My Thoughts On THE DARK KNIGHT [spoiler free]

I actually stopped watching the previews and new trailers and ‘making ofs’ and behind the scenes about a month ago (with the exception of the www.gothamcablenews.com stuff). I was a little worried that there would be very few suprises left.

I was way wrong there. THE DARK KNIGHT marketing team is the best in the business. Nothing given away. And the last 40 minutes follow a storyline I didn’t expect.

The movie is an A+++++++++ It’s long and you will thank CHRISTOPHER NOLAN for every second you get to see. The twists and turns keep you guessing wtf!? And at least five times during the course of the movie I found myself dropping KEANU REEVES most endeared movie line (’woah’). I’m going to see it again tomorrow (which I never do with a new release) just to see all shit I missed due to that annoying habit of blinking I was unable to overcome.

CHRISTIAN BALE, HEATH LEDGER, AARON ECKHART, and GARY OLDMAN are a dream team. Even at two two and a half hours I still thought I could’ve used more Bale and Eckhart but that’s just me being selfish. The story front to back jumps from the four main characters the way it should. Not too much of any one thing. Not too little of any one twist.

A lot of focus is on Ledger and his Joker portrayal. Because it’s just that good. I thought his casting as The Joker was spot on when it was announced and was heartbroken when I heard about his accidental passing. A posthumous Academy Award for a supporting role has been earned.

I have to confess to being a bit uncomfortable with audience laughter in regards to Joker moments in the movie. Ledger is nothing but intense, freaky, and ‘off’ in a way that I suppose could make people respond in bits of nervous laughter, perhaps in the same way I thought Javier Bardem came across in last years Academy Award winning Best Picture winner ‘NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN‘.

But make no mistake. The JOKER really is a creepy bastard. I wouldn’t want to meet him, nor (like his lesser unfortunate advesaries) would I double cross him or stand up to him. You know that shiver you get up your spine. The JOKER would draw that out of even the bravest of souls in the real world. Only the BATMAN and tragic Gotham District Attorney HARVEY DENT dare to stand in the way of the mass-murdering clown and they pay a heavy price for disrupting the self described ‘agent of chaos’ and his ‘non-planned’ plans. Nolan’s masterful direction and Ledger’s portrayal really make for a strong philisophical conundrum for the hero who has to decide to let evil die or put evil away (knowing the risks should he escape).

THE DARK KNIGHT should get a nomination for Best Picture. It deserves the comparisons it has gotten to Michael Mann’s HEAT and The Departed. Someone even said The Godfather. Whether it wins depends on what else is released this year. I’m not even sure what else is in the running at this point. The point is: Go see it! NOW!

A final note. Keep an eye out for THE WATCHMEN movie trailer. It’s going to be a big one. It is considered THEE single greatest comic book story ever conceived and for good reason. ZACH SNIDER of Frank Miller’s ‘300′ fame is directing and the preview looks very very promising.

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MARAZENE To Headline 2nd Annual CREAM OF THE CROPS Festival, Partial Lineup Announced

Source: De Los Santos Productions, www.Myspace.com/Marazene

Chicago based Machine-Metalists MARAZENE ( http://www.myspace.com/marazene ) will headline the 2nd Annual CREAM OF THE CROPS Festival to be held Labor Day Weekend; Sunday, August 31st, 2008.

Held in the heart of the Mississippi Valley in Davenport,IA, The Cream of the Crops Heavy Metal Music Festival is dedicated to highlighting the wealth of talented local and regional acts in the Midwest.

Bands confirmed so far:

Marazene (Chicago, IL)
Speedfinger (Rock Island, IL)
Mindset Evolution (Peoria, IL)
Lost Nation (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Mob Rules (Rock Island, IL)
Three Years Hollow (Moline, IL)
The System After (Peoria, IL)
Freaklabel (Cedar Rapids, IA)
Wastelander (Flint, MI)
Through Terror (Davenport, IA)
Blind The Sun (Rock Island, IL)
Left of Center (Moline, IL)

Live remotes will be provided all day by Rock 104.9, and tattoo and piercing giveaways will be offered by the festivals chief sponsor; OTool Design Custom Tattoo and Body Piercing. The event is the collaborative brainchild of OD Productions and Rodman Productions.

Last year Des Moines’s FACECAGE (Great Big Mouth Records) and Tenessee based STRAIGHT LINE STITCH (Koch Records) anchored an all day 15 band lineup on and this year the trend continues with dual stages and a lineup of some of the best underground metal bands ever assembled on the banks of the Mississippi River.

COTC2 headliners, Marazene recently announced support dates with Wednesday 13. The following dates are confirmed:

July 22 — Cleveland, OH @ Peabodys
July 23 — Mokena, IL @ Pearl Room
July 25 — Milwaukee, WI @ Vnuk’s Lounge
July 27 — St. Paul, MN @ Station 4

Marazene have toured with such acts as MUSHROOMHEAD, PSYCLON NINE, DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY, and THE HUMAN ABSTRACT and continue to write follow-up to their debut album, “MachiNation”, self-released on 06.06.06.

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MARAZENE Add Milwaukee Show To WEDNESDAY 13 Tour Dates

Source: De Los Santos Productions, www.myspace.com/marazene

Chicago based machine-metalists MARAZENE will hit the road in July as support for WEDNESDAY 13 on select US dates.

The following dates are confirmed:

7.22 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody’s
7.23 - Mokena, IL @ Pearl Room
7.25 - Milwaukee, WI @ Vnuk’s Lounge
7.27 - St. Paul, MN @ Station 4

Marazene completed three national tours in 2007 with such acts as MUSHROOMHEAD, PSYCLON NINE, DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY, and THE HUMAN ABSTRACT as well as dozens of Midwestern regional tour dates in support, all under the banner 100% DIY.

Marazene are currently in the studio writing the follow-up to their debut album, MachiNation, self released on 06.06.06.

Marazene multi-instrumentalist and co-founder Dietrich Thrall recently issued a studio update for the band: “We have a couple dozen really strong song ideas and we’re writing more every day. There’s plenty of new material in all different stages of development and we’re constantly bouncing riffs off of one another on whatever instrument the part calls for.”

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MARAZENE Launch ‘Channel: SkumF***er’

Source: De Los Santos Productions


Chicago based Machine / Metalists MARAZENE ( http://www.myspace.com/marazene ) have launched their ‘Channel: SkumF***er’ on Youtube and a video of the band performing the track “giVe” (SkumF***erz) while on tour with MUSHROOMHEAD in 2007 has been posted.

Click HERE to be directed to Channel: SkumF***er.

The “giVe” (SkumF***erz) live tour footage was shot by director Davo of DP Filmworks and whose past credits include videos for FIREBALL MINISTRY, VAINS OF JENNA, and JUNGLE ROT.

“The video was shot in Cleveland, Grand Rapids, MI and Madison, WI,” multi-instrumentalist and Marazene co-founder DieTrich Thrall offered. “Davo did a fantastic job highlighting the intensity of our set on the Mushroomhead tour. He proved himself a true SkumF***er at heart and we’re looking forward to working with him again sometime in the near future.”

Channel: SkumF***er collects the bands official live clips in addition to fan footage. Other videos featured include; an interview with the band by The Razorblade Society before their headlining performance at The Ritz in Detroit on July 12th, 2007, a live video for ‘AnTiThesis’ shot at Chicago’s Metro Theater in June 2007 and live videos for ‘MachiNation’ and ‘UnCerTain’ shot by Spider Bite Studios in Virginia Beach, Va, on April 5th, 2007, the kickoff to 2007’s DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY/MARAZENE ‘Unsaved Part 2′ tour.

A fan filmed clip of ‘SeeThe/ sTay aWay’ in March 2007 at New York City’s REBEL (formerly the Albion Bat Cave) while on tour with MUSHROOMHEAD is also included and an older live clip for ‘Self WorTh’ shot by director Joe Elsey of U Press Play at a Double Door performance in October 2006 is also posted. U Press Play previously collaborated with MARAZENE on the video for ‘XecuTe’.

Studio updates and video blogs/messages to friends and fans are expected to be added as MARAZENE continue to write and record their sophomore follow up to 2006’s self-released debut, ‘MachiNation’.

MARAZENE recently issued a studio update on their Myspace page. An excerpt of the blog posting by DieTrich follows:

“We have a couple dozen really strong song ideas and we’re writing more every day. There’s plenty of new material in all different stages of development and we’re constantly bouncing riffs off of one another on whatever instrument the part calls for. We’re aiming for a Spring ‘08 Sneak Peek at live shows and other audio outlets and of course we’ll keep everyone up to speed once we have things a bit more ironed out so sit tight.”

Marazene self-managed their most successful year to date in 2007, completing three National tours with such acts as MUSHROOMHEAD, PSYCLON NINE, DEADSTAR ASSEMBLY, and THE HUMAN ABSTRACT as well as dozens of Midwestern regional tour dates, and overcame overwhelming odds utilizing a unique 100% DIY approach completely independent of label support.

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JERICHO: Diehard Fans Hold Out Hope for (2nd) Series Resurrection

Source: CBS, On Demand, myself (I watched the show)

I actually missed the Jericho season finale last night on CBS. I forgot about it, remembered it at about 9:30PM and, rather than ruin the entire experience for me by tuning in at mid-stream, opted to catch it a bit later on ON DEMAND. I had been wondering if CBS considered ON DEMAND numbers in their ratings scorecard since it doesn’t include commercials. I caught most of the new season at a place and time of my own choosing thanks to the convenience of ON DEMAND. So nifty.

As far as the show, It was cool seeing Jake and Hawkins team up in the final episode to stop the man behind the mysterious phone calls to Hawkins from blowing up the new capital city of Cheyenne, WY.

But overall it felt like five episodes crammed into one with the hometown “B” story thread just taking up space and the finale being a little convenient with the character placement. Which only added to the timeline confusion, the most glaring example being how the town characters spent the entire episode burying Bonnie while Jake and Hawkins went through one hell of a (single?) day of non-stop action in their efforts to track down and retrieve Hawkins bomb and then subsequently get the darn thing down to the Great State of Texas.

And were we to assume that the mayor flew back to Jericho at the end of the episode? Otherwise what, a four hourish drive back to Jericho from Cheyenne? We spent so much time in the town of Jericho I was never really clear if air travel was back up and running. And I’ve never been entirley clear on Jericho’s fictional location but I have always assumed it was in Northwestern Kansas based on the towns characters being able to see the Denver bomb in episode one and the convenience in location to both Cheyenne, WY and Texas. I’m sure this was noted. I must’ve blinked.

But to give the show some credit where credit is clearly due, it was either the very rushed episode we all saw the other night or leave the season finale as a cliff-hanger with Jake and Hawkins probably just arriving out of breath in Cheyenne as the final credits rolled reminding us we would never know if they had succeeded in their Mission Impossible. Which would then (of course) leave hardcore Jericho fans, in a rather ‘nuts’-ish type mood in living rooms across America feverishly reaching for anything shy of a nuclear retaliation little red button of their own.

It’s a shame really. Between the cancellation and the writer’s strike, Jericho was a troubled show in terms of reality and make believe. Always at the edge of Apocolyptic Doom.

In optimistic Jericho news, I have been informed that there’s been some talk of the show being pitched to some of the cable networks in an effort to keep the show going. There’s so many stories in the world of Jericho that fans of the show would love to see. Here’s hoping the creative forces behind the show don’t have to give up too much to make it happen. Much as Jennings and Rall conspired against the U.S., a new network home for Jericho could always try to influence show content in a way that destroys the original spirit.

So while optimism is golden for fans of Jericho, caution will be required as in the style of the classic Hawkins grimace we all came to know and love over the course of just over a couple dozen episodes.

In a best case scenario I’d like to see the five episodes we were just rushed through in the season finale in flashbacks. Here’s some threads I’d love to see explored:

* a flashback episode that would feature the man behind the mysterious phone calls Hawkins had been dealing with that led to his losing his bomb. It would be cool to go all the way back to the beginning of the conspiracy and key events as it was brought together.

* an episode that would feature Jake and Hawkins journey to Cheyenne and Hawkins relationship with the Asian guy who kind of just showed up to help them. That went by so fast. Some (assumed) off scene events and drama between Cheyenne and Texas as Jake flew the plane to Texas. Those scenes were so skimmed down and they deserved to be able to highlight a more dangerous and intense scenario.

* an episode featuring the mayors time in Cheyenne. What he saw and learned etc. His dealings with different politcians from all over the new U.S. and perhaps the world. Also, more on international reaction to the U.S. situation domestically and abroad with the destruction of Iran and North Korea. How they sold it. How it happened. Who might’ve objected. Any other consequences, etc. Particularly the Chinese, Russian, and UK/Euro reactions.

* More back story on Jennings and Rall, Jake, Hawkins, Beck and even Goetz.

* More back story on happenings in Columbus, OH, the other United States. I think it’s pretty safe to say that not everything there is smooth sailing in terms of the political scene either. There would’ve been allies of Cheyenne in Columbus. Some who knew of the Grand Conspiracy. And some who didn’t.

It’ll certainly be an uphill battle with the dark forces behind the scenes of the network television world but be that as it may, I’d like to wish the creators of Jericho the best of luck. I’m all for a resurrection of Jericho on an alternate network as long as the creative team is intact.

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Hello world!

D:001

Thrall 101: An Introduction

Well, here we go.

For those of you familiar with my Myspace friendship and bulletins specifically I welcome you to my Official Blog. I’ve thought about doing this for quite some time and look forward to a much more organized news item(s) collection.

You can expect the same daily hodge podge of items I have been posting for the better part of three years on Myspace including:

*music updates
*movie updates
*various news items
*random political coverage (particularly as things heat up into the 2008 election)
*random personal thoughts
*etc.

I’m a bit new at this so we’ll see how things go. Feedback is appreciated and it is after all the entire point.

I have yet to decide on an Official name for this blog. ‘DieTrich Says’ is what I’ve been using on DieTrichThrall.com but I’m not sure that works. To be continued…

~D