thepaintedman.com

"May your organs fail before your dreams fail you" ~The Matches


The Smell of God’s Vagina

August 13th, 2008 by thepaintedman

movies.gif ★★★★★★★★★★
For fans of:Superbad, Dumb and Dumber, and 48 Hours
Pineapple Express on Wikipedia | IMDB site for PE

200px-pineapple_express.jpgPlease be not offended by the title. Blasphemy be damned… the title comes from a line in this year’s funniest, raunchiest, most action packed film. In fact, Pineapple Express is the best buddy comedy of all time as far as I’m concerned. A man, his drug dealer, a friend that just won’t die, and a cast of other oddball characters create laughter, action, and lots of foul language.

When Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) sees the man that he is supposed to serve a subpoena to (Gary Cole partner up with a female police officer (Rosie Perez) to kill a man at his home, he throws his Pineapple Express filled joint out his car window and speeds over to his drug dealer’s home. In the midst of being high and freaking out uncontrollably, he fails to realize that the weed he is smoking is extremely rare and is only available in town through one dealer. When he arrives at the home of his dealer, Saul (James Franco), they realize after some more smoking and attempts at relaxing that the rarity of the weed gives up his identity as the man who witnessed the murder. This is primarily due to the fact that the man who committed the murder is Saul’s supplier’s supplier. The evil head drug dealer guy sends goons to find Dale and Saul. …more… »

The Yippee EP

August 6th, 2008 by thepaintedman

music.gif ★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Rocks like: The Starting Line, Plain White T’s, and Panic! at the Disco.
Download EP on ITunes | NSN’s Official Merch Page | Last.FM Page for NSN

8466.jpg Appropriately named, Never Shout Never’s “The Yippee EP” is just another pop-punk CD on first listen. On the second listen, some of the more interesting beats and offbeats start to become apparent. By the third time through the 4 song EP, it becomes apparent that Never Shout Never is more like the earlier days of Drive Thru Records than the modern day major label pop-punk demigods.

Immediate comparisons can easily be drawn to the radio powerpop of Plain White T’s, the punk infused pop-rock of Panic! at the Disco, and even the emo stylings of Dashboard Confessional. Deeper comparisons to Unwritten Law, The Staring Line, and even the more eccentric Piebald, may be a bit more accurate. To be fair, 4 songs may not be enough to decipher which comparison are more accurate, but it is fair to say that this upbeat EP is a sign of promise, at very least. …more… »

Aunt Bettys RAWKS!

August 4th, 2008 by thepaintedman

music.gif ★★★★★★★★½☆
Rocks like: Cracker, LSU, and Jane’s Addiction
Aunt Bettys on Myspace | Band on Artist Direct | Michael Knott on ITunes

Jesus, would ya help me find my way?
Would ya send me some money in the mail?

41gmmkqebel_sl500_aa240_.jpgMichael Knott, Christian art-rocker, social outcast, freelance artist, and former front runner for the Velvet Revolver gig, got his start as an eccentric young artist (banned from many Christian bookstores) with his rock outfit Aunt Bettys. Despite being introduced to Michael Knott through his music video for a solo song entitled “Tattoo” in which he is covered in oatmeal more oft than not, the self-titled Aunt Bettys CD is the Knott project that has wowed me for years and will likely do so for years to come.

The first time I heard “Rock and Roll” on a mixtape my wife made me while we were still dating, my ears immediately perked up. …more… »

What My Wife Thinks: VUF

July 20th, 2008 by thepaintedman

music.gif ★★★★★★½☆☆☆
Rocks like: Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Sunny Day Real State
Vega Under Fire on Myspace | Band on Pure Volume | Buy Life of the Party on ITunes

left-music_lifeparty.jpgThis is a small featurette version of a new review feature I intend to begin utilizing every now and again. I call it “What My Wife Says”. The overall idea will be to have my wife make some notes or discuss an album with me, then I will post her thoughts followed by my review of the CD. I call this edition a featurette, because I will be publishing a short mini-review after the notes from the discussion with my wife… I will actually be publishing my full review of this Life of the Party on Nerd Lives where I am a staff writer and contribute primarily with music and movie reviews.

What My Wife Thinks: Vega Under Fire
This edition is manuscript style, though I admit it is paraphrased

thepaintedman (TPM) and his wife (BEH) sit in car, TPM puts Life of the Party in CD player.

TPM: So, what do you think?
BEH: Did you say these guys were dance rock?
TPM: That’s what I thought, but they seem more like pop-punk or something to me now. I thought I read in someone else’s review that they were dance rock.
BEH: Sounds like Sunny Day Real Estate.
TPM: Really? Hmmm…
BEH: I mean, his voice sounds like the guy from Sunny Day.

Some time passes, first couple of tracks play, conversation starts again. …more… »

Not the Best Superhero Movie of All-Time

July 20th, 2008 by thepaintedman

movies.gif ★★★★★★★★½☆
For fans of: Batman Begins, Batman, and Batman Returns
The Dark Knight on Wikipedia | IMDB site for TDK

the-dark-knight-20080404002554558_640w.jpgThe Dark Knight is breaking records, kicking ass, and taking names. It is just about everything you can expect for a sequel to an incredible superhero movie… new and interesting villains, plot twists, character development, and action that tops the original. TDK is a superb piece of cinema and one of the best movies made during the current comic book movie era, but the unfortunate truth is that, despite many claims that this is the best superhero movie of all-time, it is simply not that cut and dry.

The movie does boast the best performance of an insane villain since Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. Ledger’s depiction of the Joker, owed in part to books like The Killing Joke and even moreso to Ledger’s commitment to the psychopathic Joker role, is as good as the critics have been saying. Calling Ledger’s performance Oscar worthy is completely legitimate. His mysterious death intensifies the creepiness of the performance, but the sheer ability to transform himself into the most menacing supervillain ever portrayed on the big screen demonstrates how much of a loss to Hollywood Ledger’s death truly was.

The action is superb, the cinematography is bar none, and the plot is one of the best superhero stories ever put to film… but there are some critiques. No one wants to be the buzzkill and so far as the early reviews go, no one has been. Despite the overall feeling of critics that TDK is just about perfect, there are some legitimate critiques of the second installment of Nolan’s take on The Caped Crusader. …more… »