Hero
Directed by: Zhang Yimou
Written by: Feng Li, Bin Wang, Zhang Yimou
Starring: Jet Li, Ziyi Zhang, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen

The last decade has seen a huge influx of Eastern culture over here in the Western hemisphere, from the surge in popularity of anime, to the success of action stars like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat, to a collective newfound love of sushi (okay, maybe that one’s still in the works). Although a lot of Eastern culture has been misrepresented over the years, there has also been a gradual movement towards true appreciation and understanding of it. Hollywood studios would seem to be doing their part by importing all the Asian cinema they can get their hands on, but unfortunately their lazy and ignorant methods of distributing foreign films have sometimes been doing more harm than good. Miramax in particular has developed a bad reputation for buying up popular movies from overseas and then getting cold feet, shelving them until they can figure out how to market them to mainstream audiences (or even worse, editing them down into unrecognizable scraps and further demeaning them with atrocious English language dubbing).

Zhang Yimou’s “Hero” was one movie that hung in limbo for a number of years after Miramax acquired the rights. It was released in China in 2002, became the highest grossing movie of all-time there, and was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. And yet it took another 2 years for it to arrive in North America, thanks to Quentin Tarantino who finally persuaded Harvey Weinstein to release it (but only with Tarantino’s name on the posters to sell it of course). Many imported bootleg DVDs had already helped spread the word of this beautiful film by the time it arrived here, but now finally North American audiences have a chance to see it on the big screen. What’s more, it is uncut (as far as I can tell) and has decent subtitles too.

But really, I don’t see why this movie shouldn’t achieve some degree of success here. It stars Jet Li, an action star that Westerners are familiar with, and it has numerous connections to Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, the movie that first brought credibility and acceptance of wire-fu martial arts to the West. Crouching Tiger is probably a good gauge for whether or not you’ll like Hero; if you thought it was silly and unrealistic to see sword fights with opponents prancing across tree tops and defying the laws of gravity, you’ll probably want to stay far away.

However, Hero’s story is more straightforward and less muddled than Crouching Tiger’s, although it isn’t without some interesting twists. Hero has also been compared to the classic Japanese film Rashomon because it presents multiple perspectives of one story. In feudal China, a nameless warrior defeats 3 assassins and as a reward he is allowed to sit in with the king of the most powerful warring nation. When the king asks him to tell of how he defeated these warriors, the events are retold in flashbacks. As the king becomes suspicious and challenges his story, we learn about a love between two of the assassins, and slowly uncover the truth.

The main reason why you must see Hero is for the visuals. Director Zhang Yimou has truly used the screen as a canvas here, mixing together cinematography, choreography and set/costume design to paint a dazzling array of pictures. The use of colour in this movie is unprecedented, with each segment of the story seen through a different thematic hue. The pacing of the movie is fairly laidback, with plenty of slow-mo and contemplative camera work (even many of the fight sequences aren’t adrenaline-pumping set pieces), and it allows you to soak up all of the marvelous images at your leisure. It also helps showcase the true “art” in martial arts, emphasizing the fluidity and gracefulness of the actors’ movements.

Like many Eastern movies, Hero can be criticized for being a bit too pretentious and overblown at times. There are scenes that drag on too long, and there are moments of honour and integrity that seem forced and unnatural. There are points where the suspension of disbelief hangs by a thread. However, some of the awkwardness here can probably be attributed to cultural differences, and the fact that the movie is a fantastical one.

Perhaps the most enigmatic thing about this movie for Western audiences is not the plot or the language barrier, but rather the message of the movie. Yimou hammers home a decidedly un-American theme of sacrificing individual desires in order to benefit the good of all. And while it is undoubtedly a communist idea at heart — a potentially frightening one — it’s also something we could all learn from. In the U.S. we don’t often hear someone being called a hero for willingly falling in line and preserving the status quo… but maybe every now and then we should.

To be realistic though, Hero will probably not change your outlook on life, but it will remind you that there are some extremely talented people making movies outside of North America. Hollywood couldn’t come up with a movie like this in a million years. Don’t dismiss this film because it’s subtitled or because you’re tired of hearing about kung fu movies. There’s a lot more at work here, and this one is worth seeing. — Sean

Vee Device - Out Of The Darkness
(Ind.)

Having labelled themselves as “folk-infused chamber-pop”, my interest in the Vee Device was definitely peaked. Although this term seems somewhat non-specific, bands such as The Polyphonic Spree, Sufjan Stevens, and The Danielson Famile are brought to mind — a mix of banjos, cellos and horns that come together as an entire pop orchestra. After listening to their debut album “Out of the Darkness”, I had mixed feelings.

“Out of the Darkness” plays as a concept album, telling the story of the infamous east coast blackout which we all remember so well. I suppose it’s fitting, seeing as the band is made up mostly of instruments that don’t require power to be played. This works for the concept by giving a feeling that the album is being performed by a group of friends during the blackout. Musically, I suppose “folk-infused chamber-pop” is an alright description of the seventeen songs on this album. However, those interested in the pop elements may be dissapointed to find that they’re close to non-existent. About half of the songs found on the album are instrumental numbers, which are definitely the tracks that held my interest. I found it hard to accept the vocals on most of the album. It’s not that the singing is bad, it’s just done in a style that I found didn’t work together with the music. The vocal presence was almost too overwhelming, stepping in front of what I felt was very interesting instrumentation.

Even with the that in mind, it’s hard not to be impressed by how good the album sounds. Cellos, banjos and mandolins are only some of the instruments found on the album, and all are played by people with obvious musical talent and expertise. If only the Vee Device allowed the instruments to carry themselves, because I definitely feel that the music is strong enough to survive without the help of vocals. — Jay C.

Open Water
Written and Directed by: Chris Kentis
Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis

Amidst a summer of big clumsy special effects movies, Open Water is a welcome breath of fresh air.Shot for under $500,000, this indie flick was picked up at the Sundance Festival this year and ushered into theatres to provide the perfect alternative to horrendous big budget thrillers like Alien vs Predator andExorcist: The Beginning. Open Water proves that it’s not the special effects that generates suspense or scares, it’s the filmmaking.

Odds are, if you’ve heard of Open Water, you’ve heard it mentioned in the same breath as one of two movies:Jaws or The Blair Witch Project. Jaws is an obvious reference point only because the movie deals with a shark attack, while The Blair Witch Project was similarly a low budget horror movie that used a documentary style to evoke a previously untapped feeling of realism. The truth is, Open Water won’t remind you of either of these movies while you watch it… but it will grip you and eat away at you, no pun intended.

We’ve all heard plenty of travel horror stories, and let’s face it, whenever you go on a trip somewhere or find yourself in strange surroundings there’s always an underlying anxiety there. Whether you’re worrying about getting robbed, or eating unsafe food, or catching some deadly disease from the mosquitos, somehow you’re always prepared for the worst no matter how unlikely it is.Open Water brings our worst nightmares to life with the (mostly true) story of Daniel and Susan, a young couple like many others just trying to find a week away from their busy lives to escape to a warm and relaxing tropical locale. When they go on a group scuba diving excursion, their tour group accidentally leaves them behind, stranding them out in the middle of the ocean. This wouldn’t be so bad except for the fact that no one knows they’re missing… and also the fact that there are jellyfish, thunderstorms, and much worse things waiting out there for them.

Writer/director Chris Kentis strives for realism in all aspects of this movie. There are no computer effects, and all the shark footage was done with real sharks. No genetically mutated uber-sharks, just regular everyday sharks that are actually known to attack humans from time to time. Although the movie is not done as a documentary, Kentis achieves a gritty home video look by using a handheld digital video camera. The result is that you feel like you’re stranded right there beside them. I haven’t seen a movie that so successfully conveys the feelings of isolation and hopelessness in a long time.Blanchard Ryan (Super Troopers) and Daniel Travis (Sex And The City) are essentially unknown actors, along with the rest of the secondary cast, which helps further ground the movie in reality. Their performances are also real andseemingly unscripted; their reactions to the worsening crisis no different than what you’d expect from any other human being.

Perhaps the most masterful aspect of Open Water is the pacing. There are no big shock moments, and even upon their initial discovery of being stranded, Susan and Daniel do not panic or immediately become terrified.Instead there is only a gradual building of dread, knotting your stomach further and further as time passes.The slow pace is a key element to the suspense, but Kentis never lets the movie get boring or drawn out.There are enough events that transpire along the way to keep you hooked, and cuts back to people with the tour group from time to time lead you to wonder if and when a rescue might be attempted.The total running time of the movie is about 90 minutes. The ending comes abruptly and leaves an eerie sense of uneasiness even after the credits have rolled.

There’s no doubt that Open Water shuns many Hollywood conventions, and as a result it may be too abnormal for some viewers who don’t have the patience to sit through a slow build up, or who can’t fathom a movie that takes place almost completely out in the middle of the water. But it is this unconventional approach that ultimately makes Open Water so effectively unsettling. It’s a simple concept and a simple movie, but executed so skillfully that it won’t be forgotten anytime soon. If you’ve had it up to here with bad CGI effects and horror movies that just aren’t scary, Open Water is the real thriller you’ve been waiting all summer for. — Sean

Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster
Directed by: Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky
Starring: Metallica

I was never a huge Metallica fan. Despite being a skid throughout most of the 90s, I always found Metallica to be hit-and-miss, a band I couldn�t listen to a full album of, who had cheesy lyrics and boring drumming. To this day I still don�t think their old era any better to their newer stuff. Theres things that are OK, theres things that are good, things that are crap. Whatever. However I am one of those people that went apeshit trashing the band during their famed anti-Napster crusade just a few years back. If the band have any brains at all, they at least secretly regret what they did and know it didn’t make a difference, that it just turned their own fans against them and cost them thousands, maybe even millions, of dollars.

So of course when I heard that there was a Metallica documentary that supposedly showcased the band’s ridiculousness, I was there. Spinal Tap is my favorite movie of all time and a real life equivalent has been a long time coming. In that sense, “Metallica: Some Kind of Monster” satisfies. And it gives you a whole lot more.

This documentary, directed by Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky of “Brother’s Keeper” and “Paradise Lost” fame, works on many levels and should appeal to a broad audience. Like many great documentaries, it is full of comedy, drama, tragedy, and “wtf?” moments that will surely generate discussion once the movie is over. Its 2001 and Metallica have entered the studio to record their first album of entirely original material in several years. They have what must have seemed a good idea, to show up with no ideas beforehand, no song titles, no riffs, nothing, just jam together in the studio and collaborate in a way they had never done before. At the same time, they are dealing with the quitting of their bass player Jason Newsted, as well as other tension in the band, by hiring a 40,000 dollar a month shrink to deal with their problems.

It is amazing that Metallica, forever trying to be a tough guy band, allowed this footage to be taken, let alone released. Each member exposes several negative traits about themselves, as well as probably does irreparable damange to the image of the band by their words and actions. Singer James Hetfield is clueless to how he’s changed over ten years from regular guy party animal to alcoholic father who takes his kids to ballet practice. As well he can be an asshole at times who can’t resolve problems, often dramatically slamming doors to show off his disdain for the situations he’s in. After going away for rehab for a large portion of the film, he becomes increasingly paranoid about things being done behind his back. Guitarist Kirk Hammett, not that this is new, comes across quite frankly as a closeted homosexual. With this sort of stereotypically gay demeanor and the fact that he’s kind of stupid, he comes away with the best lines in the film. Every word he got in generated laughs. Producer Bob Rock is in the movie as much as the rest of the band, and might as well have been played by Michael McKean of Spinal Tap as he looks, talks and acts the same. Lars Ulrich, what can I say? He’s the ultimate movie villain. A total bitch, self centered, selfish, arrogant. The way the public knows him from the Napster trials is the way he is, ALL THE TIME. There are no redeemable qualities with this man. He’s not even much of a drummer. But he makes for a great movie character, and without Lars, the movie wouldn’t be nearly as fascinating.

The documentary has many surprises and cameos. Lars Ulrich’s father is way more hardcore than he is. Dave Mustaine of Megadeth shows up for some bizarre reason to explain how tortured he is by fans who bring up Metallica instead of his own band. Band members randomly speak in psychobabble relating to their psychiatry and their feelings. Lars discusses the nature of art and then sells some of his own.

For some reason, despite how ridiculous the band come across as, the documentary is certainly no hatchet job. Everything seems to be in proper context with nothing coming across as questionable. The band despite their faults are at most other times likeable and honest, and aware of where the band stands in the current state of music. When it comes to their work they aren�t exactly deluded or claiming to be better than they are. The generic “making of an album” moments that take up a large chunk of the film as well are equally interesting and better than any other ‘making of an album’ piece I’ve seen before.

At 2 and a half hours, for me it flew right by, though I see not everyone exactly agrees. I thought it was tight and didn�t waste any of its minutes. In its investigation of the band, Some Kind of Monster is a more successful psychological analysis of the band than the one they were paying the shrink for. Best documentary of the year to date, and one of the years best films, period. — Goon

Garden State
Written and Directed by: Zach Braff
Starring: Zach Braff, Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard

Garden State is one of those ‘plotless’ movies. Like Igby Goes Down and Lost in Translation, it to most people is simply “a bunch of stuff that happens”. No definable climax and a resolution that won’t seem to everyone like a real ending. It�s a character driven film that requires an investment from the cast involved and superb writing. With this in mind Garden State is amazingly successful, not to mention funnier than both of the films I just mentioned.

The film follows Andrew Largeman as he returns home from L.A. to attend a funeral. He has not been successful in his acting career other than a TV movie where he played a handicapped football player. Feeling numb to the world around him, he visits old friends he generally no longer can relate to, and some new people that bring him out of his shell and give him the opportunity to change the direction in his life.

Sound like cheese? Like one of those “Hallmark” movies that wins miniseries Emmys? I guess it does. But it works. Zach Braff’s writing is funny, his dialogue and characters are incredibly realistic, and this puts his characters into strange situations while at the same time making them feel like everyday things. No matter what quirks the characters have or places they go that none of us have, the characterization pulls you right in there. For me personally there were indirect connections to my own weird stories and experiences that have happened in my life. To be overly arty about it the film says a lot about the little things and quirks in life that make up everyone and make them special or unique.

What gives it such impact is the quality of the performances. Peter Sarsgaard is that guy who never does anything with his life. And its not a Jack Black “Orange County” type bum, this guy is real and completely believable. Natalie Portman gives the best performance I’ve ever seen her in, Oscar worthy even, as first off “the love interest” but is much more as a borderline insane pathological liar. She is introduced as one of those obnoxious types everyone knows who talks to much with you when you’re in a bar, store, or in Garden State, a waiting room. By getting to know her, Braff’s Largeman is changed in a way that has fuelled a massive Internet debate about the ending of the film.

I wont give it away, but as I mentioned it has been questioned by a lot of people about whether or not the film ending is what it was intended to be. Its easy to look at the ending of an indie film that doesn�t end badly for the characters and assume it was Hollywood pressure, but you have to ask yourself if it is consistent with the story that has been told. To me it was and is completely appropriate.

Giving extra weight to the film are amazing and expensive looking cinematography that is usually not present in a lot of smaller indie releases. As well the film has an amazing soundtrack featuring Iron and Wine and others, that give the scenes some extra weight, and like Lost in Translation’s music/score, a whole lot of sentiment. — Goon

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (X-Box)
Developed and Published by: Midway

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is a noteworthy game from Midway that really deserves the attention of gamers everywhere. It’s been mostly overlooked, I’m sure, because it is an original title that does not resurrect any 1980’s video game franchise, nor is it based on any movies, nor does it have any celebrity endorsements. The sad truth is that name recognition is everything nowadays and new franchises have their work cut out for them if they hope to break through and gain a following with the kiddies.

The characters and story in Psi-Ops are not the most memorable, and perhaps this is another reason why the game has generally failed to make an impression. However, this isn’t to say that Midway didn’t try to generate an interesting plot, only that it takes a backseat to the game’s brilliant gameplay mechanics and physics system. You are government operative Nick Scryer (”scrying” being the mythological act of spying on someone through remote viewing), part of an elite training program for those with the gift of psionic mind powers. When some corrupt members of the Mindgate program form a terrorist group called The Movement and kidnap all the other psychics, it’s up to you to save them and the rest of the free world. The problem is that you don’t know that you are Nick Scryer and that you can kick ass with your mind. The game bears some resemblance to Namco’s Breakdown as you start the game with your memory wiped clean, having no recollections of your abilities, and your comrades must help awaken them inside you along the way. The game also seems to draw influence from Metal Gear Solid both in terms of quirky boss fights and also some of the limited stealth elements.

You start off with only a pistol, and at first glance Psi-Ops seems to be a fairly average 3rd person shooter. Nothing out of the ordinary, except that you can knock objects over and roll them around just by walking into them, or break them apart by punching them, etc. The first time it happens it really adds a whole new level of realism to the game because you don’t expect it. You get used to it real quick though. Psi-Ops (along with games such as Max Payne 2, Painkiller and Deus Ex: Invisible War) licenses the middleware Havok 2 physics engine, a very powerful and dynamic system for handling object interactions. Within a year or two I doubt we’ll be seeing static objects in games anymore, because this level of interactivity is going to become standard.

Psi-Ops further showcases the benefits of a full environmental physics simulation when Nick remembers his first and most important ability: telekinesis. This is where the real fun starts. Suddenly you can levitate objects and hurl them at enemies, or levitate enemy soldiers themselves and toss them around like ragdolls. Not only that, but you can climb onto objects and then levitate yourself — an unexpected and unintended technique resulting from the flexibility of the physics system. The control scheme for this game is very well conceived, making it simple yet gratifying to either throw objects with force or precisely position them where you need them.

Nick also has a variety of other skills in his arsenal that he recovers over time. Remote Viewing for example, lets him look ahead through doors to scout out areas, and Mind Drain allows him to recover Psi energy by sucking mind power from enemies (sometimes so forcefully that it causes their heads to explode like watermelons… sweet!) Whenever Nick unlocks a new power, memories flood back from his original training at Mindgate and as a player you play through these memories as tutorials. Although it’s a sudden cut away from the action of the main storyline, it’s a clever way to teach gameplay on the fly.

The graphics in Psi-Ops are not amazing and I’m not a fan of the square and blocky characters designs either. The pre-rendered cut scenes are slightly more impressive visually, but the voice acting is not all it could have been. The camera controls are a little finicky at times; as with most 3rd person games, even though the player can adjust the camera manually it still gives awkward angles particularly when in tight quarters. The game does seem fairly easy for the most part, and although the enemy A.I. isn’t too advanced you won’t notice because you’ll be having too much fun experimenting with techniques for smashing their heads in.

The bottom line is that this game is fun, mainly because you can play through the same scenario 20 times in a row and never have events unfold in quite the same way. It’s the physics that are the star of the show, but the thoughtful design is what makes you feel empowered by presenting so many different uses for these nifty mind powers. Of course, the next step is to actually do away with the controller and stick electrodes to your forehead instead. Now THAT is a game I want to play. Hopefully enough people will buy this game so that Midway will have an opportunity to develop such a concept for the sequel. You WILL buy this game, won’t you? Yes, you will. I know you will. — Sean

Alien vs Predator
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by: Paul W.S. Anderson (screenplay), Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett (story)
Starring: Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner, Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova

There are certain sequels and movie matchups that should never be made, and most people with any inch of credibility in the film industry understand that. The problem is that when push comes to shove, credibility is irrelevant and money means everything. Alien vs Predator has existed as a concept for years in both video game and comic book form, but it has never been dignified with an actual movie because… well, it probably didn’t deserve one. Recently, however, the people at 20th Century Fox were reminded that the Alien franchise still has a devout following that even Alien Resurrection couldn’t kill. When that other famous face-off, Freddy vs Jason, didn’t tank at the box office, the next step was a logical one: call up a Hollywood jobber like Paul W.S. Anderson, turn Alien vs Predator into a hip acronym, and make it a reality.

This year has already been a great one for theatrical train wrecks, so hey, why not add another to the list? Paul W.S. Anderson is taking a lot of blame for this movie, but it’s probably not his fault. I can’t believe I’m defending the guy behind Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon and Resident Evil but these “versus” movies are nothing but pure what-if escapism — amusing little scenarios that originate in the heads of fanboys who don’t live in the real world. Such silly concepts occasionally work in comic book crossovers, but to do an entire feature film is to give serious validation to the immature imaginations of geeks everywhere. That’s exactly why Alien vs Predator comes across like a fan film with a big budget. It takes two separate franchises and squishes them into a movie where they really have no business being together, orphaning them from the elements that made each of them so memorable on their own. And yet, like all train wrecks sometimes you can’t resist that human impulse urging you to take a peek and see how much damage has been done.

The backstory they’ve conjured up is nothing short of ridiculous. A team of specialists is assembled to investigate a strange pyramid found buried in Antarctica. The team is put together by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen), the head of Weyland Industries who you may remember from Aliens and Alien 3. As they converge on the pyramid, the humans reawaken an age old hunting ritual that used to take place back in the time of the ancient Aztecs, Egyptians and Cambodians… Predators vs Aliens. You know, just for the fun of it. Who would have thought that it was the Predators who taught these ancient civilizations to build pyramids in the first place?

It’s interesting to note that Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, who have not been involved with the Alien series since coming up with the concept and story for the original, lent Anderson a helping hand with AvP. Out of all the past players who steered clear of this project, you would think these guys would have run the farthest away. I guess when you haven’t written anything decent in over 10 years you tend to think twice, but this certainly isn’t going to help their track record any.

There have been a few reviewers who claimed this movie was at least able to entertain on a visceral level. I have to disagree, and it’s not because the special effects were bad; on the contrary, this is one of the few areas where I thought the movie did retain some dignity. Unfortunately, I have no idea why they felt it was appopriate to make AvP a PG-13 film when none of the Alien or Predator movies were rated anything less than R. The PG-13 rating is a huge problem because it means we have a showdown movie with absolutely no payoffs. You never see anyone get hurt, and it quickly becomes repetitive as every death ends with the camera cutting away to a long shot while screams echo in the distance. The fight scenes that everyone paid to see are nothing but boring montages of jumbled close-ups and shaky camera work.

Needless to say, there is no horror or suspense in this film. Somehow the Alien and Predator aren’t so terrifying when there are hundreds of them running around… it kind of ruins the effect. Since they couldn’t show any blood and guts they try to shock us by showing what’s under the Predator masks instead. There were rumours about Paul W.S. Anderson editing the movie right down to the wire and even being forced to cancel the premiere to get every last minute he can in the cutting room. I can only guess this was a ploy to ensure that no one could see the movie and generate bad hype before it hit theatres, because even Anderson can’t be dumb enough to think that some extra editing would improve the quality of this film.

The acting is the last thing worth mentioning about AvP. It’s not like the actors had much to work with but there are no characters here we even remotely care about. The original Alien and Predator movies were only great because you cared about the people in it, and here it’s obvious that the human are just backdrop for the fight scenes between Aliens and Predators. And how much personality can these monsters really have? At first we don’t have a side to root for, which makes for fantastically boring action. But when the story is finally required to choose a protagonist, that is what really makes a mockery of the whole thing. Lance Henriksen returns as Bishop but does not do enough to connect this to the Alien universe we already know and hold dear to our heart. Under the circumstances I’d say that’s a good thing. At least you can’t claim that AvP ruins the other movies because there’s no way you would ever mistake this movie as being part of the same continuity.

The only good thing I have to say about Alien vs Predator is that it doesn’t overstay its welcome. The movie felt to me like it clocked in at under 90 minutes but I don’t know for sure. It’s pretty sad when that’s a movie’s only redeeming factor, but really Alien vs Predator doesn’t even fall into the “so bad it’s good” category. There is no sense of humour or campiness here at all, only boredom. If you’re like me and you feel compelled to see this movie regardless of the bad reviews, you really should think again because it doesn’t deserve your money or your time. Only the hardest of hardcore geeks will derive any pleasure from this one. — Sean

The High Dials - Fields In Glass EP
(Rainbow Quartz)

Normally I am not a big supporter of single EPs. They usually only feature one song that you’ve already heard, and while they may throw in an additional unreleased song to hook you, they rarely deliver good value for your money. Buying a CD for one song shouldn’t even be necessary in this day and age, after all, that’s what they invented MP3s for, right? (Wait… did I say that? Nope, I didn’t.)

However, when it’s an EP from a band like The High Dials, who released one of my favourite albums from last year, I am admittedly much more open to the idea. “Fields In Glass” is the second single from The High Dials’ masterpiece A New Devotion, and it is one of many stand out tracks from the album. Lead by a pulsing bassline, complimented by lovely Beatles-esque vocal harmonies, it eventually takes flight into a sky of cascading guitars. The primary purpose of their new Fields In Glass EP is to showcase this song, and under the circumstances, I really don’t mind hearing 3 different versions of it. The “Radio Mix” seems to be essentially the same version as the one from A New Devotion. The “Club Mix” maintains the structure and most of the instrumentation of the original, but extends it a bit and adds a steady beat to increase danceability. The “Stained Glass Mix”, on the other hand, makes more radical changes and takes the song further into varying degrees of interesting psychadelic and electronic breakdowns.

There are also 2 previously unreleased songs included on this EP. “City Rivers” and “The House Where Trouble Sleeps” are both outtakes from A New Devotion as I understand it. Both are every bit as dazzling as their other songs, and neither stray from their brit-mod-pop-psych roots, but “The House Where Trouble Sleeps” definitely has a more intimate, stripped-down feel that may have seemed out of place on the album. The recordings of these two songs don’t seem as pristine and carefully produced as the songs from the LP, but it’s possible the lo-fi sound may have been intentional.

Rounding out the 6 song EP is another of my favourite songs from A New Devotion, the instrumental “Things Are Getting Better”, featuring meandering sitar and a chorus accented by handclapping and horns. You can’t ask for much more in a pop rock and roll song.

If you’ve never heard The High Dials, this CD has two of the best songs from their full length album, plus a couple great outtakes that you can’t get anywhere else. Ideally, it works as both a solid introduction to the band, and also as a necessary addition for hardcore fans. — Sean

Spiderbait - Tonight Alright
(Interscope)

Australia’s had its share of great rock bands over the years, and hey why shouldn’t they? Just because they’re all the way on the other side of the world doesn’t mean they can’t rock… it just means that sometimes it takes a while for the rest of us to catch wind of what’s going on over there.

Spiderbait have been a household name down under since about 1995 when their album “The Unfinished Spanish Galleon Of Finley Lake” went gold. They’re still flying under the radar here in North America for the most part, but that could change very soon with “Tonight Alright”. It all depends how people react to this band’s style. It seems to me they’re all about loud, dumb rock songs and often that’s more than enough to propel bands into the spotlight.

Personally, I’m always a bit suspicious when a band decides to release a cover tune as a single from their album. Spiderbait do a quirky remake of Ram Jam’s “Black Betty” that almost reminds me of Ministry with its thumping beats, overdriven vocals and wall of distorted guitars. It’s energetic and slightly amusing to be sure, but it doesn’t really give a proper indication of what the rest of this album is like.

In fact, no one song on “Tonight Alright” can be taken as indicative of their trademark sound because they seem to wander all over the place. The tangible difference between the bubblegum vocals of bassist Janet and the sneering delivery of drummer Kram further divides their music. In some ways, this is a real weakness to the album… it’s unfocused, jarring and hard to get a grip on. The only thing that holds it together is the fact that most of the songs are basic three-chord, verse-chorus-verse blasts of energy with crunchy guitars.

They may not have a very distinctive style or an easily labelled gimmick, but their own enthusiasm and infectiousness shine through and perhaps this is what has gotten them so far. Silly, simple punky pop-rock songs like “Fucken Awesome” and “Cows” seem to be what Spiderbait do best; on the other hand, the gritty rock n roll swagger of “Put It Down” is an adrenaline rush that can’t be denied. Unfortunately, most of their songs are oversimplified to the point of being repetitive and forgettable. How they can manage to be both repetitive and unfocused on the same album is a bit puzzling to me. The album’s closer “Picky” again adds more variety and less cohesion by playing out on an unexpected mellow groove.

Tonight, Alright is not a terrible album, but in an ocean of mediocre rock bands starving for attention it might as well be. I can’t really find anything here that makes them worth getting excited over. Call me an ignorant North American but I know for a fact there’s cooler stuff going on over there in Aussie land. Someone back me up on this… please? — Sean

Doom 3 (PC)
Developed by: id Software
Published by: Activision

Doom 3 is 4 years in the making and one of the most anticipated games to date. Now that it’s finally out, was it worth the wait? Or did the hype kill it?

Research teams have been conducting secret experiments up on the planet Mars. When experiments go wrong, they accidentally open a gateway into HELL. Demonic creatures and other minions of hell’s army begin entering the real world, slowly infesting their base…….scary shit eh?

Although you’ll be mostly in the cover of darkness through out the game. Graphically, Doom 3 has one of the best graphics you’ll see too date in a videogame. The dark lurking shadows and the real time dynamic lights all help in creating this dark freaky atmosphere. You’ll see blood splattered walls, severed body parts and lots of small claustrophobic corridors. There are dark corners that you’ll want to shine the flashlight on because most of the time something is ready to eat your brains, among other things. When that happens, just pull out your shotgun up close and blast away your enemies as you watch his flesh separate from the bones in violent gory passion…………..I’m sorry I think I need help.

Ambient sounds can be the scariest, because even hisses and crackles will tend to make you jump. Throughout the game you’ll hear things banging on walls, faint screams, wailing steam pipes and strange voices in your head, etc. It’s best to crank up the sound for the full effect. Pretty much the only music you hear is in the intro, which was done by one of the dudes from Nine Inch Nails……no it wasn’t Trent even though he was originally supposed to do it. That’s ok because a game like this doesn’t need music.

The overall gameplay in Doom 3 is basically the same as in the other Doom games. It’s that straightforward 1st person shooter, run down corridors, point and shoot whatever shit is moving. After a while this gets pretty boring and outdated I must say, but it’s a game anyone can pick up because there really isn’t a learning curve to absorb. Along the way you must find and download other people’s PDA files and email to find out key combinations and other hints. At one point you have to log on to a website to retrieve a code to open up a locker for a few items. As far as weapons go, you’ll find the usual set of weapons; shotgun, machine gun, plasma gun, chainsaw, chaingun, your fists, pistol, grenades, rocket launcher and the gun of all guns the BFG, which stands for BIG FUCKEN GUN! The guns are cool but it kind of sucks considering they only have a primary firing action.

Multiplayer in the game is also a disappointment. Once again there is nothing new, just the typical deathmatch, capture the flag, along with a few other modes — basically just twitch game play. I guess if you’re into games like Quake 3 you’ll enjoy it on a much higher level.

I really can’t see myself playing through the single player mode again, maybe a few rounds of multiplayer here and there but that’s it. Basically Doom 3 is eye candy with boring, outdated gameplay. It’s worth a play through or at least until you get bored but at this point it’s not really worth the amount of money they are charging for it. I just hope the next installment won’t be identical, or else we are all “doomed”.

8.2 out of 10 on my ASS kick meter.

– Chian