Keane- Strangeland

I was a big fan of Keane's Hopes and Fears when it came out a few years back.   H and F's first song, "Somewhere Only We Know", remains one of my favorite songs, but after that first album, I lost interest- subsequent CDs didn't really capture my attention.  Recently, Keane released Strangeland, which is an intriguing title if nothing else.

Turns out the title is more intriguing than anything on the actual CD.  The last track on the CD, "Sea Fog", is actually the best- it's a quiet, pondering, solo piano song, and it's what I was actually hoping for on the rest of Strangeland.  The 12 other tracks range from corny to overdone (anytime you actually say "wow" out loud, and not the good "wow" is not a good sign), and there are an inordinate amount of songs written in the second person, and a couple of tracks about having "a lot of life in front of you".

I listened to Strangeland twice and had the same conclusion each time- "Black Rain" and especially "Sea Fog" are good, solid tracks, but I'd skip the rest.

About A Boy

No man is an island.  So quotes Hugh Grant's character, the aptly named Will Freeman.  Will thinks he's built a good life for himself- no commitments to anyone, no one relying on him, and he's not relying on anyone.  He doesn't work, living off the royalties of a popular Chrismas song (one of the more interesting movie reasons of why a character wouldn't work), so he has a lot of free time. 

Will needs a new way to meet women, so he invents a son and meets a single mom at a support group for single parents.  This single mom has a friend, Fiona (played by Toni Collette) suffering through severe depression, and her son (played by Nicholas Hoult) needs someone to latch onto.

The movie is narrated by Will and Marcus, and the two characters are looking for completely different things at the beginning of the movie- Will's looking simply to date women and stay unattached, while Marcus is looking for stability. 

About A Boy worked for me for many reasons.  The movie is based on a Nick Hornby book, so the characters and dialogue are well written and believable, and the story never becomes corny or overdone.

Rain Man- favorite movie, performance by an actor

It's not often that a movie seen during childhood holds up over time, but one movie that sticks with me with every viewing is Rain Man. When I saw it as a kid, I was mesmerized by Dustin Hoffman's performance as an autistic savant.  Of course, it was easy to mimic Raymond Babbitt (and I still do sometimes), but the depth of his character was stunning back then.  When I was a kid, I was rooting for Raymond to be left with brother Charlie (Tom Cruise), but watching as an adult, that's clearly not an option, as Raymond has too many needs and a sheltered environment is obviously best.  Charlie goes from practically holding Raymond hostage for part of an inheritance to not wanting to part with him.  Heartrending movie, my favorite, and Dustin Hoffman's performance is so far my favorite performance.

The Five Year Engagement

The Five Year Engagement is the story of Tom Solomon (played by Jason Segel) and Violet Barnes (Emily Blunt), a couple from San Francisco that met at a New Year's Eve "make your own superhero party".  They fall in love, Tom awkwardly proposes, and the planning for the wedding begins, then sputters, as Violet, a psychology post-grad student, lands a position at the University of Michigan.  Violet fears how Tom will react when she has to tell him the news, but Tom is calm, reassuring, and positive.  The wedding is continually postponed as Violet agrees to stay longer at Michigan.

It's a relatable premise, and there is promise for a solid film here, and in better hands (and with a better screenplay), this film could have been entertaining.  Instead, The Five Year Engagement doesn't really know what it wants to be.  It doesn't function well as a comedy (when one partner's miserable, laughs rarely follow, and some of the jokes and gags are almost painful), and doesn't work as a drama, as every chance the film gets to be intense is offset by a joke.   Most of the characters are pretty much surface-level and not fleshed out, or reduced to crudeness in an attempt for a laugh.

Overall, watching Five Year Engagement wasn't a totally miserable experience.  There were a few laughs and a few good moments, but it was more frustrating that had Segel (who co-wrote) and Nicholas Stoller (also a co-writer and also the director) chosen a more firm direction and not gone for the laugh at the serious times, they could have had a really solid film.

Radio Show/Podcast Recommendation: The Nick Digilio Show, WGN-AM 720

One of the things that I've meant to do when I started this blog was to recommend Nick Digilio's show on WGN Radio 720 (Chicago).  I've been listening for years and for the last couple years have mostly listened to podcasts, but I find it's one of the best radio programs out there.  Digilio mostly deals with pop culture (entertainment, sports, writing, etc) and has very interesting regular segments about TV, what's coming out on DVD, even someone who tries to help people get out of parking tickets (people who feel that they have been wronged), but the crown jewel of the Nick D show (as he calls it) are the Midnight Movie Reviews. 

Every Friday night at midnight, Nick and Collin Souter and Eric Childress from efilmcritic.com give their take on the week's theater and cable on-demand releases.  These are comprehensive reviews of each film from three passionate film buffs.  It's a great format, because frequently disagreements ensue over different movies, but three points of view are provided instead of just one.  I always catch the podcast, but if there's a movie I really want to see, I wait to listen to the podcast to see how their views match up with mine. 

In any case, Nick Digilio is always interesting to listen to, as he does have his strong opinions (such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off being one of the most irritating films ever made and Ferris one of the most despicable characters), but agree or disagree, it's never dull.

http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/nickd/

Podcast Review: Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin

I recently began listening to a podcast of Alec Baldwin's WNYC show Here's The Thing. Baldwin introduces his show as a chance to get to know more about people who interest him.  I'm so used to Baldwin's 30 Rock character and his frequent SNL appearances that I was curious to hear Baldwin in "sincere-interviewer" mode.

The podcasts that I listened to were interviews of SNL producer Lorne Michaels, SNL star Kristen Wiig, former SNL star and comedian Chris Rock, and actor Michael Douglas (in that order).


 Baldwin seemed stiffest with Michaels, and one thing I immediately noticed was Baldwin's tendency to finish his interviewee's sentences (always a turnoff to me, even though I am guilty of that sometimes).   The interview with Michaels did lead to some interesting information- I had read a book about SNL (Live From New York, which I highly recommend), but never learned much about Michaels himself, who started in Canadian radio as a comedy writer and then eventually came to Hollywood. 

Baldwin seemed at ease with Wiig, who gave a very self-deprecating interview about her beginnings, her writing process and trying out for SNL.  After listening to the interviews with Rock and Douglas, I have to recommend Here's The Thing, as even though Baldwin continues to finish sentences or interrupt, it also became clear that these were less interviews and more free-flowing conversations that brought out some of the thought processes and goals of the stars (Wiig said that she wants to direct movies or move to Paris and paint, for instance, while Douglas seems to want to lay low before taking on his next project).