Deadman Wonderland

Sat, 4 Jun 2011 19:12:53 -0500

Deadman Wonderland is a super successful Manga series turned TV series. Your typical anime blockbuster success story. The show is essentially a prison drama with a twist. The inmates must engage in horrific games in order to earn candy, an antidote for a slow acting poison induced by a Battle Royale-esc choke collar.

The plot seems simple, however; it is a great mix of battling, gore, and over the top caricatures. Being the resident gore hound, I was excited when the cheery kids theme park animation turned into a limb-ripping decapitation squish squashing good time. The show often reminds me of MXC (Most Xtreme Elimination Challenge) but with people being drawn and quartered or drowned in poisonous gases.

You will likely get a kick out of this if you enjoyed Hellsing or Naruto.

⌘ S TheCritique

30 Day LEGO Challenge

Sat, 28 May 2011 22:06:23 -0500

It has occurred to me that I will probably never truly “grow up.” I’m pretty cool with that. I’ll continue on with life debating with my closest friends about the proper way to train and battle our Pokémon.

One other childhood toy that has also never really left my life is LEGOs. The joy of piecing together a handful of small bricks to recreate a small town, Hogwarts or the wild west. Do I love me some LEGOs. So my friends and I came up with idea to buy yet another coffee table, those giant green LEGO baseplates, and just create our own LEGO creation.

As a writer of The Critique, I do not want our readers missing out on the fun.
So we are doing another reader involved culture article.

THE RULES:

- Read our blog
- Use your own and/or go buy more LEGO’s
Create something awesome with your friends within the 30 day time limit (table top creation or a stop motion video)

Submit your LEGO creation with your name and the names of anyone else involved. Also include a small blurb about the inspiration of the creation. The top 5 will be featured in a culture article.

Good luck, brick heads.

Submissions go here thecritiqueblog@me.com

⌘ S TheCritique

The Vines - Future Primitive

Mon, 23 May 2011 11:21:34 -0500

Recently I’ve been slightly deterred from listening to new albums by some of my favorite bands. Why? Simply put, it’s because I feel like they sold out. “Wah, wah, little scenester battles against the movement known as mainstream”- Before you call me out. Hear me out.
All Time Low, jammed their first two albums all day long. But now, I can’t really stand them.

I’m very happy to say that is not the case with the new album from The Vines. (Yes, this is an advance copy).

I remember my first taste of The Vines with the song, ‘Ride.’ Their single from this album, ‘Gimme Love’ has that similar upbeat, rock, “let’s get this party started” attitude to it. The whole album, Future Primitive follows suit. We hear the same elements that makes this band a fan favorite, but they did not skip the part where they ‘grow’ as musicians. There are some newer elements to their music, but it still retains what we know and love of them.

This album doesn’t actually hit stores till June 3rd.
Until then, hit up thevines.com or youtube to hear their single, ‘Gimme Love’

⌘ S TheCritique

Bridesmaids

Sun, 15 May 2011 00:40:48 -0500

So... as embarrassing as this may sound, my dear friend and mentor, who happens to be a Physics professor at the local university, and I went to see Bridesmaids together. Alone. Let me first say, that although this movie may seem like any other chick flick, it most certainly is not! I haven't ROFL’d like that since the first time I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Kristin Wiig is probably the only female I find funny in Hollywood. Most of her competition tries way too hard and just comes off annoying (Sorry Tina Fey, I’m laughing at everyone else's lines). Kristin also showed off her drop dead gorgeous body. Who knew?

Bridesmaids was charming and hilarious, the pacing was great, and the cliches were minimal. This was the first chick flick that I’ve seen that followed “guys rules.” I was surprised at the extent of bodily function humor, and was equally impressed with the droppage of the C-word. NICE!

See it on a date, or a brodate, or heck go alone! You will not be disappointed.

Mad kudos to Tim Heidecker, Chris O'Dowd, and Ellie Kemper for being those awesome additions to the cast that were both unexpected and much appreciated.

⌘ S TheCritique

Thor

Sat, 7 May 2011 11:30:50 -0500

Thor works. I was afraid it might not, but it sure did.
I’m going to say right out that the reason Thor works is a lot like the reason Iron Man works. That reason is we enjoy the character away from the powers. One of the big highlights on Iron Man was just watching Tony Stark BE Tony Stark. With Thor, a decent portion of the film is Thor doing his thing completely de-powered. You get to see him chew up the scenery, charming the hell outta Natalie Portman and reacting to the strangeness of our world as it messes with him. We begin to enjoy, basically Thor BEING Thor.

The supporting characters are very entertaining with the Warriors Three and Sif accompanying our Hero, enhancing the comedy relief Thor provides on his own and kicking ass. One of my favorite scenes is the frost giant fight with all of them at the beginning of the movie and seeing that hammer go to work. It really felt like Thor had come to life from the comics.

I’ll say this, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Thor riff off of Tony Stark in the Avengers movie more than I want to see them blow stuff up.

Artwork courtesy of MONDO

⌘ S TheCritique

Dylan Dog - Dead of Night

Mon, 2 May 2011 20:44:48 -0500

Alright, I think Dylan Dog will go down as a guilty pleasure for me. The film is filled with a lot of comedy hero cliques’ and over used lines like “You’re funny, you’re a funny guy!” Ugh. But you know what? I liked it. The zombie “culture” was very amusing, the vampires had that classic Buffy the Vampire Slayer face makeup, and the werewolf character played by Peter Sormare does emote a wolflike menace when his face partly transforms.

The movie borrows a lot of elements from the RPG Vampire the Masquerade like ghouls and the werewolf tribe feel. Being a Vampire fan, I liked that. The characters are entertaining to follow except for the female lead who feels like she phoning it in and the ending was a bit ambiguous. But will I watch it again though? Hell yes I will.

⌘ S TheCritique

Beastie Boys - Hot Sauce Committee Part 2

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:21:05 -0500

Being a middle class white kid, obviously my first experience with hip hop was the Beastie Boys. License to Ill was the second CD i ever bought and for the most part I was hooked. I say for the most part, because I really didn’t like To the 5 Boroughs, which was supposed to be a homage to their home city of New York and came off more as whiney politically charged garbage. Thats why I’m so happy that this new album Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 is filled to the brim with legit-ness. The nearly 50 year old rappers have crafted an album that is part hip hop, part smooth beats that harken back to their old school beginnings which works perfectly. Theres even a track that features rapper Nas that surprised the hell out of me called Too Many Rappers. The CD is definitely a buy when it comes out, which is sometime in early May, but you stream the whole thing from their website http://hotsaucecommittee.com to satisfy your cravings till then.

P.S. if you’re wondering why you’ve never heard of Hot Sauce Committee Part 1, it was never released then renamed Part 2 and released three years later. Fun Fact eh?

⌘ S TheCritique

Santigo - GO

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:16:45 -0500

This track is serious. It’s the musical equivalent of a movie trailer that has people raving that when Santigold’s album, drops later this year it going to be the best that 2011 can offer.

I really dig the track, however; I must admit the vibe of the song and the vocals mix to remind me of someone... Oh never mind.

⌘ S TheCritique

Scream 4

Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:06:15 -0500

"What's you're favorite scary movie?" this is the famous question that made it's way to the scary movie genre back in '96. Scream 4 takes the original style and rules of you're favorite scary movie, but with a new age/urban twist.

The collective of the original Scream casts made a worth while return to the big screen. What I thought was going to be a cheap effort at a saga, ended up becoming a movie to remember in 2011. I think this is a great effort at not reinventing a scary movie, but reminding viewers as to what makes a good scary movie.

My favorite parts of this film were how it kept you guessing who the killer could be, just when you thought you had it solved; the story changes up on you. The second thing that I personally enjoyed, was the aspect of how the story of the movie almost dissected it's own movie. Mind fyeck.

Go see this movie, and I'd you're a true scary movie lover; pull definitely appreciate what this movie brings to the table.

Artwork courtesy of MONDO LINK

⌘ S TheCritique

Paul

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:17:05 -0500

I had the worst expectations for this movie! My initial perception harkened back to walking up to the theater to see Club Dread for the first time. Surpisingly I was blown away. Paul manages to be hilarious and heartfelt without getting to serious.

The best thing about Paul is the interactions between all of the characters. Kristin Wiig did the best job as the Superchrister ignoramus, and Rogan gets a nod for taking his typical acting persona and adding some much needed tweaks. You will surely get a bowl of laughs, and will not be dissapointed.

⌘ S TheCritique

Eulogies

Wed, 9 Mar 2011 12:27:13 -0600

This band is not new to the indie rock scene, but what they are packing in their newest full length album, ‘Tear the Fences Down,’ sets the bar at all new levels.

From the center of Los Angeles, CA, Eulogies does have that “let’s go to the beach and have a good ole’ time” vibe, but there definitely isn’t anything wrong with that. I for one am a big fan of that feel-good music.

Let’s talk about what makes their sound worth while. It’s the four-piece band. Most indie bands throw in about six people, and random instruments that I feel sometimes take away from the actual sound. Eulogies, has the bare essentials, and that’s all you’ll need to know.

Check out their new full length CD on iTunes, or visit their site for a free download.
(Did you think I’d end this article without giving y’all something to rejoice about?)

http://www.eulogiesmusic.com/
⌘ S TheCritique

Get Low

Wed, 2 Mar 2011 21:02:11 -0600

Get low is probably that movie that managed to completely fly under your radar for its theatrical release. It is unfortunate that it was overlooked yet has some of the best acting I’ve seen in recent years. Robert Duvall and Bill Murray succeed in this movie on so many levels.

Duval plays a crotchety old fart who's planning his own funeral to be a pre-postmortum event. Why is he such a hermit, and why does he hate the world around him, these are questions answered in this film. Bill Murray on the other hand is the funeral master helping in the planning of such a bizarre and unique event.

That is all I will say. The rest is up to you to discover.

⌘ S TheCritique

Tyler The Creater - Yonkers

Tue, 1 Mar 2011 20:48:21 -0600

If you haven’t heard about ODD FUTURE aka ODD FUTURE WOLF GANG KILL THEM ALL aka OFWGKTA then you’ve been living under a rock devoid of any access to what they call “buzz”. Not “hype” because hype implies there’s artifice. This collective is all real.

Tyler The Creator’s new single, YONKERS, is blowing up harder than Dresden in a forgotten massacre.

⌘ S TheCritique

Jack Threads: A Thrillist Co.

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 18:14:01 -0600

This is a very..random article choice, mainly because I’m writing about guys clothes.

I don’t recall how I stumbled upon this site, I think I signed up for something free then was redirected. It happens.

Regardless of how or why; this site is literally a fashion gold mine for guys who like (or love) to look good. It has some very interesting brands that I’ve never heard, ranging from clothing, shoes and accessories. What ever you might need, they will probably have it at some point.

How it works: You simply create a free account, which allows you access to all the great deals. Once inside, there will be certain brands with how long the sale will be running. I peruse this site looking for new threads for my other half, he seems to like what I choose for him. Much of what they have is at least 50% off the original price.

Uh, that’s a steal if I’ve ever seen one.

So, boys, if your new years resolution was to stop looking like a slob and dress up your appearance; this site is perfect for you.

www.jackthreads.com

⌘ S TheCritique

Deivas Dunny

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:06:47 -0600

Kid Robot is releasing a Limited Edition of the popular Dunny vinyl today called the Deivas Dunny. For those that don’t know, a Dunny is simply a blank vinyl toy that kinda looks like a rabbit, that can then be painted or sculpted onto to make some pretty awesome toys. This ones been customized by artist Nathan Jurevicius to resemble an owl from Lithuanian Owl from folk tales. The paint job on this little guy is amazing, from those crazy geometric eyes, to the subtle texturing on his hands. At $75 this little guys not cheap but if vinyl figures are your thing, you might want to jump on this because it’s limited to 1500 pieces.

⌘ S TheCritique