With America, we can add “thoughtful” and “poignant” to the mix. A bundle of goofy energy in a Technicolor Cosby sweater, Deacon long felt like the class clown who would never threaten to grow up especially in Spiderman of the Rings and Meetle Mice. There was some growth in 2009’s Bromst, to be sure, but […]
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Feathered Rabbit — Feathered Rabbit
After all, it wasn’t until August that the Oklahoma City act released even the subtlest sniff of recorded material: a three-song EP of quaintly crafted demos and early recordings titled Drunk Rabbit that, as anyone who’d seen the group in concert would attest, resembled the work of a band whose burgeoning brawn was begging to […]
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’Van go
The closer we creep to Halloween, the more gypsy-folk band Caravan of Thieves feels in its element. “We’re fascinated with the idea of the world of supernatural. There’s as much dark and twisted out in the world as happy things. We want to encapsulate the whole thing,” said singer Fuzz Sangiovanni. “There’s some gore and […]
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Sooner the Sunset — Sooner the Sunset
Their chemistry is undeniable, and from the sound of this self-titled debut EP, the two bring out the very best of each other — no small feat for artists who are incredible in their own right. The pair finds the perfect blend of pop and indie folk, crafting songs that recall the likes of Mumford […]
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Rock of Ages
Taking place in the hair-metal heyday of 1987, Rock of Ages jumps from Broadway to the big screen, and lands on its face with a thud. If it’s not the year’s most misbegotten big-studio project, I don’t wish to be exposed to what is. Talking and singing in a baby voice akin to nails on […]
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Something Big
Its unconventional, icky premise is that Baker really, really wants to get his hands on a Gatling gun, and black-market man Johnny Cobb (Albert Salmi, Caddyshack) really, really wants to get his hands on a woman, so Cobb proposes a trade: Bring him a woman, and he’ll give Baker a Gatling gun. See, it’s been […]
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Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
Lately — and all too quietly — the Indomina label has been releasing some excellent packages of Asian action films I’m afraid otherwise would go unseen by North American audiences: True Legend, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame and now, Flying Swords of Dragon Gate. Apparently a sequel and/or semi-remake of 1992’s […]
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Hypothermia
Essentially a six-person play, the film by writer/director James Felix McKenney concerns two groups of people ice-fishing and a creature lurking underneath that sheet. One is a family fronted by Michael Rooker (TV’s The Walking Dead) and Blanche Baker (Sixteen Candles); the other infringes on their territory, so you know one of them will be […]
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Back from Hell
Presented as four days of a taped holiday — because apparently, that’s what young people do — the movie follows a handful of pals who vacay together, screw around with a Ouija board and eat shish kabob outdoors. In other words, not a Hell of a lot happens beyond the occasional person screaming from outside. […]
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Chained
After catching a movie, a woman (Julia Ormond, TV’s Mad Men) and her young son (Evan Bird, TV’s The Killing) take a cab to get home, but the cabbie isn’t really a cabbie. He’s Bob (Vincent D’Onofrio, Full Metal Jacket), a lisping serial killer of “whores.” Bob offs the mom, but keeps the kid as […]