SABOTAGE

By Darin Skaggs

     Movies have been around over one hundred years at this point, so long that some films are made to get a response out of us because of our knowledge of other films.  This year’s Sabotage is a film that takes everything you know about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who made a career in the 1980’s as one of the biggest action stars of all time, and flips it on its head.

     Sabotage opens with DEA team led by John “Brecher” (Schwarzenegger) that is sent to a mansion that is full of drug dealers and their earnings.  The mission goes well except one casualty on the side of the DEA, until at the end of the mission the team has found the ten million they were after has disappeared.  In the after math the entire team are suspects.  After being suspended the team is being killed off one by one, assuming one of them is the killer the team must work together to figure out which of them is the traitor.

     This is a good mystery thriller.  It keeps you on the edge of your seat on who is killing this team and who stole the money.  It sets up the whole team as fun characters to make you care when they die and when others turn out to be not so great you feel betrayed like the other characters.  Each and every death is violent and disturbing, not shying away from the horror of what is going on.  It is also a take on all of Schwarzenegger’s older films killing people left and right and other action films from that time.  It makes you feel the weight this is putting on Breacher and other characters and how in reality this kind of life they live would make them almost soulless in their actions.  And when we finally get to the big Arnold action scene  it is a lot of fun while simultaneously turning out to be the most disturbing and tragic of them all.

     This film takes a look at all aspects of this genre, almost mocking and at the same time paying homage to the films of the eighties.  At one point a female cop, who is working with Breacher, shares a night of passion like when other damsels fall for the action star, but this turns out that Breacher was just using her for information.  Almost as a joke that romantic entanglement is never mentioned again.  The film is constantly saying this isn’t a mirror of its action counter parts.

     Sabotage is a fun action movie that takes a look at the genre as a whole.  It uses violence to its fullest, at parts crossing the line, although that is the point and also says people who would do this are probably not the best people.  It takes a look at Schwarzenegger career while making an entertaining mystery.

Top 10 Flyleaf Songs

By Darin Skaggs

To hear all the songs on the list just click the link right here:
Top Ten Flyleaf Songs

     Flyleaf came around at just the right time in my life.  They were a hard rock band with a female singer that had a unique voice, pretty much everything I wanted in my music.  Lacey Sturm led the pack and did it well.  About two years ago she left the band and I really have no interest in the new singer of the group, it’s just not the same without her.  So this top 10 list will strictly be Flyleaf with Lacey.  They have a short number of songs with only three albums in the last nine years, all of them solid records.  So before the list begins here are some honorable mentions.

HM: Set Apart This Dream (Memento Mori), The Kind (Memento Mori), Great Love (New Horizons)

10. There For You (Flyleaf)

Flyleaf’s debut is a great hard rock album, occasionally Lacey will scream on the record.  But near the end of the record is a slow, sweet song all about just wanting to be there for someone.  It’s the first evidence that Flyleaf can do calmer songs just as well as hard rock.

9. Fully Alive (Flyleaf)

     A Flyleaf staple that combines everything that makes them great; a hard rock anthem that secretly, but not really, is all about God.   The track is really uplifting and gets your head bopping.

8. Fire Fire (New Horizons)

     This song opens Flyleaf’s third album and Lacey’s final.  The song is almost a return to form hard rock wise.  Lacey screams “Fire, Fire, Fire. Fire from the tongues of liars” you can’t help but love it.  The track even hints Lacey’s departure; the whole album is pretty much a goodbye letter to the fans.

7. This Close (Memento Mori)

     Memento Mori is a strange album, filled with odd lyrics.  This song takes the cake as the strangest.  It is a song that seems to be about pretending to be someone you’re not (“I’ve been looking through your window. I’ve been dressing in your clothes. I’ve been walking dead, watching you, long enough to know I can’t go on.”)   This song takes a chance on being different and succeeds.

6. I’m So Sick (Flyleaf)

     The track that started it all, the first song most people heard from good ol’ Flyleaf.  It’s a great opener to their debut and lead single.  Almost nine years later and I’m still listening to it constantly.

5. Treasure (Memento Mori)

     Another song where they make a sweet, encouraging tune.  The song says to the listener they will be a treasure and makes you feel like your worth something of value even when you don’t.

4. So I Thought (Flyleaf)

     Flyleaf makes a brilliant choice to close out there first record.  It’s soft, Lacey’s vocals shine through in a beautiful way and it ends with praising Jesus for always being there during the good and bad times.

3. Broken Wings (New Horizons)

     I said New Horizons was a goodbye letter to the fans and this song is the final track on the album.  After a whole album of Lacey saying it was fun, but I have to go, there is this track.  The song opens with “Thank you for being such a friend to me” and only gets more touching and emotional from there.

2. Arise (Memento Mori)

     The closing track for MM is a great rock song, but it’s the finale that makes it so high on the list.  Lacey sings “Arise and be all that you dreamed, all that you dreamed” over and over in such an inspirational way you can’t help but feel inspired.

1. All Around Me (Flyleaf)

     It’s funny that one of Flyleaf’s more popular tracks is the one that is all about worshiping God and how it makes you feel.  Though the reason it’s so popular with the mainstream is because it’s also just a great rock track.  This song is so effective all around (pun intended) that my previous top ten list artist, David Crowder Band, covered this song on one of their records.

The Criterionist Ep. 26: THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1979)

   

In this episode The Criterionist takes about John Mackenzie's THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY.  He talks about how tense it is and mispronounces Bob Hoskins name.

Ep. 26: THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1979)

Hey, if this episode is not aviable anymore and you would like it just E-mail me at darincriterion14@yahoo.com and I would be glad to send it to you.

Ep 51 - The RoseBuds Take On Pixar: Finding Nemo (w/ Mackenzie Skaggs and Melissa Long)

 

   In this episode of The RoseBuds the gang is joined by their wives to talk the next film in the Pixar series, Finding Nemo.  They all also talk about farm animals.

Episode 51 - The RoseBuds Take On Pixar: Finding Nemo (With Mackenzie Skaggs and Melissa Long)

Hey, if this episode is not available and you want it or you want to know about our previous episodes E-mail us at therosebuds13@gmail.com

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE

By Darin Skaggs

     Jim Jarmoush’s new venture Only Lovers Left Alive is a film about people who appreciate art, make art and judge those who don’t appreciate the art the way they feel it should be appreciated.  It is also a film about vampires.  Jarmousch, the most subtle of filmmakers, has made a film about vampires that turns into a great look at fans, art lovers and how big headed they are when they look upon those who have no interest in their interests.

     In Only Lovers Left Alive two vampires, who may or may not be married, Adam (Tom Hiddleston) and Eve (Tilda Swinton) are living in modern day, basically just hanging out.  Adam lives in Detroit; he makes music but doesn’t release it.  He has technology from the recent past all over his apartment.  It is clear he is a pack rat and collects any valuable item he could get his hands on.  Eve lives in Tangier spending her days soaking in all the art she can and spending time with her “famous” vampire friends. 

     The film does not have much plot, it does escalate during the third act, but it is one of the most intelligent of the year.  These vampires are basically just there as art lovers that look down upon others, even though those people might not even care about what the vampires care about.  This is a look at people who have an extreme passion for music, books, movies and art in general.  It even might be a look at Jarmouch’s fans or his own attitude toward “normal” humans. 

     The brilliant hanging out scenes does come to a screeching halt when Eve’s sister Ava (Mia Wasikowska) comes in.  She is a young rebellious vampire who doesn’t care about the rules of these vampires.  And to use a dumb phrase, turns their world upside-down.  They then crumble under the world they could never become a part of because they think they are better than them. 

     This film is full of amazing performances.  Hiddleston is great as the depressed vampire.  Wasikowska and John Hurt are doing great work as well.  The MVP of the film is Tilda Swinton, who is having a great year anyway.  Her character is surer of herself; she understands life more than everyone else, mostly because she knows nothing about it.

     Only Lovers Left Alive is a fantastic movie.  It is slow moving but everything that happens is so interesting and intellectual that those who stick around will be greatly rewarded.  Jarmouch has made a vampire film in the height of the vampire phenomenon that has almost nothing to do with the genre of current.  Instead he plays with it and twist in its own unique way.

The RoseBuds Ep 50!! - Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith

    In this episode of The RoseBuds they spend their fiftieth by talking Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. Somehow it's there longest episode yet. Do they like it better than the other two? Yes. Do they like it at all?  Listen to find out.

Episode 50!! - Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith

Hey, if this episode is not available anymore well be glad to send it to you.  Just send us an E-mail to us at therosebuds13@gmail.com.  

THE GIVER

By Darin Skaggs

     Sometimes you watch a film and wonder “Why was this film made?” You wonder whose idea this was and who greenlit the film.  These questions all apply to Philip Noyce’s The Giver. The Giver is based on a book from about twenty years ago, written by Lois Lowery.  So, why make this now?  It is clear this film was made because of the height of the ‘Young Adult books being made into film’ phase.  Films like The Hunger Games, Divergent and The Maze Runner are making money because they are based off of popular book series.  The Giver is sort of the grandfather of these books and someone thought it would be a good money maker if they made this film while the coal is hot.

     The story is quite interesting.  There is this community that is very organized, which is all explained in the opening.  They don’t really feel emotions, the way they talk is taught to them to lack in emotional related words.  In a graduation type situation, the kids are given their future jobs.  While they are getting their jobs our here, Jonas, is skipped.  He soon finds out he is to be the new holder of all the communities memories.  He then goes to meet The Giver, played by Jeff Bridges, who will give Jonas the memories.  Jonas then learns all about life and death while his community stays in their planned, bland selves.

     This film has an intriguing story that could be filed with a ton of metaphors and views on the human existence.  Sadly, none of the themes are explored to their full potential, if at all.  The film does its best to copy the styles of the other films based on the Young Adult books.  There are the friends that start care free but then the conflict happens, but their friendship last through it all.  There are celebrities in the film whose character may not be that important but they got they actor, they are going to use them.  The example here being Meryl Streep’s character.
     The film does some interesting things like the community only sees in black and white so when Jonas receives these memories he slowly starts to see in color.  The memory montages are fairly effective with a few images of a “too soon” quality and they don’t make much sense to the story.

     The conflict of the film is a real missed opportunity.  The Giver has a speech that works slightly because Jeff Bridges is reciting it.  There is a close call moment aspect to the finale that is overused in most suspenseful moments in movies.  There is a nice bookend moment but it is too confusing with the journey to get there.  The Giver is a pretty big disappointment.  It is an okay watch, but nothing near life changing.