Welcome to this post by psychedelic wizard. After reviewing Pink Floyd’s The Wall the other day, and giving it much thought, I have decided to talk a bit about their hidden gems in the music they produced.
Everyone associates Pink Floyd with their most popular album Dark Side of the Moon. But they have a wide range of albums covering a lot of musical ground. So, what are their most popular albums? The 3 most popular are Dark Side of the moon, The Wall and Wish You Were Here…
What are the underrated albums from the band? Excluding ‘The Division Bell’ and ‘A Momentary Lapse of Reason’ which was David Gilmour alone using the name Pink Floyd. We have hidden gems that are Animals, The Final Cut, Atom Heart Mother and Obscured by Clouds. Although Meddle is a good album featuring epic, Echoes, it was the worst selling album by the band, surprisingly.
Starting with Animals, the epic from 1977, filled with raw, aggressive tones and a back story similar to Animal Farm. We get a harsh and real look at society, the dogs and the sheep and the pigs. It is by far one of their best. If people ever ask me what my favourite Pink Floyd album is, I would usually say Animals.
Then, we have The Final Cut, released in 1983 the title track is a real beast of a song. The album is good, focusing on the Falklands war, and the associated drama in life. Roger Waters had a blast making this album, after he created The Wall. The album features sounds and music originally meant for the Wall, but turned into an album on its own. Also gave us the song Fletcher Memorial Home and Two Suns in the Sunset, both magical music gifts.
Atom Heart Mother is the start of a decade of soaring fame and musical creation from Pink Floyd. Released in 1970, marks the beginning of the unique sounds we would come to expect from the band, along with those more delicate tones. The use of brass and orchestra and sound effects make this a psychedelic album through and through. The title track at 24 minutes long was an nightmare to play live and the band never played it live after 1972, which is a shame. Alans Psychedelic Breakfast is a real joy to experience with its use of acoustic guitars. Its another favourite of mine.
Finally Obscured by Clouds, released in 1972, a year before Dark Side of the Moon. What does that mean? It proceeded the most well known album in the world. And, it is a good album. Not only did it follow Atom Heart Mother, but it seemed to take a new direction completely with the strong use of digital sounds and effects, a sort of sonic experience. All of the songs are short and it is a rock album with little singing. Recorded in France over 2 sessions and used in French film La Vallee.
What it shows is that the band was more than the mainstream albums, more complicated than member simply leaving. You see, when the five members originally in the band made The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, that was the group that formed Pink Floyd. After Syd left, and it became 4, things started going down hill. From Atom Heart Mother of 1970, they rose and rose until Richard Wright left in 1979. Until The Final Cut of 1983, at which point Roger Waters left in 1985, essentially leaving Gilmour and Nick Mason alone.
Although Gilmour went on to make Division Bell and Momentary Lapse of Reason, we know as fans that Pink Floyd died, along with the gunners dream in the Final Cut. That was the last album by Pink Floyd as a group. Later would come The Endless River, another attempt to get more money from David Gilmour, scraping unused material from the Division Bell. It is hard to see and to admit, but if you look you find an uncomfortable truth about David Gilmour, a man who tore the band apart, who was in it for his own greedy means, and who didn’t have much to say for himself after Waters left, who in my eyes, was the driving force behind the band. The two had their disputes, and creative differences, but Waters had the decency to walk away. It would be interesting to read his biography on the band. Don’t take what I say on it but looking at the music that came after The Final Cut from Gilmour, it seems to be giving that impression.
The Wall is the 11th studio album released by English rock band Pink Floyd.
Released: 30th November 1979 (Harvest and Columbia Records).
A rock opera about the jaded rock star, Pink, whose self-imposed isolations from society forms a figurative wall around him. The album topped the US charts for 15 weeks and reached number 3 in the UK. It had since its release received accolades as one of the greatest albums of all time and one of the bands finest works.
“In the Flesh?”
3:16
2.
“The Thin Ice”
2:27
3.
“Another Brick in the Wall, Part 1”
3:11
4.
“The Happiest Days of Our Lives”
1:46
5.
“Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2”
3:59
6.
“Mother”
5:32
7.
“Goodbye Blue Sky”
2:45
8.
“Empty Spaces”
2:10
9.
“Young Lust”
3:25
10.
“One of My Turns”
3:41
11.
“Don’t Leave Me Now”
4:08
12.
“Another Brick in the Wall, Part 3”
1:18
13.
“Goodbye Cruel World”
1:16
14.
“Hey You”
4:40
15.
“Is There Anybody Out There?”
2:44
16.
“Nobody Home”
3:26
17.
“Vera”
1:35
18.
“Bring The Boys Back Home”
1:21
19.
“Comfortably Numb”
6:23
20.
“The Show Must Go On”
1:36
21.
“In the Flesh”
4:15
22.
“Run Like Hell”
4:23
23.
“Waiting for the Worms”
3:59
24.
“Stop”
0:30
25.
“The Trial”
5:13
26.
“Outside the Wall”
1:41
Total length:
80:39
I copied the table from Wikipedia for ease of viewing. The album consists of 26 songs and is the second best selling album from Pink Floyd after the Dark Side of the Moon. Ranked numerous times as one of the greatest concept albums in the history of the world.
What can I say other than it really is magnificent. I first listened to this album many years ago, and tonight, I have listened to it again for the first time in a long time. I have listened from beginning to end, and the album has many vibes, including dystopian, themes of world war two, science fiction to an extent, horror, and more. Unbelievable is that this album sounds fantastic on YouTube. I do have the CD set, and have done for nearly ten years, but tonight I used my TV since the speakers are quite good. I began to listen and expected to feel like ‘Oh I’ve listened before.’ But I didn’t because its been such a long time. It all sounded great, and you could mistake it for a modern day album, no I am not kidding you. The accompanying movie shot to fame, and so too the various tours, specifically Roger Waters come back tour around 2013 in which he toured The Wall live and it was the biggest grossing comeback concert for a solo artist. There were many years of strife between the band members which is a shame, because looking at The Wall, Dark Side, and others in which they collaborated, you see real genius.
It isn’t often I say this, but Pink Floyd as a band stayed in my heart for many years, because their artistic ability and music defy age, gender, space, time and any notion that music is dead. The album The Wall produced the worldwide single hit ‘Comfortable Numb’ which went on to be covered by various bands and musicians, and used throughout culture and movie. Other great songs from the album include ‘Hey You’ and ‘In the Flesh’ both standout songs. The album can come across as melancholy, but in hindsight, is actually more of a dark disturbing drama. Remember, Pink is isolated, Comfortable numb, waiting for the worms. His life has taken a dark yet extremely recognisable turn.
The album is more relevant now to helping people with mental health problems, especially given the isolation issues over the last few years. We see also themes of mind control in ‘Another Brick in the Wall parts 1, 2 and 3. Each highlighting that ‘we don’t need no education. We don’t need no thought control.’ Each sentence conceived from the direct experience of the band members who grew up in an abusive school system which abused its students and used corporal punishment on young children. It is not a surprise then that the songs are conveying strong uncomfortable messages about reality, especially back in the British schools of the 70s. For me, the album is up there at number 2 as well.
Albums like this don’t need much reviewing, the music speaks for itself, and yet, people will be divided by the music and some will hate it, the same reason they never go back to listen again, because deep down they know its good ****.
A review of the massive The Astonishing concept album and the second concept album from the band written by guitarist John Petrucci.
A run time of 2 hours making this one of their longest albums. I would have reviewed it sooner but since its release in January 2016 I have needed all these years to let the story sink in. I think at the time I wasn’t quite ready to embrace all of this album. Only a few years ago did I start to listen to select songs from the album again. But ultimately the album is amazing, and I mean that.
It’s full of an incredibly inspiring story about music. It has its own cast of characters and fictional places. It has some amazing songs and singing, which I have yet to find anywhere else. The reason I appreciate it all now so much is because of the story and how beautifully the songs fit with the plot. 2 of the songs, ‘The walking shadow’ and ‘my last farewell’ although slightly sad, are really great songs. ‘A new beginning’ and ‘our new world’ really highlighting the bands musical talents. This is a softer album, but nonetheless powerful. I am not sure whether you need to listen more than once, but I needed to to understand many aspects.
You have to listen from start to finish to follow the story although I selected songs to listen to which I believed could also be in order and you would not be able to tell. This is a rock opera not to miss. It has all the elements of fantasy, both light and dark that you could want. It is musical equivalent to the Lord of the Rings. The main cast of characters from The Astonishing are :
Nafaryus: Emperor of Great Northern Empire of the Americas.
Arabelle: Empress and wife of Nafaryus.
Daryus: Crown Prince. Son of Nafaryus and Arabelle.
Faythe: Princess. Daughter of Nafaryus and Arabelle. Love of Gabriel.
Gabriel: Musician from Ravenskill and brother of Arhys. Love of Faythe.
Arhys: Brother of Gabriel, commander of Ravenskill Rebel Militia, father of Xander, husband of deceased Evangeline.
Evangeline: deceased wife of Arhys.
Xander: Son of Arhys and Evangeline.
The story is set some time in the considerable future. James Labrie deserves a lot of credit as the vocals on this album are particularly strong, not only throughout, has he managed to capture the ‘voices’of the characters, but he has portrayed them as human, whilst giving an amazing performance. It took real courage to develop this album, so you deserve the credit, Dream Theater.
The below is extracted from wikipedia:
Act 1
In 2285, the northeastern region of the United States has turned into a dystopia ruled by the oppressive Great Northern Empire of the Americas. The only resemblance to entertainment that exists is the electronic noise of the Noise Machines (NOMACS). The empire is ruled by Emperor Nafaryus, Empress Arabelle, Crown Prince Daryus, and Princess Faythe. In a distant village called Ravenskill, a man named Gabriel possesses the natural ability to make music and sing (“The Gift of Music”). He has an older brother, Commander Arhys of the Ravenskill Rebel Militia, who has a son, Xander, with his deceased wife, Evangeline (“A Better Life”).
Nafaryus hears a rumor about Gabriel being the savior of the people. He and his family travel to Ravenskill to see him for themselves (“Lord Nafaryus”). In the Ravenskill town square, Gabriel is performing for the people when the royal family shows up. He continues playing at the emperor’s request (“A Savior in the Square”), nearly bringing them all to tears (“When Your Time Has Come”). As he plays, Faythe remembers how she found a music player when she was a child and kept it a secret all her life, and as she and Gabriel stare at each other and fall in love (“Act of Faythe”). Nafaryus, though briefly moved by Gabriel’s song, sees him as a threat to his rule and gives the people of the town three days to deliver their savior to him or he will destroy the town (“Three Days”). Arhys hides his brother and refuses to give him up (“Brother, Can You Hear Me?”).
Back at the Emperor’s palace, Faythe decides that she must see Gabriel again. Disguising herself, she begins to travel back to Ravenskill. Arabelle, knowing about her daughter’s intentions, instructs Daryus to follow and protect her. Daryus feels he has always been overlooked by his father in favor of his sister, so he travels to the town with his own intentions (“A Life Left Behind”). Faythe arrives in the town and finds Xander, who trusts her and leads her to his father Arhys. Faythe convinces Arhys that she can help, so he brings her to Gabriel’s hideout. Gabriel and Faythe embrace, and she tells him that she believes she can convince her father to give up his hunt for Gabriel (“Ravenskill”). Gabriel tells her that if he could just meet with the Emperor, he could inspire him to restore peace to the land using his gift of music (“Chosen”).
Meanwhile, Daryus finds Arhys’ home and takes Xander captive. Daryus promises he will guarantee the safety and wealth of Xander in return for Arhys bringing Gabriel to him. Daryus does this hoping that it will gain him respect from his father (“A Tempting Offer”). Arhys is forced to agree to the deal, remembering a promise he made to Evangeline to protect their son (“The X Aspect”). Faythe travels back to her father’s palace and learns that her music player once belonged to her father. After a while, Nafaryus bows to the pleas of his daughter (“A New Beginning”) and agrees to meet with Gabriel at an abandoned amphitheater called Heaven’s Cove (“The Road to Revolution”).
Act 2
Arhys informs Daryus that Gabriel will be at Heaven’s Cove that night (“Moment of Betrayal”). While the meeting time approaches (“Heaven’s Cove”), Faythe decides that she wants to use the power of her royal status to change the world for good (“Begin Again”). At the amphitheater, Arhys changes his mind on the deal, and when Daryus shows up, they start a fight. Daryus overpowers Arhys and kills him (“The Path That Divides”), unaware that Xander followed them and saw the whole scene. As Xander runs to his father’s dead body, Daryus sees the silhouette of someone approaching him. Assuming it to be Gabriel, he attempts to kill him, realising too late that it is actually Faythe (“The Walking Shadow”). Gabriel arrives at the scene and sees his dead brother and the dying Faythe. Covering Xander’s ears, he unleashes a scream that causes Daryus to go deaf and that is heard by Nafaryus, Arabelle, and the entire town (“My Last Farewell”).
Nafaryus and Arabelle arrive and beg Gabriel to use his gift to save Faythe (“Losing Faythe”), but Gabriel is unable to sing after screaming so loudly (“Whispers on the Wind”). The people, attracted by the scream, show up and start singing, giving Gabriel hope. He finds his ability to sing and brings Faythe back to life (“Hymn of a Thousand Voices”). Nafaryus, realising what he has done, decides to end the conflict with Gabriel and shuts down the NOMACS for good. Daryus is forgiven for his actions, and Gabriel and Faythe raise Xander as a family (“Our New World”). Nafaryus promises to govern the empire as a fair leader in a new world where music is appreciated again (“Astonishing”).
It can be quite a moving story. The last part where Gabriel saves Faythe rather than Aryhys struck me as strange. Why not bring back his brother, rather than the princess who is the daughter of the bad leader? Why does Gabriel let his love for Faythe come before his love for his brother? Thoughts like this should be allowed and questions should be answered. It’s a very bitter sweet ending. The journey is thoughtful and interesting. There could have been more characters, but it is small enough to remember and yet, enough to make it nice and complicated. If you tried to figure out the story just by listening to the songs, maybe looking at the insert inside the album, you might understand the story… might. You should read the synopsis first to get a grip of this vast album.
Take a good listen to the songs. Such music as ‘a life left behind’ and ‘chosen’ are real great examples of genuine rock music, not only rock music, but more developed sounding music. It has all the elements of soft rock. I’d argue dramatic too. ‘Chosen’ is definitely a ballad. It is also more than that, it’s a love song.
The entire story focuses on using the magic and power of song to save and free the kingdom. We can see that it is also a love story with sad losses and happy endings. The album is considerable different to the original concept album by Dream Theater – ‘Metropolis part 2. Scenes from a memory’, released in 1999. It is lighter in tone, but also seems to be able to be received by more people. It is no doubt a dividing album, splitting the opinion of fans. As a fan myself I originally felt really let down. But it is a good album. I suppose as a band the highlights are there, vocally at least, even if you cannot appreciate the sweeping guitar parts. Drums are not as prominent and neither is bass. Keyboard/piano and guitar are at the forefront of the entire story with the singer. There is a lot of acoustic guitar work and there is the use of instruments that really mix things up. The band utilise bagpipes in the song ‘The X Aspect’. They use the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague, Pueri Cantores boys choir, and Millennium Choir.
When we approach the end of the album ‘Hymm of a thousand voices’ stands out as being a subtle yet beautiful song about this large group of people being called to use their voices to save someones life. They gather together and light up the dark using Sky lanterns and candles. It’s a good way to bring hope and peace to the land, to introduce once again ‘the gift of music’ that Gabriel was capable of.
As we become aware of what changes have unfolded, ‘Our New World’ stands out as a really enjoyable and moving song about starting to build a new world after the absence of music. Faythe and Gabriel go off together with Xander, and they will start to live out the rest of their days. We have to wait until the very end to hear ‘Astonishing’, which is a good an ending as any. It has been astonishing and an incredibly complicated journey, yet all over so quick… ‘Because of you I live again… now I can be a voice for change’.
Although the Astonishing is something of a dividing concept album, it has many great songs, great music, great story and vocals and aims to be one of the better ‘stories’ in modern music. Remember Pink Floyds The Wall? Yeah, Dream Theater aimed this high, and did very well.
I think you’d be able to listen to this album and feel fairly satisfied at how a lot of it plays out, suprisingly so.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
*It doesn’t quite get 5 stars. We all need to be able to appreciate efforts like this.* Well Done.
I watched The Batman last night. Got into the cinema and sat down by 7pm. Film started 20 minutes later after a couple adverts, not many. The film ran from that time to about 10:10pm! So, from the beginning of this review, you should know the new Warner Bros. DC movie The Batman is long and it is dark and there is actually more to this than first meets thee eye.
I will highlight firstly that this seems and appears to be a direct continuation of the franchise in that Batman is established and he is not going through any type of renewal. This is a key word in the movie, renewal. He refers to himself at the start of the movie as vengeance. He is also called vengeance throughout by others.
The movie uses a gothic castle as his home! Finally. This is brilliant. The overall aesthetic of the movie is dark and gothic it is brilliant. The architecture being used it old as opposed to new or modern. Even the subway system looks outdated.
It starts with Batman revealing how he operates, how criminals are afraid when they know he may be out in the night, how he fights but cannot tackle every problem. Understandable. Robert Pattinson is also a good look for Batman. He wears black eye makeup a lot of the time, even with the suit on. He is tall and slim. Muscle isn’t really there in one of the scenes where he exposes his torso. I don’t know if anyone else has an issue with this but the suit in the film does give the impression his quite strong and muscularly, although with the suit you can still see that slimness. But he knows how to fight, he uses those skills effectively, being able to take on 5 or 6 fearlessly.
We go to a murder, specifically in this big mansion. It leads us onto the topic of the movie. Why was he killed, who did it and why? We soon learn at the crime scene that there is more to this. It appears there is a card addressed to the batman in which is a riddle. That’s right. The Riddler is back at his sick games. Batman, coupled with commissioner Gordon, is trying to track him down all the while dealing with an elusive and mysterious woman who dresses in black at night, and has lots of cats – catwoman? We never get that information but clearly, she is. Who recalls Halle Berry in that awful 2004 movie? What about Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992 Batman Returns? Zoe Kravitz is now catwoman. And, we get to see the workings of some dark club in which a lot of police, corrupt DA’s have been hanging out.
The club forefront man, is none less than the Penguin. (This movie should have done more with him). But the Penguin, although known, is on the backburner. Played by an unrecognisable Colin Farrell. The club is a mafia run joint. It’s basically a long journey from this point of trying to figure out who the Riddler is couple with trying to expose the corrupt cops. All the while Alfred is hospitalised after an attack and more.
But in terms of character we can see that stories of the past and particularly Bruce Waynes parents death has crept back into the fold, supposedly being some sort of trigger for renewal. I should also mention that at the beginning of the movie, a group of thugs has the face paint of joker. Although it doesn’t have any attention drawn to it, when looking at the Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, it is significant. Even more so when comparing with the death of Bruce Waynes parents. You see movie makers, Warner Brothers and writers should all be familiar with previous films stories. In Joker it is suggested that Thomas Wayne is the Jokers father, and the Jokers uprising is responsible for the death of Bruce Waynes parents. In this film, the Batman, it is suggested that the mafia boss or the Riddler is responsible. At the end of the movie, we see the Joker in Arkham Asylum, so we know throughout the movie that his far reaching affects are still taking place because of the Joker impersonators. This supposed disregard to what the Joker did in the previous movies makes me wonder why they ignored it.
It is all about detective and chase work. The Batmobile makes and appearance as a loud and obnoxious vehicle with huge engine and flaming turbine on the back. It’s small but not quite fast enough. It comes in good use when Batman suspects the Penguin of being an elusive rat with wings that the Riddler is hunting. It is downplayed but the movie operates at a level of genuine sophistication and Batman genuineness. It is true to the character. He is not perfect, he is still not supported 100% by Gotham police department aside from commissioner Gordon. He is still the Dark Knight, just in a more reclusive way. Bruce Wayne is in the negative spotlight throughout as the city want blood for the billionaires corrupt dealings.
This battle is lost and Batman cannot figure out the Riddler’s last clue until it is too late. The city is in jeopardy. It is a laboured love but the movie shows and demonstrates that key element which makes us all love Batman to begin with. He gives the city hope and is a light of positivity. Although the Riddler wasn’t quite as eccentric as Jim Carrey in 1995s Batman Forever, he is still a bad guy and its fun to watch the pursuit.
The run time does seem excessive. It could have been cut down considerably, which I suspect is what already happened. Maybe they could have given us 2 hours 30 minutes? Seems reasonable to say at least 20 minutes of combined footage is not needed, a city shot here or there, or the sound of engines revving.
Congratulations to Robert Pattinson for doing a decent job of making Batman dark, strong and genuinely a force to be reckoned with. Acting is superb. The dark theme, overall gothic tones and a huge amount of visual close up fighting, with little special effects. It is so difficult to rate though.
Surprised that Dream Theater have already announced another album for release only a mere 2 years after ‘Distance over time’?
New album titled ‘A view from the top of the world’ is scheduled to release on the October 22, 2021. You can pre order the album now.
Following previous traditions of releasing a song early… or 2 or 3… new single ‘THE ALIEN’ is a powerful new song from Dream Theaters new album!
It runs over 9 minutes. I hope this new album has longer songs and a 24 minute song which is not unusual from the band, with most albums containing such long epics. Distance over time the exception, with no epic. However, that was a good, strong album which left much to be imagined about the future of the bands talent. Do they ever stop growing and progressing?
The video to The Alien is visually striking. Particular highlights being the use of space and alien technology to enhance the journey the viewer goes on. It’s an epic adventure, through space. Accompanying lyrics and guitar are great, with some sections whisking my mind back to the days of ‘scenes from a memory’ and ‘images and words.’
I can’t wait until the album is released. It’s great news. The band said in an interview that they had more spare time since they were not touring so they decided to hook up to do ‘what they do best’, make music. If the single the Alien is anything to go by, then I can imagine that the rest of the album is going to be quite the experience.
A zombie apocalpyse movie. A drama, thriller, adventure, part-comedy… whatever it is, it leaves a big impression in your mind. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how to do an apocalypse movie, with zombies.
Release date: 04 Jun 2013 (US)
Director Jeremy Gardner
Starring: Jeremy Gardner, Adam Cronheim
Rotten Tomatoes says 80% for this movie.
The Battery. A low budget zombie horror that focuses on two former baseball players thrown together in order to survive. Right off the bat (excuse me) I will say this, if the director and cast and crew had more money, say a couple of million like most modern cinema, then this could have been perhaps ten times more intense, thrilling and built-on.
So, we have 2 former baseball players surviving the back alleys and woods of New England. Most of the film is spent in the wilderness fishing and just trying to get by. The main characters Ben and Mickey are the forefront, highlight characters who this apocalypse character study focuses on. Their relationship goes from this intense, not-really-that-happy to a hard boiled, emotional rollercoaster. I couldn’t believe some of the actions of the pair.
There is hope. There are few zombies. As we learn what each character likes and dislikes and their general behaviour, we begin to notice how much of the world has gone, and what little remains. Staying in buildings is unsafe, Ben and Mickey sleep and travel in a small car. I was impressed by the realism of the survival of the pair, both carrying rucksacks of essentials and sleeping in a very comfortable looking boot. When zombie films try to depict large, scathing bases or near-death attempts to find a safe haven, they overlook the everyday, and the basics. For this reason, the movie is already above most others. Eating tuna from metal tins, fishing and drinking bottled water.
The film doesn’t shy away from the profane, our survivors don’t mind raiding those houses and stealing gear, but it’s survival isn’t it? I watched the movie with patience, enjoying the journey of Ben and Mickey, even the disturbing tactics that Ben employs to try and get Mickey to kill a zombie. It is a slow burn movie, and you need to be patient and appreciate what this has to offer.
The second half of the movie is where the horror builds, and where our characters relationship has been leading. I won’t spoil it too much, but throughout there has been minimal walkie talkie contact with a mysterious enclave, which give clear instructions to ignore any messages received from Ben or Mickey. Until Mickey goes convincing himself that this enclave is friendly. It takes them stopping on the road, to retrieve fuel from an abandoned vehicle, for them to really realise how much of a mistake they have made by attempting to contact this ‘group’. We don’t see them, and that is another shining star in this movie. There is a lot of suggestion and tension, which works extremely well. Camera angles and shots allow us to see 1 point of view at a time, beautifully shot I may add, with some great landscapes of New England.
Overall, this movie would in my opinion appeal to real-true zombie apocalypse fans. Appealing to those with patience and an appreciation of good artistic style. Bonus: The script and chemistry between the lead characters is almost flawless, minor a couple of lines. I will award this groundbreaking, genre-shifting movie a huge:
I watched this movie just over a month ago. It is a strange, surreal and frightening film. I recommend for any horror film fans.
Nicolas Cage has had a reputation for starring in lower budget movies over the last few years, many of questionable quality. This is in my opinion, one of his best in recent years. It is shear terror from the start.
Let me just start by saying, that it is based on the Lovecraft story, therefore there are additions and differences to the book and anyone who has read the book should still give it a watch.
After a meteorite crashes into their farm, strange things begin to happen. It starts with small happenings, a leaching space monster, seemingly leaking into the world, spitting out these ‘fairies’ and changing the landscape slowly and surely, beginning to infect the occupants and any animal it comes into contact with.
It starts slow. It builds the tension and horror fantastically. I really was hooked waiting to see how Cage could handle the situation. Not much can be done. The ‘color out of space’ takes you down an increasingly disturbing nightmare, which accumulates in mass insanity, demonic space creatures, an unforgettable merging of mother and son, and a barn scene that I won’t forget anytime soon.
Brilliantly shot, the director has worked the scenes with skill, the lighting and special affects, are not overbearing and the warm feeling contrasts well with the darkly twisted story.
I won’t say too much about the ending, but by the time everyone has had their fair share of this insanity and meteorite madness, the film begins to wind down and warp our minds as the farm and our characters are whooshed into another nightmare of a world.
Offering a genius build up of horror and scares, this 2020 film is sure to become a cult classic. I can seriously not forget the film, it’s fantastic acting, directing, lighting, special fx, set design and so on. This is going to be remembered for a long time.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
(Well done Nicolas Cage for starring in a good film)
Zombie apocalypse…again. TV series released 11th April 2019. I’ve watched season 1 around 3 times to fully grasp the plot and the story. It is well worth the watch for any true survival/zombie apocalypse fan.
The classic elements are there, with enough action, suspense and drama to keep you watching. It stuck with a fairly simple formula which works…getting from a-b, and builds from there.
Renewed for a second season, Black Summer must be pulling the fans in. Need I say the obvious? Too many zombies out there, but I love them as a plot dynamic. Black Summer gets to the root of my likes, and a lot of other peoples likes, by genuinely focusing on the dead in the terrifying manner they lurk around us with.
Recommend for The Walking Dead fans, and fans of Z Nation…another favourite of mine which was sadly cancelled…
I enjoyed this, had wanted the characters to survive and wanted to find out more about them and the plot in general…this is a good, laid back yet fully realistic approach to story telling. The direction, camera angles, lighting and general ambience are the icing to the story, being able to capture a lot of mood and emotions in each shot. Capturing the scary post apocalyptic feel.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
4 stars. Worth a watch for realism based apocalypse fans.
psychedelicwizard 