Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Photo from Daemon's Movies (great photo BTW)

Absurdly entertaining movie that sadly won't make as much money as, say, The Expendables (awesome in a corny 80s action movie kind of way) because the Scott Pilgrim-loving audience is so specific (nerds and geeks).  I'm not saying the audience is bad (hell, I'm a geek), but I think the general audience just won't get all the jokes, which the movie is chock-full of.  You get stuffed with pop culture references (per Edgar Wright's usual style.  BTW, Spaced is one of my favorite shows) until you burst into laughter, which happens almost nonstop.  I didn't even notice the movie was over two hours.  I wasn't as geeky as my two video game-loving companions, so I missed a few jokes here and there (I'm sorry I never passed Zelda :\ ), but they loved the movie and picked up on many small details that hardcore gamers would notice. 

The movie was really well-cast; Michael Cera played Scott Pilgrim to a tee.  Kieran Culkin was a fantastic sidekick and Jason Schwartzman was perfect. Who knew Mary Elizabeth Winstead could so easily go from perky cheerleader to space punk tough chick. 

I was surprised at how good the music was for all the made-up bands in the film.  Music had to be vital when the main character was named after a song. 



With the likes of Beck, Nigel Godrich, Broken Social Scene, and The Rolling Stones contributing to the soundtrack, the music had to be exceptional. 


Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World soundtrack:

01 Sex Bob-Omb: "We Are Sex Bob-Omb"
02 Plumtree: "Scott Pilgrim"
03 Frank Black: "I Heard Ramona Sing"
04 Beachwood Sparks: "By Your Side"
05 Black Lips: "O Katrina!"
06 Crash and the Boys: "I'm So Sad, So Very, Very Sad"
07 Crash and the Boys: "We Hate You Please Die"
08 Sex Bob-Omb: "Garbage Truck"
09 T. Rex: "Teenage Dream"
10 The Bluetones: "Sleazy Bed Track"
11 Blood Red Shoes: "It's Getting Boring by the Sea"
12 Metric: "Black Sheep"
13 Sex Bob-Omb: "Threshold"
14 Broken Social Scene: "Anthems for a Seventeen-Year-Old Girl"
15 The Rolling Stones: "Under My Thumb"
16 Beck: "Ramona (Acoustic)"
17 Beck: "Ramona"
18 Sex Bob-Omb: "Summertime"
19 Brian LeBarton: "Threshold 8 Bit"


More Reviews:
NPR (comprehensive)
NY Daily News
MTV
Guardian
Stereogum


Fun Interview:

Empire of the Sun @ Henry Fonda Music Box

Photo from Pretty Much Amazing

Great reviews from LA Weekly and Golden Bloggen.  I caught Empire of the Sun on Friday, Day 3 of their 4-day stint at Henry Fonda.  My favorite song of the night, and the most radio-friendly, was We are the People. 



Frontman Luke Steele put on a great show for being just one man, but I have to agree with LA Weekly that his dancers stole the show with their bizarre costumes and frantic dancing.  Favorite costumes of the night: the swordfish.



Some people thought Steele's voice cracked a bit, but I didn't really notice because there were so many distractions from the stage show (screensaver style background, costumes, headdresses) and you have to give him some leeway when he's been singing for a third night in a row.  The music and singing was still good enough to dance to.