A Good Year
Directed by Ridley Scott

By Stephen Broomer

Max Skinner (Russell Crowe) is a shrewd London stock exchange exec. When his Uncle Henry (Albert Finney) dies, he finds himself the sole inheritor of a decaying French estate. Eager to sell the property, he travels to France, only to find kooky locals in the way of his fast return. Vapid, distasteful characters abound. Crowe can only portray Skinner as a grouchy malcontent and changes in setting aid Skinner’s appeal as much as a model in a wine ad. In the golden glow of wine country, Skinner is at home with pleasures as selfish as those urban ones he has escaped. (Fox)

Babel - Dir. by Alejandro Iñárritu
As Alejandro Iñárritu’s previous work demonstrated (21 Grams, Amores Perros), the director has a bleak worldview and Babel is no exception. His newest film has bad things happening to flawed people during loosely connected storylines that span five countries and six languages. ...Read More
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The deliberately lo-fi, yet earnest, split between Transit and Man Overboard sounds like the product of a bunch of friends growing up on punk and hardcore throughout the '90s. The hardcore leanings of Boston fivesome Transit lay the groundwork for the pop punk tendencies of the Jersey kids in Man Ov... Full Review
The term "videogame music" is often intended as an insult, deriding electronic beatscapes as rudimentary by comparing them to the 8-bit by necessity, bleep-based soundtracks of early Atari and Nintendo games. (See: Castles, Crystal) That Super Mario's theme music remains embedded in the frontal lobes of anyone under the age of 40 proves the critical weakness of the diss ― but it's also hopelessly archaic considering how much videogame music has evolved over the years.... Read More
Explosive and precise, Etaoin Shrdlu knowingly wink at the perception that their post-hardcore math rock musical approach might be a throwback while simultaneously contributing something vibrant to punk rock with Mating Calls. Featuring members of significant bands like Blake, I Can Put my Ar... Full Review
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