Capote: The man suspected of being the killer is in fact the killer. Capote witnesses the execution.
Crash: The dead guy at the beginning of the movie turns out to be Don Cheadle’s brother.
Good Night, and Good Luck: David Strathairn rules. No ending to kill, he just rules.
Match Point: Jonathan Rhys Meyers murders Scarlett Johansson and gets away with it.
The Family Stone: Diane Keaton has cancer and Sarah Jessica Parker winds up with Luke Wilson.
The Constant Gardener: Rachel Weisz dies.
Syriana: George Clooney dies.
MUSING ON LOSING: A RETORT
Oh, ye of little faith! Omar Minaya has made some darn good-looking moves and could pull off for the Mets what the Bosox did in order to beat the Yanks and end the curse: play Yankeeball better than the Yanks spend spend spend! I am a Steelers diehard, but being from the Boston area, still a Bosox fan through and through (though also with some black-and-gold bleedover to the Pirates, who, mark my words, will make some noise this year with a manager and pitching coach who, you should know from their Dodger days, oughta know how to develop some of the Bucs’ fab young pitching and other talent). And you talk about a sports experience bringing people together! During that Yankees series in ’04 en route to ending The Curse, I was live-blogging via e-mail to a half-dozen or so friends from Beantown to Lalaland during each game—it was fabulous. Sports brings us together. It’s genetically encoded AND culturally reinforced, from our DNA to our dreams made external flesh on the John Facenda-voiced field of battle. I actually watched Game Three of that Sox-Yanks ’04 ALCS at a
HITS AND MISSES
1. New York Doll: As modest and humble in its aims as its protagonist, the late New York Dolls bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, Greg Whiteley’s sympathetic documentary, originally started as a project for the Mormon Church, turns into a paean for the healing power of God and rock, in that order for the reformed alcoholic. With dreams of playing again with the reformed seminal punk-rock glam band still fueling him, Kane toils in the library of
2. Wikipedia: The encyclopedia of the Internet and a remarkable, evolving record of civilization that actually allows users to update and add to each entry. When I was researching a recent project that required me to access information on various bands, it consistently outperformed the current “industry standard,” allmusic.com. The notion of this body of knowledge continually reflecting the vox populi is the clearest proof yet of the Internet’s potential as a human brain, an ongoing melting pot of facts, dates, ideas and reference points. —RT
3. www.coolfer.com: A nifty New York-centric music/blog site that also congregates and offers access to the best industry news from the Net (and graciously provides a link to the site you’re now on). —RT
4. Rosanne Cash, Black Cadillac (Capitol): A meditation on death, memory, moments, love, life and what lasts beyond the mortal coil, Rosanne Cash—daughter of now-departed Johnny Cash and Vivian DiLiberto and stepdaughter of June Carter Cash—uncoils a song cycle that musically moves from quiet acoustic ruminations to raging frustration attacks that rock as hard as her sorrow. Weighted down with the details of lives shared, lessons imparted and images etched on her mind, the merlot-velvet-voiced songwriter weaves a portrait of what love means beyond what is shared in this life—and the lessons, truths, beauty and connections make “God Is in the Roses” the most fragile binding insight about love's universality and the power of faith through the pain written in a long, long while, while “Black Cadillac” is as much as elegy for a life in progress as it is a witness about to the way most of us shall end our time here. —Holly Gleason
5. Flightplan: If you enjoy the sight of Jodie Foster, all tight-lipped, buff and taut, running around a luxury airliner searching for her lost daughter, by all means, rent this DVD. Like Red Eye, it starts off with some claustrophobic, paranoid Hitchcock tension, but as soon as the plot is revealed, it gets pretty outlandish fairly quickly, with enough suspension-of-disbelief required to fill up the entire interior of the futuristic, two-decker plane. The usually reliable Peter Sarsgaard is too low-key by half to bring any tension to his role, while the denouement, like that of Red Eye, descends into just another frenzied chase scene quicker than a plane running out of fuel. After Panic Room, you have to wonder whether Jodie actually enjoys running up and down stairs and climbing through crawl spaces, or whether she’s just a masochistic glutton for punishment. Whatever, this is one film that lives down to its trailer. —RT
6. Morningwood (Capitol): Catcalls and a buzzsaw girl singer who can also coo in the best icy Debbie Harry pop tone when she needs to, Morningwood sideswipes the raging out-of-control excess of rock dilettante-ism with the pure pop for now people aesthetics that color the rest of the songs like too much clear lipgloss and feathered bangs. “Nth Degree,” the lead single, has all that frothy, foamy sheen with a circling tinny guitar part, a bass beat that expands and the ether-lite choirgirl/stripper vocals of Chantal Claret, while “Jetsetter” oozes decadence from every undulating hormonal bump… and when you get to the crowd-pleasing, erogenous zone-teasing “Take Off Your Clothes,” it's easy to understand why--not the Cibo Matto/Spacehog/Wallflowers alum line-up—this Brooklyn-based foursome is the party band for the Horizontal Generation. —HG
7. President Charles Logan: As played by Gregory Itzin, 24’s current President of the
8. The Vacation, “Trash” (Echo): This track from the L.A. four-piece’s 2004 album, Band From World War Zero, is the perfect example of the New York Dolls’ legacy, a garage-band gem that both pays tribute to its predecessor’s song of the same name and carves out some new turf at the same time. Long live punk! —RT
9. Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla Soda: The New Coke fiasco seems to be something from the distant past, as the syrup and seltzer monolith introduces a great new concoction, combining two of my favorite flavors into one tasty blend. It may be rotting out my teeth and playing havoc with my diabetes, but I will go down a happy man. And no less a cultural icon than White Stripes chief Jack White has said, in announcing why he’s writing original music for a Coke TV spot, that he imbibes “six cans a day” and “it’s the greatest drink ever made by man.” —RT
10. Art Brut, “Formed a Band” (Banana Recordings/Fierce Panda): English art-punk-rock experimentalists like only they can do it, with a music hall enthusiasm and total commercial appeal. From the same “Art Wave” movement that brought you Franz Ferdinand and the Bloc Party, with a keen love of ’80s music and the inspirational verses: “We’re going to be the band/That writes the song/That makes Israel and Palestine/Get along” and “We’re gonna write a song as universal as ‘Happy Birthday.’ To make sure everybody knows, everything is gonna be OK.” They almost make you believe that’s true. —RT
CALENDAR
Friday, Feb. 3rd
4:00pm
Clippers @ Celtics: The Clippers look to go 10 games above .500 for the first time all year as they battle Paul Pierce and the new-look Celtics, who bear a passing resemblance to the old-look T’wolves.
8:00pm
Spoon @ La Zona Rosa,
Tiger Army @ House of Blues (Downtown Disney),
9:00pm
David Copperfield @ Boston Opera House: True to its title, 'Grand Illusion' is David Copperfield's most spectacular stage show to date. The entire evening revolves around making our wildest dreams come true -- from winning the lottery to reuniting with a long lost love.
Saturday, Feb. 4th
10:00am-9:00pm
Golden Dragon Parade in Chinatown: Celebrate the Year of the Dog with this amazing event, which brings more than 50,000 spectators to Chinatown's North Broadway to marvel at the sea of passing marching bands, elaborate floats, community groups, celebrity grand marshals, television personalities, politicians and, of course, painted dragons. The parade has been held since 1898, and since 1956 the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles has sponsored it. Our own Jesse Beer was born in the Year of the Dog and even has a nifty tattoo reppin it, so who knows, he may even show up. (N. Broadway and
11:30am
Disney on Ice: The
5:00pm
Winterfresh SnoCore featuring Seether, Shinedown, Flyleaf and HaleStrom @ The Avalon Hollywood
7:00pm
Goo Goo Dolls @ House of Blues Sunset (21 and over)
7:30pm
INXS @ Chicago Theatre: With new lead singer J.D. Fortune in tow, this venerable Aussie band makes a stop in the Windy City.
Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 5th
12:00pm
1:00pm
Chinese New Year Parade in Chinatown in
3:00PM
The Game. Seahawks vs. Steelers on ABC: Jerome Bettis returns to his hometown looking to win his first Super Bowl and go out in style.
7:00pm
Yellowcard @ Key Club, Club Morango,
8:00pm
Coheed & Cambria @
Tuesday, Feb. 7th
8:15pm
Les Paul & Friends: 90th Birthday Salute: A small army of hotshot guitarists will take the stage at the Gibson Amphitheatre to honor the guitar innovator on this milestone occasion. Among those pickin’ and grinnin’ will be Buddy Guy, Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Steve Lukather, Joe Perry, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon, Shayna Steele, Switchfoot and Edgar Winter. Proceeds from the concert will benefit A Place Called Home (www.apch.org), which for the past 15 years has provided at-risk youth with a secure, positive family environment where they can regain hope and belief, earn trust and self respect and learn skills to lead a productive lifestyle through learning.
JE-C’S NEW-MOVIE RUNDOWN
The movies that open this weekend are absolutely terrible except for the ones that are academy award nominated films opening nationwide, like Capote. So, because of this fact, I have decided to review some of next week's movies including the Neil Young Documentary.
Curious George
Starring: Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, David Cross, Eugene Levy and Dick Van Dyke
Synopsis: The Man in the Yellow Hat accidentally transplants a curious young monkey, George, from the jungle to the big city.
Thoughts: OK, here is the deal: My girlfriend really wants to see this movie, so I am going to see the movie. However, I don’t mind seeing it because I always liked Curious George when I was little, and it will probably be fun!
Final Destination 3
Starring: Ryan Merriman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead,
Synopsis: A high school senior has a premonition in which she dies in a roller coaster accident along with three of her friends. She uses her knowledge of the future event to cheat death … but the Grim Reaper isn't happy about that and comes to seek his revenge.
Thoughts: I’ve seen the first two so it’s too late to stop now. The death scenes are pretty harsh—definitely not for those with weak stomachs.
Pink Panther
Starring: Steve Martin, Jean Reno, Beyoncé Knowles, Kevin Kline and David Beckham
Synopsis: A famous soccer celeb is murdered and his ring stolen—a ring set with the Pink Panther diamond. Chief Inspector Dreyfus assigns the case to Inspector Jacques Clouseau, a man with a penchant for bumbling his way to success, and Gendarme Gilbert Ponton, a stuffy Frenchman. Along for the ride: International pop superstar Xania.
Thoughts: Something tells me this movie is going to be really stupid, considering what a great cast it has and the fact that they are opening it in a month when only flops come out, but I still find myself wanting to see it. Steve Martin always has a way to make me laugh, and I am hoping he can instead of making me walk out in the middle of the movie.
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Starring: Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Ben Keith, Spooner Oldham and Rick Rosas
Synopsis: Filmmaker Jonathan Demme's intimate portrait of Neil Young proves that the singer/songwriter is still going strong after suffering a brain aneurysm in 2005. The film, which follows Young on a return trip to
Thoughts: I saw the trailer for this movie the other day and I really want to see it. Neil Young is one of my favorite artists and to see an intimate story about this amazing singer/songwriter after he suffered a brain aneurysm will be truly special.
GRAMMY CHEW: THE FUTURE OF GRAMMY IS (MOSTLY) FEMALE
There's no glass ceiling in pop. (10/4a)
ERLICH TO EXIT SPOTIFY FOR TBA VENTURE
One of the good guys is changing lanes. (10/2a)
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THE GRAMMY SHORT LIST
Who's already a lock?
COUNTRY'S NEWEST DISRUPTOR
Three chords and some truth you may not be ready for.
AI IS ALREADY EATING YOUR LUNCH
The kids can tell the difference... for now.
ALL THE WAY LIVE
The players, the tours, the enormous beers.
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