what a mad but asthetically pleasing movie.

i kinda think it would be what sophia coppola’s movies would look like if she were male…just a thought.

style salvage.

2007: Savage Grace di Tom Kalin

Tratto dall’omonimo romanzo di Natalie Robins e Steven Aronson, il film è ispirato alla vera storia di Barbara Daly, ragazza di bassa estrazione sociale che sposa il magnate Brooks Baekeland, erede della fortuna accumulata dal nonno, inventore della bakelite.

“Un film scioccamente chic” (Il Messaggero), “barocco e decadente” (Corriere della Sera), uno sfoggio di“voyerismo intellettuale” (Il Giornale). La critica non è stata tenera con Savage Grace.

Peccato, occasione mancata… E’ la prima immediata impressione dopo la visione di questo secondo lungometraggio di Tom Kalin, gay militante (famoso per il suo impegno civile nella lotta contro l’AIDS e per la difesa dei diritti degli omosessuali).
Quadro di una famiglia attraverso trent’anni della loro storia, poteva essere un potente affresco di una società, di un’epoca, di una mentalità, di uno stile di vita…
Abbiamo il ritratto in superficie di tre esseri umani le cui psicologie e le cui motivazioni non sempre sono adeguatamente approfondite: ricchi, belli, annoiati, oziosi, vuoti, insoddisfatti, intimamente disperati, egoisti, narcisistici, schizofrenici, sostanzialmente incapaci di dare qualcosa. L’attenzione è rivolta soprattutto al rapporto madre-figlio, opprimente e morboso, in cui un amore distorto (o la mancanza di un vero amore) prevale su tutto.

Ci voleva ben altro regista per coinvolgerci in una vicenda che sa tanto di tragedia greca: Tom Kalin sembra non possedere la stoffa per padroneggiare la scabrosa materia che ha a disposizione e realizza un prodotto formalmente impeccabile ma che non ha mordente, un mélo algido e freddo senza pathos (il che naturalmente è una contraddizione).
Tennessee Williams ne avrebbe fatto un dramma al contempo impressionante e pietoso, passionale e sensuale. Qui primeggiano poca tensione, scarso ritmo, esiguo coinvolgimento dello spettatore che non riesce a sentirsi partecipe delle vicende dei protagonisti (chiusi nel loro mondo immobile e senza tempo, non scalfiti dalla realtà che li circonda, completamente avulsi dagli avvenimenti che li circondano).
Apprezzabile la prestazione dell’intero cast. Un plauso particolare a Julianne Moore (da sola rende il film degno di essere visto), mirabile nell’impersonare una donna ricca di lati oscuri e conflitti interiori, fragile e sensibile, inadeguata e insoddisfatta, fondamentalmente oppressa dalla solitudine.

scheda

n.b.

nel video, la musica da me inserita è stata modificata da Youtube con “Towards freedom” di Armando Trovaioli

Omen never really got their due.  Three brilliant albums and one EP between 84 and 86 and when you hear people talk about classic metal, especially when mentioning the early Metal Blade stuff, it seems that so few people talk about them.  It’s a bit of a shame.  It was nice to see that metal Blade did do the Omen box set a few years ago.  The live footage is enjoyable.

Omen had a very unique style and sound, especially in the vocal department.  There was something in the way that JD Kimball could wail…like you could really hear the desperation in his voice.  I remember the first time I heard them.  Daniel had ordered Battle Cry through Metal Blade.  I was blown away by the whole band.  Kelz had made me a  dub tape of Battle Cry and Warning of Danger.  I can still see that tape sitting on the seat of my old Nova.  I believe there was some Metal Church at the end of one of the sides.

But there was something special about Omen but I don’t think it was just any one thing.  The sum of the parts just made them perfect.  The music was great, the vocals were great and overall they had good lyrics.  That was difficult to do back in those days.  Even Be My Wench and Bring Out the Beast are great.

For as much as I love Battle Cry and Warning of Danger, in recent years I find myself listening to the Curse more often than the other 2.  Teeth of the Hydra is one of my favorite songs of all time by any band.

Then 2 years after The Curse they released Escape To Nowhere with Coburn Pharr (Annihilator).  My god what an awful album that was.  I revisited it a few years ago and it still sucked.

All in all, you can’t go wrong with any of the first 3 albums.  I listened to Reopening the Gates when it came out as well…it just didn’t work for me.  Omen was more about JD’s vocals than anything else for me.  RIP.

Labas vakaras visiems , atleiskite , kad retai pastaruoju metu rasau , bet kadangi vasara , vis truksta laiko prisest prie kompo , vis kazkas vyksta ir tuo labai dziaugiuosi , nes pas dauguma buna atvirksciai . Laikas bega ziauriai greit , bet turiningai . Aisku neiskaitant tu beprasmisku (kartais) vakaru prie coffee inn’o , bet cia atskira tema be galo be krasto : ))))

Beje neseniai maciau vaikina su zalia majkute … (kam reikia tas supras apie ka sneku) ech  , gaila jog tokiu vaikinu pas mus mazai ; D Omg kaip man patinka odiniai batai su pailga nosim , siauri dzinsai arba geriausiai siauros kelnes is kokybiskos medziagos , paprasti balti marskineliai arba smulkiai languoti , ir didele tashe : ) ah , ir zinoma paprastas ir kuklus , bet grazus dirzas , geriausiai pritaikytas prie batu  : D mmm .. tai mano silpnybe . Na ir plaukai , trumpi arba ilgesni ir garbanoti . Visa tai sukuria toki french boy ivaizdi , gracingai laikoma cigarete rankoje ir paslaptingas zvilgsnis ir mano akyse galima pamatyt susidomejima ir sioki toki susizavejima.

Beje , uzsikabliavau ant Gossip Girl serialo ir mano megstmiausias veikejas aisku Chuck’as . Pasirodo jog jis turi savo grupe Filthy Youth , na man jo kuryba nelabai , bet jis zavingas.

Ir filmas kuris man paliko labai gera ispudi . Savage Grace

P.S. kur dingo Martynas?

aka “One Of The Greatest Compilations Ever”

Let’s just say that Metal Blade Records really helped shape my metalness during the mid-80s.  For the most part up until about 1989, if it was on Metal Blade Records, there was about a 90%+ chance that you were getting quality metal.  There were exceptions of course…like Canada’s Sye.  Terrible.  Really.

But Metal Blade was great at putting out cool compilations like the Metal Massacre series and the Best of Metal Blade series.  Today we take an in depth look at the Best of Metal Blade Vol 2.

1. LIZZY BORDEN “Notorious” – Let’s make something clear here…right now.  I’m a Lizzy Borden fan and have been since I first heard them.  I’m pretty sure the Give ‘em the Axe EP was my indoctrination.  My interest was first piqued when I saw a little blurb in Circus Magazine about the band and there was Lizzy standing there with the band on a rooftop with this huge double-bladed axe.  They looked totally badass.   Great albums overall but I’ve always been a little partial to Menace To Society and especially to this song.  Great hooks, cool lyrics, nice production.  This song has it all. 

2. OMEN “Teeth of the Hydra” – Not my introduction to Omen (thanks Daniel!) but one of my favorite songs by them for sure.  JD Kimball’s vocals (RIP) really set this band apart from most metal bands.  He could add a tone of despair in his voice that I have never heard too many other singers do.  Mustaine had that quality on the first 2 Megadeth albums as well.  Something about the way they wail, it’s a bit haunting.  While not my favorite of the classic 3 Omen albums, this ranks as one of my top songs from them.

3. FATES WARNING “Prelude to Ruin” – John Arch.  You are the man.  Fates Warning offered us another treat with Awaken the Guardian.  As good of a song as this is, it’s certainly not my favorite from this album.

4. HALLOW’S EVE “Lethal Tendencies” – Yes!  Great song from a great album.  Sure, not the most technically proficient thrash band, but they delivered it well.

5. SLAYER “Black Magic” – (classic) SLAYER!  ’nuff said.

6. DESTRUCTION “Eternal Ban” – see below
7. SODOM “Deathlike Silence” – You know, these 2 songs never did much for me.  In general, was never much of a fan of either band.  I think the production really ruined them for me on this early stuff.  One day I’ll revisit their back catalog again…maybe.

8. SENTINEL BEAST “Dogs of War” – Awful.

9. DETENTE “Holy War” – I always dug Detente.  One of the few female fronted metal bands that I could tolerate.  This album was pretty good as is this song.  Dawn Crosby (RIP) was a rough one.  My current guitarist lived with some folks from this band back in those days and the stories and video I’ve seen of them is trippy.  Talk about drinkers?  wow.

10. HIRAX “Criminal Punishment” – Another band I never got into mainly because I never tried.  I don’t dislike this song, but I never really paid much attention to the band.  I do respect that Caton is still out there proudly flying the flag of metal. 

11. FLOTSAM & JETSAM “Der Fuhrer” – Oh man.  One of the greatest thrash songs ever.  Period.  Everything from this album just rules.  But this song…oh man.

12. JUGGERNAUT “Slow Death” – Juggernaut was always hit an miss.  This song is no exception.  Miss!

13. HERETIC “Whitechapel” – But this song is a hit.  It’s perfect.  It’s mid-paced fist-pounding metal.  Nice shrill-style vocals and it was about Jack the Ripper.  What more could one want in a metal song?

14. SAVAGE GRACE “Trial By Fire” – Love it!

15. SOUND BARRIER “Gladiator” – I think I am one of the few who actually like these guys.  This is a cool song too.

16. CIRITH UNGOL “Blood & Iron” – Ahhhhh…Cirith Ungol.  How I have always held a soft spot in my heart for these guys.  There were the old men of metal in LA.  very unique band, very dark.  Plus they had the best album covers (Michael Whelan).

17. LIZZY BORDEN “Live & Let Die” – I detest Paul McCartney.

18. CITIES “Burn Forever” – Burn burn burn…burn foreveeeeeeeer!  Awesome song.  The album was pretty good too.  Love the vocals on this.

19. EXXPLORER “Run For Tomorrow” – Again, out of my circle of metal metal head friends, I think I was/am the only one who got into these guys.  Great vocals.

20. KRANK “Rented Heat” – This is one of those songs like Crazy Night (Loudness) or Balls To the Wall (Accept) that just makes you nod your head to the mid-paced beat and want to put your fist in the air and sing along.  Too bad the album was one of the worst things Metal Blade ever put out.

21. DEAF DEALER “The Fugitive” – I adore this song.  One of these days I hope to run across this on CD.  Hey Kelz, you still have yours?

If I think about it later, I’ll upload this for your listening pleasure.

The Savage Grace that has caught me, and continues to catch me over and over and over again, has got me thinking. The risk and suffering that God took to bring me into His family can never be matched. By anyone. Anytime. Anywhere. It is immeasurable. It is amazing.

And yet so often we toss it aside like a piece of trash. This gift of salvation, so beautiful and so limitless, we quickly discard. We jump right back into sin’s bed as we count on the knowledge that Grace will be awaiting us when we jump back out of sin’s bed.

We’re not wrong to trust in the boundless grace that will never fail to reach us. The truth is, it can’t fail to reach us. But why are we so quick to cheapen that grace? It was costly. Nothing on earth has ever cost more than Calvary.

And yet we treat it like a loved one we’ve taken for granted. They’ll always be there for us and so we stop valuing them, stop honoring them. Like a discarded trophy that represents a hard fought victory, we toss it in a box to be hidden in the recesses of our garage. Never seen, never delighted in.

We don’t delight in His grace. We waste it and use it as an excuse. As a band-aid. Something that fixes our messes.

But grace carries so much more value than a band-aid.

I want to daily call up on that grace, to bring me higher and carry me further. Grace fought hard to find me. How can I do anything but value it? Anything but guard it like the treasure it is? Anything but press hard to lay hold of all that it bought for me?

My I value the costly gift of grace in my life. May I “press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” Philippians 3:12

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Watching this movie for the second time with an excessive quantity of wine, in pretty glasses.
Chocolates, candy and a fire place.
Visiting a friend in Ontario.
I forgot how brilliant this story is.

“Anthony Baekland was, on my arrival, in a bedroom, sitting  on a bed, using the telephone to phone, I believe a chinease restaurant to order a meal. I cannot remember the exact conversation I had with him, but Anthony Baekland was intimating that he was not responsible for the crime. I have a vague recollection that he may have mentioned that his grandmother was responsible. He was completely unconcerned.
You know, he considered himself an artist, and we did find a rather large painting, said to have been done by him. It was the weirdest thing imaginable -we just couldn’t make out what it was. (…)
Anthony Baekland was taken to the Chelsea Police Station. He was interviewed and much of what he said was incoherent, rambling. I cannot remember what his statement contained, except the opening sentence was so unusual that is has stuck in my mind. He said it all started when he was aged either three or five and he fell off his pogo stick. “

Savage Grace by Natalie Robins and Steven M. Aronson

They must’ve known this story did not need to unfold cinematically from the moment they started adapting the second act. Starring Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, and Hugh Dancy this film could’ve been shot for a quarter of the price and turned into a saucy Showtime Red Shoe Diary episode.

This dramatization of the Barbara Baekland murder in 1972 features Moore as Barbara, a charming cultured American socialite who is more intrigued by entertaining her social circle than being a caring mother or wife. Her husband Brooks played by a stoic always fleeting Stephen Dillane, leaves her for their son Tony’s ( Redmayne) prospective girlfriend. Girlfriend theft aside, Tony doesn’t care as it’s revealed that he is gay and only wants acceptance and love from a father who can’t get away fast enough.

Spoiler Alert.

Barbara hires Sam (Dancy) a gay escort, to act as Barbara’s perpetual dinner date, easing her back into the social circle that gawk and gossip about Barbara’s divorce. Sam winds up screwing Barbara, then Tony screws Sam. Then 2 scenes pass and they wind up having a threesome. Yes, she sleeps with her son. Pulling the old Oedipus card, nice.

Sam gets freaked out and leaves. A couple scenes later Barbara walks into the living room where Tony is hanging out, proceeds to engage him in chitty chat, during which she seduces, straddles and totally does it with him. 1 scene and a half later he starts bitching about some dog collar he can’t find, he finds it in the kitchen, realizing she hid it, he stabs her, calls the cops, orders Chinese food, grubs and then holds the dead body until the cops come.

Then the movie ends. The title cards are used to let you know what happened to Tony afterward and I’m left sitting on my couch with my jaw on the floor. What was that? The first 45 minutes was all soft porny, followed by 30 minutes of incest and then capped off by matricide. I didn’t care about Tony because Redmayne played him unneccessairly numb and snarky. I cared about Moore for the first 15 minutes but then she started to become a cartoon. I tried to figure it out, to see where it was going, but it could be summed up as a true story that probably reads a lot better than it played out on the big screen. You want a good nasty shock, watch “Oldboy”, wanna feel a little bit ashamed of yourself? Then by all means, Savage Grace is for you.

(Just FYI, this is not a review of, nor an article about, the movie Savage Grace.)

I’ve been beaten, ravaged, torn apart
Splintered into a million pieces
And this just as a small child

Then I was degraded, humiliated, left to bleed
My heart shriveled
And I was but a young woman

My soul was empty
My spirit drained
My mind exhausted
I had no where to turn

And then, just as savagely as I’d been crushed, I was savagely caught.
By Grace.

The term grace used to carry a certain connotation with me.  A ballerina with perfect structure, poise and beauty.  A gray-haired woman baking pies and making all her visitors feel welcome.  A kind response to a harsh word.

Those meanings still pertain – somewhat.  But today my definition of grace has expanded into unexpected territory.  The Grace that died for me on a piece of wood, blood dripping from the thorn-imprinted forehead, isn’t the picture of a tutu-wearing ballerina.  It’s more the picture of a savage.  Someone fierce and ferocious.

That’s the grace that has captured me.  Where most people would have given up hope, stopped trying, simply walked away, the Savage One got knocked around and bloodied up for me.  All without any guarantees that I’d even give a rip about it.  It’s a grace that’s wild, uncultured and untamed.

It’s a savage grace.

Okay, I figured it’s time to roll out another handful of short films that we will screen at AFI DALLAS this year. Once again, none of these have been announced – so you are getting the scoop on the pending coolness headed for the NorthPark Center or the cozy confines of the Magnolia Theater. They are each great, great stuff that I am excited to chat up throughout the film festival.

However, before I do that I want to put something out there I’ve been thinking about a lot recently.

A lot.

Here it is:

I want to see a Geico ad where a bunch of homeless people tear that stack of bills with the eyes-thing apart like a bunch of NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD zombies. Just tearing it apart and gorging themselves on the dollars as they stagger mindlessly into a 7-11 and buy those cheap burritos or something.

Why do I so desperately want to see this? Because it would make me happy, that’s why. And it would be a fitting coda to an insufferable tune that has played for way too long.

I write this because I thought it important to give some more context into what I personally enjoy seeing onscreen, where my mind goes, what delights it and what would make sense to me in a wonderful world of my own making. Because, let’s face it – if I’m singing the praises of films I want you to see and filmmakers I think we should all keep an eye out, then you need to know where I’m coming from.

So, here we go…

First up, we have a trio of films that played at Sundance. I wrote about them at that time, but they are worth bringing up again:

I LIVE IN THE WOODS
Max Winston’s animated short film is candy-coated ultra-violence courtesy of a mad hillbilly muppet guy who goes on an unbridled homicidal and graphic rampage. It’s fun (to me), clever, has a ton of take no prisoners attitude and has no qualms – not a moment of hesitation – to add some very over-the-top animated gore to the proceedings. The movie really upset these two horrified old ladies sitting behind me at the screening. This, of course, only added to my enjoyment because few things irritate me more than people sitting their butt down for a film they have no business watching and then blaming everyone but themselves for their error in judgement – not to mention passive aggressively trying to ruin it for those sitting near them.

Last year, we played the drama SAVAGE GRACE starring Julianne Moore. That is a tough film with some…how shall we say this politely…? ADULT scenes. And we told everyone, we did the disclaimers, damn near put brown paper wrapping on the door going into the theater. And what happens? Some doofus takes some teenage girls to the screening because it’s a Julianne Moore movie and then is shocked! Shocked, I tell you! When Julianne’s mother character really goes the extra mile to help her son with his uhmmm…tension. And, naturally this is the kind of guy that fires off e-mails to board members and uncles in high places and so on trying to make an example of everyone but the lame-ass he sees in the mirror each morning. Oh, delightful axe grinder with too much time on your hands…

Maybe I’ll send a copy of Max’s little ditty to him. Might make him smile.

FROM BURGER IT CAME
Another animated winner, Dominic Bisignano’s little film is food for the funny bone. In it, we follow the first person recounting of a young man who believes he has contracted AIDS by eating a hamburger someone has left behind. It is twisted logic rooted in naiveté that only gets more confounding and ridiculous as he winds his way through the tale. I will also say there are hints of Dimetri Martin both in form and delivery and for anyone who is a fan of martin’s I know I’ve got you now… Anyway, for me there are few things better than crazy logic teaming up with crazy animation. And this is as fine an example of that as you’re gonna get.

TREEVENGE
How can I succinctly put the joy that is Jason Eisner’s short film, TREEVENGE? How about this: A copy of it goes in my DVD library at home. (Which I hope he’ll be cool with…) I love it and I’ll watch it again and show it to friends at all of those fabulous parties I convince myself I’ll host someday.

Let me set the scene for you: A pristine field of evergreen trees faces an onslaught of violence from cruel, evil men wielding axes and chain saws. It’s a horrible scene of torture and slaughter and the trees don’t understand. (We know this, because their horrified peeps and squeaks are translated via subtitles.) Then they’re taken to Christmas tree lots and separated from their friends and family where ignorant and insensitive humans pay money to the cruel men, take them away and put them in their houses. Ultimately, they’re forced to wear gaudy decorations on their branches as the humans blissfully go about their bizarre holiday ceremonies. Eventually, of course, they exact their…wait for it…TREEVENGE. In every violent and gory way imaginable, it’s great.

THE ISLAND
This is the third film in three years we have had at AFI FEST and AFI DALLAS from Canadian filmmaker Trevor Anderson, following ROCK POCKETS and CARPET DIEM. And by this point, I almost feel as if an AFI film festival without one of his films is like a day without gay sunshine.

Because he is smart, droll, funny, whimsical and charmingly smart-assed in a very sweet way. And this is his best short film yet. Basically Trevor takes a gay-baiting hate e-mail suggesting that he and all the other gay men should just congregate on an island somewhere and give each other AIDS.

So what does he do? He dreams up a scenario where maybe that’s a good idea – that is if the island and life there is of his own colorful and fanciful making. And this is literally a lemons into lemon-AIDS tale. Accomplished is the filmmaker that can take you for a trip into the way his mind works in such a way that you want to schedule next year’s vacation there too. And now, I’ll be looking forward to the next one…

RIP AND THE PREACHER
Michael Lennox’s drama RIP AND THE PREACHER is seven minutes of intensity. It’s simple and direct and all I will say about it here is that an Irish temper and a loaded gun are maybe not the best things to have on hand for a theological discussion. Although if you put a six shooter between Rick Warren and Rob Sherman and allowed Michael Cimino to direct the proceedings that could be the best pay-per-view event ever.

If one of ‘em was Irish, that is.

In the meantime, this film will do nicely.

KATE WAKES
A product of AFI’s fantastic Directing Workshop for Women, Jasmine Kosovic’s mini-romantic comedy is a charming portrait in economy. We meet the title character as she awakens to the reality that her wedding has been called off and yet life must continue. However, possibly that awkward life might be put off by immersing herself in work helping supervise the mundane paperwork reorganization of a company’s merger. That is until she meets her counterpart for the other company (played by Adam Goldberg). The two meet cute and then proceed to find themselves drawn into their own merger in as low-key and slow burn a way as it gets. I like films that “show” versus “tell” and this one does that very well.

Ironically, the film reminded me of an unfortunate date I had with an aspiring female screenwriter years ago who informed me that every romantic comedy HAD TO HAVE a dance scene in it. She was convinced there was no debating this. Because it was a rule and I should’ve known about it. Apparently everyone else knew about this rule but me. If you had a romantic comedy without a dance scene I think there had to be an asterisk after the title because it didn’t really count. This will be of great surprise, but a lot of mocking ensued.

And there was no second date.

I bring this up because in all of her economy of writing and direction, Jasmine worked in a dance scene of sorts in her 17-minute movie. Which means that she managed to cover all of her romantic bases and there will be no need for an asterisk or a call of complaint to the ridiculous section of the WGA.

Whew.

O dia estava lindo hoje, a preguiça estava maior que a vontade de aproveitar o dia, então o que fiz? mofei, aluguei um filme e nao sai de casa o dia inteiro. Assisti Savage Grace, ou no título adaptado para o brasil, pecados inocentes. O filme conta com a ótima Julianne Moore e o jovem Eddie Redmayne, que é mais conhecido por seu papel como filho do Matt Damon em O Bom Pastor. O filme é baseado em uma história real, a da família americana Baekeland, é uma ótima dramatização de toda a história. O filme é envolvente e nos apresenta inicialmente o casal Brooks e Barbara (Moore), nesse momento nao se tem idéia do resultado de todo o desdobramento dos fatos, o casamento conveninente, a relação conturbada entre os dois, a criação um tanto incestuosa de Tony (Eddie), sua homosexualidade aberta para a mãe e ainda um bocado de outros acontecimentos que tornam o filme um drama e tanto. Os cuidados com a fotografia do filme, o desenrolar dos fatos, atuações excepcionais, a boa adaptação da história, ótimo roteiro, som, etc. são impressionantes e tornam Julianne Moore e o diretor Tom Kalin Merecedores dos premios recebidos em Cannes.

O filme é realmente bom e deve, com certeza, ser assistido!

confira o trailer!

The poster says, “Truth is more shocking than fiction.”

Bitchy self-anointed internet critic #1,583,344,902 says, “Nonrecommended.”

*************************

So what I do on a Tuesday night,

throat-sore

I.

Cuck

Duck

Duck

Duck

Duck

Duck

Duck

Duck

Duck

Conrad Adenauer

Duck

Goose

Lacrosse Lover

Lacrosse Lover

Lover Boy

Sacred Oath is no stranger to us here at Powerline. Their strong brand of power metal goes back to the mid-80s.

Now they are about to release some of their best stuff yet. Coming in February, will be the release of a self-titled CD, 14 Power Metal tracks that are a mixture of class and sharp-toothed force… and, IMHO, the way metal is meant to be played.

Rob Thorne’s vocals are as amazing as ever, and pay tribute to when metal vocals were screamed high and brilliant, when singers tried to emulate the pre-1980 Rob Halford range, when the metal underground was filled with such style of singers — bands such as Malice, Sortilege, Savage Grace, LiegeLord, to name a few. This was my turf back then and I loved it. Now it’s all growling and grumbling. I like some of that, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t love it. It’s not like the old stuff.  The good old days of Heavy Metal. That’s where Sacred Oath is coming from and hopefully they can have that style of Metal make a great resurgence.

Sacred Oath is making an unmastered mp3 of the song “Blood Storm,” from their brand new album, freely available at www.sacredoath.net . To hear the whole pre-master version of the new song  join their mailing list by clicking here.

In the meantime, watch a Sacred Oath video (below),“Words Upon the Stone,”  from their 2007 CD, Darkness Visible and get psyched for the new material.

Eigenlijk wilden we Savage Grace zien, maar die wordt niet meer vertoond. By default werd het dan maar Burn After Reading. Een situation comedy van Joel en Ethan Coen en met George Clooney, Tilda Swindon, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand en Brad Pitt. Was het de moeite waard?

Burn After Reading, Cinebel.
Analist Osborne Cox wordt op het hoofdkwartier van de CIA verwacht voor een top-secret meeting. Wat blijkt, hij wordt op staande voet ontslagen. Cox neemt het nieuws niet bijzonder goed op en keert terug naar zijn thuishaven om zijn memoires te schrijven én in de drank te vliegen, beide activiteiten niet noodzakelijk in dezelfde volgorde. Zijn vrouw Katie is geschokt, maar niet verrast. Zij heeft ondertussen andere plannen, nl haar man verlaten voor haar vurige minnaar federaal agent Harry Pfarrer. Elders, schijnbaar ook werelden apart, kan werkneemster van het Hard Bodies Fitness Centrum Linda Lizke zich nauwelijks op haar werk concentreren. Zij staart zich blind op mogelijkheden tot plastische chirurgie en vertrouwt haar levensplan toe aan collega en manusje-van-alles Chad Feldheimer. Daarnaast verlangt haar manager Ted Treffon ook dat zij voor hem dates met andere mannen via het internet regelt. Wanneer een CD-ROM met belangrijke CIA-informatie toevallig in de handen van Linda en Chad vallen, probeert het duo er alles uit te halen om hun vonst zo goed mogelijk uit te kunnen buiten. Alvlug wordt Fred’s raad : “Hier komt geen goeds van” bevestigd en verliest iedereen de controle in een reeks van dolkomische ontmoetingen.

De premisse is misschien ongelooflijk origineel, maar met momenten grappig en slim. De acteurs hadden wel plezier in het draaien en er zijn goede scenarische vondsten. En toch, we zijn er niet uit of we Burn After Reading een goede film moeten vinden. Het is zo absurd, dat het soms te wordt.

Misschien had ik dit moeten verwachten van de Coen-broers, maar eigenlijk heb ik nog maar weinig van hun films gezien. Mja, tja, mmm… ik weet niet wat ik ervan moet denken.

Benjamin

Burn After Reading
Van: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen.
Met: George Clooney, Tilda Swindon, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, Olek Krupa, David Rasche.

“…that terrible American neurosis which I think should go into medical dictionaries, which is somewhere between obsession and paranoia — novel-writing, the idea you’ve got to write a novel in order to prove yourself.”

– From Savage Grace

It’s unnerving because it’s true.

I read a true crime novel, something quick I thought I would devour like a piece of chocolate.  But it’s actually got some interesting technique.  It’s pieced together with interviews.  Scenes are rendered in dialogue heavy segments.  One paragraph will completely contradict the one preceding it, but I guess that’s the exact point.  Different points of view aren’t necessarily false.  They’re either willfully obfuscated because of a narrow scope of the situation, either from someone being too immersed, missing the forest for the trees so to speak, or the person’s observation is startlingly accurate and truthful because they witnessed the scene from the periphery.  And while the story jumps from person to person, there is a careful, directed flow.  You can feel you’re being led somewhere.  A point is trying to be made if only you could hear above the clinking of ice through bourbon.  One cool thing as well:  the writer inserts tiny paragraphs from travel magazines to describe the mood of external places, a hint toward the internal world of characters.

The book concerns the tragic Baekeland dynasty, a wealthy east coast familial empire that spawned Bakelite, a seventies-era plastic used to cast the molds for phones, costume jewelry, and appliances.  It’s got everything you’d want from a family of fucked-up WASPs:  incest, insanity, and murder…which is what they should have put on the movie poster when they turned the narrative into a film starring Julianne Moore.

Speaking of which, I’ve always nurtured a deep disgust for book jackets designed from movie posters.  They’re awful.  Who would want to spend $15 on these things when you could get them for free (albeit with minor stains) from the bathroom of a bus station?

This doesn’t make me want to read.

 Boo

Gross

This one disturbs me so much that I actually kind of like it.

It also makes me think of this.

Remember this beloved character from Stephen King’s It?  He haunts my dreams.

Above: he has my vote. No, that’s not Lou. That’s my comrade and co-conspirator in tasting Howard Rodman at Lou on Vine, my all-time favorite wine bar in the world — yes, in the whole wide world. Howard was just nominated for a Spirit Award for best screenplay (Savage Grace, 2007). Congratulations, Howard!

My travels are taking me away from Austin and back to California, where I’m going to work some holiday parties with my friends at Jaynes Gastropub in San Diego (I’ll be pouring on the floor there on Friday and Saturday nights, btw). During the week, I’ll head to LA to take care of some business and surely stop in to taste at my all-time favorite wine bar, Lou on Vine (at the corner of Melrose and Vine in Hollywood).

Above: Lou Amdur, nez extraordinaire and proprietor of the eponymously named Lou on Vine.

Lou’s menu features farm-to-table materia prima and his extensive by-the-glass list never fails to surprise and thrill me, whether with a biodynamic Pecorino from Abruzzo, a stinky Gamay from Beaujolais (Rachel Ray’s favorite, Lou claims wryly), or a grape that I’d never tasted, like Zierfandler from the Thermenregion.

Before I headed out to Austin a few weeks ago, Lou graciously let Howard and me pull the cork on Howard’s 1998 Cascina Francia by Giacomo Conterno, which showed beautifully. I’ve recently tasted the 97 (at Jaynes courtesy John Greer) and the 99 (courtesy David Schacter): while the 99 was still way too tight and the 97 began to open up nicely only after extended aeration, the 98 was simply singing in my opinion.

*****

got a pocket full of nickles
a pocket full of dimes
going back to Watts
drink a little wine
come on
baby don’t you want to go
going back to LA
sweetest place I know

— Johnny Otis Show

“I was eating a tomato at teatime a few weeks ago, and I suddenly realized that Mummy is not dead at all… Papa spoke languages, climbed mountains. He was an adventurer. But Mummy was such a gifted person socially. She was a master of the understatement, an adventuress. And he was cold and dark, and she was warm and light. And I was “little Tony.” I was the steam when hot meets cold.”

- savage grace, 2007.