Joe Vig's First Impressions

New Writings by Joe Viglione

2005-02-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

Kinnie Starr Published 3/05 AllMediaGuide
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2r6omps09f7o

Joe Viglione writes round the clock! His work for COUNTRY CLUB MERCHANT MAGAZINE out of Florida is a nice contrast to his being a correspondent for THE MEDFORD TRANSCRIPT,
and his ongoing work for the prestigious ALL MEDIA GUIDE.

Joe's writings can be found on VH1.com, Djangos Music.com, Amazon.Canada, eBay, Barnes & Noble.com - dozens of sites utilizing his essays for http://www.allmusic.com

WMFO's Coffee 'n' Smokes Published 3/17/05
http://www.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=204224

PJ Shapiro Published 2/16/05
http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=185860

Medford Transcript > Arts & Lifestyle
Medford resident P.J. Shapiro recently performed in a live concert venue Feb. 10.
Herald Interactive Tools
View Text Version
P.J. Shapiro performs at Avenue C's

By Joe Viglione/ CorrespondentThursday, February 17, 2005

Songwriter P.J. Shapiro, who moved to Medford from Newton in the year 2000, was the featured performer at Avenue C's Thursday night open mic on Feb. 10. Of course a mini snowstorm hit a few hours before and during show time, but that added to the ambiance of the gig at the elegant new Malden nightclub located at 166 Eastern Ave., between Ferry Street and Eastern Avenue, at the Route 60 split.

Shapiro has an appealing voice and interesting lyrics - "Who knows which way the magma flow," he sings in "Continental Drift." When music fans hear the letters "P.J." they may first think of female singer P.J. Harvey or the band 40 Ft. Ringo's P.J. Farley, but Shapiro has something different to offer - a series of dark rolling essays accompanied by a folk guitar, which he manipulates in creative ways.

Live at the Avenue C showcase he set the mood by applying those subtle dynamics, kind of like a progressive rock band without the bombast. It's an interesting concept that demands attentiveness and was embraced by the ever growing crowd at organizer Jeff Munro's Thursday evening get-togethers.

The event itself was impressive, a guitarist named Randy coming all the way from the South Shore, other participants sometimes showing up from New Hampshire or other parts unknown to the local Medford/ Malden/ Arlington region.

After author Rushworth M. Kidder (from Maine) was interviewed for a cable show at around 8:45 p.m., singer Donny Schultz began the open mic - Schultz requesting to open for P.J. Shapiro, which shows the respect fellow musicians have for the performer.

The featured artist then took the staging area in front of a fireplace and black drape backdrop and began his set. The only "cover" song performed by Shapiro was Joss Whedon's theme song to the sci-fi TV show "Firefly." It's available only in secret places on the Web, one of those little treats performers put out for the world to hunt down and cherish.

Another song, "Justice," doesn't appear on the singer's 12 track "I Know What You're Made Of" CD from 2001, but it has the same style and flavor as the excellent material on that disc. More information about the CD can be found on http://www.pjshapiro.com/

The singer was thankful that the crowd would "brave the elements; hope it's been rewarding" he said. The applause in response was sincere - the other musicians in attendance seem to have a camaraderie which spills over to the non-participants, those just walking in for a beer or some of the excellent food served at the club.

Promoter Jeff Munro is also the station manager at Arlington's Comcast Cable station. He's been putting open mics together for at least six years and has a handle on bringing like talents together for what was one of the more fun nights this jaded writer has experienced in quite some time.

Kevin McQuilken appeared after Shapiro to play instrumental versions of songs ranging from The Police to the 60s hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" as well as the 1970s gem "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton.

The level of musicianship was surprisingly very high for a suburban showcase, higher than many similar events found in Cambridge and Boston.

A pretty gal named Marissa showed up with her friends to join the event in a jam after songwriter David Munro played an excellent albeit brief collection of his tunes. This club is something special - opening Labor Day weekend 2004 it has a New York-style decor that adds to the legitimacy of the artist mix. In other words - it's a classy place!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Band debuts while lead singer moves

By Joe Viglione/ Correspondent
Thursday, January 27, 2005

http://www2.townonline.com/medford/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=171309

A debut performance of the band "Slop" at an established Cambridge hotspot, the All Asia Bar in Central Square, proved to be lead singer/vocalist Matt O'Connor's final show as a resident of Medford.

The local landscaper who is also a singer/songwriter is moving outside the Worcester area, but will continue performing with the Boston based Slop.

The all-ages show on Dec. 11 contained an interesting blend of originals and music by some of the group's heroes, from Jimi Hendrix to Bob Marley, and what they lacked in proficiency this new group certainly made up for with heart.

Belmont's Pierre Ratzki is lead and rhythm guitarist for Slop with his friend Joey Jebari handling the bass guitar. They met O'Connor on Sept. 18, 2004 at a festival in Boston where O'Connor performed solo to approximately 200 people.

Slop formed shortly after that meeting when O'Connor emerged from the recording studio at the end of summer 2004, putting to tape music by his friend from Los Angeles, the late Greg Zera.

O'Connor's travels have taken him from Worcester to Woburn to Spokane, Wash., eventually leading him to Los Angeles. He became friends with Chris Poland of the group Megadeth and taped an interview with Poland for his TV show, The Rehearsal Space, when Poland played Johnny Ds in Somerville.

When Zera tragically passed away in Los Angeles, O'Connor made it a mission to get some of his musician friends songs put to tape.

O'Connor moved to Medford in January of 2004, where he worked for a local landscaper and found musicians to help him bring the new music to life. The Deal, another band which recently exited the city, loaned their drummer, Peter Kelly, to the sessions.

After the recordings O'Connor began looking for people to play with on a more regular basis.
Encountering Jebari and Ratzki at the festival led to a quick friendship and thus "Slop" was born, an old school blues sound fused with hard rock that began by playing a mixture of songs composed by O'Connor with instrumentals from Joey, Pierre and an earlier drummer.

A bassline from Jebari led to "The Slop Anthem" when O'Connor and Ratzki put additional music to it. O'Connor added lyrics later.

Drummer Jake Staley came on board after being introduced to O'Connor through a friend from college. Staley is a sophomore at Berklee College of Music majoring in Contemporary Writing and Production. His solid beats keep the Slop boys organized.

Staley takes private lessons from Casey Scheurell and cites Led Zeppelin's John Bonham and session musician Vinnie Colaiuta as his influences. Born in Silver Springs, Md., the 19-year-old Staley now hails from Toledo, Ohio, though the pull of Berklee College brought him to New England and this unique and creative quartet.

Joey Jebari is a self-taught musician who hooked up with Ratzki at Belmont High School around April of 2003. His musical tastes range from blues to jazz to 60s rock and indie music to techno. Born in Cambridge, the Jebari family moved to Morocco from 1988 to 1995. They returned to Massachusetts setting up residence in Belmont.

Joey has owned his bass since 2000 and joined a local pop band with other Belmont High musicians James Green and Geoff Wright. That group, Suburban Legends, performed at the 2004 Belmont Talent Show at Belmont High Auditorium.

The final gig with "Suburban Legends" was on May 19, a celebration for the passing of the same-sex marriage bill. At that event Jebari jammed in public for the first time with Pierre Ratzki.

Ratzki commented on his friend's skills: "Joey's basslines often become the backbone for songs, and if I introduce a song I've written, I know that his bassline will complement the guitar perfectly. We feel very comfortable playing together, and I don't think either of us would have as much fun in a band without a good friendship, which is what we have."

The guitarist went on to explain the composition of their own material: "The way we write originals, there's no set method. Joey will start with a bassline, and I'll come up with a guitar part, and Matt will do something over that, while Jake brings it all together, etc. But it could start with any of us, and most of the originals we will be playing at (upcoming shows) were created on the spot like that, and refined later. We just jam a lot in practice, which helps fuse a band and make them communicate well together. You can't just throw four guys together and expect them to be tight on the first song, you have to jam first. Plus, jamming is awesome. So far, Matt has written all of the lyrics, but I hear that Jake has a bunch of originals he will soon be introducing to the band."

The show at the All Asia is the first since Ratzki's return from a trip to Paris, France, where he has relatives. And for such a young group of - - O'Connor in his 30s, Jebari, Ratzki and Staley in their late teens, it is amazing the amount of traveling they have all done, Morocco, Paris and Los Angeles contacts can only help the group in obtaining some kind of tour schedule or CD release outside of the Massachusetts area.

Ratzki commented on the importance of the band's newest member, drummer Jake Staley: "Jake is the key ingredient to the band, because he is sort of like the director. He brings the songs up or breaks them down, and has complete control over dynamics. Without him, we sound thin and lacking. It's humbling to play with someone from Berklee, especially someone with as much musical talent as Jake. He can play faster and louder than any drummer I have ever heard, but he can also play soft and jazzy."

Prior to the formation of the band lead singer O'Connor, the group's most veteran member, found himself on the Cambridge Central Square music circuit, performing solo at the All Asia Bar, The Zeitgeist Gallery as well as the Cantab. The decade before he found himself in both the Seattle and L.A. music scenes, ultimately recording a two song tape on 24 track tape resulting in the tunes "Errand Boy" and "The Barking Dog Band."

When he returned to the Boston area, landing on Garfield Avenue in Medford, he began hosting a television program, The Rehearsal Space, which featured interviews with The Supersuckers, Audrey Ryan Band, former Medford residents Pat O'Hara and his group "The Deal" and Chris Poland of Megadeath.

Where Slop will go in the music industry is anyone's guess, Pierre Ratzki hoping the band will continue to be part of the Boston Music scene, "...especially during the summers. If we could get a record deal, sign me up, but right now its just about jamming and having a good time."

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More links to Joe Viglione's work:
http://www.visual-radio.net

http://community.webtv.net/TheMadFaxer/rockjournalistjoe

http://www.joeviglione.com

TOMMY JAMES SONG REVIEWS

2005-02-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

Assorted Song Reviews by Joe Viglione on AMG

2005-02-18T19:26:00.000-08:00

9 JEFF BECK SONGS REVIEWED BY JOE VIGLIONE

2005-02-18T19:14:00.000-08:00

Reviews on E Music.com 1/07/05

2005-01-06T23:55:00.000-08:00

Rick Berlin
http://www.emusic.com/album/10816/10816492.html

Pousette Dart Never Enough
http://www.emusic.com/album/10788/10788101.html

Upcoming Reviews on AMG January 8, 2005

Frank Sinatra Show with Ella Fitzgeraldhttp://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:08qog4gxtv1z

89 Live In Japan Quiet Riot
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:8wabqj7eojka

Spencer Davis Live In Manchester 2002
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:1jdjvwpwa9tk

Genius Of Lady Day Billie Holiday
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:igae4j177wav

The Legendary Nat King Cole
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:71q67ul040jd

IS IT LIVE OR IS IT MEMOREX???

O.J.'s Bastard Daughter: Ramblings about the Music Biz

by Rock Journalist Joe Viglione

Laurence Fishburne continues to ask us the burning question "What is real?"- or as the Architect in Matrix II might say "...Concordantly, while your first question maybe the most pertinent you may or may not realize it is also the most irrelevant. ...

That revision of the age-old query - "Is it Live or is it Memorex?"

Watching Ashlee on the web (my, how the world has changed from Madonna on MTV!) - "La La" and "Shadow" - this writer finds her a tolerable creation - vocals with enough soup on them to pair her with Marilyn Manson at some point in time - like Liza Minelli showing up on an Alice Cooper album, the alleged "culture clash" is no clash at all, it's just the fame game - if you got a name, we'll slap you on the disc. On "Pieces of Me" she looks like Courtney Hole's little sister with an unholy concoction of Three Dog Night when they covered a Dave Loggins tune back in 1972 meets Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner". It really does sound like "Pieces Of April" with the "Tom's Diner" melody - Sue, Suzanne, Sue!

Back to what is pertinent: Ashlee Simpson gets booed at Halftime - see this Orange Bowl clip:
http://www.comcast.net/providers/fan/popup2.html?v=25751911&pl=25268692.xml&config=/providers/fan/config/music.xml

She is just so awful awful awful! Has it really come down to this? Bobby Sherman may have annoyed us in his younger days, but now he's a sheer delight to watch onstage - and the songs have punch. But can you see Ashlee Simpson prancing out on stage in her 50s and 60s? To what - the booing of the Orange Bowl performance onscreen behind her?

What about taking care of artists that matter, artists who have creative genius? Has the music industry morphed into a cereal manufacturer? -now there's a rhetorical question - as long as the Wheaties and Led Zeppelin are on the grocery shelves, consumers ARE George Romero's creatures in "Dawn Of The Dead".

=========================================================================
That old adage "any press is good press" seems to have gone by the wayside after O.J. Simpson's knife cut through his ex-wife and some alleged gay guy - hey - I personally think O.J.'s son did it, which would almost make O.J. a hero except for those 911 tapes...Ashlee imploded on Saturday Night Live, and paid the consequences at the Orange Bowl - because at the Orange Bowl her voice is horrifying, and not the tolerable entity it is on her recordings.
...as this story is being written Jessica Simpson suddenly pops up on the video under this e mail (technology is so amazing!) doing Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun! Disco wizard Giorgio Moroder must be pleased (did you know that Martha Davis and The Motels actually cut the demo! - and was it really 1986 when Tom Cruise swept himself and Berlin into the mainstream consciousness - "I'll be your wingman, anytime" - a gayer movie was never spawned - so sayeth "homoeroticism.com) --- I mean we have to digress - some webpages blow Ashlee and Jessica off the map, check out Television City without Pity:

\http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=518801&st=45

ICE: I guess I owe you one.
MAVERICK: You don't owe me anything. We're on the same team.
ICE: You saved our lives. You did it!
MAVERICK: We did it.
ICE: You're a hell of a flyer. You can be my wingman any time.
MAVERICK: No. You can be mine!
ICE: Whatever you say, Commander.
Take my breath away indeed. ;)
I'm happy to report that Smallville's glorious S1 is currently running in Germany - sponsored by some body care company. They inform you in big & bold letters right before and after the show that Smallville is "a man's business". Coincidence? I hope not.
========================================================================== I did NOT write the above - call me late for dinner but don't call me Globe's resident plagiarist Jeff Jacoby - do a google on "I'll be your wingman anytime" - it ain't only me! That really "grabbed" people - and with a friend named "Goose"...oh well...

Now the web is spinning Britney Spears doing Bobby Brown, "MyPrerogative", so I guess we'll have to get back on track - what is real? And was that really 1989 - GAWWWDDDDD we're all getting so much ... wiser! The older the grape, the sweeter the wine... Britney's "Toxic" is justdownright annoying - melodies and electronic drums with visuals - what has happened to music like I heard Julie Devereaux on WROR spinning yesterday at noontime or so - (well she's not actually SPINNING the stuff, I think a computer touches the discs now, come to think of it...) Carole King singing "So Far Away" and Rod Stewart with "You Wear It Well" - which he allegedly wrote for Jo Jo Laine. Rod asked me what I thought of his set one night after a Tweeter Center gig - "Rod, you know I ADORE your old stuff" - skirting the question - and he laughingly said "Joe, I can't play for you and the 20 other critics in the audience" - so I handed him a copy of Jo Jo Laine's "I'm Into Something Good", a cover of Herman's Hermits that Jimmy Miller & I conjured up.

We were at the Four Seasons with Jo Jo (he was cool enough to go out and play soccer with her son the next day - the son that was conceived about two months after Jo Jo exited from Rod (or vice versa) and moved on to Denny Laine from Wings (Wingman, anytime?). Rod said "He has my shoe size!" Jo Jo replied "But of course!" I said "Laine is Denny's kid".Jo Jo said - "you're right, but with all the money Alana (Hamilton)'s getting..." Good old Jo Jo - always going for the gold.

THERE ARE NO PUBLISHING COMPANIES OUT THERE DOING THEIR JOB!
This regurgitation is not as much fun as retro! Would you rather hear a cover of "My Prerogative" or Britney Spears tackling "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night"...hmmm, on second thought, let them rip the disco/funk stuff all they want, leave sacred territory alone!
To be continued

Joe Vig First Impressions 1:25 PM day before David Presley's birthday.
An Elvis Bowie Production

Willie Loco on 971zht!
http://www.971zht.com/iplaylist/album/554504/

Loco Live 1976
Willie Alexander & The Boom Boom Band Released 2001 on
Captain Trip
Available on: CD

Willie "Loco" Alexander
Main Performer
Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band signed a three-album deal with producer Craig Leon and MCA records back in the '70s, but the group imploded after tracking just two albums which failed to capture their magic. Decades later, the Tokyo-based Captain Trip records has seen fit to issue this single CD, which includes portions of two live shows and a bonus 45 rpm. It achieves what the major-label releases did not. The CD begins with material engineered by Jesse Henderson at Boston's notorious nightspot the Rat on August 27, 1976, exactly one month before the recordings this band made for the Live at the Rat album (September 27, 28, and 29 with Jesse Henderson as well). "Pup Tune," "At the Rat," and "Kerouac" sound much clearer on this CD, a better mix than what was released on the legendary double LP from the nightclub, and three more songs to boot. The performances are excellent. Eight additional titles were recorded in May of 1976 at the Club in Cambridge by Erik Lindgren of the band Moving Parts. Dramatically different than the Rat recordings, this earlier tape is muddier -- bootleg quality, but that doesn't stop the power from seeping through. These are historic concert tapes of the band performing "For Old Time's Sake" (aka "Cause I'm Taking You to Bed"), "Garbage Man," and a rare live version of "Gin," the single that landed Willie Alexander his post-MCA deal with New Rose/RCA in Europe. The woman in the audience talking at the prelude of "Garbage Man" is totally annoying, and it is a sin marring what is a fine performance. This is a slow, very nasty version of the sexual escapade that is "Garbage Man" -- as close to the sound of Alexander's former group, the Velvet Underground, as the Boom Boom Band cared to get. This song, along with "Dirty Eddie," caused much controversy in the "Loco" camp. Reportedly, the band became afraid of letting Alexander be Alexander on MCA, but the whole reason they got signed was because of his ability to write great ock & roll with no inhibitions. Hearing this CD will thrill as well as infuriate the devoted followers of Willie Loco because it preserves the power of his performance, and proves that producer Craig Leon and the members of the Boom Boom Band should've just let loose in the studio and allowed the artist the opportunity to do what he does best. The demos that secured the deal with MCA were brilliant, and there was no need to re-record them except in a live setting. "Mass. Ave." is an all-out rocker on this CD, the May performance one of the Boom Boom Band's earlier shows boasting a raw energy and enthusiasm resulting in total artistic expression. "Rock 'n' Roll Lick #76," a masterpiece of song construction, is sublime and, along with "Rhythm a Baby," reveal how cohesive and extraordinary this ensemble was. People say that Barry & the Remains were a live phenomenon which studio recordings failed to capture. That could be said of the Boom Boom Band as well. However, this disc, and the long out-of-print Sperm Bank Babies live radio broadcast from 1976, are able to set the record straight. This is primal Willie "Loco" Alexander with his Boom Boom Band before the politics and the recording industry did a number on them. What it lacks in production is more than made up for with the spirit and energy that sizzle in these CD grooves. The two bonus tracks at the end were released on Somor records and are outtakes from the MCA sessions recorded by Craig Leon. "Dirty Eddie" was perhaps the finest single tune produced for MCA and was rejected for being "too dirty." The band, the label, management, and the producer attempted to "refine" Willie Alexander, and in doing so, stifled him and derailed their gravy train. "She Wanted Me (Nazi Nola)," a live eggae track recorded in the studio, is completely raunchy, and half trying, obliterates the other recordings that were released on the two MCA Boom Boom Band albums. France and Japan revere Willie Loco Alexander for the genius that he is, and this album, despite the jarring caused by the three different tape sources, is very powerful and lots of fun. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide

December 2004

2004-12-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone -

As we re-design http://www.varulven.com your best bet is to check in here to get updates!
Lots going on - we interviewed Dr. Edward Hallowell on December 8th (he was broadcast on the same 60 Minutes show with Bob Dylan) and Tim Riley, Beatles author, on December 20th.

JV's article on SLOP in Belmont Citizen/Herald
http://www2.townonline.com/belmont/artsLifestyle/view.bg?articleid=147648

New album from Joe Viglione
http://therealcount.blogspot.com

Visual Radio postings
http://vrtv.blogspot.com

Here are my newest AMG Postings - watch for my December Top 30 in a couple of days!
http://joevigtop40.blogspot.com http://www.varulven.com Music Business Monthly

DVD REVIEWS (URLs to post - this is all on http://www.allmusic.com )

DVD Starz Back In Action Live 2003
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9rfm961o0ep5~T1

DVD Stephen Lynch "Live At The El Ray"
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDD4AAE7420ED9C2C45C7BD7CE71AFE5AFB86112F0456D3B82D6DA30B47D00BE49F81B0FB6AB678B0FD2EA45E43D6C0EB50F6D96E2D5DF0&sql=10:rekvikldbb79

DVD THE IRISH TENORS "Heritage"
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDD4AAE7420ED9C2C45C7BD7CE71AFE5AFB86112F0456D3B82D6DA30B47D00BE49F81B0FB6AB678B0FD2EA45E43D6C0EB5EF6DE672D5DF0&sql=10:a96ftr7tkl7x

You're So Easy To Love (Song Review - Tommy James catalog) James, Tommy/Greco, Joey

DVD Nat King Cole "When I Fall In Love: The One And Only Nat King Cole"http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDD4AAE7420ED9C2C45C7BD7CE71AFE5AFB86112F0456D3B82D6DA30B47D00BE49F81B0FB6AB679B0FD2EA45E43DBC0EF57F6D8622D5DF0&sql=10:tsja7i45g72r~T1

DVD Ray Charles with Edmonton Symphony Orchestrahttp://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDD4AAE7420ED9C2C45C7BD7CE71AFE5AFB86112F0456D3B82D6DA30B47D00BE49F81B0FB6AB57AB0FD2EA45E43D7C0EC55F6DC612D5DF0&sql=10:tlz8b5x4xsq4

BIOGRAPHIESAgainst Tomorrow's Sky published 12/04 on All Media GuideAgainst Tomorrow's Sky is UP!
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=AGAINSTTOMORROW\\

4 more biographies to post soon - Manalive, Sadaharu, Victim of Modern Age, and Snakes & Music

Check out http://www.expage.com/jvbiographies for more of my bios!!!

Lisa Ralphs' pens in the January 2005 issue of Metronome Magazine with an essay I co-wrote on our friend, the late John Kalishes. Metronome is not online yet, but I will post it soon in a blog.

New Articles! from Joe Viglione 10/21/04

2004-10-20T14:02:00.000-07:00

SUSPECT ZERO

2004-08-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

SUSPECT ZERO zeroes in on the face of Aaron Eckhart, a big movie star who should be bigger in a vehicle that won't be his break-through flick, but is a good step in the right direction. It is to Eckhart what 8MM is to Nicolas Cage, what 1995's Seven is to Brad Pitt, what Murder By Numbers is to Ben Chaplin, menacing murder movies tailor-made for leading men. 2001's Along Came a Spider was not this dark, but all these films could very well have a thread tying them together - so much so that this could be an extension of the theme from 1995's Copycat. And while it is no The Silence of the Lambs, SUSPECT ZERO turns out to be more of a sequel-in-spirit to Murder By Numbers than it is to Producer/Director E. Elias Merhige's previous flick, Shadow of the Vampire. Carrie-Anne Moss is getting type-cast, whether she knows it or not, and comes off here as the softer side of Trinity from The Matrix. Maybe filmmakers feel she is the anti-dote to the oppressive bleak atmospheres they choose to create with these repetitive stories, items that are beyond "film-noir", things I would call "deep film-gloom" - a huge wall of emptiness that embraces movies in this suddenly omnipresent genre.

Eckhart as Agent Tom Mackelway has his Dasani water on his desk, and we soon find out that he has a penchant for breaking the rules, as well as going by the book. It is this professional dilemma that gives our hero some kind of humanity - that inner struggle. Ben Kingsley has the ability to indulge in "remote viewing" - seeing murders that will be or have been committed. The trailer seems to give an awful lot of the plot away, and the basic plot is pretty good. It's just that it takes more than twenty minutes to get off the ground, and then has some unnecessary baggage like too many scenes where only a masochist would keep their eyes on the screen. Eckhart looks completely different from his roles in Erin Brockovich and Your Friends & Neighbors - a good sign that his good looks can be used in a chameleon-like fashion, something that is not currently part of the resume' of Carrie-Anne Moss. There's intrigue, you will engage your brain and think quite a bit, and SUSPECT ZERO manages to survive its flaws to emerge as interesting big screen glossy B movie. As entertainment Suspect Zero does succeed, but the continuity is broken up by the plot twists and the incessant - sometimes vulgar - focus on extreme violent imagery. And what is it with these murder flicks and numerology - Suspect Zero, 7, 8MM, Murder by #s ????

For cast & credits go here:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0324127/fullcredits

This film was viewed at the Fenway, 201 Brookline Ave., Boston, 7 PM August 25, 2004 by
rock journalist joe viglione. http://www.joeviglione.com

ALIEN VS. PREDATOR

2004-08-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

Paul W.S. Anderson's Alien vs. Predator is a first rate monster movie that succeeds because the creatures take a back seat to drama and a spirited cast. It's the difference between a classic baseball pitching duel and a slugfest. And surprisingly it's the film critic elite - those making the unspoken claim they would rather the "pitching duel" - who are up in arms that this intriguing motion picture isn't Independence Day (1996) or even King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1963) - who are bashing it the way the new Predator -Ian White (replacing the late Kevin Peter Hall in the role) slaps around the "Alien" Tom Woodruff, Jr.. That these two actors won't find the kind of noteriety that Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff enjoyed after Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931)
is a given - thespian skill is not challenged by the athletics necessary to play these roles - and that's something Anderson realizes from the outset. As The Thing (Thing, The (1951)) by virtue of his mostly unseen presence created terror in the Arctic (and Sci-Fi cache for future Gunsmoker James Arness), the screenwriter/director takes this all the way to the Antarctica. "The Thing From Another World" was at a research station, while Alien fights Predator far below an abandoned 1904 Whaling Station. Antartica is far more remote to movie goers than the Arctic - and putting the pyramid below the ice is a clever setting. The rapidity with which the cast is dispensed also makes it clear that this is all about mood and anticipation, not character development, though the winner here is the rugged Italian actor Raoul Bova who finds himself way Under the Tuscan Sun - deep inside a cold vault at the bottom of planet Earth. Bova is a real find - and though this won't be his break-through film, it will definitely put him on the map. Anderson sets a great mood with a cast that ranges from the relatively unknown to possible future household names - specifically Sanaa Lathan ( following Bova) as someone who has upped her marquee value. Keep in mind that - arguably - the best known "name" here, Lance Henriksen , got his sea legs in James Cameron 's The Terminator in 1984 and Aliens in 1986 (as did Bill Paxton , not in this flick). Henriksen also showed up as "Bishop II" in 1992's Alien ³ - so there's some kind of thread for the fans to latch onto.

There are holes in the plot. Megalomaniac Charles Weyland (Henriksen) is hell bent on preserving his legacy - yet there are no cameras sending his "find" up to the surface - even if privately documenting the discovery of a monstrous pyramid on company computers and video. The icebreaker that helped deliver the crew could have been better in touch with all involved and would have added to the drama - and possibly sent reinforcements down. With Lathan's character, Lex Kline, warning that this group of explorers are not ready for such a monumental task, one would think Weyland would have hired two hundred extra hands to sit on the icebreaker just in case. The employees need not be told the nature of the exploration - but none of these logical elements are in the film - the focus is on the breeding of the Alien, the Predator looking for prey, and
humans trapped like rats in a maze 20,000 leagues under the sea, or something like that.

But despite the flaws, this is not what critic Jack Matthews of the NY Daily News calls "...if not the worst, sci-fi movie since Battlefield Earth (2000)". And while it isn't Terminator 2: Judgment Day - another flick where two pretty equal forces duke it out - there is a wonderful The Thing (from Another World) meets The Mummy
vibe going on, and it is that level of seriousness (harpooned when Lathan gets buddy buddy with the Alien)
which makes this ride much more satisfying than Brendan Fraser's Mummy, The (1999) Mummy series.

From 1942's Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman up to 2003's Freddy Vs. Jason sixty-one years later, with the Vampire vs. Werewolf flick - also from 2003 - Underworld - thrown in for good measure - pairing up evil with evil is potential good box office. The good news about AVP - Alien vs. Predator - is that Screenwriter/Director Paul W.S. Anderson opts to create a Mummy film with the 20th Century Fox franchises "Alien" and "Predator" as side dishes. In doing so he's developed a marvelous suspense film at the risk of alienating (no pun intended) fans of the Arnold Schwarzeneggar and Sigourney Weaver originals.

Chris Reeves emerged from Superman while Jack Nicholson overtook the role of the Joker in Batman.
Having actors who are not going to upstage the plot is something Hollywood needs more of. Anderson has
done a commendable job with the evolution of both series. The chatter outside the theater after the flick
seems to indicate that those bashing the flick simply didn't get it. I was quite happy to see this great and suspensful movie coming in at #1 for the weekend of August 13-15 - there is less slashing and more drama, something needed these days.

Check out the box office:
http://movies.yahoo.com/boxoffice/latest/rank.html

Recommended movie sites:
http://www.fast-rewind.com/

Jack Matthew's 1 Star Review August 14, 2004 P. 17 NY Daily News jmath30031@aol.com
http://www.nydailynews.com/08-14-2004/entertainment/story/221804p-190617c.html

Rebecca Louie's 8/15/04 article Slithering To A Theater Near You
http://www.nydailynews.com/08-15-2004/entertainment/movies/story/221968p-190758c.html

Collateral A Review by Joe Viglione (coming soon)

Little Black Book meets Zatoichi! Film Reviews from the pen of Joe Viglione

2004-08-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

LITTLE BLACK BOOK

is a cool little movie that gets a good grade A as a quirky and intriguing comedy disguised as a chick flick. There's lots of psychology poured into the character development, which gives all involved their own identity efficiently enough to let the movie go through its various moments of reinvention without getting confusing. Brittany Murphy - I was trying to figure out who Brittany Murphy was sounding and acting like. God knows the always wonderful Kathy Bates keeps flashing a Bette Midler-style smile throughout her role as "Kippie Kann" - sort of reprising her part as Helen Kushnick from 1996's The Late Shift [TV] only this time Helen is in front of the camera!

Well, Murphy goes up to a poster of the Mike Nichols 1988 flick Working Girl and voila, it hits me - she's the reincarnation of Melanie Griffith. And she's not alone, at first Bates seems like she's just making a cameo, sort of like Sigourney Weaver as the audience therapist Debra Moorhouse in 1995s JEFFREY - and then you hear Carly Simon all over the soundtrack, just like in Working Girl --- only it is lots of Carly Simon, everywhere, everpresent. And the theme of the flick, as Working Girl had Sigourney Weaver exploiting her employees...well, if Science Fiction films can absorb camera work, costumes, plot and special effects of other Sci Fi flicks, why not chick movies too? But don't let the shallow idea of a guy with a slew of ex-girlfriends put you off - you have known women who peek into private places they shouldn't, so Stacy Holt's (Murphy's) lack of respect for other people's privacy sends a shiver to anyone who has ever been invaded by prying eyes and ears. Stevie Wonder's "All Is Fair In Love" would've been a great tune to put into this mess, and could have saved Stacy Holt's soul. After all, it was self-preservation - and her co-dependence on Holly Hunter, who thinks she's back in the days of BROADCAST NEWS. There's some real soul in this movie, and some very clever lines. Ron Livingston as Derek seems to be just a conversation piece, though one can't underestimate director Nick Hurran's ingenuity.

We were supposed to see Intimate Strangers (The U.S. title of Confidences Trop Intimes ) at Loew's Copley Place, but the theater was allegedly packed? It cost 6.00 to park for 7 minutes! Ridiculous - so we zipped over the the Copley to see Little Black Book instead.

As for Zatoichi (The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi [2004] , U.S. title ) - directed by and starring Beat Takeshi Kitano, well, it has a bit too much violence and too little plot. The Harvard Square theater was packed and there were security guards making sure that no on in the audience was taping --- you gotta be kidding me -
is this "Zatoichi" series THAT collectible??? The close-to-full house was appreciative of the movie, but
the humor doesn't translate well to the chic Harvard Square that I once knew - one from three decades ago when David Crosby dubbed it "the hippest place" in the world. Nice to see another culture's decadence being screened in this part of the world, but at the end of the day "Little Black Book" and "Alien Vs. Predator" (see above) have more intrigue. We can blame the dubbing, but the dubbing wasn't at fault. It's better than Blair Witch Project...

TERROR THREAT ELEVATED!!!!!!!

2004-08-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Bill Maher was hilarious on August 13, 2004 with his "Terror Alert Weather Report" - we know the Terrorists want to return to America and get more attention for themselves, and the alleged "President" uses that fear to - not make the people feel safe - to make the citizens of this country fearful so that he can dictate.

THIS HOUSE IS CLEAN vs MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Zelda Rubinstein from AllMovie.com: Her best-remembered screen role was Tangina, the disastrously self-assured exorcist in the first twoPoltergeist films. Zelda's declaration that "This house is clean" has to be the most famous speaking-too-soon miscalculations in movie history"
Doesn't Zelda's "This house is clean" line remind you of Bush saying "Mission Accomplished" - ok, ok, Bush didn't say it, it was more like the "Read My Lips" promise of his dad, we read George W's lips andbehind him was a ludicrous banner "Mission Accomplished."
What a charade.

Read my letter to the Boston Phoenix, August 13, 2004
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/letters/letters.asp

Great Links on the web!

2004-07-31T13:09:00.000-07:00

Linking is fun!

Check this out:
http://blogcritics.org/

http://www.briansdriveintheater.com/

Al Aronowitz's BLACKLISTED JOURNAL
http://literaryocean.blogspot.com/archives/2002_09_01_literaryocean_archive.html

Film Critic Joe Viglione writes reviews forAl Aronowitz's BLACKLISTED JOURNAL http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/1jvig.html

Vig's movie reviews:
http://www.bigmagic.com/pages/blackj/column76o.html

Mark Snyder's http://www.pmpnetwork.com/

"Joe Viglione Movie Reviews" on Mark Snyder's page -
AI, X2, Terminator3: Rise of the Machines, The Mummy Returns, Star Trek Nemesis, Daredevil
www.pmpnetwork.com/ReviewsData/movies.htm

Also record reviews of Janis Joplin & The Cars
http://www.pmpnetwork.com/www.pmpnetwork.com/ReviewsData/Music.htm

Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/author-2690/
Billy Zane Museum CQ Review
http://www.billyzanemuseum.com/Craft/Movies/CQ/CQreviews.html
Killer Movies - The Matrix Review by Joe Viglione
http://www.killermovies.com/reviews/the-matrix-review-9w7.html
A CIVIL ACTION Movie Review
http://www.us.imdb.com/Reviews/164/16416

If you want to see Joe Viglione's SOUNDTRACK reviews for AMG go here:
http://community-2.webtv.net/TheMadFaxer/rockjournalistjoe/

This blog is presented by http://www.joeviglione.com - a division of http://www.varulven.com

Link to compilation reviews:http://community.webtv.net/TheMadFaxer/compilationreviews
Here are 37 of his Soundtrack album reviews for the All Music Guide:

HERMAN'S HERMITS SOUNDTRACK TO THE FILM
"HOLD ON
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ls9ks36ba3dg~T1

THE STRAWBERRY STATEMENT http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308132334&sql=Aek4gtq2zbu4o

RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=At9c8b5m4tsqf

PSYCH-OUT Seeds, Strawberry Alarm Clock http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=A1r6qoaeayijv

MEDICINE BALL CARAVAN w/ Alice Cooper http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=A75j20r2ar48p

THE SAVAGE SEVEN with Cream http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=Abxr9keft7q7m

CANDY with The Byrds, Steppenwolf http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=Arh9hs38ba3dg

ZACHARIAH (1971) Doug Kershaw http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=Akb63tr2rklkx

ISN'T SHE GREAT Soundtrack to a Bette Midler film without Bette singing on it! http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=A1snsa9lgl23k

THE ROSE with Bette Midler http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=Acj9hs34ba3vg

The Deep John Barry Original Soundtrack http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:lmfnzff7eh5k~T1

Jackpot Soundtrack featuring Bobby Hebb's SUNNY http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:j6rx288i05oa~T1

THE WAR A Kevin Costner/Elijah Wood film with Bobby Hebb's "Sunny" http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=Axq5ibkh9kakq
please note that the tracking on AMG currently doesn't match this soundtrack to THE WAR - we're working to fix that!

ALL THIS AND WORLD WAR II (A great Beatles tribute album, actually) http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=A5qfozfo8eh3k

THE MAMAS & THE PAPAS AT MONTEREY http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308221101&sql=A1wjqoa8abijx

ENDLESS SUMMER/LAST OF THE SKI BUMSThe Sandals Complete Sandals 1964-1969: Wild as the Sea http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308140137&sql=A69nyxd7b4olg

MICHEL LEGRANDWINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDD4AAE7420ED9C2C45C7BD7CE71AFE5AFB86112F0456D3B82D6DA30B47D00BE49F81B0FA6AB679B0FD2EA45E43D0C0EA55F6D9632D5DF0&sql=10:5qk0ikpsbb39~T1

PETULA CLARK GOODBYE MR. CHIPS[Original Soundtrack] http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS80309221305&sql=Atne097ijkr0t

TV Soundtrack MOVING WITH NANCY (Sinatra) http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?userid=2VAA1FTL5I&ean=90771605726

SPRING BREAK III / Speedzone Soundtrack http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70308252041&sql=Awj9ds38ya3zg

SPLASH "Spring Break" Grudge Records http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70309040846&sql=A9kq8g4sttv4z

DOGS IN SPACE http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70309040846&sql=Afmdayl18xpbb

Carnivore Soundtrack http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70306200948&sql=Agq63tr8tkl7x

David Bowe --- Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS80309181333&sql=Ay1ua6j3h71e0

Elephant's Memory Songs From Midnight Cowboy http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70309212305&sql=Awdu06j7h71r0

The Legend Of Billy Jack with Coven http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70308251732&sql=A0kmsa9wgu238

The Glitterhouse (featuring songs from the soundtrack to the film "Barbarella") http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CASS70310030128&sql=A8u65mpsk9f2o

Badfinger on The Magic Christian Soundtrack: Carry On Till Tomorrow (flip of Come & Get It) http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=MISS70310021410&sql=X4221602

Flash Fearless Vs. the Zorg Women, Pts. 5 & 6 With Alice Cooper
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=SEARCH&sql=Ayqfjzfhheh8k

Steelyard Blues Soundtrack produced by Nick Gravenites
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&token=ADFEAEE4781CDD4AAE7420EDBC0C65E79D5CC73AFE7ADBA6310F0476F3982D6DA30B47D00BE49F81B9E57DAB7BAFFF2AE85B0ED9C8EA5CFFD9764C40&sql=10:bkyvad4kt8wj~T1

Janis Joplin (Film Soundtrack)
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:qku36j5h71e0~T1

Janis Joplin at Woodstock
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:neom963ohep8~T1

Soundtrack Recordings from the Film Jimi Hendrix
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4zrc28ol053a~T1

Experience: Original Soundtrack
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:7sp1z88aoyv5~T1

More Experience: Vol.2 of Original Soundtrack
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:zad3vwrva9yk~T1

Jimi Hendrix Live At Royal Albert Hall (The same music as on Experience & More Experience)http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:evae4j276wae~T1

Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle Of Wight
http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:26184~C

Blue Wild Angel
http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=1:276129~C

BLUE WILD ANGEL: Jimi Hendrix Live At The Isle Of Wight Blue Wild Angel:
Jimi Hendrix Live at The Isle Of Wight is a 102 minute documentary by Academy Award winner Murray Lerner which features a crystal clear updated sound mix by engineer/record producer Eddie Kramer and other goodies separating this version from the 56 minute 1970 release. Videotaped documentary footage recorded three decades after the original film was shot adds insight. There are interviews with Kramer, bassist {$Billy Cox}, drummer Mitch Mitchell, Jim Marron - president of Electric Lady Studios, Hendrix tour manager Gerry Stickles, along with director Lerner himself and full length versions of the included songs from the legendary festival. As audio fragments of this concert became commercially available through the years including three tracks on Columbia Records The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies and four other titles on Polydor's Jimi Hendrix / Isle Of Wight lp, different perceptions of one of Jimi's final concerts reached the public consciousness. At nearly double the 54 minute length of the Rhino Home Video} from 1970 entitled Jimi Hendrix: Live At The Isle of Wight, the result is simply breathtaking with Jimi Hendrix - the rock star performing in all his glory as his sun was about to set. Lerner calls this "a labor of love which took a long time to finish" and he credits the Experience Hendrix company with helping obtain the backing to complete the project. Filmed between approximately 2 AM and 4 AM on August 31, 1970, it is so dark that the 600,000 or so people in the audience hardly affect what you see on the screen. The director said the film is "deliberately claustrophobic" realizing that "Jimi was the key thing to photograph" stating that they stuck to Hendrix "very intensely". Billy Cox's brilliant bass work can be heard cleanly as both he and drummer Mitch Mitchell creat a platform on which genius unfolds. Jimi's versatility is in evidence, he clearly separated making a record from performing on stage. Purple Haze explodes in a way that would never have captured AM radio airplay, and is a stark contrast to the blues of "Red House" which, on film, has lots of interesting shots of Jimi's hand playing against the light while his facial expression is of a man lost in thought while in the throes of a wild solo. The guitarist here is a master technician, as is Murray Lerner who captures this modern day Beethoven with equal brilliance. The contrast of "Red House's" subtleties to Hendrix turning up his Marshall stacks and giving the people what they want -he psychedelic blasts of "Foxy Lady" - is more proof of how the singer/performer utilized all aspects of the stage - combining the volume and feedback with his clothing, hair, body movements, foot on the wah wah pedal, over amplification, all tools of this part of his trade. The build up with photography of the landscape before the main event and daytime glimpes of the crowd (along with Billy Cox's memories of how loud they were) combine to make this a respectful and precise look at a special moment in music history. Murray Lerner feels the 20 minute version of "Machine Gun" here "makes a big difference. It's much more powerful" (than the previous seven minute edit they had in release). The DVD has different camera angles for some of the songs included in the theatrical version, and will also include a bonus rare live performance of "Dolly Dagger". Joe Viglione for more Hendrix see

http://community.webtv.net/pubmac/JimiHendrix

The Manchurian Candidate 3:05 AM 7/31/04

2004-07-31T00:06:00.000-07:00

leaving the cinema at 2:47 p.m. with the Blue Moon so big and close to the earth, the vacant parking lot was more eerie than usual - the filmmakers did their job - that shadowy paranoia
a good conspiracy flick generates. You are in the conspiracy film - eyes are everywhere watching you. It's a hot summer night, driving up to the red light which quickly turns green,
are the laws that keep us safe, the stop light - for instance - are they actually triggers that do something other than let us stop and go, stop and go ???

As a film this was much more mature than Conspiracy Theory(1997), the somewhat amusing Mel Gibson / Julia Roberts improbable romance. More like Erin Brokovich (2000) meets Fahrenheit 911. Political movies galore. But Liev Schreiber - in multiple films/tv specials heard more than seen as a voice-over expert - ( though he was in SCREAM, SCREAM 2 and SPHERE) is a handsome actor with little sex appeal here. His robotic performance is the embodiment of pulling the soul out of a human being - kind of like Mark Famiglietti going A.I. when T-X Kristanna Loken turns into him and gives slow, methodical answers to the Feds in TERMINATOR 3. (To digress, check out this cool Terminator 3 interview with Famiglietti

http://www.thearnoldfans.com/news/archives/2003/september/591.htm )

It's hard to call this wonderfully filmed epic "escapism" as the parallels with a dumbfounded George W. Bush in his starring role (Fahrenheit 911) just sitting there while planes were penetrating the World Trade Center just can't escape the consciousness of any logical person viewing this. Dean Stockwell gets the "Dick Cheney is Halliburton" award for his corporate shenanigans role and there are cool near-cameo appearances by Roger Corman , Robyn Hitchcock (who was directed by Jonathan Demme in STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK in 1997, so nice that he remembers), even a "Tom Chapin" - most likely the late Harry Chapin's brother. Two of the three producers are daughters of the original film's star, Frank Sinatra, those being Nancy Sinatra and Tina Sinatra. As stated, there are wonderful images created by the camera, an angle shot of the telephone when Vice Presidential nominee Raymond Shaw ( Liev Schreiber ) knows it is his ever-present stalker ....no, not Bennett Marco ( Denzel Washington ), but his Mommy Dearest, Meryl Streep. Streep comes off like a malicious doppelganger of Laura Linney's victim in Clint Eastwood's 1997 flick ABSOLUTE POWER. She has the same exact laugh as Linney - straight out of Thespian Cliches 101. And if Meryl over acts in some parts of the film, she's so much fun in the others we just let it slide. Washington is all business as the troubled soldier, though it is a stretch to think he could actually get that close to a Vice Presidential candidate, no matter what their Kuwait camaraderie. There are so many people
keeping an eye on Denzel that probability goes out the window. The once innovative but now
cliche concept of turning soldiers into killing machines seems a lot more likely than the holes in the plot. But the film moves at a very good pace and is more of a statement for the times than it is an evening's entertainment. Maybe it will turn into entertainment a decade from now, maybe it will pale next to Sinatra's original, and quite possibly it could be a companion piece to the Frankenheimer flick, conspiratorial bookends.

With rumors (oh, so sorry, "theories") of Halliburton harvesting organs from soldiers and Iraqis to sell to countries with socialized medicine (each organ worth 10K or thereabouts), a dead soldier is worth more than the oil. This movie makes you think that maybe Halliburton itself is blowing up the pipeline, beheading soldiers and civilians, putting Bush into office in order to wreak havoc and pull in the greenbacks. It's a lot more probable than The Manchurian Candidate script.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Boy am I pissed I didn't do the John Frankenheimer interview when I had the opportunity during the promotion of 2000s "Reindeer Games". This new film is a nice tip of the cap to his memory. It gets an A-.

===================================================================
When rambling on (or doing research) for these B-Logs sometimes interesting urls are discovered - like this one: http://www.utoronto.ca/religion/synopsis/syn-ini.htm

If you don't want to read it, don't fret. I want it - it's there for ME! But I like to share!!

I Robot

2004-07-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

A.I. Robot

Director Alex Proyas may have unsuccessfully scooped The Wachowski Brothers with his Dark City from 1998, but he takes many elements from their 1999 classic that borrowed from him - The Matrix - and zaps them into I ROBOT, a film which - like a flicker ring - can turn into Spiderman at a glance (Robots en masse climbing up the skyscraper's side ), The Wild Wild West (enough with Will Smith already, like Men In Black II wasn't overkill - not to mention Independence Day), A.I., with bits of Barry Levinson's "Disclosure" and a little of the police intrigue of 1999s "The Thirteenth Floor". It is not a total wash-out. There is truly one of the all-time great haunted houses scenes in this Godzilla of artificial intelligence films. I say Godzilla because it is a bit cumbersome - the icy sets and...Will Smith again. Though his acting isn't bad, his presence throws things off. We're supposed to get to know so many people - Will Smith's grandma, Adrian Ricard, Star Trek Next Generation refugee James Cromwell as Dr. Alfred Lansing in one of the most peristence-of-vision cameo appearances in history. Too bad Star Trek didn't get the original Zefram Cochrane for 1996's FIRST CONTACT - Glenn Corbett- but he died in 1993 and
once again a character actor making too many appearances, Cromwell, is used by the movie companies to substitute for character development. How many characters can audiences absorb every Friday night? Maybe that's why Fahrenheit 911 did so well. We know all the hateful people involved and love it when Michael Moore gets in his ice cream truck and ridicules them.
Of course my biggest complaint with Moore is not using Alvin Lee's "I'd Love To Change The World" in the film like he did in the trailer, and maybe he should've had Jonathan Richman's "Ice Cream Man" play while reading the Patriot Act. Maybe I ROBOT should have starred
George W. Bush as a short-circuited brain in a silver suit that goes amok and destroys everything in his sight - a bull in a china shop. Now Will Smith can get on his horse from The Wild Wild West and have a showdown with Bush. If Michael Moore had co-directed I Robot
with Proyas it would have been a film for the ages rather than something to do on a Friday night the week after Spiderman 2 tore up the record books.

Joe Vig's First Impressions, 12:23 AM July 31, 2004, a week after I saw the flick!