Iggy & the Stooges (1973) Raw Power remastered (2010)

by D. Jacob Ryals

allmusic  wiki

Enter Iggy Pop as the Godfather of Punk

This album was evidently the beginning of the end for Iggy and the Stooges but was the rumbling beginnings of Punk Rawk!  When the album came out, it wasn't recieved well and while it was being recorded the band was having bruised ego problems.  You can really feel the anger at times and the drying up of the creative pool as a band.  This may sound like garbled mesh to the masses but to the little punk kids in training this was one of the records that taught those kids how to break the rules of rock so they could remake it in their own image.  This isn't one of those albums that is observed for its intricate musical detail, but its attitude.  

The remastered version is the original David Bowie mix and contains a bonus live recordings of a show in Atlanta.

Let's Go to Prison (2006)

by D. Jacob Ryals

imdb  trailer

Fuck Shawshank Redemption!  This is the funniest prison movie.

There are a handful of movies that no one knows about that are awesome.  This is one of them.  I don't know why this isn't one of people's favorite comedies.  Bob "the best writer SNL has ever had" Odenkirk directs this hilarious movie about a guy (Dax Shepard) who goes to prison for no other reason than to make Will Arnett's life a nightmare.  Chi Mcbride shows up to help, but ends up falling in love.  This movie has so many good jokes and quotes, but no one has seen it.  

Please watch this movie.

Book of Eli (2010)

by D. Jacob Ryals

imdb trailer

Loved it, movie made for my sensibilities.  

Denzel as always does not dissappoint and gives a great leading man performance.  There isn't much stretching required for this character, other than the old western drifter hero character.  Gary Oldman is part of the unholy bad guy actors trinity.  (the other two being Jack Nicholson and Christopher Walken)  His ability to take on the complete mask of this character is also what this great actor has been known for.  There were a couple of moments when you could even see the vulnerabilities of the character on Gary's face.

 The story started out to be your typical western, with the drifter who comes to town and saves the people from the local rich despot.  This ended up not being so.  The twists at the end are almost unimportant, because the ride you have taken to get there has been so much fun and done so well, that you don't care that it was meant to BLOW YOUR MIND...

...but doesn't.  

It doesn't ruin it either, so i am happy.  When i realized in the theater how much I was going to like this movie, I literally was on the edge of my seat praying to God that they don't jump the shark and ruin it for me.  I was pleased with the end and didn't feel like it when on too long and ended abruptly. 

 I would like to see a comic book of the continued story and hope not for a sequel.