By their very nature, re-releases and compilations are confusing to review. Fans are often torn whether or not to even buy a compilation disc: on one hand, it’s largely material you’ve heard before, rebundled in a convenient package; on the other, these releases traditionally contain “remasterings” of the material, ranging from upgraded sound quality on the existing recording to a completely different cut of the song. Because of this strange dichotomy, there are two schools of thought one could subscribe to when considering Ben Folds’ Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP, which is largely an amalgamation of songs from his limited-release EPs Super D, Sunny 16, and Speed Graphic. Both schools have legitimate arguments; luckily, Folds’ material here is strong enough to overcome the fact that it’s all been heard before.

Continue Reading »

Welcome to Kuwait City, Kuwait. Yes, American laziness in naming capital cities has now reached international locales. Soon to follow will be an obesity crisis and an overdependence on technology. It’s going to be fun to watch. Just thinking of Kuwait brings back memories of the early 1990’s, when the First Gulf War, George H.W. Bush, and Aladdin dominated the cultural landscape. It feels like a lifetime ago. I mean, Saturday Night Live was still relevant. Jeez. Anyway, Kuwait and its capital city were the sixth pit stop…in a racearoundtheworld. Last week, we learned that it may be better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, but it’s better to get a confirmed flight than to show up in East Jibip with no tickets at all, like David and Mary did. Fortunately, they encountered the first non-elimination leg of the race, and were sent away from the mat Marked for Elimination (coming this Memorial Day to theatres near you). Who will be cast aside…next?

Continue Reading »

Two days removed from the biggest news in the Flyers organization since Peter Forsberg slipped on his orange and black sweater, I still see Ken Hitchcock’s firing as change for change’s sake. Yes, Bob Clarke’s resignation represents a significant shift in team philosophy - moving focus from lumbering, workmanlike veterans to young, swift scorers - and that shift suggests that the Flyers have finally decided to catch up with the “new NHL,” but the appointment of John Stevens, a noted developer of young talent - to replace Hitch strikes me as another in a long line of examples of prima donna athletes who need to be handled with kid gloves instead of extra large Bauers.

Continue Reading »

Ever since I’ve decided to be an amateur film critic - or, at least, since I’ve started to air that side of my psyche here on the interwebs - I’ve found it difficult to get wrapped up in too many movies. I still enjoy going to the movies and taking part in the escape for a few hours, and I love talking with my friends about our thoughts on certain films, but criticism and awe are often, for good reason, mutually exclusive. It’s a welcome relief, then, when a film can so involve me that I find myself lost in it, completely forgetting that I’m seeing it in part because I want to write a review of it. Christopher Nolan is the kind of director who has proven that he can do exactly that, and his The Prestige, an intriguing tale of two turn of the century magicians locked in a lifelong game of one-upmanship, is no exception.

Continue Reading »

What goes through the mind of a madman before he commits his defining act? What drove John Wilkes Booth, for example, to slink into the presidential booth at Ford’s Theatre and put a bullet in the back of Abraham Lincoln’s head? Assassins, a revue-style musical with book by John Weidman and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, examines the motivations of nine presidential assassins - successful or attempted - and their place in history. The show is being performed at Saint Joseph’s University through October 28. It’s said that bad reviews sent Booth over the edge and into madness; based on the quality of the performances in Cap & Bells’ version of the play, there is little danger of inspiring a new killer.

Continue Reading »

Welcome to Chennai, India. Formerly known as Madras, Chennai is the capital of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Pronunciation doesn’t really get any easier as we continue on from there, so let’s not even try. Chennai was the fifth pit stop…in a racearoundtheworld. Last week, your humble recapper fell asleep on the job and didn’t post a recap. So let quickly go over what we learned, hm? During an ascending Roadblock, we learned that it’s best to have full functionality of your limbs, and you’d think after the Great Wall incident, Peter and Sarah would have figured that out. As a result of Sarah’s poor decision making, we got to learn more about how much of a jackass Peter is, and the team set the record for how quickly they went from being someone to root for to the token dysfunctional couple. Maybe that will be a portion of the next triathlon they try. We also learned, once again, that it’s important to read your clue, as Dustin and Kandice and Tom and Jerry wind up trying to do way too much, and it hurts Tom and Jerry more, as they wind up quite literally dragging themselves to Philimination. Shame, because they’re just the kind of likeable idiots that need to stay around longer. What pair of fools will be cut from the ch-ch-chain…next?

Continue Reading »

The new television season is now a few weeks old, and I think I’ve finally come to a decision about what I am going to dedicate my evenings to watching. Of course, there’s old staples like LOST, House, Veronica Mars, and The Office, all of which have returned in fine form, but the intrigue is always in new programming. Though they seem to be struggling for ratings, NBC has put out some of the better new shows this year (of course, they had the most open time slots; witness the quality programming already mentioned and you see why the peacock had to lose so many of its shows). I’ve already stated my approval of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and will continue to watch even if it seems unlikely to make it through the season. After the jump are my thoughts on the rest of what I’ve been able to catch of the network’s new offerings.

Continue Reading »

Under normal circumstances, a paying concertgoer would be upset to see a musician interrupt his live show to read excerpts from a trashy 95 cent novel about a male prostitute. In most cases, it would be taken as a sign that the crowd wasn’t enjoying the music. When you’re spending the evening with Matt Nathanson, though, this kind of behavior is not only par for the course; it’s expected. For 90 minutes last night (after an hour set by Virginia rockers Carbon Leaf), Nathanson brought his unique blend of dry wit and emotional pop/rock to the TLA. From the moment he stepped on stage, Nathanson had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand, and not once did his fare disappoint.

Continue Reading »

It’s no secret that the majority of people in my demographic would rather spend hour between 11 p.m. and midnight getting their world news from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than listening to the talking heads on local network news. We are so enamored with our television pundits, in fact, that we create petitions to have them run for head office - “Stewart/Colbert ‘08!” or “Sorkin for President!” - as empty threats against the governmental status quo. In Barry Levinson’s Man of the Year, late-night comedian Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) takes the suggestion seriously and winds up slated as the next man to fill the Oval Office. Like many of the politicians, though, the movie promises great things in its campaign (in this case, the marketing) but fails to deliver on them once the public decides to give its support.

Continue Reading »

For some reason, I never noticed that the RSS feed for this site, to this point, has been…what’s the word….non-existent. I’m not entirely sure why the default feed never worked, but I was setting up some feeds for my new Norwegians account and used my own site as a test and realized that the feed didn’t really work. I’ve gone ahead and fixed that problem, so now you can subscribe to the RSS of good ol’ Movie Hawk like you do any other blog that you read. Because I’m sure you were clamoring to see some updates.

Back later today with a review.