Music

Today is going to be a long day..  But first something FREAKIN AWESOME!  When I got into work this morning I received an IM from my friend Matt, pointing me to some SWEET news!

Dave Matthews Band to perform at Red Rocks
We are excited to announce that Dave Matthews Band will be returning to Colorado September 9-11, 2005 to perform three concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, CO.

Tickets may be requested in advance of the public on sale through the Warehouse, the official DMB fan association. The Warehouse Ticketing request period will begin on Thursday, June 23rd at 7:00 p.m. ET and will end on Tuesday, July 5th at 7:00 a.m. ET. For more information or to join the Warehouse, click here. Tickets will go on sale to the public on Saturday, July 9th at 10:00 a.m. Mountain Time.

Thought #1: BEST NEWS I’VE HEARD IN A LOOONG TIME!  Come hell or high water, I’m going to be there!  1 show at least – two would be awesome, but I’m aiming for the fences and want to be at all three.  In my excitement I made an impulse buy and now have a membership to the Warehouse DMB fan club – anything that I can do to get an edge on getting those tickets!  We’ll see how the pre-ordering period goes. 

Thought #2: My prediction was off by 3 days.  I was thinking Sept 11-13th, but it sounds like my sources have been pretty reliable once again

Thought #3: DAMMIT!  I am heading to VA this weekend to see him on the premise that he wasn’t coming to CO.  Now I’m spending nearly $400 in plane fairs, hotel, rental car all for a show I’m going to see later in the fall!  ARRGGH.  Oh well.

Crappy day at work, which I now need to get back to..  More on why this is such a long day!

So here I am putting a hard day in at the office (who am I kidding, it’s Friday afternoon, it’s 80 degrees outside and people are heading out of here in droves).  So what better time than for me to put together my top-ten list of Super-hero movies.

Before I get into the list I want to establish the criteria.  I’m looking 30 years  I gathered my list from "Comics & Super Heroes" movie section from BlockBuster.com and have ranked these movies subjectively to my tastes.  I realize that you and I might disagree on movie tastes, but my hope is that you will offer feedback based on my rankings, or better yet offer your own!

There was some criteria as to what I established as a super hero movie.  First, there needs to be based off an established comic book that took place before the movie (which is why I did not include the Incredibles on this list).  Additionally, they need to be a true super-hero – secret identity, the costume/suit, super-villain, the works (which is why I excluded Dick Tracy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc…).  Lastly I consider Sci-Fi movies separate from Super Hero movies (which is why I excluded Star Wars)

So without further ado, I present my list…

#10 Superman II – Arguably the first super-hero sequel to help establish the franchise.  While I cannot remember when this came out (obviously because it came out before I was born!), going back and watching it this movie had everything a good sequel needed – a dilemma to give up his powers for the woman he loves and outlaw Kryptons coming to earth to force him to accept his powers!

#9 Batman Returns – Great Sequel to the original Batman!  Director Tim Burton returned to continue this relatively dark movie.  Michael Keaton donned the cowl of the bat once again (making and awesome Bruce Wayne), Danny DeVito didn’t disappoint, and of course Michelle Pfeiffer in her leather Catwoman costume!

#8 X-men – This movie deserves props not for the movie itself, but rather the opportunities it created and ushering a new era of super hero movies.  I remember a lot of people being skeptical of super hero movies, due to the bombshell that was Batman & Robin. The success that X-men brought that summer inked the deal for Spider-man to be made, as well as made the prospects good for movies with Daredevil, Hulk & Fantastic Four to be made.  The story was solid, the plot was decent and the characters were good.  Plus you had Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry & Ian McKellen who all went on to make bigger pictures in the coming year.  As an avid X-men fan, I found the movie to be a bit boring and to be honest I really haven’t seen the DVD too many times since I bought it.  But it sets the foundation for X-men 2’s success.

#7 Superman – For 1978- this movie was solid, along with it being simply classic.  You gotta love Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman & Christopher Reeve being this movie!  Being that I didn’t watch this movie until my teen years I really don’t have an emotional attachment to this picture, which is probably why it’s not higher on this list.

#6 Spider-man – When Spider-man came out, this movie really solidified the future of the "Super Hero" genre of the movie industry.  This movie, until recently had set the record of being the highest-grossing opening weekend (something like $140 million).  Safe to say that there was a SQL to be created.  This movie did a great job of telling Spider-man’s origin, as well as had a good story and laid down some decent character development.  The movie wasn’t very intense, but at the same time did flow well, and had an overall good story.

So those are #10-6, onto the Top 5…

#5 Blade – Many people might not realize that Blade was actually a comic hero, but he’s been around for some time, in the pages of Marvel comics.  The movie version is very different than from the comic version – a lot darker.  This movie was really bloody and gory, but do you expect a movie about a vampire slayer (not named ‘Buffy’) to be any different?  Wesley Snipes was incredible.  The movie had a great plot, had AWESOME action sequences, and I’m proud to say that this was actually the first DVD I ever owned – and boy did it impress!  I remember my friend Matt and I chilling down in my room, pulling a couch up to my computer screen in 1999 watching this new thing called DVD.  The rest is history…

#4 – Batman (1989) – For the longest time, this movie enjoyed it’s #1 ranking in my mind until recent movies bumped it down.  That being said, this movie is still far ahead of it’s time.  Arguably based on Frank Miller’s vision of Batman, Tim Burton brought Miller’s "Dark Knight Returns" vision to life on the silver screen – and forever banished the "cheesy tights" Batman to the pages of history forever.  I remember when this movie came out I was 8 years old, and my parents wouldn’t let me see it because it was PG-13.  It was not until 3 years later when I snuck it into the VCR while my parents were gone did I get to experience one of the best super-hero movies ever made.  As I said in my last posting, Michael Keaton made the perfect Bruce Wayne, and Jack Nicholson gave a riveting performance as the Joker!  I still find myself popping this DVD in from time-to-time to get my super hero fix.

#3 – X2: X-men United – This movie was everything that X-men wanted to be, but couldn’t because of time or budget.  From the beginning of the movie to the end, this movie was "edge-of-your-seat" action, with a complex story-line that heavily leaned on X-men as the foundational crush.  Based on the Chris Claremont’s "God Loves, Man Kills" story-line, this movie literally left off where the first movie ended, and satisfied virtually every X-men fan out there!  Now we’re just waiting for X-men 3: The Search for Spoc-errrr-Phoenix.

#2 – Batman Begins – Maybe the fact that this movie still has that "new car smell" to it, but I would have to say that this is a pretty appropriate ranking for the latest installment of the Batman franchise.  This movie has a great plot that outlines the "Justice vs. Vengeance" issue that we face in our society.  The action is awesome, the effects and technology are so modernized and the plot is just good.  The super-villians are a bit more realistic in this movie than in other super-hero movies.

…and the #1 super hero movie of all time….

SPIDERMAN 2
Now I know what you’re thinking "how can a sequel be ranked #1"?  Because this movie took the foundation that #1 gave it and took Spider-man to the next level and "humanized" this super-hero.  With no origin needing to be told, no back-story that needs to be filled in, we got to dive straight into the struggles and persona of our favorite wall-crawler.  Spider-man had to deal with an issue that is all-too-real to all of us: the choices that we make.  In a very abstract way, Spider-man 2 was a very spiritual movie, posing the question: Does our ultimate calling and vocation in our lives force us to sacrifice things that feel important to us, and how what kind of consequences does ignoring our calling have on other people – namely the people that we love?  We’ve all stopped in our path on the journey asking "Is this really what I should be doing with my life?  Is this worth the sacrifices that I am making?"  There’s also the under-lying message of the "mask" that we all must wear, in our jobs, in school, in our relationships and in our lives – and how it is not until we embrace all of our different "identities" will we be able to make peace with them.  Peter Parker grew to despise the burdens that his Spider-man identity brought about, so much that he gave it up.  He ultimately realized that he had to accept and embrace both of his "identities" before he could accept the person that he was.

Okay, maybe I’m reading into it a little too much, but my point is that this movie was not just flashy special effects, a red-head Kirsten Dunst and a muscled up Tobey Maguire – it had a story that could also stand on it’s own as well.

So those are my rankings… I’m anxious to hear what you think!

Wow, today ended up being a pretty good day or me.  Granted I had more adventures in the car.  Right when I think I’m doing pretty well with the stick it comes back to bite me in the butt – and of course it always happens when other people are in the car as well – that’s just a given.  Bethany and I were taking a quick drive around the block when I had some problems shifting gears, I’m not really sure what I did wrong, but I think it was just fate.  Grrrr.

So first off I had an awesome night that started out with Bethany making me dinner.  She made this awesome pasta with this really good sauce/juice that was put in it – which included pine nuts.  It was really awesome!  Honestly it was the best meal I’ve had in quite a while – even better than the chicken dish that I made her last week.  There’s something about someone preparing a meal for you that makes it taste that much better!  She is awesome

Then the night only got better when we went to go see Batman begins!  What a FREAKIN’ GREAT movie that was!  There was so much that is awesome about this movie I’m not really sure where to begin.

First off – the story!  What a great premise!  Ever since the last franchise of Batman movies ended with the George Clooney Batman, I thought that the "Batman" movie franchise spiraled into the earth, never to return again.  But this movie has single-handedly resurrected the franchise.  This movie did the best thing it could have possibly done – completely ignored the previously made movies.  This is a completely new Batman, with a completely new backstory.  Batman’s origin, while conceptually well-established has always been a bit sketchy when it comes to detail.  The person who took the best stab at this was Frank Miller when he wrote "Batman: Year One", and in many ways the story mirrored a lot of the premise (it’s been a while since I’ve read that book, but as I write this I’m on Amazon ordering the Trade Paperback).  But getting back to the point – David S Goyer had a wide range of creative license in writing this story.  He was able to take it beyond the pages of the comics and put something together that feeds and rekindles the Batman franchise (which is now over 70 years old!).  As far as super-hero movies go, the story was excellent – totally on par (and perhaps surpassing) Spiderman-2.  Like Frank Miller, Goyer really was able to develop the characters (especially Batman) and the conflict that occurs throughout the movie – justice vs. vengeance.  A quote from the movie that has profoundly been ringing in my head for the last few hours:

"As a man, I’m just flesh and blood. I can be destroyed. But as a symbol…..I can be everlasting. I can be incorruptible. I can be something terrifying."

I’d love to get into the story more, but I don’t’ want to spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it, plus I’m really riding on emotion right now and I want to think more about it before I write more about it.

But a few other tidbits…

-The Batmobile – AWESOME!  Definitely the best Batmobile from the movies.  It reminded me a lot of the Batmobile in Miller’s "The Dark Knight Returns".  Something funny – with my whole car dilemma I leaned over to Bethany when we first saw the car and I joked "I bet Batman knows how to drive a stick!".  SPOILER BEGIN – Then later in the movie when Batman wants Sergeant Gordon to drive the car he asks "Can you drive a stick?" – SPOILER END – too funny!

-Batman’s suit – Definitely the most realistic out of all of the suits!  It rivals the suit used in the 1989 movie, but it’s a lot more practical.  You could see how Batman could move like he did – it seemed a lot more agile!  And of course -TONS better than the tights from the 60’s!

– Finally – Christian Beale – Now I know what all of you girls are saying.  Bethany said the same thing, "Christian Beale is the hottest Batman!".  So yes, there’s definitely something for the ladies to enjoy during the movie.  But as far as Batman goes, I would have to say that he is definitely the best Batman out of all of movie Batmans!  During the movie when he was interrogating that corrupt cop – his voice was absolutely booming – exactly what I pictured in the comics whenever Batman was pissed.  His "Batman voice" definitely made a bit part of it.  He did an excellent job acting.  As Bruce Wayne he was outstanding, but it’s hard to compare him to Michael Keaton (with the age difference and the fact that the movies are set on different events in Batman’s life).  Beale was awesome as young Bruce Wayne, then when he returned to Gotham (in the present time) he did a pretty decent job.  Beale wasn’t as charming as Bruce Wayne should have been, but at the same time the character wasn’t written that way.

But if I were handing out awards, here’s how they would go:

Best Bruce Wayne – Michael Keaton.  Part of it was that he was the original, but to me he is what I envision as the charm of Batman, but also reveals the inner-person who really is Batman.  In the suit Keaton did a pretty good job as well, just not great. – Runner Up: Beale

Best Batman – Christian Beale – for the reasons stated above.  Beale has snared that award from Val Kilmer, who is now in 2nd place.  3rd place is Keaton.

Crappiest Batman – George Clooney.  I like Clooney and I like his work, but dude’s melon does not belong in the "cowl of the Bat".  Really that whole "Batman & Robin" movie was an abomination.

Outside of Crash (which is an excellent movie in many different ways), Batman is definitely my pick of the summer so far!

 

FREAKIN’ BATMAN!!!

Up next – what’s the greatest Super Hero movie of all time?  Where does Batman Begins rank?

Great night tonight!  I just got in from the Queens of the Stone Age concert, what a blast that was!  I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I ended up having a blast.  The person who invited me actually won the tickets from a radio station up here and invited me!  I was happy to join her, but hadn’t heard very much of their stuff.

The show turned out to be great.  QotSA is a solid rock band that laid down some really great grooves.  Their lead singer had a great voice and was totally ripped.  Their opening act, Eagles of Death Metal was pretty good as well!

The drummers for both groups were really impressed.  Eagles of Death Metal has a girl drummer, which was awesome.  She was really good, in a "Ringo Starr" kind of way.  Technically she was average, but she kept a really strong beat and for that kind of music it was exactly what she needed.  She was able to groove pretty well.  QotSA’s drummer was flippin’ awesome.  He was totally ripped as well!  He really conveyed a lot of energy and laid down a solid foundation for the band.

On the way home this got me thinking about some of the other concerts that I’ve been to, and how tonight’s concert would rate with those shows.  I think this show, as solid as it is, would probably rate in the top 2/3’s of the best shows that I’ve been to.  Sometime when I have the chance I should list out all of the concerts I’ve been to – if I can remember all of them.  To get an idea of what I’m rating tonight’s concert against, I’d like to post my mental list of the top 5 concerts I’ve been to…

#5) Dave Matthew Band – Home Depot Center (LA), August 27 & 28, 2004
Part of what makes this show great are it’s circumstances.  Hopping on a bird to LA for the weekend, seeing the beach during the day and then spending a warm California night with my best friend Emily seeing my favorite band – definitely one of the highlights of my life!  The band was freakin’ amazing and made it worth the 900 mile trip.  :They played two consecutive nights (I went to both shows) and out of both those nights, they only played 2 songs both nights (and only because they were new songs).  What made it the most classic is that they played my favorite DMB song – "Two Step".  They hadn’t played it for weeks (I was monitoring the set-list) and the level of excitement I exhibited when they started the song was apparently humorous (just ask Emily).

#4) Spearhead – Fillmore Auditorium, September 2003
It was a Saturday night and a big group of us from church went down to see this band.  This was the first time I saw Spearhead live and they did not disappoint.  The show had so much raw energy and was incredibly positive.  This was also my first time at the Fillmore which is an amazing venue (a restored ballroom).  We made our way to the VERY front, and just jammed out the whole time.  It was great!

#3) Coldplay – Red Rocks Amphitheatre, June 2003
My friend Matt and I went to this show with 2 guys I went to church and worked with.  It was funny because they offered these tickets to me out of the blue and Matt and I decided to go.  At that point neither of us were huge fans of Coldplay (we only heard what they played on the radio) nor had we been to Red Rocks (but we heard all about it!).  After going to that show though – both the band and venue went beyond either of our expectations.  As soon as we started driving down to Denver it began to rain, and it didn’t let up one bit.  It rained the WHOLE concert, and not a drizzle, but a pretty good downpour.  Neither Matt and I had any rain gear and just stood there getting sobbing wet just being blown away by Coldplay.  I’ll never forget when they played "Clocks" for the encore and you saw the lasers shooting and image of clouds & sky out from the stage, begin broken up by the rain.  It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!

#2) John Ondrasik (Five For Fighting) Acoustic – Blue Bird Theater, April 2004
For those of you who haven’t heard Five For Fighting beyond "Superman" and "100 Years" – you’re really missing out.  John Ondrasik is definitely one of my favorite musicians of all time, and I had been in love with Five For Fighting for almost 2 years at that point.  So when I heard that he was having an acoustic show I jumped at the chance to get tickets (which weren’t selling very fast at all).  I roped a few of my friends from church to come down to the show.  My friend Fred and I ended up sitting in the 2nd row and we were like 8 feet away from John Ondrasik!   I had never been to the Blue Bird before, but it is TINY! – 150 people, max…  And he we were in an awesome intimate concert setting hearing all of these awesome songs and raw passion that John put into playing each of them.  He gave us a little bit of piano, a little bit of guitar and a lot of amazement.  I wasn’t sure how my friends were going to react to the show, but when we walked out they were blown away as well.  Then one of my friends asked me "How did you manage to get tickets to that?!?  To see someone acoustic and small as that – you have to know the band personally".  I still find it funny

and the #1 show I’ve ever been to (Drum Roll Please)

#1) Dave Matthews Band – Mile High Stadium, August 2000
Nostalga and pure luck make this concert the #1 show.  Picture this and you’ll see why: One of (I think the if I’m not mistaken) the last concerts at old Mile High Stadium, Ozomatli AND Ben Harper opening, and oh yeah, FRONT ROW SEATS! I kid you not..  Section A-1, Row 1, Seats 3 & 4.  I still remember it vividly.  How I got these tickets – it’s a long story, but to make it short I had a very generous friend and was very lucky.  This was the first concert I had ever been to and only 4 days earlier had I finished helping lead my first service trip to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.  What a contrast to be in a place that was so quiet, sparse and peaceful, then not even 4 days later to be surrounded by over 73,000 people seeing this amazing band that had been my favorite for over 5 years..  To top it off, during "All Along the Watchtower" while Ben Harper was soloing Dave came to our side ofthe stage and made eye contact with me – I swear!!!

Honorable Mentions:
–Five for Fighting, Hard Rock Cafe (Orlando), June 2002
-Ozomatli, Aggie Theatre, October 2004

I’m anxious to hear other people’s top 5 lists…