Friday, February 10 2012
‘Safe House’ Is Ersatz Edgy
This distinction between what the film's designated pros know and what you know -- or can guess, based on your experience with these sorts of films -- quickly turns tedious in Safe House.
Two Days in Sundance: ‘Ai Weiwei’, ‘For Ellen’, ‘Middle of Nowhere’
Unfortunately, the two days didn’t provide enough time to see everything, but that’s what the rest of the year is for.
Underworld: A Collection / 1992-2012: The Anthology
Twenty years (or so) in, the seminal techno act releases two very different compilations. Both succeed on their own terms.
The Twilight Sad: No One Can Ever Know
Scottish brooders turn the shoegaze down, invest in some new technology, and make a record that pushes the limits of their band's well-honed sound.
A Place to Bury Strangers: Onwards to the Wall EP
For those looking for something as strong as industrial-strength floor wax to serve as a dessert topping, this EP will handily do the trick.
Bill Hicks: The Essential Collection
Finally, a worthy compilation – and appreciation – of the greatest stand-up comedian of the '90s.
Spanish Surrealist, meet Mickey Rooney: ‘Treasure Train’
A child's garden of crazy grown-ups, lost locomotives, talented ducks, war orphans and innocent incest.
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band: Ultimate Hits
A compilation that shows that Bob Seger was at times a good artist, but also shows why he was never really a great one.
Golden Age Thinking in Eric Hazan’s Threnody for Old Paris: ‘The Invention of Paris’
This bespeaks a warm affection for the peripatetic poets, novelists, and philosophers who witnessed Paris’s transformation from medieval to modern metropolis under the aegis of Louis XIV, Baron Haussmann, and engineers who developed gas lighting in the mid-1800s.
Mod Film Noir: ‘Brighton Rock’
Rowan Joffe sets this adaptation in 1964, amidst the mods and the rockers. A mods-versus-rockers riot serves as chaotic cover for one of the film’s acts of murder.
On the Fierce Persistence of Mass Delusion: ‘It Was a Long Time Ago, and It Never Happened Anyway’
It's not that historical revisionism exists in Russia, but that the revisionism––and sometimes the downright denial of the historical record––swings to extremes.
Five Finger Death Punch: American Capitalist
The most popular metal band in America makes the most unnecessary blunders to spoil what is otherwise a pretty good third album.
Glee Karaoke Revolution Volume 3
The problem isn’t the game itself. Glee Karaoke Revolution is fine, fine. The problem is that I also own one of the Sing It! games.
Thursday, February 9 2012
ReelAbilities Day 1: ‘Body and Soul’ and ‘Defining Beauty’
Body and Soul and Defining Beauty: Ms. Wheelchair America both feature admirable subjects who have "overcome obstacles," and also take refreshingly unconventional approaches to these subjects.
‘Portlandia’: The Tour: 18 January 2012 - Chicago
Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein were not out to throw a big production, nor re-enact characters and sketches. Instead they were onstage as Fred and Carrie, real people with a knack for casual conversational comedy looking to hang out.
The Evolving Anthropological Tone of Star Wars in “Dawn of the Jedi”
When examining a work whose mythology is an expansive as Star Wars, it almost becomes a historiographical investigation as opposed to a literary one.
Sharon Van Etten: Tramp
The way we heal is a huge part of the sweet exhaustion of Tramp, but it is a double-edged affair.
Dierks Bentley: Home
It leaves you with the impression that Bentley has made something special here -- not just his most consistent album and 2012’s first great country album, but even more.
Lawrence Ball: Method Music
Math whiz Lawrence Ball adds another baby step of progress for Pete Townshend's "Lifehouse" project.
The Devil’s Blood: The Thousandfold Epicentre
While heckles are raised when terms like "vintage" and "retro" are tossed about, the Devil's Blood has undeniably evoked the electrifying rush of '60s and '70s occult rock. What other sprits they have invoked along the way, well, that's a whole other story.
