Wednesday, May 30 2012
‘Max Payne 3’ Isn’t The Max Payne You Remember
Max Payne 3 strikes a perfect balance between the gritty and the gamey.
What Happens When the Average Guy Suddenly Ain’t So Average: ‘Chronicle’
This film is one of the best examples of the possibilities of the found-footage format.
Damn Right, He’s Got the Blues: Buddy Guy’s ‘When I Left Home’
This is exactly what is promises to be: the recollections of a 74-year-old blues maestro who paid his dues, grew up poor, gigged a lot and rubbed elbows with some of the most remarkable musicians of his time, even as he himself developed into another of that elite group.
Sigur Rós: Valtari
With Valtari, these Icelanders may have pushed their dream-pop/post-rock formula to its final point. Where can Sigur Rós go after pushing the very limits of beautiful?
The Multi-Stranded Tale, ‘The Witch’s Daughter’, Can’t Quite Leave Genre Conventions Behind
Part historical novel, part family drama, part supernatural thriller, Paula Brackston's debut novel strives to be taken seriously. To a large degree, it succeeds.
The Fun Is In the Details: ‘Agatha Christie’s Poirot, Series 3’
He's a Belgian in England; he's short, wears glasses, and is an immaculate dresser with delicate sensibilities. Which is to say, Poirot is about as far from the stock hard-boiled detective as he could possibly be.
Lemonade: Diver
Music that could be classified as "rave music" will never achieve enough transcendence to hold its own when isolated from the dancefloor. Lemonade seem to realize this and attempt to remedy it.
Roger Waters ‘The Wall’: 13 May 2012 - San Diego
With the world drifting dangerously closer to George Orwell's 1984 every day, Waters goes the extra mile to emphasize the album's strong anti-war and anti-authoritarian themes to make a true statement.
Cory Branan: Mutt
Branan is not just another hairy face rehashing the songwriting greats of yesteryear; his songwriting is up there with the best of the new breed of today.
Patrick Watson: Adventures in Your Own Backyard
The fourth long-player from inaugural Polaris Prize winner Patrick Watson is full of dark melancholy and a sense of the downtrodden, as though the Montreal multi-instrumentalist and his band is reacting to some stinging criticism the last album, Wooden Arms, received.
Young Hines: Give Me My Change
Young Hines can carry a tune and maybe even write one, but the remarkably unremarkable Give Me My Change just doesn't add up.
Gazpacho: March of the Ghosts
March of the Ghosts marks the seventh album from Oslo-based Gazpacho. As you'd expect from a prog band well into its career, the new album is a lustrously polished example of artfully composed melodic rock. The fact it's such an overly familiar affair makes it all the more disappointing.
Tuesday, May 29 2012
“So Impress Me…”: the Ferryman’s Dilemma in “Batman, Incorporated #1”
"So impress me…", it's got to be one of the finest moments in comics writing. Either that moment, of the guest appearance of Bat-Cow.
‘Delta Boys’ Observes Freedom Fighters in Niger
As good as Ateke Tom is at speaking for others, Delta Boys submits that communications remain confounded.
Cannes 2012: ‘Holy Motors’ and ‘Moonrise Kingdom’
For all their films' differences in depth and address, both Wes Anderson and Leos Carax explore the playful possibilities of their chosen art.
Devil May Cry: HD Collection
Between the three games, there’s enough done right to appeal to just about everyone, whether players are new or well versed in games.
‘Is That a Fish in Your Ear?’ Is Not Exactly Light Reading, but It’s Engaging, Nonetheless
David Bellos playfully includes examples from poetry, from comics, from movie subtitles and the United Nations to illustrate the diversity of translation in everyday life.
Finding Resolution to ‘The Mystery of Edwin Drood’
Writer Gwyneth Hughes gallantly strives to solve the biggest mystery of Charles Dickens' Edwin Drood: how it ends.
The Walkmen: Heaven
Heaven is an album not about discovering what you want, but rather about the goodness you've already found, and in attempting the difficult task of the content record, the Walkmen succeed.
