Truly bizarre. Hyperbole in EVERY scene just wears ya out. Disjointed, unconnected, illogical. There were so many things that were bizarrely wrong with this movie. A few random cute moments…that made absolutely no sense within the context of the movie. And a million more nonsensical and noncute ones. Cameron Crowe = unusually off his game.
Monthly Archives: April 2007
DVD: The Italian Job
Actually pretty entertaining in a goofy lighthearted way. It’s just a few kisses and gropes away from being a good movie. I mean, come on, people, is that too much to ask in a movie with two hot leads?
p.s. and for my fellow Buffy fans, hello Oz is in this! And he’s got some really funny lines!
In Concert: The Decemberists
Fifth concert in seven days, I was super tired by the time this one rolled around, so made sure we got there early enough to get seats. But then the Decemberists started and I forgot all about my tiredness, and the sonic assault I’d just been through, and the travails of the week. They were Tony the Tiger great. Great! SO GREAT!!!
Amazing stage presence, every song sounded gorgeous, some better than what’s on the albums. Consummate musicians, clearly good friends. The right amount of serious versus goofy. Great lyrics, great atmosphere. I am officially in love with Colin Meloy if I wasn’t already.
One of the best shows of the year. And they’re playing a free show in Chicago July 18 if you’d like to crash at my place.
In Concert: Salif Keita
One of the most widely known African vocalists, but unknown to me: I was invited to this, and had no idea what to expect or what kind of music it would be.
Super high energy show. Band was great, backup singers were fun, Salif Keita’s voice was amazing, and I lovedlovedloved the way he led the band with hand motions/gestures/body language.
That said, it was hard to listen to vocals in a language I will never know. I have no way of telling you which was my favorite song, (you know, the one where he sang “xxx?????”), I kept wondering what he was singing about, I felt a little in the dark…
It all SOUNDED really great though.
In Concert: Youth Group
I really wanted to see these guys and it was their last night in America, so I’m glad I went. But lordie, what a bad idea when it comes to my SLEEP needs, which are MIGHTY. Third concert of five in a seven day period; I had to work at 6 a.m. that day, and 7 a.m. the following day, and the concert didn’t start until 9:30 and there were two openers, and the venue was so filled with smoke that when I got home at 1:30, I had to take a shower and wash my hair seven times in order to be able to breathe… Yup, it was a long night.
That said, they sounded GREAT. Very put together / accomplished band. One of the opening bands (more on that below) kept talking AS IF Youth Group was just accompanying them on the road, rather than the other way around. But sonically it was quite clear who was the REAL hit of the evening. Thought they were great, like them even more now.
Kind of a hilarious look to them, though. Four boys. Three all ’70s-styled and hirsute, one beard, one white ‘fro, one mustache, disco-y shirts, denim, etc. And the fourth? Could be a Calvin Klein model. Tall, lanky, clean cut (!!), and oh so very very pretty. Chiseled cheek and chin bones. Smooches to you, bass player! You’re hot!
Openers:
What Made Milwaukee Famous: Not bad, not bad. Didn’t seem quite comfortable on stage but some of their songs were good. Pretty enjoyable.
Aqueduct: Wow, what an ego. Their first song was GREAT but sadly they set the bar a BIT too high and it was downhill from there. The lead singer seemed to feel his band was the highlight of the night. Unfortunately for his band, I’d say his vocals are their weak link. (But I will concede the song of theirs that was on the OC Mix 4 also sounded good.)
In Concert: Josh Rouse
I enjoyed seeing him so much last year, I jumped at the chance to see him in an even smaller, better venue this year (Old Town). He did not disappoint although he was a bit more low key due to an adult case of chicken pox! Touched on all the albums, including the full She’s Spanish, I’m American EP with Paz Suay joining him on stage. Still haven’t heard him play my favorite song live but oh well, something to live for.
Opener:
Kyle Andrews: Totally cute goofball. “This is a song from my album. That I recorded. In my bedroom.” Nice sounds, cute stage persona. Lots of potential.
In Concert: Low
The first of five concerts in seven days (thanks to the moron -moi- who plans my life).
Moody and turgid and layered and dense and quite lovely. Just as on their albums. You picture them holed up in their house in Minnesota over the long winters, depressing each other with these dark, deep sounds.
Openers:
Charlie Parr: Really enjoyable. Accompanied by a washboard player. Bluesgrass / folk. Storyteller.
Lonely, Dear: Bizarre.
Fantasy: “Magic’s Child” by Justine Larbalestier
The third (presumably final, but perhaps there will be a subsidiary trilogy that follows?) in the Magic or Madness trilogy. As with much “Young Adult” fiction, the brevity ultimately disappoints: I wasn’t ready to stop reading these characters when book 2 ended, nor am I ready now. Some things in this book that felt ickier than in the previous ones / but maybe I had just forgotten those feelings, I can’t be sure. Tom’s refusal to give up magic really stuck with me. The way he infuses the clothes he makes is one of my favorite images from the books.
Good, most of the storylines came full circle, but ultimately too short. Not enough. (Then again, I pretty much ALWAYS feel that way about kids’ books. Are kids really satisfied by them? Do they not want more? I wish I could remember….)
If you search on this page, you can find what I said about the previous two (in the April 16 and May 13, 2006 entries).
DVD: Babel.
Still in disbelief that this was nominated for best picture. Didn’t really think much of it at all. Didn’t think it was about “miscommunication” and whatnot as the title might imply. Thought one storyline was so very very tenuously connected to the others that it belonged in a different movie. Far more questions than answers. And sooooo many things that could have made it better, could have made it worth watching, could have made me care at all about any of these characters. But no.
An Altman-esque “Short Cuts” or Paul Haggis’ “Crash”-type disjointed narrative. My co-viewer thought it better than Crash; although she found it frustrating, it raised interesting issues in her mind. I felt the opposite. It seemed to raise no coherent issues whatsoever. At least in Crash, the issues were recognizable whether you felt they were well done or not.
Anyone want to take this DVD off my hands? I’ll happily send it to you, I’m certainly never going to rewatch it.
Elegy: “Tea on the Blue Sofa” by Natasha IllumBerg
I picked this up at Foyle’s on the January trip to London after the blurbs on the back intrigued me: “story of a passionate love affair”, “heart-breaking true account of mad, intemperate love”, “filled with a searing emotion that burns off the page.” First person narrative; talking to the lover lost (murdered); remembering the moments, each one as they came; gathering memories; filling in the blanks. Thinking of the what-might-have-beens. Recalling what was.
Sad but moving. Occasionally awkward. Concise. Very quick read.
It wasn’t until after I read the notes in the back of the book and googled the author’s name that I learned the details — a true story. But questions remain. Was Tonio murdered as a message to quiet his mother’s research into a previous love triangle murder? Was he simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? Intriguing.