Style Vs Content

The film 127 Hours by Danny Boyle is composed of two major elements, style and acting. In previous films Boyle has proved his ability to take oddball scripts and make them compelling to diverse audiences as in the case of 28 Days Later. This film however is a 90 minute experiment of style over content. Danny Boyle has done well with a script which lacks character development and plot .

A majority of movies have been based on previously published material since the dawn of popular film. This film based on the real life memoir Between a Rock and a Hard Place makes its audience wonder why it needed to be told in movie form? In real life the character played by James Franco was Aron Ralston. Ralston was climbing in the mountains of Utah and his arm became trapped between a boudler and a canyon. He was trapped for four days with barely any water or food, assuming he would die he videotaped his farewells until he was finally able to cut off his own arm with a pocketknife. No one can doubt that those events are both harrowing and compelling but is it enough to sustain an entire feature film?

Boyle pads at least 35 minutes of his film with stylized filler. This isn't to say that this is bad filler. There are some great techniques being used here. The split screen method is used throughout this movie and it looks great. The shots of the natural surroundings and underground lakes are really vivid and beautiful too. Though there seems to be a lot of unneccessary dream sequences full of teenage partying and underdeveloped character background that despite the use of color and music, don't really do much for the film. It also seems that the lack of content is made up for with obvious symbolism such as kitschy 70's song paired with a vintage soda commercial: we get it, he's thirsty and he isn't going to give up. Every audience member knows what this movie is about and all the filler is just stalling the inevitable moment, when is he going to cut his arm off? How gross is it going to be? It's clear that the director knew nobody cared about this guy's personal life, just the rubbernecking moment where he cuts his own arm off so why bother developing the rest?

James Franco's acting range is simply not strong enough to pull this kind of story off. For a film that spends so much time focused on his face, his expressions never change, only the makeup shows his fatigue. Franco also never physically addresses the fact that his hand is in a momentus amount of pain, his choices lead the viewer to think that his trapped appendage is nothing more than a pesky piece of equipment. Several times he calls out for help and yet it never really affects the audience. The script spends so much time developing the character's video diary and yet it just seems like Franco's youtube blog. Not a single moment of this film elicits the feeling that Franco's choices are genuine, therefore be prepared to bring your own sense of horror to this realistic nightmare.

From Canada with Love

Long time Lollapalooza performers, Stars released a new album right before this summer's festival. The album is the first full CD the band has recorded in almost three years since their last release In Our Bedroom After the War (2007). Stars fans will find this new album titled The Five Ghosts distrubuted by Vagrant records, which is a change from their usual Canada based Arts-Crafts Records. The reason for the depart from Arts-Crafts is because Stars have started their own label Soft Revolution, however with their label they can only distribute in Canada. All international distribution will go through Vagrant, there are not hard feelings from either the band or former Arts-Crafts which still hosts other Broken Social Scene artists such as Feist.

Fans of the early albums such as Nightsongs (2001) will probably hate this new album as much as they hated the last album. The simple problem here is that this band has changed their sound over the decade. Even from Nightsongs to Heart (2003) the band made several evolutionary changes to their sound. The sometimes clubbish music developed into more emotionally relevant popsongs spawning the popular single Elevator Love Letter. Stars seemed to exploit this ability to pen catchy romance songs which can recall artists like Captain and Tennille. The band reached a sort of just-beneath-the-surface level of popularity with Set Yourself on Fire (2004). This album showed the band's ability to not only produce great pop music but also deepen it with striking, storytelling lyrics quite evident in the song Your Ex Lover is Dead. Stars really offended long time fans with their 2007 released In Our Bedroom… because of just how radically different it sounded from anything released before. It took the pop but left the deep lyrics.

Fans of their last album will love this new one. The first single Fixed has even gotten moderate radio plays on top 40 stations which always seems to offend indie music listeners. Again, the pop sound is here and its not necessarily all bad, its just the lyrics that are lacking. The voices are excellent but often singing lyrics that make you cringe. Memorably uncomfortable lyrics such as "you only sold me ecstasy so you could have some sex with me but I don't want your body," kind of make you wonder if the band members are pushing middle age why are they still singing about life as a twenty year old? There are good songs on this album, make no mistake of that, but there are at least three throw-aways. This is an album that makes great use of the iTunes a la cart purchasing option. The good songs on this album are amazing, and remind listeners of some of the better 80s pop without overdoing it like some current indie acts. Stars are masters of their genre.

For those who see Stars live, they will not be disappointed by the band's show. If you see this band play out, you will never forget it. Their stage presence is undeniable. They combine the theatrical and the showmanship that too many bands these days lack. Seeing Stars perform is akin to falling in love, they deliver the buzz that reminds us of a great first date. Download: The Passenger, The Last Song Ever Written.

A Classic Comes Home...Again

Les Miserables has almost as many recorded soundtracks as years running. The Cameron Mackintosh company has released a new live recording of the 25th Anniversary production of Les Miserables written and composed by Boublil and Schonberg. This is not to be confused with the new Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert DVD due out this month. The new two-disc collection of the classic musical numbers features current West-End actors as well as original cast members. Some might wonder with the abundance of soundtracks to this iconic musical, why another? This soundtrack is to be listened to as the companion to the newly orchestrated 25th Anniversary tour running in England and the U.S. also known as the 'Dream the Dream' tour. What this new soundtrack has to offer is a much bigger sounding orchestra that moves its listeners almost as much as the singing actors. For those familiar with the original cast recordings from the 1980s, in comparison to some of the modern musicals of today, find it can often sound a little dated and underblown, not the case with this new cast. The voices of Marius played by Gareth Gates and Fantine played by Madalena Alberto are among the stand-outs, truly taking the music and their characters to a more realistic place. 'One Day More' always a hair raising favorite sounds better than ever as well as the newly popular 'I Dreamed A Dream'. Another thing Les Mis fans will appreciate about this new CD is that like its predecessors, one can listen to the entire show and reimagine the stirring musical as all the dialogue spoken and sung are here but without those small breaks between tracks. It’s a much smoother, uninterupted listen. Les Mis collectors will want to own the hard copy of this soundtrack for its handsome presentation and booklet full of images and lyrics from the new production. Catch the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary tour at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago running through February 27th.