Features




MUSIC
C+

6

@johncmayer: You can do better

These days, it is hard to distinguish between John Mayer, the great guitarist and solid lyricist, and John Mayer, the Twittering tool-bag. And though past albums prove there’s significant evidence he’s the former, Mayer’s newest album “Battle Studies” goes a long way in showing he might have been too worried about the latter persona to make a good album this go-around.
DVD
A

0

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Watch the worthiest cut so far

You’d think after three separate releases, I’d be tired of paying to watch “Watchmen.”  

But you’d be wrong.
MUSIC
B

0

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Consistency rules

Well, no one can accuse Bon Jovi of not being consistent.
FILM
B

0

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DJ Blackbeard rocks the boat

In 1960s Great Britain, back when rock ‘n’ roll truly was rebellious, several broadcasters went out to sea to transmit the music that BBC radio would not even allow for an hour.

They were pirates not because they sailed the high seas, but because they broadcasted without a license. Half the country would tune in to listen to the rock.
GAME
A

0

Modern marvel

Pre-release expectations loomed so large over Infinity Ward’s sequel to “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” that anything the developers offered up risked damning amounts of criticism. Leave it to the Ward folks to shut (almost) everyone up right out of the gate. “Modern Warfare 2” takes everything that was spectacular about the first “Warfare” and cranks it to 11.
DVD
A

0

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Pixar stays on top

At this point it’s cliche to say this (and even cliche to say it’s cliche), but Pixar has done it again.
MUSIC
D+

0

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Stuck in a hut

Wyclef Jean wants to get rich or die tryin,’ but he’s no 50 Cent.
MUSIC
B+

0

Better than ever

Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba has grown up, and it shows.
MUSIC
D+

0

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Please fly away

“Halleluiah, Halleluiah” Flyleaf lead singer Lacey Mosley sings during “Beautiful Bride,” deftly anticipating the first words out of my mouth after the band’s newest album “Memento Mori” finished boring me to death. 
MUSIC
B+

0

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Something old, something new

Switchfoot has produced seven albums in 10 years, and I was starting to think the band’s sound was getting stale. Well, I was wrong. Switchfoot delivers with the new album “Hello Hurricane” because of a diversity in songs that still pull the album together as a whole.
DVD
A-

0

2009's best horror film

“Paranormal Activity” might be getting all the buzz right now, but “Food, Inc.” is the scariest movie of the year.
MUSIC
D

5

Weezer officially sucks

The “Red Album” was bad, “Make Believe” was worse, and now “Raditude” has set the bar even lower. Weezer officially sucks.
FILM
C+

0

Lots of holiday, but little spirit

“A Christmas Carol” is another in the long line of Robert Zemeckis’ creepy CGI films, coming on the heels of “Polar Express” and “Beowulf.” It is also an unnecessary retelling of the Charles Dickens classic, and Disney’s third remake of the story in 25 years.

Yeah, so what’s the point?
FILM
C-

0

Creepy – kind of

Scientist J. Allen Hynek identified four kinds of UFO encounters.

The first is a UFO sighting, the second is physical evidence of a UFO, the third is contact with a UFO occupant and the fourth is abduction.

MUSIC
C+

0

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Big voice, little variety

Carrie Underwood has come a long way from Checotah, Okla.

Four years after her “American Idol” win catapulted her onto both the country and pop charts, Underwood’s third album “Play On” reinforces her transformation from country sensation to pop superstar.
MUSIC
B-

0

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‘Glee’ cast hits a high note

An album released from a group of relatively unknown actors doesn’t sound like one you may want to drop the cash for during a recession, but “Glee: The Music, Volume 1” is worth it.
FILM
B+

0

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A box full of suspense

Norma (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur (James Marsden) Lewis are not faring well in 1976’s troubled economy, but a shadowy stranger with a missing face (Frank Langella) has a nice deal for them: Press a button on a box, kill a stranger and get 1 million dollars.

Although at just under two hours it doesn’t break any records for length, “The Box” all at once felt too long and too short for the story contained within it.

FILM
B-

0

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Not much to see

“The Men Who Stare at Goats” is an exercise in the absurd. Everything from George Clooney’s performance to the film’s supposedly true plot is almost believable – almost.
MUSIC
C+

0

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Too much twang

The Almost started as a solo project for Underoath drummer Aaron Gillespie, but now has morphed into a full-time band on its second album, which comes with a lot to live up to.
MUSIC
B+

0

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Different stroke

On his first solo outing, “Phrazes for the Young,” Julian Casablancas – lead vocalist for the tragically hip Strokes – stares critics skeptical of his individual musical ambitions square in the eyes and curls his upper lip into a victorious snarl.
MUSIC
D+

0

No longer reigning


Metalheads, perhaps more than fans of any other modern genre, have a reverence for history and tradition, and Slayer’s first five albums, a streak running from 1983 to 1990, are all undisputed classics. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how the devolution of their career that has since occurred comes as a slap in the face to aficionados.
MUSIC
A-

0

En garde

B-sides sometimes mean “bad sides,” but in the case of British singer-songwriter and former Smiths frontman Morrissey, the latest B-side compilation album, “Swords,” should get a “K” for kick-ass.

MUSIC
A-

0

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Straight-up cheer

Straight No Chaser definitely has a unique sound in its new Christmas album. Even with classics like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells,” the songs show off the a cappella group’s style.
MUSIC
B+

0

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Just like ‘Back to the Future Part III’

Say Anything’s third major-label album is the completion of a “Back to the Future”-like trilogy. First album “... Is a Real Boy” is a classic for its wit and heart (like the 1985 time travel-heavy film); the massive, 27-song follow up “In Defense of the Genre” is better but more confusing (like the smart “Back to the Future Part II”), and this one is a return to the original’s form, just not as well executed (exactly like “Part III”).
MUSIC
D+

0

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Let it suck

Remember Shwayze? Those guys who gave us a million annoying Facebook statuses from girls about Corona and lime? Well, they’re back and still singing about girls. And parties. And alcohol.

Past Reviews

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