Tori lost us with 1996’s bloated Boys For Pele, but we could sense a possible resurgence on last year’s underrated covers album Strange Little Girls. Her new disc, all originals this time, isn’t a total artistic comeback (and in fact a few songs are just plain dull), but it has plenty of strong moments, some … Read more
It’s a stretch to call this a best-of disc, considering that two songs are brand new and five others are remixes. But this was an uneven decade for U2. Except for the brilliant reinvention on 1991’s Achtung Baby that shattered their “poster boys of earnestness” pigeonhole, the 90s found Bono and the boys struggling to … Read more
We can’t help but feel silly admitting our fondness for the music of Elton John. But dammit, we won’t let our admiration for his stellar 1970s work be overshadowed by the syrupy Lion King and the crap, Lady Di-inspired reworking of “Candle in the Wind.” (For crying out loud, lyricist Bernie Taupin did all the … Read more
This sixpack sarcophagus of cinema, screening in conjunction with the MIA’s “Eternal Egypt” exhibit (see our preview, p. 17), offers a half-dozen films showcasing Hollywood’s take on the time of the Pharaohs. While you wouldn’t want to confuse any of these with a history lesson, as sheer entertainment, they ain’t just Cheops liver. Three versions … Read more
Plenty of Hollywood types lead secret lives, but nobody beats the tale spun by Chuck Barris in his 1982 autobiography: He claims that when he wasn’t goofing with Jaye P. Morgan as host of The Gong Show, he was jetting around the world for the CIA, using his cover as a TV producer to mask … Read more
Although the music on his Ziggy Stardust album is one of David Bowie’s career highs, it was the theatricality surrounding it that was truly revolutionary. His androgynous glam-spaceman persona was stunningly exotic in 1973, and the sense of drama created by the lavishly conceived live shows helped make the Ziggy period one of the most … Read more
One of the problems with seeing films like Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, Talk To Her, is that it inspires a profound guilt for all the time we’ve wasted on the latest Hollywood drivel. It’s doubly regrettable that this marvelous film will make its way to town during the holiday release frenzy and will probably get lost … Read more
Caddyshack is quoted more often by drunken frat brothers, and Meatballs codified the slacker lifestyle a decade before the word came into use. But the hero of a generation has shined so brightly in so many films, we couldn’t begin to decide which Bill Murray film we like best. (Even his serious turn in Somerset … Read more
We all serve the greater good in our own way. Some people cure polio. Some build rockets that go to the moon and back. The MST3K guys made unwatchable movies watchable, livening up terrible B-films with zinging commentary and mocking goofball skits during ten seasons on local TV and later on cable. Ordinarily we hate … Read more
Though you may not be familiar with it as yet, this annual Christmas show has already attained veteran status. This is only the second year it’s been staged publicly, but writer/director Michael Sommers has been putting it on for family and friends for 17 years. Based on medieval passion plays and featuring a set based … Read more