Is The King's Speech Truly The Best Film Of 2010? No, But It's Worth Seeing!

The Good: Charming, Great acting, Moments of character, Plot development
The Bad: Not homogeneously great acting, Pacing issues
The Basics: While a certainly worthwhile film to see at least once, The King's Speech is not a perfect film, nor necessarily a worthy Best Picture winner (no matter how many people were betting on it!)


It is a very rare thing that I find myself reviewing a film in theaters that has already won the Best Picture Oscar.  As those who follow my many reviews know, I am proud of having seen every film that won the Best Picture and, like last year when The Hurt Locker (reviewed here!) won, I found myself forced to take in a new movie rather suddenly in order to keep current with the Best Picture winners.  I am not eager to get mired into the whole Best Picture thing while reviewing The King's Speech, except to say that I went into the film biased.  I suspected that it would not be as extraordinary a use of the film medium as Inception (reviewed here!) was and thus I had a little resentment that the film I rooted for all year fell to this at the Oscars.  That said . . .

The King's Speech was almost exactly what I figured it to be going in, save that the most impressive visual moments of the film were all included in the Oscars various clip shows.  This is not a film brimming with movement, spectacle or even much in the way of a weighty sense of consequence for most of the film.  That said, it is worth noting that it is not The Remains Of The Day, either.  In other words, this is not  terribly droll, plodding along British film where the viewer falls asleep eight times and awakens each time to feel like they have missed nothing because the film has not moved.  No, The King's Speech actually tackles the British "stiff upper lip" stereotype and explores the power and poignancy of early psychology in a rapidly changing world.  And, arguably, one of the most refreshing aspects of the film is that the protagonist is not instantly cured and the struggle is worth watching for the most part.

Opening in 1925 with the closing speech at the Empire Exhibition, the Duke Of York, Prince Albert is introduced as a nervous man with a stutter and a long-suffering wife who clearly loves and supports him.  While Albert - Bertie to his wife and family - struggles with his words, Elizabeth tries to find him a tutor or speech therapist who will actually help him.  In 1934 in London, she finds Lionel Logue, who has unconventional methods, but is eager to treat the whole problem with Bertie, not just the physical manifestations of it.  While Lionel and Bertie explore an unconventional relationship where Lionel treats Bertie as an equal instead of a royal, Bertie struggles with living in his father's shadow, especially under the pressure of the 1934 Christmas broadcast.

As the years pass, Albert's sense of anxiety over the speech impediment grows as his older brother, David, continues to carry on with married women and appears unable and unwilling to maintain the traditions of the royal family.  With the death of King George V and the abdication of David, Bertie finds himself in the unlikely role of Britain's monarch.  With the rise of Hitler, the new King George VI must master speeches to rally the English to the defense of Europe.

First off, it is very much worth noting that The King's Speech has pacing issues and the only thing that got it lumped into the "R" rating was a few moments of language wherein Bertie explodes or discovers that when he swears, he does not stammer.  It is remarkably safe for teenagers, despite the language and all but the most prudish parents should feel unthreatened by sharing this with their families.  Of course, it is hard to see the appeal of The King's Speech for most youngsters, so it would be unsurprising if young people did not want to see the film.

The pacing is, in fact, the most serious issue with The King's Speech and the oppressive sense of mood almost undermines the film.  The King's Speech is very realistic in the time it takes to explore Bertie's condition and it is difficult to watch in may points as a result.  This is not a terribly entertaining film, but it does capture the realism of the times and places remarkably well.  This means the film is very gray and drab, the soundtrack is slow and plodding more than anything intended to arouse any excitement or enthusiasm.  But the film does have a sense of going somewhere and the saving grace of the film is that it  does.

So much has been said about Collin Firth's portrayal of Albert and there is little more than can be said.  He is incredible with portraying Albert with his speech impediment and as a result, he is frequently hearwrenching to watch.  He stammers expertly and in the moments where he struggles and clicks, it is impossible not to empathize with him because his portrayal includes acting through the eyes where he expresses a profound sense of shame and strength (alternately) as he struggles.

The supporting cast is mostly wonderful, with Michael Gambon using his brief time to memorably portray King George V, making it obvious how Bertie was so screwed up.  Similarly, Guy Pearce (Edward VIII/David), Timothy Spall (Churchill) and Derek Jacobi all make memorable use of their time on screen.  Helena Bonham Carter, however, slips too frequently to be considered a great actress in The King's Speech.  There are moments, like one where she congratulates Bertie, where her eyes play with the same whimsy that made her portrayal of the Red Queen in Alice In Wonderland so delightfully creepy.  In other words, there were unfortunate moments where I was aware I was watching Helena Bonham Carter and not Elizabeth.

The same cannot be said of Geoffrey Rush, who provides arguably the most underrated performance in The King's Speech.  There is not a hint of any other character Rush has played in his defiant portrayal of Lionel Logue and he has the gravitas to stand up to Collin Firth and be a credible counterpart to his character.

In all, The King's Speech falls closer to what I call "predictable greatness" than actually being an impressive film.  The cast is a stacked deck and the subject is perfect Oscar fodder, but one suspects when the hype is gone, this film will end up on the same shelf as The English Patient where the forgettable greats go after their moment fades.

As a winner of the Best Picture Oscar, this is part of my Best Picture Project, which is available for enjoyment here!  Check it out!

For other films in theaters, check out my reviews of:
Hall Pass
I Am Number Four
Unknown
Black Swan

7/10

For other film reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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With Sugar And Very Hot, "Tuscany Orange Spice" Black Tea Delivers! Otherwise...

The Good: Tastes like orange (conditional), Great aroma, Caffeinated, Tasty
The Bad: Aftertaste, Terrible flavor when cold (or iced).
The Basics: With Tuscany Orange Spice tea, Celestial Seasonings captures the essence of orange, before the tea becomes a hideous aftertaste that will trouble its fans.


I don't know that I've received much in the way of nutritional value the last few days; I've been drinking a great deal of tea and most of that is empty calories and caffeine. The truth is, I put sugar in many of the teas I drink, so I suppose I am hepped up on sugar and that at least keeps me going. Nothing keeps me drinking teas and reviewing them like finding great teas to review, like those offered from Celestial Seasonings.

The truth is, I've had my box of Celestial Seasonings Tuscany Orange Spice tea sitting in my cupboard since August and because of my strict "No more than five boxes of tea open at one time" policy, it is only now that I've managed to break into it to enjoy a couple pots. And I'm quite glad I did!

Basics

Tuscany Orange Spice is a tea from Celestial Seasonings. It is a 100% natural black tea that has a decent amount of caffeine in it. Tuscany Orange Spice comes in Celestial Seasoning's standard stringless tea bags, which are paired together with easy to separate perforations that allow one to separate the tea bags. When I make pots of tea, I tend to use two bags and leave them connected. A box of Tuscany Orange Spice comes with ten pairs (20 individual) of tea bags.

Tuscany Orange Spice is marketed - quite effectively - as an orange flavored tea and it rather effectively lives up to its reputation. Honestly, I had no expectations when I opened this box of tea other than the hope that it would taste like orange (I have been disappointed by many fruit-flavored teas lately) and the desire to take in something with caffeine! On both fronts, it lived up on the first take. But as I finish off the second pot, I find myself able to observe some aspects of the tea that make it less-than-ideal.

Ease Of Preparation

Tuscany Orange Spice is a tea, which means preparation is as easy as boiling a pot of water! A single tea bag will make the standard 8 oz. coffee mug worth of tea and could be reused and make a second cup of Tuscany Orange Spice, with somewhat disappointing results. "Somewhat" is my euphemism today for "very." A properly steeped tea bag will net a second cup that is, at best, 1/2 strong. Most of my sampling found that while the Tuscany Orange Spice teabags might be reused to make a weak cup of tea, the flavor is so radically altered as to make it unworthy of the effort. I tend to make my tea using a 32 oz. steeping tea pot and that works well, though it's virtually impossible to get a decent second pot out of the bags.

To prepare Tuscany Orange Spice, simply boil some water, and pour it over the tea bags in a cup, mug or steeping pot. This tea is recommended to take three to five minutes to steep and after several cups and pots, I've found that with very boiling water, the tea is ready at three minutes. Letting the tea steep more than five minutes does not net any additional flavor, nor does it denature the flavor of the tea. Interestingly, even brewing the tea for only three minutes means the teabag will be pretty much unusable for a second cup or pot.

Taste

Tuscany Orange Spice is a brilliantly orange flavored tea when it is first brewed and piping hot. The aroma is distinct, like oranges and cloves baking on a roast. The scent is very powerful and it immediately opens the drinker to a taste experience that is very clearly the flavor of spiced oranges. Celestial Seasonings got it right with Tuscany Orange Spice.

At least when it is very hot.

Tuscany Orange Spice is ideal piping hot. It tastes like oranges and tea and it is absolutely delightful. With a teaspoon of sugar, this tea tastes precisely like taking a wedge of orange (like one gets at nicer Chinese restaurants) and drinking the standard tea through that. It is very fruity and has a strong taste of tea and sweetened all the flavors come together absolutely wonderfully.

I highly recommend the sugar and having the tea quite hot when drinking it. This is when the flavors of the Tuscany Orange Spice tea are at their peak. Milk mutes the taste of the tea and pretty much eliminates the taste of oranges.

Tuscany Orange Spice is absolutely foul cold, though. Hot or cold, the tea has a strong, bitter aftertaste that lingers on the tongue for up to fifteen minutes (in my experience). Fortunately, it takes about three minutes before the aftertaste appears . . . normally. When the tea is served cold or iced, it is all aftertaste, no sweet oranges. Cold, this tastes bland like any black tea and it is bitter.

Nutrition

That bitter taste and generic black tea quality makes perfect sense: the first ingredient in this tea is black tea (followed by hibiscus and natural cinnamon and orange flavors with other natural flavors - it's at this point in my investigation of teas that I'm beginning to get concerned about the vagueness of ingredients like "natural flavors;" that's not terrible specific!). Tuscany Orange Spice tea is 100% natural and it is gluten free.

Were it not for the sugar I add whenever I make pots of Tuscany Orange Spice, this tea would be devoid of any nutritional value. It contains no calories, fat, sodium, carbohydrates or protein. This is a decently caffeinated tea, rating a 40 on the Caffeine Meter. That means based on an 8 oz. cup of Tuscany Orange Spice, it has approximately forty milligrams of caffeine, putting it just below cola and about half the caffeine content of a cup of coffee. As far as anything else in the tea, there has to be something that makes this terrible aftertaste!

Storage/Clean-up

Tuscany Orange Spice is easy to clean up after - the tea bags may be disposed in the garbage, or composted if you have a good garden and/or compost pile. The tea has a dark brown coloring when brewed at its full strength and it certainly will stain, but mugs that hold the tea rinse clean. Spills ought to be cleaned up quickly to prevent this tea from staining fabrics.

Overall

Tuscany Orange Spice tea is delicious so long as one gets right to it. Once it is cool, it is absolutely awful. Still, there is enough that is worthwhile in terms of flavor and caffeine to make this worth your time and tasting!


For other Celestial Seasonings tea reviews, please check out:
Imperial White Peach
Wild Berry Zinger
Cinnamon Apple Spice

6/10

For other food and drink reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2011, 2008, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.




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"If We Pit Two Popular Monsters Against Each Other, Can We Gut Both Franchises?" Alien Vs. Predator Fizzles!

The Good: Interesting story moments, Decent acting and effects
The Bad: Speed, (Mis)Use of Bishop character, Obviousness
The Basics: When humans find a subterranean Antarctic pyramid, they discover they are pawns in a battle between two creepy science fiction/horror villains.


It's surprisingly easy, after viewing Alien Vs. Predator, to see why Sigourney Weaver, the acting mainstay of the Alien franchise (reviewed here!) wanted out of the series when it looked like the series was headed toward a melding with the Predator franchise. That is not to say that a crossover between Alien and Predator could not have made for a movie that was as good as the Alien Trilogy, but this movie is not the cinematic accomplishment the first three installments of the Alien franchise was.

Set in Autumn of 2004 (giving people something to look forward to other than election stuff!), Alien Vs. Predator finds a heat signature blossoming on Antarctica in a remote area that ought not to have any life. When a team, financed by businessman Charles Bishop Weyland and headed by an explorer named Alexa Woods, goes to investigate what appears to be a subterranean pyramid, they discover the source of the heat signatures is a processing plant wherein an Alien Queen is making eggs for use by three young Predators who have come to reclaim the pyramid from the invading humans. Hilarity, er, something, ensues.

The more apt title for Alien Vs. Predator would be Boring People Vs. Alien Vs. Predator. I'm a huge fan of character-driven films and I went into this movie with low expectations. It was about what I expected. Actually, I went in to see Lance Henriksen as Weyland. I like Henriksen and his portrayal of Weyland was interesting. He acts well as the predecessor to the Bishop character of Aliens and Alien 3.

Unfortunately, the character makes little sense. My thought, going into the film, was that Weyland - whose Company spends the Alien movies desperately searching for the Aliens for their bioweapons division - would encounter an Alien, end up with no material evidence of the creature and set his company on beginning the quest to find the deadly creatures out in the universe. That level of thought does not even come into this project. In fact, how the Company becomes aware of the Aliens is now a complete mystery and the fate of Weyland is an incredible disappointment, despite Henriksen's performance.

In fact, given the experiences of Weyland in this movie, the Company should have been set upon searching the galaxy for the Predators. C'est la vie.

The real drawback of Alien Vs. Predator comes twofold. The first is that it plays to a PG-13 audience and the second problem is that it insults the audience. Whoever approved taking two rated R franchises and melding them into a single PG-13 movie should be stripped of their ability to make movies. Ever again. It's easy to see why this is a PG-13 movie; all of the horror of the Aliens is gutted, all of the gore of the Predators is cut away from moments before it occurs. In short, the violence and significant action takes place either entirely off-screen or between aliens and predators, which is considered acceptable violence because they are not human.

This premise, along with several key plot points, insults our intelligence like the revelation of Luke Skywalker's parentage after watching the Star Wars prequel trilogy (ever think about that? The punch from Darth Vader's climactic revelation in The Empire Strikes Back (reviewed here!) is completely gutted by the prequels where we see everything happen!). So, for example, there comes a moment when an alien facehugger leaps at an unmasked Predator and the next time the Predator is seen, it is putting its mask back on. The end of the movie, then, is of absolutely no surprise as anyone with a brain can see it coming.

But the same lack of sense in setting up a sequel (the Queen alien exits the film almost the same way she enters it) pervades the movie. Things don't happen organically in Alien Vs. Predator based on the established tenants of either movie franchise. I speak to the Alien half because I am vested in it, while I know little of the Predator franchise (though I've seen the television edit of Predator). In order to make the action of Alien Vs. Predator realistic, events unfold with ridiculous speed once the team reaches the pyramid. In Alien, the alien takes a long time to gestate within Kane. In Alien 3 it similarly takes quite some time for the alien to grow in Ripley. The ox (or dog) alien may be excused from the time element because of the simplicity of the creature and (in the ox's case) the ambiguous time element (i.e. it seems reasonable that the ox could have been infected hour before Ripley's body was found). Yet, in Alien Vs. Predator, the aliens gestate within fifteen minutes. And they grow huge even quicker.

Come on!

Alien Vs. Predator utilizes state of the art computer generated effects with the alien face huggers, but their cluster opening approach does not make sense on any level and is not even entertaining. This movie is an exercise in nonsense from two franchises that had complex backstories and ideas.

Still, it's better than The Virgin Suicides.

For other creature features or horror films, please check out my reviews of:
Predators
Robert A. Heinlein's The Puppet Masters
Quarantine

3/10

For other film reviews, please visit my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2011, 2004 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Good, But Not The Best, Tempting Tidbits Crunchy Salmon And Shrimp Flavor Cat Treats.

The Good: Inexpensive, My cats like them, It has improved my cat's dental health
The Bad: Not the absolute favorite of my cats.
The Basics: Excellent, but not the absolute best flavor, my cats keep coming back for the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavored Tempting Tidbits!


Sometimes, pet stores have something that the chain grocery stores or big discount stores do not have that truly delights our pets. In the case of my cats, it was kismet that my wife began working at a pet store. There, she found the Tempting Tidbits line of cat treats. There are three different flavors and while my cats, Brillo and Gollum, were indifferent to the liver flavor (reviewed here!) and absolutely loved another, the third flavor, Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp, seems to be the happy medium between leaving the treats alone and bowling each other over for them.

Both Brillo and Gollum enjoy the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavor, such that they pick them out of their food and eat them first when mixed in with their regular food, but not so much that they become territorial and hiss at one another when we have treat time (thinking the other is going to take their treats). And, as occurs with the best of treats, the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavored Tempting Tidbits do appear to clean our cats' teeth.

Tempting Tidbits come in a variety of flavors and we picked up the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavor because these "superpremium" cat treats are advertised as helping to control tartar and possessing a taste cats love. The environmentally protective person within me also likes the fact that these are naturally preserved, but that is more for me than the cats. And in comparison to the Pounce treats, the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp Tempting Tidbits are great with both of my cats (a small black and a fat Siamese) illustrating a clear preference for these over the more expensive Pounce treats.

In the past, my cat, Brillo, had bad breath and I solved the problem by getting tartar control treats for him. Because I started Gollum young on tartar control treats, he never developed bad breath and the only treats my boys get are ones that have the health benefit of being tartar control. For that purpose, Tempting Tidbits Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp cat treats are more than adequate. For roughly $1.00, being able to avoid a teeth cleaning for my cats that would cost hundreds of dollars seemed like a good idea to me!

After a few pouches of Tempting Tidbits, I can say with some authority that the Tempting Tidbits treats seem to be working well as a preventative measure by effectively keeping tartar from building up on my cats' teeth. Tempting Tidbits cat treats are crunchy little treats that come in various flavors, including chicken, tuna and Salmon. The Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavored treats are shaped like little fish and are a half inch in length. Each of these treats is brown and textured, actually having a more mealy texture than the usual treats which are smooth and more manufactured-looking. Only about 1/8" thick, these treats resemble Cracklin' Oat Bran in color and texture more than cat food.

Tempting Tidbits treats have become a cat treat I am happy to give Brillo and Gollum because they work. They are generally affordable, though proportionally they are much more expensive than dry catfood. For the price of a small bag (4.2 lbs.) of cat food ($2.99), I can get three packages of Tempting Tidbits treats when they are on sale (3 oz. of treats in each bag). This is not an extraordinary value. Still, for preventing bad breath and tooth decay, it is worth it.

Because my older cat is finicky about his food - he needs urinary tract health formula food - the Tempting Tidbits treats offer my cats an option for keeping their teeth healthy that I would not otherwise have (there are tartar control cat foods, but not yet one that is both urinary tract and tartar control that I've found). Pounce marketed itself as a champion of classic conditioning, urging pet owners who use Pounce to shake the container to bring cats to the owner for their treats, so my cats know to come whenever I open a bag of the Tempting Tidbits. They recognize the sound of the stiff plastic krinkle bag, but it did not take long before I noticed the cats come running for the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavor whenever they smell them; and the bag does have an odor when it is opened.

Tempting Tidbits treats are available only in the stiff-plastic pouches which make it easy to tell if they have been tampered with. Each plastic pouch is vacuum sealed and has a holographic bag which is very recognizable and protects the treats inside well. The stiff plastic creates a loud, recognizable crinkling sound that brings cats to it right away (I still call out to my cats with the question "Who wants treats?" whenever dispensing this as a treat). Sadly, there are other food products (like vacuum-sealed dinners) that come in similar pouches and when opening them, one's cats are likely to descend, eager for a treat. Pro Pac took a lesson from the makers of Pounce when making the Tempting Tidbits.

The truth is, though, I'm a somewhat lazy cat owner. My cats keep me moving around to play fetch and keep the litter box immaculately cleaned, I'm often too busy (or forgetful) to give them treats every day like they insist they deserve. What I've begun to do is mix the treats in with the catfood, so the cats get the treats like Lucky Charms marshmallows in their dinner. The package makes no recommendations for how many treats a cat gets each day, though it does warn that Tasty Tidbits are intended as supplemental food, as opposed to actual meals for cats. So, my mixing them into the regular cat food seems like a good idea and my boys get five to ten treats that way each day.

Mixing the treats into the food makes a package last about two weeks with my cats. I tend to keep one pouch for use as treats (they get treat time an average of once every other day) and I mix the rest into their food when I jar it up. I jar all of my cat food up to keep the potential mouse population at bay (mice like Tempting Tidbits treats as well, I've discovered, and they can easily chew through the stiff plastic pouch). These treats have a very limited shelf life in comparison to other cat treats. The package which my wife picked up in early July has a October 2009 expiration date, which seems to make sense given the advertised lack of extensive preservatives.

I refuse to taste sample this treat myself to determine whether or not they taste like what they are supposed to (then again, it has been years since I've seen a dentist . . .). My cats love them, they keep coming back for them (and the big one is usually quite lazy) and they have lived up to the promise to maintain (or restore) my cat's dental health. As well, my cats illustrate a strong preference for the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavor versus other cat treats or other Tempting Tidbits.

The Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavored Tempting Tidbits are made up primarily of chicken meal, ground whole corn and fish meal before the ingredient list turns into odd things like dried apples, blueberries and carrots. My cats seem not to mind getting vegetables and they have not shown any health changes since we started using the Tempting Tidbits. The Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavored treats contain at least 35% crude protein, 16% crude fat and less than 3.5% crude fiber and 6.0% ash. These are not a bad food for my cats.

All in all, the Crunchy Salmon and Shrimp flavored tartar managing cat treats from Tempting Tidbits are a good treat that lives up to its promise of keeping up the dental health of cats. And outside one other flavor of Tempting Tidbits, these are the best!

For other cat treat reviews, please check out my reviews of:
Cosmic Catnip Clam Chowder treats
Pounce Tartar Control treats
Feline Greenies Oven Roasted Chicken

8/10

For other pet product reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Hall Pass Might Not Be The Hangover, But It Is A LOT Of Fun!

The Good: Very funny, Moments of acting
The Bad: Characters follow very predictable arcs, Jokes are better than the whole.
The Basics: Hall Pass has charm and is funny, but many of the jokes work as well independent of the movie, which strains very hard to keep itself together and be fresh.


March is finally here and with it comes movies that might not necessarily suck.  I say that as I sit to review Hall Pass, which my wife and I took in last night because it was the final big film of the February Doldrums and it did not, rather nicely, suck.  February tends to be a dumping ground for terrible movies, but Hall Pass actually amuses more than it disappoints, which is probably why it is doing so well with critics and moviegoers.  But while I am able to recommend Hall Pass, it is tough to do so when March's early blockbusters are right around the corner.  Hall Pass is a fun flick, but it's not one that truly uses the canvass of the big screen especially well.

Hall Pass is exactly what it appears to be; a "guys night out" comedy flick which, ironically, my wife laughed at more than the five frat boys with whom we shared the theaters.  The humor is generally relationship and gross-out humor, as one might expect from Peter and Bobby Farrelly and their writing partners for the film, Pete Jones and Kevin Barnett.  The film is a big step up from last year's Hot Tub Time Machine (reviewed here!) which fills the same essential niche and was released around the same time.  But for those who are looking to go out to the movies to see something essential on the big screen, it is easy to pass Hall Pass by.  This probably could have been a straight-to-DVD release and not lost any real effect.

Rick and Fred are best friends living in suburbia as a realtor and insurance agent, both married to great women who don't understand quite why their eyes stray, even if they never cheat.  Inspired by a doctor friend of theirs, Maggie and Grace consider giving their men a "hall pass," a week off from marriage.  The idea is that because they married young, they didn't have the chance to "sow their wild oats" or they have forgotten the pain and rejection of dating their marriages saved them from.  So when the guys are touring a rich associate's house and end up on camera insulting the daylights out of all their comrades, the Maggie lets Rick out of their marriage for a week.  Shortly thereafter, after an embarrassing incident with the police and his car, Fred gets a hall pass from Grace as well.

With Maggie and Grace out at Cape Cod for a week, Rick and Fred begin to check out the social scene. The early days of their hall pass are spent dining well and falling asleep, getting wasted on pot brownies and getting rejected.  But as the week comes to a close - and the women find temptation in the form of a traveling baseball team on the Cape - Rick makes a move on Leigh, the barista at a local coffee shop and Fred falls into an initially appealing situation which takes a bizarre turn.

Right before watching Hall Pass, my wife described Why Did I Get Married? to me.  She described that movie as a film about a bunch of guys who sit around kvetching about how bad their wives are and wishing for the good old days of being single.  By the end of the movie, they apparently realize how great their wives are and take it all back.  Before seeing Hall Pass, we pretty much figured that would be what the flick was and it was.  The only substantive difference seems to be that Hall Pass opens with two guys who truly love their wives and who don't seriously consider cheating; they just want a little more sex in their lives, so they look at and think of other women from time to time.

Thus, it is pretty surprising it takes until late in the movie before Maggie realizes just how the idea of the hall pass is working for her and not for Rick.  Rick and Fred are exactly as hapless as Grace originally predicts and watching them becomes more painful than actually entertaining.  Their foibles are hardly as funny or even interesting as the setup insinuates it might be.  Instead, this is a film where the guys try to be something they are not and it becomes gutwrenching to watch in the middle act.  Fortunately, the big finish is worth sticking around for and the scene midway through the closing credits finally gives Steven Merchant a time to shine.  But in between, Hall Pass goes from being a relationship comedy to a pretty lame buddy comedy film and it is unsurprising that the laughs fall off for almost a half hour in the middle.

Ultimately, Hall Pass does not stand up as an even noteworthy character study largely because the characters travel along surprisingly predictable lines.  Rick is loyal like he appears at the outset, but curious about what might be available to him and Fred is jusy lame on the singles scene.  They are ably played by Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis, respectively.  Neither gives a particularly surprising performance, though Owen shows depth one usually associates with Luke Wilson as Rick has the epiphanies about his relationship with Maggie that his character made explicit pretty early on in the movie.

Hall Pass is dominated on the acting front by the strength of the supporting performances.  Steven Merchant is charming in his usual goofy way as Gary and Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate give solid supporting performances.  But when Richard Jenkins finally appears as Coakley, that is when Hall Pass illustrates some genius in the casting department.  Jenkins, who usually plays dignified and articulate is perfectly smarmy as Coakley and he steals the late scenes of Hall Pass with no real effort.

There is enough in Hall Pass to enjoy, but it is not much more than an HBO-style comedy for the big screen.

For other films in theaters, check out my reviews of:
I Am Number Four
Unknown
The Green Hornet
Black Swan

6.5/10

For other film reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts.  May not be reprinted without permission.

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An American In Paris: Uncomfortably Obvious, Only Moments Outside The Average.

The Good: Decent music, Moments of performance
The Bad: Obvious plot and character development, Melodramatic acting, Print issues, Light on DVD bonus features.
The Basics: Mediocre in every way, save the filming and creativity, An American In Paris is too tough a sell to recommend.


For those who might not follow my reviews, musicals seldom do anything for me. Before I began going through every film that won the Best Picture Oscar, I am fairly certain I had no idea how many musicals had won that coveted award. So, lately, I have been watching a number of movies I am in no way predisposed toward. In fact, my wife despises old musicals such that I had to wait for her to leave for work to take in An American In Paris.

An American In Paris is a fairly typical musical film from the 1950s, filmed in Technicolor, filled with songs and dances and the title says it all. Actually, the film is about more than one American living in Paris after World War II. And while the movie has its moments, it is painfully obvious, even for a musical and there are only a few moments in the movie where the viewer is surprised or engaged. Similarly, there are only a few moments when the director uses the film medium well - in a way that makes the movie more than just a stage play on screen. Unfortunately, one of those moments comes up early in the movie and the viewer is left fairly underwhelmed for the remainder of the film.

Jerry Mulligan is a former soldier who opted to stay in Paris after the war in order to try to become the best possible painter he can. There, he associates with an ornery pianist, Adam, and his singing buddy Henri, and he keeps thralls of French children amused by giving them American bubblegum. One day, the wealthy Milo enters Jerry's life and buys some of his paintings. And while Milo is eager to advance his career and keep him from his prior poverty, Jerry is struck with love at first sight when he lays eyes on Lise.

Lise, though, takes some time to warm up to Jerry, though she does begin to care for him. Lise is Henri's girlfriend and while Milo sponsors Jerry's career, Jerry and Lise fall in love. But when the time comes for Jerry to make his move, Henri is offered a grand opportunity in the U.S., which prompts him to propose to Lise. Lise, being a pragmatist, accepts and Jerry is compelled to move on. Will their hearts win out or will pragmatism?

Who cares? The problem with An American In Paris is that when it is not preoccupied with the flash of style, it is utterly predictable. None of the characters, save the melancholy concert pianist Adam, are particularly empathetic and the societal notes about changing gender roles are hardly shocking today. Instead, An American In Paris is more a worthwhile historical document, a sign of the times from when it was made as opposed to an enduing love story. There are movies that manage to be both, like Casablanca (reviewed here!).

This is not to say that An American In Paris is all bad. Despite many of the lines being melodramatic, the lines are good. No, the writing is not exceptional and the characters are not in any way interesting enough to captivate viewers, but the lines and phrases are well-written and interesting. This, unfortunately, becomes like the cinematic equivalent of a fortune cookie with lines being clever, but not stringing together to build something substantial.

Director Vincente Minnelli uses the medium fairly well, though. Instead of simply translating something that seems like it could be an adequate stage play onto the screen, Minnelli uses the advantages of cinema over stage well. So, for example, to create the characterization of Lise, Henri sits and "tells" Adam about her. Henri speaks a line and Minnelli cuts away to Leslie Caron as Lise in a distinct costume doing a dance to portray a certain personality trait. Henri then lists another characteristic and Caron's outfit and style of dance both change.

Minnelli similarly uses the medium well to explore Adam's dream, when he creates a trippy sequence where Adam imagines presenting a concert as every member of an orchestra. Outside using masks, it is hard to imagine how this could be portrayed as well on stage and Minnelli actually makes the sequence quite delightful. As well, the event that made my partner declare in no uncertain terms that she was not watching this film with me, a seventeen minute ballet at the film's climax, was surprisingly engaging and it is an ambitious film moment for the complexity of the sets, costumes and dance routines. But for those who are not predisposed toward ballet, theater or musicals, this final sequence is not going to make one part of the converted. Instead, it plays to the expected conceits of tap, dance and theatrical performance. Minnelli does a decent job translating it to the screen, but it still is what it is and nothing more.

Unfortunately, the conventions of the musical take precedence over any true sense of storytelling sensibility. As a result, Jerry ends up singing and dancing to entertain a gang of children after he sells his first few paintings. Then, he sings the classic song "I've Got Rhythm." But the song makes no sense as Jerry has just revealed that he does not, in fact, have a squeeze. So, when he sings that he's got his gal, it leaves the attentive viewer feeling cheated. Instead, almost ten minutes of the movie are wasted from storytelling with a pointless and extended song and dance that does nothing but show off Gene Kelly's dancing ability.

On DVD, the print is sadly erratic. For example, in the musical number after Jerry meets Lise at the perfume store, the song progresses and all of a sudden the dancing Jerry and the piano-playing Adam are suddenly washed out. The color goes from being a very crisp, obviously restored print to a much grainier image that is not as color rich or vivid. The movie goes back to the restored for DVD version and continues, but the minute or two lapse is noticeable and troubling. As well, during Jerry's painting montage, the backgrounds are not cleaned up and when Adam has his fantasy orchestra performance, that too is not cleaned up in a way that the medium glorifies. In other words, matte lines and fading between film layers is evident.

As well, on DVD, An American In Paris is remarkably devoid of worthwhile DVD bonus features. The basic one-disc version (which is what I had access to) only had the movie's theatrical trailer. And interactive menus . . . ooh.

But for a film that is supposedly considered great, An American In Paris has a lot to live up to and given how obvious the character developments and plot are, this is a disappointing movie. Minnelli gets a lot of credit for style and Caron and Gene Kelly do great in the dance numbers and the music is even memorable. But the characters are more archetypes than actual characters and it is easy to forget this rather insubstantial film after one is done watching it.

Worth a single viewing, An American In Paris is trippy and stylish, but low on substance, making it hard to recommend for those creating a permanent library of DVDs.

[As a winner of the Best Picture Oscar, this film is part of W.L.'s Best Picture Project, available here! Please check it out!]

For other musicals, please check out my reviews of:
The Little Mermaid
Repo! The Genetic Opera
The Muppet Christmas Carol

5/10

For other movie reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Peter David Makes A Joke Out Of Star Trek With The Trial Of James T. Kirk!

The Good: Moments of decent writing, Visually interesting, Funny, Interviews
The Bad: Plots are somewhat repetitive, New characters are hardly noteworthy
The Basics: Peter David's knowledge of the Star Trek universe is enough to bring The Trial Of James T. Kirk up to average territory, but not recommend it!


After I reviewed the first original Star Trek graphic novel, Death Before Dishonor (reviewed here!), I found the subsequent graphic novel, The Trial Of James T. Kirk and set to reading it to be able to write a review of it. Continuing the storyline where Death Before Dishonor left off, The Trial Of James T. Kirk is an anthology of comic books reproduced by Titan Publishing. Titan essentially took the Star Trek comic reboot from DC Comics that began in 1989 and reprinted the second batch of six issues as a trade paperback anthology, much the way they did with the Star Trek: The Next Generation comic books.

Set during the time period following Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (reviewed here!), Death Before Dishonor tells two stories involving the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-A on its trips around the galaxy. While there are two big stories, there are little character story arcs through the graphic novel that span all six anthologized issues. This is a simple anthology of previously released comics, but because most of the comic books are harder to find and a bit expensive now, this offers a compact, affordable way to get the stories from the comic books without hunting down the back issues. That is actually a very cool idea and to sweeten the deal, Titan Books included an interview with William Shatner and one with Nichelle Nichols.

The stories are basically two three-part adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise 1701-A and they are anthologized to provide adventures after the fifth movie, but before the series closed up with the sixth film. The adventures, originally published as the comic books: "Not. . . Sweeney," "Going, Going . . .," ". . .Gone," "The First Thing We Do . . .," ". . . Let's Kill All The Lawyers," and "Trial And Error" are anthologized here for ease of presentation and story continuity. The anthology tells the overall story much better than the individual comic books, save that there are a slew of references to individual episodes of Star Trek as well as the previously released comic book adventures from the first anthology.

In "Not. . . Sweeney," "Going, Going . . .," and ". . .Gone," the U.S.S. Enterprise is sent to a planet that is on the verge of breaking up, shortly after the bounty on Kirk's head is raised by a bidding war between the Salla of Nasgul and the Klingon Empire. Kirk is astounded to find that the colonists he and the Enterprise are trying to rescue do not want their help, convinced as they are that they can wait for another Federation ship to arrive rather than risk boarding the Enterprise only to be killed by the first group of mercenaries that come their way.

Unfortunately for all concerned, as the planet's upheavals begin to become serious, the notorious bounty hunter Sweeney arrives with his fleet of ships and manages to capture Kirk, Spock and R.J. Blaise, the new protocol officer. While Spock works to neutralize Sweeney and Sulu tries to keep the Enterprise from being destroyed by the mercenaries, Kirk begins to rethink his career and his decisions, leading up to him surrendering himself to the custody of the Federation Council.

So, in "The First Thing We Do . . .," ". . . Let's Kill All The Lawyers," and "Trial And Error," the Trial Of James T. Kirk is conducted. Represented by Samuel T. Cogsley, Kirk is tried for murder of the Klingon captain and crew on the Genesis Mission and Prime Directive violations for his actions on the border of Nasgulian space. The Salla of Nasgul calls witnesses from Kirk's past missions who testify against Kirk and illustrate how he has played fast and loose with the Prime Directive in the past. These range from the troubling - like Anan 7 - to the absurd, like Bela Oxmyx. As the trial ramps up, Kirk and his team look like they might lose and Kirk might be extradited or stripped of his command.

First off, Peter David is a wonderful Star Trek writer, or he is in other mediums. David has a wonderful sense of humor for his narrators, but in the comic book setting (which lacks a decent context for his style of asides), his humor falls squarely flat. While his humor in terms of lines characters say fits in well with the post Star Trek V sense of exploration of the comedic aspects of Star Trek, this seems to be the one trick David is milking. It's almost like Star Trek was headed in a direction that made it more accessible to David's style of writing, even though most of his humor comes in his narrative techniques, like funny asides and comparisons in his novels. Lacking that, David is forced to make his humor more of dialogue-based. Sadly, this comes across as more of a collection of catch phrases and truly lame jokes that fall remarkably flat. This also takes the form of ridiculous phrases (the colonists all shout "Holy Kolker!" and everyone including the Klingons repeats with awe and dread, "Not . . . Sweeney!") and allusions that make the comic incarnation of Star Trek seem much more like a comic strip than a comic book (like the Calvin And Hobbes references in the first three stories).

Second, in order to make many of the stories work, David has to invent characters. As a result, there is a geologist who is from some new ram-like race and has a crush on Sulu. There is the relief navigator, Lieutenant Li, a young officer who also is hot for Sulu. There is the new transporter operator, also a woman, and while we applaud David's bringing more women into the "Star Trek" storyline, they seem like romantic subplot filler. As well, there is Ensign Fulton, a blue-skinned, gem-eyed security officer who is entirely green and the thing is, all of these extra characters (save one) are written out by the end of the book, so one has to ask "what is the point?!"

Finally, the stories tend to be predictable and filled with character elements that have been done to death in Star Trek. Captain Kirk, Spock and McCoy pretty much speak as they did in Star Trek V. So, Spock is fairly obsessed with swearing, Kirk is a smarmy maverick and McCoy is even more irate than usual. But things like McCoy being irritable fall flat on the page. McCoy's lines just seem like useless whining and it's all the same whining he has done before in the movies. Similarly, supplemental characters like Sulu, Chekov, Uhura, and Scotty all have loose ends from Star Trek V they need to wrap up and they are mixed in with the new characters trying to impress them. The thing is, much of the character interactions feel much like David is trying desperately to reinvent the Star Trek wheel. And he falls surprisingly short of success with that goal.

As well, David's stories hinge almost entirely on an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Trek. In The Trial Of James T. Kirk, David references "Court Martial," "A Taste Of Armageddon," "A Piece Of The Action," Star Trek III: The Search For Spock, and "Friday's Child" rather heavily. I love serialized works but this is just one allusion after another weakly held together by a thin plot and then long, pedantic speeches.

As well, another serious strike against the stories in The Trial Of James T. Kirk is related to the medium. James Fry and Arne Starr, who provided the artwork for the comic books, might be good, but they're not showing it terribly well here. Many of the characters are posed in ridiculous poses and the new aliens look quite unlike anything else in Star Trek. The idea of the fanatical Nasgul are interesting and they are well-drawn. The problem, though, is that StarFleet suddenly is an incredibly diverse place with aliens that look nothing like the creatures from Star Trek. Especially bad is R.J. Blaise who appears to age, de-age, become a giant pair of legs with a pin head and a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model all within frames of each other!

The stories are fun and the serialized aspect of them are almost worthwhile, but this anthology is far too comic strippy for fans of comic books or Star Trek to recommend this book. This is not great literature at all and the attempts at humor seem more desperate than clever. David seems to have lost his touch in this anthology.

For other Star Trek trade paperback anthologies, please check out my reviews of:
Spock Reflections
Star Trek Omnibus 1
Assignment: Earth

5/10

For other book reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Desperate To Keep Allies On Star Trek: The Next Generation, "Allegiance" Fizzles.

The Good: Moments of acting
The Bad: Ridiculous plot, Absurd character work, Ultimately juvenile.
The Basics: Plagued by already used humor and a weak script, "Allegiance" replaces Picard with an alien imposter who is impossible to stomach.


"Allegiance" is one of the weirdest episodes Star Trek The Next Generation ever did in that it offered a few of the actors, most notably Patrick Stewart and Gates McFadden, a chance to step outside their roles and expand their characters. The problematic aspect of the episode is that there are no consequences to the actions detailed in it and that seems odd given the magnitude of some of the occurrences.

At the start of the episode, Captain Picard is abducted by an alien probe and replaced with a replica. While Picard remains imprisoned in an undisclosed location, the replicant runs the ship. And he's running the ship into a pulsar. As well, he begins to act irregularly, dating Dr. Crusher and singing in Ten Forward. In the room where he is being held prisoner, Picard begins to work with a pacifist, an anarchist and a StarFleet Cadet to solve the mystery of their unseen assailants and get themselves back where they belong before they starve to death . . . or kill each other.

The only thing that was done completely right in "Allegiance" is that Guinan is not in it. It's frustrating to watch the crew react to Picard for quite a bit of time before actually believing something is wrong with the Captain. These are intelligent people and long before Picard is singing in Ten Forward, his behavior is questionable. It would have been absolutely unforgivable had Guinan been present and not recognized the doppleganger for what it was.

Fortunately, that's not the case. Unfortunately, that's the only thing the episode gets right. When it comes to the characters, the episode blows it. After all this time with being detached from one another, the methods the replicant uses to try to woo Beverly are idiotic. On a character level, she has been portrayed all along as too smart and too self confident to fall for the replicant's slick b.s.

Add to that that the plot is just silly. Especially with its ultimate resolution, the plot makes little sense. Picard's abductors have little sense of a culture and the debating that goes on in the jail cell between the four captives is drawn out and pedantic. It's painful to watch.

Even the actors cannot salvage much out of this one. Patrick gives a good run of playing his loopy, inconsistent replicant, but the dialog he is given is so weak that even he is not able to save it. Similar problems plague Gates McFadden. She's doing the best she can with what she is given, but you can't make gold out of garbage. I blame the writers.

In the end, the purpose of the experiment and how Picard stumbles upon the truth seems odd. The observer in the cell makes sense, but that a culture that could abduct the specific people it does capture would not know the fundamental clues that the doppleganger gives away is sad. It's shabby writing.

Completely inaccessible to those who are not fans of Star Trek The Next Generation for the simple reason that it is overphilosophical on the Picard plot and insulting the viewer's intelligence on the Replicant plot, "Allegiance" is a big disappointment to those who are fans of the series. There's too much talk in the Picard sections and not enough thought on the Enterprise.

Not worth your time, "Allegiance" tells a convoluted story without having any real lasting impact on the characters.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the third season by clicking here!
Thanks!]

3/10

For other Star Trek franchise reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Blonde, Well-Balanced And Boring: The 1994 Hallmark Barbie Debut Ornament Underwhelms!

The Good: Good sculpt, Vivid coloring, Exceptional balance
The Bad: Dull, No flexibility, No imagination with sculpt.
The Basics: In 1994, Hallmark Keepsake kicked off their annual tribute to the Barbie Doll line with Barbie Debut, a surprisingly dull ornament.


What catches on and what does not is always of interest to me. So when a product is popular, sometimes it baffles me what succeeds and what does not (I'm currently rooting for the Monster High doll line because I think geek girls need cool toys!). More than that, it always surprises me when there is merchandise based upon merchandise. When the Enchanted Evening Barbie Hallmark Ornament (reviewed here!) crossed my desk a few weeks ago, I was surprised to learn it was not the first in the line. No, that honor went to the Barbie Debut ornament from 1994 and as I sit considering this Barbie ornament, I am not only surprised Hallmark was able to keep making successful Barbie ornaments, but that Barbie dolls actually caught on!

For those unfamiliar with them, Barbie dolls have been a leading trademarked doll (and model for unrealistic female bodytypes!) from Mattel for over sixty years. Hallmark Keepsake picked up the Barbie license in order to produce Christmas ornaments and Barbie Debut was the first of many Barbie ornaments produced over the last twenty years.

Basics

The Barbie Debut ornament recreates the Barbie Debut doll that was put on the market in 1959. The ornament features the recognizable visage of Barbie with her blonde hair pulled back and blue eyes taking up a disproportionately large percentage of her face, along with a disturbingly high forehead. This Barbie is has the blonde pony tail with a slight upward curl at the back of it and bright red lipstick which is pretty iconic for the doll's head. The ornament has Barbie wearing a simple black and white striped bathing suit with a 1950s cut to it.

The Hallmark Barbie Debut ornament is made of a durable plastic and has the feminine icon standing alone, holding a pair of sunglasses in her right hand. Her swimsuit is colored bright white and a deep, contrasting black and her unrealistic proportions end in two tiny feet with black heels which are fused to a black disc that tells collectors exactly what the ornament is. The Barbie Debut also features a neck that is disproportionately long. The detailing of the sculpt is decent and it is enhanced by two wire earrings (one in each ear) that are immediately reminiscent of the earrings on the Slave Leia ornament (reviewed here!).

Features

As a Hallmark Keepsake ornament, Barbie Debut could have a function like a sound chip or light effect, but does not. This is just an ornament, a low-cost (comparatively) option for fans of Barbie. I think it's disappointing that Barbie Debut does not have any articulation to her limbs. It was well within the abilities of Hallmark to make the ornament articulated at least at the shoulders or neck, but they opted for a boring statue look for the ornament and that disappoints some.

Balance

As with all ornaments, the intent of the Hallmark Keepsake Barbie Debut ornament is to be hung on a Christmas Tree. And for those creating the ultimate Barbie Christmas Tree, the Barbie Debut ornament is a decent-enough start. The ornament has the standard brass hook loop embedded into the top center of the character's head. From there, one hangs the ornament and this Barbie ornament is perfectly balanced! Unlike the doll itself, which is almost impossible to get to stand up, the Barbie Debut ornament has great balance and hangs perfectly!

Collectibility

Hallmark Keepsake began delving into the collectibles market in 1991 with Star Trek when it introduced the exceptionally limited edition original U.S.S. Enterprise ornament (reviewed here!). Since then, they have branched out into every major franchise from Barbie to Gone With The Wind to Twilight. The Barbie Debut ornament sold well-enough to inspire a whole line that followed, but was vastly overproduced. There were Barbie fans who bought it and almost no investors or general fans of ornaments picked it up. It is one of the easiest Barbie ornaments to find on the secondary market and its value has plummeted.

Overview

Fans of the Barbie franchise, even those with retro reminiscences of their old Barbie Debut dolls are likely to be largely neutral to the Barbie Debut ornament. It is a good recreation of Barbie, but it could have been more; from fabric clothes to some poseability. But for a statue of the first Barbie, this fits the bill just fine.

For other ornament reviews of characters, please check out my reviews of:
2010 Bella And Edward Twilight ornament
2009 Wonder Woman
2009 "Frankly My Dear" Gone With The Wind ornament

5.5/10

For other ornament reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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On The Verge Of Perfection: Heather Nova's Oyster Foreshadows Wonderfully!

The Good: Wonderful lyrics, Amazing voice and great music!
The Bad: Nothing major, minor production quirk, Short.
The Basics: Buy this album if you are tired of the ordinary and want something working on deeper levels. If you're a teenybopper fluffchick, don't bother.


To say that Heather Nova's Oyster was her US breakout album is somewhat ironic given that the vast majority of people still have not heard of this amazing artist. This might seem odd coming from me, who has only posted two reviews (so far!) of Heather Nova's works, with my reviews of Siren (here!) and The Jasmine Flower (here!), though Nova is my favorite musical artist. But with so much music to transfer, Nova's works got strangely buried and today I am happy to rectify that. Back in 1995, many radio stations across the U.S. discovered Heather through her single "Walk This World." The joy to those who discovered Heather Nova before or since is that "Walk This World" isn't even her best track. In fact, it's not even the best track on Oyster.

Oyster's easy richness is found in the lyrics of Heather Nova and her depth and scope is impressive. From the dreamlike images of "Truth and Bone" ("I think of sinking in way over my shoulders, let the water, the water take me in and I need you to cut through to where I'm hidden . . ."), the poetic euphemisms of "Walk This World" ("I see you in the garden and I feel you plant the seed . . .") to the stark realism of "Sugar" it is immediately evident that Heather Nova can write! More than that, she can - and does - sing. She has an amazing voice combined with lyrics that are insightful and magical.

Her very strengths are what make the album unmarketable from a business perspective. That is, this album is not music for the 12 - 18 year old cd buying range. It is adult music dealing with emotions and situations with intelligence, insight and a larger sense of theme and purpose. I say, it's about time! Heather Nova's uniqueness and lyricism should be what's on the radio.

Her songs sing about love in a deep, meaningful way, as opposed to the fleeting, sugary romance of today's teens in the Blonde Revolution (my term for the whole Britney, Christina, Jessica, etc. phenomenon). More than that, she sings of loss and wounds. The simple fact that she tackles abusive relationships and their lingering results is a powerful thing. That she does so with style and lyrics filled with amazing imagery is another.

The only weakness of the album is in minor production aspects, though each of the songs are expertly put together by producers Felix Tod and Youth. But the arrangement on the album occasionally comes into question. For example, putting two thematically similar and like-sounding songs as "Heal" and "Island" back to back and so close to the beginning of the album was a mistake.

The album is otherwise solid and it is a hair's width from perfection. It is an excellent album, but not a perfect one. The strongest links are "Truth and Bone" (which IS a perfect song!) and "Walk This World" and the weakest track is probably "Heal."

For other works by strong female artists, please check out my reviews of:
Many Great Companions - Dar Williams
Live! Bad Kitty Board Mix - Sophie B. Hawkins
Laws Of Illusion - Sarah McLachlan

9/10

For other music reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2002 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.





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