Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans

After being shocked with how much I enjoyed Underworld:Awakening earlier this year, I decided to drop some coin on the bluray's of the previous installments in the franchise. In an attempt to ascertain whether my new found enjoyment of this tawdry series is the real deal, I've decided to review the rest, in reverse order. So, let us begin with the prequel entry, Rise Of The Lycans. For the uninitiated, ROTL tells the back story of the two central antagonists causing all the problems in the first film. Essentially, the origin of the series overarching feud between the vampire and Lycan races. It doesn't hurt that these two leaders of their respective supernatural clans are portrayed by the fantastic Michael Sheen and the legitimately brilliant Bill Nighy.

Not only does it not hurt, it elevates the whole affair from schlocky time waster to engrossing drama of the highest order. But more effusive gushing on the performances later. The other thing that immediately stands out and separates this film from the less inspired tripe that unfortunately often passes for genre film making is the noticeably elevated budget and gnarly as hell production design. This film is all in and not fooling around when it comes to the Gothic castle atmosphere. Grungy dungeons, weathered castle walls, character defining costuming, kick ass weaponry and armor, this film has everything you want in this sort of entertainment, yet so rarely receive. The world it creates is entirely authentic and fully realized. Without dwelling unnecessarily on its mechanics, I believe in the inequitable hierarchy the vampires have in place and the very real threat toward their power the Lycans being freed represents. Sure, it's technically just warmed over Romeo and Juliet, but how much everyone involved cares about this heightened iteration comes through with astonishing clarity and purpose.

I'm certain I just pushed the hyperbole meter into the red with that last bit, but I sort of mean it. Rise Of The Lycans is vastly more effective than that exhausting exercise Baz Luhrman coughed up and more entertaining than any stuffy, Shakespearean version could dream of. This is a visceral, emotional interpretation of classic storytelling tropes. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl imbued with animal urgency. A dark ages reminder of how evil and callous inflexible authority must be to exert total control. Which brings me to the performances that inject what could be a hoary old cliche with such vitality.

Nighy plays the Vampire king Viktor with such reptile malevolence it's impossible to not adore his hissy, mannered portrayal. Anyone can wear contacts to affect a look, but only a master thespian like Nighy can utilize them this completely. I'm 100% certain he knows exactly what setting of his eyelids and eyebrows will achieve the look he's going for in any situation. He can fully approximate rage, internal conflict, sadness and petulant disdain with his eyes, despite them being obscured by heavy lenses, so imagine the volcano unleashed when he employs his finely tuned and impeccably trained instrument of a voice. Between Viktor and Davy Jones, Nighy has crafted two of my favorite genre characters of the last 20 years.

Now, if you're only familiar with Michael Sheen for playing mild mannered intellects like Tony Blair and David Frost or his hilarious turn as uppity twerp Wesley Snipes on 30 Rock, prepare to be thrown for a loop. His Lycan leader Lucian is a massively muscular presence. Noble, yet viciously intimidating when he needs to be, it is a performance that gives the film immense weight and goes so far as to expand the potency of his character in the first Underworld. He is all charisma and power, believable as sage leader, volatile revolutionary and passionate lover. He shades the broad, swinging for the fences moments with delicate nuance in more quiet scenes, never sacrificing the integrity of either tone. There are two specific, intensely emotional moments where his acting is as powerful as anything I've seen. A tremendously under rated performance if ever there was one.

Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans gets about as close to respectable drama/romance as a bloody, action/horror hybrid likely ever will. There is some admittedly wonky CGI Werewolf business going on here and there, but it's offset by the large amount of magnificent practical makeup monsters and generous dollops of gore. It is a truly splendid film that gives you everything you could want from the cinematic experience. It creates a world full of passion and violence, love and betrayal. It features excellent performances and characterization, superb sets and stunning production design. It's a lovely world to be transported to for a fleeting hour and forty five minutes, and one I thoroughly enjoy revisiting.

(February 19) The Anticipation 2our pics in Oakland

(February 18) The Anticipation 2our pics in Las Vegas

(WATCH) The Anticition 2our: Live in Detroit

(WATCH)HOT 107.5 Trey Anticipation 2our in Detroit

(WATCH) The Anticipation 2our: Live In Cincinnati

(10 HQ PICS)TREY SONGZ GQ PHOTOSHOOT!!!!

Act Of Valor

Good lord, where to start unpacking the military industrial complex sized baggage of this movie? To wholly consider this film entails taking into account your personal politics in regard to America's war on terror and, perhaps more presciently, your belief's about the responsibility of a film maker to be respectful of such sensitive matters whilst employing so seemingly jingoistic an approach to verisimilitude. There's an awful lot of baloney attached to this pictures production, chiefly its roots as a Navy Seals promotional/training feature and the gimmicky selling point of casting active duty Seals in all the lead roles. There are a swift boatload of reasons for film enthusiasts to jump down its throat and proclaim it nothing more than a hollow, opportunistic sham exploiting both the men and women of the armed services and the gullible audience duped into ostensibly supporting them by purchasing a ticket. I am sympathetic to all of that and to a certain extent understand the considerable ire it has roused from the critical community. But, to put it as indelicately as possible, I don't really care about all that.

I was well aware of all this going in. I was ready for the performances to be beyond wooden, the politics to be painfully oversimplified and yes, I got that in spades. But, you know what? I'm a man of the world, going to and fro and walking up and down in it and I've learned to take a broad, general view of things. I was as outraged as any sane person at the direction the world took in the wake of 9/11 and the rise of (as Renn Brown would say) pick-up truck patriotism at home. After a wearying, disheartening decade of endless escalation, my knee-jerk reaction to all this has been hamstrung by exhausting reality. At this late stage in the game, I can't be troubled to get up in arms about this late February upstart that will make some decent cash, then disappear from the public consciousness as swiftly and quietly as the Navy Seals who round out its cast.

I wanted a mouth-breather of a storyline featuring some dope military hardware used against cartoonishly hissable villains by capable, burly men in camouflage. I got this in spades as well. There was some very nice photography going on here and there, it's uneven to be sure, but no more so than in any other fledgling effort. I liked the propulsive, globetrotting aspect, however implausible and the dim witted procedural aspect was as satisfying as it was easy to follow. The script, by 300 scribe Kurt Johnstad is a serviceable slice of manly red meat that I'm ashamed to admit struck a chord with me. I was on board with that opening voice over bit about the worst part of getting old being viewed as not dangerous by other men, no matter how poorly delivered or embarrassingly indicative of testosterone insecurity. The notions of service, honor and duty to country and family are more resonant to me now, as a husband and father, then they would have been in my early 20's. The film is a blunt, hammer to the temple, but its simplicity works in its favor to my eyes. There is no pretense, no calculation. Good and evil, black and white, no more so than in any of the Stallone or Schwarzenegger films I grew up idolizing. Whether the pretense of reality renders Act Of Valor more unethical is a debate to be held between those who feel passionate about either side.

The Seals are admittedly terrible actors, none more so than the square jawed, no nonsense leads and the film collapses entirely when it calls on them to support the narrative with heartfelt goodbyes or joking camaraderie. There is one fantastic scene when the character referred to as Senior (who is rocking the most kick ass beard I've seen onscreen in ages) performs an interrogation on a drug smuggler aboard his yacht. He stops laboriously attempting to act and simply slips into the role he no doubt plays opposite real life bad men and he is magnificent. I honestly couldn't think of a real actor who could have brought more to that scene. It is the perfect synthesis of believability, coldness and charisma and the one instance in the film where the casting gambit pays off. Otherwise, the stiff, rushed line readings take you out of it as much as the practiced confidence during their maneuvers inspires awe and fidelity, so it's basically a wash. Real actors would have gone a long way toward ameliorating the story problems, but that would negate everything that makes this film an interesting anomaly.

We have plenty of pretty boys emoting while going through the motions, why not let these scarred brutes with backs like barn doors have their brief moment in the spotlight? If you need to see the complexity of modern warfare and Geo-politics, there is Black Hawk Down and Green Zone. This is Audie Murphy on steroids, John Wayne with an actual number of confirmed kills. It is entertaining and occasionally quite well shot. We live in a Country that prides itself on offering the freedom to express ourselves artistically, so why not let big brother in on the fun? They do try so very hard. I will say this, at least this film believes in what it's saying and believes in the need to tell its story. Just last week, I sat through a piece of filmed "entertainment" that was more mercenary and dispassionate than any I've seen in a long time. Compared to that lifeless outing, Act Of Valor was a welcome mission to undertake.

(WATCH) Trey interview on Wild949

Shloggs Speaks: Drive and The Prestige Edition

I had the pleasure of discussing two fantastic recent films, Drive and The Prestige, with my good friend Axl over at Profondo Cinema. It was a treat to be able to talk about why I love these two masterpieces and it was doubly interesting for it was Axl's first time viewing both. Please give it a listen folk!

(WATCH) The Anticipation 2our: Live in Oakland

Trey talks about being relevant, fame and success

Mr. Steal Your Girl, aka Trey Songz, realizes the all too true fact that you can be a chart-topping artist today and a struggling act the next. Answering a few tough questions while in Las Vegas over the weekend, Songz is grateful he hasn’t “blown it” so far.
“One day, you can be hot. One day, you can be nobody, if you don’t pay attention and focus on what’s really going on,” says Songz. “The blessing in my career was not to be supersuccessful instantaneously.”
According to Trey Songz, if success had been meteoric, as it has been for some acts, he might have blown what was handed to him.
“At a young age, if you get it too fast, it’s like people who hit the lottery — they blow it,” Songz tells the Las Vegas Journal. “There’s nothing that can prepare you for what being a star is. I got to learn at an escalating scale. It’s not a sprint, man. It’s a marathon. I want to be around when everybody else is tired. That means learning.”
Trey Songz is currently touring North America on the Anticipation tour with special guests have included J. Cole and Big Sean.

Trey Songz and Ne-Yo hang out with K104 for Valentine's Day

(WATCH) Trey and Big Sean at the Anticipation 2our afterparty in Las Vegas

(WATCH) The Anticipation 2our: Live in Las Vegas

Trey featured on GQ magazine!!!

MR. STEAL YOUR GIRL IS FEATURED ON FEBRUARY ISSUE OF GQ MAGAZINE

(low quality pic hq coming)



Trey tweet pic from backstage in LA

Jeremih, Trey Songz, J.Cole and BIG SEAN at backstage of Nokia Theater in Los Angeles

(February 16) Trey visit "Young Hollywood"

 

LOOK HOW CUTE IS TREY WHEN HE SLEEP!!!!! ADORABLE!!!!!








WITH HOST OLIVER TREVENA

(WATCH) The Anticipation 2our: Live in Los Angeles

J. Cole, Ne-Yo and Jamie Foxx support Trey at L.A. concert

Trey Songz got some help from his friends when his “Anticipation 2our” rolled through L.A.’s Nokia Theatre last night. Following Big Sean’s opening act, Trigga brought out J. Cole to perform “Can’t Get Enough” and was joined on stage by Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo. The ladies went wild when he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his toned abs while performing his sexy jams.
In between shows, Trey has been recording his fifth album Chapter 5. “I think the new album will reflect very much where I’m going as a person and what I’ve been through,” he told VMAN.

Source: Rap-Up.com

Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance

All the warning signs were there. Nick Cage has been tremendously awful for quite awhile now. Not in that "hey, I'm a crazy loose cannon weirdo who makes bizarre choices, but backs them up with solid, powerful performances" way he did as recently as a decade ago. No, he's been genuinely awful in that "lazy, paying off the IRS, taking every obvious piece of tripe that comes down the pipe" sort of way. I keep going to these films, expecting to be laughing along with a madman, yet walk away feeling as drained and disinterested in watching another as he seems to be in making them. Also, the first Ghost Rider was maybe the least compelling superhero film of the new millennium boom. The character is inherently anti-cinematic in exactly the same way as The Hulk, who is equally troublesome to adapt to the silver screen. The problem being that when your flesh and blood actor transforms into a CGI construct, there is a total disconnect. That connective dissonance, coupled with the character's seemingly limitless power renders the whole affair a toothless one without stakes or any reason to be concerned about the outcome.

It was the Neveldine/Taylor aspect that threw my barometer off and inspired such reckless hope. The 2 Crank films are pop art masterpieces in my opinion. Crude, deconstructions and reconfigurations of tired action tropes, set to experimental soundtracks and shot with exploratory ingenuity. Gamer is a straight up brilliant work of sci-fi and social satire. A psychedelic slap in the face to our crass culture and atom bomb wake up call to where we are all technologically heading. These dudes are visionary psychopaths with an established aesthetic and prescient preoccupations. I find their work to be viscerally exciting, artistically compelling and most important of all, fun. Unfortunately, the dynamic duo is no longer batting a thousand after this listless attempt to graft their revolutionary sensibilities to such uninspired and predictable drivel.

My ill advised excitement began to slowly evaporate as the plodding first fifteen minutes played out. There were a couple nice shots to look at and all, but the action felt low rent and unfocused. Once Cage showed up to start chewing scenery, I realized how disinterested I was in the proceedings and started to long for the first set piece featuring the Rider. That set piece turns out to be a painfully static affair, comprised primarily of the Rider staring at indistinguishable heavies for what seems like an eternity until they explode into ash. Not exactly pulse pounding stuff. The main baddie is unforgivably uncharismatic, the sort of guy I wouldn't hesitate to give the back of my hand if he threatened me. I need the nemesis in my action film to be imposing, or at the very least off putting. This guy is just a run of the mill douchebag with bad hair and male model stubble. The plot settles into an endless cycle of Cage chasing after a kid, acquiring him, losing him, chasing after him, reacquiring, ad nauseum. So, with a story this achingly familiar and unadorned, if the action is underwhelming, what are you left with?

Not much, but there's enough to save it from being a total loss. Cage has a couple amusing, if frustratingly self aware moments. Christoper Lambert is a welcome presence and Idris Elba looks suitably cool. Best of all, Ciaran Hinds manages to turn in a wickedly bad ass portrayal of the devil in human form. Other than those above board performances and commendable casting choices, there are some very nice visual flourishes, but nothing boundary pushing in the Neveldine/Taylor paradigm. There is some interesting stuff with the character Blackout, in which his decay based powers blot out the periphery, but it's impossible to tell whose perspective we're seeing it from and what precisely it signifies. Cool, but ultimately meaningless. The Rider looks fantastic, as do the vehicles he commandeers, but the novelty wears off quickly. The 3-D is competent, never inducing a headache, but certainly never adding anything to the film.

I guess Ghost Rider just doesn't translate to film or have a mythology rich or resonant enough to support the character beyond his bitching look. The film looks cheap and reeks of a lack of studio confidence. Every action beat is in the trailer up to and including the finale money shot. The climactic car chase sequence is a pathetic letdown, with the Rider destroying 3 older model trucks by jumping on the hoods and yelling at the drivers. Neveldine/Taylor working with this source material and budget is like watching Steve Vai try to wrest a blistering solo out of banged up acoustic missing the top 2 strings. I'm sure Spirit of Vengeance will provide for passable Sunday afternoon Cable TV viewing in the future, but it is a minor, forgettable blip on the cinematic radar and a regrettable, missed opportunity for the talented film makers who accepted the thankless assignment.