We've been waiting a while to see this movie. We missed it in the theaters. With its lackluster performance in the theaters and meager box office earnings ($25 million total as of mid December) I'm not surprised that many people missed it as well.

I think we saw the preview during the Transformers movie last spring/summer. It seemed pretty cool... at least it looked rather trippy and had an awesome soundtrack of Beatles music. Well, Beatles covers at least (this could have been either horrible renditions of classic songs or interesting remakes of long-time classics.)

Needless to say, I was interested in checking out this movie but not really hopeful for anything monumental.

So on Saturday my wifey and I had a quiet evening to check out Across the Universe.

Overall the movie reminded me of Chicago (but with cooler music) and seemed like it could/would be an interesting musical for Broadway.

The movie had over 30 Beatles songs, and they seemed to jam them into every possible nook and cranny of the film. Sometimes it even seemed a little forced, but with so many Beatles songs, they all perfectly fit into each scene.

The plot was ok but could've included more detail. The music was surprisingly pretty good, but it seemed as though the songs were used too much and therefore was thin in dialog.

One of the most impressive features of the movie was the way many of the scenes were shot. The cinematic style was very interesting, and some of the psychedelic scenes were very cool.

The cast was decent and the few cameo appearances (e.g., Bono, Selma Hayek) were alright but nothing special.

Overall, an enjoyable film. If you are a Beatles fan - you may go either way 1) this is cool and I will sing along to every song (I found that I did this a lot) or 2) this is a sacrilege of classic Beatles tunes.

I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.


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Labels: Across the Universe, beatles, movies, opinion

posted by jame1030 at 11:21 PM |   |  0 comments  |  links to this post

Of course I got the new Jack Johnson album. I bought it legally... really, I actually bought it. Matter a fact - I can't even remember the last album I pira- I mean downloaded an album.

So I first found out about Jack's new album in December and was quick to pre-order the album as soon as the first single "If I had Eyes" was released. The song was pretty much what I expected... pretty much Jack's low-key laid back acoustic song. It grew on me.

Jack Johnson revamped his website and timed it with the release of his new album (this past Tuesday). The site is pretty cool, but I kinda liked the previous more simple layout better.

As for "Sleep Through the Static" I've had a chance to listen to the entire album several times. First things first... if you like Jack Johnson, then you'll probably like this album as well.

This album is slightly darker and (if you can believe it) even more laid back than his others. His lyrics are filled with social commentary, and his tunes lie somewhere in between sweet lullabies and laid back slow jams. After listening to the album I find myself unsatisfied and wanting more (and not in a good way). Not more of the same, but like the album is still missing the it song.

My only complaint is that there are no real peppy songs. Even when songs like "Hope" and "Go On" seem a little more upbeat, they fall flat of being another "Flake" or "Bubble Toes" or "Rodeo Clowns" or "Good People."

I'm sure this album will grow on me, and I'll end up liking it just like the others, but it sure ain't no "In Between Dreams" or "Brushfire Fairytales."

As for now, I give it a 3 out of 5.
(Sorry Jack... I love your music, but ya could've tried a little harder.)

Take a listen to the album on Jack's site and let me know what you think.

Labels: album, Jack Johnson, music, opinion

posted by jame1030 at 10:57 PM |   |  0 comments  |  links to this post