World War Z

So, I saw World War Z at the theatre today. No, it's not really an adaptation of the book. I think of it as more a movie set in the same "world" as the book. I'm not going to spoil very much, but I will say that it's less a horror movie, and more of an apocalyptic adventure movie. As such, most of the plot points are visible  near the outset of the film. I did enjoy it, for multiple reasons, none of which was how believable it was. I liked it for two of the sub-themes most of all- First, movement is life. In this America where paranoid freaks are building bomb shelters, "prepping" and hording guns I think that's an excellent message- movement is life. I know some guys who really are the kinds of superheroes that power calls upon when the going gets rough. The real-life super-spies, and assets- field operations guys who can be dropped literally anywhere in the world, and survive. Not one of them has a bomb shelter. Not one of them has a large collection of guns. Not one of them "preps". In fact, most of them are life loving people who are more concerned with beauty, and Art, and Nature than most hippies. One of them takes troubled youth out on nature hikes, to teach them that the world is a beautiful place. Another literally runs an Artist colony. Get the idea? Your barricades are killing you. Cutting yourself off, hunkering down, hiding in some cave of your own construction- that's how you die. Movement is life.
Secondly, take care of each other. Compassion is a core value in the movie. There is no "leave him behind" in this. Again, I've got friends who are career soldiers. Compassion is drilled into these guys, every bit as much as other senses of duty. But, you never see that in the action movies, do you? So, while the film is hardly cinema verite, that is realistic. In real life, a good soldier, even in the worst battlefield will try to help everyone that he or she can.
So, yes, I liked it, ironically enough, for the movie's humanity.

Only for the Hardcore

It's hardcore thrash. I suspect there are just a few of us, over 40,  left who get excited by hardcore thrash punk rock. I suspect, further, that each and every one us who remain were involved as more than passive consumers. Maybe we played in a band, maybe we put on shows, maybe we did fanzines, maybe, like me, we did all the above and more. The reason why it was, is, and always will be a small, cult, community is because it demands more of you than being a consumer, and there are only a few people who respond to that type of challenge. Those who are up to the challenge burn out fast, and I don't blame anyone for that. Hell, I've burned out, and come back at least a dozen times since I first got involved  more than 30 years ago. I don't expect anyone to follow me, either. One third of a century on a nearly incomprehensible screech of three chord, one tempo music? Music that demands massive investments of time and energy, and gives so little in return? That's worse than being a career soldier. Maybe I'm crazy or stupid, but I'm still in, even though I know none will follow. Dennis Lyxzen ,and  Karl Backman are lifers like me and Chuck Dietrich.
What I'm saying is that AC4, all the way up to the new CD "Burn the World" is not a tribute band, or a faithful re-creation- this is the real deal mid 1980's thrash. They could share a bill with Poison Idea and Battalion of Saints. I'm not going to review it, or describe it, even. For that handful of people who are ready for it, they already know. For the rest, they won't follow. Fair enough. But this is where I live. "We left you, left you behind, we don't, we don't need your kind". It's hardcore thrash, and that's everything I want it to be.