Coheed and Cambria "Year of the Black Rainbow"

Coheed and Cambria "finished" their epic, really Claudio Sanchez's, sci fi story with their previous album. So what does this have to do with their new album? Year of the Black Rainbow is the origins story to their massive concept album that spans 5 full lenght albums. This album is deceptive upon first listen. It sounds like a band that may have just phoned in the next album since they finished their long story, who cares about the beginning right? Wrong! Coheed and Cambria have perfected their sound and come up with an album that will both satisfy old fans and could possibly get them an even broader audience. The songs are tightly wound, no more 8 minute epics (aside from the title track which clocks in around 7 minutes). Coheed have figured out how to do what they've been trying to do all along. They've got a full album worth of great songs here instead of a third of an albums worth. On their first two albums, they had maybe 3 or 4 songs you wanted to listen to over and over... the rest you just listened to for the story. Now they've honed their songwriting skills and musicianship to a sharp point. The album sounds almost too simple at first, but thats just because they're very good at what they do, and they make it sound easy. Upon further listening, multiple layers will begin to unveil themselves. If you're a fan of Coheeds previous albums, you'll no doubt like this one... if you've never heard them before... this may be a great place to start.

30 Seconds To Mars "This Is War"

James Cameron must have produced this album for 30 Seconds to Mars because it sounds like the musical equivilent to Avatar. Every song sounds incomprehensibly huge! With all the child group choruses and tribal drumming going on, it even sounds similar to some of the music in Avatar. 30STM was shooting for the stars on this album because they just pulled out all the stops. Its like they decided, "Okay, this album is going to make us bigger than U2 and the Beatles combined". They just went all out and the result is a massive sounding album that is hard to critique because of the sheer size of it. Size in sound not in depth or time mind you. Most of the music is fairly simple, but it has been double or quadruple tracked to give it a full powerful sound. This style of production is quite effective. Its very moving sounding music. Lyrically, its somewhat mundane, life is war type imagery, not too creative of course. But you can't fault Leto and crew for doing something they really wanted to do. Their last album was on the top 200 charts for more than 2 years so naturally they needed to up the ante. Its a bold record and the sheer girth of its sound almost puts it in a class of its own. If the production quality was a little more rough around the edges, you'd be able to see all the faults the music has... it can be somewhat boring at times. But the way in which it was recorded more than makes up for its faults. 30STM has brought back "arena" rock, whether it was gone or not... it sounds as if the whole world was brought in to play little pieces on this album.. Check it out, but don't be shocked if in a month or two you really just couldn't care less about this album.

Clash of the Titans(2010)

Clash of the Titans originally was a quirky epic done quite impressively with live action and stop motion animation. Yes it looks funny by todays standards of what special effects should be, but in the eighty's it was top notch. Today's version of Clash of the Titans updates the special effects by leaps and bounds to please todays movie goer. However, thats about all they've updated. The story is basically the same, the action is all basically the same. Its definitely an enjoyable movie, however, all the creatures you see in the movie are revealed in the preview, which kind of takes away from drawn out "reveal" scenes for each monster. You already know whats coming, so throw any suspense out the window. This movie is no better and no worse than its predecessor. Its simply a re-do with different effects and different actors. There's no new story really, except for the addition of Hades, who is evil incarnate and travels around much like the "evil incarnate" un-Locke(smoke monster) from Lost. Apparently we've discovered how evil travels, black pillars of smoke. But I digress. The 3D in this movie was most definitely disappointing. I didn't really notice it at all. I came out of the theater feeling cheated on the 3D aspects of the movie. All in all this is a fun action packed adventure thats worth a look if you're a fan of the original. If you've never seen the original, you may enjoy this version even more, but i wouldn't shell out the extra 4 or 5 dollars for the 3D showtimes, its just not worth it.

Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire

I've finally seen Precious: Based on the novel "Push" by Sapphire or Precious: BOTNPBS as a friend and i call it. Coming off of awards season, and hearing so much about this movie (and so many people saying the full utterly obnoxious title), i was a bit reluctant to see it, just to spite everyone. However, having a lack of entertainment last night drove me to break my previous boycott. I have to say, i'm glad i broke down and finally saw this movie. ITs as uplifting as it is heartbreaking. Gabouray Sidibay and Monique did fantastic jobs in each of their roles. This is a movie that definitely can and most likely will move you to tears at least a few times. Depending on your mood, you may take away a sense of joy from this movie, or severe depression. Just about everything horrible you can think of, short of being murdered, happens to Precious in this film. Somehow she gets through it all with a huge lovable smile on her face. This is powerful filmmaking and it most definitely deserved all the hype. If you haven't seen this yet, you should make it a point to rent it. Its the type of film that could change you.

An Education

An Education is a wonderfully written story about becoming someone new, falling in love, and being hurt. Carey Mulligan plays Jenny, a girl of only 16 who happens to meet an older suave man who takes an interest in her, played by Peter Sarsgaard. Jenny becomes swept off her feet by his charm and the things they go and do. But her naivety gets the best of her in the end. One scene in particular i thought was so perfectly subtle you probably wouldn't notice it unless someone pointed it out to you. It shows just how young and wonderfully gullible this girl Jenny is. In this scene Jenny's father is going on a rampage about money and education, and begins shouting that money doesn't grow on trees, and they don't have a tree in the yard for this and for that, and at one point Jenny turns her head to look out the window and check. Its a perfectly innocent subtle split second, but i think it speaks volumes about the character Carey Mulligan plays. This movie is immaculately written by Nick Hornsby (author of about a boy, high fidelity, a long way down). This movie is most likely destined to be a classic.

Greenberg

If you've seen any of Noah Baumbach's previous movies(Margot at the Wedding, The Squid and the Whale), you know he tends to write very realistic characters in very familiar territory for viewers. This can sometimes be uncomfortable to watch on screen and sometimes uncomfortable to face with others. Baumbach deals, generally, with the real parts of the human experience that make us who we are and give us character. Greenberg is no different. Ben Stiller in the lead role as (the main) Greenberg is generally unlikable. He's rude, self centered and just doesn't seem like a good person. However, this doesn't detract from the interest the viewer has in the movie. As Greta Gerwig's character says in the movie, there's just something about him that you like. This is possibly because Ben Stiller usually plays a likable guy in his movies. Towards the end of the movie more of his character is revealed, and you start to see things from his perspective. But he's still a jerk, you just now know why, and you can't really blame him, however, you don't have to like him. That being said, this movie is one that will stay with you after you leave the theater. It can make you look at the faults you have and confront some of your own demons. And to me, anytime a movie can make you do that, they've done their job as filmmakers. Whether the reaction is pleased, or disgusted, if an emotion is evoked, it was a success. I'd definitely go see this if you have the chance.

Cold Souls

Paul Giamatti stars as "Paul Giamatti" in the movie Cold Souls. Its a movie about an actor who is playing a part in a play that he gets uncomfortably emotionally involved with. Not being able to take the weight of the material he is performing, he decides to take advantage of a service he saw an ad for in the New Yorker. Soul Extraction. The idea is they extract your soul to lift the weight and stress off of you, and store it for a while, then when you've gotten through the troublesome part of your life, you can have your soul put back in. However, after Giamatti has his soul removed, he finds he's turned into quite the terrible actor. But a very funny actor at that. They offer him a rental soul, because upon his return to retrieve his soul, and fix his acting, he finds out they've misplaced his chickpea sized soul. Laughter does ensue quite frequently, but this movie is deceptively marketed as a big laughs comedy. It has some very funny parts, yes, but the heart (or soul if you will) of this movie is a drama, and a subversive story about life really. It becomes heartbreakingly fun to watch, and only an actor of Giamatti's caliber could really pull off such a challenging role. I found this movie to be very enjoyable for all the wrong reasons apparently. I was told it was a hilarious movie, and nothing more. But there is so much more lying under the surface of this movie. Watch it twice.

Florence and the Machine "Lungs"

"I never wanted anything from you except everything you have and then what's left after that too". Florence Mary Leontine Welch sings this line in such a sweet voice at the break of the opening track "Dog Days Are Over" on her debut album "Lungs". This makes you wonder what kind of tricks she has up her sleeve. She's got quite a few indeed. Sounding similar to Fiona Apple, or Ani DiFranco, or even Bjork at times, she has come up with a unique style that sounds different and familiar all at the same time. All of her songs are wonderfully constructed with lyrics that seem sometimes uncomfortably vulnerable, and at other times quite confident and sexy. Florence has quite a powerful voice and knows when to hold back and when to let her soul shine through. This is one of those albums that you need to hear at least once or you'll be kicking yourself later when you find out what you've been missing.

Joshua James "Build Me This"

“I find solace and beauty in darkness and depression,” says James of his lyrical style. Joshua James melds together quite nicely styles of folk, bluegrass at times, rock and country. His nearly whisper of a voice can quite quickly turn into a quivering passionate weapon which spews out lines like "If the Lord loves his children like your good book does teach, well He’d burn these here bastards and out shoes on my feet." James uses quite a bit of religious imagery in his lyrics, which coincide with his folksy heartland sound. There is foreboding in his music that is hard to find in much of the music i hear today. James is one of the better songwriters and musicians i've heard in quite a while, and at only 25 years of age, i can't wait to see how he matures and grows and expands his sound. If you're a fan of Conor Oberst, Damien Rice, or Joe Purdy... this may be your new favorite artist.

Breckenridge Avalanche

Breckenridge Brewery is located in Denver, CO. Not in Breckenridge, CO as one might assume. Yes they began in the town of their namesake, but have since moved to Denver where there is more of a market. The Avalanche is another amber beer. It has nice color but the bouquet leaves a little to be desired. Taste however is light and has quite good flavor. Its not a beer that shoves flavor in your face and screams "TASTE THIS!". Its just a good mellow flavor, somewhat similar to shiner bock, but a tad less malty. I'd recommend this beer to just about any casual beer drinker. But if you're looking for something a bit more flavorful and complex, you might want to look elsewhere.

Saint Arnold Spring Bock

This beer initially has quite pleasing color when held up to the light. It has deep and rich amber hues that promise a wonderful experience for your taste buds. However, upon first sip, there seems to be little flavor or carbonation. This is a bit deceptive. The flavor is quite subtle. Beer is made in much the same way whiskey is, up to a certain point, where hops and carbonation are added. This beer seems, (this is speculation only) to have been left to cook or ferment for a longer period of time before the yeast yielded any CO2. This gives this beer a very similar flavor as whiskey, which for some might be a pleasant surprise, and others might find it off-putting. Initially, i was fairly disappointed with this beer. Being a native Texan, i want to support Texas brewers. But after a few more sips, this beer really grew on me. I wouldn't say i loved it, but it wasn't as disappointing as i initially thought. Give it a try and see for yourself.