CROWN POINT, Ind. -- A criminal court judge has ordered a special grand jury to investigate election fraud in Lake County.
BLOOMINGTON -- A Bloomington resident is pushing for changes to a hilly stretch of highway southwest of the city, which she blames for a crash that left her husband severely injured. James Mathis received broken bones and brain damage in a head-on collision July 28 on Indiana 45. Police have said they believe a truck crossed the center line, hitting Mathis' truck and causing it to go airborne and roll, according to his wife, Roxie Mathis. Now Roxie Mathis has vowed to see that changes are made to the highway. "Something needs to be done," she said. "It's ridiculous. The day of his wreck, there were two other wrecks on that road."
Bloomington's hardcore scene is surviving. That is, if the Eve's Revenge three song EP, When Feathers Fall, is any indication. All the classic elements of a hardcore band are present -- unrelenting electric guitars, the continuous bash of drums and cymbals and unintelligible vocals, screamed at a volume almost certain to damage the singer's voice.
For a long time, The Vulgar Boatmen were out of sight, out of mind. Along with the La's, they were one of those late '80s/early '90s bands that left a meteoric flash in the night sky. And they happened to be, at least partially, from this part of the world. Did anybody know what happened to them?
Feeder is an odd band. After all, its soaring, post-Pumpkins, sorta-heavy rock sounds very American but is actually made by a British trio.
Well, the boys of Eve 6 are back with another one. It's All In Your Head is its fourth release and the group still hasn't broken out of its comfort zone. I'll be the first to admit it, I have a soft spot for these guys. Eve 6 is a fairly good band, its songs are catchy, and a rock band that doesn't conform to the new scene is always refreshing.
Smash Mouth's latest, Get the Picture?, is the perfect album -- that is, if you are 13 and your mother heavily censors what you listen to. There's nothing offensive, edgy or even heartfelt on the disc.
With El-P Presents Sunrise Over Bklyn, Def Jux entrepreneur, El-P, sits in his producer's chair and lends his name to a 12" by The Blue Series Continuum. The group is made up of NYC avant-garde jazz musicians Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Daniel Carter, Roy Campbell, Steve Swell and Guillermo E. Brown. The core of this group already stepped into the hip-hop alliance success with the Antipop Consortium earlier this year, as well as spending time with Chicago South Side legends Fred Anderson and Hamid Drake.
Do not see "Gigli" under any circumstances. Do not watch any commercials or trailers for "Gigli" either. In fact, don't look at anything involving "Gigli;" even this review, unless, of course, you want to read about the many different ways it sucked.
I was really pulling for "S.W.A.T." I'd hoped to see a film with some modicum of intelligence headed by the talented likes of Colin Farrell and Samuel L. Jackson, and to a certain extent I did. The problem is, despite solid if underwritten turns by its leads and the intermittently promising direction of actor-turned-director Clark Johnson (he was a regular on "Homicide: Life on the Street" and has directed episodes of "The Shield") the flick didn't add up to the sum of its parts.
If you have seen either of the first two "American Pie" movies, you generally know what to expect. Jim (Jason Biggs) gets humiliated in the first scene and at various points thereafter. Then, he has uncomfortable chats with his dad (Eugene Levy).
Obviously, finality has no place within the realm of slasher flicks, as exemplified by the hilariously titled "Final Destination 2" -- a garishly entertaining oxymoron in and of itself.
YAWN! What? I have to review another mediocre superhero movie? Oh, all right. So here's the story of a blind lawyer Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck), who lost his sense of sight in a childhood accident but gains exceptionally advanced capabilities in his remaining four senses. Determined to do good, Murdock dresses up in a red leather outfight and fights evil under the name of Daredevil. Writer/Director Mark Steven Johnson manages a decent script after lifting a lot from Frank Miller's "Daredevil" comics. On the directing front, however, Johnson does a really shoddy job. Fight scenes look horribly fake and effects are subpar. As for the acting, Affleck isn't half-bad as Matt Murdock, but others such as Jennifer Garner as Elektra and Colin Farrell as Bullseye seem really uncomfortable with their characters and come off as campy and two-dimensional.
Adam Green's time with partner, Kimya Dawson, in the anti-rock-folk group the Moldy Peaches may be one of the coolest weirdo-rock jaunts since their influences, The Frogs. Green's third solo album, Friends of Mine, marks a predicted transition to a slight bit of maturity (without someone named Kimya, you're bound to be a little more normal).
Steven Soderbergh's latest cinematic experiment, "Solaris," met with a predominantly negative critical and commercial reception this past Thanksgiving. The film was more akin to a space shuttle crash than the pop culture juggernauts Soderbergh had unleashed in the years preceding i.e. "Sex, Lies and Videotape," "Out of Sight," "Erin Brockovich," "Traffic" and "Ocean's 11." It's sad, really -- a film of this pedigree (written and directed by Soderbergh and produced by James "I'm King of the World" Cameron) deserved better. "Solaris" is in no way a bad movie, just a challenging one. Now that it's available on DVD, astute cinephiles who enter with an open mind and a thoroughly ingratiated sense of patience will be aptly rewarded by sci-fi sans spectacle.
It's been 18 years since Blue Rodeo formed, and in that time it has certainly learned what it takes to create a great album. Palace of Gold is well produced with strong instrumentals, swelling orchestras and the same heartfelt lyrics that have made Blue Rodeo so popular in its home country of Canada and even earned it moderate success here in the states.
Former frontman of American Music Club, Mark Eitzel, has always had success that hinged on the power of his voice. He led AMC into territories where reverb met crooning and a very sarcastic dry wit. Since the band broke up in 1994 (though, plans and songs are being sorted out for a reunion as we speak), Eitzel's solo career has been calming down from the emotional wallop his old band's records used to provide.
Those of you that have read my column over the past year or so have probably come to realize something. I love lists. Without fail, I write lists of all shapes and sizes revolving around all things movie related. Some might say lists and movies are to me what math and music are to others -- an easy way to get off (figuratively that is, not literally).
Smash Mouth's latest, Get the Picture?, is the perfect album -- that is, if you are 13 and your mother heavily censors what you listen to. There's nothing offensive, edgy or even heartfelt on the disc.
Well, the boys of Eve 6 are back with another one. It's All In Your Head is its fourth release and the group still hasn't broken out of its comfort zone. I'll be the first to admit it, I have a soft spot for these guys. Eve 6 is a fairly good band, its songs are catchy, and a rock band that doesn't conform to the new scene is always refreshing.
