I’ve heard nothing but amazing reviews about it.  If Rotten Tomatoes can give it a 96% percent, I’m definitely giving this a shot despite my doubts.

Going in with the critics’ reviews and some high expectations of how the Wachowski brothers could handle something not as deep or dark as the Matrix trilogy, I was skeptical but I continually reminded myself to heed the words of those who enjoyed it simply by giving in and letting escapism take over. And man was it a blast.  It’s a bunch of campy fun just made to give you some thrills; there’s no super deep intense overlying ideas, just a lot of colorful and gorgeous-looking excitement. 

The artistic direction this movie took was absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. Never have I seen a racing movie where the race itself became a work of art, an explosion of color and streaks of light, where each turn in the race became a whole new art piece and extremely intensified the tension. Even the buildings rendered in this movie were taken into account, where the graphic artists decided to add “eyes” to almost every structure in the city. The movie itself is such a beautiful art form all on its own.  I can’t imagine how many visual landmarks were achieved with this film.

The cast plays the Racer family PERFECTLY; especially John Goodman as Pops, who does a damn fine job at his role. The same goes for Christina Ricci, who’s even more gorgeous in this movie as Trixie than ever before. She’s such a cutie, and even takes a shot at driving in this movie and kicks some serious ass.

The races are SO fun, you can’t help but get that awesome feeling of satisfaction when Speed takes out another driver, or comes back from getting hit. You’re with him every foot of the race, and you just want him to win so badly. Racer X is also an awesome driver, with such a cool bad-ass atmosphere around him.

The moral of the story is one already told, but this movie proves it with such determination and such drive that it was like realizing it all over again. Do something because you love it, and don’t let money, greed or power get in the way of your goals and aspirations. Enjoy it with every second, and don’t let people intimidate you into stopping.

Seeing this at the IMAX definitely gives the visual style its entire glory; so be sure to go there first if you can to see this.  I’ve seen it twice and I’m coming to check it out again later today.  I can’t get enough of this awesome flick.

10/10

shocking news.  someone should alert BT.

The Bad Touch
By spiritstereo
2008-03-02

What makes a rock song truly great?  Certainly endurance – a consistent audience for subsequent years seems like a reasonable qualification.  But what other criteria are there for such a claim?  For one, to serve the purpose that rock songs serve in the fullest sense possible.  This requires two distinctions – firstly, a definition of the word “rock music”, and secondly, a definition of its purpose.  Both of these ideas, of rock music and rock music’s purpose, have been interpreted in a variety of fashions, and many of these interpretations can sit happily side by side.  For example, I can find a song perfect to listen to when I’m sad or when happy; when it’s summer or when it’s winter.  I can consider Puddle of Mudd, Death Cab For Cutie, New Order, The Beatles, My Bloody Valentine, and Mastodon “rock”, even though the tendrils holding these together (pop structure and guitars) are tenuous at best.

However, I would like to define these criteria in the most “mainstream” sense possible; the sense which guides popular rock songs to their positions on the tops of billboard charts.  The first criterion would be the prevalence of accessible, guitar-based pop progressions, styles, and melodies that the majority of people can find enjoyable.  Secondly, its purpose is generally to provide enjoyment towards the end of a successful party – that is, that it can be recognized, danced to, and sung along with. It must also provide a bit of illicit excitement—that rock music thrill that can be traced back to Elvis’ hips that has reached the present day through Mick’s swagger, Nancy’s boots, Michael’s dance moves, Madonna’s dresses, Johnny’s sneer, Kurt’s anger and a multitude of contemporary imitators—one that is generally sexually connotative in nature.  Combine these two criteria with the criterion of endurance and you have a very short list.  From each decade I can think of only a few, and even the few I can think of have struggled to withstand the test of time.

Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” had a revolutionary groove, and its commercial success fueled many a sock hop.  Nevertheless, its allure and thrill have disappeared as it recedes from memory into a quaint relic, with its hips and metaphors radically tame for our less repressed time.  The Beatles’ “Twist And Shout” can still rile some to dance, but the shock at John Lennon’s blown vocal chords is slight, and a twisting dance move is hardly a sexual turn-on.  Similarly, Michael Jackson’s array of danceable guitar-oriented hits have lost much of their boundary-pushing nature.  Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” is generally still somewhat risqué, especially if viewed with its black Jesus/boyfriend video, but the number of startled listeners seem to be growing smaller as the tune becomes more dated and society becomes more permissive.  Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen” is still fairly well known, and its Celtic dance rhythms seem immortal, but like most others it has become an 80’s relic.  Other hits are no longer as party friendly, let alone shocking, like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, whose once angst-ridden grunge guitar riffs are now acceptably heard in the writing of their descendents, and whose lyrics were even then unintelligible to some.

I would like to argue, however, that there is one song that has—and will—stand this test of time to become – yes – the ultimate rock song.  This is where I expect that things will get controversial, and where objective examples must be put away.  I believe wholeheartedly that the culmination of the rock era occurred when the Bloodhound Gang finished crafting the masterpiece that is “The Bad Touch”.

Who even listens to that song anymore, one might ask. Well, I encourage you to try it out at the next party you attend where the music collection is diverse and not guarded by iPod nazis.  Granted, the average age of listeners might have to be under 26 years old, but of course the endurance criterion of a lasting tune is future oriented, not past.  As soon as the inaugurating sample hits, ears will prick up.  Everyone knows the song – in its brief year of exposure it burrowed its way into the collective unconscious in the way that only flawlessly crafted pop can. The electronic dance beat, which was so prevalent in the late 90’s fad of music like Daft Punk’s “One More Time” and less respectable Eurodance (Eiffel 65, Aqua), is simple and timeless enough to resonate both in this age of Kanye West’s Daft Punk resurrection, as well as in future eras of electronic musical innovation.  And even after nearly a decade, it still contains the most explicit double entendres that unedited radio fodder can still play without censure in this age of the Patriot Act.

The anthemic and oft-quoted chorus “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals/So let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel” represents the peak of the Bloodhound Gang’s provocative style, sublimating their chauvinistic tendencies into a universally relatable pop-culture tale of fantasized lust. Its hilarious explicitness is too gritty and cutting to ever really lose its shock value, but cleverly concealed enough to transcend the banal anatomical lessons that most sexually deviant songs, including others by the Bloodhound Gang itself, tend to more openly celebrate.  The comical use of alliteration and common cultural references, e.g. “the Discovery Channel”, sets it above somewhat analogous but more morose counterparts like Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”. The fact that its sexual thrill is deliberately communicated through well-known and lasting cultural allusions rather than in blunt expletives makes it more likely that it will transcend both time and changing tastes, well into future generations who have no idea about the band’s otherwise obscene antics.

The combination of these attributes will solidify “The Bad Touch”at the top of the rock and roll pantheon.  The sexual thrill of songs from more repressed eras will never endure, especially as that rush was generally intertwined with the acts that accompanied the music. The Bloodhound Gang’s explicitness, on the other hand, which straddles the boundary between deviously inappropriate and popularly acceptable – a feat which must be accomplished in order to fulfill rock’s primary allure – is infinite and built into the lyrics themselves.  They border on misogyny yet distance themselves enough from being truly offensive to almost vindicate them from the dirty inferences they obviously seek to incite.  The electronic dance beat of the song is modern enough to stay current, but simple enough to not become dated.  The melodies are infectious and maintain that old pop tradition, dating back to the earliest pop music, of simple progressions of notes which get stuck in your head and keep you humming the tune all day.  Finally, the origin of it as a pure mainstream “guilty pleasure” ensures that it will be widely known as a classic of its era.

There is often bickering about the greatest rock music of all time, and countless lists have compiled and recompiled. This inquiry will likely continue for decades to come.  But there is a simple answer, defined by those same simple criteria of endurance, pop sensibility, and challenge to the status quo. I believe it is one that has proven and will continue to prove itself as the greatest rock song ever created – “The Bad Touch”.

BT taught Kaia to say she was being screamed at or hit if she wants to get back at Ashley for not giving her her way… He’s been trying to get Kaia to say Ashley hit her for a long time so he can keep Ashley from ever seeing her daughter because he’s actually a really nasty person and hates Ashley.

When BT called the police to say Ashley was hitting Kaia the police said there is no evidence supporting those claims and basically said calm the fuck down. That’s why they’re not helping him look for his daughter… and also because he never even asked for the police’s help because that would be filing a false claim of abduction and wasting law enforcement time.

Ashley was scared to give her daughter back to BT because he was obviously trying to take Kaia forever by saying she is a child abuser.

If BT already had names and addresses of where he could find them why try to employ the help of electronic music fans across the world? Why not just call those numbers and go to those addresses? Because then people wouldn’t feel bad for him… and just using the numbers and addresses he has wouldn’t help him sell cds. Oh, and why hasn’t Brian cancelled any shows?

When BT did find Ashley and Kaia he just dropped off court papers and left. He didn’t even try to take Kaia with him. Then he was off to check his myspace to see what other sympathetic comments fans posted him.

BT was also given no consent to travel with Kaia but took her all over the place and out of the country without ever asking Ashley. Once they left California, with BT promising her marriage, she soon found out he wanted to move so her custody rights would be taken away and because he was being chased by the IRS for not paying taxes. He made Ashley beg to see her own daughter. If Ashley is “fleeing” to California it’s only so she has legal rights to her daughter.

That “possibly without a car seat” thing is ridiculous even for BT. Why would she have a car seat when she picked Kaia up but not when she was ‘fleeing” the hotel? Did she just decide to leave it in the hotel or are BT and Lynne desperate to put in one other things regarless of how true to make Ashley look bad. Answer: this is a poorly executed effort to make him look like a victim.

this should be interesting

Translation: Who wants a few beers at or near the Holiday Inn?