Feb 25, 2014
DVDs
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In what will likely go down as one of the most assured cinematic debuts, Michael Mann’s Thief (from 1981) is a neon-drenched neo-noir heist flick, magnificently restored to its initial luster by the Criterion Collection.
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Feb 25, 2014
Music
Issue #49 - February/March 2014 - Portlandia
Attempt to connect the dots between Beck releases and you’ll rarely find moments where the artist has circled back on himself. Unfettered by genre or by audience expectations, his drowsy baritone and free-associative lyrics are the only things which remain consistent from album to album.
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Feb 24, 2014
TV
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And so, per creator and showrunner Nic Pizzolatto, last night’s “Haunted Houses” brings us to the end of True Detective‘s second act with the fruitless interrogation of Maggie Hart, the only-slightly-less fruitless ongoing investigation of 2002 Rust Cohle, two terribly inappropriate and terribly hot sex scenes, and (drum roll) the meeting of 2012 Cohle and Hart, with a force that feels tidal after nearly six hours of wind-up.
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Feb 24, 2014
Music
Neneh Cherry
Not one to be rushed—it’s almost a quarter of a century since the release of her debut Raw Like Sushi and 16 years since her last solo release—Blank Project marks the long overdue return of Neneh Cherry.
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(NBC, Tuesdays 9:30/8:30 Central - Special Premiere Tonight After the Olympics at 10:30 PM)
Feb 23, 2014
TV
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Growing Up Fishers’ Mel Fisher is blind, but you wouldn’t know it. Father and husband Mel (J.K. Simmons) has been blind since he was 12 but that hasn’t stopped him from doing anything: driving, cutting down trees, meeting with clients—none of whom realize Mel can’t see.
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(NBC, Tuesdays 9/8 Central - Special Premiere Tonight After the Olympics at 11 PM)
Feb 22, 2014
TV
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Great book, great movie, so only stands to reason About a Boy would live on as a television show. The show’s story is the same as Nick Hornby’s 1998 novel and 2002’s film adaptation starring Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, and a young Nicholas Hoult: perpetual single guy Will (David Walton) finds the joy in dating single moms since their packed schedules work so well with his non-committal one.
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Feb 21, 2014
TV
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Kevin Spacey returns as Frank Underwood in Netflix’s second season of its flagship original series, House of Cards.
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Studio: Roadside Attractions
Directed by Andrew Fleming
Feb 21, 2014
Cinema
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Evan Rachel Wood plays a pretty, escaped mental patient in this unusual and charming romantic comedy.
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Feb 21, 2014
Music
St. Vincent
Last fall, Annie Clark emerged from 18 long months on the road—which included the Strange Mercy tour and her Love This Giant gigs with David Byrne—ready to work. Rather than take the standard time off to recover and recalibrate, Clark dove right into songwriting again, expelling the last year and a half’s worth of ideas into these 11 new tracks. The simply-titled St. Vincent arrived far earlier than anyone would have expected from such a busy artist, but it doesn’t feel rushed; rather, it’s the product of a musician on an inspired streak.
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Feb 20, 2014
Comic Books
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At the fringes of DC’s New 52 reboot is Demon Knights, which DC canceled last year after 23 issues. Vol. 3: The Gathering Storm collects the final 10 issues, starting with the last three by initial writer Paul Cornell and concluding as Robert Venditti took over scripting duties for the final seven, with Bernard Chang ably drawing all 10.
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