Enchanted

Life is idyllic in the fairytale world where conflict is minimal and breaking into song solves every problem, but what happens when a princess from the fairy world gets magically transported into the real world? Enchanted begins in the animated fairytale world of Andalasia where Princess Giselle (Amy Adams) is destined to marry Prince Edward (James Marsden) and live happily ever after. Problem is, Edward’s step-mother Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) doesn’t want to give up the throne and will do anything to get Giselle out of Edward’s life. Queen Narissa’s solution is to push Giselle into a well that magically lands Giselle smack in the middle of the real world–the center of Time Square in New York City, to be exact. This launches the live-action portion of the film where Giselle immediately realizes that things are frighteningly different in this new world and that she is ill-prepared for the callous ways of the people who inhabit it. Giselle finds herself alone on a stormy night in the wrong end of town, but a chance encounter with Robert (Patrick Dempsey) and his princess-loving daughter Morgan (Rachel Covey) leads to a warm, safe place to spend the night and the beginnings of a complicated, yet compelling relationship. As Giselle begins to question the fairy-tale truths she’s always inherently believed, Robert’s outlook on life and love also begins to change significantly. Parallels to the classic Disney fairytales, Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty abound in the form of a King’s and Queen’s ball, small animals and rodents who clean house when called, the threat of poisoned apples, characters impulsively breaking into song, and the power of the kiss of true love and the absurd juxtaposition of fairytale idealism and stark reality is hilariously funny. Features music by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz of Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame fame, Wicked’s Broadway Elpheba Idina Menzel as Nancy, and even a brief appearance by former Princess voice talent Judy Kuhn (Pocahontas). Enchanted is one of the best, most entertaining Disney films of the year. (Ages 6 and older with parental guidance due to some scary images and mild innuendo) –Tami Horiuchi more detail

No Country for Old Men

The Coen brothers make their finest thriller since Fargo with a restrained adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. Not that there aren’t moments of intense violence, but No Country for Old Men is their quietest, most existential film yet. In this modern-day Western, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is a Vietnam vet who could use a break. One morning while hunting antelope, he spies several trucks surrounded by dead bodies (both human and canine). In examining the site, he finds a case filled with $2 million. Moss takes it with him, tells his wife (Kelly Macdonald) he’s going away for awhile, and hits the road until he can determine his next move. On the way from El Paso to Mexico, he discovers he’s being followed by ex-special ops agent Chigurh (an eerily calm Javier Bardem). Chigurh’s weapon of choice is a cattle gun, and he uses it on everyone who gets in his way–or loses a coin toss (as far as he’s concerned, bad luck is grounds for death). Just as Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), a World War II vet, is on Moss’s trail, Chigurh’s former colleague, Wells (Woody Harrelson), is on his. For most of the movie, Moss remains one step ahead of his nemesis. Both men are clever and resourceful–except Moss has a conscious, Chigurh does not (he is, as McCarthy puts it, “a prophet of destruction”). At times, the film plays like an old horror movie, with Chigurh as its lumbering Frankenstein monster. Like the taciturn terminator, No Country for Old Men doesn’t move quickly, but the tension never dissipates. This minimalist masterwork represents Joel and Ethan Coen and their entire cast, particularly Brolin and Jones, at the peak of their powers. –Kathleen C. Fennessy more detail

Beowulf

Amazon.com
Spectacular animated action scenes turn the ancient epic poem Beowulf into a modern fantasy movie, while motion-capture technology transforms plump actor Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast) into a burly Nordic warrior. When a Danish kingdom is threatened by the monster Grendel (voiced and physicalized by Crispin Glover, River’s Edge), Beowulf–lured by the promise of heroic glory–comes to rescue them. He succeeds, but falls prey to the seductive power of Grendel’s mother, played by Angelina Jolie… and as Jolie’s pneumatically animated form rises from an underground lagoon with demon-claw high heels, it becomes clear that we’re leaving the original epic far, far behind. Regrettably, the motion-capture process has made only modest improvements since The Polar Express; while the characters’ eyes no longer look so flat and zombie-like, their faces remain inexpressive and movements are still wooden. As a result, the most effective sequences feature wildly animated battles and the most vivid character is Grendel, whose grotesqueness ends up making him far more sympathetic than any of the mannequin-like human beings. The meant-to-be-titillating images of a naked Jolie resemble an inflatable doll more than a living, breathing woman (or succubus, as the case may be). But the fights–particularly Grendel’s initial assault on the celebration hut–pop with lushly animated gore and violence. Also featuring the CGI-muffled talents of Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride), and John Malkovich (Dangerous Liaisons). –Bret Fetzer

On the DVD
The process of creating Beowulf was more interesting than the movie itself–though many of the movie’s fans will be disappointed that the “making-of” featurette does not include Angelina Jolie in her skin tight motion-capture suit. We do, however, get to see Ray Winstone (who admits he has a less than heroic physique), live horses bedecked with plastic dots, a “Robo-Grendel,” wire props painted fluorescent pink and orange, and a poor production assistant whose job is scooping up horse poop. Other featurettes discuss the monster design (including giving a sea monster a single eye because, apparently, cyclopean creatures have mythological street cred); how excited the filmmakers were to combine Winstone’s gruff voice with a preposterously burly bod; and a brief bit discussing the original epic poem, how much director Robert Zemeckis hated it, and the various liberties the screenwriters took with it. But for anyone interested in computer animation, the most interesting extra feature may be the deleted scenes. Because they were cut long before the animation was finished, they show the process at a variety of different stages–at some points the faces don’t even move, making Beowulf look like a Thunderbirds-style puppet movie. –Bret Fetzer >watch previews

Keep It Simple

Van Morrison was born in Belfast in 1945, the son of a shipyard worker who collected American blues and jazz records. Van grew up listening to the music of Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson, Lightnin’ Hopkins and John Lee Hooker. Surrounded by every kind of musical influence – country, blues, jazz, and folk – from 13 he was playing guitar, sax and harmonica with a series of local Irish showbands, skiffle and rock’n'roll groups. By the time he rose to the fore of Britain’s nascent blues-rock scene as leader of Them, Morrison had already pulled years in the trenches, singing and playing with some of Belfast’s cagiest combos. His music has always incorporated the widely-varied influences he heard and absorbed since his childhood days on the streets of Belfast – long before the bands of his youth and his initial 1964 breakthrough with the band he formed, Them.
In recognition of his unique position as one of the most important songwriters of the past century, Van Morrison was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at an awards ceremony in New York City in June 2003.
Van Morrison was honoured at the US-Ireland Alliance Awards in early 2007 for his contribution to the film world. Presented by Al Pacino, the award highlighted the depth and breadth of Van’s compositions as used by directors Scorsese, Hackford, Landis, Stone and more.
2008 sees the release of Keep It Simple, the 35th album which Van Morrison has produced himself. Morrison’s first new album of new material since 2005, and the first in several years in which he penned all 11 songs specifically for one album. On this new record, Morrison honours all his varied influences – jazz, folk, blues, Ulster Scots, country, soul and gospel (even making uniquely innovative use of the mighty ukulele) – at times melding them all together at once in his own signature sound.
Keep It Simple does not boast the big horns or string arrangements of some of Morrison’s previous work. What it does feature are gorgeous songs rich with emotion, depth and beauty. Van has journeyed far and wide since his early days in Belfast but inevitably, the man Bob Geldof called “the one true genius in Irish music” has invariably come back to the philosophy summed up in the title of his new record.
As Keep It Simple is released, its creator continues a busy schedule of concerts across the globe, averaging over 100 gigs a year.
Album Description On April 1st, Lost Highway will proudly release Keep It Simple, the new album from Van Morrison. Keep It Simple is Morrison’s first album of new material since 2005, and the first in several years in which he penned all 11 songs specifically for one album. In the interim the legendary artist had a year that may be unprecedented for any living artist, having released three separate collections of his hits, with the latest, Still On Top entering the UK charts at #2 and selling platinum, proving the ongoing appetite for his unrivaled work. His music has always incorporated the widely varied influences he heard and absorbed since his childhood days on the streets of Belfast- long before the bands of his youth and his initial breakthrough with Them. On Keep It Simple, Morrison honors all those varied influences – jazz, folk, blues, Celtic, country, soul and gospel – at times melding them all together at once in his own signature sound. “I felt I had something to say with these songs…” explains Morrison. There is a definite theme that recurs throughout the album, especially in the title track.
In keeping with that idea, Keep It Simple does not boast the big horns or string arrangements of some of Morrison’s previous work. What it does feature are gorgeous songs rich with emotion, depth and beauty. more detail

credit : http://www.losthighwayrecords.com

The Reminder

Feist is the solo project of Canada’s Leslie Feist, a prolific artist who has also played in one capacity or another with Broken Social Scene, Kings of Convenience and half a dozen other bands. The Reminder, her third release, comes from the same well of quiet, appealing songwriting, and delicate vocalizations that made 2004’s Let It Die such a sweet treat. This one is a bit more hushed and ballad heavy, closer to Cat Power than Peaches (with whom Feist has also worked with in the past) but maintains an indie-minded blend of confessional pop, jazzy folk, and lo-fi torch songs. The comparatively upbeat single “My Moon My Man” splits her voice off into unexpected harmonies, just dissonant enough to stick in your head. It’s hard to predict where her melodies are going to end up; “Brandy Alexander” starts with a simple snap-pulse, and gradually unfolds into a cathartic chorus of sweeping vocal overlays. Throughout, the record profits from a simple, unfussy aesthetic that keeps the production minimal and the emphasis squarely on Feist’s cracking, wistful vibrato. Everything sounds deliberate, but not obsessed over, like an e-mailed wedding invitation. It’s a low-pressure vibe, welcoming and content to linger. And linger you will. –Matthew Cooke  more detail

Symphony

I have been eagerly anticipating getting the new Sarah Brightman cd SYMPHONY from my library for some time now. This weekend I finally got the cd and have been listening to it quite a bit. I never thought I would be saying this about a Sarah Brightman cd but wow! I was left somewhat unimpressed. I’m glad that I didn’t spend my hard earned money on SYMPHONY. Sarah’s angelic voice still sounds wonderful after all these years however the material she lent her voice just isn’t as strong as her previous albums. Sarah’s forays into hard rock like on “Gothica” and “I Will Be With You” were a bit jarring to say the very least. “Gothica” sounded like it was a leftover track from the latest Nightwish cd. Paul Stanley from KISS is the last person I would have thought of Sarah singing a duet with although the song “I Will Be With You (Where the Lost Ones Go)” is starting to really grow on me. I yawned myself through Sarah’s duet with Andrea Bocelli “Canto Della Terra”. That song was rather bland and lifeless. I do though adore Sarah’s cover of Dead Can Dance’s “Sanvean” (my favorite DCD song of all time), the title track “Symphony”, and “Pasion” (duet with Fernado Lima). The biggest problem I found with the album is that the flow of the cd. Sarah’s attempts at singing hard rock totally threw me off and totally jarred the whole listening experience for me. While I do like SYMPHONY, I hardly can say it is one of Sarah’s better albums. more detail

Warpaint

Until Warpaint came out, it had been years since I listened to the Black Crowes. I never bought or have I heard By Your Side or Lions…when Marc Ford left the band, I stopped listening. I loved Southern Harmony & Musical Companion. I still feel like that was their masterpiece, but I liked Amorica alot and 3 Snakes not quite as much. When Warpaint came out, I decided 12 years was long enough to go between Crowes albums. After listening to Warpaint 10 times or so, I can say that I believe that this is their best album next to Southern Harmony. While Amorica has some great songs, it doesn’t really hang together as an album that well. All the songs seem to be separate entities. Warpaint flows extremely well and each song seems to be much more of a piece. Additionally, each song on Warpaint seems “lived in” much more, with a more organic quality. This has really great production. For example, in Evergreen, the vocals never get overwhelmed by the instruments, like they do in songs like Under a Mountain off 3 Snakes. The songs are never overdone, but have a real grit to them that makes it more authentic then previous albums. My only qualm is that I am not a huge fan of Gold in Them Hills. I feel like it adds one more soft, sort of middling tune where a harder tune may have added a bit more backbone to the album. The itunes release came with 2 bonus tunes, one of which was “Hole in Your Soul”, which I believe adds that extra grit in place of the “Gold” tune Otherwise, really exceptional album that forces the world to reassess the Black Crowes & their legacy in the Rock n’ Roll patheon.. more detail

Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings

“Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings is the story of what happens when all the bright lights start to burn instead of glitter and you become more of a part of the shadow they cast behind you than the person you are in front. Produced in two parts by Gil Norton & Brian Deck, it’s about a flood of sin and liquor and dissolution and insanity and it’s about trying to rebuild the life you wrecked in the wake of that flood. It’s about the way it feels. It’s about me.
It’s a Counting Crows album. We’re back. We were only ever as far gone as you can go.”
- Adam Duritz, Counting Crows
Amazon.com With over 20 million albums sold worldwide, eight Top 5 singles, and three records that have broken the Top 5 on the Billboard 200, COUNTING CROWS are set to release their long awaited new album SATURDAY NIGHTS & SUNDAY MORNINGS. The record is the Crows’ first studio album in almost 5 years, since the release of Hard Candy in 2002. more detail

New Amerykah

Erykah Badu, a Dallas native emerged in 1997 with her masterpiece debut album Baduizm as a primal force of nature connecting old school soul with contemporary R&B. The album garnered her numerous award nominations, pulling 2 coveted Grammys (Best Female R&B Vocal, Best R&B Album) and multiple Top spots on critics’ Best-Of-The-Year Lists. In 2000 she followed up with the critically acclaimed platinum selling album, Mama’s Gun. In 2003 the EP World Wide Underground was awarded Gold certification.
Album Description Universal Motown’s multi-platinum-selling, Grammy awardwinning singer/songwriter/actress Erykah Badu returns to the music scene with her new album “New Amerykah” featuring the debut single “Honey”. Laced with Erykah’s bluesy grit and MC style vocals, the song is bolstered by producer’s 9th Wonder’s razor sharp hip hop beats. Badu describes the song as “an old school track with some funk on it.” The release of “Honey” on November 20th also marks Badu’s 10th year in the music industry. To celebrate, the gifted trendsetter prepares the release of her much anticipated new album on her birthday, February 26th. Badu has enlisted some of the most talented, groundbreaking underground producers and engineers in the hip-hop game to support her breakthrough return, including Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder (Jay-Z, Nas, Mary J. Blige), Madlib, Mike “Chav” Chavarria and R&B singer Bilal. A special, 12-inch pink wax edition will be available only to DJ’s next month and will feature underground tracks, “The Healer” and “Real Thang.” “The music is the star,” says Erykah, “I just laid down my vocals and let the music breathe while the melodies tell the stories.” This album is part one of the series New Amerykah Part 1&2. more detail

In Rainbows

On the deliriously satisfying In Rainbows, Radiohead returns to a more straight-ahead (though subdued) rock sound. Much hubbub has been made about this record’s innovative release. Radiohead allowed fans to pay what they wished to download fairly low-resolution tracks from the band’s own website. Like so many innovations, it already seems funny both that it was such big news and that someone else of similar stature hadn’t done it sooner. Some pundits were appalled that it took awhile to download the tracks if you tried to do it at the same time as thousands of other people, while others decried that the group was trying to kill the music industry (or save it). Little of the press seemed to focus on the record itself, which actually made sense because it was so entertaining and inviting, the most low-key album Radiohead has made to date. There’s even a very straight-forward, simple, silly little love song, “House of Cards.” It might be a bit lethargic, but the simple instrumentation of electric guitars, bass, and drums is lovely as heck. A handful of these tunes enchanted fans for years before finally being committed to computer “tape.” This is particularly fitting as In Rainbows is the group’s most “band”-sounding album since OK Computer. This is not a record that hits you over the head with how far this group is pushing the envelope; it’s simply a phenomenal, well-crafted, and exciting album. As soon as it’s done, you’re playing it again. –Mike McGonigal. more detail