(G) Joy Division [cover band] Grade: A+
Last night for the night before Halloween, four bands put on "costume" and did a tribute night. The bands were: Black Sabbath, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division, and Rocket From The Crypt. The Joy Division band made me realize how amazing and powerful Joy Division songs are. Due to the impossibilty of ever being able to see Joy Division, and the not so great sound quality of their recordings, I never new the true strength of their material. It is really mind-blowing. That show last night (the Joy Division part) is the third best show I've seen this year. If there is a chance to see a Joy Division tribute band, I will probably go.

Topic: 24: Season 7


*January needs to hurry up and come!! Man Kiefer looks hot :) even if he is a drunk.

(M) Control (Anton Corbijn, 2007) Grade: B+
When my friend saw this film, I asked him if he was sad watching the scene when Ian Curtis killed himself, and he replied, Not really. He’s not a sympathetic character. And after watching Control, I have to agree. Curtis was a brilliant musician and very talented, but he wasn’t ready for all the obstacles that came before him so quickly and too early (fatherhood, fame, falling in love, etc.). This is a well-made film but will only interest Joy Division fans and those interested in the Manchester music scene.

(M) Lars & the Real Girl (Craig Gillespie, 2007) Grade: A-
This is a great, quirky comedy and probably everything that I was hoping Darjeeling Limited would be. It’s funny, has lots of heart and really great characters. Ryan Gosling’s character is mentally troubled yet at the same time endearing and somewhat relatable. And even though the concept of a human-like sex doll is kind of disturbing, the doll clearly isn’t about sex for Lars, but rather, establishing human connection. Highly recommended.

(B) A Man Without a Country (Kurt Vonnegut, 2007) Grade: B
This is Vonnegut’s last book, and it’s a short, enjoyable effort. The only negative is that a lot of the material will be familiar to those who have read his other books. About 50% or so of the chapters have been published before, but it is refashioned here to fit the overall theme of the current disaster of the U.S., the Iraq war and how, well, Vonnegut feels he is without a country. A good read when, say, everyone else is watching the World Series and you have nothing else to entertain yourself.

(DVD) R.E.M. Live (2007) Grade: B
This is R.E.M.’s first CD/DVD release, which is pretty surprising considering how long the band has been around. Across the board, this release hasn’t received many favorable reviews, namely because R.E.M. performs a lot of Around the Sun tracks. I guess the band wanted to promote their latest album, but it’s really their incredibly rich catalog that fans want to hear and that would make the DVD more interesting. Luckily, it’s a DVD, so I can skip “I’m Gonna DJ” and listen to “Cuyahoga” on repeat. Side note: Michael’s face paint is getting thicker and thicker, so that nowadays he looks more like a strange raccoon. I still love them of course...

I was at Border's yesterday and read this really cute and ABSOLUTELY adorable book. If you are at a bookstore anytime soon, look for it and read it. It's fabulous.

Topic: Fire :(

*Hard not to notice the fires going on. If you guys want to help you can donate to San Diego Red Cross and if you want Los Angeles or Orange County.

Topic: TV, Patrick Wolf

*So I have been really into my TV shows, ask Darth and Pigern about it. Here is my schedule for your entertainment:

Sunday - Simpsons (odd but still good)

Monday - HIMYM (S3 is slow to warm up but it does have its moments) and Big Bang Theory (started strong and is now just okay)

Tuesday - was the Reaper but I dropped it ... too many shows.

Wednesday - Pushing Daisies (only seen one ep so far so I need to catch up but the show is pretty cutish so I might get tired of it), Bionic Woman (okay, I like the BSG people in the show), Life (my favorite show so far, I love how odd and complex Daiman Lewis's character is)


Thursday - UB (best show), The Office (they need to stop making this an hour but it is still good)

Friday - Stargate Atlantis SG-1 (best show)

I don't watch stuff on Sat. I really need 24 and BSG to come back. I might drop another show because I can keep doing this schedule. I'm thinking either Pushing or Bionic.

*Moving on to music I saw Patrick Wolf at the El Rey earlier this week. He rules and is so talented. He is not gay though right ... just because he preforms with glitter all over his body and wigs?

On my way to Canada.
(M) Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. (Tim Story, 2007) Grade: C-

Thoughts: Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Jessica Alba) are getting married but before they can tie the knot they have to figure out what or who is destroying planets. It turns out it is the Silver Surfer played by Doug Jones but voiced by Laurence Fishburne. The dialogue throughout this movie was PAINFUL but the action was decent and the Silver Surfer was cool. And unlike Spider-Man they kept the movie under 92 mins so you can’t go wrong there.

On my way back from Canada.
(M) Spider-Man 2. (Sam Raimi, 2007) Grade: D+

Thoughts: What the f*ck did they do to Spider-Man? A strange black alien entity gets a hold of Peter Parker’s (Tobey Maguire) Spider suit and makes him a jerk and emo lame. In this third installment he has three enemies – The Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Toper Grace) and New Goblin (James Franco) but wait New Goblin ends up helping Spider-Man in the end. Okay I don’t get it. Oh and the chemistry between Mary Jane Watson (Kristen Dunst) and Peter Parker is completely non-existent. I had to keep reminding myself that they liked each other. In addition, the movie was WAY too long. It should have been under 120 mins not freaking 140 mins. Geez.

(M) 28 Up. (Michael Apted, 1985) Grade: B+

Thoughts: The fourth installment in the Up series. I found it the most relatable because I currently am 28. At the same time I couldn’t relate because most of the people had kids and were married. I’m neither but the view on life is similar to mine. I don’t have those stupid ideal thoughts and I’m not as insecure as I was when I was younger. If anything they all have become a bit more bitter and cynical.

(M) Pickpocket. (Robert Bresson, 1959) Grade: B

Thoughts: Michel (Martin La Salle) is a poor man who learns the tricks of pick pocketing to make money. It soon consumes him until it leads to his demise. Bresson is a director who doesn’t want to explain ANYTHING to his audience. One reviewer said Bresson’s films are like ink blots tests that everyone has a different way to interpreting; I agree. The film was interesting when it showed the art of pick pocketing, aside from that the bad acting and stoic settings was pretty unentertaining.

(M) Red Shoes. (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948) Grade: A-

Thoughts: The best example of art imitating life. Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook) is in charge of the most famous ballet organization. A young ballerina name Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) and a young composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring) join his company as the same time. They get placed on a new ballet production based on Hans Christian Andersenn’s fable The Red Shoes. They fall in love and once Boris finds out he decides to get revenge on his two protégés. It was a very long and drawn out film and a bit over the top but well done.

Movie Count: 97

(G) Morrissey @ Palladium (Night No. 2 for me) Grade: A+++
I shall keep this brief as I know at least two people here dislike Morrissey (but love the Smiths) and the others are indifferent perhaps. But tonight’s show was amazing. Absolutely amazing. A lot of people on the Morrissey-solo boards wondered if it was the best set list ever (not for me, but close). It is probably one of my Top 3 Morrissey shows of this year, and I’ve seen him about eight times these past few months. Loved loved loved it. And everyone was so nice too, which is why I love Mozzer fans. I was standing among really tall people and those around me insisted I stand in front of them. How nice. :) Here’s the set list: Jack the Ripper/Stop Me If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before/Sister I’m A Poet/Tomorrow/The World Is Full of Crashing Bores/Boy With The Thorn In His Side/I Like You/The Loop/The Death of A Disco Dancer/Billy Budd/Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself/Stretch Out And Wait/One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell/Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me/I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris/That’s How People Grow Up/Irish Blood, English Heart/All You Need Is Me/Last Of The Famous International Playboys/Life Is A Pigsty/How Soon Is Now?//First Of The Gang To Die

Topic: Free Moz, Fall TV

*Thanks to an old work buddy of mine I get to see Morrissey for FREE today tomorrow?? at the Hollywood Palladium. There is no way I would pay to see him. Hello ... him and Robert hate each other and I have to side with my fat Bob. HA HA. But honestly I never liked his solo stuff as much as The Smiths stuff. It should be a fun show and hey even if I don't like it ... it is FREE!!!


*I have not been watching any movies lately because I'm just spending way too much time watching the new fall tv. So far the shows I'm really enjoying are Big Bang Theory, Life and Pushing Daisies. I'm sure Life or Big Bang might get cancelled. Apparently Pushing Daisies is doing really well. I was watching Reaper for a bit but I might stop.

Oh and this is for FTC - Big Bang Theory stars Johnny Galecki who was David on Roseanne. Well so far Sara Gilbert who was Darlene and Laurie Metcalf who was Jackie are guests on the show. They should get Roseanne on there.

What is everyone else watching??

*Not sure why no one is blogging. Where are you guys?

Topic: NEW CURE SONG!!, Detour Festival, In Rainbows

*I'm semi kicking myself because I should of went to the Download Fest so I could see my boys and hear their new song "Please Project". I'm a bit bummed (sigh). Oh well. I'm glad I get a new Cure song and I don't totally hate it :). It is pretty poppy and fun, like Mint Car. According to this one story, The Cure was the best part of the festival :)


*I decided to stay in LA and go to the Detour Festival held in Downtown LA. I wanted to see Justice and my much loved Raveonettes :) It was an okay show. The audience was made up of young kids and jack holes. I don't think I'll be going again.


*In a two days I can download the new Radiohead album In Rainbows. I can't wait. Oh yea!!

(M) Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson, 2007) Grade: B
Probably the most entertaining thing about this screening came after the movie, when mega fan No. 1 asked director Wes a three-part question and said she devised a name for his so-called characters, Andersonia. Wow. The movie itself was beautifully shot, lots of great cinematography and set designs. Upon leaving the theatre, I gave it a B+, but then when I thought more about it, I started thinking about the characters (not too well developed), the plot (three wealthy men on a spiritual journey through India) and the filmmaking techniques (could there be any more slow motion montages?), so I knocked it down a bit. Also, for those of you wondering about the iTunes short, Wes wants you to see it before the movie, so you can watch the short, have a coffee, take some phone calls, and then watch the movie, ideally. I saw the short and the film back to back, which didn’t ruin it too much.

Topic: Sci Fi Dvds.

*I need to write about my trip and movies I have seen but for now I'll talk about this cool deal Amazon has posted. You can get the following dvds for $899.99 bucks. The same price as one month rent in LA.

Buffy - Collector's Set
Angel - Collector's Set
All 10 separate season sets of Stargate SG-1
3 season sets released to date of Stargate: Atlantis
4 seasons of The Pretender, plus the TV Movies DVD
Firefly - The Complete Series
3 seasons of Roswell
Both seasons of Dark Angel
The X-Files - The Complete Collector's Edition

I already have the X-Files and Firefly dvds and I like SG Atlantis and Buffy but not enough to own.

My friends got press passes to the first night of Morrissey’s residency at the Palladium. This photo is one that my friend took. She was that close! Here’s the set list:

Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before / Tomorrow / All You Need is Me / Sister, I’m A Poet / That’s How People Grow Up / London / Billy Budd / The Loop / Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself? / Stretch Out And Wait / First Of The Gang To Die / Let Me Kiss You / Death Of A Disco Dancer / Disappointed / You Have Killed Me / In The Future When All’s Well / I Like You / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell / Dear God, Please Help Me / How Soon Is Now? // Irish Blood, English Heart

I’m going to the last night of his residency, but I’ll probably find myself wandering to the Palladium on a random night as well. Viva Morrissey!