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thevoid99's Life Top Ten List: August 2009Aug 31 '09 (Updated Sep 30 '09) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Summer is Officially Over as Void is Exhausted and Burned Out Despite a Great Movie & An Amazing Show. Summer is finally over. And what an exhaustive one it was. My grandmother and her sister just finally left which is a relief. Though I don't like to say anything bad about them. It was overwhelming having to take them to places and then when you want to go home. They end up wanting to do more and more. For this, it was not a great summer in which all I wanted to do was watch films without any kind of distraction and not deal with them very much though wanting to be helpful and keep the house clean. Instead, I found myself dealing with headaches for weeks and eventually. I became burned out. I became tired and not able to really do any of the things I wanted to do which is write reviews and watch films at home privately. I admit, my output this month has dropped considerably and I hope to make up for it but my main focus will be on my NIN20 project which I've just started to work on. Especially as Nine Inch Nails is now set to play four shows in Los Angeles which will be their last for a very long time. It's something I want to do in tribute to the band as it's a project that is part of an ambitious series of projects relating to NIN including guides and countdowns. I've already got the album, singles, EPs, and DVDs covered for the most part. I just need to do bootlegs and other semi-unofficial releases. After all, it's my favorite band and I wanted to pay tribute to NIN in such a way that is honorable towards them. With this project now set to come in. It's clear that my film marathons won't be happening for some time as I do plan to try to watch a film once a week to keep things going. I just hope I don't get tired and end up putting a lackluster effort into writing a review. I'm not sure if I will do another artist/band of the month profile for the remainder of the year because there's so much new music to come out and I'm trying to keep up with all that is coming. So I plan to take a break on that as well though I still plan to do a 30th Anniversary review of Pink Floyd's The Wall on late November. Well, that's enough chit-chat for now. Let's get to the Life Top Ten List for August 2009: 1. Inglourious Basterds For a moment, I was doubting Quentin Tarantino due to his eccentric behavior, appearance at American Idol, and the trailer for his new film. Then came Cannes where the film got mixed reviews and my expectations lowered. Then I saw the film and all of my doubts were washed away by the first minute of the film. It is now my favorite film of the year and one I want to see again and again. Not only did I had fun but I was giddy throughout the entire film because of the energy, the film references, and idea of fantasy and revisionism that is done throughout. After watching it, I realize that I should never, ever doubt Tarantino ever again. Not only did he craft a solid, exciting, and fun World War II film. He also made the genre into something audiences wishes would happen in a World War II. Plus, who couldn't enjoy watching Brad Pitt as a cartoonish lieutenant with a Southern drawl? Yet, Pitt ended up being eclipsed by two newcomers to the American film scene. The first is Melanie Laurent as Jewish theater owner plotting revenge for the death of her family as she is now becoming one of my new crushes. The second and most of all is Christoph Waltz as Col. Hans Landa. Now the character maybe a sadistic Nazi but I kind of want to hang out with the guy. He's so charming and cool. Waltz's performance is the Best Supporting Acting performance of the year. No question about it. I can't think of anyone topping this because he is so damn good. 2. Bat for Lashes/Other Lives-8/17/09, Atlanta GA the Loft @ Center Stage Since it's clear that I won't be seeing Nine Inch Nails for some time now. I figured it was time to try and venture out more to club shows to see newer acts. With Bat for Lashes' Two Suns now currently my favorite album of 2009. I decided to see the live show myself. I was surprised that while I was waiting in line. Bat for Lashes mastermind Natasha Khan walked past by me along with touring guitarist Charlotte Hatherley and that was exciting. The venue was excellent as is the show that featured a very good opening band. Yet, it was Bat for Lashes that captivated me though I wish I had gotten closer to the stage. It was an excellent show while it was something that was very different from what I'm used to because I don't go to a lot of concerts. Yet, I do plan on seeing Bat for Lashes again sometimes soon. 3. The Hurt Locker With action films becoming more mindless and bloated, it was good to see a film that shows what an action film could do when done right. I like Kathryn Bigelow's work as an action director but after watching this film. I realize that in comparison to the action film directors working today. She isn't just better than them. She is a better director than most of them by going deep into the action of battle and revealing what soldiers have to do inside the battlefield. Thanks in part to Jeremy Renner's intense performance, it's definitely one of the best films of the year. Plus, I am joining in the bandwagon and suggest that Bigelow should direct the next James Bond film. It's time for a woman to show a male action director how it's done. 4. True Blood I watched the show sporadically in its first season but this season has really won me over as a convert. Especially with the most recent episodes from the appearance of the character Godric to Sookie becoming sexually attracted to Eric after being fooled into drinking his own blood. Yet, with the season finale coming in September. This is truly the hottest show to watch and I'm getting excited with each passing episode. It's definitely a fun show to watch. 5. Where the Wild Things Are Trailers One of the most anticipated films coming this year, a new trailer and featurette hasn't just gotten me excited. What was shown moved me deeply because it seems like Spike Jonze is going to do something magical to Maurice Sendak's famed book. It had all of these sweeping images and monsters that look so grand yet full of life. I'm convinced that it's going to be the film of 2009, unless Antichrist by Lars von Trier is going to be that film. At least these images lift up spirits in what is still a very bad year for films. 6. The Big Pink-A Brief History of Love A band I've heard about from someone at the Filmspotting forum and Pitchfork, I decided to check it out myself without hearing anything about it. What I found is a surprise in this British electro-rock duo is one of the most adventurous, trance-like records I had ever heard. It's a mixture of shoegaze, noise, dream-pop, and electronic music with hooks and melodies that is truly fascinating. Especially since it's more about experimentation and setting a mood. Overall, this is definitely one of the best records I've heard this year. 7. HEALTH-GET COLOR Noise-rock is a genre I like and no band is doing it better than HEALTH. A L.A. rock band I heard about through the NIN community since they did open for NIN back in 2008 and will open a couple of shows for NIN's last shows in L.A. For their second album, there's definitely more noise in the record but also something stronger as it is clear the band is definitely become something to hear in the years to come. It's definitely got me excited. 8. Radiohead-These Are My Twisted Words There's always a sense of excitement whenever Radiohead puts out new stuff. It's because they're THE BEST BAND IN THE WORLD! While it's not likely they'll put a new full-length album. They did manage to release a couple of songs. One is a tribute to a World War I veteran who just passed away and the other is a new song they gave away for free and in high audio quality. I have to say, they're still as good as ever. If it's just one song or five, I'm cool with it. Radiohead rules! 9. Various New Music This month has been crazy as far as new music is concerned. There's some kicking new records from A Place to Bury Strangers, YACHT, The xx, P*ssed Jeans, and Hope Sandoval and the Warm Invention. Plus, there was a new 12 Rounds song released for free that got me excited. Especially it's a song co-produced by Trent Reznor. It's already an exciting year for me personally in terms of music because I find myself checking a lot of new stuff out and enjoying. Especially since it's a great alternative to what is going on in the mainstream which I feel lacks a lot of imagination. 10. Film Trailers Well, there's been a lot of talk about some trailers. Notably a few films that are set to come out soon. There's the new Christopher Nolan film Inception in which its teaser definitely makes the film seem exciting while the upcoming remake of Wolfman with Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Emily Blunt definitely seems like fun to watch. There's also the new comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats that looks very funny in a Coen Brothers kind of way. Then there's the trailer for the widely-anticipated James Cameron film Avatar and I'm mixed on it. While it might seem like an exciting action film, I'm not entirely impressed with the visuals and don't find it groundbreaking. Well, that is it for August and the long summer. September is NIN month. With the band set to wind things down for four show in Los Angeles with its final on the sixth of September. The majority of September will be on NIN through top 20 NIN songs, a beginner's guide to NIN, reviews of bootlegs and unofficial releases, and the epic five-part series called NIN20. In between, there will be some music and film reviews. I'm not sure what will be reviewed though I hope to have a full DVD review of Sergio Leone's Duck, You Sucker! to complete my Leone filmography. Until then, this is thevoid99 saying Arreverderci and grazzey. Life Top Ten List-July 2009 - Life Top Ten List-September 2009  |
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