Punching Pandas The art blog of Nolen Lee

Some media…

It's been a while since I sat down to watch a movie. The last one I saw was "Juno" back in November or December, and I didn't feel like I got my $10 worth on that. Recently, I had the chance to watch TWO movies this week. So this will be my first post on movies.

ONCE

I had a friend lend me a copy of this movie about a couple months ago. At the time I wasn't in the mood to watch a movie by myself. Maybe it was because I felt that sitting down and watching TV was a waste of time. But this last Sunday, after a long day of activities, I wanted to do something that didn't involved drawing, housework, or guitar.

I initially had reservations about this movie. I thought it was going to be one of those cheesy tales of Guitar Man who meets Attractive European Piano Lady and together make feel-good pop music while they experience the predictable sexual tension. Well, after watching it, I have to conclude that it was a cheesy tale of Guitar Man who meets Attractive European Piano Lady and together make feel-good pop music while they experience the predictable sexual tension.

But I have to say that I really enjoyed the movie.

In my mind, I was comparing it to another music-themed film I saw last year ("Music and Lyrics," it was on an airplane ride and I was bored, ok?). But unlike that film (my reaction to that one was, "eh"), I didn't get a headache from any annoying jokes, stereotypical sidekicks, or forced performances from big-name actors trying to be musicians. Instead, we got the opposite, with Glen Hansard of the Frames cast as the role of Man (that's what the credits say). The film's produced on a fairly low budget, and the music is actually not that bad (won something called an "Oscar" for Best Song). You could probably sit through the movie with your eyes closed and listen to the whole thing if you wanted to. It's nice to see someone make a decent movie without using A-list actors and a humungo budget. It's not a great film, but it's definitely an entertaining film.

A couple days later, I felt like watching another movie I got as a birthday gift (see what you started, Carol?!).

TEKKONKINKREET

I know, that was my reaction when I first read it. I still can't pronounce it. It's supposed to be a pun on "Tekkin concrete" whatever that means.

And there's that boy in the upper left with the gloves and the weird animal hat. During the first few minutes of the movie, I was trying to figure out if that boy was a boy. I mean, I know if a kid wore something like that to school, he wouldn't make it past lunch (he is a boy, by the way). With the crazy characters and the crazy title, I knew I was going to enjoy this one.

So what did I think of this one?

I dunno. I'm still trying to figure this one out. It was entertaining, but it reminded me a lot of Steamboy, Metropolis, Paprika, and Appleseed: they all had lots of eye candy and attention to detail, with a fantastic destructive ending. This one wasn't nearly as crazy as the ones before, but sometimes I found myself scratching my head at what was going on. I like it... I just need another run at this to see if I can figure out the story.

While we're talking about media, I just picked up a couple new albums.

ARCADE FIRE - Neon Bible

I was a little skeptical about whether the men and women from Montreal could repeat the success of "Funeral." After one listen though, they came pretty close. I kind of miss the raw feel that came with their first two albums, but maybe that will wear off after a few more listens. A couple songs ("Black Mirror, The Well..., No Cars Go," and second half of "Bad Vibrations...") sound pretty similar in format to last album's "Rebellion." But the songs still pack a punch. I didn't listen to this one before the last music post, but this one would have made it near the top of my list for 2007.

SLOAN - Never Hear the End of It

Another Oh Canada band. Look at the faces on these bad boys, don't mess with them. And with that menacing pink background, you know they mean business. Don't get on their bad side or they'll fill your underwear with maple syrup before the impending atomic wedgie... while singing... (it's getting late, gimme a break...) All kidding aside, I first heard about these guys while listening to someone else's playlist. It's not a bad deal for the price. There's 30 songs on this thing! Anyways, imagine if you took the last portion of "Abbey Road" and made a full album out of it. It's not anything groundbreaking, but it's fun and not as annoying as a lot of other mainstream "music" on the airwaves these days.

Some of were you asking me about my fireplace.

Here it is...