Review:Jack and Jill

There are...no words...

Let this be a lesson to you kids; never decide to go to the movies whilst intoxicated. If you do, you have no one to blame but yourself when you accidentally stumble upon a cinematic abomination like Adam Sandler's latest disasterpiece, Jack and Jill. 

The conceit of the movie is a holiday family piece. Jack (Adam Sandler) is not looking forward to his twin sister Jill coming to visit. Jill (played by Adam Sandler in the worst drag seen on screen since Eddie Murphy in The Klumps) is loud, overbearing and obnoxious which explains why Adam Sandler decided to cast himself in the role. Much of the movie's stumbling stabs at comedy come from Sandler's Jack playing the world weary straight man to Sandler's Jill as she bumbles through  socially awkward situations ripped wholesale from 1980's family movies. 

The bad humor and unfunny drag show are grating and miserable but they are not the worst things about this movie. The worst thing about this movie is the boldface sincerity in which it is told. Under heaps of fart jokes, poorly timed slapstick, and wacky misunderstandings, the movie has the asinine gall to try and tell a sincere story about loving your family for who they are. 

Once again, Adam Sandler sabotages his own legacy as an actor and as a comedian. Click, Spanglish and Reign Over Me were movies that tried to establish Sandler as a capable actor but his latest films completely destroy his reputation. 

Ultimately, I think one of Sandler's movies said it best...

That just about sums it up. But hey, if  you're looking for a way to sober up after a night on the town, there is no more sobering a movie.

Rating: .5/5 (By virtue of the fact that it existed) 

Review:Angels and Airwaves:Love 2

Tom DeLonge has been a very busy man lately. When he's not touring with recently reformed blink-182 promoting their new album Neighborhoods, he's serving as the creative force behind his side project, Angels and Airwaves. Formed shortly after blink-182's initial dissolution, Angels and Airwaves has recently released their fourth studio album, Love2. 

While not an overall bad album, Love2 seriously brings into question Tom Delonge's abilities as a song writer. The main thing lacking from Love2 is originality; not only are the tracks indistinguishable from one another, they are also indistinguishable from other Angels and Airwaves songs. The most glaring example of this is "Surrender" which uses a similar riffing pastern and chord structure as "Everything's Magic" off of their second album. The songwriting is very typical of Angels and Airwaves past works and nothing really pushes the envelope musically. 

Having said that, I can't say I dislike the album. DeLonge's signature vocal stylings soar over punchy riffs and crisp, tight beats. If anything, Angels and Airwaves retains the ability to write catchy hooks and infectious choruses. The whole album has a surreal, dreamy feel to it that makes it paradoxically energizing and relaxing. 

Love2 is nothing new for the band. If you're already a fan of Angels and Airwaves or blink-182, chances are you'll like this album too. On the other hand, this album isn't going to create new Angels and Airwaves fans. 

And Tom? On the slim chance you're reading this now, please take a break. Two albums in one year have got  to put a strain on your creativity and it's starting to show. 

Rating

Music: 3/5

Lyrics: 3/5

Overall: 3/5

Overall, solidly constructed if a bit repetitive and derivative of earlier works. 

Review: Batman Arkham City

Batman: Arkham Asylum had the honor of not only being the only decent Batman game but one of the best superhero video games of all time. Built on a rich, detailed story and containing some of the most satisfying stealth gameplay in recent memory, Arkham Asylum rightly deserved the praise it received. 

Two years later, Rocksteady Studios continues the story with Batman: Arkham City, one of the few video game sequels actually better than the original game it was based on. 

The Story

Two years after the first game, Arkham Asylum has overfilled to the point that an entire section of Gotham City is designated as a prison zone under the authoritarian warden, Hugo Strange. Bruce Wayne is abducted while giving a speech criticizing the new Arkham City, leaving Batman locked inside the prison with his greatest enemies and their armies of gangs. Along the way, the player tangles with classic Batman villains such as Two-Face, Penguin, Mr. Freeze and the Joker as they attempt to thwart Strange's takeover of Gotham. 

The Gameplay

The core of the game consists of fast paced, visceral hand to hand combat. Players control the Dark Knight as he dispatches gang members with everything from Batarangs to grappling hooks to his bare fists. Players can opt to sneak around rooms full of guards, silently dispatching them one by one before leaping from the rafters to silence the last remaining guard personally. Combat flows beautifully, effortlessly switching from blocking to striking to countering with intuitive ease. Gang fights are punctuated with puzzles that make use of Batman's wide array of gadgets and platforming sections that allow the player to glide through the air and swing from ledges effortlessly. 

Overall

Arkham City is the rare sequel that surpasses its original. The plot is intriguing and engaging, the game play is fast and intuitive. Not simply one of the best superhero games of all time, Arkham City is one of the best games ever made. Period

Score

Plot: 5/5

Gameplay: 5/5

Replay Value: 5/5

Overall: 15/15

Understanding Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street is fast approaching its six week anniversary, but still nobody is listening.

What began as an isolated instance of civil disobedience has spread to more than nine-hundred cities in eighty-one countries. The young college students that made up the first wave of the protest have since been joined by people of all ages and professions, including middle-aged engineers, postal workers nearing retirement and unemployed mothers and fathers. Occupy Wall Street is made up of a multitude of different people, crying “We are the 99%” but still, nobody is listening.

Since the protest began in September, thousands of news articles, opinion pieces, blog entries and Twitter updates have covered Occupy Wall Street as it developed. Respected professors of economics, political scientists and sociologists have made the talking heads circuit, offering analysis and insight. Political pundits have blindly tried to co-opt the movement to serve their respective parties. But still, nobody is listening.

If the protesters are not being dismissed as “disaffected whiners,” it is only because of the toxic misconception that the protesters “don’t know why their protesting.” Make no mistake; despite the fact that the protesters haven’t issued a formal set of demands, Occupy Wall Street is not without its goals. Protesters have been making their displeasure known for almost a month and a half, on Wall Street and online.

But still, nobody is listening.

Much of the confusion surrounding the Occupy Wall Street movement comes from its unconventional style. This is decidedly a new kind of protest, the end result of the latest generation of social media focused towards a specific end. It is a protest less concerned with making demands than it is in making a statement. The end result is irrelevant if it provides no lasting change; Wall Street protesters are more interested in making themselves heard than achieving any tangible goal.

But what exactly is their goal? The majority of news sources keep stating that the protesters “don’t know why their protesting.” Because they lack any centralized form of leadership, many have claimed that the group is directionless. Others have claimed that Wall Street protesters are protesting against corporate influence in government and that is certainly a large part of it.

But more than anything else, the Wall Street protesters are trying to be heard. People who feel that their opinions are respected don’t take to the streets and camp out for months at a time. Wall Street protesters are united by their common disenfranchisement. They are a group of people who feel that the only way to be heard is to shout it from streets of New York.

But still, nobody is listening. We write them off as petulant college kids looking for a handout. We claim that they are directionless and their protest is meaningless. We make their protest a topic of political debate but we do not listen to them.

The next time Occupy Wall Street is mentioned, take the time to listen to them. Disagree with them if you will but do not ignore them.

Review: Paranormal Activity 3

Rare is the horror movie series that stays scary.

What was scary in the first installment usually becomes familiar by the second installment and by the time episode three comes out, audiences wise to the series' tricks find themselves feeling bored rather than frightened. That said, the Paranormal Activity series manages the impossible by remaining gruesomely atmospheric and hauntingly amazing well into its third installment.

Paranormal Activity 3 takes place before the first Paranormal Activity during Katie and Kristi's childhood. Their father, a wedding videographer, begins recording when he suspects that something is amiss in his new home. Strange noises, objects moving mysteriously and Katie's imaginary friend "Toby" serve to set the scene for continuously escalating horror that builds to a climax that had half the theater jumping out of their seats.

Paranormal Activity 3 paces itself perfectly. Instead of relying on cheap jump scares or gory scenes of mutilation, it takes its time slowly ratcheting up suspense. Instead of elaborate slasher costumes or overengineered movie monsters, Paranormal Activity 3 works through allusion and suggestion, letting the audience imagine ghastlier horrors than could ever be captured on screen. Bumps, creaks and cheap visual effects are used to great effect here and the way the movie is shot makes it seem realistic and intensely more terrifying.

Paranormal Activity 3 is an ideal horror movie and one that stays with viewers long after the credits roll. There were a few minor technical gripes (such as an over-reliance on a tracking shots) that kept me from giving it a perfect score but at the end of the day, this was a fine example of classic horror at its finest. By relying on suggestion and the infinite power of imagination, Paranormal Activity 3 is sure to have you sleeping with the lights on for the for the rest of the year.

Score 4/5

Review:US!

Rarely do I enjoy reading material assigned for a class. Books from my university's assigned reading list may be thought provoking and informative, but rarely are they entertaining. So I was surprised to catch myself laughing at US!, Chris Bachelder's gruesomely dark satire chronicling the life, death and resurrection of American Socialist author Upton Sinclair. 

Bachelder's novel begins with a bold proposition; Upton Sinclair routinely returns to life, crawling out of his grave like a zombie, when America needs him the most only to be subsequently assassinated once he no longer serves his purpose. This flight into magical realism is handled very well and the author only scarcely reminds the readers that Upton Sinclair is a member of the walking dead. Using that as a jumping off point, Bachelder lampoons everything from American celebrity culture to the establishment of literary canon in his trademark dark wit. Though the ever-present aura of death lingers around Bachedler's America, he challenges the reader not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the whole scenario. 

At the end of the day, US! is a heavy hitting political satire that is as thought provoking as it is entertaining. There are two kind of books I stop reading; the ones I stop reading because I have hurled it across the room and the ones I stop reading because it's four in the morning. This book falls squarely in the latter category

Score: 4/5

Review: Dream Theater; A Dramatic Turn of Events

Following the departure of long time drummer Mike Portnoy, Dream Theater fans were a bit skeptical about the band's future. Though Dream Theater has in the past changed out keyboard players and frontmen, Portnoy was a founding member of the band and is considered by many to be one of the greatest drummers alive today. So, with equal parts apprehension and excitement, Dream Theater fans turn to the band's latest offering, A Dramatic Turn of Events (Roadrunner). 

My first reaction to this album was not a favorable one, though for reasons other than Portnoy's replacement (Mike Mangini). The overall musical style of the album is something of a throwback to the band's early days. The album is a bit meandering and directionless compared to the airtight Octavarium or the sprawling opus, Six Degrees of Inner Separation. While this may endear many older fans, I am part of the group that believes that Dream Theater got better as time went on. 

This return to formula may be signs of a band who is unsure of its identity. Portnoy served as a chief songwriter and was the driving force behind some of the band's more memorable songs, including The AA Suite, a massive collection of twelve songs chronicling his struggles with alcoholism. Dream Theater seems reluctant to let Mike Mangini write so guitarist John Petrucci has taken over writing the majority of music and lyrics. A fine songwriter in his own right, Petrucci was nevertheless more effective as part of a team. 

Collectively, the album is fine. The level of musicianship is what fans have come to expect from Dream Theater and Mike Mangini proves himself more than capable of matching Portnoy's technical ability. But while the album on the whole is fine, nothing stands out. Every previous Dream Theater album had a track that completely blew me away and this album is sorely missing such a track. In the course of writing this review, I had to go back and listen to the album again because it lacked an identity of its own. 

The plane on the album cover is very descriptive of this album. Dream Theater seems to be stuck in a holding pattern; still flying but not really going anywhere

Score: 3/5