Before diving into last November’s magical evening with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, I feel compelled to express my dissatisfaction with the way the entrance into HSBC Arena was handled. I don’t know if it was due to the band’s delay or simply abysmal planning on part of the arena staff, but witnessing 19,000 irate concertgoers trying to pile in all at once surely wasn’t a sight anyone expected to see when the day began.
Much like the tax collectors of the 1700s, I’m convinced that had the architect been in attendance, he would’ve needed a police escort to avoid being hung for crimes against humanity.
It was that chaotic.
Something tells me that The Boss himself would not have approved of huddled masses standing around as if it were a Depression-era shipping yard. I heard plenty of rumblings from people saying they won’t be attending another event so, if the arena cares at all about customer satisfaction, they’ll prevent such bedlam in the future.
As for the show itself, I think it’s destined to go down as one of the most epic live performances in the history of Buffalo music. Everything came together at the exact same moment to remind people how Rock and Roll, at its peak, can provide the type of uncompromising catharsis seldom found in today’s materialistic super-culture.
From the opening line of the rust-belt anthem “Wrecking Ball,” the heart of every female in attendance melted and signaled to the band that for the next three hours, the crowd was their’s for the taking.
Whether it was an improbable crowd surf during “Hungry Heart” or a fuming solo on “Lost in the Flood,” Springsteen patrolled the stage with all the brio and bright-eyed optimism fans have come to expect from the 60-year-old Jersey rocker and the rest of the band matched his energy on every level. When Bruce wanted more, Clarence, Steven, Nils, Roy, Garry, Soozie, Charles, and Max played as if it was the last time they would ever step foot on the stage while giving this reviewer certifiable goose bumps in the process.
Rumor has it that this was indeed the swan song for the E Street Band as we know it, but I don’t buy it for a second. This wasn’t some has-been outfit stumbling to the end with alcohol and mumbled lyrics aplenty. What we saw that night was a storied troupe of musicians at the top of their game, a wild crew of virtuosic trailblazers with obvious unfinished business.
Listening to Bruce wail on Chuck Willis’s “(I Don’t Want to) Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes" was a stirring farewell but, given the state of today’s rock scene, let’s hope he’s just getting started.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Best Films of the Decade
No need for an introduction, so here they are:
1. "Mulholland Drive" - I like to think of David Lynch's stunning puzzler as a surrealist companion piece to Billy Wilder's 1950 masterpiece "Sunset Boulevard" in that they both present Hollywood as being an intoxicating vacuum that obliterates your ambitions and devours your spirit. The film is a product of chilling tone and idiosyncratic color schemes, both of which seem to get more complex every time you watch it. You may feel lost at times, but the career-best work from Naomi Watts is enough to hold you until the breathtaking finish.
2. "Almost Famous"/"High Fidelity" - Arguably Cameron Crowe's greatest achievement, this portrait of the 1970s music scene through the innocuous eyes of a 15-year-old journalist is pure magic from beginning to end. I'm not one who's known to get emotional during films, but the 'Tiny Dancer' scene envelops me each time I see it and stands as one of the finest combinations of sight and sound in cinema history.
John Cusack has long been one of my favorite actors and his work in "High Fidelity" is refreshingly real and sarcastic in a way that I aspire to be myself. Nick Hornby's novel is ripe with enough eclectic musical knowledge and hysterical witticisms to please any die-hard fan and director Stephen Frears knows how to get the most out of an on-screen romance.
3. "Memento"/"Zodiac" - Does it really matter that Guy Pearce hasn't been able to top this one since? I don't think so, because what he accomplishes here is remarkable through and through and it's a shame that the Academy didn't feel the same.
1970’s San Francisco is the sight for David Fincher’s spellbinding police procedural that takes the viewer deep inside the mania experienced by three men obsessed with cracking America’s most notoriously unsolved serial murder case. First-rate performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. crackle with energy and sarcasm as each actor allows himself to get totally swept up in the chaos that eventually unfolds. The 2-hour 37-minute running time seems to fly by as the anxiety builds and the possibility that he may still be on the loose can be both frustrating and unnerving to those unfamiliar with the real police files.
4. "There Will Be Blood" - Paul Thomas Anderson's towering oil saga throws so much on the table that you might feel overwhelmed the first time you watch it. It's about greed, faith, deception and how far one is willing to go in the name of ambition. Even with an off-the-rails final act, the performance from Daniel Day-Lewis stands among the best ever.
5. "25th Hour" - This penetrating drama about a drug dealer re-evaluating his life the night before he goes to prison captures the ethos of post-9/11 NYC like no other film has. Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman are brilliant as usual as a pair of lifelong friends who realize that life as they know it is over, but it's Spike Lee's invasive personality that jumps out of the camera and demands you to keep watching.
6. "Amores Perros" - The first of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's multi-layered epics is, I think, his most unsettling and fully realized due to its ability to hold you despite graphic scenes of dog fighting. It's a tense story of love and lust that never hits a false note and I urge you to put your unwarranted fear of subtitles aside.
7. "Requiem For a Dream" - Darren Aronofsky challenges you to keep your eyes open as Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans descend into drug-addled madness and you might just lose that battle without even realizing it.
8. "Oldboy" - Korean director Park Chan-Wook has a knack for making audiences cringe on demand and the nasty little revenge tale he drums up here fits that bill to a tee. See it and then see it again.
9. "Sideways" - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor took a quirky, high-spirited novel from Rex Pickett and turned it into one of the most enjoyably low-key cinematic gems of the decade. With its disheveled everyman duo of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, this one took us on a life-altering journey through the stunning ins and outs of California wine country and extracted some hysterical moments along the way. Seldom does a film capture the uncompromised essence of a book so impeccably.
10. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - Every time Charlie Kaufman pens a script, it’s guaranteed to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and director Michel Gondry certainly did his part to deliver on that promise. His melancholy portrait of two endearing eccentrics trying to literally erase their relationship from memory is beautifully woven together to create something totally void of all rom-com cliché. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are pitch perfect as the struggling couple, because they leave the glamour at home and delve into the painful aspects of romance with bona fide apprehension.
Honorable Mention - "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," "Capturing the Friedmans," "Once," "Munich," "A History of Violence," "I'm Not There," "Into the Wild," "Lost in Translation," "The Dark Knight," "The Wrestler," "The Hurt Locker," "Up in the Air," "Eastern Promises," "The Departed," "United 93," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Grizzly Man," and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"
1. "Mulholland Drive" - I like to think of David Lynch's stunning puzzler as a surrealist companion piece to Billy Wilder's 1950 masterpiece "Sunset Boulevard" in that they both present Hollywood as being an intoxicating vacuum that obliterates your ambitions and devours your spirit. The film is a product of chilling tone and idiosyncratic color schemes, both of which seem to get more complex every time you watch it. You may feel lost at times, but the career-best work from Naomi Watts is enough to hold you until the breathtaking finish.
2. "Almost Famous"/"High Fidelity" - Arguably Cameron Crowe's greatest achievement, this portrait of the 1970s music scene through the innocuous eyes of a 15-year-old journalist is pure magic from beginning to end. I'm not one who's known to get emotional during films, but the 'Tiny Dancer' scene envelops me each time I see it and stands as one of the finest combinations of sight and sound in cinema history.
John Cusack has long been one of my favorite actors and his work in "High Fidelity" is refreshingly real and sarcastic in a way that I aspire to be myself. Nick Hornby's novel is ripe with enough eclectic musical knowledge and hysterical witticisms to please any die-hard fan and director Stephen Frears knows how to get the most out of an on-screen romance.
3. "Memento"/"Zodiac" - Does it really matter that Guy Pearce hasn't been able to top this one since? I don't think so, because what he accomplishes here is remarkable through and through and it's a shame that the Academy didn't feel the same.
1970’s San Francisco is the sight for David Fincher’s spellbinding police procedural that takes the viewer deep inside the mania experienced by three men obsessed with cracking America’s most notoriously unsolved serial murder case. First-rate performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr. crackle with energy and sarcasm as each actor allows himself to get totally swept up in the chaos that eventually unfolds. The 2-hour 37-minute running time seems to fly by as the anxiety builds and the possibility that he may still be on the loose can be both frustrating and unnerving to those unfamiliar with the real police files.
4. "There Will Be Blood" - Paul Thomas Anderson's towering oil saga throws so much on the table that you might feel overwhelmed the first time you watch it. It's about greed, faith, deception and how far one is willing to go in the name of ambition. Even with an off-the-rails final act, the performance from Daniel Day-Lewis stands among the best ever.
5. "25th Hour" - This penetrating drama about a drug dealer re-evaluating his life the night before he goes to prison captures the ethos of post-9/11 NYC like no other film has. Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman are brilliant as usual as a pair of lifelong friends who realize that life as they know it is over, but it's Spike Lee's invasive personality that jumps out of the camera and demands you to keep watching.
6. "Amores Perros" - The first of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's multi-layered epics is, I think, his most unsettling and fully realized due to its ability to hold you despite graphic scenes of dog fighting. It's a tense story of love and lust that never hits a false note and I urge you to put your unwarranted fear of subtitles aside.
7. "Requiem For a Dream" - Darren Aronofsky challenges you to keep your eyes open as Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans descend into drug-addled madness and you might just lose that battle without even realizing it.
8. "Oldboy" - Korean director Park Chan-Wook has a knack for making audiences cringe on demand and the nasty little revenge tale he drums up here fits that bill to a tee. See it and then see it again.
9. "Sideways" - Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor took a quirky, high-spirited novel from Rex Pickett and turned it into one of the most enjoyably low-key cinematic gems of the decade. With its disheveled everyman duo of Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church, this one took us on a life-altering journey through the stunning ins and outs of California wine country and extracted some hysterical moments along the way. Seldom does a film capture the uncompromised essence of a book so impeccably.
10. "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" - Every time Charlie Kaufman pens a script, it’s guaranteed to be unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and director Michel Gondry certainly did his part to deliver on that promise. His melancholy portrait of two endearing eccentrics trying to literally erase their relationship from memory is beautifully woven together to create something totally void of all rom-com cliché. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are pitch perfect as the struggling couple, because they leave the glamour at home and delve into the painful aspects of romance with bona fide apprehension.
Honorable Mention - "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," "Capturing the Friedmans," "Once," "Munich," "A History of Violence," "I'm Not There," "Into the Wild," "Lost in Translation," "The Dark Knight," "The Wrestler," "The Hurt Locker," "Up in the Air," "Eastern Promises," "The Departed," "United 93," "Pan's Labyrinth," "Grizzly Man," and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin"
Top 10 Films of 2009
For weeks, I’ve been listening to pundits ramble on and on about how 2009 was a disappointing year in the world of cinema. They say that Hollywood has become nothing but a vapid wasteland where vision and originality are tossed aside in favor of obtuse jesting and six-pack abs (“Twilight” anyone?). That 90-minute romantic comedies with little romance and even less comedy will continue to earn green lights due to their low risk and broad fan base.
I, for one, don’t believe a word of those naïve musings, because every year offers its fair share of exquisite entertainment for those willing to extend beyond their commercial surroundings. This may involve a bit of concentrated taste alteration on your part but, trust me, your efforts will never go for naught.
Contrary to popular belief, the film industry is not on life support.
Having said that, 2009 struck me as a year of transition, both politically and culturally. As a country, we’re on the heels of the Bush Administration and on the cusp of Obama Country. As a society, we’re still dealing with bailouts and a war that, in my mind, is still without an end or a clearly defined enemy. We’re a civilization in limbo, a so-called evil empire on the brink of annihilation with no one to blame but ourselves and the cookie-cutter politicians we elected.
I’m a firm believer in the notion that cinema reflects the landscape in which it's produced so, with that key element in mind, I present to you my picks for the 10 best films of 2009.
1. “A Serious Man” - In their finest work since “Fargo,” Joel and Ethan Coen tap into their Jewish heritage to give us a “Book of Job” for the hippie generation (It takes place in 1967) and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love every misanthropic minute of it. Larry Gopnik is one of the great screen characters of the decade and watching him try to reassemble the fragments of his quiet suburban life amid a sea of negative omens is black comedy at its most poignant level, so I urge you to seek it out as a reminder that your own situation could be much worse.
2. “Up in the Air” - I left the theatre following Jason Reitman’s beautifully devastating tale of detachment and isolation feeling as if he was speaking directly to me. All of the glib observation and cynical wise-cracking exemplified by George Clooney’s suave protagonist touched me on a level I seldom experience at the movies. On the surface, it’s about a charismatic loner who makes his living firing people for bosses who are too spineless to do it themselves, but further examination reveals a Sturges-esque riff on what it really means to be connected in today’s technologically-obsessed climate and Clooney has never been more at ease with himself on screen. Plus, with Anna Kendrick and the gorgeous Vera Farmiga around to light things up like a 1940s screen siren, how could you go wrong?
3. “The Hurt Locker” - Thank you Kathryn Bigelow, thank you for finally crafting an Iraq War film that isn’t laden with politics and faux sentimentality. Forget the heavy-handed drama of “In the Valley of Elah.“ Forget the fledgling babble of “Lions for Lambs.” This is a riveting, tightly wound balls-to-the-wall action flick that challenges your heart to a rat race and never lets up. What we’re presented with here is a group of soldiers who live, breathe, eat and sleep the “war is a drug” philosophy to the point that any time spent out of the desert is a missed opportunity. Jeremy Renner is electric as a swaggering bomb squad leader and Bigelow’s knack for suspense ensures that you’ll think twice before getting up for any free refills.
4. “Summer Hours” - When a 75-year-old woman dies, her estranged children are left to sort through the house-full of priceless artifacts she leaves behind and a heartrending meditation on the importance of family ties soon ensues. It’s sad to think that a woman’s entire life can be summed up by the amount of museum-worthy relics she accumulated, but that’s the harsh reality these characters are forced to deal with. Each item sold or donated is like a piece of their mother being cast off to someone who knows nothing of the significance or sorrow behind it which, to me, makes the narrative that much more unsettling.
5. “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” - In 1984, Canadian speed-metal group Anvil was on the fast track to stardom until a series of really unfortunate events derailed their chances at greatness. Director Sacha Gervasi captures their journey into obscurity with inscrutable honesty and, with a set-up that’s equal parts funny, sad and inspiring, you may just find yourself cheering by the film’s end.
6. “District 9” - Nothing could’ve prepared me for the raw agitation of Neill Blomkamp’s brilliant socio-political alien saga and I stand by my opinion that it’s the best sci-fi flick since 1999’s “The Matrix.” The combination of the steady-cam grittiness and Sharlto Copley’s frantic embodiment of a government goon turned antihero is as dynamic as it gets.
7. “An Education” - Carey Mulligan delivers one of the best performances of the year as a British schoolgirl yearning for a life outside the rigid confines of academia and evokes Audrey Hepburn in more ways than one. Her scenes opposite Alfred Molina crackle with the type of acerbic familial strife that reminds you why Nick Hornby is such a masterful wizard with words.
8. “The Messenger” - Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster (both incredible) star as a pair of casualty notification officers charged with the impossible task of informing loved ones that a soldier has died in action. They use their emotionally vacant approach to the job as a way to avoid confronting their own battle scars, which often manifest themselves with haunting consequences. We knew Harrelson could go for broke, but the extremes to which Foster is willing to go remain the real revelation here.
9. “Inglourious Basterds” - On one hand, Quentin Tarantino’s bloody historical revision is a Jewish revenge tale that dives into its material with irreverent glee. On the other, it’s a glorious, dialogue-driven love letter to the history of cinema that gets better with each salacious slip of the tongue. Can you go wrong either way?
10. “Antichrist” - You have to hand it to Lars von Trier for committing himself so soundly to material that most people would consider morally repugnant. He turns an ordinary weekend camping retreat into a frightening house of horrors with Charlotte Gainsbourg acting as master of mutilation ceremonies and the cinematography from Anthony Dod Mantle is as luscious as any I’ve ever seen. I challenge anyone to come up with a more chilling line than “Chaos Reigns.”
What about “Avatar?” - Despite its thinly-veiled political message and lack of sufficient plot, I found James Cameron’s latest brain child to be one of the most aesthetically arresting forms of participant observation I’ve ever experienced on screen. I’m afraid the film simply collapses under the weight of its amazing first hour and never fully recovers.
Other honorable mentions: “Paranormal Activity,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Precious,” “This is It,” “Star Trek,” “Adventureland,” “The Hangover,” “Tyson,” “I Love You, Man,” “Coraline,” and “Gomorra.”
Worst - “Watchmen,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Angels and Demons,” and “Terminator: Salvation”
I, for one, don’t believe a word of those naïve musings, because every year offers its fair share of exquisite entertainment for those willing to extend beyond their commercial surroundings. This may involve a bit of concentrated taste alteration on your part but, trust me, your efforts will never go for naught.
Contrary to popular belief, the film industry is not on life support.
Having said that, 2009 struck me as a year of transition, both politically and culturally. As a country, we’re on the heels of the Bush Administration and on the cusp of Obama Country. As a society, we’re still dealing with bailouts and a war that, in my mind, is still without an end or a clearly defined enemy. We’re a civilization in limbo, a so-called evil empire on the brink of annihilation with no one to blame but ourselves and the cookie-cutter politicians we elected.
I’m a firm believer in the notion that cinema reflects the landscape in which it's produced so, with that key element in mind, I present to you my picks for the 10 best films of 2009.
1. “A Serious Man” - In their finest work since “Fargo,” Joel and Ethan Coen tap into their Jewish heritage to give us a “Book of Job” for the hippie generation (It takes place in 1967) and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love every misanthropic minute of it. Larry Gopnik is one of the great screen characters of the decade and watching him try to reassemble the fragments of his quiet suburban life amid a sea of negative omens is black comedy at its most poignant level, so I urge you to seek it out as a reminder that your own situation could be much worse.
2. “Up in the Air” - I left the theatre following Jason Reitman’s beautifully devastating tale of detachment and isolation feeling as if he was speaking directly to me. All of the glib observation and cynical wise-cracking exemplified by George Clooney’s suave protagonist touched me on a level I seldom experience at the movies. On the surface, it’s about a charismatic loner who makes his living firing people for bosses who are too spineless to do it themselves, but further examination reveals a Sturges-esque riff on what it really means to be connected in today’s technologically-obsessed climate and Clooney has never been more at ease with himself on screen. Plus, with Anna Kendrick and the gorgeous Vera Farmiga around to light things up like a 1940s screen siren, how could you go wrong?
3. “The Hurt Locker” - Thank you Kathryn Bigelow, thank you for finally crafting an Iraq War film that isn’t laden with politics and faux sentimentality. Forget the heavy-handed drama of “In the Valley of Elah.“ Forget the fledgling babble of “Lions for Lambs.” This is a riveting, tightly wound balls-to-the-wall action flick that challenges your heart to a rat race and never lets up. What we’re presented with here is a group of soldiers who live, breathe, eat and sleep the “war is a drug” philosophy to the point that any time spent out of the desert is a missed opportunity. Jeremy Renner is electric as a swaggering bomb squad leader and Bigelow’s knack for suspense ensures that you’ll think twice before getting up for any free refills.
4. “Summer Hours” - When a 75-year-old woman dies, her estranged children are left to sort through the house-full of priceless artifacts she leaves behind and a heartrending meditation on the importance of family ties soon ensues. It’s sad to think that a woman’s entire life can be summed up by the amount of museum-worthy relics she accumulated, but that’s the harsh reality these characters are forced to deal with. Each item sold or donated is like a piece of their mother being cast off to someone who knows nothing of the significance or sorrow behind it which, to me, makes the narrative that much more unsettling.
5. “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” - In 1984, Canadian speed-metal group Anvil was on the fast track to stardom until a series of really unfortunate events derailed their chances at greatness. Director Sacha Gervasi captures their journey into obscurity with inscrutable honesty and, with a set-up that’s equal parts funny, sad and inspiring, you may just find yourself cheering by the film’s end.
6. “District 9” - Nothing could’ve prepared me for the raw agitation of Neill Blomkamp’s brilliant socio-political alien saga and I stand by my opinion that it’s the best sci-fi flick since 1999’s “The Matrix.” The combination of the steady-cam grittiness and Sharlto Copley’s frantic embodiment of a government goon turned antihero is as dynamic as it gets.
7. “An Education” - Carey Mulligan delivers one of the best performances of the year as a British schoolgirl yearning for a life outside the rigid confines of academia and evokes Audrey Hepburn in more ways than one. Her scenes opposite Alfred Molina crackle with the type of acerbic familial strife that reminds you why Nick Hornby is such a masterful wizard with words.
8. “The Messenger” - Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster (both incredible) star as a pair of casualty notification officers charged with the impossible task of informing loved ones that a soldier has died in action. They use their emotionally vacant approach to the job as a way to avoid confronting their own battle scars, which often manifest themselves with haunting consequences. We knew Harrelson could go for broke, but the extremes to which Foster is willing to go remain the real revelation here.
9. “Inglourious Basterds” - On one hand, Quentin Tarantino’s bloody historical revision is a Jewish revenge tale that dives into its material with irreverent glee. On the other, it’s a glorious, dialogue-driven love letter to the history of cinema that gets better with each salacious slip of the tongue. Can you go wrong either way?
10. “Antichrist” - You have to hand it to Lars von Trier for committing himself so soundly to material that most people would consider morally repugnant. He turns an ordinary weekend camping retreat into a frightening house of horrors with Charlotte Gainsbourg acting as master of mutilation ceremonies and the cinematography from Anthony Dod Mantle is as luscious as any I’ve ever seen. I challenge anyone to come up with a more chilling line than “Chaos Reigns.”
What about “Avatar?” - Despite its thinly-veiled political message and lack of sufficient plot, I found James Cameron’s latest brain child to be one of the most aesthetically arresting forms of participant observation I’ve ever experienced on screen. I’m afraid the film simply collapses under the weight of its amazing first hour and never fully recovers.
Other honorable mentions: “Paranormal Activity,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Precious,” “This is It,” “Star Trek,” “Adventureland,” “The Hangover,” “Tyson,” “I Love You, Man,” “Coraline,” and “Gomorra.”
Worst - “Watchmen,” “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” “Angels and Demons,” and “Terminator: Salvation”
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