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July 30, 2008

listening: that old pair of jeans

Artist: Fatboy Slim. Album: That Old Pair of Jeans – Single.

July 27, 2008

listening: love burns

Artist: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Album: B.R.M.C.

July 25, 2008

listening: get lucky

Artist: Dragonette. Album: Galore.

July 23, 2008

listening: you, me and the bourgeoisie

Artist: The Submarines. Album: Honeysuckle Weeks.

listening: bottle it up

Artist: Sara Bareilles. Album: Little Voice.

July 19, 2008

saw: the dark knight

Much as Bruce Wayne knows what he must become by the time The Dark Knight has fully visited its devastation, so does director Christopher Nolan know what this summer blockbuster must be—bearing not just the usual comic book tent pole considerations, but also the burden of a talented actor's abbreviated legacy and the high standard set by Nolan's own Batman Begins: a riveting spectacle for the multiplexes, and an object lesson in morality for the masses. Does the movie occasionally gloss over contrivance and coincidence? Sure. Does any of that end up mattering in the face of a franchise behemoth executed with this much precision and skill, juggling shattering set pieces and intimate character arcs with complete assurance? Not even a little bit. The themes are operatic, the rising sense of panic and dread tidal in their force; and Heath Ledger unleashes his own tsunami as a Joker who's basically as stone-evil as a misbegotten creature can be and still have both feet rooted firmly, grimly to the ground. Grade: A

July 17, 2008

listening: heavy metal drummer

Artist: Wilco. Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.

July 16, 2008

saw: the golden army

At this point the breadth and depth of Guillermo del Toro's raw talent are undeniable. He's been reliably elevating pulp to pop art since he left his mark on 2002's shoulda-been-forgettable Blade II. His ability to elicit wonder and joy via the sorts of set pieces that many of his peers increasingly execute on autopilot, and to continually present visual effects in ways that feel fresh and tactile in an era of impersonal, overblown spectacle (where "wonders tend never to cease," to borrow a phrase Owen Gleiberman once used to describe feature animation), are rare gifts. Hellboy II is packed with enough technical flourishes to nourish several summer blockbusters; indeed, the eye-popping density of some shots occasionally borders on the exhausting; however, it speaks to some achievement that the imagery frequently registers as gorgeous despite the director's proclivity for poop-creatures, vagina-dentata face-huggers, tumor babies and orifice anxiety. The inventiveness almost makes up for what is otherwise a routine story, affectionately if predictably plotted. Also predictable: del Toro's upcoming Hobbit adaptation is going to set a new standard for mainstream fantasy entertainment. Grade: B+

July 10, 2008

listening: (far from) home

Artist: Tiga. Album: Sexor.

July 07, 2008

listening: ice cream

Artist: New Young Pony Club. Album: Fantastic Playroom.

July 04, 2008

listening: the axiom

Artist: Thomas Newman. Album: WALL∙E (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture).

July 02, 2008

playing: secret agent clank

Ratchet & Clank's first PlayStation Portable outing, Size Matters, was generally well-received but I found it perfunctory, glitchy and ultimately unplayable. In my experience, Secret Agent Clank, despite garnering more mixed reviews, is head and shoulders more surprising, inventive and enjoyable.