Yeaaaooowww! It may be a Monday, I may be tired and wanting to curl up in my bed and sleep, and I may be facing a busy week of work ... but, DAMMIT ALL ... I am ready - to - ROCK! Yes, I shall stand up and be counted, for what I am about to receive ... that being, AC FRIGGIN' DC, live, tonight, in concert!
I don't think the reality of this momentous event will fully hit me until the legendary band actually takes the stage tonight at The Forum, but suffice it to say, this is one of my all-time dream concerts to attend. Ever since I was first introduced to the likes of "Highway to Hell," "Back in Black," "TNT," and "(You Shook Me) All Night Long", I have been a devoted disciple of AC/DC. I remember for a time feeling like a lost soul in my classic rock fandom - while my peers only had eyes for the latest hip hop tunes or pop-punk it-band, I was delving into the world of Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Led Zepellin, and yes, AC/DC. But purchasing their "Live" album circa freshman year of high school was a revelation. One of my all-time most-played albums, songs like "Thunderstruck" are absolutely essential for those times when you just need to get pumped-up and ready to rock. True, I couldn't always be sure exactly what lyrics were being sung, but regardless, there was no ambiguity as to the subject matter: kicking ass. AC/DC never wrote a love song, never got sentimental, and never slowed down - every song of theirs is simply designed to rock as hard as humanly possible - no if's, and's, or but's.
And truly, this has been the year that AC/DC hit back. Out of the spotlight for several years, the band never faded from the collective conciousness of would-be rockers everywhere. Whereas I, as a kid in the 90's, found few others my age who shared my passion for hard rock, now it seems like people who share in my appreciation for the classics of the rock n' roll cannon are a dime a dozen. Even before their latest album became a #1 hit, the last several years have seen a full-blown rock n' roll rennaisance. Thanks to iTunes, Guitar Hero / Rock Band, etc., a new generation is growing up learning from a young age learning about the joys of rock n' roll, and hey, few bands personify rock in its purest form moreso than AC/DC.
So tonight, I will finally get my chance to get back in black, get thunderstruck, strike hell's bells, and take a ride on the highway to hell. For those about to rock, I salute you.
- I had a fun weekend, and I should mention that on Friday, as part of Seth E.'s holiday movie marathon, some friends and I witnessed what surely has to be one of the most gloriously awful movies ever made - SANTA'S SLAY. This is one of those movies where it's hard to believe that it even exists at all. For one thing, it stars former wrestling champion Bill Goldberg (known in many circles for being an uncharacteristically badass Jew), as ... a homicidal, demonic Santa. Yes, Goldberg as a murderous Santa. It's a movie that in one fell swoop probably killed any chances that Bill Goldberg had for Hollywood stardom, and yet guaranteed him immortality by starring in one of the most godawful B-movies ever made. Also, Santa's Slay features one of the most surreal opening scenes I've ever seen in my life ... in which, for some unknown reason, Fran Descher, James Caan, Chris Kataan, Rebecca Gayheart, and a couple of other (all Jewish?) celebs are sitting around eating a nice dinner, only for Goldberg's evil Santa to crash through the chimney and brutally off each of them in hilarious fashion. WTF. Also, the movie features some of the strangest / most classic one-liners ever heard in a B-horror movie. At one point, our teenaged hero, cornered in a hockey rink by a zamboni-riding Goldberg inexplicably shines a pocket flashlight in Goldberg's face, in some last-ditch attempt to ward off the crazy Santa. At this, Goldberg replies: "Who the $#%& do you think I am, Dracula?" Amazing ... ly bad.
TV STUFF:
- A few quick TV thoughts, as over the weekend I was able to catch up on a couple of series I had fallen behind on ... one thing I missed though was THE SIMPSONS, which was listed as airing at 8:30 pm yet actually aired at 8, therefore causing me to recored a rerun of King of the Hill instead. Lame - I will have to catch up on last night's ep soon.
- So for a couple of days now everyone's been telling me about how great FRINGE was last Tuesday. And after finally seeing the episode, I have to agree that this was a pretty intense hour of television, involving all kinds of cool pseudo-science, from walking through walls to time travel. Plus, the mystery over Walter Bishop's past continues to deepen - and yeah, John Noble continues to be absolutely phenomenal in this role. With Olivia having been abducted in an episode-ending cliffhanger, business has just picked up as we head into the second half of the season.
My Grade: A-
- Also, I absolutely loved Wednesday's episode of PUSHING DAISIES. This was perhaps the best overall episode of the season to date, with several great character moments, some big plot developments, and a scene-stealing performance from Kristen Chenoweth as Olive Snook - certainly one of her most memorable episodes to date on the show (I mean, she sang "Eternal Flame", for crying out loud - pretty awesome!). Between the visually-astounding, imaginatively-constructed mystery at the comfort food bake-off, and the drama with Chuck secretly reviving her long-dead father, there was a ton going on here, but all of it crafted with the usual intelligence, wit, and care that Pushing Daisies brings to the table week in and week out. I know there's little if any hope for PD to get a shot at continuing on, but at the least ... this show deserves a proper finale. Do the right thing, ABC!
My Grade: A
- I can't say I felt quite as positive about last week's CHUCK. I've been loving Chuck this season, overall, but this week's was just not up to par. The writing highlighted just how annoying the character of Chuck can be when the show makes him too neurotic and sappy, and this was definitely Chuck at his worst. Chuck's desire to emotionally connect with Casey was way overdone, and as a whole the episode just felt like it was trying too hard to be melodramatic - it just came off as sappy. Meanwhile, I thought there was a lot of unrealized -potential with the story of Casey's old sensei returning as a villain. We never really got the sense of who this guy was or what he was after. Finally, Chuck's sister continues to be kind of an annoying, overbearing character. Basically, this episode felt like it was leaning too hard on some of the formulas that have been prevalent to date. I hope from here on out we can get back to fun but out-of-the-box episodes like the great Missile Command ep from a couple of weeks back.
My Grade: B-
- Alright, I did see a movie this weekend that I'm excited to talk about, so, here we go ...
FROST/NIXON Review:
- It's been a landmark year for politics, and a similarly interesting year for political movies. In W., we got a strange but fascinating portrait of our current president's political rise and fall. In Milk, we got a look at the 1970's-era political scene in a way that eerily parallels our own times. And now, in Frost/Nixon, we see politics as sport, as a means to play to a crowd, to establish a win/loss record, to win people over or make them hate you. The boxing analogy is there throughout the movie, and it fits - this is the story of two men who are poised for one-on-one combat, each one trying to use the other as a stepping stone to their own ends. There's David Frost - a cheery British chat show host who wants to prove that he's good for more than just frivolous TV entertainment. And then there's Richard Nixon, a fallen and broken man - but still proud and stubborn - who wants to finally conquer the medium which has dogged him throughout his career - television - and close the final chapter in his political life on his own terms. Both men go into battle with their own agendas in mind, but both soon realize that they may have underestimated their opponents.
It's with this framework that director Ron Howard shapes what turns out to be a pretty fascinating movie. The film is based on a stage play of the same name, and it tends to wear that fact on its sleeve. Frost/Nixon has that staged feel to it - long monologues, a flair for the melodramatic, and a deliberate pace. But given the subject matter, the style fits - particularly when you have actors of this caliber in the spotlight.
Because first thing's first - Frank Langella is absolutely phenomenal as Richard Nixon here. I wasn't sure what to expect going in, as photos of Langella didn't seem to bear much resemblance to the former president. And yet, he knocks it out of the park, delivering an eerily accurate interpretation of Nixon - his posture, his mannerisms, his manner of speech - all spot on. But more than that, Langella isn't just doing an impersonation, he's crafting a character. And the character he screates is completely fascinating - an old dog who doesn't learn new tricks but who is a master at the ones he knows. His Nixon is a guy who bears the burden of wrongdoing but almost feels worse that he got caught than that he did it to begin with. He's an angry person, a lonely person, and yet possessing of a strange, droopy charm and a formidable intellect. Langella is amazing in this role - certainly amongst the elite acting performances of 2008.
Still, Langella isn't the only one here who delivers a memorable turn. Michael Sheen, also reprising his role from the London play, is similarly great as David Frost. Sheen plays Frost as someone who is capable of coasting along on charm, but who has bigger ambitions than just being an empty television personality. Sheen makes Frost likable and someone you want to root for, but someone who you fear may simply take the easy way out and stay within his comfort zone. Again, it makes for a great dynamic between Frost and Nixon - each celebrities, yet each having achieved their biggest bout of fame for reasons other than what they would have liked.
There are also nice supporting turns from reliable actors like Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, and Sam Rockwell. Bacon is excellent as Nixon's overprotective stooge, and Rockwell is also really good as a crusading writer who serves as a consultant to Frost. It was really entertaining to me to see Oliver Platt as Robert Zelnick - Zelnick is currently one of BU's most prestigious journalism professors and someone who I saw speak a number of times during my time in Boston. I got a real kick out of seeing a well-known BU faculty member brought to life on the big screen, and I'm sure Zelnick did too. Here, he's cast as the more level-headed guy on Frost's team, and is often the straight man to Rockwell's more hot-headed idealist.
One of the criticisms against Ron Howard is that he lacks much style or vision, and I agree that a certain blandness has prevented a couple of his movies from crossing over from "very good" to "great." But, I don't know if that complaint is really valid here, as the movie's stage roots lend themselves to the director simply sitting back and letting the actors do their thing. That being said, the movie can drag a bit at times, and it seems to never fully commit to the stylistic choice of having older versions of its characters reflect, documentary-style, on the events that we're watching. Those segments feel almost thrown-in at the last minute, and don't contribute much to the narrative. But really, this is Sheen and most especially Langella's movie, and makes their small battle into a fascinating and surprisingly epic confrontation. In the end, this is one of Howard's strongest movies to date, and a tour de force from Langella as Nixon.
My Grade: A-
- Okay ... it's getting hard to focus because I am oh so ready to ROCK. The time is here, baby. Stay tuned for the full report soon!
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