Reviews @ MindSay 
music
I think doing a Nada Day may become a monthly experience. I love it, I could actually look forward to leaving a voicemail on my machine and email "sorry today is and so you get none". Besides simply relaxing and driving to the movie the restaurant the only productive thing I did was feed the kids and as a first they actually let me sleep late.
Movie was great but just getting past the previews was a laugh as well. I made it just in time to catch the 3pm show and the room was empty. Well it was actually only empty for another 10 minutes and two older women came in, looked around and sat directly in front of me. Arggggggg I hate that. I don't care if you’re as quiet as a mouse it’s a big theater go somewhere else. I thought about moving but conceded that it was not worth it and in the long run I felt rude at even thinking about. Previews start and they do it, they start talking loud and they never stop.
Each preview that flashed across the screen included a personalized review from Laverne and Shirley. "Girl you know we have to go see that", "Look at Spike go ahead with your bad self. Doing a war movie". After the reviews end the theater go’s black and you hear this crying baby and one of the women says "I don't think so, I am not listening to a crying baby through Tyler's movie. It was actually a hint telling people to turn cells off and take loud kids out of the theater. I laughed so hard sprite came out of my nose as I tried holding it in. I sat there for another 2 minutes and practically begged myself to move, but in the end while they never completely quieted down they were funny and actually made watching the movie an experience in itself.
Reviews
Tyler Perry the Family that Preys Together
If you enjoy Tyler Perry you have to go see this movie. The cast is a variety of new, recent a seasoned actors and actress. Although there is a strong moral story being told both Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard allow you to relax and enjoy the joyful along the biter scenes.
4-5 stars (and no Madera makes no cameos in the movie)
The Cohen Brothers Burn After Reading
Another great Cohen story that allows all actors to let go of the glitter and glam and simply do a movie for the hell of it. Brad Pitt is hilariously stupid along with George Clooney and the remaining cast. This is the movie you take in with yourself and hope you remember some great lines or see with friends and await the reminder of various scenes.
Two let downs
No third movie
No taste of a Turkish restaurant. I had to settle for the average slice of pie and a sprite. The restaurants hours are a little off and did not coincide with he movies and I actually came home to nap and overslept the final movie staring Samuel Jackson.
Blades of Glory - Not a very good movie, but I still laughed a few times. Will Ferell is amazing in it. Ferell always gives 110% in his work, except when the script is bad, when he gives 150% instead. It's worth watching the movie once to see him. Plus, Jenna Fischer is hot, if you're into that.
TMNT - This is the recent, animated return of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Granted, I had very low expectations, but I really liked this movie. Instead of doing an origin story or yet another Turtles vs. Shredder story, this one picks up right in the middle of TMNT mythology and introduces a new villain, though the Foot Soldiers play an important role, too. A good voice cast featuring Patrick Stewart, Lawrence Fishburne, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Kevin Smith lend some extra credibility to the Turtles' return to the big screen.
The Bourne Ultimatum - I cannot believe how sucked into this movie I was. Relying very little on CGI and big explosions and more on old-fashioned, one-on-one choreographed fight sequences, this movie felt more real than other espionage action thrillers. While I lost interest in the story of the second Bourne movie, this third one kept me hooked by focusing solely on Jason Bourne's quest to learn who he is. It was also great to see Julia Stiles, who is greatly underutilized in the other Bourne movies, get a significantly meatier role this time. Not as good as the first Bourne movie, but significantly better than the second.
Star Trek: First Contact - Not much to say here. It's as good as I remembered it. As a bonus, it's fun to yell, "The line must be drawn HERE!" in context for a change.
Ocean's 13 - Practically a return to form for the Ocean's movies. Not quite as good as the modern classic that is "Ocean's 11", but miles beyond the terrible mess that is "Ocean's 12". Some of the stuff was way over the top (a manufactured earthquake? Seriously?), but for the most part it's a classic Vegas heist that was pulled off oh so well in the original movie. This flick helps to cement the Ocean's movies as a series worth remembering, that unfortunately took a misstep with one movie, instead of a great movie that had several completely unnecessary sequels.
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That Lucky Old Sun
Brian Wilson is, in my opinion, one of 4 people who I consider the best songwriters still alive. If you’re curious, those 4 are Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Tom Waits. 5 if you want to count the dead and include John Lennon. That’s a pretty big accomplishment and it’s something that, unfortunately, also follows him around. People like me get their hopes up pretty high when he announces an all-new, all-original album. It’s an exciting prospect.
Brian Wilson helped form The Beach Boys with his brothers and some friends in the early sixties. And they had their early hits. “Surfin’ USA,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” and “I Get Around” to name a few. They did what they did very well and I still listen to old Beach Boys stuff. It’s great music. But Wilson always had this touch of an artistic side that he constantly brought to the table. And finally, he broke through the “surf/California rock” barrier with Pet Sounds. It was an incredible accomplishment and would not have happened without Wilson at the helm. It produced one of the best written songs of all time: “God Only Knows.” I don’t know anyone over 30 who hasn’t heard that song.
While writing Pet Sounds, Brian Wilson began writing the incredibly influential song “Good Vibrations.” It was an audio-engineering innovation in 1966. Because of this, Wilson wanted the next album to be similar in style. This set off the next project, SMiLE. Wilson began writing. At the same time, The Beatles had been writing. They had heard Pet Sounds and set off to match it. It was a “battle” that produced 4 of some of the best albums of all time. Rubber Soul helped produce Pet Sounds which helped produce Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which helped inspire parts of SMiLE.
Unfortunately, SMiLE was such an ambitious project that it ended up making Wilson spiral downward. There was tension in the band. He went mad. The project eventually was canceled and put on the shelf in 1967. That project aged for 37 years. In 2003, Wilson finally picked himself up out of his mental state and, with the help of his touring band, writing partner Van Dyke Parks, and his family, he completed SMiLE. It was released and I bought it in 2004 and it is currently in 3rd place for my favorite albums of all-time.
So you can imagine my surprise when I hear about his plans to release That Lucky Old Sun. I never found out the release day for it and I ended up literally stumbling into it at Best Buy yesterday. Its release day. I don’t make much money and had come only to purchase Season 4 of The Office. But I picked it up regardless.
The album begins with “That Lucky Old Sun.” I had read that this isn’t an original song so I checked it out on the internets. It was popularized in 1949 by many people and many more have laid claim to a cover of it. But I read about what the song is about. Taken from Wikipedia: “its lyrics contrast the toil and intense hardship of the singer's life with the obliviousness of the natural world.” Perfect. I can already tell that this album is a point of healing for Wilson. He’s not gone. In fact, he’s coming back. The rest of this album confirms my initial suspicion.
This album just sounds sunny. Everything about this album just gives you the feeling of driving through California with the top down. Which it should. This is Brian Wilson’s exploration of The Golden State. It’s a celebratory album.
SMiLE was an exploration of America. It takes you on a trip from the east coast to the west coast and everywhere in between. You become saturated with the feeling of motion and adventure through the sounds and themes. It works perfectly as a cohesive album and is, in my opinion, the most cohesive album ever. It mirrors Wilson’s state of mind back then as well. Wilson was exploring. Discovering new ground. He pushed further and further. He didn’t have a “home” in the album and made his home where he took the material.
This album is his home. This is where he belongs and where he wants to be. It’s him showing you around California because he knows the place. California was his beginning (The Beach Boys) and is his end (his new material).
This is the strongest point of the album. Every single song here is great. Every detail has been attended to and scrutinized by Wilson. It’s his nature. And it’s perfected in the tightness of the band backing him. And the best part? He has once again teamed up with writer Van Dyke Parks, the man who basically cowrote the lyrics to SMiLE back in 1966 and ’67.
There are definitely highlights to this album. “Morning Beat,” “Good Kind of Love,” “Live Let Live / That Lucky Old Sun (Reprise),” “Mexican Girl,” “California Role/That Lucky Old Sun (Reprise),” “Going Home,” and “Southern California.” But as I’ve said before, everything here is good.
My favorite song off of the album is “Mexican Girl.” I just can’t get it out of my head. It’s like nothing else he’s done before but still retains his signature sound. It’s incredible.
As far as low points go, there are hardly any. I don’t know if you can call it a low point, but this album is nowhere near as good as SMiLE. It is ten times better than and so far beyond anything put out today that is considered “pop,” but as good as SMiLE? Not even close.
The only bad thing about this album isn’t really even that bad. It’s the narratives. You see... Van Dyke Parks and Brian Wilson decided that they would record narratives between every couple of songs. They are less-than-a-minute-long spoken-word pieces on top of the musical themes from the previous song. The album flows pretty well but I can’t help but be a little distracted when these narratives come on. They are very well-worded (Parks has a knack for that, having cowrote SMiLE and all) and Wilson certainly delivers fine. But the album also works without them. I can feel the journey and understand the underlying message of the album without it being explained to me. But really, that’s my only problem and it’s a very small one at that.
This album really is just a delight to listen to. It’s hearing an incredible songwriter and producer, once thought to be almost “washed up,” come into his own again. He wants to get rid of the troubles of his past and he does. He shines like the sun on this album. That lucky old man.
(You need to buy this album.)
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