Times of Grace Video

For me, the first big release of 2011 will be the new CD from Times of Grace, "The Hymn of a Broken Man", which comes out January 18th. The band features Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and original Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach. My favorite work from Jesse though was with the band Seemless, where he made 2 excellent CDs before that band went their seperate ways.

“In all my life. I have yet to write a record that bares my soul as much as this record does,” Leach said. “Adam and I had a real spiritual connection while making this and I know that it comes through in the performances and lyrics. This record has our blood, sweat and tears flowing through it. It is painfully honest at times. In short this record is our catharsis.”

Here's the video for the first single "Strength In Numbers".

Dead Space 2 : Excavations Trailer

Is it too early for me to get excited about the first awesome looking game of 2011? Too bad if so, because I love Dead Space and I've been jacked about this sequel for at least a year already. It'll finally be out for the PS3 and XBox-360 on January 25, 2011.

Dead Space 2 : Excavations
Electronic Arts

Snowy Conditions Proving Hazardous For Nation's Idiots

If you know an idiot, please make sure they're safe and not standing naked in a snow embankment on a dare.

Movie Review: Dawn Treader

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Synopsis: Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

I'm still a bit surprised this franchise isn't more popular than it is. The movies usually have very simple, straight-forward plots with good, fun characters and lots of action, and that's exactly what this one delivers once again. Perhaps it drags it's feet a bit at the start but once it gets moving in the 2nd half of it things are pretty exciting.

There's a new really annoying character introduced and for a while I thought the series had found it's Jar-Jar Binks, but an unexpected twist (by me at least, I didn't read any of the books) happens and he actually becomes one of the cooler characters of the franchise so far. The big final battle with a sea monster is as exciting as any film this year and the special effects are spectacular. Somehow the fight scenes are violent without being really violent. Got that? I mean they have sword fights and such but there's never any blood or limbs hacked off or that sort of stuff, it's more of a fun, sanitized, swashbuckling nature.

I think one of the things I like most about this series is that there's really something for everyone. For the small kids there's a talking mouse (well, large mouse) that wields a sword and teaches lessons of life. For the more mature kids there's a battle of some of the teen characters to overcome their inadequacies. For the adults there's more of a subplot of Christians values and overcoming. I think the movie is as simple or deep as one makes it. But on the surface, it's a simple plot with strong characters and plenty of excitement. Good enough for me.

7/10

How To Train Your Jonsi

Fresh off their Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, the filmmakers of DreamWorks Animation's "How To Train Your Dragon" cut together a music video for "Sticks and Stones" by Jonsi (Sigur Ros frontman). It features some of the most memorable scenes from the movie, which was easily one of my favorite films of 2010.

Kim Jong Il Makes Nukes-For-Batman Deal

In tense negotiations, the U.S. State Department agreed to grant the North Korean leader the role of Gotham's Dark Knight Detective.



The Onion News Network is coming to IFC on January 21 at 10pm.

Book Review: The Confession

The Confession
by John Grisham

Synopsis: On the eve of the execution of Donté Drumm, an African-American high-school football star, for the 1998 murder of a white cheerleader whose body was never found, Travis Boyette, a creepy multiple sex offender, confesses that he's guilty of the crime to Kansas minister Keith Schroeder. With Drumm's legal options dwindling fast and with the threat of civil unrest in his Texas hometown if the execution proceeds, Schroeder battles to convince Boyette to go public with the truth--and to persuade the condemned man's attorney that Boyette's story needs to be taken seriously.

One of the things I like most about Grisham's writing is probably one of the things that most holds this book back. He's a very straight-forward storyteller. I love how he draws his characters and they're very realistic and behave so... but also that means there's never a lot of curve balls. In this book, there are none. It sets out on a course and just stays right on it. I love the story and find the subject of the death penalty to be very interesting, it's just he doesn't do a whole lot with it other than give the story of a wrongfully convicted death row inmate and the whirlwind surrounding his case and execution. He has very passionate views on the politics of the death penalty flaws in our justice system and he draws a fictional story slanted only in the 1 direction... his.

It is an interesting book though with a nice look into the legal system and the death penalty. It's very fast-paced and interesting and he's got some great characters in it. I've always thought he was a great storyteller, and this book is no different. But be prepared to be fed his political views as I felt it was a bit preachy at times. I also think he makes some racial issues strictly black and white, and never gray. The line between races in the book is just too pronounced for me to feel it's realistic.

On the death penalty aspect, he makes solid points and I found myself thinking about the West Memphis Three case here in Arkansas a lot throughout as there are many similarities. If you're interested in this sort of thing then this piece of fiction will please you I think. I'd also highly recommend his book The Innocent Man, which is nonfiction and on the same subject and I assume prompted him to write this novel.

8/10

Movie Review: The Bounty Hunter

Synopsis: A bounty hunter (Gerard Butler) learns that his next target is his ex-wife (Jennifer Anniston), a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure.

I assume somebody somewhere came up with the idea of throwing 2 "sexy stars" like Jennifer Anniston and Gerard Butler together in a romantic comedy and then tried to write some sort of action story around them. Too bad they didn't put a little more time in the later part of that equation. The story is just so bland, silly and cliched that I never even really cared what was going on. Suprisingly, I also never felt any chemistry whatsoever between Anniston and Butler, perhaps because their characters were so unrealistic and unlikeable.

There's some decent action and a few laughs here and there, but these 2 run basically run around trying to look sexy for 90 minutes (which Anniston does well by the way, I'll let somebody else decide how Bulter fares) as they break all sort of laws from grand theft auto to assault and battery to property damage galore. Somehow they remain pretty invisible to police despite their sore thumb of a car. It's all pretty absurd, but could easily be overlooked since it's a romantic comedy if not for one thing... it's just not funny often enough.

So if you want to oggle at 2 sexy stars, have a few laughs and see some action, you'll get that. Just don't expect much of it and what you do get is outweighed by the stupid.

5/10

Movie Review: The Other Guys

Synopsis: Two mismatched New York City detectives (Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell) seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

I'm going to file this movie under "very pleasant surprises for 2010". I really didn't think much of it when it was released as it looked like just another buddy cop film, despite the fact that I like Wahlberg. I was wrong, it's actually a very funny and entertaining buddy cop film.

Wahlberg and Ferrell actually have great chemistry as Mark's tough guy straight man is a perfect match for Will's quirky character. The supporting cast also makes a huge difference with Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a team of cops at the beginning of the movie that are so great I'd like to see a spin-off movie of just those 2. There's still another great duo with the hilarious Rob Riggins and Damon Wayans Jr. as partners and they steal nearly every scene they're in. Hell I'd watch a movie with just those 2 also. And as if that weren't enough you get one of my all-time favorites Michael Keaton (Mr. Mom!!!), a fantastic cameo from Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and for the eyes there's the lovely Eva Mendes too. They should give an Oscar to whoever cast this film.

The plot is just predicatable and average, so the movie relies on the comedy to keep it interesting and also the special effects and action scenes. This thing has plenty of both and enough to put it up there with bigtime Summer blockbusters. There are lots of car chases, shootouts and explosions to keep the pace moving along and get you from 1 laugh to the next.

Good action, average plot... but in the end, it's the witty one-liners and great supporting cast that make this a solid film worth watching.

7.5/10

Final Batch of Holly Jolly Funnies

Movie Review: Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Synopsis: Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

I wasn't too sure what to expect from this after seeing the previews and not being a fan of the comic, and right off the bat it's easy to see I was in for something different and original. It's quirky and set in sort of a fantasy comic/video game world, not reality. The scene cuts and action are all very much in this world, and it does take a bit of getting used to and once you accept this, it all just feels right. If this isn't what you are expecting you're probably going to dislike this, unless maybe you have A.D.D. I guess.

It's funny, flashy, innovative and the special effects are pretty eye-popping. I like the characters and though the dialog was sort of like being stuck in close quarters with a bunch of teenagers speaking some foreign broken language, I got some good laughs. I don't think most of the older generation will enjoy it as much as I did though, which probably says something about my level of maturity... which is pretty low I must admit. I think the rating curve on this film probably goes down with age for most people. From the music to the characters, it's pretty hipster cool.

What's not to like? Well, like it said, it's pretty odd which may throw some for a loop. Cera plays pretty much the same character he plays in every film, which can get a bit annoying. As far as the plot goes, there's really not much to it. The execution of the plot is pretty sweet, but the plot itself is pretty straightforward. The pace of the movie is quick though, so there's really not time to sit and dwell on plot points.

While no classic, I found it to be a pretty refreshing, inventive and funny movie. For those who claim Hollywood churns out the same old thing all the time I give you this stylish and original piece of work.

7.5/10

Awesome New Stone Sour Video

Here's the official video for "Hesitate" taken from Stone Sour's excellent latest album, Audio Secrecy. Directed by PR Brown.

All I Want For Christmas (Is To Rock)

More Christmas awesomeness! It's Christmas Eve and I've saved something very special for you all. Perhaps the greatest Christmas video of all-time. Oh I know I've said it before (often actually) but this one has to be in the running surely.

80s metal legends Sniper brings you holiday cheer the only way they know how...by rocking! This is "All I Want For Christmas (Is To Rock)."

Featuring Chris Hardwick, Dana Dearmond, Rob Huebel (Human Giant), Annie Hardy (Giant Drag), Brendon Walsh, Dave Gibbs, Paul Bonanno, Jonah Ray and Eli Braden.



Go to G4TV for more goodies.

Hanukkah! Hanukkah! Anvil!

The Canadian metal legends Anvil played their rendition of "Hanukkah! Hanukkah!" on "The Hour Holiday Special" on CBC in Canada. Somewhere someone Jewish is pumping their fist in the air and lighting their menorah to this. Maybe there's even a dreidel involved. And with that, I've pretty much exhausted my limited knowledge of Hanukkah with this post so just watch the damn video.

Plenty of Creatures Will Be Stirring

I do admit to loving the traditional Christmas music classics from Johnny Mathis to Burl Ives to Bing Crosby, but you hear them everywhere this time of the the year and I sort of get sick of all of it by the big day. So my IPod is jam packed with more current rock lately for the holidays. Some of these are just modern spins on classics, but many are originals and some are not so much in the spirit of happy holidays as they are getting through the holidays I guess. If you played some of these over the loud speakers at stores I think some of the customers might even get a little upset.

So I'm going to drop my thoughtfully named...

Top 25 Rockin' Christmas Songs That Go Well With Shots of Eggnog, Jack Daniels Gift Sets or Holiday Beer... But Only If They're Played Loud

25. Christmas Is Here - Buckcherry

24. Won't Be Home For Christmas - Every Mother's Nightmare... this one makes me think of just sitting around the fireplace sipping on a nice hot toddy

23. White Trash Christmas - Lynam

22. Get Into The Spirit - Rob Halford

21. I Am Santa Claus - Bob Rivers... take Black Sabbath's Iron Man and make it Christmasy? You betcha

20. Yellin' At The Christmas Tree - Billy Idol... "Dad had too much Jack"

19. Home For Christmas - Cavo

18. Better Days - The Goo Goo Dolls

17. Naughty, Naughty Christmas - Danger Danger

16. The 12 Days of Christmas - Straight No Chaser

15. Sexy Santa - Steel Panther... an R-rated Xmas tune

14. Spankin' - Screaming Santas... "I've been bad all year cause I want a spankin' for Christmas"

13. Carol of the Bells - Gary Hoey

12. Jingle Hells Bells - Bob Rivers

11. X-M@S - Corey Taylor... a new anti-Christmas song really, with a chorus of "if I ain't drunk, then it ain't Christmas"

10. Drunk on Christmas - Jimmy Fallon w/John Rich... another new song with the glorious chorus of "gonna get drunk, drunk, drunk on Christmas"

9. Christmas With You - Rick Springfield

8. Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 - Trans Siberian Orchestra

7. Last Christmas - Jimmy Eat World

6. Christmas is The Time To Say I Love You - Billy Squier... yes, he pranced around in the 80s like a fairy on something, but this song is just so damn catchy

5. Must Be Santa - Screaming Santas

4. Shake Up Christmas - Train... the Coke Christmas anthem

3. Little Drummer Boy - The Almost... and excellent modern twist on the classic, though I have no idea why you'd want to give a newborn a drum

2. Santa Claus Is Back In Town - Ingram Hill... such a funky version of this

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Ronnie James Dio and Tony Iommi... no I didn't just pick this because Ronnie passed away this year, I picked it because I love it. Tony's guitar tone puts sort of a gloomy twist on things and Ronnie kills the vocals.

Another Manger Full Of Christmas Funnies