Movies
1
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Wes Anderson’s fourth film, The Life Aquatic, proves again the point that Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, and The Royal Tennenbaums made so clear: Anderson has an extraordinary gift for creating vibrant, unique characters, assembling some of the most interesting shots in modern cinema and capturing complex, subtle emotions. Anderson succeeds where he always has: his life-size set of Steve Zissou’s ship allows for some fantastic shots, the soundtrack is terrific and his usual stable of great actors pull off his script with just the right level of fantasy. Still, it’s Bill Murray who steals the show as the showboating, washed up oceanographer Steve Zissou. There’s a level of quiet sadness, a sort of malaise mixed with a fear of age, that makes the film quite possibly Anderson’s best. see our review on page 11
2
Kill Bill: Volume 2
Quentin Tarantino’s second installment of his fourth film ranks among his best moments, possibly because he takes so many cues from the cult classics that drew him to the profession in the first place. While Vol. 1 was better as a genre homage, Vol. 2 is more successful as an individual movie. The plot improves, the characters are developed beyond cartoon proportions and there are just as many subtle references for the most hardcore movie buffs. The final showdown is admittedly less dramatic than expected, but it works well nonetheless. The film doesn’t make any forays into a deeper meaning, but that’s exactly as it should be. Like the Japanese samurai films and spaghetti westerns that Tarantino pays respect to, Kill Bill is a story of polar opposites, of good and bad and obligatory revenge.
3
The Incredibles
“Feel good movie of the year” isn’t a phrase to be bandied about lightly, or at all. Nonetheless, it’s the first thing that comes to mind after seeing this sprightly comedy about a dysfunctional family of superheroes. The best of computer animation studio Pixar’s work to date, the movie combines genuine comedy with serious commentary on equality, as though Ayn Rand had written an episode of the Simpsons. Director Brad Bird’s steady character building pays off when the giant robots attack: you actually care about the people getting mauled. The superb animation captivates viewers with individual strands of hair and the bulging bodies of aging heroes.
4
Collateral
Michael Mann’s stylish L.A. action movie was one of the most interesting of its kind in 2004 because it takes enough time away from the glossy violence and slick camerawork to thoroughly explore the inner workings of its characters. Vincent (Tom Cruise), an assassin, and Max (Jamie Foxx), the hostage taxi driver who ferries him between his victims, are both made utterly believable despite their surreal circumstances. The film’s success lies in the quiet moments between murders, when Max and Vincent draw closer to the truth of urban alienation and human experience.
5
Napoleon Dynamite
Maybe it’s the open-mouthed, glazed-eyed stare. Maybe it’s the jeans tucked into beat-up snow boots. Maybe it’s the sweet dance moves. Regardless of the cause, there is something irresistible about Napoleon Dynamite. Napoleon, played by John Heder, is a high school student in Preston, Idaho, home of sweeping views of the plains and little else. Apparently the heartland of America induces mind-numbing boredom, since Napoleon communicates mainly through blank stares and pronounced sighs. Napoleon Dynamite is nonsensical, arcane and instantly enjoyable. Definitely the best thing ever to come out of Idaho.
6
Kinsey
Although America is currently inundated with sex in any and all forms, it was not long ago that society clung tightly to its puritanical roots and abhorred the discussion of illicit behavior. Thankfully, in the 1940s Dr. Alfred Kinsey recognized this and began a study of sexual behavior intended to inform America of the truth about sex. Kinsey traces Dr. Kinsey’s sex study from the birth of the idea to the frenzy caused by the publication of his first book to the loss of funding and ultimate death of the project. As Dr. Kinsey, Liam Neeson is charismatic, determined and fiercely devoted to his research.
7
Hotel Rwanda
Hotel Rwanda, written and directed by Terry George, is the first major Hollywood film produced about the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, a bloody civil war in which the Hutu majority of the country slaughtered close to one million Tutsis. The film documents the real life experiences of one Rwandan, a Hutu named Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle). In light of the current genocide in Sudan, the importance of this film cannot be underestimated, as it could lead to greater knowledge and understanding not only of the Rwandan genocide and racial and tribal conflict in Africa, but also of the obligations of the West in humanitarian crises. see our review on page 11
8
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by Michael Gondry and written by Gondry and Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine speaks of the subconscious in ways similar to Kaufman’s earlier films. Like Being John Malkovich, the film questions the concept of fate and explains coincidences and intuition through the role of the subconscious. Eternal Sunshine lacks an obvious chronology and is made up instead of a series of brief memories, emphasizing the importance of living in the moment to appreciate the whole. By portraying the challenges of two well-defined characters, Eternal Sunshine allows audiences to easily relate to everyday moments.
9
Motorcycle Diaries
With Gael Garcia Bernal (Y tu Mama Tambien, Bad Education) playing a young Che Guevera, The Motorcycle Diaries romps through 1950s Latin America in search of adventure, truth, and one last gasp of youth. Heading out from Argentina, Guevera and his mustachioed sidekick find themselves in a lot of good-natured trouble, but it’s their encounters with poor indigenous populations that are highlighted as the seeds of Guevara’s revolutionary social thought. It’s at an isolated leper camp where Guevera has his first taste of leadership-he is worshipped for his willingness to be close to the people, even the diseased.
10
Hero
After a slew of great movies about modern China in recent years (In the Mood for Love, Yi Yi), Hero presents a movie that manages to capture the magic of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with the romanticism of Wong Kar Wei. The premise is relatively simple, but it’s executed nearly perfectly. As Jet Li, playing the nameless central character, lays out the four versions of his story, the film switches tones, quite literally moving from color to color as the characters are developed and deceptions are uncovered. One could watch this movie without the subtitles and love it for the colors alone. That said, the acting is fantastic. Li is impressive, but the terrific combination of the expressive Tony Leung and vicious Maggie Cheung is the real triumph. The pontification about the unification of China can be a bit much, but it does provide an interesting insight into Chinese political thought.
Music
1
“Smile” by Brian Wilson
37 years after its initial release date, the long-lost Beach Boys album Smile has finally seen the light of day, ending the decades of rumors, speculation, and hype. The amazing thing is that it lived up to that hype. In making Smile, Wilson went from the genius Pet Sounds to a collaboration with the lyricist Van Dyke Parks that was to move the Beach Boys to an even grander scale. It was about that time when Wilson had a nervous breakdown thanks to a combination of near-impossible production techniques and a steady diet of LSD. The songs on Smile are packed with some of the catchiest melodies and most gorgeous harmonies that pop music has ever heard. From the a cappella opener to Parke’s great lyrics and imagery on “Heroes and Villains” to the morose and beautiful “Surf’s Up,” the album is a testament to Wilson’s genius. This version of Smile uses none of the original tapes, and hearing familiar songs like “Good Vibrations” and “Cabin Essence” re-recorded shows how strikingly well Wilson’s voice has held up, not to mention the songs themselves.
2
“Bows and Arrows” by The Walkmen
The intensity and passion displayed on “The Rat,” the first single off of the Walkmen’s sophomore release, is proof enough that these New York-by-way-of-D.C. musicians are one of the best bands in indie rock. The forceful drum beat, aggressive guitars and agitated lyrics of lead singer Hamilton Leithauser are enough to catch the attention of any music fan, casual or otherwise. This outstanding single, however, is simply a teaser for the musical masterpiece that is Bows and Arrows. This intensity is matched on “Little House of Savages” and “Thinking of a Dream I Had,” but these aggressive songs are juxtaposed against slower, more melodic tracks such as “What’s In It For Me” and “138th Street.” In the end, Bows and Arrows proves to be a powerful, melodic exploration into what it means to be a young adult in contemporary America.
3
“Madvillainy” by Madvillain
Madvillainy was dubbed one of most anticipated albums in the history of hip-hop, and for good reason. Madvillain represented the first collaboration between two of the most celebrated acts in the industry, producer Madlib and M.C. Daniel Dumile (aka MF Doom, King Geedorah, Viktor Vaughn, etc.). Amazingly, the duo managed to live up to the hype, and cut one of the finest albums of the year. Dumile spits about everything from marijuana use to the space-time continuum, in between samples of quirky 1940s and 50s film audio clips. “America’s Most Blunted” exemplifies this collaboration, as Dumile raps about the benefits of smoking weed over Madlib’s intricate beats. The strong interaction is continued throughout the 22 tracks on the album, resulting in a strong and noteworthy side project for both of these underground heavyweights.
4>
“From a Basement” by Elliott Smith
When Elliott Smith committed suicide in October, 2003, the world lost one of the most talented, personal and unflinchingly dark singer-songwriters in modern rock. From a Basement on the Hill, which was approaching completion at the time of his death, serves as a sad but fitting final testament for Smith. Alternating between the elaborate orchestration and George Harrison-inspired guitar work of his more recent albums, XO and Figure 8, and the quiet acoustic intimacy of his self-titled sophomore album and Either/Or, Basement manages to preserve a remarkable coherence. It’s bittersweet to get an album as strong as Basement, both so fantastic and so conclusively final. Still, it comes as a welcome piece of closure on the career of such a troubled and brilliant artist.
5
“Sonic Nurse” by Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth’s nineteenth album sees the band continuing to ride the triumphant return to form they began with 2002’s Murray Street, while also occasionally toning down their trademarked, disciplined fury for some surprisingly delicate moments. Sonic Nurse certainly shows signs of age, but they represent maturation more than stagnation, a testament to their phenomenal creative vision. Frontman Thurston Moore delivers another round of typically excellent compositions, notably “Unmade Bed” and “Stones.” The intellectual shredding and atonality are more focused and understated than ever, making some songs feel like a jam band’s rendition of post-punk, but the slightly more melodic approach works well on most of the tracks.
6
“Rejoicing in the Hands” &
“Nino Rojo” by Devendra Banhart
The San Francisco-based freak-folk movement reared its bizarre head in 2004, and no artist does the genre better than Devendra Banhart. He released not one, but two stellar albums this year, Rejoicing in the Hands and Nino Rojo, featuring nothing more than gentle acoustic guitar and his own outlandish voice. The vocals take some time to get used to, but his endearing weirdness quickly lodges itself in the corners of the listener’s brain. His songs teeter back and forth between hazy, sunny melodies, like “Little Yellow Spider” and “The Body Breaks,” and vaguely psychedelic dirges like “Tit Smoking in the Temple of Artisan Mimicry.” His excellent sense of songwriting remains constant throughout both albums, though, with hardly any missteps. More divisive groups like Animal Collective have taken up most of the critical spotlight and acclaim given to the movement, but at the end of the day, it is Banhart’s quiet, murmuring songs that best withstand repeated listens.
7
“A Grand Don’t Come for Free” by The Streets
All the elements of a sophomore slump were there for The Streets’ Mike Skinner, the Ecstasy-infused Brit who scored with humorous rhymes and tinny, video-game beats on his 2002 debut, Original Pirate Material. Outdated garage sound? Check. Weak flow? Check. Ambitious concept album with no recognizable single? Check. Skinner uses a keen sense of observation, self-deprecation and the familiar themes of finding and losing both money and love to make his album, A Grand Don’t Come For Free, the most fulfilling attempt in the concept album genre this year. Skinner has a gift in setting scenes. To cap his production, Skinner throws a bone to postmodern fans with a brilliant, time-twisting, double ending, played out in a room filled with empty beer cans, a broken TV and “dodgy things going on.”
8
“Funeral” by Arcade Fire
The Holy Grail of indie rock is the quest to turn all that loud music into real “art”- as if visual artists are expected to convey the emotion of a Van Gogh and the fun of “Family Guy” in one package. The Arcade Fire, barely a year old, somehow manages this feat with its first album, Funeral. Even as the band creates a tempest of emotions at an operatic level, the album remains supremely listenable, making the album popular with critics and listeners alike. Through a m?lange of transcendent power-pop and post-rock, the songs address death, love, alienation and war to great effect. Funeral could be described as adult emo- as if all those whiny teenage boys got their acts together, found a job and faced the emotional traumas of the real world before writing really good rock songs. Suddenly, feelings are cool again and sincerity is the new black.
9
“The Slow Wonder” by A.C. Newman
Every generation has its great songwriter, an artist who combines clever lyrics with all the hooks you could want in one song, to claim the mantle of Lennon/McCartney and Brian Wilson. Over the last decade Carl Newman has been building an impressive case for his inclusion in that pantheon. His first solo record, The Slow Wonder, is a modern power-pop masterpiece that has the rare distinction of getting better every time you hear it. Each song is unique in its instrumentation and execution including a cello-driven rock masterpiece in “The Town Halo.” Each has its own quirky narrative of love, boredom and discovery, from the pummeling “Miracle Drug” to the sweetly strange “Cloud Prayer.” Newman doesn’t just write addictive songs; he creates rock poetry.
10
“Franz Ferdinand” by Franz Ferdinand
Scottish import Franz Ferdinand rocked Europe hard before rocking the U.S. harder. The self-titled debut delivers infinitely more than the solid radio hit “Take Me Out.” The album’s eleven tracks feature dramatic ruminations on a random assortment of subjects: holidays, burning cities, etc. The lyrics are funny, but not flashy, and the four-person band is stylish, but not in the garage rock, trust-fund style popularized by the Strokes. On “Michael,” lead singer Alexander Kapranos chants about hitting the dance floor with an adorable mysterious male; “Matinee” claims that the undefinable time between morning and afternoon is truly the best time. Franz proves to a remarkably wide audience that the bizarre can also be the cool.
