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(06/08/06 4:00am)
The sixth and best studio album of Bruce Springsteen's 33-year recording career contains none of the anthemic grandeur present in his previous five records. There are no sax solos or rousing hymns to the working man, and there's nary a hit single to be found. In fact, the only thing on display during Nebraska's stark 41 minutes is Springsteen's voice, harmonica and the forlorn ripples of an acoustic guitar.\nThe usual cast characters (honest, sincere men and women trying to weave their way through a world of hardships occasionally punctuated by fleeting moments of pleasure, release, redemption or transcendence) that populate Springsteen's songs are replaced here by a sordid, suspicious and more downcast lot. The title track recounts the story of the Charlie Starkweather/Caril Ann Fugate murders also dramatized in Terrence Malick's 1973 film "Badlands," and "Johnny 99" tells the tale of a man who drunkenly murders a convenience store clerk only to receive 99 years in prison. "Atlantic City" focuses on a criminal for hire, and both the epic "Highway Patrolman" and ghostly "State Trooper" dive into the tortured psyches of murderers and those who care for them despite their misdeeds.\nNot all the songs deal with criminals, however. The somber "Mansion on the Hill" depicts a simple man living in a town overshadowed by an imposing mansion atop the hill outside of town, and how the goings-on around the house inspired in him a mix of awe and fear as a child and still today. "Used Cars" might well be the most emotional track on the record, with Springsteen detailing a low-income family's search for a suitable automobile, while "Open All Night" is to Nebraska what "Prove It All Night" was to Darkness on the Edge of Town; a desperate ode to getting home to your girl.\n"My Fathers House" and "Reason to Believe" are poignant album closers, the former painting a surrealist dreamscape as its protagonist fights his way through the branches and brambles to find his fathers home, only to discover it, in reality, vacated. The latter, despite its imagery of dead dogs and graveyards, represents a flicker of daylight penetrating the darkness of the rest of the record.\nNebraska is a testament to Springsteen's awe-inspiring deftness with characterization, lyricism and song craft, as well as to the singular austere quality of his voice. Regardless of all the murderers and hopeless characters found on Nebraska, the albums final lines echo with hope in the face of the impossible.\n"Congregation gathers down by the riverside / Preacher stands with his Bible / Groom stands waitin' for his bride / Congregation gone / The sun sets behind a weepin' willow tree / Groom stands alone and watches the river rush on so effortlessly / Wonderin' where can his baby be / Still at the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe"
(06/01/06 4:00am)
I never imagined how deep "Lost" would delve when I first started watching it in the autumn of 2004. I also never imagined how popular it would become, or how many people who watched it on a weekly basis would profess their hatred for and unending frustration with it while still tuning in religiously. In short, "Lost" is still the best show on television (as the 250-member Facebook group I created proudly proclaims), and after two fantastic seasons on ABC I felt the need to discuss it at length in the IDS once again.\nBy now, anyone who isn't a rabid fan of the show will have most likely closed the magazine or dismissed my praise and fanboy ranting. I'll freely admit that I'm a "Lost" fanboy, but I firmly believe that recent developments in and around the show have rendered it far more important and groundbreaking than any television program on the air today. "Lost" has succeeded at developing a mythology about itself unlike any show in recent memory, save "The X-Files" and possibly "Twin Peaks." With the deft employment of viral marketing exemplified by thehansofoundation.org, the Gary Troup novel "Bad Twin," hansocareers.com and the toll free number 1-877-HANSORG, as well as the hundreds of thousands if not millions of blog and message board postings logged after each new episode aired this past season, "Lost" has cemented itself in the upper echelon of cult television.\nIt doesn't hurt that the Emmys and Golden Globes honored the show with their Best Television Drama awards for its first season, but critical praise is beside the point. Upon the close of the second season last week, "Lost" has become the first moderately interactive scripted program on television, with a fanbase consisting of everyone from 80-year-old nursing home residents to teenage D&D nerds.\nAs much as I would love to avoid transforming this column into an aggressive fellation of Lost's impressive member, it's hard not admire what the show has accomplished in its first 47 episodes. Aside from introducing and fleshing out a cast of over 20 principal members, it's also introduced a mysterious island and a duo of nefarious corporations \nboth steeped in a mythology almost impenetrable to casual viewers. No other show's writing staff works so hard to keep so many viewers simultaneously enthralled and completely in the dark.\nWhile season one focused on a tight-knit group of castaways dealing with day-to-day life on the island on which they were planted, season two vastly expanded the show's scope. Viewers now have a whole new faction of castaways to assimilate, as well as members of the mysterious Others (a clan of islanders present before the main cast crashed on the island) and a stable cast of displaced animal life and monsters made of black smoke and video screens to take stock of. The show's tendency to reveal answers to previously asked questions about the aforementioned things while piling up a mass of newly unanswered ones both frustrates and excites viewers, and such mysteries are the primary catalyst of the show's mass appeal and unrivaled tension.\nSeason one ended with the mystery of "what was inside the hatch," and as soon as we found out the answer to that question, there were 100 more questions posed. As I said in my first IDS write-up on "Lost" (only six episodes into its run), this show is not for the casual viewer. Either you're in for the long haul or you're an outsider doomed to be baffled at people like me endlessly browsing the Hanso Foundation's website for clues.\nThe multiple websites, interactive phone number, and tie-in novel only enhance the "Lost" experience for die-hards, and while such viral marketing may seem to some to only enhance the brain-deadening effect of television, I can't help but champion television as stimulating and positively unnerving as this show is. I can't imagine such an elaborate marketing scheme working in the benefit of any show that wasn't as meticulously detailed and impossibly dense.\nI've encountered my share of doubters, all with valid concerns dismissing "Lost" as watered-down sci-fi posing or as a show with no idea of where it's going. Most of those doubters were lent my season one DVD set only to become immediately hooked and tune in obsessively to season two. "Lost" simply cannot be pigeonholed into any genre, and its characters can't be pigeonholed into typical television drama stereotypes. Its main fanbase remains in a constant state of "push the button/don't push the button," just like the show's primary protagonists.\nSeason three begins in October, and I, and millions of others can't help but wait feverishly. "Lost," while being immensely popular among many demographics, finds it hard to compete with some of today's most popular television series. It can't compete with "American Idol" because it actually has a meaningful purpose. It can't rival "Desperate Housewives" since it actually has a moral center. It can't even touch "CSI" due to the fact that its plot doesn't recycle itself week to week. "Lost" is in a class of its own, and no other television drama today (besides "The Sopranos") can even come close to touching it.
(06/01/06 12:55am)
I never imagined how deep "Lost" would delve when I first started watching it in the autumn of 2004. I also never imagined how popular it would become, or how many people who watched it on a weekly basis would profess their hatred for and unending frustration with it while still tuning in religiously. In short, "Lost" is still the best show on television (as the 250-member Facebook group I created proudly proclaims), and after two fantastic seasons on ABC I felt the need to discuss it at length in the IDS once again.\nBy now, anyone who isn't a rabid fan of the show will have most likely closed the magazine or dismissed my praise and fanboy ranting. I'll freely admit that I'm a "Lost" fanboy, but I firmly believe that recent developments in and around the show have rendered it far more important and groundbreaking than any television program on the air today. "Lost" has succeeded at developing a mythology about itself unlike any show in recent memory, save "The X-Files" and possibly "Twin Peaks." With the deft employment of viral marketing exemplified by thehansofoundation.org, the Gary Troup novel "Bad Twin," hansocareers.com and the toll free number 1-877-HANSORG, as well as the hundreds of thousands if not millions of blog and message board postings logged after each new episode aired this past season, "Lost" has cemented itself in the upper echelon of cult television.\nIt doesn't hurt that the Emmys and Golden Globes honored the show with their Best Television Drama awards for its first season, but critical praise is beside the point. Upon the close of the second season last week, "Lost" has become the first moderately interactive scripted program on television, with a fanbase consisting of everyone from 80-year-old nursing home residents to teenage D&D nerds.\nAs much as I would love to avoid transforming this column into an aggressive fellation of Lost's impressive member, it's hard not admire what the show has accomplished in its first 47 episodes. Aside from introducing and fleshing out a cast of over 20 principal members, it's also introduced a mysterious island and a duo of nefarious corporations \nboth steeped in a mythology almost impenetrable to casual viewers. No other show's writing staff works so hard to keep so many viewers simultaneously enthralled and completely in the dark.\nWhile season one focused on a tight-knit group of castaways dealing with day-to-day life on the island on which they were planted, season two vastly expanded the show's scope. Viewers now have a whole new faction of castaways to assimilate, as well as members of the mysterious Others (a clan of islanders present before the main cast crashed on the island) and a stable cast of displaced animal life and monsters made of black smoke and video screens to take stock of. The show's tendency to reveal answers to previously asked questions about the aforementioned things while piling up a mass of newly unanswered ones both frustrates and excites viewers, and such mysteries are the primary catalyst of the show's mass appeal and unrivaled tension.\nSeason one ended with the mystery of "what was inside the hatch," and as soon as we found out the answer to that question, there were 100 more questions posed. As I said in my first IDS write-up on "Lost" (only six episodes into its run), this show is not for the casual viewer. Either you're in for the long haul or you're an outsider doomed to be baffled at people like me endlessly browsing the Hanso Foundation's website for clues.\nThe multiple websites, interactive phone number, and tie-in novel only enhance the "Lost" experience for die-hards, and while such viral marketing may seem to some to only enhance the brain-deadening effect of television, I can't help but champion television as stimulating and positively unnerving as this show is. I can't imagine such an elaborate marketing scheme working in the benefit of any show that wasn't as meticulously detailed and impossibly dense.\nI've encountered my share of doubters, all with valid concerns dismissing "Lost" as watered-down sci-fi posing or as a show with no idea of where it's going. Most of those doubters were lent my season one DVD set only to become immediately hooked and tune in obsessively to season two. "Lost" simply cannot be pigeonholed into any genre, and its characters can't be pigeonholed into typical television drama stereotypes. Its main fanbase remains in a constant state of "push the button/don't push the button," just like the show's primary protagonists.\nSeason three begins in October, and I, and millions of others can't help but wait feverishly. "Lost," while being immensely popular among many demographics, finds it hard to compete with some of today's most popular television series. It can't compete with "American Idol" because it actually has a meaningful purpose. It can't rival "Desperate Housewives" since it actually has a moral center. It can't even touch "CSI" due to the fact that its plot doesn't recycle itself week to week. "Lost" is in a class of its own, and no other television drama today (besides "The Sopranos") can even come close to touching it.
(05/18/06 4:00am)
Being the more substantial half of Steven Spielberg's red-letter 2005 (along with War of the Worlds), "Munich" tells the tale of the terrorist group Black September's hi-jacking of Munich Germany's 1972 Olympic Games during which they kidnaped and killed a group of Israeli athletes. The events are seen through the eyes of a secret group of hitmen contracted to assassinate those who helped plan the attack. The bulk of the film dramatizes these hitmen's experiences as they take out the planners one by one. Spielberg succeeds in endowing this spy-thriller with a political statement on terrorism and retaliation, and their place within the modern world.\nSpielberg and his collaborators are all working at their creative peak here, with Janusz Kaminski's geometric, hyper-kinetic cinematography heightening all moods, Michael Kahn's editing jarring and relaxing viewers based on the scene, and John Williams score ranging from relentlessly propulsive to exceptionally haunting. The screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth plays out like an intricate maze of political dialogue and stunning set pieces, all building to the somber but inevitable climax. The actors are uniformly excellent, with Eric Bana giving a breakout performance as group leader Avner. The supporting cast, featuring Geoffrey Rush, the new blonde-Bond Daniel Craig and a host of great foreign actors, help put a human face on the terrible events of the Munich aftermath. Lynn Cohen and Marie-Josée Croze help establish a small but effective female cast as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and a cunning female assassin respectively.\nThe two-disc Limited Edition of "Munich" is brimming with bonus features chronicling nearly every aspect of the filmmaking process. After a brief personal introduction from Spielberg, a series of mini-docs covering the main cast and international casting process, the cast and crew's life on the set, as well as the editing, sound design and orchestral scoring bring the film further into focus. The docs "Munich: Memories of the Event" and "Munich: Portrait of an Era" delve deep into the happenings of the actual Munich massacre and subsequent retaliation, as well as how the production designers and wardrobe staff helped re-create a wholly believable 1970's vibe. Missing from yet another Spielberg DVD release is any semblance of a full-length commentary track, but I suppose when the man offers us a film as near to perfection as this, we shouldn't quibble about his apprehension to discuss it in depth.\nDespite some claims that the film's bold political statements are as futile as the behaviors they condemn, and that the film comes off as anti-Israeli (a view held almost exclusively by Jews) or anti-Palestine (a view held almost exclusively by Palestinians and their sympathizers), "Munich" transcends criticism as it represents a great director on the top of his game for the first time since 1998's "Saving Private Ryan." It's spectacular cinema with a purpose, and we desperately need more films like it.
(05/17/06 11:21pm)
Being the more substantial half of Steven Spielberg's red-letter 2005 (along with War of the Worlds), "Munich" tells the tale of the terrorist group Black September's hi-jacking of Munich Germany's 1972 Olympic Games during which they kidnaped and killed a group of Israeli athletes. The events are seen through the eyes of a secret group of hitmen contracted to assassinate those who helped plan the attack. The bulk of the film dramatizes these hitmen's experiences as they take out the planners one by one. Spielberg succeeds in endowing this spy-thriller with a political statement on terrorism and retaliation, and their place within the modern world.\nSpielberg and his collaborators are all working at their creative peak here, with Janusz Kaminski's geometric, hyper-kinetic cinematography heightening all moods, Michael Kahn's editing jarring and relaxing viewers based on the scene, and John Williams score ranging from relentlessly propulsive to exceptionally haunting. The screenplay by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth plays out like an intricate maze of political dialogue and stunning set pieces, all building to the somber but inevitable climax. The actors are uniformly excellent, with Eric Bana giving a breakout performance as group leader Avner. The supporting cast, featuring Geoffrey Rush, the new blonde-Bond Daniel Craig and a host of great foreign actors, help put a human face on the terrible events of the Munich aftermath. Lynn Cohen and Marie-Josée Croze help establish a small but effective female cast as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and a cunning female assassin respectively.\nThe two-disc Limited Edition of "Munich" is brimming with bonus features chronicling nearly every aspect of the filmmaking process. After a brief personal introduction from Spielberg, a series of mini-docs covering the main cast and international casting process, the cast and crew's life on the set, as well as the editing, sound design and orchestral scoring bring the film further into focus. The docs "Munich: Memories of the Event" and "Munich: Portrait of an Era" delve deep into the happenings of the actual Munich massacre and subsequent retaliation, as well as how the production designers and wardrobe staff helped re-create a wholly believable 1970's vibe. Missing from yet another Spielberg DVD release is any semblance of a full-length commentary track, but I suppose when the man offers us a film as near to perfection as this, we shouldn't quibble about his apprehension to discuss it in depth.\nDespite some claims that the film's bold political statements are as futile as the behaviors they condemn, and that the film comes off as anti-Israeli (a view held almost exclusively by Jews) or anti-Palestine (a view held almost exclusively by Palestinians and their sympathizers), "Munich" transcends criticism as it represents a great director on the top of his game for the first time since 1998's "Saving Private Ryan." It's spectacular cinema with a purpose, and we desperately need more films like it.
(05/11/06 4:00am)
It's hard to believe that Tool has been around for nearly 14 years. One of the first albums I ever purchased was their 1993 debut, Undertow, and their 1996 metal-masterpiece, Ænima, can still be found in rotation on my stereo. Their last record, 2001's dense, challenging Lateralus, was the sound of metal proclaiming itself a vital force in the 21st century. Despite spanning an eternity between albums and engaging in the relatively mediocre side project, A Perfect Circle, Tool remain a vital force in contemporary metal, as they prove with their latest, 10,000 Days.\nTrue to the form of Tool's three previous long-players, a moderate portion of Days consists of instrumental mood pieces. Twenty-five of the 75 minutes is made up of thick, trudging instrumentals like "Lost Keys," "Intension," "Wings for Marie," "Lipan Conjuring" and the droning album closer "Viginti Tres." The good thing about these tracks is not only that they help solidify the mood of what preceded and set the tone for what's to come, but also that what's upcoming is of such a high caliber that they're worth sitting through. The remaining 50 minutes of Days is exactly the quality of organic, introspective metal we've come to expect from Tool, and far more in some cases.\nThe album commences with the one-two punch of "Vicarious" and "Jambi," followed shortly by the stunningly subtle uppercut of the title track, "10,000 Days." "Vicarious" revisits lead vocalist and songwriter Maynard James Keenan's vehement disgust and disillusionment with the modern world first displayed on Ænima's title track, while "Jambi" is one of Tool's most musically invigorating tracks ever, shifting between a series of multi-layered monotone riffs, semi-buried vocal tracks and cyclonic solos. The title track comes on slowly with thunderstorm effects, romanticizing the rain and letting listeners worry about what happens when the lights flicker and the rivers spill over their banks.\n"The Pot" and "Rosetta Stoned" are easily the angriest and most aggressive songs on the record, and seem at home in the same anti-social territory as many of the songs on Undertow and Ænima. If they weren't so musically exciting, they'd be hard to forgive, yet such forgiveness isn't needed for the final significant composition on 10,000 Days. "Right in Two" is possibly the most subdued and elegant extended track Tool has ever cemented on record. The closest thing Tool has ever penned to a political track, "Right in Two" laments "monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of the ground" as Keenan's vocals form a unified noise with the bass, drums, and guitar, resulting in an extended tribal percussion break high followed by the inevitable, jagged come-down.\nWith nearly every song of substance clocking in at seven plus minutes and shifting tempo more often than most modern metal bands change lyrical rhyme pattern, 10,000 Days is not for the casual listener. Those initiated know what Tool is all about, and will be thrilled to find this record not only thematically enhancing Tool's previous works, but displaying a furthering of musical maturity and production mastery rarely achieved by bands so frequently featured on t-shirts at Hot Topic.
(05/10/06 7:07pm)
It's hard to believe that Tool has been around for nearly 14 years. One of the first albums I ever purchased was their 1993 debut, Undertow, and their 1996 metal-masterpiece, Ænima, can still be found in rotation on my stereo. Their last record, 2001's dense, challenging Lateralus, was the sound of metal proclaiming itself a vital force in the 21st century. Despite spanning an eternity between albums and engaging in the relatively mediocre side project, A Perfect Circle, Tool remain a vital force in contemporary metal, as they prove with their latest, 10,000 Days.\nTrue to the form of Tool's three previous long-players, a moderate portion of Days consists of instrumental mood pieces. Twenty-five of the 75 minutes is made up of thick, trudging instrumentals like "Lost Keys," "Intension," "Wings for Marie," "Lipan Conjuring" and the droning album closer "Viginti Tres." The good thing about these tracks is not only that they help solidify the mood of what preceded and set the tone for what's to come, but also that what's upcoming is of such a high caliber that they're worth sitting through. The remaining 50 minutes of Days is exactly the quality of organic, introspective metal we've come to expect from Tool, and far more in some cases.\nThe album commences with the one-two punch of "Vicarious" and "Jambi," followed shortly by the stunningly subtle uppercut of the title track, "10,000 Days." "Vicarious" revisits lead vocalist and songwriter Maynard James Keenan's vehement disgust and disillusionment with the modern world first displayed on Ænima's title track, while "Jambi" is one of Tool's most musically invigorating tracks ever, shifting between a series of multi-layered monotone riffs, semi-buried vocal tracks and cyclonic solos. The title track comes on slowly with thunderstorm effects, romanticizing the rain and letting listeners worry about what happens when the lights flicker and the rivers spill over their banks.\n"The Pot" and "Rosetta Stoned" are easily the angriest and most aggressive songs on the record, and seem at home in the same anti-social territory as many of the songs on Undertow and Ænima. If they weren't so musically exciting, they'd be hard to forgive, yet such forgiveness isn't needed for the final significant composition on 10,000 Days. "Right in Two" is possibly the most subdued and elegant extended track Tool has ever cemented on record. The closest thing Tool has ever penned to a political track, "Right in Two" laments "monkey killing monkey killing monkey over pieces of the ground" as Keenan's vocals form a unified noise with the bass, drums, and guitar, resulting in an extended tribal percussion break high followed by the inevitable, jagged come-down.\nWith nearly every song of substance clocking in at seven plus minutes and shifting tempo more often than most modern metal bands change lyrical rhyme pattern, 10,000 Days is not for the casual listener. Those initiated know what Tool is all about, and will be thrilled to find this record not only thematically enhancing Tool's previous works, but displaying a furthering of musical maturity and production mastery rarely achieved by bands so frequently featured on t-shirts at Hot Topic.
(04/27/06 4:00am)
Two young American men (Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) set out on a backpacking trip looking to hook up and trip out in the European countryside, only to find themselves held captive and tortured in a seedy, debaucherous youth hostel in Slovakia. Produced by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Eli Roth, "Hostel" is a warts-and-all gorefest whose Unrated DVD incarnation pulls even less punches in the torture department than the already blood-soaked theatrical cut.\nWhat Roth and company have made here may be a fairly new concept in mainstream American cinema, but Japan has been doing it far longer (and better), regardless of how much cinematic-cool cred Tarantino brings to the project. The film's young actors are essentially human punching bags, and the screenplay is mediocre at best, but Roth stages all his violent vignettes so assuredly that those quibbles can be forgiven by hardcore horror fans.\nFeatures on this release are essentially limited to a throwaway behind-the-scenes featurette and four feature-length commentary tracks. To the disc's credit, the majority of the commentary tracks are either involving or beneficially humorous, given the mostly dour subject matter of the film. \nThe first commentary features director Roth on his own, the second finds executive producer (and madman chatterbox) Tarantino joining him, and a third features Roth and his documentarian brother Gabriel. The final track is Roth accompanied by some of the films actors, as well as geek-god Harry Knowles of the online entertainment news warehouse Aint It Cool News. After about the third hour of hearing the director speak on these commentaries, it's easy to tire of his voice, but Tarantino and Knowles add some fresh insight and entertaining commentary to make their tracks worth a listen.\nUnlike most modern horror movies, which tantalize genre fans with the promise of a return to the gory glory days of Lucio Fulci and those in his company only to barely deliver on any level, "Hostel" succeeds in bringing the shock, even though the plot is somewhat farcical. Avoid "Hostel" if you're one of those who still thirsts for a horror movie that delivers smarts with its scares, but if gore and genuine brutal shocks are what you're looking for, by all means pick up "Hostel"
(04/26/06 10:00pm)
Two young American men (Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) set out on a backpacking trip looking to hook up and trip out in the European countryside, only to find themselves held captive and tortured in a seedy, debaucherous youth hostel in Slovakia. Produced by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Eli Roth, "Hostel" is a warts-and-all gorefest whose Unrated DVD incarnation pulls even less punches in the torture department than the already blood-soaked theatrical cut.\nWhat Roth and company have made here may be a fairly new concept in mainstream American cinema, but Japan has been doing it far longer (and better), regardless of how much cinematic-cool cred Tarantino brings to the project. The film's young actors are essentially human punching bags, and the screenplay is mediocre at best, but Roth stages all his violent vignettes so assuredly that those quibbles can be forgiven by hardcore horror fans.\nFeatures on this release are essentially limited to a throwaway behind-the-scenes featurette and four feature-length commentary tracks. To the disc's credit, the majority of the commentary tracks are either involving or beneficially humorous, given the mostly dour subject matter of the film. \nThe first commentary features director Roth on his own, the second finds executive producer (and madman chatterbox) Tarantino joining him, and a third features Roth and his documentarian brother Gabriel. The final track is Roth accompanied by some of the films actors, as well as geek-god Harry Knowles of the online entertainment news warehouse Aint It Cool News. After about the third hour of hearing the director speak on these commentaries, it's easy to tire of his voice, but Tarantino and Knowles add some fresh insight and entertaining commentary to make their tracks worth a listen.\nUnlike most modern horror movies, which tantalize genre fans with the promise of a return to the gory glory days of Lucio Fulci and those in his company only to barely deliver on any level, "Hostel" succeeds in bringing the shock, even though the plot is somewhat farcical. Avoid "Hostel" if you're one of those who still thirsts for a horror movie that delivers smarts with its scares, but if gore and genuine brutal shocks are what you're looking for, by all means pick up "Hostel"
(04/20/06 4:00am)
The angry American returns - a little less angry. \nToby Keith has been somewhat of a venerable journeyman in the country music business for the past 13 years, releasing everything from radio-friendly country to politically-charged agit-prop, all to the delight of his core fan base. His 10th long-player, White Trash with Money, fits nicely with the more radio-ready of his body of work. The title comes from a confrontation Keith's daughter had with a schoolmate in which said schoolmate criticized her for being glorified trailer bait, a notion which Keith seems to embrace about himself on this record, always with a wink and a smile. \nThe songs range from up tempo drinking ditties ("Get Drunk and Be Somebody") to slowed-down love songs ("Crash Here Tonight"), with the record ending on a curious note with a song about being stuck on a double blind date with a friend and two overweight women ("Runnin' Block"). The material is mostly uneven, and it's 100 percent Nashville-processed product, but Keith is to be complimented for either co-writing or writing each of the 12 tracks, which is more than can be said for the majority of today's country artists. \nTo the delight of some, and I'm sure to the disappointment of many, Keith has delivered this album almost free of any of the political statements that made him a superstar of post-9/11 uber-patriotism. There's no "Taliban Song," "American Soldier," "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" or "If I Was Jesus," but he does make his thoughts about the need for prayer in public schools quite clear on "Ain't No Right Way." Regardless, tracks like "Grain of Salt," "Can't Buy You Money" and "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" are among the best of today's modern country radio offerings, and anything that steals away precious radio air play from Carrie Underwood and SHeDAISY can't be all that bad, can it? \nThe country music scene is currently on elevated alert in terms of lacking any serious legends who are still churning out first-rate material, and in the 21st century Nashville landscape Toby Keith reigns supreme in the eyes of most diehards. White Trash with Money isn't a great album, or even a damn good one, but it is to modern country music what the last few Foo Fighters records were to modern rock and roll: a placeholder for the genre and a representation of tried-and-true, workmanlike studio craftsmanship over genuine creativity and balls. That's not the world's highest compliment, and it might even come off as a slam, but this record is amiable enough, and worthy of respect for aiming for the middle and hitting its target dead-on.
(04/20/06 4:00am)
Imagine if when you were six years old you'd found some of your daddy's mescaline in the medicine cabinet, took it, ate 10 Oreos and watched "Sesame Street." That's "Wonder Showzen," MTV2's usually demented, often scatological, always brilliant kids' show knock-off created, directed and voiced by the members of obscure indie rock band PFFR.\nThe format of "Wonder Showzen" is not unlike that of "Sesame Street," "Barney & Friends" and their ilk. Real live kids between the ages of five and 12 interact with a host of puppet pals, and then there's the occasional cartoon, public service announcement or trip to the local farm/factory/zoo. The difference between those shows and "Wonder Showzen" is that pretty much everything on "Wonder Showzen" would either make no sense to children, or horrify them into submission. The vast majority of the humor is better left unspoiled, suffice it to say that when one child is asked to explain what love is, she plaintively responds "A neurochemical con job."\nExtras on the two-disc set of "Wonder Showzen's" first season include selected episode commentaries by writer Gordon Lish, former Presidential candidate and stand-up comedian Dick Gregory and Screamin' Stephen J. Hawkins (a guy impersonating Stephen Hawking's electronic voice), a special "Storytime with Flava Flav" and auditions and out-takes featuring many of the kids in the show. There's also a bonus mini-poster with puppet ringleader Chauncey urging the kiddies to "Hang in There" (noose and all).\n"Wonder Showzen" occasionally offers up a cartoon or sketch that's so outlandish, antisocially politically incorrect, or hideously flagrant that it verges on uncomfortable, but for the most part the comedy is spot-on and painfully hilarious. When a young boy in a Hitler costume asks a random man on the street wearing a cowboy hat "Whose hat represents more oppression, yours or mine?" it's clear we're not dealing with run-of-the-mill comedic talent. When the man in the cowboy hat unflinchingly responds "They both represent a fair degree of oppression -- you just killed a lot more people a lot quicker," it's pretty obvious we've got greatness (or is that blood?) on our hands.
(04/20/06 2:25am)
Imagine if when you were six years old you'd found some of your daddy's mescaline in the medicine cabinet, took it, ate 10 Oreos and watched "Sesame Street." That's "Wonder Showzen," MTV2's usually demented, often scatological, always brilliant kids' show knock-off created, directed and voiced by the members of obscure indie rock band PFFR.\nThe format of "Wonder Showzen" is not unlike that of "Sesame Street," "Barney & Friends" and their ilk. Real live kids between the ages of five and 12 interact with a host of puppet pals, and then there's the occasional cartoon, public service announcement or trip to the local farm/factory/zoo. The difference between those shows and "Wonder Showzen" is that pretty much everything on "Wonder Showzen" would either make no sense to children, or horrify them into submission. The vast majority of the humor is better left unspoiled, suffice it to say that when one child is asked to explain what love is, she plaintively responds "A neurochemical con job."\nExtras on the two-disc set of "Wonder Showzen's" first season include selected episode commentaries by writer Gordon Lish, former Presidential candidate and stand-up comedian Dick Gregory and Screamin' Stephen J. Hawkins (a guy impersonating Stephen Hawking's electronic voice), a special "Storytime with Flava Flav" and auditions and out-takes featuring many of the kids in the show. There's also a bonus mini-poster with puppet ringleader Chauncey urging the kiddies to "Hang in There" (noose and all).\n"Wonder Showzen" occasionally offers up a cartoon or sketch that's so outlandish, antisocially politically incorrect, or hideously flagrant that it verges on uncomfortable, but for the most part the comedy is spot-on and painfully hilarious. When a young boy in a Hitler costume asks a random man on the street wearing a cowboy hat "Whose hat represents more oppression, yours or mine?" it's clear we're not dealing with run-of-the-mill comedic talent. When the man in the cowboy hat unflinchingly responds "They both represent a fair degree of oppression -- you just killed a lot more people a lot quicker," it's pretty obvious we've got greatness (or is that blood?) on our hands.
(04/20/06 2:03am)
The angry American returns - a little less angry. \nToby Keith has been somewhat of a venerable journeyman in the country music business for the past 13 years, releasing everything from radio-friendly country to politically-charged agit-prop, all to the delight of his core fan base. His 10th long-player, White Trash with Money, fits nicely with the more radio-ready of his body of work. The title comes from a confrontation Keith's daughter had with a schoolmate in which said schoolmate criticized her for being glorified trailer bait, a notion which Keith seems to embrace about himself on this record, always with a wink and a smile. \nThe songs range from up tempo drinking ditties ("Get Drunk and Be Somebody") to slowed-down love songs ("Crash Here Tonight"), with the record ending on a curious note with a song about being stuck on a double blind date with a friend and two overweight women ("Runnin' Block"). The material is mostly uneven, and it's 100 percent Nashville-processed product, but Keith is to be complimented for either co-writing or writing each of the 12 tracks, which is more than can be said for the majority of today's country artists. \nTo the delight of some, and I'm sure to the disappointment of many, Keith has delivered this album almost free of any of the political statements that made him a superstar of post-9/11 uber-patriotism. There's no "Taliban Song," "American Soldier," "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" or "If I Was Jesus," but he does make his thoughts about the need for prayer in public schools quite clear on "Ain't No Right Way." Regardless, tracks like "Grain of Salt," "Can't Buy You Money" and "Get Drunk and Be Somebody" are among the best of today's modern country radio offerings, and anything that steals away precious radio air play from Carrie Underwood and SHeDAISY can't be all that bad, can it? \nThe country music scene is currently on elevated alert in terms of lacking any serious legends who are still churning out first-rate material, and in the 21st century Nashville landscape Toby Keith reigns supreme in the eyes of most diehards. White Trash with Money isn't a great album, or even a damn good one, but it is to modern country music what the last few Foo Fighters records were to modern rock and roll: a placeholder for the genre and a representation of tried-and-true, workmanlike studio craftsmanship over genuine creativity and balls. That's not the world's highest compliment, and it might even come off as a slam, but this record is amiable enough, and worthy of respect for aiming for the middle and hitting its target dead-on.
(04/06/06 4:00am)
John Ford made several undeniable masterpieces during his half-century of directing from 1917 to 1966. "Young Mr. Lincoln" is not one of those masterpieces, but it is a great film in its own right. Concerning the life of Abraham Lincoln during his tenure as a lawyer in mid-1830s Illinois, Ford's film is based much less on historical fact than on a mythologized view of the man who would come to be one of our greatest presidents.\nThis point-of-view would be detrimental to anyone attempting to get to the bottom of what made a great man tick, but Ford wasn't interested in such introspection. Instead, we get a genial portrait of Lincoln's younger years, complete with excellent cinematography and assured pacing and direction from a man who would soon become as much a legend in Hollywood as Lincoln became countrywide.\nHenry Fonda portrays Lincoln as a mild-mannered fellow wise beyond not only his years, but his world. The supporting cast is well-rounded, but Fonda's Lincoln is as much the focal point of this film as Philip Seymour Hoffman's Capote was in "Capote." Filmed not long before he illuminated Tom Joad in Ford's best film, "The Grapes of Wrath," Fonda's performance is the sturdy axle on which the rest of "Young Mr. Lincoln" relies, and he delivers brilliantly. Bert Glennon and Arthur C. Miller's cinematography is another high point of this disc, presenting nature and the outdoors better than most DPs of their time.\nExtras on Criterion's double-disc treatment include an enlightening look into Ford's early film career produced by the BBC, archival audio interviews with Ford and Fonda on which they discuss the film in moderate depth, and a 28-page insert booklet boasting two invaluable write-ups on the film. The first essay, "A Hero in Waiting" by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien, cuts to the heart of "Young Mr. Lincoln" and its motivation, while the second, "Mr. Lincoln By Mr. Ford" (penned by late Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein before his death in 1948) is a wonderfully written, almost fanboy-ish account of how the film inspired his own work. The lack of a commentary track on disc one is distressing, but the restoration of this 1939 film is so crisp and vibrant that such an oversight (see: lack of a readily available film historian or Ford scholar) can be forgiven.\nDirector of such fervently loved American classics as "Stagecoach," "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Quiet Man," "The Searchers" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," John Ford made "Young Mr. Lincoln" on the cusp of his emergence as one of the great directors in history. His cinematic portrayal of Lincoln will be neither the last nor the most comprehensive. Steven Spielberg and Liam Neeson will likely take their crack at Honest Abe in the near-future, and while the resulting film will almost certainly be monumental, Ford's "Young Mr. Lincoln," and namely Henry Fonda's methodical take on the President as a young man, is a fitting primer for such an endeavor.
(04/06/06 12:12am)
John Ford made several undeniable masterpieces during his half-century of directing from 1917 to 1966. "Young Mr. Lincoln" is not one of those masterpieces, but it is a great film in its own right. Concerning the life of Abraham Lincoln during his tenure as a lawyer in mid-1830s Illinois, Ford's film is based much less on historical fact than on a mythologized view of the man who would come to be one of our greatest presidents.\nThis point-of-view would be detrimental to anyone attempting to get to the bottom of what made a great man tick, but Ford wasn't interested in such introspection. Instead, we get a genial portrait of Lincoln's younger years, complete with excellent cinematography and assured pacing and direction from a man who would soon become as much a legend in Hollywood as Lincoln became countrywide.\nHenry Fonda portrays Lincoln as a mild-mannered fellow wise beyond not only his years, but his world. The supporting cast is well-rounded, but Fonda's Lincoln is as much the focal point of this film as Philip Seymour Hoffman's Capote was in "Capote." Filmed not long before he illuminated Tom Joad in Ford's best film, "The Grapes of Wrath," Fonda's performance is the sturdy axle on which the rest of "Young Mr. Lincoln" relies, and he delivers brilliantly. Bert Glennon and Arthur C. Miller's cinematography is another high point of this disc, presenting nature and the outdoors better than most DPs of their time.\nExtras on Criterion's double-disc treatment include an enlightening look into Ford's early film career produced by the BBC, archival audio interviews with Ford and Fonda on which they discuss the film in moderate depth, and a 28-page insert booklet boasting two invaluable write-ups on the film. The first essay, "A Hero in Waiting" by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien, cuts to the heart of "Young Mr. Lincoln" and its motivation, while the second, "Mr. Lincoln By Mr. Ford" (penned by late Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein before his death in 1948) is a wonderfully written, almost fanboy-ish account of how the film inspired his own work. The lack of a commentary track on disc one is distressing, but the restoration of this 1939 film is so crisp and vibrant that such an oversight (see: lack of a readily available film historian or Ford scholar) can be forgiven.\nDirector of such fervently loved American classics as "Stagecoach," "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Quiet Man," "The Searchers" and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," John Ford made "Young Mr. Lincoln" on the cusp of his emergence as one of the great directors in history. His cinematic portrayal of Lincoln will be neither the last nor the most comprehensive. Steven Spielberg and Liam Neeson will likely take their crack at Honest Abe in the near-future, and while the resulting film will almost certainly be monumental, Ford's "Young Mr. Lincoln," and namely Henry Fonda's methodical take on the President as a young man, is a fitting primer for such an endeavor.
(03/30/06 5:00am)
Having never endured the divorce of my parents, I'm not sure I could ever truly empathize with the kids in Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale," but that fact in no way dulled the impact the film had on me. Produced by Wes Anderson, "Squid" factors in all the subtle dark humor, and a bit of the intricate set decoration, of "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Rushmore" while at the same time feeling, unlike Anderson's directorial triumphs, wholly organic and unrehearsed.\nIt's 1986, Park Slope, Brooklyn, and 16-year-old Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, autobiographically modeled after Baumbach himself) and 12-year-old Frank (Owen Kline, son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) must deal with their parents Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and Joan's (Laura Linney) divorce. What ensues is a series of vignettes pinpointing the tragedy of divorce from the point of view of a high-brow family who can't overcome their own vanities and excesses, and the cast is uniformly spot-on. Anna Paquin, Halley Feifer and even William Baldwin shine in vital supporting roles.\nAs with all Anderson-related fare, "Squid" has both a wonderful screenplay and an excellent soundtrack. Unjustly denied the Best Original Screenplay Oscar in favor of "Crash," Baumbach's screenplay cuts to the heart of an elitist American family's struggles with life, love and the obsessive everyday minutae that both drives and stunts them. The soundtrack boasts cuts by Loudon Wainwright III, The Cars, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, The Feelies, Bert Jansch and Pink Floyd (played during a pivotal plot point), as well as one of Lou Reed's finest moments, "Street Hassle," over the end credits.\nExtra features on this single-disc edition include a mostly valuable feature-length commentary track by Baumbach, on which he details the more autobiographical aspects of the film. Also included are a rather standard making-of featurette during which nothing of much note is revealed and a medium-length conversation with Baumbach and film critic Philip Lopate. Lopate is no Pauline Kael, but he makes a valiant run at getting to the bottom of the film, despite Baumbach's relative shyness. There's no sense avoiding the fact that this disc is fairly slim on features, and "Squid" itself is only 78 minutes, but it still deserves a rental or purchase for being one of the most incisive and heartbreaking films of 2005.\nNominated for Best Picture, Actor (Daniels) and Actress (Linney) in a Musical or Comedy at this year's Golden Globes, "The Squid and the Whale" is anything but a traditional comedy. There are far more moments of pain and harsh, awkward reality than irreverent comic wit, and Baumbach juggles it all with an uncommon assurance. Jeff Daniels' Bernard Berkman describes "A Tale of Two Cities" as "minor Dickens" in an early scene, but I get the sense that several years from now he wouldn't describe "Squid" as minor Baumbach, it being a very personal film from an abnormally committed filmmaker who wishes to tell the story of a childhood trauma as he felt it. Right on, brotha.
(03/29/06 11:40pm)
Having never endured the divorce of my parents, I'm not sure I could ever truly empathize with the kids in Noah Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale," but that fact in no way dulled the impact the film had on me. Produced by Wes Anderson, "Squid" factors in all the subtle dark humor, and a bit of the intricate set decoration, of "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "Rushmore" while at the same time feeling, unlike Anderson's directorial triumphs, wholly organic and unrehearsed.\nIt's 1986, Park Slope, Brooklyn, and 16-year-old Walt (Jesse Eisenberg, autobiographically modeled after Baumbach himself) and 12-year-old Frank (Owen Kline, son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates) must deal with their parents Bernard (Jeff Daniels) and Joan's (Laura Linney) divorce. What ensues is a series of vignettes pinpointing the tragedy of divorce from the point of view of a high-brow family who can't overcome their own vanities and excesses, and the cast is uniformly spot-on. Anna Paquin, Halley Feifer and even William Baldwin shine in vital supporting roles.\nAs with all Anderson-related fare, "Squid" has both a wonderful screenplay and an excellent soundtrack. Unjustly denied the Best Original Screenplay Oscar in favor of "Crash," Baumbach's screenplay cuts to the heart of an elitist American family's struggles with life, love and the obsessive everyday minutae that both drives and stunts them. The soundtrack boasts cuts by Loudon Wainwright III, The Cars, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, The Feelies, Bert Jansch and Pink Floyd (played during a pivotal plot point), as well as one of Lou Reed's finest moments, "Street Hassle," over the end credits.\nExtra features on this single-disc edition include a mostly valuable feature-length commentary track by Baumbach, on which he details the more autobiographical aspects of the film. Also included are a rather standard making-of featurette during which nothing of much note is revealed and a medium-length conversation with Baumbach and film critic Philip Lopate. Lopate is no Pauline Kael, but he makes a valiant run at getting to the bottom of the film, despite Baumbach's relative shyness. There's no sense avoiding the fact that this disc is fairly slim on features, and "Squid" itself is only 78 minutes, but it still deserves a rental or purchase for being one of the most incisive and heartbreaking films of 2005.\nNominated for Best Picture, Actor (Daniels) and Actress (Linney) in a Musical or Comedy at this year's Golden Globes, "The Squid and the Whale" is anything but a traditional comedy. There are far more moments of pain and harsh, awkward reality than irreverent comic wit, and Baumbach juggles it all with an uncommon assurance. Jeff Daniels' Bernard Berkman describes "A Tale of Two Cities" as "minor Dickens" in an early scene, but I get the sense that several years from now he wouldn't describe "Squid" as minor Baumbach, it being a very personal film from an abnormally committed filmmaker who wishes to tell the story of a childhood trauma as he felt it. Right on, brotha.
(03/23/06 5:00am)
"Jarhead" is not a war movie. It's even less of a war movie than "Three Kings," "Apocalypse Now," "The Deer Hunter" or "Full Metal Jacket" (which it most resembles). "Jarhead" is a movie about military indoctrination, conflicting moralities and under British director Sam Mendes' deft direction, it's a poignant statement about the current state of our military and its follies in the deserts of the Middle East.\nBased on former Marine Anthony Swofford's book about his experiences in bootcamp, Kuwait and Iraq in the first Gulf War, "Jarhead" nimbly avoids preachy politics, instead focusing on the effect the military, during wartime, has on the mind of the individual. Jake Gyllenhaal, capping off a red-letter year which included an Oscar-worthy performance as Jack Twist in "Brokeback Mountain," embodies Swofford with a bewildered fire in his eyes, a man forever scarred by his actions and lack of action in a war he doesn't fully understand.\nPeter Sarsgaard adds yet another mildly disturbing character to his cannon as Swofford's friend Allen Troy, but it's Jamie Foxx who steals the show during his limited screen time as Staff Sgt. Sykes, a performance combining the intensity and sharp tongue of "Full Metal Jacket's" Gunnery Sgt. Hartman with the undeniable compassion of Tom Hank's Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan."\nBoth single and double-disc versions of "Jarhead" are available, with the single-disc containing a glut of mostly curious deleted scenes with director commentary, more of Swofford's fantasy sequences from the film and two full-length commentary tracks, one from Mendes and the other from screenwriter William Broyles Jr. and Anthony Swofford himself. The double-disc collector's edition contains all features found on the single-disc, as well as the documentaries "Jarhead Diaries," "Background" and "Semper Fi: Life After the Corps." The diaries are personal accounts of life on the set from the cast and are mostly disposable. "Background" concerns stories of the real Marines who starred as extras in the film, and "Semper Fi" is a series of interviews with former Marines, some yawn-inducing and some emotionally affecting, in which they discuss their lives after leaving the Corps.\nThere are individual scenes in "Jarhead" that boast the weight of most entire films, such as Swofford's mental breakdown at the expense of a timid fellow soldier or a climactic scene in which Swofford and Troy finally have an Iraqi in their cross-hairs after months upon months of training and waiting. Roger Deakins' cinematography is also of particular note, as his camera perfectly captures the bleakness of the desert by day and the haunting quality of the desert by night, oil wells burning like surreal signal fires.\nWith "American Beauty" and "Road to Perdition" already under his belt, Sam Mendes joins the likes of P.T. Anderson, Wes Anderson, Spike Jonze, Sofia Coppola and Darren Aronofsky as 40-years-or-younger directors with as of yet spotless track records.
(03/23/06 5:00am)
Does anyone remember "Crash?" It won the Best Picture Oscar three weeks ago. No? Don't worry. You'll soon see it overflowing bargain bins next to "Shakespeare in Love," "The English Patient" and "Million Dollar Baby." But what doomed it to end up there? How did this self-described "little film about race in America" end up winning the Best Picture Oscar over such substantial cinematic offerings as "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich?"\nThe Oscars chickened out. They saw Fox News calling out their deceptive "liberal agenda" and turned tail, running at the thought of the same majority that re-elected George W. Bush turning against their storied institution. Or maybe they just liked "Crash" better, but we doubt it. The Academy played it safe, unlike last year with the mediocre but topical "Million Dollar Baby," a winner timed to coincide with the removal of Terry Schiavo's feeding tube. Truth be told, "Crash" was the safest choice of all the films nominated this year. With two nominated films featuring homosexual characters and the other two taking a prominent liberal stance on social/national issues, "Crash" was the warm glass of milk to those films' shot of Everclear.\nIf one spoke candidly, off the record with the majority of Academy voters who chose "Crash," chances are they would tell you there was a method to their madness. In hopes to assuage the American viewing public (the same public that helped "Narnia" top the $250 million mark), Academy voters (the same voters that gave Michael Moore an Oscar) chose the film with racial themes that would've shaken your grandma up in the '60s, but by today's standards seem about as genial as those in "Driving Miss Daisy." \nAnyone who's seen "Crash" has no doubt about what writer/director Paul Haggis was telling you as he attempted to shed every ounce of his white guilt. His message of "we're all racist people with the capacity to change, if only for a little while" is about as subtle as a kick in the stones, and only makes us wish he would've taken a page from other films that have handled racial issues so much more adroitly. \nSpike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and Tony Kaye's "American History X" are textbook examples that Haggis should've examined -- where racism isn't beaten over our heads and we're reminded that people have the capacity for permanent change, yet so rarely does anyone do the right thing.\nHaggis' hyperlinked weaving of his cast throughout the mean streets of Los Angeles has been done bolder and better by filmmakers the Academy chose to ignore. Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" was infinitely more interesting than "Crash;" Paul Thomas Anderson holds the crown for crafting the best L.A. character mosaic, "Magnolia." No matter which way you turn, "Crash" has been done better in countless films -- each of them expertly juggling racism and a plethora of other controversial issues.\nCould "Crash" have been made a better film actually worthy of its Oscar? Of course. All films (with some possible exceptions) could be improved with the benefit of hindsight, and one could endlessly quibble about whether or not the cast of "Crash" was worthy of the SAG award, especially after featuring tired archetypes such as the bad cop, the thug gangster, the foreign shopkeeper and the bitchy housewife.\nThe one aspect that could've been changed to make it a better film is the one aspect it relies upon most: its heavy-handed finger-wagging at the public about our innate racist tendencies. This moral worked to poignant effect in films like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (released when public facilities were still labeled White or Colored), but in 2005 it just seems like lukewarm table scraps. With all its unrealistic banter ("Hey Ma, I'm sleeping with a white girl.") and race-card statistics, perhaps a "Crash" TV mini-series would've made more sense -- yet it still would've pulled punches. In the real world racism is a loaded gun, not one filled with blanks.\nSo was "Crash" the year's best film? No. Just consult the Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit Awards, the American Film Institute, the British Academy Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Berlin Film Festival and the Film Critics Circles of New York, Los Angeles ("Crash's" own city!), San Francisco or Dallas. They'll tell you different, as will the dozen other films that should've filled "Crash's" slot as a Best Picture nominee. Whether it be a portrait of small-town violence, the colonization of Jamestown, a giant gorilla, a Depression-era pugilist or a bored Marine in the desert, 2005 was full of real contenders that were overlooked in favor of a two-hour sugar-coated lesson on race relations. \nDo us a favor, though. When you're walking through Best Buy a year or so from now and you see someone snatch a copy of "Crash" out of the $5.99 bargain bin, save them the cash by letting them know that we're all just a little bit racist, and if we try really, really hard we can overcome it -- then hand them a copy of "Brokeback Mountain"
(03/23/06 3:17am)
Does anyone remember "Crash?" It won the Best Picture Oscar three weeks ago. No? Don't worry. You'll soon see it overflowing bargain bins next to "Shakespeare in Love," "The English Patient" and "Million Dollar Baby." But what doomed it to end up there? How did this self-described "little film about race in America" end up winning the Best Picture Oscar over such substantial cinematic offerings as "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "Munich?"\nThe Oscars chickened out. They saw Fox News calling out their deceptive "liberal agenda" and turned tail, running at the thought of the same majority that re-elected George W. Bush turning against their storied institution. Or maybe they just liked "Crash" better, but we doubt it. The Academy played it safe, unlike last year with the mediocre but topical "Million Dollar Baby," a winner timed to coincide with the removal of Terry Schiavo's feeding tube. Truth be told, "Crash" was the safest choice of all the films nominated this year. With two nominated films featuring homosexual characters and the other two taking a prominent liberal stance on social/national issues, "Crash" was the warm glass of milk to those films' shot of Everclear.\nIf one spoke candidly, off the record with the majority of Academy voters who chose "Crash," chances are they would tell you there was a method to their madness. In hopes to assuage the American viewing public (the same public that helped "Narnia" top the $250 million mark), Academy voters (the same voters that gave Michael Moore an Oscar) chose the film with racial themes that would've shaken your grandma up in the '60s, but by today's standards seem about as genial as those in "Driving Miss Daisy." \nAnyone who's seen "Crash" has no doubt about what writer/director Paul Haggis was telling you as he attempted to shed every ounce of his white guilt. His message of "we're all racist people with the capacity to change, if only for a little while" is about as subtle as a kick in the stones, and only makes us wish he would've taken a page from other films that have handled racial issues so much more adroitly. \nSpike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" and Tony Kaye's "American History X" are textbook examples that Haggis should've examined -- where racism isn't beaten over our heads and we're reminded that people have the capacity for permanent change, yet so rarely does anyone do the right thing.\nHaggis' hyperlinked weaving of his cast throughout the mean streets of Los Angeles has been done bolder and better by filmmakers the Academy chose to ignore. Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" was infinitely more interesting than "Crash;" Paul Thomas Anderson holds the crown for crafting the best L.A. character mosaic, "Magnolia." No matter which way you turn, "Crash" has been done better in countless films -- each of them expertly juggling racism and a plethora of other controversial issues.\nCould "Crash" have been made a better film actually worthy of its Oscar? Of course. All films (with some possible exceptions) could be improved with the benefit of hindsight, and one could endlessly quibble about whether or not the cast of "Crash" was worthy of the SAG award, especially after featuring tired archetypes such as the bad cop, the thug gangster, the foreign shopkeeper and the bitchy housewife.\nThe one aspect that could've been changed to make it a better film is the one aspect it relies upon most: its heavy-handed finger-wagging at the public about our innate racist tendencies. This moral worked to poignant effect in films like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (released when public facilities were still labeled White or Colored), but in 2005 it just seems like lukewarm table scraps. With all its unrealistic banter ("Hey Ma, I'm sleeping with a white girl.") and race-card statistics, perhaps a "Crash" TV mini-series would've made more sense -- yet it still would've pulled punches. In the real world racism is a loaded gun, not one filled with blanks.\nSo was "Crash" the year's best film? No. Just consult the Golden Globes, the Independent Spirit Awards, the American Film Institute, the British Academy Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Berlin Film Festival and the Film Critics Circles of New York, Los Angeles ("Crash's" own city!), San Francisco or Dallas. They'll tell you different, as will the dozen other films that should've filled "Crash's" slot as a Best Picture nominee. Whether it be a portrait of small-town violence, the colonization of Jamestown, a giant gorilla, a Depression-era pugilist or a bored Marine in the desert, 2005 was full of real contenders that were overlooked in favor of a two-hour sugar-coated lesson on race relations. \nDo us a favor, though. When you're walking through Best Buy a year or so from now and you see someone snatch a copy of "Crash" out of the $5.99 bargain bin, save them the cash by letting them know that we're all just a little bit racist, and if we try really, really hard we can overcome it -- then hand them a copy of "Brokeback Mountain"