Review: Katy Perry feat. Kanye West - "E.T."

Italian photographer and director Floria Sigismondi stays true to her style and creates a dark and futuristic video treatment for Katy Perry's smash hit «E.T.» feat. Kanye West.

I anticipated the video release of «E.T.» a lot. And the fact that Floria Sigismondi directed it, made it even more exciting; she might as well be one of the most talented music video directors out there. Her Sigur Ròs video "Untitled" is a masterpiece. Her Christina Aguliera video "Hurt" is epic. And she's one of the few music video directors who were able to establish and maintain a unique style, regardless what kind of music they were treating.

"E.T." might not be Sigismondi's best work but it has definitely some great moments in it. It's high concept, flawlessly executed and it matches the song's acoustic atmosphere quite well. The video opens with a great cinematic intro, and there are some some amazing shots in it - especially when Katy Perry softly touches the surface of a faraway planet to unveil a mysterious stranger, who appears to be her lover.

But on the other hand the video suffers from some annoying faux-pas. The stock footage thing... C'mon. I mean, how many times have we seen the same cheetah wasting the same poor gazelle over and over again? Or the humping monkeys?
Furthermore, the editing is a bit too cautious for my taste. But that's Sigismondi's style; she tends to stay in one set for a relatively long period of time, then change it to reveal something new and push the story forward. That's fine with me.
But again I have to ask myself: Why does a well-established director and artist like Sigismondi use the same out-worn symbols and subjective iconography we've seen over and over again in the last two years? It's all so god damn "Gaga-esque" these days. But I guess it would be naive to wonder why.
Still, the video remains quite awesome and is probably one of the best so far this year.

Rating: 4/5

Review: The Black Eyed Peas - "Just Can't Get Enough"

The Black Eyed Peas and director Ben Mor deliver a passionate video set in the luminous city of Tokyo.

"Just can't get enough" was shot one week before the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. The endless tragedy that came over Japan reflects in this snap-shot of what we now must call status quo: the vivid and shiny city of Tokyo and its people will forever be altered by this catastrophy, and "Can't Get Enough" is one of the last portraits of the cultural and social uniqueness which now tragically seem to have become nothing more than memories of times past.

Ben Mor manages to give a very intimate insight in the emotionality of someone who travels to faraway cities, wandering sleeplessly through a strange jungle of conrete and epileptic accumulations of visual impressions.
One might suspect that the director was inspired by Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation"; he chooses a comparable visual approach and the video has the same subtle sadness to it. But is that a bad thing? Definitely not. It's impressing how the director manages to create the same captivating athmosphere within such a short period of time.

Tokyo is a fantastic location for any cinematographic undertaking. The lights, the faces and the locations are staggering. When you're from the States or Europe it strikes you as completely different world.
My assuption is that they shot the video mostly handheld with DSRL cameras, which in this case is perfectly fine. The technical advantages of these relatively small cameras serve the emotional closure between audience and protagonist. The shots are well composed, the editing is low-key but efficient.

During the last section of the song, when the beat starts to gain tempo, the video reaches its climax with performance scenes set in some crazy light tunnel construction. A very impressive and expensive set one might think. Could be CGI as well. But I am quite sure this is just another location the city of Tokyo has to offer and the director chose to shoot on.
Every high profile director who tends to and/or is obliged to reduce concept in order to reduce costs, should take this video as a prime example of how it should be done when you can't spend gazillions of dollars on spectacular sets and special effects: open your mind, travel to a faraway city, and share your most intimate impressions with the world!

Rating: 4/5

Review: Kanye West feat. Rihanna - "All of the Lights"

Hype Williams' latest Kanye video offers a strange combination of mind numbing 2D graphics, strobelight soaked performances and a very generous look at Rihannas décolleté.

True art comes from a perfect balance between concept and chaos. Bad art is either just chaos or just concept. I like to think that art which solely comes from chaos is still better than art which emerges from pure concept. The concept of this video however is to generate chaos. And that doesn't work out very well at all.

I have great respect for Hype's work, he is a music video pioneer who delivered some true classics back in the old days, like Busta's "Gimme Some Mo" or "Can It Be All So Simple" by the Wu Tang Clan. But he has a tendency to get lazy. First there was this letterbox thing, which in most cases seemed to be an excuse for not having to shoot anything but some cute girls wearing Gucci hats and Versace undies while wiggeling their asses in front of the camera. It all became just fashion.
But now, with this video, the simplicity reaches yet another climax. It penetrates the technical level as well, which I think is a very alarming thing, keeping in mind that we talk about an expensive Yeezy-Hype collabo. No more 35mm, no more angles, no more slow motion, no more nothing.

Hype must have earned quite a respectable amount of money for this. And we all know that Kanye tends to "buy" quality, which explains why he thinks a "good" music video must have cost at least a million bucks. But I just can't believe even Kanye is happy with this one. Some scenes, the intro shots with the little girl for example, just look awfully DSRL-amateurish. I am sick and tired of DSRL-Videos. And furthermore, it all makes no sense at all. What are you trying to tell us, guys?
The strobe thing sometimes works, sometimes is doesn't. It's very simplistic, which is not a bad thing itself. But the sudden alternation between the total mayhem of graphical impressions, lights and colors, and the completely flat and slowly edited performance scenes with Rihanna and Kid Cudi just seems superficial and crude.

The police car sequence looks pretty awesome, yeah. But you kinda get enough of that after you realize that they obviously thought that this scene would carry the whole music video, which it doesn't.
This video reaks of the idea that by putting the brand "Hype" on it, it doesn't have to be complex, challenging or visually appealing. Hype rather plunges everything into a big paint-pot.
The only concept I see in this video that there mustn't be any concept at all. Which actually is the worst concept you can think of.

Rating: 2/5

Review: Lady Gaga - "Born this Way"

Lady Gaga releases her latest video "Born this Way", directed by Nick Knight. It isn't nearly as epic as Jonas Akerlund's "Telephone" video (feat. Beyoncé). Nevertheless, the opening sequence is pretty spectacular.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think "Born this Way" is Nick Knight's first music video since Björk's "Pagan Poetry" back in 2001. Kinda weird, considering that fact that this was one of the most controversial music videos of all time. Anyway, it's no surprise at all that Knight returns to the director's chair only to work with pop phenomenon Lady Gaga, who tends to have a smiliar taste for fashion photography inspired artsy music videos.

Knight's real genius shows during the opening sequence, a disgusting celebration of Gagas seemingly transforming and hyperactive sexuality. She represents this queenlike alien mother who gives birth to a whole army of baby Gagas. A true nightmare, one might say. But it's a brilliantly executed tibute to classical science fiction art cinema masterpieces like "2001 - A Space Odyssey" or "Alien". The slime dripping embryos, this '1970' montage of floating bodies and flowers, the voice-over... It gives you the creeps, man.

Too bad the best part is over when this slimy birth orgy ends. For some reason, we don't get to see anything new at all when the song actually starts, except a (dance) performance in a set-less black hole and some very dull skeleton makeup. A bit disappointing after such a captivating start.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull - "On the Floor"

Jenny from the block is back. Director TAJ Stansberry's attempt to make J-LO look as illustrious and sexy as she did back in the old days, doesn't work out too well if you ask me.

Maybe they cut J-Lo's promotional budget in half. Or maybe Stansberry's DP is just another "gruaduate" from the infamous New York Film Academy. In the end, this video looks aweful. It's one of those videos where the producer decided to rent a club for one night, jam pack the place with dancers and extras and just shoot with available light, perhaps adding one or two spots or Kinoflos. At least that's what I get from this video. There is absolutely no composition or lighting concept whatsoever, the combination of colors is just random and there's no harmony, no Zen, no nothing.
There's a lot of unintended overexporsureand as well, no angle or shot that leaves a lasting impression.

Besides the sloppy camera work, you get a certain feeling of impefection over all. But at the same time, the only message the video tries to deliver is: J-LO is perfect. Perfect ass, perfect skin, perfect accessoires. The only thing perfect in my opinion is the fat ass BMW at the beginning of the video.

The rest is just half-baked and looks cheap. Swarovski? Sorry dear, there are some potential brands you shouldn't put in your overstylized comeback video, even though they offer you a ton of cash. Oh yeah and Pitbull, dawg, next time try not to bang the dancers before the shoot, there's glitter on your face.

Rating: 1/5

Review: Britney Spears - "Hold it against me"

Britney takes a shot at another comeback. Will she succeed, I can't say. But she definitely chose to work with the right director.

Anybody who thinks that music video is a dying artform: Watch a few Jonas Akerlund videos and think again. His Beyoncé feat. Lady Gaga video "Telephone" is a masterpiece. And this Britney video rocks too. Akerlund takes it back to the great 90ies when videos where packed with awesome intros, skits, great actors and hollywoodish cinematography.

I'm not a big admirer of Mrs. Spears. There were a only a few videos I really liked, ("Toxic" was pretty cool). The new music she tries to come back with, isn't my taste either. But the visual treatment by Akerlund definitely gets the best out of it. Rich, blasting images, and there's this masterfully edited scene showing Britney kicking her own ass. Truly awesome editing. And I LOVE these .3sec cutaways where you see some disturbing weired image. Akerlund definitely has a great understanding of visual tension, he plays with cinematographical rules and breaks them at the right time. He also seems to shoot 35mm film or at least he takes out the big digital guns like RED. It think it's really sad that some bigshot directors (e.g. like Hype Williams) tend to get lazy and start shooting with DSRL Cameras. But that's another story.

The set they built is pretty spectacular, even though the idea of a million screens... well, it's nothing new. But its nicely executed. Must have cost a ton of money (I think they really built this thing), which explains the massive brand name dropping. Sony and 'Plenty of fish' must have spent a fortune. But as long the money is spent on a director like Akerlund allowing him to put the pedal to the metal, I'm cool with it.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Rihanna - "S&M"

Rihanna's latest video off her album "Loud" directed by Melina Matsoukas is supposedy meant to be provocative and daring. It's not.

I despise Perez Hilton's work. I've never met him, nor have I read his fucking blog. But for some reason I know the guy when I see his face. And he's in this video. You may have missed him, but that awful stomacheache you now feel after watching it, that might just be him!

I don't understand what Rihanna and Melina Matsoukas see in the idea of gaging corpulent people. Or putting Perez Hilton in their video. It's neither sexy, fun, nor has it any visual quality or sociological value to it. It's just the most ovbious analogy to the lyrics you can think of.

I liked Rihannas "Rude Boy" video, also directed by Melina Matsoukas. A colorful, fun piece and it was kinda sexy, in a somewhat innocent way. "S&M" is a hot pop song and a little less provocation and a bit more of Rihannas sensual charisma would have done a much better job. Besides some solid camerawork and a nicely paced editing, there's really not much in it for me. The sets are dull, the S&M references so obvious. I ain't into S&M, but you can literally see how those actors, or shall we say extras, aren't there. They're just not there! No sweat, no dirt. Just superficial pastic gummybear junk.

Rihanna sings: "There is sex in the air..." and we have to watch a guy on a dog leash piss on a fire hydrant? What the hell is wrong with you?

Rating: 2/5

Review: Dr. Dre feat. Eminem - "I Need a Doctor"

Here's Dr. Dre's second video lifted from his long awaited "Detox" LP (fingers crossed). The video opens with the most spectacular car crash scene in music video history.

After the somewhat lethargic video "Kush", Dre's first alleged Detox single, I was hoping for a more dynamic video treatment for whatever was coming next. And they didn't disappoint me. The first sequence of "I need a doctor" is totally mindblowing, and if you are a true Dr. Dre fan, you'll be pissing your pants while watching it. He somewhat copies Eminem's concept of opening up and showing inner feelings like insecurity, anxiousness and heartache. You can see it in his eyes, when he's standing there, on a cliff, watching his life passing by.

I like that. The courage to show vulnerability is what separates the usual gangsta rapper from a true hiphop artist. And I like it even more when a director like Allen Hughes ("Menace II Society", "The Book of Eli") creates the corresponding visual treatment.

The first scene is a total mindfuck, brilliantly edited and it totally gets you into the right mood before the song starts. However, when the actual video begins, you can sense a little that Allen Hughes is not the experienced music video director one might expect him to be. I find the lack of close-ups and the very slow editing a bit irritating. Furthermore there are some serious lip-sync issues, which in my opinion, are quite embarrassing for a rather expensive production like this one. Nevertheless, the story concept is pretty cool and Skylar Grey gets the angelic appearance she deserves.

Rating: 3/5

Review: Ke$ha - "Blow"

Pop starlet Ke$ha puts another video out there, "Blow", directed by Chris Marrs Piliero. It tries to be grotesque and funny... and fails.

Not only does Lady Gaga rule all radio airplay and internet statistics at the moment, she obviously seems to be a source of inspiration for aspiring wannabe pop sensations - like Ke$ha. Or maybe, the record label managers dictate a certain mandatory "Lady Gaga-ness" for their new video releases.
Be that as it may, after Christina Aguilera's attempt with her rather dull "Not myself tonight" video, pop singer Ke$ha hops on the Gaga train as well.

From a technical point of view the video is pretty average, camera and editing are unspectacularly ok, definitely nothing special. Some odd choices were made in postproduction, the fake overexposure gets on your nerves, especially when Ke$has cute face gets melted away. Truly creative choices by the director are rare, eventhough the dialogue scene featuring James Van Der Beek ("Dawson's Creek") in the middle and the shoot-out scene at the end deserve some credit. I also like the make-up, it's kinda reduced to the max.

However, the video attemps to be funny at several times and fails. I guess the scene when Van der Beek rips out a bra (!) from beyond his shirt, ought to be funny. I mean come on. Plus, those goat-unicorn-things or whatever they're supposed to be, look cheap. I mean really cheap. This ain't no greek mythology, this ain't no pop art, this ain't no surrealism. It's just badly executed trash. The director shows absolutely no attempt of creating a certain cinematographic complexity one has to expect when watching a video which claims to be grotesque and provocative. "Blow" is just a colorful mix of half baked ideas.

The superficiality reaches it's peak already at the beginning of the video, when you're forced to read the totally unfunny and uninspired title "No mythological creatures were harmed in the making of this video". I mean, seriously, who gives a damn?!

Rating: 2/5