Legion

The release of the 2010 feature Legion, directed by Scott Stewart, was, if anything, a bust. This movie, though entertaining, failed to harness a coherent plot and made little to no sense in its entirety.

However, the overall idea of this film was in fact quite interesting, and would have worked well had it not failed on so many levels. The movie begins with the Archangel Michael (played by Paul Bettany) arriving on earth and stealing a police patrol car to drive out to a small diner, located in the middle of nowhere, called Paradise Falls (a rather stupid and random name for a diner, even considering its less than subtle biblical allusion). This restaurant then becomes the central keep of the patrons as they battle, alongside Michael, to defeat various enemies, including people who have become possessed, angels, and finally the Archangel Gabriel.

Little information is given about why this apocalyptic event is taking place, and what is told about the recent occurrences is vague and senseless. There comes the scene where the patrons, including Dennis Quaid as Bob Hanson, ask Michael about why the world is ending and why they are being maliciously attacked by angels. Michael calmly and silently replies that God has lost all faith in humanity and has decided to send angels to “exterminate” the human race; as opposed to a massive flood which he sent hundreds of years ago the last time he “lost faith.” Furthermore, the only hope humanity has of surviving is if the pregnant waitress, Charlie (played by Adrianne Palicki) gives birth, for her child is the next messiah…maybe. I say maybe because none of this is really explained, and there is no detail to why this is all happening. Why has God lost faith in humanity? Is it because of what we have done to the environment, or our warmongering, or our selfish behavior? Your guess is as good as mine. Also, why is this unborn child the only hope humanity has? Who knows? These are vital details about the plot that are never dealt with. When confronted with the question about his decision to help the diner patrons, Michael responds that he, unlike God, Gabriel, and all the other angels, still has hope in humanity, and he feels that it is his duty to see to it that Charlie’s child is born. Once again, we ask similar questions: why does Michael still have faith in humanity? Is it because he can see the best in people? Why does he have this connection to Charlie and her unborn child? Maybe it’s because, biblically speaking of course, Archangel Michael helped the Virgin Mary when she was pregnant with Jesus, but at the same time, one can only assume, for it is never revealed. Why is this all happening? Obviously the film writers Paul Schink and Scott Stewart where too focused on the what, and forgot about the why.

These lapses in the plot are large and frequent. The fight scenes keep the viewer entertained, but they fail to make-up for the lackluster performances, plot and dialog.

Additionally, there is a small side-plot between Archangels Michael and Gabriel, who are two of God’s favorite angels. Michael claims that Gabriel is making a mistake by fighting for God, and should instead rebel and encourage God to stop his plans for ending humanity. Gabriel refuses and thus the audience witnesses a semi-enjoyable fight scene between the two angels as they sort out their personal vendettas towards each other in the greasy, dirt ridden kitchen of the diner. SPOILER ALERT: The fight comes to an end when Gabriel defeats Michael, and right before he has a chance to kill Charlie, the heavens open up and rays of light beam down as Michael comes flying from the sky (obviously because he was sent back to heaven after his death) and saves the day. How predicable, good always triumphs.

The movie overall, as previously stated, made almost no sense. It was an interesting idea that could have done very well if it were not for the shoddy writing. There were some appealing shots and some interesting visuals, but the poorly executed plot, along with the mediocre acting, made this movie a complete waste of time. Thumbs down.

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Three Kings

Taking place during the 1991 Iraqi uprising against Saddam Hussein, Three Kings follows the efforts of four American soldiers who attempt to steal seized Kuwaiti gold bullion from Iraqi bunkers. Uniquely photographed, and refreshingly experimental, Three Kings provides viewers with a visual masterpiece that not only communicates a riveting plot, but does so with an immense sense of style. The performances from George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube and Spike Jonze are natural, the cinematography is gorgeous, the plot is well layered, and musical score rounds out a visual and auditory masterpiece that is sure to entrance viewer.

The College Dropout

The debut studio album of hip-hop artist Kanye West is one of the most refreshing and pioneering albums in recent hip-hop history. Revamping the approach to hip-hop for subsequent albums, The College Dropout not revitalized Chicago hip-hop, but created an entirely new sound for future hip-hop releases. Loaded with samples from old soul tracks, and taking full advantage of existing vocals intertwined with new rap lyrics, The College Dropout surprises first time listeners upon contact. It’s unlike anything anyone had ever heard, and the album’s freshness is complemented by its old-school roots in blues and soul. A must hear for anyone unfortunate enough to miss it.

The Great Gatsby

An American literary classic, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald tells the story of mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby through the eyes of neighbor Nick Carraway. Considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, Fitzgerald flawlessly communicates deep characters who are interconnected through a brilliantly layered plot. The novel which inspired a Broadway play and major motion picture is far better in print than in any other recreation. The classical writing style of the novel is a refreshing escape from modern fiction, and the Fitzgerald's fluid approach to storytelling makes The Great Gatsby a must read.

Hiphopgame.com

From Gucci-Mane to Pharell, from Drake to Game, everything hip-hop related converges on hiphopgame.com. It's your one-stop-shop for being updated on all of hip-hops newsworthy events and culture all at once.

At first glance, hiphopgame.com lacks many of the bells, whistles and bling that accompany most hip-hop related sites, but the lack of flashiness actually adds to the site, and lessens distractions.

The main attraction of the site’s massive collection of anything hip-hop is the mix-tape section. Hiphopgame.com releases any and every well-known artist’s mixtape. Given the strictly promotional nature of mixtapes (which, oddly enough, are unique to the genre of hip-hop), every download on hiphopgame.com is completely free of charge, and completely legal for that matter as well.

This is where hiphopgame.com differentiates itself from other hip-hop websites: it provides hip-hop lovers with a glance into the non-mainstream world of mainstream rappers. For example, most hip-hop fans would know that the rapper Game has released three studio albums over the course of his career. What many hip-hop fans might not know is that Game has released no less than fifteen mixtapes since his first studio album. With most mixtapes containing upwards of twelve tracks (many of which never gain airplay, and are not available for purchase either in stores or on iTunes), there are literally dozens upon dozens of tracks that the average hip-hop fan would have no way of accessing let along hearing.

Hiphopgame.com includes hip-hop fans in music that the average fan was never in the position to hear. The site brings the rare tracks to the listener, in addition to equally rare hip-hop news and pop-culture. It’s a hip-hop fan’s “must-bookmark” site, and a site that should be visited on a bi-weekly basis given the frequent updates with regard to hip-hop music and news alike.

Blue Mountain State

Just as silly as the American Pie franchise and twice as raunchy, Spike TV's new gross-out comedy Blue Mountain State keeps audiences entertained even while forcing them to shield their eyes. The brainchild of Chris Romano and Eric Falconer (producers of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Sarah Silverman Program), Blue Mountain State combines the blatant and audacious comedy of The Sara Silverman Program with the disunity between characters in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, all the while maintaining low-brow punch lines and over-the-top situational comedy.

Blue Mountain State follows the triumphs and failures of a fictional Division I college football team. The narrative closely follows Alex Moran (portrayed by Darin Brooks), the second-string quarterback who seeks the glory and perks of college football stardom minus the pressure, and Craig Shilo (portrayed by Sam Jones III), the straight-laced running back whose commitments lie with the team and his ultra-manipulative girlfriend. Throughout the series, we follow Alex Moran’s tireless existence in the overly stereotyped “college life” consisting of (but not limited to) sports, women, alcohol, drugs, partying and hazing. For comedic relief away from the already absurd behavior of all characters, Sammy Cacciatore (played by Chris Romano), also known as Mounty, the Mountain Goat Mascot, makes frequent appearances and is almost always on the search for women and alcohol.

Blue Mountain State makes absolutely no attempt at being sophisticated, and embraces the sheer raunchiness of all its episodes. As such, it is merely the gags that carry the show. As a narrative, there is little to no connection between one episode and the next, and there is certainly very little depth to any of the characters. Visually, the series maintains an interesting look, even on a cable budget, and manages to appear more cinematic than your run-of-the-mill sitcom.

Fast-paced and unavoidably in-your-face, Blue Mountain State succeeds and what it attempts to be; Animal House with far less class. If interpreted as a narrative sitcom with continuity between episodes and adequate character development, Blue Mountain State certainly fails to hold up, although this is most definitely something that the series avoids. The humor of Blue Mountain State exists in its willingness to sacrifice narrative elements for a humorous punch-line, and its ability to deliver sophomoric, sexually charged comedy on a consistent basis.

For a first season comedy series on Spike TV, Blue Mountain State abides by the “manly” sex, drugs and rock & roll theme that the network continually offers. While not the most profound comedy series, Blue Mountain State does manage to provide a relatively entertaining show through both highly provocative and highly suggestive material. Not that the show is anything to follow religiously, but its easy to hold onto when flipping through channels, even if you catch it mid-way through the episode.

The Aqua

Driving through Lakeshore East, one of Chicago’s more prominent neighborhoods featuring several of the city’s tallest buildings, it is impossible to avoid the newest addition to the neighborhood’s already memorable contribution to the Chicago skyline. Audacious and unavoidable as it may be, the 82-story recently completed “Aqua” has garnered attention well beyond the confines of the urban development in which it exists.

Whether it’s the height of the structure or the asymmetrical design that prompts its nationwide recognition is arguable, what isn’t as arguable; the design being unique. The Aqua sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the surrounding modernist high-rises. With a gelatinous façade, and balconies that extend unevenly from the structure’s core, the Aqua appears like a rough day at sea 800ft. into the Chicago skyline.

Within the structure, we find the standard amenities of most mixed-use residential skyscrapers (fitness center, pool, sky garden, etc.), complete with those geared toward the Aqua’s prospective clientele (first class appliances in each unit, floor to ceiling windows, etc.). The Aqua also boasts a high standard in green living, with energy efficient lighting in most public areas, an energy efficient façade that shades residents from direct sunlight and keeps units cooler during the warmer seasons, as well as a system for rainwater drainage aimed keeping temperatures consistent within the Lakeshore East urban development (e.g. reducing the UHI, urban heat island, phenomenon).

Aside from the fancy bells and whistles that the Aqua has to offer, Jeanne Gang, the building’s architect, seems to have traded traditional fundamentals in design for a unique structure that catches the eye. Unlike the surrounding structures that adhere to certain standardized characteristics in design, the Aqua negates all prior architectural approaches and thus its ability to fit well with neighboring buildings.

Although a relatively new urban development with relatively new buildings, the Lakeshore East neighborhood did boast good taste in its high-rises. The Aqua, while unique, and in many cases pioneering, does not fit well with the Lakeshore East neighborhood and its original architectural design.

Rightfully so, the Aqua is well know for its design, and has received much praise for its visual appeal and thoughtful crafting, and there is no questions that Gang and the Aqua were deserving of the 2009 skyscraper of the year award. That aside, though Gang did well to manifest a structure which appears organic in design and functions by organic (green) standards, and although it’s unnecessary to know the structure’s name before understanding its resemblance, the Aqua is an audacious addition to the Lakeshore East neighborhood which lessens from the neighborhood’s overall appeal before adding to its trend.

Rembrandt's "The Philosopher in Meditation"

Dutch painter and etcher Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, arguably one of the greatest portrait painters and printmakers in art history, has created countless works that exhibit his flawless modeling abilities and composition. During a highly prolific period in Rembrandt’s career, The Philosopher in Meditation (1632) was created. Indicative of Rembrandt’s strong sense of lighting and directionality, The Philosopher in Meditation exhibits the painter’s mastery of shading and tonality.

Through a relatively monochrome yet tastefully implemented color palate, Rembrandt succeeds at creating an interesting composition through a minimalist setting dominated by strong light. Through the setting, Rembrandt exhibits his natural sense of lighting, and tastefully adheres to basic principles of motivation and directionality. Through the natural light motivated by the window on the left of frame, and the fire-motivated light on the lower right of frame, an interesting visual and narrative juxtaposition is created through the separation in tonality. While Rembrandt guides us to view the philosopher by the window first, he also guides us to the man tending the fire as our eyes scan from left to right across the frame as if reading words in a book.

Through lighting and composition, Rembrandt creates a rhythmic, visually guided and natural experience for the viewer in The Philosopher in Meditation. The piece naturally guides viewers across the frame in a constantly developing narrative evolution. The Philosopher in Meditation communicates Rembrandt’s mastery over lighting/modeling, shading/tonality, and his respect for the viewer in creating a naturally flowing composition which focuses the eye and communicates the subject matter of the painting.

John Singer Sargent's "Spanish Dancer"

A leading portrait painter of his era, John Singer Sargent has created numerous portraitures throughout his career. One of Sargents more well know portraits, entitled the Spanish Dancer (c 1879-1882) is indicative of Sargent’s earlier work. Unfortunately, Sargent fails to match the artistic skill and prowess of his predecessors, as indicated by the poor use of modeling techniques and motivated lighting developed by the highly skilled portrait painters before his time.

While Sargent maintains an interesting color palate and framing approach in Spanish Dancer, he fails to create visually interesting surroundings in which the subject of the portrait exists. While succeeding at creating minimalist surroundings to draw ones attention to the main subject of the painting, Sargent fails to create motivation for his lighting/modeling, and also fails to maintain basic principles of consistent directionality. With Sargent’s failure to motivate lighting, there is no visual payoff in the artist’s choice to highlight the dancer’s de-saturated dress above her face. There is also no motivation for the back wall to be not only the same brightness level as the dancer’s fleshtone, but the same tone as well.

While Sargent attempted to create a dramatic portrait using high contrast lighting and deep tonality within a monochrome color palate, he fails at creating motivation for shading and tonality, thus alienating the viewer by providing no guidance as to the center-point of the portrait. Instead, he inexplicably places attention upon the subject’s textureless dress, and neglects both the subject’s facial expressions and body movement. Sargent creates an uninteresting image in Spanish Dancer through his failure to motivate lighting and modeling.

Jason Buhrmester's Black Dogs

From our initial encounter with Patrick Sullivan buying Black Sabbath albums, to a near escape from the Haven Street Pawnshop with a 58' Les Paul guitar in hand amidst flashing red and blue lights in the rearview, Black Dogs eases audiences into an entertaining journey with a ragtag team of four outcasts that have nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Jason Buhrmester's debut novel Black Dogs follows the Baltimore-born misfit crew of four; Patrick the ring leader, Alex, Keith, and Pete...or Frenchy, and their attempt to heist a speculated sum of $100,000 from major rock-band Led Zeppelin during a 1973 concert in New York City. The truth of the story: in July 1973 $203,000 of Led-Zeppelin's money did in fact go missing before a concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden, stolen from a safe deposit box at the Drake Hotel. The fiction of the story: everything else. As Black Dogs notes, this is the "possibly" true story of classic rock's greatest robbery, meaning that Patrick and his team perform a historically factually event through undocumented means.

Black Dogs gets off to a medium-paced start, and spends time setting up the crew before delving into the operation itself. Interestingly enough, for a quick 250 page read, Buhrmester's choice to spend time on character development as opposed to jumping immediately into the action serves the narrative well. Although centered primarily on the events surrounding Patrick (the novel's protagonist), one gains a transparent understanding of the three secondary characters comprising the other 75% of Patrick's crew through intense characterization taking place in the initial chapters. Simply put, Black Dogs is a character driven narrative with strong characterization supporting all four of its central characters.

While the plot of Black Dogs is nothing to write home about, and while the first thirty-five pages tend to drag, the narrative is almost certain to improve continually for all readers up to the final resolution with a consistent "one-upping" from one chapter to the next, and an attention retaining setup in what seems to be a literary version of The Sandlot meets Ocean's 11 plus a splash... or rather an entire cup of grittiness. Zeppelin fans are likely enjoy the narrative although they are not so likely to appreciate the protagonist's (or more directly, the author's) opinions of the band, and while classic rock fanatics are sure to understand and appreciate more of the rock-related allusions which Black Dogs hints at, the average reader won't miss out on the story even if a few punch-lines come across as confusing. Black Dogs is a fun read, and while it’s nothing more than a decent debut novel, it's sure to keep you entertained for a couple days.

Avatar

A thrill ride to remember, Avatar is a pioneering film which utilizes unprecedented technology to communicate a futuristic tale of cowboys and Indians. Avatar tells the tale of ex-marine Jake Sully (played by Sam Worthington), who enters a surrogate body as a means to learn more about the indigenous “Na’vi” community and their soil, which is ridden with valuable natural elements. Initially it is Sully’s goal to relocate the Na’vi as a means to make their natural elements accessible to American investors, but his interest in Neytiri (portrayed by Zoe Salanda), a Na’vi native, and his eventual understanding of the Na’vi culture give him second thoughts.

With relatively cliché story elements, the plot of Avatar is little more than an animated allusion (with poor social commentary to boot) upon our present day war in Iraq over natural resources. It is the process through which this narrative is communicated, not the narrative itself, that makes Avatar memorable, and in many cases, pioneering. With the use of unprecedented three-dimensional technology, combined with motion capture elements and special effects that could scare George Lucas up a tree, Avatar is unlike anything anyone has ever seen before. Much like the success of the original Star Wars trilogy, Avatar relies heavily on its delivery (and less on its content) for its financial, and in this case, critical success.

Unlike many traditional blockbusters of 2009, Avatar is able to maintain its novelty and excitement past the initial explosions and car chases (or in Avatar’s case, “Toruk” chases… just wait, you’ll know exactly what I’m referring to once you see it). Avatar’s ability to remain interesting past its generic plot and mediocre acting exists solely in its technology and visual elements. To put it in perspective, when I first saw the film, I felt as if I finally understood what it was like for moviegoers in the 1920s witnessing their first “talkie.” Avatar is so new, even in this day and age of ever evolving technology, that it is almost certain to surprise you from frame one, no matter how many times your friend told you it was “awesome,” or how many 2D trailers you’ve seen on the internet.

When you finally decide to pony up the dough, and devote the saga-like three hours to whiteness the mind-blowing culmination of A Bug’s Life and Star Wars on steroids, do yourself a favor and spend the extra couple bucks to whiteness the epicness we’ve come to know as Avatar on IMAX 3D. Does Avatar deserve to be nominated for every Academy Award ever conceived, probably not, does it deserve to win the better-known albeit lesser recognized award of “Best Movie Ever Made-” most definitely, at least in comparison to the other titles of 2009.

Jay-Z's Blueprint 3

As his eleventh studio album, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 illustrates the rappers continuous appeal to mainstream audiences and rap enthusiasts alike. Unlike Jay-Z's prior discography, which has consistently provided listeners with a hip-hop outlet for lyrical substance and intelligent sub context, The Blueprint 3 not only fails in providing listeners with either of these attributes, but compromises Jay-Z’s hard earned rap-revolutionary image.

The Blueprint 3 plays like a Lil Wayne album, with more tracks existing as tailor-made singles than components of a cohesive LP. Tracks which have garnered wide attention from top forty stations such as "Empire State of Mind" transform Jay-Z's lyrically strong persona into a commercial hit-maker, a mercenary more concerned with airplay than his original appeal as a true hip-hop artist devoid of the desire for super stardom (only garnering it as a latent function of his original body of work). While tracks such as "Death of Autotune" contain subject matter denouncing commercial trends, the subject matter is only skin deep, with forced lyrics and a pop inspired beat bundled in "hip-hop revolution" labeled packaging.

Jay-Z's latest release is entertaining, and it manages to maintain its audience's attention throughout the album, but it fails to communicate Jay-Z's intended image as a hip-hop mogul and revolutionary.

Zero 7 Album Review - Yeah Ghost

As the fourth studio album from the trip-hop musical duo Zero 7, Yeah Ghost begins to showcase the duos chameleon like abilities in producing music that spans various genres and incorporates significantly different musical approaches from track to track. Unlike the duos popular debut studio album (Simple Things) which garnered substantial attention from mainstream audiences seeking an indie outlet without the hassle of searching far beyond the Garden State motion picture soundtrack, Yeah Ghost invites listeners to travel further down the rabbit hole into a popery of traditional Zero 7 elements intertwined with extremes on both the far end of the indie spectrum and commercial spectrum alike.

Yeah Ghost plays like a futuristic trial in assessing ones tastes and distastes in musical appeal. As such, it is unlikely that anyone but die hard Zero 7 fans will find themselves enjoying more than two tracks back to back when listening to the album in sequence. The variety in musical approach is presented immediately with the opening tracks. From “Count Me Out,” which is sounds more like Zero 7’s spin on an orchestra tuning than a cohesive song, to “Mr. McGee,” a commercial pop track with neo-soul vocal elements similar to that of Gnarls Barkley, it is apparent from the very beginning that the dynamic duo will keep you guessing from track to track throughout the entirety of Yeah Ghost. Original elements of the Zero 7 we first became acquainted with in the golden years of Simple Things and When it Falls can still be found in the energetic yet tasteful “Pop Art Blue,” while a culmination of original Zero 7 elements alongside edgy commercial elements can be found in “Everything Up (Zizou).”

While Yeah Ghost is more similar in style to the edgier and less traditional Zero 7 studio album it immediately follows (The Garden), it retains apparent yet subtle artifacts of the original Zero 7 albums that first gained our attention and excitement. Yeah Ghost is different, and although most tracks get better with each play, Yeah Ghost is more of an acquired taste that begs the attention of Zero 7 fans who were originally lured in by a musical group that sounded far different than they do today.