Aden Dreams Of Pavement

Film, music, literature, and television reviews by Aden Jordan.

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What? No Four Sons?

I’m in almost complete agreement with OC Beer Blog founder Greg Nagel’s list of the ten best craft breweries in Orange County for Orange Coast Magazine.The only brewery that shouldn’t be on the list is TAPS, the over-priced, nearly fine-dining level restaurant in Brea. What should be in its place? Four Sons Brewery in Huntington Beach, which has something rare: excellent customer service in a small brewery. Their bartenders are friendly, efficient, and even bus their tables. Orange Coast might not have wanted to include an L.A. Kings-friendly brewery on their list.

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Not So HOT PURSUIT

In Anne Fletcher’s Hot Pursuit, Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara show just how significantly skilled performers can elevate a weak script. This buddy comedy was clearly influenced by Martin Brest’s Midnight Run, where Robert DeNiro played a stern ex-cop escorting a criminal Charles Grodin to testify against the mob. In Hot Pursuit, Witherspoon plays a by-the-book Texas police officer taking a mobster’s wife, played by Vergara, to Dallas for court testimony. Just like in Midnight Run, the cop and the criminal must work together to evade both mobsters and dirty cops. In addition to being unoriginal, the sweet and silly script is unorganized and almost plays out like a series of weak skits. Some of it works, and there is a memorable scene with Jim Gaffigan as a confused and angry redneck who shoots off one of his own extremities.

While the story is forgettable, Witherspoon and Vergara are actually great comedic actresses and have excellent rapport. Vergara has stellar timing, and a real strangeness in moving between English, Spanish, and complete verbal nonsense. The real surprise is Witherspoon, who sympathetically and believably plays a woman whose obsession with rules repeatedly keeps her from using common sense. Not only does Witherspoon nail a Texas accent, she also displays a lack of vanity by frequently wearing masculine outfits and generally making herself appear pathetic. Here’s to hoping that Witherspoon continues to utilize her comedic skills.

Grade: B-

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Netflix’s DAREDEVIL Is One of the Best Projects MARVEL Has Made

Netflix and Marvel Studios partnered up to create a television series based on Marvel’s superhero Daredevil, and the finished product ranks as one of the best superhero series ever. Charlie Cox plays Matt Murdoch, a blind attorney with heightened senses who also wears a mask at night to fight criminals in Hell’s Kitchen. Murdoch becomes increasingly aware of a criminal mastermind named Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’ Onofrio), who has a say in all large-scale crime in the Kitchen. With an assortment of allies including his law partner and secretary, as well as a caring nurse and an intrepid newspaper crime reporter, Murdoch sets out to take down Fisk.

Even more so than Marvel’s Winter Soldier, Daredevil is surprisingly influenced by seventies American cinema. Hell’s Kitchen on this show is the Kitchen of many decades ago, when crime was rampant and the location was not the colorful tourist spot it is today. Police corruption is pervasive on the show, and the one honest cop on the show even directly mentions not wanting to suffer the tragic fate of Sidney Lumet’s Serpico. Like Winter Soldier, Daredevil is also partly a paranoid conspiracy thriller as Murdoch and his friends team up with crime journalist Ben Urich (Vondie Curtis-Hall) to expose Fisk (Cue an overt reference to All the President’s Men). Murdoch’s conflicted Catholicism is also front and center on the show, frequently bringing to mind the work of Catholic New Yawker Martin Scorsese.

Daredevil also benefits from a uniformly strong cast. Cox is wholly believable as the gentle and kind-hearted Murdoch. For most of the series, his eyes are obscured by dark red sunglasses or a mask, and Cox is still able to convey a whole range of emotions. As the killer Fisk, D’Onofrio is both sympathetic and an over-the-top classic Hollywood villain. They receive excellent support from the always lovely Rosario Dawson as the decent nurse Claire, Elden Henson as comic relief Foggy Nelson, and Curtis-Hall as the unflappable Urich. 

Unlike most superhero movies or shows these days, Daredevil largely avoids CGI and instead opts for realistic fight scenes. A fight sequence filmed in a single take where the camera pans 360 degrees as Murdoch beats the shit out of a group of bad guys brought to mind both the original Oldboy and the recent It Follows. Unlike so many comic book projects, Daredevil shows an unpleasant side of violence and one with consequences. Murdoch is constantly having to be stitched up and resting up because he’s human, and punches leave bruises and broken bones. Will Marvel’s upcoming superhero films also be this realistic, gritty, and human? Not likely.

Grade: A-

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The Almost Return-to-Form of Modest Mouse

The artistic decline of Modest Mouse has been somewhat overblown. Their last album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, was a poppy rock album featuring former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and few shades of the angsty, unstable old Modest Mouse. While Marr is considerably talented, his polished and jangly guitar style never neatly meshed with MM’s discordant, purposely rough around the edges music. The album was a disappointment, and nearly eight years have passed since Modest Mouse has put out a full-length album. While the wait has been long, it’s mostly been worth it.

Strangers to Ourselves, the recent Modest Mouse record, is not quite a return-to-form for frontman Isaac Brock and his bandmates, but the album serves as a kind of overview of their best and past work. Their singles ‘Lampshades on Fire’ and ‘Ansel’ are reminiscent of their short and catchy tunes on Good News For People Who Love Bad News. Songs including ‘Wicked Campaign’ and ‘Be Brave’ bring to mind the strange and longing sounds of Modest Mouse’s masterpiece The Lonesome Crowded West. There’s also a kind of existential and environmental theme pervading the album as Brock describes humans trashing the Earth and then moving on to other planets to thrash on ‘Lampshades on Fire’, people scaring coyotes on ‘Coyotes’, and a man killing a wise tortoise for jewels on ‘The Tortoise & the Tourist’. While Brock’s view of people might be critical, he offers some hope for us all to change: “We won’t quit/We can’t quit/We just don’t quit”.

Grade: A-

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Comics, Movies, Crafts, etc. at WonderCon 2015

Comic-Con’s sister convention WonderCon returned to the Anaheim Convention Center this weekend for three days of comics, movies, crafts, and seemingly endless cosplay. This is the fourth year in a row that WonderCon has been held in Anaheim instead of its former location in San Francisco. WonderCon in Anaheim seems to get bigger every year, not only in terms of the crowds, but also with regards to what to see and do. This year there seemed to be significantly more independent artists selling cute and artsy prints and totes in addition to the mainstream publishing companies, indie comics industries, and pop culture fan art makers. Comics were the main event on the exhibit floor while movies and TV shows were big features at daily panels.

Crime comics got a lot of attention at panels on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, comic historian Jessica Tseang spoke with Darwyn Cooke, Fred Van Lente, Marc Andreyko, Phi Noto, and Steve Epting about working in crime comics and how their inherent realism differs from mainstream superhero comics. Cooke, the adapter of Richard Stark’s Parker novels, mentioned how he struggled to please Stark, aka Donald Westlake, until Westlake told Cooke to think of Parker just as someone doing a job and not a raving, violent man.

Later on Friday, the pilot episode of M. Night Shyamalan’s Wayward Pines was screened for a packed crowd. Despite having a massive cast (Matt Dillon, Shannyn Sossamon, Melissa Leo, Terrence Howard, Juliette Lewis, Toby Jones, Carla Gugino, Reed Diamond), the pilot felt both overly familiar and over-the-top where Dillon plays a secret service agent stuck in a nefarious Twin Peaks-inspired small town. Diamond was on hand for the Q&A and mentioned he read the books the show is based on. He also nicely indulged a fan by hinting he thinks he’ll make a future return to another program he’s on, Agents of SHIELD.

Another new show, The Last Man on Earth, had a panel on Friday which also included the premiere of an unaired episode. Star Will Forte sat on the panel along with showrunners Phil Miller and Chris Lord, who patiently answered many questions unrelated to the show (a lot of them had to do with their LEGO movie). Forte graciously did his Ted Turner impression for a fan before the panel ended.

The prolific writer Ed Brubaker sat on several panels on Saturday, and at each one he was pleasant, engaged, and insightful. His first panel focusing on Image Comics also featured Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, who modestly played down the significance of his comic series and show. Brubaker, Kirkman, and other panelists spent what felt like most of the panel praising David Lapham (also present), the creator of Stray Bullets, for inspiring them to make work outside of the superhero mainstream. 

Saturday also featured a video presentation and Q&A for FOX’s Gotham, which continues to be the worst new and popular show on television. Even the video presentation, a condensed edit of the show’s first season thus far, was dull and edited for short attention spans. Both the moderator and the fans who got to ask questions fell into the bad habit of addressing actors from the show as if they were addressing the performers’ characters. Ben McKenzie at least was charming.

Ed Brubaker also got a spotlight to himself on Saturday, which was never less than fun or informative. Brubaker was gracious and classy before his panel even got under way: chatting with fans and signing books for free. He took questions seriously without taking himself too seriously, and told an anecdote about introducing himself to Robert Redford while filming Winter Soldier and Redford being thrown off by Brubaker’s last name (which shares the title of a Redford film). Mr. Brubaker also offered fans some scattered yet cogent advice including: ‘if you want to become a good writer, become a good reader’, ‘work on the thing you feel you should be working on’, and ‘regret is for suckers’.

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This Week’s SoCal Film Screenings

The Frida in Santa Ana will be screening the excellent horror flick IT FOLLOWS and Kirby Dick’s sexual assault documentary THE HUNTING GROUND through Thursday. On Tuesday, they’ll be showing Jennifer Lopez in SELENA at 7 pm. This weekend, The Frida will begin their David Lynch marathon with MULHOLLAND DR. at 8 pm and ERASERHEAD at midnight on Friday. On Saturday, THE ELEPHANT MAN will screen at 1130 am and 230 pm, BLUE VELVET at 8 pm, and ERASERHEAD at midnight. 

http://thefridacinema.org/

At the Egyptian:

BLACK SUNDAY/BLACK SABBATH, Thursday at 730 pm.

WOMAN ON THE RUN/THE UNFAITHFUL, Friday at 730 pm.

DARK PASSAGE/THIS LAST LONELY PLACE, Saturday at 5 pm.

At the Aero:

LA STRADA/LUST FOR LIFE, Friday at 730 pm.

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, Saturday at 730 pm.

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/calendar/2015-04

At the New Beverly:

THE BLADE/KING OF BEGGARS, Tuesday at 730/940 pm.

RED ROCK WEST/RUN LOLA RUN, Wednesday/Thursday at 730/935 pm.

BOOGIE NIGHTS/TRAINSPOTTING, Friday at 730/1030 pm and Saturday at 630/930 pm.

http://www.thenewbev.com/

At Cinefamily:

A new restoration of TALES OF HOFFMAN will be screening through Thursday.

This weekend Cinefamily will hold a Hal Hartley marathon:

HENRY FOOL & FAY GRIM, Thursday at 730 with Hartley in person.

NED RIFLE, Friday at 8 pm with Hartley, Aubrey Plaza, and James Urbaniak.

TRUST & THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, Saturday at 7 pm with Hartley.

http://www.cinefamily.org/

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“It Follows”, We Scream

           There has beenan ongoing trend in contemporary horror where filmmakers seem to assume that the only way to be original in the genre is to make a film self-reflexive. Some of the recent horror flicks to go this route have included the wry, postmodern The Cabin in the Woods and the more light-hearted Tucker and Dale Versus Evil. Both films play on horror tropes while also making their presence manifest. The other recent, big trend in horror has been to film in the found footage style, an aesthetic that received some rejuvenation with the first Paranormal Activity film and has now been burnt out through endless copying in movies including Chernobyl Diaries and the ongoing Paranormal Activity franchise.

            Seemingly out of nowhere has come David Robert Mitchell’s indie horror It Follows, a highly original and creative movie that refreshingly avoids both self-reflexivity and the found footage aesthetic in building what should become a horror classic. The opening alone stands as a brilliant and disorienting piece of mounting dread. A young girl runs out of her suburban home in terror, constantly looking behind and around her. As she runs across the street and back into her house, the camera pans with her as the opening chords move jarringly between fuzzy synths and blistering cacophony. The girl drives to the beach and leaves a goodbye message to her parents. In the next abrupt cut she lies dead with her legs broken and mangled.

            The film then dives right into the mundane life of its heroine Jay (Maika Monroe), a pretty, decent young girl living with her sister Kelly (Lili Sepe) and aloof mother (Debbie Williams) in suburban Detroit. One night, Jay sleeps with Hugh (Jake Weary), and is told that he has passed a curse onto her through intercourse. Jay will be followed by a shape-shifting being that can take the form of anyone and will follow her until it kills her. She can pass the curse onto someone else, but if it kills the next person it will come after her again. The curse is nearly impossible to beat, which makes ‘it’ both a horrible situation for Jay and a thrilling high-concept premise for the viewer.

            There have been several recent American movies that have paid homage to the films of the 70s and 80s, especially ones by John Carpenter, and It Follows is both the best and one of the few firmly situated in horror. Last year’s Blue Ruin, The Guest (also featuring Monroe), and Cold in July all borrowed their repetitive, synth-heavy scores from Carpenter’s iconic musical style. The latter two films even made their tribute explicit by using the same type of easily recognizable font that Carpenter used in the credit sequences of his projects. While Blue Ruin and Cold in July are revenge films and The Guest is an action thriller, It Follows is pure 70s/80s horror, and Mitchell even alludes to another time period by placing old television sets in homes and having characters drive cars from previous decades. Interestingly, Mitchell further obscures when the story takes place by having one of Jay’s friends read off a futuristic, Kindle-like e-reader encased in a make-up case. Like with many 70s and 80s flicks (especially of the Spielberg variety), there is also an absent father in Jay’s home and the (perhaps ironic) conservative message that young kids who are sexually promiscuous will pay with their lives.

            Filmed in and around Detroit, It Follows is also surprisingly wise and sophisticated by horror standards. Until Jay is forced to go on the run from the curse and into Detroit proper, she and her suburban friends live aimlessly outside the ‘8 Mile’. As Jay is suddenly haunted, she also has to confront herself, her budding sexuality, and her complicated relationships with her envious sister and platonic friend Paul (Kier Gilchrist). That Mitchell is able to convincingly mount both a sympathetic indie drama and a cool and terrifying horror tale into one singular film is a testament to his skill.

Grade: A

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Father John Misty Completely Prevails Over the Sophomore Slump

Former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty returned this year with his sophomore album I Love You, Honeybear. The first FJM album, Fear Fun, was one of the best albums of 2012: an unforgettable splash of folk, rock, and alt-country. Tillman’s second album under the FJM moniker is also brilliant, and like on his debut Tillman’s lyrics are both funny and rather dark. He sings of choking an irritating lover, driving drunk, and having a one night stand where a woman almost overdoses. The lyrics on Honeybear are also surprisingly personal, and Tillman mentions his wife, Emma, by name and also references how they met at a liquor store on the finale “I Went To The Store One Day”. In the one major departure from FJM’s last LP, Honeybear is full of elaborate musical arrangements. For the most part this change still complement’s Tillman’s vocal style except on the electronics-heavy “True Affection”, a track that doesn’t smoothly fit with the rest of the album’s relationship-centered bittersweet folk. While Tillman might sing of depression, debt, and paranoia, he is ultimately an optimist as he sings on the title track: “But everything is fine/Don’t give into despair/’Cause I love you, Honeybear”.

Grade: A

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Talking Boxes: What’s Worth Following on TV

Andrew Jarecki’s The Jinx, an HBO documentary series on New York real estate scion Robert Durst, concluded last night with an explosive revelation. Jarecki’s masterful program, consisting of both interviews and minor re-enactments, will leave viewers questioning Durst’s innocence in the three murder cases he is connected to while still feeling pity for him. (Sundays, HBO 8 p.m.)

CBS is banking on Battle Creek, a police procedural developed from a script Breaking Bad creator Vince Gillgan wrote ten years ago. Gilligan is not involved in the show’s creation much other than serving as executive producer. The buddy-cop premise is far from original: a cynical small-town cop is partnered with an intuitive big-city FBI agent, and their cases so far have been typically ludicrous CBS fare. Disappointing results are a shame because the cast is interesting. With Dean Winters, Josh Duhamel, Janet McTeer, and Kal Penn. (Sundays, CBS 10 p.m.)

AMC’s The Walking Dead appears to be losing steam. Characters continue to get killed off for shock value more than anything else, and the storylines for this current season seem to pick and borrow from the previous seasons. AMC’s plans for a spin-off show add to the sense of exasperation. (Sundays, AMC 9 p.m.)

One of the most original half-hour shows is not on cable, but on network TV. FOX’s The Last Man on Earth follows the titular character Phil (Will Forte) as he navigates life in a depopulated world. Imagine I Am Legend as a comedy and without vampires. The show runs the gamut from funny to disgusting to disturbing and back. Watch it. (Sundays, FOX 9:30 p.m.)

Gotham continues to be the worst show on TV with a good cast (Ben McKenzie, Donal Logue). No changes there. (Mondays, FOX 9 p.m.) Better Call Saul, on the other hand, is better than it has any right to be. The tension, unpredictability, and some of the cast all recall Breaking Bad, but Saul is much lighter while still going to dark places. (Mondays, AMC 9 p.m.)

Those of us still mourning the late Elmore Leonard are very fortunate that Justified continues to be both a wry, high-stakes western noir and a fine homage to the source’s creator. My fear that that final season would focus more on supporting characters than lead Raylan Givens has been largely unfounded. (Tuesdays, FX 10 p.m.)

Workaholics is shameless and joyful slacker fun, and so is Broad City. (Wednesdays, Comedy Central 10 and 10:30 pm)

BBC’s Broadchurch is also refreshingly unpredictable while also avoiding shock value or using chronic death as a means to keep viewers on their toes.

Other shows this year that have been strong that have now concluded their recent seasons: Togetherness, Babylon, Portlandia.

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Following her EP collecting The Double EP: A Sea Of Split Peas, next week Australian musical artist Courtney Barnett will release her proper full-length debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit.

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Southern California Concert Updates

Washed Out, the artist responsible for the Portlandia theme music, will be DJing at the Wayfarer in Costa Mesa on March 6. Tickets are $16.50 to $20.

Andy Rourke, former bassist for The Smiths, will also be DJing at the Wayfarer on March 26. Tickets are $8 to $10.

TV on the Radio will be performing at the Observatory in Santa Ana on April 4. Tickets are $40.

[under-radar-mag]

On May 5, Best Coast will make their major label debut with California Nights.

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Sundance Channel's Excellent Babylon Comes To An End

The series finale of Sundance Channel's original comedy-drama Babylon aired this week as yet another strong program ended too soon. What is Babylon? Imagine The Thick of It or Veep if they were set in a London police headquarters instead of just the political arena, or perhaps more accurately imagine Brooklyn Nine-Nine if all of the characters were supremely cynical and angry and if there was more on the line than on FOX's amiable cop sitcom. Like Thick of It and Veep, insults fly swiftly and profanely as London police PR specialists verbally fight and uniformed cops physically clash with both criminals and each other. Unlike Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Babylon is supremely serialized so it's a comedy where there are both serious consequences and no easy resolutions. Sundance's show is also different from TTOI and Veep because in a subtle way the writing is interested in the difficulties police face when aiming to act morally under extreme and dangerous circumstances.

Danny Boyle is one of the show's creators along with Jesse Armstrong, Robert Jones, and Sam Bain, and Boyle's touch is all over the show. The recurring electronic score that pulses through the series recalls similar music from Boyle's 28 Days Later. Much like Boyle's Shallow Grave there is also an underlying humor and absurdity to the show even when violence erupts. Boyle's vision of the British as vulgar and selfish is also a refreshing antidote to television's obsession, via Downton Abbey, etc, with presenting Brits only as elegant and admirable.

The uniformly strong cast includes Brit Marling, James Nesbitt, and Nick Blood.

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Fred Tomaselli at OCMA.

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Dieter Roth at OCMA.

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Miranda July on the Alien She flag at OCMA.

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The Best Records of 2014

The Grammys are on tonight, and I certainly will not be watching them. Little more than a self-congratulatory industry function, the Grammys mainly benefit and recognize popular artists who hardly need more promotion. That's not to say that less popular or less corporate artists are necessarily better than the glamorous, rich, and famous. There's just simply so much music out there, and the superstars recognized by the Grammys are not representative of the massive and wide-ranging music industry. A great deal of music came out last year, and a lot of it was quite good. Anyone who says 2014 was not a good year for new music was not listening enough or not with an open mind. With that being said, here is my list of the best albums of last year.

1. TV on the Radio, Seeds

TVOTR have yet to release a poor album. They continue to make nervy, nervous music that is accompanied by equally anxious lyrics. Remarkably they've also continued to combine rock with electronic influences without ever sounding detached or lacking in soulful emotion.

2. Jonny Greenwood, Inherent Vice soundtrack

Greenwood's score for Paul Thomas Anderson's film adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel stands by itself as a great piece of art. The Radiohead member's score is melancholy and evocative, and makes for great mood music. His compositions are complemented by eclectic tracks by CAN, Neil Young, and others.

3. Beck, Morning Phase

Morning Phase has been endlessly compared to Beck's Sea Change record. In truth, both albums are slow-paced, spare, and a little sad, but Morning Phase is also a welcome return to the Singer-Songwriter Album. Unlike most Beck records, this is one without catchy standout tracks. It's a contemplative album meant to be listened to in a single sitting (and setting) without distractions. In a download-heavy music world, the quiet and collective Morning Phase is a singularity.

4. Stephen Malkmus, Wig Out at Jagbags

Malkmus is too cool for school. He's a hip and intellectual slacker too chill to take his own music too seriously. While the Portlandia persona has gotten more tiresome as he ages, Malkmus continues to make fun, funny songs that just happen to also have excellent guitar work.

5. Spoon, They Want My Soul

More loose and limber rock from the beloved and arty Spoon. 'Nuff said.

6. Sea Wolf, Song Spells No. 1: Cedarsmoke

The Jack London-inspired name Sea Wolf perfectly captures California native Alex Church's music, which often references forest trees, ocean waves, and majestic creatures. To his credit, Church made this great and bittersweet album available for free online.

7. Ty Segall, Manipulator

Blatant and lovingly replicated Glamrock from Segall.

8. Thom Yorke, Tomorrow's Modern Boxes

The sound of impending doom brought to you by Thom Yorke, who didn't sound much like himself with Atoms For Peace.

9. Tweedy, Sukierae

A majorly self-indulgent double disc album from Jeff Tweedy and his son. Still, some of the best tracks here are miles better than anything Tweedy has done with Wilco in years.

10. Conor Oberst, Upside Down Mountain

Oberst continues to sound a little less depressing with every new album release. Here his compositions bring Springsteen to mind, and in a good way too.