Review: Vinyl Original Series (HBO) - Blu Ray

Are you going without HBO to keep your cable bill down? Do you have HBO, but missed out on the first season of Vinyl? Or maybe you are a binge watcher and can’t watch a season of any show until all the episodes are available. Well, not to worry, because the hit show about the 70s record industry (produced by Martin Scorsesse and Mick Jaggar) is now available on Blu Ray and DVD.

Vinyl is a fantastic thrill ride through the world of the early seventies music industry. The hero of the story, Richie Finestra, is a complex and complicated individual who we don’t always know if we should root for. There are times when you want to see him fail just to see what actions are going to happen around him next. If nothing else, he is a lightning rod for events and twisted plotlines. And the twists are plenty. Once you’ve seen the pilot episode, you will be back for the rest of the series, and now that it’s on Blu Ray, you can binge until your new habit is satiated.  

The show follows the rise (and possible fall) of Richie Finestra, played by Bobby Cannavale and the tail end of his record empire, American Century Records. Season one is a detailed insider’s look into the record industry in the early 70s. The sex, the drugs, the backroom deals drawn up amongst the powdery white backdrop of cocaine fueled sessions, are all present and accounted for. Directed by Martin Scorsese and created by him alongside of Mick Jagger, Rich Cohen, and Terence Winter, Vinyl paints a poignant picture of how record deals were done back in the day. The story is encaptivating and I was hooked ten minutes into the pilot episode. 
 

The pilot is a two hour whirlwind of amazement that narrates how Richie Finestra became the record executive mogul of his time. His record label, American Century, is in deep financial distress due to a series of bad decisions, bad signings, and lots of cocaine. The company is on the verge of a deal selling American Century to a German label, which will make Richie and his partners very wealthy. The deal appears to hinge on the signing of a band that most people may have heard of, Led Zeppelin. And when Zebedee Row appears later in the episode as Robert Plant, he steals the scene. His acting as the most famous lead singer in rock and roll is brilliant.

The tale of how Richie came to be in the music industry is exquisite. It follows the first act Richie ever managed, Lester Grimes, and shows all of the good and bad that comes with the job of being a manager. You feel for his client, especially during one climatic scene, and you begin to understand why so many people may hate Richie Finestra. He is a complex and complicated character. But he is also extremely entertaining, especially when he is ranting about the dire situation of his record company. The line of the pilot episode has to be “This from the fucking sandwich girl!” made during a tense moment when none of the A&R team have any new talent scouted, but the girl bringing them lunch does.

The pilot ends with a nice unexpected twist and a cliffhanger that will have you tuning into episode two. My only complaint about Vinyl is that it has me hooked, and I really don’t have time to be addicted to another television show. Well directed, well acted, and well produced, Vinyl is just a terrific show and another hit for HBO originals. I am going to lose nine hours of my life over the next week binge watching the rest of this series, and that’s okay. The pilot episode has left me wanting more.

Vinyl stars Bobby Cannavale, Ray Romano, and Olivia Wilde. You can purchase Vinyl on ITunes, Amazon, Best Buy, or wherever DVDs are sold. Get some!

Ryo’s Rating: A

Movie Review - Straight Outta Compton

I won’t mince words with this review. Straight Outta Compton is a masterpiece. The movie is a perfect portrayal of South Central Los Angeles, California, during the late 80s and early 90s. The film does an exceptional job at paining the all too real picture of what life was like at that time in that area of the world. Police harassment, racial tensions, gang violence, and in some small parts, real people just trying to make a life.

The unnecessary police brutality, the hatred for color, the thoughts that every black man was slinging drugs and carrying pistols was brilliantly captured on this film. At one point, I could feel my own hatred of the police force seething inside of me. During one particularly tense scene I wanted to scream out, “They did nothing wrong!” That’s how powerful Straight Outta Compton is. It took me right back to the days of my teenage years as I watched all of the needless violence spin out of control from the safety of my suburbia. I didn’t live in the places that these young men did, but I felt their pain nonetheless. And I chanted along with their music. I sang “Fuck Tha Police” as loud as I could with the same amount of hatred, but I would never know the same struggles.

Yet, Straight Outta Compton reminded me of that time in life. And it put a lot of the pieces of the puzzle together for me. I never understood the real reason why Ice Cube left the band, and furthermore, why he started to hate on his former rap mates. I never understood why Dre and Easy E had a falling out. And I never knew how early the violence of Suge Knight showed itself. Straight Outta Compton answered all of those questions for me and more.

What was really going on behind the scenes? The metal heads on sunset were having parties for the decade and enjoying every moment of the never ending 80s. Apparently, the same was true for the gangsta rap community, only their parties were bigger and better. Watching Straight Outta Compton showed me that the story of N.W.A. was not much different than many of my other heroes growing up, mainly Motley Crue. Straight Outta Compton could be the other side of The Dirt. Both groups had similar ambitions, similar tensions, and similar problems that led to their downfall and ultimate dismantle. Race was the only difference separating these worlds. And unfortunately, N.W.A. had a much harder struggle due to their skin color.

And while I applaud Dr. Dre and Ice Cube for everything that Straight Outta Compton did contain, I was also a little disappointed by what it did not contain. While there is plenty of coverage for “Straight Outta Compton” and “Fuck The Police,” there is none for “A Bitch Is A Bitch” or “One Less Bitch.” The controversy caused by these songs was almost as grand and there isn’t even a whisper about them in the film. There is no talk of Sinead O’Connor’s rant regarding “One Less Bitch.” No mention of Dr. Dre’s beating oof a female reporter. In the interest of portraying themselves as heroes, the producers conveniently left out the darkest times of their career, and that’s a shame.

The real heroes of the film are the actors themselves. Jason Mitchell (Easy-E), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube), and Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre) were simply brilliant in the roles. They had the look, the swagger, and the understanding of what this rap group stood for. And their acting sells the film. You feel their pain, and you understand their joy and ecstasy.

No stranger to playing controversial roles as the villain who sees himself the hero, Paul Giammati’s take on manager Jerry Heller is exceptional. This is an Oscar worthy performance very reminiscent of Giammati’s role as Pig Vomit in Howard Stern’s Private Parts.

R. Marcos Taylor is brilliant as a young and hungry Suge Knight. The former Vegas bodyguard turned record company executive, Taylor shows us how angry and violent Knight was at such a young age. Anything would set him off for any reason, and he wasn’t afraid to pistol whip someone for almost no reason at all. The fear that Dr. Dre felt the longer he was around Knight is clear, and Taylor does some of his best work in helping move that fear along.

Dark, violent, and at times downright scary, Straight Outta Compton is the purest movie about gangsta rap that will ever be made. It magnificently captures the real struggles of the time and what life was really like back then. As the film grows, its characters grow as well and Straight Outta Compton reveals everything, leaving no stone unturned. The film is true to what happened and how it happened, even when everyone involved was wrong. Straight Outta Compton, like N.W.A. themselves, offers no apologies for being real and showing the truth. And that is the biggest reason why this movie is flawless and a true masterpiece. If Straight Outta Compton gets snubbed at the Oscars next year, that will be the biggest crime of the band’s career.

Ryo’s Rating: A