Ten Years #23: The Tossers

Posted on September 21, 2013 by necromoonyeti

Decade of last.fm scrobbling countdown:
23. The Tossers (1,222 plays)
Top track (57 plays): The Crock of Gold, from The Valley of the Shadow of Death (2005)

My introduction to Irish punk was about as random as they come. I had “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners stuck in my head, and I could not for the life of me remember what it was called or who wrote it. I made a forum post asking “who wrote that song that goes too-ra-loo-rai-a?”, and someone–much to my persistent bewilderment today–responded with “Aye Sir” by The Tossers. It was through this cluttered back door that I first came to discover legends like The Pogues, The Dubliners, Dropkick Murphys, and Flogging Molly, and I owe a world of thanks to that forgotten forum poster for it.

A lot of my love for The Tossers is definitely nostalgia, because they introduced me to a world of music that has influenced my life tremendously ever since. But more significantly, I love The Tossers because they manifest an earthy side of Irish folk that bigger and brighter rock stars can never, by consequence of their fame, present quite so intimately. The drunken camaraderie, the sense of belonging, the singing and the dancing, all of the glory that one of the most persistently vibrant folk traditions in the world can bring–you certainly feel them all at a Dropkick concert, but with The Tossers it comes before an audience of a few hundred, most of whom know the songs by heart. They’re probably the best punk-minded Irish folk band drifting around America to have never made it big, and their live show is a blast every time.

Trailer: Last Days On Mars

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

My original attitude towards this film was dismissive. I’m not a big science fiction fan in general, the title Last Days On Mars felt juvenile, and I’ve had some issues with Liev Schreiber ever since I saw The Omen.

However, I then did some research and discovered that this film is an Irish/American co-production.

Therefore, as a proud Irish-American, I’ll give the film a chance when it opens on December 6th.

Trailer: Nebraska

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Director Alexander Payne is a perennial Oscar contender and this year, he’ll be offering up Nebraska. At this year’s Cannes film festival, veteran actor Bruce Dern was named best actor for his performance in this film and chances seem to be good that he will, at the very least, score a nomination when the Oscar nominations are announced next year.

AMV of the Day: The End of My World (Clannad/Clannad After Story)

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Arleigh

The latest “AMV of the Day” comes from the creative mind of one xDieguitoAMV.

“The End of My World” takes select scenes from the anime series Clannad and Clannad: After Story and combines it with the ambient stylings of the band The American Dollar. It chronicles the life of the Tomoya Okazaki through his experiences in both series. It’s told through his point of view as he meets Nagisa Furukawa who would have such a huge impact on his life. The video actually reverse the order by which he sees his life since meeting Nagisa. How she’s changed his outlook on life even if it meant that the happiness he has with her gets balanced out by heartache.

Anyone who has seen this anime knows how the two seasons were polar opposites from each other when it came to their tone and characters. All I can say that I’ve heard anecdotes that even badass, hardened, cynical men who club baby seals for sport have broken down crying like little babies once they’ve seen the series’ After Story. This video will probably relapse them back to that bawling state.

Anime: Clannad, Clannad: After Story

Song: “Twelve Days Awake” by The American Dollar

Creator: xDieguitoAMV

Past AMVs of the Day

Trailer: Ghost Team One

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Red band trailers remind me of those commercials for GoDaddy that always feature Danica Patrick wandering around in a towel. It’s like the filmmakers are essentially saying, “Yeah, our film sucks but hopefully, these boobies will keep you from noticing…”

Speaking of which, here’s the red band trailer for Ghost Team One.

For all of you folks who have been saying, “Why can’t someone combine Paranormal Activity with Project X!? WHY, GOD, WHY!?”, Ghost Team One will be released on October 11th.

Trailer: Dracula 3D

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

When Dario Argento’s Dracula 3D premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the reviews were almost universally negative.

But you know what?

I don’t care.

When it comes to a film like this, the critics don’t matter. Does anyone seriously think that any mainstream critic is going to give a film directed by Dario Argento a chance? No way. Film snobs hate Argento but even Argento’s worst films are usually more entertaining than anything Michael Bay has ever come up with.

What’s important is that Dracula 3D is a vampire film that’s coming out in October and, judging from the trailer, it appears that it will feature Rutger Hauer going overboard in that wonderful way that only Rutger Hauer can.

Dracula 3D will be in American theaters on October 4th. See you there!

Trailer: Big Sur

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the Road may get all the attention but Big Sur, in my opinion, is the best book that Jack Kerouac ever wrote. Telling the story of Kerouac’s attempt to deal with both sudden fame and his growing alcoholism, Big Sur is a meditation on existence that somehow manages to make even the contemplation of self-destruction seem life-affirming.

As for the upcoming film version of Big Sur, I can’t say that I’m hopeful. As last year’s film adaptation of On The Road demonstrated, Kerouac’s books have rarely gotten the film treatments that they deserve.

However, judging from the trailer below, the film adaptation of Big Sur does get at least one thing right.

Jean-Marc Barr appears to be perfectly cast as Jack.

Ten Years #24: Radiohead

Posted on September 19, 2013 by necromoonyeti

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SZ1WpzBr9E

Decade of last.fm scrobbling countdown:
24. Radiohead (1,176 plays)
Top track (35 plays): Knives Out, from Amnesiac (2001)

It should come as no surprise that Radiohead made it onto my decade top 50 chart somewhere. The dominant album on that list might be a little less common: Amnesiac (2001) took the title with a modest margin over Hail to the Thief (2003) and OK Computer (1997). This is no accident–no single weekend of Winamp stuck on repeat. Since pretty much the week it was released, Amnesiac has been my favorite Radiohead album.

It would be a bit silly to argue that Amnesiac is their best. Just as Radiohead are too unique to really be compared to any other band, pretty much every album they’ve released since The Bends (1995) has resided in a world of its own. OK Computer certainly offers the broadest appeal, and Kid A (2000) seems to get the most praise from the more eclectic, aesthetically minded fans, but it’s the consistent vibe of Amnesiac that grabs me most. From start to finish, it glides on a sea of glass beneath an inebriated night sky. While the individual tracks are stellar at every turn, the sum of its parts come nowhere near the whole, and I can rarely bring myself to listen to them out of their intended order. There’s some calming chill that sets across the whole 45 minutes, and a spirit of motion that I did not experience again until “Bloom” (The King of Limbs, 2011).

That being said, of course OK Computer and Hail to the Thief are unrivaled masterpieces, of course In Rainbows (2007) and The King of Limbs are worlds above the average for a band late in their career, and of course The Bends redefined the limits of rock in its day. The only album in their discography that you might justifiably find some fault with is Pablo Honey (1993), and that’s only when you measure it by the standard Radiohead set and maintained for the two decades to follow. In the most general sense, weighing all factors evenly, they might rightly be regarded as the greatest band to ever exist. That’s not lofty praise; it’s an opinion that a good many experienced music critics are prepared to agree with. But to the question of how Radiohead became my 24th most listened to band of the past 10 years, and not say, my 50th, I point without hesitation to Amnesiac.

Bayonetta Game to Get Anime Film

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Arleigh

“Let’s dance boys!” — Bayonetta

One of the most entertaining and fun games of this current generation of consoles that I’ve ever played came out in the Spring of 2010. The game I speak of is the hack-and-slash title Bayonetta from Platinum Games. It’s a game that was born from the hyper-kinetic action game series Devil May Cry. In fact, the game’s designer was also the designer for the Devil May Cry series and it shows in this heroine-led title.

As I had mentioned on a very early review of the title, Bayonetta is quite the over-the-top game with unique-looking visuals and imagery that combined Judeo-Christian art designs with the anime-inspired aesthetics that has been the design staple of the Devil May Cry series.

I was actually surprised that the game didn’t get an anime series right away to complement it the way some Japanese games tend to get when they become popular. Yet, despite waiting over three years to get one fans of the game will finally have their wish.

Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is an anime series due out this November from studio house GONZO. It looks to be an adaptation of the game’s storyline and will have Fuminori Kizaki of Afro Samurai fame in the director’s chair. The art design of the series will lean heavily on the game’s original character designs by Mari Shimazaki which should be good news to Bayonetta fans everywhere.

The trailer for the anime already hints at using the fan service moments from the game that made the title so popular but at the same time so controversial within some of the gaming community. The anime will be shown in a limited release in Japan this November with no word yet on whether it will make it over to the West in one type of release or another. I bet on it becoming a video release down the line.

Source: Anime News Network

Trailer: Grace of Monaco

Posted on September 17, 2013 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This year, we can look forward to two royalty-based films being released just in time to get some Oscar attention.

Unfortunately, neither one of them is about my favorite royal in-law, Pippa “It’s My Sister’s Wedding And I’ll Wear White If I Want To” Middleton.

Instead, Diana will star Naomi Watts as Diana, the late Princess of Wales and has already managed to inspire some amazingly negative reviews in the UK.

Meanwhile, Grace of Monaco, will star Nicole Kidman as the legendary Grace Kelly. Judging from the trailer below, Grace of Monaco looks like it could at least be trashy fun. If nothing else, I’m looking forward to seeing it for the costumes and the decor.