Television & Film

The film is about as fun as an evening spent dining out at T.G.I.Friday’s and about as funny as the funnies.  Talentless shell of a man Rob Cohen sexifies this Mummy for the audience of seven-years-later, apparently doubling the budget in his requisites.

Like any live album, this is no substitute for seeing the real thing, so get out there and catch these guys while you can. In the meantime though, Live at the Fillmore East should hold you over. And if you've already seen them, it serves as a great memory.

Scorsese proves there are moments where the Stones’ have slowed down in their old age and other moments where they can easily kick Coldplay’s ass. As the first rock band to age before our eyes, Shine a Light, big pay days aside, shows why the Stones have lasted longer than any other rock band.

What’s it say about the legacy of The Clash that a truncated version of Revolution Rock was broadcast on public television prior to the release of the DVD? Somehow it makes the English quartet seem less insidious in their influence than they would want their legacy to be.

This is the story of The Smiths through the eyes of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke. Who you ask? The guys who sued Morrissey and Johnny Marr a few years back. Oh yeah, they were also the rhythm section of The Smiths.

Vantage Point has what is probably the best action trailer in recent memory, forcing you to seek out the full flick.  The only problem is that the film does little to fill you in on those questions rattling inside your brain.

Be Kind Rewind tells the story of a guy who sabotoges a power plant, magnetizes himself and unknowingly demagnetizes all the VHS tapes in his friend's video store while the boss is out.  Sound weird?  Then you don't know Michel Gondry.

The bottom line is that There Will Be Blood is not only possibly Anderson's best, but one of the best films of the last twenty years. 

Considering how much has been written, spoken and contemplated about Bob Dylan’s appearances at the Newport Folk Festival, especially his (literally and figuratively) electric set in 1965, it boggles the mind it’s taken forty years for the film of those shows to find broad circulation. But the wait to see Murray Lerner’s The Other Side of the Mirror is worth it, because the director lets the performances speak for themselves, and they constitute a profound statement indeed.

Popmart finds U2 at their most bloated. The set is absolutely huge and probably has enough lights to illuminate a mid-size town. The grand entrance with the band entering as a boxing entourage heading to the ring of a championship bout (with Bono as the fighter) all set to the tune of M's "Pop Muzik" is about as over-the-top as it could be. They had costume changes. At one point, they return to the stage in what appears to be a UFO. With all this superficiality, how could they possibly connect with the fans?

R.E.M. Live isn’t going to turn their naysayers to the R.E.M. sound, but it proves a better late that never live package, or at least a well needed hold-me over until their next studio release due in early 2008.

In the days where a huge corporate rock band like Rage Against the Machine reunites to enrich themselves under the guise of protest music, seeing a band who lived their message as DOA did is engaging and inspiring. When DOA was tearing up stages in protest to all they saw wrong with the world, there was no major label money, no big arena shows and no slick videos, just some kids trying to make a difference.

John Lennon once said, "If there wasn't a fight, it wasn't a good gig." So, what is it if no one even moves? Lennon was clearly arguing that a sterile show is never good and sterility is exactly the problem with SXSW Live 2007. The DVD is a collection of songs from shows at two Austin venues, the Bat Bar and the Lonestar Lounge, during SXSW back in March. While some of the artists offer decent performances the clubs and the crowds hardly have a pulse.

Season 2 Set Six from Jamcam Chronicles brings you a tasty performance from the Everyone Orchestra at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon.

From the early 90’s to the early part of this decade, Leftover Salmon coined the term “"Polyethnic Cajun Slamgrass", while enriching the word “festival.” But perhaps nobody combined top-notch musicianship with unbridled enthusiasm and playfulness as well as this once hard-touring band from Colorado.

South may not break out of the Brit-pop mold but their recent attempt to make a unique name for themselves is compelling enough to give a listen.

It’s a movie about a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, but there are no VH1 “Behind The Music” moments here – unless you consider shopping for organic vegetables as crazy as thrashing hotel rooms after orgies.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston, is a raw documentary on the life of Johnston, the youngest of five in a Christian household who goes from an aspiring cartoonist to a cult favorite that sparked Kurt Cobain to continually wear a Johnston t-shirt during Nirvana’s early ninety’s hey-day.

While I enjoyed the videos, I’m left somewhat unsatisfied by songs that end prematurely.

New York Doll tells a story that touches the soul as the band prepares for their reunion show after 30 years. Arthur “Killer” Kane is as lovable character as there is and one is left wondering what could have been if the boys could have worked out there problems instead of breaking their band. They directly influenced so many bands that include The Clash, The Pretenders, The Sex Pistols and so many others would not be what they were if it were not for the New York Dolls. “Too Much Too Soon,” a great title for their second album and a great description of what happened to those young impressionable New York Dolls when fame was knocking at their lip stick laden, glittery front door.