My Take On This Movie:

Watched New Moon last weekend and it was a whole lot better than Twilight. Digital cinematography was fantastic and appropriately mixed into the film. The shy Bella act was a bit overdone but I can forgive that. Gave me the impression that Kristin might be beautiful but her acting ability has much to be desired, sort of like, Brooke Shields.

Cherry’s Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries

About The Story:

New Moon is a movie adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight novels (Book 2).

The story continues where Twilight left off. In Twilight, Edward Cullen (vampire) and Isabella Swan (human girl) met and fell in love. Ahhh… so where is that third person or guy #2 in the pic fits in? Jacob? That is for you to watch the movie for

Cher and I went to see New Moon last night.

Wow.

Kristen Stewart is the WORST actress and is a terrible Bella. Robert Pattinson never looks at Kristen while he’s speaking, which bugs me.

Taylor Lautner. Jacob. Shark Boy. One word:

Jailbait.

This the only time in my life I wish I were 17 again.

(From now on, the actors/characters will be refered to by their character names only)

The movie was very ‘eh,’ and made all the more annoying by the fangirl sitting to my right who said “he’s so sexy” every two seconds when Jacob Black was on screen.

Bella and Edward didn’t pull me in. They didn’t make me believe in their romance, or the pain of their breakup. Bella ’screaming’ in pain throughout the night wasn’t believable at all, but I still think it was a result of poor casting.

The best part of the movie was the wolf pack. The actors were all unknowns and are all of Native American descent. They were fabulous.

They worked very well together and you could see the ‘brotherhood’ between them. Jacob was the best.

I was sad after he chopped of his hair, and looked like the above picture for the rest of the movie. I have a thing for long hair, and he had really long hair for the first part of the movie.

He says something to Bella, about how he’s not going to give up. He’s going to fight for her affection.

I wish I would’ve had someone want me like that when I was 17. Now I have a guy who would. But at 17? That’s all you ever want in high school. Someone to fight for you.

Another thing that really bugged me was how awful Edward looked. I think Robert Pattinson is very attractive, but they made Edward look terrible in this movie. To Bella, he’s supposed to be the hottest thing ever. If I were her, this movie would make me pick Jacob.

Eh. I really just feel eh as I look at him. It doesn’t elicit the same feelings of “OMG- you’re really hot” as it does with Jacob.

When Jacob came on screen the first time, and took of his shirt, there was a LOUD audible “GASP” from every hot-blooded female in that theatre.

Nobody gasped when they saw Edward.

 It was a little funny, to be honest. I think every female in that theatre would’ve picked Jacob over Edward. Edward was acting very cold, never looking at Bella, and frowning every two seconds.

It’s hard to imagine this adorable little boy, Shark Boy, turning into…

Jacob Black. Every fangirl’s wet dream.

Did you like or dislike New Moon? Why?

I just watched the movie today! I have been a great fan of Allu Arjun and his story line. This movie Arya2 came to me as a disappointment. Allu’s movies are always a great joy to watch and they have lot of hidden fun. Following are the impressions i got.

• This character of Allu Arjun gave me an impression of Psycho or Mentally Disturbed person in the Society.
• This movie rather acts as a good advertisement for Cigarettes. I particularly did not like this as we all are struggling to eradicate smoking and this guy makes one of the main theme as Cigarette.
• Our society has a great respect for Marriage. This movie made marriage as a “Fun/Humorous” stuff. What non-sense is this getting married and then saying that i married for my Friend ?
• What stupidity is the wife exchange program ? We have seen many films in Telugu and Hindi which are Triangular. But none of them are about exchange after marriage. At least , we don’t want to promote this in Movies.
• Overacting by Allu Arjun or Perhaps bad Screen play. I am not sure about this. But there are several scenes where the dialogs should have been cut short or modified.
• What does Director want to project when Arya2 takes sleeping tables towards the end of the story. Is there any sort of ethical self-examination done by the director/script writer ?

In the end, this movie just projects Allu Arjun as a COMPLETE Psycho and mentally imbalanced person and does not ever project the friendship and romantic part. I am sure, no one wants such a FRIENDSHIP and such a LOVER.

This was a remarkable and unforgetable movie to see.  An overweight teenage girl who could not read was pregnant with her second child by her father and abused physically and emotionally by her mother. Yet she embodied so much hope, optimisim, intelligence, and strength through it all.; because she knew (and dreamed of) better days will come. This is a movie that makes you think twice about your own life and the relationships and things you may take for granted. Things may not be as bad as they seem; but if they are, don’t give up hope better days will come. Everyone should see this movie.

Check it out. In select theathers now: http://www.weareallprecious.com/

This movie has inspired me to seek volunteer work with a troubled youth organization. Stay tune for more info on this.

Ill attempt to my best Dave Zirin impersonation here.

The night before Thanksgiving Katy and I saw The Blind Side.

I had been familiar with the story when I read this New York Times Magazine profile of Michael Oher a few years ago.   After reading the article I bought the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game.

The book was great but the posters for the movie version of The Blind Side looked horrible.  It seemed to me that this was going to be a sports movie version of Mississippi Burning .  Or might qualify for a recent blog post titled “The Five Most Unintentionally Racist Movies about Racism. Anyways, here is a nice summary of the criticism about Mississippi Burning:

[Missisippi Burning] been criticized by many, including historian Howard Zinn, for its fictionalization of history. According to Zinn: while FBI agents are portrayed as heroes who descend upon the town by the hundreds, in reality the FBI and the Justice Department only reluctantly protected civil rights workers and protesters and reportedly witnessed beatings without intervening.^[1] It was also criticized due to its portrayal of southern African-Americans as passive victims. The image of African-Americans as being passive also shapes the film’s reenactment of the assassinations;^[2] New York Times film reviewer wrote that the film’s alleged distortions amounted to a “cinematic lynching” of history.

See, The Blind Side takes place in Memphis and essentially a rich white woman comes to the rescue of a homeless black kid with an NFL body.  Hollywood could have very easily taken the very powerful story of Michael Oher and Leigh Anne Tuohy and turned into a Disnified, racial fantasy.

Never mind the fact that  Memphis might be one of the most racially polarized cities in the country and the place where Martin Luther kIng was assassinated. And the University of Missisippi?  It’s racial history is just as brutal. And “Ole Miss,”– the college’s nickname?  That is what slaves called the slave master’s wife.

Overall,  the book was better and the movie is far from being perfect.  The Border’s commercial that breaks out in the middle of the movie also might be the most annoying product placement I have ever experienced.

But still, the movie made me cry.  (The last time I cried in a movie might have been in Top Gun when Goose died.)

And I cried, I think, because I grew up around families like the Tuohy’s.  Rich. White. Christian. Republican.  I never once met someone from that background who would have opened the car door for a homeless black teenager, even if he had NFL tackle written all over his body.

And that is why I loved the movie–because if you are rich and white and powerful, it means nothing if you don’t open the door for others.

P.S. I also thought it was interesting that at the end of the movie when they were showing newspaper clippings of Michael Oher’s career the other story that appeared on the “newspaper” was about Darfur.  I think the movie producer’s were trying to make a point….

First off what a non-guy movie. I read the first book in the saga and besides the author using chagrin wrong it was an ok book. But the new moview “New Moon” not so good. More to come later but just to finish it off i walked out with an hour and a half left.

I must say I am really enjoying all the dark children movies that are coming out as of lately. This movie was quite delightful and pretty dark at the same time. I really enjoyed the fight scene between the William Dafoe’s character and George Clooney’s character. The movie had some astounding aesthetics to it. Pure eye candy.

4/5

Bobby

The supernatural tale of star-crossed lovers continues as the Cullen family flees Forks in order to protect Bella (Kristen Stewart), and the heartbroken high-school senior discovers that vampires aren’t the only creatures in town. Realizing that Bella will never be safe as long as he’s around, Edward (Robert Pattinson) makes the difficult decision to leave his beloved behind shortly after her 18th birthday. Reeling from her loss, Bella embraces self-destruction after being comforted by Edward’s image during a moment of mortal peril. But as heavy-hearted as Bella may be, her old friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) distracts her from her sorrows by helping her renovate a weather-beaten motorbike.
encounters a former adversary with a sizable grudge, she’s rescued from harm at the last second by pack of enormous, ferocious wolves. Subsequently delving into the history of the Quileutes, Bella discovers the secrets of Jacob’s tribe while looking forward to a reunion with Edward that may have deadly consequences. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Here are the Video Game Reviews for December

• Nov 30 -  Pacman World
• Dec 7 – ???
• Dec 14 – Spyro the Dragon
• Dec 21 – HAZE
• Dec 28 – ???

Here are the Movie Reviews for December

• Dec 4 – Night of the living Dead (1994 Remake)
• Dec 11 – ???
• Dec 18 – ???
• Dec 25 -  ???

Here are the Let’s Play for December

• Resident Evil 5
• Tony Hawks Under Ground

Slumdog Millionaire

Claudia Rightmire

P.1

“Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees. How did he do it?

                        A. He cheated                          B. He’s lucky

                        C. He’s a genius                       D. It is written”

After reading Siddhartha, I have been attracted to the whole lifestyle of the people in India and that area, so I thought, “What would be better than Slumdog Millionaire?”. Made in 2008, this award winning film, directed by Danny Boyle and written by Simon Beaufoy, is based off of the harsh realities of Mumbai, India and how the inhabitants’ lives are so much different then ours. In the storyline, a young boy brought up in the slums, Jamal Malik, participates in the Indian version of “Who Wants to be A Millionaire?” and exceeded at it with ease. Thinking that he was somehow cheating, the officials there took him in and tortured him to try and get the answer. However, they, and the viewers of the film, soon realize that it was his past experiences that have prepared him to know the answers and to push to the end, not for the materialistic fact, money, but for his one true love, Latika.

There is no doubt in my mind that this was one of the most excellent movies I have ever seen. With the comedy, action, romance, and overall gripping factors included, I do not see how anyone could watch this and not be enthralled. “What the hell can a slumdog possibly know?” the officers kept asking while sending electric shocks coursing through his body. “The answers.” replied Jamal, not with arrogance but with truth. “I knew the answers.” And even when the host tried to steer him in the wrong direction with a false answer, he never fell for it.

The storyline of this movie was creative, in a sense of layout. It kept the viewers watching and waiting for the next clue, because honestly, if you were not watching intently you would not know what is going on. To me, layout is the most important part, because it kept the movie from never seeming dull, in any sense, and me personally on the edge of my seat until the very end.

“So are you ready for the final question for 20 million rupees?”

“No, but maybe it’s written, no?”

At this point my mind was racing. I had a feeling that he would win, but another part of me was wondering if he would lose, just to make the movie that much more unique. I will not tell you exactly how the story ended, but I can tell you that if you would watch this, you would never regret it. Being rated R, I thought that it might have been slightly appalling, or graphic, but it really was none of these things. “Slumdog Millionaire” was real, true, amazing, and truthfully family friendly.

“D. It was written”

A suspense thriller with brilliant visual effects

Eeram Movie Poster

Eeram is one of the worthwhile and ‘original’ Tamil films of recent times- though a friend whispered about a Chinese film with similar theme. Eeram is a spooky, suspense thriller with a bit of romance thrown in (can an Indian film survive without it?) The plot also has a strange crime investigative angle to it. So, it is rather tough to put it in a genre.

When police officer Vasudevan gets a call to identify the corpse of a suicide victim, little does he expect to see the corpse of his ex-girl friend Ramya. Vasu is convinced that Ramya is not the kind of a girl who would be involved in a scandalous post marital affair with an anonymous biker. He smells conspiracy as evidences are against his instincts.

The apartment neighbors, the watchman and the soft-spoken husband vouch that Ramya had had an illicit affair and the suicide was an act of redemption. Even Ramya’s death bed confession letter seems in agreement with the popular rumor. However, Vasu proceeds with the investigations with renewed passion.

As he obssesses over the case, death due to freak accidents happen to residents of the apartment, particularly those connected to the case. Are these deaths just coincidences, or are they works of a killer who uses water as a weapon, or it is something super natural that causes the deaths? Vasudevan’s questions get answered eventually.

Though the mystery of the plot ends exactly the minute the face of the killer is shown, the brilliant visuals keep the viewers involved. The movie possess applaud worthy slickness due to which the suspense is tact. The flashback and lovestory are inserted at the right intervals and in right proportions hence the slack in the pace is not appreciable.

Towards the end, things get a bit haphazard. Looks like the makers didn’t know where to end it. Rather unfortunately, the last fifteen minutes are most boring moments in the movie. But overall, it is a good attempt and hence makes an interesting watch.

Newcomer Arivazhagan Venkatachalam impresses with his no-nonsense acting style. His manly physicality naturally suits the persona of the tough guy cop. He appears effortless which is remarkable for a debutant. Sindhu Menon does her bit nicely. In a role veterans like Raghuvaran have excelled before, actor Nanda does an original act which is again remarkable.

Absence of irritating comedy track, masala item song, kuthu pattu and other stereotyped elements are a welcome relief. If not for the final scenes and some unnecessary subplots towards the end, it is a perfectly enjoyable film. This one belongs to new age Tamil cinema and it deserves to be appreciated.

My rating: 4/5

Epic

I thought I’ve seen the worst movie ever when watching ‘Alexander’. But watching ‘New Moon’ last night, it set a new record of draggy and pointless movie.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan Vampires and Werewolves. ‘Underworld’ set a good precedence for vampires and werewolves movie. Even the previous romantic vampire movie such as ‘Interview with the vampire’ and ‘Bram Stoke’s Vampire’ (I’m not sure that the write title), are not too bad to watch.

I know that the Twilight Saga, is a romantic novel. But honestly, at least make a better movie. U should add some action into the movie.

I don’t mind love storyline, but somehow they manage to make the vampires look gay. Sometimes I do feel like Edward Cullen posing could match the legendary Horatio Cane from CSI Miami. The Cullen’s was not really featured in the movie. They only appear in the beginning and the end of the movie. And their role is just to stand posing and look cool. Hahahahahaha.

What about the werewolves? Initially, I thought they potrayed the werewolves well. But how come they don’t wear any shirts? I know they have nice abs and all, but who in the hell walk around not wearing shirts all the time? And the moment I see a half naked man coming out the of the forest carrying my unconcious daughter, I would have definitely tried to give him a beating.

Anyway, I guess teenage girls would love the movie. But as a movie critic, I would say that the movie sucks. It’s almost a waste of time watching it. U should just pick up the book and read it. But if u want to see half naked Robert Pattison and Taylor Lautner, then u should go.

I’ll give 2/5 bear paw rating for this movie just because I find the werewolves are cool and the Volturi are awesome.

This poster advertising the 1941 film version of Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde served as an inspiration to the look of Batman’s arch villain Two Face, who debuted that year.

The 1931 film version of Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde is said to have influenced the character as well, in the way Two Face would behave. Apparently Bill Finger used Frederic March’s performance as a template for the character’s actions.

I will do a review of both of these films in the next couple of weeks are see how they compare with each other.

Yesterday’s Movies is about using fresh eyes to review movies that aren’t current. You won’t find the latest and greatest here. These movies are films I never saw before and decided to now. Expect to see a wide range of genres and time periods, but largely comedies of the 80s, 90s, and early 00s for now. I blog about my experiences so you can decide if you want to see them too.

Feel free to suggest movies you want reviewed! I’ll do my best with the resources I have.

Get your box of theater candy and get ready for the zeitgeist to hit the fan, Yesterday’s Movies will officially launch December 4 on a biweekly schedule.

After four days of zero views, and many more of zero updates I thought I’d FINALLY do something about it.

So, Here we are.

Happy Turkey Day, unless you aren’t eating turkey– I understand that a lot of people are weirdo vegetarians or happen to like meats besides gobble-gobbles.  I get that.  I love veggies, but I feel that becoming a vegetarian would be awfully mean to all of those veggies out there.  I read an icon, once, it said:

“I’m not a vegetarian because I love animals, I’m a vegetarian because I hate vegetables.”

Ah ha.  That’s hilarious, I love it.  I wish I was a vegetarian so that I could wear a pin that says that.

Speaking, though, of icons.  I think they’re the bumper stickers of our generation.  I mean, you used to look for bumper stickers to get your fill of witty quotes, but now you go to icons.  Truthfully, I like the change– because icons are easier to find a cheaper to use, while you actually have to buy bumper stickers.

I think everyone thanks whatever for the same stuff, generally.  Food, a job, money, a house, and especially friends and family.  But we stood around the table, held hands, and said: “over the lips, past the gums, look out stomach, here it comes.”  That was our blessing, told by my grandfather it was absolutely beautiful.

Reminds me of a scene in Gran Torino, in fact, the first scene.  ”Spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch.”  I don’t know about you guys, but I thought that was a fabulous movie.  I also should’ve been thankful for all of the fantastic movies out there, I don’t know what the world would be like without people like Chuck Palahniuk and Will Smith.

By the way, has anyone seen the movie Choke?  I read the book, but I have heard next to nothing about the movie, and yet if it was written by Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) it has to be good, no?  I heard it won something, or something, but I’m not entirely sure what.  Gimme a second, I’ll look it up.

Well, it got a 6.7/10 on IMBD, but is that good?  Truthfully, I don’t really know. D=  I thought it came out a while ago, but it actually came out last year (2008), which is kind of shocking.  That I can see, it didn’t win anything too notable.

“A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother’s hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.” That about sums it up, doesn’t it?  Great book thought, if you have a chance– read it, before you watch the movie.

I’ll check out the movie and write up one of those lame little reviews I like so much.

Oh, lemme do what I came here to do: Happy Thanksgiving.

Even a man who is pure in heart
and says his prayers by night
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
and the autumn moon is bright.

As a kid I was extremely scared of this movie and werewolves in particular. Even now I have a strange attraction/repulsion to werewolves and werewolf movies. The Wolfman is a classic Universal horror movie from 1941 starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence Talbot, the man who is unfortunately bitten by a werewolf. Having just watched this yesterday I would say that it is not so much as horror movie, as there are really no instances of tension or horror, however it does work as a great psychological study of a man who is tormented by the things he will do when the moon is full and he changes into a werewolf.

The screenplay was written by Curt Siodmak, a German Jew who fled the Nazi atrocities of the 1930s for America. He is the person responsible for many of the traditions that are today associated with the werewolf legend, such as the transformation at the full moon, the werewolves victim being marked by a pentagram and that the only way to kill a werewolf is with silver. According to the excellent documentary that accompanied the DVD Siodmak wrote The Wolfman as an allegory to the genocide occurring in Europe at the time and how even the nicest of men could become beasts if the conditions were right.

Then there is the performance of Lon Chaney Jr, as Larry Talbot, the man who must carry the terrible curse of the werewolf. His acting seems quite over the top and hammy here but it does add to the fun of the film. The Wolfman became Chaney’s signature role and makes this movie a lot of fun to watch.

(*)

Saya mengerti mengapa antrean film ini begitu panjang sampai keluar pintu. Saya mengerti mengapa film ini banyak ditunggu-tunggu oleh penggemar bukunya. Dan, saya juga masih bisa mencoba dengan sekuat tenaga untuk mengerti mengapa para wanita berteriak histeris ketika Edward Cullen muncul pertama kali di layar bioskop (ini beneran lho). Yang saya tidak mengerti mengapa banyak yang menyukai film ini ya?

Sorry to say, film ini masuk dalam daftar film terburuk saya tahun ini bersanding dengan Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2012, dan GI:Joe. Hampir tidak ada yang bisa saya angguki dengan ekspresi senyum tersimpul dari film ini. mulai dari filmnya yang mencoba bermain di wilayah “dark” tapi rasanya tetap “ringan” seringan angin.

Mau bermain di wilayah drama, khususnya percintaan, eh malah jatuhnya kelewat lambat ibarat seorang penyanyi yang membingungkan band pengiringnya karena temponya tiba-tiba dirubah. Belum lagi bagaimana konflik cinta segitiganya yang mengesankan Bella adalah makhluk paling rupawan di seantero dunia yang kesannya malah terlihat menyebalkan dan egois.

Permainan gambarnya pun cenderung konyol. Setiap kali bayangan Edward Cullen muncul, lalu hilang, seolah melihat Dementor sedang mengejar Harry Potter. Efeknya sama persis. Belum lagi di beberapa bagian yang tampil ibarat video klip, liat juga bagaimana di scene menjelang akhir ada adegan Edward Cullen dan Bella lari-lari di hutan, oh my, semua penonton tertawa, mirip adegan video klip, dan lama kelamaan lebih mirip jadi iklannya Anlene saja deh, huahaha. Too many slow motion! Hampir semua adegan action (yang ga action-action amat) pasti disuguhi adegan slow motion, ibarat menonton film-filmnya Zhang Yimou. Nah, kalau Zhang Yimou adegan slow motionnya akan terkesan artistik,  kalau di New Moon, slow motionnya ditempatkan pada beberapa adegan yang kurang tepat. Kadang membuat saya geregetan menontonnya. Dan yang paling penting tidak ada kesan artistiknya sama sekali.

Score dari Alexander Desplat juga tidak mampu menolong kebosanan film ini, meski di beberapa bagian, semakin mellow cerita, semakin mellow rasa strawberry juga scorenya. Untungnya saya sudah mendengarkan album OST film ini yang saya akui memang bagus, jadi bisa menikmati iringan lagu ketika ditempatkan pada beberapa adegan. Albumnya memang terdengar lebih dark dari album sebelumnya. Penyelamat film ini adalah the brilliant Michael Sheen yang berperan sebagai Aro pemimpin Volturi.  Dakota Fanning sayangnya masih terlihat biasa saja. Oh, iya saya tertarik nonton film ini karena pengen lihat acting Anna Kendrick yang berperan sebagai temannya Bella. Ternyata aktingnya cukup menyemarakkan film ini, meski sangat singkat. Tahu Anna Kendrick? Itu loh yang sekarang gencar diprediksi sebagai peraih nominasi Best Supporting Actress di “Up in the Air”. Setidaknya, dari segerombolan bintang muda yang bertebaran di Twilight Saga, ada satu orang yang benar-benar bisa membuktikan kualitas aktingnya.

PS: salam buat serigalanya yang gede-gede itu, kalo saya mah gak takut-takut amat dengan serigala itu. Gak ada bedanya dengan anak anjing yang imut-imut. Huahaha.

This weekend I took my wife to see a werewolf’s muscles … I mean … New Moon. I watched the first Twilight movie several months ago, and didn’t hate it. I wouldn’t watch it again, for the same reason I stopped watching Smallville – just too much teen angst mixed into the supernatural stew. I can only put up with so much without getting a distinctly bored taste in my mouth.

But for the woman I love, I can tolerate 2 hours of century-old vampires whose biggest worries in life are the safety and well-being of a puny human (seemingly because she is moderately attractive and has apparently just overcome a stutter – why else would she look like she’s concentrating so hard on every line she delivers?).

All in all, New Moon wasn’t horrible. I guess I’d give it 2 stars out of 5. There were a few good things about the movie – some of the camera work was quite good. But there were enough bad things going on that the overall effect was a little like watching a small town talent show. Some real talent adjacent to a lot of almost talent. And that goes across the board. I refuse to believe budget was a factor in the lousy wolf animation – it seems more like they just didn’t care enough.

I want to comment on the acting here. I don’t think Kristen Stewart is a good actress. I think they made a mistake when they cast her, and now they’re stuck. In fact, it seems like all the real talent in these movies is ending up in the sidelines, the minor parts. That being said, I think the whole story is unfair to its actors. The Harry Potter franchise is running into this same problem. You can’t place a 16-ton dramatic plot on the shoulders of unseasoned, young actors. I mean, if every person in the movie was a Dakota Fanning, we’d be just fine, but she’s one in a hundred million, so you end up with an unconvincing dramatic plot.

You could say that I’m being unfair – that the Twilight Saga is for teens, and teens don’t have as sophisticated a palette for drama. I think that’s selling teens a little short – but more than that, I feel I can judge a movie based on its actual audience, not only its intended audience. Twilight has a large adult following, so it should be an adult caliber franchise. I mean, even the teeny-boppers in the audience were busting a gut when they should have been weeping at one of Edward’s lines. It was a cheesy movie, not a dramatic one.

Also – and I know I’m drawing a line here – vampires don’t sparkle.

I finally got around to watching Control (2007), the Anton Corbijn-helmed docu-drama about the sudden rise and tragic fall of Joy Division and lead singer Ian Curtis.  Joy Division continues to be a remarkably important influence on modern rock, with bands ranging from Oasis, Interpol, The Killers and U2, to Moby, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Cure all claiming a heavy influence.

I have to admit that my familiarity with Joy Division as anything other than an influence is somewhat new.  I never owned a Joy Division record until this past summer, though I’ve counted New Order, the band that emerged from the shadow of Ian Curtis’ death, as among my very favorite bands for some years now.   New Order evolved stylistically, but many of the elements they incorporate were born in Joy Division – the muddy guitar, the bassline melodies, the sweeping synths, and even the dance-heavy syncopation of the drums.  Though rough around the edges, Joy Division marked the beginning of a brand new sound, and they were a very good band to boot.

Today the allegation is often lobbed by music critics that up-and-coming bands are merely replicating a style perfected by Joy Division in the late 1970’s.  The band infused emotion and poetry into guitar-heavy instrumentation, ushering in a post-punk rock revival that laid a foundation for New Wave, Britpop, Grunge, and modern alternative music.  It’s not unrealistic to say that perhaps no band since The Velvet Underground has had such a broad and lasting impact on the past 30 years of rock and roll.

Corbijn’s film, shot in black and white, is a dreary look into Curtis’ struggle with depression, epilepsy, and a failing marriage.  Just as Joy Division’s career seemed to take off, Curtis’ life unraveled.  His violent fits of epileptic seizure sometimes struck mid-set during live shows – the band didn’t use strobe lights for fear of his safety, but later some speculated that the music itself may have sparked his epilepsy.  Corbijn depicts Curtis giving an impassioned vocal performance punctuated by halting, fitful dance moves that quickly slip into seizure.  The band plays on as Curtis is dragged offstage to recover, emotionally drained.

Though Joy Division’s star rose quickly, it was not all glamour and fun.  Curtis’ crippling depression and personal life problems superseded his ability to perform.  This emotional flailing is captured in songs such as the signature Love Will Tear Us Apart, where Curtis drones, “Do you cry out in your sleep?/All my feelings exposed/Get a taste in my mouth/As desperation takes hold/Is it something so good/Just can’t function no more?” Clearly, Curtis dealt with emotions beyond his years.

This is a film filled with cold moments, but you can’t help but wonder where it all went wrong.  In the end, the 23-year-old Curtis kills himself, to the devastation of his wife, child, band, and lover.  Though his life ended ignominously, his legacy is anything but.  His wife would go on to pen the biography upon which Control is adapted, and his bandmates would eventually regroup as New Order and go on to be international best-sellers.  However, their finest moment, in my opinion, came from the pen of Ian Curtis himself: