's done such a good job with all of them.  In the same way that he was able to do something unique with zombies in 28 Days Later, he does a great job of making a ridiculous-sounding plot in a sci-fi setting work well.  The idea here is that the sun is dying, and the aptly named ship Icarus II is headed there to deliver a bomb the size of Manhattan to get it started again.  Thing is, the original Icarus already tried this seven years previous and apparently failed because they were never heard from again.  So the crew we follow is the last shot we've got.

Boyle manages to borrow plenty from other sci-fi films, from the ship designs of Alien and 2001, to the all-around ambience of 2001, Solaris, and even Dark Star.  And when the crew locates and boards the doomed Icarus I, you can't help but remember the fantastically creepy Event Horizon.  Although you see all of these old elements come to the surface, you get the sense that they're not being pillaged for this film's sake, but instead it's being done in tribute.  Without those films that came before, this one wouldn't have been made.

The special effects are one of the real strong points here, including amazing visuals of the sun in all of its relentless glory.  The score and music are also engrossing, a mix of the classic and modern, all of which carries a very British feel.  But the best factor here is the ensemble cast, which includes Boyle veteran Cillian Murphy, Hong Kong's Michelle Yeoh, and Sudbury's own Chris "Human Torch" Evans, who I was rather impressed with.  Also, there is Rose Byrne, who I pretty much fell in love with but couldn't help but remember from somewhere.  Turns out she played the love interest for Brad Pitt's Achilles in Troy, one of my favorite epics of all time.  Again, that ensemble cast concept harkens back to Alien and has been a mainstay in sci-fi ever since.  The final act becomes more of a thriller with some crazy MTV2 stylization, but in Danny's hands, it works.  I definite recommendation to fans of hard sci-fi.   

Click on the Town House to visit NP1 Films... and from there, you can watch my half-hour TV special.  Go on and check it out, then tell me what you think. 

The trailer itself, though, is something to see.  It's shot as a home video of a going-away party for a hipster dude at his Manhattan apartment.  The video catches snippets of conversations with people at the party, when a scary roar is heard in the distance and the power goes out for a moment.  The partygoers hit the roof, when off in the distance they see a huge explosion.  Then it's out into the street, for a pretty scary climax.  After that is simply the film's release date, 1-18-08.  If you want to check it out for yourself, click here. 

The audience was dumbfounded.  "What was that?  WHAT HELL WAS THAT?" people were asking.  I knew, but I figured I should keep any secrets between myself and Greg, who was more than just intrigued.  People were even talking about it after Transformers was over, as I heard them talk it about while we left. 

So far, there's not much to say without speculating.  The film's been operating under the codenames "Cloverfield" and "Slusho."  It's quite likely to be a disaster flick of some sort with a giant monster trashing New York.  The budget is going to be around only $30 million, which is NOTHING in the disaster-flick category.  The handheld aesthetic will evoke memories of 9/11 news footage, which is likely to help amp up the scariness factor.  Also, J.J. Abrams is a big time New Yorker, so I'd expect this to be his own catharsis.  But beyond that, there's not much that anyone knows for sure.  Online forums have been exploding with all sorts of crazy ideas. 

The only way we'll be able to find out more, for now, is a new "game" that Paramount is playing with us.  It's expected that an "alternate reality game" will develop from this.  I remember back when A.I. came out, there was a revolutionary new way to get people psyched for a movie.  They created a sort of scavenger hunt across the Internet made up of different websites, puzzles, and even characters who would email you with clues as to where to go next.  I got into it and I played the game almost to the end.  The developers ended up naming the game The Beast, and it was probably the first of its kind.  It was also the best one that I've played.  Other movies, TV shows, and video games have tried this strategy, and they're getting tougher and tougher to keep up with.  "Cloverfield" or whatever it'll be called, has its own game developing.  For now, only two sites have been discovered, 1-18-08.com, and slusho.jp.  1-18-08.com consists only of a flash page in which you can mess around with "snapshots" taken the night of the film's events.  As for slusho.jp, it's a website dedicated to a fictitious Japanese beverage.  People discovered this one because the film's trailer featured a character wearing a "Slusho" t-shirt.  So far, none of it makes any sense.  But as is the case in these games, things will fall into place in time.

So it's likely that I'll start posting a lot about this film in the future.  The next bit we might get out of it is the title, which Abrams might reveal at the San Diego Comic Con this weekend.  I'm staying tuned.

Meanwhile, back in New York...
Visited with pretty much everyone I have ties to on Long Island this weekend.  I got to meet my new niece, Claire, and my new nephew, Jimmy.  The weather was great, the kids are cute, the food was delicious, and I was just happy to spend some time with people I love.  I hope to return again soon.  Real soon.

To start, last week not one, but TWO great new CDs were released.  First of all, Interpol's Our Love To Admire.  I've already shared my love of Interpol in the past, so I'll try not to repeat a lot of what I've said.  This is their third album, which is always a kind of litmus test for bands.  Sometimes they can be crummy, like Coldplay's X&Y, which was a kind of oh-so-profound sounding effort that I guess was ultimately insufferably British.  Sometimes, like the Strokes' First Impressions of Earth, it's more of the same as the first two albums, but it leaves you wishing the band would take a risk or two.  In the case of Interpol, it's spot on: you get the same band, the same sound, just better songs.  The term "cinematic" comes to mind, but it's so overused by music critics to describe great music that I don't want to use it. 

The truth is, Interpol are too cool for school.  I remember the first time I saw the video for "PDA," and thought to myself, "It sounds pretty good, but they're way too cool for me."  But the sound gets under your skin, and if you like it, you can't get enough.  It also helps that Paul Banks, Carlos D, Dan Kessler, and Sam Fogarino are four of the most dapper gentlemen in music right now, and that they sound so fully committed to what they do together.  Every time I spin Our Love to Admire, I try to envision them playing the songs, and the impression that I get is that you could cut the coolness factor with a knife.  Songs like "Mammoth" and "The Heinrich Maneuver" resonate with real power.  "The Scale" and "Pace Is the Trick" are just as punchy as the best tracks from Antics.  Perhaps the best factor is the almost frightening sincerity behind "No I in Threesome," showing that there's a wicked sense of humor or some loveable lechery (or both) behind Paul Banks's devilish smirk and top-shelf sunglasses. 

The only question is of whether or not to go out and get tickets to see these guys in Boston in September.  I'd love to go, only problem is, the show's on a Wednesday night.  Who the hell goes to a show on Wednesday?  Wednesday is not a cool night, and if it's not cool, well, it just doesn't seem like something Interpol would do.  Oh well, I'll make up my mind about it.  Get my suit dry cleaned and I'll be good to go.

[Meanwhile, yesterday I got Editors' second effort, An End Has a Start.  So far it's not as good as The Back Room, but they've been seen as a kind of poor man's Interpol (and the true heir to the throne of Joy Division if you ask me).  So I might have to leave that one for another day.]

Spoon also released a new one last week, titled Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.  These guys get better with every album, almost exponentially so.  I'd say that starting with Girls Can Tell, they've put out CDs that sound the same on the surface, but it's so damn good you can't stop listening.  They've just gotten tighter and altogether better over the years, and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is proof.  Kind of a dark horse album out of this summer... a sleeper hit. 

And the movies?  What of them?
Saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week with Fran, too.  Great fun, but different this time.  Different because we've known these characters for a long time now.  I know, that didn't make any sense.  But the thing is, I was sitting there and it suddenly dawned on me that it's all more of the same.  Even better, though, is the fact that they've done a great job of making sure that everything's the same.  Same actors, same sets, everything.  Well, the first guy who played Dumbledore died, but that's about it.  Since we already know who we're dealing with and the rest of the storyline, it's very much like the better "middle movies" we've seen, especially The Empire Strikes Back.  If you remember back to that, there's no explanation of who's who, it just picks up and, hey, here's Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, and they're just going about their business.  Same with Order of the Phoenix; here's Harry, Ron, Hermione and the rest of the laundry list of characters.  Good luck if you're just joining us because away we go!

Thing is, the movie's too short to accommodate such a long book.  I didn't read the books because, well, I just didn't read them.  I read books about guys going undercover in motorcycle gangs and smartass music critics driving across the country.  You can tell by the brisk pace that you're getting a condensed version of the story.  Also, there's so much crazy stuff going on that a muggle like myself (that's some Harry-speak for you) just has to resign himself to the fact that crazy crap's just going to happen everywhere in these movies.  Don't think twice about the fact that all sorts of stuff will be swooshing in and out of frame, it's all part of the fun.

The performances are good, although a lot of the big stars who've been appearing in these movies are underused.  Sure, the focus is on Radcliffe (Harry), Watson (Hermione), and Grint (Ron) through the story, and they're quite good, too.  But what about Hagrid?  What about Dumbledore?  And what about Snape?  My God, what about Snape?  And I will certainly miss Gary Oldman's Sirius Black, probably the sharpest-dressed wizard around (and a real Wayne Coyne doppelganger).  But we've got plenty of Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter to look forward to, I'm sure, so what's so bad about that?  Carter's appearance had been somehow kept from me, so I flipped to see her pretty much reprise her role as Marla in Fight Club. 

Okay, that's all for tonight... more posts to come, I promise.  I'll try to get one up before the weekend, I'm going to New York to visit new the new niece and nephew!  Yaaaaay!

I'd been waiting twenty years for this.
And it was worth it.  Even the ten minutes in which the staff seemed unable to get the digital projector to work.  But even that was worth it, like watching on a twenty-foot HDTV. 

Hollywood keeps trying to make movies like this and has been failing more and more.  With crap like Fantastic Four movies coming out without really making an effort to make a movie that will entertain and not just make the most money on its first weekend, they wonder why we're not going to the theaters in droves anymore.  But that's not what happened with Transformers.  Even though they picked a director who didn't know the source material, Michael Bay managed to get it right.  Although there's not much to get right about a bunch of huge robots fighting each other, there's got to be more than that.  If you're like me, your summer blockbuster education is based on Independence Day.  What ID4 did right was to have tons of action, great design elements, and plenty of humor.  It also helps if you're thirteen years old.  But I'm twenty-four and losing my hair.  I would have seen this movie no matter what, but I grew up on this.  Optimus Prime and Megatron go as deep as Batman and the Joker in my book.  Transformers is a benchmark from my childhood, and there was no way I'd miss this.

Obviously, the special effects are the main element of the film.  Industrial Light and Magic continues to step up their game, creating transformations that seem logical and realistic.  When the Autobots and Decepticons engage in battle, it's like nothing we've seen in a live-action movie before.  There's even some real "emotion" coming from their facial expressions, which were just as painstakingly crafted.  You'll forget you're watching computer-generated characters almost right away, and that's mostlly due to the fact that you've given up on the whole "suspension of disbelief" thing by the time you first see a walking robot onscreen.  The reason you'll buy into it is because Bay actually manages to give the first Autobot character, Bumblebee, some personality before his big reveal.  For instance, he uses his radio to help his new owner, Sam Witwicky, win over the hottest girl at school in an early and very funny sequence.

Sure, you don't have to do much as far as character development when you're dealing with huge robots, but it's something the angry geeks out there have been raging over.  Gimme a break.  At least the humans are pretty well put together.  Shia LaBeouf, for instance, completely overcame any doubts I had about him.  I think it's because the kid used to be on every show on the Disney Channel, but that doesn't matter anymore.  He had already made me smile in Constantine, but he seemed to have as much fun as humanly possible playing Sam.  He's got very good timing and is incredibly likable.  I don't know if he'll be much of an action hero, though, although he's supposed to be in Indiana Jones 4.  Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson have great all-American appeal as a couple of  soldiers who encounter some Decepticons in the Middle East, get flown back, and help turn the tide in the final battle.  John Voight also appears as the Secretary of Defense, and John Turturro is great as the head of a secret government agency trying to learn more about the Transformers.  As for the 'bots, Peter Cullen's return as Optimus Prime was like hearing the Superman theme again last summer; I was grinning from ear to ear.  As for Hugo "Agent Smith" Weaving playing Megatron, I'll just say this:  I had no idea that was supposed to be Weaving, as his voice seemed to be mixed pretty low.  But hearing those old Transformers lines, like "You disappoint me yet again, Starscream" from Megatron, or "Autobots, roll out!" from Prime were not only great to hear, but done without being pretentious. 

There's not a whole lot of plot involved in this movie, but you can be sure that it's all there to give you an excuse to watch the Autobots and Decepticons just rip it up over the final half hour or so.  Plenty of explosions, buildings getting ripped apart, and anything else you would expect, it's all there.  I have to hand it to Michael Bay, he took on a huge project and he made it work as only he can.  I hate to say it, but this is probably his best movie to date.  I know it's not saying much, but I really think it's his most complete movie.  If only there wasn't so much product placement...  but what do you expect?

There's really not much else to say.  If you're in the right demographics for this, you've either already seen it, or you're going to.  Maybe you're going to see it again.  I know I'm getting this on DVD as soon as it's available.  Maybe with Surround Sound. 

Con-QUEST!!
Had a short day at the bank today, so I took advantage of it and stopped in at the record store to get the new White Stripes CD.  After giving it a couple of spins, I've come to the conclusion that it could be their best work yet.  After trying to branch out from the old guitar-and-drums combo, Jack and Meg (really, mostly Jack) began to branch out on Elephant with some more layers and more use of the piano and organ.  On Get Behind Me Satan, he practically locked the guitar up for the whole album, changing the dynamic of the band and the songs.  So with Icky Thump, the return of Jack's masterful blues guitar was not only welcome, but seemed more refined than before.  The title track is a great rocker with a couple of different signature bits battling for supremacy.  Is it the explosive riff that plays in time with Meg's drum beat, or is it the bitchin' lick that plays at the breaks?  It doesn't matter; it's all good, and there's a couple of other tracks here that pit you against similar circumstances.  There's still a couple of songs that stray from the usual path, including the Mexican folk howler "Conquest" and the Irish tune "Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn."  And it's not just the music, I'm working my way through the lyrics.  Lines like "There was a time when all I wanted was an ice cream cone and some cream soda, oh well oh well" always seem to stick with me when they're coming from Jack White.  Great album to add to this summer's line up of great bands with new material.  Stay tuned for reviews of the new Interpol and Spoon albums (both coming on July 10th).

For one, I believe that in the ongoing narrative of The Sopranos, nothing has ever been kept from the audience.  There were never the kind of twists or turns that come from shows like The X-Files, Lost, or 24.  You might be taken aback by certain events on The Sopranos, but they were never hidden from sight.  If anything important were to take place, we would have seen it.  I know that sounds kind of ridiculous considering, but I think that's the way it goes.  Secondly, there was further progression of the storyline (Paulie taking over the construction jobs, A.J. getting the movie job, Carm looking to build another house, the gun charge that wouldn't go away, Carlo's upcoming testimony).  It's not like David Chase just left the characters where they were and left it at that.  He kept the ball rolling, and as Meadow walked through the restaurant door and Tony looked up as Steve Perry said "Don't stop," all those things were in motion.

But what about the tone of the final scene?  Believe me, I was just as tense as you were.  The dude in the Member's Only jacket had me up the wall (especially making his way to the bathroom), and the use of excessive cuts throughout the scene kept it going.  Even Meadow having trouble parallel parking seemed ominous.  And the use of ironic music choices in the series seemed to be reinforced by Tony's pick of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."  Ultimately, I think the scene was just a slice of life... not only for the Soprano family, but for all of us. 

Overall, the episode was outstanding, and I think it's because it was done just like any other episode, with just as much of a balance of humor, drama, and even a little brutality.  I especially liked the addition of the cat from the safe house who wouldn't stop staring at Christopher's picture, A.J.'s car blowing up, and of course, the incredibly satisfying hit on Phil Leotardo.  Sure, I wish there was another episode to see next week, but it takes you right back to that "did the cable just go out?" moment from last night:  it's all gotta end, but you know that nothing really ever does.  Might as well just cut to black when things get interesting.  So goodbye to The Sopranos, the greatest television program of all time.

Just focus on the good times.

Born To Run
Spent most of the weekend up in Fitchburg with Darryl and the gang.  Had a great time just getting away for a little while.  Finally got my chance to play some Wii up there.  I was starting to think that the Nintendo Wii didn't exist and it was just a big joke EB Games and G4TV were playing on me.  Highlights included rocking out to Springsteen, playing foosball with four people, and getting permission to hide there if I ever kill someone and need to lay low.  Unfortunately missed out on Robbie and Pete, but there's always next time.

And finally this evening, I just found out that the White Stripes do INDEED have another CD coming next week!  Icky Thump wasn't just a single as it turns out!  Stay tuned, I'll have a review for you.

• Greg and I saw the New England Surge a couple of weeks ago.  They're the new indoor football team that plays up at the Centrum.  You can't call it "arena football" because that's a trademark now or something, and I won't call it the "DCU Center" because that's a rival of my employer.  But the game was a lot of fun, in similar spirit to Sharks and Tornadoes games, and much less boring than I anticipated.  It's like Tecmo Super Bowl come to life.
• I transferred to the Park Ave branch of the bank last week, meaning Pat and I have been able to join forces.  It was incredibly busy at the end of the week, which is what happens when the first of the month lands on a Friday.  I'm not sure how long I'll be there, but it could be an ongoing thing. 
• This is the part of the list where I realize that I don't remember what it was I wanted to talk about and I wish I had already written about it.
• I saw the Cookie Makin' Satan Haters' first show in almost a year on Friday night at the Gym Sports Bar and Grill, which happens to be across the street from the main Commerce branch.  I showed up right as the show got started and it was a good time.  You wouldn't know they hadn't played together in so long.  Nobody plays a better "Helter Skelter."
• There's only one episode of The Sopranos left.  That's pretty depressing, and there's really no telling where things are going from here. 

There's other things I'd love to touch upon, but I can't really commit to talking about much else.  Lame?  Yeah, it is.  I'll be better about this, I promise.