Cold Hands Warm Heart

Warm Bodies

Warm Bodies is a Zom-rom-com from writer/director Jonathan Levine (50/50, The Wackness). Adapted from Seattle author Isaac Marion’s 2011 novel of the same name, Warm Bodies is a loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet against the backdrop of the zombie apocalypse. Nicholas Hoult of About a Boy fame plays R, a lonely zombie who spends his endless days wandering around an abandoned airport. His only friend is M (Rob Corddry), a middle-aged zombie who he has the occasional grunting conversation with. On the other side of apocalypse is human Julie Grigio (Teresa Palmer), the daughter of General Grigio (John Malkovich), leader of the zombie resistance. When R meets Julie he realizes that she makes him feel human again. He begins to talk more, feel things, and even dream. But can a corpse have a relationship with the living? Hilarity ensues.

Warm Bodies is a fun concept that unfortunately plays out in formulaic rom-com fashion. The comedic beats are all familiar and the plot is ultimately predictable. What would have made Warm Bodies stand out is if it had given the audience more insight into the world of the undead. We get a taste through R’s opening narration but it feels rushed. There’s not to enough time to let everything permeate. What is intriguing is the film’s primary antagonists, “The Bonies”. These are zombies that have torn off all of their flesh and become animalistic, killer skeletons. Though it’s a shame that the overly CG bonies look so phony. The overuse of CG gives the film a look that’s too-polished and too-Hollywood. The best Zombie movies have a gritty, low-budget look. Shaun of the Dead is a perfect example.

What works in Warm Bodies’ favor are the “heartwarming” performances. Nicholas Hoult somehow manages to capture both the awkwardness of teen adolescence and the mindlessness of being undead. Teresa Palmer, despite looking like a blonde Kristen Stewart, gives the best performance as the emotionally conflicted heroine. Not to count out Rob Corddy, who is oddly memorable considering he spends most of his time groaning and grumbling. What’s surprising is how low-key John Malkovich is in the role of the unsympathetic General Grigio. Nonetheless, everyone does their best to rise above middling material.

I’m not surprised to hear that the novel is superior to the film. The very qualities that the film lacks is what I’m sure makes up a great deal of the novel, specifically, detail and insight. I commend the effort, but when it’s all said and done, Warm Bodies left me lukewarm.

The Vault: Blax History Month

In honor of Black History Month, this month’s edition of The Vault will be dedicated to Blaxploitation Cinema. It’s a genre I’ve never delved into so I’m going to start off with the basics. Later in the month I’ll cover a few of the more over-the-top entries (perhaps something in the vein of Blackenstein?). With such a wide catalogue of funky flicks it’s a shame that I’m only going to cover four. Still, I’ll do my best to give you my honest thoughts and opinions, cause I ain’t no Jive Turkey.

Goodnight From 30 Rockefeller Center

I felt like we should acknowledge last night’s final episode of 30 Rock in some way, since we didn’t actually talk about it on our latest podcast and it seems like on our annual TV podcasts we usually tend be a little dismissive of this show. Perhaps it’s been an easy show to take for granted since it’s been really the one comedy series that’s been consistently good over these past few years, even if it never quite reached the emotional highs of a show like Parks & Recreation. But I can’t think of many shows that us here at Mildly Pleased have been loyal fans of for so long, or a show that’s provided us with so many references to slip into our everyday conversations. I mean how could you not love a show that gave the world Janey Jorm-Jomp, Astronaut Mike Dexter, and “I Want To Go To There”?

For these reasons and more, I felt this weird sense of closure after last night’s episode of 30 Rock cut to black, almost like a certain phase of my life had just come to an end or something. I think it has to do with the fact that despite being an avid TV fan, there haven’t been too many series that I’ve gotten into from nearly the beginning and stuck with all the way through. I mean the last big series finale I can remember watching live was the Friends finale, but even that was a show that I mostly became acquainted with through reruns. 30 Rock on the other hand was a show that I watched a few episodes of in its first season, and then as it really started to come into it’s own in season two, I was an unabashed fan. And then I kept with it for the remaining seasons, most of which comprised of my college years, and thus helped me get through that part of my life in the only way I would ever want to, with laughter.

On our recent Series Finales podcast, I think we brought up the fact that a series finale should be able to sum up what made a show so enduring while also (especially in sitcoms) giving the audience a heartfelt farewell. I think 30 Rock‘s finale did a pretty spot on job of both of these, as it reminded us of the vitality of the Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy dynamic, as well as what TGS has meant to this always reliable comedic ensemble. But on top of that it’s just filled with the kind of off-the-wall gags that no show but 30 Rock could ever pull off so well. And it even managed to fit in a few more stabs at network television on its way out, with a scene that includes a list of the No-No’s of creating a hit show, which include “Shows About Shows”, “Justin Bartha”, and “Quality”.

As for 30 Rock as a whole, I think it’ll be remembered as the show that managed to pack as many absurd, wacky-as-hell, and often obscure jokes in to a scene as possible. Whereas a lot of shows in these last few years have used the single camera format as a way of making the half-hour comedy more respectable, 30 Rock in a lot of ways tried to do the opposite, by making itself one of the silliest but also one of the undeniably funniest shows on television. I don’t know if 30 Rock was ever quite a landmark show, but it was certainly one that provided you with characters that no matter how quirky or self-centered they occasionally seemed, could always provide you with a laugh as well as some weirdly profound riff on what makes this crazy mixed-up world tick.

T3 46: Top 10 Series Finales

How about that 30 Rock finale, huh? Pretty sweet. There are a few ways to end a series, the most popular of which is cancellation. But the few that do get to go out on their own terms have some tough choices to make: Do they dramatically end everything? Do they get sentimental, reflecting on how far they came and maybe even bring back some long-lost characters? Or do they just simply suggest that despite the show ending, things will always be the same for our beloved characters? Find out how we’d prefer a show to end and who did it best this week, as we count down our favorite last episodes.

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Fade Into Yo

Yo La Tengo – Fade

And now I will confirm Sean’s theory that I gravitate towards music from the ’80s and ’90s by reviewing the latest Yo La Tengo record. This band’s kind of an odd case in the world of indie rock, a genre that seems to be enamored with the latest scene and subgenre, while few bands seem to stick around for the long haul. And yet Yo La Tengo are now in their fourth decade of existence and have somehow managed to remain fairly relevant after many of their peers have burned out or faded into complete obscurity. And like most albums by middle aged rock bands, Fade is far from a revelation, but it’s filled with a kind of wistful quality that finds the band at ease with their place as indie elder statesman.

Despite my respect for Yo La Tengo, I think I’ve come to appreciate them more a “singles band” than one who’s albums I’ve spent a ton of time with. As a lot of their albums are a bit too meandering, but I’ll be damned if tracks like “Autumn Sweater” or “Our Way To Fall” don’t rank for me among the most endearing love songs in recent memory. So I suppose that explains why this album’s lead-off track “Ohm” is a song that I am thoroughly all about, while I’m just fine with the rest of the album.

I suppose the kind of Yo La Tengo that resonates with me are the hazy jams the culminated in 1993’s Painful (my favorite Yo La Tengo record), and there isn’t as much of that here. On Fade we get a more subdued version of the band which has definitely come to the forefront with these last few albums. Still, it’s hard to complain when most of the songs are pretty in that kind of fragile way that only Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley can deliver in a poppy indie ballad. One thing that kind of elevates Fade for me in regards to the last few Yo La Tengo records is it’s brevity, as most of their recent albums seem to feature at least a song or two that breaches the ten minute mark and usually clocks in at over an hour. Fade on the other hand clocks in at a lean 45 minutes, and sees these guys continuing to hone their knack for crafting make-out music for awkward hipsters.

Favorite Tracks: “Ohm”, “Well You Better”, “Stupid Things”

Love is Like Foxygen

Foxygen – We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic

Oh, I get it “Fox” and “Oxygen” makes “Foxygen”. Well done Foxygen, well done. Surely, I never would have discovered this duo had it not been for Pitchfork and it’s powerful hipster-music radar. What sparked my interest in this album was the retro sound. I appreciate 60s psychedelia for its fearlessness to go to unconventional places. With a title like “We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace and Magic” it’s safe to say Foxygen goes places. The question being: “Does it feel genuine? Or does it feel like an imitation?”

My immediate reaction was The Rolling Stones circa 1967’s Their Satanic Majesties Request but with less wizards. The vocals have that hint of laid back angst like they have some gripes against “The Man” but are taking too many drugs to do anything in response. The instrumentation feels fancy and nostalgic, with a thumping bass that could make even Bill Wyman crack a smile in his 104-year old face. My favorite song “On Blue Mountain” is the most Jagger-Richards with bluesy breaks and singalong choruses. It’s a complex arrangement, like many of the arrangements on this sophomore effort, but is it too much?

After multiple listenings, I still feel overwhelmed by the girth of each track. Foxygen throws in oodles and caboodles of instruments and explores so many different sections. By the end of a five-minute track, I feel exhausted. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy a handful of moments. But if you feel overwhelmed by extravagant production, this is an album you’re going to have to work for.

“Does Foxygen feel like its own band?” Or are they just an amalgamation of the greatest hits of 1967? I’m gonna cop out and say they’re a little bit of both. I do think they rely too heavy on replicating what’s been done but at the same time, they do it at a level no one else can. They’re an intriguing band with an acquired taste. I like the taste, but for the gourmet shit, I’ll listen to actual 60s music.

Favorite Tracks: “No Destruction”, “On Blue Mountain”, “San Francisco”

Unfinished Love

Ra Ra Riot – Beta Love

Oh, so this is what this feels like. Just a few weeks ago I was defending bands that changed their sound and now I have to take the other side, because Ra Ra Riot, what are you guys doing? You were the chosen one! It was said that you would destroy the mainstream, not join them! Bring balance to the alt rock scene, not leave it in darkness! That is a paraphrased quote from Revenge of the Sith, which I think it appropriate, since this is another trilogy that has left me unsure whether I can keep caring about the franchise (that isn’t fair, I didn’t doubt my love of Star Wars until the Clone Wars).

The Rhumb Line was a hell of a debut. It was a standout album when it came out, which was 2008 – arguably the greatest year in music. It was an act that proved difficult to follow, and The Orchard, Ra Ra Riot’s second album, was even less remarkable than fellow 2008ers Vampire Weekend’s (yes, everyone likes this but me, whatever). By the time that Ra Ra Riot made it to their third album, I guess they decided they decided to completely abandon the energetic exuberance that made them great to begin with and go for a weird ’80s synthpop sound. Except wait, no, that’s a terrible idea.

If you only hear the song “What I Do for U,” you could mistake this as a terrible album. It is not. That 2.5 rating seems low, because we don’t really use the back half of the spectrum, but remember, this is just the other side of 3.5 stars. I don’t think Ra Ra Riot was cut out for making music like this, and Beta Love feels like that. It sounds as if someone forced them to make weird electronic music, perhaps by threatening their families. There’s a certain hollowness to the whole album; a pervasive sense that this just isn’t right.

But as I did my due diligence and listened to Beta Love a few times, I found a few songs that I’m kind of about. Once you get passed the whole, “Wait, who is this? Ra Ra Riot?” stage, you might find there are a few songs that you can appreciate. I think “Angel, Please” is the standout track, and the weird guitar part is “That Much” is pretty cool too. This is about on the level of a band like fun. But the thing is, it’s really hard to shake the idea that the guys who made “Ghosts Under Rocks” are singing about dancing and shit like that. They had so much heart, and it’s just gone. And that makes me sad.

Favorite Tracks: “Beta Love,” “Angel, Please,” “That Much”