Category: reviews

audio review : Is Your Love Big Enough ( album ) … Lianne La Havas

Is Your Love Big Enough ( album ) ... Lianne La Havas

My love probably isn’t big enough for Lianne La Havas. I don’t really partake in traditional romance, the kind of “love” she’s referring to here, so most of my affection would be restricted to her pretty doll-like physical appearance. I think I could get swept-up in her music though, to the point where, even if I’m not actually in love with it, my mind would be too hazy, my “heart” too fluttery, to tell the difference.

Some of these songs come close to demonstrating that fact, particularly the two in which she’s stripped down to just bluesy vocal melodies and an acoustic guitar. Age and Tease Me are both dedicated to “you”, the guy she’s questioning in the title, like every other song. The one that interrupts the flow is the one you can hear a guy’s voice replying back on, No Room For Doubt, which is also one of the album’s best.

Coming from a new pop artist, the set is something like a breath of fresh air. It’s not so hard to create this kind of cozy coffeehouse soundscape. All it really takes are skilled musicians playing live instruments softly as opposed to programming thumpy electronic ones. What makes it standout is the arrangement of the vocals on top, something this “love”-smitten Lianne girl has an apparent knack for.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012
 

ZYX :

The song “you can hear a guy’s voice replying back on”??? It’s a called a duet.

Deb Hawkins :

This album mostly chronicles her break-up with her boyfriend, so you kinda missed the mark.

video review : She Hate Me

video review : She Hate Me

A lot of, perhaps most, so-called lesbians are actually bisexual. A lot of, perhaps most, women who claim to be straight are too. Fatima’s fiancé Jack; the vice president of a corporate firm; caught her in bed having sex with another woman. She claims it was her first time and that the reason she did it is because she “had to find-out” her sexual orientation, either unaware or unwilling to admit that the curiosity alone told her everything she needed to know. It’s not who you have sex with that determines your sexual orientation, in other words, it’s who you’re sexually attracted to.

When Fatima’s new girlfriend and several other “lesbian” women have sex with Jack, her now ex-fiancé, it’s strictly business. They want babies, women can’t give each other babies and sperm banks are too unreliable and it’s hard for women couples to adopt. That makes Jack the man of choice. After losing his job during a Watergate-like job scandal, he needs the money; ten-thousand dollars per woman, minus Fatima’s ten-percent finder’s fee. That’s the deal and the hook of the plot. The fact that Fatima still has heteromantic feelings for him is supposed to be beside the point.

If it all seems silly, that’s because it is. The overall tone of this Spike Lee “joint” is that of a serious drama, as the orchestral score so often suggests, but the lesbian baby bits come across as some sort of comical hyperbole. That might be fine if the movie were just about that, but it rocks back and forth between that and Jack’s unrelated job scandal, which lacks any real sense of suspense despite threatening to land him in prison for a long time. There’s even a big courtroom scene near the end. But the sex scenes, which at times cross over into softcore porn, are much more appealing.

my rating : 3 of 5

2004

audio review : All Eyez On Me ( album ) … 2Pac

audio review : All Eyez On Me ( album ) ... 2Pac

2Pac is, as a rapper, near the height of popularity, so the exaggerated title of this album isn’t too far off. All Eyez aren’t on him, but a mixture of vanity and paranoia probably makes it seem that way from his point of view. It’s still Me Against The World. Everyone else is just waiting to see what his next move is going to be. If we’re looking, we’re listening, so this album is for the whole world.

It will be heard by rap music fans more than anyone else, of course, and in that category, it holds its own. 2Pac isn’t the best rapper or anywhere near; the Thug poet rarely has anything clever or particularly creative to say; but there is something to be said for his distinct sing-songy flow, in which he emphasizes random words by stretching syllables and putting an exclamation mark at the end.

If that’s not impressive enough, and I don’t think it is, it sounds a lot better over an array of sleek beats. There are also a lot of guest rappers; almost every song has one; but it’s the guest singers that really stand out. When one provides a catchy hook over said beat; Can’t C Me; the rapper shines more than he ever could on his own.

The second half of this 2-pack; a double album as far as CDs and tapes go; is superior in that regard. Run Tha Streetz and Rather Be Ya Nigga are catchy, perhaps even a bit romantic, and a sip of Thug Passion is all you need in the bedroom. Even when he’s calling out enemies in a violent rage, daring them to Holla at him, a singer is right there instigating with melodic taunts of her own.

That said, the album would be better limited to its best fourteen or thirteen songs. That means weaker inclusions like When We Ride, Hearts Of Men and How Do U Want It; not all the singers do well; would have to go. Even as is though, there are enough interesting things happening musically to hold your attention.

my rating : 4 of 5

1996
 

Muyiwa olubajo :

Some people don’t know what is really called a poet a distinct one for that matter that’s 2pac Amaru Shakur

audio review : Characters ( album ) … Stevie Wonder

Characters ( album ) ... Stevie Wonder

The album title and photo suggest that Stevie Wonder isn’t singing as himself on these songs. If that’s the case, it might also suggest he wasn’t singing as himself on all those other songs. The concepts, in other words, aren’t much different than the ones he’s covered in the past; most notably, romantic and spiritual love. The characters he portrays are mostly loving and caring in some way or another.

He even plays the role of Christ. You Will Know, The Lord sings in response to the prayers of his troubled believers, “Trust and I will show.” The melody sounds about as soothing and reassuring as any good gospel ballad. It is thus fitting that after beginning the album on such a high note, he ends it with another uplifting song; a simile-laced poem entitled Free as in free of all those Earthly worries.

The best song is Skeletons, about people holding secrets and telling lies. The vocals soar like gossip breath and the Wonderfully-composed climax builds genuine suspense around the rumor mill, but the relentlessly funky beat also makes it a track you can dance to. That’s also the case with Dark And Lovely, an African lament featuring one of the most creative synth bass-line loops I’ve ever heard.

my rating : 4 of 5

1987

video review : Hostel [ Part 2 ]

video review : Hostel [ Part 2 ]

Perhaps I’m a little “sick”. I think it’s morally wrong to torture and kill people for no justifiable reason, but I can understand, even relate to, the desire to do it, especially when the victim is a girl who’s as sexually attractive as actress Lauren German. She plays a wealthy art student named Beth, who, along with two of her female classmates and the model girl they were assigned to draw, decide to take a train to Slovakia for a little “spa” vacation. That’s where the danger begins. Eventually one of the girls is hanging upside down from a ceiling, dripping sweat and gushing blood.

That scene, a display of lesbian sadism, is a turn-on. That’s where it goes back to me being a little sick. I’m not a sadist in that I’d ever do what these Hostel clients do; pay money to get their rocks off by torturing and killing innocent people; but it can be a thrill to watch. That’s the point of this movie; a Part 2 that’s a lot more entertaining than its predecessor partially because the main victims are cute girls but mostly because Eli Roth, probably inspired by mentor Quentin Tarantino, manages to provide an engaging, sometimes surprisingly suspenseful, plot.

It’s not quite a good movie. The individual parts are better than the whole. The beginning, an epilogue sort of prelude, is unnecessary. The ending, in which one of the girls starts behaving in a way that seems to go against her character; the set-up to another sequel; is just plain silly. This second Hostel is a movie I’d nonetheless recommend to anyone who’s into bloody horror and already had the displeasure of sitting thru the first one… or any sicko who gets a psychological rush from the sights and sounds of girls screaming, crying and wiggling around in physical anguish.

my rating : 3 of 5

2007

video review : RoboCop

video review : RoboCop

RoboCop is a Detroit police officer that’s part man and part machine. His advantages on the force include superhuman strength; he can bend the barrel of a gun with his hand; and precise computer-aided calculations. This thoroughly entertaining sci-fi action flick also reveals some Frankenstein-like psychological drama as “deceased” cyborg Alex Murphy comes to terms with his new identity.

my rating : 4 of 5

1987

video review : RoboCop 2
video review : RoboCop 3

audio review : Fuck Yo Feelings [ Volume 1 ] ( mixtape ) … Honey Cocaine

audio review : Fuck Yo Feelings [ Volume 1 ] ( mixtape ) ... Honey Cocaine

“I don’t love no one,” Honey Cocaine proclaims, staying true to the title of the set. If that’s true, ignoring the double negative, she seems to at least like herself. Her raps are the rhythmic ramblings of a cute Yellow Bitch who’s used to getting positive attention. If she’s not the most popular girl on the scene, she seems to be on her way. Her skills, which thrive in style but lack in substance, leave a lot to be desired, but you can’t tell her that.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012

audio review : Write Me Back ( album ) … R Kelly

audio review : Write Me Back ( album ) ... R Kelly

R Kelly put a Love Letter in the mailbox a couple of years ago. It was dedicated to the ladies. This is the follow-up entitled Write Me Back because, as far as he’s concerned, the best albums were made before email and phone texting. It’s a record of new soul songs that sound like old soul songs, a trip back to the 1970s and 1960s, and, like that last album, it’s a case of style over substance.

R Kelly handles almost all of the production and that’s fantastic. He’s always been his own best musician. The instrumental backing sounds gorgeous, sometimes perfectly so. The first song captures the magic of Marvin Gaye. It’s the vocal melodies that are lacking and that’s a shame because catchy vocals were a given back when the singer made albums with no special formulas or gimmicks.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012

video review : Edward Scissorhands

video review : Edward Scissorhands

Edward has scissors for hands, but no one ever says why. All his backstory explains is that the scissors, which, like his mountain home and the personalities of the people in the surrounding neighborhood he eventually pierces, are largely exaggerated, were supposed to be temporary. The man who invented him died just before putting on his hands.

Not that it matters much. Scissorhands, a well-mannered ghost of a man dressed in all leather like a slave in a bondage session, is more annoying than intriguing and I don’t care anything about him. Even when a plot finally begins to develop, it’s all in vain. The fairy tale epilogue, which explains the origin of snow in pastel Suburbia, is cute though.

my rating : 2 of 5

1990

video review : Alice In Wonderland

video review : Alice In Wonderland

There’s nothing wonderful about Tim Burton’s adaption of Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, a fantasy novel by Lewis Carroll. It’s one of the most popular children’s stories American culture has to offer. I remember attending a stage play version of it in elementary school. I don’t remember it being this bad.

This is a movie without a clear plot. The visuals; the costumes and set designs that make-up Wonderland; are artsy and imaginative. That’s something a Tim Burton presentation basically guarantees. The story, however, which lands a girl named Alice in an impossible dreamworld of sorts, fails to captivate or intrigue.

The characterization is even worse. I especially hate the incredibly annoying Mad Hatter and the cringe-inducing Futterwacken dance he does, which an otherwise likeable Alice mimics near the end. It’s just stupid and pointless as is the whole movie. Shame on Tim Burton for ruining my childhood memories.

my rating : 1 of 5

2010
 

Andrew J. Holliday :

“It’s one of the most popular children’s stories American culture has to offer.”

American culture? Alice in Wonderland? American? Like that other US classic, The Wind in the Willows….

video review : Throw Momma From The Train

video review : Throw Momma From The Train

The premise, two guys planning to commit murder for each other, would work better in a serious movie. The comedy genre doesn’t do it justice. Perhaps it’s just the fact that Danny DeVito, who not only stars as a writing student named Owen but also plays the role of director, isn’t that funny. Nor is comedian Billy Crystal, Owen’s college professor, a novelist who hates his ex-wife for taking credit for one of his books and getting famous enough to go on Oprah for it.

Owen hates his mother and for a good reason. She’s an old decrepit bitch. Though he takes care of her on a daily basis; he cooks meals for her, gives her baths and even gets wax-balls out of her ears; she treats him like dirt. Instead of having her taken away to a nursing home or simply moving out of the house, he invertedly comes-up with the idea to have her killed by Owen in exchange for killing Owen’s ex-wife; an idea that comes from an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

It’s the wacky ways in which the two protagonists go about their plan that’s disappointing. There are some laughs, mostly centering around “Momma” and her blatant grumpiness, but those laughs are far and few between. Most of the comedy is slapstick hack. The dark underlying and the little bit of suspense it provides is what keeps things interesting. I just wish there were more of it and less Billy Crystal falling down the stairs or being smacked in the head with a frying pan.

my rating : 3 of 5

1987

audio review : The MF Life ( album ) … Melanie Fiona

The MF Life ( album ) ... Melanie Fiona

The title implies a distinction, but the MF life isn’t much different than the life of most girls who happen to sing songs for a living. It’s almost all about having a romantic relationship, or being in “love”, with a guy, and that’s okay. Clichés aren’t necessarily a bad thing. But as gorgeous as Melanie Fiona’s voice may sound in a technical sense, it hardly latches onto a melody to match.

No ID and other producers, along with a handful of guest vocalists, try to make-up for that. Sometimes it works. The John Legend duet sounds like Motown, Nas provides a surprisingly impressive verse for Running and the ending of Break Down These Walls sounds nice. But the album is mostly kitchen cookie cutter cuts that could’ve come from any average female soul singer.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012