Apr 16, 2010
Music
Web Exclusive
Career suicide, heinous album art, and no regard for their fanbase. Those have been the three themes bandied about most often in early appraisals of Congratulations.
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Studio: Lionsgate
Directed by Matthew Vaughn; Starring: Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chloe Moretz
Apr 15, 2010
Cinema
Web Exclusive
The only thing Kick-Ass the movie has in common with Kick-Ass the comic book is the premise: New York high-schooler Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) is a nobody to everyone around him except for his two best friends (played by Clark Duke and Evan Peters) and his father. After he and his buddies are mugged one too many times by a couple of neighborhood hoods, Lizewski takes up the mantle and MySpace page of an amateur vigilante.
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Apr 15, 2010
Live
Groove Armada’s place in the musical echelon might not be as high as it was when “I See You Baby” seemed ubiquitous and big beat electronica was thriving. But as evidenced by this sold-out show at the Henry Fonda Theater, many still love to shake their asses to the music of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay and collaborators.
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Studio: International Film Circuit
Directed by Jerry Zaks; Starring: Alessandro Nivola, Jon Abrahams, Robert Randolph, Keb’ Mo’, David Oyelowo, Chi McBride, Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke, and Marika Dominczyk
Apr 15, 2010
Cinema
Web Exclusive
The story of Chess Records founder Leonard Chess, who would help launch the careers of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, and Etta James, falls flat, without igniting the fire that helped make recent music pics like Once and Walk the Line successful.
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(BBC America, Saturdays, 9/8 Central)
Apr 15, 2010
TV
Doctor Who
The Doctor is back and he’s in very good hands. Nervous Doctor Who fans can all breathe a collective sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that, based on the fifth season premiere, Matt Smith will be a charming and spirited Doctor, and new executive producer Steven Moffat will bring a fresh and dark fairy tale-like whimsy to the show.
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Apr 15, 2010
Music
Web Exclusive
First lady of Daptone Records Sharon Jones is back with her fourth album, I Learned the Hard Way, swaggering though 12 tracks of classic R&B like the ass-kicking, name-taking mother figure you’ve always wanted.
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Apr 14, 2010
Music
Web Exclusive
There’s something odd about music recorded on ‘80s tape recording equipment being listened to as digital files via laptop computer speakers.(Is that fuzz I’m hearing you or me?) But the confluence of lo-fi cultures seems to really work here.
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Studio: IFC Films
Directed by Bahman Ghobadi; Starring: Negar Shaghaghi, Ashkan Koshanejad, Hamed Behdad
Apr 13, 2010
Cinema
Web Exclusive
“This is what music is supposed to be,” says wheeler and dealer of contraband, Nader, while listening to a track by indie rockers Ashkan and Negar. But under the strict moral and political code of Tehran, non-traditional music like theirs is supposed to have a permit.
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Apr 13, 2010
Music
Bettie Serveert
Bettie Serveert is one of the most underrated and underappreciated bands to come out of the grunge era. But despite forming almost 20 years ago, as the ‘90s were just dawning, Bettie Serveert did not fade away or implode as many of their contemporaries.
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Apr 12, 2010
Live
Metric
Metric bandleader Emily Haines is a triple threat. Make people swoon with delicate compositions as part of Broken Social Scene? Done! Break hearts with a stripped-down confessional solo project? Child’s play. Friday night at the Palladium, it was all about rocking out. And what do you know, she does that too!
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