If you really want to know what kind of movie The Hurt Locker is, all you need to watch is one scene about a third of the way in, when Army Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) discovers a trunk full of explosives.
Knowing his life could end any minute from now if he doesn’t succeed in his mission to defuse the bombs, he takes off all his protective gear and says to a member of his team, without flinching, “If I’m gonna die, I want to die comfortable.”
That brazen, no-holds-barred attitude permeates Kathryn Bigelow’s award-winning film. Continue reading →
Green Zone, director Paul Greengrass’ new film, takes us back to those exciting days in 2003 when the Iraq war was just beginning and the search was on for weapons of mass destruction. (Yes, that was sarcasm.) Of course, now we know that there never were any WMDs, but for Roy Miller (Matt Damon), a chief warrant officer in the U.S. Army, this is a new discovery — and he’s pissed. The film focuses on Miller’s search for an intelligence source known as Magellan, who was the person who sent the Army on its wild goose chase.
Reuniting Greengrass and Damon for the first time since their Bourne films (and Damon with Greg Kinnear, costars in the Farrelly brothers film Stuck on You), Green Zone is certainly an exciting two hours. Greengrass’ beloved shaky-cam method of filming reflects the chaos of the situation in Iraq, and he keeps the action moving from start to finish. If only the film was less underwritten. Oscar nominee (and erstwhile The Office guest star) Amy Ryan, for example, isn’t given enough to do as a Wall Street Journal reporter. And that shaky-cam stuff does get a bit nauseating. So while Green Zone is a compelling Iraq war action film, I’m only going to give it a B.
All you really need to know about Jamie Cullum is right there in the lyrics of the song “Mixtape,” which appears on his new album The Pursuit.
The song — which name-checks Nine Inch Nails, Louis Armstrong, Morrissey, John Coltrane, Cinematic Orchestra, De La Soul, Thelonious Monk, the Shangri-La’s, and more — indicates the wide range of musical influences that are running ’round Cullum’s head, and which result in a wide-ranging live show, such as the one he put on Saturday night at the House of Blues in Boston.
(And if the list of influential artists doesn’t give away what Cullum’s live shows are like, then the image of an exploding piano on his album cover surely does.) Continue reading →
I’m really hoping Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin are funny on Sunday night, because if they’re not, then this year’s Oscar ceremony will be one giant snoozer.
After another long awards season when so many other trophies have already been handed out (the Golden Globes, SAG, Directors’ Guild, Critics’ Choice, etc.), there’s not a whole lot of suspense left about who’s going to win the Oscars. The top eight major categories (and at least three or four other awards) are already pretty well set.
However, while some may say that means there’s not much incentive to stay up until 12 to see the whole thing, I will definitely be watching until the bitter end — and maybe some post-show coverage too. I’m just not expecting to enjoy it much. Continue reading →
Early on in Alice in Wonderland, Alice’s father tells some colleagues, “Nothing is impossible if you believe it to be possible.”
After seeing this movie, I can now say I believe it’s possible for a Tim Burton movie to be pretty awful.
Less an adaptation of the Lewis Carroll novels than a story based on the characters in them, Alice picks up the action 13 years after Alice has returned home. Now a 19-year-old headstrong young woman, Alice follows the White Rabbit down a hole and thinks nothing of it; she believes her earlier trip to Wonderland was just a dream. Thinking she’s back in a dream, she goes through the motions, quickly reacquainting herself with the Cheshire Cat, Door Mouse, and yes, the Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp).
Since she’s been gone, Wonderland (or “Underland,” as it’s called here) has turned into a bleak wasteland, and the Red Queen (a big-headed Helena Bonham Carter) is in charge. Alice’s return means there’s a chance that things can be set right and all can be wonderful again. If only Alice herself seemed a bit more interested in helping out. Continue reading →
For the past four months, I’ve been hard-pressed to find one favorite track on his new album, The Pursuit. I started off liking the raucous swinger “You and Me Are Gone” the most, then moved on to first single “I’m All Over It,” then side-tracked to the lovely “Love Ain’t Gonna Let You Down.” If you’d asked me two weeks ago, I might have told you my favorite track was “Mixtape,” but at this present time, it’s actually Jamie’s beautiful cover of “Not While I’m Around,” from Sweeney Todd.
Which is not to say that the other tracks on the album are bad, and nor does it mean I’ve tired of the ones I no longer deem my favorite. It’s just that The Pursuit is such an enjoyable album that I’ll just get stuck on one song or another, and for a time, it’s all I’ll want to listen to. Continue reading →
When I saw on CBS’ Sunday Morning today that there was a pancake batter in a can product called Batter Blaster, I was simultaneously horrified, skeptical, and curious. I mean, pancake batter in a can? With a name that sounds more like a comic-book villain? Seriously? But as someone who likes his pancakes (and waffles) on a Sunday morning, I decided I had to do what any other self-(dis)respecting person would do, and try it.
According to the website, Batter Blaster isn’t available everywhere, but it can be found at Stop & Shop (near the eggs and whipped cream), so I went there. Five dollars and a conversation with an amused and excited fellow shopper later, I was home and cooking. The batter (which, by the way, is made mostly with organic ingredients) didn’t come out in the same whipped-cream style that I’d seen on TV (it was much runnier, despite my shaking of the can), and the pancakes might not have been the thickest ones I’ve had, but they were, as advertised, light and fluffy. Tasty too. I was very impressed. So I kept on cooking and had myself a very good breakfast.
And there you go. I’ve learned something today: Pancakes from a can can actually be good. And now, when I want to have pancakes or waffles on a Sunday morning, I don’t have to worry about mixing up the flour and eggs and other stuff. I just have to look in my refrigerator. Score.
In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, which hit newsstands and my mailbox yesterday, Managing Editor Jess Cagle notes in his editor’s letter that the magazine celebrated its 20th birthday this month.
It’s a significant milestone, and even though my only connection to the magazine is as a reader, I still feel like celebrating.
In fact, I’ve been an EW reader since that very first issue in February 1990, and have read every single issue mostly cover-to-cover (all 1,092 of them).
During these 20 years, I’ve spent some summers away from home, and I changed my address or bought duplicate copies during those times so I could stay in the loop and wouldn’t miss anything. At one point, about 10 years ago, when I was in my hoarding days, I had actually saved every issue of the magazine, and the day my parents asked me to get rid of them (i.e.: to throw them out) because they were selling their house and couldn’t lift the heavy boxes, was a real bummer. Continue reading →
Things aren’t what they seem on Shutter Island, and neither is the movie of the same name. Shutter Island would appear on the surface to be a crack thriller: It has Martin Scorsese behind the camera, source material written by Dennis Lehane, and actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, and Ben Kingsley in lead roles. Instead, this film, about a federal marshall investigating a disappearance at a mental institution off the coast of Boston, is a bit of an overly long, heavy handed mess. Nearly everything about it is overdone, from DiCaprio’s acting (and his Boston accent) to the score, which announces early on in no uncertain terms that the institution is bad news. When the plot reaches its climax, the resolution just goes on and on, as if Scorsese was trying to trap you — just like his lead character has been trapped. Shutter Island won’t go down as one of Marty’s best, that’s for sure. I’m giving it a C.
If you really want to know what kind of movie The Hurt Locker is, all you need to watch is one scene about a third of the way in, when Army Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) discovers a trunk full of explosives.
Martin's Musings 