A Movie Review: Cinderella

Cinderella. Ella (Lily James) lives an idyllic life. She has a doting father (Ben Chaplin) and a caring mother (Hayley Atwell). Even though her family is wealthy enough to afford maids, she doesn't mind doing chores of her own such as selecting eggs for breakfast. She has the perfect parents and she is the perfect daughter.  Disaster  hits the family.  Her mother dies from a serious health condition.  This disaster brings the father and daughter closer together.  Years later the father marries a widow (Cate Blanchett).  Ella's new stepmother has two daughers: Drisella (Sophie McShera) and Anastasia (Holliday Grainger).  They are a spiteful trio.  Another family disaster hits.  This time, Ella's father dies while away on a business trip.  Ella soon finds herself being treated like a servant girl.  Will a prince (Richard Madden) arrive to save her from this fate?

This movie starts out a little corny.  Ella's life is just way too perfect.  There is this gag me with a spoon reaction.  This movie; however, just grows on you.  Ella becomes this lovable character.  To a degree, one even feels a touch of sympathy for the stepmother.  I say a touch, because even though she was also dealt an unexpected blow, her behavior towards Ella is deplorable.  Then as the film is coming to a close it feels that it is ending all too soon, because there is way more to explore in this fairy tale world.

Cate Blanchett does a wonderful job as the spiteful stepmother.  She is deliciously evil.

When Lily James looks upon her prince, there is just love in those eyes.  There is some great chemistry between Richard Madden and her.

What did sidetrack me slightly:  when watching Cinderella dance with her Prince, I couldn't help but wonder how many times Richard Madden stepped on that dress during filming.

What I found interesting.  So Ella is named Cinderella when her step family finds her covered in soot.  One of her stepsisters calls her Cinder-ella.  Towards the end of the movie, she introduces herself as Cinderella.  Why wouldn't she use the name that her doting father and caring mother gave her, Ella?  





 



      

Brokechella Arts & Music Festival: An interview with Gabrielle Wortman from Smoke Season

The Brokechella Arts & Music Festival is coming on April 18^th.  During Brokechella’s media day, I got to interview Gabrielle Wortman from Smoke Season and Madison from MRK.  Today, I’m posting my interview with Gabrielle.  If you are so interested, I posted a write-up on MRK yesterday.

Smoke Season will be playing the cARTel Outdoor stage.  I got to spend 15 minutes with Gabrielle.  I have to admit that I did some research on Smoke Season prior to our interview.  What did I immediately find out?  Gabrielle was in a band called Temp3st.  I saw Temp3st at Make Music Pasadena in 2012. 

How did bandmate Jason Rosen and you meet?  We shared the same rehearsal space via our separate bands.  We started to write music together and soon realized we wanted this to be our main project.

I noticed you majored in Music Media & Management at UCLA.  How has this helped you in your music career?  The major helped build the foundation of our marketing.  It also provided the understanding of how to manage the band on our own while we looked for the perfect manager. 

So what do you think of UCLA’s run in March Madness (note: I didn’t let her know that I’m a Duke fan and that later that night the world would know that order in NCAA basketball was going to get restored – hey, I’ve got to do a little bit of bragging)?  I don’t follow sports that much though I do know we won a couple games.  I showed up at the USC football game and my friends were surprised to see me there.  We lose when it counts.  We’re like the Bad News Bears.

I read about why you called your band Smoke Season.  Can you elaborate?  Both of us moved out to Los Angeles around the same time.  Things get strange in Hollywood.  People have smoke and mirrors personalities.  They come up with their business cards saying they know such and such music producer, but nothing ever comes of it.  A lot of our songs relate to this.

What are your musical influences?  Jason has a jazz background.  I have a classical piano background. 

Who’s your favorite classical composer – Gabrielle replied without hesitation?  Tchaikovsky.

So who’s your favorite classical pianist (I also love Tchaikovsky so I was really hoping she’d say her favorite pianist was Vladimir Horowitz)?  Tori Amos.  She’s a piano genius.  Her piano lines are so brilliant. 

I noticed that your Twitter tagline is “We prefer to have a foothold in your stereo.”  This is from a Temp3st song.  People want different things.  Some people want money.  A car.  A house.  I prefer to have a foothold in your stereo.

What do you do when not working on music?  Web development.  I also program the lights for our shows.  Both of us can also produce music.

Here’s the famous job interview question, what question am I not asking you?  What about Brokechella?  We’re excited to play. 

Note:  I took hand notes.  I apologize if I misrepresent anything that Madison said during her interview.  All comments are paraphrased to some degree.

Brokechella Arts & Music Festival: An interview with Madison from MRK

The Brokechella Arts & Music Festival is coming on April 18^th.  During Brokechella’s media day, I got to interview Madison from MRK and Gabrielle Wortman from Smoke Season.  Today, I’m posting my write-up on MRK.  Come back tomorrow and you can read my interview with Gabrielle.

MRK (Madison René Knapp) will be playing on the cARTel Indoor stage.  Her early childhood was spent in Arkansas.  She moved around from there, but has spent the last seven years in Los Angeles.  She spent time in bands such as Horse & Buggy and One High Five, but is now making music as MRK.  She describes her music as alternative pop.  Our short conversation spanned a number of interests.

Her music video for River of Blood.   A major theme throughout is the self.  The video is filled with symbolism exploring the self and we got to discuss a few of those symbols.  Flowers and the color red explore this concept.  “Flowers represent the innocence of the life while red is the expression of self.  We see this alchemy of experience and innocence creating a full self.   We also have a scene of hands dipped into a watermelon, pulling out an egg.  This represents the fertile side of femininity, a kind of birth.  Reconciling innocence and experience really aren't that different.  The world often describes women as either virginal or whores.  These boxes just doesn't hold true.”

Literature.  Madison appreciates 19^th century literature, the Victorian era.  She loves that this “seemingly mundane, polite society really contains layers of meaning if one only dwells on it.”

Los Angeles vs Arkansas.  “Los Angeles is over-all more broad in its thinking, more expansive in terms of culture and lifestyles.  Those in Arkansas are polite and neighborly.”

What does she do when she isn't creating music.  She’s into herbal remedies.  Tarot card readings.  Astrology.  Crystals.  Spiritually minded practices.

Her current release is Blood, put out by Records Ad Nauseam. 

Her upcoming project is a video for 27, which will be released by LA Records.  If the video is anything like River of Blood, you’ll get to spend hours exploring the layers of meaning.

Note:  I took hand notes.  I apologize if I misrepresent anything that Madison said during her interview.  All comments are paraphrased to some degree.

Movie Review: Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending. So I heard this movie was bad. I decided to wait until it hit the $2 movie theater.  I'm glad I did.

Jupiter (Mila Kunis) works as a house maid in Chicago.  Unknown to her, she is the reincarnation of the House of Abrasax matriarch.  This House "harvests" planets.  Planets around the galaxies are owned by certain Houses.  After the population reaches a certain level, the planet is harvested.  Via some sort of production system, humans are turned into a medical liquid that allows those who drink it to return to their youthful selves -- not just in features, but also in health.  Jupiter's inheritance is Earth, which is reaching the point of "harvesting."

Now somehow -- perhaps it is explained or perhaps not -- the House of Abrasax's children find out that their mother has been reincarnated.  The children include Balem (Eddie Redmayne), Kalique (Tuppence Middleton) and Titus (Douglas Booth).  Via third parties, all three attempt to capture/kidnap her.

Jupiter ends up being kidnapped via various bounty hunters employed by the three siblings : first to Kalique than to Titus and finally Balem.  Admittedly, all three siblings are evil, being responsible for countless genocides.  Of the three, Kalique seems the most open to her mother coming back (mother being Jupiter).  But Jupiter's reunion with her daughter is short lived.  She is quickly shifted around between the two brothers, both of whom want her dead.  

I think this movie has a bunch of shortfalls that make it a disaster of a movie.

1.  The dialogue is awful.  Example.  Caine:  I have more in common with a dog than I have with you.  Jupiter:  I love dogs.

2.  The love story is awkward, see point #1 dialogue.

3.  Who is working for whom is very confusing.

4.  The symbolism is over-the-top.  Jupiter goes to get her eggs harvested to earn extra money.  The House of Abrasax harvests humans to create their life giving liquid.  Why do you need to pound me over the head with this?

5.  Jupiter is the reincarnation of royalty and yet she has to go through a Beetlejuice inspired bureaucratic montage to verify her identity.  Would anyone dare treat royalty in this manner?  It makes for some amusing moments, but it a worthless addition to the movie.

I could probably go on with a few more reasons why this movie is awful, but will stop there.

Wait, let me do one more:  the movie ends (spoiler) with Jupiter having the time of her life flying across the skyline of Chicago.  Wait, don't you realize that there is likely genocide happening across the universe.  Sure, one factory manufacturing this medicine was destroyed, but there are likely many more out there.  You, Jupiter, are a powerful person.  Why don't you use your power to stop this genocide?

Year at Silverlake Lounge

Year. This post rock-band gives you a wonderful 30 minute wall-of-sound set. They don't take a rest.  They just keep going.  To get their rest, they'll slow things down for a bit of meditation, but then they bring it back up.  The band focuses on their sound and you can see the sweat dripping as they aim for those perfect moments.  On this night, up on the screen were images of water swirling.  It fit perfectly with their sound.  An awesome way to end the night -- a night that started with Duke winning the national championship.



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Maceo Paisley and Zak Waters at The Satellite

It was a fun night at The Satellite a week back.  Maceo Paisley hit the stage first.  I couldn't help but think Bobby McFerrin with a touch of Kirk Franklin.  I loved the rapid fire lyrics that just made you smile.  The red jacket.  The red eye glasses.  The red NC State t-shirt (I think it would have been better if the t-shirt was Duke blue).  All combined made for a fashion standout.

Comment of the set.  Monday's a work night.  Sometimes you need a vacation.

Zak Waters (picture to the left -- I wasn't the only one taking photos of a white screen).  I can't help but think Zak Waters is a quirky kind of guy.  His whole set was played behind a white screen.  Also, before Monday, his Facebook and Soundcloud pages were available.  Now both are unavailable.  Anyways, as I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go on a Monday night, it was his Soundcloud page that convinced me to head out to The Satellite.  His music is so exhilarating.


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LANY and Conway at The Satellite

It was off to The Satellite for my standard Monday night rotation.  And what did I find, LANY!!!  On the rare occasion, I find myself immediately saying, "I'm seeing the next breakout band."  All LANY had to do was play a few chords and I was sold.  I wasn't the only one.  When I walked into The Satellite, the place was packed.  I had to squeeze my way to the front so I could take my photos.  There was a group at the front of the stage who appeared to know every word of every song, which always adds to the thrill of catching a band for the first time.  Why did I fall for this band so quickly?  I loved their subdued dance beats.  I loved the fact that the vocals blend so wonderfully with the music.  I wonder if someone took a music composition course and by the end was teaching the class.

Conway (photo to the left) is the residency band at The Satellite for March.  I always go back to the same thing when writing about Conway:  how many hours a day does she exercise?  I just don't know how someone can keep that level of stage energy throughout a 30 minute set.  I am in awe.  My one desire regarding Conway:  she moves so quickly across the stage, I want to capture the perfect shot of her doing one of her karate kicks.  Her vocals go for that spoken word slam contest.  There is a precision in every breath.  

Comment of the set:  Thank you for spending your time here tonight, because time is something you never get back.

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A Movie Review: The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

The Asphalt Jungle.  The movie invites us to witness the shady world of illegal gambling and criminal activity.  Doc Erwin Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) has just gotten released from prison.  He wants to make a massive heist and then retire outside America.  To do so, he needs some help.  He gets a shady lawyer, Alonzo D. Emmerich (Louis Calhern), to bankroll the heist.  Doc then hires a safe crack, a driver and a strongman.  They pull off the heist, but complications such as double crossing and unanticipated events occur.

What is really cool in this movie is seeing Marilyn Monroe show up on screen a handful of times as Emmerich's young girlfriend.  She's totally sexy in the role.  What older man looking to cheat on his wife wouldn't want to put her up in the second house.

The heist is awesomely filmed.  While watching, you can't help but think of Ocean's Eleven and The Italian Job.

What perhaps doesn't work as well?

One kind of wishes the movie went longer so that the post-heist events could play out better.

Some of the acting felt a little stilted, such as Sterling Hayden's.

The fight scenes could have been done better.

I also had a hard time hearing parts of the dialogue, which perhaps is driven by the age of the film.

Over-all; however, I enjoyed this movie a lot.

Barb Wire Dolls at Whisky a Go Go

Seriously?!? I looked at my blog posts. It's been 4 years since I last saw Barb Wire Dolls. Ouch!!! Time flies too quickly.  Also, I think it has been close to a year since I was last on the Sunset Strip.

I really became a fan of Barb Wire Dolls when (I guess it was 4 years back) one of the the band members came up to me and showed me a photo.  He said something like this, "I know you've taken photos of us in the past.  We're trying to track down who took this photo, because we want to make sure we give credit."  I actually hadn't taken that specific photo, but I really loved the fact that they were going out of their way to credit the photographer who had taken that photo.

Back to Whisky a Go Go.  I do believe Isis Queen suffered a few seconds of microphone problems, but as soon as that got resolved she was shaking down the Whisky a Go Go with her punk powered vocals.  I have to say I just love how she roams the stage like a lioness and at times tantalizing folks lining the stage with her sexual flirts.

T-shirt message:  Make Riot Not War.

Mickey Leigh joined in for a song.

The photogs were out in mass.  I think there were at least 5 of us.

A dude in the audience brought in a guitar and was playing along with the band throughout the set.

The door guy was cool.  He took extra care while searching my camera bag, making sure he didn't accidentally damage my camera.  Thank you much for the careful search.

What I wished I'd heard from Isis Queen.  So there wasn't much talking, mostly singing, but . . . hey, they're from Greece.  Greece is popping back into the news.  I wouldn't have minded hearing a couple sentences worth of commentary on Greece.  Why not?


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A Movie Review: The Princess and the Pirate

The Princess and the Pirate.  Last month, I re-watched Ivanhoe.  I remember being young and enjoying the movie.  When I re-watched it, I was disappointed.  What would I think about The Princess and the Pirate, a movie that I also loved when I was  young?

Captain Barrett/The Hook (Victor McLaglen) has learned that Princess Margaret (Virginia Mayo) is on a ship, running away from her father, The King.  He decides to capture the ship.  Also on Princess Margaret's ship is Sylvester the Great (Bob Hope).  He's an actor who is constantly chased out of various cities due to poor reviews.

The Hook captures the ship and orders that all the men should be killed.  Sylvester the Great escapes such condemnation by dressing as a woman as well as receiving a little help from a pirate named Featherhead (Walter Brennan).  Eventually, Sylvester the Great and Princess Margaret escape the ship and end up on a violent filled island.  Princess Margaret is kidnapped by La Roche (Walter Slezak), the governor of the island who wants ransom money for her.
I grew up loving Bob Hope and I have to say that I found this comedy to hold up well.  Maybe I didn't love it as much as I did when I was young, but I still loved it.  The one note is that a few of the comedy bits make reference to Bing Crosby so unless you're familiar with the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby movies a number of the jokes might just go over your head.  


      

A Movie Review: Kick-Ass 2

Kick-Ass 2.  Admittedly, as the movie started, I realized I probably should have watched the original Kick-Ass movie again.  The movie starts out with our now normal kids wishing to get back into becoming super heroes.  Mindy Macready/Hit-Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) skips school on a regular basis to train on her super hero skills.  Dave Lizewski/Kick-Ass (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is just a normal high school kid.  Eventually the two team up to train together.

A menace hits the scene.  Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) wants revenge for the death of his father.  After he accidentally kills his mother while throwing a tantrum, he becomes The Motherfucker.  The movie is set for a showdown between Hit-Girl/Kick-Ass and The Motherfucker.

In some ways, this movie just wants you to gag.  You have older high school kids telling a freshman about the joys of giving oral sex.  You have characters like The Motherfucker and Night Bitch, language constantly being tossed out on screen.  Mean girls are tormented beyond what they deserve.

And yet in other ways, the movie is fun to watch.  It is just all over-the-top.  Violence is done in a disgusting comic book manner.  Teen angst isn't portrayed as well as in movies like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but it still does a good enough job.

Essentially, this movie is a mixed bag.  Depending on your state of mind, you might find it mildly enjoyable or way too disgusting.        

Katelyn Tarver and Carlton at Bootleg HiFi

Katelyn Tarver (left photo).  She's the rare super cute girl in school who is totally unpretentious.  The anti-Mean Girl.  That's what I was thinking while watching her on stage.  Her lyrics are rather catchy, as well.  "Weekend Millionaires" has that Lorde/"Royals" vibe in the sense that both songs have this innocent desire to live like the top 5% for just a few hours.  Both songs also stick in your head.  She did her 30 minute set and it really felt much shorter.

The audience was in love with her as soon as she hit the stage.  The place was packed -- potentially to the point where folks were being turned away at the door or at least near that point.  And they were mainly young and beautiful.

Katelyn Tarver's opening act was a band called Carlton.  They had the young women lined up in front of the stage.  They have a smooth pop sound with perhaps a tinge of cool jazz influence.  Their stage show is also fun to watch.  All three members of the band put their all into their set.

Dugas and Valley Queen at Bootleg HiFi

Dugas (photo to the left) is doing an interesting residency at Bootleg HiFi.  They're doing a 2 Sunday/2 Monday March set.  This two piece band is made up of siblings Sarah and Christian Dugas.  They're from Canada, but they are definitely American in style.  A bit of Motown.  A touch of Southern rock.  Add in a mix of dance.    

Note:  Christian Dugas has a new baby.  If I'm not mistaken, the baby was briefly in the venue.  The travelling family.  Awesome.

Valley Queen opened up for Dugas.  This band immediately had me missing The New LA Folk Festival.  Their music has that folk-like vibe and their fashion style has you thinking about seeing this band playing in a grass field.  And with lead singer Natalie singing barefoot just added to my impression.


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