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 | Released on Sub Pop, 1/23/07 The endorsement of The Shins by Natalie Portman in the 2004 sleeper hit [b]Garden State[/b] served as quite the catalyst for the previously ("relatively") unknown band. The quirky, brilliant idiosyncratic sound of The Shins was in many ways the perfect sound for a film that could be described in a similar fashion. Suddenly, The Shins had a whole new audience of listeners.More |  | Utterly Forgettable In 2000, director Christopher Nolan blessed filmgoers with the brilliant [b]Memento[/b], a film that revolves around a protagonist who suffers from short term memory loss and vainly tries to track down his wife’s killer via notes he makes to himself and a myriad of tattoos on his body.More |  | Released on Mister Records Few experiences induce more stress in the family pet than a trip to the veterinarian or animal hospital. For those who have (or had) pets, you’ve probably had the experience of your pet becoming a seething mass of anxiety prior to the trip to the vet. In lieu of a canine (or feline) quaalude or sedative, musician Kevin Micka (aka "Animal Hospital") offers an auditory solution in his self-titled debut album [b]Animal Hospital[/b].More |  | House Exchange…the Panacea for the Hopeless Romantic Tis the season for those in bad relationships (or those yearning for a relationship) to seek romantic inspiration. Aptly timed is the release of Nancy Meyer’s [b]The Holiday[/b]. The tourism industry owes Meyers a debt of gratitude as [b]The Holiday[/b] will doubtless act as a catalyst for countless, hopeless romantics to seek out a holiday house swap in hopes of finding their soulmate in another city, state, or country.More |  | Visceral, Bloody, and Brutal Mel Gibson has a thing for visceral and brutal violence as evidenced by his handiwork in [b]Braveheart[/b] and [b]The Passion of the Christ[/b]. If you’re a fan of this kind of violence, rest assured you’re going to have more than you can handle with [b]Apocalypto[/b]. Gibson seems to really excel at this kind of thing, which can be viewed a few different ways.More |  | Best Accompanied with a Lobotomy The nadir of Christmas themed "family" comedies occurred in the latter days of 2004 with the release of the foul and unfunny [b]Christmas with the Kranks[/b]. Paul Feig’s [b]Unaccompanied Minors[/b] may very well lower the bar even further for family comedies. Unfunny, contrived, and less than half baked, [b]Unaccompanied Minors[/b] is the celluloid equivalent of a catastrophic lump of coal.More |  | Away in a Manger With the holiday season in full swing, studios are earnestly trotting out any and all films that tap into the "yuletide" spirit. Typically, these "holiday films" barely ascend a step beyond mediocrity ([b]The Family Stone[/b]) and far too many fall many steps below ([b]Christmas With The Kranks[/b]). One of this year’s more intriguing yuletide flicks is Catherine Hardwicke’s [b]The Nativity Story[/b].More |  | Drink Deeply Writer/director Darren Aronofsky first made his mark with the dark, mind bending [b]Pi[/b]. From there he ventured into even darker territory with his depressing exploration of the world of addiction (of just about every kind) in [b]Requiem For A Dream[/b]. In Aronofksy’s latest, [b]The Fountain[/b], we have a similarly dark vision, but [b]The Fountain[/b] is also the most life affirming film he has ever assembled.More |  | A Brutal, Blonde, Buff Bond is Back! The decision to cast the relatively unknown Daniel Craig as the next Bond was met with a deluge of skepticism. Die hard Bond fans were reminded of the lackluster versions of Bond played by Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby. But, make no mistake about it Bond is back with a vengeance in [b]Casino Royale[/b].More |  | Released on Bellstar Records, 2006 According to the dictionary, a chimera is a “mythological, fire-breathing monster, commonly represented with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail”. This is actually one of a few different definitions for “chimera”. Another good one is “a horrible or unreal creature of the imagination; a vain or idle fancy”’. Far from being a horrible monstrosity, Chris Clouse’s debut album [b]Chimera[/b] is a creative and well crafted amalgamation of quality vocals, smooth guitar groves, and some electronic backbeats.More |
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