Lauren:  I have to admit something right now, as a child I got really competitive when it came to Battleship.  Each time I would swear I came up with the best distribution for my ships to trick my opponent, and would gleefully laugh in my mind when I would get to put a white peg of fail in the waters surrounding my fleet (obviously playing it cool on the outside).  With that said, nothing was going to give me more pleasure than being able to bombard this movie with red pegs, shouting at the top of my lungs… wait for it… “YOU SUNK MY BATTLESHIP!”  Original, I know, but don’t mess with the classics.

But guess what guys, my positivity that I would have my moment to belt this at the credits was all for naught.  That’s right, Battleship is actually a pretty fun movie.

Zac: I can agree that the film is fun, but it certainly is also pretty dumb.  The movie could easily be ripped to shreds, but I don’t really think I want to do that because I had fun too.  Peter Berg was apparently very passionate about this project and wanted to do some world building and not just throw up a generic alien story and he succeeds to a certain extent.

The non-alien storyline is pretty straightforward, but works for the most part due to a charismatic lead turn by Taylor Kitsch.  Kitsch plays our rough around the edges would be hero who is constantly underachieving for everyone in his life.  His brother keeps picking him up, his commanding officer wants him gone, and he can’t go the final lap for his girlfriend.  When he is thrown into the middle of a possible alien invasion, Kitsch’s Lt. Hopper is forced to become the man everyone thinks he could be.

The set up of Hopper and his relationships with his brother and his girl couldn’t have been done much better.  I actually cared about Hopper, his family, and his friends, and one of Berg’s strengths of the film is some solid and streamlined character building.  Sure it relies heavily on some familiar tropes, but Kitsch was hilarious in the opening and really won the audience over.

Lauren:  I can agree with this, though Kitsch still needs to win me over a little bit.  Like in John Carter, there was just something missing (especially towards the beginning), but he’s getting closer and closer to whatever it is with each film he has.  And I did appreciate the moment he finally grew into something more than an obstinate little brother who fought for so long against what was asked of him.  Best of all, he finally cut that hair. But like you said, there was a decent amount of character building that did have me rooting for everyone, and not just because I was anti-alien.  Even Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna, both of which I was a little down on because I haven’t seen them act much, pulled me around to their side.  And then there is Jesse Plemons, adding some nice amounts of skepticism to the bravado than might be found among the others.

But what was honestly the most satisfying aspect of the film (other than some fantastic CGI shots. Not all, but a lot) about this film was how it didn’t take itself too seriously.  I mean, it has Liam Neeson in it, for crying out loud, so it could be all macho, but there were so many places put in for laughter that I can’t help but commend those who contributed to the feel for making the right decision on tone.  It may not have gone as far as someone actually saying “You sunk my battleship,” but the nod contained that does acknowledge where the film “originated” was perfect, as was the majority of the other jokes that seemed rather aware of what film they were in.

Zac: They said they are NOT going to sink their battleship actually.  The film’s self awareness was a relief and did allow for a lot of humor, but you would think they would be aware that watching the game Battleship is boring as hell.  There is a sequence in the film where they sort of recreate the Battleship experience, and while they save it in the end we literally stare at a screen for way too long that things get boring.

The film does have a couple other dull moments as well, and this high-octane action ride grinds to a halt on a number of occasions.  Brooklyn Decker’s entire plotline could have been thrown out, but as it stands should have been cut drastically.  The practically winking at the camera nerdy scientist guy was completely grating and the double amputee soldier Decker’s character is rehabbing isn’t much better.  Their big finale moment falls flat as well and I just wish it all wasn’t there.  There is also an extended alien hunt below deck on one of the ships and it too could have been thrown out without missing a beat.

I have a beef with the alien design on top of the slow spots and think that seeing those spiny things in slow-mo is nowhere near as impressive as some Transformers running around and what not.  I also am not too sure how much I bought into the alien’s not attacking apparently non-hostile people.  It is clearly in there for the sake of plot holes and it’s not very effective nor makes much sense.

Lauren:  All right, I cannot agree with the majority of what you just said.  So I’m gonna remove those scissors from your edit-happy hands and argue the other side.

1 – Did you not just see me call that Battleship moment perfect!?  It was awesome!  Clearly you’re just not nerd enough for the science behind it, because that whole scientific explanation about water displacement completely validated that whole sequence.  Sure, it could have been cut slightly, but I was really happy as it stands.  Plus it was a great character growth moment for Hopper.

2 – Cut Decker then you might as well cut Neeson too because she is pretty much the only reason that character had any moments on screen (other than the “you suck as a person” speech).  Plus, she provides some pretty vital information down the road?  Might as well be her, because then we’d just have more annoying nerd.

3 – Alien design.  What would you have preferred?  Another mechanical looking alien?  Been there, done that.  Based on the planet they come from I am really happy they went the humanoid route, though I will admit that when the helmets come off the aliens do look a little cartoonish, like something that we might see soon in Men in Black 3.  Personally, what I didn’t get about the aliens was a certain skill that was completely unnecessary.  You’ll know it when you see it.

4 – This is what my boyfriend said to me post viewing because I was a little confused as well in concern to how the aliens went about their pre-invasion.  The first thing to do in this situation is to cut communication, which they did.  Then, you destroy enough of the infrastructure so that it impedes aid and all that good stuff.  Basically this is a recon like team in a sense: do the basics and wait for the big guns to start killing off the home species unless a group or individual poses an immediate threat.  So to those who understand military tactics like the BF it makes sense, but could have been broken down a little more for the rest of us because I will say I got pretty confused when those ball things started going to town on the island.  And I really hope I wasn’t the only one yelling, “Swing away” at the baseball kid.

Zac: Even though I didn’t like those things the movie still had some good moments.  The single take of the sinking ship that starts with a pair of heroes, checks on everyone else, and then comes back to those first heroes was worth the price of admission alone.  I already mentioned Kitsch’s likability, but your aforementioned like for Plemons (Landry!) is also reciprocated here.  He was hilarious and I hope Berg keeps putting him in movies.  The couple of “big” one liners were also pretty great, if ridiculous, and I particularly enjoyed the sniper scene at dawn.

All in all I enjoyed watching Battleship, but I can’t help but look around a lot of its shortcomings.  Still, you could do a lot worse at the theaters and this one was eaten up by the crowd I was with.  The film is half-baked, but still pretty tasty.

Lauren:  Battleship does have problems, sure, but it is the surprise summer blockbuster for me considering how little I expected from it.  Turn your brain off and enjoy the ride.

Zac: C+
Lauren:  B-           Follow @BewareOfTrees

This week’s Game of Thrones gave us a return to the dark themes we have been getting accustomed with since season one.  What makes this week unique from all the other events of this season (and part of last season) is that Joffrey was completely absent.  He was only a topic of discussion and was never actually seen.  Instead, the cruelty we endured this week was from Theon Greyjoy.  This week’s episode started and concluded with Theon and in between we saw the person he is trying to become in order to gain the respect of his father and sister.  Along the way he is also trying to earn the respect of his men and I would say that out of all the goals he has set out to accomplish, this is the only one he is doing right.  Robs Army is marching towards Winterfell to reclaim what is rightfully his, and hopefully Theon has his sister coming to back him up otherwise Rob will surely have his head.  Meanwhile Stanis Baratheon and his army move closer and closer to Kings Landing and Tyrion seems to be the only one concerned.

So it looks as though Theon truly is lost now.  He has brutally murdered those two boys and probably their father in his efforts to find Bran, his brother, the Wildling girl, and the half wit giant.  They made it seem like the four of them didn’t stop at the little farmhouse where their friends lived, but they did find shells from the nuts they were eating.  They must have gone there without anyone who lived there having any knowledge.  Those poor misfortunate people.  Bran specifically says to everyone that they can’t stop there because Theon would end up torturing them if they did.  Bran had no idea that Theon has become so horrible and cruel that he would end up torturing them anyway.  I hope that they didn’t stop there and that they are managing to escape Theon and his men.  Theon’s cruelty seems to be effecting him greatly though.  When the burned carcasses of the boys from the farm house are hoisted up for the crowd to see Theon seems very pleased with himself when he hears the gasps and horrors from his audience.  Once he turns around and sees them for himself his smirk vanishes instantly.  He looks horrified and scared, and he has to be both of those, knowing that it was his doing that led these children to their horrible fates.

I don’t think anyone out there didn’t see this coming with Jon Snow.  He’s just too soft and too inexperienced to be one of the Rangers, or at least to be an efficient one.  He should’ve killed the Wildling girl when he was supposed to and none of this would have happened but now he’s trapped.  I was really hoping we would see more of that incident unfolding but of course we are left waiting.  Will he now join up with the Wildlings?  He may have no other choice if he wants to survive, and I certainly hope that this isn’t the end of Jon Snow.  The Wildling girl somewhat hinted at him possibly joining up with them and mentioned that their leader would gladly take him in, she knows he would.

Daenerys’ story just keeps getting weirder and weirder, good grief!  She feels as though she cannot trust anyone, and for good reason.  The King of Karth (I’m not even going to attempt that guys name, I’m so happy he is now King of Karth, so much simpler) and the weirdo from the house of the undying are the ones who took her dragons, and then they murder the rest of 13.  The King wants to claim the Iron Throne for himself and now his plan to do so is in full effect.  What will Daenerys’ do now?  Her and Ser Jorah take off running, are they going to the house of undying to get her dragons back or are they just fleeing Karth all together?  What ever happens next, I just really hope she is reunited with her dragons.

Well, Sansa’s lives just got way worse now that she’s bleeding.  I like that the queen told her not to love Joffrey though, and only love her children, that’s obviously how the queen has lived her life.  ”The more people you love, the weaker you are.”  This conversation really explains a lot about the Queen’s personality as well as her behavior towards everything.

The conversation between Cersei and Tyrion was easily one of the best dramatic moments we have seen in this season.  Both Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey do an incredible job with their roles and this scene really demonstrates why.  Cersei openly admits that her children are not Robert Baratheon’s but are her brother Jamies.  Apparently half of the Targaryen’s went completely mad due to inbreeding and Cersei feels terrible because Joffrey is an example of madness.  They both discuss how Joffrey enjoys cruelty, and something must be done to control him, but that is practically impossible now that he is king.  It almost seems like Cersei is perhaps going to do something drastic, maybe even killing her own son, but it appears that there is going to be no other option.

I really want to know what is going to happen between Katherine Stark and Jamie Lannister.  The last scene we see of them is him tied to post and her holding Brianne’s sword in her hand.  I know I for one had completely forgotten just how horrible and evil Jamie Lannister is.  We see him having a very engaging and almost sweet moment between himself and his distant cousin.  They are talking about similar experiences and then next thing you know Jamie is bashing his brains in.  Jamie is a cold blooded killer and since we haven’t seen him doing anything other than being tied up this season, it was hard to remember that fact.  He is a ruthless murderer who cares nothing for honor and he is proud of it.  I really enjoyed the head game he plays with Katherine before she draws the sword.  He reminds her that even though her husband was so honorable, he Jamie Lannister has only been with his sister Cersei.  Therefore is some ways he is more honorable than her late husband Ned Stark.  He calls her out on being mean to Jon Snow every chance she had and that is also something I had forgotten.  It is hard not to really like Katherine Stark, but then you remember how cruel she was to Jon Snow.  She knew him from the time he was a baby yet was still mean to him because he was not her own.  It will be interesting to see what Katherine intends to do with that sword next week.

It’s almost summer, which means that there are plenty of feel good summer albums to come out in the next month or so. And really, what’s more summer than California? Follow up question; what’s more California than the LA duo Best Coast? Fronted by Bethany Cosentino and backed by Bobb Bruno, the duo have really become known for their easy going summer feel. That couldn’t be more apparent than on their first album Crazy For You, as well as Cosentino’s guest spot on one of Converses “3 Artists One Song” promotion with Kid Cudi and Vampire Weekend’s Rostin a couple of years ago.

Almost two years later, the indie pop duo are releasing their much anticipated follow up, The Only Place. And if you happen to experience some deja vu while listening to this album, don’t worry, you are not crazy. And unless I am crazy, we are sharing the same feelings.

The album starts with it’s title track, an ode to the place they love; the sunny state of California. And that really shows with both the fast feel of it and lyrics asking us why live somewhere else when you can live there. That’s followed up by the rather upbeat downer “Why I Cry,” where Cosentino sings “You seem to think you know everything/You don’t know why I cry.” That bummer leads into a wave of downtempo jams that don’t do anything for me. Songs like “How They Want Me to Be,” “Dreaming My Life Away,” and “Last Year” put you in a lull for the duration of the song, lacking any sort of crescendo or pop. Two of the better songs comes later in the album in the form of “Do You Still Love Me Like You Used To” and “Let’s Go Home” which really brins life back to the album, only to be sullied by the last couple of songs – especially the lackluster closer “Up All Night.”

One giant gripe I have with The Only Place, as well as Best Coast in general, is how simple each song is. The lyrics are repetitive and lacking substance, while each song structure is lacking true creativity. Of course, this is no shock to Best Coast fans, as you all know that this is what you get from the duo. Crazy For You has the exact same feel that The Only Place, the biggest difference being that the former has two more songs. There is something to be said for the simplicity, however, as it still turns up some catchy songs from here and there. And it’s fine to stay in that lane, as Best Coast kind of dominates the indie pop scene with this sound. However, if you can’t improve upon and integrate some new sounds in your old way of playing, it becomes incredibly monotonous.

The Only Place reminds me of a soundtrack to a movie that tries to look independent, while still being backed by a large studio. I like to call this “The Juno Effect.” Of course, I’m not implying that they are on a major label (they are currently signed with Mexican Summer), but their sound and continuity to their songs are the perfect ways to back a teenager’s struggles the their world. And unless you’re a big fan of either those types of movies or Best Coast, this album will probably blow right by you. The album isn’t bad, but just didn’t give me the feeling of wanting to go back.

Final Grade: C

Go Download: “The Only Place”

I remember when I was younger, cracking up to the Jack Black and Kyle Gass’ music video for “Tribute” off of the first Tenacious D album. I still laugh to this day when they get to “Rock!” And I might be the only one here, but I did laugh during their movie The Pick of Destiny – regardless of how bad that actual movie was. But since then (2006), I haven’t cared enough to ask for another Tenacious D album, more or less because I didn’t care anymore. But then again, I don’t have to care OR ask, cause JB and KG are back with Rize of the Fenix, to metaphorically have them rise up from the ashes of The Pick of Destiny. I don’t know if they knew this was going to be even worse than that though.

Before I get into the music, I do want to preface this with the knowledge that I shouldn’t take Tenacious D so seriously. After all, it’s Jack Black and Kyle Gass – two guys who do not take a whole lot of things seriously themselves. And I shouldn’t really treat this album like a rock album, but more of a comedy album. That might be the D’s only saving grace this time around – that it’s a comedy album. But even in that regard, this album does not come through.

The album begins with the title track, reminds us about their past failures, and them symbolically rising from the ashes like a phoenix (I know, they spelled it Fenix, I don’t care). The song (like the entire album) features Jack Black’s normally over-dramatic delivery and mildly disappointing guitar riffs continuing for almost six minutes. That is followed up by “Low Hangin Fruit,” a song that is just as dirty as it sounds. “Senorita” is a Spanish-influenced “love” song about protecting a girl who has done her wrong. The idea is fine, but the delivery is just piss-poor and unentertaining.

That’s true with a lot of Rize of the Fenix, it just isn’t entertaining. The two comedy vignettes, “Classical Teacher” and
“Flutes and Trombones,” aren’t funny at all. Both feel equally lazy and thrown together as most of the tracks on the album. None had very funny punchlines, no good build-ups, and no moments that made me feel anything. The funniest thing I heard was Jack Black saying that they’re better than Arcade Fire. I’m not a fan of theirs, but I respect and like their material WAY more than I enjoyed anything here.

I know I shouldn’t take an album like this seriously, but instead look at it as a comedy album. However, even in that extent, Rize of the Fenix fails to fly. The album is filled to the rim with high school humor that is sure to make teenagers laugh until it hurts, but for older listeners (at least college aged), this does nothing but waste your time. Regardless if this was supposed to be a comedy album or a rock album, in both aspects, it fails.

Someone shoot this bird out of its misery.

Final Grade: F

The Sea has come to Winterfell and Bran’s dream has come true in a way he never could have possibly imagined.  Theon Greyjoy and his band of pillagers and rapists (and proud of it) have invaded and captured Winterfell, and Bran has no choice but to yield to “Prince Theon” in order to save his people.  This along with the beheading of Sir Rodrik, by Theon, was how this weeks episode of Game of Thrones began.  The boring set up we were forced to sit through last week was well worth it, and I think anyone who has been following this series could agree with me that we all knew it would be.  Jon Snow is maybe going to freeze to death with his new female Wildling friend, who is also a ginger.  Daenerys is lost now without her dragons, it seems that nothing wants to work in her favor in her quest to reclaim the Iron Throne which once belonged to her father.  Most importantly of all, however, is that we now know for certain that the people of Kings Landing are very unhappy with their new king.  So much so that they even go so far as to hurl a cow pie at him, and it manages to hit him directly on the cheek.  How will Joffrey handle all of his people now that they not only dislike him, but they do not fear him either.

I absolutely loved the first scene between Bran and Theon.  It was short and to the point but Brans words carried a great deal of weight.  I thought that first somewhat honorable thing Theon did in a long time was to go into Brans bedroom, wake him up, and tell him himself what was happening.  Then as Theon left the room Bran asks him very bluntly, “did you hate us the whole time?”  Theon has no words to respond to this question but his facial expression shows just how deep those words cut him.  There was also the words of Sir Rodrick, just before Theon removed his head.  Sir Rodrick turned his face towards Theon and said “Gods help you Theon Greyjoy, now you are truly lost.”  Once again Theon has nothing to say to this but his face lets you know that the words have hit home.  He has to feel lost.  He is trying to earn the respect of his men, his father, and his sister but it seems that in order to earn that he has to do things he knows are wrong.  He doesn’t hate the Starks but he feels like he has to.  I can’t wait to see what happens when Rob’s forces come to capture him and reclaim Winterfell.

Oh yeah, and I hate that I have no idea what that girl who has been hanging out with Bran and then sleeps with Theon in order to help Bran and his little brother escape from the castle.  She is awesome, and I can’t wait to see what her and everyone else does now that they have escaped.  There is also this new love interest of Rob Stark.  She is a nurse, and tries to hide the fact that she is of noble birth.  He jokingly accuses her of being a spy, but her lying about her upbringing and the way she suddenly disappears after being introduced to Lady Stark definitely makes me think she is a spy for the Lannisters.

The scene with Arya and the man who will now only kill one more person for her was hilarious.  Stressful, but in the end it was hilarious, and I honestly thought there was no way in hell he was actually going to pull it off for her.  He seemed to be so set against doing it before it was time, but he did anyway once Arya explained why she was desperate.  Peter Baelish seems to know that Tywin’s new cup barer is Arya, the way he says both of the Stark girls.  What will become of Arya now?  Well I am getting ahead of myself because they left us with a huge cliffhanger there.  What was Lord Baelish about to tell Tywin.  It sure seemed like he knew who Arya was, but maybe not.  I guess we will have to wait for next weeks episode to hear what the rest of their conversation was.

I have to admit I completely forgot that the whole marrying off of Cersei’s daughter was still going on.  For a second I was really confused as to why this was happening but then I quickly remembered that if Tyrion didn’t actually carry out his plan that he would be completely exposed.  Cersei says some very harsh words to him as well, about how she hopes that he loves something so much that when she takes it away he will know how she feels.  All of this conversation is almost immediately forgotten when we witness the riot that ensues.  Joffrey’s weakness is exposed once again, just as it was when Arya’s Direwolve attacked him in the first season.  I loved the way Tyrion slapped him and called him out on all of his flaws as a king.  I hope that Tyrion does not end up paying for this, but I wouldn’t put it past Joffrey.  Thankfully the Dog was there to take care of Sansa, and kill those men just before they were about to rape her, while Joffrey told his guards to “let [the mob] have her.”  The Dog and her have always had an interesting relationship but now she will certainly have a great deal more respect for him.  Next week is sure to be full of just as much excitement as we were given this week and since it was almost absent this week, probably a lot more darkness.

You might have heard Karmin in a lot of different places. The majority of people have probably heard her cover popular artists on YouTube like Lil Wayne and Chris Brown, while others (including myself) heard them when they played on Saturday Night Live earlier this year with host Zooey Deshanel. Both of the songs that they played during that night’s show showed both sides to the duo’s music; one being incredibly catchy pop music like Jessie J, the second being a hip-hop state of mind reminiscent of Nicki Minaj. So of course, their debut album Hello embarks on a pop journey that weaves in and out of both genres that doesn’t last long whatsoever.

The album’s first single, “Brokenhearted” is a rather upbeat summer jam that deals with being forgotten by a guy after a party. “Too Many Fish” is the opposite of it, however, where Amy Heidemann sings about getting another “fish” since she was able to get one before. The title track has a club-like electric beat backing a mediocre song, filled with dumb rhymes and annoying cuts.

Then there are the more hip-hoppy songs. “Walking On The Moon” has a sort of B.o.B feel to both the chorus and rhyme structure. “I Told You So” has an awesome flow with the vocals, but the beat sounds like a Young Money throwaway, with some G-Rated lyrics. “I’m Just Sayin’” is a Disney Channel rap song, with a really child friendly song overall (like most of the songs on the album). She even raps a small verse on the ballad “Coming Up Strong,” where her and partner Nick Noonan could’ve had a rather beautiful duet – if Amy’s rapping would have been replaced with her own singing verses.

And that’s it. Only seven songs. And the main problem that Hello has isn’t the length at all. I’ve reviewed metal albums and other types of pop music that are less than that, but they were at least memorable. Besides their single “Brokenhearted,” nothing here really struck a chord. After one listen through, I came back to Hello to see if multiple playthroughs did anything for the album. And I found more flaws than I did a musical kindling.

By the middle of this summer, expect “Brokenhearted” to be on every radio station. That song alone will get Karmin the commercial notoriety that Youtubers have been showing them for years. But after the smoke from the first single goes away, what will Karmin do next? There are a couple of songs (literally) on Hello that could make it back to the radio, but unless the duo will come out with another album later this year (always a possibility), expect their first single to be circulating your brain all summer long.

Final Grade: C

Go Download: “Brokenhearted”

When having to describe a band like Silversun Pickups to friends, I’d portray them as a collection of different pieces of art. I know that sounds weird, but it’s rather true if you think of it. Each one of the California-based quartet’s albums (including EPs) evokes different feelings and moods that are just as colorful as their album art. Even with their last EP, the three song Seasick, can perpetuate a visual stimuli of dark greens and blues. Their last album, 2009′s Swoon, is a beautifully colorful album; enough so that it helped nab them a Best New Artist Grammy nomination – regardless of when their first album Carnavas was actually released.

So, three years since their last album, exactly are we getting with their third full length album Neck Of The Woods? You get the Silversun Pickups you come to expect gray-scaled; creating the darkest, longest, and most riveting SSPU album to date. “Skin Graph” is a fast-paced welcoming into the album that helps showcase the ever so eclectic drum fills by Chris Granlao (He’s all over this album). “Mean Spirits” has Nikki Monninger playing a nasty-ass bass line underneath an upbeat anthematic jam. Their first single, “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings),” is the perfect middle ground between their two biggest songs “Lazy Eye” and “Panic Switch” by being both ethereal and bombastic. “Here We Are (Chancer)” is a down tempo synthetic duet of sorts that showcases the vocal talent of both Brian Aubert and Monninger.

The vocals on Neck Of The Woods is just as good as every other release to date – with one notable change. On previous material, whenever vocalist Brian Aubert climbs his range, it is accompanied by a sort of growl. This is apparent on older tracks like “Lazy Eye” and “Future Foe Scenarios,” if you need to get an idea of what I’m talking about. Instead, when he hits his higher notes, its rather clean, and dare I say beautified, like on the track “Make Believe”. I do miss the growl, as it still gives me shivers down my spine when he would hit those notes (especially live). But the new, cleaner, and refined vocals really do show off how iconic and gorgeous Aubert’s voice really is.

The biggest addition to the traditional Silversun sound is the electronics. Now, electronic sounds and textures have always been a part of their successful rock formula, but it seems like it’s taking a larger step forward this time around. Songs like “Simmer,” “Dots And Dashes (Enough Already),” and especially “The Pit” all have the electronics of Joe Lester shine in some pretty nice sections. Not like he has been or is being ignored by any means, but his presence, if subtle before, is now coming out in gorgeous sections throughout.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is the longest Silversun album to date – and it shows. Just under an hour long, the eleven song album averages out their songs to about five minutes and thirty seconds a song. The shortest song on this album (“The Pit”) is four minutes and thirty-nine seconds long, it being one of four songs that are under the five minute mark. Because the songs are so long, it creates an almost deja vu whilst listening. You’ll hear a section or bridge over and over again to the point that you could swear that song is on repeat. If this is something that bothers you, then Neck Of The Woods might not be a desired listening experience. However, if you’re a SSPU fan, then this is just another walk in the park.

On my first listen through of Neck Of The Woods, I thought it was this year’s Simple Math, in the aspect of only being played once, then put aside. However, each time I had to go back and listen to it (whether it be for this review of for plain recreation), I found myself being astounded each playthrough. Neck Of The Woods never lost it’s shape, colors, or sounds, making it the most consistent Silversun Pickups album to date. If you hate long songs, then this album obviously isn’t for you. But when it comes down to those songs, old fans and new will find something, if not many things, to praise.

Final Grade: A

Go Download: The Album, “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)”

You can follow me on Twitter @AlanHST

The Avengers have finally assembled for Marvel and it was more than worth the wait as Joss Whedon has delivered one of the best comic book films to date.

We all have been watching these Marvel films, starting with Iron Man back in 2008, and waiting for the chance to see the Avengers together on the screen ever since Nick Fury broke in to Tony Stark’s house and spoke of the Avengers Initiative.  Well, after a subsequent Iron Man sequel and films for The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America we now have everyone thrown into one big, epic, action packed film and the end result is superb.

The film retroactively makes all of the previous Marvel films better as all of their little nudges and winks finally pay off and we are able to just dive into the action as we already know all the players.  Bringing back Loki is a great choice as he is both super human and the best foil introduced in any of the previous films.  Tom Hiddleston is just as good, or better, in the part he already excelled in for Thor and the enemy presence of the film is built rather organically and in an inventive way.  It would have been nice to have a bit more depth or explanation of the alien army at Loki’s side, but I will take the excellent pacing over getting in to something that isn’t terribly important.

The only new face, outside his uncredited cameo in Thor, is Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and the character is handled wonderfully.  The duality of the role was both a surprise and exciting which created some intriguing stakes I don’t think you are going to see coming.  Renner continues to be on a hot streak since his breakout in The Hurt Locker, and between this, MI:4 and the upcoming Bourne film, he is a worthy action star of today.  You’ll be spooling up arrows out of air as you exit the theater and the character is full of fun surprises in his weaponry.

I guess there is another new face, even if it is a familiar character, and that is Mark Ruffalo who steps in as our fresh Bruce Banner.  The Hulk is a beast in the film and will most certainly be in the running for some of the “Scenes of the Year” when the year is out.  Ruffalo brings a nervous energy to Banner that keeps the character fresh and the best doses of humor yet for the character.  The Hulk steals almost every moment he is in and I imagine everyone will be talking about him for the rest of the summer.

Nobody stands out from the pack here and I couldn’t be happier to report that.  The movie is so perfectly balanced between the many friendly faces that we are never left wanting to get back to someone nor stay with anyone even a bit too long; everything is just right.  Downey’s Iron Man, Hemsworth’s Thor, and Evans Capt. America all get their moments to shine and all of them deliver top notch work.  It’s not just the big three that get their moments to shine, Black Widow and Fury are given their equal share as well and Johansson and Jackson make the absolute most of their expanded roles.  Johansson in particular makes the most of her expanded role and is great in her big moments both on the battlefield and in the war room.  Cobie Smulders is also quite good  as a new face out of SHIELD and is a welcome addition to the Marvel universe.  Skarsgård, Paltrow, and Gregg are also as good as we expect them to be, with Whedon making excellent use of Gregg’s Agent Phil Coulson as a glue of sorts for the film.

Speaking of Whedon, let’s get to the guts of the film that he both wrote and directed.  The film is written wonderfully and is full of fantastic humor from nearly start to finish.  It’s not just Stark who gets to shine, everyone gets a bit of humor thrown in for them and all of it fits wonderfully for the character.  The plot unfolds with ease and there a couple of great war of words among individuals and as a group.  Right at the end of the first half of the film, and when all hell breaks loose, there is a brilliant scene that everyone is sizing each other up and posturing for one another and the script cuts to the core of everyone one of these characters.  It is a wonderful scene and one worth returning to the theater alone for.

Luckily there is even more than just the fantastic writing to go back for as the film is both gorgeous and flawless in the effects department.  The action is remarkable with every action scene topping just about every action beat in any of the Marvel films before it.  And the finale, oh boy, it’s epic, long, and perfectly coherent with everyone getting at least a few moments to shine.  The effects work is also as great as one could hope for as it should be seeing that ILM, WETA, and Digital Domain were the three leads on the effects work; not too shabby.  The 3D is also worthwhile if you are a fan of the format as it looks crystal clear and really does open a window into the world; especially during the battle of New York City.

I could go on and on singing the praises of The Avengers, but I don’t think that is terribly necessary as many of you are already in line to see this over the weekend.  If you aren’t in line I recommend you do so now, they are going to be long, as this is going to be the movie to beat this summer and I don’t know if anything is going to be able to top it; yes, even The Dark Knight Rises.  The Avengers is an all-timer for the super hero genre (right up there with Watchmen, The Dark Knight, X2, and Sin City) and it is also bound to be in the running for best film of the year.

The Avengers is an A

Over the past few years Marvel has been wracking up a slew of great films based on their universe’s superheroes.  Starting with Iron Man, Marvel moved though the Hulk (The Incredible Hulk, just so there’s no confusion), Captain America, and Thor, each with quite a bit of deserved success.  In addition to Hawkeye and Black Widow, these characters make up the avengers, and sticking to the additive math, the greatness of each of these previous films adds up to one incredible, possibly the best, superhero movie.

The idea of a film based on a slew of characters has been on the minds of many for a while, but there was always a chance that it just couldn’t work.  For one thing, if it had been the Justice League, the heavy hitters of Batman and Superman might steal focus as fans cry out for their favorites to get their screen time.  But with the Avengers, we have a group of heroes that each have a following on their own, but are about equal as far as the mass audience is concerned, giving them the best chance to make this work.  Adding Joss Whedon as director and writer sure doesn’t hurt.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but if you have a large cast full of strong individual characters, give it to Whedon and he’ll know what to do.  He did it ages ago with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he did it earlier this year with Cabin in the Woods.  So why not trust him?  With this group, he manages to create a dynamic that makes each character shine both on their own and with the group as they bounce off of each other through the good and the bad as they try to find their footing as a team hesitant to work together.  If they had a group uniform like the X-Men maybe the comradery would be in there from the get go; but no, we’ve got no team colors to bring them together as heads begin to butt.

Everyone has issues, everyone has angst, but the drama does not overshadow what we are here to see, which can only be described as a celebration of the genre and superhero mythology, starting with being sure that every character has their moment to shine.  Ensemble or no, all of these characters deserve their memorable entrances and hero moments, or simply just moments to stand out, and no opportunity is wasted.  That’s right, even the lesser known Hawkeye and Black Widow, who have only guested in other hero’s films so far, are given enough opportunity here and credit to their character to display why they’re a part of the team.  Of these two I will have to go with Scarlett Johansson as my favorite of the lesser known as she uses her psychological manipulation and agile fighting style to make a name with this male group.  However, out of the heavy hitters, I’ve gotta go with the Hulk on this one, which I would have never thought going in.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man has his nonstop supply of one-liners, of course, and nothing against Thor or Captain America, but there was a new level to the giant green rage machine that has never been brought to my attention before.  Firstly, the big guy is quite the accidental comedian during the large city brawl (that is done waaaaaaaaaay better than how Transformers: Dark of the Moon’s final hour, or seven, was handled) as he lets the green run deep, but to put it simply, the angry wrecking ball ruining the life of Bruce Banner is actually given the chance to become a sympathetic character as we examine the relationship between Mark Ruffalo’s Banner and his bottled up alter (thanks in large part to some insight by Tony Stark).

Whatever your extreme dedication to the current Batman run, or any other film of the genre and subgenres, consider your definition of Superhero before going into this one and you’ll understand why I say this could possibly be the best superhero film, and you just might come out seeing eye-to-eye with me on this one.

Final Grade:  A Follow @BewareOfTrees

This week’s Game of Thrones was by far the tamest episode we have seen in a very long time.  Not only was there not a whole lot going on but as my memory serves me, this is quite possibly the first episode in this entire series that featured not only zero gratuitous sex scenes but also had no nudity of any kind.  Even the very first episode from season one set the tone for the presence of sexuality in this series, but this episode broke away from that mold.  We did have mention of the inappropriate relationship between the Queen and her cousin, but that was it.  Aside from the lack of sex, there was also a lack of action, as well as a lack of evil that was beginning to be the trend so far in this season.  The lack of evil, though, is easily explained with the absence of King Joffrey from this week’s episode.  His plan of action for Stannis’s approaching invasion seems to be more dangerous than effective.  I hope we get a chance to see it play out next week.

As I mentioned before this episode was incredibly action deprived.  More so than any episode before it and it leads me to believe that we have now reached the middle point of the season.  That being said however there was a ton of build up this week hinting at a lot of action as well as battles for next week.  The action we did see, even though there was so little, was still good.  Both were short lived but still intriguing.  We saw the death of Renly which I wouldn’t say was a big surprise but the way it happened certainly was.  I definitely did not think we would see Stannis’ son until much later on this season, and not the very next episode.  While Renly’s death changes everything, and was obviously a huge plot point, it was so freaking abrupt.  The first time we even saw Renly this episode we also watched him get killed.  I doubt we will get to see the resistance that has now formed against Stannis next week, and what exactly do they plan to do against his shadow son anyway?  The other notable action we saw this week was between Arya and the man who now fights for Lord Lannister but before was in the iron cage.  He killed “The Tickler” and will kill two more men for her and all she must do is provide a name.  The episode ended with “The Tickler’s” death and now what we all want to know, is who will be her next two names?  Arya could easily say Joffrey or even Lord Lannister himself, and the man would have to kill them.  Why would she not say Joffrey?  She’s hated him since season one for having the butchers boy killed and now she has the perfect opportunity for revenge and all she has to do is sit there and wait for it to happen.

While the action was limited this week, the build up dominated.  Theon and his sister are on their way to Winterhold with their rapers and pillagers of the Iron Islands under their command.  This is the battle that I personally am looking forward to the most.  I want to see what Theon will do when the time comes to actually fight against Rob Stark.  Will he be able to do it?  He is terribly conflicted between the family that gave him up and the family that raised him and the time for him to actually make a decision between the two is rapidly approaching.  There is also the events taking place out beyond the wall with Jon snow and his other Rangers of the Night’s Watch.  He and a few others are moving out so some sort of sneak attack.  Both of these events as well as Stannis’ men moving in on King’s Landing should be all the ingredients necessary to provide us with an action packed episode this coming Sunday.