Ryan Adams
"lloRnkcoR" is just plain "Rock n'
Roll"
Outstanding record from Ryan whose
known for his alt-country roots with all that time spent with Whiskey Town, not
to mention his last disc "Gold." It spawned the AAA radio hit "New York."
Despite being a rather large prick - according to several I've spoken to - Ryan
is a masterful songwriter. This gift is evident on R n'R. (Little know fact,
that song Bono did with The Corrs - Ryan's.) Aside from Ryan's excellent playing
on just about every instrument, Rock n' Roll is laden with essence of
Paul Westerberg and the Replacements, The Cure, Urge Overkill, and Paul
McCartney. There is evidence of sadness, struggle, mixed with a bit of
wickedness. I've listened to this record over and over again and hear something
new each time.
Ryan Adams' Rock n' Roll will be on
my Best of 2003 list under Exceptional.
Mystic River
wide release October 15, 2003
Based on the 2001
best-selling novel by Dennis Lehane
Directed by big movie star Clint Eastwood
The build up to this film was
extraordinary (or the hype as some would say), which it was, but not in the way I had expected.
Set in the Boston area, I never quite figured out where this movie was
supposed to have taken place. The bar in the all import "dancing daughter"
scene is in Jamaica Plain, Dooley's actually. Then they make up a fake section
of a fake city near the Tobin Bridge. Perhaps this isn't so important to how
the story unfolds, just that I think I know too much about Boston. Sean Penn is
masterful and outstanding as Jimmy, the lead character, a very rough
ex-con-gone-soft for the sake of his family. A family that he lives, eats and
breathes for. When his 19-year-old daughter Katie is found murdered, Jimmy is
pushed to the absolute limit and vows to get revenge on her killer. Sean
Penn's gives a performance that is raw and moving, yet tender at times; very Deniro-esque.
The same night Katie is killed,
Jimmy's childhood friend Dave, played by Tim Robbins, returns home at 3am
covered in blood after a night out at the very same bar where Katie had been
dancing with her girlfriends. Dave's alibi to wife Celeste (Marcia Gay Harden)
is that he was mugged and beat the assailant. Dave is the least stable of them
all, having nearly 3 decades to deal with his own kidnapping and molestation,
he's unraveling. Tim Robbins was excellent in the way he conveyed Dave's sense
of being lost and confused.
Dave's other childhood friend, Sean, played by Kevin Bacon, was there with
Jimmy that fateful day when Dave was picked up and driven off by a strange man
claiming to be a cop. None of the boys had much to do with one another after
that day, not until their paths cross with the murder investigation.
Enter Sean, now a
detective, the lead detective investigating Katie's murder.
How disappointing that Laura Linney
seems to have
attended The Perfect Storm school of the Boston accent, horrendous doesn't
quite describe it. I didn't come away with much else from her portrayal as
Jimmy's supportive
second wife Annabeth. There was a short yet tender moment between her and
Jimmy, but the tension had mounted so much that it's easy to forget. Marcia
Gay Harden as Celeste, Dave's long-suffering wife was convincing in her soft,
deer-in-the-headlights performance.
I'm not a huge fan of
Clint Eastwood the actor, I did see a few westerns. There was that Bridges
of Madison County movie that he directed. But I have to say this puts him
in an entire new class. His direction on this film is genius. He brought me to
that place, I felt it. It was real to me (well, besides the terrible attempt
at the Boston accent).
My
money is Clint, Sean and Tim (Best Supporting) for Oscars. See this movie,
it's an A.
A Perfect Circle, Thirteenth Step
Dropped Tuesday, Sept 16, 2003
12 tracks
It’s impossible to compare this to Mer De Noms, their
first record. From the moment I heard the first of the 12 songs on Thirteenth
Step, I knew. It’s not an extension, not a continuation. It stands alone.
The depth in which they take us this time are captivating with the dark tones
and soothing instrumentation; it’s moody and ethereal yet somehow is finds a
brightness, all while possessing a sense of longing in each song.
It’s likely most people’s impression that Maynard James
Keenan is the driving force behind A Perfect Circle, I’m here to tell you that
its Billy Howeredel; he’s the chief composer of each song, each layer, each rich
with texture. He did act as the record’s producer as well. The guitar work on
this record is less explosive this time, searing in places, soothing in others.
But no one song is crafted solely by Maynard or Billy. It truly is a group
effort, a super group effort in fact. All members are quite established in their
own right with Maynard James Keenan as the mind and mouth of Tool, Billy
Howerdel, who did work with Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins crew, drummer
Josh Freese, a superstar in his own right, has played on countless records,
everyone from The Vandals to Devo to Guns n’ Roses to Juliana Hatfield. Bass
player Jeordie White dumped his Manson side-kick status in no time flat. That
departure, amicable or not, was perfectly timed and Jeordie contributes song
writing on "Crimes" as well as vocals on "The Noose" and "Lullaby." James Iha
has been added to the touring band, he does not appear on the recording (APC is
as magnificent live as they are on record, by the way).
I initially selected track 10, "Pet," as the stand out track
with its searing to soft to searing guitars. But the more I listened the less I
was able to chose only one. There's "The Nurse Who Loved Me" that is so
incredibly good, you can envision Maynard performing it on Broadway. I listened
to each song about 8 times each, and every time this record got better and
better. It's another work of genius.
If you're anything like me, you may not like it initially.
Trust me, play it. Wait. Play it again. Repeat.
The School of Rock
starring Jack Black, Directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, Slackers)
released October 3
Make no mistake, Mr. Holland's Opus it ain't! Jack Black is Dewey Finn,
an unemployed, never-was rocker who gets kicked out his mediocre band only to
face eviction from his pussy roommate-slash-substitute teacher, Ned Schneebly
(played by writer Mike White of The Good Girl fame) at the urging of his
bitch-face girlfriend Patty (Sarah Silverman). Dewey hits pay dirt when
intercepts a job at an elite private school where he meets the 5th grade head on
only to forego math, science and social studies for The Rock! He’s faced with a
number of challenges including keeping his alternative curriculum a secret from
everyone, especially Ms. Mullins, the school’s eagle-eye principal played by
Joan Cusack. Dewey ends up reaching these kids with his
overzealous-bordering-on-obsessive love for rock n’ roll and puts together a
kick-ass band! That kick-ass band is comprised of awesome, scene-stealing real
kid musicians like Joey Gaydos as Zack the guitar player and Kevin Clark as
Kevin the drummer – both of whom began playing at the age of 3! This role is
Jack Black. No one would have taken it on with such voracity. He's crazy,
he's over the top, he’s perfect. After all he's Jack Black and he is one of the
few actors I’ve seen that has the ability to light it up the way he does. Wind
him up and let him go. The guy can be funny in empty room. This gets an A, no
doubt.
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star
released September 5
David Spade seems to have this thing for
f#@ked up families. Remember Joe Dirt? Or at least the mullet? Dickie Roberts
(David's also co-writer, by the way) is a former child star who's know for
little other than his catch phrase, "That's Nuckin' Futs" in a post-70s sitcom
world. Fast forward about 30 years and you find Dickie parking the cars of the
stars. The years have not been kind to him, he's rife with hang-ups. He's a
1970s throwback, huge lapels and all, who can't function without a crisp pair of
isotoners. What Dickie longs for is to be back in the world's good graces, to be
adored. After much scheming, he finds his way into the all-important meeting
with Director Rob Reiner who's upcoming project could propel Dickie back into
the limelight. The thing is is that the role requires more than the now-35 year
old ex-child star is equipped to handle. Dickie's answer to his debacle is to
rent a family to teach him how to be normal. And that they do. The biting wit,
the David Spade we've grown to love, or at least tolerate, is there, but this
movie offers something a bit more than any Spade movie that has come before.
It's, dare I say it, heartwarming. Even David admitted to that in our interview.
Mary McCormack (Private Parts) is great as Grace, Dickie's "temporary" mom; also
featured in small roles: Alyssa Milano, Edie McClurg, Doris Roberts, Gary
Coleman, and a litany of real former child stars. Anyone who watched 70s
television or 80s movies will be pleasantly surprised with who shows up (Look
very closely for Corey Haim). Dickie gets a B,
a little "feel good-y," but has a lot of laughs.
Thirteen
In limited release August 29, 2003
The
semi-autobiographical account of the life and times of
co-writer/co-star Nikki Reed when she was,
well, 13 (she’s now 15). Written with her dad's one time girlfriend, Catherine
Hardwick, who also acts as the director, Thirteen chronicles the disturbing transformation
of an impressionable 13-year-old girl. A coming of age story this is not. Rite
of passage, un-uh. Tracy, played by Evan Rachel Wood, goes from a mousy 7th grader to a pot-smoking,
acid-dropping, blow-job giving, neighbor-teasing, purse-stealing, arm-cutting
liar in record time. Nikki Reed, as Evie, is the most popular, albeit screwed
up, girl in junior high who befriends Tracy after a Melrose Avenue stealing
spree. If the subject matter isn't stand out enough, Holly Hunter is. She's
Melanie, the
loving, but overwhelmed single mother who tries very hard to reel her kid in
although her own weaknesses are doing their fair share of damage. This movie acts as excellent birth control for many of us whose teen years
were less than well-behaved. Must be that fear of karma sticking it's proverbial foot up our asses.
Jeremy Sisto (Six Feet Under) is Melanie's on-again-off-again crack head
boyfriend who, despite his flaws, has some redeeming qualities. I give it an A-, A for the excellent cast, the minus for the
melodrama. Fifteen is believable, but Thirteen?
Swimming Pool
In limited release
August, 2003
I walked into this film not having a clue on what to expect, well, except for
subtitles. Considering it is Director François Ozon's
first English speaking film. They do materialize only briefly in a few
telephone conversations.
At the urging of John, her publisher, who I also suspected was her lover at one
time, novelist Sarah Morton played by Charlotte Rampling, escapes her London
doldrums for his exquisite villa in the South of France. As she settles in to
the easy pace of the nearby village, its cafes and shops, she is again inspired
and finds the groove she's been looking for. Her peace is short-lived as John's
daughter Julie arrives unannounced. Julie is played by
the beautifully
seductive Ludivine Sagnier.
The very presence of Julie sets Sarah off, calls are placed back to John's
office in London. Seems he's never available to talk to his star client. Julie
is quick to settle in herself - eating, drinking, smoking, laying topless by the
pool. She immediately begins to entertain a series of lovers, all with no regard
for her houseguest. Sarah is subjected to the sounds of the drunken love-making
in the middle of the night. Sarah can't help but take notice and her next novel,
we can only guess another in her crime series, is shelved for a more interesting
subject - Julie. The twists that the movie takes from this point on are both
deceptive and violent, leaving you to wonder if Julie actually exists or was
merely the fictional character in the novel of novels that Sarah, and her
publisher, never thought she could produce. Was any of it real or just conjured
up by the French countryside, a kind cafe waiter, and a vendetta against a
former lover? Swimming Pool deserves an A. A
thriller that had me thinking long after it ended. And no, no subtitles. Relax.
Terminator
3: Rise of the Machines
Released July 2, 2003
T3 takes place 10 years post-judgment day, the day the world was supposed to
end. There's a new John Connor played by Nick Stahl…wasn’t sure if I would
like him at the start, but I do. A new relationship has been established…enter Kate Brewster
played by Claire Danes, also great, there’s little she does that I don’t
like really.
John Connor, now 25-years-old, has lived the past ten years on the run
desperate to stay anonymous and untraceable. They found him just in time to
make a new movie! In terms of the story, there is little, but it’s heavy on
action. Arnold is the out-dated, nearly obsolete terminator who would be
worthless if not to keep John Connor alive. Think of T3 as a well done
B-movie in that they throw in jokes that do get laughs, though the
seriousness of the last two is gone. TX, or the Terminatrix as she's known,
is good in terms of her ability to act like a robot, though she says little
other than, "I like your car" and "Where is he?," but drives a mean crane in
the movie’s new, now staple, chase scene. T2: Judgment Day had a stronger
story. T3 is big on action and for that it gets an A-. And, yes, it is worth
seeing.
Bruce Almighty
Released May 23, 2003
I love Jennifer Aniston. Though she's not choosing a lot of roles that break her
free of Rachel Green, I do love her. Hmm, maybe it's Rachel Green that I love?
Her stand out role was The Good Girl. I wish I could say something stood out in
Bruce Almighty. Jennifer is sweet as preschool teacher Grace, the token
girlfriend to Jim Carrey's Bruce Nolan; Bruce is a hot-headed TV reporter trying
to get a break in the business, but is in constant competition with some talking
head named Evan Baxter. When Evan gets the anchor job Bruce has been vying for,
he loses it, cursing God, forcing him to appear in the form of Morgan Freeman.
Bruce disapproves of the job God is doing, and is challenged to be a better God
is so easy, why doesn't he do it. Bruce is then bestowed "the power" and
is God for a week. He immediately begins to use all of his power for his own
benefit. His stupidity costs him Grace. He finds out about the legions of
prayers being offered up and tries to answer them all by "creating" an easy
e-mail prayer response device. What he does is give everyone what ever they ask
for and it begins to destroy the town's peacefulness.
There are only so many Jim Carrey-isms I can take. And I took them, once in Ace
Ventura, again in The Mask, The Grinch. You get my point. Directors
need not cast Jim Carrey in a movie to wind him up and let him go. He went
already. This is bad. It gets a C, for Jennifer and
talking head Evan Baxter's flub up scene. The only funny scene in this
entire movie.
The Matrix Reloaded
Released May 15, 2003
Sci-fi geeks can rest easy, The Matrix Reloaded, the hugely
anticipated second installment in the trilogy from writer/director bros Andy and
Larry Wachowski, has arrived. Now you can move out of your parents house. All your favorites return: Keanu Reeves as Neo, Laurence Fishburne as
Morpheus, Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity, and Hugo Weaving’s Agent Smith in more
ways than one. Gloria Foster is The Oracle whose scenes were filmed just before
her death in 2001. Harold Perrineau, Jr. is Link; you’ll recognize him as he was
Augustus on HBO’s Oz. Nona Gaye is re-cast as Zee, Link’s wife, the role that
initially starred Aaliyah. Jada Pinkett Smith is Niobi, the latest addition to
the ass-kicking Zion Freedom Force, and Randall Duk Kim as the Keymaker. And the
twins, can’t forget the dread locked, morphing bad guy twins played by Neil and
Adrian Rayment. They change from human to demon form; a demon form that looks
strikingly like Iron Maiden’s Eddie.
Admittedly, I wasn’t overcome by the initial Matrix phenomenon that many of
my friends and the rest of the free world were. I had a hard time wrapping my
head around this trying to remember all that happened in the first round. It
wasn’t long into it that I realized that I really didn’t need to. I never felt
lost. The message is obvious, but the surprise is gone. We’ve become acquainted
with the marvel of The Matrix. There aren’t any questions answered. Neo is the
Messiah to the Machine generated reality. He and his army are out to save Zion
from imminent destruction. This installment is heavily laden with computer
generated imagery, more than its predecessor. We are introduced to the Keymaker,
the character that Neo, Trinity and Morpheus need to find and then protect,
though we don’t ever know what his purpose is other than literally having a key
for everything. Fight scenes are long and drawn out, choreographed to the tee so
that I never really believed they were fighting, dancing maybe, not fighting. As
far as the effects are concerned - because let’s face it, this is what this is
all about – The Matrix Reloaded is a complete work of art. The absolute
best part of this movie: the unbelievable chase scenes, most notably Trinity’s
bike chase.
If you last through the enormous credits, accompanied by the sounds of Rage
Against the Machine and P.O.D., you will get a glimpse into The Matrix
Revolutions due in November. Don’t plan on getting any inside into movie #3.
I couldn’t tell what movie it was promoting. Let's just say a new enemy is at
the gate. I'm not into stars, thumbs up or any of that nonsense. The Matrix Reloaded
earns an A- for magnificent effects, huge action and phenomenal chase scenes.
The minus is for the long, drawn out choreographed fight/dance scenes. Half of
which would have sufficiently delivered the kick ass, kung fu action.
As good as the first? Oh, yes.
**after the hype of the Matrix trilogy
died, I realized that these movies made no sense whatsoever.
Audioslave, The American
Band
The
Immöral Majörity
Queens
of the Stone Age
The Mars Volta
Val Emmich