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Reviews by Grand Assault
Spectacular pop music.
Posted : 10 months, 1 week ago on 26 January 2009 06:13
(A review of Oracular Spectacular)Oracular Spectacular has to be regarded of one of the greatest albums of 2008. This is the first full length studio offering from Brooklyn-based indie band MGMT. This 2008 release contains ten tracks, several tracks of which are lifted from the 2005 Time to Pretend EP. The album versions of these tracks were modernised and reproduced to achieve a more energetic and flowing sound - much to the chagrin of some of their fan base. MGMT (Formerly The Management) burst onto the scene almost purely because of the radio-friendly nature of some of the songs on the album. Tracks like Time to Pretend, Kids and Electric Feel were not only international radio successes, but also ensured that MGMT became the most listened to artist of 2008 on the online music documenting site Last.fm. Personally, I still find these three songs just as infectious as I did first time around and could never get tired of them. They're the strongest aspect of Oracular Spectacular. Their sound has been described as 'the brit-pop version of Muse' in the musical press, but a combination of outlandish videos and bohemian live performances have seen them labelled more regularly as a 'psychedelic pop' band. If MGMT can ever overcome the stigma of having achieved the NME Best Album of 2008 award, then who knows what they could achieve in the coming years. Bring on the anthems!  2 comments, Reply to this entry
Down and out
Posted : 10 months, 1 week ago on 24 January 2009 06:23
(A review of The Outsider)As a DJ Shadow fan I was literally salivating over the prospect of another release from the Californian mixmeister. When approaching the release of The Outsider I was already so desperate that I'd downloaded a pre-release leak of the album and almost instantly regretted it. I thought that, as some form of musical protection, the leak was filled with dummy tracks that resembled nothing of what was to come with the official release. I deleted the leaked version and waited until a few days after The Outsider had hit the shelves before I went back to the internet to claim yet another free copy. Imagine my horror when the tracks were the same as the leak. I even tried a few more sources to quadruple check that I really was listening to a DJ Shadow record - a fear that was finally confirmed when a house mate purchased the hard copy. It was a chronic disappointment. The Outsider begins with an 'intro' track that is typically Shadow. It's energetic and bombastic and it gears you up for a sublime listening experience. But then it all goes wrong. Shadow has clearly been influenced by the local rap music artists near his home town and as a result, they feature prominently on the recording. I'd heard rumours that this album was going to be 'mostly rap' but I didn't care. I'm not someone who hates rap music just because it's rap music, and I expected to be fully re-educated in the genre by the samples that Shadow would pick for his third studio release. However, the final product is truly abysmal. The rap is extremely weak, diluted and completely uninteresting to listen to. A real disappointment. Shadow defended The Outsider by saying that he never intended to remake Endtroducing over and over again. Fair enough, but as a fan I didn't expect that either. You don't work that hard to stay in the same place, but he has a distinctive sound. His personal studio albums and countless collaborations all bring intelligent samples and slamming beats to the table. In The Outsider these trademarks are almost completely absent and his signature mixing drowned out by some street-urchin throwing slang over a poppy backbeat. It's almost as if he has tired of using samples and paying royalties to the original artist and decided to produce some third-rate local rap musicians just to haul in some money for himself. I don't think people expected a re-release of Endtroducing, but they did expect a DJ Shadow record. 3 comments, Reply to this entry
Another non-stop powermix!
Posted : 10 months, 1 week ago on 24 January 2009 05:44
(A review of The 4-Track Era: Volume 1)The 4-Track Era: Volume 1 is an enlightening listening experience of the highest order. I'm not sure what the origins are of these releases, but what I do know is that hardcopies are extremely difficult to find. I wouldn't expect to see it in a music shop any time soon because it's such a limited release. After a quick search on eBay I see that copies of Volume 1 alone (I think there are three volumes) are going for between £25-60 already. In fact, the 4-Track bundle doesn't even have a wikipedia page yet. But fear not Shadow fans, this is what internet piracy is for. I haven't read much into the history of these 4-Track era releases, so my assumptions are based purely on some of the voice recordings contained within the album. Essentially, this CD is comprised of two 40-minute seamless sessions performed by DJ Shadow on KMEL Radio. The recordings are from 1991 when Shadow was 19 years old and are built up from painstakingly prepared samples and hiphop breakbeats. Shadow is renowned nowadays for for building memorable melodies out of snippets of other people's songs, but this huge mix was crafted almost five years before the release of Endtroducing - an album which propelled him to critical acclaim. I can only imagine how difficult it must've been to record and remix his samples with the equipment at his disposal in '91, but what is perhaps more impressive that he was given the opportunity to broadcast music from such a fledgling genre on national radio. There are samples here that you will recognise and others you wont, but he doesn't depend on mashing as many popular tunes together as he can (a la Girl Talk) in a short space of time. He builds a massive composition that continually evolves and changes direction to become a work of art on its own. I never called myself a fan of hiphop music (although I'm a massive DJ Shadow fan), but that may be because I never really knew what it was. If there is hiphop music out there that sounds as immediately satisfying as this, then I'm truly converted. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Assembly
Posted : 10 months, 3 weeks ago on 11 January 2009 06:55
(A review of Assembly)Assembly is a war film with a difference in that it does not follow the events of the Second World War. It portrays the events of the Chinese Civil War in the post-1945 battles. The opening scene is a blinder, and throws you into a bloody street battle with blood and dismemberment coming at you from all angles. However from this memorable opening scene, it is all downhill. The general in charge of the opening attack is then given a mission to defend an old mine from enemy attack - right down until the last man. The mine is of no military importance but serves as the flank for the main land army involved in the conflict. General Gu Zidi is told that he must remain at the mine until he hears the Assembly bugle call from down the valley which will signify their retreat. With just under 50 weary men, a defensive perimeter is established and the company repel wave after wave of enemy attack. Their numbers dwindle rapidly, to the extent that some men claim to have heard the trumpet call. Gu ignores these claims and ends up the only human being to survive the battle. Up to this point the action was spectacular. The film seems to be shot with a saturated pallet in which everything is grey, dead and dreary coloured. The men fight with unwavering zeal and this makes the battle scenes all the more realistic. But then the film takes a turn for the more mundane as Gu spends the rest of the movie trying to prove that his platoon were ever on the hill in the first place. The mine has been reactivated after the war and the dead are buried deep beneath tonnes of coal. He makes it his personal mission to recover their identities and grant his men official government recognition. I've no doubt that - if this really is a true story - then Gu's exploits would have been desperate and fraught with sadness and frustration. However, these emotions don't really come across in the film as the years progress rapidly and you often get lost in the time scale. Gu's actions are of a man possessed with recovering honour for people who deserve nothing but, yet every other character or his own periods of down time are simply tiring and uninteresting to watch. What started off as an intense action film sadly petered out into a predictable and uninteresting ending, which was regretful considering the natural skill the director possessed for depicting epic wartime battles. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Indigènes
Posted : 10 months, 3 weeks ago on 11 January 2009 06:33
(A review of Days of Glory)Days of Glory offers a refreshing new viewpoint into the events of World War II. It tells the story of indigenous troops drafted from French-owned African territories in order to fight for the freedom of the French motherland from Nazi occupation. The troops are almost completely unskilled in battle techniques and are completely unprepared for war. It wouldn't be too unfair to suggest that they are used merely as cannon fodder in the opening battles in Italy. The men who survive are sent to the front and into France itself. For many of the troops this is the first time that they have seen the country they have been drafted to protect. Each man continues to give his best, but despite striving for honourable goals, the African troops encounter nothing but racism from their European French colleagues. Constantly overlooked for promotion and outcast from their fellow Allied soldiers, the indigenous troops even receive worse food, drink and leave time as they continue to fight against Nazi Germany. One soldier is even depicted fighting in the snow covered countryside still wearing African-style sandals. The performances from the African troops in this film are extremely believable and endearing. Their personal leader, Abdelkader is a budding intellectual who consistently battles the injustice faced at the hands of the French higher order. He guides three others through to the bitter end as the Indigenous troops take on a mission that claims to offer great personal glory. If anything, you will finish this film with a very bitter taste in your mouth, as the final credits point out that African soldiers have continually been neglected the same war pensions as French soldiers by successive governments. I certainly learned something new whilst watching and felt a particularly strong attachment to all characters involved. 1 comments, Reply to this entry
Medic!
Posted : 10 months, 3 weeks ago on 11 January 2009 06:11
(A review of Saints and Soldiers)Saints and Soldiers follows a small group of men who escape from a botched German massacre at Malmedy in Belgium. The unit of four men persevere through the frozen wastes of the Belgian countryside in a bid to reconvene with Allied lines. Their task is hindered even more by the fact that they only possess one rifle and four rounds of ammunition. Tentatively, they make their way through snow-covered forests in constant fear of detection and extermination at the hands of the weather. Each of the soldiers brings his own unique slice to the overall personality pie, and it was this factor that grated on me the most. The medic is an ultra-pessimist, their 'sniper' is a man haunted by his accidental killing of innocent children, the commanding officer is an all-round normal guy, whilst the fourth and final member of the team is utilised as clumsy comic relief. The four men are eventually joined by a British pilot who crash landed with top secret information and he acts up to the British stereotype with flamboyant overacting. Once I'd realised the characters were all so specifically designated these 'unnatural' roles, I almost completely lost interest in them. They are the major weak spot of the entire film. The scenery is consistently amazing, and there is some great imagery of blood, and the red cross against white snowy backgrounds. The combat is fairly scarce on the ground until the finale of the film, by which time the absurdity of the situation clouds your judgement on just how believable the fighting can be enacted. The side plot of this film dealing with the spiritualism of 'Deacon', the troubled sniper, and his unwavering faith in God is kind of the icing on the cake. It just doesn't go anywhere, and it leads to nothing. In all, what started off as a promising film was severely let down by the ridiculous roles the major characters were scripted to perform. Including a fat clumsy soldier with accompanying 'butt of all jokes' music was too much to swallow and decimated the atmosphere of the film. A real shame. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Zvezda
Posted : 10 months, 3 weeks ago on 11 January 2009 04:16
(A review of The Star)The Star is a well executed, Russian-made war film directed by Nikolai Lebedev. The film derives its title from the codename used by a team of Soviet Scout troops during World War II. 'Star' are sent behind German lines to gather intelligence on German armour and troop movement during Operation Bagration, near the Polish border. The story begins with a Soviet outpost under artillery attack. The next day a meeting is called and it is proposed that the Red Army send another scouting patrol across the lines to report back on Nazi front-line activity. Two previous patrols have already been sent and contact with both units has been lost. Two soldiers remain from a veteran scouting unit and are reinforced with several other recruits of varying competency. There is no real time for introductions and the usual bravado and hostility that usually pervades this type of 'meeting' scene is completely absent, which was a refreshing change. The scout leader, Travkin, is a reserved individual who effortlessly instils faith and discipline in those around him and commands empathy from the viewer. He is helped by an extremely youthful complexion which serves as a constant reminder of how hopelessly wasted the youth were during the conflict. The Star team rapidly gels to the extent where you begin to think of them as a single entity, with each man ready to face certain death in the hope of overall victory. Set behind enemy lines, the film is stuffed with extremely intense scenes and moments of nervous confrontation. The undercover unit are experts of stealth and subterfuge, but must regularly go beyond their comfort zone in search for prisoners to interrogate or a more tactically relevant location. The combat scenes involving Star are relatively sparse to begin with, though their skirmishes always convey the sense of pressure that is suffocating the team at all times. Bigger battles are shot from interesting angles and are generally well choreographed, though what separates this film from many others in the genre is that most of the action is not derived from the all-guns-blazing battles. The film isn't devoid of faults. There is a generally dismal love story between the chief scout and a new radio operator recruit (she only saw him briefly ride past on a horse and she was deeply in love from that point on), and the casting of a young, scared and perpetually liable translator is a generic one that we've seen before, it seems there's a guy like this in every unit in World War II. But neither of these detract enough from the film to make it any less brilliant. The only other Russian war film that I could compare this to is 9th Company, and this film is much more favourable. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
The family business
Posted : 11 months ago on 1 January 2009 10:36
(A review of Akron/Family)I picked up Akron/Family on a whim whilst searching around for anything remotely 'folky and weird'. That was about a year ago now, and I remember the album being an instant hit. I had it on repeat a fair few times back then and regarded it as a solid album. It's only recently that I've given it more patience though and listened to it more intently, rather than relegating it to a background accompaniment. The album begins as an incredibly serene and laid back piece of music and maintains the theme throughout. The opening tracks amble along at a very relaxed pace and each of the first four songs would make an excellent ambient soundtrack on their own, even without the vocals. The vocals themselves are something that I guess you either love or hate. At times they are noticeably whiny or too high pitched, other times they are completely essential and emotional, but overall they don't grate on me at all. I've heard some other Akron/Family songs and this album seems a lot less spontaneous and energetic than some later recordings, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! The band members are multi-instrumentalists, so expect a mixture of sounds ranging from gently strummed guitars to 80s sounding keyboards and swirling electro noise. I do have a favourite song on the album - Running, Returning, which just stuck out as much more 'wholesome' and upbeat than the rest of the album, but I feel bad about picking out a single track because the entire record is a listening experience in itself. I think it's fair to say that Akron/Family has grown on me over time as well, even though I appreciated it from the very beginning. In fact, as I sit here in bed at 4:30am, basking in the glare of my laptop screen, I think I've just fallen in love with the album all over again. 1 comments, Reply to this entry
Promised but didn't deliver.
Posted : 11 months, 1 week ago on 26 December 2008 07:34
(A review of Eastern Promises)The recent David Cronenberg/Viggo Mortensen partnership has spawned two films and Eastern Promises is the one I saw first. It was really a case of not having any solid expectations, but literally thinking that a disappointment was not mathematically possible from this director/actor combination. I was very surprised how lowly I had to rate this film at the end. Eastern Promises is a rare cinematic look at the Russian mob involvement in London. After the tragic death of a 14-year-old prostitute during childbirth, the midwife attending, Anna (Naomi Watts), finds a diary amongst her personal effects. Seeking to translate the Russian scribbles, she approaches the owner of a Trans-Siberian restaurant, the address of which she also finds in the diary. At first charming, the restaurant owner agrees to help the midwife, though her uncle (conveniently Russian/Eastern European) urges caution and inexplicably bombards her with verbal abuse when she approaches him for help. During her visits to the restaurant, Anna attracts the unwanted attention of another Russian, Nikolai, (Viggo Mortensen) a driver for the family that own the restaurant. Mortensen's performance throughout the film is a highlight, conveying a realistic detachment and unflappable persona whilst conveying his duties as both a professional driver and seedy undertaker who deals with the more morbid aspects of body disposal for the Russian crime family. It is rapidly revealed that the restaurateur is actually the head of the vory v zakone crime syndicate and his charming demeanour dissolves when he ruthlessly threatens Anna with violence if she continues to follow up her interest in the diary (which implicates members of his family in the young prostitute's illegal trafficking, pregnancy and ultimately, death). A sub plot follows Nikolai and his ongoing induction into the upper echelons of the vory v zakone. He is the unofficial bodyguard of Kiril (Vincent Cassell), the reckless and petulant son of the restaurant owner. Nikolai is eventually granted the honour of full induction into the syndicate (via the addition of star tattoos) in a prestigious ceremony. A positive aspect for this film, apart from the performance of Viggo Mortensen in general, is that a completely unpredictable twist still managed to catch me off guard. However, the rest of the film didn't provide anything profound enough to call it a favourite. Again, little time is spent on any character development, meaning we only really get to know a little bit about Nikolai's personality. Vincent Cassell (as much as I dislike him) is a competent actor, who I felt was underutilised throughout the whole film. Naomi Watts grated on me from the get-go with a London accent that flushed my cheeks with embarrassment whenever I heard her talk. I just don't think I've heard any resident of The Big Smoke speak with such an unnatural accent, and framed against the impressive Mortensen and his realistic Eastern drawl makes it even more difficult to wonder how she got away with it. The film, like A History of Violence, will be predominantly remembered for one single scene of realistic and astonishing violence, only this time Viggo is naked during the brawl for some extra shock value. Ultimately the ending feels kind of ambiguous and completely unfulfilling as Cronenberg once again bends over backwards to make it all fit into a short 90ish minute timespan. At the end, I was disappointed. 1 comments, Reply to this entry
Cronenberg + Mortensen = Disappointment
Posted : 11 months, 1 week ago on 26 December 2008 06:36
(A review of A History of Violence)I always give David Cronenberg the benefit of the doubt thanks to his 1986 sci-fi masterpiece The Fly, but with that benefit comes a certain degree of expectation that he will deliver a great film. Coupled with Viggo Mortensen - an actor you can generally expect a decent performance from - you have a duo that can't really fail to deliver an entertaining film. At least that's what I thought. A History of Violence follows Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) as he goes about his unassuming and modest life working in a diner. He lives in a nice house and has a loving caring family and the film goes to great lengths to rub in just how perfect (yet modest!) his existence is, before one fateful day. About to close up one night, his diner is harassed by two small-time criminals who threaten to execute one of his employees. In a moment of adrenaline fuelled violence, Mortensen's character saves the day and waxes his would be assailants. The ensuing TV coverage elevates him to hero status amongst the quiet townspeople, but he still tries to shy away from the press coverage. Unfortunately, this exposure also brings him to the attention of a Mafioso from out of town, who is certain that Tom is not who he claims to be. His life is then predisposed with sinister interactions with Ed Harris' character, which culminate in another explosive display of violence as Tom attempts to protect himself and his family from the gangster threat. The movie fails to break through the 'average' barrier because of several different reasons. From the moment Ed Harris' mobster rolls into town you know for a fact that Tom isn't who he says he is. There is never really any chance that this could be a case of mistaken identity, or a revenge killing for the two crooks who bungled the robbery days before. From then in it is a fairly predictable affair. Secondly, the movie does have some exceptionally cheesy moments - particularly every scene involving Tom's son, Jack. Jack is bullied at school for the most obscene reason (he caught a baseball during a game of baseball) and rapidly transforms to a snivelling victim into a fightin' machine when he is pushed too far. The high school scenes don't really appear realistic at all, and I think that lets the film down - Jack probably could've been edited out of the entire picture without any great detriment to the plot. Come the end of the film, it's difficult to really empathise with Tom after he has admitted his despicable past, but the ending itself is also a severe anticlimax. At the end of the day, A History of Violence will be remembered for a particularly brutal scene where Tom defends himself from the mob on his front lawn. Nothing else is really memorable enough, particularly the characters. I honestly thought from the DVD description on the box that I would be left mildly scarred from the watching experience and that it would be difficult to re-watch the film because of profound violence or wrecked lives (in a similar way that American History X or Requiem for a Dream are difficult to watch over again). Instead it seems Cronenberg has just gone for a bitesize film that compromises integrity in order to fit into the magic 90 minute timespan that many Hollywood films seem to strive for these days. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
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