Blogcritics Author: Zack Williams

Music Review: Prodigy - H.N.I.C. Pt. 2

Zack Williams — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:45:04 EDT

Prodigy's 2008 Manifesto has arrived.
In 2007 Prodigy, one half of New York’s Mobb Deep, was arrested for unlawful gun possession and sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. From the looks of things, Prodigy’s going to be very busy during this time. H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 is the first release from the New York rapper since entering jail and contains plenty of the gritty,...

Music Review: Lyrics Born - Everywhere at Once

Zack Williams — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:16:10 EDT

Witness the rebirth of Lyrics Born...
On “Don’t Change,” the opening track of Everywhere at Once, San Francisco-based rapper Lyrics Born stresses the importance of not changing who you are for anybody or anything. It’s a paradoxical statement since the production on the half-Japanese rapper’s second-solo release is almost entirely provided by a live band....

Blu-ray Review: Bonnie and Clyde

Zack Williams — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:01:33 EDT

A sixties' classic gets a state-of-the-art makeover.
It’s easy sometimes to overlook the importance of what’s come before us. This attribute is probably the worst is in our arts, as we’ve adopted the tendency to laud classic works perfunctorily. So it’s a pleasure to come across a very great film that demands to be recognized as the truly original work it was. Such is...

Blu-ray Review: Michael Clayton

Zack Williams — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:10:03 EDT

George Clooney learns how far the truth can be manipulated.
Every so often, Hollywood will be kind to those of who think we’re going mad when we see fare such as Transformers or Spider-Man 3. Luckily, 2007’s Michael Clayton was a film that showed Hollywood doesn’t always miss the forest for the trees, in a year that produced some of the best studio films of the decade. Michael Clayton...

Music Review: The Camp - The Campaign

Zack Williams — Fri, 7 Mar 2008 07:29:43 EST

The new boys from Beantown.
Most people probably think of Brooklyn, NYC, or Queens as soon as the subject of East-coast hip-hop is mentioned. It’s hard to argue that the groups and MCs who’ve come out of New York haven’t dominated as the face of the region. The Boston-based group The Camp looks to change that though with their debut LP, The Campaign. The...

Music Review: Hero - Hero

Zack Williams — Thu, 6 Mar 2008 19:54:32 EST

E-Dot and Darp Malone are... HERO
On the self-titled debut of hip-hop group HERO, Jamaican-born MC E-Dot declares that “this is for all y’all out there witnessing the madness I’m witnessing.” Working from this simple statement, E-Dot, and producer-extraordinaire Darp Malone, craft a debut LP that pushes the packaged boundaries of hip-hop music. The topics of...

Music Review: Guru - The Best of Guru's Jazzmatazz

Zack Williams — Sat, 9 Feb 2008 09:59:52 EST

A trip down memory lane with Guru.
Anyone who’s followed East Coast hip-hop can go on-and-on about Gang Starr. Originally formed in 1987, the group was seen as the scion of another land-mark East-Coast duo, Eric B. and Rakim. Comprised of Guru and DJ Premier, the group released several classic albums in the early '90s including Step in the Arena, Daily Operation, and...

Movie Review: There Will Be Blood

Zack Williams — Wed, 6 Feb 2008 13:36:41 EST

A story about black gold and black souls in turn-of-the-century California.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s films usually evoke simple emotions: people either love them or hate them. This polarizing style belongs to Anderson’s amazing skill of crafting complex films. Much could be, and has been, written about Anderson’s previous four films: Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love. Each film...

Here's Hoping for a Chili Palmer for America

Zack Williams — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:40:31 EST

Imagination-time...a call to reality...and aiming aspersions
Let's play make believe:Close your eyes...and envisage the most depraved depictions of debtors and gambling addicts you see paraded around in movies and on television. Or maybe just picture people you know like such from everyday life. Imagine what their lenders, or bookies, or loan sharks are like. Realize that this new group is usually as...

2008: An American Resolution

Zack Williams — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 01:15:56 EST

A resolution worth keeping.
Almost 36 hours after the epic event, it's almost become cliched to talk about it. The spokespeople for our society have decided to perfunctorily laud it every 10 seconds. Shortly, it'll be another stat skipped in the unread history books that litter high schools across America. But before the inevitable forgetfulness and arbitrariness seep...