Friday, May 25 2012
Cannes 2012: ‘Post Tenebras Lux’ and ‘Beyond the Hills’
Both Carlos Reygadas' Post Tenebras Lux and Cristian Mungiu's Beyond the Hills examine the constraints imposed by social custom, as well as its seductions.
‘Men in Black 3’ Looks Back, Again
Ever worried and frequently quaint, Griffin is both weird and wise, a means for Men in Black 3 to bend time-travel movie rules.
‘Moonrise Kingdom’: Storms and Conformity
This bit of violence suggests what's at stake for the opposite sides, for the fugitives and those who mean to bring them back: how to maintain community and also value resistance.
Cannes 2012: ‘Rust and Bone’ + ‘After the Battle’
Cannes Competition is, rather notoriously, a man's world. Women filmmakers -- as individuals and groups -- are protesting the absence of women filmmakers among Palme d'Or contestants this year.
‘Chernobyl Diaries’: What if Something’s There?
As you wait for each episode to lead where it must -- more victims dragged away screaming, more survivors wailing over particular losses, more exhortations to "Get out of here!" -- you might take a minute to reflect on what you actually see, which is not much.
Poliça: 11 May 2012 - Rochester, NY
Despite being a remarkably new unit, Poliça performs a diverse set, complete with a handful of new songs.
Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective
With two TV shows returning Arthur Conan Doyle's creation to our screens, Sherlock Holmes has never seemed more influential. But for the good of detective fiction, it might be time to look elsewhere for our unorthodox investigators...
Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook
This week Flash Points looks at the release of a controversial book sexually 'profiling' women, the slut shaming of Rihanna, and the poor showing of Facebook's IPO.
Patriot of Persia: Muhammad Mossadegh and a Tragic Anglo-American Coup
In 1953, the American and British intelligence agencies launched a coup in Iran against a bedridden 72-year-old man. Muhammad Mossadegh's crimes had been to flirt with communism and to nationalize his country's oil industry, which for 40 years had been in British hands. Mossadegh must go.
Jonathan Franzen and the Problem of Sympathy in ‘Farther Away’
Farther Away celebrates the moments when we retreat from technology and the personas we cultivate through social media, when artifice is stripped, and we are left with arguments, empathy, imperfection and humility—the raw materiality of being.
The ‘BBC High Definition Natural History Collection’: A Cornucopia of Wonders
This is the definitive portrait of the natural world we live in, but rarely see.
Saint Etienne: Words and Music
With the aptly titled Words and Music, Saint Etienne offers a statement of purpose for its existence more than 20 years after its founding in what’s essentially a love letter to musical fandom.
This Biography Ensures the Continuity of Mancini’s Legacy: ‘Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music’
"Mancini's music will, in its own cool way, keep reaching out, find the next generation, and the next and the next" (244).
Love is Rarer than Diamonds: ‘Letter Never Sent’
This Soviet-era gem about the hunt for precious stones in Siberia is more alchemy than geology.
fIREHOSE: lowFlOWs: The Columbia Anthology (‘91-‘93)
lowFLOWs is a great rock 'n' roll story, the story of musicians pushing on in the face of heartbreak and finding new sounds, new music, and new creative heights.
Carina Round: Tigermending
Carina Round's third full-length is a perfectly crafted record from an amazingly talented songwriter.
Carole King: The Legendary Demos
The music from the middle of the decade shows how much things have changed in such a short time. The songs are serious, even when they do concern love, such as “So Goes Love”, about the end of a relationship. But these more adult concerns are still wrapped in pop conventions.
Pumice: Puny
Noise music is supposed to be challenging. That's someting that Pumice understands and has taken to heart as Puny makes clear. Fortunately, like the best noise releases, their are breaks from the madness where everything makes sense, at least for a little while.
Robin Trower: Farther on Up the Road: The Chrysalis Years 1977-1983
The great Robin Trower shouldn't have strayed this far.
The Splatters
The basic conceit -- fling things at other things and watch them go boom -- cops the appeal of a certain mobile game phenomenon exactly.
Laurent Mignard Duke Orchestra: Ellington French Touch
A new concert recording by the formidable Duke Orchestra of Paris led by Laurent Mignard collects Ellington’s French-inspired compositions, including a wealth of unheard music. The album brings into focus the triumphant late period of jazz’s greatest composer.
Thursday, May 24 2012
‘Code 33’ Screens As Part of Rumur Film Retrospective
Code 33 follows this changing dynamic among police, press, and politicians, as detectives voice their simultaneous dedication to the job and their concerns with the process.
We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience
The Avengers highlights a persistent anxiety about equality in the U.S. experience.
Mark Millar and the Cage of Fame: “CLiNT 2.1”
The cage of fame that powers social media, was most arrestingly described by Lester Bangs in his obit for John Lennon. It's hard not to see it play out again here, with Mark Millar…
In Defense Of… Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture
With Clear Channel recently purchasing Boston's WFNX, almost certainly with the intention of changing its format, we look at how important it is for alternative radio to exist -- and evolve.
Bringing the Bass Up Front: An Interview with Stanley Clarke
With the re-issue of all seven of Stanley Clarke’s solo discs in a career-spanning box set, we talk to the legendary bass player about his career, writing classics like "Lopsy Lu" and "School Days", the ideal balance of heart and virtuosity and the value of live performance, warts and all.
Avengers Assembled! ‘Ultimate Avengers Movie Collection’
These films are the spiritual successors to Batman: The Animate Series.
How She Left the Russian Forest: ‘Enchantments’
If you had no idea that Russian mystic / charlatan / healer / pretender Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin, aka the Mad Monk, had a wife and two daughters, you are not alone.
Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music
Killer Mike and El-P revive the spirit of early '90s Bomb Squad productions from Ice Cube and Public Enemy as faithfully and forward-thinkingly as possible.
‘Clueless’ Remains as Enjoyable Today as It Was When It Was First Released
Over time, Clueless has only gained a sweetness that perfectly goes hand-in-hand with Heckerling’s quick witted and, at times, biting dialogue to elevate the film above a the glut of teen comedies available.
Shannon Stephens: Pull It Together
Instead of spending so much time pulling things together, Stephens and company would have done well to break a few things down.
Clashing Coincidences: ‘The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans’
Weaving together events that range from international politics to the socio-cultural development of poor American families, Lawrence Powell’s comprehensive glimpse of New Orleans' past is particularly important today.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre: Aufheben
A theme of deliberate confusion runs throughout Aufheben's 11 songs. Hell, even dubbing them “songs” is a bit of misnomer, as structure is largely forsaken for instrumental pastiches and all-enveloping grooves.
Childish Gambino - 30 April 2012 - Sayreville, NJ
Personable, funny, as good a singer as he is a rapper, Childish Gambino is likely here to stay, and probably only get bigger.
Paul Thorn: What the Hell Is Goin’ On?
Thorn should know a good song when he hears it. His own works are filled with saints, sinners and the strange whose lives cannot be viewed through the prism of the sacred or the profane. The same is true of the people he sings about on the new cover record.
Wes Montgomery: Echoes of Indiana Avenue
Other than a crackling record on a turntable, there is perhaps nothing more satisfying to a jazz aficionado than the release of never-before-heard material from a great player.
Soulfly: Enslaved
On their eighth album, Soulfly strikes back at critics, proving why change is both overrated and unnecessary for them.
Wednesday, May 23 2012
Confronting the Enemy: Rascal Flatts
I vigorously defend lots of country music that sends others running. Yet there is one band that drives me absolutely batty. I need to confront and dissect this visceral feeling that their music is the worst, ever. It's time to face my enemy: Rascal Flatts.
Cannes 2012: ‘The Angels’ Share’ + ‘Killing Them Softly’
Much like Ken Loach's The Angels' Share, Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly features scatterbrained thieves and clever fast-paced dialogue.
Cannes 2012: ‘The Hunt’ + ‘Love’
Both Thomas Vinterberg's Jangten (The Hunt) and Michael Haneke's Amour (Love) mix horror and hope.
Road Diary: My Exclusive with “Before Watchmen” Editor Will Dennis and More
The story of my road trip to DC Entertainment, my first look at the new New 52 and an exclusive with Before Watchmen group Editor, Will Dennis.
Poppy & the Jezebels: Dig the New Breed!
They’re four girls whose debut single, released on a good old fashioned independent label, was also the first song they ever wrote at just aged 13. They sound like little else right now -- except the swell of Generation LOL rising up to take on the charts. They’re Poppy & the Jezebels and they’re from Birmingham.
America’s Funny Book Filter: ‘Comic Books and American Cultural History: An Anthology’
The comics medium has long been as broad as fiction, a mode of expression which reflects the deepest parts of an artist’s self to a corporation cashing in on a trend.
Margaret Mitchell: American Rebel
Gone With The Wind is one of the most popular books ever published. More than 75 years after its publication, neither it nor its author are above controversy.
Garbage: Not Your Kind of People
Garbage's first new record in seven years is precisely what you would expect from a band who peaked in the late '90s.
In ‘‘Rain Dragon’, a Couple Move Together but Drift Apart
Rain Dragon strikes me as true lad lit: It’s the story of a relationship in crisis, told from the point of a view of a guy who doesn’t think like a girl. At all.
‘Grateful Dead: Dawn of the Dead’ Could Use More Life
Want to know the early history of the Grateful Dead? You may have to look no further than this review.
Father Yod & the Source Family: The Thought Adjusters
A decorated veteran, a stuntman, a monk, a restaurant owner, a spiritual leader, and a frontman. Father Yod was all these things and more, becoming a LA cult figure until his death in 1975. Drag City releases some of Father Yod & the Source Family's most sought-after material.
Xiu Xiu: 2 May 2012 - Washington D.C.
Xiu Xiu remains one of the most compelling live bands of its time.
Todd Snider: Time As We Know It: The Songs of Jerry Jeff Walker
It’s a shambling, half-tossed study of an artist who epitomised the shambling, half-tossed record, executed by a musician who has made his career out of shambling, half-tossed performances. Brilliant.
David Sylvian: A Victim of Stars 1982-2012
A Victim of Stars is a fine testament to Sylvian’s artistry, but by all means new listeners shouldn’t stop there.
Kenny Garrett: Seeds from the Underground
The fiery alto player and former Miles Davis sideman delivers a program of original, driving tunes dedicated to various influences and played by his working band. Cookin’!
Gavin Harrison & Ø5Ric: The Man Who Sold Himself
Despite Gavin Harrison & Ø5Ric's rhythmic prowess, The Man Who Sold Himself is a coldly intellectual work of prog that isn't as fun to listen to as it is challenging.
Tuesday, May 22 2012
Brainy is the New Sexy: ‘Sherlock Season Two’
Irene Adler aptly deduces that “Brainy is the new sexy.” Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock Holmes and the second season of Sherlock are just that--as well as increasingly popular around the world.
If You Take Film Noir Seriously, You’ll Want ‘Film Noir: The Directors’
Film Noir: The Directors offers two great pleasures: the chance to discover new films and directors, and the chance to see films you already know, but through new eyes.
The Cult: Choice of Weapon
The veteran English rockers hope the third comeback album will be the charm.
Much Less Sleep Than Usual: “The Shadow #2”
I wasn't ready for Martin Amis' memoir Experience at the time it was first released. I needed to wait. Just as this Shadow is the Garth Ennis' we've been waiting for, perhaps without realizing it…
‘Lolo’ and ‘Real Sports’ Interview Hurdler Lolo Jones
This phrase, "a long hard row," sums up the story of Lolo Jones according to Lolo, ESPN's documentary, premiering this week.
Charles Dickens Through the Lens of Canonicity
Critical discourse on Charles Dickens – especially late Dickens, most especially of all Bleak House – has gotten out of hand, and finds itself concentrating on virtues that Dickens doesn’t actually possess in a bid to shoehorn him into our notion of what a great writer is and what his writing does.
Kraftwerk and Yamantaka // Sonic Titan Crash the High Art Party
What happens when the world of rock music collides with the world of the fine arts?
They’ll Be Your Emmylou: An Interview with First Aid Kit
These Swedish sisters are barely in their 20s, but now with their second album acknowledging country's storied past, they get big help from the likes of Mike Mogis, the Felice Brothers, and Conor Oberst. The ladies sit down with PopMatters to tell us all about their wonderful journey ...
Moviemaking Insights: Conversations at the American Film Institute With the Great Moviemakers
Pieces of history — capturing moments and moviemakers in time — is exactly what this book does best, creating a treasure-trove to flip through and savor.
Hyper-Realism and Ultra-Feminism in Action: ‘Haywire’
Mallory Kane is a strong and principled woman immersed in a world of decadent masculinity.
Young Man: Vol. 1
Young Man's second release in a three-part series about the fleeting nature of youth and transition into adulthood is nothing short of spectacular.
Tribeca Film Festival 2012: ‘The List’ World Premiere
Beth Murphy's documentary The List reminds us that true Americans come from all corners of the world -- including Iraq.
Tu Fawning: A Monument
Much of A Monument treads the same epic path that is reigned over by the Arcade Fires and Radioheads of the indie rock world. And while Tu Fawning never quite reach the same heights of grandeur as these masters of the form, their ambition and their technical prowess results in an album that reveals further depths with each listen.
Sweetlife Food & Music Festival: 28 April 2012 - Columbia, MD
In its second year, Sweetlife seems to be establishing strong roots for it to develop into an original, appealing and noteworthy festival choice.
Awesomenauts
With its blend of 2D action, MOBA strategy, and charming aesthetic design, Awesomenauts lives up to its name.
Kishi Bashi: 151a
Singer/violinist/multi-instrumentalist K Ishibashi takes some cues from both Andrew Bird and Animal Collective and creates a lovely debut album that's equal parts romantic yearning and playful non-sequiturs.
Various Artists: Subway Salsa: The Montuno Records Story
Proof, if needed, of the crucial cultural role record shops play in the musical and social life of a city, even when buried deep down in a subway system.
Rose Cousins: We Have Made a Spark
A roomful of friends can't elevate this tepid set above the humdrum.
Lost Horizon: Awakening the World/Flame to the Ground Beneath
Look at the sleeve art for these two records. Trust me, they say all that needs to be said.
Monday, May 21 2012
‘Appointment with Death’: Good Sunday Afternoon Matinee Material
A decade before Michael Winner's film career had its very own 'Appointment with Death', the controversial director made this passable adaptation of Agatha Christie's celebrated crime novel.
Cannes 2012: ‘Paradies: Liebe’ + ‘Beasts of the Southern Wild’
Several films at Cannes this year employ local nonprofessional actors in their casts, to effects that range from vaguely disappointing to magical.
The Harley on the Shore: “Winter Soldier #5’s” Art of the Endless Epilogue
That image of the Japanese-tsunami Harley washed ashore in Canada, is irresistible. And as with Winter Soldier #5, it too points to the art of the endless epilogue.
Tea with ‘Sherlock’: Investigating the Investigators
BBC's Sherlock has crossed the pond for the second time to find a lively, if not exactly raging, fanbase waiting. Why is it now that the idea of a reinventing Sherlock Holmes is suddenly so alluring?
To Build a World or to Tell a Story?
Plot just provides us with a win condition, it is not necessary for the act of play. I can enjoy a game without plot, but I can’t enjoy a game without world building because that is a game without rules.
‘George Harrison: Living In the Material World’: The Definitive Statement on Harrison
This is a powerfully intimate portrait of a private man who led a very public life.
‘Exit Music’ Starts Strong, But Punts on Radiohead’s Later Music
A revised edition of Randall's history of Radiohead provides an excellent summary of the band's genesis in Oxford, but provides diminishing returns when it comes to examining the quintet's most recent releases.
Carry On: An Interview with fun.
They have the biggest song of the year thus far, were in a Super Bowl commercial, and were even covered by Glee. Yet what you don't know about fun. is that what'll surprise you the most, as this is not the first rodeo these guys have been on ...
Gossip: A Joyful Noise
Gossip could make excellent music in a number of genres, but they haven't done so here.
‘The Superhero Book’ Makes for an Entertaining but Spotty Overview
This isn't a bad book. It's nicely designed and laid out, and there are plenty of full-color movie stills and comics covers. For a reader who can get over what isn't included, there are plenty of trivia nuggets to be had.
Robert Francis: Strangers in the First Place
Robert Francis crafts a more than worthy follow-up to his acclaimed debut, One by One.
Bamboozle Gets Caught in Between: 19 May 2012
Bamboozle was in a lovely setting, but it wasn't a controlled environment like the Meadowlands provides, so everything tended to be a bit up and down.
A Day to Remember + Rise Against: 5 May 2012 - Cincinnati, OH
The same thing that makes the bill of A Day to Remember and Rise Against odd, also serves as an opportunity for a rather interesting shared experience.
Kwes: Meantime
On his debut EP, Kwes repurposes the fundamental elements of electronic music to create his own wandering and beguiling pop songs.
Simone Felice: Simone Felice
Simone Felice's debut solo album is a simple, yet beautiful, invocation of the fragility and beauty of human life.
David Axelrod: David Axelrod’s Rock Interpretation of Handel’s Messiah
This sounds exactly like how one would expect a rock musician in the '70s to interpret the Messiah, which is to say it's entertaining, though for the most part predictable.
Floratone: Floratone II
Bill Frisell's studio-centric band comes back for round two - and they sound so, so much better.
Mitch Ryder: Detroit Ain’t Dead Yet (The Promise)
It’s hard to see how The Promise could achieve some sort of musical relevancy.
Friday, May 18 2012
‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ Is Grueling, As You Might Expect
Jules' pregnancy is one of many in What to Expect, a movie apparently proudly based on a 28-year-old self-help book.
‘Quill: Bring Your Tissues
For a jaunty family film with a series of adorable dogs at its center, Quill creates surprising suspense.
“Sound of My Voice’ Combines Indie Drama and SF Overtones
Brit Marling's low-key charisma comes in handy for scenes of the cult's meetings, where Maggie's claims sound absurd, yet also weirdly tantalizing.
‘Polisse’ Shows Effects of Working for the Child Protection Unit
Polisse makes clear repeatedly that the multi-faceted problem of child abuse is both obvious and suppressed, common and extraordinary, a sign of deviance and also, tragically, a sign of normalcy.
‘Battleship’ Is a Loud Suggestion of a Big Summer Movie
Battleship has plenty of trailer moments, 15-second expensive-looking money shots of stuff blowing up in all sizes and shapes.
She’s a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer
Wynonna, Ziggy Marley, Liza Minnelli, and more than 20 other artists, songwriters, and producers explain who they "love to love" as PopMatters studies the remarkable four-decade career of Donna Summer.
Flash Points: Mommy’s Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King
Welcome to the first edition of Flash Points -- a new weekly feature that provides a critical overview of cultural trends and developments. This week: the controversial Time cover, the gay marriage debate and the annual CLIOs.
The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game
Anthropologist John Fox sets off on a worldwide adventure to the farthest reaches of the globe and the deepest recesses of our ancient past to answer a question inspired by his sports-loving son: "Why do we play ball?"
‘People’s Pornography’: The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture
People's Pornography attempts to situate a new Chinese subject amidst the proliferation of DIY porn videos and sexual expression on the internet.
