"The Avengers" Movie Review

NERDS!  ASSEMBLE!

Ever since 2008’s “Iron Man”, comic book fans have been promised a team up of a group of Marvel’s most well-known superheroes in “The Avengers”.  Now, four years later, the film is here, and it is one of the most hyped-up movies of the year.  The question is, does it live up to that hype?

Going into this film, I knew it had a huge potential to fail miserably.  I loved all of the movies leading up to it, but I wasn't exactly sure how the more grounded-in-reality Iron Man would work well with the demi-god Thor.  This was also the first time a crossover like this was going to be attempted in the film medium, and although it works well in the comic book universe, I was unsure of how well it would translate onto the silver screen.

All of my fears were put at ease from the opening scene.  “The Avengers” is up there with the best that comic book movies have to offer, and is probably Marvel’s best film to date.  The writing, character development, and action are all top notch.  Minus a few gripes, this film is damn near perfect, and everything I was hoping for.

For those of you that don’t know (and have been living under a rock these past four years), “The Avengers” stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man/Tony Stark), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Evans (Captain America/Steve Rogers), and Chris Hemsworth (Thor).  Jeremy Renner plays Hawkeye, a minor character from “Thor”, and Scarlett Johansson returns as Black Widow, who made her first appearance in “Iron Man 2”.  Tom Hiddleston plays the villainous Loki, and is much more menacing than his first appearance in “Thor”, where he was more of a sympathetic villain.  Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Clark Gregg is back as Agent Coulson.

The movie begins with Loki talking to a mysterious Alien, and leading an attack on the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, prompting Nick Fury to initiate the “Avengers Initiative”.  The film really shines here, in the beginning, when all of our heroes are coming together and meeting for the first time.  Joss Whedon, the writer and director, does a superb job of crafting the character interactions and dialogue.  At first, our heroes don’t get along (and have some spectacular fight scenes), and definitely do not have a “team” dynamic down.  It is endlessly entertaining to see the initial rivalry between Stark and Rogers, as it feels very believable.  These are two men that are very different in their personalities and beliefs.

The dialogue also features some of the wittiest writing I have witnessed in years.  The film is extremely comedic, but never to the point where it feels too cheesy or campy.  The humor works extremely well, and never feels out of place.  No character delivers a dull line, and some of the earlier conversations are absolutely hilarious.

Each character also gets their time to shine.  From the trailers, I was afraid this was going to be more of an “Iron Man and Friends” type of movie, as he got the most face time in many of the previews.  Fortunately, this is not the case, and all the characters are balanced extremely well; even Hawkeye and Black Widow get an ample amount of screen time.    And Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, the only actor not reprising his role from a previous film, is the best incarnation of the Hulk on screen I have seen to date.  Ruffalo does a phenomenal job, as does the rest of the cast.

The ending to this film is absolutely fantastic.  I won’t give it away, and it’s nothing that we haven’t seen before, but believe me when I say this is the best fight scene in any comic book movie ever.  One of the only complaints I had about the films leading up to “The Avengers” was that the final confrontations felt a little too weak.  This movie more than makes up for that.  It is straight balls-to-the-walls action for the last 30 to 40 minutes, and it is damn entertaining to watch.

There are not many problems with this film, but one major one I have is the story; it is extremely predictable, and despite one or two twists, you know exactly how things are going to play out.  It is nothing we haven’t seen before, and that is a bit disappointing, considering how good of a writer Whedon is, I was expecting something a little more ambitious. 

My only other gripe is that the middle of the film drags a bit, and this may have to do with it all taking place in one constant setting.  But this is a very minor complaint, as the dialogue and interactions between the characters remain strong.

All in all, I had a blast with “The Avengers”, and will definitely be seeing it again.  It definitely kicks off the summer blockbuster season with a bang, and is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen in a long time.

A-

Meshuggah "Koloss" Review

The gods of “djent” return

If you listen to a lot of metal, no doubt you have heard the term “dejnt” at least once.  Whether you love it or hate it, or have no idea what it means, Meshuggah is to thank for its existence.  They have been credited as pioneering an entire subgenre of metal that bands like Periphery have continued to develop.  Now, the extreme Swedish act brings us Koloss, their first album in four years.

I have to admit, I was never really into Meshuggah before their 2008 release ObZen.  I respected their musicianship, and there were a few songs scattered across their catalogue I enjoyed, but for the most part, it just wasn’t for me.  Once I heard “Bleed” for the first time, however, I knew I needed to check these guys out again.  After buying (and loving) ObZen, I knew I had to look out for the band’s imminent next release, hoping it would be as good as ObZen.  Is it?

Not quite.  Not that it’s bad, however.  Koloss lacks that punch and extreme ferocity that ObZen had.  It sounds a lot more like a hybrid of Destroy, Erase, Improve and their newer material, so old school fans shouldn’t be disappointed, while newer fans (like myself) can still find something to enjoy.

The album opens up the lackluster “I Am Colossus”.  While Meshuggah’s signature sound is there, the track just rolls along at a rather boring pace, and fails to do anything interesting.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the band finished writing the album, and decided they wanted one more song, and threw this one together at the last minute.

Thankfully, track two, “The Demon’s Name is Surveillance” more than makes up for the album’s less than stellar opener.  The execution and sheer aggression are absolutely flawless on this one, and Tomas Haake absolutely destroys on the drums.

“Do Not Look Down” has one of my personal favorite guitar riffs on the album, and features a fantastic solo.  It isn’t the best the album has to offer, but it is definitely one of its better moments.

“Behind The Sun” is another bore, although it does feature some nice drumming from Haake.  Again, like “I Am Colossus”, it just moves along at a forgetful pace, although it does pick up a little bit towards the end, just a little too late.

“The Hurt That Finds You First” is a definite stand-out.  I love the guitar work on this one, so heavy it just makes you want to break shit.  And again, Haake kills it on the drums.  This will definitely please old and new fans alike.

“Marrow” is another high note.  Again, the guitar work and drumming are masterful, and the pace is groovy yet aggressive.  This song is also a perfect example of the “djentyness” that Meshuggah has become famous (or infamous) for creating.

“Break Those Bones Whose Sinews Gave It Motion” was the first track I heard of Koloss, and I was extremely worried about the album after listening.  It unfortunately follows in the footsteps of “I Am Colossus” and “Behind the Sun”.  The song never really gets going; you feel like it is all building towards something, some crazy riff or solo, but it doesn’t; it just ends.  Very disappointing.

“Swarm” sort of suffers from the same problem, but the expert drumming and somewhat more interesting guitar riff and solo save this from being another victim of the “skip” button.  It definitely isn’t the best Meshuggah has to offer, but it has its moments which are fucking stellar.

“Demiurge” is one of my personal favorites, in terms of lyrics and composition.  I wish I could just speed down the highway at 120 miles per hour with all my windows down blasting this tune.  I absolutely love it’s heaviness and technicality.  Everything just comes together so smoothly on this one, it’s a shame the rest of the album wasn’t like this.

The album ends with a song entitled “The Last Vigil”.  After hearing “Demiurge”, I was expecting nothing short of a masterpiece to top it and end this album with a bang.  Unfortunately, “The Last Vigil” is a slow, string-orchestra style instrumental.  I wouldn’t have minded if this was the album opener, but since it’s not, the band should have scrapped this one altogether and left “Demiurge” as the finale.

I know this review may seem overly critical, but I definitely think Meshuggah could have done better.  ObZen was so technically beautiful, I was expecting something at least on par with it.  Instead, we got something of a lackluster album with only a few brief highlights.  Longtime fans should definitely check it out, but if you aren’t a die-hard Meshuggah fan, you should approach this one with caution.

C+

The Hunger Games Review

Second coming of Christ, or another over-hyped turd?

I rarely go to midnight showings for a movie, and when I do, it is always for something I am insanely excited for (the last movie I saw at 12:01 AM was Captain America).  The Hunger Games was the one exception to this, but I didn’t walk out of the theatre disappointed.  In fact, I walked out excited, thoughtful, and of course, tired.

Now, I went into this movie knowing NOTHING about it.  I never read the books, and I sort of figured this movie was for adolescent girls (also known as the Twilight crowd), as they seemed to be the most excited.  As it turns out, this is NOT just for young girls who like looking at hot guys that can’t act, but is actually a strong, albeit overhyped, thought-provoking piece of entertainment.

Let me start off with the story, which is actually pretty straight forward; in the future, the nation known as Panem , is divided into 12 districts (previously 13, but the 13^th doesn’t exist anymore, or so we are told), and each year, as punishment for a rebellion against the capitol, each district must offer up a male and female tribute between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death, in which only one tribute can survive.  The main character, named Katniss (from district 12), takes her younger sister Primrose to her first reaping (the process of selecting the tributes), assuring her that her name will not be selected.  When it is, Katniss offers up herself as a tribute, and she then travels to the capitol to prepare for the games.  I don’t want to say much more for fear of giving anything away, but the story is really well done, even if it isn’t exactly original. 

The characters in The Hunger Games range from mediocre to excellent.  Jennifer Lawrence does a phenomenal job in the lead role as Katniss, and Josh Hutcherson gives a decent performers as Peeta, the male tribute from district 12.  The supporting characters are where this film really shines, such as Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, the pair’s drunken mentor, and Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman, a television personality.  The rest of the characters aren’t given much depth, and there is one in particular that I imagine we are supposed to care deeply about, but instead are pretty apathetic towards their fate.

The Hunger Games is the first in a long list of insanely-hyped movies coming out this year, and for the most part, it delivers.  The story is a perfect social commentary on human nature and our attraction to violence, and does a good job of not coming off as too preachy or too hypocritical.  Normally in action scenes, I HATE shaky camera-work, but I believe that for this movie, it worked.  One reason for this was probably too keep the gore out of focus to get the PG-13 rating (gotta let those adolescent girls see it, after all), and the other was to show the sheer chaos of what was going on.  We have to remember, these aren’t hardened warriors; we aren’t watching our favorite action stars go into battle and tear shit up; these are kids, some as young as twelve, and when you think about that, the film becomes slightly disturbing.

This isn’t to say that the film is without its flaws.  The first hour or so is used to set up the characters of Katniss and Peeta, and it does a fine job of doing so.  However, almost all of the other characters are given zero development whatsoever, and once the game starts and these kids start slaughtering each other, we don’t really care, because we don’t really know them.  As I stated above, the acting is actually pretty good for the most part, but I can’t help but feel that some of the characters were cast for their looks rather than acting ability.  The biggest problem with this movie, however, is the hype.  I was expecting something phenomenal, something amazing.  And while it was a good movie, and I don’t necessarily regret catching the midnight showing, I hardly think it was necessary to do so.

In the end, The Hunger Games is a pretty damn good movie that will entertain you and make you think.  Don’t walk into the theatre expecting the best thing since sliced bread, but don’t write it off as just another teen flick, either.  There’s a deep, disturbing moral here, and an entertaining film to go along with it.

B 

Belie My Burial "Pale Beyond" Review

I was a little late in finding out about this band, but better late than never

Belie My Burial was formed in Pittsburg in 2005.  They have released a few EPs over the years, and Pale Beyond is their first attempt at a full length.  Needless to say, these guys deliver one killer album.  Some highlights include “An Abstraction”, the album opener, “Nihil Sub Sil Novum”, the first song the band released from Pale Beyond, and “The World Infernal”, my personal favorite track on the album.

Pale Beyond is an extremely progressive album, but steers clear of the “djent” subgenre that most of the progressive metal bands I listen to tend to fall into.  This, of course, has a great deal to do with the musicianship, which is top notch.  The chord choices and riff progressions are expertly chosen, and it keeps most of the tracks interesting and feeling fresh, because you are always hearing something new.  Brette Ciamarra absolutely destroys on the drums, with painstaking precision and frenetic fills, making the drumming one of the Pale Beyond’s strongest assets.

My only problem is that a few of the tracks songs tend to run together, and I can’t really discern which is which when I’m not looking at the title.  This is easily made up for by the caliber of the rest of the album though, which is insanely high. 

All in all, Pale Beyond doesn’t reinvent the metal wheel, but it is definitely worth checking out if you are a fan of progressive metal, or metal in general.  These guys definitely have good things in their future.

B+

Veil of Maya "Eclipse" Review

My most anticipated metal album of 2012

Veil of Maya has been tearing it up since 2004, writing top-notch technical-yet-melodic metal, and Eclipse is no exception.  It’s been two years since the Chicago quartet’s last release, entitled [id], which was extremely well-received by fans and critics alike.  But if you thought [id] was good, just wait until you hear Eclipse.

Instead of being produced by Michael Keene of The Faceless, who produced Veil’s previous two albums, Eclipse was produced by Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor.  Marc Okubo and Misha had been in talks of working on a project together for a long time, and now that it has finally come to fruition, the results are very pleasing.  Veil continues to retain their trademark sound, but there is a hint of Periphery sprinkled throughout the album as well, in the form of synths and just the overall production value.

The album opens up with a short instrumental entitled “20/200”, which is essentially an extended breakdown, similar to “Pillars” off the band’s first Sumerian release, The Common Man’s Collapse.  While this is nothing extremely mind blowing, it is extremely heavy and is more than the simple “chug-chug” most bands use for breakdowns.

“Divide Paths” is the second song off of the album, and it continues Veil’s tradition of being extremely melodic while adding some insane technicality in the writing.  The third track, “Punisher”, is reminiscent of the band’s older releases, and is one of the highlights of the album.  It starts off with an insanely catchy, heavy riff, and just doesn’t let up.  The little audio sample (of what, I am not sure) is also a nice, hilarious touch.  It almost sounds as if someone is trying to describe what the guitars sound like in words.

“Winter is Coming Soon”, the fourth track on the album, might be my personal favorite.  The chaotic start, which then leads into an extremely melodic verse, is Veil of Maya at their finest.  The guitar work is top notch, and Sam Applebaum goes absolutely nuts on the drums.  It’s unfortunate that the song is so short (just above two minutes), but it’s fantastic while it lasts.

If “Winter is Coming Soon” isn’t my favorite song on this release, then “The Glass Slide” is.  This tune is very similar to “Mowgli”, a song off of [id], and even “The Uprising”, off their self-released full length “All Things Set Aside” (this is perhaps why the song was originally titled “The Third Uprising”).  “The Glass Slide” is by far Eclipse’s catchiest track, and is likely to become a staple of Veil’s live performances

Following “The Glass Slide” is “Enter My Dreams”, which sounds almost like a mix between Carnifex and Scar Symmetry.  While this is definitely one of the weaker tracks on the album, it is still a solid tune featuring some great guitar work.

The seventh song is titled “Numerical Scheme”, and I have mixed feelings about this one.  I’m not a big fan of the opening, and it takes a while to get going, but once it picks up steam, it features some of my favorite riffs on the album.

“Vicious Circles” was the first track that Veil of Maya released from Eclipse, and even though I have heard it hundreds of times already, it still holds up as a highlight of the album.  The lyrics are some of my favorite (“Messenger, when have you seen my face?  I will become like the wind.  A tyrant in disguise, a muse upon our eyes”), and the ending breakdown is brilliant; Again, a perfect blend of technicality and melodic song writing.

The title track is an instrumental, and while it’s nothing to write home about, it’s more than just one extended breakdown.  It is extremely melodic, and features some simple yet catchy drumming.

The album’s closer is entitled “With Passion and Power”, and it definitely ends Eclipse with a bang.  The instrumental work is frenetic, but calms down for a chorus that is perhaps the catchiest riff on the entire album.  The lyrics are also some of the albums best; all in all, this is definitely one of Eclipse’s best.

Something some fans may consider a flaw in this album is that Veil of Maya has always been known for their technical writing, but they seem to be leaning more towards the melodic side than technical side of writing as of late.  In a recent interview, Marc Okubo stated “if you’re a technical listener, you’ll still be intrigued by what’s going on, even if it’s not impossible to play”; this definitely true for Eclipse.  Veil of Maya’s first release, The Common Man’s Collapse, contained some insanely technical guitar work.  [id] deviated a little bit from this towards the more melodic side, and Eclipse continues this trend.  It is still a heavy, technical album, but it is no Common Man’s Collapse, which is one of the only complaints I have heard about [id].

All in all, this is a very solid release from Veil of Maya.  It is definitely better than [id], and very close to The Common Man’s Collapse.  This album is a perfect example of a band progressing and keeping things fresh, while still retaining their signature sound.  Eclipse belongs in any metal fan’s library, and I will definitely be listening to it for a long time to come.

A

"Helljumper" First Impressions

"Helljumper" is a labor of love for the Halo universe, but is it any good?

As you may or may not know, I am a huge Halo fan.  I have played every game, read most of the books, and even had a Master Chief action figure when I was younger.  So in 2007, when I heard that Peter Jackson was getting involved with a live-action Halo film, I was beyond ecstatic.  Unfortunately, as most of know, that ended up being shelved after agreements about the budget could not be made (it was not a complete loss, however, as we got District 9 out of this whole mess).  After the film fiasco, many fans decided to give Halo a shot, making their own short films based on the Universe.  The latest of these is a web series named “Helljumper”, which tells the story of and ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper).   The first episode only just premiered on January 26, but here are my impressions so far:

“Helljumper” is, as stated above, a fan made series, and therefore does not have the budget of a major Hollywood blockbuster.  This is apparent almost right off the bat, but I’ll get into that later.  This episode (simply titled “Episode 1”) opens with an ODST dropping into a Covenant infested planet and finding a wounded comrade.  After successfully fending off all Covenant forces in the area, the unnamed ODST tries to help his wounded brethren, but his comrade refuses his assistance.  Instead, he explains what happened in his life to make him join the marines, and the events that unfolded once he did.  The rest of the episode is the flashback of the wounded ODST, whose name we learn is Gage.

At first, I was skeptical about how such a low budget project could accomplish all the special effects that would be needed to bring the Halo universe to life.  Were my fears justified?  Yes, sort of.  The only Covenant species we see in this episode are the Grunts, and the animation seems a bit…. Off.  I can deal with the rather bland character models, as I was expecting as much from a fan film, but the way that they move has an artificial feeling to it.  On the other hand, there are some very nice effects involving the drop pods (what ODSTs use to drop into the atmosphere, duh!), and the shields and holograms in the simulation room are top notch.  There is also a beautiful shot of a city being decimated by Covenant ships.  All in all, the special effects are passable, but I respect what they were able to with what little they had to work with. I just hope the Covenant doesn’t get extended amount of screen time in later episodes, otherwise it may look like we are watching a pre-visualization for a Pixar movie.

Next, we have the acting, which for the most part, is abysmal.  Towards the beginning, Gage and his father have a heated exchange, which I imagine is meant to be viewed as tense and hint at their strained relationship, but I just could not get over how terrible the father’s delivery was.  There is an unnamed staff sergeant training Gage after he joins the marines later, and once again, his delivery is just off.  It isn’t all bad, though.  Gage himself is actually pretty good, as is who I assume is his love interest.  There is also Gage’s squad mate and friend, Mason Lee, who has an average performance.  Again, this is all very typical of a fan film, so I won’t harp on it too much.  I just hope future episodes focus on one or two characters that are actually decent at acting.

Now onto the writing.  “Helljumper” moves at a lightning quick pace; it seems as soon as Gage joins the marines, he is immediately promoted to an ODST (who we learn are an elite group of soldiers) after just one successful training exercise.  The dialogue has its ups and downs, but for the most part, leaves a lot to be desired.  Lines like “We’ve made contact with an intelligent alien civilization, and they do not have the intention of being friends”, are cringe-worthy, and are not helped by the aforementioned shoddy acting.  Sometimes, characters say something that is so obviously foreshadowing that it takes you out of the story.  For example, right before the covenant are introduced, Gage’s presumed love interest asks him if it bothers him that they “hop around all these planets, and humans are the only intelligent life forms out there”.  The actual story is still a mystery for the most part, as well.  Remember, this episode is a flashback, and when we meet Gage at the beginning, he is seriously wounded.  We don’t know if he is going to survive, and be the series’ protagonist, or if he will die, and the Trooper that found him will become the main focus.

On an extremely positive side of things, a noteworthy mention would have to be the music.  Most, if not all of the music tracks, are original compositions, and they are absolutely fantastic.  They really work well with what is being shown on screen, and portray both melancholy and a sense of grandeur at the appropriate moments.  This aspect is by far one of the strongest aspects the series has going for it, and I definitely am looking forward to hearing more of these original compositions.

Fans of the Halo universe should feel right at home when watching this web series.  Mentions of the planet Harvest and the Insurrectionists might be a bit confusing to newcomers, but are a nice nod to the fans that have been following Halo since Combat Evolved.  One of the major distractions in a lot of fan made films is that the locations seem very out of place.  For example, I once saw a Star Wars fan film that was very well made, but the setting was in a high school building that we were supposed to believe was an Imperial Star Destroyer (oh god, my inner nerd is showing). Fortunately, “Helljumper” does not repeat this mistake, as the crew did a very commendable job on finding locations that don’t feel out of place, and suit the whole mood of the episode quite nicely.

In conclusion, “Helljumper” has a lot of problems, but a lot of promise.  As I mentioned before, I realize it is created by loving fans of the Halo universe with a minimal budget, so I can’t complain too much and must commend them on their dedication. I know this review may seem mostly negative, but there are certainly many great things in this episode, and I don’t mean to discourage potential viewers from watching it. If they tighten up the writing a bit, and weed out the terrible actors, they can have something extremely special on their hands.  I am definitely looking forward to the next episode, and very interested to see where this story goes.

C+

"Impulse" Review

Yes, I know this album has been out for a while, but it still deserves a review, dammit!

Erra is a progressive metalcore band from Birmingham, Alabama, and "Impulse" is their first full length release, following the 7 song EP Andromeda, which was my introduction to the band.  When I first heard Erra, I was immediately struck by how they combined wonderful, melodic riffs with brutal technicality.  Most progressive bands in the genre have to sacrifice one for the other, but not these guys, and I was immediately drawn to them because of this, and purchased Andromeda immediately.

So, after liking their EP, how does the full length hold up?  To put it simply, "Impulse" blows their previous work out of the water.  Not only is the production stepped up, the songwriting is as well, as is apparent from the fade in and slow build of the opener "White Noise", and persists all the way throughout the album.

A big problem I have with bands of the "core" genre is that after a while, all the songs begin to blend together, and it takes something really creative or different to help seperate them.  While Erra doesn't break any new ground in this release, they certainly do their best to seperate themselves from so many other bands out there.  Rather than having the usual chugging of guitars, Erra utilizes both of their guitarists to create some very pleasing melodies.  But make no mistake, "br00t4l" breakdowns are still littered throughout this album, but are kept relatively short and creative with the strumming patterns.  On top of all this, guitarist Jesse Cash provides some clean vocals to take a break from all that "brutality".  These segments would not feel out of place on a Blink 182 release, and they help to keep the album feeling fresh.

"Impulse" consists of 10 tracks, all of which exemplify top-notch writing and musicianship.  My personal favorites would have to be "Seven", "Efflorescent", and the closing track, "Render the Void".  The lyrical content, on these three tracks especially, is absolutely fantastic ("Staring into the glass, a glare wears on the eyes, seeing into my pane is an omen and a disguise.").  I especially love the guitar riff that starts at 0:27 of "Efflorescent", and the track really picks up when Garrison Lee begins growling a mad dog over it later on.

The only real problem I have with this release is that some of the tracks take a little bit to pick up steam.  Take the track "Vaalbara", for instance.  Definitely not one of my favorites, but still very solid.  For bout the first minute, however, the sound is very generic, and wouldn't sound out of place on a Bring Me The Horizon release (which is NOT a good thing).  This is a bit of a dissapointment, especially after seeing the technicality and musicianship that these guys are capable of, but it is a minor flaw, and hardly distracts from the overall package, which is very solid.

So what is my overall verdict?  If you can't tell by now, I liked "Impulse" a LOT.  It is melodic, heavy, and just damn good metal.  Do yourself a favor; if you haven't heard these guys, check this album out, it is definitely worth your time.

A-