First impressions: ‘The Road’ is paved with ominous suspense

Do you carry the fire? If the world ended today, would you be one of the good guys? Or would you resort to cannibalism to survive? And if you fall in the middle, would you be able to spot the difference between good and bad around you in order to survive?

What if the world had come to the brink of annihilation and left behind survivors to deal with the aftermath? Between Point A and Point B, Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” winds through a conceivable desolation of the earth, providing plenty of barren yet horrific imagery along the way while creating a level of suspense that could bring an end to life around every corner.

Hype for ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ goes wild

source: wherethewildthingsare.warnerbros.com

I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. That title just had to be done. Like Max’s wolf costume in Dave Eggers’ novelization of the classic children’s story by Maurice Sendak, it just called to me. In fact, this whole blog post taunted me in the same way, saying, “It’s time.” You’ll understand when you get the novel.

I’m currently in the process of reading Eggers’ take, so I thought with one week left until Spike Jonze’s movie “Where the Wild Things Are” comes out, I would tell you a little about what I’ve learned and discovered in the novelization and go over what all is out there for you to go wild with between now and October 16.

A breathtaking Sufjan Stevens performance at the Bowery Sunday night

Source: brooklynvegan.com

My title doesn’t lie. Last night, Sufjan Stevens played his first of four performances in New York City to a crowd so eerily quiet that you could hear an audible gasp of excitement when he played “Casimir Pulaski Day,” the fourth song of the evening. I’ve never been to a concert before where I found myself wondering what kind of chatter is usually heard in between songs.

Although my friend and I had a tough time trying to decipher why the crowd was so quiet, I have a bit of a hypothesis…

First Impressions: Mika returns with ‘The Boy Who Knew Too Much’

Mika has a weird place in my musical palette. He doesn’t quite fit in with anything else that I listen to. While that in itself is probably why I’m attracted to Mika, I think there are a few other factors that come together to make me excited to give his new album, “The Boy Who Knew Too Much,” a listen.

There are two big questions right from the get go: How will Mika’s sophomore LP effort compare to the fun and successful “Life in Cartoon Motion?” And how will “The Boy Who Knew Too Much” age and stand up to time?

Ryan returns?

Before I resume posting, I thought I’d write a short entry on where I disappeared to since July 21, 2009…

Sufjan Stevens finally has something new coming out

Sufjan Stevens

Illionois was the album. Sufjan Stevens was the man. It was love at first site… erm… listen. At least that’s how it felt four years ago when I heard the album for the first time. Since then, all I’ve wanted is something more than a single from Stevens.

Well, it may not be an album in the official sense, but Stevens finally has something of substance: His take on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, titled The BQE, will be released October 20, 2009.

Could M. Night Shyamalan finally be emerging from his slump?

I’m not afraid to admit that “Signs” is one of my favorite all-time favorite movies. When I watch that, like I did the other day, I feel good about M. Night Shyamalan and his unique approach at writing, directing and movie-making in general. But then I think ahead to “Lady in the Water” and “The Happening,” both of which were barely passable as okay movies, I worry that not much lies in the future for this promising movie-maker.

I found out tonight that Shyamalan is working on a new movie based on a Nickelodeon cartoon, called “The Last Airbender.”

Spoon may ‘Got Nuffin,’ but they got something this Tuesday

It’s been around two years since we’ve really heard from the wonderful band Spoon. Late last week they announced they would be having a tiny three-song release this coming Tuesday, June 30, titled, “Got Nuffin.”

‘Transformers’ isn’t all bad

Source: Associated Press

It may not be the most amazing movie ever, but it definitely isn’t the worst movie either. Michael Bay’s sequel, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is an action-packed summer popcorn movie definitely worth checking out in the theater.

Tim Burton dives into the rabbit hole with ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Source: Yahoo! Movies

Source; Yahoo! Movies

I learned today via Yahoo! Movies that Tim Burton’s next project is “Alice in Wonderland.” At first, I wasn’t that excited. But then I saw some pictures and read some more.