This Weekend I Saw...

V for Vendetta. Rating : ***** ***** (out of 10*). If you like books/movies such as Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World and 1984, you're going to love this movie. It's set in London, but has major relevance to the USA as well. No reason to give away anything about the plot, except to say there's one scene where you get to see my favorite painting - 'The Betrothal of the Arnolfini'. If you aren't familiar with this masterpiece, see my final Photoshop project (below). I really can't think of anything wrong with this movie. And you can be pretty certain that Tony Bliar and Dubnutz don't want you to see this one. Oh yeah, 'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' is coming out this summer. It'll probably be the next movie I go see in a theater.

This Week I'm Listening To...

Massive Attack : "Mezzanine". (1998) Rating : ***** *½ (out of 10*) The group (and album) that spawned a new music genre : "Trip Hop". Nice, moody, carefully-arranged tracks. The third cut, "Teardrop", was deservedly featured on a recent Cold Case episode. However, the mixing leaves a bit to be desired. Sometimes the music volume is just too low. So you crank it up, only to be blasted when the music switches into a louder mode. The vocals are similarly up-&-down. Still, this is definitely an album worth listening to. To quote Jason, "Good from beginning to end".

This Week I'm Listening To...

EPICA : THE PHANTOM AGONY. Rating : ***** *** (out of 10*) Another fine European Goth Metal band, this time out of Holland. Yeah, there's the standard female lead singer, and the grunting male vocalist. But what makes this band worth listening to is their excellent operatic arrangements. If you like Within Temptation, Nightwish, and Ashtar (and Ashtar and Epica played at least one venue together last year); you'll love Epica. Tell your folks that you're finally getting into Opera.