Pop stuff: Jurassic World, The Illusionist
What I'm watching, hearing, reading, etc.
Jurassic World. Set your expectations accordingly for this one. If you want lots of dinosaurs chases, thrills and chills: bingo. This is your movie. If you want anything else, well ... what the hell were you thinking?
The story and set have been updated. There's now a new "Jurassic" theme park. The head marketeer of the place, Claire Deering (Bryce Dallas Howard), is trying to make people forget about the old one, where people got eaten by the attractions, but -- naturally -- the owners are flirting with disaster. Just like Disneyland and Captain Eo, bigger and ostensibly better attractions are needed to ensure the tourists keep coming through the gates.
In this case, the big new thing is a huge, new, scary dinosaur. A genetic cocktail of t-rex and God knows what else. Resident raptor trainer, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), knows the thing is too dangerous to live, let alone display. But doesn't anyone believe him?
It's only a matter of moments before Indominus Rex is on the loose and munching on humans and every other variety of dino. But we knew that would happen, just like we knew Claire wasn't as prissy and uptight as she seemed, and that she'd end up kissing Owen, and that Claire's two nephews, who are visiting the park while their parents are in the process of getting divorced, are a pair of scrappy little survivors.
There's not a single surprising thing about the movie, other than that something so utterly predictable can still be entertaining.
It would be nice if the filmmakers had flattered us a little by springing a surprise or weird curveball or two. Or by making better use of Pratt, whose great charm and comic chops remain largely unexploited here. You wonder why they spend the bucks casting him.
But the filmmakers know they don't have to try hard. But it's summer. Dinosaurs are cool. The tickets sell themselves
The Illusionist is lovely, charming exploration of age and innocence based on a script by French director Jacque Tati, but never produced as the live-action film he'd intended. Instead, his story has been captured in beautiful animation by Sylvain Chomet, who created the popular "Triplets of Belleville" several years back.
As with that film, there's little dialogue here. Subtitles are unnecessary as we see the aging title character, a struggling magician, travel to Scotland, where his tricks -- mistaken for real magic -- enchant a young girl. Not wanting to let her down, he tries to keep up the act, but ultimately fails as she grows up and becomes just as enchanted with the outside world. It's a sweet, funny story laced with melancholy that will resonate with parents watching their children grow up.
Jurassic World. Set your expectations accordingly for this one. If you want lots of dinosaurs chases, thrills and chills: bingo. This is your movie. If you want anything else, well ... what the hell were you thinking?
The story and set have been updated. There's now a new "Jurassic" theme park. The head marketeer of the place, Claire Deering (Bryce Dallas Howard), is trying to make people forget about the old one, where people got eaten by the attractions, but -- naturally -- the owners are flirting with disaster. Just like Disneyland and Captain Eo, bigger and ostensibly better attractions are needed to ensure the tourists keep coming through the gates.
In this case, the big new thing is a huge, new, scary dinosaur. A genetic cocktail of t-rex and God knows what else. Resident raptor trainer, Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), knows the thing is too dangerous to live, let alone display. But doesn't anyone believe him?
It's only a matter of moments before Indominus Rex is on the loose and munching on humans and every other variety of dino. But we knew that would happen, just like we knew Claire wasn't as prissy and uptight as she seemed, and that she'd end up kissing Owen, and that Claire's two nephews, who are visiting the park while their parents are in the process of getting divorced, are a pair of scrappy little survivors.
There's not a single surprising thing about the movie, other than that something so utterly predictable can still be entertaining.
It would be nice if the filmmakers had flattered us a little by springing a surprise or weird curveball or two. Or by making better use of Pratt, whose great charm and comic chops remain largely unexploited here. You wonder why they spend the bucks casting him.
But the filmmakers know they don't have to try hard. But it's summer. Dinosaurs are cool. The tickets sell themselves
The Illusionist is lovely, charming exploration of age and innocence based on a script by French director Jacque Tati, but never produced as the live-action film he'd intended. Instead, his story has been captured in beautiful animation by Sylvain Chomet, who created the popular "Triplets of Belleville" several years back.
As with that film, there's little dialogue here. Subtitles are unnecessary as we see the aging title character, a struggling magician, travel to Scotland, where his tricks -- mistaken for real magic -- enchant a young girl. Not wanting to let her down, he tries to keep up the act, but ultimately fails as she grows up and becomes just as enchanted with the outside world. It's a sweet, funny story laced with melancholy that will resonate with parents watching their children grow up.
Comics for August 2015: Hulk; Spider-Man; Bob Powell's Jet Powers; Tarzan Sundays; Donald Duck newspaper strips
Collected editions of note. Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.
Bob Powell's Complete Jet Powers
Bob Powell's Complete Jet Powers
Coming up: Beyond Mars by Jack Williamson and Lee Elias
Out Sept. 28.
Written by renowned science fiction author Jack Williamson and superbly drawn by Lee Elias, Beyond Mars is one of the rarest Sunday strips - it only appeared in a single newspaper, The New York Sunday News. This oversized book presents the complete series - all 161 strips from 1952 to 1955 - in their original color!
Coming up: Ben E. King - The Complete Atco/Atlantic Singles Vol. 1 - 1960 - 1966
Out Aug. 7, 2015.
From his early days as a last-second replacement in the Drifters to his sterling solo career during which he scored a total of 31 pop and 24 R&B chart hits, the late, great Ben E. King was responsible for some of the most indelible recordings in pop music history. His big, beautiful baritone powered such Hall of Fame songs as There Goes My Baby, Save the Last Dance for Me, Spanish Harlem and, of course, Stand by Me, and almost alone among R&B singers of his era he successfully transitioned into the disco era of the 70s with hits like Supernatural Thing and his acclaimed collaboration with the Average White Band.
Now, Real Gone Music, in tandem with SoulMusic Records, is planning to release two of the most ambitious collections ever devoted to Ben E. King s work, a pair of 2-CD sets containing the A and B-side of every single the man released during his storied career recording for the Atco and Atlantic labels.
Long in the making, this first volume features 50 tracks that cover the years 1960 to 1966; many of these songs (especially the B-sides) never came out domestically on CD, and most never came out at all on CD in the original mono single versions found here, all from original tape sources. These are the recordings and the correct versions of the recordings that went out over the radio airwaves and made Ben E. King a legend, including Spanish Harlem, Stand by Me, Don't Play That Song (You Lied) and Amor, remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision and annotated by British soul music expert/DJ Clive Richardson. With Ben s recent passing, a timely release and a major addition to his catalog.
Disc: 1 1. Brace Yourself 2. Show Me the Way 3. A Help-Each-Other Romance (LaVern Baker & Ben E. King) 4. How Often (LaVern Baker & Ben E. King) 5. Spanish Harlem 6. First Taste of Love 7. Stand by Me 8. On the Horizon 9. Amor 10. Souvenir of Mexico 11. Young Boy Blues 12. Here Comes the Night 13. Ecstasy 14. Yes 15. Don t Play That Song (You Lied) 16. Hermit of Misty Mountain 17. Too Bad 18. My Heart Cries for You 19. I m Standing By 20. Walking in the Footsteps of a Fool 21. Tell Daddy 22. Auf Weidersehn, My Dear 23. How Can I Forget 24. Gloria, Gloria 25. I (Who Have Nothing) 26. The Beginning of Time 27. I Could Have Danced All Night 28. Gypsy Disc: 2 1. What Now My Love 2. Groovin 3. That s When It Hurts 4. Around the Corner 5. What Can a Man Do 6. Si Senor 7. It s All Over 8. Let the Water Run Down 9. Seven Letters 10. River of Tears 11. The Record (Baby I Love You) 12. The Way You Shake It 13. She s Gone Again 14. Not Now (I ll Tell You When) 15. Cry No More 16. (There s) No Place to Hide 17. Goodnight My Love 18. I Can t Break the News to Myself 19. So Much Love 20. Don t Drive Me Away 21. I Swear by the Stars Above 22. Get in a Hurry
Coming up: Dusty Springfield - Come for a Dream - The U.K. Sessions 1970 - 1971
Out Aug. 7, 2015.
During her 1968-1971 period with Atlantic Records in the United States, Dusty Springfield also continued to record material in England, where her Atlantic repertoire was released on Philips Records. In turn, Atlantic received rights to issue Dusty's British recordings from the era, but chose to focus entirely on her American sessions. In fact, it wasn t until the 90s that some of these masters (many of which originally came out on the Philips See All Her Faces album overseas) were available Stateside, but they were scattered across several compilations and were never comprehensively assembled.
Now, with the release of Come For A Dream The U.K. Sessions 1970-1971, all of Dusty s orphaned British recordings from her 1970-1971 Atlantic period have been gathered together for the first time. These 16 sides document what was intended to be a complete album plus some extra single sides and outtakes. Dusty was singing at her absolute best during this time, covering pop, rock and soul with equal power and sensitivity; thus, Come For A Dream represents a major addition and clarification to the legendary singer s discography. Notes by Joe Marchese shed further light on this tumultuous period in Dusty Springfield s career, with rare photos to boot. A perfect companion piece to Real Gone Music s recent Faithful release, which presented Dusty s missing third album for Atlantic from the same era in proper fashion for the first time.
1. A Song For You 2. Mixed Up Girl 3. Wasn't Born To Follow 4. Sweet Inspiration 5. Yesterday When I Was Young 6. Let Me Down Easy 7. Come For A Dream 8. Girls It Ain't Easy 9. See All Her Faces 10. Crumbs Off The Table 11. What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life? 12. How Can I Be Sure 13. Goodbye 14. Girls Can't Do What The Guys Do 15. I Start Counting 16. Go My Love 17. O-o-h Child
New comics and more June 17, 2015: Tarzan; Little Nemo; Captain America; R. Crumb; Peanuts; Graham Ingels; Batman modeling dough kits
New collected editions and more this week. Click the links to order discounted items from Amazon.
Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jungle Tales of Tarzan
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland
Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jungle Tales of Tarzan
Little Nemo: Return to Slumberland
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