New Shit Tuesday (Past Two Weeks)

Things have been a little bit hectic lately, so I'll update the past 2 weeks of stuff now.


DVDs:

Letters From Iwo Jima - This is the last Best Picture Nominee from 2006 that I have yet to see. Eastwood is one of the world's finest directors and while this movie isn't as exciting as Million Dollar Baby, it's still easily worth a purchase. I bought it as part of the 5-disc set (2 discs of Iwo Jima, 2 discs of Flags Of Our Fathers, 1 disc of related documentaries).

VERDICT: Buy it ASAP.


Apocalypto - Strangely, this movie didn't do very well at the box office, despite the fact that it's an excellent action film with a lot of great visuals and an outstanding pace. For a movie that's over 2 hours long, the film flies by without the viewer ever noticing it. This movie is worth a purchase. I picked it up on Blu-Ray because I have a Playstation 3 and the visuals of the film are worth the extra 10 dollars for the hi-def treatment.

VERDICT: Buy it.


The Good German - A decent movie that REALLY disappointed at the box office, German doesn't quite merit a purchase, but it is good enough for a rental at the first opportunity.

VERDICT: Rent it ASAP.


Venus - I don't really know much about this movie, but Peter O'Toole was nominated for an Oscar for his performance, so that should be good enough. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be this year's Junebug, a movie that's literally only worth seeing for one performance and otherwise sucks.

VERDICT: Rent it.


Hannibal Rising - The movie's a piece of shit. It's ugly and stupid and convoluted. The lead actor couldn't act his way out of a paper bag and goes out of his way to prove that he's Hannibal Lecter, to the point of hilarity. Still, it's not even the worst release of this post.

VERDICT: Skip it.


Epic Movie - I don't know why people keep going to see these movies. With Scary Movie, at least they're making attempts at creativity, but with Date Movie and Epic Movie, it seems that all they're doing is taking original ideas and adding fart jokes to them. There's really no reason that these movies need to exist outside of Mad Magazine. Please, America, stop seeing these movies.

VERDICT: Avoid it.


CDs:

The Bravery - The Sun And Moon - Far from being the best of the indie dance rock bands, The Bravery is often regarded as the "unoriginal" one and an undue amount of scorn is heaped upon them by critics and fans alike. Their debut was ok, but nothing great. The follow-up is an improvement, but still isn't on the level of Franz Ferdinand or The Killers. The first single, "Time Won't Let Me Go" is outstanding.

VERDICT: Buy it.


Maroon 5 - It Won't Be Soon Before Long - Obviously, this is the CD that is going to be flying off of the shelves in the near future, though the band will continue to remain deadset in the mediocre column, just shy of greatness.

VERDICT: Borrow it.


Ozzy Osbourne - Black Rain - I don't know what to make of this CD. Ozzy's always been pretty reliable, but it's been a long damn time since he's put out an album of original material and he's aged a LOT since then. Still, it'll probably be worth a listen.

VERDICT: Borrow it.


The Used - Lies For The Liars - The Used is one of the better emo / screamo bands out there these days. When they're screaming, they're actually pretty good, but when they're merely singing... not so much. Their first album was great, their second album average. Let's hope this one builds on the first rather than slumping along with the second.

VERDICT: Borrow it.