Amy's Movie Reviews

I know, I know you're wondering, "Amy, why haven't you written many movie reviews? We know you love movies." Well, I haven't been seeing as many movies as I like. Sports, theater, and the stresses of work for me and Joe, the movies have been fewer. We're going to try to see a few this weekend and try to catch up. But, here are some reviews of the last few things I have seen.

• A History of Violence (dir. David Cronenberg) Formally structured this film is well made and acted well. Viggo Mortensen is sexy in an off kilter way. The story keeps you thinking. However, it's not that engaging. You feel distanced from the action. The message in the story and the formalism makes it critic bate. But, I don't think many people are going to really enjoy it.
• Wallace and Gromit: The Mystery of the Were-Rabbit (dir. Nick Park) So great. I love animation and especially animation that tries new things. Both stop motion and claymation add a layer of expressiveness that traditional and computer animation cannot touch. The story is very cute and funny. There are jokes for kids and adults and the rabbits are too cute. Check it out.
• Roll Bounce (dir. Malcolm Lee) I loved this movie! Corny and small in scope, the film delivers. Charlie Murphy and Mike Epps bring some nice comic touches and Chi McBride is great as the father who tries to hold on after the death of his wife. The film has a positive message and the skating and music are great. I think that Bow Wow is not much of an actual "actor", but he has real charisma on screen.
• Good Night and Good Luck (dir. George Clooney) George Clooney is my dream man; sexy, talented, an old school liberal and very funny. This film is a labor of love for him and it shows. He loves the news and reporting. I'm sure his dad had a lot to do with that. The film is shot is a no-frills black and white style. When you watch it, you feel like it was actually made in the 1950's. Not the greatest story, but an important one.
• Stay (dir. Marc Foster) An interesting and well-directed film. The plot will keep you guessing. I won't give anything away, but to say that you will have several reactions that you won't find out are wrong until the end. The acting is very good and the music will haunt you for days. I was a little disappointed in the ending. I wanted something a little more supernatural. However, worth checking out to give your brain a workout.

I hope that these reviews tide you over until I can come up with something else. I will also be writing about some of the crappy TV I've had to watch while I work part-time.

Shout Outs

Just back from a big night of comedy and standing in Times Square passing out fliers. But, I wanted to give some love to my homies. You can't see it but I just poured out my 40.

Congratulations on my sister and her new husband for tying the knot!
Happy 38th birthday Dale!
Happy 30th birthday to me.
Josh- thanks for helping me so much. Holla!

Soul Jazz Records

Soul Jazz Records, for those of you who might not know, is the go to label for self-loathing white hipsters. As a self-loathing white hipster I devour their collections. In the past year I've bought four and recently just bought three at once. I recommend these albums to anyone who enjoys soul music pre-1980.

Soul Gospel: A collection of religious themed songs recorded by religious artists (Della Reese, The Staples) or religious themed songs by secular artists (Aretha Franklin, Odette) The songs are really great and there are plenty of unknown artists for the casual listener. Quality music in a variety of styles.

Philadelphia Roots: A collection of pre-Gamble and Huff "Philly Sound" recordings. You can hear that disco and soul sound that Philly became famed for in its fetal stages. People's Choice has two songs on the compilation that really bounce. This is a CD perfect for parties and really gets your foot tapping.

The Chicago Sound: This is a compilation of music from Chess Records. Chess was a 1960's label focusing on blues/soul acts. Muddy Waters, Etta James, and lesser known artists are all on this compilation. After hearing Howlin' Wolf's "Evil" I'm amazed that Eric Clapton can act like he's an innovator. Many people will think this is a Cream outtake.

British Hustle: Did you know in England there was a whole disco revolution? I didn't. But, this compilation was filled with some really great music. Fans of modern deep house (MKL, Dimitri from Paris, Larry Levan) will enjoy the smooth singing and wonderful arrangements on this CD. The songs have a dance tempo but a laid back vibe.

Most of these CD's are available at your local snobby music store. They should also be found at www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.souljazzrecords.co.uk, and www.soundsoftheuniverse.com. Check any of their comps out, you will not be disappointed.

Football Notes

As football season gets close to the halfway mark I wanted to give a shout out to the Bengals! Wow, 5-1 and looking better every week. Carson Palmer is a great QB, but Chad Johnson has swagger and personality. These things were lacking for too long. The team is gelling and Marvin Lewis has been given time to make the team better. Kudos to Cincy for being patient and letting the team become winners. I see good things in their future.

The Pats don't look so great and their wins have looked meh to me. ESPN and the sports writers have been furiously trying to act like they are still good. The AFC is super strong this season and they look scared and falling apart. Maybe hobbits don't make such great coaches.

Although their records aren't great, Pittsburgh and San Diego are good teams that have tough losses and some really good wins. If they hit some lucky spots, they have a great chance to make some noise, but they have to stay healthy and really work on getting some wins.

Just started basketball tickets, I'll get to talking about those soon.

Upcoming Shows...

10/26 NY Comedy Club (24th Street and 2nd Avenue) 9pm
Industry Showcase Price TBA

Words of Wisdom

"Be a spirit, not a ghost" -Amiri Baraka in 'Bulworth'

Recommended Blogs

I'm still trying to learn html and how to paste. For now, here is a list of my favorite blogs:

http://blaggblogg.blogspot.com

http://trent.blogspot.com

http://noushineh.blogspot.com

http://joshthecomedian.blogspot.com

http://jackiecaldwell.blogspot.com

The Search for Authenticity

Most white girls between the ages of 12-17 goes through a few common phases. There is the vampire phase usually brought on by prolonged exposure to Anne Rice. Another literary phase is the V.C. Andrews phase where many girls discover dark, dangerous taboo sex for the first time. (Sofia Coppola's first film was a short called 'Lick the Star' based on a clique with an extreme love of V.C.'s work.) Most white girls also go through a folkie phase where they begin listening to James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, and Cat Stevens. Extra hip girls might also explore Nick Drake and Laura Nyro. The final phase is the one I want to focus on. It's the Janis Joplin phase.

To me, the Janis Joplin phase is the most interesting because it directly relates to the common white search for authenticity. The reason rap is purchased mainly by whites is that is poses as "real". Many whites feel they have no "real" to them. They are always looking for an experience to create a true self. Extreme sports are, to me, a manifestation of this. The reason rap/rock was so big for a time is that it helped whites add their own layer to a genre they coveted. Eminem is the ultimate distillation of this authenticity.

But, back to Janis Joplin. For many young white girls, she is as close to a soul sister as we are going to get. Her singing style is traditional. The screeching throws many off, but many of the female blues artists had a similar style. Joplin herself only listened to classic blues and jazz growing up. Her goal as an artist was to foster the blues in the 1960's. Check out Monterey Pop and see Otis blow the hippies minds while Janis nods and smiles. She already got it. For many, she became the bridge to the blues.

Every few years I check out my Janis CDs. I always feel like without her I never would have been inspired to check out Bessie Smith, Dinah Washington, Billie Holiday, Etta James, and many others. Janis helped me learn that the musical tree of rock has many roots.

Upcoming Shows

October 11th @ 7:30pm HA! Comedy Club
October 13th @ 7:30pm and 9:30pm HA! Comedy Club

Come on down and check it out!

Amy's Theory of Hip-Hop

Much like my theory of soap operas, I have a theory on why rap has always been stronger in certain areas and not in others.

The basic key to hip-hop is mixing. Mixing sounds, styles, people, etc. The reason it grew in New York is because NYC is one of the world's most diverse and mixed cities. Rap got played in Harlem, the Bronx, and downtown punk clubs. Artists like Blondie worked in the genre and used many of its sounds. The Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love" is one of the most highly sampled songs ever. Two members of the art rock Talking Heads created that song.

I believe that areas with strong segregation either take longer to gain hip-hop (Chicago, Atlanta, Houston) or the areas are so sparsely populated that they never make any hip-hop of note.

Like NYC, Los Angels is a city with a variety of people, but it is more segregated therefore it took longer for rap to ferment there. The art of sampling means the DJ needs to know lots of music. The music needs to be mixed like the audience.

All of this trickles down to the fact that the vast majority of this country listens to music they could never create because they never mix with the other. To me, the real tragedy is that these people don't see what rap really brings and that is union. Like George Clinton said, "Free your kind and your ass will follow." If only the masses would listen.

I Apologize

Sorry about the size of the picture. I'm new to all this fancy computer stuff. I'm just a poor country lawyer.

From now on the blog will be updated twice a week. I hope you enjoy what you read.