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 Sat, 28 May 2005 19:34:54 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. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/28/193454.php Sonja Valentine...it was no Gladiator. I went to see Kingdom of Heaven today even AFTER reading all the negative reviews because:1) orlando bloom looks good with facial hair (REALLY good)2) ridley scott, though extraordinarily predictable, makes big movies look beautiful3) i love going to this particular theater because it has, not only balcony boxes, and a curtain, but a man that sits in one of said balconies in front of a giant Wurlitzer organ and PLAYS that shit! LOUD. it's an awesome sight to behold4) tickets are matinee prices until 3pm, so yay for 6 bucks!5) bagel train. for those in the know (and i KNOW) they have THE best (no contest) bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches that i have ever had - AND they make them all day... and last, but certainly not least...6) good movie-going companyok, so the movie wasn't that good the plot was predictable and hard to follow all at once, i cared about none of the characters (not even orlando bloom's, really) and it had a terrible ending. oh well, i can think of worse ways to spend a few hours and a few dollars, so you'll hear no bitching from me. Video30269@blogcritics.org Sat, 28 May 2005 19:34:54 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/05/13/195251.php Sonja ValentineGravitating seamlessly between traditional pan Latin rhythms, funkified son and salsa, and occasional loop based creations, Jose Conde Y Ola Fresca are a unique Cuban Roots experience. They blend traditional Cuban music, old school New York salsa a little funk, and a little jazz. Seeing them perform live at Joe's Pub this past Wednesday was an experience I'll not soon forget. The energy made it's way from the stage to the audience before the first song was over, and it never waned. The band is tight, funky and tons of fun to watch. See them when they come to your city... Music29476@blogcritics.org Fri, 13 May 2005 19:52:51 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/24/153105.php Sonja Valentinespent almost all day yesterday in theaters the battery park uber-plex has been the home for a ton of tribeca festival film premieresyesterday i saw: The Devil's Miner, a documentary about the silver miners in Bolivia - specifically this 14 year old boy named Basilio Vargas the miners believe they are leaving the realm of God and entering the realm of Satan, (when they enter the mines) so they carve his image inside the mine. UNreal stuff. fantastic filmthen i saw: El Perro Negro: Stories From The Spanish Civil War (another documentary) this was a cool film because the director, Peter Forgács, has taken amateur filming of home movies, by all different people, and turned them into a time-spanning look at not only these peoples' lives, but the changing political times spread out over decades. this one is a Catalan family, starting in the 1920's. captivating work.the last one i saw was: Slippin' - Ten Years With The Bloods the movie tracks 5 gang members (starting in 1993) for 10 years. yeesh, a hard movie to watch is alls i can say. but compelling, nevertheless or alwaysthemore (which i like waaay better - less negative)today, i'm off to see a few more: Favela Rising, a film about the slums & poverty & violence of Rio de Janiero - (not to be compared to City of God) it's about one incredible guy who emerged from the favelas to create the nonviolent Afro-Brazilian culture known as Afro-reggaethen: To the Other Side - a film about this aspiring corrido composer (the film is told using 200 year old mexican traditional corrido music) who has to choose between drug trafficking and crossing the US border illegally and the (obvious) dangers of both.whoo-wee i'm excited! Video28577@blogcritics.org Sun, 24 Apr 2005 15:31:05 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/08/222516.php Sonja ValentineSIN CITY!loved loved loved it the cast - well, i'm NOT a huge Mickey Rourke fan - but holy shit was he fanfriggintasticand a barely recognizable Benicio del Toro... no words Bruce Willis was, well... Bruce Willis and that was good and Elijah Wood - spooky as hell (and SO far from frodo :))so Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are geniuses (in my opinion) i really felt transported into the comic as i never have been before when these graphic novels (Batman, Hellboy, Constantine, etc) are made into filmsAND i saw it in an actual theater with balconies and a curtain how awesome is that? (rhetorical question) Video27931@blogcritics.org Fri, 8 Apr 2005 22:25:16 EDT