Single Minded: Trioscapes - "Blast Off" (Live)

Between the Buried and Me is a band that I have not really listened to all that much. I know I should, and I want to, it just hasn't happened yet. What does that have to do with Trioscapes? Well, it is the brain child of BTBAM's bass player, Dan Briggs. He got together with Walter Fancourt (saxophone) and Matt Lynch (drums) for what was supposed to be something of a one off project, but has seemingly turned into something more. Now, I have stumbled across them, more specifically I saw this live studio performance of the song "Blast Off" from the forthcoming album Separate Realities.

Single Minded: Cattle Decapitation - "Kingdom of Tyrants"

When you hear the words Cattle Decapitation in relation to music, you had best associate them with an indescribable slab of metallic brutality. Right? How else can you really think when faced with a band name like that? You surely aren't getting any lame radio-pop. In any case, the extreme death metal act is readying the release of their new album, Monolith of Inhumanity, and have unleashed the video for the track "Kingdom of Tyrants." If you like your metal to the extreme side, you will want to check this out.

Single Minded: Bury Tomorrow - "Royal Blood"

Before listening to "Royal Blood," I had never heard of Bury Tomorrow. This is actually the second single off the forthcoming second album from this UK metalcore act. I have to admit, as much as I love the metalcore style, it is getting a bit long in the tooth as innovation has long since given way to generic copycatting. This single really isn't all that bad, but but that is merely because it starts off so well that I like it at all.

Movie Review: Cabin in the Woods

Let me begin by saying if you have not seen Cabin in the Woods, stop reading this, do not read anything about the movie and go see it. This will still be here when you get back. In all seriousness,Vathis is one of those movies where the less you know aout it, the better the experience. After you have seen it, you are goi g to want to sit back down and watch it again. I have only seen it once so far, but it is the sort of movie I suspect will reward multiple viewings. Once you know what is going on, you will be free to look at the other details and references that are surely strewn throughout the film.

Movie Review: Death and Cremation

When it comes to low budget horror movies with no buzz, it is hard to know what to expect. I have watched countless stinkers, failing to watch many all the way through. However, there is always the hope that I will stumble across a hidden gem. I tell you, I always love when I can recommend a movie that someone has never heard of. What am I getting at? Well, the obvious is film discovery, being open to the little movie, but even more this movie in particular is an interesting little gem. Death and Cremation is the sort of movie that I think a lot of people would just walk past. It is not gory, it is not action packed, it is not even all that well developed. What is there, though, is an interesting look into these characters lives, it is dark, lonely, and fascinating.

Movie Review: Lockout

There is something about a Luc Besson produced movie that I really like. The movies do not always make sense but there is something about the way he goes about making movies and the influence he has over the talent that he works with that just makes them work for me. Now, the movies are not quite as good as those made when he was directing, with movies like The Professional and The Fifth Element, but sometimes that isn't the point. With Besson productions, it is all about the entertainment, just look at movies like Kiss of the Dragon, Taken, and Transporter. Any depth is purely coincidental, at least that is how I see it.

Movie Review: The Three Stooges (2012)

Some years back when there was buzz going around about a Stooges movie, I was positive it was a bad idea. Then there were the big names that were being attached to it, like Sean Penn, Jim Carrey, and Benicio del Toro, and I was still against it. Then it disappeared for a while and then the Farrelly Brothers ramped it back up and now we have it on the big screen. Having seen it, I would be lying if I said I didn't laugh, but while it may be the disaster it could have been, it is far from a good movie and feels rather un-Stooge-like in a number of aspects. In the end, I think the biggest question that can be levied against it is whether or not it was a necessary production?

Movie Review: American Reunion

Way back in 1999 we were first introduced to the American Pie gang. Since then we have had two theatrical sequels and a few scarcely related direct to video sequels. The theatrical ones were pretty good and I never bothered with the others, which looked to be on par with the recent National Lampoon's offerings. Now we have the original gang back together and on the big screen, they have all gotten older, but that does not mean any of them have done any growing up.

Movie Review: The Raid - Redemption

It was not that long ago that I first heard of The Raid: Redemption. There was a lot of positive surrounding  the Indonesian action film with the majority praising its extensive action sequences and impressive fight choreography. On the other side of the coin, there was definitely some negativity surrounding its lack of story and character development. I know that story and character are very important pieces of the medium, but at the same time there is always room for a more pure genre exercise. This one definitely falls within that genre exercise tag. It is almost a 90-minute action sequence.

Blu-ray Review: The Darkest Hour

At first glance, The Darkest Hour looks like it should be a fun genre outing. I know the trailer had me intrigued. Being a science fiction and horror fan, how cold I not? The concept of alien invaders here to wipe us out while a small group of survivors try to avoid certain death and perhaps find a way to fight back is certainly nothing new. The funny thing is that is sounds a lot like the much derided Skyline, which I enjoyed for what it was. In execution, this is much along the same lines, with perhaps some War of the Worlds (Spielberg edition) mixed in for good measure. Fortunately, the familiar can still quite enjoyable, so long as it tries to bring something fresh, or at least fun, to the table.

Movie Review: Hellraiser - Revelations

It has been 25-years since the big screen was first graced with Clive Barker's nightmarish Hellraiser. That movie has stood the test of time and remains one of the top horror creations of all time. On top of that, the film introduced us to one of the most iconic of movie monsters in Pinhead. Pinhead, as played by Doug Bradley, always provided an atmosphere of menace and class. The guy is easy to be scared of. Anyway, following the first two films in the series, there has been a steady stream of mediocrity poured out by the studio, first in theaters and then direct to home video. Revelations is just another example of that endless stream of mediocre movies as the studio bides its time on their long-rumored big screen remake.

Movie Review: The Order of the Black Eagle

I have to profess my great thanks to Netflix, without it I would probably have never heard of this gem of a bygone era. If there is one thing the demise of the video store, and primarily the Mom and Pop type of store, is that we cannot browse the shelves of VHS titles and find these crazy titles. There is no other way I would have stumbled across this. I also have to say that this is what happens when you are looking for some old school cheese. The Order of the Black Eagle is one of those movies that makes you wonder just what were they thinking when they made it.

Music Review: Cannibal Corpse - Torture

With Cannibal Corpse, what you see is what you get. When it comes to these behemoth's of crushing death metal, there is no subtlety and zero subtext to their music. I only had my official introduction to them with their last album, Evisceration Plague, and I am wondering just what I can say about them that hasn't already been said. Seriously, when you pick up Torture, you have to know what you are getting yourself into.

Movie Review: 21 Jump Street (2012)

I have to admit, when I first heard about a 21 Jump Street movie, I cannot say it sounded like all that good of an idea. Of course, I never actually watched the original television series (should I?) and had no real attachment to the material. I think my ideas came from the casting of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in the lead rolls and going in an overtly comic role, where I believe the series had a bit more of a serious tone. With that said, the movie won me over with a pretty good trailer and the movie proved to be downright hilarious.