Monday, May 20 2013
Quirky Puzzles: ‘The Goodwin Games’
The Goodwin Games wears its quirk on its sleeve. The opening is straight out of The Royal Tenenbaums: while ornate classical music plays, a bowtie-wearing family patriarch (Beau Bridges) sits in a too-perfectly-art-directed library.
‘Not Fade Away’ Shouldn’t, Yet Despite Its Title, It Does
The hype around David Chase's first film is, sadly, unfulfilled.
Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow: Julian Cope’s ‘Copendium’
This is one of the best books about music ever published. It's an absolute delight to sink into and thrash around in, and it comes with a rigorous and righteous sense of wild-eyed-and-eared enthusiasm, and enough exuberant 'motherfuckers' to make Tarantino blush.
‘Motive’ Wonders, Why?
Motive reminds viewers that breaking social norms can lead to dire consequences.
Call of the Cthulhu Nazis: “Fatale #14”
“She should never have come to Romania... Damn me for a Fool...”
‘Doc Martin Special Collection: Series 1-5 + The Movies’
Doc Martin's social ineptitude and crankiness could tire easily, but Portwenn and its residents offer a balance that works well.
Sarah Dash: 12 May 2013 - New York
Few artists can navigate jazz, disco, glam funk, and Broadway with equal aplomb, but Sarah Dash proved to be a remarkable exception at 54 Below.
Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine
Monaco is a stylish heist game that’ll make you wonder why there are so few heist games.
Put a Brown Wig on Lindsay Lohan and You Don’t Get Elizabeth Taylor, You Get: ‘Liz & Dick’
There's nothing remotely reminiscent of Elizabeth Taylor in Lindsay Lohan, even in full make-up.
Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
Daft Punk unleash their inner disco auteurs and release a colossal, self-indulgent mess as their comeback album. And make it work.
Mikal Cronin: MCII
On MCII, Mikal Cronin isn't so much spearheading the current garage-rock revival, but rather redefining what the genre means altogether.
‘It’s Only Slow Food Until You Try to Eat It’
A pretty good food book from a guy who doesn't enjoy cooking, will eat almost anything, is cheap, and doesn't much care for food books.
Kenny Chesney: Life on a Rock
Life on a Rock ultimately seems less like a beach party album than Chesney stretching out with his ghosts.
Kopecky Family Band: Kids Raising Kids
Kids Raising Kids is both commendably varied and sonically of a piece, which is no easy feat. It’s clear that the Kopecky Family Band has ambition, and while its reach exceeds its grasp more often than not here, this is definitely a group worth keeping an eye on.
Six Feet Under: Unborn
Six Feet Under is back in an attempt to reclaim the glory of the band's early years. Will veteran Chris Barnes succeed, or is this death metal dog too old to learn new tricks?
Friday, May 17 2013
The Pleasures of Collecting and… Grafting: ‘The Fruit Hunters’
The reason he collects fruit, Richard Campbell elucidates, is not only because he seeks variety and pleasure in tasting, but also because he sees the risks of industrial farming and monoculture.
‘Stories We Tell’: Sarah Polley Ponders Movies and Truths
This is a story of deception and romance, of family and making movies, and it shapes Stories We Tell, because it occasions a series of self-reflections, revelations, and reactions, all stories in themselves.
‘Shanghai Noon’ / ‘Shanghai Knights’
Though they're not as fleet-footed as Chan's best Hong Kong features, Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights are probably his most aristically successful American productions.
‘Erased’: A Father’s Past is Inescapable, or Is It?
Although Erased doesn't portray it particularly well, the question it raises is an intriguing one: who controls anyone's life narrative?
