http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/ en cmerrill@thecornernews.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-16T16:45:23+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/guitar-god-steps-it-up-with-latest/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/guitar-god-steps-it-up-with-latest/#When:15:45:23Z It’s really satisfying to sit down and hear a great new guitar-rock album, and Bonamassa does it with great style and panache. One of the great phenomenons of rock ‘n’ roll are the “Guitar Gods.” Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck ... these are the stuff of which legends are made. Contemporaries are fewer and further between, as much of popular music has strayed away from the guitar-driven blues rock that embodies the classic Guitar God. Enter a Guitar God for the 21st Century: Joe Bonamassa. Bonamassa actually played the Supper Club years ago, when he was an upstart God, and he has matured into a full-blown Guitar God with his latest album, “Black Rock.” Truth be told, Bonamassa’s been making great blues-based rock music for years, and could claim the title from his last several efforts, but “Black Rock” goes all the way, even boasting a guest appearance from the master himself, B.B. King. “Black Rock” is a solidly consistent album throughout, intense even through the diversity of covering songs by John Hiatt, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and Jeff Beck. Opening with a signature blues-rocker called “Steal Your Heart Away,” Bonamassa lets you know right off the bat that he’s not messing around. This is what you might call “future classic rock,” as it emulates the guitar-driven excitement of ‘70s classic rock without copying it. Bonamassa writes five of the 13 songs here, and covers the classic “Spanish Boots” from Jeff Beck, Otis Rush’s “Three Time A Fool,” James Clark’s “Look Over Yonders Wall,” Leonard Cohen’s “Bird On A Wire,"” and trades licks and vocals with the great B.B. King on Willie Nelson’s “Night Life.” But the real climax of the album comes on Bonamassa’s own “Blue And Evil,” a guitar anthem if I ever heard one. It’s really satisfying to sit down and hear a great new guitar-rock album, and Bonamassa does it with great style and panache. Hear Wildman Steve’s Internet radio station, Internet radio for music lovers 24/7, at wildmansteve.com. thumbnail, Wildman's Picks, music 2010-03-16T15:45:23+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/pattinson-still-brooding-in-remember-me/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/pattinson-still-brooding-in-remember-me/#When:15:31:51Z In “Remember Me,” Robert Pattinson has temporarily stepped away from “Twilight,” apparently in search of his “Five Easy Pieces” or “Rebel Without a Cause.”In “Remember Me,” Robert Pattinson has temporarily stepped away from “Twilight,” apparently in search of his “Five Easy Pieces” or “Rebel Without a Cause.” When Pattinson’s character — a wayward, rebellious 21-year-old named Tyler Hawkins — meets who will quickly become his love interest — a fellow NYU student named Ally (Emilie de Ravin) — he informs her that his major is “undecided.” “‘Bout what?” she responds. “Everything,” he says. As a character-defining quote, it’s a long way from Marlon Brando’s “Whaddya got?” in “The Wild One.” Perhaps an earlier draft had him saying he’s getting a “Ph.D. in misanthropy.” Pattinson may be on leave from the narcotic melodrama of “Twilight,” but he’s still in full-on brooding mode. The young actor has an unmistakable screen presence. However in “Remember Me,” he pours it on thickly and self-consciously. With low eyes, sleeves rolled up just so and cigarette drooping artfully from his mouth, Tyler (like Edward Cullen) is a reluctant romantic. He quotes Gandhi in voiceover, makes love to Sigur Ros and (understandably) can’t be moved to laughter by “American Pie 2.” His deepness runneth over. “Remember Me” begins ominously with the Twin Towers lurking in view behind an elevated subway in 1991 Brooklyn. A woman is senselessly murdered while her young daughter watches. When the film shifts 10 years later, the girl is Ally, whom Tyler meets through a rather preposterous revenge plot directed at her father (Chris Cooper), a New York police officer who roughed Tyler up. Their meeting is orchestrated by Tyler’s roommate, Tate, played by Aiden Hall. But there will be no fan-created Team Tyler vs. Team Tate here. The roommate is an annoying chatterbox, whose comedic moments drag the film. A sense of dread — hinted at by the movie’s title and intoned by Marcelo Zarvos’ score — is carried though the film, which is set in the summer of 2001. Sudden spurts of violence punctuate the story. Long before the big reveal ending, one begins to feel “Remember Me” is romanticizing — even fetishizing — tragedy. There’s a pretentious reveling in emotional scars and painful loss. Tyler is the son of a high-powered attorney (Pierce Brosnan), an absent father to Tyler and his young sister, Caroline (Ruby Jerins). Some time earlier, Tyler’s older brother committed suicide — the hurtful event that has given Tyler much of his grimness. Heaviness weighs on Ally and her father, too. Cooper is typecast as an uptight, overbearing father, but he’s predictably solid. Brosnan is the highlight of the film, again proving — as he did in Roman Polanski’s recent “The Ghost Writer” — his character actor chops. Tucked stoically behind a suit, he ably sports a Brooklyn accent in believable, confrontational scenes with Pattinson. Director Allen Coulter shows the same skill in creating atmosphere as he did in “Hollywoodland,” but the script by Will Fetters (his first) is uneven. The most pleasing thing about “Remember Me” is its boldness. It may be affected, but “Remember Me” is at least aiming for an intriguing character study — a positive sign in the young career of Pattinson (who is also an executive producer). He may very well grow into a less showy actor. For now, Tyler’s response to Ally when she tells him that she’s 19 is the most telling. “I can do teens,” he says. Yes, sir. You certainly can. movies, reviews 2010-03-16T15:31:51+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/shooter-jennings-black-ribbons/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/shooter-jennings-black-ribbons/#When:16:47:46Z “Black Ribbons” is a loose love story set against a futuristic Orwellian government steeped in censorship and truth cover-ups.Shooter Jennings “Black Ribbons” Standouts - “Wake Up!,” “The Breaking Point,” “Black Ribbons” If you’ve followed Shooter Jennings’ short musical career or listened to his satellite radio show, you’d know that he likes to mix it up a bit from time to time. “Black Ribbons,” the first album to feature Shooter’s new band, Hierophant, is a loose love story set against a futuristic Orwellian government steeped in censorship and truth cover-ups. With narration by Stephen King, it’s all very spooky, heavy, psychedelic, and well, pretty damn good. And while it isn’t breaking any molds, it’s already one of the more exciting albums to debut this year. thumbnail, CD Reviews, music 2010-03-11T16:47:46+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/pater-gabriel-scratch-my-back/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/pater-gabriel-scratch-my-back/#When:16:42:48Z For “Scratch,” Gabriel hit on two conceits: He not only banished percussion but also rock’s other great crutch: guitars.Pater Gabriel “Scratch My Back” Standouts - “Heroes,” “The Power of the Heart” For “Scratch,” Gabriel hit on two conceits: He not only banished percussion but also rock’s other great crutch: guitars. More, he pushed aside his own writing to concentrate on the songs of others. Gabriel plucked material from the kind of forward-thinking contemporaries you’d expect (Bowie, Paul Simon, Talking Heads), as well from some ambitious, younger artists you might not (Arcade Fire, the Magnetic Fields, Bon Iver). In a sense, he’s “acting” the songs, emphasizing the lyrics in ways that illuminate all the nuances, some previously hidden. Gabriel’s take on “Heroes” may lack Bowie’s grandeur, but it has its own hushed and broken urgency. His version of Lou Reed’s “The Power of the Heart” brings a beauty to the melody its minimalist author couldn’t hope to. CD Reviews, music 2010-03-11T16:42:48+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/cash-keeps-memory-alive/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/cash-keeps-memory-alive/#When:16:38:11Z Seven years after his demise, the final chapter in an astounding series has been released.The world lost a precious gem of a musician when Johnny Cash passed away back in 2003. Luckily for us, those who control his estate, or more directly, his vault, are keeping him alive with a steady stream of new releases. In the last few years of his life, Cash teamed with producer Rick Rubin, known for producing everyone from the Beastie Boys to Tom Petty, for a series of albums showcasing Cash’s uncanny ability to take great American songs and turn them into his own. Now, nearly seven years after his demise, the final chapter in this astounding series has been released, titled “American VI: Ain’t No Grave.” The title cut opens the album with the statement “Ain’t no grave/can hold this body down.” I’m not sure about his body, but it is a statement of fact that no grave will hold Johnny Cash’s spirit down, as this wonderful album underscores again and again. Covering songs from Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Paxton, and others, many will be recognizable as standards in American folk repetoire. But Cash puts his inimitable stamp on all of them, even the Hawaiian classic that closes the album, “Aloha Oe.” Cash’s voice is in fine form, with an amazing band that includes Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell from the Heartbreakers and two of the Avett Brothers. He sings with deep emotion on songs like “Cool Water,” “Can’t Help But Wonder Where I’m Bound,” and his only writing contribution to the album “I Corinthians 15:55,” and with a delightful playfulness on tunes like “For The Good Times,” and “I Don’t Hurt Anymore.” The result is a hauntingly beautiful and memorable album, a fitting epitaph for one of the greatest musicians of our time. Hear Wildman Steve’s Internet radio station, Internet radio for music lovers 24/7, at www.wildmansteve.com. Wildman's Picks, music 2010-03-11T16:38:11+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/alice-through-a-drearier-looking-glass/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/alice-through-a-drearier-looking-glass/#When:18:25:52Z In Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," Alice has grown — not by "drink me" potion or "eat me" cake — into a 19-year-old girl.In Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," Alice has grown — not by "drink me" potion or "eat me" cake — into a 19-year-old girl. Working from Linda Woolverton's very Hollywood screenplay adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic tale, Burton shifts the story from a child Alice to a near-adult Alice, viewing her journey through a drearier, more dangerous looking-glass. We glimpse the prim, Victorian child of Carroll's tale in the film's opening as she's awakens from what sounds like her trip to Wonderland. Her father tells her that her deranged dreams do indeed mean she's bonkers, but he assures, "All the best people are." It's a neat line and it's at the heart of Burton's 3-D version of Carroll's beloved book, which also draws heavily from its sequel, "Through the Looking-Glass." It was shot in 2-D, but transferred to 3-D afterward, and its effects are more distracting than spectacular. One does, though, get a bit queasy hearing of such classics "updated" as if they're local TV newscasts. The film quickly fast forwards 13 years and Alice (played by the startlingly promising Mia Wasikowska, who previously impressed watchers of HBO's "In Treatment"), is lured back to Wonderland by the familiar, punctually paranoid rabbit (voiced by Michael Sheen). She flees a white and pastel-colored reality (where she is being arranged with great orchestration to marry a man she disdains) and falls down the hole, which sits at the base of a tree that could very well be the same one from Burton's "Sleepy Hollow." Alice doesn't remember her last trip to Wonderland. This time, the plot is similar, but slightly different. It's Underland, not Wonderland. The tea party is more faded and ramshackle. Alice is beset by questions that she's "the wrong Alice." This Alice is far from Carroll's. Where the Alice of the 1865 book is confused and essentially on a journey of self-discovery, Burton's Alice is more sure of herself. The exchange with the smoking blue caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman) is less "Who-o-o are you-o-o?" and more about Alice proving herself — to the caterpillar and everyone else. "This is my dream. I make the path," she says. Burton's "Alice" reflects today's times more than Carroll's era. There's triumph over the "dominion over living things" practiced by the cruel, bigheaded Red Queen (a brilliantly thin-skinned Helena Bonham Carter), and there's Alice's girl power. By the end, she confidently returns to begin, of all things, a business endeavor in China. The take-home lesson of Carroll's tale is something quite different. It's not fuel for upright adulthood, but "the simple and loving heart of her childhood." Burton's film is not lacking whimsy. Much of its design is wonderfully imaginative — surely the biggest draw of the movie. Credit also goes to the visual effects of Ken Ralston and the costumes of Colleen Atwood. There are elegant moments — the overhead shot of Alice shrinking into the billows of her dress, or the great, big slobbering tongue of the beastly Bandersnatch. The incredibly tweaky March Hare (voiced by Paul Whitehouse) is also a joy. But Burton has beefed up the original story so that it feels less personal and more like the many action films about young, maturing heroes who must slay a giant villain. Danny Elfman's score keeps the mood dark. The Cheshire Cat (voiced by Stephen Fry) — whose handling is normally tantamount — passes curiously without energy, like a bow made out of courtesy. And then there's the Mad Hatter, a role so befitting Johnny Depp (working with Burton for the seventh time) that it might seem too obvious for him. There is a trace of the been-there-done-that to Depp's somewhat rootless performance, but wishing for him to cut back on playing mad clowns would be like telling Fred Astaire to quit all that dancing. The many moving parts — Anne Hathaway slides nicely into Burton-world as the White Queen, Crispin Glover plays the Knave of Hearts — nevertheless add up to less than a good "Alice." The 1933 version with Cary Grant and W.C. Fields may still take the cake. Though Burton's film boasts some excellent performances, as the caterpillar says to our heroine, it's merely "almost Alice." movies 2010-03-05T18:25:52+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/multi-talented-musician-soars-with-wings/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/multi-talented-musician-soars-with-wings/#When:20:49:30Z Will Kimbrough is a songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, band leader, producer and performer.Will Kimbrough is a man with many hats. Songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, band leader, producer, performer, he is not only comfortable, but excels wearing each of these hats. His songs have been performed and recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Little Feat, Jack Ingram and Todd Snider, to name a few. He was awarded the coveted “Instrumentalist of the Year” at the Americana Awards in 2004, he led his first band, Will and the Bushmen, to a major label deal. He produced a Grammy-nominated album for Adrienne Young as well as highly acclaimed albums for Angela Easterling, Todd Snider, Daddy and others, and has toured with Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider and others. Kimbrough has released five albums with Will and the Bushmen, Daddy, and the Bis-quits. In addition, he’s released four previous solo efforts, all of which have been critically acclaimed. Now, Kimbrough has released his fifth solo album, “Wings,” another album destined for the mantle of success. Interestingly enough, the title cut is a tune co-written by Jimmy Buffett, and is one of several of Kimbrough’s tunes that will be included on Buffett’s upcoming release, “Buffett Hotel.” Kimbrough shares writing credit with several fine songwriters on “Wings,” including Jeff Finlan, Sara Kelley, Dave Zobl, Irene Kelley and Todd Snider. The album is based in classic folk rock, and explores much more in the themes surrounding the conflicts between career and family, work and love, parents and children, cool and uncool, and ultimately, life and death. An artist that has never come up short when it comes to great songs and great performances, “Wings” is yet another example of how high Will Kimbrough can soar with his music. Hear Wildman Steve’s Internet radio station, Internet radio for music lovers 24/7, at http://www.wildmansteve.com. thumbnail, Wildman's Picks, music 2010-03-02T20:49:30+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/musical-truth-and-taboos/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/musical-truth-and-taboos/#When:20:46:11Z In a world where music is tailored to the listener, tweaked to a demographic, and produced with the masses in mind, Dan Reeder is a freak, and I say that with all the best connotations the word can offer.Dan Reeder is a freak. In a world where music is tailored to the listener, tweaked to a demographic, and produced with the masses in mind, Dan Reeder is a freak, and I say that with all the best connotations the word can offer. What makes Dan Reeder so freaky is that he actually makes music for himself, records it himself in a makeshift studio, uses homemade instruments, and is not afraid to be totally blunt about what irritates him about life. When John Prine heard a demo of songs that eventually became his first album, he signed Reeder to his “Oh Boy” label immediately and released his debut in 2004. What Prine heard that compelled him to sign Reeder to a label contract was the same honesty, the same irreverence, the same sense of humor that Prine has always embodied. Now “Oh Boy” has released Reeder’s third album, titled “This New Century,” which continues his streak of brilliantly constructed albums of simple, meaningful, and often hilarious tunes. Reeder hits you right off the bat with “Bitch Nation,” an ode to the apathetic attitude of a current generation, stated succinctly in the lyric “She hears the rumors of famines and wars as she sleeps with the TV on.” This is followed by “James Brown Is Dead and Gone,” which speaks to the inevitable fate we all eventually face, an issue that is addressed several times within the album, most humorously on “Angels May,” which suggests “they may feed you ravioli right out of the can.” Reeder also addresses everyday truths to which many can relate in songs like “Everybody Wants A Cookie” and the epic “She Won’t Even Blow,” an accapella tune that, well, speaks for itself. All in all, “This New Century” is an honest, amusing, and at times deeply moving effort from a truly great artist not afraid to delve into taboos and truth. Hear Wildman Steve’s Internet radio station, Internet radio for music lovers 24/7, at wildmansteve.com. Wildman's Picks, music 2010-03-02T20:46:11+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/cop-out-falls-shy-of-its-inspirations/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/cop-out-falls-shy-of-its-inspirations/#When:20:40:58Z “Cop Out” is a clumsy postmodern buddy cop flick that offers as many genre references as it can.The newly released “Cop Out” is a clumsy postmodern buddy cop flick that stuffs as many genre references as it can into the ceaseless patter between Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. They play our paired police-detectives Paul Hodges and Jimmy Monroe, respectively-and they might as well be in different movies. Willis, a veteran of cop films like the “Die Hard” films and most recently “Surrogates,” is our unmistakable straight man. Almost charmingly, he's actually trying to solve crimes. Hodges, however, is a parody. Realism is far in the rearview whenever Morgan is on screen and one can’t help wondering how his partner-let alone his wife (Rashida Jones)-can treat a cartoon so much like a human. Director Kevin Smith gives Morgan, the former “Saturday Night Live” cast member and current “30 Rock” co-star, copious room to let loose. He’s the kind of comedian who's naturally funny; bottling him would be foolish. For better and worse, “Cop Out” is his film. Morgan rattles off movie quotes (everything from “Training Day” to “The Color Purple”), disguises himself in a cell phone costume, wildly vacillates emotionally, uses cute words like “nincompoop” and occasionally spouts comically lucid definitions like a human Wikipedia. Though handled awkwardly, the plot is simple. Hodges and Monroe, partners for nine years, are Brooklyn detectives who encounter a Mexican drug gang. Following an incident, their badges are revoked for a month by their captain (the good, sometimes typecast Sean Cullen). A valuable baseball card of Monroe's is stolen and traced back to the gang. This plot line unbelievably mixes with one involving Monroe’s daughter’s impending wedding. Divorced, his ex-wife (Francine Swift) has found a wealthy, arrogant second husband (Jason Lee) who is offering to pay for the daughter's wedding. Played by Michelle Trachtenberg, the daughter is asking Monroe for a $48,000 wedding-making her more a villain than the lethal drug gang. The detectives’ pursuit ropes in an amateurish burglar (Seann William Scott), who proves a surprisingly good fit with Morgan's madcap energy. His schtick here is a mimicking game that, with Morgan, turns into a Bugs Bunny routine-the movie's best laugh. Others make brief appearances: Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack as unnecessary rival police; Fred Armisen as a Russian lawyer; Susie Essman as a gun-totting suburban mother whose five minutes cackle brilliantly with foul language. The violent gang leader Poh Boy is played by Guillermo Diaz in a part that might have been better comedic rather than menacing. A question of action-to-comedy balance hovers over “Cop Out.” Written by Robb and Mark Cullen, it originally had Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg attached. They’ll instead release in August their buddy cop film “The Other Guys”-likely more of a full-blown comedy. Interracial cop films, from “48 Hours” to “Lethal Weapon,” are a genre by themselves, but there’s virtually no racial material here, sapping it of friction. Smith has made dialogue between two guys a staple since his indie breakthrough, “Clerks.” He’s since made some terrible films (“Dogma” taking the cake) and “Cop Out” finds him for the first time directing from a script not his own. Like Hodges exclaims during a blitz of movie impressions, “Cop Out” is an homage. Harold Faltermeyer’s synthesizer-heavy score recalls his soundtrack from “Beverly Hills Cop,” the buddy cop classic that “Cop Out” falls well short of. movies, reviews 2010-03-02T20:40:58+00:00 http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/new-on-dvd-the-informant/ http://www.thecornernews.com/index.php/music_n_movies/new-on-dvd-the-informant/#When:20:36:41Z Matt Damon beautifully portrays Whitacre through his on-screen performance and his voice overs in the film.From the moment Mark Whitacre is introduced in “The Informant,” he is a likable character, and this feeling stays true throughout the movie, but not without some twists and turns that keep the movie interesting and the moviegoer on the edge of their seat. Matt Damon beautifully portrays Whitacre through his on-screen performance and his voice overs in the film. Director Steven Soderbergh opens the story with Damon’s voice spouting out many random thoughts about Whitacre’s job. It seems if a thought pops into his head he wants the audience to know about it. This style of presenting information casts a tone of black humor over the film. This is not a comedy, but Soderbergh and Damon have found a way to make it humorous without going over the top. The movie opens in Decatur, Ill., and weaves everywhere from Tokyo to Paris to Mexico City to Hong Kong. Whitacre has made it to upper management at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), an agri-business company in the lysine business. Lysine is an additive used in the livestock business. Whitacre’s story is one of lies, deceit and price-fixing. The movie was based on a nonfiction book by the same name from journalist Kurt Eichenwald. Whitacre voluntarily turns whistleblower on ADM and provides the FBI with hours of tape involving a price-fixing scandal. The longer Whitacre stays undercover for the FBI, the more grand his lies become, and he eventually gets lost in his lies. As the story unfolds it is obvious there is something not quite right in Whitacre’s train of thought and the way he handles himself. The final act of the movie describes his condition and is acted brilliantly. It gives the movie a great closing quality. The peculiar theme through the movie is the web of lies that Whitacre builds during his years as an informant. Moviegoers will not know what to believe as the truth or discard as a lie by the time it is finished. Even the last scene of the movie leaves a question to be asked by the audience. Soderbergh’s up-close and personal way of shooting the movie does a wonderful job of displaying the intriguing characteristics of Whitacre. Damon makes the audience like Whitacre immediately, and never loses that likability. Scott Bakula invokes a sense of reality and grit as special agent Brian Shepard, the agent Whitacre originally confesses to about the scandal. Melanie Lynskey portrays Whitacre's wife, Ginger, compassionately and delicately. The audience can see this woman would do anything to protect her husband, and she is the one who pushes him to blow his whistle in the first place. movies 2010-03-02T20:36:41+00:00