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Every month, Cosmik Debris brings you many CD and record reviews, but the writers manage to find a little time for other pursuits, like reading, going to movies and concerts, and watching DVDs. That's where Everything Else In Review comes in.
MOVIE REVIEW: Star Wars 2: Attack of the Clones
Starring Ewan MacGregor, Natalie Portman,
Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee
Directed by George Lucas
Written by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales
Music By John Williams
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Attack Of The Clones, was there ever a movie more ironically titled?
Needless to say I didn't go because I wanted to anymore, seeing the latest Star Wars installment has become a cultural imperative. That and somebody had to chaperone the kids. I lost most of my interest in Star Wars by the third movie because it became so juvenile. I mean pre-juvenile, what with those Ewoks. Oh and sorry, I mean the sixth movie. Who decided to make this series inside out?
Once in the theater though I felt a little better. You gotta hand it to Lucas, all the scenes are sumptuous and seductively beautiful. Right away there are the wonderful city scenes for Coruscant, incredibly detailed and reminiscent of the ones Luc Beeson created for Fifth Element. Which really means their design traces back to Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. Which really, really means their design traces back to Fritz Lang's Metropolis. But it's all a triumph of technology over storytelling.
Talented actors like Ewan MacGregor and Sam Jackson are almost completely wasted. Even Christopher Lee is doing the same role he did in Lord Of The Rings and Jimmy Smits's role is so small it's like he's there just to get some traction in the Latino market.
The sweep and majesty of Williams's score reliably pushes all the emotional buttons in every scene of course. The problem is the writing. It holds no surprises; every major plot point you see coming a LONG way off. Why should it be a great revelation to see that the enemy plans to build a Death Star? We knew all about that 25 years ago. We all know Anakin and Padme will fall in love, and are doomed in love. We all know Chancellor Palpatine is a sith lord, the Emperor-to-be and behind all the strife too. (Why can't all these fantastically aware Jedis sense a disturbance in the force when he's standing THREE FEET AWAY?) At least now we know where the Imperial Storm Troopers come from. And we now know why Boba Fett is a bounty hunter too, but it's not much of a pay-off after being forced to sit through the leaden love scenes Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen share.
But I might forgive all that. I think what made me truly dislike the writing was the scene where Anakin rescues his Mom. She dies just as he gets there of course, so in anger he chops up an entire tribe of Tuscans, including women and kids. He becomes a lot worse than a hothead. He's a mass murderer before Palpatine or Dooku ever get their hooks in him. Then somehow Anakin skates on the responsibility for the rest of the movie; no other character seems to care. Wasn't it a Weird Al song that said they'd "be making these movies until the end of time?" Bring on the third episode already so we can get this thing over with. And let's hope Lucas channels the profits into some uplifting projects like more Young Indiana Jones stories or something.
(C) 2002 - Rusty Pipes
DVD: Shackleton
Directed by: Charles Sturridge
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Kevin McNally, Nicholas Rowe, Phoebe Nicholls
A&E Home Video - 200 minutes, 3 disc set with bonus features.
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Earnest Shackleton's couragous actions that saved the lives of every single member of his ice-bound crew in 1915 are chronicled in a handful of programs on this outstanding 3-disc DVD set from A&E Home Entertainment. The marquee attraction is the Kenneth Branagh film Shackleton, an extraordinary piece of work that gives us a history lesson without boring us and takes us right out on the ice with the crew, often managing to make us feel horribly uncomfortable and, in moments of deep involvement, freezing cold. Feeling "horribly uncomfortable" and "freezing cold" while sitting in front of your television in the comfort of your own home should tip you off that something remarkable is taking place. A fine cast filmed most of these scenes on real ice floes near Greenland, giving the movie an overall air of authenticity that draws you in and soon allows you to forget you're just watching a movie. Ah, the mark of a truly fine film.
As history tells us, Earnest Shackleton set out to reach the South Pole in a ship called The Endurance. When the ship was eventually unable to make headway through pack ice, they made the error of stopping instead of turning back, and in short order The Endurance was part of a larger ice floe, completely encased. As time passed and ice shifted and Endurance didn't endure, it fell to Shackleton to do whatever it took to keep his men alive and get them to safety, and that is how he went down in history; not for reaching the South Pole (because he didn't), but for defying all odds and getting his crew home safely when any sane betting man would have bet the house on the demise of the lot of them. It didn't come easily, nor did it come without hard and unpopular decisions and commands, personality clashes, and unbelievable hardship. The film conveys most of the story and does so without whitewashing the characters. The slackers, the bitchers and those in need of anger management courses are shown for who they were, and most significantly, Shackleton himself is not shown as a saint. In pre-voyage scenes he's shown having trouble keeping his zipper up, despite having a devoted and long-suffering wife and children at home. It's refreshing to have an honest portrayal instead of the St. Earnest we may have gotten had this come from some other studio. Branagh could have made an attempt at an Irish accent to add to the authenticity. Instead we get an upper-crust British accent that the real Shackleton never had. That's a very small complaint. His passion for the role more than makes up for it. In fact, his passion for the role was so strong that he agreed to play the part when it was just an idea on a napkin, with no financial backing, no guarantees, no scheduling conflict checks... nothing. Play Ernest Shackleton? I'm in. No, you don't need to sell it to me, I'm in. Two years and change later, true to his word, there he was. That makes the accent thing seem pretty minor.
If there is anything truly worth complaining about, it's the fact that this mini-series does a decent job of pacing until the end and then rushes to a conclusion that leaves out a great deal of the danger and drama. The crew's escape to freedom took the form of a three-part journey, the final part being a 700 mile trek over treacherous mountains to reach a whaling village and civilization. This was one of the most harrowing parts of the actual story, but in the film it is covered in mere minutes with a montage that is mostly memorable for a scene in which the three chosen adventurers slide down a glacier on their backsides, knowing they will either make great time or fall into a crevasse and perish. In the 50-minute "Making Of" bonus feature we learn that the cast and crew, after struggling with ever-shrinking ice floes that were often barely large enough to film on, arrived at Greenland four weeks late, after the snow had mostly melted from the lower elevations of the mountains where they had planned to shoot. Most of the filming had to be done quite high up where helecopters were required to deliver cast, crew and equipment. That process alone ate time. Then there were unexpected weather conditions and other problems, and when their time was up and they had to go home, they had to make do with what they had. Hence the rushed ending that, under those circumstances, could have been a whole lot worse. For those not familiar with Shackleton's full story, it won't be noticable at all.
Also appearing on that third bonus DVD are two other programs: the Biography Channel's one hour biography of Shackleton and the History Channel's two hour program, Antarctica: A Frozen History. A text filmography of Kenneth Branagh is thrown in for good measure, and the menus are interactive, making for a nice package all around. The bonus programs are more than mere distractions. By the time you've seen the film you'll want to know more about the men and the places they traveled, and disc 3 is a goldmine of information. There is also a lot of motion picture and still photography by Frank Hurley, the expedition's official photographer, and watching his films makes you realize even more what an astounding job director/writer Charles Sturridge and directory of photograph Henry Braham did with the Branagh film. Frozen History discusses the whole history of the Antarctic, focusing on the early 1900s, bringing home the point that reaching the south pole was then seen in much the same light as we saw reaching the moon in the 1960s. Many explorers are covered, but Shackleton's story gets a good chunk of time, as it deserves despite the fact that the man never did reach the pole. What he did instead was triumph over impossible odds, save his entire crew when any sane person would insist it couldn't be done, and most importantly he's provided a lasting example for everyone everywhere who may be up against tough odds. The British have been more aware of his example for years. Now it may become somewhat more universal. It's a long film at 200 minutes, intended and shown as a mini-series, but I must admit I watched it straight through because it was impossible for me to stop watching it. I'm just glad I didn't see it on TV and have to suffer through the "tune in tomorrow night when..." blues.
(C) 2002 - DJ Johnson
DVD: The Usual Suspects (Special Edition)
MGM, © 2002
Reviewed by Bill Holmes
The Movie:
A first-rate thriller with a stunning ensemble cast and flawless direction, The Usual Suspects is worthy of all the kudos it has received and then some. The story revolves around the interrogation of Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), a crippled street hustler, and is told primarily in flashback. Special Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) wants to know why a group of men came together to plunder a ship for ninety-three million dollars with of drugs that apparently wasn't there to begin with. As Kint unfolds his tale, we meet the central characters played by Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollock - the "usual suspects" who were seemingly rounded up for a lineup but may have been brought together by more than chance. And…who is Keyser Soze?The plot is thick but not convoluted; as events weave their way along you learn about the central characters and their relationship to one another, and therefore, their apparent motives. The dialogue is excellent, peppered with insults, subtle jokes and posturing. As we watch the story unfold we forget that we are essentially seeing a flashback until we return to the present-time interrogation room, a sign of a very captivating story and pace. Gabriel Byrne is excellent as the world-weary ex-cop Keaton, trying to survive in a legit world that doesn't want him to. Pollock and Del Toro are very strong, and Baldwin is a revelation as the wise ass tough guy. The secondary character parts are filled by seasoned pros like Dan Hedaya and Pete Postlethwaite; this is a strong ensemble.
By now you've heard that the end of the film features a great plot twist; it is truly one of the more memorable jaw-droppers in recent cinema. But the movie itself is a thrill ride from the first scene all the way through, and those who like more than mindless entertainment will be well rewarded for using their brain. It's a crime caper, a Hitchcock movie and a character study all rolled up into one, and discussing the plot any further than that would deprive the viewer the sheer joy of watching a movie classic without any preconceived notions. The screenplay won an Academy Award, as did Spacey; both were well deserved.
The Look And Sound:
Wow! I've seen the movie in the theatre, on video and on the prior DVD release, but it's never looked or sounded better. Action scenes explode, music haunts, ambient noises alight and the dialogue (and what great dialogue) is clear as a bell. The widescreen presentation is put to great use, especially during the dock scenes, and although a lot of the movie takes place indoors or at night the lighting is perfect. If this is what remastering does, line up the rest of my favorite films, please.The Extra Stuff:
Great stuff here - the commentary from Christopher McQuarrie (writer) and Bryan Singer (director) is here again, plus there's a good track with John Ottman, who edited the film (and introduces a couple of the deleted scenes). The featurettes that include cast and crew interviews are outstanding (what the hell happened between Kevin Pollock and Stephen Baldwin?), but the highly anticipated "gag reel" is a major disappointment - a quick and grainy loop of people blowing lines and saying "fuck" a lot. With two comedians and impressionists among the principal cast, I expected a lot more off-topic hilarity. There are also a handful of trailers and promotional spots, enough in all to make the edition truly "special".The Recommendation:
Although I enjoy Special Edition packages as much as the next guy, I'm starting to see the trend whereby thin release versions of movies are dumped upon the public, only to be followed up with more expensive expanded editions later on. You know this trick from the audio industry, where a hot record is re-issued a few months later with a special bonus track. Who gets penalized here? The fan! The one who raced to the store to but the product day one! The one who didn't wait until the price dropped or the title started hitting the used bin.That said, there are exceptions to the rules. While you may not be running out to get the two-disc version of Rat Race if and when it comes out, replacing your old version of the film is a must. Of course if you don't own The Usual Suspects yet, grabbing this DVD is a no-brainer. Besides being one of the five best films of the last decade, how many suspense/thriller movies do you know that are still engrossing to watch even after you know the ending? A must-own classic for the ages.
(C) 2002 - Bill Holmes
BOOK REVIEW: You Just Fight For Your Life
Written by: Frank Buchmann-Moller
Published by: Praeger Publishers
Reviewed by Ron Saranich
Buchmann-Moller has written an essential book about the life and character of Lester Young. A professional musician in his own right, the Danish author's painstakingly diligent research has contributed much new information to the study of Young, one of the essential contributors to music in the twentieth century.
As the book's jacket states, Buchmann-Moller "focuses on Young's philosophy of life and his ability as a bandleader as well as his wit and humor." This book not only clarifies many issues regarding Young's early life and career, it covers in a comprehensive fashion all of Young's major musical moments in jazz, as well as his career in the military which had such a drastic effect on his personality.
Besides his ability on tenor saxophone, Young is one of my absolute favorite people in all of jazz and entertainment. For me, reading Buchmann-Moller's book helped dispel many of the ugly rumors about Young - rumors like Young not producing anything of musical value after his bitterly harsh experiences in the military, that Young was bizarre, and that he was suicidal. Instead what emerges from this book is a Lester Young who was an overly sensitive, misunderstood poetic soul who abhorred violence and meanness and who strove to help his fellow musicians become better people while always seeking originality in their art. As one fellow musician, Willie Jones, states, "It took me years to grasp a lot of the things he was saying, especially his concept of philosophy and spirituals. The philosophy is a philosophy of equality, and our music must be melodious and melodic."
Lester Young strove to constantly bring beauty into this world of discontent. You Just Fight For Your Life is about one man's attempt at opening his heart to the world through the music of jazz. I consider it essential reading for any lover of the genre. There never was and never will be another musician with the talent and personality of Lester Young. Read and learn about the precious gifts Mr. Young has left us.
(C) 2002 - Ron Saranich
BOOK REVIEW: A Lester Young Reader
Edited by: Lewis Porter
Published by: Smithsonian Institution Press
Reviewed by Ron Saranich
As Editor, Lewis Porter has assembled a impressive and complete work regarding Lester Young, the man and his music. A Lester Young Reader comprehensively addresses issues such as Young's musical achievements, his amazing original personality, the value of later works, and his place in history. Some of the most famous authors in jazz contribute to the book, including Nat Hentoff, Whitney Balliett, John Hammond, Ralph Gleason, Leonard Feathers and Dan Morgenstern. Pieces of the material are new, contributing immensely to the available knowledge concerning Young.
The writing is superb, reaching a poetic level seldom found in books devoted to musicians and their works. It no secret that I consider Lester Young to be one of the geniuses of twentieth century music. Whatever my views of the man and his music, I still can discern good writing from bad, and A Lester Young Reader is a must read for all lovers of jazz. There were times when either Young's own words or passages written about him brought tears to my eyes.
Of all the articles in this compilation, the one that resonates the strongest for me was titled "The House In The Heart" by Bobby Scott, a teenaged pianist in one of Young's bands during the fifties. Perhaps the best writing with a musician as the focal point I've perused in years, Scott writes about a Young very few people ever had the privilege to experience. Through compassion, love, and warm humor, Scott creates a portrait of a unique and creative person that was and still is misunderstood. At one point, Scott movingly writes "Lester Young was the first person I had known who was outside my ken. He was a visitor from a small planet. Everything that I'd imagined to be way out and bizarre was living reality in Prez. And he gave me more food for thought than anyone I'd met..."
Sensitive to a fault, Young was eventually worn down by all the prejudice and hate in the world. Underappreciated from the late 1940s on, Young lived to see his many imitators earn far more money and fame that he ever had. But he never lost his sense of humor and perspective. When informed about a fellow jazz musician who "plays exactly like you" and was even called the Something Prez, Young said "Then who am I?"
Yes who was Lester Young? An incredibly complex human being who produced some of the greatest music jazz has ever known. Get yourself a copy of The Lester Young Reader and learn more about one of the true greats in jazz, a person truly fitting the following quote from St. Paul that Bobby Scott uses in his article: "We are in this world but not of it."
(C) 2002 - Ron Saranich
MOVIE REVIEW: Spiderman
Starring Toby Maguire, Kristen Dunst,
Willem Dafoe, Cliff Robertson,
Rosemary Harris and James Franco
Directed By Sam Raimi
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
Comic book stories are supposed to be escapist popcorn fantasies and this one succeeds swingingly.
Oh c'mon spot me a pun or two, Spiderman always joked his way through fight scenes. Why do you think they call them "comic" books?
Sam Raimi's direction is the real star here. He's responsible for the Evil Dead movies, which I feel compelled to check out now, and I had forgotten that he was also responsible for the darkly disturbing A Simple Plan, great in its own way, but Spiderman is a very different kind of film.
His casting of Toby Maguire seemed a bit suspect at first blush. I liked Maguire a lot when I first saw his work in October Sky but I still didn't picture him as a dynamic superhero. He succeeds like crazy because Raimi understands why Spiderman the comic works so well. He never lets you forget that under the mask it's Peter Parker, a smart but insecure human being. He's the classic reluctant hero who has power and greatness thrust upon him by chance. The human comedy our new wall-crawler endures--tutoring himself to shoot webs, swinging from buildings and trying to make money by wrestling--is engagingly handled and gives the movie a great deal of heart, an ingredient largely was missing from other comic-to-screen conversions like X-Men, Batman and Dick Tracy.
The screenplay follows the original Spiderman story well. Parker has all the usual teenage problems and longs for the girl of his dreams. After receiving his gift, only the catalyst of tragedy, Uncle Ben's demise, makes Parker want to be a crime-fighter. Raimi also grants Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson) the opportunity to give the moral lesson that any good archetypical yarn needs. Raimi certainly does the original one better in the Big Kiss scene, where Parker gets a reward for saving the wet-shirted damsel-in-distress. And of course what would a story like this be without a memorable villain? Willem plays Da Foe with relish, especially in his interior dialogues. As a result we also see him as another human being, the driven and damaged Norman Osborn, adding yet another dimension to the movie. His alter ego, the Green Goblin, brings melodramatic flair to the movie, but it's overplayed slightly. I mean, if he can vaporize all those executives at will, why can't he do the same to Spiderman? Oh well, I didn't like those guys anyway. Lastly, Raimi makes sure there's plenty of residual conflict left over for the next installment, between pending revenge of the Goblin's son Harry, who is also Peter's best friend, and Parker choosing Duty over Love in his final scene with Mary Jane.
Hollywood has a lot of trouble with comic book stories. They usually don't get the delicate balance of camp and grandeur correct, but Raimi's Spiderman is an exception. Forget Star Clones, I'm going to see this one again.
(C) 2002 - Rusty Pipes
CONCERT REVIEW: Guy Davis
Sunset Tavern
Seattle, WA
Spring 2002
Reviewed by Eric Steiner
Last month, New York bluesman Guy Davis played Seattle's Sunset Tavern. It was his last stop on his Spring 2002 tour promoting his new Red House Records release, Give in Kind. If he was weary from the road, he didn't show it. I caught his first set at one of Seattle's most intimate venues off Ballard Avenue in one of Seattle's most historic turn of the century neighborhoods.
After heralding the evening with an aboriginal Australian didgeridoo, Guy picked up his 12-string and said "it's time for some blues" as he began "Keep My Baby Satisfied." He also puts that didgeridoo to very good use on Give in Kind.
Trading his 12-string for a 6-string, he lit into one of my favorite blues songs of all time, Robert Johnson's "(I Believe I'll) Dust My Broom" from his 1995 Red House CD, Stomp Down Rider. Instead of tearing away at Elmore James' slide guitar riffs, Guy picked and danced up and down the acoustic's fretboard. Unplugged, this Robert Johnson tune early in the evening set the stage for some fine country blues from one of the best blues players recording today.
I first saw Guy Davis live at last year's Country Blues Festival at the Centrum Arts Center at Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Washington. An Officer and a Gentleman was filmed there over twenty years ago, but I'd like to think that the year-round arts festivals hosted by the Centrum Arts Festival is a true peace dividend for the former coastal artillery base in the upper left hand corner of the country. The 10th annual Blues and Heritage Festival will be held August 2-3, and this year's line-up features former Howlin' Wolf pianist Henry Gray, harpman extraordinaire Paul De Lay, national treasures Cephas and Wiggins, among other artists. In addition to the informal jams held around the historic military base during the weekend festival, more than 20 artists will play the McCurdy Pavilion, the Wheeler Theatre, and Centrum's circus tent. For more information, go to www.centrum.org.
Last summer, the audience couldn't keep up with the sing-a-long during Rev. Gary Davis' "Candyman," but the Sunset Tavern faithful tried as best they could to keep up with Guy's ever-quickening verses.
Three songs stood out from Give In Kind: "Loneliest Road I Know," "Honey Dew Melon Rag," and "What You Doin.'" "The Loneliest Road I Know" carries on the country blues traditions of Mississippi Fred McDowell's "61 Highway," and this shows why I think that Davis is one of the best singer-songwriters practicing country blues today. "Honey Dew Melon Rag" is Guy's original instrumental honoring the 369th Infantry Regiment of the New York National Guard in World War I. This African American unit fought under the French flag and returned to Harlem wearing the French tri-color, as they were not allowed to fight for the U.S. in the early years of The Great War. Legislation allowing enlistment of all men into the armed services, the Selective Service Act, was not passed until 1917, three years after the start of World War I. In just about three minutes, "Honey Dew Melon Rag" takes us back to the ragtime era and I could see the 369th's jaunty welcoming parade, ragtime-style, down Fifth Avenue in New York, as I listened to Guy play the blues. Give in Kind has been in my CD player more lately than less, and songs like Sleepy John Estes' "What You Doin" are the reason why. Guy's fingerpicking on the song that includes the CD's title is refreshing and new, and if you haven't heard Guy Davis play Sleepy John Estes, Give In Kind is the perfect introduction. Set List: Keep My Baby Satisfied * Dust My Broom * Candy Man * Loneliest Road I Know * Georgia Flood * Home Cooked Meal * If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day * Sweetheart Like You * What You Doin' * Joppatowne * Honey Dew Melon Rag * If You Love Somebody Tell Him * Madison & The Pig
(C) 2002 - Eric Steiner
DVD: The Saint, Volume 5
A&E Home Video, 2 discs, approx 364 min.
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the infamous... Simon Templar." Ah, this is where Templar, played by future James Bond star Roger Moore, rolls his eyes heavenward and a halo is superimposed, the irony being that Mr. Templar is anything but a saint, and certainly no angel. The roll was played on radio for many years by Vincent Price, but the "cool" era that produced such things as lounge music and Playboy probably had something to do with the direction the Templar role went for the television series. Regardless of the reasons, the show was well-written, exciting, nearly impossible to predict, and above all it was splendid escapism. Templar, always in the wrong place at the right time, is forever becoming involved with murders, heists, scams and whatnot, and despite the mountain of evidence that always seems to point to him, Scotland Yard's Chief Inspector Teal can never seem to get the goods on him. Teal has a rather fatalistic attitude about it all, though, so he never really tries too hard. His every facial expression seems to say "Fine, just humiliate me and leave, please, it's nearly tea time." Perhaps he doesn't go after Templar too hard because he knows Templar always seems to deliver the bad guys to him in the end, usually gift wrapped in some amusing fashion.
A&E Home Video puts out a handful of their best old series in small box sets, the format being two DVDs in each box, three or more episodes on each disc. In the case of Volume 5 of The Saint, there are three on the first disc and four on the second. The quality is very high as it has been digitally remastered and cleaned up to near perfection (I only say "near" in case my 40-something year old eyes missed a flicker).
The episodes on Volume 5 are all grabbers, not too surprisingly. The Gadic Collection finds Simon in Istanbul, delving into the world of art forgery and, as usual, trying to figure out which of many femme's is fatale. In The Best Laid Schemes, a sea captain's body washes up on shore (conveniently right when and where Templar has pulled over to admire the ocean's beauty, reminding me of the way all the murders seemed to happen right around Angela Lansbury in Murder She Wrote), and even though he's just passing through, he decides to stop and help the captain's family. But is the crusty old barnacle really dead? Or is someone trying to drive his wife looney? In Invitation To Danger Templar learns that you just can't trust beautiful blondes in casinos that lure you into parking lots by acting easy. Tisk tisk, Simon. Fool you once, shame on her, fool you twice, shame on you, fool you ninety three times plus twice during sweeps week, well... for shame, old boy.
Legacy For The Saint has so many twists and turns and villains and sub-plots that I'm still not sure what happened! I just know 30 seconds from the end I said "AHA!" and 20 seconds from the end I said "Oh! AHA!" and 10 seconds from the end I said "WHAT?! I mean AHA!" After which I stared at my shoes for a few minutes to get my brain working again. I'm not as confused about who did it as I am about who didn't do it. Did... did that make sense? The others are equally outstanding and twisted and difficult to predict. The Desperate Diplomat takes Templar on a search for the diplomat of the title, on the run for murder. He just happens to be a good friend of Templar's (all shady characters seem to be) and some very scary men are looking for him, too. The race is on. In The Organization Man, Templar is recruited by a ruthless mercenary outfit - an offer you can't refuse. Will this be the big break for the Chief Inspector? And in The Double Take, he comes to the aid of a business man who claims he has a double somewhere out there trying to destroy him.
In all of the above, nothing comes out as you think it will, nobody is quite who they seem. I don't see many new shows that I can't predict right down to whodunit and why. I find myself up late at night watching The Saint on DVD. That's either an indictment of today's television or high praise for The Saint. Or both.
The DVDs include photo stills gallery, Roger Moore bio (DID YOU KNOW, for instance - I'm talking to you, Sean Connery supporters - that Moore was offered the role of Bond FIRST, but had to turn it down because his contract with this show wouldn't allow it? Put THAT in your martinis and shake it!) and filmography, and the original trailers for each episode. Fantastic package. I don't usually give grades, but Volume 5 of The Saint deserves and A.
(C) 2002 - DJ Johnson
BOOK REVIEW: The Song Of The Hawk
Written by: John Chilton
Published by: University Of Michigan Press
Reviewed by Ron Saranich
Coleman Hawkins is generally acknowledged to be the father of the tenor saxophone. Before Hawkins, the tenor, though invented by Adolphe Sax, was considered a "circus" instrument, used strictly for background purposes in the jazz world. Hawkins popularized the instrument, giving it a legitimate jazz vocabulary, and in the process made tenor saxophone the most popular reed instrument until the advent of Charlie Parker on alto.
The Song Of The Hawk is about the life and recordings of Hawkins. Hawkins was an impeccably dressed and taciturn man, whose demeanor demanded and received respect from musicians of all ages. A sophisticated listener of classical music, equally at home in either the USA or Europe, Hawkins enjoyed an amazing productive musical career that spanned almost fifty years. Though his music was firmly rooted in the swing era, Hawkins was in favor of modern developments in jazz, and actually led what was considered the first bop recordings. As Chilton writes: "Art was timeless for Hawkins; unlike some of the young musicians, who made spiteful remarks about veterans whose only failing was that their improvisations were not influenced by recent innovations. Mere modernisms were not enough for Hawkins: he also wanted to hear rhythmic and harmonic ingenuity, individualism, tone, inspiration, and ideas."
Chilton is a good writer who does an outstanding job with Hawkins, a quiet, introverted man not prone to outlandish behavior. Concentrating on Coleman's music and the time period Hawkins lived and recorded in, Chilton lets Hawkins' deeds speak for themselves. And they speak loudly. Hawkins, justly famous for his 1939 tenor solo on "Body And Soul," produced many classic recordings that belong in every jazz collector's possession. Add to that the fact the man did for tenor what Louis Armstrong did for the trumpet and Charlie Christian did for the guitar, and one realizes that Coleman Hawkins was truly one of the giants of jazz.
(C) 2002 - Ron Saranich
MOVIE REVIEW: Dogtown and Z Boys
The Z-Boys: Stacy Peralta, Jay Adams,
Tony Alva, Bob Biniak, Shogo Kubo,
Paul Constantineau, Peggy Oki, Nathan Pratt,
Wentzle Ruml, Alen Sarlo
Directed by Stacy Peralta
Production Designed By Craig Stecyk
Produced by Agi Orsi
Edited By Paul Crowder
Narrated by Sean Penn
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
This film is great trove of folklore on the sport of skateboarding that's simply a must see for skateboarders everywhere. In my thumpin' days in Honolulu I used to love going to surfing films, things like Endless Summer and Five Summer Stories. Dogtown and Z-Boys is the first film in decades that I've seen with the same kind of enthusiasm and attitude that I found in those films.
The film is very much a documentary and the director is actually one of the former Z-Boys, Stacy Peralta, so this is a rare insider view of the skateboarding sport in its infancy. In his early pictures Stacy looks rather like Sean Penn in his Fast Times At Ridgemont High role. Sean Penn narrates the film too, coincidence?
The film follows the events and culture that created the Zephyr Skateboarding Team in Venice, California and the larger aspects of Southern California Culture that shaped their style. This most influential group of kids started as surfers, hanging out in Venice near the Zephyr surfboard store and surfing as much as they could in the nasty waters of Dogtown, an abandoned amusement park on the coast, a few miles from downtown LA. Most all the team was tracked down and they talk about their glory days--how things happened and how inspiration took them from the asphalt playgrounds of several schools into the drained pools of Beverly Hills to perfect their fearless craft.
The early footage of the Z-Boys in action, shot mostly by Craig Stecyk in the 70's, is often of such low quality that Peralta has made the entire film take on a choppy underground feel to make it fit in with the recent Z-Boy interviews that were shot professionally. There's plenty of leader in between scenes, it's out of control and out of focus, and it all takes place over a chunky 70's classic rock soundtrack. Literally from "A," Allman Brothers, to "Z," ZZ Top.
The images of skateboard hall-of-famers like Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Peralta himself are priceless, and all the information the film imparts on the formative years of the sport is pure gold. The overall effect is to put you inside this group of talented skater-punk misfits; you really get a feel for what their life must have been like.
Even if you're not a skater, it's worth seeing. Dogtown And The Z-Boys is a fascinating balls-out look at a uniquely American sub-culture.
(C) 2002 - Rusty Pipes
DVD: Gumby, Volume 1
Rhino Home Video, 121 minutes
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Art Clokey's creations are skating around your screen once again thanks to a 7-DVD box set from Rhino Home Video, but there's a lot of grumbling going on about it. It seems that Gumby purists raised on the 1950s and 60s original versions of the animated shorts aren't pleased to find that the original soundtracks are gone and the trippy replacement soundtracks done in the 1980s are there instead. Whether this was a choice made by Rhino or all that was left to choose, I don't know. I do know that the 21 early Gumby shorts on Volume 1, which is also sold separately (and all I have, therefore all I am reviewing), are still charming and whimsical even when the theremin/syntnesizer soundtracks of the "Gumby On The Moon" series begins to eat into your brain and makes you want to do bad things to your cat with a fork. "But your honor, it was Gumby... sendin' evil messages through the music! Ya gotta believe me!" Who can resist the concept of Gumby? Being able to skate on one foot (I mean with no skates on, okay?), change shapes into anything you want to be, grow, shrink, step through mirrors into alternate universes and, best of all, step into books to live out the stories sounds like the life for me. Among these 21 episodes you'll find the aforementioned moon trip, the day he met Pokey, several encounters with the Blockheads, and several other episodes well chosen to paint a picture of life in Gumbasia. The soundtrack definitely is a problem, and there are other things that don't feel quite original - I'm not positive all the voices are the ones I grew up with in the 60s - but the stories hold up. I'd like to see a 100% original Gumby DVD, because those original soundtracks were surreal enough on their own without somebody deciding it needed to sound like Halloween on Mars. So now the question is do those shows exist in their original state, and if so will they ever be out on DVD? If it's a the answer to either question is no, this is recommended. If you grew up watching Gumby in the 1980s and you loved it then, this is recommended anyway because this is what you're used to. If you don't care about the details and you just want the stories, again, it's recommended. Ah, but if you're a purist, perhaps you're best off waiting or tape hunting, because this will aggrivate the hell out of you.
(C) 2002 - DJ Johnson
DVD: Lagaan - Once Upon A Time In India
Starring Amir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley and Paul Blackthorne
Produced by Amir Khan, Written and Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
Music by A. R. Rahman
In Hindi with English subtitles
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
It's 1893 in Queen Victoria's India. A small village called Champaner, home to a young man named Bhuvan, has been suffering a drought for two seasons but the British still want their "lagaan," their yearly tribute. Worse, since their local raj was able to half the village's lagaan last year, the arrogant local British commander, Captain Russell, has demanded double lagaan to make up the shortfall. The villagers come to plead their case and manage only to upset the foreign soldiers by interrupting their cricket game.
Among the supplicants is our hero, Bhuvan, played by Amir Khan. Bhuvan can't believe they are so sensitive and makes a remark about cricket being a child's game in India. Russell, who understands Hindi and overhears, takes this as a personal affront. Having identified Bhuvan as a troublemaker before, he proposes a wager over a cricket match. The villagers will play the soldiers at cricket. If the soldiers win they must pay triple lagaan for three years. If the villagers win they pay no lagaan for three years. If they do not accept they challenge, then they must pay the double lagaan regardless.
Bhuvan accepts of course, starting the conflict in earnest. Lagaan is melodramatic in the tradition of the Longest Yard and Victory where the oppressed get to play the oppressors, and it's also like a zillion other sports films featuring a come-from-behind finish against hopeless odds. But it is also much more than that. It's a lavish musical too. It's Baliwood.
Baliwood of course is the Indian version of Hollywood, second only to America in the number of films produced. If you've never experienced the pleasures of Indian cinema, Lagaan is a good place to start. It's beautifully shot and well-played and yes, by the end of this near-four hour epic, you will also know how cricket is played.
The villagers have five or six major musical numbers, plus love songs for Bhuvan and Gauri, and a nice fantasy sequence for Elizabeth too. I love the music and dancing and even the poetry of the lyrics survives translation and subtitles quite well. About the only downside to all the production is that everyone looks too well off in the village. Dustiness and rude housing aside, they certainly don't have any ribs showing and the women all have colorful clothes and jewelry. It's like you're looking through Victorian rose glasses. Again that's Baliwood for you.
Bhuva's girlfriend, Gauri, is played by Gracy Singh, a well-known TV actress in India who made a shift to cinema with this role. She plays an innocent village girl here, a painfully beautiful one in a classic Indian way, but she'd be a serious babe in any setting. Amir Khan is India's biggest star, and plays Bhuvan with all the intensity you'd get from a Ben Affleck or even a Mel Gibson. Certainly Bhuvan is enough beefcake to impress Captain Russell's sister, Elizabeth (Rachel Sheely), who aids the villagers behind her brother's back, igniting Gauri's jealousy and perhaps Captain Russell's too. Bhuvan's antagonist is played hissable aplomb by Paul Blackthorne who reminds me a lot of Alan Rickman.
The rest of the village's team is composed of the usual cast of misfits and neer-do-wells, the village strongman, the village holyman, the village blacksmith, but pointedly they also include a Muslim and an Untouchable, which adds a lot to the film's appeal.
It's easy to see why Lagaan was Academy-nominated for Best Foreign Language film. And speaking of foreign language, it's interesting to see what words pop up in Hindi that are the same in English. If you're a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fan, You'll find that a Hindi word for the British has been co-opted for one of the familiar races found on that show, but I won't give it away. The DVD adds one deleted scene and a text filmography, but is otherwise very basic. Much more could have been done with the DVD, but the film is good enough on its own. All-in-all, Lagaan is very impressive and will stay with you a long time.
(C) 2002 - Rusty Pipes
DVD: Not Another Teen Movie
Columbia/Tristar, (C) 2002
Reviewed by Bill Holmes
The Movie:
Despite the title, I watched this movie with trepidation after sitting through very un-funny satires like Scary Movie. Since Airplane - which hit screens over twenty years ago - scathing take-offs have been few and far-between. Factor in that most of the teen movies that would be the obvious targets are forgettable, mindless pap, especially the more recent ones. "Why bother", I thought, "are they even worthy of a good comeuppance? And isn't it a little late to stick a hot poker in John Hughes' ass?" Well, thanks to several strong sight gags and pitch-perfect casting, Not Another Teen Movie skewers the genre as well as Airplane whacked the Irwin Allen disaster franchise.Granted, you have to be familiar with the dozens of lame teen movies to get a lot of the jokes, but rather than a series of unrelated potshots, this movie actually has a plotline that weaves the jokes together. Dozens of movies are mercilessly mocked, from Porky's and The Breakfast Club to Bring It On and American Pie, with cheerleading, big dances, locker room scenes, football games and classroom psychosis in full glory. We're talking full-on lowbrow humor here, folks, from flatulence (in the one scene that might have been over the top) to racial stereotypes to sexual escapades. One gets the feeling that the actors - some of whom were in these lame teen flicks - realize just how bad their back catalogue is. My favorite scenes include the cheerleader auditions and the student who pretends he's Chinese, but there are many subtle moments (the names of the campus buildings, the football jerseys) that are also laugh-out-loud funny.
The cast is spectacular - Chris Evans as Jake Wyler, the Freddie Prinze Jr. jock with a heart; Jaime Pressly as the snippy cheerleader, Mia Kirschner as the oversexed femme fatale, Eric Christian Olsen as the jerk jock. Especially good are Eric Jungmann as the whining, unrequited lover of the prettiest girl in the school and Ron Lester, who mocks his own character from Varsity Blues. Had the actors tried to chew the scenery throughout the movie, mugging for the camera and laughing at themselves, this would have been a two ton dud. But because they each nailed their "stereotype" perfectly - the "dumb guy", the "bitchy blonde" - every scene has its moments. As a bonus, look for cameo roles from a few eighties movie vets, including an unexpected appearance by Molly Ringwald that includes one of the best lines in the movie.
The Look and Sound:
Clean and crisp widescreen presentation with plenty of bright colors and light. There's not much to speak of in the sound department - Saving Private Ryan this isn't - but the dialogue is clear and the fuller effects are worthwhile when used for music or occasional scenes.The Extra Stuff:
Loaded! Eighteen deleted scenes, including a few that are as funny as anything else in the movie is. A Marilyn Manson "Tainted Love" video (unrated…heh heh), set up by one of three featurettes. The requisite cast and bio information, plus two audio commentaries. The first featuring the director and writers is good, but the other featuring several cast members is rude, crude and downright hilarious in spots. A "Pop Up Video" option that chronicles the movie(s) being spoofed in each scene is a nice bonus.The Recommendation:
You will pull this movie off the shelf more times than you can imagine to show a scene or two to a friend, if not making them watch the whole thing. The slapstick is so broad in spots that it bears repeated viewing - hey, funny is funny! The plethora of extras makes this an absolute must-buy for those with a sick sense of humor. And no, it's never too late to stick a hot poker up John Hughes' ass.
(C) 2002 - Bill Holmes