Pixar’s movies have all revolved around a single idea: the fish out of water who learns to grapple with a new situation.  Woody is displaced by Buzz in Toy Story, Flick the unconventional ant trying to fix his mistakes, Mike and Sully trying to get rid of the dreaded Boo, Mr. Incredible forced to live the life of a normal human, Lightening McQueen stranded in hick-ville, Remy a rat in the kitchen, and of course Nemo and Marlin each take the idea of the fish out of water literally.  Despite this seemingly repetitive simplicity even their two weakest films don’t come across as recycled despite the fact that both are remakes (Bugs Life is Seven Samuri and Cars is Doc Hollywood).  What is behind this ability to make simple concepts entertaining?  It seems to me that the answer is craftsmanship.  Pixar puts an amazing amount of work into each picture.  Unlike other CGI houses they aren’t just churning this stuff out for a quick buck.  They’re in the business of crafting classics.

On the surface Wall-E is just the next variation of the theme: an outdated, quirky robot taken out of his element and placed in a situation that he doesn’t even understand.  Yet the difference here is that Wall-E doesn’t grow so much as find what he’s looking for.  It is everyone, both man and machine, that he comes into contact with that must now rise to the occasion and defy their programming.

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Brilliant. Slapstick.

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Shit sandwich.

This past weekend, I went with my wife and two oldest daughters to see The Old 97’s perform at a hometown in-store performance at Good Records in Dallas. The band, half of whom have relocated to the West Coast, was in town playing the House of Blues at the front end of the tour in support of their new album, Blame it on Gravity. I picked up the new album at the store and have listened to it through a couple of times. It’s a good mix of Old 97’s twang and power-pop. I think fans will like it. I’ll post a few songs to the Radio.blog. If I have time, I might write a full review after I’ve had a chance to listen to it more carefully.
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There’s some music that makes me want to gather it up in my arms and squeeze it so tight that it sinks into my body. I want to absorb into my bones, so I can carry the feeling it gives me around with me forever. Ladyhawk’s music is like that.
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I know there are like, maybe two metal fans out there? Who might be interested in this. I saw Megadeth’s Gigantour last night.
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Just kidding. I haven’t seen it. What, you think stupid bloggers get passes to see sweet bigtime movies like this? No, I got a pass to see Don’t Mess With the Zohan instead.

Anyhow, if you’ve seen Indy IV, post about it in the comments. My prediction: people will call it “pretty good.”

Salt Lake City gave Augustana its usual adoring welcome last Friday at the Avalon, but this concert was markedly different from the others that have featured this great young band from Greenville, Illinois and San Diego, California.

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As we left the theater, my wife said to me that Paranoid Park is a film about the moments that other films pass over. As usual, she’s on to something. (more…)

 

 

 Last night was the Elbow/Air Traffic show at the Depot in SLC.  I can’t begin to tell you how incredibly amazing this show was (Oh, Ok, I’ll try).   (more…)

Jon Favreau’s Iron Man belongs in the pantheon of great superhero movies along with Spider-Man 2 and Batman Begins. It doesn’t talk down to its audience, it respects the fanboys and includes strong performances. What more do you need to know? (more…)

Spoilery talkings-about lurk beyond the front page. (more…)

The Gutter Twins is the latest project of Greg Dulli, formerly of the Afghan Whigs and also the Twilight Singers, and Mark Lanegan, formerly of Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, and occasionally the Twilight Singers.

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With 2008 only one quarter over, this is the album of the year, the one everyone else will be shooting for–and probably missing.  Remember, you heard it here first.

 

I have now seen this movie three times.  Aside from the fact that this makes me something of a freak, I discovered the following: (more…)

This brilliant documentary purports to be about the elusive high score on the classic arcade game, Donkey Kong, but is in fact a classic tale of Good vs. Evil, Weak vs. Powerful, and Trimmed vs. Mullet. Billy Mitchell is widely recognized as one of the greatest classic video game players of all time as he recorded the high scores on games such as Centipede, Donkey Kong Jr. and the notoriously difficult Donkey Kong, a record which stood for nearly twenty years. Steve Wiebe is a normal dude who got laid off from his job at Boeing and with his extra time decided he’d like to beat that record.

But beating it wasn’t the problem. (more…)

I haven’t seen Built to Spill in years, and I’ve never seen the Meat Puppets. What an awesome, awesome show.
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I took my 11 yr old daughter to Colbie Caillat’s concert on Friday night.  I went dragging my feet, but I left in a much different frame of mind.  I now must confess.  I feel so guilty.  The shame is almost too much to bear.  But, yes, it’s true:  I… Love… Colbie. 

Confession is good for the soul. So, who’s your guilty pleasure?

Remember how excited you were when you saw the teaser trailer for Episode I: The Phantom Menace? Go ahead, look at it now. It STILL is a good trailer, even now that we know that Phantom Menace was fit for bantha fodder.

Jumper also has an excellent teaser trailer. (more…)

After Supergenius got burnt by 27 Dresses, he sent his friend Maran to see Definitely, Maybe while SG stayed home and played Super Mario Galaxy. Here is Maran’s report:

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No Valentine’s Day would be complete without one of those feel-good divorce movies. Definitely, Maybe is a story of true love recounted by soon-to-be divorcé Will (Ryan Reynolds) to his 10-year-old daughter Maya (Abigail Breslin), where he details three love affairs and Maya has guess which one is her mom. Although the frame of the story has some cuteness potential, the idea of detailing one’s intimate relationships to a 10-year-old daughter is mildly twisted and certainly implausible. As a parent myself, the word “threesome” would never enter into any bedtime story, especially one about how I met their mother. (more…)

 

Here’s a band you may want to check out Clark:

Every once in a while, you catch a band that seems ready to take the next big step and launch into the stratosphere. The Bravery seems like that kind of band right now. (more…)

Alex Dezen of The Damnwells has written some new songs and, as always, they’re completely fantastic. I hope they make it onto a new Damnwells album. Here’s one symptom of what’s wrong with the music business: The Damnwells are not as successful as bands with half the talent they have. If you love these guys as much as I do, pass the word, and buy their albums: Bastards of the Beat and Air Stereo.

[cross-posted at mcqesq]

Alternate title for this post: Supergenius takes another bullet for KB. (more…)

Have you seen Quarterlife?  It’s an internet series that my wife discovered and that we have all now become obsessed with.  It has apparently now been picked up by NBC (to much whining by the purist fans).  I think it’s as good or better than anything on TV.  What do you think?  Is this the future of television? 

Rock Band.

 I am Stony,  legendary rock drummer.  Hear my fans roar.  My band: Fall With The Herd.  We will rock your face off.

Q: Can this really be classified as a “video game” if I have tendonitis from banging the skins? 

A: This is so much more than a video game.