ModifiedLogic

I walked out of the theater thinking "what was the point". I ignored 20% on rotten tomatoes. I ignored all reviews. I wanted to believe. I really really liked the Village.

On a comedic note, this movie could be summed up like this:

Something happens in the northeast

People die, people run

People meet an old crazy lady

Crazy lady dies and more people die

The something stops happening in the northeast

Flash forward three months:  some main characters are living their lives

The something never gets a definition.

The ending scene is that something starts to happen in France

End credits

Now. Mix in to that some weird acting and some weird ass dialogue. Marky Mark acts like some well mannered innocent who is trying not to sound as such. I was hoping that much of that weirdness was a clue for something bigger or cooler. A bug eyed girlfriend, a scared shitless military private, a whacked out plant expert who likes hot dogs, and a crazy lady who has separated herself from society are all part of this weirdness. Some was injected for comedic value, (much like my simple rundown of the movie), and some was injected for suspense which otherwise was not delivered by whatever the fuck the happening was. Another annoying thing was people actually saying thing’s like "let’s go where this isn’t HAPPENING" or "why is this HAPPENING".

The most suspenseful shots are of regular plants and trees swaying in the wind, which was to make you believe the happening was caused by something airborne. Which in the end was never determined, so as an audience member, I feel cheated. Was it a plant toxin? Nuclear leakage? Terrorism? Government experiment gone bad? Aliens from Signs? We were never meant to know. And it is for that reason I feel this movie may have been just a REASON to be able to make a movie that showed peoples’ bodies hitting the ground and someone committing suicide by laying in front of a lawn mower.

This is one of those movies that tried to entertain with what you don’t see, suggest vague notions, and really be open ended. It totally works for a little while. Seeing people commit mass suicide is pretty entertaining. But when you find out that you have no idea why they did it and you have been getting freaked out by windy camera shots, the entertainment value drops.

Not only are you not going to be told what caused the happening, the ending shot shows it start again. You’ll get plenty of conspiracy theories which are very heavy on the "plants releasing toxins into the air because they’re pissed at us for ruining the earth."

I don’t know what it is or what caused it AND it never ended. There was no resolution. That could have be fine, but there was no point. This movie would have been better if you found out they were really on a moon colony surrounded by glass and there was a leak, or aliens were watching us and really existed in a different dimension we couldn’t see and they were controlling our minds, or if everyone was possessed by the devil and judgement day had arrived. Or, even just a little something more was given.

For most of the movie, I forgave the weird acting and dialogue in hopes it was for a reason. I was entertained by some of the "happenings" and the build up to what was really no payoff for me. There were suspenseful moments. But in the end, I was just let down. There were times in the movie where I thought it would blow me away. I could go on and rave about how the movie is so different and breaks the rules.

Instead. I felt like there was no point.

This album King For a Day, Fool For a Lifetime by Faith No More is not only their best album in my opinion, but also tops on my all time list for many reasons. One interesting note is that it was the last album I purchased on cassette. I remember looking through the cassette liner notes so much that they fell apart at the perforations. I listened to the tape so many times, some parts of the album began to have distorted sound.

I used to listen to this album front to back, or side to side rather, since it was a tape. I would listen to it in a walkman while I rode my bike when I was a teenager. Something about these songs always struck a chord with me. Somehow, the different styles that FNM were messing with (jazz, funk, metal, and more) on this album work so well.

This is one of those albums that I have quoted lyrics from for the past ten years. Lyrics like "what a day when you can look it in the face and hold your vomit" or "it’s always fun until someone gets hurt and then it’s just hilarious". I can listen to the opening of "Last To Know" a million times. The opening part of that song is so powerful and memorable for me when Mike Patton sings:

"Where it grows on trees
But never blooms"

Did I mention the album art by Eric Drooker is just classic?

The most interesting part of this album is that it became a fan / cult favorite type of album. It’s such a complete album I am surprised that it isn’t more known and revered. There are no big FTN hits like "Epic", but every song is polished and solid. I’m still trying to figure out why it’s not available on iTunes or the Amazon music store.

This album and I have reconnected in a big way and I can’t stop listening to it.