What's up bloggers? It's been a while since I've updated, but I'm getting better... right? Well, in light of the 4th of July being right around the corner, I thought I would do a "Half-Year in Review" sort of post, commemorating what I think has mattered for the first half of 2007. I'll split it up into categories so you can skip the stuff you don't care about. Here we go.
Movies:
This year has been pretty.... well, weak when it comes to movies. I have only seen 5 films in theaters this year, down from my usual 10 or 15 by this time of year, and I've only missed 2 or 3 that I wanted to see but wasn't able to (Knocked Up, 28 Weeks Later and TMNT). I'm hoping the second half of the year is better, as there are a few films that have me positively excited (3:10 to Yuma, There Will Be Blood and American Gangster) and a few that have me mildly interested (The Simpsons Movie, The Bourne Ultimatum and National Treasure 2). However bleak the rest of this year looks, looking ahead, 2008 looks to more than make up for it, with sequels to Batman Begins (The Dark Knight), The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (Prince Caspian) and the 4th installment of the Indiana Jones adventures coming to theaters. Now, in the interest of reviewing (that is what this post is all about), here are the ratings (out of 10) for the 5 films I have seen this year.
300: 7.5/10
Hot Fuzz: 9.5/10
Spider-Man 3: 6/10
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End: 9/10
Live Free or Die Hard: 8.5/10
Music:
Now, my musical tastes are somewhat limited, so I'm going to stick with mini-reviews for the new albums by some of my favorite bands. Also, be sure to check back in mid-August when I review at least 3 of the shows I will have attended. Now, onto the reviews.
Queens of the Stone Age - Era Vulgaris
When people think Queens of the Stone Age, they think "No One Knows", "Go With the Flow", and "Little Sister". This album contains a bit of each, with "Sick Sick Sick" echoing the heavy riffs found in NOK and GWtF and the stand out track, "3's & 7's", echoing the solo heavy LS. The rest of the album mixes just about any type of music you can imagine QotSA playing, and they do it with a flair I still haven't found in any other band.
Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Stand Out Tracks: Sick Sick Sick, I'm Designer, Misfit Love, Make It Wit Chu, 3's & 7's, Run Pig Run
Velvet Revolver - Libertad
A great break from their earlier sound in Contraband, Libertad manages to blend a few more styles of rock into its formula while still maintaining to guitar heavy rock that they are known for. Only listened to the album a few times, so I can't really comment on individual tracks just yet.
Initial Impression Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Smashing Pumpkins - Zeitgeist
One of those most anticipated reunion albums in recent years, the Smashing Pumpkins (despite the exclusion of James Iha and D'Arcy or Melissa Auf der Maur) are back. The new album stays true to the framework laid down in Machina and Machina II, incorporating much heavier and straightforward songs than they had in previous albums. While the album does kind of peter out at the end, this, I would argue, is a much better use of that framework, and frontman Billy Corgan really wasn't kidding when he said he missed the band. The emotion missing from his side project Zwan and his solo career are back in full force on this new album, and I only hope this means many more years of The Smashing Pumpkins are ahead of us.
Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Stand Out Tracks: Doomsday Clock, Tarantula, United States, That's the Way (My Love Is)
The rest I didn't really spend a whole lot of time with, so I can really only give them star ratings based on my initial impressions.
Dream Theater - Systematic Chaos: 3 out of 5 stars
The White Stripes - Icky Thump: 4.5 out of 5 stars
And since this post is much longer than I thought it would be, I will save the other stuff (politics, law, etc) to another day, hopefully later this week. Enjoy the 4th of July!
