Wednesday, May 16 2012
‘The Dictator’ Seeks Global Glory
It's not surprising that the movie's comedy is rambunctious or its politics obvious. But none of it is especially smart either.
Like a Jack London Story on Steroids: ‘The Grey’
A bleak, desolate setting full of bleak, desolate men: A group of oil workers survive a plane crash and have to fight a pack of wolves across the Alaskan wilderness.
An Enigma, Wrapped in Glitter: ‘Prince: The Making of a Pop Music Phenomenon’
A philosophical collection of essays dissecting the works and poses of Prince proves simultaneously fascinating and frustrating: their points are evocative, but the authors' personal weight in the matter breaks down subjectivity in the long run, hurting their cause.
Simian Mobile Disco: Unpatterns
Simian Mobile Disco's attempt at a headphones record, after making a name for themselves as blog-house practitioners, is marred by aloof monotony.
Kate Beckinsale Shoots, Stabs and Blows Up Things in ‘Underworld: Awakening’
Even Selene's icy blue stare can't hypnotize us into having fun with this one.
White Fence: Family Perfume Vol. 1 / Family Perfume Vol. 2
While Family Perfume treads familiar lo-fi psych-folk ground, it does it well, as well as anyone since the weird ramblings of Elephant 6’s Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo. Good melodies, weird noises, basement tape production – what’s not to love?
Russian Circles + Deafheaven + Enemies: 28 April 2012 - Dublin
The dynamos of instrumental disorder – Russian Circles, debut in Dublin. Possessing the power to run rings around their instrumental contemporaries, tonight Russian Circles push their foreboding sound onward with impressive style.
What Was She Without Charles Dickens? ‘The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth’
The Other Dickens: A Life of Catherine Hogarth -- it’s definitely not what Charles Dickens would have wanted us to be reading on the 200th anniversary of his birth.
Andre Williams & The Sadies: Night & Day
Williams's latest batch of gritty, unapologetic blues allows us to walk, a little, in the shoes of a grizzled vet who’s seen it all but is still hungry.
Electric Guest: Mondo
This Danger Mouse-produced debut LP shows serious promise for the electro-pop duo.
Marisa Monte: O Que Você Quer Saber de Verdade
Her artistic vision remains as gritty and vital as ever, but somehow her melodies have gotten even more beautiful.
Belle and Sebastian: Late Night Tales Volume 2
There are situations when this is the perfect album to play, but it is limited in its scope.
Tuesday, May 15 2012
Getting N.O.W.H.E.R.E.: “Teen Titans Annual #1” As Defense of Social Media
It's some infinite underneath, some dark and warm somewhere, some ugly place that just goes on forever. "The Colony" is a hell built for teenagers, and the most striking thing about it, at least at first blush for me, is its very clear resemblance to the idea that caused the once-immortal friendship between 19th century psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung to simply run out…
Brief and Bizarre Encounters Come Knocking In Etgar Keret’s ‘Suddenly, a Knock on the Door’
Etgar Keret’s satire may be local, but his ironies are global; this is a master storyteller, creating deep, tragic, funny, painful tales with scarcely more words than you’ve read in this review.
Painful Naïvety: ‘Albert Nobbs’
Albert Nobbs, the story of a woman living as a man in 19th century Dublin, is a film that quietly and subtly explores not only gender roles, but identity at its most basic level.
What Do You Get When You Mix Yeast & Flame Retardant? ‘White Bread’
White bread might be bland, but White Bread: A Social History of the Store-Bought Loaf is not.
Best Coast: The Only Place
The sky might be the limit for Best Coast as a brand, but The Only Place only ends up highlighting Bethany Cosentino’s ceiling as a performer and songwriter.
A Different Kind of Wilderness: ‘A Lonely Place to Die’
There are clever twists and surprises here, but we never connect with anyone enough to transcend the genre.
Richard Hawley: Standing at the Sky’s Edge
From the very start of his seventh solo album, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, it’s apparent that Richard Hawley’s sound has been defatted and pulverized, yet emotion and beauty remain intact.
Ufomammut: Oro: Opus Primum
All Ufomammut's members are clearly adepts of Hermetic rock of the highest order. The band has crafted acclaimed albums in the past, but the rarefied distillation of the cryptically spiritual and the sonically stentorian marks Opus Primum as its finest work yet.
