Movie review: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Carlisle (Peter Facinelli) comes to Bella’s (Kristen Stewart) aid after she is injured in an accident in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars.
‘New Moon’ not as biting as book
‘Twilight’ fans will enjoy second installment in movie saga, but too much potential is left on novel’s pages
A bigger budget and a pack of charismatic werewolves work wonders for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” the second film in the supernatural romance saga.
The sequel can’t avoid moments of awkward teen melodrama, made more painful by a few bad performances and an overbearing score from composer Alexandre Desplat. But fans of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book, especially those who align themselves with Team Jacob, will likely find the film a satisfying cinematic experience.
As with its predecessor, the 2008 blockbuster “Twilight,” “New Moon” leaves too much potential of Meyer’s addictive novels on the page. That may be unavoidable since so much of the books are set inside the head and heart of heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart).
In “New Moon,” Bella remains blissfully in love with Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a vampire who abstains from human blood. But she is haunted by dreams of growing old while he stays eternally young.
Her nightmares are just beginning. At her 18th birthday party, a minor accident puts Bella in serious jeopardy. Fearing for her safety, Edward breaks up with Bella and the Cullen coven leaves the town of Forks, Wash.
Bella plunges into a numbing depression, but starts to recover when she discovers she can conjure visions of Edward by putting herself in danger. The revelation leads her to She takes a pair of junker motorcycles to her childhood pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a Quileute Indian teen and aspiring mechanic.
As her friendship with Jacob grows, Bella’s broken heart begins to heal. But her life gets supernaturally strange again when Jacob unintentionally taps into his tribe’s genetic ability to transform into werewolves and becomes part of the pack led by Sam Uley (Chaske Spencer).
Director Chris Weitz (“The Golden Compass”) takes the helm from “Twilight’s” Catherine Hardwicke, and his experience with computer-generated images proves invaluable. The lightning-fast werewolf transformations are impressive, and the hulking beasts are scary as they battle. The super-speed of the vampires remains problematic; “New Moon” uses more slow-mo than a 1980s rock video, which is still an improvement over the cheesy effects in “Twilight.”
Weitz greatly benefits from a less stingy budget, so the entire film, from the deathly white vampire makeup to the character’s clothes, looks much better. He and screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg also make key plot changes to beef up the action, which may irritate “Twihard” purists but enhance the movie.
On the whole, the mostly young cast seems more at ease with their roles, particularly Lautner as Jacob, and the addition of gifted actors such as Michael Sheen and Dakota Fanning as the intimidating Volturi vampires boosts the talent level. But Jackson Rathbone’s horribly wooden performance as Jasper deflates one of the film’s most dramatic moments.
While the sequel should have fans squealing, “New Moon” probably won’t convert too many holdouts. Many of the teenage declarations of devotion are embarrassing, and the multitude of shirtless-young-men moments should induce cringes from anyone older than 16.
-BAM
DVD review: “Cheri”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cheri”
Director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Christopher Hampton and star Michelle Pfeiffer of 1988’s delicious “Dangerous Liaisons” reunite for “Cheri,” another worthwhile exploration of love, sex and conniving in period France that isn’t as well-honed as their previous Oscar-winning effort.
Set at the turn of the 20th century in France, “Cheri” journeys into a world of classy, high-power courtesans, AKA prostitutes, beautiful women who skillfully maneuver rich and influential men into funding their lavish lifestyles.
Clever courtesan Lea de Lonval (Pfeiffer), 49, is contemplating retirement, having become quite wealthy eschewing love and turning passion into profit. Still, she has certain duties in her limited circle of friends, which includes the shrewd already-retired Charlotte Peloux (Kathy Bates).
Charlotte asks for Lea’s help with her shiftless 19-year-old son Fred (Rupert Friend), whom Lea nicknamed Cheri as a boy. Cheri always has adored Lea, but when he charms her into a kiss, sparks ignite.
Their ardent affair goes on for six years, until Charlotte arranges for Cheri to wed Edmee (Felicity Jones), 18, the daughter of a fellow courtesan. Lea and Cheri intend to make a nonchalant end to their romance, but soon realize they’ve fallen desperately in love.
The still-lovely Pfeiffer puts in a potent performance, and she and Friend have strong chemistry. The exquisite cinematography, sets and costumes effectively transport the viewer into the period tale. But the story gets weighed down in too much melodrama.
Still, the film, based on French novelist Colette’s 1920s novels, boasts a relevance and resonance that lingers long after the memorable final shot.
DVD features: Short making-of featurette and two deleted scenes.
— BAM
CD review: Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Night Castle”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Rock
Trans-Siberian Orchestra “Night Castle” (Atlantic Records)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra makes its theatrical return to new music with the double-album “Night Castle,” a rock opera about hope and hate, love and war, redemption and forgiveness.
Since the symphonic-rock holiday harbingers have continued to tour often, especially around Christmastime, it may seem that TSO never left. But “Night Castle” is the orchestra’s first new album since its 2004 best-seller “The Lost Christmas Eve” and its first non-holiday offering since 2000’s “Beethoven’s Last Night.”
For diehard fans, the long-awaited “Night Castle” seems sure to thrill, since it practically pulses with all the drama, scope and sheer musicianship of the 60-piece orchestra, full rock band and stable of big-voiced singers. By the same token, the two-disc effort seems unlikely to win over detractors, since the 26-track album is given to bombastic excess, including several songs that run nearly five minutes or longer.
“Night Castle” offers a charming and sometimes gritty fantasy about love at first sight, mysterious castles, noble drug dealers and innocent children. Set in the 1970s, the engaging narrative follows Lt. William Crozier (voiced too harshly by former Journey singer Jeff Scott Soto) as he goes off to fight the Khmer Rouge in Killing Fields of Cambodia.
The album has its musical highlights, including Dina Fanai’s angelic vocals on “Night Enchanted,” the touching “Remnants of a Lullaby” and the low-key instrumental “Embers.” Other songs, such as the powerful but nearly 11-minute “Epiphany,” have potential but lack restraint.
The record features five bonus tracks, including a souped-up cover of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s holiday contribution “Nutrocker,” with Greg Lake on bass. Fans are sure to hear it live when TSO performs Dec. 20 at the Ford Center.
— BAM
CD review: “The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Rock
Original soundtrack “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” (Summit Entertainment/Chop Shop/Atlantic Records)
Music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas and director Chris Weitz gather a talented stable of indie-rock stars and up-and-comers to give the sequel “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” its sonic resonance.
All the rockers involved excel at making otherworldly music, which makes them ideal for punctuating the film’s vampire-human-werewolf love triangle.
Death Cab for Cutie opens the album with the moody urgency of “Meet Me on the Equinox,” the chart-topping soundtrack’s lead single, while Band of Skulls strut in with the hip-shaking guitar rocker “Friends.” Radiohead’s Thom Yorke builds a spooky tension with the electronic buzz of “Hearing Damage.”
Much of the “New Moon” is dedicated to the despair that consumes heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) after her vampire boyfriend (Robert Pattinson) leaves her. So, much of the album is dominated by eerily mournful songs like Lykke Li’s “Possibility,” Anya Marina’s “Satellite Heart” and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s “Done All Wrong.” While undoubtedly fitting, repeated listens probably aren’t advisable unless you get a kick out of depression.
Tulsa native St. Vincent partners with Bon Iver for one of these haunting tracks, “Roslyn,” which is lovely but more a showcase for Justin Vernon and band than for the Oklahoma-born talent formerly known as Annie Clark.
Fortunately, the album isn’t all gloom, with Hurricane Bells rocking the fuzzy guitars on “Monsters,” OK Go pounding and strumming through “Shooting the Moon” and Grizzly Bear sparkling through the dreamlike “Slow Life.”
— BAM
DVD review: “Up”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Up”
It’s a credit to the storytelling masterminds at Pixar Animation Studios that “Up,” a movie crammed with balloon-buoyed houses, talking dogs and goofy flightless birds, makes me cry every time I see it.
Emotional resonance and unbridled imagination allow Disney/Pixar’s 10th and most fantastical animated feature film to truly soar.
Grieving the death of his wife, retired balloon salesman Carl Frederickson (voice of Ed Asner) decides to make good on an unfulfilled promise to his spouse. He attaches thousands of balloons to their house and sails away to Paradise Falls in South America, a trip they always planned but never got to make.
Carl has reached cruising altitude before he realizes he has unintentionally taken on a passenger: zealous Wilderness Explorer Russell (Jordan Nagai), who was lurking on the front porch hoping for a chance to earn his assisting the elderly badge when the house achieved liftoff.
When they land in South America after the perilous flight, they encounter even more wild wonders, including a strange flightless bird that takes a liking to Russell and a pack of dogs equipped with collars that let them speak. The mysterious master who has outfitted the pooches with these high-tech gizmos turns out to have a connection to Carl’s past.
The movie’s madcap action sometimes gets a bit too wacky, but the central love story grounds the story in emotional truth.
“Up” is available in a four-disc pack with the Blu-Ray and DVD versions of the film, a digital copy of the movie and a Blu-Ray disc of bonus features. DVD features include the theatrical short “Partly Cloudy,” a new short film and a behind-the-scenes featurette.
— BAM
CD review: Carrie Underwood, “Play On”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Carrie Underwood “Play On” (19 Recordings Limited/Arista Nashville)
Contemporary country star Carrie Underwood stretches her strong soprano, her songwriting skills and musical boundaries on her third album, “Play On.”
The Checotah native co-wrote seven of the 13 songs, ranging from “What Can I Say,” a twangy heartbreaker with country brother act Sons of Sylvia, to the anthemic title track, which could well be next season’s “American Idol” farewell theme. The album’s sonic diversity reveals the 2005 “American Idol” winner’s willingness to grow and experiment.
The record opens with her latest hit, “Cowboy Casanova,” a feisty country-rocker about a “snake with blue eyes” lothario. She co-wrote the cautionary tale with successful country songsmith and fellow Okie Brett James (who also co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel”) and hip-hop writer/producer Mike Elizondo, who has worked with Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent.
She keeps rocking with “Undo It,” a catchy kiss-off with a stuttering chorus and strutting groove that she penned with “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi and hard-rock producer Marti Frederiksen. Her woman-wronged sass takes a more distinctly country turn on “Songs Like This.”
Underwood, 26, gets sentimental with songs like the spiritual weeper “Temporary Home,” which she co-wrote with Zac Maloy, former frontman for Oklahoma City band The Nixons, and the earnest ballad “Mama’s Song,” her other DioGuardi/ Frederiksen collaboration. And if “Change” comes across as a too syrupy bit of idealism, her youth and philanthropy (including a recent donation of musical instruments to Checotah schools) can probably earn her a pass.
The crossover hitmaker often takes her lumps from the Nashville establishment for her pop-flavored music, but she spotlights her country side on the beautifully sad “Someday When I Stop Loving You” and the slow-dancer “Look at Me,” featuring Oklahoma star Vince Gill on vocals.
- BAM
DVD review: “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure” Blu-Ray+DVD pack
Disney returns to Pixie Hollow for the charming “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure,” the second direct-to-DVD computer-animated movie in its popular fairies franchise.
As the fairies are busily working to bring in fall, Tinker Bell (voice of Mae Whitman) gets an important assignment from Queen Clarion (Anjelica Huston): to craft the Autumn Scepter for the Autumn Revelry. This year, the fall celebration will feature a rare Blue Moon, so Tink will top the staff with an invaluable moonstone. When the light of the Blue Moon shines through the ancient gem, it will create special blue pixie dust to enliven the Pixie Dust Tree.
Tink taps her best friend Terence (Jesse McCartney), a dust-keeper fairy who knows all about pixie dust, to help her. But as Terence hovers over her shoulder and the Autumn Revelry nears, Tink starts feeling the pressure.
When an accident breaks the scepter, she blows up at her pal and tosses him out. She then throws a tantrum, accidentally shattering the moonstone.
Desperate to save the Autumn Revelry, Tink makes the dangerous journey north of Neverland in search of the wrecked pirate ship that holds the mystical wish-granting Mirror of Incanta.
While last year’s “Tinker Bell” focused on setting the scene and introducing characters, “The Lost Treasure” wings straight into the new adventure. The movie doesn’t spend much screen time with favorite fairies Rosetta (Oklahoma native Kristin Chenoweth), Silvermist (Lucy Liu), Iridessa (Raven-Symoné) and Fawn (Angela Bartys), but it features truly enchanting visuals, from the richly colored fall landscapes to Tink’s fantastic flying machine.
Perhaps the best endorsement of the film: Even my almost-3-year-old son watched it spellbound.
DVD features: The movie comes in one of Disney’s clever Blu-Ray/DVD packs and features a bonus short, Demi Lovato music video, deleted scenes and funny outtakes.
— BAM
Concert review: AC/DC shakes Oklahoma City’s Ford Center all Wednesday night long
AC/DC singer Brian Johnson performs at a recent stop of the “Black Ice Tour.” (Associated Press photos)
AC/DC guitarist Angus Young wails away during a recent show.
AC/DC’s “Black Ice Tour” skidded into the Ford Center Wednesday night with the unrelenting force and can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it spectacle of a massive train wreck.
And that’s exactly how the Australian rock gods started the show. The giant screens came to life with a bawdy animated video of a devilish Angus Young, distracted by naughty groupies, driving a runaway engine. The large-scale cartoon culminated in pyrotechnics flaring, a huge locomotive bursting through the back of the stage and the energetic rockers thundering out their latest hit “Rock N Roll Train.”
Though the venerable band surely needed no such gaudy introduction, singer Brian Johnson, guitarist Angus Young, his rhythm guitarist brother Malcolm Young, bassist Cliff Williams and drummer Phil Rudd proved from the outset their unadulterated commitment to rocking the Ford Center.
AC/DC specializes in mammoth, primal hard rock, with plenty of suggestive lyrics, intimations of violence and a wicked sense of fun. Often criticized for steadfastly adhering to its formula of huge riffs and pounding rhythms, the band’s stick-with-what-works approach was nearly impossible to argue with during Wednesday’s wildly entertaining show. Even seeing Johnson wearing his usual slouchy hat and sleeveless shirt and Angus Young in his trademark schoolboy outfit was a thrill.
The estimated 12,000 fans — there were a surprising number of empty seats for a tour that has notched numerous sell-outs — were clearly onboard. The crowd, which ranged from hollering graybeards to air-guitar-playing children, leapt to its feet as the houselights went down and stayed standing throughout the band’s two-hour set.
Like Johnson and Angus, the throng was in perpetual motion, constantly waving arms, pumping fists and banging heads. The gravel-voiced Johnson grinned maniacally as the fans took over chorus after chorus, na-nah-ing through “Thunderstruck” and shouting along to “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.”
The band drew heavily on its arsenal of colossal hits, invoking screams of delight as it hammered through favorites like “Back in Black,” “TNT” and “You Shook Me All Night Long.”
The rockers maintained their titanic intensity on new songs like “Big Jack,” “War Machine” and “Black Ice,” the title track from their successful 2008 album. Unfortunately, many fans used those less-familiar songs for bathroom breaks or beer runs, but there are no ballads at an AC/DC show, after all.
The band also tapped its 36-year-old catalog for a few deeper cuts such as “Shot Down in Flames” and “Dog Eat Dog.” The bluesy groove of “The Jack” set the mood for Angus to perform his signature strip tease, dispensing with his jacket, tie and shirt and finally flashing AC/DC boxers at the elated audience.
“The boy’s got a devil in his fingers and the blues in his soul,” Johnson quipped as Angus scorched through the song’s fiery solo.
And both have the heart of showmen and the stamina of men half their age. While the rest of the band rocked steadily in the background, Johnson and Angus made frequent trips down the catwalk jutting out from the enormous black stage. The singer strutted and incited the crowd, while the guitar slinger charmed the fans with his duck walk.
Of course, a flair for theatrics never hurt a rock band, either, and the concert was packed with extravagant and engaging set pieces (which undoubtedly played into the $100 ticket price). Johnson took a running leap and swung from the big bell suspended above the stage to open “Hells Bells.” A towering, buxom blowup doll straddled the locomotive and swayed to the beat of “Whole Lotta Rosie.”
AC/DC ended its set with “Let There Be Rock” featuring an outrageous extended solo from Angus, who wailed away like a man possessed as the platform at the end of the catwalk lifted him high above the horde. As he fell to the ground, still playing as he spun in circles, confetti exploded into the air.
As the rockers returned for their encore, the guitarist suddenly emerged from beneath the stage in plumes of red-tinged smoke for “Highway to Hell.” And when they finally closed the concert with “For Those About to Rock (We Salute You),” blasts from six canons punctuated the anthem.
The sheer spectacle and raw might of AC/DC’s show contrasted with the low-tech opening set by Northern Irish rockers The Answer. Unknown to most of the crowd, the band earned a warm but not sizzling welcome with its solid string of blues-rock songs.
— BAM
CD review: Joe Nichols, “Old Things New”
A version of this review appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
Joe Nichols “Old Things New” (Universal Records South)
Country singer Joe Nichols uses his wonderfully rich baritone to craft “Old Things New,” another solid neotraditionalist effort from the Arkansas native.
The Grammy-nominated crooner specializes in country music that is traditional in both sound and sentiment. Mandolins, fiddles and steel guitars drench sorrowful ballads, funny drinking songs and tributes to Merle Haggard and strawberry pie.
But Nichols succeeds in what the album title suggests: For all their customary trappings, the songs feel relevant and contemporary. He tells the tale of a busy working couple reconnecting in “This Bed’s Too Big,” then drawls a humorous suggestion for coping with modern-day hardship in “Cheaper Than a Shrink.”
Nichols notched a big hit in 2003 with the tearjerking “The Impossible,” and he offers another sweeping anthem with “Believers,” a different take on dealing with tough times.
But the album’s highlight is “An Old Friend of Mine,” a poignant tale of newfound sobriety that Nichols, who went through rehab two years ago, delivers with heartfelt emotion.
He closes the record with a distinctly nontraditional spin on an old song: A rap-country remix of his hilarious hit “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” by Fat Shan and Colt Ford.
Nichols will perform in concert Wednesday at the Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan. For more information, go to www.wormydog.com.
— BAM
Movie review: “Amelia”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 2 1/2 of 4 stars.
”Amelia” biopic never really takes flight
While “Amelia” doesn’t crash and burn, the new biopic of Amelia Earhart fails to soar as high as it should, given its fascinating subject.
Director Mira Nair’s (“The Namesake”) film plots the kind of course the pioneering aviatrix shunned: the safe one. Though Earhart is an intriguing historical figure who was ahead of her time, “Amelia” is an exceedingly old-fashioned and conventional biopic.
Though Ronald Bass and Anna Hamilton Phelan’s script unfortunately stays earthbound, two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank (“Million Dollar Baby”) elevates the film with her solid portrayal of the spunky, strong-headed Earhart.
Adapted from the biographies “East to the Dawn” by Susan Butler and “The Sound of Wings” by Mary Lovell, “Amelia” focuses on the last decade of Earhart’s life, from her rapid rise to global fame in 1928 to her stunning disappearance during an around-the-world flight attempt in 1937.
Using dissolves into fluffy clouds and gently wafting curtains, the movie cuts between milestones along her ill-fated final flight and flashbacks to other major moments in her life: her first meeting with early public relations expert and future husband George Putnam (Richard Gere), her sudden celebrity as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger and the lectures and endorsements that fueled her fame and her future flights.
She makes history by flying across the Atlantic solo, has an affair with charming aviator Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor) and develops a motherly relationship with his son, future author Gore (William Cuddy). She also butts heads with Fred Noonan (Christopher Eccleston), the brilliant but alcoholic navigator for her last voyage.
Thankfully, the film doesn’t weigh down with some of the cockamamie conspiracy theories about Earhart’s disappearance. Nair skillfully injects real suspense into the final tragic moments of the flier’s life.
“Amelia” ascends to its loftiest heights when Earhart is flying or landing. The richly hued scenes of her gliding over African savannahs in her Lockheed Electra or touching down in her red Vega next to a baffled shepherd in Ireland, instead of Paris, give the film needed lift and humor.
But the film eschews every risk and never veers from its by-the-book storytelling structure, so “Amelia” doesn’t get too far off the ground.
— BAM
