Alexander

I still want to know what's gotten into her...

Well, they *are* non-jazz albums...

Suzy Creamcheese, what's got into you?

Let's see... 1. Get Behind Me Satan - The White Stripes: Jack White is an amazingly talented songwriter, and he gets better with each White Stripes release. My nomination for the best rock album of the year. 2. Be - Common: The critics seemed to like Kayne West's own album better than this one (which he produced), but the fact is that Common is a much better MC than Kanye and "Be" has economy on its side: It's of reasonable length (around 40 minutes) and doesn't contain those "skits" which get so tiresome after awhile. Common's got flow to burn on this album... 3. Late Registration - Kanye West: It's overlong at times, but this is one hook-happy hip-hop happening! The single, "Golddigger," is possibly the catchiest song released this year (even if the hook is provided by Brother Ray and Jamie Foxx). 4. I'm Wide Awake It's Morning - Bright Eyes: Connor Oberst may not be the wunderkind he's made out to be, but he made two terrific albums this year. As much as I enjoyed "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn," I've gotta give "I'm Wide Awake" the nod for being one of the best folk-rock albums I've heard in ages. Connor's voice brings to mind Nick Drake crossed with Jeff Buckley taken with a dash of Leonard Cohen. It's a strangely compelling mix... 5. Devils and Dust - Bruce Springsteen: This one was tied with the Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang" for a while, but honestly Bruce's album is much better. While the Stones are strutting their stuff as of old, putting out their best collection of cock rock since 1981, Bruce is arguably upping the ante by putting out his best album...EVER. And coming from the mind behind "The River," "Born To Run," and "Nebraska," that's saying something. "Devils" is an unassuming album that grows in significance with each listen. Most importantly, it's a showcase for Bruce the storyteller rather than Bruce the rocker (he's always given JB a run for the title of "hardest working man in show biz," but I've always found Springsteen's rock n' roll persona to be a bit forced). And man, that guy is a great lyricist...

any more spoilers? Okay, if you didn't know about the thing with the planes, I don't know what to tell you. Do you also not know what "Rosebud" is?

I'm disappointed that this film isn't finding an audience, but I'm not terribly surprised. As I was leaving the screening last night, several people were making comments like, "It was so long!" "I thought it would NEVER end." "Why did she try to keep the planes from shooting the monkey?" Cultural illiterates...

The guy's entitled to his opinion, I just think he's way off base on this one. He's resentful that anyone would even approach a Hollywood classic. He thinks that there can be but ONE "Kong," and that if the audience accepts THIS one there will be no room for the 1933 original. But this isn't about the alpha-male chest-beating that Kong is so prone to. This town IS big enough for two "Kongs," and this one isn't about to roll over and go to sleep.

More's the pity...

Sorry. I've amended my post to include a spoiler alert. I just REALLY LIKED this movie!

WARNING!!! SPOILERS AHEAD! Saw this last night. The 3+ hours just FLEW by. At the point in the film where the action reaches Skull Island, I recalled a review that noted that it takes over 70 minutes for Kong to actually appear, and I thought: "That was 70 minutes? It felt like 20!" I thought that all of the performances were excellent. Jack Black really surprised me. He left me thinking that he could play Orson Welles in a biopic. Adrian Brody played the "unlikely" hero to perfection. Naomi Watts is easily the best actress to ever play this (frankly unrewarding) role. She gives Ann a humanity I don't think she's ever had. And she has a RELATIONSHIP with Kong. You understand how they bond (in a kind of "Stockholm Syndrome" way). Jackson SHOWS us their bonding without extranious dialogue (Ann never has to say, "You're all alone," or "You're the last of your kind"). But the prize for best performance goes, once again, to Andy Serkis! As he did with Gollum, Serkis lends his humanity to the monster in a way that makes him both realistic and sympathetic. His character role as the ship's surly cook is also a real treat. As he did in "The Lord of the Rings," Jackson has created a spectacular film in which special effects are prominent and yet only exist to serve the story. One never has the feeling that something has been tacked on simply because it is "cool." All the dinosaur stampedes and giant bug attacks are there to show what an amazingly hostile environment these hapless humans have wandered into. And to show just how hard it was for Adrian Brody to get to Naomi Watts. This film was also made with so much geniune affection for the source material. One feels that Jackson didn't make this to supplant the original "Kong," but to enhance it; To stand alongside the original. While Jackson DOES outclass its stop-motion effects, there's no sense that he's trying to do so (as was the case in the abysmal 1976 remake). It is really as though David Lean had attempted to make a monkey film. This is truly the "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Doctor Zhivago" of monkey films. Jackson has taken the melodrama of the original, and turned it into real drama. I also loved the little tributes to the original (Jack Black actually suggesting Fay Wray for his movie, and being told that she's exclusive to RKO (the studio that made the first "Kong")). I also LOVED the conversation between the first mate and a young sailor about Conrad's "Heart of Darkness." It's a brilliant piece of writing, for one thing. It also assumes a certain level of literacy among the film's audience since you have to have actually read "Heart of Darkness" in order to understand the scene at all (Jackson never spells anything out). "It's not an adventure story, is it?" The young sailor asks the first mate. "No, Jimmy. It's not." The mate replies. That line could refer to the movie itself...

Glad you enjoyed the show, Henry. I saw the first Elastic Band (Redman, Yahel and Blade) at the Egg in Albany right after "Elastic" was released. I wasn't terribly impressed by Redman himself at the time, but Yahel is a major, major talent. He was doing the more "prog" oriented keyboard work at that show. The other treat for me was seeing Brian Blade, who is a serious mofo...

I've been a big Clooney fan for years (well, I like both him AND his aunt). The first film that really caught my attention was "Out of Sight" (which is an AWESOME movie). To me, George Clooney is a leading man in the "old Hollywood" sense. He's like Cary Grant (another favorite of mine) or Jimmy Stewart. You don't so much go to the movie to see him act as much as you go to see HIM. To experience his presence. His personality is absolutely magnetic. You can't look away... I realize I sound like I have a crush on him...and I suppose I do, in a non-sexual sort of way.

Well whatever they're using, I know how to bring them to their knees!!! I'll just feed 'em some Burl and listen to that sound recognition device sputter and drop dead. No way they have this in the data bank! ...and don't ask why I have it in the collection. Burl's awesome facial hair?

Still, that's an amazing story, Chris! Thank you for sharing it. RIP, Richard, you funny motherf***er...

Snow day today! *This* is one of the reasons I became a teacher!!!

I was nine (going on ten at the end of the month) when John Lennon was assassinated. I was in bed and heard the news on my clock/radio while I was half asleep. At first I was certain that I had dreamed it, but when I went into the kitchen, my mom was crying. It remains one of the saddest days of my life, but until that point and since then. I was a HUGE Beatles fan as a kid, and I always hoped for a reunion (a real one, not a "studio recreation" like "Free as a Bird"). I was crushed when I realized that it could never happen... We still miss you, John! RIP

Just listened to some samples...sounds intreguing!

I can recommend the SACD edition of "Dark Side of the Moon." I've listened to it on both CD and SACD players and it sounds awesome either way. I'm a bit upset at the "new" cover art (I'd prefer to have the original) but the sound is great. I have most of the other Floyd albums on CD, and I think they sound fine. Nothing to write home about, but I have no complaints...

He'll be remembered for his versatile work. The early comedies are only one chapter (and definitely not the best, IMO). Besides of his two crap movies from recent years (Small time crooks, Hollywood ending) there are so many gems. Another woman (1988) is his most underestimated film! No comedy, great film! What about Melinda & Melinda from last year? Did anyone see this movie in the states at all?!! Match Point will be his next masterwork (I trust in critics this time -_- ). You have a lot to discover! I mean't to include "Another Woman" in my list of favorites. It's the only "serious" Woody film I like. ("Interiors" and "September", his other two Bergman pastiches, are unbearably slow. And I love Bergman!) I didn't see "Melinda and Melinda." I've been burned too many times in recent years...

I'm lukewarm about "Manhatten", but love "Bullets Over Broadway" and especially, "Manhatten Murder Mystery". The best thing, IMO, about Allen's films is the dialogue. His people talk the way that people actually talk. That's because his actors are not given a script per se, but rather an outline of each scene and are told to simply wing it. The problem with this approach is that far too many of his actors start talking like him! I was a die-hard Woody fan in my teens and twenties as well. My favorites were (and remain): "Bananas," "Sleeper," "Love and Death," "Annie Hall," "Manhattan," "Stardust Memories," "Broadway Danny Rose," "Zelig," "The Purple Rose of Cairo," "Hannah and Her Sisters," "Radio Days," "Crimes and Misdemeanors," "Husbands and Wives," "Manhattan Murder Mystery," and "Bullets Over Broadway." I've hated virtually everything Woody's done since "Mighty Aphrodite," the first time I ever found myself wondering, "Where the hell is he going with this?" Since then, he's repeated himself over and over again. Each one of his recent films simply recycling ideas he did better in the past. "Small Time Crooks?" What's the point? He already did a "crime film" when he did "Take The Money and Run!" "Anything Else?" That one rips off "Annie Hall" AND "Broadway Danny Rose!" I've actually stopped seeing his films in the theater completely (the last one I saw was "Jade Scorpion") and have given up on seeing his films on video as well (I've still never seen "Hollywood Ending"). My disappointment is probably in direct proportion to my former fandom: I loved his stuff SO MUCH in the 80s and early 90s that I've grown disgusted with his fading talent. I was never turned off by the Soon-Yi scandal, but lousy movies are another matter entirely.

The mash-up of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "P.I.M.P." is kinda cool, but I still think 50 is phoney...

I'm pretty sure that Tony Roberts' last Woody film was "Radio Days." He has a very small role as the host of a game show on which Dianne Weist appears. I don't think he did any Woody films after that appearence...

The one I did worst on was Asia. All those tiny little islands and former Soviet Republics. Don't remember what I got, but it was somewhere near 50%. The one I did best on was the Middle East - 94% (I got the Golan Heights wrong). I did okay on the U.S. and South America (both near 90%). Africa was rough (71%). Europe I did okay on when it came to Eastern Europe and great when it came to Western Europe and Scandinavia. The thing that tripped me up with Europe was all those tiny little principalities and duchies (?) like Luxembourg and Monaco. I could approximate their locations, but I always ended up a few miles off course (obviously it gets easier as the map gets filled in...

A friend of mine who's a real car nut actually owns this film on DVD! BTW, the best stunt driving EVER is in Steve McQueen's "Bullitt."