Alejandro Jodorowsky is kinda like Terry Gilliam, but with more psychedelic’s and more spiritualism. His film’s always inspire me. and are like taking something that effects the synapse of the mind. He evokes moods with his use of metaphors and colors and his outlook on politics and religion have always been cleverly disguised, but sometimes blatantly obvious, in a kaleidoscope of smoke and mirrors and it is because of this,  I imagine, that producers in Hollywood will not take a chance on him. Hell, John Lennon had to front his own money to get Alejandro’s psycho-western El Topo played in NYC, back in the seventies, but that should tell you something about the man’s gift for film making. The Dance of Reality is written by Alejandro Jodorowsky, but produced by donations from his fans. I don’t think he even did the Kickstarter thing, he just posted a video and the necessary people got wind and that was it. Hear that Zach Braff? When your talented, they will remember. The Dance of Reality (La Danza de la Realidad) has the same feel as his 80′s film Sante Sangre, but it’s no less intriguing. His use of colors and symbols are a welcome site in this world of mediocrity. Being that we are now just seeing the trailer, I’m guessing that it might’ve premiered before the recent Cannes submission Jodorowsky’s Dune (A documentary that talks about Jordorowsky’s most ambitious endeavor, that never was). Hopefully you’ll see this trailer and want to know more about this brilliant film maker.

The Dance of Reality is an independent film written and directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky, and based on his autobiography of the same name. The film blends Jodorowsky’s personal history with metaphor, mythology and poetry, reflecting the director’s view that reality is not objective but rather a “dance” created by our imaginations: “The story of my life is a constant effort to expand the imagination and its limitations, to capture its therapeutic and transformative potential… An active imagination is the key to such a wide vision: it looks at life from angles that are not our own, imagining other levels of consciousness superior to our own.” The film has been described as “surrealistic”.

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Glittery indie-pop is at an all time high. It’s on the radio, it’s topping the charts, and it’s in our brains. Bands like Metric, Lights, and Of Monsters and Men are some of the bigger names of musicians that control this genre. What’s even more interesting is that there is such a large geographic area that this music is popular in. Metric is American, Lights is Canadian, and Of Monsters and Men is from Iceland of all places. Now this rule doesn’t apply to all areas of the world, but the next band featured in our “Underground Mondays” segment originates from Peru.  Now based in the great New York City, The Soon-Another contains that indie-pop structure while pulling from their Peruvian roots, which is noticeable in tracks like, “Hogar”. They label themselves are ‘synth-rock’, but I’d argue both genres are applicable.

The band has recently released the album, Autodidact, which is a perfect title for this solid album. The word means to pretty much “teach yourself”, and although these musicians feel formally trained, the tracks presented on this album feel from the heart and gracefully original. Opening with the track, “Like You Like”, the clapping kick starts an adrenaline rush. What I noticed from the get-go is how spot on the harmonies are. The two musician’s vocals blend very well even with the range of the two almost being the same. The next track, “The Garden”, reminds me closely of the infamous iPhone song, “You, Me and the Bourgeoisie”, by the Submarines. It’s a great throwback and although I could never remember the name of that Submarines’ song, I don’t need too anymore because I have The Soon-Another instead.

Three tracks that caught my eye and made me want to return to this album were “Life is Too Short To Suck”, “Empty Space”, and “Time Work”. The entire second half of this album is absolutely killer. The hooks feel fresh, the songs are upbeat and natural, and not too mention “Empty Space” is easily one of the most fun songs I’ve heard in 2013. I also found the “Peace Sells…” influenced bass line amusing in “Time Work”. Ironically, the Megadeth riff fits very well for a genre that is on the complete other end of the musical spectrum. Another great track that only really hit me at the end was “Institutionalized”. I found it had too much of a Queen influence for me, but the minimalist ending and xx sound really fit my style. Less “Bohemian Rhapsody” and more xx and they’d have a contender for song of the year.

Autodidact has a great sound. The appearance of the album artwork presents a wonderfully colorful cast, while the setting is quite bleak. The words are also extremely rigid and harsh, but musically, this album is very opposite. It’s accessible, fun, and dynamic enough for anyone who’s usually the first to turn off any top 40 indie-rock. Surprisingly, the only track I didn’t like was the self-titled, “Autodidact”. I mean, it’s one of the best names for an album in a long time, but the song felt forced to me. The vocalist has this awkward singing-rap thing going on and it didn’t really work. I like the tempo and beat, but it didn’t fit in to the concept of the fresh synth-pop album. The chorus is actually very catchy with it’s repetitive lyrics so I liked that.

Overall, Autodidact, is an exciting release from a rising band. Their sound fits the key points that all big time bands today contain. The killer vocals, the catchy hooks, and the great melodies are a must for any band wanting to make a living off of music. Now most musicians who have that ‘it’ sound gave up any integrity they had when they were presented with a contract, but The Soon-After seemed to have kept it with this release. The songs are fun, to the point, and are re-listenable. The fact that the band can change dynamics in one song that is even more intense than “Bohemian Rhapsody” is quite respectable. I sense that was the influence behind the track, but nonetheless I’d listen to “Institutionalized” any day over that Queen song. Props to The Soon-After for this wonderful release! Anyone looking for a great summer/fall album should check out Autodidact; or if you’ve ever considered giving synth-pop a listen, be sure to add this to your list. I know I’ll be listening as time passes.

Be sure to buy their album from their bandcamp here

Feel free to stream Autodidact thing here: 

Here’s the video for the opener, “Like You Like”:

As the days become closer to the release of The National’s new album, Trouble Will Find Me, lead singer Matt Berninger has released an upsetting statement;

“The band has almost ended here and there. I think we got past a lot of the ways it could have ended and ended badly. I think we got through those dark times– just relationship issues, and frustration, and anxiety, and exhaustion, and tempers. [R.E.M.’s] Michael Stipe always used to say, Remember that you were friends first. We had to remind ourselves of that. I don’t know how long is healthy to be a rock band. We’ve been on for almost 14 years, so another five years might be too much. We’re actually at a better place with each other than we’ve ever been. I don’t think our band would end with an acrimonious situation any more. I think we’ve learned to love and respect each other now and we’re kind of past all that stuff. I don’t know if that means we’ll stay a band for a lot longer– but for a little while, at least.” (In an interview with Hayden from The Grid)

Hopefully we’ll here an album or two or even get to see a great tour before they call it quits. The National are playing an extensive late summer/fall tour across North American and some European dates in 2013.

Be sure to read our review of Trouble Will Find Me here

Watch the official release of the song, “Demons”, as well 

DAVID BOWIE-THE NEXT DAY

The Next Day is like David Bowie’s ode to Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” video only this is ten times more insane and it features Gary Oldman and Marion Cotillard whereas “Like A Prayer” only featured LEON. You remember…that guy from Cliffhanger who got impaled on an icicle.

THE NATIONAL-SEA OF LOVE

This week Brooklyn based indie cats The National released their new album “Trouble Will Find Me” and to commemorate the release of their first single/video “Sea of Love” the band pays homage to the band that started the whole “put a strange kid in your videos dressed like you playing an instrument (fake or real) and they will come”…that’s right, I’m “talking” about “Talking Heads” and their 1983 single “Burning Down the House” .

THE DREAM-IV PLAY

Seriously who doesn’t love The Dream. I am always tickled shitty when he releases tracks, although they never get radio play, there’s no denying the quality and catchiness. He’s really an underrated artist in our times, but that’s not going to stop him from putting out tracks like this one. This here is some babay-making music!!

MIKAL CRONIN-CHANGE

I kinda just stumbled across Mikal Cronin and was immediately hooked. He reminds me of some of the lighter pre- grunge bands, some who went to stardom and some who didn’t. I’m pretty sure that this guy would have made it back then, cause he’s making it now and he’s all about transparency. You’ll see what I mean.

TELEKINESIS-EMPATHETIC PEOPLE

In researching Mikal Cronin, I came across Telekinesis, who are on the same Merge Records as Mikal Cronin. I’m starting to see a pattern with the artist on this label. At least with these two, who sound like the bands who were on Sub Pop’s label back in the nineties. Good stuff all around.

MAJOR LAZER-ORIGINAL DON FEAT. THE PARTYSQUAD

Major Lazer‘s Diplo really does have a pretty open approach when it comes to allowing directors to express themselves. It sure as hell makes for some pretty fun viewing. This song is very powerful, and you know what’s even more powerful? A teenager twirling a eight foot scimitar in front of her elderly grandmother. Let the hilarity ensue.

CREEP-ANIMALS FEAT: HOLLY MIRANDA
Witch House duo, do we still call it Witch House? CREEP enlists the help of vocalist Holly Miranda on this Vampire-thumpin tune. Holly’s got some crazy creepy skills in this video, but not enough to be turned off by, but strangely enough, I am turned on. Does that make me weird?

I guest the theory here is if you show us enough new footage we won’t remember what we saw when the movie comes out? Okay…I’m on board, this latest trailer has a ton of new footage, that proves once more, that this film will be high fucking octane fun when it arrives!

Pacific Rim, starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi and Charlie Day, opens in 3D July 12th.

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

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Michael Giacchino has worn many hats as a composer. He’s laid down some amazing tunes for some equally amazing
films like The Incredibles, Star Trek, Super 8, but this gig will reunite him with Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Matt Reeves who directed Let Me In, a film that Michael composed. This this kind of catalog, there’s no doubt that Michael is the man for the job. This could even be a precursor to his involvement with the Star Wars franchise should the success of Dawn be something Biblical. The announcement was made on his twitter yesterday and since then fans of his haven’t been able to stop talking about it. I can’t say I loved or hated the previous composer, Patrick Doyle’s, work on ROTPOTA, but hiring Michael does seem to make more sense. Hey it’s a J.J. world.

It’s several months before Dawn of the Planet of the Apes arrives in theaters, but I think this news as was the recent announcement of the cast and plot of the new film, has rounded out the last bit of details we, as in those who are anticipating this film, have been waiting for. Perhaps some of you lucky folks will get a glimpse or at least a tease of the trailer at this years San Diego Comic Con. Cross your fingers dammit!!

The film stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Toby Kebbell, Enrique Murciano, and Judy Greer.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens on May 23, 2014.

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When screenwriter Paolo moves to a remote area of Connecticut to focus on his work, he’s not prepared to find love in the form of a vampire.

Kiss of the Damned is the 2012 vampire flick directed by Xan Cassavetes starring Josephine de La Baume as Djuna, Roxane Mesquida as Mimi, Milo Ventimiglia as Paolo, Anna Mouglalis as Xenia, and Riley Keough as Anne.

The first thing you feel when you’re watching Kiss of the Damned is a sense of fragmentation, of dislocation.  The style of film making adapted by writer/director Xan Cassavetes is reminiscent of films from the late 60s and 70s where quick cuts and economical editing were the norm.  If you’re not of a fan, consider this your out.  Kiss of the Damned is not for you.

For me, Kiss of the Damned is a welcome change from the high gloss, high budget – low substance films I’ve consumed as of late.  Sure, everything you know and love about vampire mythology is here: their tendencies, their strengths and weaknesses.  There is brutality and seduction.  There’s neck biting and late night feedings in the woods.  And, if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite – there are vampire orgies, too!

Cassavetes has drawn on inspiration found in older European films in the genre like Daughters of Darkness (one of my faves) to construct a world in which vampires remain cloaked in secrecy, attempting to leave their human-blood-sucking reputations behind them.

The result is a somber quality in Cassavetes vampires, one that is equally as seductive as it is dangerously patient; like a predator who – thanks to experience – knows all that is required of it is to wait.

What’s interesting about Cassavetes script is not the once-in-a-lifetime sort of romance that buds between Djuna and Paolo.  I found this aspect of the story a little mundane and pedestrian despite the chemistry between Ventimiglia and de La Baume.  Rather, it’s the importance Djuna places on finding a meaning to life, a reason to continue on through the expanse of eternity, that projects Kiss of the Damned to the near-top of my best-of vampire flicks list.  Well, that and its soundtrack.

Bold and confrontational, Kiss of the Damned has a score by Steven Hufsteter that is as large and important as its cast of characters.  Instrumental, rock, electronica all combine to create a sound that is as retro and unique as the film itself.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the soundtrack will be made available for download or purchase.

Made on a shoestring indie film budget, and released as a video on demand in services like Amazon and iTunes, Kiss of the Damned proves what can be done when the vision of the filmmakers is as strong as Cassavetes.  In Kiss of the Damned she has created a stylish, high-goth vampire film that feels new and yet vintage.  As I was watching it, I couldn’t let go of the feeling that this film could become a cult classic.  In fact, I’ve already pre-ordered the film on DVD.  But, I digress.

SPOILER ALERT!

There are downsides to the story.  The major conflict arrives in the package of Djuna’s little sister, Mimi, a vampire who refuses to quell her appetite for human blood.  Leaving a string of corpses in her wake, she arrives at Djuna’s doorstep and begins to raise all kinds of mischief.  She continues to indiscriminately kill humans, sure, but she also shimmies her way into Paolo’s pants creating a rift in the family.

As the only major tension in the film, this is the weak point.  Of course the vampires in the film are perpetually faced with the dilemma of living forever, of finding ways to stay alive, but they have caretakers and synthetic blood, homes with protective devices to keep them safe, and infinite resources.  It’s almost too easy for the characters in Kiss of the Damned.  

It’s my only real gripe about the film.

Milo Ventimiglia, who stars as the screenwriter sent to the countryside to focus on his work by his scumbag agent (Michael Rappaport), projects a steady, focused calm.  He is in complete control in the role as the singularly obsessed Paolo who will stop at nothing until he has Djuna.

Watch for newcomer Riley Keough (Jack and Diane, Magic Mike), who is Anne – a young virgin befriended by Mimi and brought as a sacrifice/bribe to the sorta-head-vampire, Xenia.  The part is small but pivotal to the subplots of Kiss of the Damned.

Retro in nature but strangely fresh, Xan Cassavetes Kiss of the Damned will delight fans of the vintage vampire horror genre and remind them why they started liking vampires in the first place.

]]> http://mitng.org/2013/05/15/will-kiss-of-the-damned-make-you-love-vampires-again/feed/ 0 kiss-of-the-damned-poster01 c taylor kiss-of-the-damned-poster01 Kiss-of-the-Damned kiss-of-the-damned-movie-poster-4 kinopoisk.ru kotdroxanneM kiss-of-the-damned-poster01 http://mitng.org/2013/05/14/trailer-for-michael-bays-black-sails-arrives-and-its-rated-rrrrrrrrr/ http://mitng.org/2013/05/14/trailer-for-michael-bays-black-sails-arrives-and-its-rated-rrrrrrrrr/#comments Tue, 14 May 2013 21:08:52 +0000 Jeffrey Lamar http://mitng.org/?p=11601 ]]>

So funny, I was just having this conversation with a friend of mine at work. We were both asking ourselves will anyone come out with a bonafide pirate movie without magic and bullshit? Then he emails me this trailer for a Micheal Bay produced pirate show that plans to air on STARZ. I watched it…I liked it, but here’s the rub, it comes out January 2014. Oh well, it’s not like a own a television anyway, no seriously I don’t own a television. The story seems to revolve around an island in the Caribbean where the worst of the worst pirates go about thier day to day, but then there’s some conspiracy and sex and rum, hold on here’s the official synopsis…

The eight-episode first season of the pirate adventure centers on the tales of Captain Flint and his men, and takes place twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic “Treasure Island.” Toby Stephens (Die Another Day) stars as Flint, the most brilliant and most feared pirate captain of his day, takes on a fast-talking young addition to his crew who goes by the name John Silver. Threatened with extinction on all sides, they fight for the survival of New Providence Island, the most notorious criminal haven of its day – a debauched paradise teeming with pirates, prostitutes, thieves and fortune seekers, a place defined by both its enlightened ideals and its stunning brutality.

I think the show looks fun, course they are selling it with the flesh and blood, but they’ve got some talent behind it, so here’s to hoping this one doesn’t get cancelled. Check out the poster for the show after the jump, it’s a clever take on the skull and crossbones.

The series was created by showrunner and executive producer Jon Steinberg (Jericho), and stars Toby Stevens as Flint and Luke Arnold as the young Silver. The eight-episode first season of Black Sails will premiere on Starz sometime in 2014.

Toronto based musician’s Keys and Krates have outdone themselves or should I say their director Ohji, has out done him/her or their selves. This trap style song is already large in itself, then you add this video that features animated covers from cheesy romance novels and you have what the French refer to as Au Gratin and that’s a good thing.

Keys N Krates formed in 2008 out of a desire to do something different. They wanted to take the remix/electronic sound out of the studio and onto the stage, creating a new live electronic experience. The Toronto-based trio – comprised of the high-energy Adam Tune on drums, synth-master David Matisse on keys, and internationally award-winning Jr. Flo on turntables – began by locking themselves in a rehearsal room for six months to create and finesse their unique sound and identity.

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Keys N Krates – Treat Me Right from Ohji on Vimeo.