http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Thu, 8 Jul 2004 13:24:18 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. 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Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/08/132418.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreThe biography that accompanied my review copy of Katie Melua's debut album Call Off The Search began by describing her tremendous popularity in the UK: over one million albums sold, six weeks at number one. There happens to be an intern from the UK working in my office this summer, and she confirmed that Miss Melua has indeed risen rapidly to stardom across the pond. Popularity, however, doesn't necessarily mean good music (see: Britney), and I was a bit wary of the frequent comparisons of Miss Melua with Norah Jones, so I was anxious to hear the album for myself. Call Off The Search is an album on which a strong voice makes the most of weak material. Miss Melua's voice at times reminded me of, yes, Norah Jones, but also of Harry Connick, Jr., while at other times her diction, vibrato, and "growl" made her sound like a Broadway lead. Norah Jones' voice has been called "weary" by some, and the same really can't be said of Miss Melua's. It's not just her voice that distinguishes Miss Melua from Miss Jones. Most of the songs feature broader and deeper instrumentals (thanks to the orchestra) than anything you hear from Norah, which sometimes helps to reinforce the musical theatre feel mentioned above. The songs on this CD seem to draw from a wider (and sometimes different) variety of influences than does Jones' work. Although many of the same influences are there (jazz, pop, country, etc.), you can tell at times that there are different influences at work, such as when a melody line or the resolution of a musical phrase takes a turn that would sound out of place if it were on one of Miss Jones' records. For instance, you may hear a Celtic/Irish-influenced phrase here where you'd hear a country-influenced line from Norah. With this variety of influences and strong performances from Miss Melua and the instrumentalists, why did I call the material "weak?" For a couple of reasons. First off, most of the last half of the album will put you to sleep. With a few of the songs this is soothing and good, but the rest are just boring and bad. Some of the songs in the second half (most notably "Tiger In The Night") sound as if they were created specifically to be played in elevators. Although the musical problems are mostly confined to the second half of the album, lyrical problems exist throughout. One of the most noticable differences between Miss Jones and Miss Melua is that Miss Jones has better lyricists writing material for her. Most of the songs here have lyrics that are trite, overly-cliched, or awkward. Take, for instance, a couple of lines from "Crawling Up A Hill": So I stop one day to figure it out/I'll quit my job without a shadow of a doubt/To sing the blues that I know aboutorSo here I am in London town/A better scene I'm gonna be around/The kind of music that won't bring me downA better scene I'm gonna be around? To quote my roommate, "Well, this is awkward." It's a credit to Miss Melua that she can smooth over these gangly lyrics and almost make them work in the song. So, with the understanding that there are no eternal truths to be gleaned from listening to the lyrics on this album, I'd still recommend it. As some of the other Blogcritics have noted, it's a very produced, very safe album, and these factors no doubt explain its enormous popularity in Britain. Buying and listening to this album isn't so much finding a diamond in the rough as it is finding a diamond that's been placed into an ill-conceived setting. Should a better setting be found for Miss Melua's second effort, then we should anticipate experiencing this diamond in all her brilliance. Bobby Allison-Gallimore writes on culture and politics at The Rattler. Music17238@blogcritics.org Thu, 8 Jul 2004 13:24:18 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/18/101852.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreWhat do you get when you put representatives from the RIAA, MPAA, KaZaa, Morpheus, and eDonkey into a room and tell them to discuss P2P and copyright issues? Sparks, and lots of 'em. Unfortunately, you also get the feeling that we're not much closer to an accord between the groups than we were two or three years ago. With a roster that included Matthew Oppenheim (formerly of the RIAA), Michael Weiss (Morpheus), Sam Yagan (eDonkey), economists Stan Liebowitz and Koleman Strumpf, and MPAA head Jack Valenti, the Cato Institute's eighth annual Technology and Society Conference focus was on "The Law and Economics of File Sharing and P2P Networks." I was able to attend the conference, held yesterday morning at Cato's HQ in Washington, D.C., and thought I'd share some of my notes and thoughts from the conference with the other BlogCritics and our readers. The first speaker of the morning was Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA). He shared some thoughts on P2P and copyright in general and also addressed legislation that is pending in Congress. Among his points: * When considering P2P and copyright we must keep P2P in the proper context: it has many good uses by moving us beyond the old client-server framework. Some in Congress blame the technology, but this isn't the right approach. * He doesn't buy the argument that the loss of CD sales is entirely the fault of P2P. The price of CDs and the industry's stubborn refusal to offer other ways to buy music besides via CD are also to blame. He also believes that there is a diminished product being put forth by the industry. * One study whose results were released two months ago shows that file sharers are good customers of the recording industry. By enabling more sampling, P2P networks may actually be helping to sell CDs. * The recording industry can compete with P2P. A survey shows that price is not as important to consumers as other consideratins, including quality of download and availability of a large number of titles. I-Tunes has proven this point. * Things that must be addressed by the industry: downloads need to be permanent and portable--no tethered music. There needs to be a large inventory and high quality downloads, and it needs to be easy to use, for a reasonable price. * He warned about legislation currently before Congress that would make the Department of Justice an educational agency in charge of "educating" consumers about copyright violations through P2P. It also contains criminal provisions that might serve only as a "trap for the innocent." * He provided a brief overview of legislation he has introduced that would ensure Fair Use rights to digital media, by allowing individuals to bypass technical protections for legitimate purposes. The first panel discussion of the morning dealt with the "Economics of P2P." It featured Liebowitz, Strumpf, Yagan, and Eric Garland from BigChampagne Media Measurement. Liebowitz discussed his time-series studies (more on those here) that show a relation between the rise of P2P and the decline in CD sales (post hoc fallacy, anyone?). He also critiqued the other studies in the field, including the study conducted by Strumpf, who spoke next. Strumpf has looked at data related to music sales, downloads, and popularity which suggest that there may even be a positive sales effect of using P2P technology. (His study can be found here.) Strumpf responded to Liebowitz's criticism by offering some of his own, saying that time-series studies are less accurate than the individual data that Strumpf uses in his own research. Time-series studies fail to take into account factors like increased DVD sales that might have contributed to the decline in DC sales. According to Strumpf, Liebowitz also fails to explain why, over the past nine months, file-sharing usage has remained constant, while CD sales have increased by about 10%. Garland then addressed the necessity of copyright and P2P coexisting. File sharing is not going to be shut down. The problem is digital technology itself and the Internet, because all of the tools of the digital age are de facto tools of infringement. The opportunity cost for the industry of failing to build business models around the tremendous amount of online activity is enormous. "Why are we still talking about a war on piracy while ignoring this huge market?" Finally, Yagan spoke about the business from the P2P perspective. Most of the moeny made by eDonkey comes from advertising, because only 1% of eDonkey users buy the professional-level software. eDonkey is working to build its legitimate content by licensing indy films and bands and working with graduate film schools to license their material. The tactics of the recording industry have a chilling effect on business partnerships by making the P2P companies leery of implementing software changes suggested by the adversarial recording industry. At this point the floor was opened for questions, which provided the opportunity for the exchange between Strumpf and Liebowitz to become a bit more heated. Both took turns rebutting the other's criticisms and offering fresh criticism of the other, and at one point Strumpf, exasperated, offered sarcastically to get his research approved by Liebowitz prior to any other speaking engagements. This was only a warmup for the action in the second panel discussion, however. This discussion featured Oppenheim, Weiss, Marty Lafferty from DCIA, and Michael Einhorn, author of Media, Technology, and Copyright: Integrating Law and Economics. This panel consisted mainly of Oppenheim (who developed the RIAA's litigation strategy) and Weiss lobbying verbal grenades at each other, while Lafferty and Einhorn tried to focus on what is needed to develop a business model incorporating copyright and P2P. Oppenheim started the "discussion" by tossing out such neutral statements as: * "Networks are built and exist for the trading of copyrighted works." * "[The P2P] business model is to make money off the illegal activities of others." * "There are far better delivery mechanisms available than P2P."Weiss replied by listing a series of "myths" perpetuated by the recording industry against P2P, such as the use of the term "pirates" to refer to P2P industry leaders. He also went through the recording industry's long history of taking legal action against new technologies, starting with the phonograph, up through cassette tapes, radio, FM radio, cable, and now P2P. The battle, he said, is over who will control the technology, and given the recording industry's history of opposing technological advances, it would not be wise to give them control. The day concluded with an address by Jack Valenti, chairman and CEO of the MPAA. The difference between Valenti and the previous speakers was striking. It started with his Hollywood appearance: pink dress shirt with a white collar, black tie, wide pinstriped suit, and a shock of bright white hair, combed back, that matched his bright white teeth. Valenti's presence also filled the stage more than any of the four-person panels. As this transplanted Texan spoke, his voice reminded me of what George W. Bush might sound like at 70 years of age. Valenti spoke of the impending crisis facing the motion picture industry with the advent of high quality, high capacity, high speed downloads. This could lead to a "dismal problem" for the industry within 18 months to two years. Thus, the MPAA is launching a multi-million dollar ad campaign to, among other things, educate parents that allowing their children to use P2P software can "put your computer and personal information at risk" from viruses, identity thieves, and the like. Also, children may be exposed to the "most squalid pornography." This fall, the MPAA will have worked with thousands of colleges across the US to implement codes of conduct for students to alert them to the copyright law and potential for violation in using P2P technology. They are also working with Junior Achievement to educate middle-schoolers regarding the basics of copyright law. Valenti concluded with his belief that this "country is built on private property, and if you can't protect what you own, then you don't own anything." In response to questions from the audience, Valenti said that the MPAA's current strategy does not include litigation against P2P users, but that it may in the future. The strongest feeling I had as I left the conference is that the recording industry, even after five years, still has problems understanding the nature of the problems they're facing. For instance, in reply to one question regarding the effectiveness of suing file uploaders, Liebowitz replied that he doesn't think the public or the media really differentiate between uploading and downloading, so that such litigation is effective as a threat against both. It may be that the "public" and the "media" have such a perception, but you know who doesn't? College students, who are perhaps the critical demographic when it comes to downloading. College students tend to know that they need to turn off access to their shared folders so that they can't be sued for uploading the files. They focus on downloading instead, and since 55% of files are downloaded from users outside the United States (a figure provided during the conference), one has to wonder how effective this litigation strategy can really be. Instead of catching those downloading (or even uploading) the bulk of the files, the RIAA has wound up with PR nightmares such as suing grandmothers. One really has to wonder when the recording industry is going to get a clue and begin to operate proactively rather than reactively. In this sense, at least, it seems that the MPAA may be a step ahead. Sci/Tech16627@blogcritics.org Fri, 18 Jun 2004 10:18:52 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/02/09/000548.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreReactions right after the conclusion of the Grammys:* 50 Cent is a classless thug. That little bit of posturing during the presentation of the award he didn't win was disgusting.* Foo Fighters and White Stripes each gave one of the best award show performances I've seen. Andre 3000's performance at the end of the show, though, was one of the best award show moments ever. When it opens with Jack Black, you know it's gonna be good. * Entirely too many shots of Justin's mom.* Andre 3000's first acceptance speech ("Thank you.") was one of the best ever. * Where was Britney? After years of not being able to escape her on award shows, suddenly she's nowhere to be seen or heard. * The "All-Star Beatles Tribute" was a nice idea but, unfortunately, the three distinct voices didn't really lend themselves well to the execution.* The plea in the last half hour of the show by the industry guy regarding downloading was perhaps the lamest award show moment ever. We've just watched three hours of these stars and divas parading around in thousand-dollar dresses and bling, and now you're going to give us the "stealing from starving artists" bit? The anti-downloading advertisement that was debuted was equally lame. So you're telling us that if we download Pink's music, it won't be played at parties anymore? If so, then excuse me while I download her entire catalogue...and maybe I'll download some Beyonce and Nickelback while I'm at it. Music12537@blogcritics.org Mon, 9 Feb 2004 00:05:48 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/01/06/034437.php Bobby Allison-Gallimore[SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! There are probably going to be spoilers in the following review. If you don't want to suffer spoilage, then stop reading now.]It's fitting that I saw Cold Mountain on a night when the temperature was as cold as it's been this winter around here...a good 28 degrees below freezing. This film did nothing to warm me nor the cockles of my heart. It's not that I hated it, it's that I just don't care.This is a film that is obviously constructed to win an Oscar, yet when you step out of the theatre, you think to yourself: "Did I really care about anything or anyone I saw in the past three (plus) hours?" I was hardpressed to answer that question. The closest I came to worrying about the fates of any of the characters were the more minor roles...the minister, the neighbor wife who loses her family, the young widow, the kid killed in battle. The rest of the characters are either despicable (Confederates, white-trash whores, hypocritical "men of God", Yankee marauders) or poorly developed/backgrounded (see: all main characters, w/possible exception of Renee Zellweger's). Either way, you could care less about their fate (except perhaps to want to see them die), which renders this movie devoid of any real emotional impact.Part of this lack of emotional impact is the familiarity of it all. In addition to contempt, familiarity breeds predictability, and this movie wouldn't be any more predictable if you were sitting in front of a crystal ball. (I would say that this is the most predictable movie I've seen since Paycheck, but since I just saw that last week, and don't really want to admit to having seen that anyway... . BTW, Ben Domenech shares my view regarding the predictability.) This movie consists of every war/homefront movie cliche you've ever seen, mixed together and shaken around and dumped out again. It should have to credit the writers of Gone With The Wind, Shenandoah, and Oh Brother Where Art Thou, among others. There's even a Forrest Gump "shrimp cocktail" moment when Phillip Seymour Hoffman starts listing off the possible uses for the saw he found. All these cliches and recycled bits cause you to think during the entire movie, "Haven't I seen this somewhere before?" Throw in a bit of gratuitous (and I mean gratuitous) nudity, and evidently you've got yourself a recipe for Oscar buzz. The only thing that makes this movie bearable is the exceptional cast. Jude Law reprises his war-weary soldier from Enemy At The Gates (Where have I seen this before?). Nicole Kidman, is, well, beautiful. Donald Sutherland is always a treat, as is Hoffman. Jack White even does nicely, as does the rest of the supporting cast. And when Zellweger appears a third of the way through the movie, she brings some comic relief that is sorely lacking up until that point. Even this cast, though, couldn't make me care. Jude Law dies? Fine. He lives? Okay. I can see what's coming, so can we just get it done with so we can leave? And after I leave, what exactly am I supposed to take away from this movie? War is hell? Plenty of movies have told me that, better. Infatuation (can't really call it love) conquers all? Well, it still doesn't conquer cold hard lead. Saying "I marry you" three times results in a wedding? No, and it doesn't prevent an illegitimate kid. Here's what I left this movie asking: what the heck was Tom Cruise thinking when he messed that one up? Nicole, call me.Bobby Allison-Gallimore writes at The Rattler...when his tongue isn't frozen to the flagpole. Video11480@blogcritics.org Tue, 6 Jan 2004 03:44:37 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/19/125923.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreThe other night, as I was sitting and watching TV, I decided to informally keep track of the number of portrayals of men as incompetent, bumbling idiots in either advertising or programs. The results were not encouraging. It seems that the typical male, as portrayed on TV, is slightly-to-grossly overweight, has irresistable attractions to beer/salty snacks/pizza/babes, has the intellectual capacity of a below-average neanderthal, and is either utterly incompetant when it comes to women or has an amazingly (and totally unrealistically) hot wife. Said wife, though, makes up for her beauty with a corresponding amount of demands on her hapless hubby. There's only one real exception to this rule, and that is the gay man: he is fit, intelligent, and witty to a fault. Movies, at least, tend to give us a bit broader spectrum of representative males. One of the latest, Master and Commander, gives us quite a spectrum, indeed. Within this spectrum, however, one thing is clear: every man is a man. No whipped males here, no sir. In fact, the fairer sex makes only one brief appearance in the film. This film is very much a character study, and there are a variety of characters with assorted strengths and flaws, but by the end of the film, one very much wishes that there were more portrayals like this one. The cast is exceptional, well-suited to their parts and delivering excellent performances. While the plot and action is crucial, this is definitely not an (at least typical) action movie. I enjoyed M&C a great deal...perhaps partly because I've always been intrigued by this period of history, but also because of the reasons above. One of InstaPundit's readers echoes the thoughts about the portrayal of men, Josh Claybourn didn't seem to enjoy the movie quite as much, and National Review's Michael Leaser has a similar take to mine. Bobby Allison-Gallimore enjoys historical epics, sailing, and rum. He writes at TheRattler.net. Video10268@blogcritics.org Wed, 19 Nov 2003 12:59:23 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/09/16/002722.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreFive summer additions to my music library. There's not enough time to give each a separate review, so here are brief reviews of each, in no particular order. Save My Soul Big Bad Voodoo DaddyThe third major release from the band that helped make swing cool again in the late Nineties. This album has a bit more life overall than their second effort did, and I like it more as a result. Part of the pep comes from more songs with a Dixieland influence, and I'm a big fan of Dixieland. Otherwise, it's more of the same from BBVD: hard swinging that's a fun listen. Buy it if: you liked their first CD. 0304 JewelJewel provides her take on teen pop, and gives us an album that shows how good the genre could be if real singer/songwriters/musicians were involved. The beats will get your toes tapping and then the words will actually get you thinking...not your everyday modern pop experience. Heck, there's even a protest song on here. Buy it if: you feel guilty buying Hillary Duff's CD...for any reason. Youth And Young Manhood Kings of LeonIf this were the Rolling Stone review, the following question would be posed: "Will Kings of Leon save rock and roll?" Since I try to avoid hyperbole, let me just say that I was looking for a good, hard-rocking album to stick in the truck stereo, crank up, and bless others with as I drive down the road. I found it with this CD. Buy it if: you want to be one of the first to own the CD that everyone'll be talking about in four months. Down With Love Music From And Inspired By The Motion PictureI'm not quite sure why or how this album found its way into my possession, but now that it's here, I'll admit to enjoying a listen every now and then. It's pretty straightforward Sinatra-esque vocal numbers, with the occasional era-inspired orchestral number thrown in as filler on this short CD, but there's a time and place for it. Buy it if: the store is out of Sinatra collections.Truth Be Told Blues TravelerPossibly my favorite buy of the summer. John Popper & Co. are back making music the way it was meant to be made. There's a nice variety of songs but the band retains the distinctive Blues Traveler sound throughout. Much of the reason I like BT stems from the same reason I like BNL: both groups share a talent for the distinctive turn of the lyric. Buy it if: you want one of the better recent releases available. Music8403@blogcritics.org Tue, 16 Sep 2003 00:27:22 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/09/15/145252.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreTo country music supergroup Alabama, "farewell does not mean goodbye." Thus states their commemorative tour book, and, apparently, they take it seriously. This would explain, for instance, why one of my friends went to their Kansas City farewell concert last fall, but last night, I also attended their Kansas City farewell concert. Apparently, "farewell" has less to do with final appearances and more to do with filling seats. Whether or not the tour appellation is a marketing ploy, the strategy works. A near-capacity crowd filled Sandstone Amphitheatre in Kansas City last night for the latest Alabama farewell appearance. For three hours, their fans sang along with many of the 42 #1 hits and other favorites from the band's long and storied history. The main question in this critic's mind was how a band with over 40 #1 hits and many more crowd favorites even comes close to satisfying everyone. Well, a three-hour concert is a start. The band took an intermission after about an hour and fifteen minutes, then came back to play for about another hour and a half, before exiting and returning for a two-song encore. In the first set, the band mainly cranked out #1 after #1, with little banter or jamming. They even employed a few medleys to cover more ground. It was near the middle of the second set that things began to heat up, as the band began using more segues and cut loose on songs like "Tennessee River," "You Gotta Have A Fiddle In The Band," and an immensely crowd-pleasing rendition of "Cheap Seats" that thrilled a Kansas City audience in the midst of a pennant race. The band returned for an encore of "She And I" and "My Home's In Alabama." Whatever you think of their marketing strategy, the fact is that it would be sad to say farewell for the last time to a band that's still playing a heck of a game. The tour book promises more of Alabama in the future, and a few more farewell tours would be welcome opportunities to continue to enjoy this band's performance. Bobby Allison-Gallimore loves watching the Kansas City Royals from the cheap seats. He writes at www.therattler.net. Music8398@blogcritics.org Mon, 15 Sep 2003 14:52:52 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/07/29/013911.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreJust returned from the Counting Crows/ John Mayer concert in Kansas City. Musically speaking, it was a pretty solid show. The Crows played a set balanced between songs off their latest album, Hard Candy, and their older hit material. "Mr. Jones," expectedly, received the best audience reaction of the night, although a mid-set performance of "Big Yellow Taxi" and a finale of "Hangin' Around" were also warmly received. An encore of "A Long December" was interrupted when a couple of insects flew into lead singer Adam Duritz's mouth mid-phrase, but after evicting the unwanted occupants the band finished the song strongly. Mayer, as expected, performed material primarily off his debut album, although he mixed in a couple of songs off the new album that, he informed the audience, he just wrapped. His guitar work was more impressive than I expected, and he also displayed an energy and a live singing ability that I hadn't expected from seeing a couple of his TV appearances. Both the Crows and Mayer were fairly businesslike about their sets, not bothering with too much crowd repartee or interaction, although Duritz did take about 5-7 minutes for a rambling soliloquy that led into a song introduction. The bands were preceded by Graham Coltrane, whose songs, despite a glowing review from Duritz, were largely and properly ignored by the audience. Coltrane's songs were not remarkable enough to rise above the burden of unfamiliarity for anyone past the first few rows. Bobby's review of Hard Candy. Bobby Allison-Gallimore was forced to take piano lessons for 12 years by his mother. He can't thank her enough, now. You can read about his extra-musical experiences at tonight's Crows/Mayer concert at his weblog, The Rattler. Music7298@blogcritics.org Tue, 29 Jul 2003 01:39:11 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/07/12/022229.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreThis week featured the opening of two movies I've been anticipating for some time: Pirates of the Caribbean and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I attended a Wednesday opening night screening of the former and just returned from an opening night screening of the latter.The verdict: Pirates is superb and LXG is, well, quite unextraordinary indeed. Let me pose a question to you...suppose I offered you the following two scenarios for a movie:#1: A movie to be based on an amusement park ride, which, although starring the excellent Johnny Depp, is a Disney non-cartoon produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. #2: A movie to be based on a comic book graphic novel, starring Sean Connery. Basic premise is a group of tragic Victorian literary figures who must overcome their flaws to unite and save the world. Now, based on that information, which movie would you guess to be better? My gut told me the second. My gut was wrong.LXG is a movie with wonderful possibilities that can't figure out which possibilities it wants to use. There are moments that show the promise of the premise, but it quickly lapses back into the uninspired, sometimes painful screenplay. The most breathtaking thing about LXG is how it takes good acting and an intriguing premise and pretty much wastes both. Pirates, on the other hand, takes a limited premise but manages to just about get everything possible out of it. This movie's worth $7 just to see Depp's entertaining performance as Captain Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly also do well, but Depp definitely is the one moving this movie. I had only two complaints, both related to plot structure. First, it's fairly obvious how the action sequence is going to peak...about 10 minutes before it does so. Secondly, because this is a Disney film, the resolution of the love complications is done to achieve the "right result," but the heart really doesn't seem to be in it. A little more editing could have achieved a more believable, and satisfying, ending.Whatever the script problems with Pirates, they pale in comparison to the problems with LXG. It's as if the LXG screenwriters just couldn't decide what they really wanted to do with this movie. They throw in a few gratuitous literary references (the best one is when we find out what the villain's real name is) that are cute enough, but barely scratch the surface of how such references could have been made to truly enhance the story. There's plenty of action and special effects. There're scenes of introspection to ponder past evil deeds or missteps. Just when it seems the script is getting somewhere worthwhile with exploring some of these complex characters, WHOOPS! TIME TO BLOW SOMETHING UP!As I said before, it's really unfortunate. LXG really did have great potential. But if you're looking for something fun to see this weekend, then choose the fun well done of Pirates of the Caribbean. Yo ho ho...!(By the way, when you see Pirates, be sure to watch for the theatrical recreations of some of the panoramas from the rides. They're there, and they're quite faithful and fun.)Pirates of Caribbean (the ride) and Professor James Moriarty are both part of warm childhood memories for Bobby Allison-Gallimore, who maintains a weblog at www.TheRattler.net. Video6892@blogcritics.org Sat, 12 Jul 2003 02:22:29 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/05/19/201558.php Bobby Allison-GallimoreWow. BlogCritics is apparently now Matrix Central, and the only change of pace is for A Mighty Wind. Well, here's some variety to spice up the mix.I took in a matinee of Down With Love this afternoon, and thoroughly enjoyed it. In many ways, I enjoyed it more than Reloaded, which yes, I have already seen. Reloaded was fine and all, but it was nothing we haven't seen before.Not that Down With Love is, mind you. Reminiscent of the old Rock Hudson/Doris Day pieces, Down With Love is more like a piece of chocolate...although you know how it tastes, it's still as delicious as ever.Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger are perfectly cast for their roles as Catcher Block, the dashing ladies' man, and Barbara Novak, the author of the best-selling book that's hurting the social lives of men all across the world. The supporting cast complements the leads' performances nicely. The only complaint I had was that the plot seemed to slow down about two-thirds of the way through the movie, but later developments proved to make it a bit more tolerable. A fun plot twist makes the storyline more interesting than expected. Down With Love isn't anything new, but it is a fun break from the Matrix hype. So grab yourself a date and get down with this movie. Bobby Allison-Gallimore writes at The Rattler when he's not watching romantic comedies by himself. Video5427@blogcritics.org Mon, 19 May 2003 20:15:58 EDT