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On Nov 3, Weezer released their seventh full-studio effort – Raditude. The album, named by comedian and actor Rainn Wilson, gives Weezer fans plenty to love.

Or hate.

Longtime fans that fell in love with classic Weezer songs such as “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” and “Say It Ain’t So” off the 1994 album, The Blue Album may feel let down by Raditude, which is excellent by its own standards, but subpar compared to previous Weezer efforts. Raditude also lacks the classic sounds of Weezer from the 1996 album, Pinkerton, which is still considered to be a defining album of the emo genre. Fan-favorites off Pinkerton like “The Good Life,” and original lyrics like “I asked her to go to the Green Day concert / You said you never heard of them / How cool is that?” have seemed to vanish from Weezer’s last few albums. Weezer’s two previous albums Make Believe and The Red Album released in 2005 and 2008, respectively, have failed to impress fans. Front man Rivers Cuomo was accused by fans of writing shallow lyrics and insipid melodies. Even further, Make Believe’s first single “Beverley Hills” left fans feeling betrayed the band that had cultivated a reputation as the average, awkward loser – the band of men that could never get the girl. Fans were disgusted when Cuomo sang about his longing for Beverley Hills, a far cry from what the average Weezer fan knows. The Red Album bode no better – online film and music webzine, Tiny Mix Tapes, went so far as to call the album “a sad portrait of a band that has been totally destroyed by fame and the pressures that come along with it.”

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“Cop Killer” was released by Ice-T and his heavy metal band, Body Count, in 1992 on their self-titled album.  “Cop Killer” lyrics were sung in first person, and told the story of an individual outraged by police brutality.  The individual then decides to take the law into his own hands by killing corrupt, violent police officers.   Though the song was written two years before and had been sung live by the band on tours prior to its legitimate availability, it was met with tenacious opposition upon its official release.

Then-Vice President Dan Quayle labeled “Cop Killer” as being “obscene,” and then-President George H.W. Bush publicly discredited any record company that would release it.  The Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT) launched a campaign to impel Warner Brothers Records to withdraw the album completely.  CLEAT was joined by police forces across the United States within a week. 

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It seems like the popularity of female fronted bands has increased at a quick rate. Bands like No Doubt have been doing it for decades, and before No Doubt there was Blondie. A new generation of female fronted bands is on the rise, but which of them actually stand out?

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Out of the many selections chosen for 2009’s Sundance film festival, there is one film in particular that attracted a boatload of attention and hype. This film is a horror flick by the name of ‘GRACE’. The movie poster alone is intriguing, and hearing the various claims that reporters, as well as viewers, had fainted during the first few screenings is enough to make even the most weak-stomached individual curious about the film’s plot. Although GRACE is based upon the 2006 short film with an identical moniker (and the same director), Paul Solet’s now full-length directorial debut has a specific formula that aspires to leave an imprint on the conscience of its viewers, and it succeeds tremendously in doing just that.

Set in modern times, the back-story of GRACE is one that many mothers have been subjected to during the course of their lives. The film’s main character, Madeleine (Jordan Ladd) is in quite a frazzled state because two of her previous births have failed, and she is now riddled with her third pregnancy. Faced with the fact that this pregnancy might also yield an unsuccessful result, she must deal with her husband Michael’s (Stephen Park) overprotective mother-in-law Vivian (Gabrielle Rose) and her constant nitpicking about Madeleine’s lack of trust in government health institutions, specifically hospitals, and takes immense pride in denouncing the choice Madeleine has made in staying a vegan throughout her pregnancy, and even after. Determined that she has her wants and needs figured out regardless of Vivian’s wishes, the mother-to-be selects her own avenue of childbirth — a kind and skilled holistic midwife named Patricia (Samantha Ferris). Everything seems to be going just peachy until a whirlwind of events, including the death of her husband in a car accident, shatters the hope that Madeleine might give birth to a healthy baby girl … or does it?

In the calming, serene setting her midwife created for her childbirth, Madeleine gives birth to a baby girl, who seems to have passed away in the womb. This causes the already heartbroken mother to become absolutely destitute for the child she had carried for those groundbreaking nine months. However, after cooing to the baby, and allowing the child to suck at her breast, the small infant lets out her first cry of life — the previously deceased child had now been resurrected, in a sense. Then, Madeleine triumphantly announces to her midwife that the tiny girl’s name is Grace. The first few weeks with the tiny baby seemed to be running extremely smooth. Madeleine gives it her all to keep the child satisfied and safe within the barriers of her home. It all goes downhill from there though, and a defining moment exists when Madeleine truthfully realizes that there is something wrong with Grace.

A harrowing tale filled with plenty of twists and turns, GRACE is a film that is unlikely to disappoint even the most seasoned horror film buff. Although the urge to faint may not be as strong as was described at the Sundance festival, there are plenty of moments that leave the viewers cringing and peeking between the gaps of their fingers, dreading the next onslaught of blood. Though the movie is not necessarily scary, it gathers a hold on the human conscience with its unsettling images of childbirth and the integral developmental weeks to follow, added on to a mother desperate for any means to keep her child satiated. Paul Solet’s GRACE could be described as satisfying, yet disturbing; a movie that leaves a lasting mark on the definition of what it means to be a mother, and how far an individual would be willing to go for his or her own flesh and blood.

MPAA Rating: R

Runtime: 85 minutes