274 of 1001 Movies: The Double Life of Veronique (1991)

I can say that The Double Life of Veronique might be one of the most unique movies I've watched. The story is complex, and the movie is beautifully shot. The movie though is like many foreign movies I've watched, particularly with French origins, and that is it's a bit slow. There was something also forced about the acting. Don't get me wrong, the people are compelling, but they feel like they are pushing out the emotions and somehow over exaggerating moments of the movie. Don't let me get you down about it though, it's been a while a movie has been this good enough to keep me interested in a while on the list.

Summary: Weronika is an aspiring singer in Poland, and after being given the dream opportunity to attend the music school she has wanted to she suddenly dies. Not before discovering a woman who looks like her named Veronique who lives in France. Veronique feels the pull of her death, but has no idea what has happened to her as she has not seen Weronika before. Veronique even gives up her own chance to be a singer after the death.

255 of 1001 Movies: Delicatessen (1991)

I didn't know the details of Delicatessen when I decided to get it. I was only looking for something short on time. You can imagine my confusion and reluctance when I discovered this is a movie about cannibalism. My nightmare the night before didn't make me a happy viewer either. The truth is this was a nice surprise. If you're a fan of movies like Amelie, which has this whimsy atmosphere then you'll like the artistic direction in this one. Marco Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet both teamed up to direct this creative movie.

Summary: It's a post-apocalyptic world, and food is very much apart of how you live. Grain is currency, and meat is expensive, so Clapet a landlord and butcher has discovered a cheap way to get meat. Louison arrives as a new tenant in the apartment that Clapet also maintains order in. It's unknown what happened to the last tenant that Louison is now taking over for, but Julie, Clapet's daughter is aware that he is in danger. As she falls in love with him she feels that she must go further to rescue him from her father and the delicacy he prepares for other guests.

424 of 1001 Albums: Massive Attack's Blue Lines

Massive Attack isn't a group I had heard of before, but their sound is one that is distinctly memorable. They have a bit of a classic sound, but it also sounds more modern than 1991. It makes the album have a timeless vibe to it. The vocals also work to add diversity to each tune as you switching from rapping vocals to other vocals that have a good range.

History: The debut album from Massive Attack, Blue Lines, was released in 1991. Some of the ideas for the song were almost up to a decade old that the band had been working on for the album. This album is also known as the first trip hop album even though the term wasn't really used at the time of it's release. It also would be apart of the alternative hip hop genre. The album would reach critical acclaim after it's release, and it's one of the most notable British albums ever released.

Wednesday Movie Night: Barton Fink (1991)

Coen brothers have brought a variety of movies to the screen, but never anything quite like Barton Fink. The slow start may wind you up with expectations, but the second hour of this movie does throw the viewer for a loop. There is also something odd about it that is more prominent than the other movies. Maybe because Barton Fink is filled more characters who are so lonely their backgrounds are obscure at the moment you're watching.

Summary: Barton Fink is a successful playwright who wants to stay true to himself. When he moves to California he finds what he values as a writer is being tested though. The people wanting him to write screenplays in Hollywood are testing him to sell out, and they aren't pleased with what he wants to write. In his loneliness he makes friends with an odd next door neighbor, and begins to have an interest in a writer's mistress. Fink just wants to find a friend though as he is new to the area, and just lonely, but instead he gets wrapped up in some strange events.

423 of 1001 Albums: Red Hot Chili Pepper's Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Red Hot Chili Peppers have been around a long time. Even before this album was released in 1991 they had already released four other albums. The band though found a hit with this one. It does have some good songs, and shows a band that is finding more of their identity. While I prefer some of the later work there were a few good songs on here that made the album a stand out.

History: Going into the new decade the band also decided it was time for a time. Dropping a lot of their rock sounds from the 80's, the band softened their music a bit. You'll find the lyrics to be much more upfront graphic as well. This album would also make the charts, and give the band the success that prior albums hadn't brought them. The album was a critical success as well with most enjoying the new sounds of the album.

414 of 1001 Albums: Teenage Fanclub's Bandwagonese

There is something very rock about Teenage Fanclub, but it's honestly very difficult for me to get past their name. I thought I was going to be listening to something a lot more poppy. Instead there are a lot of catchy guitar parts and you have a lead singer who does match his vocals well to the tone of the album. In a way the album is very teenager, and with talent.

History: This Scottish band would become popular because Spin would have them voted as the best album of 1991, beating out Nirvana's album, Nevermind. Considering the popularity of that album it's a huge feat for this band. "Star Sign" would become the band's biggest hit in the U.S. Just to warn though that the bag with a dollar sign on it is actually trademarked by Gene Simmons, so the band had to pay him a fee for using the image on their cover. Ridiculous right? The influence this band had is still prominent with bands who hear nowadays though like Jimmy Eat World.

Bookshelf: Stephen King's The Dark Tower III: The Wastelands

With Gunslinger we're introduced to the central character of the novel. Then with The Drawing of the Three we are introduced to the other characters deeply involved, and then with The Waste Lands were are finally on our way to the Dark Tower, but with the arrival of one last crew member. Where the others built up the characters to power the other books in the series, this book finally churns out where we are going, and how we're getting there. Thankfully, I wasn't reading this book upon it's release though, or I would be left with a huge cliffhanger.

Summary: Now Roland, Susannah, and Eddie are in the woods after moving from the beach, and encountering plenty of oddities and dangers of Roland's world. Many things are also taking place with the crew themselves including new paradoxes of the mind, and lots of odd but very telling dreams. Also, things are happening from the world that Susannah and Eddie left behind in New York City that still need to merge over with them to line everything back up again. The three will deal with this though as they continue their pursuit to the Dark Tower.

384 of 1001 Albums: U2's Achtung's Baby

Achtung Baby is one of the most famous albums from U2. You've probably heard some of the bigger hits from the album like "One", which would become the theme for Bono's organization. Regardless of what you think of their personal endeavors they area huge pioneer of music, and they established a lot of the modern sounds you hear today.

History: U2 was recovering from a very disappointing album release in 1988, where fans were not too impressed. In order to refresh their sound they brought on Brian Eno to help with making the album, and began combining elements of alternative rock and electronic music to make their new sound that has with them a while. The sound was inventive and new, especially for music coming into the 90's. The seventh album was almost like a rebirth for the band.

132 of 1001 Movies: Boyz N the Hood (1991)

Somehow this movie treads the thin line between keeping the story on the light and dark side throughout this movie is what compelled me. John Singleton could have easily just let this movie get really dark. There are plenty of times it did feel dark, but somehow the hope that these characters hold on to, and their depiction of still being a child at the beginning, though aware of the crimes around them, keeps this movie with a little light in it.

A group of kids are grouping up in the projects of Los Angles. Tre moves in with his dad, and takes up with the group. While his friends might be a little rougher his dad does the best he can to raise him to be a man that does right by himself, and others. He tries to prepare him for manhood the best he can, so he doesn't fall into the world of the ghetto. Years later, they've all grown up to be teens, and Tre still feels the same loyalty to them he did as a child. As the group makes their final journey to adulthood we Doughboy, Ricky, and the rest along with Tre face some of the biggest obstacles they will have to getting out of the projects.

106 of 1001 Movies: La Belle Noiseuse (1991)

So this is a four hour movie about a painter painting a woman. On surface level this may not sound like the most entertaining thing, and it has been shortened in certain formats, but if you want to see the movie in it's original format then you may not want to go that route. Jacques Rivette though has made a compelling movie though about the art of painting, which hasn't be covered as very tactfully as this film does it. It becomes about something more than art by the end though as we watch the characters grow, even though you can't deny the pretentious vibe.

Frenhofer is a former famous painter who now lives with his wife in the countryside in an almost castle like home, but when an artist visits him and brings his girlfriend Marianne along the painter finds inspiration he hasn't in a while, and wants to paint her. The particular painting he has in mind is La Belle Noiseuse (The Beautiful Troublemaker), which he abandon years ago. This painting though will not only challenge Frenhofer, but Marianne as well as she begins the process of reluctantly posing for him. Unknowingly they will walk away from the process more changed than they expected.