Tuesday, May 29 2012
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.
‘Bring Up the Bodies’ Is a Wonderful, Terrible Sequel to ‘Wolf Hall’
"God takes out your heart of flesh, and gives you a heart of stone."
Films: Father of the Bride 20th Anniversary Edition
Father of the Bride remains an enjoyable comedy with plenty of heart. It's lighthearted and emotive, but, chances are, you can identify with it.
King Tuff: King Tuff
In the days of insipid and precious bedroom projects, King Tuff’s return to rock and roll, its insistence on loud guitars and fun, is a sublimely radical move.
Theresa Andersson: Street Parade
Theresa Andersson breaks down the sounds of a New Orleans parade and reconstructs them into wonderfully idiosyncratic, introspective pop. No beads or revelry required.
Mark Lanegan Band: 16 May 2012 - Hamtramck, MI
Wincing at the endless barrage of camera phone flashes assaulting his eyes, Mark Lanegan treated fans to a litany of detox elegies and ruminations on mortality and resurrection, alternating between down-tempo dirges and ramshackle rockers.
Jason Mraz: Love Is a Four Letter Word
The "I'm Yours" feel-good guy returns with his most expansive set yet. The results are (mostly) better than you might think.
Lee Bannon: Fantastic Plastic
Bannon's beats may vary from spastic breakdowns to golden-age bangers, but they come together to form a surprisingly dope and cohesive whole.
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.
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).
