I’ve read some comics, listened to some albums and watched some movies for the last 30 days to escape from the world’s grim reality. In attempt to do something different (like, writing chronicles/journal on what’s been happening with my life) I’m going to comment on how these few forms of creative arts fare with my discriminating ears and eyes, and whether I’d recommend them or not.
Comics:
Justice League of America Vol. 7: Tower of Babel
Contrary to what typical Cartoon Network viewers of JLA Animated Series may think, not everything that happens in a team of Batman, Superman, Wonderwoman, Martian, Green Lantern, Flash, among others, are rosy-colored. In fact, when faced with an adversary that supposedly have no superpowers, in this case it’s Ra’s Al Ghul, everyone but Batman is found figuratively collapsing to their knees. This is more of a comic about Batman than the rest of the JLA. The reason why Ra’s would know about how to defeat every members of JLA is because he retrieved a file where Batman wrote down how to defeat every JLA members. Why did Batman have to store such kind of information? What purpose does it serve? And will the rest of JLA sympathize with Batman’s true purpose of doing so once is revealed?
Sounds promising? So how does it fare as a comic? In my opinion, it is highly readable, using, mostly, words that can be understood by casual readers of a more teenager-targeted Gen13 generations. Story wise, it is very satisfying to see how each JLA members react on finding out about Batman turning on them. The only flaw I can find is that the first chapter doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the entire story of Tower of Babel. But since this is Vol. 7, and since I couldn’t be bothered to buy the rest of the volumes of JLA, I guess I’m missing something by jumping directly to this issue. Overall: 4 out of 5.
V for Vendetta
You will eventually be blinded and deafened by all the hype stirred up by the upcoming Wachowski Brothers movie. But way before V for Vendetta found its way into a movie script was a graphic novel revered by hardcore comic readers everywhere. And hardcore this comic indeed is, not targetting the stereotyped, comic viewing teenager demographic, and instead aiming more for adults who might have an opinion about fascism or democracy. V, a mysterious man, thinks outside the box by disapproving of the totalitarian England while everyone goes about their daily routines. Suddenly, the nation is terrorized, politicians die one by one, and citizens of England start to think that maybe V might have something s/he want to give that might change England forever. People suddenly find themselves attracted to democracy, until everything went out of hand that it led into anarchy. This comic studies the dark sides of Totalitarian and Democracy, and it ultimately leads the reader to decide which is better.
That’s pretty much what you can expect at the movie. Expect it to come in March 15 at the nearest Shadow Gallery, err, theatres.
Oh, and England Prevails. 4.5 out of 5 (Why the .5 subtraction, you say? Well, I thought the middle part dragged a little)
Real volume 2
In Taiwan, Japan, and probably in other Asia countries, everyone and their grandparents have heard of Slam Dunk. I thought Slam Dunk was brilliant that, when I finished reading it in comics rentals, I just couldn’t get enough and resorted to buying the whole 31 volumes to read it all over again. Fast forward 10 years later, and I find myself developing almost the same sentiment for another basketball manga from the very same author, Takehiko Inoue. So how does Inoue fare with other competitors these days? While other sports comics (such as prince of tennis) have over-the-top commentators, a minute of gameplay that actually take a 30 minute episode to finish, and moves that you’ll never see in real life, REAL is as realistic as it gets. People who are not a fan of Slam Dunk may want to check this out, but even for people who are a fan of Slam Dunk should read this without worries of being blasphemous (besides, one character is practically a crippled Mitsui). Slam Dunk is the story of a rising star. Real is the story of 3 super athletes’ fall from grace, in that most of them end up being crippled. The story may be fictional but the emotional attachment one can grow over the characters presented here, they’re real. You’ll hate them, you’ll love them, you’ll laugh with them and you’ll cry with them. This is not a sports comic that has dramas thrown in the mix. This is a dramatic literature that just so happen to revolve around basketball of people who can’t stand on their two feets. Comes very highly recommended. 5 out of 5. And oh, the artwork is spectacular. One of the best I’ve seen from Inoue.
Batman/Huntress: Cry for Blood
"You want justice served? You want vengeance taken? You want honor restored? Then do it yourself. That’s omerta." - Huntress
That quote is totally badass. However, one may think that Batman/Huntress is one of the typical revenge stories seen in the movies one too often. For instance, there’s Kill Bill, The Punisher, and Man on Fire. Incidentally, Batman/Huntress, a story more about second-rate antihero Huntress than Batman, is a little inclined towards the revenge-story medium. But unlike those movies, Huntress have a little more mystery of a subplot. FOr instance, people around her end up being killed, and all evidence points to her. How will she exact revenge while avoiding Batman, Nightwing, Oracle, Robin, The Question, Commisioner Gordon, and GCPD? And why is Huntress THE HUNTRESS? What’s her motivation and what does this have to do with the mafia? This comics answer all of these questions, and done quite artfully at that.
This one is very readable, but if I have any complaint against the comics, it’s that there are times when the artwork is just plain ugly (although most of the time it’s passable, and sometimes it’s actually good. Then again, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns is not exactly an eye-candy either), and that by this time the Batman-film-noir grittiness is a little overdone. Best read when you have had a short hiatus on everything Batman. 4 out of 5.
Music:
Bill Evans Trio: Waltz for Debby
Now, I’m not even going to begin to argue with anyone about this album being bad. In fact, it’s terrific. For Jazz aficionados, Bill Evans Trio uses the same kind of instruments as Vince Guaraldi Trio, and they’re, namely, Piano, Drums and Bass. What sets Bill Evans from Vince Guaraldi is that while Vince Guaraldi’s music is catchy, easy to memorize, and relies on reflecting the personalities of Peanuts characters, Bill Evans music is deep, complex, and reflects on love as something that takes time for one to truly feel it come into fruiton and that it has it’s ups and downs. There are no simplistic, cheesy melodies of which Pachelbel’s Canon is very guilty of. The bassist of the trio, which will die ten days after this album is recorded in VIllage Vanguard, is truly brilliant. You think bassist is a no-brainer instrument whose learning curve is quite flat? Well, you’ll definitely change your mind once you hear how this bass beast pulls his strings. But what really makes this album so special is how sensual, without being overly blatant, each songs are.
But heck, somebody reviewed this album better than I! William E. Adams, a customer of Amazon, wrote:
"I had just finished 11th grade, about 50 miles south of the Village
Vanguard, and probably went to Presbyterian Youth Group that morning
and hung around the house reading or watching TV in the afternoon and
evening. Meanwhile, up at the famous club, this trio was making jazz
history, recording enough tunes to end up with two LP’s and 30 years
later, two CD’s which had room for alternate takes. Nobody knew that
bass player Scott Lafaro had only ten days to live due to a traffic
accident. What a shame. Bill Evans released the tunes in which Scott
was featured on "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" record a few months
later, and then the rest of the performances on "Waltz for Debbie"
still months afterward. So these songs have a bit more Bill and a bit
less bass, yet still plenty of both. It’s all good, too. Mostly mellow,
subtle, graceful, totally likeable stuff. The alternate takes do not
seem repetitious, either. A bit of crowd noise and clanging highball
glasses brings the listener right into the club. Imagine yourself
sitting there with your date, a starlet in from the other coast,
talking about the movie she’ll start shooting in NYC soon. You look at
her lips, you perhaps undress her with your eyes, but you don’t really
hear what she’s saying because your ears, your educated ears, will NOT
be diverted from the complex and wonderful improvisations coming from
the bandstand. Finally, she notices, gets mad, and says "Hey, it’s the
trio or me, pick one." You make the smart and moral choice, and give
her cab fare back to her hotel, telling her you’re staying for the
second set. And now, 42 years later, you’re glad you did. You don’t
even recall the beauty’s name, but you have the music of that day with
you always, and many more Evans recordings as well. (Maybe nobody
behaved that way…maybe some guys left with their dates halfway
through a song…but their choice was undoubtedly regretted when the
affair ended badly, while the music they failed to witness lingers on.)"
The last few lines about imagining a date, highlighted in pink, at NYC was really awesome! Haha!
5 out of 5. I have to warn you though, this is not the best place to start getting into Jazz, as the music is very deep and its meaning may be lost in casual listeners. Get Vince Guaraldi’s, or Miles Davis’ album first, which are also terrific, and once you feel yourself ready to tackle on heavier Jazz music, that’s the time to go collecting Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, etc.
Sodagreen
I’ve had high hopes for this one. After all, listening to the sample from music store was almost enough to warrant this CD a purchase. So, was it worth it?
If not for the fact that it’s very hard to find mp3’s from Chinese artists, I would say, probably not. Although this album has it’s highs, most of the good songs just happen at the beginning of the album when everything is still upbeat, and when things start to mellow down a little, suddenly I find myself finding the lead singer’s (who looks much like Dan Dizon) high-pitched voice very ear grating. What’s up with Chinese artists anyways? Why do they always have to use the standard template of releasing one dance-tastic upbeat song, then a mellow ballad after that? Sodagreen avoided such mold to an extent by instead being revolved around "rock" most of the time (and by the way, I’m dumbfounded at how the term "Rock" just get slinged around so indiscriminately these days). Sodagreen is no doubt a talented band, and there’s much to do around an ensemble with a guitarist, a violinist, a bassist, a drummer and an electric-guitarist/lead singer. But what can be done with these five instruments aren’t done sufficiently in the latter Sodagreen songs, and instead being supplanted by the lead singer’s high-pitched voice. What a pity, since I was expecting this to be Taiwan’s Sugarfree. 2.5 out of 5.
Hopscotch
But while Sodagreen was clear at what kind of music it wants to deliver, Hopscotch is altogether a different case. The lead singer’s voice is a lot more easy to the ears, rivalling Sarah Maclahlan (Whatever! I can’t be bothered to spell it right), Vienna Teng, and other divas. However, Hopscotch’s music is inferior to these two. While I don’t give a perfect rating to Vienna and Sarah, at least it was clear that they were meant to deliver just powerful ballads. Hopscotch does that at certain instances of the album, but when she goes Electronica, things just don’t sound so good. All throughout, I was asking Hopscotch: What exactly are you? A diva? Or a DJ who wants to mix up your voice with random computer generated sounds? Even worse, this is an example of picking up the wrong songs for sampling. Sample this on Eslite and you’ll only hear the good ballad music, missing out on (some of them awful) Electronicas. The third song, in particular, stands out like a sore thumb. 2.5 out of 5.
Barbie: The Singles
Praise 5566, F4, Jay Chou, Jolin Tsai, S.H.E., David Tao and other recent Chinese singers all you want. But when I listen to a Chinese song, I want it to sound like it really is a music that only Chinese people could think of, not a music that rips off other teeny pop sensations of America. Seriously, answer me this question: if they sang the same song in America, would they have made it big? I’d wager it’s a big fat no. Also, do you think any of them will be remembered 50 years from now?
The same can be said about Filipino music. Please rid me of those Coldplay, Green Day and Rob Thomas wannabes. And excuse me if I don’t fall down and write in ecstacy upon hearing the umpteenth cover of "great" oldies. No one needs to tell me where it hurts now baby. If I listen to OPM, I want it to deliver AUTHENTIC FILIPINO MUSIC, not a rip off of elsewhere’s. (If there ever was a time when I listened to rip-offs, well, let’s just say I’m way past that phase of liking artists who are "pampakilig ng kolehiyanas" - making college girl’s heart leap) This is why I root for Bamboo’s "Pinoy" (I refuse to call it Noypi), Eraserheads’ "Ang Huling El Bimbo", Sugarfree’s "Burnout", Session Road’s "Suntok Sa Buwan", while I openly disdain Hale and MYMP (Sorry for the fans that might get offended. This is just my opinion). Only music whose essence couldn’t be captured by other western artists are those that I consider authentic to that culture. While Taiwan and other Chinese countries may be superior in technology and economy, I can’t say the same for their music, and I prefer OPM to Chinese Bubblegumpop any time of the day. Wake me up when the next Tsai Chin comes.
All this leads to an OPM cult favorite, Barbie Almalbis, formerly lead singer of Barbie’s Cradle, which was formerly named Hungry Young Poets. Barbie - The Singles chronicles her releases over the years. Barbie’s Cradle had been a second-rate band for a long time, being well known but whose music only hardcore Barbie fans can tell apart. Barbie has a fantastic voice, not overtly high pitch like Cristina Aguilera, yet not overtly lukewarm like Gwyneth Palthrow. In fact, her voice is very easy to the ears, but instead of going the usual diva route, she chose to somehow go the direction that slightly resembles folk rock, but not quite. Her english tracks sound a little like Alanis Morrisette’s, but have something distinctly her own. The same can also be said about her Tagalog tracks. In fact, Barbie could’ve just been an Alanis/Avril Lavigne ripoff to warrant mainstream success, but she took the different route instead by instilling Filipino flavor in it, which makes her an artist admired by casual and hardcore listeners alike. That, and the fact that she’s also very easy to the eyes. Did I also mention that she also graduated on the same day as I, and that we belonged to the same school?
Now, I could’ve rated the album a perfect 5. I will only give it a 4 though, because even though the beginning tracks are awesome, somehow there’s a nadir point at the middle of the album where songs sound quite unvaried, until Track 13 - Limang Dipang Tao. That’s -.5. By the end though, things start to build up a little and the tempo is increased. The album ends with the mainstream success "Good Day" and "Just a Smile", and by that time you’ll be tapping your feet quite as much as Barbie jumped on her "Good Day" music video, which also comes with the album. Speaking of the music videos, it lists that there are 13 of them. That’s poor advertising! There’s actually no "Just a Smile" music video in my CD. That’s another -.5. 4 out of 5.
Movie:
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
This is an example of bad movie that I might end up watching all over again anyway, if only to amaze visitors. For those not in the know (i.e., for those who has been hiding in a cave), Final Fantasy VII is one of the most successful videogames of all time. It becamse a forefront for videogames leap to photorealism and interactive movie storytelling. Even though fans may argue that there are other Final Fantasy’s with better stories (and I’d say I like V’s, VI’s and X’s best), no doubt FFVII had a pretty decent story, especially for a videogame. However, much to the chagrin of most gamers who level grinded their Cloud Strife and fantasized about Tifa Lockheart, the conclusion of this game was not very satisfactory, leaving a lot of unanswered question. A sequel is begged. Square Enix chose to deliver it in this movie.
First and foremost, the graphics is fantastic! I’m not usually the type that salivates on photorealism, but FFVII’s presentation is above par. This is, aesthetically, CG movie at it’s best. Now, if only the story was fantastic. While AC did have killer fight scenes and heart-racing chase scenes that would make Fujiwara Takumi gnash his teeth, much of the story is compromised. Even then, the action, while being awesome, feels too videogame-y, and at times things feel so unbelievably convenient. And why the hell is Cloud Strife still feeling guilty about the death of Aeris? Didn’t he already feel remorseful, then eventually came to grips, in FFVII’s second disc? Also, Barrett, Cid, Yuffie, Cait Sith and Sephiroth, as does a lot of other characters from Turks, appeared just for the sake of satiating fan’s appetite of seeing them in 3D, as they almost serve no purpose (save the Turks, who actually had greater purpose than characters you’ve emotionally invested with while paying the PS1 game). Tifa, besides having unbelievably-sized breast, serve great purpose, but viewers may find themselves either irritated at her or at Cloud (there’s no middle ground). In fact, the only character that shines, at least for an instant, is Vincent Valentine. And, heh, this is an example of advertising: I imagine viewers saying "OMG! Vincent r00lz! I hav to buy teh FF7s Dirge of Cerberus 2 s33 mor of im!"
2 out of 5. Oh, and if everything sound like a jargon to you, that’s probably because you haven’t played FF7. In that case, don’t even bother with this movie, as much of what’s going on will be lost to you.
