The latest viral internet sensation among the metal communities has really impressed me. As a metal fan, I love when other forms of music clash with it, particularly in the realm of dance and electronica. So what's better than a Japanese dance group rocking out a routine to death metal with J-pop choruses and some dubstep-inspired breaks? You get Babymetal! They topped the iTunes metal charts in the US and the UK and I'm not surprised. Their live shows look incredibly fun!
Megitsune
Here's a typical single from the group. It rocks some heavy drums and distorted guitars with a wicked electro beat (reminds me a lot of Enter Shikari's Meltdown). This is a poppier track from Babymetal, but a perfect introduction to them. Megitsune means "Female Fox".
Ii Ne - Sound's Good!
One of my favorite tracks that I heard off their debut album so I had to check out the live performance. This is really quite a pop-imbued track, but it has some nice death metal vocals in there, and a drastic change into a hip-hop breakdown. The light show is fantastic in this!
Headbangeeeeerrrrrr!
As the name implies, this is clearly a metal track. Reminiscent of typical J-Metal , while still incorporating the girly pop vocals, the sound is very similar to black metal - complete with screaming vocals and double-bass kicks. The breakdown in this is epic, with the girls headbanging and egging the crowd into a mosh-pit before exploding into a shredding guitar solo.
Babymetal Death
Before you start thinking this group is too poppy to be real metal, check out this performance. As the title implies, it is very much death metal-inspired and rips with insane drums and meaty riffs. A true metal crowd-pleaser where the girls are more like cheerleaders for the roaring wave of growls, screams, and metallic crunching. I really hope they come to Canada!
I watched the film Liberal Arts recently, the second feature directed by Josh Radnor (famous for playing Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother). I really enjoyed the film and its musings on life and experience. Radnor played the lead character in the film, a 35-year old who has a romantic relationship with a 19-year old college student as he visits his old campus. The film is extremely romantic towards literature and music and art in general, and I get a sense that Radnor himself holds a love for this material, almost to the point of pompousness. This isn't all that surprising to me as his character in HIMYM is frequently pretentious in his interests, quoting Joyce's Ulysses or reciting Dante's Divine Comedy in Italian.
Liberal Arts turns away from the hilarity of Ted Mosby's prentiousness however and shows it more seriously. There is a great scene where the character Zibby (Elizabeth Olsen) calls him out on being a snob when he criticizes the Twlight novels for being awful literature that is the root cause of all the world's problems. This opens his eyes to how snobby he really is being and it changes him. The film does get a little high and mighty at times, and I feel like Radnor can be a bit of an artistic pomp but he does so with likable charisma. The film has many great characters, but my favorite is the stoner-Hippie performance from Zac Efron who professes that "everything is okay". Radnor's character learns a lot from him, and I think reaches a main theme in the film, that life happens and we can worry about it, or we can learn to love and enjoy the ride.
Below is a wonderful scene from the film where Josh Radnor is introduced to classical music by his romantic interest. His feelings of being lost in the music felt very relatable to me, as I have often indulged in the escapism of music while walking in the city. The language reflects the pompousness of Radnor's writing but also fits in with the themes and the characters. I have to admit that I really enjoyed this film and am starting to wonder if I am as pretentious as the lead character in it.
I can't believe I didn't get into Devo before! A colleague of mine just showed me a few live performances, and then went on to describe his initiation into their bizarre catalogue. He first saw them perform Jocko Homo live on SNL in the 70's, which opened with the intro of this crazy music video. Their concept of the devolution of the human species is reflected in the low-budget production of the video, the wacky and idiosyncratic nature of the New Wave guitar riffs, and within the absurdist lyrics. The costuming choices of the band members, prevalent through the rest of their material, also adds to their mythos. Even though this song was released in the 70's, its themes of a society going down the drain are still relevant today, and I must say it is rather entertaining in all its weird satire.
The first time I saw Jerry Bruckheimer's production of King Arthur, I felt the visuals were odd, featuring colors that were too saturated and weird lighting choices. However, since watching it several more times since it's release in 2004, I feel that these aspects set it apart from other historical epics due to the mythical aspects of Arthurian legend. I began to sense a detachment from reality in the visual aspect of the film. I am a big fan of surrealist cinema, and feel that all movies have a dream-like quality, but due to the nature of the story, I feel it is different with King Arthur.
Firstly, the film uses a lot of deep shadows to accentuate the high contrast look. A technique of realism, this creates a dark, foreboding atmosphere to the film, and also makes it feel like a painting, particularly through the Italian technique called chiaroscuro.
The Crucifixion of St. Peter by Caravaggio - 1600
Self-Portrait by Rembrandt - 1629
This examples show a strong side-lit approach, but chiaroscuro is basically the technique of using the contrast between light and dark to boldly affect the whole composition. The lighting here feels natural, but Bishop Germanus is half-enshrouded in shadow, demonstrating that he is either hiding something or not entirely trust-worthy.
Example of chiaroscuro in King Arthur
Another reference to painting, the use of strong bright colors in the landscape makes an almost ethereal feeling to the setting of Medieval Britain. Although this is supposed to be a historical film, it is still largely based on legend, and the dream-like color palette creates that sense of fantasy. Here we see the country-side, a natural setting, and yet it feels almost artificial because of the high saturation, almost popping out of the frame.
The green of the grass looks highly saturated for reality.
Adding to the strong ethereal atmosphere of the landscapes, is the unique lighting dynamics that cinematographer Slawomir Idziak created in certain scenes. Occasionally, the color of the light does not reflect reality, further demonstrating the dream-like fantasy feel of the film.
How dream-like does this feel?
This technique is very obvious in the flashback to Arthur pulling Excalibur out of the stone, which is one of the most memorable moments of the original legend. Does that green light feel realistic? Or more like fantasy?
Idziak also uses symmetry throughout King Arthur, creating a sense of balance in the compositions. This reflects the themes of equality that Arthur is professing in the film. This is most strongly emphasized in the round table, which leaves no head of the table, creating all men equal.
In contrast to that, there is also a strong use of unbalanced composition to create visual tension. The use of silhouettes and strong shadows again create a heavy weight of visual power in these shots. This is used quite extensively in the dynamics between characters, giving one character visual weight to one side of the frame, establishing power.
The use of negative space adds weight to Arthur's silhouette.
Overall, King Arthur claims to be historically accurate and based on truth, but the mystery around the Arthurian legends and the very fantastic elements to the visual design of the film, makes it all feel very fairy-tale like.
I became a huge fan of Dir En Grey when I saw their performances at Nippon Budokan on the DVD package of UROBOROS - with the proof in the name of living... This amazing concert film is easily one of the best filmed music performances of all time.
Let me talk about the film-making first. They must have had dozens of camera, many of them on cranes and dollies. This creates a vast approach the editors could have taken, resulting in a dynamic view of the show. The cinematography itself is crafted with exquisite precision, developing some truly breath-taking compositions with just the right amount of movement. The lighting is perfect for the camera systems they used to record, creating some great rays of light through the fog and an ambiance that I find so rare in recorded live shows.
All of this great footage would be nothing without the band though. Below I have linked the final track of Day 2 at Nippon Budokan: Vinushka. Hailing from their seventh studio album, Uroboros, the song nearly reaches nine minutes. It is an epic journey of progressive metal, that shows off the bands amazing musical range. The drums, guitars, and especially the bass, demonstrate a profound talent. What really strikes me with Dir En Grey, however, is the front man. Kyo is energetic, the true embodiment of what a front man is. His vocal prowess is unprecedented, ranging from swooning falsettos, to gritty hard rock wails, and delving into brutal death metal growls and piercing shrieks of unbelievable depths and heights. His showmanship is delicate and yet powerful in his body movements, his control of the audience, and his inexplicable harness on the power of the music. To say he has control over his voice is an understatement: he fully becomes the voice. Kyo is, by far, my favorite vocalist of any musical genre. Dir En Grey are artists of the highest caliber.
One of my favorite live acts of recent years is this gem from Great Britain. Enter Shikari are a four-piece electro-punk group that formed in 2003. They blew me away when I started watching them perform their songs live from the third album they made, A Flash Flood of Colour. Here are some of my favorite performances they've put on.
Ghandi, Mate, Ghandi
I love the way the band all comes together on this one. The guitarist, vocalist, bassist, and drummer all have vocal segments in this one and it works like charm. You can really get a feel for their unity and team vibe here. The lyrics are very focal on the themes they sing about - social dysfunction, revolution, equality, and coming together for a better future.
Gap in the Fence
This one starts out like a nice ballad, showing off some of Rou Reynolds' guitar techniques. He usually sticks to singing/rapping/screaming and doing the dubstep bits, so it's nice to see him play an instrument here. This song has a perfect build and the dance-pop breakdown is amazing. Their shows are like great big dance parties!
Zzzonked/Havoc
This one definitely shows their hardcore roots in the beginning bits, reminding me a lot of Rage Against the Machine and Atreyu. There is a nice bit of rapping vocals by Rou, clearly showing his British side both in terms of lyricism and flow. The electronica bits and the behemoth guitar riffs are a head-banging good time and it all deteriorates into a mellow, reggae-style outro. Definitely one of my favorite tracks from these guys. Also I love the drummer's face at the beginning!
I recently watched Disney's Enchanted on Netflix with my girlfriend. I didn't watched it back in 2007 when it gained attention for three Best Original Song nominations at the 80th Academy Awards. I had known the basic premise of the movie, following a Disney-trope princess transported out of her magical two-dimensional fairy-tale world into the very real New York City, and felt it would be an interesting film to watch after Disney's recent fairy-tale endeavor with Frozen. The much acclaimed adaption of the Snow Queen story was seen as a progressive move for the production company, creating two strong female leads that rejected the standard stereotype of most princesses in seeking the true love of a prince.
Enchanted still followed the classic paradigm of an innocent woman seeking true love. It adheres to all the silly fairy tale tropes that have haunted lead female roles in Disney films. However, it presented its tale with wonder and joy that really made me laugh quite a bit. Amy Adams was wonderful as the princess Giselle, who goes around New York filled with awe at all the strange things she sees. A character out of place in a strange world is a common theme in these kind of movies, but Adams's performance brought it to new heights with her innocent questioning of why people are so unhappy. With most happy-go-lucky movies like this, I can't help but feel a certain cynicism at the optimism, which is why I like to watch darker films with tragic endings (see The Mist or Dancer in the Dark for some good ones). Of course, Giselle's awe and cute wonder at the world would be incredibly lackluster if there wasn't a complete opposite to create the conflict in the film. That's where Patrick Dempsey comes in, playing the realistic feet-on-the-ground single father who's life gets turned upside-down when he is too nice to let poor lost Giselle on her own.
Both characters learn something from each other and this where the film wins. There is a conflict and they gain something in the end. Patrick Dempsey learns to see the bright side, the beauty in the world, to open up about his true feelings, and to love again. Giselle learns about evil, the hardships of real life, that not all people are good and honest, and how to fight for herself and not for someone else. The beautiful thing about all this is how Giselle shows other people the pure beauty in just being alive and getting to share things with each other. This is why she is my favorite part of the film and why I think it received such a great response when it was released. Sure, it still represents the power of being in a hetero relationship, but it does it with a lot of heart.
I thought this was incredible! In a little under a month this video has hit over 10 million views. I think I had seen the gentlemen from 2CELLOS play before, but this was unprecedented. Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, two classically trained Croations who met at a master class in their home country, have blown the world away with their blazing cover of AC/DC's Thunderstruck using only their two cellos. They don't just play the strings though: they slam their feet, punch the body of their instruments, and head-bang along to the metallic riffs, all while adorned in a Victorian wardrobe in a period set-piece (which delivers a perfectly comedic scenario in the video). This performance has turned rock on its head for me and has re-established my hopes for the art of the music video. Bravo!
The movies have been plagued by remakes since our grandparents were around. I hear a lot of complaints that Hollywood only does remakes these days, but really they've been doing it since day one. D.W. Griffith did it with Orphans of the Storm in 1921, which was a remake of Herbert Brenon's The Two Orphans (1915). I can't say I am against movies being remade as some of them are done really well. Look at John Carpenter's The Thing or Brian De Palma's Scarface. Very good examples. There have even been some good recent ones (I was a big fan of the recent Evil Dead re-visioning).
Now comes another remake of a classic. The last time North American audiences saw the Godzilla on screen, it left a sour taste in our mouths. Roland Emmerich's take on Godzilla in 1998 was not received well, and it is not surprising that we haven't seen any American takes on it since then. The Japanese have still been pumping out a few (including 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars which saw the original King of Monsters destroying Emmerich's American version in one deft tail whip - so much for Hollywood). Now it's 2014, and the people with the money have decided it's time for a new take on the monster movie that started it all.
Toho's Gojira in 1954.
In the last decade we've had a few good punches of giant monster flicks and a few not-so-good flops. In 2005, we had Peter Jackson's epic take on King Kong, which had it's moments but overall was unnecessarily long. 2006 brought us the Korean monster masterpiece, The Host, from director Bong Joon-Ho (one of the few monster films to spark the socio-political commentary since the original 1954 Gojira). We got a taste of vomit-inducing found footage monster destruction from J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeve via Cloverfield, which was an interesting experiment, but ultimately a failure (it enters a whole other genre here, and I may talk about found-footage films in the future). In 2010, we got what I think is maybe the best monster movie I've ever seen, Monsters. This indie flick was made for half a million dollars, and was the directorial debut of Gareth Edwards (who is leading the 2014 Godzilla remake for his sophomore feature). Monsters was a masterful mix of science fiction suspense, political thriller, and human drama, that created a wonderful monster horror ambiance by using Spielberg's Jaws technique of not fully revealing the beast until the final act. The budget was low, but Edwards knew how to work it, creating a beautiful film that could actually be taken seriously as a film. And last year, we received the bone-crunching action epic Pacific Rim from Guillermo Del Toro, a rock n' roll anime-inspired beat-em-up movie that my 10-year-old self would've put on a pillar titled favorite movie ever. It was a lot of fun, but lost a lot of credibility to its senseless dismissal of science and realistic characters. Overall, I still loved it for what it was.
Gareth Edwards's Monsters
Finally, we have the new Godzilla. The marketing people have teased us with hints at the film for a while now and we have finally been allowed to see a full trailer. So far, I think it looks amazing. Gareth Edwards was a great choice for director, as I can see his seriousness and attention to visual design that we found in Monsters. This new film obviously has given him a bigger budget to play with, and he is using it to his full potential. The shots of destruction look photo-realistic, and the ambiance plays a huge role in the feel of the film. The use of 2001: A Space Odyssey's score adds a wave of dread to what we are seeing. This doesn't give us much of an idea for what the actual score will be but it certainly sets a mood. The teaser trailer had a snippet of a J. Robert Oppenheimer speech on the horror of the nuclear bomb ("Now I have become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds"). This leads me to believe that they are still holding true to the original 1954 version's commentary on nuclear war and the futility of what we do to each other. Ken Watanabe's character has a quote in the trailer: "The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in our control and not the other way around." This further points in the direction of a serious commentary on society today, especially with all the environmental issues going on. Based on the many shots in the trailer of human faces, I can see that Edwards wants to focus on the human drama side of things. With a cast including Bryan Cranston, you know this isn't going to be some B-movie performance. It seems like there will be some heavy emotions happening among the carnage and horror. Last but not least, we get a great shot of the King himself at the end of the trailer. It's a point of view shot from survivors in a bunker as the doors slowly close, with Godzilla roaring right at us. A great shot, it is very claustrophobic and gives the feeling that this film will follow suit with Monsters, and its inspiration, Jaws, with the monster slowly being revealed throughout the film, and not getting a full shot until the end. The design of the monster itself lends an homage to the original Godzilla design, but making it much more realistic and scary (that last shot is truly terrifying). This is a breath of fresh air compared to the agile but too skinny (and iguana-based) monster from 1998. The original monster wasn't too scary either (it was just a guy in a suit) but using that design and vamping it up, shows the film-makers are aware of the roots and still making it their own.
Poster for the 2014 Godzilla
I have to say that I am extremely excited for this film this summer. I grew up watching Godzilla movies. I saw a ton of them, and it established a love for monster movies in general. However none of the recent ones have fully satisfied me since that feeling the original Toho creatures gave me. The Host and Monsters were great films, beautiful works of art even, but they lacked the destruction and intensity I felt when I watched Godzilla fight Rodan as a child. I hope that Gareth Edwards's take on this epic can return me to that nostalgic love of destruction while keeping it a serious film that can teach us something about who we are and the world we live in.
Hello, My name is Stefan and I created this blog, Always Oktober. The fall is my favorite season, and October is my favorite month (being in the middle of fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and my birthday) so sometimes I wish it were always that time of year. However, the changing of the seasons is what makes any particular time of year beautiful, so I wouldn't have it any other way. Every moment is perfect because it is fleeting, after all. I plan on using this blog to comment on the things I love: movies, music, and books. Every now and then I may write about something more personal or social. I am a film-maker and writer myself and may occasionally share things I am working on. However, this will mostly be me talking about other people's movies and music. So here we go! ~Always Oktober~
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