Motion City Soundtrack takes a lot from Blink-182.
Say Anything is another band on the rise.
It's a double bill featuring two bands that are trying to be The Offspring and/or Blink-182 for a new generation, both of which are reaching new heights at the same time: Motor City Soundtrack and Say Anything.
Motion City Soundtrack's new album, My Dinosaur Life, (not-so-coincidentally produced by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus) debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 charts earlier this year on the strength of dramatic first single, "Her Words Destroyed My Planet." Since then the Minneapolis quintet has been selling out shows all over the planet and were featured at this year's Reading Festival along with ... Blink-182.
(No need to ask lead singer/guitarist Justin Pierre who his major influences are. I think we can safely assume Blink-182 is at the top of the list.)
Say Anything is still basking in the glow of its highest Billboard 200 chart position for last year's self-titled album. The set debuted at No. 25 largely due to interest in lead single, "Hate Everyone." Listen to the words of this enemies-list-set-to-music carefully and you will catch vague references to Kanye West, The Killers' lead singer Brandon Flowers and a guitar lick that sounds very similar to something The Clash might have worked up.
This show is for those who like to thrash without having to get into all the complexities of political oppression, government loathing, the Establishment's control or any of the other tenets that made punk once a force of nature.
Motion City Soundtrack & Say Anything, 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Warehouse Live
Screenwriter Derek Kolstad, who wrote the first three John Wickmovies, has essentially had a blank check to do what he wants in the movie landscape since 2014. In recent years that has meant writing the action series Nobody for Bob Odenkirk, who has turned from a comedian into an unlikely action star in his sixties. Kolstad and Odenkirk are teaming up again in Normal.
A film that tries to evoke Fargo in multiple ways, Normal finds Ulysses Richardson (Odenkirk) serving as a temporary sheriff for the small town of Normal, Minnesota after the previous sheriff died. Knowing he’s just a steward until a new sheriff is elected, Ulysses takes a live-and-let-live approach to the job, letting the deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy MacLellan) do the grunt work and trying to stay out of everyone’s way, including Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler).
A bank robbery attempt by two non-citizens upsets his best-laid plans in more ways than he can imagine. Not only is he forced to confront a crime not often seen in a town like Normal, but the robbery uncovers secrets that turn the film into an all-out bloodbath. Soon, almost everyone in town becomes involved in what comes to resemble a war, along with — you guessed it — Yakuza henchmen from Japan.
Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Kolstad, the film is a slight twist on the everyman-turned-hero character Odenkirk played in the two Nobody films. While Ulysses is in law enforcement, he prefers to use words instead of weapons, and it’s only when he’s pushed to the brink that he crosses that line. Naturally, his skills are beyond what anyone would expect of him, allowing him to match up well with people half his age.
The film is not a comedy in the traditional sense, but instead aims for laughs by catching the audience off-guard with its ultraviolence. Some characters are dispatched in shockingly unexpected ways, with one of the only natural reactions to the jarring nature of their deaths being laughter. That’s not necessarily the case for other killings, which range from blasé to sadistic, and the only reason they count as entertainment is because the filmmakers have primed the audience to accept them as such.
After a relatively solid setup, where Wheatley and Kolstad seem to take their time getting to know the main characters, the second half of the film is pure action that dispenses with good storytelling. Like many action movies, there are double crosses, surprise revelations, and more, but the filmmakers don’t seem to care about making sense of any character arcs. All they care about is delivering mayhem, and they succeed on that front.
Odenkirk has perfected the mild-yet-intimidating nature of his action characters, and it is satisfying to see him get the better of those who have done him wrong. He doesn’t run or jump like fellow 63-year-old Tom Cruise, but — with the help of fast-paced editing — he still makes for a credible action hero. The only other actors of any note in the film are Winkler, who’s a nice presence with his sardonic personality, and Lena Headey, whose small role doesn't match up with her experience.
You have to have a certain mindset to enjoy a film like Normal, but if you can abide its over-the-top bloodiness, it’s a serviceable action film. Few would have expected Odenkirk to take on these kinds of roles at this late stage of his career, but he’s making the most of his opportunities.
Motion City Soundtrack takes a lot from Blink-182.
Say Anything is another band on the rise.
