Sometimes less is more.

This post clearly references a previous topic I covered regarding artistry specifically in relation to Kanye West. Kanye has released a video for his new single WELCOME TO HEARTBREAK. The video is meant to be shown as such and the pixelated bleeding is intentional.

KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Now there are various things that need to be addressed regarding this video. Firstly, the song is brilliant and the video complements the lyrics "& my head keeps spinning, can't stop having these visions." Kanye and Kid Cudi embrace the Gnarls Barkley 'CRAZY' abstract style yet it seems that perhaps Kanye is trying a bit too hard. I am aware that this goes against my philosophy of working against convention and it certaintly is shown in this video. Nevertheless, the pixelation detracts from the concept of the video and often it's unclear what is happening thus making most of the video fairly incomprehensible. Maybe I need more time with it or perhaps my expectations are high, but I think much of the artistry that is embraced by the album and the song is lost through the excessiveness in this video. 

Publicity Stunt or Absolute Buffoonery?

In the year 2000, the world was introduced to Russell Crowe, the Australian actor that astounded critics and viewers with his gruelling portrayal of a warrior, slave and GLADIATOR in Ridley Scott’s Oscar winning film. But our sights were also set on an up and coming thespian—Joaquin Phoenix. Phoenix quickly boasted further achievements by working with M.Night Shyamalan in Signs and The Village and earning a best actor nomination for his performance as Johnny Cash in Walk The Line. His reserved persona and natural charisma generated a legion of fans and a positive relationship with critics and studios alike. Is it because of these highly admirable traits that we are unable to grasp the concept of Joaquin Phoenix as a presumably meth addicted, eccentric, incomprehensible rap star? A couple of months ago, Phoenix claimed that ‘Two Lovers’ would be his final film and that he was going to retire from acting in order to pursue a music career. With the relatively recent death of his brother and well known difficult childhood, many assumed Phoenix had become fed up with the film industry and its often hypocritical standpoints. None of us however were ready for what came next.

In the past month Joaquin has become the face of tabloid news reports and psychological analysis. He has embraced a new rap career by performing at various events with rhymes that can only be interpreted as gibberish. During these concerts he has fallen offstage and got into a fist fight with an audience member. Both links can be found below.

Falling Off The Stage: 

He is jumping up and down and acts like a complete buffoon

Fistfight: 

I can hear him mumble a bunch of F bombs until he finally gets too angry

Additionally, during an interview with David Letterman, Joaquin showcased his peculiar behaviour by constantly mumbling, spitting out gum and getting angry when the audience laughed. Letterman even announced during the show “We’re sorry Joaquin couldn’t be here tonight.” Here’s the link to that interview: 

If anyone watched the Oscars, they’d have noticed Ben Stiller doing an interpretation of this interview and aimlessly roaming the stage.

This new persona that Joaquin Phoenix has embraced has caused various discussions and debates surrounding its legitimacy. Many fans (including myself) believe that it emulates an Andy Kaufman-esque style which can more commonly be associated with Sacha Baron Cohen and Borat. Essentially it means that he is attempting to make a mockumentary out of this entire nonsense and satirically show the media’s obsession with controversy. However, if this is not the case and Joaquin has truly gone crazy all I can say is that it is a shame to see such a powerful actor fade into obscurity. Whatever substance he may be taking—please identify it immediately so no one else can undergo what can only be described as one of the most unusual things I have ever seen.

If you are unfamiliar with Joaquin before this abnormal episode of his, take a look at the sane, ordinary man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFbiNwrBILU

This Existence of life is a highly overrated phenomenon.

Watchmen: The ‘unfilmable’ graphic novel that has been making headlines ever since its trailer debut before The Dark Knight. Arguably the most graphic comic book adaptation since 300, Watchmen’s lack of focus detracts from its greatness. Now before I divulge into the minute details regarding both the hits and misses of Watchmen, fanboys need to recognize that I have not read the novel and am judging the film based solely on entertainment/cinematic aspects. I’ve been told that the Zack Snyder (the director) stays true to the original content thus criticisms of the storyline and plot cannot be taken into account.  But it is this very loyalty to the source material that causes Watchmen to fail.

The film opens with considerable merit and elegance. Using the comic book feel as pioneered via Sin City, the dark and gloomy aura entices the audience immediately. Following the captivating opening scene, we are given a clear understanding of past events through the credits which are brilliantly superimposed on Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are Changing”.  Watchmen begins on an incredibly high note which introduces unique stylistic features and incredible potential. This trend lasts for the first hour and is fortified by the appealing and fascinating characterization of The Comedian, Dr. Manhattan and Rorschach. On a side note, Jackie Earl Haley who plays Rorschach deserves an Oscar nomination for his entrancing performance. These characters range from psychopaths to deranged minds regarding human behaviour which really sets the standard for the new perspective on superheroes. What sets films like The Dark Knight and Watchmen apart from the conventional superhero is the lengths at which these ‘heroes’ would attain in order to institute peace. This question is what drives Watchmen to its impressiveness.

Nevertheless, this perspective regarding superheroes and the unconventional portrayal of protectors loses sight towards the second half of the film. It seems as though Zack Snyder and his team were more focused on presenting the in depth analysis of the important characters first and leaving the one-dimensional ones for the plot development. Night-Owl II and Silk Spectre II for example, are extremely unsophisticated and follow the patterns of archetypal characters who yearn for a purpose in life. The film loses all purpose and direction towards the end and much of its unique style and appeal is lost in the process of creating a straightforward plot.

Overall, Watchmen arouses various debates in terms of its ability to work as a film. Because of its requirements to satisfy all consumers, particularly the common consumers of today’s generation, it feels the need to present a fixated storyline and enough doses of sex, violence and action. Atypical trends are never the direction Hollywood enjoys taking which results in a lack of focus between cinematic style/in depth characterisation versus societal appeal/unconvincing plots. The great tragedy of Hollywood is invoked in Watchmen through its desire to appeal to a wider audience and thus the lack of focus on the truly interesting characters and their storylines. A very unique look at heroes and an array of personalities who would be a psychologists’ dream are the reasons to see the film. The 3 hour length and idiotic plot development towards the end are tedious. “This City is afraid of me, I’ve seen its true face” growls Rorschach at the beginning of the film. I see this as an allusion to film studios, for once you integrate business motives with art—nothing good will arise.

Here is the opening credit sequence (Bob Dylan- The Times They Are A Changing). This is how credits should be nowadays: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQm_ma1_KFY

No One Is Going to RACE to Witch Mountain this weekend.

Last weekend, Watchmen underperformed at 55.2 million which was considerably below studio and my own personal estimates. This was a result of lengthy showtimes and a lack of appeal to certain demographics particularly children, families and couples. Additionally, the hefty opening came from midnight and Friday shows thus making it very obvious that Watchmen will fall flat on its’ face this week. A 55% decrease would give it 25 million this weekend. Three new films open this weekend—Race To Witch Mountain, Miss March and The Last House To The Left. The first is a Disney film starring the rising film star The Rock. His move from wrestling to films has been steady especially with his most recent effort (again with Disney)’The Game Plan’. Given the lack of competition for family films it should bow to a 30 million start with considerable legs for the months coming. 

Miss March looks like another studio dump as it was previous called Miss February (as it was supposed to be released last month). With a lack of advertising and appeal to a broad demographic I can’t see it moving past 5 million this weekend. The Last House To The Left is another horror film (even though its produced by Wes Craven) and should debut to a similar opening as The Uninvited given its rating and marketing strategy. That means about 12 million over the weekend. It’ll be a relatively slow weekend at the box office so I’d suggest an in home film this weekend or giving Watchmen a shot if you haven’t yet seen it.

So who is going to WATCH MEN this weekend? Box office predictions.

This week’s box office predictions

As a recurring theme, I will be analyzing the box office every Thursday and giving personal estimates on how I think each film will be playing out. The following Sunday afternoons, when the studios release their numbers, everyone is invited to ridicule me on how off I truly was. This past month has been the highest grossing February in the history of cinema in terms of revenues for films. Movies without A list actors such as Taken, Paul Blart and Madea Goes To Jain opened with marvellous figures. Films like Slumdog Millionaire and Gran Torino crossing the 100 million mark showed that consumers want to see well made films. This week, the monstrous and over-hyped WATCHMEN opens.

Unlike a conventional superhero flick, Watchmen was deemed ‘unfilmable’ and inappropriate for theatres in a pre 300 and Sin City age. Nevertheless, the brilliant trailer that preceded The Dark Knight inspired fanboys and others alike to flock to message boards and discuss the film. Finally, March 6^th has arrived and it is safe to say that Watchmen will be the first big blockbuster of the year. Looking at the enormous hype for the movie as well as sell out shows across the continent I’d predict that this film will take in 85 million over the Friday-Sunday weekend. Given its R rating and excessive length, it will prevent it from doing 100+ numbers.

Additionally this week, Madea will find herself dropping considerably as the first two weeks were made up of devoted fans. Slumdog Millionaire’s drop should be less and thus claim the 2^nd place spot with about 10 million while Madea sits at three with 7. Without any new films for children and women specifically, holderovers for Jonas Brothers, He’s Just Not That Into You and Coraline should be relatively steady with 7, 5 and 3.8 million respectively.

Overall the box office looks to be healthy because of Watchmen’s powerful release and I’d suggest if you are going to see this film this weekend, get tickets beforehand and be aware that theatres will be crowded. Tomorrow night I’ll be posting my personal review of the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4blSrZvPhU

Cheers.

An argument of artistry

To those who know me, you know I love to embrace change. Whether that means economic and social change in our political systems, change in daily scenery or in this particular case a change in artistry—the concept has always been personally enduring. I’ve come to the realization that, when it comes to music, people are adamant on conforming to specific genre styles and are often unable to broaden their horizons when it comes to trying new sounds. I suppose that it’s a result of social conventionality, hell I’ve found myself turning down the volume on the IPod when jamming to Flo Rida’s new track. Nonetheless it’s important to embrace music as a source of artistry rather than a division of status and/or style. That being said, I want to discuss the concept of artists breaking out of their musical environments or their “shells”.

Firstly, I’ve been both privileged to hear and yet constantly reminded of Kanye West’s brilliance. To classic hip hop fans his street cred is lacking and to fans of a ‘musically superior genre’ (mostly self-righteous indie-fans) his popularity denotes inferiority. I for one have consistently maintained that Mr. West is possibly one of the most brilliant artists alive. And when I use the term ARTIST I use it in a specific manner. Kanye has consistently proved his ability to work against the grain, combining terrific beats, insightful lyrics, thought provoking albums and inspiring artwork. His introductory ‘College Dropout’ reinstituted the concept of an album, by combining skits, singles and flow into one work of art, and wrapping it in a beautiful image of a troubled mascot bear rather than an overindulgence of bling. With his new album, 808’s and Heartbreak, devoted fans have negatively labelled him because of the simple fact that he “shouldn’t sing, especially not with a voice box.” Isn’t Kanye the one who evoked change in the industry in the first place? If people gave the album a chance and recognized it as art rather than a rapper trying to sing maybe it’d get more recognition? Kanye truly embraces the value of artistry by combining his talents and ability to explore new opportunities. The same stagnant approach will only land up drawing comparisons to previous efforts, see The Killers’ Day & Age, Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple or Joshua Radin’s Simple Times.

That being said, I hope that people will begin to at least use a veil of ignorance and an open mind when listening to Wayne’s new stuff. Don’t get me wrong, Weezy as a rock artist does not seem natural, especially since not even 5 years ago his credibility was almost 0. Nevertheless, Tha Carter III was arguably the best album of 2008 and taking a page out of Kanye’s book, Wayne is expanding his horizon by working with Fall Out Boy, Kevin Rudolf and Kid Rock instead of his regular posse (please no more Birdman!). I don’t claim to be an expert in hip hop or any music for that matter, but I recognize creativity and the idea of musicians as artists. Let’s give these guys a chance to break out of their shell or we’ll be forced to endure Lady Gaga, 50 Cent and Soulja Boy for the rest of our lives.

I leave you with a picture that exudes style, creativity and a clear image of what Heartbreak truly is. Additionally, here is a link of Wayne's new rock single--Prom Queen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUQsyLP2aYU

 

Cheers