That's My Dad.

Regina Spektor - What We Saw From the Cheap Seats

Come at last a return to quirky form for beloved indie piano-ballad queen Regina Spektor, “What We Saw From the Cheap Seats” brings the glistening, uncanny poetry and beguiling emotional musings known on classic Spektor records like “Soviet Kitsch” and “Begin to Hope”. But after a decade of being the youthful charmer in the anti-folk scene, age tends to take a toll on an artist’s bank of ideas and song-writing skill. The opening three songs (“Small Town Moon”, “Oh Marcello” and “Don’t Leave Me”) recall her nearly forgotten trademark ability to make eclectic and unorthodox pop tunes. Even tracks like “Firewood” and “Jessica” are undeniably captivating and relaxing ballads with solemn charm and illustrative lyrics. The other half of the album and a handful of her bizarre sonic experiments and arrangements result unsuccessfully. Much of what makes this an incomplete record come from lack of innovation. Even on more proper moments like tracks “How” and “The Party”, Spektor poorly treats her compositions with nearly forced and gimmicky emotion, leaving the songs to be inevitably pigeon-holed as uninspired rubbish. It’s hard to appreciate “What We Saw From the Cheap Seats” as a whole; even for its inconsistencies, Spektor’s musical abilities lack her youthful finesse and high-ranged song-writing chops. (6/10)

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The Amazing Spider-Man -

Like a charming abridged edition of a classic storybook, Marc Webb’s “The Amazing Spider-Man” offers a slightly tweaked, dreamy rendition of the classic superhero adventure series; not succeeding the work of Sam Raimi in detail and depth, but enough to make you feel like a kid again. (7/10)

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M. Ward - A Wasteland Companion  

Read My Full Review on ‘Listen Before You Buy’

[…] Matthew Ward, better known as M. Ward, better known as the quiet dude who plays behind Zooey Deschanel in She & Him, returns with his much-awaited seventh album: “A Wasteland Companion.” In the past few years, critical responses held a minor taint of lack-of-seriousness under the pretension of M. Ward’s stylistic and nostalgic indulgence. As a follow-up to previous release “Hold Time,” Ward re-examines certain qualities of his, yet refuses to interfere with his signature style. With a unique recording approach, having done “A Wasteland Companion” over eight studios around the world, along with a more detailed lyrical quality, M. Ward is out for a drive in the same old car looking for a new muse. […] 

(8/10)

There’s something harrowing about the inevitable. Something utterly heartbreaking about the end.

50/50 is a portrait of the complications in facing death; being diagnosed with cancer and being able to resonate with what’s left with life. Delivered an unusual and challenging balance of humor in tragedy, this is a tale that couldn’t get closer to the heart of such concepts.

Our protagonist is a straight-forward and ideal post-modern guy in his youth named Adam; played by Joesph Gordon-Levitt. He’s public radio writer with only a best friend and a girlfriend in his life; clearly not fulfilled with anything, but he sighs each day and makes do. There is no dramatization, no build-up or exaggerated emotional release. Everything around him fades away when hears the “C-word” and his own name used together. Almost as if it were a mistake. Surely, it can’t be him. Of course not. There must be some mistake. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. Denial.

We experience Adam’s stages through each blistering moment, each heartbreak, each upset, each flicker of hope right alongside him. As life molds out the shifts Adam’s life has taken, we experience the vulnerability he wears on his sleeve, the silent torment, the detached approach to his world. What makes 50/50 so powerful is how intimate we are with Levitt’s character and especially how Levitt, as an actor, portrays Adam through each layer. 

There’s always been a remarkable quality in every one of Levitt’s performances. From setting high standards in romance and comedy for his generation, much like Jack Lemmon did for his, all the way to producing visceral and disturbing characters of his own. Levitt colors himself in over and over again dramatically throughout his films ranging from the likes of (500) Days of Summer and 10 Things I Hate About You to Mysterious Skin and Brick. Levitt reveals himself in a completely new light with 50/50, displaying a very conscious individual, fully consumed by his own tragedy and desperate to seek refuge through life’s sense of humor.

That’s the main focal point 50/50, its complexion of humor and death. This is not a dark comedy. 50/50 delivers the exact idiosyncratic nature of how comedy effects one engulfed in sadness. No matter how much you could make Adam laugh or make him feel loved, he kept being snapped back into reality. Especially when his surroundings treated him poorly, it’s just even worse. 50/50 is not an easy film to swallow; this is the most challenging comedy I’ve ever watched. 

50/50 is a work of affection and pure honesty. The ups and downs of cancer and the true understanding of the value of the human spirit. This is not just an emotionally tormenting film, but a rare feat in blending challenging genres to beautifully match with those of reality. You will never see a film of this emotional magnitude with comedy. It attacks you with silence, crushes your heart with laughter and buries you with heartache.

This film was my dad.