Classicstoday.com -- Classical CD Reviews, SACD Reviews, DVD Reviews

Classicstoday.com -- Classical CD Reviews, SACD Reviews, DVD Reviews

Comic Book Noir: Sin City

I went up to New York these past few days, and while I drowned myself in new and strange art, I took a diversion and went to see Sin City, the latest offering from Robert Rodriguez, of El Mariachi and Spy Kids fame. Needless to say, I was impressed with the visuals -- the movie is taken panel for panel from the comic book series of the same name, done by Frank Miller, who is best known for revitalizing Batman in the 1980's with his Dark Knight series. I remember being in college when the first Sin City book came out, and it is one of the three stories in the movie. Everything is black and white -- and sometimes red, and the cinematography is stunning, the way the scenes are composed, the black framing the white. The acting is okay, I mean, this is hammed up guy noir stuff, where everybody's a tough guy, and all the women are objects of their affection -- or a left hook. Bruce Willis probably turns in his finest role since 12 Monkeys, though even there he had a bit more to do. Jennifer Alba plays another hottie, but not much to do, and Guillermo del Toro plays another in a long line of dramatically odd characters that reinforces his good acting abilities. Rutger Hauer, Mickey Rourke, and a host of other all star actors are in this film. My main problem with it is the droning, monotonoud voice overs that serve as text panels in the comic book; here they become annoying and detract from the visuals. Halfway in the movie the director seems to agree -- the narratives become less and less. It was kind of like Pulp Fiction without some of the humanity that it had -- this was a very decent interpretation of the comic book, but I felt it could have expanded on it more and not be so slavish. It's a depiction of a dark, nihilistic world treaded by Jim Thompson, Horacy McCoy and David Goodis, but on steroids.

Sabadaba

Music

This has become one of my favorite sites to visit. The music is great, and the covers are fun to look at. I like that there is some research involved in who some of the artists are, and how they figured in the Brazilian music scene of the 60's and 70's.

Thailand's action: Born to Fight

Thailand has been producing movies recently that are staring to take notice here in the US. Ong Bak, the Thai Warrior, should be hitting the screens here soon, with most of the talk centering on the movie's action star, Tony Ja, who is being promoted as the next Bruce Lee. He probably isn't, because he doesn't have the same kind of charisma, but regardless, his unique style of fighting, a close quarters punching and kicking that makes open attacks very difficult to do. And is amazing to watch on screen. A more recent release, Born to Fight, is much more in the classic action movie mold of, say, Fist of Fury, or pick your favorite 80's action movie, starring Chuck Norris, Van Damme, Steven Segal, Schwarzenegger, or Sly Stallone. This means a threadbare plot with lots of ass kicking. Basically it all centers on a small Thai village, where a bunch of young men and women are volunteering to help distibute essentials to the villagers -- clothes, toys, food, etc., when suddenly a band of terrorists come out of nowhere and wipe out half the people in a show of force. The other half are used as hostages as the terror leader calls on the Thai government to release the group's leader from prison. What they don't know is that one of the volunteers (Choupong Changprung), is a police officer, and brother to one of the volunteers, who happened to come along for the ride. Most of the movie is spent showing him evading and kicking terrorists all over the place, and eventually leads the hostages to overcome the terrorists. All the main characters are stunt men and women, and the fight sequences and stunts are breathtaking! This is the purpose of the movie -- to see what situations they get into, and how they do it. There is a girl who had to have been an Olympic gymnast; she uses a strategically placed parallel bars to subdue the bad guys, another does a gasping leap from the top of a tractor trailer, flips over, and lands on the ground, and another leaps from his motorcycle in a firey inferno through a wooden wall, flips over, and somehow lands in one piece. Each incredible sequence is repeated in short, slo mo repeats, and all are worth seeing twice. Very minimal CGI; these guys really hurt themselves for your pleasure! A must see for action fans!!!

Sam Rivers at the Peabody Institute 4/1/05

I went to work at my usual time Friday, and checking my voice mail messages, a friend had called and said that Sam Rivers was going to play at the Peabody Institute that night! I called back and said heel yes, let's try to makeit -- so we leave around 5:30, snarled in the rush hour traffic on I-95, my friend on the cell, calling to see if we can still get tickets, yes there are, we nab em, and manage to squeak into Baltimore with minutes to spare before the show began. Apparently the Peabody has a Jazz program -- relatively new, with a big band. They had Cecil Taylor some years ago, but this was an event -- Sam Rivers! Of the Blue Note era, with classic albums like Fuscia Swing Song, Contours, to the Impulse era, Hues, Sizzle, Crystals, to COnference of the Birds with Dave Holland, to the RCA All Star Big Band recordings of several years ago. With longtime bandmates Doug Mathews and Anthony Cole, the trio performed one set, doing improvisations (Sam didn't really announce the titles as much as mumble them, and even then he said they were making it up as they were going along), and of course, Beatrice. The second set was with the Peabody Band, a collection of students from the school that only had a few days' preparation with the trio to execute very difficult arrangements. And as true to the high quality and talent of the students, they pulled it off very well! I can't say enough about the playing of Sam and his group -- they just know how to play off of each other, and they still have fun while firing off some highly complicated and intricate tunes. While Rivers may not have had the fame and attention like Coltrane, Rollins, or even Wayne Shorter, he has had a solid musical career with no loss in direction or musical inventiveness. All three musicians play different instruments -- Mathews mostly bass instruments, baritone sax, electic bass, upright bass, etc. Cole plays tenor sax, as well as piano. And Rivers does tenor, soprano, flute, and piano with equal skill. The auditorium was medium sized yet intimate -- I overheard the sound engineer saying to tsomeone that it used to be a rehersal room, but by accident they discovered that it was great for playing jazz, as the other concert rooms distorted the sound too much. It was sold out, though as is the case, anyone who had come to hear some jazz, and not Sam Rivers, were gone by intermission. Forutnately, it was still crowded. I only wish DC was more in tune to events in Baltimore, as we just don't have a clue, or the venues, to hear talents of this high caliber play. But for last night, at 82, Sam Rivers can still kick out the jams and put out quality music. Amazing!