Check it out!

For more information on Galaxy Comics III, you can go to their Facebook page here or call them at 718-623-1234.

They also have two other stores- Galaxy I is located at 429 5th Ave, (718) 499-3222 and Galaxy II is in Bay Ridge at 6823 5th Ave, (718) 921-1236.

You can also e-mail them at GalaxyC429@yahoo.com.

If a company has the great fortune to captivate its audiences as opposed to simply satisfy, then it has truly earned the right to theatrical pride.

For the duration of the month, the respective players at the T. Schreiber Studio can safely hold their costumed heads high as they accomplished this tremendous feat with seeming ease. This should be attributed to director Terry Schreiber, perhaps, who took on the colossal challenge of staging such a famously complex play.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the iconic and inimitable Anton Chekhov wrote a perfect play, in spite of the fact that it does not execute his most famous technique – Chekhov’s Gun. Each character is at once compelling and flawed and conflicted – yet this is conveyed through a touch of subtlety and class often lacking in many modern attempts. They carry within them great selfishness and pride, and yet are almost poignantly sympathetic. They spurt beautiful lines of human freedom and equality, yet often fall into the traps they rally against. Throughout all this, it simply sizzles with philosophy, as it explores the notions of freedom, life, love and happiness. All the while, it makes superb use of symbolism while maintaining brilliant wit.

For those not entirely familiar with it, “The Cherry Orchard” was Chekhov’s final play. Inspired in part by the loss of his own beloved cherry orchard in his youth, the legendary dramaturge planned it as a satire of the Russian upper-class in the wake of the emancipation of the serfs.

His equally famous compatriot, Constantin Stanislavski, however, staged it as a tragedy, much to the chagrin of its creator. Consequently, this particular play became especially difficult to produce due to its rich and at times contradictory nature.

It begins with a wealthy and decidedly self-made son of a serf, Lopakhin (Jamie Kirmser), being awoken by his ladylike maid, Dunyasha (Ina Marie Smith), after falling asleep in his effort to wait up for the train containing the owner of the estate.

Her name is Lyubov Ranevskaya (Julie Garfield) and she has just come back from a five-year stay in Paris, with her daughter Anya (Laine Bonstein), Anya’s governess Charlotta (Julia Szabo) and her valet Yasha (Parker Dixon) in tow. The estate, run by Ranevskaya’s adopted daughter Varya (Aleksandra Stattin), has fallen into debt, however, and the family is unable to gather the required funds to restore their former glory.

It begins in May and is due to be auctioned off in August. Throughout, various other characters are introduced, including Lyubov’s brother, Gaev (Rick Forstmann), the deeply ideological Trofimov (Marcus Lorenzo) and the estate’s committed footman, Firs (Peter Judd).

One of the most difficult aspects of staging a foreign play rests in cultural interpretation. Just as directors and actors in other countries may miss certain inherently American aspects of Tennessee Williams or Arthur Miller, professionals in the United States may miss certain intricacies that are thinly woven into the culture. What was especially amazing about Garfield’s performance was her accurate portrayal of a Russian woman. There was a certain essence about her – in her movements, her timbre, her demeanor – that embraced and embodied the culture. She crossed in the manner of Eastern Orthodox Christians – right to left. Though many others did not follow this detail – and it truly is not that important that they did not – Garfield’s adherence to this perceivable technicality was highly indicative of her level of dedication to her character and the play, in general. Her Ranevskaya was at once delightfully charming and infuriatingly spoiled – an ironic behavior for a woman who suffered so much in her life. During certain moments, she seemed to channel Vivien Leigh’s breathtaking performance as the eerily similar Blanche DuBois; at other times, she was her own unstoppable, unmovable force – a raging tornado of talent and theatrical grace.

Bonstein was utterly engaging as the idealistic and innocent Anya, presenting equal appeal to her audience through her adorable laughter and somber tears. She could hardly be written off as silly, however, since the role of Anya is certainly serious and Bonstein carried that challenge with poise. Stattin’s contribution as her sister served as a marvelous foil for Anya’s zeal; as Stattin grazed a number of emotions – each delivered with subtlety when appropriate and explosive vigor when otherwise necessary.

Though passionate, Lorenzo often placed emphasis on the wrong word, which at times served to distract from his brilliant speeches, the writing for which is the best in the play. He was, however, commendable, since the deeply complex role of the quiet philosopher quite conceivably presents one of the biggest challenges in the entire play.
With a penchant for comic relief, Forstmann, Judd and Szabo were often responsible for some of “The Cherry Orchard’s” most uproarious moments, though often carried with a darker and sadder subtext. Judd, especially, possessed such witty magnetism in his delivery that his very appearance later in the play drew laughter in anticipation of his forthcoming jest. However, as the depth of his commitment to this decidedly ungrateful family became clear, his role almost became tragic – a transition that Judd carried reverently.

Each participant of the play’s primary love triangle – Dunyasha, Yasha and Yepikhodov (Alec A. Head), who is deemed “Mister Disaster” by his contemporaries for his accident-prone nature – consistently delivered ample entertainment. Dixon, especially, bearing an ever-present grimace, both calculating and deviously arrogant, was a joy to watch.
Aside from the marvelous acting, the task of stage design was handled absolutely impeccably – especially that of the woods at the end of the second act. It seemed as though each part of the large apparatus was utilized to its fullest extent, providing a truly marvelous and useful decoration.

Although beautiful and truly worth seeing, the performance was not without flaws; they were, however, those that required familiarity with the culture to notice, so they would hardly ruin an evening of theatre. Aside from not all characters practicing the correct method of crossing in Eastern Orthodox Christianity – the dominant religion in Russia – much of the music sounded distinctly more Jewish than Russian – especially the first and last pieces – as did one of the dances. This could have very well been a stylistic choice, as a memory of a Jewish band was mentioned during the play, or it could have been an oversight. If it is the latter, it is minor in comparison to the gargantuan effort of staging such a wonderful production of this difficult play.

Along with the zealous humor, the true beauty of Chekhov deals with his ability to capture the human spirit. During a conversation late in the play, Gaev tells Trofimov that the great philosopher Nietzsche would have approved of forgery. In response, the idealistic student skeptically asks his interlocutor if he has even read any of Nietzsche’s work.

As the overture to “The Cherry Orchard” played, there were confident whispers among the audiences of the balalaika’s – a traditional Russian instrument – predominance in the song, even though it had hardly been present – if at all. Though more than a century had passed since this particularly sensitive and theatrically-inclined doctor first penned the words to what would become his most popular play, the lesson remains the same: We are still entirely insistent on carrying on the falsities of the intelligentsia of old, of which we are all guilty. We still cling to a desire to appear a certain way – more respectable, intelligent, refined – when in reality we must simply embrace our authenticity, work and be free.

After the emotional draining challenge reality sets in where the challengers only have an hour or two to work-out and perform an 8-hour job. While it prepares them for the real world Jillian puts into perspective that her team is still the underdogs. There are “five giants and Sunshine” on the Blue team and that causes Sam to rally his Black team to focus on sending another Blue team member home.

The various jobs each team is designated to do gives the show a lighthearted feel. Then reality sets in as the regional manager who looks to be a prime candidate for “The Biggest Loser” tells his story of his father dying at the age of 33. It is what the core of this show is about – giving practical advice to what seems to be an overwhelming situation. On a side note: whoever chooses the music for the show needs to have a lighter hand. There isn’t the need for an over-the-top soundtrack and an emotional voice-over.

The week takes its toll as Sam forgets his lunch at the ranch. Luckily there is the old standby sandwich shop where a healthy, low-caloric meal can be had. Product placement is one of the factors of this show that turns off many viewers. However we must remember that this is a reality show, albeit about weight loss.

That being said this week’s last chance workout is insanely-grueling. After a gym that literally shuts down at a certain time Bob does everything he can to “straighten the hair” of his Blue team. In the meantime it’s the first week since O’Neil (Blue team) does not have immunity. Will his luck run out? Then there is Lance O’Neil’s teammate who is facing that 300lb wall. Will he go under that weight this week, will he lose any weight at all, or will he cause his team to lose the weigh-in? The weigh-in get even more intense as the Black team steps up to the scale. It all comes down to Sam. Will his weight loss send another Blue team member home or will the Black team enter the elimination room for the first time? No matter what the results are a family may possibly be separated.

Next week brings on more intensity as repercussions of this elimination takes its toll on members from both sides as they deal with several emotional issues. Tune in to see the triumphs and the meltdowns.

Battered by shoddy directing and a poor flow overall, TNA still has some work to do before it can tread water with the WWE. Sure, the actual in-ring action was excellent, as the X-Division match and Ladies Tag Team Title matches were solid [of course excluding the disastrous, but emotional showing by a bloodied Ric Flair and Hogan], but the transitions and interviews need some serious polishing. Unlike the last show the company did on a Monday night, where things felt unpredictable, this past show lacked the same emotion.

For example, right before Rob Van Dam was set to make his TNA debut, color commentator Tazz gave it away to the hardcore fans by saying something along the lines of “What will you do this year on 420.”

Not cool.

During the segment between Sean Waltman, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Eric Young, things felt lackluster and were developing far too slow for a live show. A snafu in production cut to an unaware Eric Bischoff in the beginning of the segment as well, confusing the audience and making it obvious that things need to be tightened up some more before this show is truly ready for the prime time.

In addition, the return of Shannon Moore was unspectacular and makes little to no sense. Nothing against Moore, but the match between Frankie Kazarian and Doug Williams is a much better bout than any one involving Moore. Perhaps the brass at TNA feel the crazy-looking Moore will put more butts in the seats come pay per view time. Only time will tell on that one though.

Nonetheless, the biggest disaster on the night was when the company cut the show off right before Jeff Hardy was about to land a swanton bomb on Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles.

Definitely not cool.

If TNA is going to step up their game, mistakes like this have to fixed. The card for the upcoming PPV looks solid, but with the production values and big names of the WWE, TNA needs to be as close to perfect as possible. Otherwise, the new Monday night war will be over before it starts.

With “Welcome to the Rileys” Scott brings forth an unexpected indie film that has a subdued tone but contains strong performances and story line with a memorable impact.

Scott introduces us to the Rileys and the story of a family with trauma in its past. Doug Riley, played by James Gandolfini, and his wife Lois Riley, played by Melissa Leo (“Everybody’s Fine”), seem to be the typical middle-aged couple in a quiet suburban neighborhood but there’s more to their story behind closed doors. The secret is that both are struggling with the loss of their daughter and aren’t attempting to put the pieces back together, but instead they wallow in bad habits and drift further apart. The Rileys are merely coexisting, and badly at that.

Riley is indulging in an affair with a waitress, while his wife is at home with a bad case of agoraphobia, even making the hair dresser visit their home due to her fear of leaving the house. Gandolfini is clearly best known for his heavy-breathing mobster role Tony Soprano, who re-invigorated the Italian mafia for a whole new generation of fascinated viewers. However this role, he brings to life a man who is the opposite of larger-than-life, and is quite broken. Mr. Riley is looking for answers and they come in the form of a teen stripper who has a bone to pick with life and could care less about Riley and his intentions.

Enter Kristen Stewart, in one of her two films to premiere at Sundance 2010, she expands her range playing a ‘runaway’ of a different sort in this film, where she is numb to life and is concerned only with how she will make her next dollar. Her appearance is startling, looking thinner than ever in the stripper garb and ill-fitting street clothes, even sporting some nasty looking sores on her face. She is unmistakably a stripper/prostitute, and “Twilight’s” Bella Swan will be buried deep in your memory with her gritty performance. Amazingly, Stewart’s character Mallory is the one who has the potential to pull it all together for the Rileys, even with her complacent disposition and her non-existent grasp on the bigger picture of life.

After encountering Mallory on a business trip to New Orleans, Riley is compelled to step into her life and try to repair some damage, forming an unusual but simultaneously an endearing relationship. There is no funny business between the two; Riley is sincerely working out all of the pain in his life through helping another, while Mrs. Riley is forced to work through her own issues due to her husband’s absence. Both Gandolfini and Leo convincingly perform the roles of parents who suffered the loss of a child, both together at one point, but what we see in the film is their last-ditch effort to recover any part of their former selves and salvage their relationship.

“Welcome to the Rileys” is compelling material, with characters who are living real deal situations, with no sugar-coating. There are no moments of glossiness or hallmark-coated dialogue and the story is one that unfortunately many people could relate to concerning broken relationships and the loss of a loved one. All of the performances are impressive, and the only distraction concerning Gandolfini’s performance is his intermittent Southern accent which would have been an improvement had it been entirely cut out. In the end, the film rises above the average, and hits home with touching moments and sincere characters who are reaching out to repair their fragile lives.

Day of Fire demonstrates a Christian hard rock point of view, with a slight southern melody. The titles of each track are quite simple, but fit perfectly with what the lead singer, Josh Brown, speaks about. Every song seems to portray some kind of heartache and the experience of losing someone that a person cannot imagine living without. Even though the tracks on this particular album are not too lengthy, Brown’s voice contributes a captivating and memorable sound that many would not mind listening to over and over again.

The message that Day of Fire displays is one that shows an addiction to love and attempting to lose anything, even if it may be all that they have left. This is where the title of the album falls into place. This type of music is calming and soothing, the kind that donates a relieving feeling to someone who at their lowest or is currently on the edge of losing everything that is important in their lives. The songs clearly represent unforgettable memories that a person will sooner or later need to let go of.

The track “Cold Addiction,” mentions the lifestyle of a previous cocaine addict. Having an addiction to a drug is very similar to having an addiction to a person, allowing this song to be appropriately aligned with the others. “Airplane” is another song that strikes an act of reminiscing, explaining the wish of going back in time and reliving an experience that was extremely meaningful and significant.

Brown’s lyrics may be straight from the heart, but it would be nice to include more of these honest words. A majority of the album relies on the choruses to take over each song, barely elaborating on the sensitivity that the vocalist experienced in the past. If more detail was added, Brown’s stories would be easier to understand or relate to.

When first picking this album off of a shelf, “Losing All” is a title that could possibly confuse any individual. Losing everything generally gives off an attitude of no longer keeping what a person may adore. In this case, “Losing All” is a phrase that signifies the start of a fresh new life and trying to get rid of delicate time era.

During the song “Never Goodbye,” the guitarist and the bassist, brothers Joe and Chris Pangallo and drummer Zach Simms merge together to present the same affection that the vocalist provides throughout all of his singing parts. Besides Brown, the rest of the band truly accommodates hard hitting tunes that reflect Brown’s thoughts on “never saying goodbye.” Not only is the music suitable, the additional background vocals allow the lyrics to be extra effective. This track definitely contains the same vibe as the bands Nickelback and The Foo Fighters would account in their songs.

Day of Fire is not the typical modern rock band that most hear on the radio, but they do enjoy sharing what they feel and what occurrences they found to be life changing. Listening to this album will most likely allow listeners to realize that starting fresh is never wrong, and remembering past events is an easier way to get over things that will eventually be lost.

“Losing All” was quite a surprise, yet a success and has the capabilities of leaving a harsh, but pleasant impact straight on the heart.

Horse Trade Theater Group is pleased to present the first annual FRIGID Hangovers, March 9-13 at The Kraine Theater. We’re bringing back the best and the brightest shows from this year’s festival for one night only performances. Here’s your second chance to catch Kill the Band, The Bike Trip, Four Quarters, Ramblings of a Gentleman Scumbag, No Traveler, Vodka Shoes, Legs and All, Medea, Bonne Nuit Poo Poo, and IT OR HER.

FRIGID Hangovers will run March 9-13 at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery). Tickets to all shows ($7-16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444

Audience Choice Award Winner
Kill the Band
Kelly Dwyer Brooklyn, NY
Kill the Band is the original, comedy rock and roll, anti-cabaret! Coinciding with the release of their first album, this unpredictable, unforgettable, outrageously funny musical experience is both the band’s breakdown and breakthrough. Part Lucille Ball on her 3rd bottle of 5 Hour Power, part Meatloaf, sexy with a side of silly.
Tuesday, March 9 @ 7pm

“Outrageous, infection and raucous. On a scale of 1 to 10, this group goes to 11.”
Karen Tortora-Lee, The Happiest Medium

The Bike Trip
Martin Dockery Brooklyn, NY
In a breathtaking quest to uncover the nature of the psychedelic experience, a man journeys through San Francisco, India, and Switzerland, tapping into history’s very first acid trip by, amongst other things, renting a bike.
Tuesday, March 9 @ 8:30pm

“Dockery’s gifts as a storyteller border on the supernatural… Dockery’s power as a performer is such that he is the experience. He will make you trip.” Danny Bowes, nytheatre.com

Top Grossing Show Award Winner
Four Quarters
Agony Productions Brooklyn, NY
An innovative play in which two adults discover a love for their inner halves while searching for their other halves. Two adults. Four Quarters. Working, pushing and struggling to connect, trying to be one whole.
Thursday, March 11 @ 7pm

“It’s extraordinarily refreshing to see a play that moves beyond traditional representations of sexuality, and Four Quarters does so in a way I have never seen.” Dan Dinero, Theatre is Easy

Imperial Favorite Award Winner
Ramblings of a Gentleman Scumbag
(a) muse Collective New York, NY
Lucky Cheng’s Balloon man, delusional comic, and man of no God tries to justify 34 years of poor life choices and degeneracy.
Thursday, March 11 @ 8:30pm

“There are moments in Ramblings that are quite moving…I was always interested in what he was going to say, or do, or—in some cases—create with balloons next.” J. Jordan, nytheatre.com

No Traveler
(a) muse Collective New York, NY
In a narcissistic attempt to win her family’s attention, Abigail decides to perform the greatest stunt of all- attempted suicide. When her childish venture turns into unexpected reality, Abigail finds herself trapped in purgatory – a warped version of her apartment with two exits. Heaven or Hell. As a result of her foolish mistake, there is atonement and penance to be paid… and time is running out.
Thursday, March 11 @ 10pm

“No Traveler is probably one of the best produced one-woman-shows I have ever seen.”
Karen Tortora-Lee, The Happiest Medium

Vodka Shoes
Leslie Goshko Brooklyn, NY
Rather than abuse her, Leslie’s alcoholic father would buy her shoes, drag race the lawnmower, and burn the neighbor’s bills, while her mother managed a doomed Christian bookstore and prayed in tongues over Leslie’s ailing sister. Leslie’s storytelling navigates a humorously tragic journey through childhood with frighteningly endearing characters.
Friday, March 12 @ 7pm

“An astounding performance with razor-sharp humor and unabashed bravery.”
Amanda Halkiotis, New Theatre Corps

Festival Favorite Award Winner
Legs and All
Summer Shapiro & Peter Musante Brooklyn, NY
A physical exploration of limits, perspective and chocolate cake. Rooted in physical comedy and set to music, it takes a magical look at the mundane where two people stumble into the extraordinary. Limbs shoot out from a box and lamps repel us into other worlds. It peeks at human loneliness and hits up against reality’s glass ceiling to poke about in the breathing space beyond.
Friday, March 12 @ 8:30pm

“A relentlessly charming, overwhelmingly beautiful piece of art.” Aaron Riccio, That Sounds Cool

Medea
No.11 Productions Long Island City, NY
Medea, suddenly abandoned by her husband Jason, plots her bloody revenge. A beautiful and heartbreaking staging of Euripides’ 2, 400-year-old play about love, broken expectations, passion, violence and what happens when we want too much. An original score and puppetry add an artistic twist to this vibrant translation.
Saturday, March 13 @ 5:30pm

“No. 11 Productions’ new revival does the play justice by capturing the drama of the story and making it feel vibrant and new.” Lucy Butcher, Show Business Weekly

Bonne Nuit Poo Poo
Theatre Reverb Brooklyn, NY
Max, Maxi and the Operator fight for their survival in this action-packed comic-erotic end times fantasy featuring live video stream, text, dance and spectacle.
Saturday, March 13 @ 7pm

“Their brand of strange stream-of-consciousness comedy is like no other… Bonne Nuit Poo Poo is fringe theater at its very best…the direction I hope theatre is headed.” Richard Hinojosa, nytheatre.com

Audience Choice Award Winner
IT OR HER
Alena Smith Brooklyn, NY
In the basement of a suburban house hides a man and his incredible collection of figurines. Like a mad scientist he plays with his objects, searching for what he calls “the ultimate arrangement” – hoping to find it before his hideout is invaded, and his own dark secret is revealed.
Saturday, March 13 @ 8:30pm

“McManamon’s physicality was genius. He completely took control of the stage. I found myself amazed, over and over.” Diánna Martin, The Happiest Medium

The FRIGID New York Festival was founded by Horse Trade and EXIT Theatre in 2007. Since founding The San Francisco Fringe Festival – the 2nd oldest fringe in the United States – nearly 17 years ago, EXIT has learned a thing or two about festival running. They introduced Horse Trade to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) in mid-2006. Besides feedback from dozens of thrilled CAFF participants and artists, Horse Trade was drawn to its main principle: “…to provide all artists, emerging and established, with the opportunity to produce their play no matter the content, form or style and to make the event as affordable and accessible as possible for the members of the community,” Horse Trade is proud to sign on to the tradition and chill out the New York independent theater scene’s ideas of what a theatre festival can be. In true support of theatre on the fringe of the mainstream, the artists take home 100% of their box office, and the festival producers do not receive royalties from future performances. The festival’s producers are proud to support self-producing artists’ growth and future success. New York City is an indisputable hotbed of groundbreaking talent and we’re proud to once again invite artists to take advantage of this opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination.

Digsby was developed by dotSyntax, LLC in 2008, advertising its adoring logo, an amusing blob with a green and orange hat mounted on Manhattan trash cans. The program itself took time before it was fully released. Nevertheless, it is a very functional multi-chat client that could run almost any chat client, from AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Facebook chat, Jabber, Google Talk to ICQ. It is also very user friendly, fully customizable and provides many tools to satisfy a user’s needs.

Digsby’s multi-client function allows users to keep in touch with all their contacts from social networks with ease. Unlike other chat clients such as Trillian and Pidgin, which are also multi-client, Digsby provides extensive uses such as providing updates and alerts from the most popular social networking Web sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Because the program has multi-client functions, it is also very organized and easy to manage. Digsby provides an easy-preference section to add/remove whichever accounts a user desires, and also allows users to easily connect and disconnect from each username. There is also a dropdown menu, which provides ways of being available, offline, invisible and away.

Other preferences are provided in the “tools” section on the menu bar, giving the users customization in all places such as the chat windows, buddy-list layout and modifying privacy, conversation, skins, profile, widgets, notification and status settings. The preference menu is organized and neatly categorized for a user-friendly look, and gives access to all necessary program changes.

The graphic user interface and default style of the buddy list and chat window is clean, sleek and versatile. Buddies can be categorized by name, service or status, while their status icons are shown in different colors to indicate whether they are away, idle, online or on a mobile phone. The chat window provides various buttons to allow video chatting, file transferring, e-mailing and SMS. The program’s functionality also comes with simple yet smooth sounds for online/offline buddies and instant messages. Nevertheless, the layout is not cluttered, and important information is always visible.

Digsby has been monitored by developers to ensure that problems are fixed, which is why the chat client hardly has bugs and hardly ever crashes. It is also free of charge and available on Windows, Mac and Linux.

The installation file is 18 MB, and with all the customization and ease from Digsby, the program is a whopping size of more than 60 MB when installed. However, the memory usage has been quite low since the first few releases of the program, which is a plus.

To use Digsby, however, it also requires a user to create a Digsby account and manage his or her other screen names and services from Digsby. Therefore, user information is not stored locally, unlike Pidgin, AIM and Trillian.

Still, even with its large file size after installation, Digsby is extremely useful, extensive and customizable, and does its best at helping people communicate through the Web without the nuisance of going on every single Web site or chat client individually. Therefore, Digsby is a good addition for anyone who wants to keep track of friends and social-network statuses, or even for regular basis chatting online.

“Wake Up!” – Shooter Jennings & Hierophant

From the album “Black Ribbons” Shooter Jennings and his band Hierophant have created a song that defies genre. It’s a dark tale that opens with subtle rhythmic tones that bursts into an electric explosion. Companioned with the lyrics, “Wake Up!”will have you clamoring for this awesome sound. Jennings calls this a “concept album” that speaks to the horror/occult fan within – and with narration interspersed in between the musical tracks by Stephen King there is no doubt that this will be an unforgettable album. Luckily you can have this track for free.

“Ioda Sxsw Opening Day Bash Sampler 2010” – Various Artists

There are albums that give independent artists a chance for their voices to be heard. In some cases it is a welcome surprise, and in this instance there are some welcome additions to your mp3 player. It starts off promising with the track “Shy” by the band A Sunny Day in Glasgow. The track is an experimentation in symphonic, synthesized sound that won’t annoy you. The good vibes continue with Zeus’ “Marching Through Your Head.” Its happy, folksy music is contrasted with the lyrics that speak of a betrayal of a lover and how the protagonist is trying to talk someone out of making the same mistake again. However we come to the noise-infused “Let’s Go” by the Summer Cats. It’s a completely worthless track that isn’t worth your time. This sampler album rights itself again with Tobacco’s “Truck Sweat.” This is another experimentation with synthesizers and instruments that would not ordinarily be played together. It makes for an interesting listening experience. Overall this free sampler of various artists is well worth the time to download.

“Alice’s Theme” – Danny Elfman

With the reimagining of “Alice in Wonderland,” Elfman has created a theme song worthy of what seems to be a visually stunning film. This song is effective in that it makes you think of the movie. At times it literally drums the thought of the film into your psyche. Perhaps you may not listen to it on your way to work, still it is a stunning piece of musical work that can only be appreciated more since it’s free.

“Let the River Run” – Carly Simon

This rearrangement of the song from the movie “Working Girl” works better than its original. It speaks more to Simon’s current singing style – subtle and with purpose. The vocal arrangement is also rich with sound. Even if you have the original track, download this one. It will be well worth it.

“Hold The Line Feat. Mr. Lex & Santigold” – Major Lazer

Horses walking slowly, then speeding up and guitar playing, followed by a driving rapping beat with phones ringing? Yes and it works as this song will keep you moving. The Caribbean/reggae type beat mixed with sounds not normally heard in music is an experiment that you will be glad Major Lazer attempted. Essentially it’s just plain fun to listen to. Get it.

“U N Me” – The Watson Twins

In a sea of solid free downloads, The Watson Twins hold their own. The lyrics are nothing new, but the singing and instrument arrangement make this song stand out in an excellent way. It also ends far too soon.

“Tardy for the Party (Tracy Young’s Don’t Be Tardy Radio Mix)” – Kim Zolciak

Call it a gimmick, but this dance track actually works. Kim Zolciak from “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” with her remixed voice is a solid song thanks to the work of Tracy Young’s mixing skills.

We’ve also got some free bonus inspiration for you this week: At last September’s Penny Arcade Expo, Nintendo invited professional artists to create one-of-a-kind animations using the Flipnote Studio™ application for the Nintendo DSi system. The results are now online and ready for viewing at the Flipnote Hatena site (http://flipnote.hatena.com), including cool clips from top comic artists like Eric Jones, Christina Strain and Mike Choi. Check them out and treat your brain to extra helpings of creative juice.

WiiWare

Max & the Magic Marker
Publisher: Press Play
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: One day Max gets a mysterious marker in the mail. Not knowing better, the first thing he draws is a wacky, purple monster. As soon as the marker leaves the paper, the monster comes to life and jumps off the paper and into another drawing. With the monster on the loose and messing with Max’s drawings, Max has no choice but to go after it. Armed with the magic marker, you must help Max track the monster through 15 inventive and challenging levels. You’ll need more than good will and quick reflexes to tackle the challenges ahead. Draw freely inside the game to help Max defeat enemies, overcome obstacles and solve puzzles. As you draw stairs, seesaws, balloons, surfboards and whatever else you can think of, your creations will interact with the physical environment, making every session unique.

Dracula – Undead Awakening
Publisher: Chillingo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Are you a vampire hunter? Are you ready to battle legions of undead foes including zombies, ghouls and werewolves? You’ll need to wield an arsenal of powerful weaponry while using your skill and intelligence. Uncover devastating firepower – machine guns, buzz-saws, flamethrowers and more – and choose upgrades for them as well as unique new perks for your character as your enemies increase in number and ferocity. You’re a tough customer, but beware – Lord Dracula is always on the hunt, and you are his prey. Enemies in Dracula have one thing in common: Undead, lycanthrope or mutant, they’re all after your flesh.

Virtual Console

FINAL FANTASY II
Original platform: Super NES™
Publisher: Square Enix
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Follow the dark knight Cecil – Lord Captain of Baron’s elite force, the Red Wings – as he embarks on a fateful journey riddled with trials, betrayals, friendship, loss and self-discovery. Plagued with uncertainty over his monarch’s motives, can Cecil turn away from the path of darkness and destruction?

Nintendo DSiWare™

Elemental Masters
Publisher: lbxgames
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: In this fantasy card game, stand your ground in a quest filled with magic and adventure, and experience a thrilling combination of strategy and role-playing. Choose your character, build up your army in your card deck and fight the mystical creatures of Elendior. With thoughtful use of your cards, you’ll obtain the monsters of your enemy and support your attacks by using arcane spells and the rules of dark magic. Dive into this captivating story in the quest mode or duel with your friends in multiplayer mode. More than 100 creatures in numerous maps are waiting for you.

4 TRAVELLERS™ – Play Spanish
Publisher: AGENIUS Interactive
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Whether played alone or together with friends, 4 TRAVELLERS can teach you new words in Spanish. The game is suitable for both young and old, and no previous knowledge is necessary. The more you play, the more your Spanish vocabulary increases. You can also play and learn with the game’s unique learning mode. The game is perfect to bring on your trip, with more than 240 carefully selected words included specifically for this occasion.

Dracula – Undead Awakening
Publisher: Chillingo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Are you a vampire hunter? Are you ready to battle legions of undead foes including zombies, ghouls and werewolves? You’ll need to wield an arsenal of powerful weaponry while using your skill and intelligence. Uncover devastating firepower – machine guns, buzz-saws, flamethrowers and more – and choose upgrades for them as well as unique new perks for your character as your enemies increase in number and ferocity. You’re a tough customer, but beware – Lord Dracula is always on the hunt, and you are his prey. Enemies in Dracula have one thing in common: Undead, lycanthrope or mutant, they’re all after your flesh.

Flips: The Bubonic Builders
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Not Rated
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Flips Interactive Books are the fun new way for kids to read. The builders are in to replace the girls’ toilet block, but they’re more interested in cups of tea and instant noodle snacks than doing any work. James suspects foul play, but Alexander and Lenny are doubtful until a strange accident hammers the truth home. How will the three friends stop St. Sebastian’s from being reduced to rubble?

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

If you’re a wrestling fan, after watching this ten-minute video, you have to be excited.

The Monday night war is back.

With an up and coming roster that includes athletes the likes of Rob Terry and D’Angelo Dinero, some of the brightest and talented athletes in the sport such as A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe, as well as a host of time proven commodities like Kurt Angle and Sting, TNA has more than enough of a chance to come out swinging tonight against the big, bad WWE.

Nevertheless, it’s interesting that TNA would headline their first “real” Monday night show with a tag team match between the team of Hulk Hogan and Abyss and Ric Flair and Styles. Not for nothing, unless Hogan and Flair are going to push themselves and wrestle their asses off, not many would be interested in seeing either one of them pound the mat with the garden variety moves they bring to the table now.

Even though they are without a doubt the two biggest stars to ever grace the ring, who wants to see Flair slap a figure-four on Hogan or the Hulkster give the Nature Boy the leg drop… again? It’s been done before, countless times, and even though it helped put WCW on the map almost 20 years ago, these parlor tricks will not induce a resurgence in TNA. Old fans want to see fresh faces, new moves and great story lines. Hogan and Flair can be mentors to both Abyss and Styles in this fashion, but getting in the ring isn’t going to do anything but help get the company a sponsorship with Sleepy’s.

However, if Hogan powerbombs Styles or Flair manages to squeeze a DDT on Abyss or something totally out of the blue like that, wrestling fans around the world will know that TNA isn’t playing games. The same thing goes for what happens with the host of other matches scheduled. Make no mistakes about it- for TNA to get off the ground running, every match has to be a winner, as well as every segment. The last time they put on a Monday night show, they made several small and a few glaring mistakes. Those definitely need to be fixed this time around.

With the in-ring talent the company has and the amount of bodies they’ve gotten from the WWE over the past six months, TNA has an opportunity to do some very creative things and they have to strike fast. Wrestling fans are weird like that. If they don’t feel that TNA is trying to keep them on the edge of their seats, they’ll switch right back over and be satisfied with what the WWE is showing.

With that being said, this looks to be one of the biggest night’s in the history of the sport.

Depending on how risky both of these companies get, things have the possibility of never being the same after tonight.

You’ve got to admit, though, this material might’ve worked in the right hands. On top of having to serve a six-year prison sentence, Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim), a French hooligan who’s of Middle Eastern descent, has to deal with a pecking order where Arabs are second-class citizens. That he’d get hit on in the shower by a guy (Hichem Yacoubi) who’s trading drugs for oral sex is no surprise (most prison films touch upon that sooner or later), but he didn’t count on a gang leader named César Luciani (Niels Arestrup) ordering him to take the guy up on his offer – he tells Malik that the drug dealer’s a snitch, and wants an inside man with the guts to murder him. Although Malik’s sure he can’t go through with it, he’ll wind up getting himself killed if he doesn’t play ball.

At least there’s a bright side to doing all that dirty work: As the newest member of the jailhouse mafia, not only is he entitled to security, but he starts to earn a reputation for himself as the go-to guy who keeps the gang functioning on the outside, getting temporary releases that last 12 hours at a time. Even if he doesn’t get the respect he deserves in light of all the work he has to do for César, he seems satisfied waiting for his day in the sun, especially with the ghost of the guy he murdered to keep him company.

Though they’re not enough to save the film from its own failings, you can’t deny that the actors know what they’re doing. Arestrup in particular is pretty daring as the kingpin who rules the jailhouse with an iron fist, probably because he brings more to his character than the material can.

That character becomes even more of an asset once all the violence here starts to get to our hero, who becomes ever more desensitized as time goes by. César might come off as more than a little bit irritable, but at least he managed to hold onto some of his emotions. Even though Rahim gives Malik lots of screen presence, there’s no reason to feel for a character who has no feelings for anyone else.

In the eyes of the Honda scientists, making a humanistic style robot that can walk on two legs is difficult enough without John Q. Public believing that it will soon take their jobs away and eventually rule the world. This flick is to promote Asimo and robotics as a testament to the wondrous things that the human species can accomplish, not the other way around.

In a sense, Honda is clearing the air by promoting the fact that cars and motorcycles are only a fraction of what mobility includes. The robotic repertoire includes medical components that are now used in heart surgeries that make the process faster and more accurate, assembly lines, anti-lock brakes, search and rescue equipment and even some everyday household items.

The only negative about this extraordinary introduction of a lifelike mechanical moon man is how the average person is perceived as an imbecile who has nightmares of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The phrase goes, “Never underestimate the stupidity of the majority,” but not only are they bringing this video out in the hopes of gaining investors, but to also regain the multitude’s interest in robots. It’s having the opposite effect.

All of the slander about the misconception that robots are evil is a turnoff to anybody with half a brain. There is entirely too much speculation that the average person has phobias for Asimo and its counterparts. Rather than waste time explaining why a robot won’t haunt our dreams, a further detail of Asimo’s skills and its potential for future coexistence with the human species would have done better.

Honda truly believes that the reason why people’s interest of machines faded is due to a fear of androids. If people really were afraid of cyborgs, then the “Terminator” saga wouldn’t have produced blockbuster hits in the first place. This video lost its luster by featuring the scientists and not their creation.

Glary Utilities’ user interface is indeed very organized and clean. Each category provides various options on pc tune up, such as a disk cleaner, registry cleaner, shortcut fixer and an uninstall manager provided by the first category. The rest, all give different options for optimizing computer performances such as a startup manager, duplicate file finder, track eraser and a disk analysis tool. Many of these options can also be modified to exclude folders and file types. Being so, Glary Utilities provides a bit of customization to clearing file clutter and has a very user-friendly layout.

Whether hard drives are very filled or empty, Glary Utilities is very quick on performing scans for junk files, registry errors, broken shortcuts, finding duplicate files and empty folders. The program provides other methods of optimization, mainly the memory optimizer tool, which allows a user to monitor and gain unused random access memory in the background. It also has an uninstaller that allows “batch uninstalls” which gives a user the ability to uninstall multiple programs one after another, without having to constantly click “uninstall” for each program.

Glary Utilities provides a quick and easy way to use all the functions a user chooses, by the click of a button. The program has a special feature, called the “1-Click Maintenance.” This feature is used as a very specified option within Glary Utlities’ window. It allows a user to check any functions from the program and use all of them at once for a quick cleanup.

The program’s performance is also quite stable and does not consume too many resources while running. Each function, such as the disk cleaner, acts as a module and a separate program which runs a different process in the background. However, both the program and modules run with very little memory and is resource friendly. The program’s set up file is about 8MB and the installed program is around 17-18MB, making Glary Utilities quite small, but powerful.

During the program’s installation, it may ask about installing a toolbar, which is not necessary. The program also has text on the bottom, a link for an upgrade, as there are both free and paid versions of Glary Utilities. Very few functions requires the paid version, which makes the free version of this program nearly complete.

Overall, Glary Utilities is a very functional program for optimizing computer performance. It is free of charge, easy to use, and does not have irritating advertisements asking for an upgrade. However, any pc tune-up program should be used with caution, as some may cause system crashes if used improperly, such as removing wrong files or registry errors. Generally, Glary Utilities does not make dreadful mistakes on its own and works quite well.

Filmed in the projects of Brownsville, Brooklyn, Fuqua takes us into a crime center of the city. There is an inherent grittiness in this film, in everything from the dingy look of the film with a lot of fluorescents, to the Brooklyn accents and street slang. The story follows three police officers on the job- one near retirement, the other clinging to the remnants of his life before going undercover, and the third looking for a way to support his ever-growing family. Essentially the struggle of men trying to get through a day in a tough city. The three officers are played by Richard Gere, Don Cheadle and Ethan Hawke, respectively. All three characters rarely appear in the same scenes together, but each actor gives one their best performances here.

The pacing is slow but purposeful, and the buildup of tension is expertly executed; the likes which is not seen often. Somehow, Fuqua gets the three plotlines to climax at the same time multiple times throughout the film without it seeming contrived, which is quite a feat for a movie that could have been riddled with clichés and blatantly obvious plot devices. The development of each character is sufficient to care to follow them, even though Gere’s character is less developed than the other two. With more careful examination though, his character has important undertones. The lack of expression is clearly pertinent to Gere’s character; he is beaten down and cynical after years of exposure to crime, a shadow of whatever man he used to be.

Hawke pushes himself to an extreme, even changing the accent and tone in his voice, which have not been reminiscent of any other role he has played. Hawke embraces his character, a man pushing the boundaries to try and provide a better life for his family. He carries himself in a desperate way that constantly puts you on edge. Even though every performance is grade-A in this film, Hawke’s stands out amongst the rest, only if for the sheer departure this role is for him with respect to his other performances, he is really at the top of his game here. It is clear that Hawke and Antoine have both grown with this film from their previous excellent work together in “Training Day.”

Cheadle is also phenomenal as the man on the edge, trying to balance his police duties with his ever-growing loyalty to the gang members he is working with. The relationship between the head drug dealer played by Wesley Snipes, and Cheadle’s undercover is compelling and leaves you guessing what both of them will do until the conclusion.

With the cast rounded off by Snipes, Ellen Barkin, Lili Taylor and Will Patton, each one playing a character well-formed and memorable even though their screen time is limited.

What’s really notable is that in a film that doesn’t even run 2 ½ hours, it manages to flesh out the three main characters and balance the three storylines well enough that jumping back and forth from the stories is neither distracting nor hard to follow. Just when you think you like one storyline more, the other peaks your interest. Even though the storylines also intersect, it is in a crafted and minimal way, and not contrived feeling. If the three cops run into each other it’s because they work in the same precinct, and not for some unlikely coincidental meeting.

Joining the ranks of other great films, “Brooklyn’s Finest” showcases a stellar cast in their top form, and has a strong script which manages to follow three storylines and be cohesive and fully developed. The choices that the “good guys” and “bad guys” have to make create empathy for both sides- further twisting the moral questions Fuqua and screenwriter Michael C. Martin raise within the story. Overall enjoyable, intense, and memorable, this film is the finest to come along in a long while.

Episode Commentary: There is Another Sky

According to Sam Adama (Sasha Roiz), an old Tauron proverb states that if one loses something in the desert and another finds it, the transfer is permanent. In this case, the lost item is none other than his wayward and despairingly aimless nephew, Willie (Sina Najafi).

Joseph (Esai Morales) has been moping for weeks as a result of the tragic loss of his wife and daughter. His son has been missing school to hang out with his mob assassin uncle in Little Tauron.

The avatar of the aforementioned daughter, Tamara (Genevieve Buechner), has been lost in the V-Club for quite a while at this point and seeks the help of a virtual mogul (Camille Mitchell) – seemingly running her own black market society – to find a way out.

The entirely family is rather on the verge of having to “roll the hard six” simply to right themselves again.
This episode definitely focuses on the Adamas and rightly so, since the Graystones took center stage of last week’s, though that certainly contained much more set-up than any legitimate action.

Regardless of that, the most interesting aspect of this week’s installment deals with the entirely-too-long ignored Tamara. She’s scared, she’s desperate and she’s definitively an Adama. Thrust into a perpetual stream of virtual reality, she must now win a game in a place called New Cap City – a virtual representation of Caprica City that’s rife with gunfire and a criminal underground that has no qualms about asserting its place well above its titular placement.

The only catch is that once a player is killed in the game, he can never return. The countermove, of course, is that Tamara’s avatar cannot die, so she’s the perfect candidate.

As she progresses in the game, her virtual powers alter, and she begins to grow into her role as an immortal being in a virtual world.

Although this episode does not deal with the Soldiers of the One and barely traipses Zoe’s (Alessandra Torresani) story line, it manages to quench such an intense thirst for the return of Tamara the best follow-up imaginable would immediately deal with the aftermath of her victory.

What continues to be strange on the Graystone front, however, is the inclusion of Luciana Carro as public relations representative, Pryah. Carro, for those unfortunate enough to forget, played Captain Louanne Katraine on “Battlestar Galactica” – a rival of Starbuck’s (Katee Sackhoff) who was killed in the otherwise lackluster “The Passage.”

Is Kat somehow connected to the Cylons, or did Carro simply make a fantastic impression on “Caprica’s” casting directors? The former seems entirely more reasonable, given Ronald D. Moore’s propensity for mesmerizingly tangled plot threads.

As “There is Another Sky” (an aptly-named episode if there ever was one) closes, the memory of “Galactica’s” glory returns and the wait between episodes becomes that much more agonizing.
At least we have the satisfaction that the season only began.

The story starts with a clip of the past, Simran getting shot by someone as she rushes down the stairs. She was then sent away for medical attention, and sees that someone next to her has died. As her wound was being cleaned up, she re-imagines her past starting with fireworks in the night sky, as she drank happily on a row-boat with Akash. Throughout the film, Simran tells Akash about her past, about when she met Daya and how their life was together after all the troubles they’ve been through. As Simran received rare phone calls from Daya, she still felt lonely and she started to bond with Akash, who constantly persuaded her to turn her criminal boyfriend in. Simran, not knowing the right choice, hoped that whatever she decided would make her suffering end.

Throughout the movie, the scenes moved quite slowly and one could see that the actors did a good job, as there was much drama in some parts that were all portrayed so well, to the point where the story itself seemed realistic.

This movie was filmed in Korea, and the story also took place in Korea, which was unique and a different place from the usual India or England setting in most Bollywood movies. The entire set and environment was pleasant and calm, and truly gave an idea on how landscapes and architecture in Korea are different compared to other countries. Simran’s city was almost a half-country, half-city area where cars and motorcycles moved, but also had that corner stand where someone would sell jewelry and ride a bike on a very bumpy and steep alleyway.

All the actors were wonderful, as Hashmi really played different roles in many movies very well, and Ahuja could make any man in the audience cry. Ranaut, playing the confused character, performed very well as the sullen, drunk and regretful one. All the actors also did a good job lip syncing in the film, as the movie is also somewhat a musical.

The soundtrack was captivating, as the music was different in almost every scene in speed, tone and words, and really added to the sadness and the excitement. Not to mention many of the songs were quite meaningful and sung by many different famous artists, one being K.K.

Whether watching this film with a family member, partner or friend, “Gangster: A Love Story” tells a realistic tale of love affairs and the difficulties within relationships which all lead to other complicated events. With a taste of Indian Bollywood’s movies and with a hint of the Hindu language, this movie portrayed love to be more tragic than “Romeo and Juliet,” “Atonement” and “Tristan + Isolde.” Just don’t forget that it’ll be tragic to watch this if you don’t have subtitles.

Check it out!

Matt Kelly Interview 3-05-10

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Tribeca Film Festival Virtual to Bring the Festival Experience Online to Worldwide Audiences; Virtual Pass Includes Unlimited 8-Day Access to Robust Festival Content and Select 2010 TFF Titles

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American Express Expands Relationship with Tribeca Enterprises as

Founding Partner of Tribeca Film and TFFV

New York, NY March 3, 2010 – Tribeca Enterprises today announced the launch of Tribeca Film, a comprehensive distribution and marketing platform for independent film, and Tribeca Film Festival Virtual (TFFV), a new online venture offering worldwide audiences an opportunity to experience the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF) through www.tribecafilm.com/virtual. These two new initiatives stem from Tribeca’s desire to redefine traditional models of film distribution and release patterns and with TFF, create new opportunities for filmmakers. American Express is broadening its relationship with Tribeca and reinforcing its commitment to independent film and filmmakers by signing on as the Founding Partner of Tribeca Film and of TFFV – two endeavors that promise to give independent filmmakers a platform to reach even broader audiences and deliver compelling stories to audiences, and American Express Cardmembers, everywhere.

Tribeca Film is a national distribution platform that will acquire and release films year-round through a network of distribution partners. Tribeca will maximize marketing leverage by compressing traditional distribution windows, starting with a branded VOD offering that will launch day-and-date with TFF (April 21 – May 2) and then expanding to theatrical, home entertainment, airline, hotel, subscription and advertising-supported digital platforms. Tribeca Film’s first acquisitions include 10 feature titles, 7 of which will be screened day-and-date during TFF. These films are expected to reach more than 40 million households through partnerships with leading cable, satellite and telecom providers, including Comcast, Cablevision and Verizon FiOS. The titles will be available on a Tribeca-branded menu for a minimum of 60 days.

Theatrical screenings are the centerpiece of TFF and most traditional film festivals, however new technologies and a changing film industry landscape are creating new opportunities for independent film, enabling stronger relationships between filmmakers, festivals and audiences. Tribeca Enterprises’ other new venture – TFFV – will bring the Tribeca experience outside of New York for the first time via the Internet. Complementing TFF’s theatrical screenings in New York City, TFFV will enable a broad online audience to screen full-length 2010 TFF features and short films, engage with filmmakers and fellow audience members both online and at the Festival, as well as watch panel discussions, filmmaker interviews and live coverage of red-carpet premieres. The first-ever TFFV will open April 23, with the world premiere of Edward Burns’ Nice Guy Johnny, which will play simultaneously with the film’s premiere at TFF.

“This year marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Tribeca, as well as for audiences and the entire film community,” said Tribeca Enterprises co-founder Jane Rosenthal. “These initiatives put all the pieces together and provide new platforms for how film can be experienced, while supporting filmmakers and introducing audiences to films they might not otherwise see.”

“We have always sought to help filmmakers find audiences for their works, and now we can really take that mission to the next level,” said Tribeca Enterprises co-founder Robert De Niro. “I’m proud to see how much Tribeca has grown from its beginnings less than a decade ago.”

With strong support from Founding Partner American Express and its distribution partners, Tribeca Film will provide independent filmmakers with an integrated national marketing and distribution platform to reach audiences. This new endeavor further reinforces American Express’ commitment to the independent film industry, and promises to generate new and exciting experiences for Cardmembers who are not able to attend the Festival events in person in New York City.

“Tribeca Film and Tribeca Film Festival Virtual provide an exciting opportunity to connect our global customer base with independent filmmakers, simultaneously driving commerce and celebrating the art of storytelling,” said John Hayes, Chief Marketing Officer, American Express. “Access to the Festival in New York is one of the most beloved Cardmember experiences that we offer, and this year, by expanding our relationship to include these new endeavors we continue our support of the industry while giving Cardmembers all around the world a chance to experience Festival-caliber films and incredible stories.”

The strategy of the Tribeca Film initiative is designed to address the distribution and marketing challenges facing filmmakers today. Of the many quality independent titles on the festival circuit, only a fraction secure distribution deals, which does not guarantee a film’s commercial success because of prohibitive marketing and promotional costs. With the support of American Express and its distribution partners, Tribeca Film was created based on the realization that a film’s presence at a festival can help propel its release across many platforms and seeks to provide a more effective approach to these inter-dependent platforms, shift release patterns and offer filmmakers a more sustainable business model.

Tribeca Film will release more than 10 titles on VOD under the Tribeca Film banner, over half of them day-and-date with the 2010 Festival, including: the North American premiere of Participant Media and the Alliance for Climate Protection’s Climate of Change, an environmental documentary narrated by Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton; the world premiere of Birth of Big Air, an ESPN documentary produced by Spike Jonze and Johnny Knoxville about extreme sports athlete Mat Hoffman; the North American premiere of sex & drugs & rock & roll, the critically-acclaimed story of punk rock pioneer Ian Dury, played by Andy Serkis; and the U.S. premiere of Road, Movie, the tale of a young man’s life-changing drive across India, from the producers of In The Bedroom and Lost In Translation. Additional Tribeca Film titles include TiMER, a brain-teasing romantic comedy that was well received at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.

TFFV will run April 23 – 30 and a limited number of premium pass buyers will be able to watch a selection of full-length 2010 TFF features, which will screen day-and-date with each film’s Festival premiere. Pass-holders will also be able to view exclusive original content and 2010 TFF short films, as well as interact in real time with filmmakers, industry leaders and fellow film enthusiasts. Premium passes will be available to U.S. residents for $45 each, and will go on sale March 8 on the Tribeca website for American Express Cardmembers and March 15 for the general public. Beginning March 15, all visitors to www.tribecafilm.com/virtual will have access to a robust array of free content, including selected short films from previous editions of TFF, conversations with filmmakers and industry experts, a daily highlight reel of the day’s biggest moments, press conferences and live streams of the Festival red carpets.

One of the key features of both the premium and free sections of TFFV is the opportunity to join the conversation unfolding online. Those conversations will include real-time dialogue with fellow film enthusiasts around the world, Q&A’s with filmmakers and thought-provoking panels streamed online. These new forms of interacting with TFF will give audiences globally a chance to share in the Festival experience.

“The traditional makeup of film festivals is evolving and distribution models are increasingly challenged,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer at Tribeca. “At the same time, festivals have never had a more vital role in uniting audiences and serving as a marketing platform for films. We want Tribeca to become what New York City is: a spotlight for film culture in the world.”

Said Ricky Strauss, President, Participant Media, “Tribeca Film’s new multi-platform distribution plan allows for an entertaining and inspiring film like Climate of Change to reach the widest possible audience.”

“Comcast is very excited to bring the inimitable Tribeca Film Festival into our customers’ living rooms – including six films available On Demand before any films are even screened at the Festival. Tribeca Film is the type of innovative programming that complements On Demand technology and is an excellent addition to the Independent Film category On Demand,” said Diana Kerekes, Vice President of Video Content for Comcast.

“Tribeca Film has brought together major players with breadth and scale, building a disruptive business model for independent film that addresses the challenges that filmmakers face,” said Tribeca Enterprises co-founder Craig Hatkoff. “We are so proud that American Express has expanded its relationship with Tribeca; their commitment to independent film and audience experiences is remarkable.”

The VOD offerings under Tribeca Film include the following titles. The full film lineup for Tribeca Film will be announced later this month.

* Birth of Big Air

2010, USA – World Premiere, day-and-date with the Festival

Director: Jeff Tremaine
Producers: Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze
Cast List: Mat Hoffman, Bob Burnquist, Tony Hawk, Dave Mirra, Travis Pastrana, Danny Way

In 1985, at the tender age of 13, Mat Hoffman entered into the BMX circuit as an amateur. By 16, he had risen to the professional level. Throughout his storied career, Hoffman has ignored conventional limitations and pushed the boundaries of gravity. Academy Award® nominee Spike Jonze and extreme sport fanatic Johnny Knoxville, along with director Jeff Tremaine, showcase the inner workings and exploits of the man who gave birth to “Big Air.”

* Climate of Change

2010, USA, UK – North American Premiere, day-and-date with the Festival

Director: Brian Hill

Cast: Tilda Swinton (narrator)

A group of 13-year-olds in India rally against the use of plastics. A renaissance man in Africa teaches villagers to harness solar power. Self-described “hillbillies” in Appalachia battle the big business behind strip mining. Tilda Swinton beautifully narrates this rich and inspiring documentary about a world of regular people taking action in the fight to save our environment.

This extraordinary environmental documentary is executive produced by Participant Media and the Alliance for Climate Protection.

· Road, Movie

2009, USA, India – US Premiere, day-and-date with the Festival
Director: Dev Benegal
Screenwriter: Dev Benegal
Cast: Abhay Deol, Satish Kaushik, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Mohammed Faizal

Loath to take over the family hair-oil business, young Vishnu jumps at the chance to drive his uncle’s beat-up Chevy truck across India to its new owner. The young runaway, wandering old entertainer, and beautiful woman he picks up along the way make for a magical journey that will change Vishnu’s life. With the sumptuous landscape of India as his canvas, director Dev Benegal paints a delightfully original road movie.

* sex & drugs & rock & roll

2009, UK – North American Premiere, day-and-date with the Festival

Director: Mat Whitecross

Screenwriter: Paul Viragh

Cast: Andy Serkis, Ray Winstone, Olivia Williams, Naomie Harris, Mackenzie Crook, Bill Milner

Awards: Nominated, Best Leading Actor, Best Music, 2010 BAFTA Awards; Nominated, Best Actor, British Independent Film Awards; Nominated, British Actor of the Year, Young British Performer of the Year, London Critics Circle Film Awards

sex & drugs & rock & roll is The Road to Guantanamo codirector Mat Whitecross’ ripsnorting portrait of mercurial British punk rock pioneer Ian Dury (BAFTA nominee Andy Serkis). From a troubled childhood and a battle with debilitating polio to the effects of fame on relationships and fatherhood, here are the highs and lows of a life lived sneeringly, unapologetically out loud.

· TiMER

2009, USA

Director: Jac Schaeffer

Screenwriter: Jac Schaeffer

Cast: Emma Caulfield, Michelle Borth, John Patrick Amedori, Desmond Harrington, JoBeth Williams, Kali Rocha

Finding true love is easier than ever thanks to a bio-technological implant called the TiMER, which counts down to the exact time people meet their soul mates. Love-starved Oona (Emma Caulfield, TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is pushing 30, but her TiMER hasn’t even started counting down yet. What’s worse, she’s falling for a guy (John Patrick Amedori, Gossip Girl) who is set to meet his true love in four months. Newcomer Jac Schaeffer crafts a smart romantic comedy that leaves behind the burning question… would you want to know?

The Tribeca Film Festival Virtual will open with the World Premiere of the feature film Nice Guy Johnny. The full Tribeca Film Festival Virtual lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

* Nice Guy Johnny

2010, USA, World Premiere

Director: Edward Burns

Screenwriter: Edward Burns

Cast: Matt Bush, Kerry Bishé, Anna Wood, Edward Burns

A master of the modern relationship dramedy, Edward Burns crafts a summery gem centered on baby-faced 24-year-old Johnny Rizzo, who’s about to trade his dream job in talk radio for some snoozeville gig that’ll pay enough to please his fiancée. Enter Uncle Terry (Burns), a rascally womanizer set on turning a day in the Hamptons into an eye-opening fling for his nephew. Nice guy Johnny’s not interested, of course, but then he meets Brooke….

The film follows Harry Griswold, who is literally turning Japanese. The streets of New York are running rampant with crime, and on top of that, an evil prophecy is trying to take over the world. The power of the Kabuki master is accidentally transferred to Griswold, who has no clue what any of this means.

Enter a beautiful young woman named Lotus, who tries to teach Griswold the ways of the Kabuki master and how to control his special new powers. Of course, this is Troma, so his powers are anything but politically correct and include fatal sushi, flying sandals and lethal chopsticks. Not to mention the fact he can sing arias from “Madame Butterfly.”

This all comes into bloody glory when we watch Kabukiman in action, turning a pimp and prostitute into sushi.

He even has his own theme song, which plays throughout the entire film. Just remember that he wipes out evil because it is his destiny.

Lloyd Kaufman directed the picture with his usual low-budget flair. The picture comes across almost like a children’s cartoon that was marred by sex and violence from a crazed editor. That tone is a major issue for the film, and a reason why some audiences will never enjoy this picture. This picture works best for people who love Troma and the B-movie fun the schlock company as produced over the years. The movie is not trying to be great, but only wants put a smile on your face. You never have to wonder if the picture is serious, because it doesn’t take itself seriously for one minute.

Also, Kaufman adds a bit of topical humor with a character that is inspired by the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is played with comic ingenuity by Larry Robinson. The character seems more interested in lining his pockets with money than helping people.

However, the real star of the picture is Rick Gianasi, who never seemed to get a fair shake in the movie business. The entire picture hinges on his dual performance of Griswold and Sgt. Kabukiman. His career in the early ‘80s was in low-budget trash, which included “Bad Girls Dormitory” and “Riot on 42nd Street.” In this picture he showed some comic timing, and it is perplexing why Troma never filmed a sequel. This is the company that made three “Class of Nuke’em High” pictures.

One of Gianasi’s standout scenes of comic timing includes Lotus, who tries to teach him how to control his powers. He hangs upside down and forced to count and separate grains of rice or suffer the wrath of a bamboo stick to the groin.

The film moves at a rapid pace, which leaves the viewer little to time to consider the implausibility of it all and just relax in the goofy old tradition that Troma did perfectly in the ‘80s.

“Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.” wants nothing more than to be lowbrow entertainment for adults that are still young at heart, and that is all that it is.

Episode Commentary: Physical Education

Jeff (Joel McHale) has always been one of “Community’s” centers of eye-candy, but never before more so than in “Physical Education,” where he sheds his clingy tee-shirt, shorts and eventually that which cannot be shown on regular television – though Annie (Alison Brie) managed to sneak in a good peek.

After proudly registering for a billiards course, he’s immediately informed by its professor (Blake Clark) that wearing synthetic gym shorts of the un-cool variety is a requirement, but $300-jeans-clad Jeff refuses to wear anything other than perfectly flattering at all times, and walks out of the classroom in a huff.

Continued announcements by Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) over the loudspeaker (he’s apparently forgotten his panties in the pool room) and Abed’s (Danny Pudi) serve to change his mind, however.

Speaking of Abed, the group discovers a Spanish textbook in which a picture of Abed is drawn surrounded by hearts. Someone has a crush, and Pierce (Chevy Chase) is relatively sure that the girl can’t be all that great, while Troy (Donald Glover) is convinced that an opportunity like this can only come once in a lifetime.
So, ignoring Jeff’s after-school-special-honed advice, they try to change Abed into someone more likable. He ultimately chooses to embody Jeff.

While revealing anything else would border on spoiling, the episode had some wonderful lines, with quite a few provided by Pierce. Chase is certainly growing into his role as the aging, clueless bigot. Although he had a relatively slow start at the beginning of the season, he’s quickly becoming one of the show’s best characters.

Pudi, however, is absolutely priceless. Almost the gem of every episode, it never feels as though he’s on screen for too long – and often inspires a sense in which he is missed.

As “Community” returns next week with “Basic Genealogy,” guest-starring Katharine McPhee, we can only hope that it continues the steak it so steadily began with its holiday episode.

Leah Page and Dorian Levi of These Arms Alone Interview 3-04

You can also listen to their song “Maria,” here as well.

These Arms Alone- Maria

“Cooking Mama 2: Dinner With Friends,” a cooking simulation game originally made for the Nintendo DS, gives a quick food-making experience that could end in such happiness and reward, or could end in major disaster. With its anime-like and simple yet colorful graphics, “Cooking Mama 2” is appealing to both children and young adults.

To play, you simply work by using the stylus from the DS to cut, roll, crack, bang, slap, chop and squeeze various ingredients for Mama’s recipes. There are dozens of recipes to cook and some are very easy to make, though others could be more difficult.

Other than chopping and preparing ingredients, the gaming experience also takes  players to the actual cooking action, where one would have to watch vegetables in a pan in case they burn, or set the oven properly so the pie too doesn’t burn.

Throughout the game, Mama and her friends grade the food prepared by a player, and if a player does well, they are rewarded with adorable outfits and accessories for Mama, kitchen furnishings and decorations, new recipes to make and even new friends to prepare food for.

If these gameplay elements weren’t enough, “Cooking Mama 2” also has a solid learning curve. If a player is bad at specific food preparations such as cracking an egg, cutting the right length of pasta, spilling food out properly into a strainer or has trouble squeezing the right amount of dough, the game provides a section where a player would be able to practice all of these techniques before cooking the actual recipes.
And since this game is cute and provides cooking fun, many young girls may enjoy it, as it almost gives the real-life cooking experience. Even the recipes seem correct, but the timing of preparation is way off.

In most cases, the game could also be rather annoying if a player is bad at timing which is also taken into consideration in most food preparation stages. Working with the stylus in some of the game’s preparation techniques also tends to be difficult. Sometimes the funniest moments of the game are when one fails to prepare something properly and random things would happen. Mama also praises a player’s hard work in every stage of recipe making, and one would easily get annoyed hearing her voice so many times throughout the game.

However, “Cooking Mama 2” is hours of fun and takes practice to really enjoy most of the game.

Nevertheless, it is entertaining, easy to learn and almost gives a player a real-life cooking experience.

The Final Chapter of Shrek – and the first in 3D – will screen on Tribeca’s opening night, April 21, 2010, in New York City

New York, NY – March 1, 2010 – The Tribeca Film Festival and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) today announced that “Shrek Forever After” will open the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by American Express.  “Shrek Forever After” is the final chapter in the adventures of the beloved ogre, Shrek, and the first of the series to be presented in 3D.  It is directed by Mike Mitchell and stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.  The premiere will take place on Wednesday, April 21 and the Festival will run through May 2.

“We have always sought to open our Festival with films that are captivating and strike an emotional chord with movie-goers.  ‘Shrek Forever After’ combines the very best in storytelling and artistry while showcasing the wonders of innovative 3D filmmaking.  It is one of the most anticipated new movies of 2010 and we are so pleased that DreamWorks Animation is bringing the final chapter of Shrek to the Tribeca Film Festival for its world premiere,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.

“The final chapter of Shrek’s personal journey brings all of our beloved characters full circle in a way that pays creative homage to each of the previous films and the stories they told, while taking Shrek and his family and friends on a fantastic, emotion-filled journey that is funny at every turn,” said the film’s director, Mike Mitchell. “Technological innovation at DreamWorks Animation has done wonders for our storytelling capabilities and I am excited to share these with audiences when we bring Far Far Away into the third dimension for the very first time.”

In “Shrek Forever After,” Shrek, who has already successfully challenged an evil dragon, rescued a beautiful princess and saved his in-laws’ kingdom, is faced with the question: What’s an ogre to do? Well, if you’re Shrek, you suddenly wind up a domesticated family man.  Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, a reluctant Shrek now agrees to autograph pitch forks.  What’s happened to this ogre’s roar?  Longing for the days when he felt like a “real ogre,” Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker, Rumpelstiltskin.  Shrek suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona have never met.  Now, it’s up to Shrek to undo all he’s done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one True Love.

“DreamWorks Animation is honored to bring the world premiere of ‘Shrek Forever After’ to New York City for the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival,” added DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “It is a great privilege and tribute to our entire cast and crew to have been chosen as this year’s opening night selection.”

The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival will announce its feature film slate on March 10 and 15, 2010.

About “Shrek Forever After”

From DreamWorks Animation comes the fourth and final installment of the story of Shrek. Starring Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas.  The film is directed by Mike Mitchell and produced by Gina Shay and Teresa Cheng. Distributor Paramount Pictures will release “Shrek Forever After” nationwide on May 21, 2010.

Tickets for 2010 Festival:

Tickets for the Festival will be $16.00 for evening and weekend screenings and $8.00 for daytime weekday and late night screenings.

Advance selection ticket packages will go on sale Monday, March 8, 2010 for American Express Cardmembers and for the general public on Monday, March 15, 2010. All advance packages can be purchased online at www.tribecafilm.com/festival, or by telephone, toll free, at (866) 941-FEST (3378).

Single ticket and discounted ticket package sales begin for American Express Cardmembers on April 13, 2010, for downtown residents on April 18, 2010, and for the general public on April 19, 2010. Single tickets can be purchased online, by telephone, or at one of the Ticket Outlets located at the Tribeca Cinemas Ticket Window at 54 Varick Street, and an additional location to be determined. The 2010 Festival will continue ticket discounts for evening and weekend screenings for students, seniors and select downtown Manhattan residents. Discounted tickets are available at Ticket Outlet locations only. Discounted packages can only be purchased online and by phone. Additional information and further details on the Festival can be found at www.tribecafilm.com/festival.



The album does start out promisingly with the title track. The chains and stripped down guitar licks companion-ed with the lyrics give a haunting affect that reverberates through your psyche. Cash’s voice sounds as if he is being pulled into that other world, even as he sings “Ain’t no grave can hold me down.”

Then we have “Redemption Day.” Written by Sheryl Crow, it is a watered-down version of “(Ghost) Fire in the Sky.” More depressing than Chilling, this track did not have to be released. Essentially, it’s not something that we should remember Cash singing.

However, “For the Good Times,” written by Kris Kristofferson (Yes Whistler from “Blade” – make no mistake, Kristofferson has lived more country songs and lifetimes than we will ever know) is more than
worthy of Cash. It is another barebones track that does not speak of mourning for what has left, but to remember the amazing time that was spent. Still, surrounded by songs like “I Corinthians 15:55” reminds the listener that the record company is ultimately in control of an artist’s legacy. “I Corinthians” (written by Cash) is yet another track that takes away from Cash’s iconic persona. This was a man who took out a full page ad to literally give the finger to the Grammys.

Just as you begin to wallow in what might have been if Cash were still alive, you hear “Can’t Help but Wonder Where I’m Bound.” With guitar and piano, Tom Paxton writes about the past and the unknown in a way that makes you long for Cash’s return. It’s a cruel trick for the listener, as you’ll never hear Cash sing it live.

We then come to a track that has been covered by several artists, including Roseanne Cash. “Satisfied Mind” is well suited for Cash as it is only his voice and a lone guitar voicing an inner dialogue. “I Don’t Hurt Anymore,” with its surprisingly upbeat tempo, is one of the most haunting tracks on the album, as its deceptive music misleads the listener. Listen to the words and the way Cash sings it – the spirit of irony that pervades the track will stay with you for a long while after it’s over.

After hearing the other tracks, “Cool Water” is a forgettable tune, but it sets you up for “Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream.” Written by Ed McCurdy in 1950, it is the flip side of Cash’s hit “Man in Black.” Have you ever been in the middle between sleep and wake and had snatches of a dream, then as you go through your day you remember snippets of it? That’s what McCurdy’s song will do to you – it will remind you of bits of Cash’s songs that resonated. Here, “Last Night I had The Strangest Dream” is just a hollow version of better material covered and written by Cash and his wife June.

Episode Commentary: Monster

The randomness continued this past week on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, as Carl’s penis found its way into the trios’ home, for the sake of helping Meatwad and Frylock get some much-needed sleep.

Yep, only the guys at Adult Swim could up with something like this and while it’s the weakest episode of the season so far, seeing Carl up to his old antics is well worth it.

After several attempts at convincing a petrified Meatwad that he doesn’t have a monster in his closet, a sleep-deprived and bankrupt Frylock enlists the services of their filthy and perverted, but equally loveable neighbor Carl to serve as their “monster.” Thinking that he’ll get some sleep after he kills the beast, Frylock, in his infinite wisdom, bribes Carl with pizza.

In spite of being interrupted while having Cyber-Sex, Carl, dressed up for the occasion as well [you'll have to watch it for yourself to get the full effect], can’t turn down the offer and immediately heads over the house to help Frylock take care of business.

Soon after, hilarity ensues.

After Frylock vanquishes “the monster,” and it’s time to drag “it” out of the house, Meatwad utters the line of the season so far.

[Staring at Carl's “boxed-out” “member”] “Oh, look. A handle.”

If that doesn’t get out to spit out your soda, then watching Master Shake terrorize poor Meatwad for a few minutes during the episode leading up to this scene should do the trick splendidly.

Rarely does the show have the time to have all four main characters do their thing and in spite of its extra bipolarity this past week, everyone gets their chance to shine. In this episode, Meatwad is extra naïve and adorable, while Frylock is Velveeta personified and Shake is a cruel bastard.

And of course, Carl is still just “Carl.”

Because of that, “Monster” is a fun episode that is great for all the wrong reasons. “Shut your brain off” comedy at it’s finest, Aqua Teen continues to prove it’s back and better than ever.

In the previous installment (which can be found here), Thomas Pasatieri spoke of his father – but he was hardly the only influential figure in the inimitable composer’s life. Here, Mr. Pasatieri talks about his stalwart mother and the incredible story of his initial foray into the world of music.

RF: What are your father’s and mother’s names?

TP: Maria, and his real was Carmelo, but they called him “Thomas.” So, she never knew that his name was Carmelo until they were married and she had to sign the [marriage certificate] – she said: Who’s Carmelo? They always called him “Thomas.” So she named me after him – but not his real name. She named me after the name that he was known by. Isn’t that something?

RF: Yes.

TP: She was a great lady, too. Don’t get me wrong – it wasn’t just my father. I loved my mother, too. She was wonderful.

RF: She sounds very supportive, actually.

TP: She was a very, very strong woman and she was very supportive. She was very much ahead of her time. She believed in women’s rights 30 years before. She was staunch – she really believed in the power of women. I have two sisters and she brought up my sisters to be strong, independent women. So, she was great, too. But they weren’t musicians. She was a dressmaker, my mom.

RF: Let me ask you a question: You said that music was not a big part of your childhood. How did you start composing?

TP: It was a miracle. What happened was: For the first nine years of my life, there was absolutely no music. And then one day, I was walking home from school – past a house – and there was a sign that said “Vera Wells’ Piano Instruction.” I walked in, and Mrs. Wells was there giving piano lessons. I said that I wanted to take piano lessons. I was only nine-years-old. She said: Well, you’ll have to talk to your parents and everything. I went back to my parents and said that I want to talk piano lessons. So they said I can. They bought a piano, and I started to take lessons with Mrs. Wells, but I started to be able to play right away – after two weeks, three weeks – I started to be able to play. After the first year, I gave a concert. See – Mrs. Wells never told me that that was unusual. I didn’t know that that was different from anybody else. So it was all natural for me, and that’s what happened.

RF: That’s a remarkable story. Thank you so much for your time.

TP: My pleasure.

Photo by Ellen Appel.

* Deréon Pop Polo
* “D’s Studded” Skinny Jeans
* Sasha Fierce Short Shorts
* D’s Ruffle Cropped Jacket
* “All Zipped Up” Dress

Beyoncé’s partnership with Nintendo goes beyond these downloads. She will also be featured in Style Savvy commercials, which will begin airing on Nickelodeon the week prior to this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and during the event on March 27. Beyoncé previously starred in commercials for Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven™ game.

The new Deréon downloads mark the second time real-life fashions have made their way into the game. Players have also had access to Charlotte Ronson Designer Downloads, which lets players download items from Ronson’s fall 2009 line directly into the game.

Style Savvy invites players of any age to express their individual sense of style by managing a virtual clothing boutique. Choosing from more than 10,000 items in a wide variety of styles, designer labels and price points, players can create distinctive looks to satisfy customers with various tastes and budget constraints. Using the simple controls of a Nintendo DS system, players can enjoy Style Savvy anytime, anywhere.

The drama also returns as the winner of the first temptation of the episode decides who gets immunity. One more thing the teams will be broken up; yes folks once again it will be Team Blue (Bob’s team) versus Team Black (Jillian’s). The winner of the memory game temptation chooses both the trainers and who will be on each team. As we have seen in previous episodes several of the contestants harbor some resentment towards Jillian. This is a new and interesting dynamic that comes into play. How bad do the contestants want to win the temptation? And will they put aside their differences with each respective trainer to lose the weight and stop playing the game to win the overall prize?

After the sickening eating temptation to win the golden ticket, and the winner accepting a position in which they will be despised, the contestants move into settling in with their teams and their trainers. Families have been separated and one team seems to be unfairly stacked when it comes to the weigh-in. Needless to say the reaction from the trainers is something to tune in for.

The first challenge for the newly formed teams is at a dizzying height. Winners of the challenge get to read letters from home. It’s an exciting race to the finish to see who will win – will it be the grossly-stacked Blue team or Jillian’s warriors? Whatever the end result the fallout from the challenge will divide the house even more.

One note: The product placement mini-infomercials for “The Biggest Loser” consist of more misses than hits. When the trainers give suggestions they are helpful for anyone who wants to lose weight. When they’re pushing products however, it seems forced and overdone.

During this mid-point episode we get a visit from Dr. H to update the contestants on their “Real Age.” It reminds the audience that weight is only a contributing factor to the contestants’ health problems. It also reinforces that dropping pounds without stopping the other debilitating habits will only be a recipe for disaster.

The following last chance workout and weigh-in are some of the most intense moments of the show and this one is even more so because of the decisions made by one contestant. Sometimes both the audience and competitors forget that this is a competition where money is involved. And for one of the contestants to stack the game in their favor to help them stay is part of what comes with a reality show. Having said that the ones who have been manipulative struggle to keep the weight off or win the financial prizes.

Adding to the tension it all comes down to one contestant at the weigh-in to decide which team will eliminate their first member. The results will astound you. As for the elimination room the one who gets voted off is something that no one saw coming.

Next week brings on new challenges as the rivalry intensifies between the Blue and Black team.

Who will be eliminated next week, tune in to find out.

Following a delightful evening of opera, Review Fix Senior Editor Olga Privman was given the opportunity to speak with legendary American composer and librettist Thomas Pasatieri. As The Julliard School’s first doctoral graduate, Mr. Pasatieri has written over 20 operas, including an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull,” and “Hotel Casablanca,” which received its NYC premiere this January. Although an article will be forthcoming, we felt that our readers deserved to read as much as possible directly from the brilliant prodigy, as he discusses upcoming operas, his uncanny scholarship to Julliard at age 16 and his ultimately heartwarming relationship with his father.

Review Fix: First of all, I thought it was absolutely brilliant. How are you feeling?

Thomas Pasatieri: Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic; I am so happy.

RF: Why is that?

TP: I’m happy because this was such a brilliant performance – young singers. One of my favorite things in the world is young American singers and we had a cast of brilliant singers, actors and we had an audience that was completely involved in the show, as you could tell from their response.

RF: Yes.

TP: And the orchestra played so beautifully, and it was so well-directed, and the costumes – it was just a perfect evening of comic theatre, so I’m happy.

RF: What were your influences for the composition of this opera?

TP: I would say that as I started to write the libretto, I was very influenced by two American television shows: “I Love Lucy” and “Dallas.” I don’t know if you knew them; of course, “I Love Lucy,” I think everybody knows.

RF: Yes, I definitely know “I Love Lucy.”

TP: “Dallas,” which took place, of course, in Dallas, Texas, on a ranch – all of that. So it was the grandeur of Texas and the kind of wackiness of “I Love Lucy.” So that was my direct inspiration for writing the piece.

RF: Are you working on anything else currently?

TP: I am.

RF: What are you working on?

TP: All right; I’m going to tell you, but you have to get permission from Michael because we are writing a libretto for a new musical theatre piece for Christmas. (Editorial note: Permission was obtained.)

RF: Really?

TP: Yes.

RF: What’s it called?

TP: That’s what we’re talking about right now, because we have two different titles. I don’t know which one we’re actually going to come to. But I would say it’s going to be called either “God Bless Us Everyone” or “The Christmas Spirit” – it’ll be either of those two. It’s based on the writings of Dickens, but it takes place 20 years after “A Christmas Carol,” so Scrooge has just died and everybody is 20 years older.

RF: That’s interesting.

TP: Tiny Tim is not so tiny anymore. And it’s just a beautiful story, and they wrote a beautiful libretto, and we’re half finished. I’ve written the first act – it’s in two acts – it’s about the same length as this (Hotel Casablanca), 45 minutes each act. So I wrote the first act. We have just been together yesterday – working, all of us, on the second act. We’ll probably premiere it this Christmas – probably here, I think, at Dicapo.

RF: You said it was standard musical theatre, not opera?

TP: It’s both. It’s opera and musical theatre. It’s in-between.

RF: Oh!

TP: Because even this piece could be done on Broadway.

RF: That’s true. It could.

TP: It sort of bridges the gap between serious opera and Broadway music. I mean, it’s completely sung. Nothing’s spoken, so it is opera. But it’s more accessible to the audiences because of the melodic structure. It’s designed not to be something that they can’t understand. In fact, you don’t even need the subtitles because you can get all the words.

RF: That’s true.

TP: So, the Christmas piece is like this; in other words: In between opera and musical – completely American.

RF: I’m actually very much looking forward to this. It sounds very exciting.

TP: Oh, great!

RF: Yes. I have a question for you. I read in the program that you attended the Julliard School when you were 16. That is very impressive! So you must have known that you wanted to be a composer very early on.

TP: Oh, yes – much younger than that. I started writing when I was 11. By the time I was 16, I had already been for some time as a composer.

RF: How did you realize that this was your niche?

TP: That that’s what I wanted to do? Well, it was unusual because I actually started my career as a concert pianist at 10, giving concerts.

RF: Wow! That’s remarkable.

TP: About a year later, I started to write music. And I came from a very, very simple Italian-American family. And my parents were not musicians, so my father did not like the idea. So he refused to let me write any music. He would rip it up if he found it. So because of that, I was really desirous of writing. I used to write in secret.

RF: That’s very interesting – that’s almost a romantic story.

TP: For several years. And then I was accepted to Julliard, and so he had to accept it. Later on, he changed his mind about it, but for that time. He was a truck driver. He was a wonderful man – don’t get me wrong – it’s just that he couldn’t conceive of writing music. And he was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make a living – that nobody would pay any money. He wanted me to be an accountant.

RF: A lot of people think that way. My parents think that way.

TP: What are you going to do?

RF: Did you apply to Julliard in secret?

TP: Did I apply in secret? That’s a good question. Well, I told my mother. That’s another story. Here’s what happened: Before I applied to Julliard, I applied to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. I went up to Boston, and I had an audition, and they accepted me immediately on the spot. Then, I applied to Julliard and Julliard said: If you have been accepted by any other college or conservatory, you have to refuse it or we will not consider you. So I had to turn down a sure thing to apply for Julliard, but fortunately, Julliard accepted me – gave me a scholarship. So I had told my mother that I was going to do that, but I had not told my father. So, I remember I was in high school. I was senior in high school, and I was 16, and I remember calling my mother at lunch time and said: You got a letter from Julliard and they accepted you and they’re giving you a scholarship. So – oh my God – so that night we told my father, and he didn’t make a scene. He was okay. And after that, he was fine. He felt that as long as they were paying me – as long as they were giving me a scholarship – that must be on the up and up. So he accepted it. And after that, he was just wonderful about everything in my career. He was terrific. I have nothing bad to say about my father. You know, even in those years when he was tearing up the music, he was reacting from where he had come from. He had come from a tough Brooklyn-Sicilian-tough-guy atmosphere. So he was just reacting in the way that was natural for him. I didn’t blame him.

RF: Thank you so much.

TP: My pleasure.

RF: Is there a specific piece of yours that’s his favorite?

TP: My father?

RF: Yes!

TP: His favorite was “The Seagull.”

RF: “The Seagull?”

TP: Yes, one of my operas, which they’re doing here in September, in Dicapo. I remember he came to the Kennedy Center. He had seen it already at the world premiere in Houston. He had seen many productions and he loved that opera. And I remember when they did it at the Kennedy Center, he came – he and my mother drove down – and at the big party after opening night, he said to me: You know, Thomas, this is the best thing that you ever did, and I love it. It’s beautiful, beautiful music.

RF: Oh! That must have felt amazing.

TP: It was just amazing.

RF: How old were you at the time?

TP: Okay, I would say I was about 30 by that time. My father lived until he was 85, so he died 10 years ago. I’ll tell you one last story about my father: Of course, I started my career, as I told you, at 10, as a concert pianist. And then, many, many years later – it was a year after my father died – he died in ’93. And in 1994, I was giving a concert – a performance with orchestra – a piano concerto with me playing the solo part. I was in my dressing room before going on, and I was terrified. I felt so many nerves. It was just awful. I thought: I can’t do this – what am I going to do? I remember my father had just died maybe two months – three months – before that, and all of a sudden there was a calmness and I felt my father’s presence. And I felt him put his hand on my back, and push me onto the stage. I really did. Now I don’t know – maybe it was a figment of my imagination – but I felt it! It felt real. And I went out and I was able to play. And the audience was unbelievable. It was completely sold out. And there was a big, big standing ovation. And a man in a wheelchair came up to me afterwards – an old, Russian man – and he said: You know, the only other time that I felt like this was when I heard my compatriot, Mr. Rachmaninoff, play his piano concerto. My only regret is, because of the wheelchair, I couldn’t stand up like the rest of the audience.

RF: That is so beautiful.

TP: So, I’ll close with that.

But this hardly concludes our interview. Stay tuned for part two of this exclusive Q&A.

Photo by Ellen Appell

Adam Kittredge Interview

WiiWare

Mega Man 10
Publisher: Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Fans of all ages can enjoy the newest entry in this historic 8-bit franchise. As a special service to new players, there’s an Easy Mode – a first for a Mega Man game. This new feature means novices and longtime fans alike can all have a shot at making it to the end of a Mega Man game. Also, you can now play as Proto Man and try Time Attack Mode from the beginning, or watch play-through videos from players all over the world.

Dart Rage
Publisher: JV Games Inc.
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Alcohol Reference
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: Grab your Wii Remote™ controller and prepare for the ultimate game of darts on your Wii console. Dart Rage features the most realistic throwing system available today. With pixel-perfect accuracy and no buttons to push, you’ll be completely immersed in the game’s realism. Dart Rage puts you in the spotlight as you compete against friends, the computer or both. With four great games to choose from – including 301-901, Cricket, Poker and American (Baseball) darts – Dart Rage has plenty of options to keep the game fresh. There’s also a VS mode in which multiple players can compete at the same time in a race to the finish. Rock out to a sizzling soundtrack as a commentator announces your every shot.

Happy Hammerin’
Publisher: GAMEBRIDGE
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Happy Hammerin’ is a party game suitable for friends and families. Compete against each other by bashing moles using the Wii Remote controller. Use the Wii Remote like a hammer and let off some steam as you frantically try to bash the moles popping up all over the screen. Play against the CPU or go head-to-head with up to four players. (Additional accessories are required for the multiplayer modes and are sold separately.) Players can challenge themselves in three different modes: Mole Adventure (1-2 players), Mole Marathon (1 player) and Party Battle (1-4 players). Mole Adventure consists of four stages with three difficulty types. The faster you bash, the more points you get. With broadband Internet access, register your scores online and compete against the best mole bashers from around the world.

Virtual Console™

FATAL FURY SPECIAL
Original platform: NEOGEO
Publisher: D4 Enterprise
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence
Price: 900 Wii Points
Description: Originally released in 1993, this fighting game pits 15 different fighters against each other. The cast includes the original eight characters from Fatal Fury 2, as well as three new characters (Billy, Axel and Laurence) and a new boss (Wolfgang). Also, three characters from the original Fatal Fury (Duck, Dan and Geese) have returned to the fight. Building on the appeal of the previous game with two-line battles, special moves and powerful finishers, this game is truly worthy of its “special” distinction. And if certain special conditions are met, special guest Ryuu Sakazaki will make an appearance.

Nintendo DSiWare

Let’s Golf
Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Grab a club, take a swing and pray for a birdie in Let’s Golf. Discover a fun-filled experience that’s accessible to anyone. Choose from four customizable characters and play 45 holes in three beautiful 3-D locations: Fiji Beach, the English Countryside and the Scottish Lochs. Enjoy easy-to-learn controls that even let you blow into the microphone to add spin to your ball. Take photos with your Nintendo DSi™ system’s built-in camera and add them to your personal profile. For the most fun, play Hot Seat Multiplayer with friends on a single Nintendo DSi system and see who’s the best.

Globulos Party
Publisher: GlobZ
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Globulos Party is a collection of mini-games that are very simple to understand and fun to master. The 20 games are: 4-Square, Arena, Basket, Bomber, Bomber-King, Croquet, Darts, Darts-King, Soccer, Funky-Soccer, Ice Hockey, Monster, Pétanque, Pinball, Rally, Football, Snooker, Sumo, Tic-Tac-Toe and Volley. Enjoy more than 15 hours of solo fun and nearly unlimited game play with the three multiplayer modes.

VT Tennis
Publisher: Virtual Toys
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: VT Tennis is an ace of a tennis game for the Nintendo DSi system. Using the innovative stylus and touch-screen controls, train your budding tennis star to serve, lob and smash his way to victory with precision swipes in all directions. Advance your player statistics in this fast-paced tournament of game modes, featuring Quickmatch, Tennis School and World Championship. The objective is to reach No. 1 in the world rankings. To do this, players will have to unlock courts as they compete in championships all over the world. At the start of career mode, players will find themselves in last place in the rankings. From this moment on, you must battle your way up. You can play on all types of surfaces – grass, clay, hard courts and wood – and learn the best techniques for winning each tournament on the different surfaces. Seventeen tough courts, each more difficult than the last, stand between you and your final victory.

Flips: Terror in Cubicle Four
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: There’s something strange going on with the loo in cubicle four of the girls’ toilet. It’s spewed green goo on Stacey’s shoes and almost had new boy James for lunch. Can he and his friends, Alexander and Lenny, flush out the cause of the trouble, or will the terrifying toilet plague the school with problems forever?

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

Craftily directed by veteran Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg, and put together by an internationally and timelessly acclaimed cast, this big-screen adaptation of the biography of former con-artist Frank William Abagnale Jr. offers a little bit to everyone’s taste; indeed, viewing “Catch Me If You Can” will acquaint you with a real-life story, have you explore the boundaries beyond the realistic possibilities, provide you with room for profound contemplation and simply make you feel good.

Given that Spielberg is better known catching the eyes of critics and average moviegoers alike with films exploring complicated topics such as the Holocaust, racism, terrorism and science-fiction (“Schindler’s List” won him an Oscar; “E.T.: The Extra- Terrestrial” rocked the box office in 1982), he is pretty successful in drifting away from his comfort zone with “Catch Me If You Can.” Besides receiving an Oscar for John Williams’ Best Original Music score, this movie got thumbs up from the protagonist himself: The real-life check forger-turned-FBI consultant, Frank William Abagnale Jr.

The plot follows closely, via flashback, the turbulent, stranger-than-fiction life of Abagnale. Whereas the opening scene shows FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) visiting a French prison in order to get seemingly sick prisoner Abagnale (Leonardo DiCaprio) and escort him back to the United States, the kernel of the stories are revealed by Frank himself while staying chained in a hotel room and nibbling on his éclair on the airplane.

Everything starts as innocently as possible: Emotionally fragile teenage Frank runs away from his suburban middle-class home in Yonkers, unable to cope with the unexpected divorce of his parents – the IRS-persecuted Frank Abagnale Sr. (Christopher Walken), and the self-possessed, French-born housewife Paula (Nathalie Baye). Even though he displays his propensity toward impersonating when posing as a substitute French teacher in his high school, he gives a full swing of his clandestine talent after being kicked out of a downtown hotel for a bounced check.

In addition to forging nearly $2.5 million in more than 26 countries, Abagnale Jr. successfully masquerades as a PanAm pilot, a Georgia doctor-in-residence and a Louisiana lawyer – all before his official coming-of-age at 21.

Weird. Unthinkable. Funny. Real.

Caught in between his “Titanic” heartthrob period and “Revolutionary Road” full-grown years, DiCaprio is the perfect match for the portrayal of the minor yet mature Abagnale Jr. Thanks to his natural charisma and witty manners, DiCaprio makes the actions of the protagonist quite believable: Cashing forged checks while charming naïve cashiers, getting laid by stewardesses as compensation for creating an in-flight confusion, escaping from the FBI under their noses in a hotel room and even scoring an engagement with a Southern belle nurse, Brenda Strong (Amy Adams).

With her big braces, freckles and inexperience with relationships, Adams is the live embodiment of the gullibility – the gullibility shown by the small-town middle-class girls constantly waiting for a change. She is the complete opposite of the witty, artful, worldly Frank. One could feel nothing but pity when the disheveled, sleep-deprived Brenda gets out of a taxi at Miami International Airport, desperately craving to meet her fiance, Frank, who is on his way to Europe. Adams’ acting is a precursor for the Academy Award nod for her role as soft-hearted Sister James in “Doubt” (2008).

Yet the tone changes from heartbreaking to hilarious when a bunch of agents, led by humorless, dim-witted Carl Hanratty, set their eyes on the gorgeous flight attendants passing by, thus missing once again their target, Abagnale, who is enjoying the company of the crew dressed in a flashy pilot uniform. With his not-so-attractive looks and clueless mien, Academy Award-winner Hanks (“Forrest Gump” 1994) is like a clone of the befuddled Bulgarian national Viktor Naborsky in the airport comedy “The Terminal.”

Whereas DiCaprio’s charm gets the viewers to condone the delinquent acts of his character, Baye’s pompousness and self-possessiveness help in making Paula Abagnale one of the least likable figures in the film. With her strong foreign accent and petty bourgeois manner, the Cesar-winning French actress (“Une Etrange Affaire”; “Le Petit Lieutenant”) seems highly promiscuous, as well as oblivious to her son’s emotional needs, thereby prompting his running away, in a sense.

Despite his dishonest nature, Frank Abagnale Sr. looks mostly like a victim of his own circumstances. The pastoral looks of Walken (“Annie Hall”; “Sleepy Hollow”) further induce sympathy for his character. He should only be blamed for setting bad examples for the likable DiCaprio’s Abagnale Jr.

Despite some discrepancy in terms of family status and plot development, “Catch Me If You Can” brings Frank William Abagnale Jr.’s memoir to life in the most realistic way possible. Yet this reality is stranger than fiction, which makes the Spielberg’s masterpiece a must-see movie.

THE NEW TENANTS – (Denmark/USA, 20 min., Director: Joachim Back): Hilarious, witty and shocking, this film features the best acting among the nominees this year, with supporting stars the likes of Kevin Corrigan and Vincent D’Onofrio. From the opening rant of David Rakoff, to the dance with co-star Jamie Harrold at the end, you won’ be able to stop laughing or awe-ing in disbelief. Simply put, to be able to convey so much emotion and run the table this quickly, the film’s director Joachim Back should be applauded.

MIRACLE FISH – (Australia, 17 min., Director: Luke Doolan): The innocence of eight-year-old Karl Beattie fuels this short film that has a unique message. Wanting some solace after being picked on all day in school, the youngster sneaks into the nurses office and takes a nap and finds out he got exactly what he wanted. However, in the end, he may have gotten more than he bargained for. Excellent cinematography and a quirky and ironic story also help fuel “Miracle Fish” and make it an enjoyable short.

THE DOOR – (Ireland, 17 min., Director: Juanita Wilson): Just like “Miracle Fish” and “Kavi,” “The Door,” is emotionally charged and surprisingly deep for a short film. Following a small family after the Chernobyl disaster, we see the lengths one is willing to go to in order to give themselves closure. Surreal and tragic, “The Door” has a message that gets delivered and will stick with you after viewing.

INSTEAD OF ABRACADABRA – (Sweden, 22 min., Director: Patrik Eklund): The most humorous of the films nominated this year, “Instead of Abracadabra” stars a rambunctious Simon J. Berger, who in his own way, is a European Jon Heder plus a few Red Bulls added in for good measure. You’ll love his wacky attitude and his worried, yet loving parents that want him to grow up. Overall, it has it all, including a few moments where you don’t have a clue what’s going on. Because of that unpredictability and overt humor, it’s a winner and ReviewFix.com’s pick for the best short of 2009.

The opening scene of the picture has Paul Benedict, whom you may remember as the wacky neighbor on “The Jeffersons,” performing inspections on the slaves he plans to buy. Then one of his perspective purchases is asked to play fetch like a dog in a scene that will make anyone sick to their stomachs.

That feeling is made worse when he refers to a female slave’s baby as a sucker.

That opening scene sets the tone for the premise, which basically follows the sick and depraved owners of a Southern plantation. On the plantation, we witness children being used as foot stools, naked whippings, people being forced into a pot of boiling water and so many other atrocities. It all serves as a reminder for one of the darkest chapters in American history, but the problem is that not one character in this film makes a strong impact as a protagonist.

For some bizarre reason, the main perspective of the film is from the owners of the plantation, whose patriarch, Warren Maxwell, is played by James Mason. It is hard to imagine one legitimate reason that Mason could have had to appear as such a loathsome character. Watching him rest his feet on a small child in this film, which seems to take no stand on slavery, is an appalling experience. Times must have been rough for Mason to accept a role this bad, but his performance in “The Verdict” opposite Paul Newman helps us forget this black mark on his career.

His son, Hammond Maxwell, is played by Perry King who, since this film, has become a staple on the Lifetime network. King walks with an on-and-off limp, and almost seems to be the protagonist here, but the writers gave him such a dark side that redemption is impossible. He is in love with one of his slaves, and that creates some sympathy for the character, which fades by the horrific ending.

In an attempt to find a wife, King is introduced to Susan George, and that’s when melodrama is introduced to the picture. George’s character of Blanche had one lover prior to Maxwell, who was her brother. The depravity in this picture never slows down once it gets started, and what could have been an intelligent look at slavery in the South gets bogged down by stupidity.

Of course, in a film entitled “Mandingo,” one might assume a good amount of time is spent on the slave played by Ken Norton, but that assumption would be wrong. First of all, Norton is a talented athlete, but he was not ready to tackle a role on this serious of a level. He is solid in a fight sequence where he pulls a Mike Tyson on another slave, but he doesn’t know how to emote for the dramatic sequences.

What is oddly surprising is this trashy soap opera is technically well-made from the director’s standpoint, but the ugliness of the content may make the casual viewer miss that perspective. Had Richard Fleischer really cared about this picture, he would have revamped the script and did a better job on the casting.

“Mandingo” is unlike any film – in an attempt to combine history with melodrama, they made a mess almost as bad as “Caligula.” Historical events need to be taken more seriously, and that is what is so damaging about films of this nature. Knowing “Mandingo” is based on history is what makes it more insulting then your average cult movie.

And somehow, it inspired a sequel entitled “Drum,” which featured Warren Oates, Pam Grier and Ken Norton.

You’re in a club, with dim lights and all you want to do is dance, or you’re in your room and need a study break; either way Josh Wink has the answer for you with this track. Its long, monotonous beat is just the thing to have you forget the negativity that surrounds you. In essence it gives you something we all need to do once in a while – permission to think about nothing at all.

“Let the Madness Begin” – Fozzy

At the first listen of the guitar lick in “Let the Madness Begin” you know you’re in for a heavy metal treat. Do the lyrics matter, maybe, but what’s great about this song is that it only adds to the solid musicianship. With the release of their fourth album “Chasing the Grail” early this year if the songs are half as good as this rocking track then get it – now.

“Trash Day” – Butch Walker

When you listen to “Trash Day” your first thought will be “Why haven’t I heard of this guy before?” Walker’s folksy style on this track will have you listening continuously to this song as his guitar playing draws you in and keeps you interested. Another lyricist who combines solid playing with an amazing play on words Walker definitely deserves to be on heavy rotation in your mp3 player.

“I Don’t Remember Why” – Flying Machines

The opportunity to find new or obscure bands is one of the reasons why downloading free music brings a welcome surprise to the listener. Having said that originally reviewed in ’09 from their self-titled album “I Don’t Remember Why” is a solid track that emphasizes the musicianship of the Flying Machines. Electric guitar, piano and drums combine to save this song from being clichéd. It’s worthy of having a place in your mp3 player.

“Once You Got Me Going” – Debby Blackwell

Remember when you heard a song on the radio and so began your journey to find the singer – well Debby Blackwell had to be one of those artists that you needed to track down. With a sound reminiscent of Teena Marie, Blackwell gives what would have been an ordinary song sex-appeal and style. It’s danceable and listenable at the same time as her velvety-textured voice acrobatically maneuvers through the lyrics and the beat. This great song will take you back to those basement parties. Download it.

“New Life” – Sounds of Liberation

Is it Carlos Santana? No it’s the Sounds of Liberation as they mix Latin and Jazz beats. You’ll feel like you’re stealing when you download this free track.

“Mamaya” – The Souljazz Orchestra

The Souljazz Orchestra is aptly named. With this track you hear heavy influences of Latin drums and Jazz horns that combined with the Latin chanting makes an intriguing track that you won’t be able to stop listening to – and you’ll be just fine with that.

Leading Ladies will be presented Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. March 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20. Sunday matinees will be performed at 2 p.m. on March 7, 14 and 21. Ticket prices are $15.00, $13.00 (children and seniors). TDF Vouchers are accepted. Reservations can be made by calling (718) 237- 2752 or visiting our website at www.heightsplayers.org (24-hour notice required).

The Heights Players is located at 26 Willow Place, between Joralemon & State Streets, in historic downtown Brooklyn Heights. 2, 3, 4 & 5 trains to Borough Hall, M/R to Court St. Parking available in the general vicinity.

From the first throngs of “The Moon and the Sky” you know you are in for a special treat. Its heartfelt lyrics (“I was the one/I who could pull in all the stars above Lay them on your feet/and I gave you my love”) are echoed in every song on the album. You will be hard-pressed to find a favorite as it’s a selection of music rich with a variety of melodies that will stimulate your senses. However, there are a few songs that are standouts.

The title track of the album is currently on several charts including reaching number one on Billboards’ pop and R&B. While it is a strong representation of the album the songs “Babyfather,” “Bring Me Home” and “The Safest Place” reveal why some artists can get away with not producing an album of original music for ten years.

“Babyfather” has a reggae tone that is complemented with a combination of words that only make sense when sung by Sade. This boy meets girl storyline starts off as any ordinary song would: “We were waiting for the bus/No one much around but us.” Then as that reggae beat becomes insistent with its heart/drum-like rhythm it goes to a place that speaks of wanting to be something better – all for the love of a woman. The song is thought provoking as you begin to play with the notion in which Sade is singing about. Each time you listen to “Babyfather” you’ll begin to wonder, who are these people, where did they meet and under what circumstances could make two people live their whole lives in what seems like an instant?

Further on there is “Bring Me Home” where its low-key melody of a repeated drum beat and background vocalists emphasize the tension within the lyrics. “Put me on a plane with metal on fire/Send me out to sea” are only a taste of this mourning song of resentment for what is lost. Depending on what is occurring in your life these words will resonate without being intrusive to your personal space. Yet, the song will haunt you at the same time.

When you arrive to “The Safest Place” you will feel as if the journey is nearly over. It’s a slow, languishing rhythm that once again only Sade could pull off. Together the musical arrangements and words combine to create a mood that you will want to experience several times over.

Sade’s songs are the type where you find yourself putting the pieces of a narrative puzzle together. The songs all have to do with love in some form, this time the spin is on militant, downtrodden and warrior love. The people who Sade sings about need a respite from their lives and they find that in all forms of love. In this case they fight for it. At the same time it’s the sort of music that cleanses and renews your spirit. You feel as if you are a better person who is more in tune with the universe. And all you have to do is listen.

(NEW YORK, NY) – Audiences to the first ever NYC revival of Caroline, or Change at The Gallery Players proved to be generous with more than praise, contributing to a total of $3,495.03 toward the tragedy in Haiti. The Caroline, or Change performers made a direct appeal to the audience after each performance to give what they could towards those affected by the tragedy in Haiti, and the donations proved to be extremely charitable. All funds collected by the company will be donated to Doctors Without Borders.

Caroline, or Change had a successful limited engagement at The Gallery Players January 30-February 21, 2010, selling out 13 of 16 performances. Doug Strassler of offoffonline said of Caroline, or Change: “Every aspect of Jeremy Gold Kronenberg’s carefully nourished production – is magnificent.” Caroline, or Change was produced by Lanie Zipoy for The Gallery Players, and was directed by Jeremy Gold Kronenberg. The cast featured: Gisela Adisa*, River Aguirre, Teisha Duncan, Heather Davis, Markeisha Ensley*, Peter Gantenbein*, Marcie Henderson*, Daniel Henri Luttway, Gael Schaefer*, Nikki Stephenson*, Elyse McKay Taylor*, Eileen Tepper*, Ellisha Marie Thomas, Elyse McKay Taylor*, Barrington Walters, Bill Weeden* and John Weigand*. *appeared courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association.

“I am delighted by the generosity shown by our audiences at Caroline, or Change to Doctors Without Borders,” says Executive Director Neal Freeman. “We weren’t sure what to expect when we decided to make this collection, and it was thrilling to see our audience members contribute so graciously. It is particularly gratifying to produce a show about ‘change’ in all its many iterations and to see that change and hope reflected tangibly in the donations we collected every night. It reminds me that theater can indeed be an instrument of transformation.”

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Today, MSF provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. For more information, or to donate, visit www.doctorswithoutborders.org

A New York institution since 1967, The Gallery Players has served actors and audiences alike for more than 4 decades by showcasing burgeoning new talent and offering a home base for theater professionals. Its eclectic programming of intimate revivals and ambitious new work in inventive productions has earned it the reputation of “New York’s Best Kept Secret.” The Gallery Players is the recipient of the Off-Off Broadway Review’s 2000 Award for Lifetime Achievement and is the three-time recipient of New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for their productions of Urinetown! The musical, Yank! A New Musical and Like You Like It. Among its famous alumni are founding member Harvey Fierstein; Broadway regulars Nancy Anderson, Jeffry Denman and Diedre Goodwin; New York theater personality Seth Rudetsky and many others. The Gallery Players is located at 199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Avenues in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

The Gallery Players’ 43rd season continues with Arthur Miller’s The Crucible March 20-April 4th 2010, City of Angels May 1-23, 2010, and closes with The 13th Annual Black Box New Play Festival, June 10-27, 2010. For more information, visit www.galleryplayers.com.

“I WANT YOU” FIRST NEW SINGLE –ON STARZ CABLE CHANNEL IMPACTS AT POP RADIO ON MARCH 2ND

Fefe Dobson picked for VH1’s You Oughta Know program

(New York, NY) Fefe Dobson has completed her new album, JOY, scheduled for May release on 21 Music / Island Records. JOY follows-up Fefe Dobson, her self-titled debut, which generated JUNO Award nominations for Best Pop Album and Best New Artist. In advance of JOY, the first single “I Want You” will impact at pop radio on March 2nd (the digital song available now). In addition, Fefe Dobson has been picked for VH1’s You Oughta Know program kicking off April 5th.

“I Want You” was heard in the trailers for Drew Barrymore’s roller derby directorial debut, Whip It, and is currently being heard on STARZ promos over the next three months. “I Want You” has also been heard on television in The Vampire Diaries, and in promos for VH1’s Megan Wants a Millionaire. The song was also included – in Simlish version, of course – on EA’s 6-million selling SIMS 3 World Adventures videogame. Another song from JOY, “Watch Me Move” was recently featured on American Idol’s final 24 episode, heard on promos for CW’s America’s Next Top Model, the theme of VH1’s The Cho Show (starring Margaret Cho), and NBC’s Lipstick Jungle. “Watch Me Move” digital song will be released on March 19th.

The videos for “I Want You” and “Watch Me Move” – as well as Fefe’s mashup mix of “I Want You To Watch Me Move” – were all added last year on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV Hits, MTV.com, VH1.com, The N Network, and Logo. Excerpts of “I Want You” and “Watch Me Move” are posted on http://www.myspace.com/fefedobson, which boasts over 4.1 million total plays, and over 1.7 million profile views.

Fefe Dobson’s #1 Billboard Heat­seekers debut album contained the back-to-back Top 40 Mainstream singles “Take Me Away” (an MTV TRL, MTV2, and MTV.com hit in ’03) and “Everything” (in ’04). In addition to “Everything” (heard in the CW’s One Tree Hill, and The Perfect Score movie soundtrack), other songs by Fefe surfaced in movie sound­tracks for Raising Helen (“If You Walk Away”) and It’s a Boy Girl Thing (“Be Strong”), as well as FOX-TV promos for Fringe (“Paranoia”).

Fefe is a prolific writer whose songs have included Miley Cyrus’ single (“Start All Over” on Hannah Montana 2) and has been covered over the years by a variety of artists including Jordin Sparks (“Don’t Let It Go to Your Head” on Battlefield), and Selena Gomez (“As A Blonde” on Kiss & Tell). In addition, the highly photogenic Fefe enjoys a sideline career as a spokes­person, and has been photographed for dozens of magazine features. Among her credits, she was seen in the popular “Got Milk?” ads, and Tommy Hilfiger campaigns.

Check it out now, right here!

Having a bunch of actors onboard who can live up to all that hype helps. Considering the fact that Crowley’s working with nine characters, he can only give them so much depth in two hours. A play like this requires everyone to do his part to provide these characters with the gravity they need, especially one that deals more with drama than plot. On top of being able to make their own characters work, all of the actors here understand how they behave around one another, and why the tension between them erupts the way it does.

Because almost all of the characters here are gay, the one who claims he’s not is kind of the odd man out. We’re never really sure why Alan’s (Kevin Isola) marriage is on the rocks, but when he calls his friend Michael (Jonathan Hammond) and tells him he wants to see him right away, Michael suspects that he probably left his wife because he’s in the closet. He tells Alan that he’ll have to wait until tomorrow before they can meet, since he’s still getting things ready for his friend Harold’s (Jon Levenson) birthday party tonight.

Michael expects the usual suspects to be there: His literate confidante and better half, Donald (Nick Westrate); Larry (Christopher Innvar) and Hank (Graham Rowat), two roommates who are more than just friends; a black guy named Bernard (Kevyn Morrow), who has to put up with Michael’s fondness for racist jokes; and Emory (John Wellmann), a delicate flower who’s about as feminine as it gets. As if the guest list wasn’t full enough already, Michael doesn’t know what to do when Alan shows up out of the blue with a quizzical look on his face.

They’ve brought gifts, but since Larry’s the kind of guy who’d show up for his own party stoned, Emory’s is probably the most appropriate: A muscle-bound gigolo (Aaron Sharff) who’s dressed as a cowboy. Though the other guests engage in conversations that are too clever for him to keep up with, given the hostility that Michael unloads on them, anyone who’s not involved might well be better off.

It’s hard enough for a dark comedy to pull off laughs that work as well as the drama, but this one ups the ante by handling both of them at once. A great deal of its witticisms have stings in their tails, even when somebody quotes a favorite Bette Davis movie or Tennessee Williams play. Although there’s no shortage of dramatic moments here, the actors have a lively way of approaching them, resulting in melodrama with the rhythms of a screwball comedy. In fact, there’s a sense that they’ve seen so many old movies that they stole most of their quirks from them. (The characters, not the actors.)

Even the set design has its own strange chemistry. The vintage posters up on the wall and the turntable that blasts Judy Garland give everything an atmosphere that’s pretty intimate, so much so that you can’t help but feel uncomfortable seeing how everyone here behaves behind closed doors. Since this is one of those productions that places the audience in the round, it makes sense that some of the characters would wind up against the wall with us – they make us feel the same tension that they feel around each other whenever they turn up in our demesne, particularly with a host who’s as intoxicated as Michael is. That’s what comes from too much pills and liquor.

When Skype starts up, it plays a log-in sound and goes straight to the application window, where it views a user’s contact list, basic profile view, profile image, conversations tab, search directory, shopping section and a “call phones” tab for those who wish to dial phone numbers. Skype’s sleek and clean interface is adjustable on both panels, the buttons and layout colors are smooth and shiny and everything is organized in the menu bar by category and specific actions.

In Skype’s “tool” section, a user can edit settings in general, for video, sounds, audio, privacy options, notifications, customizing calls and IM settings and appearances. In these options, a user can modify the volume of audio, when Skype sounds should be played, who could contact the user, how the program should start and when to notify a user about their contact’s status updates. Though this sounds like a large amount of options to modify, in reality, it is not very cluttered in the settings window, and there is nothing that may be difficult for first time users to understand. Therefore, changing around options is no hassle and can be done easily.

Using Skype is also a breeze, considering most of the necessary functions of the program are already on the main window. A user could choose from making a regular call, or a video call which includes the use of a web camera. One could also choose to share his or her screen, which would allow the other caller to see whatever is on the user’s computer screen. There are also options which allow a person to hold a call or to mute the microphone.

There is also instant messaging available whether a user is on a call or not. The instant messaging window is usually shown right below the video screen area and has various emoticons to choose from. Using Skype’s IM function is just like any other chat client, but without the additional font settings. Skype also includes file transfers in which users could send files to others.

If any problems arise during program use, Skype has a function in which a user could send call quality feedback to report any calling issues such as constant drop calls or difficulty hearing a contact because of static and random background noise.

The program is also quite stable and does not crash during usage. The installation file is about 2MB and when Skype is installed, it expands to about 31MB. The memory usage, however, is quite high even when not making any calls. It also runs two processes in the background in the meantime. But, installation and signing up is easy and definitely painless.

Though Skype is free with user-to-user calls, calling a phone number requires Skype credits and various connection fees may be applied. There is also only an option to buy $10 worth of credits; no lesser options.

Generally speaking, Skype is a great program for making online calls and video sessions. It is also an inexpensive and an easy way to get connected with out-of-the-country families and friends without using calling cards and being billed for long distance. The only downfall, however, is that both users must have Skype for free calls.

This side-scrolling, arcade-style, run-and-gun shooter explodes with the same winning formula of over-the-top action and cartoon mayhem that has kept METAL SLUG a premier franchise for over a decade. Frantic and fun, serious METAL SLUG fans and casual gamers alike can relive the glory and charm of old school cooperative arcade play. Team up with a comrade via ad-hoc multiplayer to outshoot and outrun hundreds of enemies while liberating as many prisoners as possible.

Choose between six zany METAL SLUG characters and shoot through seven action-packed levels with varying obstacles, numerous enemies, and diverging paths. Veteran soldiers and confident players put their skills to the test by playing more than 70 mission-based trials in “Combat School.” With its unmistakable style and personality, nostalgic gameplay, more than 70 missions, and the ability to play with a friend, METAL SLUG XX is the definitive portable METAL SLUG arcade experience.

Consider yourself the ultimate METAL SLUG fan? Purchase Leona, a seventh playable character with her own unique abilities, via PlayStation®Store for only 99 cents.

METAL SLUG XX is in stores now with an MSRP of just $19.99. For more information, please visit the website www.atlus.com/metalslugxx.

About METAL SLUG XX

METAL SLUG XX for PSP system is the new addition to the famed METAL SLUG series that captures all the glory of the arcade experience and more. After General Morden is defeated and captured, a mysterious army arrives from the future to save him. They reveal themselves to be the Mars People and their goal is to provide their future leader with special advanced weaponry to take on his enemies in the present. Classic METAL SLUG characters Marco, Tarma, Fio, Eri, Ralf, and Clark return once again to take on General Morden and his new and improved Rebel Army.

Key Features

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Arcade fun made portable — The full glory of the METAL SLUG arcade experience has been perfectly captured on the PlayStation Portable with signature off-the-wall military “run and gun” gameplay, colorful, cartoony humor and the opportunity to play together with a friend.
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Multiplayer METAL SLUG — Get the full METAL SLUG experience that recalls the good old days of gaming with your friends when you join up over local wireless to take on missions in 2-player co-op ad hoc mode.
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Play again and again — Uncover something new on every playthrough! Choose between 3 difficulty modes and six playable characters that offer unique weapons and attack moves. Seven levels with diverging paths challenge you with different enemies and obstacles. Combat School tests the true METAL SLUG fan with more than 70 mission-based trials that determine military rank.

With solid performances cast-wide, throwback cinematography [that will remind many of the work of Romero, who is also the executive producer] and just enough action, Breck Eisner’s rendition of “The Crazies” is worth a look for any fan of the genre, or anyone in the mood to sample something a bit different. Funny at times and gruesome at others, this picture casts a good balance that is mainly hampered by a lack of real charisma and a sometimes loss of logic.

Even though lapses in continuity and reality are expected in flicks of this type, after seeing characters pop up out of nowhere and then fire shots from angles where magic bullets would need GPS, “The Crazies” loses its scare factor and becomes silly at times, rather than spine-chilling. The same thing goes for the psychological elements of the film, which are tampered with, thanks again to stale dialogue, making it less of shocker and more cliché and cookie cutter.

In spite of their small town in Iowa falling victim to a biological weapon and 99.9 percent of the population effectively “going crazy,” the sense of despair from the characters isn’t nearly as catastrophic as you’d expect.

While Timothy Olyphant [Rock Star, Deadwood] and Radha Mitchell are fully capable and are a more than passable pair as David and Judy Dutton, the local sheriff  and doctor, the lack of sexiness in the script robs them of any extra passion they could have exhibited. Sure, it’s an attractive offering at times, especially towards the end, when you see how far the government is willing to go to keep the “situation” under control, but with straightforward plot development and paint by numbers dialogue, “The Crazies” ends up being a fun, yet somewhat predictable experience.

Considering this, it’s ironic that Joe Anderson and Danielle Panabaker, the two actors in supporting roles, end up having more entertaining roles than the stars, as they serve as plot devices with attitude. Anderson [Across the Universe] serves as Olyphant’s deputy, who is not only tough, but is hilarious to boot, shooting “crazies” dead like Clint Eastwood, while simultaneously losing his sanity. Panabaker is cute as Mitchell’s teenage and wide-eyed assistant, who must deal with the world crumbling around her.

Both character types are Romero staples and are pulled off well-enough and help keep the film afloat and make up for many of the film’s shortcomings.

After all, in spite of all the blood and fright, a true Romero film [and great horror flick] is about the people going through the horror, and not the horror itself. In a few scenes, we truly see this and that is when “The Crazies” shines and becomes a crafty cult-hit. The rest of the time though, it feels like a scaled-down knock off of “28 Days Later.”

When it’s all said and done however, the humor, blood and thriller elements are executed just well enough to keep the film above water.

Fans of Romero’s work may not be enthralled by this adaptation, but they certainly wouldn’t be “crazy” if they ended up liking it in spite of its flaws.

ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE US
Written by Alan M. Berks
Directed by Jesse Edward Rosbrow
April 22-May 1
If your world were different, would you be different, too? ALMOST EXACTLY LIKE US shows us four people in different realities, from a totalitarian regime to an evangelical college and a post-apocalyptic war zone, and examines how the world around us shapes who we are and who we will become.

ST. NICHOLAS
Written by Conor McPherson
Directed by Jesse Edward Rosbrow
June 17-July 3
An aging jaded theatre critic recounts his obsession with a young actress, and how that obsession leads to a journey into a macabre world of vampires from which he almost can’t escape.

Both productions will be presented at the WorkShop Theater (312 West 36th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenue, 4th Floor). Tickets ($12) are available online at www.theatermania.com or by calling 212-352-3101.

ALAN M. BERKS (Playwright) is the author of nine full-length plays, six one-acts, and numerous short plays and monologues that have been seen in Minneapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Indianapolis, and New York. The solo show Goats, about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination, was produced by The Production Company in New York City and nominated for a 2006 New York Innovative Theater Award. The plays 3 Parts Dead, written in collaboration with Burning House Group, and Everywhere Signs Fall, at Gremlin Theatre, were both named in the Minneapolis Star Tribune “Year in Review” as some of the best theater of the year. Other awards include: Minnesota State Arts Board Grant (Ringtone), MacDowell Colony Fellow (They Want), and Jerome Fellow (Mourning Rituals). His one-act play for high school students, Home of the Brave, was commissioned by the Guthrie Theatre, published by Playscripts, Inc., and produced by schools from Minnesota and Iowa to Texas and California. Other work includes: How to Cheat, Fugue, Almost Exactly Like Us, and They Want (based on The Oresteia by Aeschylus). He co-created Thirst Theater, which produced more than 60 new short plays over three years, and is currently the Editor of MinnesotaPlaylist.com.

CONNER MCPHERSON (Playwright) plays include The Seafarer (premiered on Broadway in 2007), Poor Beast in the Rain, Port Authority, Dublin Carol (premiered on Broadway in 2002), The Weir (premiered on Broadway in 1999), St Nicholas and This Lime Tree Bower. His plays have been performed at Atlantic Theater Company, Primary Stages, National Theatre, The Royal Court Theatre, Gate Theatre, New Ambassadors Theatre, Duke of York’s Theatre, Dublin Theatre Festival and Bush Theatre. His plays have been performed across the United States, as well as in Ireland, England, Germany, France, Australia, Poland, Italy, Japan, Argentina and Uruguay. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2006 for Shining City, which premiered on Broadway in 2006; nominated for the 2002 South Bank Show Award for Best Play for Port Authority; received the 1999 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Play, the Evening Standard Most Promising Playwright, the Critics Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright and was a finalist for the Lloyds Bank Playwright of the Year Award for The Weir; and was the joint winner of 1997 George Devine Award and the winner of the Meyer Whitworth Award for Saint Nicholas. Mr. McPherson’s screenplays include Our Lady of the Forest for Channel 4, Brothers for Film Four, The Actors for Film Four/Miramax, Saltwater for Treasure Films/BBC (premiered at the Berlin Festival in 2000 and received The International Confederation of Art Cinemas Prize), I Went Down for BBC/Treasure Films (Best Screenplay, San Sebastian 1997, selected at Cannes Festival, Edinburgh Festival and Sundance Festival) and MacIntyre (commission for Treasure Films).

JESSE EDWARD ROSBROW (Director) Directing credits include: the New York premiere of Vaçlav Havel’s Audience, Unveiling, Protest (John Housman Studio Theater); What Where by Samuel Beckett (The Ensemble Studio Theatre); Mare Cognitum (FringeNYC 2008/Theatre of the Expendable); Mare Cognitum (2009), Three Sisters, Dick 2 (a.k.a. Richard II), and 6:1 (Theatre of the Expendable). Producing credits include: the New York premiere of Cherry Docs (nominated for three New York Innovative Theatre Awards including “Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role”, “Outstanding Director”, and “Outstanding Production of a Play”), TotE’s First Annual New Works Festival, Dick 2 (a.k.a. Richard II), The Tragedy of John, and The Ocean Is Big And The Sky Is Blue (Theatre of the Expendable); Hello, My Name Is… (Living Image Arts, Theatre Row’s Lion Theatre). Acting credits include: Four If By Space (www.fourifbyspace.net). Education credits include: BA from Vassar College, where he studied Drama (mostly directing) and Classics (mostly dead guys). Jesse is TotE’s Artistic Director.

THEATRE OF THE EXPENDABLE develops and produces plays that ask our audience members how people become expendable. Also, since we view no audience member as expendable, we keep our ticket prices low – often lower than, and never higher than, the price of an average movie theatre ticket. Theatre of the Expendable has previously produced Dick 2 (a.k.a. Richard ll), The Tragedy of John, The Ocean is Big and the Sky is Blue, Cherry Docs (nominated for three New York Innovative Theatre Awards including “Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role”, “Outstanding Director”, and “Outstanding Production of a Play”), Three Sisters, and Mare Cognitum (FringeNYC 2008, Get S.O.M. 2009).

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo of America issued a surge of new information today about what consumers can expect from the company in the coming months. Let’s get right to it:

* The new Nintendo DSi XL™ hand-held system launches March 28 at a suggested retail price of $189.99. The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL are 93 percent larger than those of the Nintendo DS™ Lite model, providing a more vivid and engaging play experience. The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL also feature a wider viewing angle, letting friends and family members join the fun. The new system launches in both Burgundy and Bronze colors, and comes loaded with pre-installed premium software Brain Age™ Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock, as well as two free applications: the Nintendo DSi Browser and Flipnote Studio™. Nintendo DSi XL will also come with a larger pen-like stylus that allows for a more comfortable grip and enhanced ease of use when playing games that use the Nintendo DS touch screen. America’s Test Kitchen: Let’s Get Cooking and WarioWare™: D.I.Y. will also launch for the Nintendo DS family of products on March 28, providing consumers with new content that can be enjoyed on any Nintendo DS system. Games like these demonstrate the enhanced experience available with the Nintendo DSi XL.
* Super Mario Galaxy™ 2, the sequel to the smash-hit galaxy-hopping original game, launches May 23 for the Wii™ console. The game includes the amazing gravity-defying, physics-based exploration from the first game, but is loaded with entirely new galaxies and features to challenge and delight players. On some stages, Mario™ can pair up with his dinosaur buddy Yoshi™ and use his tongue to grab items and spit them back at enemies. Players can also have fun with new items such as a drill that lets our hero tunnel through solid rock.
* Metroid™: Other M, the incredible new Metroid game developed for Wii through a collaboration by Nintendo and the world-renowned Team Ninja, launches June 27. The game looks at the classic franchise from a new perspective: While much of the game is reminiscent of 2-D side-scrollers, players can switch the perspective into 3-D at any time as they explore the twisting passages of a derelict space station and delve deep into a cinematic, never-before-told story of bounty hunter Samus Aran’s past. This new approach uses a new control scheme in which players use the Wii Remote™ controller held sideways to battle enemies and navigate the expansive, gorgeous environments in classic Metroid fashion, then aim at the screen with the Wii Remote pointer to blast foes in first-person and hunt the world for clues and hidden passages.
* In a unique partnership with Square-Enix, Nintendo of America will publish Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies in the Americas when the game arrives in summer 2010. Dragon Quest IX has sold more than 4.15 million copies in the Japanese market. Nintendo and Square-Enix will now work together to bring this title to the Nintendo DS consumer base in the Americas.
* Capcom’s Monster Hunter® Tri, an epic action game for Wii, launches in the United States on April 20. The game lets players customize their character, armor and weapons in order to protect a town from majestic monsters as that town rebuilds following a devastating earthquake. Online play will be available for all players with broadband Internet access at no additional cost. Online text chat is fully functional and online voice chat is enabled using the Wii Speak™ microphone, which is sold separately. At a suggested retail price of $59.99, limited quantities of Monster Hunter Tri will include the new Black Classic Controller Pro™, while both Black and White versions of the controller will be available separately at a suggested retail price of $19.99. The game will also be available without a controller at a suggested retail price of $49.99.
* Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, the breakthrough shooter game for Wii from legendary developer Treasure, will launch across North America on June 7. The game features nonstop action with two playable characters and international online leaderboards to track high scores. Using the Wii Remote pointer functionality, the game offers unprecedented precision in the shooter genre.
* FlingSmash™ for Wii will test players’ Wii Remote skills as they bounce a ball-like hero through countless side-scrolling stages, combining the precision of racket sports with the unpredictable fun of pinball. Playable only with the Wii MotionPlus™ accessory, the game will launch this summer.
* Picross 3D is poised to become a puzzle game phenomenon when it launches for the Nintendo DS family of products on May 3. In Picross 3D, players start with a cube and smash away smaller blocks to reveal an object, shape or symbol. Delivering more than 350 unique puzzles and more made available for download on a regular basis after launch via the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection service (broadband Internet access required), the game takes the mind-bending fun of Picross into the next dimension.
* 100 Classic Books transforms the Nintendo DS family of products into a library of timeless literature when it launches on June 14 at a suggested retail price of $19.99, highlighted by 100 works from authors such as William Shakespeare, Jules Verne, Jane Austen, Mark Twain and more. Readers can adjust the size of text, place bookmarks and even download new content via the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection service (broadband Internet connection required).
* Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands™ from Ubisoft will launch May 18 on both the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms. Boasting amazing graphics with fantastic action and puzzle-solving game play, the Wii version will be the first in franchise history to feature a two-player cooperative experience. As an added bonus, the Wii version of the game will exclusively include the 1992 Super NES™ version of the original Prince of Persia game.
* Disney Guilty Party is the official title of the highly anticipated first collaboration between Disney Interactive Studios and its recently acquired studio, Wideload Games. The fun and hilarious mystery party game is set for release in the second half of 2010, exclusively for Wii.
* Majesco’s Nintendo DSi exclusive Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal uses incredible augmented reality technology through the Nintendo DSi Camera. Launching this October, the game lets players become a ghost hunter as they interact with the paranormal.

Nintendo also announced a variety of games available to download directly to the Wii console from the Wii Shop Channel via the WiiWare™ service, and directly to the Nintendo DS via the DSi Shop and DSiWare™ services.

For WiiWare:

* Launching on March 1, Capcom’s Mega Man™ 10 builds upon the huge impact of Mega Man 9, a completely new adventure rendered in classic 8-bit style. This new game looks and sounds as awesomely retro as its predecessor.
* Launching on March 8, Max & the Magic Marker from Press Play turns the Wii Remote into an orange magic marker that’s literally magic. Players draw lines and objects to help Max reach objects and his ultimate goal.
* The long-awaited indie cult classic Cave Story comes to WiiWare with new game play, artwork and music enhancements on March 22. It’s classic gaming reborn for 2010.
* Launching on March 29, WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase is a standalone product exclusive to the WiiWare service and available only from the Wii Shop Channel. The game contains more than 70 new microgames and features interoperability with the WarioWare: D.I.Y. game for the Nintendo DS family of products. Players that own both games can transfer content between the two via a local wireless connection, and can even play user-created microgames on their television using WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase.
* As the techno music pulses, Nintendo’s Art Style™: light trax™ puts players in charge of a white beam of light as it engages in a surreal race against other beams across a dark track. Players must keep away from obstacles, use items and look for power boosts if they want to finish first. Art Style: light trax launches this spring.
* Swim and spin through the primordial ooze in Nintendo’s Art Style: Rotozoa™ as you absorb tiny organisms that match the colors of your tentacles. As you absorb more organisms, your tentacles grow. The challenge increases as additional tentacles are gained, but power-ups can help you survive and thrive. Art Style: Rotozoa launches this spring.
* Launching this spring, Rage of the Gladiator from Ghostfire Games is an intense fighting game that asks players to perfect their well-timed moves against an array of opponents. The game is compatible with the Wii MotionPlus accessory.
* Launching this spring, And Yet It Moves from Broken Rules requires players to rotate the world to help their line-drawn protagonist progress. Walls become floors and floors become ceilings in this surreal twist on the platformer genre.
* Launching this summer, Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Finalist Super Meat Boy from Team Meat sets a cube of meat off on an adventure to save Princess Bandage. This off-the-wall game is not for the faint of heart.

For Nintendo DSiWare:

* Nintendo’s Photo Dojo™ is poised to be the cult hit of 2010 when it launches this spring. The game first asks players to pose for 13 pictures and input 10 sound effects. Once that’s done, the player becomes the main character in a hilarious side-scrolling fighting game. Create up to eight characters and do battle alone or against a friend on a single Nintendo DSi or Nintendo DSi XL system.
* Launching this spring, Nintendo’s Metal Torrent™ delivers a frantic barrage of gunfire that fills the screen. Players try to convert opponents’ bullets into cubes that, when collected, increase their score and fill an energy meter that powers special weapons. Online Leaderboards record scores and movies of top games.
* Launching this spring, X-Scape™ from Nintendo immerses players in an exploratory adventure involving more than 20 planets. Players will pilot their tank through 3-D tunnels, fire at enemies and even battle ancient weapons that resemble giant robots.

“Nintendo finished 2009 with a bang, and we’re continuing our momentum into 2010,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “With Nintendo DSi XL, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M coming in the first six months of the year, we’re making sure all our fans have great game content to enjoy year-round.”

Remember that Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit www.Nintendo.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.3 billion video games and more than 558 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, visit the company’s Web site at www.Nintendo.com.

Putnam, who recently served as President of Production for Miramax Films, the Walt Disney Company’s specialty film division, has an extensive background in independent film production and acquisition, as well as years of experience in programming. Based in Los Angeles, Putnam is expected to start her new position in mid April reporting directly to the Institute’s Board of Trustees.

“Keri Putnam has a passion for the arts, a leading profile in the film community, and a stellar reputation for her intelligence, creativity, collaboration and leadership at the highest levels of business,” said Redford. “Working together to expand our international presence, connect to new audiences, and experiment with emerging areas of artist support, I have every confidence Keri’s knowledge and talent will be critical to the fulfillment and expansion of the Institute’s mission and vision in the years ahead.”

Added Weisman, “The exceptional health of Sundance Institute afforded the Board the opportunity to take its time selecting the right person for this key position. With Keri ours was a unanimous, enthusiastic decision.”

As Executive Director, Putnam will oversee all programs of the twenty-nine year old, non-profit Sundance Institute, which include its Feature Film Program, Documentary Film Program, Sundance Film Festival, Film Music Program, Theatre Program, and Native and Indigenous Program. She will also be responsible for continuing the Institute’s international work, initiating strategic partnerships, cultivating relationships with foundations and corporate sponsors, and growing the Institute’s annual operating budget.

“Throughout my career I have witnessed the breadth and impact of the many programs of Sundance Institute, and I am both thrilled and privileged to become a part of this organization’s leading work,” Putnam said. “Sundance is truly unique not only for its mission but for its entire culture, brand and influence. This is an incredible opportunity for me personally and there is also tremendous potential for all of us — staff, trustees, alumni and friends alike — to explore new opportunities and expand on our global reputation. I can’t wait to get started.”

Well known throughout the independent and commercial film communities, Putnam has spent her career forging relationships with top producers, writers, directors and financiers worldwide. As President of Production, Putnam was responsible for all production, acquisitions, co-production and development at Miramax Films. During Putnam’s tenure there, Miramax Films won or was nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including the Best Picture Academy Award for the Coen Brothers’ No Country for Old Men and multiple nominee Julian Schabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Putnam was involved with several Miramax films with ties to Sundance artists such as Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), Greg Mottola (Adventureland), John Patrick Shanley (Doubt), Scott Frank (The Lookout), Ben Affleck (Gone Baby Gone),Stephen Frears (The Queen) and Lasse Hallström (The Hoax).

Putnam has worked closely with international artists from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, focusing on discovering and supporting new talent, and has worked with a myriad of Sundance Institute alumni including Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane), Moisés Kaufman (The Laramie Project), Taika Waititi (Eagle vs. Shark), and Allison Anders (Mi Vida Loca). She also came to the Sundance Film Festival with films she supervised directed by George C. Wolfe (Lackawanna Blues), Mira Nair (Hysterical Blindness) and Jane Anderson (Normal), among many others.

Prior to joining Miramax in 2006, Putnam was Executive Vice President, HBO Films, responsible for overseeing the development and production of films for both the cable network and for theatrical release. Among the theatrical films she supervised at HBO was Gus van Sant’s Palme d’Or winner Elephant. Putnam is credited for numerous HBO Emmy Award winners including Warm Springs, directed by Joseph Sargent and featuring Kenneth Branagh; The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Geoffrey Rush; Something the Lord Made, directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Alan Rickman; Empire Falls, directed by Fred Schepisi and co-starring Ed Harris and Paul Newman, and the Humanitas Prize winning The Girl in the Café written by Richard Curtis and directed by David Yates.

From 1996 to 1999, before being named Senior Vice President, HBO Films, Putnam served as Vice President, HBO NYC Productions. Under the HBO NYC banner, she was responsible for some of the division’s most successful projects, including HBO’s highest-rated original movie If These Walls Could Talk, directed by Sundance alumna Nancy Savoka; In the Gloaming, Christopher Reeve’s directorial debut starring former Institute Trustee Glenn Close, and Subway Stories, executive produced by Jonathan Demme and Rosie Perez.

A graduate of Harvard, Putnam studied theater and began her career working for Williamstown Theater Festival, McCarter Theater, Arena Stage, the ART, and others. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Playing as everyone’s favorite wizard, Harry Potter, gamers will have to zigzag through the magical school in search of clues to figure out who the Half-Blood Prince is, and how his “highness” has such a knack at altering potions which have dangerous effects. Harry’s new potion instructor will also have you working that Wii remote as you concoct life-saving potions for an ailing friend. (This part may remind you of “Cooking Mama,” except that there are no Japanese Anime characters praising your meals.) Potter’s wise headmaster, Dumbledore, will also interrupt your studies at Hogwarts to help you piece together Voldermort’s past – a crucial discovery that needs to be uncovered in order to save the wizarding world.

Overall, the graphics are decent, and are designed closely to the cast of the last film. The game, of course, is truer to the script than J.K. Rowling’s lengthy page turner. If you did not see the movie, you will get the basic summary of it from the game. This is expected from a game based on a film, but it can get annoying at times when Harry has to stop midway in his quest for a five-minute dialogue with Ron or Hermoine. This game can get wordy at times, with many dialogue interruptions. If there is one main gamer pet peeve here, it is too much dialogue. However, the action that comes toward the end of the game will make up for it, as will the wizarding duels you will participate in throughout. And just in case you were wondering, you will duel with Malfoy and his doofy friends, as well as finally stick it to your annoying yet lovable BFFs Hermoine and Ron – but hey, it’s all bloody-good fun.

On your fantastic journey, speed bumps will turn up as students try to stop you in the halls for a friendly minigame, which awards you pieces of your puzzle, potions you will need to use and other fun items. One game in particular, which anyone who knows anything about Harry will recognize, is the infamous Quidditch. Be warned, gamers – this is a tough one. Harry will have to beat his opponent by blocking as well as kicking/throwing in the game. It can get tough since its like playing soccer as all positions (goalie, defense,etc.). Luckily, you do not need to hit the Quidditch field as often as with the other minigames, like Gobstones and Wizard Skittles, which are just fun marble games remincent of pinball games for “Muggles”, or us non wizarding folk.

If you are thinking of trying this game out, a word of advice: It not as difficult on the Nintendo DS as it would be on the Wii. The DS will allow you to maneuver a bit easier as opposed to the Wii remote; flick the Wii remote/wizard’s wand the wrong way, and you may cast the wrong spell (or hurt yourself). If you want to stupefy an opponent, you may wind up setting them on fire, so be careful.

The last few stages of this game will lead you to the Wii-gripping final battle. Like all fantastical quests, the fight between good versus evil will be at hand, and it’s your job to make sure Harry is ready.
Overall, gamers will have fun, especially if you’re a fan. So put on your Hogwarts robe, grab a glass of Butterbeer and keep your Quidditch broom handy for Harry’s latest adventure.

HABITS, TO BE RELEASED MARCH 16th ON MERCURY RECORDS

Neon Trees perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live March 30th

Neon Trees to play at SXSW Conference in March
Neon Trees join Mute Math opening up for 30 Seconds To Mars kicking off April 9th

(February 25, 2010 – New York, NY) After taking a monster bite out of Alternative radio across the country, “Animal,” the first single from Mercury Records group Neon Trees, went to #1 on the Alternative Specialty Chart in its debut week, with top-tier airplay reports pouring in from alternative rock stations in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Kansas City, Columbus, Milwaukee, Portland and New York City, to name a few.

“Animal,” up for sale at all digital retailers this week, is Neon Trees’ lead track from their debut album HABITS, set for March 16th release. HABITS is produced by the band’s friend, singer/guitarist Tim Pagnotta.

Named in the Alternative Press roster of “Bands To Watch In 2010,” Neon Trees will receive maximum exposure in the weeks leading up to the HABITS album release, starting on January 31st, when “Animal” is featured on the latest episode of VH1’s new series, Secrets of Aspen; and then on March 16th, when it will be heard on the CW’s Melrose Place. The night before, on March 15th, the CW’s Life Unexpected will feature another album track, “1983.”

The video for “Animal” – added on mtvU – shows off Neon Trees’ affinity for western plains friends (and fellow Island Def Jam label mates) the Killers. It was Las Vegas band the Killers who pulled Neon Trees out of obscurity in Provo, Utah, and exposed them to tens of thousands of new fans when they took them on tour!

Bicoastal audiences caught their first glimpse of Neon Trees earlier this month when they made their New York City premiere at Mercury Lounge – followed by dates with Har Mar Superstar at Spaceland (Club NME) in Los Angeles and the Rickshaw Stop (Popscene) in San Francisco. In between, Neon Trees played back home at the 4th anniversary bash of Provo’s Velour Live Music Gallery. Details on Neon Trees at this year’s SXSW (South By Southwest) Interactive Conference & Festivals (March 12th-21st) will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Neon Trees – Tyler Glenn (lead vocals, keyboards), Chris Allen (guitars), Branden Campbell (bass), and Elaine Bradley (drums, vocals) – has its roots in Southern California, where Tyler and Chris were neighbors. When Chris moved to Provo to attend college, Tyler followed him, and they were soon joined by Branden and Elaine.

HABITS is a blast of timeless rock energy and spirit that wouldn’t sound out of place at any point from ’60s garage-rock to 2010 dance rock and beyond. “Music is a sacred act of communion for me, offering hope and love,” says Tyler. “That’s the heart of this band.” Adds Chris, “We just want to share that feeling we got from the bands that inspired us, and then we want to pass the torch.” For more information go to www.NeonTreens.com

Photo by Cynthia Spataro

Established in 2007 as a Classic Rock destination festival, ROCKLAHOMA organizers focused on revamping the 2010 event to encompass a much broader mix of classic, current and up-and-coming rock artists. Mission Accomplished!

The ROCKLAHOMA 2010 line-up includes: ZZ Top, Godsmack, Tesla, Buckcherry, Cinderella, Chevelle, Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Saliva, Saving Abel, Adelitas Way, Janus, Aranda, Burn Halo, Richy Nix, Shaman’s Harvest, Taddy Porter, Like A Storm, Taking Dawn, New Medicine, Year Long Disaster, Brookroyal, Within Reason, Wildstreet, Firstryke, Krank, The Glitter Boys and more very special guests to be announced!

ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons commented, “As life-long residents of ‘Baja, Oklahoma,’ Dusty, Frank and I are looking forward to making the northward trek to Pryor in May. The idea of sharing the stage with so many great, cutting-edge bands out there today is most appealing. It’s like rock ‘n’ roll summer camp; does that make us campers or counselors?”

“The new vision for ROCKLAHOMA is to draw a much wider rock audience by exploring more sides of the genre,” commented Joe Litvag, Senior Vice-President of AEG Live and Executive Consultant to the ROCKLAHOMA organizers. “This is such an amazing location for a multi-day camping festival, and I’m proud of the fact that we’ve been able to bring together some true icons of rock to perform alongside many of the hottest news and established rock acts in the country! It is definitely going to be a holiday weekend to remember,” Litvag concluded.

Three-day passes start at only $95 and will go on-sale on Saturday, February 27th at 10am CST, exclusively at www.rocklahoma.com. Camping add-ons, VIP packages, and seat upgrades will also be offered at the time of purchase. For a full list of amenities, including VIP camping spots, reserved concert seating, and unlimited, all-inclusive food and drink, please visit www.rocklahoma.com.

Festival president Mark Nuessle explains the value and experience that Rocklahoma offers by adding, “It has always been a top priority for Rocklahoma to be an affordable experience for all. Where else can the ultimate rock fan see this many artists for under $100? And for our VIP’s to be able to eat and drink for free, at their leisure, as part of the inclusive VIP experience? These are the elements that really make Rocklahoma a one-of-a-kind rock experience!”

ROCKLAHOMA is located just 45 minutes northeast of Tulsa, in Pryor, OK. The “Catch the Fever” Festival Grounds is a premiere destination for a multi-day festival, and includes on-site camping with access to restrooms and shower house, a general store for campers, VIP reserved seating, hospitality areas & much more.

For additional information, please visit www.rocklahoma.com.

The infamous Joan Jett is played, with surprising believability, by the “Twilight” queen herself, Kristen Stewart. Starring in two movies at Sundance 2010, including this film and another where she plays a teenage stripper, Stewart is starting to show she can hold her own on-screen. Coached by Jett herself throughout the filming, Stewart gets the nuances and look of Jett down in such a way that it is a believable younger version of the rocker, complete with her semi-hunched shoulders, and jet-black shaggy hair. Cherie Currie is played with equal passion by the all-grown-up Dakota Fanning who appears on-screen with Stewart for a second time (Fanning also briefly stars in “Twilight: New Moon”). The rest of “The Runaways” are somewhat forgettable, as the film focuses in on Jett and Currie as the centerpieces of the band, and the story itself.

As a young teen, Jett’s passion develops to play music and start a band, and she eventually approaches legendary producer/songwriter/musician Kim Fowley. Fowley sees the potential in an all-girl band at that time, and he subsequently helps put together “The Runaways” and manages them. Fowley puts the girls through the ringer, doing everything from hardening their sound, to prepping their stage presence as he has garbage literally thrown at them in rehearsal. The scenes with Fowley are comical, and you see his ingenious insight into the potential of “The Runaways,” as he writes their hit song “Cherry Bomb” with virtual ease. Although Fowley is harsh with the group, this almost comes across as forgivable, after all, the music industry and lifestyle aren’t forgiving- especially to a group of teenage girls in the ’70s.

However, the true story of the group’s trials and tribulations with Fowley appear to be more serious with accusations of physical and sexual abuse through his time managing the group, and this is never delved into in the film.

It seems “The Runaways” is rock ‘n roll cliché ridden, but that is probably attributed to the amount of times these stories have been told on screen. The real difference is the clichés are true; it’s the ’70s and for a bunch of teen girls wrecking hotel rooms, being sexually experimental and open, and indulging in drugs was out-there in the heyday of rock and punk music. Writer/Director Floria Sigismondi carries out the scenes which depict the drugs, destruction and deviousness of the girls with more flavor, keeping true to the sequence of events which happened in their lives. Sigismondi has a background in music videos, and this is apparent with the glossy look of the film that captures the essence of the time period and what the effects of rock music were on that generation.

What seems lacking overall is the meat of the story; the history of who “The Runaways” toured and hung out with (Cheap Trick, Blondie, The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, etc.) is omitted, and there surely were stories that could have been included in the film which would have steeped the film more historically and been interesting considering these bands were all significant in their own rite. Another element which was lacking, were the family life/backgrounds for the members of “The Runaways” which was not touched upon at all (with the exception of Currie). Without much of this setup and framework included, the film seems a little hollow at times when it could have had more punch.

It’s hard to tell if the teen generation now can put into perspective just how groundbreaking “The Runaways” were, paving the way for girl rock/pop groups in the ’80s all the way up until all girl pop punk/rock bands like “The Donnas.” In the days before punk rock and rock ‘n roll became politically-correct, vegetarian, non-controversial pop music, it was just a bunch of screwed up kids getting their frustrations out with raw and dirty music- a time when the band “The Runaways” did have a chance to “change the world,” by unleashing something it had never seen before. This film captures the time period when rock and punk were exploding on the world and changing the landscape of music, and is a small glimpse into the origins of one important band of the time.

Episode Commentary: Eggball

A pinball machine, birds in the shape of a man’s private parts and a giant homosexual baby highlight this episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, which just like the first two episodes this season, is a winner.

However, it’s the most random episode of the season, taking an obvious deviation from the more “practical” comedy the series started off with in this run. Nevertheless, it works because of who the comedy centers on.

Master Shake hasn’t taken a back seat at all this season, but most of the hi-jinx has been built around Meatwad and how he interacts with the rest of the group. In “Eggball” however, Shake is in the driver’s seat and thanks to the always excellent voice acting of the incomparable Dana Synder, the episode is extra witty and even more rambunctious.

If you’ve never seen the show before, this is an excellent episode to start, due to the fact that we see Shake at his best. Simply put, in his eyes, the entire world revolves around him and he can do anything he wants to, whenever he wants. His give and take relationship with the world, with the world giving, and him, taking, of course, is put on full display here. Naturally, because of his attitude, most of the time, things don’t go as planned. Unlike the other characters on the show, Shake has the worst of luck and is usually the brunt of his own jokes. Seeing this happen again [and the way it does] is another great part of the episode as well and brings the show back to its roots after a weird few spots of randomness.

That randomness, however, comes in the shape of weird-looking birds, shooting out “egg balls” that Shake needs for his custom pinball machine and a giant homosexual baby that just so happens to control the uncharted island where Shake has led the team.

Lost you? Something not making sense here? Well, good, that just means you’re still sane. Off the wall and totally outrageous, this episode of Aqua Teen lives and dies on the talent of Snyder and the naiveté of Meatwad and again, continues the recent stretch of quality and freshness that has begun with the start of the new season.

It’s not as smart as the first two episodes, but in its own way, “Eggball” is a more than worthy addition to the Aqua Teen library of episodes.

Arthur Miller’s The Crucible has been called, “A powerful drama,” By NY Times, “Strongly written,” by NY Daily News, and comes to The Gallery Players’ stage for the first time in its 43-year history March 20-April 4th 2010. This exciting drama is both a gripping historical play and a timely parable. Based on historical people and real events, Miller’s classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts, is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. The story focuses on John Proctor, a farmer, and Abigail Williams, the young servant-girl who maliciously accuses Proctor’s wife Elizabeth of witchcraft. Proctor brings Abigail to court to admit the lie—and it is here that a monstrous course of bigotry and deceit is terrifyingly depicted. Proctor, instead of saving his wife, finds himself also accused of witchcraft and ultimately condemned with a host of others. Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror that Miller uses to reflect the anti-Communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy’s “witch-hunts” in the United States.

“For many people, Arthur Miller’s The Crucible may be the first play they’ve ever read,” says Director Heather Siobhan Curran. “They may have never seen a production of it, but the story makes a deep impression on them, and they remember it.  Miller’s theatrical combination of hysteria versus logic, love versus hate and taking a vengeful act to the extreme has immense power.  Although the play was written as a response to the McCarthy-era ‘witch hunts’ in the 1950’s, it has become more universal the further removed we are from that time period. As long as intolerance and fear, whether political, ideological or religious exists, we can all continue to ask the question: how far would you go for what you believe is right?”

The cast of The Crucible at The Gallery Players features John Blaylock* (Bus Stop, The Gallery Players), Gil Brady*, Daniel Damiano (As You Like It, The Gallery Players), Lisa Darden*, Genevieve Gearhart, Emily Hagburg (Measure for Measure, Shakespeare & Company), Justin Herfel* (The Underpants, The Gallery Players), Frederic Heringes*(The Phantom of the Opera, Broadway, National Tour), John Isgro*, Tom Lawson, Jr.*, Lindsay Mack, Russell Mahrt, Rhyn McLemore*(Violet, The Gallery Players), Sofia Munn, Alison Ostergaard (Women Beware Women, Red Bull Theatre; Pride & Prejudice, The Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey), Bob Pritchard, Elisa Pupko (The Children’s Hour, Astoria Performing Arts Center), Joe Regan and Gina Stahlnecker*

The Crucible is directed by The Gallery Players’ Artistic Director Heather Siobhan Curran and produced by Graham Mills for The Gallery Players. The set designer is Lilia Trenkova, costume designer: Megan Q. Dudley, lighting designer: David Roy, sound designer: Neal J. Freeman, Properties Design: Virginia Monte, Dramaturg: Amanda White and the Production Stage Manager is Michael Aaron Jones* *appearing courtesy of AEA

The Crucible opens Saturday, March 20, 2010 and runs Thursdays, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm & 8pm and Sundays at 3pm through April 4, 2010.

Tickets to The Crucible are $18 for adults, $14 for Seniors & Children 12 and under. Individual tickets can be purchased by calling TheaterMania at (212) 352-3101, or online at www.galleryplayers.com. The Gallery Players is located at 199 14th St., between 4th and 5th Aves. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Take the F Train to 4th Ave. or the R Train to 9th Street. By car: BQE to Hamilton Avenue to 14th Street.

A New York institution since 1967, The Gallery Players has served actors and audiences alike for more than 4 decades by showcasing burgeoning new talent and offering a home base for theater professionals. Its eclectic programming of intimate revivals and ambitious new work in inventive productions has earned it the reputation of “New York’s Best Kept Secret.” The Gallery Players is the recipient of the Off-Off Broadway Review’s 2000 Award for Lifetime Achievement and is the three-time recipient of New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for their productions of Urinetown! The musical, Yank! A New Musical and Like You Like It. Among its famous alumni are founding member Harvey Fierstein; Broadway regulars Nancy Anderson, Jeffry Denman and Diedre Goodwin; New York theater personality Seth Rudetsky and many others.

The Gallery Players’ 43rd season continues with City of Angels May 1-23, 2010, and closes with The 13th Annual Black Box New Play Festival, June 10-27, 2010. For more information on The Gallery Players’ 43rd season, visit www.galleryplayers.com. 

“Full Metal Jackie CERTIFIED,” written by Jackie Kajzer and Roger Lotring, do a wonderful job of putting together a pure treat for heavy-metal fans, such as the 50 most influential songs of the most famous bands of the ‘80s, not to mention several interviews and quotes from the most famous bands of that era, such as Pantera, AC/DC, Metallica, Black Sabbath and many more.

A fun and interesting read, it explores the events that took place while these songs were made, and the effects they had on the listeners. It is simply amazing how tunes can touch people in different ways. There are many who are inspired by the music, and then there are others who take it the wrong way and totally ignore the message, leading to shocking outcomes, such as suicide.

This book is powerful in its own way because it explores the darkness that not only the fans went through, but also that of the bands while they were making the music.

Many bands back then [and maybe even some today] did not make music just for the sake of it. There had to be meaning involved – whether it was experiences of their past, or what they felt at that moment in time, a lesson had to be taught. As a fan, you experience the power behind making music, especially heavy metal, and how the influence can last forever.

The songs in this book still have a long-lasting effect on many people, as well as the band members themselves. The memory of making the music for them and what they were going through at that time is what makes this book that much more exciting to read.

As a reader and a metal head, you will think back and remember the times your favorite songs came out and how they influenced you. Of course, this book has some dark moments with lyrics from several songs conveying messages that you would think were suicidal, but what the band members tell you is totally different, and as you listen to the tracks, you can agree, and tell yourself that this is what they meant all along.

As each page is turned, there is more anticipation and excitement on how these songs were made and, more importantly, why. It is quite amazing to explore why these bands were making music, and what drove them to go that extra mile.

Compared to the ‘80s, times have changed drastically. Back then, heavy metal was music that was highly worshiped. The bands were treated like gods, and fans would go crazy for them. Today it seems that metal is dead, and that all is left are memories of what used to be. With that said, “Full Metal Jackie” takes you back to the ‘80s and brings you the joy and the feeling of how it was to be a fan, banging your head and just letting the music take over and inspire you in any way possible.

This book is a must read if you are not only a fan of heavy metal, but a fan of music in general, because it shows you the power that music can inspire (in positive and negative ways), as well as how you view music as a whole.

Even though religion and politics are the two main topics that most of these bands were driven to write about, it shows their creative side and their brilliance on how music is made, so if you’re ready for an in-your-face look at the top 50 most influential songs of heavy-metal music of the ‘80s, then “Full Metal Jackie” is the book for you.

If you took a careful look at the race/hate genre of filmmaking, you might honestly be appalled with what you might stumble upon. “Mandingo” was a sickening look at slavery as seen from the perspective of plantation owners, while “Fight for Your Life” depicted a harrowing experience of a black family being held by hostage by a vile racist. Compared to the two films mentioned, “Three the Hard Way” deals with lighter circumstances, and that makes it feels more like a pulp novel.

The premise concerns a group of white supremacists that have discovered a way to poison the water supply. Here is the catch: The toxin is only harmful to black people. The plan is to poison the water in Detroit, New York and Los Angles at the same time. It is up to Jim Brown, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson and Jim Kelly to save the day with their unique brand of justice.

Oddly enough, this was produced by Warner Bros. to cash in on the success of blaxploitation. It also took the three biggest male stars of the genre and put them in one picture, which assured success of this picture on the Deuce.

Also, the villains are played by such awful actors that they never seem like a real threat, and that allows you to take the film less seriously than you would a picture like “Mandingo.”

Brown’s post-football career kicked off with mainstream films such as “The Dirty Dozen” and “Ice Station Zebra,” but eventually succumbed to the appeal of being a leading man in blaxploitation. The great thing about Brown is that is he is always a pleasure to watch, and a very capable actor – he deserved to be in better movies than “Three The Hard Way.”

However, his onscreen chemistry with the Hammer makes the movie better than it should be.

Kelly, on the other hand, was immortalized in “Enter the Dragon,” which paved the way for him to be the star of many grade-Z martial-arts movies, including “Black Belt Jones” and “Hot Potato.” He has a wonderful screen presence, and expresses his knowledge of martial arts in every film.

In “Three the Hard Way,” Kelly plays Mister Keyes, and has one of the most unintentionally funny introductions in movie history. A group of mostly white cops decide for some obscure reason to plant drugs in his car and arrest him, just for the hell of it. He takes down all of the officers, and even stops to chat with some friends on the corner afterwards. But there is a tongue-in-cheek feeling here, and that it was purposely intended for a laugh by the director.

More bizarre scenes keep coming, like a motorcycle gang of sadomasochist women who are hired to torture one of the kidnapped racists. You will have no clue what they are doing, but for some reason, they do it topless. While this is an imaginative aspect to the film, it needed to be elaborated on.

Gordon Parks Jr. (“Super Fly”) was a talented director, whose career was cut short in 1979. His exploitation films were always a cut above the rest stylistically, and if his career lasted longer, he could have easily went into mainstream cinema.

“Three the Hard Way” is a film that would have never been produced in today’s politically-correct era of filmmaking, but it’s an interesting and unintentionally humorous look at just how silly grind house fare can get.

WiiWare™

GhostSlayer
Publisher: Gevo Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Violence
Price: 600 Wii Points™
Description: Embark on a thrilling ghost-fighting experience. Play as a Ghost Slayer as you battle evil spirits that plague the mortal world. Your sword is your only weapon against them. Eliminate all hostiles in your path and defeat the Ghost Queen in the final stage in order to save the world. Unlock new swords and acquire special techniques that you can use to your advantage. Test your skills by playing all three levels of difficulty. Enjoy the thrill of slashing ghosts and vaporizing them by swinging your Wii Remote™ controller and experience sword-fighting game play at a new level of realism by using Wii MotionPlus accessory (this game can be played with or without Wii MotionPlus). Brace yourself for the onslaught of blood-thirsty spirits.

Mouse House
Publisher: Big John Games
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 600 Wii Points
Description: He’s clever, he’s daring, he’s brave, he’s … a mouse! Mouse House is an accessible and fast-paced logic puzzle game in which you lead a lively little mouse on his hunt to collect the cheese in each of 100 challenging puzzles. But these are no simple mazes – our adorable hero has to weave his way though a cast of colorful critters, including stinger-shooting bees and nasty rats, as well as tricky traps like conveyor belts, collapsing floors and more. A true “pick up and play” game, Mouse House’s combination of simple controls and multiple levels of challenge make it perfect for players of all ages.

Family Go-Kart Racing
Publisher: Aksys Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: It’s Family Go-Kart Racing, the fantastic new racing game from Arc System Works. The Family is back: Billy, Sarah, Daddy, Mommy and new to the Family fun, Auntie and Gramps. Choose among the six family members and six karts to take on 12 exciting tracks and drift your way to victory. With the Wii Remote controller’s tilt control, race against the clock in Time Attack to beat your personal records, or take on the entire family in a full Grand Prix. Steer your way through the Snowy Slopes, peel out in the World Bazaar and go-go-go for gold on the Go-Go Rollercoaster. Earn your place as the head of the family by outmaneuvering your kin with special items like Acceleration and Lighting to zip past your opponents. Or, unleash the Bowling Bomb and strike out the kart ahead of you.

Nintendo DSiWare™

Aura-Aura Climber
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Aura-Aura has fallen out of the sky and landed on Earth. He is determined to return to his rightful place in the universe and become a bright star. Take control of Aura-Aura, and help him to accomplish this by using his grapple arm to grab a variety of grapple points and continuously climb higher in the sky. Along the way, collect items to aid him (bombs, extensions for his grapple arm) and avoid enemies that damage Aura-Aura’s health. Two modes of play offer very different challenges: Score Attack, in which you try to get to the goal with as many points as possible, and Endless, in which your aim is simply to help Aura-Aura climb as high into the sky as possible within the time limit. And even if you think you’ve mastered the art of climbing, both modes offer numerous medals to find or earn by completing specific tasks. With its intuitive controls, straightforward game play, and incredible replay value, Aura-Aura’s journey is arcade-style gaming at its best … or should that be its highest?

Flight Control
Publisher: Firemint
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Keep the skies safe in Flight Control, the insanely popular worldwide hit from Firemint. In this action-packed game, take on the role of an air traffic controller at an increasingly busy airport. In complete control of the airspace, direct aircraft to their appropriate landing zones while avoiding collisions. Travel to airports set among green fields, a beachside resort, the Australian Outback, a winter wonderland and even an aircraft carrier. Learn how to land 10 different kinds of aircraft, including jets, seaplanes and helicopters. To direct aircraft, simply touch and drag them to their landing zones with the stylus without letting them collide. Sounds easy? You’ll need smart strategy, keen eyes and a smooth touch to keep the chaos under control. You can even work alongside a friend in cooperative multiplayer mode, and guard the airways together. Flight Control only takes a minute to learn – just don’t expect to put it down as quickly as you’ll pick it up.

Faceez
Publisher: Neko Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Mild Blood
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Make your friends laugh with Faceez. Take pictures of their faces with the Nintendo DSi Camera and then mix them and animate them. Dress them up with lots of funny accessories. Place them in your own favorite settings. Give free reign to your imagination with millions of possible combinations. Thanks to the Nintendo DSi system’s connectivity with Facebook, you can share your creations with your friends, who’ll be rolling on the floor laughing. Photograph, disguise, decorate, animate and send … FACEEZ.

Flipper
Publisher: Xform
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: The hero of the game is a courageous young boy. You must lead him through various worlds full of obstacles to retrieve his stolen goldfish called Flipper. Get ready for a 3-D puzzle platform game set in four different worlds with five levels each. The game features beautiful pixel-art backdrops, cheerful cartoon characters and catchy music. The voxel engine technology allows you to change the environment with some cool power-ups. You can pick up power-ups that let you blast holes in the environment while other power-ups restore it or build platforms. It’s up to you to use the limited amount of power-ups wisely to complete each level. Flipper is a fun and challenging puzzle game that is suited for all ages.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi™ Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

“I Love You Baby” – Aldo Vanucci

A good guitar wail can cover up a multitude of sins. So can some soulful lyrics, which this track has in abundance. There’s some spoken word thrown in that’s distracting and unnecessary. What could have been an amazing song turns into a so-so listening experience.

“Heathen (The Rays)” – David Bowie

It’s David Bowie performing live. It’s the sound that every half-baked band is attempting to capture on their synthesizers and their pretentious lyrics. Get the one that made this sound iconic – quick before the powers that be realize they’re giving away Bowie for free.

“Stare at Wheel” – Dios

A throwback of psychedelic-rock sounds are all over this song in a good way. The lyrics are sung in an LSD-type haze. Think Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” only hipper, faster and more imaginative. Download it quickly.

“Acts of Man” – Midlake

Slow-tempo and rich with meaning “Acts of Man” is one of those tracks that forces you to sit and think about what is being sung. Give it a listen and judge for yourself.

“What Makes Him Act So Bad” – Adam Green

Solid lyrics with rocking guitar licks is what Adam Green has to offer on this track. Give it a shot before people realize that it’s free.

“I’ll Be Oh So Good” – Velma Green & Her High Steppers

Ever been to a Juke Joint or a black-southern honky tonk? Well if you have and you’re in the mood to recapture that vibe or if you’ve never been and want to experience a good beat with straight-forward lyrics, then get this track. It’s fun and danceable and will take you back to a time when music was devoid of high-falutin ambiguity.

“Answer to Yourself” – The Soft Pack

Solid rock track that isn’t monotonous or unobtrusive. Works best played low when you need some background music or if you need more than silence to get things done.

Felix Cavaliere rose to prominence as a member of the Young Rascals(1965-1973) , one of the 60’s greatest bands, with such hits as “Good Lovin,” “Lonely Too Long,” “Groovin,” “How Can I Be Sure” and “People Got To Be Free.” Along with Eddie Brigati (vocals), Gene Cornish (guitar) and Dino Danelli (drums),  Cavaliere

Cavaliere released solo albums in his post Rascals days including 1979’s “Castles in the Air,” which included “Only a Lonely Heart Sees.” On May 14, 1988, The Rascals (the name was shortened) played the Atlantic Record 40th Anniversary Celebration sans Brigati and embarked on a brief tour. In the 90’s, Cavaliere toured with his own version of the Rascals, Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals.

On May 6, 1997, The (Young) Rascals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with all members present. On June 18, 2009, Cavaliere and Brigati were inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.

Cavaliere released “Nudge It up a Notch with Stax and Blues Brothers’ guitarist Steve Cropper on July 29, 2008, with more collaboration between the two expected soon in the vein of their album “Midnight Flyer “. He also recorded a fantastic reworking of the classic “Groovin” on Diane Marino’s CD, “Just Groovin.” He has also been involved with production work.

Reviewfix.com recently spoke with Cavaliere from his home in Nashville Tennessee and touched on a wide range of topics including, his musical beginnings, Dion DiMucci,The Young Rascals, The Peppermint Lounge, recording,the Hammond B-3 organ and the state of the music industry today.

You can listen to the interview here or download it on your I-pod here.

With the Academy Awards just a few weeks away, ReviewFix.com Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. shares his thoughts on the five films nominated in the category of “Best Animated Short” and three other pieces named to the Academy’s shortlist.

FRENCH ROAST - (France, 8 min., Director: Fabrice O. Joubert): Feeling like someone combined the charm of a Pixar film with an added dash of French wit, “French Roast” is an adorable animated short that proves life is full of surprises. It would have been easy for Joubert to come up with something predictable here, especially with the setting, but instead, you have a plot that is anything but linear and is fun to follow. From the silly beginning, to the unexpected finish, it’s equally as hilarious as it is heart-warming. You’ll be smiling the whole time.

THE LADY AND THE REAPER (Spain, 8 min., Director: Javier Recio Gracia): Perhaps the most laugh out loud short featured here, “The Lady and the Reaper,” which was also produced by Antonio Banderas, has a “Looney Tunes” feel to it that will have you smiling throughout. Following the exploits of a woman whose life is supposedly ready to end, the Grim Reaper and a cocky doctor have a battle of the wits that put the poor old lady in the middle. Off the wall and never predictable, this short pushes the envelope and thrives because of it.

A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH - (UK, 30 min., Director: Nick Park): Animation legend Nick Park is at it again and if you’re a fan of “Wallace and Gromit,” you’ll find their newest adventure as cheeky and colorful as anything they’ve released in the past. ReviewFix’s pick for animated short of the year, the film doesn’t have the same brevity as some of the other pieces Park has directed over the years, but is still an exceptional stop-motion flick that can be enjoyed by all, for plenty of reasons. Filled with as cutesy moments as double-entendres, this short bakes a wicked loaf of bread.

GRANNY O’GRIMM’S SLEEPING BEAUTY - (Ireland, 6 min., Director: Nicky Phelan): Easily the weakest of the nominated films [and all of the films featured as well], this “version” of “Sleeping Beauty” has its moments, but overall lacks the polish you’d expect from an Academy Award Nominee. Excellent animation aside, this is a passable offering overall.

PARTLY CLOUDY – (USA, 6 min., Director: Peter Sohn – additional shortlisted film): How this film wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award is ludicrous. Overall, Pixar’s newest short is solid from start to finish and wipes the floor with a few of the other pieces featured. However, perhaps due to the fact that is an animation awe-fest with a heart-warming message, it was overlooked by the nomination committee. Nevertheless, you’ll remember it after you leave the theater.

RUNAWAY – (Canada, 9 min., Director: Cordell Barker – additional shortlisted film): While it doesn’t feature the best animation, Barker’s message here is perhaps the strongest and is well-executed to boot. His use of subtlety and irony are just as fierce here as well, making it more of a thinking man’s animated tale than one for the kiddies. In spite of that, it’s enjoyable and worthy of a spot on this list.

THE KINEMATOGRAPH – (Poland, 12 min., Director: Tomek Baginski – additional shortlisted film): The most serious of all the shorts listed, “The Kinematograph” has a dramatic message that is encompassed by easily the best animation in a short film in quite some time. Everything from the characters’ hands to eyes are vividly animated and make the short a feast for the eyes. However, poor dialogue and a feeling that the plot is being rushed along, hamper the overall experience.

LOGORAMA - (France, 16min., Directed by H5: Franςois Alaux, Hervé de Crécy, Ludovic Houplain): Part Pop Culture, Part “Grand Theft Auto,” “Logorama” takes shots at everything and everyone it can in 16 short minutes and because of that may irritate some movie-goers. Those who are not easily offended however will understand and receive the messages loud and clear. Excellent animation and great camera shots fuel this tale and where pop culture references fail, foul language and brutality fill in the gaps, making it an entertaining romp from start to finish.

All of these films are currently appearing at the IFC Center Theater on West 3^rd street and sixth avenue in Greenwich Villiage, NYC.

1-Casino:

3-Leaving Las Vegas: The reason this very excellent film makes it to #3 and not #2 or even #1 is because of the depth of seriousness and sadness this movie incites. The alcoholic Hollywood Screenwriter Ben Sanderson, played by Nicholas Cage, heads to Las Vegas to drink himself to death and in the interim crosses paths with prostitute Sera played by Elizabeth Shue. They become involved with each other, in what becomes a study of the human need for companionship in an unforgiving world. Even though Cage isn’t sober, this movie will be quite sobering to audiences while showing what lies beneath the surface of the seemingly fun and glossy Las Vegas.

Selections Four through Eight:

9- Honeymoon in Vegas: Nicholas Cage appearing in yet another Vegas film on the top 10 – this time Cage plays Jack Singer in a romantic comedy starring James Caan (Tommy Korman) and Sarah Jessica Parker (Betsy). The film has an “Indecent Proposal” plotline, where Korman offers to pay for a night with Singer’s fiancée Betsy, and then follows Cage on a series of adventures in attempt to win back the love of Betsy. The film is fun and has some great shots of Vegas, but more importantly is loaded with flying Elvis’ which would be the highlight of any Vegas film.

10- Vegas Vacation:The Griswolds return again in the Vegas chapter of the “National Lampoon’s Vacation” series. This being probably the worst of all the “Vacation” movies, still has its funny moments, and takes place entirely in Las Vegas following Clark Griswold and his failed attempts at getting lucky in the strip casinos. A few scenes are particularly worth watching this rather unfunny overall attempt; the off-off-off the strip casino that Cousin Eddie takes Clark to, Clark’s blackjack fever scene with the dubious dealer played by Wallace Shawn (“Clueless,” “The Princess Bride), and the Wayne Newton / Ellen Griswold scenes.

February 25 – April 4, 2010 at The Gloria Maddox Theater (151 West 26th St.)

New York, NY – T. Schreiber Studio (Terry Schreiber, Artistic Director) will present Julie Garfield in Carol Rocamora’s adaptation of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Directed by Terry Schreiber, The Cherry Orchard begins previews February 25, 2010 prior to an official press opening of March 5, 2010 at The Gloria Maddox Theater at T. Schreiber Studio (151 West 26th Street).

Written in 1904, The Cherry Orchard presaged the waning influence of the Russian aristocracy and the social upheaval that reverberated throughout the country a decade later. Chekhov’s elegy chronicles Madame Ranevskaya’s futile attempt to save her ancestral estate and its beloved cherry orchard. After five years abroad, she returns to the Russian countryside, and finds a tidal wave of change enveloping her homeland. Carol Rocamora’s new adaptation mines the heartbreaking humor and sensitive humanity of Chekhov’s most beloved play.

Julie Garfield will star as Madame Ranevskaya. During her 40-year career, she has appeared alongside Tony Award-winner George C. Scott and Harvey Keitel in The Death of a Salesman, and been featured in the films Love Story and Goodfellas. Garfield received the Theatre World Award for her performance as Sonya in the Roundabout Theater production of Uncle Vanya. She is the daughter of Academy Award-nominated and Broadway actor John Garfield.

Rounding out the cast are Laine Bonstein (Anya), Rivka Borek (Ensemble) Parker Dixon (Yasha), David Donahoe (Ensemble) Rick Forstmann (Gaev), Kelly Haran (Ensemble), Alec A. Head (Yepikhodov), Peter Judd (Firs), Jamie Kirmser (Lopakhin), Marcus Lorenzo (Trofimov), Robert Pusilo (Simeonov-Pischik), Marija Stajic-Salvetti (Ensemble), Ina Marie Smith (Dunyasha), Aleksandra Stattin (Varya), Adam Swartz (Ensemble) and Julie Szabo (Charlotta Ivanovna). The production team includes Hal Tine (set design), Dawn Testa (costume design), Dennis Parichy (lighting design), Chris Rummel (sound design), Bronwen Carson (choreographer), Thomas Solomon (magical effects), Jason Pickens (technical director), Barbara Kielhofer (producing coordinator), Laura Sisskin-Fernandez (assistant director) and Liz Elise Richards (stage manager).

Scheduled February 25 through April 4, 2010, The Cherry Orchard performs Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm at The Gloria Maddox Theater at T. Schreiber Studio (151 West 26th Street, between 6th and 7th Ave., Subway: 1 to 28th, F/V to 23rd). The official press opening is Friday, March 5 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at www.tschreiber.org.

T. Schreiber Studio (TSS) has been a creative community for actors since 1969. TSS is acknowledged as one of the foremost professional theatre studios in New York City. For four decades, TSS has been the training ground for more than 300 actors each year, many of whom have gone on to successful careers in theatre, film, and television. TSS received five awards from the Back Stage Readers Poll in 2009, including Favorite Off-Off Broadway Theatre. The studio’s high quality productions continue to reinforce a reputation for excellence among audiences and the theatrical community. Martin Denton of NYTheatre.com raves that TSS “has become one of indie theater’s treasures, featuring first-class productions of classic and new plays with incomparable (and award-winning) production values.” For more information, visit www.tschreiber.org.

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CALENDAR INFORMATION FOR THE CHERRY ORCHARD

WHAT: T. Schreiber Studio presents Julie Garfield in The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Carol Rocamora and directed by Terry Schreiber. Carol Rocamora’s new adaptation mines the heartbreaking humor and mitigated joy of Chekhov’s Russian elegy.

WHERE: The Gloria Maddox Theater at T. Schreiber Studio (151 West 26th St., between 6th & 7th Ave., Subway: 1 to 28th St.; F/V to 23rd).

WHEN: February 25 – April 4, 2010 | Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 pm & Sunday at 3:00 pm

TICKETS: $25 at http://www.tschreiber.org

Episode Commentary: Gravedancing

Remember that episode of “Battlestar Galactica” that followed “Sometimes a Great Notion” – where absolutely nothing happens? Bear in mind also that this is precisely the episode that precedes the frakking amazing duo, “The Oath” and “Blood on the Scales.”

Yes, “Gravedancing” may be “Caprica’s” equivalent of “A Disquiet Follows My Soul,” but that may very well turn out to be something spectacular.

As of last week, Joe Adama (Esai Morales) finally seems intent on taking that long-awaited Ha’la’tha-flavored plunge and executing classic, Tauron “blood for blood” mentality, having asked his brother (Sasha Roiz) to “balance it out” with the Graystones.

The man of the family in question (Eric Stoltz), however, is finally warming up to the idea of public relations, and even booked an interview with the corporation-hating Baxter Sarno (Patton Oswalt) on whose show he plans to inform the public that Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) was always troubled and to distance himself – and the holoband – from his deceased and woefully implicated daughter.

Meanwhile, Agent Duram (Brian Markinson) is finally given clearance to search the Graystone household, and even Athena Academy, though not before Sister Clarice (Polly Walker) receives a mysterious message tipping her off.

While nothing of explicit importance happens in this episode, save for the Graystones salvaging a fraction of their public image (and losing 60 percent of the company’s profits), it does raise a fair amount of interesting questions.

Precisely who was it that warned Athena Academy’s head S.T.O., and will Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) actually be able to transfer Cylon Zoe to Gemenon, as she hopes?

The favorites this week absolutely have to be the Taurons. From Grandma-Adama’s arctic advice to young Willie (Sina Najafi) about using fear to achieve desired results from one’s enemies, to Sam’s wickedly wry throughout, Little Tauron seems to be the home of dashing, dangerous, defiant cool on Caprica. And those cultural tattoos tell quite a story.

In fact, the future admiral’s knife-happy uncle is becoming quite a character indeed – witty and fun, but in a decidedly sociopathic way, Sam Adama brings to question just how Willie turns out so virtuous.

Another particularly fun and curious scene involved a dance sequence between Zoe’s biggest fan, Philomon (Alex Arsenault), and the very first intellectually-involved cylon, herself. Charming to the last, it’ll be interesting to see what becomes of this rather unconventional relationship.

As “Caprica” returns next week with “There is Another Sky,” the question of Tamara (Genevieve Buechner) thankfully returns to the fore. Just how will she get out of the V-Club, and what precisely did Leoben mean when he told Roslin those hauntingly famous words in “Flesh and Bone?”

“Adama is a cylon.”

However, in spite of this, it’s hard to put a finger on what “A Volta” actually is. It’s not a movie, could never be a series, it’s not long enough to be a show and it was set to a high intensity track for sociopath stimuli. For lack of something better, it’s the four-minute animated “Scarface.”

Music by “N.A.S.A.” was on point and kept up pace with the constant action. Nonetheless, the camera was a bit shaky, forcing a pause and rewind to follow exactly what’s happening. Make no mistakes though, you’ll force yourself to rewind, pause and watch it again. Either, Logan and Squeak E. Clean Productions are geniuses and did it on purpose, or they stumbled onto a way to keep a person busy for an hour watching the same short film 15 times.

Based on artwork by The Date Farmers, it has no lack of abstract ideas. The action is hard to follow, but each scene is gruesome enough to live up to its rating of NC-17.

The artistry of both N.A.S.A. and The Date Farmers lays good ground toward a possible new movement of music videos. It’s not a watered-down repeat or a beaten down theme, because if “A Volta” would never be able to hit MTV, it would be on pay per view and worth every penny.

Flashbacks provide the reason why the Salvatore brothers are always at odds. It seems that Stefan foolishly confides in his father Guiseppe (James Remar, “Dexter”) causing Katherine and her brethren to be captured. Watch for some interesting uses of verbane for this. We also discover how close Katherine and Elena are in personality; both are reckless and tend to heed warnings when it’s too late.

We then have the search for the journal as Jeremy then Alaric become the center of curiosity for the Salvatore brothers. It seems that Jeremy’s new vampire friend (unbeknownst to him) shares a past with Katherine and has her own reasons for wanting the journal. This leads to her stealing the journal from Alaric and having it taken from her by Damon. Still these are not the highlights of the episode. It’s the flashbacks and the behaviors of the townspeople that make this show fun to watch. When they find out who’s a vampire the shock looks on the faces of the men in town is priceless.

Returning to the present Bonnie and Elena are in serious danger as Bonnie’s vampire senses come on too late.

Which leads into “Fool Me Once” with the return of Grams (Jasmine Guy) to aid the Salvatore brothers in retrieving her granddaughter and Elena from Anna; the vampire with an agenda. We see that Damon’s charm won’t work on Bonnie’s grandmother as she gives him a migraine he won’t soon forget. Meanwhile the minor characters are there to completely slow down the momentum of the episode with teenage-“90201” unnecessary angst. Luckily these scenes are few.

Once again there is another gathering near the tomb no less – nothing like warm bodies for all those hungry vampires that are about to be set free. Or are they?

On a side note: The powers that be need to make Jasmine Guy a series regular if this show is to have any real depth to it. She brings a wealth of experience and her interaction with the cast elevates their acting.

As far as cliffhangers go this one packs a punch. Who will escape the tomb? And what will happen to our favorite witches? Tune in March 25 to find out.

Nazi zombies are about as bizarre as it gets, but at least the heroes here are prepared to take them on. They might be a bunch of medical students who live all the way in Norway, but even they’re familiar with the “Evil Dead” films, not to mention more obscure stuff like “April Fool’s Day.” All that horror-movie knowledge should come in handy when they’re holed up at a cabin in the woods during their winter break, as they find out when they get a visit from a loony wanderer (Bjørn Sundquist) one night. He says that there was a time when the Nazis had a unit in this area, where they eventually died of hypothermia. It’s a safe bet that he knows what he’s talking about – eerie natives in these kinds of films usually do.

It isn’t long before the Nazi zombies show up and cause trouble for everybody in the cabin, and they’ve even remembered all their basic training. (One of them gets a laugh just by surveying the humans with binoculars.) As if going up against zombies who are ready for war weren’t enough already, they also feast on human flesh, just like in the movies. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re hungry, though – when you’re in the heat of battle, there’s no wrong way to take out an enemy.

One of the reasons why “Dead Snow” works as well as it does is that although it’s aware of how silly it is, the dramatis personae here have no idea why they’re ripe for parody. The Nazi zombies take themselves so seriously that they don’t acknowledge the camp value of the things they do, or even stop to think why anyone who just got resurrected would need to do them. In light of all that snow they have at their disposal, you’d think they’d try to open up a ski lodge or something.

terraNOVA Collective presents a monthly variety show celebrating music, spoken word, burlesque, magic, storytelling, short play readings, and vaudeville acts. The next SUBTERRANEAN is on Friday, March 5 at 10pm in The D-Lounge, a 75-seat cabaret-style venue below the Daryl Roth Theatre at 101 East 15th Street at Union Square. Admission is $10.

Micia Mosely (Nursha Project) hosts the March party with performances by spoken word artist Roger Bonair-Agard (MASQUERADE: calypso and home), comedian Carolyn Castiglia (NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, Brown Ambition) and performance artist Red Summer (Two Fingers Press, Nursha Project).
SUBTERRANEAN
Friday, March 5
10pm $10
D-Lounge 101 East 15th Street
beneath the Daryl Roth Theatre
Just off Union Square

TO PURCHASE TICKETS VISIT
www.smarrttix.com or call 212-868-4444.

MICIA MOSELY Brooklyn-based comedian, actress and educator, Micia Mosely is a founding artist with Nursha Project (www.nurshaproject.com); a group committed to supporting artists and projects rooted in creative sustainable development and social-political offerings. Since earning her Ph.D. in education from U.C. Berkeley, Micia has shared her comedic performance in cities all over the United States including, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Washington D.C. and Honolulu. In 2009, her one woman show Where My Girls At? was nominated for a New York Innovative Theater Award for best solo performance. Currently, she is an educational and comedic-speaker with The Lecture Bureau (www.thelecturebureau.com).

ROGER BONAIR-AGARD is a native of Trinidad and Tobago and a Cave Canem fellow. He is the author of two collections of poetry, tarnish and masquerade (Cypher Books 2006) and GULLY (Cypher Books/Peepal Tree Press 2010). He is co-author of a third collection, Burning Down the House (Soft Skull Press 2000). A two-time National Poetry Slam Champion, Roger is also co-founder and Artistic Director of the LouderARTS Project. He is poet-in-residence with VisionIntoArt, an inter-disciplinary performance ensemble, for whom his work is regularly commissioned and with whom he has toured several universities nationally, as well as the Mt. Aetna Jazz Festival (Catania, Italy) and music festivals in Milan, Italy and Belgrade, Serbia. He is also writer and performer of the critically acclaimed one-man show MASQUERADE: calypso and home, produced by terraNOVA Collective. Roger’s work is widely anthologized and he has performed in festivals and Universities throughout the world, including the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival (New Jersey), Bumbershoot Music Festival (Seattle, WA), Calabash Literary Festival (Jamaica, W.I.), Urban Voices Festival (South Africa), University of the West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago), Cape Town University (South Africa), University of Alaska (Anchorage, AK), Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH), DePaul University, University of Chicago (Chicago, IL), Florida State University (Tallahassee, FL) to name a few; and festivals in Germany and Switzerland as well. He has taught with the teen poetry organization Urban Word NYC since 1999 and the VOLUME teen summer institute in Ann Arbor, MI since 2003. Roger received a Vox Ferus writing residency (2009-10), and is winner of a LouderARTS Project Fellowship (2009-10). He splits time between Chicago and Brooklyn, NY. rogerbonair.blogspot.com

CAROLYN CASTIGLIA is a stand-up comedian and freestyle rap star. You may have seen her on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing”, Nick-at-Nite’s “Funniest Mom in America 3”, “The Maury Show”, ABC “World News with Charles Gibson” and heard her on Sirius/XM Radio. She is perhaps best known for her appearances on VH1/ego trip’s “The White Rapper Show” and “Miss Rap Supreme” as the lovable and hilarious Miss CKC. Her funny freestyle has won her numerous championship titles at The BEATdown, a monthly showcase at New York’s UCB Theatre, where she is also a regular cast member of High School Talent Show. Her music videos, Lemme See and DAMN (You Wish) both hit number one in 23 countries on YouTube Comedy. Her solo show BROWN AMBITION premiered at Ars Nova theatre in February 2009. It went on to run Off-Broadway at 59E59 and played for a month at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. While in Edinburgh, Carolyn was chosen by London-based production company Brown Eyed Boy to film “Laughtershock Worldwide,” a television pilot featuring “edgy” stand-ups from around the globe. Three Weeks said, “Carolyn Castiglia was the funniest female comedian I’ve seen at the fringe.” Other festivals and tours include LAFF (2010), NC Comedy Arts Festival (2010), ImprovBoston Women in Comedy Festival (2009), The Hysterical Festival (2008), Obama Girls of Comedy Tour (2008) and the New York Underground Comedy Festival (2004, 2005, 2006). Carolyn’s jokes have been printed in over 50 issues of Life & Style magazine in the Style Slip-Ups section as well as the book, “The Idiot’s Guide to Jokes.” Her writing has been featured in Time Out New York (Joke of the Week), the New York Post’s, “KILLER JOKES,” and MarieClaire.com. She’s also a contributor to The Huffington Post and The Apiary, the premiere website about comedy in New York. For three years she hosted and co-produced the weekly showcase Chicks and Giggles (featured in the New Yorker, New York Times and BUST Magazine), which enjoyed a very successful run at Mo Pitkin’s and Ochi’s Lounge at Comix. Carolyn is enormously proud to be one of the subjects of the documentary PERFORM, a permanent installation at the Museum of the City of New York. carolyncastiglia.blogspot.com

RED SUMMER is an activist, educator, entrepreneur, writer, poet and performance artist who coined the empowering affirmation, “I am not a loose woman…I am a woman on the loose.” Red Summer is a native of Chicago whose entrepreneurial drive for success recently moved her to the Atlanta area where she continues to water her dreams. She is the founder of Two Fingers Press Publishing Company and the executive director of Verbal Remedies- an organization that empowers and mentors young people through creative programming and self esteem workshops around topics such as; college readiness, life-skills, entrepreneurship, social history/activism and career education. Her life is an open journey of success that mirrors the every day woman’s trials, tribulations and victories. She is a quintessential teacher, leader and performer that uses the stage to give voice to those who have been silenced and shines light on issues of injustices beyond our darkest imagination. She uses the power of her pen and the power of words to articulate, captivate, educate, motivate and activate. She is definitely a diva and her unselfish journey through life has challenged her audiences to redefine their place in this world. Red Summer’s book, First Person and performance CD, Shades of Red, may be ordered by visiting www.twofingerspress.com . To learn more about Red Summer, visit www.nurshaproject.com

TERRANOVA COLLECTIVE is a vibrant playground for artists devoted to innovative new and original theatrical works. Its multi-layered development process, solo arts festivals, and productions serve to nurture and liberate New York City.

Episode Commentary: What Kate Does

As the journey is about to unravel and come to its climax, the final season of “Lost” is adjusting its collar and getting ready to roll up its sleeves. You can tell just by viewing its previous episode, entitled “What Kate Does.”

Right off the bat, you think that this episode would mainly have to do with Kate, played by the lovely Evangeline Lilly, but instead, it focuses on a few other characters such as Syed (Naveen Andrews, “Planet Terror”) and Claire (Emilie De Raven “Remember Me”), and we find out some interesting facts about them as the story unfolds.

This episode of “Lost” takes place right where the previous one left off, with Syed’s mysterious resurrection, while the Others are keeping Kate, Jack (Matthew Fox), Sawyer (Josh Holloway), Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) and Hurley (Jorge Garcia) at the temple. Jack wants answers about what has happened to Syed while Sawyer plans to escape and does so successfully.

Kate goes after Sawyer, letting him know that Claire must be found so that she can be reunited with her son. Sawyer, however, is still saddened by the death of Juliette (Elizabeth Mitchell, “Running Scared”). An emotional scene involves Sawyer telling Kate how he was going to propose to Juliette, and how it was his fault that she died.

The majority of the episode has flashbacks of a pre-crash Kate, where she is on the run from cops at the airport and hijacks the cab Claire was in. As Kate kicks Claire out of the cab, she goes to a local garage, where she pays a mechanic to cut off her handcuffs. Feeling bad about what she did, she goes back and finds Claire sitting at a bus stop and brings her to where she is supposed to give up her baby for adoption. When that plan goes haywire, another unexpected event occurs involving Claire, during which Kate helps her out tremendously.

The episode flashes back to the temple, where we discover that Syed has a mysterious infection, which is also carried by Claire. He goes through torture tests in order to get diagnosed. With no alternative, Jack is ordered to give Syed a pill that, at first, was believed to cure him, but then was discovered to be poisonous.

The episode ends with Jin in the jungle escaping two members of the Others and unexpectedly getting caught in a bear trap. The two members of the Others get shot with a rifle, and as Jin looks up, he sees a familiar face. The famous “Lost” sign pops up, leaving you anxious for what is to come.

Episode Commentary: Rubberman

If you needed any more convincing that Aqua Teen Hunger Force has reclaimed its place high on the mantle at Adult Swim, the episode “Rubberman” does a pretty job of it. Even with a small flashback scene that feels borrowed from an episode of “Family Guy,” ATHF still delivers this week and does so in a big way.

As a matter of fact, if you can survive the first few minutes [without throwing up], which features an exchange between Shake, Carl and Meatwad involving hypodermic needles and used condoms, then you’re well on your way to enjoying another classic episode.

After seeing his neighborhood begin to morally decay, thanks to this opening scene, Frylock, in his infinite wisdom, creates a mascot for his mission, that consists of the very same items that are responsible for it in the first place. Out of nowhere, Meatwad thinks he has the tools to make it come to life, thus creating “Rubberman” and after a few short minutes, hilarity reigns supreme.

It doesn’t have to make sense to be hilarious and with that being the case, this episode of ATHF satisfies until the credits roll.

Feeling like a combination of “Frosty the Snowman” meets “The Silence of the Lambs,” this episode plays with another great element of the series, Meatwad’s naivete, and uses it to deliver the goods. Add in a few horrible and unfortunate situations for Carl to deal with and some great one liners from Shake and what you get in return is 13 minutes of top-notch adult animation.

Sure, it’s foul-mouthed, immature and disgusting, but it’s also charming, dry and witty at the same time.

All in all, it’s just another great episode that proves the show is dedicated in winning back its old fans.

Watch it now or the Rubberman will take your feet… and arms.

Your free mp3 downloads has a theme to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Depending on whether you care about the person you sent these songs to or not you may be spending your next romantic holiday alone.

Monotonous repetition does not an entertaining song about song make. Skip it.

“Ambling Amp” – Yeasayer

The experimentation in sound amps up the everyday-normalcy of the lyrics. Its upbeat melody at times seems to fight against the words, but stick with it.

“Come On” – Green River Ordinance

The powers that be either really like this track or they’re just lazy as “Come On” was first reviewed in November 09. It’s still a solid rock track and if you haven’t downloaded it yet; now is your chance.

“Healing Hands” – Citizen Cope

Citizen Cope has this way of throwing lyrics together to a rockabilly, folk, reggae rhythm that makes complete sense when heard. It’s a deep song that forces you to listen.

“Sandra” – Smoking Pipes

If you’re suffering from a hangover this won’t help you get over it. It’s alternative rock with some spoken word thrown in about Sandra Bernhard. Then again you’d have to be seriously inebriated to download it to begin with.

“Fall Into Love” – Rabbit!

Remember Citizen Cope and the way they meld their lyrics in a way that makes cohesive sense and speaks to the listener on a multilayer of emotional levels? It would make more sense to download “Healing Hands” twice than to download “Fall Into Love” once.

Upon walking in, the market seems like a smaller version of Whole Foods in the Upper East Side of New York City; however, not every fancy market has a restaurant upstairs.

In the market to the right, there is a tiny café for those who just want to grab a quick bite to eat. If you walk farther into the grocery store, there is a wide wooden staircase in the middle of the market leading up to Eli’s Vinegar Factory.

Once at the top of the stairs, the floor opens up to a lofty high ceiling room with simple wooden tables with metal chairs. Surprisingly, the mixture of metal and woodsy décor works well together; almost like a cozy warehouse.

The room isn’t completely filled with people, since there are some empty tables; however, it might be a slow weekend or the rush hasn’t hit yet. Nonetheless, the aroma from cooking French toast and pancakes lures you in.

With a long silver bar to the left and under tall gated cabinets, there is an open view of the kitchen where patrons can view the fire from the brick oven where pizzas are made. Straight ahead, there is an ice cream bar with a table full of temptingly sweet toppings from rainbow sprinkles to chocolate chip cookies.

Further into the room, towards the right, there is a buffet style salad barrel, which consists of a massive selection of pastas, salads and an out of place bowl of buffalo chicken. At the very end of the floor, there is a room for private parties, which overlooks a garden in the back.

At the table, there is a complimentary basket arranged with a variety of freshly baked breads placed next to a small plate of butter and a jar of homemade jam. When combining all three, let’s just say the basket may need more bread even before your food arrives. It is that amazingly addictive – you’ll be quickly asking for a refill and the recipe.

Only serving on Saturday and Sundays from 8 am-4 pm, the restaurant is open for breakfast and brunch for those who like to sleep in on weekends. Their brunch menu is essentially the same as their breakfast menu, except for the additional sandwiches, soups of the day and personal pizzas.

Whether you’re in the mood for eggs, a sandwich, or pick and choose from the all-you-can-eat salad barrel, there is enough to satisfy any craving.

However, the food may be overpriced for some tastes.

The omelets range between $12.50 to $14, depending on what’s in it, and $15 to $17 if you wanted egg whites only. Although the eggs are organic, those are some expensive omelets.

Although the Vinegar Factory is typically traditional American diner style food, they don’t serve French fries, burgers, or sausage, which is disappointing news for those who would rather have sausage instead of bacon or ham.

Shortly after being seated and given a glass of water, you are greeted by a cheery waitress who politely asks what you would like to drink. On the menu, it says the juices are freshly squeezed but that doesn’t mean it is “squeezed” to order; it means they are made in the morning, put into containers, and then served in wine glasses. Whether it was made in the morning or not, the strawberry orange juice is delicious.

Who would’ve thought that strawberry and orange juice that taste so good together?

The prices may be outrageous, but that doesn’t make the food any less amazing.

With a warm brioche bread bun on the bottom, two layers of sliced grilled ham, two perfectly pouched eggs and hollandaise sauce on top, the Eggs Benedict are the King of all Benedicts.

Unlike IHOP, the Vinegar Factory pancakes are fairly healthy – they’re whole grain. You can even customize the three stacked plate-sized pancakes to your liking by adding strawberries, blueberries, bananas, raspberries, or chocolate chip. Served with Eli’s homemade syrup, these pancakes beat Aunt Jemima’s buttermilk pancakes any day.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether you get the Eggs Benedict or the monstrous French toast made with homemade challah bread, this breakfast will either energize you to take a walk around Central Park or crawl back into bed for an afternoon nap.

It is the weekend, after all.

The Cold War meets the War on Terror. Bodies meet the floor. LIVE/FEED is a movement theater mash-up that focuses on the actors’ physical relationships with each other and with the performance space. The text becomes a navigational tool for these discoveries. Inspired by an apocryphal quote (“May you live in interesting times”), the project deals with issues of control in a violent and chaotic landscape. Featuring original music and immersive, site-responsive design.

“This piece was conceived back when the company was formed,” explains co-founder Muehleck. “We’ve workshopped parts of it, but we feel that now is the time to finish it. The world is still on pins and needles about a lot of things: war, money, the right to privacy. LIVE/FEED is a product of these fears.”

LIVE/FEED will feature Stacia French, Karen Grenke*, Robin Kurtz*, Mark Lindberg, and James “Face” Yu. *Appears courtesy of the Actors’ Equity Association.

The creative team will include Sound Design and Original Music by Stephan Moore, Costumes by Candida Nichols, and Sets originally designed by Solomon Weisbard reimagined by Melanie S. Armer.

The production, presented by The Nerve Tank in association with The Brooklyn Lyceum, will play at The Brooklyn Lyceum (227 4th Avenue, Brooklyn), May 7 & 8 at 8pm, May 12-14 at 8pm, May 20-22 at 8pm, May 23 at 3pm, and May 27-29 at 8pm. Tickets ($18/$15) are available by calling Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006 or online at www.brownpapertickets.com.

Named One to Watch in 2010, THE NERVE TANK was founded in 2006 by Melanie S. Armer and Chance D. Muehleck. The Nerve Tank is an incubator for theatrical performance. The members collaborate in a spirit of artistic adventure, and their rehearsal methods lie outside the traditional models. Combining elements of popular culture, mediated image, and physical presence, the company tests lines of engagement between spectator and live event.

Based in New York, The Nerve Tank has staged works at Theatre for the New City, chashama, The New York International Fringe Festival, Dixon Place, and Pittsburgh’s Flux Festival. They are currently the resident theater company of The Brooklyn Lyceum.

“The Nerve Tank provides the type of experimental theatre that reminds one of Beckett’s most thought provoking pieces… this company provides so much food for thought, audiences will be intellectually satiated.” Michael Roderick, Broadway World

“Much like its subject matter, bauhaus the bauhaus… is a thoughtful, well-researched project that demonstrates keen insight into contemporary life.” Li Cornfeld, Off Off Online

“Perhaps the most successful and interesting notion in bauhaus the bauhaus is the stripping away of the artifice of art. All of the technology required to make a work of theatre is thus presented to the audience…”
Martin Denton, nytheatre.com

“Through a series of vignettes, games, gestural dances, and found texts, writer-assembler Chance Muehleck primes his ensemble to speak in the breathless tones of early-20th-century utopianism.”
Christopher Grobe, The Village Voice

MELANIE S. ARMER (Director) is the co-founder of The Nerve Tank, where alongside writer & co-founder Chance Muehleck she developed and directed bauhaus the bauhaus, A Gathering and currently LIVE/FEED in residence with the company at The Brooklyn Lyceum. Previous to the company’s residency she also helped create In The Heart of a Chinese Curse at Dixon Place as a part of their “Under Construction” series in 2008 and The Attendants at chashama in the fall of 2007. Other collaborations with Muehleck include directing the 10-minute version of A Gathering, created for Open Stage’s Play-In-A-Day and remounted by Dog &Pony in Pittsburgh, and Tagging April for FLUX and in Valdez, Alaska. For The Nerve Tank’s parent company LIVE Theater Company she has produced and directed the world premieres of Jane Shepard’s Eating the Dead and Muehleck’s The Honeypot Redux. Ms. Armer’s work with other NYC theatre companies includes The Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Women’s Project & Productions, New Georges, Theater for the New City, the 2002, 2005 & 2007 NYC Fringe Festivals, and over 25 plays for Circle East (formerly Circle Rep). In Pittsburgh she directed As Bees In Honey Drown and Sympathetic Magic at The Open Stage Theatre (where she also served as Managing Director), and The Cay at Prime Stage. Ms. Armer assisted Leonard Foglia on the Broadway revival of Wait Until Dark and director Michael Warren Powell on Lanford Wilson’s A Sense of Place. Ms. Armer is the Associate Producer of Contemporary Programming at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a member of SSDC, a proud alumnus of The Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and has taught at Marymount Manhattan College and Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

CHANCE D. MUEHLECK (Writer) is a creator of play texts, theatre assemblies, and concepts for performance. His work has been developed or produced at Theatre Artists of Marin in California, and at Circle Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and The Present Company in New York. Primary Stages commissioned him to write a short play on the American experience, which was then presented Off-Broadway. He is the recipient of the John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwriting and was a finalist for the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Heideman Award. His multimedia performance installation The Attendants was developed while in residence at chashama. He is Co-founder of The Nerve Tank, an independent theatre based in New York that produces collaborative art for the twenty-first century. His physical theatre piece LIVE/FEED was work shopped at Dixon Place. Chance has taught playwriting at Hampshire College and Point Park University, has written reviews for The New York Theatre Experience, and served as an adjudicator for the New York International Fringe Festival. As a dramaturge he assisted Tammy Ryan with her play Baby’s Blues at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. Two of his monologues appear in the Audition Arsenal series published by Smith & Kraus. In 2008 United Stages published his short play Tagging April in the collection En Avant Playwrights. His memberships include The Dramatists Guild, Inc. and Circle East.

Josh Brown Day of Fire Interview

Photo by Nick Valente

Episode Commentary: Communication Studies

Not even when it’s the conclusion of a drunk BCI (booty-call implication, apparently) does “whazzuh” garner any respect anymore, as well it shouldn’t.

But that’s hardly the point of the episode. Instead, the focus is on the aftermath of Britta’s (Gillian Jacobs) hard night of partying with an old buddy from her anarchist days, all culminating with a thoroughly intoxicated phone call to one Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) in the wee hours of the morning.

And he absolutely loves it. It’s justice – after all those months of playing hard-to-get.

Unfortunately, as Abed (Danny Pudi) points out, the scales have been tipped and Jeff now holds all the cards. Britta’s acting strangely, and as a true friend, he must fix this grave calamity and drink call Britta right back – but it must be real, or she’ll be even more insulted.

So they get together to practice and since “Scorsese drank with DeNiro,” Abed bites the big one and engorges himself on the almighty vodka.

With decidedly hilarious results.

Meanwhile, Troy (Donald Glover) and Pierce (Chevy Chase), embarrassed about not receiving any valentines, send some to themselves in Senor Chang’s (Ken Jeong) class. He immediately relishes the opportunity to humiliate them.

Eager to avenge the dignity of their friends, Annie (Alison Brie) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), but he immediately blames the demoralized duo for the transgression and demands that they escort him to the Valentine’s Dance, wearing “elegant ladies’ pantsuits.”

It’s a shame that “Community” won’t be back until March 4th, since this episode has so many wonderful moments. From Annie informing the group that Vaughn’s (Eric Christian Olsen) is on a vision quest, to Jeff’s reluctantly amorous description of Britta, to the latter’s heartwarming moment at the story’s conclusion; it contains ample stock for multiple viewing.

Perhaps the best part is the heavy subtext between the pair. Sure, Britta saved Jeff and Professor Slater’s (Lauren Stamile) relationship, but the wayward affection between the pair continues to grow. The chemistry is certainly real and the relationship is becoming considerably more mature and genuinely caring.

For now, Jeff is in bliss with low-maintenance Michelle – whom me drunkenly deems the “perfect girlfriend” (though that’s only the first 20 seconds of a much longer message) – but chances are that this won’t last long.

The aftermath should, at the very least, be highly entertaining.

During January, U.S. consumers purchased more than 465,000 Wii systems and more than 422,000 systems in the Nintendo DS franchise, which includes Nintendo DS™ Lite and Nintendo DSi™.

“Holiday shoppers depleted our supplies even after our fourth holiday season,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We appreciate the nearly 900,000 consumers who turned to Nintendo to get a great value for their entertainment dollars.”

Six of the top 10 best-selling games of January play on Nintendo systems. These include New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii at No. 1 with more than 656,000 sold, Wii Fit™ Plus with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory at No. 3 with more than 368,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii with the Wii Wheel™ accessory at No. 5 with more than 310,000 sold, Wii Sports Resort™ with the Wii MotionPlus™ accessory at No. 6 with more than 294,000 sold, Just Dance by Ubisoft at No. 9 with more than 191,000 sold and the Wii Fit Plus disc at No. 10 with more than 186,000 sold.

The Martha Cardona Theater and St. Ann and the Holy Trinity will host a benefit concert of opera, musical theatre, Yiddish folk music, and blues to raise money for the charity, Direct Relief International. Direct Relief puts 100% of all donations received toward much needed supplies, which its employees deliver personally to the people of Haiti . You can read precise details of Direct Relief’s efforts by going to its website at https://www.directrelief.org. There is so much to be done, and it will just get tougher. Please join us in helping the people of Haiti.

The public will be treated to a concert of beautiful music, including some staged scenes, at St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church , which is located on the corner of Montague and Henry streets in downtown Brooklyn . There will be no admission charge, only donations accepted at the door. Checks should be made payable to Direct Relief, and be sure to put the words “Haiti relief fund” in the memo, to ensure 100 % goes towards Haiti . The concert will take place on Saturday, February 20th, at 4:00 pm.

The movie focuses on work-obsessed museum curator Beth (Kristen Bell; Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Veronica Mars) who just can’t find the time for love and is reminded of that fact by her younger sister’s marriage in Rome. There she meets and falls for Nick (Josh Duhamel; Transformers, Las Vegas), who is obviously her exact opposite and the subject of a running gag that’s just south of mildly chuckle inducing. By way of perfunctory character actions and reactions we get to the movie’s gimmick, which involves Beth removing coins from a magical fountain and thus attracting the attention of the men who threw those coins. Hilarity ensues.

Just kidding, nothing of the sort happens.

What we get instead is a by-the-numbers romantic comedy from the director of such modern classics as “Daredevil” and “Ghost Rider” with a terrible script that bores you with its asinine predictability. Obviously, this isn’t the most experimental of sub-genres, but with so many other movies of this type coming out in any given year, you would expect people to at least try. Not here though. Then again, these guys did write the cinematic gem that is “Old Dogs.” The movie is just plain loaded with gags and jokes that amaze you with how flat they land. In fact, the whole production has the pulse of an unplugged heart-rate monitor.

The focus of the movie, like in all romantic comedies, is on the two leads. Both Bell and Duhamel are good-looking, charismatic actors, but they are given nothing to work with. Actually they are given worse than nothing; what they get is the recycled debris of earlier movies. The lines coming out of their mouths are the most overdone pieces of dialog that you might wonder if this whole affair was some elaborate parody. As if it was some sort of commentary on the inherent cliché that is the romantic comedy. This is all without mentioning that their supposed love is built on a night they didn’t spend together and a collection of non-witty banter. But of course they’re meant for each other.

One gag that works for a few moments is the scene in a restaurant where the customers are in the dark literally, because not being able to see would amplify their other senses, or some other corny reason. There was a certain charm that might have had a little to do with how cheap the night-vision effects were. It feels as if they just loaded up Final Cut Pro and turned the slider for green all the way to the right. Something about that encapsulated how cheap the whole movie was.

All of this is a shame, considering the cast of supporting actors on deck, specifically Danny Devito (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Will Arnett (Blades of Glory). Now these guys aren’t above doing schlocky material, but give them something to work with here. A good laugh did arise when Jon Heder (Blades of Glory) was unexpectedly reunited with a former cast member. Another highlight was Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) as Nick’s best friend. He at least looked like he was having fun and was the source of a couple of laughs. However, these moments are few and far in between an otherwise barren desert of mediocrity.

In the end, “When in Rome” is the sum of its parts. Those parts being a script made out of dog-eared pages cobbled together from previously released romantic comedies, a quarter-baked “love” story, “comedy” routines that are dead on arrival, and a cast and crew going through the motions in order to simply cash their checks. No wonder they say romance is dead.

As a matter of fact, after watching this poor excuse for a compilation, you’ll wonder why it was even released in the first place.

With narration by Lord Alfred Hayes, who appears to be shoddily reading from cue cards during the introduction, the DVD has a rustic WWF feel [it was obviously ported from VHS to DVD in an effort to bring the company extra revenue] that has aged worse than an open can of spam in the summer sun. Simply put, Hayes’ commentary is a disaster. While he attempts to discuss Andre as a person, he fails miserably, and in the process, embarrasses himself and the legendary wrestler. Chatting about his love of children and the fact that he’s “a ladies man indeed,” Hayes fails to put a level of professionalism on the mic work, making the dated matches even more difficult to stomach.

Overall, it feels like someone reading a poor, dog-eared script to worn-out matches.

Speaking of the matches, of the already small handful that are featured on the disc, none fail to captivate and show Andre at his best. What a travesty, considering the man made a living for nearly three decades winning battle royals and handicap matches at seemingly his own whim. While there are a few glimpses on the disc that show what he is capable of in the ring, for the most part, this collection is a farce and a total bore.

Bad commentary alone would be enough to keep this collection off your shelf, but the poor selection of matches seal the deal. Even if you are the biggest fan of Andre’s work, stay away from this set and wait for something better to come along.

Because it’s only a matter of time until the WWE understands the huge injustice they’ve made by bringing this sad case to DVD in the first place.

Canadians Are Warm
Canadians Are Great Guests
Canadians Are F*%#ing Entertaining

Be enthralled by Canadians living in New York, be excited by Canadians who have crossed the border to perform, be lured by amazing New York artists who have agreed to be honorary “Canucks”, and be held spellbound by 2010 FRIGID Festival performers. Expect the unexpected with seven late-nights of music, comedy, character, and dance. It is going to be a great time, and not just because the theater serves booze!

Performers will include New Yorkers and honorary Canucks, Sabrina Jalese, Fraser Yonge, Moe Rosen & Mary Crosbie, Kristeen Von Hagen, Jen Grant, Julien Dionne, Andrew Pifko, Laura Poe, Susan Jeremy, and Paradizo Dance along with Canadian artists, Sharon Nowlan, Jillian Thomas, Sandra Battaglini, Micheline Marchindon, Bobby Knauff, and Christina Starr.

The Canuck Cabaret will run late-nights at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A) during The 2010 New York FRIGID Festival. February 24-27 and March 3, 5, & 6 at Midnight. Admission is Pay-What-You-Will at the door.

Paul Hutcheson is a comedic performer, writer and producer. His first two solo shows The First Time and On Second Thought have toured to 21 theatre festivals. Both shows received rave reviews, sold-out houses and awards in New York, Orlando, Montreal and San Francisco. Hutcheson produces/performs in numerous “comedic” evenings in Toronto. He has produced shows in schools, teacher lounges, storefronts, lofts, studios and even an adult video store. He requires as many people as possible to experience his unique form of queer comedy!

Sharon Nowlan (a.k.a. Prairie Fire) moved from the open sky Canadian Prairies and hasn’t looked back. She has been performing burlesque for ten years. Her solo and group shows (Caberlesque) have toured to numerous festivals throughout North America. When “Prairie Fire” is on the bill you are guaranteed a fantastic time!

Jillian Thomas is witty, dirty and aggressive. This Toronto comic and former Christian Rocker tells it like it is…even if you’re not ready for it! “She has the face of an Angel and the laugh of the Devil.” Joe Flaherty (SCTV, Freaks & Geeks)

The FRIGID New York Festival was founded by Horse Trade and EXIT Theatre in 2007. Since founding The San Francisco Fringe Festival – the 2nd oldest fringe in the United States – nearly 17 years ago, EXIT has learned a thing or two about festival running. They introduced Horse Trade to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) in mid-2006. Besides feedback from dozens of thrilled CAFF participants and artists, Horse Trade was drawn to its main principle: “…to provide all artists, emerging and established, with the opportunity to produce their play no matter the content, form or style and to make the event as affordable and accessible as possible for the members of the community,” Horse Trade is proud to sign on to the tradition and chill out the New York independent theater scene’s ideas of what a theatre festival can be. In true support of theatre on the fringe of the mainstream, the artists take home 100% of their box office, and the festival producers do not receive royalties from future performances. The festival’s producers are proud to support self-producing artists’ growth and future success. New York City is an indisputable hotbed of groundbreaking talent and we’re proud to once again invite artists to take advantage of this opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination.

The original film was a sensational hit on the grindhouse circuit, and it remains a pretty potent experience. The story followed John Eastland, who returned to the crime-ridden streets of New York after serving in Vietnam. His best friend, who is played by the underrated Steve James, is senselessly murdered by a vicious gang of punks. This leads to Eastland deciding to clean up the streets with his trusty flamethrower, taking down the scummy and perverted denizens of New York.

The problem with the original picture was that the pace of the action was slowed down to look at the perspective of the lead police officer on the case (the late, great Christopher George) and the romance that blooms afterward. The reason this doesn’t work is because the audience is so invested in Eastland that we really don’t care about who’s on the case.

An interesting side note is that “The Exterminator” was such a huge hit in 1980 that it spawned a copycat film that tried to scam Deuce audience members out of their money. A film entitled “The Executioner, Part II” was made with Christopher Mitchum in 1984, and the funny thing is that this was a sequel to a film that was never made. The actual plan was that when walking down the street, one would see the title and assume the marquee made a mistake, and that this was a followup to the classic.

Luckily, the Cannon Group released “Exterminator 2″ not long after, and audiences got an authentic sequel. Also, the sequel managed to focus solely on Eastland (Robert Ginty) and the punks he tries to wipe out.

The picture never heads in the direction that you would expect, and that is something you learn early on, when a man is crucified in the subway by the local gang. The leader of the gang is named X, and he is played with strong intensity by Mario Van Peebles. The gang is so ruthless and violent that you completely understand and sympathize with Eastland. You may even find yourself glad when the masked vigilante with the flamethrower emerges from the shadows of the crime-ridden alleys.

The film hinges strongly on the performance of Ginty, who, sadly, succumbed to cancer on September 21, 2009. He was one of the few actors that reprised the role of a vigilante for a sequel, which was rare in the ’80s if you weren’t Charles Bronson. This exploitation film is probably the best of example of his work, and we see a wide range of emotions throughout the picture. Watching the scene when his new girlfriend is attacked, you can’t help but feel his heartache.

Another interesting side note is that Ginty received the nickname “The Paper-Chase Guy” when “Warrior of the Lost World” was screened on “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” which was one of the best episodes of the series.

With that said, Ginty’s performance is helped by the supporting work of the underrated Frankie Faison as Be Gee. The character desperately attempts to keep Eastland in reality despite the grim world he lives in.

The picture has the same quality most of the action-packed movies from the Cannon Group had in the early ’80s, but people didn’t flock to these pictures for Oscar-worthy cinematography.

“Exterminator 2″ is a picture that makes good on many expectations you may have about it, making it one of the best cult movies around.

Yet, it still loves. In its clandestine nature, it seeks the gentle heart of another to share its unbridled cry for requited affection, but that is not always enough to permit the unveiling of the truth – of its core, its essence.

The remaining two operas hosted by Opera Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Inc. are often paired due to their similar nature, as both express those very caverns of the mind that choose to stay concealed against all odds.

As previously explored with “Dido and Aeneas” (the review for which can be accessed here), the gentle touch of love can leave an imprint deeper and more cataclysmic than the harshest torrent.

Erwartung

Harried, chaotic and provocative, the hectic fingers of musical director Samuel Kardos played the unusual music of Arnold Schoenberg. Considered avant-garde by some, the neurotic notes of the Austrian-born composer stand against much of which was accepted by his contemporaries and the test of time.

As such, it is expected that an opera of his would be just as unconventional. “Erwartung,” or “Expectation,” directed by John Schenkel, follows a lone woman (Jenny Searles) on a 20-minute psychological journey through a forest as she frightfully searches for her lover, only to discover his corpse.

Utilizing a nearly-empty stage, Searles vividly expressed an array of emotions, spanning from terror to devastation to reluctant acceptance. She followed the lunar tone of the evocative music, as the audience trailed her gradual, mental collapse.

Her voice was at once tender and extraordinarily fierce – haunting and emboldening – like a distant, evasive memory. Somber and melancholy, the soft, fragile woman ruminated throughout her journey in the forest.
At first feared the forest, then life without her mate.

Although opinions vary on the quality of this opera, it does present a certainty: The opportunity for a vocalist to truly reveal any hidden talent – and that of Searles came with all the subtlety of a booming, overwhelmingly bright and powerful hurricane.

With a voice at times eerily serene and incandescently strong at others, the talented soprano won a standing ovation from many of the theatre’s patrons at the opera’s end – and justifiably so.

Bluebeard’s Castle

A towering, mesmerizing man leans over a shivering young woman, eyes large with a suspicious mix of trepidation and desire as he traps her in a sensual embrace. She left the sanctuary of home and family, as well as her betrothed, to be with this mysterious stranger in his castle – always dark; always cold.

She yearns to understand what he hides behind closed doors; he simply wishes that she would love him and leave his secrets be.

Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” may have been a tale of high adventure about overcoming an evil villain, but Béla Bartók weaves a much more cerebral story.

The aforementioned lady was Judith (Shannon Capogreco) and the dashingly dangerous stranger was Duke Bluebeard (Bryce Smith); and as she uncovered the secrets behind the seven locked doors in the castle, the gloriously expressive opera about the clandestine catacombs of the mind unfolded.

It began with a spoken Prologue of the Bard – in Hungarian by Christopher Kardos, and in English by Maureen McCluskey, though their presence hardly disappeared then. Instead, they remained two ominous, black-clad figures who surreptitiously stalked the shadows of the background – at times active in the scene, and at others, twin eerie reminders of the mystifying nature of this tale.

Kardos resumed his role as pianist and musical director, while Linda Lehr hosted directorial duties for the production.

As the opera progressed and Judith unveiled the secrets of Bluebeard’s hidden rooms – each represented by a falling curtain – the magic of the performance truly came together, particularly through the superbly effective use of lighting.

A wounded crimson marked the duke’s torture chamber and a gorgeous display of slowly swiveling white circles painted the delicate Lake of Tears. The exhibit changed again by the light of the moon.

Throughout all this, Smith and Capogreco maintained an almost tragic yearning; brooding, and intensely felt, the strength of their shared passion overcame reason and steadily paved the way for calamity.

Capogreco was innocently engaging as the well-intentioned but ultimately too curious Judith. Though possessing an admirably attractive voice, her true strength lies in her ability to perform. Luminous, wide eyes explored the then brightly-lit walls of the duke’s castle, marred by the offending glow of gushing blood. Teasing fascination with a mild air of consternation, she skillfully balanced these seemingly oppositional emotions while maintaining a kind of endearing charm only thought to be summoned by naiveté.

Smith was absolutely dazzling as the agonized Bluebeard. A grand and brilliant bass, he added an uncommon touch of sympathy for the villain. Tortured and visibly sensitive, his Bluebeard simultaneously roused ire and compassion. He grinned menacingly as his eyes beheld his blood-stained walls, almost mockingly asking his paramour if she was afraid. Then he held her tenderly and begged her not to pursue his undoing – to stay away from the darkest recesses of his mind, his past – to simply love him.

But the shady corridors were far too enticing and not even the continued pleading of her enchanting, raven-haired companion was enough for Judith to avoid her fate.

In the grim shadows of the deepest  alcoves of the mind, we hide the secrets and the keys to our vulnerabilities.

Is love enough to save us?

Photos courtesy of Eric Hazard.

At times deeply moving, sad and confusing as to the events which occurred, the film shows that Tillman’s death needed to be corrected before his life story could be properly told.

The All-American football player, Tillman played for the Arizona Cardinals and suddenly, and without a public explanation, he left his NFL contract to join the army in 2002. In 2004 he was killed by fratricide (friendly fire), and thus sparked off a story from the army and the government which would turn out to be partly fabricated, incomplete and generally dishonest. In the documentary, we hear from his mother, brothers, father and some of the men he fought next to in Afghanistan and Iraq. The footage of Tillman’s memorial is gut-wrenching, as his brother speaks about him and tries to hold it together, failing miserably. Even though there are sad moments, the majority of the film will leave the audience curious to hear what really happened that day in Afghanistan, and to what lengths the government went to in covering it up.

The interviews have sincerity to them, especially when it comes to Tillman’s family who seem to have been there and back with the pain, suffering and frustration that stemmed from his death.

Tillman’s death was first reported to his family with very little detail from the army, except that his convoy was ambushed, and in the mix, he was killed by friendly fire. As Tillman’s mother digs through the piles of documents the family was given, she starts to uncover that there was more to the story. The murky account given which questions whether the convoy was even attacked at all is connected to the government’s desperate attempt to garner public support for the war in the Middle East, using him as a symbol for the government’s own political goals and purposes at that time.

Tillman’s mother shows her persistence over the years to find out the real story of his demise, and it is a testament to her love for her son and is truly touching and heartbreaking to see.

The overwhelming sentiment of the film is that Tillman was generally just a decent well-grounded guy, and good hearted to boot. Despite his sports-centered life, he was also well read and intelligent, good looking and cared immensely for his family. He married his high school sweetheart, had an affinity for risk taking that played a part in his football career and enlistment in the army. It seems the documentary is painting an unrealistic picture of an all-around perfect guy, but his family insists he also had flaws, even though they never spell out exactly what these were.

The closing scenes of the film show just how far the government will go with their attempts to not admit fault in any way for Tillman’s death or their cover-up attempts. There is a cringe-worthy court scene that will not long be forgotten which captures the true impossibility of trying to get the government to rectify their disrespect for Tillman as a man and a soldier. It is frustrating and infuriating to watch, and ultimately, the story of his death never gets complete clarity and explanation. Even though the details are never totally sorted, his family seems to get some closure by paying tribute to Tillman as the real person he was, instead of the political symbol and patriotic idol that the government and the U.S. citizens tried to turn him into.

However, the past few DVDs they’ve released have been a bit different, featuring only the matches and barely any back story.

In the case of the new “History of the Intercontinental Title” release:

These matches speak volumes, all by themselves.

Encompassing nearly 30 years of excellent matches, this collection is a must own for any hardcore wrestling fan, as it encompasses some of the best action in the history of the industry and does so for the modest price of $24.99.

In these tough economic times and an era where the sport lacks the same captivating content it used to, you’re not going to get a better package for that much money.

With so many matches and over nine hours of content overall, there is simply something for every type of wrestling fan on this three-disc set.

Seeing matches between Don Muraco and Pedro Morales may take some time to get used to for younger fans, but those who are patient will understand why some of the older battles were and still are nearly as influential as those between Scott Hall and Shawn Michaels. Other matches between HHH and Ric Flair may not have been huge when they were first announced, but watching them now is a testament to the overall weight the title carries in the industry and a great way of filling out the collection without adding any fluff.

Sure, some of the matches have been released on other documentaries by the company and a few aren’t nearly as stellar as some of the marque matches like the Bret Hart and British Bulldog epic, but overall, the package is filled with quality action from start to finish, making it hard to put down once you get started.

In the end, regardless of how many matches you loved- and there will be more than a few, you’ll understand how important the Intercontinental title is to the WWE and the sport itself, making the compilation a wild and undeniable success.

“Trickster Online,” a Korean mmorpg developed by Ntreev in North America during 2006. “Trickster” is fully packed with all sorts of activities from socializing, p2p fights, grinding, item hunting, boss hunting and quests. Despite the game’s narrow and vague storyline, it is filled with hours of fun which requires no understanding of the story whatsoever.

When starting the game, one will notice the graphics are  anime-like and don’t compare to console games and other mmorpgs with advanced developed graphics, such as “World of Warcraft.” However, “Trickster Online’s” graphics are decent and common amongst many mmorpgs such as “MapleStory” and “Ragnarok Online” that appeal to children and younger teenagers. Noticing this, the game throughout is quite smooth. It gives the player a 2D isometric perspective, and is controlled by the click of a mouse to navigate maps. Other actions including healing, attacking and casting skills, requires keyboard usage and/or the use of a mouse; whatever suits the player.

“Trickster Online’s” broad world map gives a player various places to explore, although many are limited to certain levels, and some may also have stronger monsters wandering around. Nevertheless, with its fully colorful gaming environment, players could enter yellow sanded beaches to exquisite rose gardens, to dark muddy swamp dungeons and heated boiling lands bursting with lakes of lava. Each area provides matching background whether it’s dark and mysterious, sunny and playful, or peaceful and calm.

The music is relaxing, but being that they are in a loop, they could easily be disabled in the game settings if a player finds it annoying. Regardless, sound quality in “Trickster” is clear and any sounds can be adjusted or disabled.

Every different area is joined by a single map with a “gate” and “town” to allow players to relax from the game, restock on items and talk to NPCs.

Many new players may find difficulties in choosing a character, since each class and gender has a specific build and it must be followed correctly to ensure the character’s full potential of power. Each class also starts out as a beginner, later progressing into first job, second and finally third job. The higher the level of a player is, the more difficult the quests and monsters become.

“Trickster” is known for its unique skill for all classes, which is the ability to drill, widely depicted in the game’s images and advertisements. Drilling is one of the most used skills given by default to all classes to find quest items, equipment, gain small amounts of experience and widely used for events such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July.

The mmorpg’s gaming community is friendly and helpful. The game provides an “angel” system where newbies can ask questions and advanced players would answer. While there’s a small amount of spammers and rude players, most of them are ignored by others and quietly reported to GMs. However, scamming is quite common, because players engage in the famous “real-money-fake-money-trade”; which is not recommended because it’s risky.

Being that level 400 is the highest a player can get to, they have a ton of time exploring different areas, opening a shop to sell items, forming or joining guilds, drilling for rare items, modifying weapons, acquiring new skills, decorating a home, card battling and much more.

Unfortunately, “Trickster Online” has trouble working on Windows Vista for many users, and it also does not work at all on Windows 7. The game is a rather large file and does require a lot of memory to run. Though it stated the minimum requirements on the main site, it isn’t enough to run the game smoothly with old computers. It also has issues updating occasionally and has random errors during game play. On the more hysterical side, the game has many typos and grammatical errors on places such as the NPC dialogues and item description windows.

Overall, “Trickster Online” is still an entertaining mmorpg for all ages and it updates so often that there is always something new to look forward to all the time.

That doesn’t mean that this film is worth seeing however.

Just like the curse that ruins the life of Lawrence Talbot [Benicio Del Toro], this film leaves you howling like an animal in disgust after you exit the theater. In spite of creepy sound effects, excellent cinematography and special effects and overall good performances by Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt, The Wolfman’s plot is the opposite, turning what could have been this decade’s answer to “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” into something along the lines of another “Van Helsing.”

After about 30 minutes of this flick, if you’ve followed along close enough, you know exactly what’s going to happen as far as the main plot line. It doesn’t matter if Hopkins and Blunt are on their A-games and if Hugo Weaving is solid in a supporting role either- things are pretty obvious and flat after a nice start. After that initial glimmer has faded and the originally captivating shots of the moon and brilliant dialogue of Hopkins has run its course, you’re left with a predictable thriller that can’t be saved, regardless of the amount of blood and well-done special effects it has sprinkled throughout.

Del Toro, while convincing and somewhat menacing at times, gets worse as the film goes on, with several lines that border on the Hayden Christensen level of Velveeta. As the star of this thing, Del Toro needed more than what he gave on-screen and is one of the big reasons why the film merely growls, rather than bites. He’s not exactly horrible here, but he’s far from captivating. The same thing goes for the script, which originally is eery and dark, before heading down the cookie cutter isle in search for extra ingredients to finish up, slowly, but surely playing its part in nearly ruining every actors’ performance.

Even though the ambiance created by the lighting and special effects will keep you in your seat, it gets to the point where they too, miss the mark. Sudden and rushed, the last act of “The Wolf Man” is a bore and regardless of your affinity for monster tales, you may find yourself drooling from the mouth like a rabid dog, angrily waiting for something to happen.

Once it does though, you won’t be satisfied and may look to take your frustration out on the person in the next seat.

Producing a fighting scene that lacks the type of brutality that you would expect from a film such as this and the ending in general is lackluster and poorly executed, “The Wolfman” needed to be put to sleep much sooner. Even worse, the questions that remain are easily answered and again, lack the type of shock and awe you’d expect from a horror/thriller, making for something mediocre and derivative when it’s all said and done.

Special effects and blood don’t make up for a lackluster plot and “The Wolfman” ultimately proves that. Having the look and feel of a monster flick, just without the smarts and intrigue to back it up, it’s a passable offering that will cater to those who insist on going to cinema, rather than those who expect more than a few shrills and shrieks for their hard-earned money.

Opera, on the other hand, makes no such mistakes. As the birthplace and springboard of numerous, iconic tragic couples, it instead embraces and even augments it. Is true love seldom tragic? Perhaps, perhaps not; but the torrent tales of tumultuous and traitorous trysts – of trying times and tender tears – top the table of topics at the theatre.

In the two weeks surrounding Saint Valentine’s Day, Opera Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Inc. seeks to celebrate this proud tradition of love and loss by presenting a festival of One-Act performances, dedicated to lovers thwarted by fate to stay apart, as well as the maddening might of all-encompassing amour.

Dido and Aeneas

Though often imitated in other media, the tragic figure of Dido (or Elissa, as she is often called) – queen of Carthage – leaves little question on her place in the hierarchy of romantically woeful leading ladies. Statuesque and obdurately proud, the ancient monarch consistently and mercilessly continues to invade screens, pages and even titles of various works of art, though her first and most famous mention is arguably by the Roman poet Virgil.

Still vulnerable from the death of her husband, she reluctantly falls in love with Aeneas, a hero from the recently fallen Troy. Unfortunately, the latter is destined to found Rome and – at the persistent prodding of the gods – must then leave his preferred paramour, a betrayal that ultimately leads to her suicide.

In the late seventeenth century, Henry Purcell wrote an opera commemorating the perished pair based on an earlier play by Christopher Marlowe. Though the differences between Purcell’s dramatic score and Virgil’s original text are considerable, the shattering impact of the performance by the respective talents at Opera Manhattan Repertory Theatre, Inc., directed by Erin Smiley, was nearly as intense.

A tragically somber overture – performed by musical director Emily Leather – marked the remaining tone for the opera. It began with a solemn Dido (Elspeth Davis) lamenting her growing affection for Aeneas (Vaughn Lindquist), though she was nearly immediately relieved by her handmaiden, Belinda (Laura Strickling), and the rest of her court.

As the two grew closer, surrounding intrigue ultimately sealed their fate and led to the awaited conclusion, with stalwart Dido withering at her funeral pyre as she watched her lover’s ship disappear in the horizon.

Instead of legitimate divine intervention, however, the role of romantic meddler was given to the local sorceress (Tyler Wayne Smith) and her two helper witches (Carina Zabrodsky, Sina Lewis), who sought to take down the entire city of Carthage through its erstwhile susceptible leader, in one of the most engaging numbers in the production, as the three cackle, “Elissa dies tonight, and Carthage flames tomorrow.”

A devastatingly fearsome counter-tenor, Smith was utterly fantastic in the role of the sorceress. Possessing a decadent elegance, as well as a rich and commanding voice, he cast little doubt of his ability to hypnotize not just the hero – but a vast variety of audience members, as well.

Strickling was utterly charming as the bubbly Belinda, with engaging, expressive eyes and a delightful trill, and Lindquist held a commendable air of passion as the tortured Aeneas.

Pure strength of vocals for the performance undeniably went to Davis, whose Dido was a tragic, powerful force as the ancient heroine. Her eyes alight with a wistful sorrow at her conclusive aria; she left a profoundly devastating impact through the infectious sadness of her forlorn form and the admirably ardent timbre of her gorgeous voice.

As the weary mezzo-soprano sang “Remember me; forget my fate,” a cloud of irony settled on the stage, as the truth of those first two words would surely settle in her future.

The night of lovelorn festivities did not end with “Dido and Aeneas,” however. Stay tuned for reviews of “Erwartung” and “Bluebeard’s Castle.”

Photo courtesy of Eric Hazard.

WiiWare

Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney®: JUSTICE FOR ALL
Publisher: Capcom Entertainment, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™

Description: Phoenix Wright is back as the second game in the popular Ace Attorney hand-held franchise comes to the WiiWare service. As Phoenix Wright, you’ll play through four shocking new cases in first-person perspective. The game features two unique game play modes. In Investigations Mode, you’ll survey crime scenes, interview witnesses and gather evidence. You’ll then present findings, listen to testimonials and examine witnesses in Court Mode. JUSTICE FOR ALL also includes a new “Psyche-Lock” feature that allows Phoenix to use a line of questioning to reveal inconsistencies in witness testimony.

Art of Balance

Publisher: Shin’en Multimedia
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points

Description: Grab your Wii Remote™ controller and build a balanced stack in this physics-based puzzler, featuring 100 levels that challenge not only your skills but also your imagination. The game is easy to pick up and hard to put away. Play alone or invite a friend to grab a second Wii Remote controller and drop in at any point for co-op play. There’s even a dedicated two-player split-screen “versus” mode for extra fun.

WarMen Tactics

Publisher: CALARIS
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Blood, Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points

Description: In the year 2013, civil unrest across the globe has prompted world leaders to merge the police and military into a single force called the Department of Control. This force is opposed by a resistance made up of former military members who refused to join the Department. Marco is one of them, and the game tells his story. Join Marco as he is deployed on a mission to destroy scrambler devices placed around the city. Created to reflect the realities of urban warfare, the game requires players to take cover behind walls and other obstacles as they strive to defeat enemies and advance to the next post.

Nintendo DSiWare

Spotto!

Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™

Description: Meet Spotto, a plucky duck on a mission. Ill-behaved ghosts have kidnapped Chikkie Wowwow, President Wowwow’s daughter. Spotto, being the world’s foremost Bombirdier, must follow these ghosts to a haunted house and use his trusty bombs to blast the baddies. Take control of Spotto, adjusting his aim with the stylus and trying to toss bombs into the ghosts’ mouths in 50 “explosive” stages. Along the way, you’ll avoid obstacles (or use them to your advantage), find powerful Super Bombs to inflict even more damage and even encounter a frighteningly large ghost or two. With multiple modes of play and numerous solutions for successfully blasting ghosts to pieces, this is one haunted house you’ll want to visit often.

Spaceball: Revolution

Publisher: Virtual Toys
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: Spaceball: Revolution will put your intelligence and skill to the test as you solve puzzles in a futuristic environment. Copy the figures that appear on the top screen, using energy balls that make the boxes correctly change color. It won’t be an easy task. Different obstacles will be thrown into your path, challenging you to polish your aim and think rapidly. Fifteen different levels are waiting for you in Spaceball: Revolution. Are you up to the challenge?

Scrabble Classic

Publisher: Electronic Arts
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: Scrabble, one of the world’s most popular board games, is enjoying a tremendous surge in popularity, both online and in the real world. Scrabble for the Nintendo DSiWare service allows you to play this exciting game in both Single Player and Multi-Player modes.

Real Soccer 2010

Publisher: Gameloft
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: Real Soccer is back for the most exciting season yet. Choose from more teams than ever before and compete in new stadiums around the world. Lead your team to victory on the field and make tactical decisions as the coach.

Prehistorik Man

Publisher: Interplay
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points

Description: Life is hard for Sam the Prehistorik Man. With three-and-a-half hours of work each week, there’s barely time to fit in all the sleeping, eating and cave-painting that needs to be done. When greedy dinosaurs guzzle his village’s winter food source, Sam gets mad. Armed with his best club and his powerful hunter’s voice, Sam needs your help to proceed through 22 levels of food-gathering and dinosaur-bashing. With fast-paced action, hundreds of secret areas, weapons and unlikely vehicles to find, you’ll need to be smart. Well…smarter than Sam, anyway.

Virtual Console

Sonic & Knuckles

Original platform: SEGA Genesis
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points

Description: Sonic, the world’s fastest hedgehog, continues his adventures in this fourth installment of the Sonic The Hedgehog™ series. This time, he buddies up with his former enemy, Knuckles the Echidna, in order to defeat the evil Dr. Eggman (a.k.a. Dr. Robotnik). At the end of Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Dr. Eggman’s ultimate orbital weapon for global domination, the Death Egg, was badly damaged in an epic battle with Sonic. The Death Egg, losing power rapidly, hurtled back down to the planet below and crash-landed on the mysterious Angel Island again. Now Sonic and Knuckles must put a stop to Dr. Eggman once and for all before Eggman and his no-goodniks find the secret to Angel Island’s floating power, the Master Emerald. This game features Lock-On Technology, which allows you to play as Knuckles in other Sonic titles available for the Virtual Console, including Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Sonic The Hedgehog 3, as long as these titles are part of your Virtual Console library.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi™ Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

Of course this wouldn’t be a job for the Winchesters is some angels aren’t involved. It seems that all the hearts of the victims have Enochian markings from a rogue cherub. It gives a whole new meaning to the term marked for death. However, it goes deeper than that. The horseman Famine has come to this small town to exacerbate the hungers of it residents and feed on them once they have expired. You won’t believe what he looks like.

Meanwhile the hunger has affected our team in various ways. Sam craves demon blood and Castiel the angel with no need for sustenance becomes “the hamburgler.” But what about Dean? Just what is it that he hungers for? What’s more the plan to retrieve Famine’s ring is less than fool-proof. (In a previous episode that guest-starred the horseman War, Sam and Dean worked in tandem to defeat him. Apparently the power is in the ring. This plot within a plot will have a definite impact on the apocalypse. If the Winchester boys have all four rings will the shift in power go to them?)

This episode is in part a commentary on the greed of consumerism. But more than that it’s how Dean never gives up. Ultimately his despair and Sam’s addiction will be their saving grace.

Later on while Sam detoxes, Dean feels the hopelessness that Famine spoke of and finally asks for help. Will it be answered? You’ll have to wait until March 25 to find out.

In this trade, Lieutenant David Grey has a problem. While investigating a crime, he is attacked by the “Walkers” – green, demon-like creatures who steal his soul at the command of their leader, “The Other Guy.” To retrieve it, he has to walk from Los Angeles to New York – yes, walk. On this journey, he is guided by Laurel, an angel-type creature in the form of a woman who has been in an ongoing battle with The Other Guy for decades. Then there is Lazarus, who is still waiting for Jesus. The Walkers fear him, and he is protected by an entity with a sword that is continuously on fire.

Along the way, we find out who these characters are, and why Laurel is in this eternal struggle. There’s also a tiny window of opportunity left for Grey not to turn into one of the Walkers. It’s a fascinating take on the “everyman journey.”

On their walk, Grey and Laurel encounter several “invisible ones” – people who have never met their full potential, to the point where they are no longer seen. Essentially, they have disappeared. As you listen to their stories, you are met with a heavy-handed account of why people need to stay connected. But just when you think the storyline is getting obvious, a twist comes about. As The Other Guy says in the climax of the series, “I certainly didn’t see that coming.”

You can have your pick of religious allegory in “Midnight Nation.” From the struggle to discover what it means to have a soul, to living with past regrets, to finally finding out what it means to sacrifice what you thought was important are many themes that come up in this trade paperback. There’s also a one-shot that makes you wish this comic hadn’t run for only 12 issues. It furthers the themes set in the two-year series, but it’s not as dogmatic.

The artwork of Gary Frank et al. emphasizes the ideas presented in Straczynski’s text. His use of shadow and light are like a well done music score. There are also several posters in the back that are snapshots to the dramatic journey that Grey and Laurel are on.

Now that his run on “Thor” is over and he has moved to DC Comics, it’s a good idea to see Straczynski’s past work. Good writing is always a joy to reread.

Though officially listed as alternative rock/pop, this particular release definitely caters more toward the latter, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Creating an unexpected experience, Jag Star mixes happy melodies with relatively deep lyrics, providing an unorthodox – though welcome – pedestal for the up-and-coming back to stand on.

Its first track, “Talk to Me” is a bold, yet sensitive, effort to gain the trust of an emotionally scarred partner. Wary of romance and all forms of emotional attachment, the silent interlocutor shies away from Lewis’ persistent embrace, but she urges him to find the courage to love again. The opening riff immediately sends a familiar comfort to the listener, evoking images of cinematic, blissful reunions.

As the lyrics begin, she croons: “Talk to me/candidly/set all of your secrets free/open up/let me in/I will bring you back again.” As the song reaches its crescendo, she reveals surprisingly attractive and heartfelt vocals, ultimately cementing the sheer strength of this number.

The best aspect of Lewis’ performance deals with her power of expressionism; instead of simply flaunting her vocal prowess, she fully articulates each intricate emotion within her rather large repertoire. Her voice may not be remarkably strong, but it is pleasant to the ear, possessing a kindly innocence that makes her work so disarming.

While the music is mindlessly catchy, the lyrics often catch the listener off-guard in their depth, showcasing a certain level of incongruence with the melody. Surprisingly enough, it works.

A particularly charming number is entitled “Sofie,” about a mother singing to her beloved daughter. “Sofie, Sofie/Cupid’s arrow shot right through me,” she softly exclaims, with samples of a child’s cooing in the background. While the inspirational words at the beginning of the song may seem cliché, they are enveloped in the realization of Sofie’s naiveté. A newborn has absolutely no idea that the world goes by fast, or that she must smell the flowers at every opportunity to embrace life. All of these highly overdone ideas are fresh and new and extraordinarily useful; and, as such, appear in this light on “Sofie.”

“Pressure,” Static Bliss’ first video release, is a decidedly danceable beat, not at all matching the harried lyrics – a matter which isn’t necessarily a problem. “Can’t Make You Happy” grows more somber in tone, and Lewis appropriately loses some of the brightness in hers.

The album loses some of its bliss-pop in “Rewind,” a harsher and overall heavier number about regretting one’s behavior in relationship. Lewis experiments with voice tricks here, alternating between use of her head and chest registers. Overall, this is one of Static Bliss’ stronger pieces.

It continues with “A Different Road,” another number about the necessity of ending a relationship.

Unfortunately, after that, the album’s quality begins to diminish, with the exception of “Don’t Go Away,” if only because it doesn’t sound like any other song on the collection. It contains greater use of guitar than the other numbers, and at times possesses a haunting feel.

Though the lyrics on Jag Star’s latest release are commendable, the musicianship is only mediocre, which is perfectly acceptable. Pop never claimed to be Led Zeppelin, The Count Basie Orchestra or Jimi Hendrix. For its intentions, it’s perfectly successful.

So next time you’re craving something irresistibly sweet, nix the calories and grab some Static Bliss. The hours of engaging and uninterrupted dancing will leave a gloriously grateful waistline.

Check out Review Fix Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr’s exclusive interview with recording artist Jason Yates before he performed at the Bowery Ballroom with Ben Harper and Citizen Cope on Friday night.

Jason Yates 2-12 Bowery Ballroom

You can also check out some of Yates’s music on his myspace page here.

Photo by Nick Valente.

Still, at least they knew how to take a premise and run with it, which is more than can be said for a movie like this. Although “The House of the Devil” depends on a setup that looks promising enough, no one here seems to know the first thing about dramatic tension – instead of keeping things moving with some kind of conflict, everybody just waits for something interesting to happen, as if they were pawns hoping for somebody to come along and push them around.

The funny thing is that for as scary as the title makes the house sound, the movie’s most uninspired moments take place there. Our heroine, a college student named Samantha (Jocelin Donahue), shows up there one evening for a babysitting job, which she takes to earn the down payment she needs to secure her new apartment. She assures her friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) that it’ll be a cinch, but when she’s greeted at the door by Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan), who says he wants her to watch over his mother instead of the kid she’d expected, it takes a little more money to convince her to stick around.

With Mr. Ulman’s mother asleep in her bedroom upstairs, Samantha finds herself with lots of time on her hands, which she passes with a bunch of mundane activities. Not that shooting pool or watching TV is no fun, but you’d think that staying in a house inhabited by Satan would be enough to keep any babysitter’s hands full, particularly on a night when there’s a lunar eclipse to worry about.

Part of the problem here is that we see everything from her point of view, which doesn’t give us much material to work with. Because the bad guys are more or less absent until the eclipse comes around, there’s a nagging lack of expository dialogue, requiring us to learn everything from empirical evidence. Sure, nuance has become a lost art in horror films, but faith in our ability to fill in the blanks can only be taken so far.

You’ve got to admit, though, that art on the DVD cover looks pretty cool, kind of like something that might’ve stared at you from an old video-store shelf. As a matter of fact, there’s a very good chance of finding a copy there now, and although someone’s bound to rent it sooner or later, it doesn’t seem likely that whoever takes it out will get charged with a late fee.

In this first book of four, Odd leaves an impression on the reader and ends the novel with high inspiration and a plot twist that perfects the tale. It is a wonderful and quick read with just enough humor to make characters such as Odd and his girlfriend, Stormy, a part of your family.

The hype for “Odd Thomas” was warranted and created a sneaky surprise when the sequel was spit out for Koontz subscribers. “Forever Odd” fell an Empire State Building in length short of its predecessor, though it did keep Odd intact. The character is easy to love. The novel however, is not. It’s a bit of a stretch, so maybe stretching the deadline for Koontz to create it might have kept it somewhere within the bounds of considerably corny.

Odd’s sidekick superhero is a brittle boy who breaks bones by coughing, yet he and Odd somehow overcome their Koontz M.O. sociopaths. Odd and Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll, are the only characters that captivate you. If you’ve read the first book, then you may have grown to love Elvis too, just not enough to keep him around much longer. Elvis Presley, the inventor of “Uh huh,” the karate kicking military man who once captured our country comes back as Casper the friendly ghost in these Koontz chapters.

“Forever Odd” couldn’t compare in any way shape or form to the first book, but it still wouldn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth until the third book emerged from the sewage as a toxic waste of time. Odd Thomas may well have been any other Koontz character like the dog from “Dragon Tears” or Junior Cain from “The Corner of His Eye.”

The sequel was unnecessary punishment. Odd’s supernatural ability became boring and repetitive. The storyline was randomly weak and just like “Forever Odd,” its “Brother Odd” would keep the streak of decline going.

“Monastery Odd” didn’t complete a trilogy; it began a tragedy. If Koontz truly meant for it to be “Forever Odd,” he wouldn’t have killed the creativity, leaving the poltergeist peeper character with only “dead” originality as its only friend.

In spite of all of this, Koontz sticks to this style enough so that you pretty much get what you knew was coming. Not that it’s a bad thing, but he created a masterpiece in the original “Odd Thomas” that could have been legendary if he had for once stepped out of his comfort zone.

Instead you get a bunch of sequels for the boy who sees ghosts.

“Fringe” is about parallel universes; you wouldn’t know that from watching nine out of 10of the episodes, but that’s what it is about. The knowledge of how to cross between the parallel universes is why Walter was in a mental institution for so many years, and is the lovable mad scientist he is. They are why Walter and William Bell experimented on Oliva, amongst others, as a child, which in turn made her the fearless FBI agent she is. The opening of an alternate world is the reason Peter exists in the show.

Finally, in “Jacksonville,” we get back to the engrossing mythos in the “Fringe” universe.

For the first time we get a glimpse of what the other side is like. It looks pretty much like the world we know, although it seems that real coffee is a scarcity and Manhattan is only spelled with one “t” (either that or “Manhatan” was an embarrassing typo). What’s strange is the earthquake tremors that have been going on recently. Apparently, on the other side, Manhattan has been having some strange seismic activity. After these little tremors, the big one comes and wrecks the whole building. Being “Fringe,” these tremors aren’t natural, but all part of a plan.

Back on our side, Fringe division is called in to investigate what happened. When they get in the building, they see all these people dead, but many fused together. The lone survivor, Ted (Jim True-Frost, “The Wire”), wakes up to find himself with more limbs than anyone has. Looking around, Walter finds blueprints to rebuilding to Pentagon, and before Ted expires, Walter asks him what buildings were attacked on 9/11, to which he responds “the Pentagon and The White House.” Walter then looks underneath Ted’s shirt only to find another head.

Those little earthquakes weren’t earthquakes, but the opening of a gate to the other universe. In that office building, the two worlds collided.

After realizing what had happened, Walter remembers the experiments he and Bell did when they were younger. What Walter remembers is that when an object is transferred from one world to the other, an object of equal mass must return for the universes to stay equal. Now aware that a building will soon disappear from their world, Walter knows the only person who could spot that building would be Olivia.

Having been the only successful subject in Walter and Bell’s house of horrors all those years ago, as a child, Olivia demonstrated the ability to see objects from the other side by seeing them glimmer. To regain her ability, Walter takes her and Peter back to his old lab in Jacksonville to pick up where he left off.

For the first time in months, Olivia actually feels like the main character of the show, which is refreshing since she is supposedly the only one who could stop the impending catastrophe. There’s finally some added dimension to the character, as we learn a little more about Olivia’s childhood encounter with Walter and William Bell and that experience has shaped her into the person she has become.

Strangely, perhaps the biggest moment in the episode was a little side-note by Walter when opening the lock to his lab in Jacksonville. The combination Walter and Bell always used was 5-20-10, but Walter couldn’t remember the specific reason.

“Fringe” comes back on April first with eight straight episodes which means the finale is on May 20, 2010.

Everything just feels right in episodes like this. The plot, the glimpses into the past and the ominous moments are so refreshing compared to the standalone episodes which don’t answer questions or even ask them.

The return to the “Fringe” mythos is always a good thing, and the few episodes that do deal with the overall storyline are some of the best hours of television you can watch. “Jacksonville” is no exception, and we can only hope the final eight episodes fulfill our “Fringe” fix.

In “Rabbot Redux,” Aqua Teen not only accomplishes this feat, it creates one of the best episodes in recent memory, making no qualms along the way. If you needed any convincing before, you won’t need it after watching this episode.

The boys are back in town.

Getting back to basics, the premiere is all about the gang of Frylock, Meatwad and Master Shake starting a new life in a different house, that ironically is on the other side of their long-time neighbor, Carl. However, in spite of this, this episode is more of a return to the type of scenarios and comedy that made the show a cult-hit.

Simply put, if you were a huge fan of the first few seasons of this show, it was mainly due to Master Shake’s abuse of poor Meatwad, with Frylock being stuck in the middle to pick up the pieces. There were no vampire landlords or former New York Giants offensive linemen; it was just the trio with Carl thrown in for added humor. This episode adheres to that formula with the type of perfection that hasn’t been seen from the likes of series creators Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro in quite some time.

After watching the first half of the show and seeing Shake back to his old tricks and Meatwad showing that he’s smarter than he looks, you feel that reconnect with characters that hasn’t been there in a while. As a result, you also find yourself laughing, a lot. The bathroom scene by itself is worth watching the episode, but the rock-paper-scissors scandal later is the type of witty and energetic humor that made it what it was.

In the immortal words of singer John Sebastian, “Welcome Back.”

You were missed.

Starting Feb. 14, Nintendo’s iconic Wii Remote™ controllers will be available in both Pink and Blue. The new colors come bundled with a Wii MotionPlus™ accessory, which provides the most immersive and accurate motion-controls possible.

Now Wii owners can customize their setup with a different color Wii Remote for every player.

The new controllers are available with the included Wii MotionPlus accessory at a suggested retail price of $49.99.

As the yellow team proclaims they “will never pass this way again” and need to take this opportunity they are given. It’s a time where they are taught how to handle their food intake from the athletes’ nutritionists. Essentially do you want to be a sumo wrestler or a skier? The contestants must make the right choices. Having said that, there are some who would have had the chocolate cake instead of the sugar-free gum Bob offered Sunshine.

Then there is the Grey team who still can’t get over the Brown team (John) exiting the show last week. They need to get it together this week or they could go home. For Koli that means not running away from a challenge. For all the contestants it means circuit training with some of the gold-medal winning winter athletes. The workouts are insane as Jillian gives the athletes free reign “to punish them.” Oh yes we cannot forget the altitude – it’s more challenging to someone who’s morbidly obese when it feels as if you have a small child pressing on your chest and your back.

There is a mini-challenge that leads up to the big one. Consider it the contestants Olympic trials where they speed skate. The producers definitely threw this in for entertainment value as Allison Sweeney (host of “The Biggest Loser”) points out that “there’s a learning curve” to the exercise. Let’s remember that the contestants are now competing as individuals and the altitude is still a factor.

The major challenge is a biathlon where contestants will run around a field and take a shot at a target. The mini challenge comes back to haunt the “winners” as a new twist is added. The challenge is demonstrated by a Para-Olympian – who has one arm. One thing about “The Biggest Loser” is that it’s a show that challenges you to be better than you once were. And this is one challenge where the contestants fight for immunity with strong conviction and determination.

As usual the last chance workout is insane as the boot camp workout in Colorado is followed by a real workout back at the ranch. This is followed by a tension riddled weigh-in as Allison reminds the contestants of the rules and just how many people are being sent home. Of course there is yet another twist as the two contestants who are under the yellow line are met with one more challenge in order for them to stay. It’s definitely a torch burner.

Who will win the challenge to stay on the ranch? Stay tuned the Tuesday after the Olympics as yet another twist is implemented in this competition.

The project discusses and questions the relationship that African-Americans have with their ancestry and what, if anything, they may owe to themselves and the community. Essentially, this volume further explores the ongoing reflections of the rainbow that makes up black America.

Upon entering The Paley Center, you are met with the documentary and portraits of the people who were featured in Volume II of “The Black List.” The photographs, done by Greenfield-Sanders, reveal an inner strength, particularly in the hands of his subjects. Whether hidden or displayed, the characteristics of power and determination are there as much as in their facial expressions and physical stances.

As the night went on, Elvis Mitchell moderated the events. With humorous-wit, he introduced a compilation of the first two installments, followed by the featured presentation of volume III of “The Black List.” The 11-minute montage emphasized the vision of this project. On running for the highest political office in the U.S., Sharpton – realizing he had no chance of winning – knew that his being a part of the process meant that society “couldn’t control the debate.” And novelist Toni Morrison discussed, on a personal level, what it meant to have something of your own where she described “Writing [as] the only free place” – essentially, creating a sphere in which you are in control.

Finally, “The Black List Volume III” began, as it “chronicles the lives of African-American achievers in their own words.” In “redefining the black list,” several new voices continued the conversation. It began with John Legend and his relationship with Gospel music, God and what faith means when you’re a black man singing what is perceived as secular music.

Other highlights included actor Hill Harper who asked the question: “What does your heart say?” As someone who went to law school with President Obama, it’s a loaded question for a black man to ask. However, the most powerful interviews (unobtrusively done by Mitchell) were of president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, Dr. Michael Lomax and film director Lee Daniels.

Lomax’s life led him to “pursue power.” His mother, Almena Lomax (a journalist who created her own paper after being frustrated with the newspaper establishment), was a whirlwind as she uprooted her family from a comfortable life in California to the segregated south. Her writing, while it did not win Pulitzers, helped define the voice of the fight for civil rights. She was one of the few women of color who wrote about the atrocities that occurred during this time period with an authoritative and authentic voice.

Though he did not have the final say in this truncated volume (the first two are at least an hour long), Lee Daniels (“Shadowboxer” and “Precious”) talks about what it means to be a gay, black man in America. His telling of walking into a clinic and seeing a sea of black women further propels his mission to “try to tell stories about us.” Appropriately, Whoopi Goldberg was the last to be shown. She said it best: “I am representing; I’m here.”

After the viewing a forum involving co-founder and president of The Center for the Advancement of Women, Faye Wattleton (volume I), Dr. Lomax, Greenfield-Sanders and Mitchell was held to further discuss the ideas brought up in the documentary. The panel went into depth about how “African-Americans have a wide range of experiences,” the “residual damage of segregation,” and the “Cultural identity that is needed for the cohesion of a group.” It made for stimulating conversation.

Just how important is “The Black List?” In a country that has a president of biracial-heritage who identifies himself as a black man and the continuous role of African-American women in non-traditional roles, Dr. Lomax says it best: “The Black List gives diversity in a contemporary setting.” This includes everyone, not just blacks, in the conversation.

Should you see this film? Yes; not for the historical context or because it’s Black History Month, but because you’ll be enriched from the experience.

Sully Erna from Godsmack says: “Fasten your seatbelts baby, here comes Godsmack!  I can’t WAIT to get to Columbus for what will be the best Rock On The Range yet! Godsmack is gonna kick some major *@%*!”

Del Williams, co-executive producer of the event for Right Arm Entertainment, explains: “We designed ROTR 2010 to be the biggest weekend of ROCK at an incredibly low ticket price for the fans affectionately referred to as the ‘Rangers.’  This year’s line-up represents the most compelling mix of bands that we have ever had. Godsmack is one of the most prolific Active Rock bands of all time, and the intrepid Rob Zombie is an unrivaled performer. We are particularly excited about the return of Limp Bizkit, who have been tearing it up at European festivals.  It is time for them to come back to America and remind people why they were at one time one of the biggest bands in the world.”

“In four short years, this festival has become like no other in the United States,” added Joe Litvag, co-executive producer of the festival for AEG Live.  “We’ve been fortunate enough to create something that caters to a very specific music lover, and the fans have become truly rabid for it.  ROCK ON THE RANGE has become the summer destination for an entire nation of rock fans…It’s amazing really.”

Two-day weekend festival passes start at just $99.50.  A special pre-sale for ROCK ON THE RANGE fans will start February 16 and for the first time, fans can buy their tickets this year via a layaway plan.

“The vision of Rock On The Range has always been to provide a premiere rock festival for a very affordable price,” said Mark McCullers, President and General Manager of the Columbus Crew.  “Each year we look for new ways to enhance the fans’ experience.  Two specific improvements for 2010 are an increased viewing area for our fans at the Jägermeister stage and a layaway plan as an additional payment option for our Rock On The Range fans.”

Details of the layaway plan as well as VIP Packages that include festival tickets, hotel accommodations and festival merchandise can be found at www.rockontherange.com. All tickets go on sale February 20 at 10:00 AM (ET) via www.rockontherange.com and www.ticketmaster.com, all local Ticketmaster outlets and at the Crew Stadium box office.

Presented by Right Arm Entertainment, AEG LIVE and Crew Stadium, the two-day, multi-stage music and lifestyle event will feature a potent line-up of more than 38 bands on three stages:  The Monster Energy Mainstage, The Kicker Audio Stage and The Jägermeister Stage.  The nationally renowned festival centrally located in the heart of the country has annually drawn crowds in excess of 30,000 per day since it’s inception in 2007.

The 2010 ROCK ON THE RANGE line-up is as follows:  Godsmack, Rob Zombie, Limp Bizkit, Three Days Grace, Slash, Seether, Rise Against, Deftones, Papa Roach, Theory Of A Deadman, Mastodon, Killswitch Engage, Coheed & Cambria, Bullet for My Valentine, Puddle Of Mudd, Five Finger Death Punch, Apocalyptica, Drowning Pool, Halestorm, Sevendust, Skillet, Mushroomhead, Helmet, Airbourne, Anberlin, Cold, Nonpoint, 2Cents, Adelitas Way, Shaman’s Harvest, Year Long Disaster, Like A Storm, Taddy Porter, Janus, Columbus’ own Noise Auction and more.

WiiWare

BLASTER MASTER OVERDRIVE
Publisher: SUNSOFT
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: BLASTER MASTER OVERDRIVE is an action-adventure game that takes place on an Earth infected by an aggressive, polymorphic virus. Poor, defenseless animals worldwide have been turned into flesh-eating, hemoglobin-swilling terrors. Fortunately, the world has Alex, who happens to be one of the world’s foremost biologists and specializes in viral mutation profiles and genetic manipulation. Every studious biologist facing imminent global annihilation needs a sweet ride, and Alex is no exception. He has S.O.P.H.I.A., a shape-shifting, gas-guzzling, projectile-spewing paean to destruction on four wheels. Things look grim, but with Alex and S.O.P.H.I.A. on the case, the world just might have a chance.

Tomena Sanner
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Businessman Hitoshi Susumu is behind schedule and in quite a rush. In fact, once he starts running, he won’t stop! Dashing past samurais, T-Rexes, cowboys and all manner of wacky obstacles, Mr. Susumu must get to the goal as fast as he can for the ultimate 2-D dance party. Tomena Sanner is a high-speed side-scrolling action game with a unique timing-based control system that’s as challenging as it is fun. As they fly, jump and dance over the many zany obstacles, players need to time their moves to keep their speed up and perform awesome tricks. Using just one button on the Wii Remote™ controller, players of all ages and skill levels will be able to play and help Mr. Susumu get to his goal. Four players can compete to see who is the fastest at running through the bizarre and comical world of Tomena Sanner.

Bloons®
Publisher: Hands-On Mobile
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Bloons is an exciting puzzle game based on the simple fact that popping balloons is fun. Pop your way through dozens of puzzling levels in this exciting puzzle adventure. Each level will have a different arrangement of balloons. Using the darts you’re given, try to pop as many as you can. Look out for special balloons, blocks and darts, and have fun discovering what they do. You can pick up and play for a few minutes or spend hours working your way through the game’s 70 levels. As an added bonus, there’s also a level editor that allows you to create your own balloon puzzles.

Hubert The Teddy Bear Winter Games
Publisher: Teyon
Players: 1-16
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Hubert The Teddy Bear is a party game in which players confront crafty bunnies. Outsmart them in eight winter activities including snow fight, sleigh ride, Christmas tree decoration, fishing, catching a bunny and more. Create a teddy bear and customize it to fit your own style. Choose its name and gender and dress it up by combining elements from plenty of clothes and accessories. Play solo or engage your family and friends by competing in one of the multiplayer modes. As many as 16 players can take part in one competition. Thanks to the balanced levels of difficulty – kid, youngster and adult – everyone can enjoy the game. This collection of casual winter sports provides a new experience for the whole family.

Nintendo DSiWare

Oscar in Movieland
Publisher: Virtual Playground
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Following his Oscar in Toyland escapades, Oscar now plays the leading actor in sensational worlds of hit movies and TV shows. From Sci-Fi to Cartoon, Western to War, Horror to Jurassic and more, this is a game not to be missed. Oscar in Movieland features eye-popping graphics, parallax scrolling backgrounds and fabulous game play. This jump-and-run game is easy to play and packed with hours of fun and nonstop action. Use Wings to Fly, Springy Boots to Jump, and Oscar’s secret weapon – his magical Yo-Yo – to swing on and zap enemies in some of the craziest platform levels you’ll ever play.

Link ‘n’ Launch
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Take your puzzle-solving skills to new heights in Link ‘n’ Launch, a puzzle game in which you must move tiles to create a path that connects fuel to your rocket, blasting it through space. Complete the basic training mode to learn how to play Link ‘n’ Launch, and then buckle in for the ride through the robust Missions and Puzzles modes. Missions mode has you propelling the rocket through space to reach the target planet within a three-minute time limit, while Puzzles mode challenges you to clear all fuel and pipe tiles from the screen. In both modes, not only do you need to create a path to keep your rocket fueled, but you’ll also have to account for immovable tiles and special tiles that upgrade your rocket or give you additional time to complete the level, all while keeping your rocket’s flight path within the established boundaries. The launch countdown has begun – are you prepared?

Fieldrunners
Publisher: Subatomic Studios
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Descend into the world of Fieldrunners, one of the most anticipated and visually stunning games in mobile tower defense history. Defend and control the field with a diverse selection of upgradeable towers, using a wide array of tactics and strategies against countless waves of unique land and air combatants. Enjoy hours of entertainment and replayable challenges. Do you have what it takes to dominate the fieldrunners and rise to the top as the ultimate tower defense master?

Sudoku 4Pockets
Publisher: 4Pockets.com
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Sudoku 4Pockets offers you 3,600 puzzles, and your assistant Kiku will be there to guide you through each of the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced skill levels. The aim of sudoku is to complete a grid of nine-by-nine squares with the numbers 1 through 9 in each square, row and column. As you play, Kiku will guide you: She can tell you if you’ve entered an incorrect number, offer you hints and explain the moves and terms as you play. The simple-to-use number entry makes it easy to select numbers and add possible number candidates to aid your thought process. Whether you’re new to sudoku or an advanced player, you can have fun playing and learning on your quest to become a sudoku master.

Extreme Hangman
Publisher: Gamelion
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: There’s never been a Hangman game like this before! The world’s favorite time-killer game takes an absurdist twist of comical proportions. Taking place in various settings, the game challenges players to save the Hangman from his enemies by guessing hidden words correctly. When players guess incorrectly, he is put one step closer to being shot, strangled, erased or hanged by his enemies. Play a single-player game or challenge your friend to a duel. Extreme Hangman features seven different settings with fun animations, over 2000 words in various categories, and three difficulty levels.

Virtual Console

Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
Original platform: NES
Publisher: Hudson Entertainment
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence, Tobacco Reference
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Featuring a cast of cute characters and an endearing sense of humor, this unique title has gained a dedicated following since its release on the original NES system. The wicked Minister Pumpkin, a nobleman in the Salad Kingdom, has rebelled and kicked King Broccoli off the throne. Worse yet, he has kidnapped Princess Tomato and, with the help of the treacherous Farmies, proceeded to abolish all truth, justice, sweetness and light from the Salad Kingdom. Players take on the role of the brave Sir Cucumber, hero of the kingdom, and set out on a quest to rescue the princess and topple Minister Pumpkin. Progress through multiple locations using set commands (such as MOVE, LOOK and TALK) while winning bouts of Finger Wars (Rock-Paper-Scissors), collecting information and items and heeding helpful clues from your faithful companion, Percy (a persimmon). If you fail, the entire Salad Kingdom will be tossed into frenzy. Sir Cucumber, your princess awaits!

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com.

Trapped between pride and necessity, the single mother laments the need to continue the arduous labor that surrounds her life as a maid, yet fears that without her meager earnings, her children would starve. While Caroline struggles to retain this tragic resolve, her daughter, Emmie (Elyse McKay Taylor) haughtily berates her for her degrading attitude and profession, proclaiming that her mother can teach her how to keep her head low.

“Caroline, or Change” takes place in the fall of 1963 surrounding the political strife during and after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Caroline is an African-American maid to a Jewish family, the Gellmans, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Noah Gellman (Daniel Henri Luttway) has recently lost his mother to cancer and maintains a strong attachment to Caroline as a result, since his departed parent was so fond of the gruff protagonist. Caroline responds by allowing him to light her cigarettes – a clandestine activity shared between the two lost souls, though the youth is much more openly accepting of their strange camaraderie.

Desperate to teach her step-son a lesson about the value of a dollar, Rose (Eileen Tepper) arranges to have all change carelessly left in his clothing prior to the wash for Caroline to keep (at which Caroline initially balks, but later accepts out of necessity). An interesting character, herself, Rose feels for Caroline’s plight and regularly voices a desire to assist her in any way she can, yet consistently mispronounces her name is “Carolyn.” Nervous and suspiciously accommodating, she tiptoes around her interlocutor, providing a subtle impression that she sees her more as a charity case than an equal.

Life after work is not much simpler, as the long bus ride only brings her to another share of problems and unwavering responsibilities. Emmie is becoming increasingly rebellious, and her two younger boys – Joe (River Aguirre) and Jackie (Barrington Walters Jr.) – need dental care. Meanwhile, her long-time friend, Dotty (played by the sweet-voiced Ellisha Marie Thomas) seemingly embodies the social changes surrounding the tumultuous political climate – she attends college at night and wears tidy white socks beneath her shoes, just as the rest of her classmates.

One of the most fantastic aspects of his musical is its many foils. Dotty embraces change and urges Caroline to do the same, which the latter fervently refuses, comfortable in her perpetually swelling bubble of misery. Rose feels the same despair toward Noah emotionally and Caroline does financially toward her own children. Noah feels a buried sadness and loneliness deep in his heart at the loss of his mother; Caroline is just as morose.

At the height of this is the solidifying tension between the two families. Rose feels an enormous amount of guilt as “the employer, the oppressor,” and as a result, none of their interactions carry an ounce of authenticity. She verbally steals around Caroline, though harbors a barrage of withheld resentment for her brusque employee’s attitude.

At the Gellmans’ Hannukah party, Rose’s father, Mr. Stopnick (Bill Weeden), visits from New York City and engages in one of the few truly genuine conversations between the two families. Emmie is a believer in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s peaceful philosophy; he admires her youthful optimism, but claims that no real change can be made without violence, likening the plight of the African-American to that of the Jew.

As the debate between the two grows more ardent, Caroline immediately puts a stop to her daughter’s argument, which Mr. Stopnick laments, claiming that it was his only real conversation since he’s come to the South.

In this respect, “Caroline, or Change” is strange for a musical, in that it is so amazingly profound and complex – an honor generally reserved for straight plays. Fortunately, the respective talents at the Gallery Players, directed by Jeremy Gold Kronenberg, filled these gargantuan shoes with ease, with little surprise that the show was nominated at the coveted New York Innovative Theatre Awards (www.nyitaawards.com).
Duncan is captivating as the woefully conflicted Caroline. Possessing a remarkable ability to convey emotion through her eyes, she bonded to her character so intensely that the notion of simply acting seems unfathomable. Topping it off with a raw, booming voice, Duncan provided a performance that ranks as positively superb and more than deserving of a standing ovation.

Taylor’s Emmie is at once incredibly charismatic and deeply soulful. A fantastic dancer with a beautifully youthful voice, she possesses an endearing ability to fully engage the audience in her antics, whether playfully sharing scary tall-tales with her brothers (and a spiritually present Noah) by the light of the capricious Moon (Gisela Adisa), or astounding the audience with a heartfelt number about her dreams – both for herself and the world around her.

Tepper’s Rose is played with sensitivity and temperance, marking quick changes in tone and demeanor. Combined with her soft, bright voice, she adds a well-meaning fragility to the complex character of Rose Stopnick-Gellman.

In the backdrop of all this is a musical score rich in dissimilar, though smoothly compatible genres – from the swooning blues to the quirky klezmer. Especially inventive are the devices through which unvoiced parts of the story are conveyed – ranging from the Moon, the Washing Machine (Marcie Henderson) and the Dryer/Bus (Frank Viveros) to the The Supremes-esque Radio (Heather Davis, Markeisha Ensley, Nikki Stephenson) almost acting as the Greek Chorus for the production.

Not at all surprisingly, the vocal quality of each respective performer was absolutely top-notch. Viveros, especially, showed impressive range as the comically mischievous Dryer and the somberly touching Bus.
Capturing the essence of the swinging ‘60s, “Caroline, or Change” packs a triple-threat in character, subject and musical depth. Though the Tony Award-winning Broadway run may have ended, that of Broadway in Brooklyn is in full swing, presented beautifully in the basement theatre at 199 14th Street.

Though nothing may be underground in Louisiana, as Caroline ruefully suggests, the bottom level of the Gallery Players contains a unique spectacle – full of music and song; political strife and familial ardor – one certainly not to be missed.

Photo by Bella Muccari

We see in the beginning how each team has worked to make it back to the ranch. Once there, they are initiated into the atmosphere of this competition by enduring their first “last chance workout.” The drama of this weigh-in results in one of the many new twists of the season. Essentially, the team that wins its way back onto the ranch controls the fate of the team who falls below the yellow line. This levels the playing field since these teams know nothing of the history of what the contestants have been doing.

Once a team is decided on, product placement, NBC related programming and challenges abound. The teams go to a sponsored sandwich shop to eat, make snacks with “The Biggest Loser” logoed products and then there’s a visit with winter Olympians. Once that is out of the way, the challenges test the mettle of the contestants as they are put to new tests. The team who wins will surprise you.

Miggy returns to the ranch just in time for the next weigh-in. Her hospitalization caused her to gain water weight and the only exercise she is allowed to do is walk. It’s a tense moment when she goes on the scale. It’s tense for everyone, as many of the “teams” now consist of single players who automatically go home if they fall below the line. Who leaves will sadden you, but watch for their transformational update at the end of the episode.

Next week brings more drama and surprises. See who will be left in the competition for “The Biggest Loser.”

So, besides being another useless episode, “The Bishop Revival” has a bizarre premise with a time traveling Nazi, or one who doesn’t age, as the foe. Why they thought bringing in a 1930s/1940s Nazi would be a good idea, who knows? Maybe they thought we would all be blown away with the revelation that Walter’s father was also a scientist whose last name was Bischoff and then later changed it to Bishop.

Awesome, right?

While the Nazi thing just felt cheesy, the rest of the hour was actually pretty good for a standalone episode. One thing that “Fringe” has done well most of the time is the actual science behind the strange happenings. “Fringe” has a realistic aura, so even the most outrageous feats of scientific engineering seem plausible. There are, however, a few instances where the science seems entirely possible, and this is one of those occasions.

The Nazi doing all the killing in this episode starts off his experiment at a wedding. Just before it all begins, an older woman notices the young blonde haired Nazi in the back and screams out that she’s seen him before. As the hysterical woman tries to make her way towards him she, as well as all of her relatives, collapse and suffocate. The rest of the wedding party was fine; only the Jewish members in attendance died from the airborne toxin.

What Walter soon discovers is that this man has found a way to target specific genetic attributes to the toxin, regardless of whether they are inherent in a family, an individual or even physical characteristics, such as hair or eye color.

When looking at the toxin, Walter recognizes a genetic signature, one his father used to use: A sea horse. The only reason why this may be relevant is of those images shown before each commercial break: A sea horse is one of them. It may mean nothing, but a little interesting to those engrossed in the mythos. Hopefully, they explore a bit more into Walter’s relationship with his father, as he was obviously influenced by the man and has great admiration for him.

Nothing too shocking happens. “Fringe” has pretty much found a formula they stick to, but much like in the end of “Johari Window,” Walter takes the situation into his own hands. This season it looks like they are trying to show Walter evolving into a more self asserting character, which may come into play in later episodes.

The only other thing of note is a comment Walter made about Peter and Olivia. From the moment this “team” came together in the series premiere, having Peter and Olivia get together was something nobody wanted to see. The past few weeks it’s looked more and more like a possibility, but it just doesn’t fit the show, at least not where it is right now.

Like so many episodes, this doesn’t move the story forward, but at least expands on history of one of the characters. If somehow all these come together at one point, (whatever happened to “The Pattern,” anyway?) it will all be worthwhile; if not, it’s just another so-so episode to fill out the order in between the ones we all care about.

In “Battlestar Galactica,” Lee Adama reveals a treasured childhood memory to Romo Lampkin: when he and his brother would visit, his grandfather, Joseph, used to call him over and conspiratorially say, “Be a good boy, Lee – just not too good.”

Although “Caprica” is absolutely faithful to this somewhat shady interpretation of the civic lawyer, it remains a miracle that young Willie (Sina Najafi) grows up to be the staunchly virtuous Admiral Adama of the Colonial Navy.

Growing increasingly involved with the Tauron mob, the young Ha’la’tha protégé is steadily learning to lie, cheat and co-exist with the criminal underworld – all after his attendance is counted at school, of course.
As for the events of this particular episode, the aftermath of the last absolutely had to be huge.

Whether or not you agree that Amanda Graystone’s (Paula Malcomson) public confession was a psychological debacle, there were certainly going to be disastrous results, of cataclysmic proportions.

The Graystone stock is unsurprisingly falling, but Daniel (Eric Stoltz) continues to refuse a public relations representative. Of course, every principle has its limit.

Joseph (Esai Morales) and Sam Adama (Sasha Roiz) corner the robotics genius outside of his job and provide some Ha’la’tha-flavored encouragement, especially since a certain future admiral’s father is desperate to see his daughter (Genevieve Buechner) again.

How lucky it is that Zoe (Alessandra Torresani) and Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) stumble upon the avatar of a young girl in a dark room – trembling and desperately searching for a heartbeat. They bring her out into Club V, where she insists that she can find her way out, and Zoe – fully aware that she is a pure avatar and hitherto unexposed to the interactive pleasure dome – actually leaves her to fend for herself.

“Caprica” has admittedly been highly cerebral, expertly-written entertainment thus far, but this particular move by the avatar of a computer genius is more than asinine, since the confused copy has absolutely no chance of leaving the holoband without assistance.

Undoubtedly, this plot device will be explored in future installments, but rest of the episode is so thrilling that a flaw as tiny as this is easily forgivable.

The return of Tamara Adams is a welcome turn and rife for a variety of pleasant results, and the mystery surrounding Sister Clarice Willow’s (Polly Walker) virtual visit to the clandestine Soldiers of the One stronghold is a captivating turn of events.

Ending on a characteristically riveting note, “Reins of a Waterfall” continues the thus far Caprican trend of living up to its name – trapping the viewer so deep in its tangled web of captivating intrigue that the might of a Centurion is hardly enough to break out.

Homicide detective Thomas Craven, played by Mel Gibson (“Braveheart”), investigates the death of his daughter, Emma. Craven uncovers secrets about her life, as well as a corporate cover up involving Emma’s government internship.

It has been eight years since we last saw the great Gibson onscreen since his 2002 thriller, “Signs.” You can tell that the rust is there by his mediocre performance in this film. At times, it was difficult to make out the words that Gibson was saying. Pulling off the Boston accent can be difficult at times, and although Gibson did a decent job, there were a few moments when it sounded as if he was speaking too low or even mumbled a bit.

Gibson did a great job behind the camera as a director when he was not onscreen as an actor. Maybe he just does not have the same spark he did as a thespian, but his success as a filmmaker shows that he may be better behind the scenes.

The problem with “Edge of Darkness” is that the plot is dull and unoriginal, almost as if it was a one-shot deal with one idea that had a beginning, middle and end, with no twists that would make the film much more interesting. It seems as if all of the good moments in the film were made for the trailer. Although a few of those scenes make you jump with surprise, the film altogether did not turn out to be all that enjoyable.

It fails to go in depth with the characters involved in the death of Craven’s daughter. The movie focuses on Gibson finding the person responsible for her death instead of finding major clues that would shed some light on why she was killed.

The plot seems unrealistic from beginning to end, because even though Craven wanted justice for his daughter’s death, the reality is that you cannot go around killing and brutally bashing people with your fists without any warrants.

Overall, “Edge of Darkness” was a snoozer, and a film that picks up slowly. When it does reach its peak, it quickly loses its luster, making it uninteresting and not likeable. As for Gibson, his success as an actor will be recognized and cherished for his previous works, but it will be forgotten pretty quickly during this one.

If milk has a funny smell or tastes sour, throw it away. As the old saying goes, you live and you learn.

Over the past 15 years, professional wrestling has gone from revolutionary in terms of athletic prowess to well… mediocre. It’s not that the athletes aren’t still amazing, but in terms of the moves used in the ring, the innovation of the ’90s hasn’t carried over into the next millennium. As a result, many of the moves that made wrestlers superstars a decade before are still being used today and because of that, the sport lacks the same appeal it once had.

In this piece, ReviewFix.com Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. counts down ten of the most influential finishing moves in the industry.

10- Clothesline from Hell: Stan Hansen made the move famous in the ’80s, but John Bradshaw Layfield made it a household name in the ’90s. Other wrestlers like Rick Steiner, Masato Tanaka, Brock Lesnar and Bill Goldberg had vicious clotheslines in their arsenals, but it was never a finisher for them. For guys like Hansen and Bradshaw however, the move induced a plethora of victories.

9- Frog Splash: Used by everyone from Eddy Guerrero to Di-Lo Brown, the frog splash is essentially a modified splash off the top rope, but when done right, it can steal the show. Just ask anyone who ever saw the late-Mike Awesome pull it off back in his ECW days. The same thing goes for former NWA champion Christian Cage, who used the move to take himself from a mid-carder in the WWE to a main eventer in TNA.

8- Frankensteiner: Scott Steiner may have made the move famous and while it will often be regarded as his, countless cruiserweights, [Rey Mysterio especially] have modified the move and put their own stamp on it. Often used as a set-up move nowadays, the move is still a stunning one when done by the right competitor.

7- Super Kick: The list of wrestlers that have used this move is insanely long, ranging from Lance Storm and Chris Adams to “The Heartbreak Kid,” Shawn Michaels. Able to turn the table during a match in a second, it’s one of the most devastating moves in the industry. It’s also the move that ended Bret Hart’s career.

6- Figure-Four leg lock: Ric Flair may be the last wrestler in the sport to use it as a finisher, but as long as the industry is alive and well, athletes will use this move. Able to get the crowd back in the match, nothing gets the crowd going like seeing the move reversed.

5- Elbow drop: Much like the figure-four, Randy Savage pretty much retired this move as a finisher when he retired, but that will never stop countless other wrestlers from using it.

4- Powerbomb: Again, for as long as there is a sport, huge wrestlers with a lack of ingenuity will use some variation of the powerbomb as a finisher. From Kevin Nash’s delayed “Jacknife” to the late Andrew “Test” Martin’s side-swipe diving variation of the move, it’s been done to death. Nevertheless, it’s a hard move to top in terms of devastation. While many have done the move however, only a few have done it will a sheer ferocity to make it truly their own. Of the few, performers the likes of Sid Vicious and Scott Norton stand tall among the best who have used it.

3- Chokeslam: Much like the Powerbomb, big guys will always use the Chokeslam. While the Undertaker and Kane have made a living from the move, guys like 911 managed to squeeze a few more years out of his carer with it.

2- Ace Crusher: Johnny Ace’s modifying neckbreaker not only paved the way for “The Stone Cold Stunner” and “The Diamond Cutter,” but the “RKO” as well. Even the Disco Inferno used the move, tabbing it “The Chart Buster,” after his wrap-around jaw breaker went flat.

1- The DDT: Who would have thought that Jake Roberts tripping while having someone in a headlock in the early ’80s would change the industry forever? Simply put, if you are a wrestler, you’ve used this move. Scott “Raven” Levy continued the legacy of the move as a finisher through the ’90s and into the millennium, but it appears its time as a finisher is over. Nevertheless, when someone like Hulk Hogan, who was locked into a move set for nearly 20 years, manages to use it, [the first big Nitro during the New Blood storyline was the night] that’s saying something.

This is dance music done right. Its unobtrusive, continuous beat puts you in the mood to dance, and Collins’ vocals don’t interrupt the flow. It’s not the deepest song, but it is a solid track to dance to.

“If I Had My Way” – Patty Griffin featuring Regina and Ann McCrary

The great thing about free music downloads is the discovery of artists and Patty Griffin will be a welcomed voice on your mp3 player. From the album “Downtown Church” this gospel track is upbeat and soulful. Definitely give it a listen.

“Proof” – The Northern Key

The slow, melodic rhythm of this track drives the downcast lyrics. It’s the sort of song that you need to be in the mood for to appreciate its use of stripped down musicianship; particularly the way this band uses the guitar as a fellow vocalist as well as adding to the melody. It’s an inventive take that deserves to be heard.

“Forest Whitaker (In an Uncompromising Role)” – Public Square

Alright you see Forest Whitaker’s name and think this is from some spoken word album about Black History Month, but no. Instead you hear the rock out, punk sound of Public Square. A pleasant surprise that is far too short.

“In Between the Spaces You Don’t Think About“ – Soihadto

If the rest of the songs from the album “Adventure Stories (Not Based on Fact?)” (released on 2/2/10) is anything like this track then don’t even think twice about downloading it. The music alone is amazing as it goes between subtly and all-out rock rhythms. The spoken word during the play of the track is also interesting, however it’s unnecessary. Still, you should download this song.

“Little Bird” – Eels

Have you ever missed someone so much that the only person who could understand your pain is a bird minding its own business on your porch? Well this song about an ended love affair makes you feel the protagonist’s pain in a way that will have you replaying this track. Essentially its straight forward and simple lyrics and melody will keep you interested.

“The Ballad of John Henry” – Jon Bonamassa

Get it. It’s rock and blues done expertly well. While you’re at it download the entire album.

Because of that, it shouldn’t come as a shock to many that Hoffman now has a big-screen director’s credit on his resume with “Jack Goes Boating,” a film that appeared at the Sundance Film Festival this year. Starring in the flick as well, playing the love-stricken title character, Hoffman doesn’t shy away from more responsibility.

Instead, he revels in it.

Originally an off-Broadway play, the film was Hoffman’s for the taking in pre-production. Ready for another challenge in his ever-growing career, the New York-native wasn’t shy about getting behind the camera.

“I’ve been doing theater for 20 years and after 10, I figured it was natural to go into directing,” said Hoffman. “Even though I’m an actor, I haven’t always thought as one; I’ve thought about things visually and in terms of storytelling as well. Then when this opportunity arose, because this was a play that was very cinematic and everyone spoke about it that way; it was natural. It wasn’t a surprise. It just seemed like a natural extension and when they asked me to direct, I said yeah.”

Armed with a talented cast, consisting of Amy Ryan, John Ortiz and Daphne Rubin-Vega, who for the most part, appeared in the play and were familiar with him, Hoffman led the charge and turned the little-known play into a thoughtful, endearing and polished piece of cinema. Taking place in the heart of New York City, the film has a poignancy that many romance comedies lack and forget all about, while they’re in search of the successful pieces of the standard Hollywood formula. While “Jack Goes Boating” never truly feels like an independent movie, mainly due to the solid production values and excellent script, the direction of the film makes it one of a kind and from a different mold altogether.

At some times ominous and other times joyful, there’s nothing formulaic about “Jack Goes Boating.” Running the full gamut of human emotion, the film is as real as it gets and embodies what Hoffman brings to the table as both a director and an actor.

Squeezing the marrow out of his actors on set and demanding the most from them, Hoffman ends up creating a story that is relate-able and honest. Unlike the plethora of mediocrity in the genre today, there aren’t any dance montages at the end and there aren’t any guest appearances by washed-up celebrities. At it’s core, the film is a shining example of what a romance-comedy should be about: life and love.

“A lot of directors, for a lot of reasons, settle for things on-screen that aren’t complete and because of that, the wrong things happen,” said Ortiz, who plays Clyde, Hoffman’s best friend in the film. “He knows what we’re capable of doing and it was always important for us to go there and find that extreme. Luckily, we had him there to demand that from us. Sometimes, the producers told us it was time to move on and he insisted that we get things right. That was great.”

That is something Hoffman himself is proud of more than anything else.

Known for asking the most out of himself as a performer throughout his career, Hoffman extended that notion on his way to the director’s chair, creating an end result both he and his cast were proud of.

“It was pretty exciting and satisfying to be honest,” Hoffman said. “It wasn’t scary like acting. Acting is scary. Acting is a much harder job in the moment in a lot of ways. Directing is a very long job and you have to deal with many people. It’s an arduous job, but it’s satisfying because you’re always around people. In the beginning of the day and at the end. Actors on the other hand, are always alone. It’s a lonely profession.”

Nevertheless, Hoffman never made his actors feel that way during production.

“He’s very generous, very specific,” said Ryan, who co-stars with Hoffman in the film. “He shares so much of his own life with his actors. He spoke a lot about how personal this story was to him and he knows he has to get his actors to feel, to get to that point where they can perform. If that means opening up and sharing things that he wouldn’t normally in an outside group, that’s what he’ll do. It was great.”

That sense of responsibility to a film isn’t a trait common to most actors and one that his cast picked out as one of his most endearing qualities as a director.

Able to be both sympathetic to his actors’ needs and still be at the top of his game as a director, Hoffman has apparently found the best of both worlds.

“It was worth it,” said Rubin-Vega, who plays Lucy in the film. “He maximized the feeling the film had. He’s an intense person; that’s just the way he is. He was wonderful and generous to us. As an actor, he’s very serious, but as a director, he was great to us. He loved us.”

“Hesher” focuses in on a narrow audience of young males who love metal music and revel in the crudeness and disregard of the title character. Regardless, the film could be enjoyable at times for any audience because of its unabashed personality, as it combines the fantastical and unpredictable character of Hesher with the realism of T.J.’s life and heavy situation.

Where the two characters will end up is anyone’s guess at the beginning of this film.

Hesher may be the title character, but T.J., played by newcomer Devin Brochu (“In the Valley of Elah”), is the focal point of the flick. Through the first half of the film T.J. gets beat on emotionally and physically by everyone from the school bully and Hesher, to his family. He is junior high school aged and he has no one to rely on, pedaling his way to and from school on his well-worn bike and coming and going without much notice from his basket-case father (played by Rainn Wilson). What’s pleasantly appealing is that the older-brother figure of Hesher steps into T.J.’s life and doesn’t play the hero role, but instead is just another complication.

Along with invading the life of T.J., Hesher does whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to whomever he wants. Some of the endeavors he drags T.J. on include trespassing, destroying private property and arson. But still, he has a charm that catches the eye of T.J.’s grandmother and hopeless supermarket check out girl Nicole, played by Natalie Portman. Portman’s lackluster performance mimics her character’s life as a frustrated and broke cashier, but she serves her purpose adding some female flavor to the film as well as an added bone of contention between T.J. and Hesher.

Aside from the obvious connotation of young T.J.’s lack of control over his life, allowing his father to ignore his existence and the school bully to torture his life, Hesher is a character all his own. Levitt plays the part in a convincingly mature way (if you’ve ever known anyone remotely like this character, you will appreciate the authenticity) and will have you laughing as he joins T.J. and his family at the dinner table, and surprisingly is the most well-mannered one there. Levitt is the centerpiece here, and elevates all the other performances, as you can see he thoroughly enjoyed playing this wacky character.

Even though Hesher is the title character, the heart of the film concentrates on T.J. and his father, and we begin to understand the deep depression and hurt the two characters feel as they weakly participate in a grieving group and their relationship at home hangs by a thread. The conclusion will move you, and Hesher’s unorthodox and hilarious speech is fun to watch because T.J. and his father are visibly uncomfortable. Hesher pushes T.J. to the edge, but sometimes in life we need that- as clearly the two characters of T.J. and his father exhibit in their ‘life is in shambles’ situation.

Like the entire film, the conclusion seems outlandish, but is closer to reality than some of the “based on a true story” flicks. Hesher’s unapologetic actions and unfiltered words mimic many confused post-high school kids, and T.J.’s verbally challenged junior high demeanor is truthful and painful to watch as it is to live through that age. Basically, if you could learn to loosen up enough, you can appreciate the fun of “Hesher” and the truth behind the inventive characters.

“This shows the power of brotherly love and forgiveness,” Mustaine says. “David Ellefson belongs in Megadeth. Next we are going to show you the power of getting your asses kicked…HARD!”

David Ellefson concurs: “This is a huge moment for all of us, band and fans alike. It is a great celebration of the music from one of the biggest landmark albums of our career.”

Ellefson will join Mustaine and Megadeth band members Shawn Drover (drums) and Chris Broderick (guitar) on tour in support of the group’s current CD Endgame, which has received some of the highest critical accolades of the band’s career.

“We’d like to thank James LoMenzo for several years of loyal service on the bass, and wish him the very best,” Mustaine adds.

Huey, the older brother, is a strong-minded 10-year-old revolutionary affiliated with the group African Fighting Racism and Oppression or A.F.R.O. While Riley, his younger brother, is the epitome of the very stereotype that Huey tries to avoid. Living together with their grandfather in the boondocks of Maryland after being raised in Chicago, the Freeman brothers have the swagger of urban youth which proves to benefit them, even in the middle of nowhere.

Aside from the basic premise of the show, the cameos are hilarious, as they show you characters that may or not fit their voices. For instance, Samuel Jackson and Charlie Murphy are two white gangsters who get away with everything short of pushing the red button because they’re white and belong to rich families. Of course they are not allowed use of the “N” word and add to that, none of their hysterical capers are actually successful. McGruder is portraying a comical world of small town realism. It’s funny because it’s true.

As a warning, this is fiction, extreme fiction. So for those squeamish about reverse racism, this show may not be for you. Then again you might love it because if you’re not a fan of reverse racism you’ll love the inverse racist. This character, Uncle Ruckus, is a black man who hates his own skin color and loves white people. His speeches usually include talk about how the black brain is tiny compared to the superior white intellect. Ruckus flaunts his “I LOVE JIM CROW” tee shirt, and brags about someday making it to white heaven where there will be no sign of Whoopie Goldberg. It’s a confusing hilarity. Something that makes thinking about it, a joke on it’s own.

Away from the plot, the animation is amazing. The graphic fighting scenes, the blurred nude bodies, the movements and the realistic facial expressions show that McGruder is a gifted animator that brought his vision to television. The style can be compared with Japanese anime mixed with a touch of big city American features that jump off of the screen and into your living room.

With outrageous plots such as kidnapping Oprah, eating “Itis” foods, or assassinating Santa, these episodes of satirical comedy will have you on edge, and maybe even a bit uncomfortable, but it’s the perfect show to watch when daytime television is the only thing on in the wee hours of the morning.

Episode Commentary: Romantic Expressionism

Remember Vaughn (Eric Christian Olsen)? How can anyone forget the overly-sensitive, peaceful hippie Jeff (Joel McHale) so affectionately deems “micro-nipples?”

Looks like he’s taken more than a casual interest in Annie (Alison Brie) now and – as the study group’s self-proclaimed parents – Jeff and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) feel it’s time to put an end to this dangerous romance.

There’s another subtle dynamic at work here. Now that the flippant former lawyer has officially been snagged by Professor Slater (Lauren Stamile), he and Britta are finally beginning to develop a mutually affectionate rapport. After all, it was only after she saw the pair holding hands that Britta finally understood the latent feelings she holds for her eternal verbal jousting partner.

But Britta isn’t the only one to experience the sting of epiphanies that come too late. As a part of their nefarious plan, Jeff and Britta decide to open Troy’s (Donald Glover) eyes to Annie’s appeal, making him forget the nerd that once was and see the truly beautiful woman who bloomed.

Unfortunately, it backfired. Annie likes Vaughn now, but at least Britta’s going to have someone with whom to share her “if only” woes.

Meanwhile, Abed (Danny Pudi) has been hosting parties to honor truly horrific movies. Mix a few humorously jaded friends, a flick with a title like “Kick-Puncher” and possibly some mild alcoholic beverages, and you’ve got a recipe for a cynical riot.

Senor Chang (Ken Jeong) has been a regular, and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) is a welcome addition. Pierce (Chevy Chase), however, has seemingly mastered the art of awkwardly inviting himself along to hitherto exclusive events, but he has Greendale’s sketch comedy club writing jokes for him, so that makes it okay in his mind.

This all culminates in an all-out intervention, during which Abed proclaims that the group began as the Brady Bunch, but turned into the incestuous cast of “The Brady Bunch,” and Annie is allowed to date Vaughn – fine.

Overall, the season continues to increase its funny-gauge with each episode. While earlier installments in the season had three separate story arcs, “Community” seems to have settled on two, and it’s working well. It immediately takes care of the weaker plot within the episode and enables additional development for the ones it has.

It would be nice to see more of Abed again, though. On the other hand, it’s also fantastic that the others are receiving their much-needed development.

But we’ll see how all these romantic entanglements play out next week, when there’s a drunken phone call involved with Jeff and Britta in “Communication Studies.”

It’s kind of hard to blame these characters for being so immature, especially considering the fact that the hero still lives with his parents. His name is Mike (Steve Zahn), and he helps his parents run a hotel in Arizona. They get a steady clientele of ordinary people, and although they’re pretty friendly, they’re also kind of dull. That might be what attracts Mike to a new guest named Sue (Jennifer Aniston), a working girl who doesn’t go anywhere without her laptop. Mike stops by her room and tries to get acquainted with her – even when he actually succeeds, he still feels pretty awkward.

All of this inevitably leads to them making love together, right before she has to leave and go on the road again. She promises to visit him when she’s in the area, and even though Mike really likes spending time with her, he can’t stop thinking about Sue when she’s not around.

His only option is to track her down in Maryland, where he embarrasses her by showing up at her office. She decides to let mike sleep on her couch in her apartment, and even takes the day off from work to spend some time with him.

Soon, Sue develops enough trust in Mike to tell him about her past. She talks about the relationship she had with a guy named Jango (Woody Harrelson) – the fact that she went out with a punk-rock aficionado like him makes her attraction to Mike seem even more unusual. She might not be able to explain her feelings, but she can’t deny them.

Part of what makes “Management” so satisfying is its honesty – lots of movies in this vein are melodramas sprinkled with comedy, with laughs that seem as if they’re tacked on for the audience’s sake. Here, the comedy comes just as naturally as the drama, and the film demonstrates that human companionship is funnier than we realize. It’s appropriate that, during one of the dates Mike has with Sue, he proposes a toast: “Here’s to people being happy.”

Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Photos, videos of panel discussions and interviews with LGBT filmmakers available at glaad blog

Los Angeles, CA, February 04, 2010 – Since 2006, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, has brought a dedicated space to celebrate and elevate the voices of filmmakers whose storytelling included the visibility and inclusion of the LGBT community to the Sundance Film Festival. This year GLAAD announced an official partnership with the Sundance Institute and unveiled a new multi-day programmatic event, cineGLAAD.

cineGLAAD held a series of panels at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to raise awareness about films with LGBT content and elevate the voices of filmmakers, all towards the goal of bringing these important LGBT stories to wider audiences. Photos and videos of panel discussions as well as interviews with LGBT filmmakers and Dustin Lance Black are available at: http://glaadblog.org/tag/cineglaad.

cineGLAAD congratulates the LGBT filmmakers and films with LGBT content that received honors at this year’s Sundance and Slamdance Film Festivals. cineGLAAD worked to build visibility for the following films and the more than 20 others by LGBT filmmakers or featuring LGBT content which were shown at the Park City film festivals:

• Contracorriente (Undertow), from out director Javier Fuentes-León, received the World Cinema Audience Award – Dramatic. The film tells the story of a Peruvian fisherman who has a passionate affair with a handsome artist.
• Zona Sur (Southern District), received the World Cinema Directing Award – Dramatic. The film looks at family class structure in Bolivia and the conflict between a mother and her lesbian daughter. It also received the World Cinema Screenwriting Award.
• Tatiana Maslany was awarded a World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Dramatic Breakout Performance in Grown Up Movie Star. Maslany plays the daughter of a former NHL star who is realizing his attraction to other men.
• His & Hers, received the World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary. The documentary features 70 Irish women, young and old, candidly discussing relationships.
• The Documentary Editing Award was presented to Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work. The film was a fitting tribute to outspoken LGBT supporter and comedian, Joan Rivers.

cineGLAAD also congratulates the filmmakers of The Kids Are Alright and Contracorriente (Undertow), which have been picked up for distribution by Focus Features and Wolfe Releasing, respectively. The Kids Are Alright starts Annette Benning and Julianne Moore as lesbian partners. When their teenage children, conceived by artificial insemination, discover their biological father played by Mark Ruffalo, a romance develops between him and Moore.

LGBT filmmakers from films such as 8: The Mormon Proposition, Contracorriente (Undertow), Howl, William S. Burroughs: A Man Within, and Sweet, Sampled and LeftOva participated in the panel discussions hosted by cineGLAAD at the Sundance Filmmaker Lodge. Many media industry professionals and top-tier press attended and reported on the panels and films involved. Clips from a panel on the film 8 as well as LGBT Mormons and allies featured in the film were also shown on Salt Lake City’s Channel 5 evening nightly news broadcast.

“From documentaries like 8 which highlighted Mormon families embracing their gay and transgender neighbors to stories of LGBT people across the world such as Contracorriente, the images seen in Park City this year will inspire and change perceptions,” said GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. “We are hopeful that our work in raising visibility for these and other films will bring more inclusive images to broader audiences.”

The program’s comprehensive listing of more than 20 films by LGBT filmmakers, in addition to all Sundance films featuring LGBT content shown at the Park City film festivals is available at: http://www.glaad.org/cineglaad/films.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OF cineGLAAD’s PRESENCE AT THE 2010 SUNDANCE AND SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVALS INCLUDE:

• Panel discussion featuring LGBT publicists who have worked on Milk, Brokeback Mountain, and other films as well as Sundance filmmakers discussing how to leverage and market LGBT festival films. (Video)
• A well attended panel featuring the filmmakers and cast — including Dustin Lance Black, NCLR’s Kate Kendell and HRC’s Joe Solmonese — of the documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition discussing the film and offering insight into the current fight for marriage equality. (Video)
• Panel on the next wave of queer cinema featuring Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the Academy Award-winning filmmakers of Howl, as well as producer Christine Kunewa Walker and performance artist Kalup Linzy.
• “Cocktails with cineGLAAD,” a networking opportunity for festival attendees in which cineGLAAD partnered with the Slamdance film The Four-Faced Liar.
• Reviewed Sundance films The Runaways and Howl, as well as the Slamdance films William S. Burroughs: A Man Within and The Four-Faced Liar
• Discussed issues of LGBT images in film with:

• • David Hyde Pierce (Video)
  • Dustin Lance Black (Video)
  • Slamdance filmmaker Yony Leyser (Video)



Even people who don’t follow boxing know all about Tyson: How he reportedly beat Robin Givens during their short marriage, how he disqualified himself in a fight by biting Evander Holyfield, how he got a tattoo on his face that made him look even scarier. Not only does “Tyson” approach everything with sober clarity, but it also gives him a chance to reflect on what he has done, to define himself after years of listening to the world do it for him.

We’ve seen Tyson put his opponents in a world of pain, but the film is more interested in the kind of pain that he feels. The memories Tyson has of his father are fuzzy and remote, and he even admits that he never knew for sure who he was. That might explain the bond he forged with trainer Cus D’Amato, who he claims saved him from selling dope on the streets of New York. We sense that when D’Amato passed, Tyson lost more than a trainer.

The film doesn’t have any objectivity, nor does it pretend to. This is an opportunity for Tyson to express himself, to let everyone know who they’ve been talking about all these years. Tyson doesn’t deny the fact that he has hurt lots of people, but he also calls attention to how many people have hurt him back. He says that Desiree Washington’s charge against him for rape was a lie, and that he lost faith in the legal system during his three-year sentence in prison. He also says that boxing promoter Don King took his money, which led to the violent confrontation that ended their partnership. King’s detractors might argue that he probably had it coming.

Material like this is bound to make for an interesting movie, but the appeal of “Tyson” goes beyond the subject matter. The movie works because it allows its audience to connect with Tyson, to understand the events in his life that made him who he is. It explores the life of one of the most popular people of our time, only to find a person who’s living in the shadow of his own image. It’s hard to tell if this movie is compromising the truth, but it’s no farther from the truth than the way that many people feel about him. Only he knows for sure which one is closer to the real thing.

During the late ‘60s and ‘70s, he guest starred on the top shows of the day, including a four-episode arc on “Mission Impossible.” However, he is best known for playing Trapper John MD. His character was a spin-off from “M.A.S.H.” as John McIntyre, a character that was created by Wayne Rogers. It was one of the most inventive ways to spin-off a television show.

Before, between and after these two iconic shows, Roberts was a civil rights activist to the point where he used his power to have NBC have minorities play people of color on “Bonanza,” instead of having these characters played by Caucasians. His departure from “Bonanza” was due to his belief that there was a lack of integrity in the show. As someone who won a Drama Desk Award for starring in “Macbeth,” Roberts believed that he had more to offer on Broadway and other acting venues. In his role on “Trapper,” John Emmy-nominated Roberts (1981) was able to play several emotions every week. It was a fun show to watch, and for several seasons capped the successful Sunday night CBS lineup.

Roberts also had a decent singing voice and recorded several songs. However, he used his voice mostly for the stage in musicals, such as “Carousel.”

Later on in his career, this charismatic actor starred in commercials. His last acting job was in the early 2000s. Since then, he had been in retirement until his death.

Review Fix Senior Editor Olga Privman catches up with actor John Stillwaggon after his performance in “Damn Yankees” (the review for which can be found here).

Stillwaggon got his MFA in Acting from Brooklyn College and has subsequently been performing all over New York City, while giving professional lessons at various institutions, as well.

Although the interview was not initially meant to be a podcast, the enchanting Long Island native maintains such interesting insight throughout the course of the chat that we thought you deserved to hear it.

Stillwaggon Interview

Photo by Christopher Sirota.

Interestingly enough, the old VHS box from Embassy has visually stunning artwork with the tagline, “Hell has just been relocated.” Two giant alien monsters on the cover seem to be in a heated battle, and this allows the imagination of the renter’s mind to run wild. But keep in mind this was produced by Corman, who is notorious for producing VHS covers that have nothing to do with the film.

“Galaxy of Terror” had a brief theatrical run under the title “Mindwarp: An Infinity of Terror,” and it started the career of a talented second-unit director that caught the eye of the producer: James Cameron. So, this is actually the humble beginning of the king of the world.

The concept of this film is quite confusing and not made clear until the end of the picture, which may throw some viewers off. The crew of a rescue ship is stranded on a planet, where they are attacked by the biggest fears their imaginations can conjure up. Without this part of the picture being explained, it causes some gaps in understanding the continuity, but the effects are amazing enough to capture your imagination.

The concept is just a framing sequence for some truly bizarre moments, which will appease lovers of the genre. The film is most famous for the scene of a woman being molested by a giant worm, and you find it shocking that this is where the future director of “Avatar” and “Titanic” got his start.

One of the major assets to this movie is the wonderful cast that was assembled. Stars on the rise are cast alongside falling stars, creating a very interesting dynamic.

Erin Moran, who you must remember from “Happy Days,” is one of the top billed actresses, and her performance is sloppy. It almost feels as if she is aware that her (happy) days as an actress are numbered, and that she just needs a paycheck.

Supporting Moran are veteran character actors Ray Walston and Edward Albert, who manage to pick up the slack from Moran’s lousy acting. Also supporting her is Zalman King, who eventually gave up acting to write “9 1/2 Weeks” and the series “Red Shoe Diaries.”

Finally, the cast is rounded out by a couple of B-movie icons, Robert Englund and Sid Haig. These two actors elevate the material with their unique acting abilities, and are a major reason to watch this movie.

The entire experience of the picture is a combination of the pulp ’50s space schlock and the gory decadence of the late ’70s. That combination is what gives an edge to this movie that many pictures today don’t seem to have.

For the longest time this has only been available on VHS, but Corman has recently made a deal with Shout! Factory to start releasing his work. This has a street date of July 20 of this year.

Ambitious careers on the rise and people facing the end of their careers was what fueled the duration of “Galaxy of Terror.” The film does suffer from a few shortcomings, but for the most part, the picture is a kitschy good time – if you can stomach it.

It’s now 2010 and the devastation in Haiti brought out the likes of George Clooney and Wyclef Jean to aid this country the best way they know how – by calling in their talented friends to man phones and perform. And that they did. Several artists including Jay-Z and Madonna are on the album “Hope for Haiti” and while they do serviceable jobs there are several standouts that will make purchasing this charitable record worth your while.

The lyrics to “Motherless Child” will never be quite the same after hearing John Legend’s rendition of it. It is heart wrenching and in this instance you may think of what’s occurring in Haiti now. However when it is 25 years later or even two months from now you may experience a break-up or a major occurrence in your own life where this version of this traditional tune will speak to the core of your soul. It’s a version that you wish did not have to be sung, but you will appreciate the desperation in Legend’s voice when you listen to it.

Then there’s Mary J. Blige featuring The Roots singing “Hard Times Come Again No More.” Written in 1854 the lyrics are timely and Blige sings it in a way that surpasses Aretha Franklin. Her voice dips into your heart and gently squeezes. It’s a good hurt where you know that you’ll come out the other side feeling the better for having experienced it.

Justin Timberlake has soul. His version of “Hallelujah” (sung with Matt Morris) will make you forget nearly every version of this song. Yes it’s that good. The man that brought sexy back caresses you with this track. You feel everything when you hear this from the hairs on your arm to the beating of your heart.

Currently the album “Hope for Haiti” is number one on several charts as is the song “Hallelujah.” That’s amazing for the effort to help Haiti; at the same time purchasing this album can be healing for you as well.

Enter Davis Guggenheim’s world in “Waiting for Superman.”

Feeling that the system needed a complete overhaul, Guggenheim set out to find answers about why public schools in this country have been on the decline for so long. However, unlike other documentaries out there, Guggenheim doesn’t waste time pointing the finger at anyone. Instead, he focuses on the children that suffer because of the negligence of everyone involved, showing that politics and bad decisions ultimately hurt the people who need the most help.

Following the exploits of a handful of bright kids looking to get into high quality schools, Guggenheim puts the travesty of the random lottery, the way most of the magnet and charter schools in the country pick their students, on full display. It isn’t a coincidence that only one of the children Guggenheim follows originally gets into the school that they want to, and one other just manages to get lucky and move up a few places on the waiting list before getting admission to the school of their choice.

Through this, we can see what Guggenheim’s reason for making this documentary is: something is wrong.

Utilizing credible and compassionate sources such as Geoffrey Canada and Bill Gates, Guggenheim is able to show the emotion behind the people who are desperate for change in the education system in this country. The archived footage featuring former presidents and their missteps along the way also make the documentary as bipartisan as possible and further cement the notions of people such as Canada and Gates- that as far as the United States educational system is concerned, things have gone south for a long time coming and something needs to be done to fix it. The numbers Guggenheim brings into the documentary show this decline better than anything Canada and Gates can say as well, and give the film more than enough credibility to stand on its own two feet, making for a one of a kind film that tells a poignant message.

Seeing what these prominent leaders have to say, while following these children around and seeing their simultaneous strength in their ability and faith in a system that doesn’t give them the slightest chance, is astounding. You’ll root for them throughout the film, hoping and praying that things work out for the best, knowing full-well that it won’t. It’s unfortunate that these talented children pay the price for the country’s inept policies, but when it’s all said and done, that’s the biggest statement the film makes.

Overall, the statement that Guggenheim makes is a bold one, but the fact that he’s able to support it, with raw facts, free of bias, is even bolder. As far as documentaries go, you’d be hard-pressed to find better. On top of that, it’s a far-reaching work of cinema that has a message- and is delivered loud and clear.

One reason might be his songwriting pedigree. He’s written music for Christina Aguilera (The songs are from her multiplatinum album “Stripped”), Kelly Clarkson’s “Miss Independent” (incidentally, Aguilera co-wrote this song with Morris and Clarkson and it was nominated for a Grammy), Justin Timberlake and Reba McIntire. This might leave little time for him to focus on his career as a singer. But wait, during 2008 he toured with Joan Osborne and participated in the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. And in 2003, he released an EP of original music, so he has been involved in the music scene as an artist.

Still it seems that Morris’ album “When Everything Breaks Open” is long overdue. Now he’s everywhere. His appearances on “Ellen” and the “Hope for Haiti” benefit have caused a major buzz on this man – and deservedly so.

The first track, “Don’t You Dare,” is what a rock-love song is supposed to be. There are happy surprises in the musical arrangement that fit perfectly with his lyrics. You know he’s using piano, drums, guitars and somehow it sounds inventive and new.

Then there’s the soulful, witty “Money.” It’s the type of song that you want to find out all the lyrics to the old fashioned way – by listening it continuously until you know every inflection and word by heart. Instead of looking up the lyrics on-line, find out for yourself: “How do you make change without money?”

Reggae?

Yes, Morris dares to create a Caribbean musical arrangement and match it up with his Midwestern-sounding voice. He doesn’t try to sound West Indian and that’s refreshing to the listener. It’s another cool track for which you will quickly press “replay” as soon as you hear it fading out, just so that you can experience it again.

Still there’s “Bloodline.” It’s haunting, melodic music and lyrics are an intense experience that you won’t want to let go of. Somehow, Morris does things with his musical arrangements that evoke emotions in the listener that another artist would fail miserably at. Essentially, his artistry is a distinct signature with which he has imprinted every song on this album.

By the time you reach “Eternity,” you will have experienced emotions you never knew you had. His album is that incredible.

If you must find a comparison, then think Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life,” where every aspect of life is explored from a multifaceted perspective. Perhaps this is why it took so long for Morris to release his debut album. Let’s hope that it doesn’t take a long span of time between this and his follow up record.

Review Fix Senior Editor Olga Privman nabs a quick interview with three of the cast members of the Heights Players’ “Take Me Out,” (the review for which can be found here) whose performance was nominated for the prestigious New York Innovative Theatre Award.

Although this was not originally intended to be a podcast, the vibrant energy of the Interrogation Room Trio is so infectious that we earnestly believe it deserves to be heard. As such, voices can be differentiated by speaking order: Ugo Chukwu (Darren) begins, followed by Seth Grugle (Kippy) – who heartily approved of the podcast – and completed by Craig Peterson (Shane).

Take Me Out Interview

Photo by Jan VanderPutten.

(January 29, 2009 – New York, NY) – 2010 will mark three-time Grammy Award winning artist, award winning actor, businessman, restaurateur and Disturbing Tha Peace CEO, Chris Ludacris Bridges, 10th anniversary in the entertainment business. Since bursting onto the international scene at the turn of the new decade, he has been riding a major wave of success ever since.

Having firmly established himself in the worlds of music, film & television and philanthropy, Ludacris shows no signs of slowing down, releasing his seventh studio album, The Battle of the Sexes, March 9th on DTP/Def Jam. The highly anticipated album’s first single, “How Low” is zooming up the music charts and is currently at #1 at Urban Radio, #2 on Billboard’s Rap Songs chart and #4 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart. The remix featuring Ciara and Pitbull is being released on 2/9 at iTunes.

Helping to launch the release of The Battle of the Sexes, it has just been announced that Ludacris will join supergroup The Black Eyed Peas on their The. E.N.D. U.S. tour, beginning in Atlanta on February 4th. The tour will hit 32 cities across the country including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami (see full tour schedule attached).

In addition to the new album and the upcoming tour, Ludacris continues his charitable work to help improve the lives of children through the Ludacris Foundation. He also recently established his own liquor brand, Conjure cognac, which is currently available in the Atlanta and Miami markets.

Ludacris’ fans can catch up with him and hear more about his latest projects by tuning in tonight to see him live on Lopez Tonight (TBS) and on upcoming appearances on BET, MTV, Live with Regis & Kelly (ABC), Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC) and more in March.

The E.N.D. Tour

DATE LOCATION VENUE

February 4, 2010 Atlanta, Georgia Philips Arena
February 6, 2010 Miami, Florida American Airlines Arena
February 9, 2010 Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
February 10, 2010 Tampa, Florida Saint Pete Times Forum
February 12, 2010 Nashville, Tennessee Sommet Center
February 13, 2010 Birmingham, Alabama BJCC Arena
February 16, 2010 Columbus, Ohio Value City Arena at Jerome Schottenstein Center
February 17, 2010 Lexington, Kentucky Rupp Arena
February 19, 2010 Raleigh, North Carolina RBC Center
February 20, 2010 Charlotte, North Carolina Time Warner Cable Arena
February 22, 2010 Hampton, Virginia Hampton Coliseum
February 23, 2010 Washington, DC Verizon Center
February 24, 2010 New York, New York Madison Square Garden
February 26, 2010 Boston, Massachusetts TD Banknorth Garden
February 27, 2010 Uncasville, Connecticut Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino – Sun Arena
March 1, 2010 Uniondale, New York Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
March 3, 2010 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Wachovia Center
March 4, 2010 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mellon Arena
March 9, 2010 Detroit, Michigan Palace of Auburn Hills
March 11, 2010 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center
March 13, 2010 Chicago, Illinois United Center
March 19, 2010 Dallas, Texas American Airlines Center
March 20, 2010 Tulsa, Oklahoma BOK Center
March 22, 2010 Saint Paul, Minnesota Xcel Energy Center
March 24, 2010 Kansas City, Missouri Sprint Center
March 25, 2010 Des Moines, Iowa Iowa Events Center – Wells Fargo Arena
March 27, 2010 Denver, Colorado Pepsi Center
March 29, 2010 Los Angeles, California Staples Center
March 31, 2010 Glendale, Arizona Jobing.com Arena
April 2, 2010 San Jose, California HP Pavilion at San Jose
April 7, 2010 Sacramento, California ARCO Arena
April 10, 2010 Tacoma, Washington Tacoma Dome

You can listen to the file here or download it on I-Tunes here.

However, when his father comes back into his life, “Boy” must decide whether to keep his fantasy alive or face that his life is nowhere near as perfect as he wants it to be.

A coming of age tale about life, love and family “Boy” is charming, deep and at times, hilarious, making it a film that can affect an audience in many ways, the majority of them being enjoyable ones.

For one, James Rolleston’s performance of the title character is eye-opening. Not having to stray too far obviously to play this character, Rolleston is a natural as the imaginative and wide-eyed “Boy.” Wanting more than everything to establish a relationship with his father Alamein, played by the lovingly gregarious Taika Waititi, who also directs the film, Boy adopts a lifestyle not his own and sacrifices his innocence along the way to be with a man who takes his time learning what family is all about.

This journey through the self-actualization of both of these characters fuels the story and makes the film immensely entertaining. The fact that the journey takes place in the beautiful scenery of New Zealand helps matters as well. Seeing the wildlife and beautiful landscapes around this very real story further clarifies the notion that Waititi is contempt on showing the beauty of his homeland and the hidden gorgeousness of adolescence and manhood.

However, while the environment plays a role in setting the playful tone of the film, watching Rolleston chit chat with his friends about life and love will remind many of their childhood, while Waititi’s carefree and idiotic ways will put a smile on your face and make you sigh in disgust at the same time. During the course of the film, it becomes obvious that Boy and his younger brother are in desperate need of a father and it’s a shame that they have to settle for a friend instead. Nonetheless, it’s a right of passage for all the parties involved: for Boy to ask more from his father and for Alamein to finally give up the guilt, games and garbage and be the man he knows he has to be, for the sake of his struggling family.

Seeing most of this develop in a fun and at times melodramatic way before getting serious might hurt the overall flow of the film, but it doesn’t take away from Waititi’s overall message that both youth and family are cherished commodities that deserve the majority of our attention.

As a matter of fact, one might argue that Waititi’s changes in tone mirror the wild veracity of life in general, making “Boy” a film that in spite of its inherit wackiness, is much more realistic than you’d originally think.

Because of that, in the end, it’s something worth doing a shoddy moonwalk in tribute of.

This is the episode where the game playing brings the tension to a fevered pitch. The Red team has made new enemies, but worse than that, they brought Jillian to tears. The first challenge brings on immunity. Of course, there is a twist, which will rock the weigh-in and reverberate throughout the remainder of the season. There’s also a heady challenge where team members battle against each other to call home. As viewers, we tend to forget that these are real people who are trying to change their lives far away from their families. For some, they are apart from them for the first time. That’s why the game playing is infuriating. To see someone throw away the opportunity to work out with Jillian is an insult to anyone who is desperate to better themselves.

Having said that, if you have been working out with “The Biggest Loser” DVDs, or have been working their program on a scale smaller than the show, then you’re likely to have seen some type of result.

On the ranch, they work out as if it’s their job and drop large amounts of weight every week. With the experience of Bob and Jillian combined, there’s no reason why anyone should not shed any excess pounds. And the last chance workout this week proves that as the trainers tag-team to completely exhaust every inch of the contestants’ bodies.

It’s a joy to watch because you don’t have to go through it. Which brings us to a weigh-in that will have you yelling at the screen, watching it through your eyes and leave you emotionally drained all at the same time. There have been some who say that the way the show is filmed creates villains. However, no one can edit the animosity between the Green and Red teams. Make no mistake: There is game-play going on, and that has left several contestants in the past still obese with nothing to show for it.

The contentious atmosphere at the weigh-in comes to a head in the voting room as an angry contestant pouts her way off the show.

Next week, the contestants that were sent away week one are back to win their place in The Biggest Loser house. And stay tuned for the weigh-in that brings everyone to tears. Who will ultimately be the biggest loser? You’ll have to watch what happens next.

However Mitchell was not solely an actor. In the ‘40s he began his career as a dancer with the likes of Lester Horton. And in the ‘50s he was a premiere dancer in Agnes De Mille’s modern dance troupe. With his shocking black hair and the beautiful-clean lines of a dancer Mitchell exuded sexiness in his performances. Combined with his good looks Mitchell had amazing talent. He assisted in choreographing several dances and stage productions including “Brigadoon” and “Paint Your Wagon.” His ability as a dancer and choreographer garnished him several dance awards in the late 1940s.

Mitchell considered himself an actor who used dance as part of his repertoire. This served him well as his sultry style transferred successfully to films such as “The Band Wagon” with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse and “Oklahoma.” He also had several non dancing roles such as 1977’s “The Turning Point” starring Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft. Two years later Mitchell got the role that would associate him with the world of daytime for nearly 30 years – Palmer Cortlandt.

On “All My Children” Palmer Cortlandt was the tycoon with a mysterious past who was involved in many of the best known storylines of the show. When rival Adam Chandler (David Canary) came on the scene the audience found out that the sophisticated Palmer Cortlandt was in reality Pete Cooney – who came from a place where dirt poor would have been a step up. Through it all Mitchell played this character with a multitude of notes that would have viewers talking to their screens on a daily basis. Recently for the 40th anniversary of the series he made a brief appearance. Also a character based on his friendship with Agnes De Mille is part of a ballet that opened in the fall of 2009.

Dancer, actor, teacher – Mitchell did it all with a style and grace that will be sorely missed.

The Trip to Bountiful tells the uplifting story of Mrs. Carrie Watts, an aging widow living with her son and daughter-in-law in a three-room flat in Houston, Texas, in 1953. Fearing that her presence may be an imposition on others, and chafing under the watchful eye of her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Watts imagines that if she can get away and return to her old home in the town of Bountiful, she is sure to regain her strength, dignity and peace of mind. So, one day, she decides to run away… and find her way back to Bountiful.

The Trip to Bountiful will be presented Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. February 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20. Sunday matinees will be performed at 2 p.m. on February 7, 14 and 21. Ticket prices are $15.00, $13.00 (children and seniors). TDF Vouchers are accepted. Reservations can be made by calling (718) 237-2752 or visiting our Website at www.heightsplayers.org (24-hour notice required).

The Heights Players is located at 26 Willow Place, between Joralemon & State Streets, in historic downtown Brooklyn Heights. 2, 3, 4 & 5 trains to Borough Hall, M/R to Court St. Parking available in the general vicinity. See you at the theatre.

It is the 1950s, and the arrival on “Shutter Island” by detectives Teddy Daniels (Leonardo Dicaprio), and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), as they ferry their way over on assignment to solve the disappearance of one of the patients/criminal opens the film. They find little in the way of answers for the missing woman, as they interview Dr. Cawley, Dr. Jeremiah Naehring played by Max Von Sydow (“The Tudors,” “Minority Report”) and various patients. Kingsley expertly plays the dedicated psychiatrist Cawley with a soft spoken edge; you don’t know if this guy is truly passionate about his work or if he has maniacal intentions behind his research and treatment. Sydow brings to life the questionable German doctor who Daniels dislikes right off the bat, being that he is a WWII veteran, and recalls quite vividly the horrors of that war.

As the investigation continues, there are no concrete answers, but more leads as to potential funny business on Shutter Island. Daniels starts to have visions of his deceased wife, played by Michelle Williams in a less-than intense manner, and she directs him to do or not to do certain things as he carries on the investigation. The scenes with Williams should come off more intense and moving; after all you are watching Daniels talk (or think he is talking to) his dead wife, but the scenes just sort of hang there like dead air. This may be more due to Williams’ lack of passion, because DiCaprio is not only believable as the grieving husband who won’t let go, but the shots of them holding one another are beautiful and artful.

As Daniels’ startling hallucinations of his wife increase and branch off to other things like rats, you start to wonder if his sanity is slipping slowly on this island. The one person who is supposed to be there to ground him is his partner Aule, but his theories about the hospital are off the charts, and Daniels claims a one-man mission to solve it.

Ruffalo is also less than convincing in his squinty-eyed confused diatribes and unassuming presence on screen. Although Ruffalo carries the look of this period piece well, he simply cannot hold his own on-screen with the giant presence of DiCaprio looming like a shadow of talent. Since the pair are on-screen most of the film, this hampers the effect and level of convincing that the film has to do in order to succeed in the end reveal with the plot twist.

The film then takes a surprising turn, as Daniels looks to uncover the questionable experimental procedures that are taking place on Shutter Island, but the twist isn’t as powerful as what the last quarter of the film reveals. It is almost as if you want to be utterly shocked by the twist, but it doesn’t quite make it there, as the film itself is good, but the twist isn’t enough to rein the whole film in and make it feel complete. As a result, an unsatisfying feeling remains, as if the story could have been told in a more unorthodox way causing the end have an even greater impact.

“Shutter Island” would have fared a lot better had it included less well-known actors and had less of a marketing build up. It presented itself as a horror film, which seemed like it would do something different, given the groundbreaking director Scorsese being attached. What really happens though is that it is a solid mystery, but a drama that misses the mark. It needed to be released under the radar, catching the audience off-guard, as the story itself does.

A limousine driver that lives in his Uncle’s basement, Jack, played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman [“Doubt,” “Pirate Radio”], has modest dreams of working for the MTA and having love in his life. Terribly shy however, Jack needs some help in that department. Thankfully, his two closest friends, Lucy [Daphne Rubin-Vega] and Clyde [John Ortiz] sense his quiet desperation and set him up with the equally as lonely Connie, played by Amy Ryan.

What ensues is a love story that, albeit quirky, is heartwarming and a testament of the human condition.

We all need to love and we all do so in different ways; “Jack Goes Boating” shows us that every action we partake in when in a relationship eventually either catches up to us or helps a beautiful flower blossom, making us reap what we sew. Not many romance comedies show this type of personal accountability and because of that, the film is easily accessible, friendly and fun.

Through this, regardless of your affinity for romance comedies, it’s easy to associate with Jack and his tribe. Everyone’s been in the bad relationship that encompasses half of the film and just as many people have longed for the true happiness both Jack and Connie seem desperate for. Because of that, “Jack Goes Boating” is a flick that caters to a wide array of audiences and is sure to satisfy all of them.

Feeling like “Chasing Amy” meets “The Break Up,” “Jack Goes Boating” is as honest a love story as you can get. It doesn’t pull any punches when it shows Jack in his escapades to win Connie’s heart and as a result, makes Hoffman a character that you’ll pull for from start to finish. Learning to swim and cook in order to prepare himself for various dates with her, Hoffman is believable as Jack, an eclectic wannabe-Rastafarian who gets through his loneliness thanks to his favorite reggae tunes and a positive outlook.

The same way Hoffman captures your heart is the same way the rest of the cast is able to strike a chord as well. The helpful naiveté of Ortiz and the weariness and impulsiveness of Rubin-Vega, who both appeared in the off-Broadway version of the film a few years ago, make them a more than passable pair that are more than just a counterpoint to the fairy tale relationship that Jack and Connie have, giving the film the type of balance it needs to truly thrive. However, even the problems Lucy and Clyde have with their relationship are real ones and seeing both the best and worst things that come with giving someone your heart make “Jack Goes Boating” one of the most thought-provoking rom-coms in quite some time.

As well, Adams’ ability to be kinky, coy, loving and scared, all at the same time, add an extra flavor to the film, combine with the charisma of Hoffman and create the core of a film that is utterly irresistible.

Helping matters even more is an excellent score that brings the characters alive and cinematography that drives the already stellar plot. An excellent love story by itself, the scenery of New York City and the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple add an extra beauty to the film and make it more than memorable.

Overall, with Hoffman leading the charge on-screen and off as director, combined with an upbeat and diverse cast and a score and cinematography that become characters themselves, “Jack Goes Boating” is not only one of the best films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, it’s a great film all by itself.

This week’s episode brings us to another gathering as Mystic Falls throws a ‘50s themed party at the local high school. In the meantime, there’s also another vampire in town, which means vervain jewelry for everyone, but that doesn’t stop him from stalking Elena.

This episode furthers the momentum of the previous one in that it’s high paced, suspenseful and action packed. The dialogue has picked up, as well. The brotherly banter between Stefan and Damon gets less wooden as the episodes unfold, Elena has become more palpable and Bonnie is actually entertaining.

Meanwhile, as Alaric and Damon meet at the dance, the audience can feel the tension. Does Damon recognize him? Then there’s Jeremy’s new friend. The reason for her sudden appearance in town is revealed. Let’s not forget the has-been jock, Ben, and the return of Matt and Caroline.

Just why exactly is Mystic Falls a vampire magnet and why does everyone want Katherine out of her tomb? One thing is for sure – when the Salvatore brothers team up, it makes for good television.

The audience is in for a treat as the mysteries about Elena’s parentage and Alaric’s connection to Damon unfold. Next week is full of flashbacks, as we see how it all started. Finally, what do the founding fathers of Mystic Falls have to do with what’s happening in the present? Stay tuned to find out.

Classic-rock albums were always the lifeblood of this genre of music. Some have threads between songs that create a musical tapestry, while others have loosely associated tracks. Many of them have beautifully crafted covers with groundbreaking artwork or a unique style, but more importantly, they’re collections of songs that flow together seamlessly. Here is my top 10 list of classic-rock albums. In order for a release to make the cut, it must meet three criteria: Have a tremendous impact on the classic-rock world, maintain high quality from beginning to end and, most importantly, be timeless.

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” (1967) – The Beatles – It is the most significant album in classic-rock history. It is revolutionary in its content, presentation and impact on the music world. Originally conceived as a concept album about an imaginary band, it evolved into a sonic masterpiece with rockers (“It’s Getting Better” and the title track), psychedelia (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”), mysticism (“Within You Without You”) and symphonic brilliance (“She’s Leaving Home”). Songs like “Lovely Rita” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite” are mini-movies with wonderful music and lyrics. In addition, its groundbreaking cover, which features the Beatles alongside cultural icons like Edgar Allan Poe, Marlon Brando, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw and Bob Dylan just to name a few, is priceless. The album is also one of the first major releases that took a long time to produce (700 hours). It also included the lyrics to the songs, a novel idea at the time. Produced by George Martin and engineered by Geoff Emerick, it is a shining moment for John, Paul, George and Ringo.

“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973) – Elton John - John and lyricist Bernie Taupin’s streak of fantastic albums continued with this career zenith. Released as a double album, its 17 songs are a bouillabaisse of assorted musical styles. From the gothic organ of the anthem “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding” to the melodic “Harmony,” this masterpiece covers all bases. We are introduced to the seamy underbelly of the city with “All the Girls Love Alice,” teenage angst is explored in “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting” and John and Taupin pay tribute to sex goddess Marilyn Monroe in “Candle in the Wind.” Elton’s backing band of Davey Johnstone (guitar) Dee Murray (bass) and Nigel Olsson (drums) never rocked harder or played better. John’s Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired piano work is dynamic, while his vocals are both touching and rocking. Though John has had many highlights in his career, they never surpassed this effort. Producer Gus Dudgeon got the most out of the band on this rock opus, which was recorded at Strawberry Studios in France.

“Who’s Next” (1971) – The Who - This rock masterpiece, penned by Pete Townsend, came out of the “Lifehouse” rock opera he abandoned. Some songs were retained for this album, and they shook up the world of rock. The use of synthesizers and other keyboards on “Baba O’Reilly” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” was groundbreaking at the time. Roger Daltrey’s vocals are at their best (“Bargain,” “The Song is Over” and “Behind Blue Eyes”), Townsend’s power chords are inspiring, John Entwistle’s bass lines are intricate and Keith Moon’s frenetic drumming is unrivaled. A great track is the Entwistle classic “My Wife,” which underscores the old adage, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Even though the Who gave us “Tommy” before and “Quadrophenia” after this release, the quality of this album makes it the Who’s signature release. There is a 1995 edition with bonus tracks and a double-disc version that features a live performance from the Young Vic Theater in London on April 26, 1971.

“Are You Experienced” (1967) – The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Hendrix burst onto the music scene in England in 1966, wowing such rock luminaries as Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton with his electrifying live performances. As if that were not enough, his debut is a landscape of electrified blues (“Red House”), in-your-face rockers (“Purple Haze” and “Foxey Lady”), lilting, spacey ballads (“The Wind Cries Mary”) and cosmic excursions (“Third Stone from the Sun”). Feedback, backward sounds and distortion aside, Hendrix demonstrates why he is the best classic rock guitarist to ever strap on an ax. Along with Noel Redding (bass) and Mitch Mitchell (check out his drums on “Fire”), Hendrix redefined the parameters of songwriting and recording with his maiden effort.

“Dark Side of The Moon” (1973) – Pink Floyd – The sixth album of this progressive rock band remained on the Billboard charts for 14 years, eventually selling 45 million copies. Recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios and engineered by Alan Parsons, this landmark art-rock concept album addresses greed (“Money”), madness (“Brain Damage”- a reference to ex-band member Syd Barrett) and aging (“Time”). The tracks all flow together without any separation, which adds to its magic. It has a striking cover shot of a prism, designed by Hipgnosis. Roger Waters’ brilliant lyrics and compositional skills were at their peak, and guitarist David Gilmour’s tapestries of sound envelopes the listener. As late keyboardist Richard Wright stated, “It felt like the whole band were working together. It was a creative time. We were all
very open.”

“Machine Head” (1972) – Deep Purple - Recorded at the Grand Hotel in Montreaux, Switzerland, this dream album includes “Highway Star,” Deep Purple’s ode to a woman and an automobile, and “Smoke on the Water,” every beginning guitarist’s rite of passage. “Never Before” and “Pictures of Home” are songs that do not get a lot of airplay on a certain classic-rock station in New York City, but are musical highpoints nonetheless. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore shines throughout (especially on “Lazy” and “Space Truckin’”), while Ian Gillan (vocals and harmonica) and Ian Paice (drums) are in top form. A 25th anniversary edition (1997) features remastered versions of the tracks on the original, plus a great B-side, “When a Blind Man Cries.” Though Deep Purple had many brilliant moments (“In Rock” is considered the starting point of heavy metal), nothing matches this release, which eventually received double-platinum sales.

“The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” (1972) – David Bowie – This concept album chronicles the tale of an extraterrestrial who tries to save earthlings from destroying Earth in five years (a song title on the album). In addition, Stardust is a drug-addled and promiscuous rock star, whose message of peace and love is undermined by his hedonistic tendencies. Beyond this interesting subplot, the album rocks from beginning to end. The wonderful Mick Ronson’s (guitar) tasty guitar licks add to such classics as “Ziggy Stardust,” “Suffragette City” and “Hang on to Yourself,” while Trevor Bolder (bass) and Mick Woodsmansey (drums) round out the Spiders from Mars expertly. A 1990 reissue contains a demo track of “Lady Stardust” and a previously unreleased outtake of “Sweet Head,” a rarely heard diamond in the rough. Often called “Ziggy Stardust,” the release is a glam-rock staple and still maintains the same musical relevance today.

“Sticky Fingers” (1971) – The Rolling Stones – The ninth album from the band is a creative and musical zenith for the “Glimmer Twins” (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards) and the rest of the Stones. It was also Mick Taylor’s (guitar) first full appearance on a Rolling Stones album. Its tracks range from your molten rockers like “Brown Sugar,” “Sway,” “Bitch” and “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” (along with a great Mick Taylor solo) to ballads like “Wild Horses,” the drug-inspired “Sister Morphine” and the dreamy “Moonlight Mile.” Its Andy Warhol-designed cover with a working zipper that reveals a man wearing briefs is inspired. (In Spain, this cover was replaced by a photo of a can with fingers in it, and “Sister Morphine” was replaced by a great live version of “Let it Rock,” a Chuck Berry classic.) There are so many Rolling Stones albums that are impressive efforts, but “Sticky Fingers” is the Stones at their raw, blues-soaked best.

“Led Zeppelin IV,” “Untitled,” “ZOSO,” or “Runes Album” (1971) – Led Zeppelin – Having sold 37 million copies worldwide, this album is the most significant release in Led Zeppelin’s history. What other band would have the guts to leave a cover of an album untitled? The cover shot of a countryman in an oil painting on the wall of a shoddy house gives the album a rural/city dynamic. From the sexually charged “Black Dog” (with guitarist Jimmy Page’s call and response guitar solo) and the early-rock inspired “Rock and Roll” to the epic “Stairway to Heaven,” this release never ceases to amaze a listener. It also contains “The Battle of Evermore,” with the angelic voice of Sandy Denny singing with Robert Plant. Page shines on the acoustic “Going to California” and the Mississippi Delta-drenched “When the Levee Breaks,” while John Bonham’s drumming is thunderous and unique throughout. This landmark album has something for every classic-rock fan.

“Aqualung” (1971) – Jethro Tull – Last, but certainly not least, Jethro Tull’s fourth album put them on the classic-rock map. It contains the classic-rock staple “Aqualung,” but also boasts “Cross-Eyed Mary,” “Locomotive Breath,” “My God” and the lost classic, “Wind Up.” The cover illustration is of a lecherous, homeless man, who is the character described in the title track. The first side (it was an LP) features character studies, while side two offers a pro-God,anti-church message. Ian Anderson’s voice is at its peak, as is his flute playing and acoustic guitar work. Martin Barre’s (guitar) licks and riffs are first-rate, while Clive Bunker’s drums are dynamic and perfectly suited for the material. The songs on the album are intricately structured and contain intelligent lyrics, making “Aqualung” a legendary release.

Honorable mentions: “ Brain Salad Surgery” (1973) – Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “Back In Black” (1980) – AC/DC, “Bad Company” (1974) – Bad Company, “Fragile” (1972 in the U.S.) – Yes and “Jailbreak” (1976) – Thin Lizzy.

Her career began in England where she appeared in David Lean’s “Great Expectations” and Laurence Olivier’s “Hamlet” (1948) where she received an Oscar nomination. When she came to the U.S. she had to battle Howard Hughes (who owned RKO studios at the time) for the right to make good movies. Winning that lawsuit awarded Simmons with several well-known movies that have become classics.

Her roles in “The Robe” (starring Richard Burton and the first film in Cinemascope), “Elmer Gantry,” “Gus and Dolls” and “Spartacus” made Simmons’ looks and acting ability a force to be reckoned with in the ‘50s and ‘60s. Later on in her career she moved on to television and stage plays where she garnished an Emmy for her role in “The Thorn Birds” (1983).

What made Simmons an actress who was constantly working was her soft-spoken voice and her range. She could emote with a glance, and make you empathize with her character’s plight even if she was in the wrong. In the ‘80s and ‘90s Simmons portrayed the mother figure in several television movies and miniseries besides “The Thorn Birds.” There was “North and South,” “North and South Book Two,” “A Small Killing” and the Masterpiece Theater adaptation of “Great Expectations” where she played Miss Havisham. For fans of occult movie and television themed shows her role in the 1991 remake “Dark Shadows” may be what she will be best known for. Running for only 12 episodes it told the tale of tormented vampire Barnabas Collins through flashbacks and the present-day simultaneously. This series which gave Simmons the opportunity to play a matriarch from the mid 19th century and from the early 1990s’ was a study in subtle acting as there was little to differentiate the time period besides the clothes and accents.

For the next several years Simmons mostly did voice-over work narrating shows such as “American Masters.” Her most recent completed work was as Hannah in the 2009 small film “Shadows in the Sun”: a London production in which a man helps a family in 1960s England find themselves and the love they have for each other.

Her quality and style of acting will be missed.

Check out Review Fix’s Exclusive Pics from the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

Photos by Patrick Hickey Jr. and Cynthia Spataro

“You give in on the little things, you forget the big things,” advises Ha’la’tha (a Tauron-based crime syndicate) member Sam Adama (Sasha Roiz) to his 11-year-old nephew, Willie (Sina Najafi), as the two are being arrested on a Caprican street. He also tells him that the key to dealing with a person trying to make you feel guilty about something is to find what they feel guilty about, and talk about that, instead.

William Adama remembered that lesson well, the episode shows.

As Dr. Amanda Graystone (Paula Malcomson) continues to get visits from the police regarding her late daughter, Zoe’s (Alessandra Torresani), alleged involvement in the act of terrorism and the Soldiers of the One, Joseph Adams (Esai Morales) begins to warm to the notion of seeing Tamara’s (Genevieve Buecher) avatar again, but Daniel (Eric Stoltz) is too overcome with grief over his loss of Zoe’s and pays the suspiciously-connected attorney no heed.

Meanwhile, it seems that the aforementioned avatar is not quite so lost, after all. Consumed with a need to understand precisely why only one Cylon unit is able to effectively display artificial intelligence, Daniel has it sent to his home lab.

While the answer is no surprise to viewers, the psychologically tortured genius is left in the dark, though his highly analytical brain is showing signs of discovering the nature of this mystery.

To help a fellow closet monotheist overcome her grief, Sister Clarise (Polly Walker) decides to take Lacy (Magda Apanowicz) home to dinner to meet her various husbands and wives, one of whom (Scott Porter) takes a more than casual interest in the distraught teenager.

The overall effect of “Rebirth” is absolutely explosive. From the magnetic intensity of Morales, Malcomson and Stoltz, to the harrowing conclusion of the installment, it maintains a gripping, kinetic and ultimately intriguing pace.

It also serves as a catalyst for a storyline that will undoubtedly require various forthcoming episodes to even begin to resolve –after all, the way of the Ha’la’tha is to repay blood in blood, and while protagonists each tend to have extended an lifespan, the specific quality of that life is left up to question.

Knowing Ron Moore, however, it’s going to get much, much worse before it gets better – and even then it’s only temporary, given the events of “Battlestar Galactica.”

“Rebirth” – as its title perhaps inadvertently suggests – is precisely the seal of encouragement that was needed to live up to its predecessor.

As undoubtedly expected, with Moore’s newest brainchild, quality on the Syfy channel is now reborn.

Part of this drive to question the world is that his parents were immigrants with little access to a formal education. This in turn caused Zinn to be a voracious reader who transferred his love of writing (he was in a special writing program in Thomas Jefferson High School) to help those who could not speak for themselves by getting their stories told. His political stances were at times unpopular with the public, but he was never one to back down from a fight he believed in. This stems from his stint with the United States Air Force, where he was involved in napalming an area in Europe when WWII was basically over. It caused him to question just what the government owes its citizens.

Recently, he was a part of the television special, “The People Speak” – a documentary where actors and musicians, through readings and song, gave voice to the oppressed and downtrodden people of previous decades. It was in part based on the set-up of the staged production of “A People’s History of the United States,” the book that Zinn is best known for.

Yes throughout his career, Zinn has won numerous awards for his activism and common sense approach to the problems of the United States, but it is his everyman quality, particularly the way in which he related to people, that will be missed.

Audience Favorites Feature Contracorriente, happythankyoumoreplease, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, and Wasteland

Peers Give Homewrecker Best of NEXT Award

Park City, UT-The Jury, Audience, NEXT, and other special award-winners of the 2010 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s Awards Ceremony hosted by David Hyde Pierce (star of The Perfect Host which premiered in this year’s Park City at Midnight section) in Park City, Utah. Highlights from the Awards Ceremony can be seen on the Festival website, www.sundance.org/festival.

Films receiving Jury Awards were selected from four categories: U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition and World Cinema Documentary Competition. All films in competition were also eligible for Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Festival audiences. The U.S. Audience Awards presented by Honda and World Cinema Audience Awards were announced by Louis C.K. Joseph Gordon Levitt announced the new Best of NEXT award, chosen by peers in the section and presented by YouTube™ in celebration of films made with little or no budget.

Jury Prizes in Shorts Filmmaking were awarded to American and international short-form films on Tuesday, January 26. Other awards recognized at the ceremony included the Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Award, created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays, and the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, awarded to a film which excels in addressing compelling topics in science or technology.

“Great films make for a great festival,” said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. “This year it was as if I could feel a shift in the DNA of the film community – the reaction to the films was inspiring.”

“These awards celebrate the diversity of this year’s program,” said Trevor Groth, the Festival’s Director of Programming. “Hopefully the attention these prizes bring will allow the films to connect with a wider audience hungry for choice.”

The 2010 Sundance Film Festival Juries consisted of:

U.S. Documentary Competition: Greg Barker, Dayna Goldfine, Nancy Miller, Morgan Spurlock, Ondi Timoner; U.S. Dramatic Competition: Russell Banks, Jason Kliot, Karyn Kusama, Parker Posey, Robert Yeoman; World Cinema Documentary Competition: Jennifer Baichwal, Jeffrey Brown, Asako Fujioka; World Cinema Dramatic Competition: Alison Maclean, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Sigurjon “Joni” Sighvatsson; Shorts Competition: Sterlin Harjo, Brent Hoff, Christine Vachon; Alfred P. Sloan Award: Peter Galison, Darcy Kelley, Joe Palca, Paul Sereno, Marianna Palka.

For the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, 117 feature-length films were selected including 85 world premieres, 11 North American premieres, and 12 U.S. premieres representing 39 countries with 51 first-time filmmakers, including 27 in competition. These films were selected from 3,724 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,920 U.S. and 1,804 international feature-length films.

2010 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners:

The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to Restrepo, directed by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington’s year dug in with the Second Platoon in one of Afghanistan’s most strategically crucial valleys reveals extraordinary insight into the surreal combination of back breaking labor, deadly firefights, and camaraderie as the soldiers painfully push back the Taliban.

The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik; written by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini. An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father while trying to keep her family intact.

The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to The Red Chapel (Det Røde Kapel)directed by Mads Brügger. A journalist with no scruples, a self-proclaimed spastic, and a comedian travel to North Korea under the guise of a cultural exchange visit to challenge one of the world’s most notorious regimes. Denmark

The World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Animal Kingdom, written and directed by David Michôd. After the death of his mother, a seventeen year-old boy is thrust precariously between an explosive criminal family and a detective who thinks he can save him. Australia

The Audience Awards are presented to both a dramatic and documentary film in four Competitions as voted by Sundance Film Festival audiences. The 2010 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards are presented by Honda.

The Audience Award: Documentary was presented to WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, directed by Davis Guggenheim, for his examination of the crisis of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories.

The Audience Award: Dramatic was presented to happythankyoumoreplease, written and directed by Josh Radnor, about six New Yorkers juggling love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood.

The World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary was presented to Wasteland, directed by Lucy Walker about international art star Vik Muniz, garbage pickers in the world’s largest landfill in Rio de Janeiro and the transformative power of art. United Kingdom / Brazil

The World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic was presented to Contracorriente (Undertow) written and directed by Javier Fuentes-Leõn, an unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside in which a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town’s rigid traditions. Peru / Colombia / France / Germany

New for 2010: Best of NEXT. Selected by ballots cast by the eight NEXT filmmakers, this award celebrates a film creating the greatest art on a low budget. The Best of NEXT award is presented by YouTube™.

The Best of NEXT award was presented to Homewrecker, directed by Todd Barnes and Brad Barnes and written by Todd Barnes, Brad Barnes, and Sophie Goodhart. The last romantic in New York City is an ex-con locksmith on work release.

Directing Awards recognize excellence in directing for dramatic and documentary features.

The Directing Award: Documentary was presented to Smash His Camera, directed by Leon Gast, about famous celebrity photographer and original paparazzo, Ron Galella.

The Directing Award: Dramatic was presented to 3 Backyards, directed and written by Eric Mendelsohn. The film is about a trio of brief, life-altering adventures unfolding in a seemingly normal autumn day.

The World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary was presented to Space Tourists, directed by Christian Frei who explores the impact of space tourism in the heavens and on earth. Switzerland

The World Cinema Directing Award: Dramatic was presented to Southern District, directed and written by Juan Carlos Valdivia, about a bourgeois family in La Paz, Bolivia who watches as social change begins to penetrate their insulated world. Bolivia

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award was presented to Winter’s Bone, directed by Debra Granik; written by Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini. An unflinching Ozark Mountain girl hacks through dangerous social terrain as she hunts down her missing father while trying to keep her family intact.

The World Cinema Screenwriting Award was presented to Southern District, written and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia, about a bourgeois family in La Paz, Bolivia who watches as social change begins to penetrate their insulated world. Bolivia

The Documentary Editing Award was presented to Joan Rivers-A Piece Of Work, edited by Penelope Falk; directed by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. An exposé chronicling the private dramas of irreverent, legendary comedian and pop icon Joan Rivers.

The World Cinema Documentary Editing Award was presented to A Film Unfinished, written and directed by Yael Hersonski. Edited by Joëlle Alexis. The film is a powerful documentary about Nazi-produced propaganda films. Germany / Israel.

The Excellence in Cinematography Awards honor exceptional cinematography in both dramatic and documentary categories:

The Excellence in Cinematography Award: Documentary was presented to The Oath, directed by Laura Poitras. Cinematographers: Kirsten Johnson and Laura Poitras. The interlocking drama of two brothers-in-law whose associations with al Qaeda in the 1990s propelled them on divergent courses.

The Excellence in Cinematography Award: Dramatic was presented to Obselidia,written and directed by Diane Bell. Cinematographer: Zak Mulligan. In his quest to document nearly extinct occupations, a man unexpectedly finds romance.

The World Cinema Cinematography Award: Documentary was presented to His & Hers, directed by Ken Wardrop. Cinematographers: Kate McCullough and Michael Lavelle. A 90-year-old love story through the collective voice of 70 days at different stages of their lives. Ireland

The World Cinema Cinematography Award: Dramatic was presented to The Man Next Door (El Hombre de al Lado). Directors and cinematographers Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat. A small incident over two neighbors’ common wall sparks a conflict which affects the intimacy of the view over the chimney; the protagonist sparks a conflict and with paranoiac obsession destroys everyday life. Argentina

A World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Dramatic for Breakout Performance was presented to Tatiana Maslany for her role as a starry-eyed teenager in Grown Up Movie Star. Canada

A World Cinema Special Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to Enemies of the People, directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, for their watershed account of Cambodian history and a quest for closure on one of the world’s darkest episodes. Cambodia / United Kingdom

A Special Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to GASLAND, directed by Josh Fox. With spirit, strength, and a sense of humor, Fox’s personal documentary takes a look at how natural gas affects our air and drinking water.

A Special Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Sympathy for Delicious, directed by Mark Ruffalo; written by and starring Christopher Thornton about a recently paralyzed DJ who seeks out the dubious world of faith healing.

As announced on Tuesday, the 2010 Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking was awarded to Drunk History: Douglass & Lincoln (Director: Jeremy Konner). The 2010 Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking was given to The Six Dollar Fifty Man / New Zealand (Directors and screenwriters: Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland). In addition, the jury awarded Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking to: Born Sweet / USA, Cambodia (Director: Cynthia Wade); Can We Talk? / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Jim Owen); Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No / USA (Director: James Blagden); How I Met Your Father / Spain (Director and screenwriter: Álex Montoya); Quadrangle / USA (Director: Amy Grappell); Rob and Valentyna in Scotland / USA, United Kingdom (Director: Eric Lynne; Screenwriters: Eric Lynne and Rob Chester Smith), and Young Love / Australia (Director and screenwriter: Ariel Kleiman).

Obselidia, written and directed by Diane Bell, is the recipient of this year’s Alfred P. Sloan Prize. The Prize, which carries a $20,000 cash award by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.

Sundance Institute and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) on Thursday announced the winners of the Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Awards honoring and supporting emerging filmmakers-one each from the United States, Japan, Europe, and Latin America. The winning filmmakers and projects are: Amat Escalante, Heli from Mexico; Andrey Zvyagintsev, Elenafrom Russia; Daisuke Yamaoka, The Wonderful Lives at Asahigaoka (written with Yugo Eto) from Japan; and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (written with Lucy Alibar) from the United States.

Episode Commentary “Sam Interrupted”

“There are no such things as monsters” are words that should never be uttered in a show that deals with the onset of the apocalypse. It seems the Winchester boys just can’t get a break. Apparently, there’s a demonic force preying on a mental institution. Between Sam’s addiction to demon blood and the mention of their angel-friend Castiel, admittance isn’t a problem for the brothers.

The hiatus hasn’t slowed the show down, as the pop culture references and the sibling-angst banter gives this episode a welcome break from the whole “world-is-going-to-end” situation. Ironically, this is the perfect place for Dean, as he is forced to confront the emotional baggage he’s been carrying around. For him, group therapy is more frightening than the evil they face on the outside. Also, interestingly enough, his diagnosis is apt for his personality.

The heart of this episode is about our inner demons. Yes, the obvious ones are scary. They are like a bright sun in the dark of night. Instead, the demon that causes the Winchester boys to degenerate is not revealed until near the end of their ordeal. Staring down your own fears can be more terrifying than facing down some evil force. At least when you’re hunting the things that go bump in the night and kill them more often than not they stay dead. In this institution, you never know what is real or what has been manifested based on your own insecurities.

There is a real monster in this episode a “Wraith” that sucks the brains of its victims until they’re dead. Essentially, this is one twisted version of “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Incidentally, the two constants in this show, which are ingenuity and the loss of their weaponry, make for one hysterical fight scene.

In the end, the way each brother deals with how he fulfills his purpose will either be their collective undoing or salvation.

Next week brings mayhem and an odd twist that needs to be seen to be believed.

In 1979, it seemed that Spielberg could do no wrong after the dual smash success of “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Certainly the wunderkind could do no wrong if he teamed up with two of the original cast members of “Saturday Night Live,” Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Not only that, but the supporting cast was peppered with legendary and veteran character actors thrown into the mess of a city concerned with an attack similar to Pearl Harbor.

The premise is ingenious and ripe with potential that is sadly never utilized. Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the city of Los Angles is worried that the Japanese will decide to strike an important inland city. Dozens of characters and stories are interwoven as the city becomes engulfed with panic.

An interesting problem with the film is that while some moments are very funny and the technical achievements groundbreaking (it was nominated for three Academy Awards for its special effects), the movie is centered around unrealistic characters. Without solid characters to grasp the audience’s attention, the film is just hollow. When all is said and done, you will have a splitting headache. Screaming characters, explosions and a runaway Ferris wheel are all awe-inspiring spectacles to witness, but it is all meaningless without charismatic characters.

Belushi heads the mess with his odd performance as Capt. Wild Bill Kelso. Picture, if you will, Bluto from “Animal House” as a lost World War II pilot. He lands in Los Angeles, but is unaware that he is no longer on enemy territory. If this character were explored further, it could have been a much better movie.

Oddly enough, Aykroyd and Belushi don’t share that many scenes, but Aykroyd is one of the best parts of the movie. Playing Sgt. Frank Tree enables Aykroyd to steal every scene he is in. His character turns up for several pivotal scenes that include leaving a cannon at a civilian’s (Ned Beatty) home, and an hysterical scene where he rides a tank through the city.

Tim Matheson seems to be channeling his “Animal House” performance in his role as the skirt chasing Capt. Loomis Birkhead. He is chasing after a woman (Nancy Allen) that is only sexually attracted to men while in an airplane. Matheson is often dependable in these roles, and seems natural in front of the camera.

But the best casting is demonstrated by the supporting actors. Toshirô Mifune and Christopher Lee are the German and Japanese heads of a submarine looking to stage an attack on Hollywood. Treat Williams is an angry soldier that hates eggs, and crosses paths with Robert Stack and Warren Oates.

The film also created an amazing set that captures the bygone era of the early ’40s, but the audience is forced to watch that beautiful set being destroyed over the duration of the picture.

The script was penned by “Back to the Future” writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, who have been great with character-driven tales that house amazing special effects. Their career began with small but poignant comedies such as “Used Cars” and “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” It is safe to say that the original concept may have gotten lost in this mess, which went through so many script changes and additions when filming began. None of the characters seem to have that witty sense of dialogue that made these two writers so famous.

A director’s cut was issued on laserdisc, VHS and a DVD that runs about 30 minutes longer, and enhances some of the lesser characters but slows down the pacing. If you have the patience to sit through another half-hour of the already two-hour disaster, then it is highly recommended you see the director’s cut.

A few shining moments are not enough to spare the viewer the headache and heartache of sitting through “1941.” Even Spielberg has recognized this as the lowest point in his career, and he directed the remake of “War of the Worlds.”

You can listen to the file here, or download it on I-Tunes here.

“Holy Rollers” is inspired by actual events in the late nineties, when Hasidic Jews were recruited as mules to smuggle ecstasy from Europe into the United States. Sam Gold (Jesse Eisenberg), a young Hasid from an Orthodox Brooklyn community, is following the path his family has chosen with a pending arranged marriage and becoming a Rabbi. A charming neighbor, Yosef Zimmerman (Justin Bartha), senses Sam’s resistance and propositions him to transport ‘medicine’ for Jackie (Danny Abeckaser), an Israeli dealer, and Rachel (Ari Graynor), Jackie’s girlfriend. Sam quickly demonstrates his business acumen to his bosses, who instantly take Sam under their wing, and into the exciting worlds of Manhattan and Amsterdam nightlife. Sam falls deeper into their cavalier lifestyle, even experimenting with ecstasy, and falling for Rachel. As the business grows, Sam’s double life begins to rip his family apart, while the community starts to suspect his illegal activities. Sam slowly comes to realize the façade behind the easy money and parties. Caught between life as a smuggler and the path back to God, Sam goes on the run, forced to make a fatal decision that could bring the entire operation crashing down.

“Holy Rollers” is produced by Danny Abeckaser, Tory Tunnell, Per Melita, and Jen Gatien.

Cinetic International negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.

The decidedly playful overture highlights the overall light mood of the opera, though it nevertheless contains a message both real and poignant – the importance of trust and integrity in love.

This weekend marked the New York premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s phenomenal opera, “Hotel Casablanca,” at the Dicapo Opera Theatre on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

Elegant and spacious, the theatre almost serves as an intermediary between fully-orchestrated venues like the Metropolitan Opera House and smaller establishments led by a single pianist.

It takes place in contemporary Texas, centering on the happily wedded owners of Double T Ranch, Tallulah (Molly Mustonen) and Tom Carter (Chad Armstrong), though their marital bliss seems threatened when Tallulah discovers that Tom’s Old Glory-inspired suspenders were found at the notorious Hotel Casablanca.

Echoing “The Marriage of Figaro,” Tallulah and her opera-loving friend, Lucy (Sara Stewart) decide to write an anonymous – and incredibly sultry (she wishes to resemble “two wild horses locked in a passionate embrace” with the intended recipient) – love letter to the owner of Double T Ranch.

After a cleverly-executed and charming scene involving the revelation of the note to ranch manager Tobias (Michael Callas) and Lucy’s incredibly jealous husband, Raul (Ubaldo Feliciano-Hernandez), a comedy of errors ensues, filled with traditional fare like mistaken identities and humorous overreactions.

At the center of it all is the aforementioned nephew, Charles, who is apparently the true perpetrator of the carnal transgression, but Tallulah and Lucy do not know this – and neither does Raul, who recognizes his wife’s handwriting and lipstick-sealed kiss on the offending parchment.

Possessing both comedic and vocal finesse, Feliciano-Hernandez’s interpretation of the Latin lover did not for a moment lack the grace typically associated with the art of opera. In fact, so intense was his dedication to his craft that the tenor slipped into the voracious role of baritone with nary a trace of his true tessitura.

His storyline spouse, Stewart, a remarkable humorist in her own right, possessed a sense of comedic timing and display that immediately enamored her to the audience. An adorable gossip with an infectiously mischievous mega-watt smile – and a sense of dramatic flair to match (she always dreamed of having a tenor sing at her death scene, a la “Madama Butterfly”) – Stewart’s Lucy traipses the fine line of physical comedy, at once engaging and funny.

But the largest source of whimsy comes from Velis, who is simply astounding as the lay-about, Charles. From a fantastically-executed stage hangover to his awkward handling of one of Chekhov’s three guns, combined with his decidedly endearing inability to walk in manly, Texan boots, Velis is a spectacle from start to finish, with an impressive voice to match.

On the dramatic front, the sheer weight of passion of Armstrong’s lovingly devoted Tom is both admirable and gripping. Somehow managing to balance charm and machismo, the powerfully moving baritone captures the ardent pathos of the male lead in his determination and unwitting sensitivity.

A height of romantic tragedy was reached quite easily by Mustonen, however. Looking delightfully glitzy in her Texan getup, the soulful soprano consistently maintained a haunting air of dreamy fragility. A soft, affectionate woman, Mustonen’s deeply emotional aria at the hotel, marked by the somber words, “I blame my breaking heart,” truly grips that of the viewer, as the bright and extraordinarily expressive vocalist performs splendidly.

The respective talents at Dicapo are hardly reserved to the fabulous five, however, as Callas, Dane Reese, Selena Moretz and Lynne Abeles were each more than effective in their roles of Tobias, Burton, Miss Pooder and Veronique, respectively – each possessing a beautiful voice and acting ability.

The seamless direction of Francine Harman and the stunning musical accompaniment by the 17-piece orchestra only added to the overall success of the presentation.

Ultimately fun and alluring, Pasatieri’s magnanimous opera is more than worth seeing, with hopes of a quick return to the theatre.

An enormous, Texas-sized “bravo.”

Photo by Sarah Shatz.

Episode Commentary: “Bloodlines”

Damon and Elena go on a road trip without her magic necklace and the mystery of Alaric the history teacher deepens. Meanwhile, Stefan tries to help Bonnie come to terms with her abilities. The chemistry between these two is better than the whiny relationship that he and Elena share.

On their adventure in Georgia, Elena tries to put together the pieces of the night she found out she’s a dead ringer for Katherine. Just who was the vampire she ran over? And why is Damon traveling to Georgia? It involves an old flame of his (Gina Torres), who happens to be a witch. Then there’s Elena’s little brother. His history assignment is rattling the skeletons of good old Mystic Falls. In the interim, he meets a girl named Anna (Malese Jow), who can only be described as “awkward.” Is she a future victim or a hunter?

It seems that the hiatus from the show has improved the acting abilities of Katarina Graham (Bonnie). In her struggle with dealing with her powers, Bonnie projects a sense of fear and her scenes with Stefan and her grandmother (Jasmine Guy) feel genuine. On a side note, Jasmine Guy should be a regular. Her mere presence elevates the acting of everyone around her.

One of the highlights of this episode is the created folklore that Jeremy and Anna exchange. The idea of demon-warriors and Jeremy’s explanation of their metaphoric existence makes you want to hear more. Unfortunately, these scenes are too short. Delving into the history of this town makes for a more interesting show that improves when the ensemble cast is utilized. When it’s only about Stefan and Elena, the episode drags.

There are several surprises and the action scenes have increased in intensity. As the past comes back to haunt Damon, Bonnie continues to cope with her abilities; you should watch next week to see what unfolds.

Los Angeles, CA (Park City, UT) – Sundance Institute and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) today announced the winners of the 2010 Sundance / NHK International Filmmakers Awards. The four winners were selected from 12 finalists by members of an International Jury which included: Violeta Bava, John Carney, Michael Lehmann, Rebecca Miller, Jose Rivera, Elena Soarez, Pablo Stoll and Wesley Strick; and a Japanese Jury that included Masato Harada, Shin-ichi Kobayashi and Bong-Ou Lee.

Originally created to celebrate 100 years of Cinema, the annual award recognizes and supports four visionary filmmakers from Europe, Latin America, the United States, and Japan on their next films. Each winner receives approximately $100,000 ($10,000 as a cash award and a guarantee from NHK to purchase the Japanese television broadcast rights). In addition, Sundance Institute staff works closely with the winners throughout the year, providing creative and strategic support through the development, financing and production of their films. The awards are presented at the Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 30, 2010.

The winning filmmakers and projects are: Amat Escalante, Heli from Mexico; Andrey Zvyagintsev, Elena from Russia; Daisuke Yamaoka, The Wonderful Lives at Asahigaoka (written with Yugo Eto) from Japan; and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild (written with Lucy Alibar) from the United States.

“This year’s winners unsettle, delight and move audiences with their innovative and inspiring work. We celebrate each of their distinct styles and the unique lens through which they view the world”, said Alesia Weston, Associate Director of Sundance’s Feature Film Program, International.

“The Sundance / NHK award is part of the Sundance Institute Feature Film Program’s year-round commitment to support singular voices in world cinema,” added Michelle Satter, Director, Sundance Institute Feature Film Program. “We expect that the vision and innovative storytelling of this year’s four winners will resonate far beyond their countries of origin.”

Past recipients of the Sundance / NHK Filmmakers award include: Alex Rivera, The Sleep Dealer (USA); Miranda July, Me and You and Everyone We Know (USA); Andrucha Waddington, The House of Sand (Brazil); Lucrecia Martel, La Cienaga (Argentina); Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll, Whisky (Uruguay); Walter Salles, Central Station (Brazil); György Pálfi, Taxidermia (Hungary); Fernando Eimbcke with Lake Tahoe (Mexico). The 2009 recipients were: Diego Lerman, Ciencias Morales (Moral Sciences) (Argentina); David Riker, The Girl (USA); Kenji Qurata, Speed Girl (Japan); and Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Evolution (France).

The Winners of the 2010 Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award are:

LATIN AMERICA:

Amat Escalante / Heli (Mexico) In a small Mexican town, where most citizens work for an automobile assembly plant or the local drug cartel, Heli is confronted with police corruption, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, love, guilt and revenge in the search for his father who has mysteriously disappeared.

Born in 1979, Amat Escalante is a self-taught filmmaker from Guanajuato, Mexico. At age 15, he began to devote himself completely to cinema. His first feature Sangre premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival 2005, where it received the Fipresci Prize. His second feature film Los Bastardos also premiered in the Official Selection Un Certain Regard Cannes in 2008 and won numerous awards including Best Film at the Morelia, Sitges and Mar del Plata film festivals. It has been distributed worldwide, including Mexico, USA, France and Canada.

EUROPE:

Andrey Zvyagintsev / Elena (Russia) An elderly woman who has lived with her rich husband in a large, comfortable home tries to rescue her alcoholic son from poverty and give his family the opportunity for a better life that she alone could not provide.

Andrey Zvyagintsev graduated from The Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (GITIS) where he was trained as an actor, then worked on independent theatre projects and acted in TV series and films. In 2000 Andrei made his first short TV fiction films as a director. His first motion picture The Return was nominated for the Golden Globe after winning the Golden Lion and the Lion of the Future for the best director’s debut at the Venice Film Festival. His second feature film BANISHMENT premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival where Konstantin Lavronenko won the award for Best Leading Actor Award, the first ever for a Russian actor.

UNITED STATES:

Benh Zeitlin / Beasts of the Southern Wild (USA) (written with Lucy Alibar) In the Louisiana Delta, a ferocious ten-year-old girl refuses to evacuate her home without her dying father as the Southern Apocalypse descends upon them.

Raised by two folklorists in Queens, NY, Benh Zeitlin is a director, animator, and composer for the Court 13 coterie. Director of award-winning shorts Eggs, Origins of Electricity, I Get Wet and Glory at Sea, Filmmaker Magazine recently named him one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Zeitlin participated in the 2009 June Screenwriters and Directors Lab and is the recipient of a Sundance grant from the Annenberg Foundation. He currently resides in New Orleans where he is developing two feature films and transforming Glory at Sea’s ship, the U.S.S Jimmy Lee, into a rolling, pop-corn making, movie projector cum Mardi-Gras float in preparation for Carnival 2010.

JAPAN:

Daisuke Yamaoka / The Wonderful Lives at Asahigaoka (Japan) (written with Yugo Eto) A young woman’s suicide attempt leaves her in a coma but stirs up the lives of the people around her in the sleepy riverside town of Asahigaoka.

Daisuke Yamaoka worked for production companies before completing Lost Girl in 2007. Lost Girl was released in 2009 and exhibited in Shibuya’s Eurospace Theater and screened at the Dresden International Film Festival in Germany. Mika and Seijun screened at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Austin International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and won the Toru Murakami Award at the Yamagata International Movie Festival. His film Death: The Only Cure for Idiots from Kanagawa University was a runner-up in the Kanagawa Film Concours Grand Prize.

NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) is Japan’s largest broadcaster. Since 1925, it has continued to offer fair, impartial reporting and high quality programs, earning the viewers’ trust as the nation’s sole public broadcaster. Through its five 24-hour TV channels (two terrestrial/three satellite) and three radio channels, NHK provides programs of all genres from news and education to sports and entertainment, and serves as the hub of Japanese visual culture. NHK’s arts and entertainment satellite channel, which was introduced in 1989, broadcasts more than 600 high quality international films each year. In order to contribute to the development of film culture and the promotion of cultural exchange, NHK is devoted to supporting burgeoning filmmakers who have the potential to guide the industry’s future development. Along with the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award, NHK also produces the Asian Film Festival, which offers opportunities to emerging film directors in Asia.

In Diane Bell’s soft spoken and profound debut feature, George, an encyclopedia salesman, decides to write The Obselidia a compendium of obsolete things. In his quest to document nearly extinct occupations, he befriends Sophie, a beautiful cinema projectionist who works at a silent movie theatre. Sophie believes that nothing is obsolete as long as someone loves it. When they interview a reclusive scientist who predicts that 80 percent of the world’s population will be obliterated by irreversible climate change by the year 2100, the two must face the question, if the world is going to disappear tomorrow, how are we going to live today?

Diane Bell was born in Scotland and grew up in Japan, Australia and Germany. She has a degree in Mental Philosophy, is a practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga, and has written a number of optioned and commissioned screenplays. She currently resides in Los Angeles. Obselidia is her first film as writer/director.

The Alfred P. Sloan Prize is a major component of the Sundance Science-in-Film Initiative, which is made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Initiative supports the development and exhibition of new independent film projects that explore science and technology themes or that depict scientists, engineers and mathematicians in engaging and innovative ways. In addition to the Prize, the Initiative presents a panel discussion at the Festival that brings together scientists and filmmakers to explore compelling, contemporary issues regarding science in film; and, in the Sundance Feature Film Program, the Initiative supports the Sloan Commissioning Fund, which provides resources for Initiative projects early in the development phase; and the Sloan Fellowship, which develops eligible projects at the Sundance Feature Film Labs towards production. This Initiative blends the Sloan Foundation’s goal of enhancing public understanding of science and technology with Sundance Institute’s mission to foster independent voices and compelling storytelling in film.

Previous Alfred P. Sloan Prize Winners include: Max Mayer, Adam (2009); Alex Rivera, Sleep Dealer (2008); Shi-Zheng Chen, Dark Matter (2007); Andrucha Waddington, The House of Sand (2006); Werner Herzog, Grizzly Man (2005) and Shane Carruth, Primer (2004).

The winning film was selected by a committee of film and science professionals based on the quality of the film’s presentation of science and technology themes and/or characters. This year’s Alfred P. Sloan jury members include:

Peter Galison is the Joseph Pellegrino University Professor of the History of Science and of Physics at Harvard University. His work explores the complex interaction between the three principal subcultures of physics–experimentation, instrumentation, and theory. His books include: “How Experiments End” (1987), “Image and Logic” (1997), “Einstein’s Clocks, Poincaré’s Maps” (2003) and, with Lorraine Daston, “Objectivity” (2007), and (among others) the co-edited “Architecture of Science”, “Picturing Science, Producing Art”, “Scientific Authorship”, and “Einstein for the 21st Century”. He has made two documentary films, the first with Pamela Hogan, Ultimate Weapon: The H-bomb Dilemma (2000), and the second with Robb Moss, Secrecy (about national security secrecy and democracy), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. At present, he is completing a book, “Building Crashing Thinking” (on technologies that re-form the self) and has just begun a new documentary film, again with Robb Moss, on the long-term storage of nuclear waste.

Darcy Kelley is a neuroscientist whose research focus is the neurobiology of vocal communication and the ways in which brains become male or female. She has been on the faculty of Rockefeller, Princeton and Columbia Universities and heads the graduate program in Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia. Her long-standing interest in the portrayal of science and scientists in the arts has led to consulting for the Sloan project at the Ensemble Studio Theater, and to participating in the New York, Tribeca, East Hampton and Imagine film festivals. She served as the model for the Gena Gershon biolgist role in Kettle of Fish.

Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics – everything from biomedical research to condensed matter physics. He comes to journalism from a science background, having received a Ph.D. in psychology from UC-Santa Cruz where he worked on human sleep physiology. Palca has won numerous awards. He was President of the National Association of Science Writers from 1999-2000. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two children.

Paul Sereno is a Professor at the University of Chicago and Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic. As a paleontologist he leads expeditions to far-flung places as diverse as the Sahara Desert and the Tibetan plateau, in search of fossils to help chart the evolution of dinosaurs. Sereno co-founded Project Exploration, a nationally recognized, nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to making the wonders of science accessible to the public and providing career opportunities in science for city kids. He has earned the Chicago Tribune’s Teacher of the Year Award (1996), the Boston Museum of Science’s Walker Prize for extraordinary contributions in paleontology (1997), Columbia University’s Medal for Excellence (1999), and the Presidential Award for Science Mentoring (2009). Esquire magazine named him one of the hundred “Best People in the World,” Newsweek magazine listed him in its “Century Club,” and People magazine included him among its “50 Most Beautiful People”.

Marianna Palka – was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and moved to New York City at age 17 to act in theater. After acting in multiple plays, she moved to Los Angeles where she currently resides. The American film she wrote, directed and starred in GOOD DICK was in Dramatic Competition at The Sundance Film Festival 2008. Marianna was the youngest director at the festival that year. GOOD DICK was the first screenplay she had ever written. GOOD DICK played in festivals across the globe and had its UK premiere at The Edinburgh Film Festival, where Palka was honored with the New Director’s Award by Sean Connery. GOOD DICK was self released in the US to much success in 2009 by Palka and her co-producers, Jason Ritter, Jen Dubin and Cora Olson.

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
This Sloan-Sundance partnership forms part of a broader national program by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to stimulate leading artists in film, television, and theater; to create more realistic and compelling stories about science and technology; and to challenge existing stereotypes about scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in the popular imagination. Over the past decade, the Foundation has partnered with some of the top film schools in the country – including AFI, Carnegie Mellon, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, and USC – and established annual awards in screenwriting and film production and an annual first-feature award for alumni. The Foundation has also started an annual Sloan Feature Film Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival and initiated new screenwriting workshops at the Hamptons and TriBeca Film Festival. In addition, it continues to work with leading writer/producers and major studios to create more films, TV shows and TV movies featuring scientists, mathematicians and engineers.

Sundance/Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship Grant

A BIRDER’S GUIDE TO EVERYTHING (writers Rob Meyer & Luke Matheny, director Rob Meyer; producer Paul Miller) A year after the death of his mother and on the eve of his father’s remarriage, a 15 year-old bird fanatic, his equally dorky friends, and a cute new girl from school embark on an adventurous road trip to chase an extinct bird they may have spotted.

Co-writer/director Rob Meyer received his MFA at NYU`s Graduate Film Program. His most recent short film Aquarium played at over 50 festivals internationally and has won more than 20 awards, including an Honorable Mention at Sundance, Best Narrative Short at Atlanta Film Festival, Best Live Action Short at Santa Barbara Film Festival, Best Film at Miami Shorts Film Festival and Best Student Short at Woodstock Film Festival. Prior to his studies at NYU, Rob was an Associate Producer for PBS`s NOVA and National Geographic. A graduate of Yale University, Rob has a joint degree in Humanities and Studies in the Environment and plays the violin. A Birder’s Guide To Everything will be his first feature.

Sundance/Alfred P. Sloan Commissioning Grant

BED(writers Cath Le Couteur & Joel Davis, director Cath Le Couteur) An ensemble film about five strangers who come together in a ‘bed-rest’ experiment to aid astronauts in space.

Co-writer/director Cath Le Couteur is a graduate of the UK’s National Film and Television School. Her short films STARCHED and SPIN have won a number of awards including Canal Plus Best Short Film, Edinburgh Special Jury Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement Winterthur, Best Cinematography Bristol. Cath has previously held a Cinefondation Cannes Residency during which she developed her road movie feature Tayte and Cody (attached to Ipso Facto Films). This year Cath will be taking up a Rockefeller Bellagio Residency to develop Bed, an ensemble film which she is co-writing with Joel Davis. Cath is also the co-founder of social entrepreneurship organization Shooting People (shootingpeople.org), the online film makers community with 35,000 members across the UK and NY.

Check out this clip of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Ryan in “Jack Goes Boating,” which is playing at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

- Cynthia Spataro

Since premiering at the festival last Friday, the film has picked up momentum with the fan boy driven audience who respond to the character of HESHER. Sites such as Aint it Cool News have lauded the film as one of the best of the festival.

Spencer Susser, named one of Variety’s Ten Directors to Watch, makes his directorial debut with the anarchic, funny and surprisingly touching coming-of-age story that illustrates how sometimes healing comes in the most unlikely form. Written by Spencer Susser and David Michod, and starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Natalie Portman, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson and Piper Laurie, the film made its worldwide debut at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.

“Hesher is a fine example of American independent film that fits perfectly with Newmarket’s tradition of distributing provocative, unique stories about iconic characters made by exciting new directors,” said Nigel Sinclair and Chris Ball.

“Hesher was my first feature I produced, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience,” said Natalie Portman, producer and co-star. “Spencer had a real vision, and Joseph’s performance will truly blow people away. It is an incredibly special film and I am thrilled to have been a part of the filmmaking process.”

Hesher is the story of a twenty-something long-haired tattooed metal-head who one day unexpectedly enters the life of a grieving family. Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is the most unlikely person to help 13-year-old TJ (Devin Brochu) cope with the death of his mother, but he proves to be the only one who can truly free TJ from his overwhelming sadness. The charismatic and dangerous Hesher drags TJ out of loss and confusion by sheer force of will and gives the young boy and his grieving father (Rainn Wilson) a chance to be a family again.

HESHER is produced by Corner Store Entertainment’s Matt Weaver and Scott Prisand, Lucy Cooper, Natalie Portman’s Handsomecharlie Films, Spencer Susser, Johnny Lin and Win Sheridan.

Check out the trailer for the film here:

Farner’s one of a kind vocals and expert guitar work defined Grand Funk Railroad’s (later called Grand Funk with the addition of keyboardist Craig Frost) sound and helped make them one of the most electrifying live acts in rock and roll history. What other rock group could play the Atlanta Pop Festival in front of 160,000 people as an unsigned band, be snapped up by Capitol records, and record their first album within four months? The band also set an attendance record at Shea Stadium in 1971, surpassing the legendary Beatles appearance in 1965.

From 1983 to 1994, Farner recorded Contemporary Christian albums garnering critical acclaim and continued to wow Grand Funk Railroad fans and newcomers to his music. He also toured with Ringo’s All-Star Band on numerous occasions starting in 1995 and later reunited with Schacher and Brewer for a series of benefit concerts for war-torn Bosnia that were recorded on the double CD “Bosnia.” From 1999 on Farner has toured with his band Nr’G releasing “Red, White and Blue” and “Live Nr’G.”

Reviewfix.com recently spoke with Farner about Grand Funk Railroad, Ringo Starr, John Entwistle, recording, touring and what the future holds for this brilliant musician.

You can listen to the file here, or download it on I-Tunes here.

Episode Commentary: Johari Window

After cursing at the television for most of the last episode, “Fringe” somewhat redeems itself with a fairly interesting episode.

Unsurprisingly, “Johari Window” is yet another filler, standalone piece. At least they managed to keep a dead character dead, so that shows progress.

This episode takes place in the town of Edina in upstate New York. The entire town is engulfed in this strange hum, the famous Edina hum, but it seems that even stranger are the residents of Edina.

Everything begins with a NY trooper picking up a runaway kid outside of Edina. As he takes him back to the station, the normal-looking child inexplicably transforms into a grotesque monster, reminiscent of the Elephant Man. Apparently, there is an urban legend around those parts about these monstrous-looking people, a story that they’ve worked hard to keep in mythical status. Just as the officer logs in his report with a picture of the deformed child, three equally hideous men storm in, kill the cop and his two partners and take the child. As usual, this is when Fringe Division is called in.

Upon arrival, they see the picture of the child as well as the three murdered officers. From there, they begin their investigation in Edina. The first thing Olivia and Peter notice in the quaint little town is the hum in that could be heard in the background. When meeting with the sheriff of the town, to discuss what happened at the trooper’s station outside of town. He explains that the hum comes from a nearby military base. One of the things Fringe does well here is to make sure that the hum is heard whenever there was a scene in Edina.

It actually helps keep a consistency throughout the episode. Hmm – consistency – what a concept.

Getting away from the snide comments, when Olivia, Peter and Walter leave the town that night, they are run off the road by another car. After they trade some gunshots, the driver of the other automobile is killed. When he was put into the body bag, he was a normal looking guy, but when they opened it back at Walter’s lab, like the child before, he was deformed.

Without giving the science of the episode away, everything is about people’s own perception of the world around, and what influences that perception. Walter has a great line in the middle of the episode that says everything about the advanced science in the show.

Unfortunately, there isn’t anything that stands out in this episode that most usually have. The story was okay, and maybe if there wasn’t this unbelievably brilliant plot of parallel worlds on the brink of war using the advanced science developed by Walter and his old partner William Bell, these might be easier to swallow. It’s really hard not to be disappointed week after week when they refuse to advance the storyline further. The three episodes that followed the overlying plot were unbelievably excellent, some of the best television you could watch, and by comparison, everything else “Fringe” does is just a letdown.

Taking these standalone episodes for what they are, “Johari Window” was okay, maybe even better. Technically this show is always well done. It’s edited well, the music always fits the situation, the directing is good and it’s well acted. There’s just nothing special here, not even a great scene with Walter. Hopefully, things will pickup next week.

Whether or not you think this movie is in on its own joke, you’ve got to admit that it’s pretty hard to watch without cracking up. Besides, any movie starring a malevolent cat with pupils that glow green whenever its will is enforced is sure to be good for a couple of laughs. In fact, the cat isn’t even one of the main characters – our heroine, a schoolgirl named Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami), decides to take a trip to her aunt’s (Yoko Minamida) house to get away from her father (Saho Sasazawa) and his new girlfriend (Haruko Wanibuci), who she seems to be stuck with as her future stepmother. Later, Gorgeous complains about them to her friends at school, who are invited to come along with her to her aunt’s place. Except for a ninja enthusiast named Kung-Fu (Miki Jinbo), all of their personalities are interchangeable, which is never a good sign in a genre where stock characters are the first ones to go.

They might look kind of average, but their tormentors are anything but. Gorgeous’ aunt has collected some dangerous furniture over the years, like drawers that devour human flesh and a piano that chews off peoples’ fingers. She even has a well in her backyard with a severed head at the bottom, which terrorizes one of the girls on the surface by dancing about and taking a bite out of that most intimate crevasse of a person’s anatomy.

At this point, you’d think Gorgeous and her friends would be smart enough to run for their lives, but they take all of these supernatural shenanigans with a grain of salt. Some of them even escape their notice altogether, like the blood that gurgles out of the kitchen faucet, or a skeleton that waves its arms as if dancing.

Even when they finally figure out what’s going on, they don’t seem all that alarmed by the situation. When one of them makes the mistake of cranking out a tune on the piano, she stops short when she realizes something’s amiss: “My fingers are gone,” she laments indifferently.

This material would be pretty campy no matter how you look at it, but with such low-fidelity music and silly dialogue, you’ve got to wonder how “Hausu” managed to stay off the mega-cheese radar this long. Not only does it have all the makings of a cult phenomenon, but the storyline is just the tip of the iceberg – all those corny special effects and tacky backgrounds demonstrate just how excessive this genre can be, especially when you’re looking at movies from the ’70s, when violent oddities from guys like Dario Argento and Tobe Hooper were commonplace.

Alas, “Hausu” didn’t make it here in time for that strange era, and despite getting a limited theatrical run, audiences just aren’t lining up for shlock like they used to. At least it’ll get the Criterion treatment when the DVD comes along, and although the Criterion Collection has its fair share of great cinema already, it doesn’t seem complete without a film like “Hausu,” which is OK on its own terms but downright stellar as what it really is. Take that, Renoir.

As you walk through the “New Frontier on Main,” conveniently located across the street from the Egyptian theater, you enter a large darkened room with various pieces of art including dioramas, visual pieces, and interactive video art. The main room has large dioramas of cities and storefronts called “Bordertown” by artist Tracey Snelling. The piece includes miniscule video screens and photographs expertly incorporated into the building windows, which are fascinating to look at because of the detailed work in them. One storefront which is on a separate table is a tiny liquor store with the video of “Superbad” playing inside of the window. It is interesting and fun to check out these pieces which were clearly inspired by films, and might be the inspiration for future films by these artists.

The interactive video pieces on the wall are also fun, and capture images of you as you walk by them, adding captions next to your face, comic book style. The large room at the end of the exhibit, designed by artist Petko Dourmana, has a more ‘experimental’ feel to it, where large lounge pillows are on the floor and you can lay in the darkened room and enjoy psychedelic/relaxation-inspired videos projected on three huge walls above you. It is not only interesting to watch, but can definitely relax you enough to take a nice nap in between screenings.

Actor Joseph Gordon Levitt, who was present at the exhibit for hitRECord.org, showed off this new multi-media/social networking experiment which allows different artists to collaborate on the same pieces of video/art to create one completed work that could be screened at the festival. In the hitRECord.org room at the “New Frontier on Main,” there are videos playing on the wall that are examples of these collaborations, including segments Levitt himself appears in. The exhibit shows off this innovative tool for artists and rogue filmmakers who will probably take it and run with it to create some fascinating work in the future.

The “New Frontier on Main” is a wonderful addition to the Sundance 2010 festival, and brings together a variety of artists including Nao Bustamante, Kalup Linzy, Ragnar Kjartansson, Pipilotti Rist, and Matthew Moore, among many others. The only drawback to the exhibit is that there aren’t more works included, and it seems small comparatively to the amount of artists and filmmakers who could potentially participate. The hope for future festivals would be to include more artists and expand this unique, fun, and innovative exhibition.

Actually, “The Chill” only knocks off the part about the vampires, and although they’ve made plenty of appearances in pop culture over the years, you have to wonder of this could’ve sold before the “Twilight” films really got big. Not that “The Chill” would be appropriate for the PG-13 demographic – the woman, Arlana, frequents local dives and goes home with admiring men, whose severed body parts are found tied to trees the following morning. Detective Pavano can’t figure out why the culprits would go through all that trouble, and things only get more confusing when he begins interviewing witnesses, who all provide different descriptions of the seductress they last saw their pals with.

Before long, the case captures the attention of Detective Martin Cleary from Boston, who has a good idea of who’s behind all this. Their paths coincided in 1967, when Arlana made love to him and nearly took is life by freezing him half to death with her magic powers. He thinks Arlana, who must be 60 by now, is playing mind games with men to make them believe they’ve found the woman of their dreams, then lure them to bed so her centenarian father, Cormac, can kill them off with his spear.

Cleary explains to the NYPD that this all comes from Celtic folklore, which requires that Arlana give guys the “chill” before Cormac can finish the job. Most vampires use their fangs, but then again, a spear would probably get you there faster.

Starr makes the mistake of thinking this setup can support the entire story without building it into something that might’ve worked, but what’s worse is that such brilliant art by Mick Bertilorenzi is wasted on it. He understands the morbid sensuality that comes with vampirism, and pulls off scenes that are sexy and violent at once. Even when he’s just trying to capture the atmosphere of New York, he does it with the spirit of a horror movie.

Starr, on the other hand, handles the narrative like a dime novel. Those can be fun, but would you pay 20 bucks for one?

All of these thoughts run through your mind until that moment, when finally, the dedication plays on the radio. The phone rings; it’s your sweetheart, and they loved it. “Damn I’m good,” you think to yourself.

While that may be true, you should really be thanking the person that put more emotion in conveying your love to that special person in your life than you did writing them.

You should be thanking JJ Kennedy.

For over 25 years, JJ Kennedy has been a fan favorite in New York City radio, working for a variety of stations like WPLJ, WBLS and for the past 18 years, WLTW 106.7 Lite FM, where she hosts the “Lite At Nite,” playing dedications for millions of love hungry New Yorkers, Monday through Friday, from 8 p.m. through midnight.

While her immense on-air talent was already established when she came to Lite FM, hosting the “Lite At Nite” has cemented her place in New York City radio and has given her an opportunity to change people’s lives.

“I just really love it, said Kennedy. “ I come to work with a smile every night; I just love coming to work. That’s amazing after 18 years in the same place. I never get bored; it’s always full of surprises. I just love what I do. It makes me so happy to get on the air and communicate with people. I really feel that at night, there is a special connection, people are in their homes, mostly and even those that are at work just listen differently late at night. They let you know, too, that you’re really part of their lives.”

It’s this connection with her listeners, sharing the love they have with the people they care about that gives Kennedy the level of satisfaction she feels and makes her work extremely worthwhile.

“That’s [love] what I think everything in this world boils down to, because that’s how people function and that’s what they’re looking for. What does a person even want money for? It’s for love. Everything goes back to that.”

In addition to hosting the “Lite At Nite,” Kennedy also volunteers her services when she’s not on the air, reading for the blind and as a therapist to the elderly and students.

Many will also be intrigued to know that Kennedy recently got her Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and is licensed by New York State, proving she truly knows how important love is in the life of her listeners.

Kennedy believes love has played a huge role in her life as well, giving her son, Matthew and her husband, Charlie, to whom she has been married to for three years, credit for changing her life, making her a better person and a better disc-jockey in the process.

“The most important thing in my life is definitely my family. I have a wonderful husband and son. My son changed my life so totally. Having a kid really changes the way you look at things. Your whole perspective changes; I never thought it would,” said Kennedy.

“You just want that person, that love, to be as happy as possible and to have a fulfilling life and to get on a good path. I think it [having her son] made me more compassionate. It makes me see so many things from different angles that I didn’t see before as a non-parent.”

It is this ability, to truly understand the meaning of love, through both knowledge and personal experience, that make Kennedy and her show something that is not only extremely unique, but something that will be around for many more years to come.

This article was originally published in May 2006.

Unfortunately, with a group as energetic and curious as the Spanish Studying Seven, secrets seldom stay so for long – with a more technologically enthusiastic member even tweeting about the news all over school.

Meanwhile, another clandestine activity threatens to change the group dynamic – or at least Troy’s (Donald Glover) reputation. He and Britta (Gillian Jacobs) have each been taking dance lessons – modern and tap, respectively – but have decided to unveil their shared passion to their friends at the upcoming recital.

The only problem is that Troy is too protective of his hitherto masculine reputation.

Whatever problem “Community” had in the past – whether though poorly spread-out storylines or campy pacing, they seem to have fixed it.

After a fantastic introduction during which Pierce (Chevy Chase) reveals that when he was in his 30s, people had the courage to wish him death to his face – now that’s respect – the remainder of “Interpretive Dance” doesn’t falter on the comedic front.

The characters continue their steady path of development, as well – with a long-awaited, though not entirely surprising reaction from Britta.

In fact, the treatment of the characters is so refreshingly well-done that Abed (Danny Pudi) wasn’t even needed to make the episode more engaging, whereas he’s practically been the steadfast supplier of substance for many of the show’s earlier episodes.

Although Abed, Pierce, Annie (Alison Brie) and Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) have admittedly taken a backseat this time, their mutual rapport between the study group’s members still maintained a characteristic chemistry. Pierce protected his proud role as the designated racist by announcing that Britta and Troy’s impromptu dance toward the end is “socially unacceptable, but theatrical dynamite.”

Also, seeing Jeff actually commit to a woman romantically is an interesting step – even more so is that the feisty femme isn’t Britta, or Annie (though that was a creepy, Electra-riffic disaster), for that matter.

Ultimately, this seems to be a step in the right direction for the admittedly amusing sitcom. Here’s hoping that the music for this frenetically funny pace keeps going.

Photo by Cynthia Spataro.

You can listen to the file here or download it on I-Tunes here.

Enjoy!

“A Little Faster” – There for Tomorrow

There’s nothing like a hard and fast guitar riff to get you going and There for Tomorrow is happy to oblige their listeners. They’re no slouch in the lyric department either, as the words weave a riveting narrative that matches the speed of the musical arrangement.

“Unclothed Nocturnal Manuscript Crisis” – Bellowhead

This modern twist to English folk music will have you appreciating the use of strings and horns in a whole new way. The mixture of old and new sounds makes this song innovative and eclectic. You hear funk and elements of choral music instrumentation that definitely work here. If anything, it’s worthy of space in your mp3 player.

“Swim” – Surfer Blood

At first listen, “Swim” sounds as if it’s drowning – loudly. But stick with it. There is some interesting experimentation with folk guitar and hard rock. At times, the elements don’t always blend well, however, Surfer Blood is a group that takes musical risks and it is free, so you don’t have anything to lose.

“Zoquete” – Frank Rosaly

An experimentation in sound that is far too short. To some, it may seem as if there is no rhyme or reason to his synthesizer playing. But listen to it again. Rosaly is not randomly hitting keys. Besides, it’s barely over a minute long, and it’s free.

“First Flight” – John Turville Trio

The jazzy melody and rhythmic arrangement in “First Flight” makes this song a pleasure to listen to. Your ride to work will be enhanced by this band’s musical styling.

“As You Are” – Fran Healy and Andy Dunlop

There are songs that you can listen to when you’re really happy and “As You Are” is one of them. Having said that, it is an amazing track that is full of anger, pain and resentment. The guitar and moog-like sound reverberate through this song amplifying the lyrical elements. A plus is that it’s a live performance. This is something that could not be replicated in a studio. You should give it a chance.

“We’ve Got a Long Way to Go” – Joe Perry

Do you love Aerosmith? Their hard-hitting lyrics with a rocking musicianship as the backdrop are glimpsed in this song. But it doesn’t hold up to the band’s work. As a solo artist, Perry doesn’t seem to stretch his abilities. He needs collaboration and that’s sorely lacking on this track. There is only so much guitar masturbation a person can listen to. Skip it.

A holiday shopping frenzy helped both of Nintendo’s video game systems make history: Nintendo’s Wii™ home system sold more than 3.8 million units in December, a new all-time single-month U.S. sales record. The Nintendo DS™ Lite and Nintendo DSi™ hand-held systems combined to sell more than 3.3 million, the second biggest month in U.S. history.

Those strong December numbers helped propel the Nintendo DS franchise to more than 11.2 million sold in 2009, a new U.S. calendar-year sales record for any video game system – ever. The Wii console finished 2009 with 9.6 million sold. Of all the Wii consoles ever sold in the United States since its November 2006 launch, nearly one-fifth (18.7 percent) were sold during November and December 2009.

“Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value. This remarkable hardware sales surge presents a tremendous software opportunity for Nintendo and its third-party partners as we head into 2010.”

Lifetime U.S. sales for Wii have now surpassed 27.2 million units. No other home console has ever sold so many so quickly. Lifetime U.S. sales for the Nintendo DS franchise have topped 38.8 million units, surpassing lifetime sales of the Game Boy™ Advance franchise.

As always, great software drives hardware sales. In December alone, consumers placed six Nintendo games in the top 10 best-sellers of the month. These include New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii at No. 1 with more than 2.8 million sold, Wii Sports Resort™ at No. 2 with more than 1.7 million sold, Wii Fit™ Plus with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory at No. 3 with more than 1.7 million sold, Wii Play™ at No. 6 with more than 1.0 million sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 7 with more than 936,000 sold and Mario & Luigi™: Bowser’s Inside Story for Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi at No. 10 with more than 656,000 sold.

For all of 2009, Nintendo finished with seven of the top 10 best-selling games of the year. These include New Super Mario Bros. Wii at No. 2 with more than 4.2 million sold, Wii Sports Resort at No. 3 with more than 4.2 million sold, Wii Fit™ at No. 4 with more than 3.5 million sold, Mario Kart Wii at No. 5 with nearly 3.1 million sold, Wii Play at No. 6 with more than 3.1 million sold, Wii Fit Plus™ at No. 8 with more than 2.4 million sold and Pokémon™ Platinum Version at No. 10 with more than 2.0 million sold.

All numbers contained in this document are according to the NPD Group, which tracks U.S. video game sales.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

You can listen to the file here or download it on I-Tunes here.

Enjoy!

There are millions upon millions of stories about the internet and social networking mishaps and miracles, but what makes this documentary worthwhile is the elaborate tale that unfolds as it progresses. The story starts off with Nev, a young photographer begrudgingly being taped with a handheld camera and talking about his newfound friend on Facebook- 8 year old Abbey. Abbey is an adorable girl, who paints with flair and skill well beyond her years, and who finds Nev through facebook, asking if she could paint some of the photographs he takes of dancers.

Nev begins to form a relationship via the internet, texts and the phone with Abbey’s entire family, and a romantic relationship with her sister Megan. The beginning of the film reads like the story of any typical young guy who forms or rekindles a relationship through the modern ways we use. The camera work is shaky handheld, and the feel is almost like a home video. Nev and his filmmaker friends, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, are comfortable and fun in the way they chat with Nev about his Facebook exploits, but it seems to be about nothing more than an interesting story about two talented artists connecting through the internet.

What “Catfish” morphs into a quarter of the way through the film, is a much more intriguing tale of the twists and turns that socializing through the internet can bring on. As Nev and his friends journey to rural Michigan to visit Abbey, love-interest Megan and the rest of her family, they come across surprises and shocking reveals. As is often with the internet, things aren’t always what they seem. The uncomfortable situation that Nev finds himself in initially, becomes trumped later from other overarching human factors which become involved in the story.

Although documentaries are known for revealing the truth as it lies in a lot of instances, “Catfish” brings us a truth which shifts and changes throughout the story. In the end, there is a level of appreciation of the complications of human nature and the need for social contact that emerges, as we try and navigate this very new and quickly changing technology.

After being pushed back her latest album “Pulse”(from Atlantic Records) will be released in March. For the past several weeks, her single “Yesterday,” (written by M. White, T. Battle and J. Armstrong), has been on heavy music video and R&B airwave rotation. But it is the single featuring Trey Songz that makes this song stand out in a good way. Songz’s vocal contribution to the track keeps you interested. Without him, it’s your standard he-did-me-wrong-now-he’s-got-to-go song.

For someone who received solid reviews for her acting, it’s ironic that the music video has several awkward moments that are supposed to be romantic. Having said that, Braxton goes through several fierce hairstyle and wardrobe changes, which serve to make the song watchable.

How will her first studio album of original music do? With collaborations with Robin Thicke, and producer Ne-Yo, you’ll have to wait and see.

They are almost immediately followed by a tearful confession, as – wracked by inner demons – she succumbs to the revelation of a haunting and mysterious truth: “I have doubts. I have such doubts.”

Written at the height of the Catholic priest sexual abuse scandal at the turn of the century, “Doubt” takes place at the St. Nicholas Church School in the fall of 1964, a time that saw the massive reforms stemming from the Vatican, leading some to praise the newly progressive path and others to condemn it.

An avid member of the former is Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a decidedly modern and beloved priest at the Bronx school, as is Sister James (Amy Adams), a newly-hired young nun, serving as a history teacher at the institution.

Sister Aloysius, on the other hand, despises them and Father Flynn with nearly the same passion. He has long fingernails, takes three sugars with his tea and likes Frosty, the Snowman. He staunchly believes that she lacks tolerance.

When Sister James naively comments on the closeness of Father Flynn and Donald Miller (Joseph Foster), the school’s only African American student, suspicious begin to arise about the nature of their relationship – particularly to Sister Aloysius and no one else, with Sister James engaging in a brief interlude.

Though she has no concrete evidence on the matter, she has her presumably excellent judge of character and enough circumstantial evidence to mentally indict him, which she will dutifully follow though to its judicial end.

Although no resolution comes, exposing either guilt or innocence, we do see a curiously familiar evolution in human behavior. In her crusade for justice and piety, Sister Aloysius breaks many cardinal rules of Christianity – “step away from God,” indeed.

Although the plot is certainly riveting and incredibly thought-provoking, the respective performances by the powerhouse cast are perhaps the best reason to see this tale of muddled accusation.

Streep is absolutely dynamic is the bullying nun at the head of Father Flynn’s crucifixion, possessing an enormous and occasionally intimidating wealth of layers. Although easily despicable throughout much of the film, we see a sporadic flicker of humanity beneath those cool and weathered blue orbs. Perhaps she truly does believe in the priest’s guilt, or maybe she is simply terrified of what he represents and its consequences.

The film is at its best, however, when featuring the dramatic repartee of its numerous talents. One such stunning example is in a scene with Viola Davis, who played the melancholy, though driven and loving mother of the student in question. So in touch with her role was Davis that she seemingly held the ability to move her audience through sheer will. With bitterly contagious tears that surely spread to her viewers, she captures the essence of the dilemma behind the scandal and leaves but one regret: that we see so little of her.

Predictably, Hoffman shines in his role as the sensitive priest, who may or may not be harboring a dark secret. With delivery traipsing the thread of subtlety and drama, he capitalizes conviction, easily convincing the audience of his sheer ability.

Sometime after Sisters James and Aloysius have their initial conversation about Father Flynn’s presumed transgressions, he delivers a sermon about gossip. Ridden with guilt, a young woman confesses to her priest about spreading slander about a man she hardly knew. He tells her to raise a pillow to her roof and stab it with a knife. The following day, he tells her to collect all the feathers that spread. It’s impossible, she insists. She does not know where they are. That, he tells her, is the nature of gossip.

And like the remnants of the pillow in the priest’s parable, the feathers of thought cast by “Doubt” sink into the conscious and unconscious mind, quick and altogether heedless of their task and destination.

“Style Savvy is all about creativity and fashion, both of which are really important to me,” says Beyoncé. “I love that I get to become a stylist and take over my own boutique, and it’s so much fun to see some of my Deréon designs added to the mix.”

The burgeoning partnership between Nintendo and Beyoncé began in 2009 with a memorable ad campaign for Rhythm Heaven™, a music-themed game for Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi. Known for her innovative sense of style, the talented musician and actress is an apt spokeswoman for the imaginative, fashion-forward fun of Style Savvy. Fans will get a unique glimpse into this relationship with the launch of two new Style Savvy TV spots starring Beyoncé, both scheduled to begin airing on Nickelodeon the week prior to this year’s Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and during the event itself.

After launching in November, Style Savvy enjoyed a warm reception among holiday consumers, giving fashion buffs and female gamers of all ages a remarkable new way to experience the portable fun of Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi. Beyoncé’s upcoming promotional efforts and downloadable Deréon designs are set to sustain the game’s momentum well into 2010.

Style Savvy invites players of any age to express their individual sense of style by managing a virtual clothing boutique. Choosing from more than 10,000 items in a wide variety of styles, designer labels and price points, players can create distinctive looks to satisfy customers with various tastes and budget constraints. Using the simple controls of the hand-held Nintendo DS or Nintendo DSi systems, players can enjoy Style Savvy anytime, anywhere.

For more information about Style Savvy, plea
se visit www.nintendo.com.

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Video by Cynthia Spataro

You can listen to the file here or download it on I-Tunes here.

Enjoy!

In every age and in every neighborhood there is always a mysterious person surrounded by folklore in one form or another, creating the mythology which sometimes perpetuates for generations. “Get Low” focuses on Felix Bush, played by Duvall, who comes out of his reclusive lifestyle in an attempt to clarify the truth of his life stories before he passes away. To sweeten the pot, as most townsfolk are downright scared of Bush, he offers to raffle for five dollars a ticket, his home and the hundreds of acres of land that he owns. Duvall expertly portrays a man who is at once stubborn, reclusive and ashamed of something in his past, but also charming and timely in his sentiments. He refuses everyone who comes onto his property, and even pays no attention to the news that someone once assumed close to him has passed away.

As he struggles with his daily chores of tending to his one friend, a pack mule, and chopping firewood, he starts to realize he might be coming to the end of his days.

As Bush makes his way through the town, much to the suspicious eye of the townspeople, he flashes a wad of money claiming he is in search of a funeral which will allow him forgiveness and freedom to move into the next world in peace. With this, Bush comes across Frank Quinn (Billy Murray) of Quinn Funeral Home, who looks to gain some of Bush’s fat stack of cash to beef up his failing funeral home business. Murray is deliciously charming and comedic ally brilliant in his delivery of what would be shocking sentiment in an innocuous way. Quinn and his aspiring young assistant Buddy Robinson played by Lucas Black (“Cold Mountain,” “Jarhead”) attempt to deliver what Bush requests, which is a “living funeral party”. The humor in this situation, as well as other scenes comes with Murray’s demeanor and Duvall’s frank statements.

Such scenes as picking out a casket for Bush and attempting to promote the funeral party on a radio show turn into subtle laughs for the audience.

With Duvall’s cranky, yet complex and loveable character Bush, Bill Murray’s comedic timing and one-liners as the funeral home owner, Sissy Spacek’s tender, yet powerful performance as Bush’s would-be love interest, and Lucas Black’s morally upstanding Buddy Robinson, the cast is not only star-studded, but also at the top of their games. Duvall consistently delivers with the utmost clarity and sincerity present in this performance. He embodies the character of Bush, the mountain man who can craft anything out of wood, and who finds friendship in a mule, and observes human nature with all of the depth and understanding of someone who has been steeped in society, rather than alone for forty years with only the company of a mule.

The film’s pacing is slow at times, as we watch Duvall in his solitary life, but it is representative of the path he leads and is quite necessary to fully portray the character of Bush. That aside, the film keeps interest high throughout because of the eagerness to see what happened in Bush’s past and why he is so burdened from it.

Because it is not explained until the end of the film, we are not sure what to fully feel about the character of Black, which heightens interest as well.

There are a number of things this film is saying in terms of what is morally acceptable in society, and how there are no stories which are truly black or white. The huge grey area in the middle is what “Get Low” is all about. The conclusion of the film includes an incredibly powerful scene that doesn’t disappoint; there’s a feeling that everyone in the film has gained in some way from finally hearing the story of Felix Black. When the truth is finally revealed, Duvall shows Black’s humanity on every level it could be expressed through a performance on screen. “Get Low” will not let you forget what you have seen any time soon, and will remind you that on screen as well as in life, the storytelling is what matters.

REDMOND, Wash. & LOS GATOS, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Nintendo of America Inc. and Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq:NFLX] today announced an agreement that will allow Netflix members who are also owners of Nintendo’s Wii™ home console to instantly watch thousands of movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix directly to their TVs. Netflix is scheduled to go live on the Wii console this spring in the United States at no additional cost to Netflix members who have a plan starting at $8.99 a month, a Wii console and a broadband Internet connection.

The partnership between the two companies will extend the reach of content streamed from Netflix farther than ever before, thanks to the mainstream popularity of the Wii console. Wii remains the fastest-selling home console in history, and reaches more consumers than any other device that currently supports streaming movies from Netflix. In December 2009, Nintendo sold well in excess of 3 million Wii consoles in the United States. Wii is the top-selling home video game system of this generation, and as such brings the Netflix experience to a broad and diverse mass market.

“Our research shows that 86 percent of all U.S. Wii consoles are located in the living room,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “The Wii console is the social hub around which friends and family members gather to play games and have fun. Soon both new and longtime Wii owners will enjoy the benefits of Netflix – and a variety of informational and entertainment options – by being Netflix members and connecting their consoles to the Internet.”

“Our goal is to offer Netflix members as many ways as possible to watch movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix right to their TVs and to give non-members more and compelling reasons to consider the service,” said Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings. “Joining forces with Nintendo, which has been so immensely popular with consumers since its introduction, is a very meaningful step in that direction.”

With 11.1 million U.S. subscribers as of Sept. 30, 2009, Netflix continues to expand the ways in which its members can watch movies and TV shows streamed directly to TVs via a range of Netflix-ready devices such as the Wii console. Netflix memberships start as low as $8.99 a month, and members also can receive unlimited DVDs delivered quickly to their homes. At the same time, consumers continue to demonstrate a preference for Wii consoles, which offer tremendous value, whether measured in fun games, shared experiences or the suggested retail price of just $199.99.

To enable their systems to stream content from Netflix, Wii owners will need a Netflix instant-streaming disc for the Wii console, which will be available at no additional cost to Netflix subscribers. The free disc looks and operates the same as a disc-based Wii game, and the entire user experience will feel natural and intuitive to Wii console owners. Netflix members and Wii console owners can now reserve a free instant-streaming disc by going to www.netflix.com/Wii. Once available in the spring, the discs will be delivered for free by first-class mail.

When the instant-streaming disc is inserted into a member’s Wii system, an array of movie and TV choices will be displayed right on their TV screen. These titles will be conveniently organized into a variety of categories based on members’ personal preferences and will include popular genres, new arrivals and members’ individual instant Queues. Using the Wii Remote™ controller, members will be able to choose a movie or TV episode to watch from their instant Queues or pick one directly from any of the lists. They will also have the ability to read synopses and rate movies, and will have the option of fast-forwarding and rewinding their selection.

Netflix adds another dimension to the Wii console’s diverse online features, which range from downloadable new and classic games in the Wii Shop Channel, to online multiplayer gaming with games like Mario Kart™ Wii, to video highlights and information about titles for the Wii and Nintendo DS™ systems via the Nintendo Channel™.

Though many now associate Anne Hathaway with a glamorous up-do and an elegant cut, her breakthrough appearance featured her in a manner rather contradictory to her current image. With an unruly mane that would have given Hermione Granger nightmares and a brusque, gawky demeanor more reminiscent of a feminized Steve Urkel than an enchanting belle of the ball, Hathaway practically personified social awkwardness, but the rare kind that evokes a sense of charm.

Amelia “Mia” Thermopolis (Hathaway) is a 15-year-old social outcast, though she does have two close friends: twin brother and sister, Lilly (Heather Matarazzo) and Michael Moscovitz (Robert Schwartzman).

As in many ‘tween-catered romances, she spends much of her day crushing on the local clueless hunk, Josh (Erik von Detten) and suffering the ongoing verbal abuse of the tantalizing trio, in all its dramatic teenage glory.

Life seems to be progressing somewhat uneventfully, when suddenly her highly progressive mother, Helen (Caroline Goodall) receives a phone call from her absentee grandmother – the very same who Mia had blamed for her parents’ divorce.

It seems that grandmother Clarisse Renaldi (Julie Andrews) is indeed a queen of a small, European nation called Genovia, and the death of her father left Mia as the sole heir to the throne – not that she particularly wants anything to do with it.

As Mia undertakes royal training for the upcoming annual Genovian Independence Day Ball, the surrounding media has a kingdom-sized field day with the newly-discovered royal.

“The Princess Diaries” is a fun film, but by no means a masterpiece.

That said, it still features a dynamite-packing cast of professionals. The very notion of Andrews’ presence as the sophisticated, superlatively cultured and somewhat cold queen adds instant brownie points to this less-than-faithful adaptation. As predicted, she carries the same regality and professionalism for which she was renowned in Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Hathaway is best when at her most awkward. Her humorous depiction of the socially challenged teenager gathered her well-deserved acclaim.

An absolute delight is Hector Elizondo as the royal chauffeur, Joe. Both charismatic and highly effective, Elizondo lit the screen each time with a presence so bright that it remained in scenes less pleasant, proving to be just enough to stomach some of the less-than-stellar aspects of the film, like the curiously campy character of the clichéd cliques, most of whose behavior made little sense.

In fact, most of the characters seem incredibly one-dimensional, especially the villains.

But it succeeds where it is meant to. More than anything else, “The Princess Diaries” is fun and proudly continues the tradition of Disney’s niche: to bring a touch of fairytales into the home.

This is the first thing you see in Ken Wardrop’s “His and Hers” and ironically, it’s the most thought-provoking, as the documentary ultimately ends up lacking the needed charisma, polish and depth to make itself truly enjoyable.

Well-known for his short films, Wardrop stretches what could have been a half-hour documentary into an 80-minute long smorgasbord of female narratives about the male figures in their lives. Despite being a great topic and possessing a few great stories, there’s just not enough to keep you enthralled the entire way through. Had the film maintained the carefree narratives of the children that it presented in the beginning and found a way to comb in the wonderfully emotional tale of the last elderly woman in the end, this could have been an entirely different piece.

Instead, you’re forced to listen to way too many stories of people who aren’t even remotely interesting. Filmed in Ireland, some of the women are even hard to understand, making some scenesmore a chore than a reward.

Nevertheless, “His and Hers” is endearing and at other times witty, showing its true potential. Regardless of the small rays of light that seep through the shadows however, the truly engaging accounts of these women are pushed behind ones that are boring, flat and uneventful. Because of that, regardless of the adorable children and candid topic of conversation, you’ll find yourself getting agitated more than anything else. While listening to a teenager talk about boys texting her, with slang and colloquialisms galore, is funny and will remind many women of their own time at the age, it’s nowhere near as poignant as some of the other stories.

Like a hard Oreo cookie, there’s still some crème in the middle that’s worth digging through, but it won’t provide the type of cinematic sustenance you’re craving.

Had this film focused more on the one of a kind stories and ones that truly cement the relationships between men and women, “His and Hers” could have easily been a winner. However, with documentaries such as “Waiting for Superman” and “Family Affair” capturing a hefty amount of attention at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, this is one you won’t feel bad about for skipping out on.

Video and Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

“Cowl Companion” is based on four tales of Gotham City, one of which involves Commissioner Gordon in a showdown with Mr. Freeze, where he tries to stop him from committing mass murder. Another story involves Dr. Kirk Langstrom – Man-Bat – who must overcome the monster within himself in order to discover that he indeed is a hero. Arkham Asylum is in ruins, and Dr Jeramiah Arkham finds the inspiration to rebuild from his most dangerous inmates. The problem is that when they escape, the city of Gotham is in danger of the destruction that is to come. Finally, the Riddler puts together pieces of a puzzling new crime boss, targeting Penguin and Two-Face. Throughout Gotham, a network of unlikely heroes may be all that is left to stop a city that is in total chaos.

“Cowl Companion” is written by Royal McGraw (“Batman: Death and the City”), Joe Harris (“Batman: Jokers Asylum”), David Hine (“Ryder on the Storm”) and Chris Yost (“X-Men: Messiah Complex”), each coming up with clever tales that eventually intertwine by the end of the novel.

“Cowl Companion” is different from previous graphic novels because it does not have its main character involved in the stories. The anticipation of not knowing what will happen next is what makes this book so interesting, and since suspense is an asset in great storytelling, while reading you will always be asking yourself if the Dark Knight will appear, making it that much more exciting for Batman fans.

The intense fighting is what makes this book enjoyable. Catwoman fights for Gotham and puts herself on the line in order to keep it safe. A mystery of this novel is the appearance of a man wearing a revamped Batman suit as he fights her, which leads to the unavoidable question: Is it really Batman? There are many copycats who can try to take over and replace Bruce Wayne, but in reality, there is only one true hero of Gotham.

Is Batman really dead? There’s only one way to find out. Gotham, on the other hand, is on life support. Will the real Batman please stand up?

IN TROMA’S WAR DOCUMENTARY

Troma’s War Special Edition DVD Available Jan. 26!

“A MILESTONE MOVIE…

In the grand tradition of ‘DIRTY DOZEN’.”

The Hollywood Reporter

“COMPLETELY CRAZY ENTERTAINMENT.”

PopMatters

(New York, NY) – After having survived the trenches of TROMA’S WAR, Troma’s biggest action hero (600 lbs!) Joe Fleishaker (TROMEO & JULIET) and Pericles Lewnes (REDNECK ZOMBIES) were reunited for the documentary Veteran’s Day: A Post-Tromatic Reunion, available exclusively on the new special edition DVD of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz’s TROMA’S WAR. Misunderstood upon initial release for its ruthless satire, audiences have since embraced TROMA’S WAR as one of the great anti-war films. The film’s controversial depictions of violence and AIDs, a subject virtually swept under the rug by the media and popular culture in 1988, led to a long battle with the MPAA that resulted in a butchered R-rated cut of the movie. For the upcoming special edition DVD, Troma has lovingly restored the uncut version of the film, making it more than a worthy follow-up to the critically-acclaimed Troma Retro re-release of COMBAT SHOCK.

After achieving major success around the world with the satires THE TOXIC AVENGER and CLASS OF NUKE ’EM HIGH, Kaufman and Herz set out to make the ultimate action satire criticizing Reaganism. Rick Washburn (ANGEL HEART) and Jessica Dublin (FELLINI SATYRICON) lead an ensemble cast of American tourists who crash land on a remote Caribbean island that is home to a ruthless terrorist group. With a multi-million dollar budget, TROMA’S WAR is the famed independent studio’s most expensive and elaborate production. Exclusive bonus features on this special edition DVD include Veteran’s Day: A Post-Tromatic Reunion, “Kill-O-Meter” (all the carnage of TROMA’S WAR with none of the story!), a commentary by director Lloyd Kaufman, vintage interviews with cast and crew, and much more.

“I have long maintained that TROMA’S WAR is our undiscovered masterpiece,” recalls Lloyd Kaufman. “Originally released during the 1980s, a decade of American Cold War machismo, TROMA’S WAR was our answer to Reagan and Rambo… We felt that ‘war’ was a word that seemed to be on everyone’s lips these days. We thought it would be interesting to drop some typical ‘harmless’ citizens of Tromaville into a war environment. We also had some things to say about who is ‘pulling the strings’ concerning war and terrorism.”

About Troma Entertainment

Based in New York City, Troma Entertainment is the oldest, continually operating, fully independent movie studio in the world. Since 1974, Troma has produced, acquired, and distributed more than one thousand feature films and T.V. programs in all genres and from all regions of the globe. Best known for THE TOXIC AVENGER, Troma has helped bring to the world the best and brightest talents in entertainment, ranging from master Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (Troma’s 1993 release of his MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO was the first Miyazaki movie to be given a wide American theatrical release) to American humorists Matt Stone and Trey Parker (Troma’s 1996 release of their CANNIBAL! THE MUSICAL would shine the spotlight of their incredible humor almost two years before their deserved success with SOUTH PARK). Troma-produced films have also been the starting ground for such actors as Academy Award® winners Kevin Costner (SIZZLE BEACH USA), David Straithairn (WHEN NATURE CALLS) and Marisa Tomei (THE TOXIC AVENGER), as well as Chris Noth (WAITRESS!), Samuel L. Jackson (DEF BY TEMPTATION), Gates McFadden, Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas (MONSTER IN THE CLOSET), Vincent D’Onofrio (THE FIRST TURN-ON!), and more!

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would beg to differ, however, and heartily believe that Christmas was meant to be captured with the ruggedly engaging power of a righteous axe.

Formed by members of Savatage as a side-project, their debut, Christmas Eve and Other Stories, was released in 1996 by Lava/Atlantic and had quickly become a staple in both – holiday music and progressive metal libraries.

In fact, it is not, at all, uncommon to hear their cover of Savatage’s “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” blasting the radio waves in the weeks before the long-awaited Eve. Although many in the genre criticized them for their adherence to classical – and arguably religious – themes, their popularity continues to grow and this interpretation of “Carol of the Bells” remains one of the season’s top-played songs.

Christmas Eve and Other Stories, although it is a concept album, focuses primarily on brilliantly played instrumental pieces, though several see the rare use of vocals, as well.

It tells the story of an angel seeking to find a representation of humanity’s meaning of Christmas, and as he listens to various holiday-themed songs, he eventually hears the touching tale of a young girl finally returning home, seemingly against all odds. (A grumpy, stingy Scrooge of a bartender actually gave her everything in his drawer for her chance to return to her loving father.)

The most famous piece on the album is the aforementioned “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24,” an incredibly gripping, intense version of a traditional tune, though its fellows, “O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night” and “A Mad Russian’s Christmas” can easily stand toe-to-toe.

With the latter being an effective metal interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic – particularly the “Russian Dance” – the band expresses considerable skill in turning these justifiably prestigious and difficult melodies into admittedly rocking pieces of music.

This can be attributed at least partially to the gorgeous instrumental intricacies of rhythm guitarist Paul O’Neill; pianist, keyboardist and bassist Jon Oliva and additional guitarist for “12/24,” Chris Caffery.

It begins with “An Angel Came Down,” a song loosely based on the music of Franz Gruber’s classic, “Silent Night.” Here we learn of the angel’s mission, which is immediately followed by five beautiful instrumental pieces.

“The Prince of Peace” then features the music of German Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn and English hymnist, Charles Wesley.

With the likes of Robert Kinkel on piano and keyboards; Johnny Lee Middleton on bass; Al Pitrelli on lead and additional rhythm guitars and Jeff Plate on drums, the success of this debatably revolutionary album seemed justifiably imminent.

As the story closes and “An Angel Returned” begins to play, the heartwarming, though intense and adrenaline-filled album feels perfectly complete, though to top it all off, two songs are added as bonus tracks: “O Holy Night” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” a traditional English Christmas carol.

With a dynamic combination of rocking instrumentals, crooning ballads and even a children’s choir, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Eve and Other Stories creates more than a fun and unconventional album – it follows its initial intentions upon formation – it creates genre syncretism and bridges gaps.

You can listen to the file here, or you can download it on I-Tunes here.

Photo and Video by Patrick Hickey Jr.

Episode Commentary:

With a decidedly sexual twist on the cliché, on the night before he goes to war, Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) ties a ribbon over his wife’s (Erin Cummings) leg and tells her to keep it close to her thigh – that thought will warm them both at night.

“Spartacus: Blood and Sand” admittedly stimulates the mind, but in which direction? Sure, it proudly totes a barrage of sensual gluttony and several, talent-studded big names, but the true mastermind of its appeal is humor – however unintentional.

Covering the origin of the Thracian warrior’s conversion into the gory globe of gladiators, the series premiere serves to address the state of its contemporary Rome and the growing dissatisfaction among the surrounding tribes, sowing the seeds for an expected future rebellion.

This is an exceptional relief, because the story already has a foundation of brilliance: True events. A real Spartacus once existed who inspired the will of millions and led one of the biggest slave revolts in history, effectively immortalizing his indomitable spirit and noble cause.

This is especially fantastic because the rest of the show’s qualities so desperately need it. With dialogue wooden enough (such as the gem adorning the lead) to carve a horse for vengeance-driven Achaeans, and oodles of video-game-blood, something has to carry the weight of quality.

Then again, who doesn’t love video-game-blood? With a premiere more reminiscent of a long trailer for a video game than a genuine prologue, success seems imminent, so it’s no surprise that it was renewed for a second season before the first episode even hit the small screen.

It does try, however, (and takes itself incredibly seriously). The costumes are stunning, and a particularly pivotal scene involving the hero’s wife is oddly (or intentionally, considering the Roman antagonists) reminiscent of the “Rape of the Sabine Women.”

But it’s this very genuine effort that makes this episode seem so comedic, especially since only a handful of the actors are capable of delivering lines untainted by the camp-factor. Scenes that are meant to incite viewer pathos almost beg for a claw-wielding, striped sweater-clad mass murderer to ha-cha-cha his way onto the screen, at times making “The Red Serpent” feel more like “Freddy versus Jason” (with Lucy Lawless). (Or, “Evil Dead,” considering one of the minds-behind-the-show is Sam Raimi.)

And yet, it holds tremendous potential. Leading man Whitfield holds such conviction in his sensitive, blue orbs that few can question his authenticity – he embraces it all from within, and it reflects in his eyes – the struggle, the courage and the honor, and the return of Lawless is always cause for celebration.

So the question is whether the series’ bittersweet premiere is more like fruit or wine: will it improve with age, or simply rot?

We’ll have a whole two seasons to find out.

Wii Fit Plus builds on the original in that it has several exercises and games that are geared toward helping you be active and have fun at the same time. There is also a better way to monitor your weight, keep a record of how many steps you take in a day, the measurement of your waist and helps you set mini-goals when it comes to losing weight. There is even a “My Favorites” section which keeps track of your favorite games and workouts.

The new games are fun to play. The obstacle course can be a game onto itself, and being a leader in a marching band is more challenging than you might think. Essentially each new balance game is an involved process that challenges you far more than the original Wii Fit. Having said that if you’re looking to drop “Biggest Loser” type poundage with your Wii Fit Plus then you need to search elsewhere.

Anyone who has practiced yoga for more than five minutes will quickly become bored with this aspect of the game. It is nearly impossible to recreate an effective yoga practice. As a yoga practitioner you are constantly dealing with alignment and positioning and the Wii board is just too sensitive for that. There’s also the problem of breathing while you’re in a yoga position. If you hold your breath you may get a good score. What’s wrong with that? Yoga is all about breathing properly through the postures. With the exception of the sun salutation it’s a waste. Then there is the strength training aspect. If you have to be surgically removed from your couch then you may find this beneficial. However, if you ever had to run for public transportation, then this section wouldn’t be challenging for you either.

The bottom line is Wii Fit Plus gets you moving and with the multiple player option gets you involved with others. The games are still fun and if you break a sweat great. Just don’t expect to see a major weight reduction.

Yet this is exactly what the otherwise respectable, mature and self-sufficient Jane Adler is doing. The Oscar-nominated writer/director Nancy Meyers proves once again that she is the queen of the romantic comedy in her latest feature, “It’s Complicated.”

As far as the plot is concerned, the very title tells it all. Former partners in marriage, Jake and Jane Adler, seem to have rather normal and decent post-divorce lives; since Jake (Alec Baldwin) is a well-off attorney and Jane (Meryl Streep) is running successfully a French bakery, they don’t have any financial problems. All Jake worries about is how to answer to the nonstop demand of his much younger second wife Agness (Lake Bell) of producing offspring, and Jane’s biggest problem is how to remodel her Santa Barbara home. The former couple is still behaving civilly to one another – Jane is guest at Jake’s engagement party, and they share a round of drinks in a fancy bar in New York while attending the college graduation ceremony of their son, Luke (Hunter Parrish).

But a one-night stand in an expensive hotel room ensues, which triggers a chain of events that disrupts the otherwise flawless lifestyles of the divorcees. In between endless hours spent in the fertility clinic and awkward bathroom encounters with Agness’ 5-year-old son Pedro (Emjay Anthony), Jake uses any chance he gets to sneak into Jane’s house, prompting her to treat him to her impeccably delicious dishes and to satisfy him in bed. In between reading the new blueprints of the house, managing the culinary business and tending to the needs of her three grownup kids, Jane tries her best to keep a respectable distance from Jake without hurting his feelings.

On top of that, the brave single mom has a new admirer: Her own home modeling architect, Adam Schaffer (Steve Martin). A recent divorce himself, the polite, composed and tactful Adam is the real conqueror of Jane’s heart. However, after Jake’s rude and even cynic penetration into the already complicated love triangle, the architect strategically backs off, much to Jane’s chagrin. Now that she has lost her boy and Jake has lost his girl (Agness has presumably kicked him out), their lives seem completely out of control. The kids’ disapproval of their parents’ reunion just adds fuel to the fire.

As always, Streep goes all out when portraying the motherly, courageous, autonomous Jane. The Academy Award-winning actress remains faithful to her image of playing maverick matriarchal roles on the big screen (“Kramer vs. Kramer,” “Marvin’s Room”) and on the stage (Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children”). As a matter of fact, Streep’s character in “It’s Complicated” is a modern-day version of the bold mother from Brecht’s play. Jane’s culinary passion makes her a clone of another gastronomy-loving character portrayed by the actress: Julia Child from “Julie & Julia.” Even at 60, the legendary Streep is irreplaceable.

She casts a complete shadow over her male co-star Alec Baldwin. Famous for bringing an air of wittiness even to the most serious films (such as Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator” and “The Departed”), Baldwin is the ideal embodiment of his character Jake’s immaturity, naiveté and comicality. Where Streep controls the dramatic aspect of the movie, Baldwin is in charge of the situational comedy in it. Another comic actor, Martin (“The Pink Panther”), leaves his comfort zone when portraying the humorless, discreet Adam. Yet Adam’s crazed dance with Bell’s character at the party is a reminder of Inspector Clouseau’s interest in younger women.

Bell, on the other hand, also leaves quite an impression here, despite the fact that her character has a relatively small share of screen time and is underdeveloped. However, the typical girl-bully appearance of the “Pride and Glory” actress is compatible with the image of the hippie-ish, self-centered, eccentric Agness. Despite the fact that Baldwin is old enough to be her father, she displays a complete control over his character in the movie. The hint that she might be a high-profile professional reminds us to never to judge a book by its cover.

Love is a battlefield. Love hurts. Love can not be explained, because it’s complicated.

Focusing on diversity and a new found energy on his staff, Redford has given more attention to international films and has given John Cooper an opportunity as the director of the festival, replacing Geoffrey Gilmore, who in February to joined Tribeca Enterprises as its Chief Creative Officer.

“We’re making a return to the place where we first started,” said Redford yesterday at a press conference that officially kicked off Sundance’s 32nd year. “To see it as if it was the first time. That pretty much spells out what our festival is going to be about this year. We’re going back to our roots. Where fresh new ideas were and where new voices came from.”

Believing that the country’s economic woes could possibly keep the glamor away this year, Redford stated that he still felt as if the festival wouldn’t be free of the elements, such as the “self-promotion and swag-driven parties” that he feels should never be associated with the festival. Nonetheless, he hopes that by getting back to the basics and promoting quality work, this year’s slate of films will cast a larger shadow than any distractions that appeared in the past.

“Paris Hilton,” he said. “What was she doing here?”

Afterward, Redford expressed his thoughts on the future of the festival and even shared stories about his career, making no qualms about how important the festival is to him and the entire independent film community.

A community that the former Oscar-winner sees in a constant struggle.

“Our job is to get these films seen by as many people as possible, starting with the festival” Redford said. “To create other opportunities for them to be seen and to help that struggle that’s always been there. It probably always will be, but I think it will survive.”

Photo by Patrick Hickey Jr.

That said the program only shows a glimpse of what is on this multidisc set. The first part is a set of ballads and songs that were originally recorded at a faster pace have been slowed down. Two of the creative ways in which she reinvents her songs is by incorporating other songs with a similar theme. For the “Sweet Dreams Melody” Beyonce infuses Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” and the title song from her “Dangerously in Love Album” to fade out with. For an artist known for singing at the near speed of light, it was refreshing to hear this interpretation of her songs alongside a classic R&B song. Then there is “If I Were a Boy.” The Alanis Morissette hit “You Oughta Know” is slipped in and fits perfectly into the theme of “If I Were a Boy.” This isn’t a remix; it’s a performance that without the technology would have only been appreciated by the audience. Think Judy Garland’s stints on the Vegas strip before her filmed performance at the London Palladium.

There are some lyrical lead balloons on this special. The song “Satellites” seems to be there for an audience intermission. And the “Déjà vu Jazz Melody” although high energy was a letdown, particularly when Beyonce attempts to scat like Ella Fitzgerald. The high energy second part of Beyonce’s show is her life story through song. Anyone who has a television knows that she was with Destiny’s Child and has been working since she was 9. The audience doesn’t need the rehash. Unfortunately you can’t skip these parts since it’s intertwined with the music. Still for a diehard fan it’s more Beyonce.

Part of this DVD is the making of the concert. This behind the scenes glimpse into how this performance came about isn’t the most riveting however it is an interesting look into how a show gets put on.

Having said that we can’t forget that there is a CD component to this. The music without the visual performance shows just how far Beyonce’s voice has come. In the early days of Destiny’s Child she seemed to have a hard time matching the performance with her vocals. On this most recent CD her musicianship and growth as a performer are spotlighted.

For lovers of Beyonce’s style and music “I Am Yours: An Intimate Performance at Wynn Las Vegas” would be a welcome addition to their music library. For the rest you might want to buy the CD separately.

New York, NY- Matthew Morrison, known to millions as eternally optimistic high school teacher – and de facto glee club director – Will Schuester on the FOX television network’s runaway hit comedy-drama series “Glee,” has signed an exclusive worldwide recording deal with Mercury Records, it was announced today by David Massey, President of Mercury Records.

Morrison will enter the recording studio shortly to begin production of his debut album, scheduled for release in the fall 2010.

Morrison’s career took a giant step forward when he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy, for his role in “Glee.” The 66th annual Golden Globe Awards telecast will take place live on NBC, Sunday night, January 17th, 8:00 p.m. (EST).

Morrison was recently seen on the CBS network at the 32nd annual Kennedy Center Honors, where he delivered a show-stopping performance of “Springtime For Hitler” from the Broadway musical The Producers, in tribute to honoree Mel Brooks.

Morrison is no stranger to musical theatre, vocal performance and dance, which he studied at New York University’s renowned Tisch School of the Arts. His first major Broadway role came as heartthrob Link Larkin in Hairspray. Morrison was later nominated for a Tony Award for his role in The Light in the Piazza. He received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for 10 Million Miles. Most recently, Morrison was seen in the Tony Award-winning revival of South Pacific at the Lincoln Center Theater in New York. Among Morrison’s big screen credits are the films Dan In Real Life, I Think I Love My Wife, and Music And Lyrics.

A California native, Morrison divides his time between Los Angeles and New York. Matthew is managed by Eric Podwall.

Harry Keach (Newman) is a gruff, beer-guzzling construction worker that is secretly suffering from health problems. Slowly, we see that these health problems are progressing, and now a man who has worked his whole life suddenly has to deal with losing his job. On top of that, he never really connected with his son, Howie, played by Robby Benson in one of his best roles. Howie is a sensitive young man who loves to surf and write. He is fine with a lousy job at a car wash until his career as a writer takes off, but his father doesn’t believe he is a real man.

The film is completely structured around the concept of whether or not this father and son can mend their family ties. The premise will touch the hearts of most men, who can understand that while maybe not always spoken, a father and son share a unique, lifelong bond. Most men can’t explain it, but they often have respect for their fathers, even if the relationship was less than stellar.

What Newman did that was radically different with the character of Keach was create somebody that was extremely hard to like. However, with Newman’s immense talent, you can’t help but find the character endearing. The audience has to look beneath the surface to fully understand Keach’s character, and that’s something that many films are too nervous to attempt.

The widowed Keach may or may not have feelings for Lilly, played by Newman’s real-life wife, Joanne Woodward. The genuine chemistry between Newman and Woodward is undeniable, and a true pleasure to watch onscreen. Even when the two characters are arguing, you can see what a special real-life relationship these two had.

Unfortunately, Benson was nominated for the Worst Supporting Performance of 1984 at the Razzies. The performance, however, is well-layered and should not have been nominated, because this character is supposed to be the complete opposite of Newman’s, which Benson understands. We are not supposed to believe these two have any similar traits, and Benson is supposed to be sensitive and slightly awkward in the role. He is optimistic throughout in his attempts to understand his father, and that makes him easy to identify with.

An interesting side note: Tom Cruise actually auditioned for the role as the son. A few years later, Cruise did get to work opposite Newman in “The Color of Money.”

The story is centered around strong yet slightly offbeat performances that unfold with the plot. This picture gives you time to understand the characters, and allows you to make your own judgments.

“Harry and Son” is a wonderful and underrated chapter in Newman’s career. It is a rewarding experience to anyone that discovers this hidden gem.

You read the review of their show yesterday on the site, now listen to the full interview with the band done by Review Fix Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr.!

Neon Trees Interview at Mercury Lounge 1-14-10

Photos by Cynthia Spataro

This brings us back to the reality/game show mentality that has sabotaged the weight-loss of contestants in the past. If you don’t play the game right, you end up going home. As a result of the challenge, Migdalia’s (team Green) attitude tries the patience of both trainers particularly Jillian and it goes downhill from there. What happens between them will have you yelling at the screen in disgust.

Meanwhile the yellow and blue teams that were eliminated in week one are fighting for their chance to come back to the ranch. It puts Migdalia’s temper tantrum into perspective for the viewers. When it all comes down to it it’s about changing your lives as well as losing weight.

The second hour brings a challenge, immunity and of course there is a twist that is not to be missed. As the teams are playing out the result of the temptation, Mike (team white) seems to spend the last chance workout goofing off. As the biggest man on campus he couldn’t afford to slack off. We must not forget the weigh-in as one contestant causes Bob to completely lose his cool. This can only be described as one of the most contentious weigh-ins in “Biggest Loser” history.

The drama has certainly returned to “Biggest Loser.” There is no more touchy-feely, “we want everyone to do well” mentality. Now it’s every team for itself. The elimination brings out the claws from some unexpected places as someone gets sent home.

Next week, the game playing gets worse as yet another team implodes and challenges both Jillian and Bob’s experience. Tune in to see who it is.

After receiving widespread critical acclaim for DOLOR: Lila | Book I, author Rick Florino will release DOLOR: Chrissy | Book II February 11, marking the second in the series of ten illustrated mystery/horror novellas. A limited number of signed paperback copies of DOLOR: Chrissy will be available for $15 at www.BookOfDolor.com, with digital downloads available for only $5. As an introduction to the series, Florino and his New American Deities production company also continue to offer the DOLOR: Lila download for free at www.BookOfDolor.com. Limited edition signed and numbered physical copies of Lila are also available for purchase.

With DOLOR: Chrissy, Florino–author of DOLOR: Lila | Book I, Do the Devil’s Work for Him, founder of Ruin Magazine and Editor of ARTISTdirect.com–expands his foray into his true passion: fiction writing and the horror genre. The text is exemplified by the bizarre, dark and dreamlike artwork of Kristel Lerman. Says Florino: “Chrissy has one of my favorite scenes in the whole series, because it’s so delightfully sick and twisted. Kristel’s artwork gave those moments a violent vibrancy that’s as undeniable and gorgeous as it is heartbreaking and horrific. She steeped every one of her drawings in blood, and the series shines even more because of it.”

Here’s a short excerpt from Chrissy:

Rob is having a really bad day.

After getting stood up by a date, he leaves the Dolor Mall during a blizzard. As he’s walking into the storm, a car suddenly sideswipes him out of nowhere, speeding off and leaving him covered in blood. Awakening in the hospital, Rob finds out from Officer Caleb Taylor that he’s in way more trouble than he thought. However, things get really strange once Rob’s kidnapped from the hospital by someone too perfect and beautiful to trust…

“There’s a certain evil that the story explores that’s very prevalent during Lila but much more understated,” Florino reveals. “The veil of what really is going on in Dolor begins to slowly lift with Chrissy. At the same time, Chrissy preserves the sardonic humor and social observations that made Lila strangely fun at all the right (and wrong) times. If Lila was about the horror of unrequited love and losing control, Chrissy’s concern is with loving the wrong one and how absolutely terrifying that can be. There’s something hypnotic about the horrific, and I’m just as entranced by it as my readers,” he concludes.

Fans can get a glimpse behind the scenes now through a special DOLOR: Chrissy video trailer hosted at http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/18663.

Meanwhile, DOLOR: Lila continues to receive accolades from the media. Here’s a sample of the book’s critical acclaim thus far:

“Lila makes for a damn good read. It’s creepy in spots, and madly melancholy in plenty of others. Rick Florino clearly understands the sensitivity behind the content, and manages to siphon frightening reality from the idea…outstanding piece of fiction.”
–Matt Molgaard, Fangoria.com, November 16, 2009

“Horror fiction has put a few cities on the map: Castle Rock, Serenity Falls, Orangefield. Add Dolor to that list…It’s easy to get caught up in Florino’s tale, not only because it adheres to storytelling brevity, but also because it has a rock ‘n’ roll sensibility to it, dishing out details of drugs, sex and violence.”
–Rod Lott, Bookgasm.com, November 2009

“A heartbreaking, horrifying and honest examination of a damaged psyche, true violence, drug addiction and love unreturned…a horror masterpiece…”
–LAX Magazine, Winter 2009

“If the rest of the volumes are even half as good as Lila, we’re in for a huge treat…A great start to what appears to be an even greater series…”
–BC, Bloody-Disgusting.com, December 5, 2009

“The style of the book is different and refreshing…DOLOR: Lila, grabs you and hooks you in, like a Cenobite on Holiday…you’ll want to finish it first and then sit there…in the dark…waiting for the 2nd book…CHRISSY. What this book has done to us is it’s taken us on a ride ala early X-Files…where you’re saying to yourself, ‘I think I know what’s going on here. Okay, maybe I’m not sure, but I think I know. I need to know more!’”
–Yvette Kelley, Shallow Graves Magazine, December 16, 2009

“Lila really just whets the reader’s appetite for the upcoming stories from the mysterious town of Dolor…I am looking forward to the forthcoming nine tales from the denizens, present and past, of Dolor and hope that all ten volumes may one day be published as one volume, much like Stephen King’s The Green Mile. Author Rick Florino…has the chops to handle the almost Gothic atmosphere of his ambitious ten-part tale.”
–Elaine Lamkin, DreadCentral.com, January 4, 2010

“DOLOR is right up Crypt Magazine’s creepy crawly alley! Mental illness, forces beyond the grave, and downright evil as Hell! What more do you want?”
–David Necro, Crypt Magazine.com, January 11, 2010

Various musicians have also stepped forward to champion Lila, as evidenced below:

“It’s very refreshing to see a book that leads you one way, then takes you in a different direction. Great imagination, well-written characters, this book has it all. I look forward to the next chapter.” –Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour)

“I read Lila when I was on an 11 hour plane ride; I got sucked in really fast cause the words and illustrations were amazing. You know you like a story when you have hate or sympathy for the characters in it. Then I was just mad at Rick Florino cause he hasn’t published the rest of the series and I had nothing to do for the other 10 hours.”
–J-Dog (Hollywood Undead)

“Rick Florino has composed a strong, gripping, epic tale with DOLOR: Lila | Book I that made me want to read the next 9 parts of his DOLOR series right then and there. It’s very reminiscent of Stephen King. For anyone who is a fan of horror films or books or anything horror-related, check the book out!” –Jeff Kendrick (Devildriver)

This is another one of those unnecessary prequels that reveals half-baked events from the past. It involves a bunch of vampires who call themselves Death Dealers, led by an elder named Viktor (Bill Nighy). They live like kings with werewolves for slaves, some of which are more productive than others: Most of the work is carried out by Lycans who, as Yogi is to bears, are smarter than the average wolf. Yogi Bear doesn’t have the power to turn into a human at will, but the advantage here is that he was intelligent enough not to appear in this movie.

Viktor keeps a Lycan named Lucian (Michael Sheen) close to him most of the time as his servant, and praises him for his killer instinct and loyalty. Lucian doesn’t mind protecting the Death Dealers whenever wild werewolves attack, especially since it isn’t wise to get on Viktor’s bad side. (He’s particularly unkind to traitors, who often get terminated.) That creates a problem for Lucian, who’s in love with Viktor’s daughter, Sonja (Rhona Mitra). They each face death for making love behind Viktor’s back, but you’d think that a guy who drinks blood from a goblet might be more open-minded.

The two “Underworld” movies that came before this each made a splash at the box office, big enough to release another entry and milk the series for what it’s worth. Leaving aside the vampires and werewolves, this kind of material seems ideal for people who love action movies – as long as they can stand all that dumb, pseudo-intellectual dialogue. The characters speak as if they’re trying to rise above the roughness of the genre, but that just makes them look foolish and offbeat. It’s as if everybody from “The Taming of the Shrew” was stuck in “Planet of the Apes.”

The amazing thing about these vampires isn’t their uncanny powers, but their incapable brains. When Viktor suspects that he’s being lied to by one of the other Death Dealers, he sinks his teeth into her neck and drinks some of her blood, which leads to a bunch of psychic images that reveal the truth. (This does not include revelations that turn up afterward, so why bother?) Although this is a wonderful talent, it’s not employed often enough. If Viktor also has second thoughts about some of the other characters, why not end the speculation and drink their blood too? Maybe he feared information that might’ve opened the door to another prequel.

Michael Cera (“Superbad”) plays Nick Twisp, a teenage boy with a good heart and a nerdy attitude looking to find love. When he goes on a trip with his mom and her compulsive-liar boyfriend Jerry, played by Zach Galifianakis (“The Hangover”), Nick meets a girl named Shenni Saunders, played by Portia Doubleday (“18”), who he falls for. Nick and Shenni develop a great relationship in which they become really close, but when Nick is forced to go back home, he will do anything to see her again.

The problem with this situation is that Shenni has strict religious parents who do not approve of Nick seeing their daughter. Nick, on the other hand, goes to extreme measures in order to go back to Shenni, even if it involves him creating an alter ego named Francois Dillinger. Francois is basically a gutsier version of Nick, and helps him get his girl by any means necessary, whether it’s by stealing Jerry’s trailer home or blowing up half of the city block.

At times, “Youth in Revolt” inspires a few laughs. Cera’s dull personality and idiotic ways make him a likeable character, but one you want to laugh at and not with. The film loses its luster by being somewhat lackadaisical with its approach. There are a few moments that will have the audience cracking up, but most of the time it seems as if there is a huge wait between each laugh.

There are, however, several cameos in the film that, at first glance, would seem to be a huge asset, but nobody here brings much to the table, not even Ray Liota as a police officer who falls for Nick’s mom. Liota plays a character that is not very likeable and has a bad attitude, making you want to root against him. Steve Buscemi plays George Twisp, Nick’s dad. You would think that Buscemi would draw a huge amount of bellyaching laughs, but instead, his character is simply dull. Galifianakis’ role in the film is so limited that you would think he was not even in the film to begin with. Justin Long plays Shenni’s older brother, whose bit with peyote gets a couple of laughs at first, but it gets old. At first sight, you would think he is a hippie, but overall, he can also be considered an idiot.

Overall, “Youth in Revolt” is a typical sex comedy that seems to have put most of its laughs in the trailer. The story is weak and the actors don’t seem to care much about how their roles play out, just as long as the film gets made.

Nick’s outlandish adventures in trying to get to his girl are, at times, enjoyable to watch, but it is something that we have seen so many times before, making this film unoriginal and quite boring.

If only we had the foresight to break some of those well-intentioned pacts; but happy landings seldom make for good drama, and seeing as this one is a true humdinger, the lives of its characters may as well have been doomed from the start.

In Richard Greenberg’s Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-nominated, “Take Me Out,” those very same forces of good are but caricatured inversions of their traditional, esoteric worth, as is often the case outside of fiction. In the Heights Players’ 2010 revival, brilliantly directed by Fabio Taliercio, they are wrought with havoc and meaning, tragedy, hope and – most of all – humanity, ultimately proving that perhaps the road to Hell is truly paved with good intentions, as the time-honored adage claims.

The protagonist is Darren Lemming (Ugo Chukwu), a hotshot baseball player for the all-star Emperors. He’s distant, relatively emotionless (unless arrogance counts) and of the opinion that he rather resembles God – or at least a god. After a routine conversation with his best friend and professional competitor, Davey Battle (Bryant Wingfield), he suddenly feels the urge to be true to himself – and his public – and subsequently come out of the proverbial closet.

His closest confidant (though to be perfectly honest, Darren doesn’t truly do confiding) on the team is Kippy Sunderstrom (Seth Grugle), who almost serves a parental role to the unruly Emperors, so much so that he’s the only one to take an honest, sympathetic approach to the new guy, the hauntingly mysterious Shane Mungitt (Craig Kelton Peterson).

Eerily silent and almost wild, the Arkansas-born (or Tennessee, or Mississippi) pitching powerhouse at first shocks his teammates with the story of his tragic past, and then outrages them through his casual use of epithets on live television, earning a suspension, though matters only truly worsen when he returns to the team.

Written primarily in comedic style for the first act, this three-part phenomenon takes a drastic turn for the disturbing after its initial intermission, and despite the occasional chuckle, the titanic weight stays firmly entrenched square in the heart, heavily marring any forthcoming attempts at humor.

But perhaps that’s the point.

Where the group dynamic was once amorous (though only in the manliest way), it is now charged with the sort of tension reserved for guilty secrets and couples therapy. Kippy points this out; the rest of the guys are so attached to their secretly embraced homophobia that they don’t acknowledge it.

Then again, Kippy has always been the sensible one – the loyal, kind and honor-bound Emperor – and the only one who reached out to Shane.

Seriously spooked and seldom able to put together a string of coherent words (Peterson researched feral children for his performance), the heavily traumatized Shane is handled with a level of professionalism traditionally reserved for Oscars, Broadway or the West End. So realistic is his portrayal of this terrified and severely disconnected young man that – despite his inherent flaws (and there are many) – he elicits a kind of warm sympathy. With sculpted shoulders quivering like a child forced to grow up too fast, it’s nearly impossible to not want to take and envelop this broken young bigot into a soothing embrace, willing all the horror and gut-wrenching misery (and hopefully, ignorance) to give way to long-evaded peace.

Yet where his character’s baby blues reflect snared innocence, Peterson’s simply sparkle with a keen intelligence, with a charming, captivating smile their ever-devoted companion – but that’s off the set – a testament to his acting ability. When in the role of Shane, he truly becomes this heavily scarred young man, bestowing each of his viewers with sturdy rivets – eyes to stage.

Speaking of flawed, Darren is hardly the conventional protagonist. Deeply egotistical and the very embodiment of narcissism, this ill-tempered bully nevertheless garners enormous amounts of pathos from the audience. Though, like Peterson, this is surely Chukwu’s doing. Infused with a cocky swagger and borderline verbally abusive to his accountant, Nathan Marzac (Nathan Richard Wagner), Darren is not an easy character to like. Yet, this is precisely his appeal.

The media loves him due to his bi-racial ancestry and middle-class upbringing, with the recent exposure of his sexual preference only adding to the hype, but the real Darren is hardly a hero. However, when humbling toward the end of the play – even after spilling the brunt of his transgressions – he resolutely wins the audience’s compassion, against all odds.

Significantly less tragic, though tremendously talented in his own right is Grugle, who virtually oozes charisma as the play’s narrator. Bearing the appearance of a wholesome, all-American boy, he seems to be “Take Me Out’s” only persona with moral conviction, though even he is not immune to the harder drama of the production, as even his otherwise sensible eyes contain a decidedly haunting air at the dawn of a chilling revelation.

Despite their dramatic prowess, the respective players at the Heights stage still show impeccable capacity for comedic timing, as expertly witnessed with Wagner (among many others), whose contagiously awkward zest is all that keeps the ending bittersweet, providing a remarkably poignant foil for Darren’s personal journey to humility.

In fact, the talents at the small Off-Off-Broadway theatre have (for the first time) garnered such acclaim that they’ve been nominated at the New York Innovative Theatre Awards (www.nyitawards.com), dedicated to celebrating the tradition of Off-Off-Broadway shows, for which voting is still active, so results are still pending.

The rampant nudity – which at first seems a bit of a shock, but is later drowned out in captivating story – does not seem to hinder their chances in the slightest. But any additional mention would be telling, and as Kippy finally learns: perhaps it isn’t always wisest to talk.

The price of enlightenment, just as that of earnestly sought promises, may simply be too high.

Photos by Jan VanderPutten

Bestselling author Suzanne Collins has written an eye-opening science-fiction novel, “The Hunger Games.” Fear will be a constant emotion throughout your literary journey. Your heart will not stop racing as your eyes stay glued to this page turner.

Aimed at the young-adult/teen demographic, the novel offers suspense, heartache and action. Collins forces the reader to discover just how far a corrupt political system can go to punish those “beneath” them. She will also offer faith in finding the will to triumph over the powers that be.

Young Katniss, our strong-willed protagonist, is living in a post-apocalyptic North America, now divided into districts. Back in the day, 13 Districts remained after destruction from war and famine. As history states, District 13 led a revolt against the corrupt Capital. Of course, they were dealt with, because no one crosses the Capital and gets away with it.

The remaining 12, as an annual reminder of their sins, are required by law to perform what is called a reaping – a live, televised, inhumane lottery where two adolescents are chosen from each district and get thrown into an arena to fight each other to the death. If that doesn’t sound terrifying enough, their impoverished families must surrender their kids and watch daily broadcasts as their own children kill – and possibly become savagely murdered by – the others. Only one can survive.

Well, one thing is for sure: This broadcast is not your average reality TV show. (And you thought the things they did on “Survivor” were bad.)

Of course, the reader sees it coming; Katniss winds up in the arena, since she is our protagonist. She is certainly written as the type of character that brings to mind the ancient Greek goddess Artemis – she hunts, fights and does anything to protect her family. Collins brilliantly writes her as a character that is not only relatable, but also one of a kind.

Readers will be rooting for a winner and concurrently cringing at the fact that these are mere children. (Wait until you come across Rue, a 12-year-old thrown into the arena.) The thought of these youths brutally murdering for no other reason but the government’s sheer enjoyment is enough to make you appreciate what you thought were your current corrupt elected officials. Collins writes with enough detail and feeling to make you believe this is a reality.

Although the novel is seemingly original, Collins, as mentioned, borrows from the Greek classics. The inspiration behind the myth of the “Labyrinth and the Minotaur,” as well as the classic novel “Lord of the Flies” are evident in the games. Regardless of where her ideas sprung from, she takes science fiction to a whole new level.

Collins has definitely outdone herself with this one. It will entertain, envelop your psyche, make you question your morals, feed at your deepest horrors, chill you to the bone and force you to think twice when the next election comes.

However, on that night, Jan. 14, the “Neon Trees,” the creators of a musical genre they’ve labeled “Post-Punk Soul,” amalgamating elements of modern rock, dance, soul, Motown and alternative, were indeed, hotter than anything in the Mercury Lounge in New York City, leaving a passionate and high-energy crowd with a first impression they were sure to remember.

They were hot indeed.

Nevertheless, the band wasn’t exactly burning with the intensity of molten lava the entire show, as many of their songs didn’t show off how hot they can be with some more experience and gas on their fire.

What they did manage to show during the performance however was that they have no qualms playing in front of a live audience and are hungry. With an already uber-catchy first single in “Animal” already under their belts, that may be plenty of fuel to get them to a second album where they can continue to develop as musicians and showcase their talents.

As of right now though, you have to like what you see-you’re just not completely in love with it, yet.

Consisting of Tyler Glenn (lead vocals, keyboards), Chris Allen (guitars), Branden Campbell (bass) and Elaine Bradley (drums, vocals), Neon Trees quickly invoke comparisons to bands such as Fallout Boy and The Bravery, but are quickly put to bed after a few songs. With Glenn’s booming voice, which feels bred from a healthy diet of Little Richard, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen and James Brown, he is without a doubt different from every lead singer in music today, thus making NT a more than intriguing entity as a whole.

He can wail- his band can play.

Charismatic, yet youthfully wild and playfully pompous, Glenn’s voice and his antics on stage are a delight and when combined with the impressive, yet quietly-superb guitar stylings of Allen, provide an excellent one-two punch. Campbell’s bass skills were also solid, especially during the band’s first single, “Animal,” where he showed a candid cohesion with Allen, giving the song everything it needed to rock.

Nonetheless, every rock band is defined by the skill of their drummer and in that respect, Neon Trees are in more than competent, if yet tiny, hands. Petite, yet bursting with the flavor of a strawberry starburst, Bradley kept the band in time all night and had a pair of soaking wet legs to prove it. Armed with an equally as potent singing voice as well, she backed up Glenn all night long, with no signs of slowing down.

In spite of their energy and musicianship however, the playlist featured this night wasn’t as enthralling as the glimpses of brilliance each member of the band showed at various points. While “Animal” has the makings of a sure-fire hit and showcases the talents of the entire band and “Calling My Name” was a catchy and fun tune, the rest of the setlist, aside from being fun and full of desire, wasn’t nearly as enigmatic.

Regardless, you’d be hard pressed to ask for more from a band that hasn’t released their first album yet and in the big scheme of things, it’s easy to see that this band has all the right pieces in place and nowhere to go but up.

Neon Trees’ album releases on March 23.

Photo by Cynthia Spataro

Patrick also throws a fit as the gamer in him comes out and Cynthia counters with her thoughts on the smell of the United Artist Theater in Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn.

Good times. Good times indeed.

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Unfortunately this song takes too long rhythmic-wise to keep the listener interested. The languidly-sung lyrics will also lull you to sleep only to be jarred awake by a children’s choir accompanied by strong percussions. Skip it.

“Are You Really On My Side”  – Silver Swans

The ‘80s vibe of this song will have you nostalgic for groups such as The Go-Gos. Go find their music instead.

“Cryin Shame” – The Parties

With a sound between The Monkees and The Beatles in their early days, “Cryin’ Shame” has a happy, upbeat tune with the harmonica being a featured instrument. It’s a paradox since the rhythmic arrangement does not match the lyrics, yet it blends well.

“The Party” – Without a Fight

The hyperactive instrumentation on this track will remind you of Green Day. It’s one of those songs that you need listen to several times over because you’re sure there’s something profound that you’ve missed. If you need a reason to download it then use that one.

“Swim” – Oh No Ono

There’s a reason why some songs are free. Don’t waste your time downloading this repetitive tune that goes on 4 minutes and 37 seconds too long.

“You Look Good in Orange”  – Charlie Hunter

From the album “Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You, You Will Not Be Getting Paid” Charlie Hunter’s “You Look Good in Orange” is a welcome Jazz respite from the noise of this week’s free downloads. It’s also a lesson in how Jazz is a multifaceted genre that can be appreciated even when there are no lyrics. The solid musicianship is enough.

“Battles and Brotherhood”  – 3 Inches of Blood

Great name for a band, amazing lyrics and solid heavy-metal instrumentation would make this one of the best downloads for the week, if it wasn’t for the lead singer. His screeching throughout most of the track will turn you off. He never seems to find his musical footing or a balance between entertaining and irritating.

“Calling All Crows” – State Radio

This mild Reggae jam punctuates the lyrics causing both music and words to mesh into a strong, listenable statement. Seek out the rest of State Radio’s music if only to hear their views set to melodic, rhythmic harmonies.