Friday, February 3 2012
‘Big Miracle’: TV Saves the Whales
The context for the whales' plight is conveyed in Big Miracle by TV, glimpsed in the backgrounds of scenes where people are talking about... TV.
‘Chronicle’ Makes Your Job Too Easy
Chronicle misses the point of the found-footage film -- that the point of view is unstable and immersive, making you doubt what you see.
‘The Woman in Black’ Is an Old-Fashioned Ghost Story
Mrs. Drablow’s creepy, dilapidated mansion, Eel Marsh House, is the most fantastic haunted house imaginable, both attracting and repelling us.
Lana Del Rey: Born to Die
The Internet-famous chanteuse releases her highly-anticipated debut album. Does it live up to the hype?
Hospitality: Hospitality
Up-and-comers Hospitality are like the characters of their songs: accomplished and bright, with room to grow.
Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel: 27 January 2012 - Washington D.C.
The reclusive songwriter returns for his first tour in over a decade.
Primitons: Don’t Go Away, Collected Works
During their short existence, the Primitons were grouped into that mid-'80s sub-genre of “jangly Southern bands that sound like R.E.M.” This was unfair to both.
Gianluigi Trovesi / Gianni Coscia: Frère Jacques: Round About Offenbach
Frère Jacques: Round About Offenbach is a reverent tribute to an irreverent man. Despite that, it's fantastic.
If You Could Change History, Would You? Should You? Stephen King’s ‘11/22/63’
In imagining he has the right to kill another so that he can single-handedly change history, how different is Jake from the fanatical Oswald, who killed Kennedy to bolster his customized view of the world?
‘Hotel Project’: The Internationalists and Neighborhood Productions – New York
My proximity to the actors heightened both the comedy and tragedy, for us all.
Grave Robbing, Murder and a Few Laughs: ‘Burke and Hare’
I wish I could say this was the triumphal return of a great director rather than just a decent rental.
The Renderers: A Rocket Into Nothing
The Renderers prove once more that they don't have to sacrifice their experimental side to sound accessible, and 20-plus years in, they're as good as they've ever been.
‘Happy, Happy’: Is a Happy Tragedy
The Norwegian movie and a favorite last year at Sundance, Happy, Happy founders on lukewarm emotional appeal and a shockingly racist subplot.
Meditations on the Actual and the Imagined: ‘Puppet: An Essay on Uncanny Life’
A series of poetic meditations on "the madness of puppets", this brief but dense book fascinates as much as its uncanny subject matter.
Wynton Marsalis: Swinging into the 21st
In 1999 Wynton Marsalis ushered us into the 21st century with an incredible effort, proving yet again why he is already a legend.
‘Quarrel’ Is ‘Scrabble’ Meets ‘Risk’
Quarrel is Scrabble meets Risk. It fixes some of the problems of Risk, while adding a few new irritations of its own.
Thursday, February 2 2012
‘The Innkeepers’ Is Smart Horror
As Claire thinks through -- and the film shows -- her subjective, isolating, and increasingly frightening experience, you're left to guess if it's "just a story."
That Dame With Them Questions: Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1
You can't possibly expect to write a book called Lobster Johnson and push the Lobster to the very edge of the very first issue can you? I mean that wouldn't work, would it? And therein lies the genius of Mike Mignola.
Chairlift: Something
The Brooklyn Chairlift works differently, obviously. It lifts you up but won't bring you down.
Buxton: Nothing Here Seems Strange
As solid as Buxton is, they're doing nothing to set themselves apart from other bands in their genre, and they don't quite have the songwriting chops to overcome that lack of character.
