Final

With the advent of the web, communication of opinion has flourished through the wires landing on home computer monitors across throughout the world with a click of a mouse to anyone with a connection. This outlet has created new frontiers for mass media, offering up a virtually endless resource for all.

For example, if you wanted a review of a newly or recently released movie review, the choice for many in this day an age is to start searching and delving into the options offered on the web. Sites like RottenTomatoes.com and the countless blogs devoted to movie reviews can offer opinion from just about anyone as well as reviews from established, professional critics, putting them side by side. The distinction resides in the name and title of the source.

Professional critics these days have to compete with the overflow of the opinion of those who may or may not be qualified in terms of being established or referred to as a “published” author.

Finding a truly educated resource in this day and age of online communication can be a daunting task. The tried and true paper form of communication via newspapers, magazines or academic publications no longer are recognized as the initial source of information by informed agents of writing and criticism. In modern times, the ease in which a person can find a writeup of a review and publish it online puts the antiquated forms of communication in competition with the opinion of anyone with a connection.

In the introduction of his article “The Crisis of Criticism”, Berger takes a stand against how critical writing has become watered down and it “has all too often become bad writing.”

In his opinion he states, “It is the critic who often supports or analyzes culture against the grain of popular tastes, indifference, or hostility... (and) serves as a kind of aesthetic mentor, introducing an audience to challenging, little-known, or obscure works offering insights that make a work more accessible, engaging, profound, or relevant.”

Distinguishing and seeking out a good critic with a valued opinion on the web is attainable but more of a personal choice. The critic must connect with it’s audience on a level of truth that is expected of a review. Those critics who are doing their civic duty to continue furthering the relevance of the artform as an indicator of change in culture should be recognized and lauded and they will gain exposure through the various avenues that will offer up more possibilities.

Therefore, the role of the critic works as a deeper connection to the artist and their work, delving deeper into the psyche of the statement the artist is relaying, a level of quality and aesthetic will be retained.

TV Review: “Outsourced”

Todd vs. Nature

In Thursday night’s episode “Temporary Monsanity” Todd (Ben Rappaport) bites off more than he can chew as he tries to attain the unreachable in a man vs. nature scenario.

After a video chat with his parents back at home in Kansas City. He find out from his braggart brother that he has won “top salesman of the month“ and is giving them his prize for their 30th wedding anniversary –  a luxurious trip to Colorado. In a knee-jerk reaction trying to impress his parents he fibs about beating the sales mark at his job and unselfishly gives them his prize – a trip to Hawaii.

The running joke for the show continually has Todd continuing to put his foot in his mouth and feed on it for a bit.  The jokes fly as the show rides on the laurels of cultural ignorance and showcases the differences between the culturally-starved manager and the Indians that make up the staff of the office. This meaty subject gives the writers fodder to create a sharp and witty banter of one liners that stab at the norm of each culture.

Todd finds himself having to rally the staff to get them behind him, but first has to explain what Black Friday and Thanksgiving is all about in his own terms:

“They are an odd couple these Pilgrims and Indians. So if the Indians give the Pilgrims shelter, what did the Pilgrims give the Indians?” Asha asks.

“Less land to worry about? Actually they prefer to be called Native-Americans.” Todd says.

Gupta asks, “Why?”

Smartly Todd replies, “They find to term Indian derogatory.”

Cut to intro credits.

Pilgrim vs. Indian
The interoffice competitiveness of Todd and his Assistant Manager Rajiv (Rizwan Manji) brings a familiar storyline to viewers, but what makes the show unique is how it is riddled with the social mores of each characters culture.

While Rajiv is vying for his position and doing his best to out-do him as the leader of the office, he is also meeting the requirements of his culture. The show gets into the ways of the Indian culture by showing how holding a higher position paves way to better odds in landing a position as husband in an arranged marriage and also the acceptance of his in-laws.

After going into Todd’s trash and finding the sales incentive email that rewards the Assistant Sales Managers with a HDTV for beating the highest mark, Rajiv takes the opportunity to continue his rise to the top as he continues to throw elbows.

He gives his workers a sense of false hope by using his power to get the workers to break the record by offering them fools gold; free health insurance for the person who breaks the record, including coverage for their entire family. This lights a fire under the turkey’s working on Black Friday.

“They don’t even get that in the U.S.!”, Gupta exclaims.

Loss of Power
After a monsoon cuts all power to his office, he comes clean to his staff. He can’t go on with the shenanigans of having to put his staff to work through the night, trying to catch the unreachable carrot being dangled in front of them. But, the staff fully understands his dilemma – the pressures of parent approval and their culture are relateable.

Trying to cheer Todd up, Manmeet (Sacha Dahwan) tells a story of how his parents have high expectations of him too. He explains how he got stuck at work and misses his brothers graduation and how his parents’ acceptance is like day and night. “It seems unfair to push me to work hard and blame me when I do. Sometimes parents are wrong.”

As the deadline nears and Todd fails to meet the sales goals, he gives into defeat. But the staff steps up for him and offer to buy up novelty items to surpass the golden number. He thanks them for helping, but he must face the music and come clean to his parents.

The show continues to show promise by feeding off the diverse relationship between Todd and his likable staff in it’s ninth episode. The lovable characters of “Outsourced” still need more developing but names such as Gupta (Parvesh Cheena), Manmeet (Sacha Dahwan), Rajiv (Rizwan Manji) and Asha (Rebecca Hazelwood) may possibly become household names soon enough.

Rev 1 Music Review: Crowded House "Intriguer" (Concorde Music Group, 2010)

Contemporary Pop Rockers Crowded House latest release “Intriguer” (Concorde Music Group, 2010) picks up where their 2007 release of “Time On Earth” left off with a similar approach featuring introspective lyrics and fine-tuned songs.

Neil Finn is one of those musicians who always seems to be working with others and opening up the doors to allow the music to keep flowing in his Roundhead studios in his hometown of Auckland, New Zealand. Over the years, Finn has been known to collaborate with an long list of list of notable musicians, surrounding himself with many of the artists he enjoys and gels with with the likes of members from Wilco, Radiohead, Eddie Vedder and Johnny Marr from the Smiths fame.  The choice of adding Mike Hart on backup keys, vocals and guitar and Matt Sherrod on drums has given the group a solid foundation to create the quality of sound that Finn has been crafting in recent years as a solo artist.

Always the lyricist and creative instigator, Finn matches the mood of his songs with his talented bandmates by creating rich and layered songs through his songwriting and melody making. The band’s musicianship elegantly shines with the skills of producer Jim Scott who has worked with the likes of Radiohead, Wilco and the Red Hot Chili Peppers by adding depth and clarity to the backing vocals and sound effects that will pique the interest of new listeners and audiophiles alike.  

Additional material on the Deluxe copy of the album includes a DVD of videos recorded in Finn’s home and some show material at Auckland Town Hall in Finn’s homeland of New Zealand. Fans of the Crowded House will be happy to see a live version of one of the oldie but goodies, “Don’t Dream (It’s Over)” and Neil donning a debonair new stash.

Finn gets everyone around him involved, adding the usual suspects of special guests to the mix including his son Liam and his wife Sharon, who add guitar and background vocals respectively on “Isolation,” a song with warm and echoing voices surrounded by fluttering organ keys which ends by bursting into a high pitched chaos.

“Amsterdam” saunters through the streets, taking the listener on a slow and plodding jaunt with Sherrod's slack beat and leaving the listener with a bad taste in their mouth and a sense of paranoia with lyrics: “And the rain came hard / A million people on a protest march / Every choice, every path was mistaken.”

The slow pace of the song puts a damper on the mood, setting the stage in a torrential downpour of emotion, shaking things up with a certain sense of uncertainty with fluttering organ keys by Hart. Finn paints the setting as a place where no one can be trusted, even the storyteller on the song; “Every temptation, and device / All the diamonds and the spice / I would give anything for the sight of an honest man.”  

The revelatory song “Twice If You’re Lucky” starts off with beautiful keyboard melodies and showcases Hart and Finn's harmonies.  Songs such as “Archer’s Arrow” may even be relying on past success, with fluttering keys may even resemble the ivorys that make up the song “Private Universe,” a song from the group's fourth studio album “Together Alone.”

Although “Intriguer” flows with beautiful music and lyrics, the moodiness of the songs can seem unrelenting. Crowded House may not get much radio play, but the band's craftsmanship may be what is the most intriguing part of this latest release.

Movie Review: “Almost Famous

Producer Cameron Crowe (“Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Singles,” Jerry McGuire”) sets the stage with a barrage of great performances by his cast in “Almost Famous” (2000) giving us another piece of rock ‘n roll memorabilia with this coming of age story. The film follows William Miller (Patrick Fugit) in his infancy as a music journalist who gets a chance of a lifetime getting a gig with Rolling Stone Magazine, following the band Stillwater as they travel the on the road to stardom and losing his dreams and innocence along the way.

The movie is based on similar experiences of Crowe’s early career as a music journalist, teaming up with the likes of Ben Fong-Torres, the editor of Rolling Stone and chumming it up with the seasoned pro Lester Bangs after a meeting that took place in his home town in San Diego. Bangs was the antithesis of what Rolling Stone offered in their rag. He was most famous for his scathing and abrasive style of music criticism through his rants in Creem Magazine and other rags of the day –  always telling how he saw it with no holds barred.

Crowe showcases the relationship William has with Bangs and his hard facts about the music biz amidst his struggles with the assignment. Although the depiction is not as Gonzo-ish as one would expect, he plays Bangs as a mentor to the budding writer, protecting him from the ugly truth of how things actually work out there in the real world and reflecting what may have been Crowe’s had experienced back in the day.  Strong performances by Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Philip Seymour-Hoffman and Billy Crudup seem to parallel the help that newbie Patrick Fugit may have needed in this role as a lead actor in this film. While some scenes that had to focus on such a character, a few overzealous ticks in his dialogue revealed his own experience as an actor. But then again, Kate Hudson’s navel always seemed to distract from little things of this nature.

Crowe’s skill in direction and incorporating the detail of sound and the novelty of the era really sets the mood for the film. His penchant for picking out a solid soundtrack is well-known. He fills the gaps between with sounds from Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rod Stewart, Simon and Garfunkel, Yes, and Led Zepplin to name the most notable. Additionally, he pulls off making the music of the fictitious band Stillwater seem real with the help of legendary rockers Peter Frampton and his ex-wife Ann Wilson of Heart fame. His attention to detail by adding props, the garb of the musicians of the era, and the slouch and slang of the days sets the viewer back in the saddle of the days of when sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll were a responsibility to a generation. Crowe takes it upon himself to make these situations feel like that reality for the characters in his film.

In the scene where William experiences his first concert, the viewer takes on William’s perspective as he follows the band from back stage to within the dimly-lit, smoke-filled arena. He is guided by the band’s lead guitarist Russell Hammond – as if he is being guided into another state of consciousness. The muffling sound from the awaiting crowd comes to the forefront as they hit the stage. The silhouettes that reveal the equipment of half-stacks and stage lighting flash across and into his eyes blinding him. He has made the big time. His bearings are found and his biggest dreams are fulfilled.

Soon he is jumping on the bandwagon and living the life of a rock star; eyes and ears open wide free from the realities of his overbearing mother, or the responsibility held as a journalist. He is suddenly thrown into the world of love, lies and managing his own life. The voice of reason can be found by many of his adversaries throughout the film, but it turns out that they all have their secrets to hide and the important lesson that he learns is to be true to himself and tell it how it is.  

Turns out in the end, it was a good thing he listened to Lester.

Music Review: "Intriguer" by Crowded House (2010)

Crowded House “Intriguer” (Concorde Music Group 2010) picks up where their 2007 release of “Time On Earth” left off with a similar approach of introspective lyrics and solid output of sound.

Finn is one of those musicians who always has his finger in a stew of collaboration and always working in his Roundhead studio in Auckland, New Zealand. Over the years, Finn has been known to collaborate with an endless list of list of notable musicians, surrounding himself with many of the artists he enjoys and can feed off such as members from Wilco, Radiohead, Eddie Vedder and Johnny Marr from Cure fame.  The choice of adding Mike Hart on backup keys, vocals and guitar and Matt Sherrod on drums has given the group a solid foundation to create the quality of sound that Finn has been arranging through his solo days and collaboration with others.

Always the lyricist and creative instigator, Finn matches the mood of his songs with his talented band mates by creating rich and layered songs that will pique interest in his songwriting to new listeners. The band’s musicianship elegantly shines, adding depth and clarity to the backing vocals and sound effects with the help of producer Jim Scott who has worked with the likes of Radiohead, Wilco and earning a Grammy producing “Californication” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The latest release adds 16 news songs to the many ranges of style that the Crowded House catalogue has amassed over the years. Additional material on the Deluxe copy of the album includes a DVD of videos recorded in Finn’s home and some show material at Auckland Town Hall in Finn’s homeland of New Zealand. Fans of the Crowded House will be happy to see a live version of one of the oldie but goodies, “Don’t Dream (It’s Over)” and Neil donning a debonair new stash.

Finn gets everyone around him involved, adding the usual suspects of special guests to the mix including Finn’s son Liam and his wife Sharon who add guitar and background vocals respectively on “Isolation” – a song with warm and echoing voices surrounded by fluttering organ keys which ends by bursting into a high pitched chaos.

“Amsterdam” saunters through the streets, taking the listener on a slow and plodding jaunt and leaving the listener with a bad taste in their mouth and a sense of paranoia with lyrics: and the rain came hard / a million people on a protest march / every choice, every path was mistaken”.

The slow pace of the song puts a damper on the mood, setting the stage in a torrential downpour of emotion, shaking things up with a certain sense of uncertainty with fluttering organ keys. Finn paints the setting as a place where no one can be trusted, even the storyteller on the song; “every temptation, and device / all the diamonds and the spice / I would give anything for the sight of an honest man”.  

The familiar Crowded House-esque standards can hook the listener in on such revelatory and chipper songs like “Twice If You’re Lucky” which starts off with beautiful keyboard melodies and harmonies with keyboardist Hart, reminiscent of the range of Finn’s brother, and ex-Crowded House member, Tim Finn. Songs like “Archer’s Arrow”, with fluttering keys may even resemble those on “Private Universe,” a song from the group's fourth studio album Together Alone.

Although “Intriguer” flows with beautiful music and lyrics, the moodiness of the songs can seem unrelenting, but this album is worth listening to a few times to catch the subtle and amazing craftsmanship that Finn (and now Crowded House) are known for.

Movie Review: "Evil Dead" (1981)

Once again it's Halloween season and if you're looking for an outrageous 80's B-rated horror flick, take a look way back to the old horror cult classic "Evil Dead" (1981) – Sam Raimi's debut full-length feature film in which he takes on the role as as writer, producer, choreographer and special effects guy.

Before he directed the "Spiderman" trilogy and "Drag Me To Hell" Raimi gained cult notoriety in the movie biz by creating the trilogy of “Evil Dead” stories,  "Evil Dead II" (1987) and "Army of Darkness" (1993) which revolve around the shotgun and chainsaw wielding, demon-killing hero Ash played by Bruce Campbell – Raimi's childhood friend and executive producer of the movie.

Raimi's love for film and shows early on in his career through every frame of this movie which was brought to life with the help of friends, family and investors. As each scene in the movie progressively gets more and more absurd in the level of gore through special effects,  

"Evil Dead" starts out as the typical T & A horror movie filled with the usual camp of blood and demons, no-name actors and actresses dressed in the 80's garb with bad 80’s hair, and the  theatrical silliness that stems from the long line of "don't go out there / in there" horror plots. All of this, of course, preempted by creaky floors, high winds and demon noises lurking outside in the dark and creepy woods. What makes this horror movie stand out from the slash and gash movies of yester-year, is the attention to cinematography.

As in most horror flicks, curiosity is what kills the character. Ash discovers an artifact that cabin's owner has left in his basement. And so Ash quickly discovers a reel-to-reel tape player in the dungeon-esque basement of the cabin. Soon after playing the “incantations that allow the demons to posses the living” from the "Book of the Dead", the evil spirits stir in the woods that surround.

Raimi’s creates this roaming evil presence by simply attaching a camera to an ATV and cruising through a forest, zooming up at ground level and leading up to the entryway of the cabin. A simple dolly shot in film-speak. But, this is one of Raimi's many signature film techniques that can be accredited to his style and craft.

The ‘camp du Raimi’ is so absurd, it is notably different from any other horror film of that era, and thus much more entertaining. Raimi relentlessly pulls out every trick in his hat with incredible attention to detail with his unorthodox framing and dolly shots, quick cut editing, and choreography of all the multitude of stunts and gags in the film. Raimi and his special effects gurus take every chance they can get to squeeze out another angle to reveal a version of a latex demon with its eyes bulging out and skin falling off; blood and puss oozing from each gash or blown out of an orifice from its disjointed and mutilated carcass; ghouls and demons flailing themselves at the hero, only to be hacked into parts and shown flinching on the floorboards below in a pool of blood and bits. It’s absurd, it’s cheezy and it’s totally hilarious.

As mentioned before, he also received some help from a budding movie personality during that time – a young Joel Coen, who lends a hand on this film as assistant film editor, well before he went on to establish his cult status in film. Along with the addition of Bruce Campbell’s moxie as a leading actor via his physical comedic relief with his classic expressions, it just goes to show why every part of this movie came together and became a cult-classic low-budget film. Raimi’s craft is what makes this movie so enthralling. It is these qualities rather than the simple plot that makes this absurd horror movie shine over the years.

Another Novelty Office Show?

“Outsourced”, the newest addition to NBC’s Thursday night lineup – Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. – strives to stay afloat amongst this Fall’s lineup of comedy with it’s social humor of the culture clash of East meets West.  

As the opening credits roll, the soundtrack of the show fills an American living room with the foreign sounds of Indian music, something Americans in some select areas may not be used to. The opening credits are similar to a Bollywood production - chock full of grungy posters and Hindi music that is refreshing and energetic.

           The show is set overseas, in a call center for Mid America Novelties, a novelty mail-order company, located in Mumbai, India.  The setting of the show is beautiful and interesting, as it puts the viewer in the office where the windows peer out into the day-to-day life of the bustling cityscape of Mumbai. The set is filled with a sea of extras going about their day, filled with street vendors carting around their wares and foodstuffs, to sacred cows passing by. One may smell the curry outside the walls of this unique office area.

           The writing of the show shows promise, if one can look past the usual clichés of the laughs pointed at the brogue of the east. The show does attempt to point out the major differences in cultures by showing the audience there is more at play than just the usual American simple-minded social commentary.

In the show’s second episode, “Measure of a Manmeet,” Todd Dempsy, played by Ben Rappaport, has been transplanted into a foreign land where he feels the need to connect with the culture of his employees while struggling to keep his job at the same time. Todd has been instructed by his boss to give performance reviews to each of his employees. He later finds that he has to perform evaluations of his employees, and give the axe to the ones who don’t produce enough sales.

The likable character of Todd as the open-minded and culturally aware manager from Kansas City thrives to understand his employees and struggles with figuring out the eastern culture. The topic of social class and pre-arranged marriage is placed in this episode.

Todd learns that one of his employees, Manmeet, played by Sacha Daiwhan has been taking every opportunity to connect with the female callers looking for novel items by flirting with them. Instead he finds himself getting lost in the conversations he has and the relationship he makes with women from as he puts it, “exotic places Des Moines, Fresno, Chattanooga.”

Once his cover has been blown and his job is at risk, Manmeet confides in Todd about his actions, telling him the casualness of American women gives him the confidence that he finds is lacking at home here in Mumbai. As it turns out, these conversations with his “girlfriends” makes him feel that he doesn’t have to worry about such class struggles as his caste, or what his father does for a living when talking to a person of the opposite sex.

Having the tables turned on the American, and putting Todd’s character on the other side of having to figure out the culture of the East is a welcome and refreshing twist on Thursday night television.

           Another highlight of the show is in the comic relief and tightly wound viewpoint the culturally clueless Charlie Davies character, played by Diedrich Bader. Todd can be found confiding in Charlie during his lunch breaks, giving him advice about how to deal with his troops overseas. But the wit of his conversations usually show the callousness that comes with men who live in caves – the type of American who has never tried a cuisine other than a Lean Cuisine purchased in the frozen section of the local grocer.

While the shows writing can show glimpses of promise, brought to life with the great performances by a mostly Southern Indian cast, most of the laughs can be rooted in laughing at the Indian culture and the way that they speak and their lack of intelligence in all things Americana - which the writing seems to lean on. Then again, NBC’s Thursday night lineup mostly consists of the back-asswardness, mindless, unethical and yet, loveable characters on such shows as “The Office,” “30 Rock,” and “Community.”

The timing of this new show may be appropriate – as more and more American-based companies are turning to the more cost-effective route of outsourcing customer relations to overseas locales. But, the timing of the cliché jokes can be rather heavy handed in the eyes of the viewers during such times of unemployment.