Archive for the ‘Artist Direct Reviews’ Category

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by Daniel Radcliffe

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the Hogwarts gang’s Empire Strikes Back.

It’s a very dark film, but it’s the most engrossing and enchanting of the series thus far. Director David Yates pulls the audience deeper into Hogwarts than ever before as Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and Co. start really growing up.

Everyone’s favorite school for witches and wizards is undergoing all kinds of changes, and metamorphosis is the name of the game this time around. Voldemort’s Death Eaters are causing all kinds of trouble, and it’s apparent that the dark lord is closer. So Headmaster Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) employs Harry’s help once more. This time, Dumbledore needs Harry to unearth a secret about Voldemort from returning Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbont. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Harry discovers a surprisingly potent potions book that once belonged to the mysterious “Half-Blood Prince,” while his closest friend Ron Weasley (Rupert
Read More

"Orphan" by Peter Sarsgaard

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

There’s something beautifully terrifying about Orphan.

It’s a chilling psychological thriller that creeps inside the viewer’s psyche and doesn’t leave without a fight. Everything goes down in a gorgeous snowy setting, and the white-out isolation contributes to the film’s ere of evil.

From the opening dream scene, it’s hard to turn away. Vera Farmiga’s Kate Coleman is wheeled through an overly sterile hospital. She’s on her way to give birth to her third child. However, something is going very wrong. Director Jaume Collet-Serra’s crawling camera shows a trail of blood on the floor beneath the creaky wheelchair. The blood remains ominous, and what happens next is completely unnerving—setting the tone for the entire film. Jaume’s filmmaking channels Italian horror maestro Dario Argento—juxtaposing dreamy darkness with real life tragedy. The results are pure horror gold.

Back to reality, Kate and her husband John—a fantastic Peter Sarsgaard—have lost their third child Jessica, and
Read More

"Pray for Villains" by DevilDriver

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

You don’t wanna fuck with Devildriver.

On Pray for Villains, these five Southern California cowboys from Hell have their six guns drawn and aimed right at the competition. They blow absolutely everyone away too. The international heavy metal hype machine never gave them the credit that they deserve. The media has always been way too busy blowing the horn for the likes of Lamb of God, Mastodon, Suicide Silence and Job for a Cowboy. However, Pray for Villains is a metallic masterpiece—one of the only records from the “New Wave of American Heavy Metal” that you’ll want to play for your kids someday.

Pray for Vilains allows each member of Devildriver the space to shine. These five men all deserve the devil’s due. On tracks like “Pure Sincerity” and “Forgiveness is a Six Gun,” John Boecklin’s drumming simply destroys. He can shift from incendiary, demonic double bass to polyrhythmic madness seamlessly. In fact, Boecklin combines Dave Lombardo’s penchant for percussive pummeling with
Read More

"The Ugly Truth" by Katherine Heigl

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

“It’s a matter of looking chaos in the eye and telling it to F-off,” exclaims Katherine Heigl’s Abby Richter early on in The Ugly Truth.

That’s an important quote for a few reasons.

It doesn’t simply apply to the chaos inherent in Richter’s job as a news show producer for a local Sacramento channel. It’s actually more applicable to modern dating. Dating is chaotic. Many young professionals are fickle and driven by whim. So how do you navigate those murky waters and hold onto your sanity?

You have to understand The Ugly Truth, which according to Mike Chadway—a fantastically funny Gerard Butler—is that all men are dogs. Mike has become the new hot-button risqué anchor of Abby’s news program and she couldn’t hate him more. However, she reluctantly begins to realize that he may be right. After he bets her that he can fix her dating life, she takes some notes from him. That’s when the real fun begins.

The premise of the film is simple but smart. Abby must rely on Mike to get
Read More

"The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard" by Jeremy Piven

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

By the end of The Goods [Paramount], you’re going to love Don Ready.

This used car salesman is easy to root for because he’s so slick and sharp. However, Don isn’t simply a rehash of Jeremy Piven’s now iconic Ari Gold. Whereas Ari is the ultimate suit-and-tie wearing Hollywood mastermind, Don Ready is a modern cowboy. With his paisley sleeves rolled up and his vest thinly veiling a wifebeater, he goes from town to town selling cars, breaking hearts and inspiring those around him to, as the movie poster says, “Live hard, sell hard.”

The Goods works so well because Piven breathes an immense amount of life into Ready. It’s an unorthodox performance for sure. Piven acts cool but he never comes off as cocky. Rather, there’s a certain charm to his pickup lines. Take one especially funny quote, “How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the Ice! I’m Don Ready.”

He’s got a ’70s sense of swagger and a modern penchant for profanity. He tells the employees of Selleck
Read More