The release of The Strokes’ debut album Is This It? in 2001 was surrounded by a massive hype (the NME hailed them as the saviours of Rock ‘n’ Roll months before the album came out) and the beginning of the “The” band name trend. The record was celebrated by fans and critics alike, who highlighted the band’s lo-fi approach that sounded so effortlessly cool. The Strokes were the new ‘in’ band and together with Detroit-based The White Stripes and The Hives from Sweden they paved the way for a new generation of indie/alternative/garage rock that had the potential to be more than just underground favorites.

Room on Fire, the follow-up album in 2003, was controversial. The record contained obvious hits (’12:51′ and ‘Reptilia’), but the fact that those songs stood out so much meant that a lot of the predecessor’s consistency had been lost. The New York band had also expanded their influences and experimented with new sounds, polarizing the fan base. The record remains equally loved and hated to this very day. From a more cautious perspective it can at least be claimed that Room on Fire suffered from the immense expectations it inevitably stirred following their über-album debut.

First Impressions of Earth is The Strokes’ third opus and is released 30 December 2005. The album’s title implies a new outlook, and in the band’s case, a new beginning. First Impressions of Earth sees The Strokes departing from their customary sound, adding more aggression, pathos and depth to their formerly near monotonous music. Where their production and mixing used to be (or at least used to sound) minimalistic and reduced, you can now hear money and effort put into the work. The Strokes have departed from the safe zone and are out to discover new ground.

The band’s expanded horizon is underlined by new musical influences, now far more contemporary: musically, The Strokes seem to have picked up more than a few tricks from british bands Muse (most obvious on ‘Electricityscape‘ and ‘Ize of the World‘) and Franz Ferdinand (the current single ‘Juicebox‘). Incidentally, Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes are fans of each other’s music and have been toying with the idea of a collaborative effort (whether live or recorded is unkown). And quite ironically, Muse had announced in the early stages of recording their new album (scheduled for spring 2006) that some of their songs would be reminiscent of The Strokes.

Julian Casablanca’s voice is forced to cover a much wider range, and the lead singer holds up to the task. More than that, even, his voice has never sounded so pronounced and strong on any other Strokes recording. And more than once you’ll hear a bit of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain (on ‘Vision of Division‘), U2’s Bono (on ‘Fear of Sleep‘) and The Vines’ Craig Nicholls (on ‘Juicebox‘) in his singing. If you’re starting to get the feeling that First Impressions of Earth seems to lack in originality you’ve got a point. The Strokes are only innovative so far that they’ve reinvented their own sound.

And yet the outcome of their sound blending is astounding, because they pull it off so well. Each track is uniquely interesting. The opener ‘You Only Live Once‘ is a mixture of their previous and their new direction, perfectly linking the new album back to the first two. The first single ‘Juicebox‘ is their most aggressive tune to date and was accompanied by such a cynical and ironic (read: great!) video, that most of its imagery had to be edited out in order for the video to receive any airplay at all (the director, Mike Palmieri, removed his name from the video following the forced cuts).

Further exciting highlights include the energetic ‘Heart in a Cage’, scheduled as the next single release sometime in February, the virtuous and versatile ‘Electricityscape‘ and the elegic ‘Ize of the World‘ with its Muse-y crescendo. Also of note are ‘Ask me anything‘, a wonderfully self-reflective song in which Casablances is accompanied by no more than an electric cello, and ‘Razorblade‘, which is set to the melody of Barry Manilow’s ‘Mandy‘ over which Casablances declares: “My feelings are more important than yours”. Which basically means that he couldn’t care less how we felt about the new record.

Alas, the album’s diversity hurts its overall coherence at times. The album doesn’t flow as well as Is This It? and is more a bundle of individual songs than an entity itself. Furthermore, not only has their average song length expanded to over four minutes (they used to keep it short and simple), but First Impressions of Earth is compiled of no less than fourteen tracks. The high quality the album opens with is lost towards the stretched end, which causes the record to drag to the finish line. These are minor gripes however, that only slightly tarnish the overall strength of First Impressions of Earth.

In the end, the greatest strength of First Impressions of Earth is that it proves that The Strokes are evolving as a band and that they are capable of creating exciting and masterfully produced tunes that still feature their trademark cool sound. The record is not the milestone their debut was, lacks a bit in originality, coherence and proficiency, but the individual tracks’ quality should be good enough to restore faith into the fans who were disillusioned by Room on Fire and remind everyone who ‘the original “The” band’ is.

Posted in Reviews •

It’s been a mere two months since the newest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released in cinemas worldwide (in fact, in some eastern european countries and in Hong Kong the movie doesn’t open until this week), but sights are already set on the future of the series. The movie adaptations made their respective debuts in theaters one and a half years apart from eachother, and this relatively short time span in between films meant that pre-production on the next installment had to commence while the current film was in its final stages, and shooting on the new part shortly after the prior one hit cinemas.

This proficient production schedule is necessitated by the puberty-induced rapid maturing of the three lead actors Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), who, as the producers fear, will grow out of their roles if the films fail to more or less mimick the character’s age progression in the books (each book starts with a new school year, i.e. the characters would be exactly a year older than at the beginning of the previous book). But the one year age difference in between books does not equal the 1.5 year age difference of the actors in between films, which is why 16 year old Daniel Radcliffe played a 14 year old Harry Potter in Goblet of Fire (while the age of the actor and his character were the same in the first movie). If you apply the 1.5 year movie release cycle onto the adaptations of books 5, 6 and 7 (the finale), Radcliffe would already be 21 in the seventh film, playing a seventeen year old Harry Potter!

Considering this, rumours that Radcliffe, Grint and Granger might be replaced by younger actors at one point in the series shouldn’t come as a surprise (admittedly, it still sounds like a long shot; many actors and actresses in their early twenties portray teenagers in various movies and particularly in television series). For now though, all three of them are confirmed to reprise their roles in the fifth movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Speculation exists that because of the book’s length (it’s the longest of the series so far), the film will have an extended running time, which could imply a longer production phase. But since the Goblet of Fire movie was not significantly longer than Prisoner of Azkaban (despite the book consisting of nearly twice the amount of pages) it is safe to assume that Order of the Phoenix will be released ‘on schedule’: in June 2007, 1.5 years after Goblet of Fire.

You can also be fairly sure that most of the adult actors will receive renewed contracts. The only notable replacement in between films so far was that of Richard Harris, who’s Dumbledore role was given into the care of Micheal Gambon after the actor passed away. Confirmed returning cast members include Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort), Julie Walters (Molly Weasley) and Katie Leung (Cho Chang). The first new addition comes with british actress Imelda Staunton (Oscar nominated for her role as Vera Drake in the film of the same name) who will play the film’s main antagonist Dolores Umbridge, the deceitfully cruel ministry witch with the toad-like face. Furthermore, the roles of Kingsley Shaklebolt and Nymphomadora Tonks have been cast, but WarnerBros. has yet to announce the actor and actress that were selected. The same goes for the role of the peculiar Ravenclaw student Luna Lovegood, according to recent reports an actress has been selected out of a couple of thousand hopefuls. No name announced to the public yet.

With all child extras found, the open casting for the new film has come to an end. The casting agents are currently on the look out for actors and actresses to play the young James and Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew for a flashback scene. According to Enchantment Casting, an agency that has represented many young Harry Potter related hopefuls, the parts of Marietta Edgecomb (Cho Chang’s ravenclaw friend) and Lavender Brown (a fellow Gryffindor student) are not slated to be cast. All of the adult extra casting will take place after Christmas. Debunked casting rumours include Anna Friel (wife of David Thewlis, Professor Lupin in Prisoner of Azkaban) as Tonks, Julianne Nicholson as Lily Potter and Elizabeth Hurley as Bellatrix Lestrange.

The shooting of the film itself will start in January or February 2006 back in the UK, after Prague was briefly considered as a new filming location, due to a lower tax rate for film crews. Producer David Heyman recently decided against this though, citing the additional costs of set material transportation and cast and crew relocation as the main reasons. The film will be directed by David Yates, who has gained most of his experience in television. His résumée includes The Girl in the Café (2005, TV), Sex Traffic (2004, TV), The Young Visiters (2003, TV), State of Play (2003, TV Series) and Rank (2002). Before Yates was officially announced by WarnerBros., the studio had offered the job to the likes of Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding, Vanity Fair), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Alien: Resurrection, Amélie, A Very Long Engagement) and Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Snatch, Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels). Nair decided against it for reasons unknown, Jeunet felt his creative input was too limited with actors and script out of his reach, and Vaughn’s vision of the film was too graphic and violent for the studio’s taste.

Steven Kloves has bowed out of the project to delve into new fields, after having adapted all of the first four Potter books into screenplays. Writer Micheal Goldenberg, who penned the scripts for Peter Pan (2003) and Contact (1997), has taken over the post, and is currently hard at work at completing the first shooting script for Order of the Phoenix. Kloves however, after reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (book 6) when it was released earlier this year, begged WarnerBros. to bring him back on for the sixth movie. His children were reportedly dismayed at the prospect of having their father at home with them more often instead of working on Harry Potter! The studio gladly gave him his job back.

Considering the book’s wealthy content, it will be interesting to find out where Micheal Goldenberg and David Yates will locate the story’s essence and to thus follow which plot points and characters will be sacrificied in favor of a reasonable running time and a coherent film. This however, is a topic for another X-Realms article, one that is sure to follow once the first story details and rumours start leaking from the sets. In the meantime, new readers and members of the X-Boards are invited to follow and discuss all the latest developments regarding the film-in-making in our newly set up subforum for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Posted in Harry Potter •

This book was originally released in 2003 and although it was a best seller, seems to have slipped under the radar of myself and many others on the X-Boards. It was the news that a big budget movie adaptation is incoming for 2006 that inspired me to take a trip to my local bookshop and pick up a copy. For some reason I didn’t want to like this book. I know that sounds strange, but I approached the reading of Eragon (EHR-ug-gahn) as a chore rather than a pleasure. I think primarily it was the fact that the author was only seventeen years old when he wrote this book that made me doubtful of its quality. I mean, how could a teenager produce a work to impress someone who believes that the world of fantasy literature begins and ends with JRR Tolkien? It was this prejudice that encouraged me to read the book through again after hitting page 497 to review it with a fairer perspective.

After five minutes of searching in fantasy and science fiction at my local bookshop I was steered in the direction of the children’s section by an assistant. This immediately triggered alarm bells because even Harry Potter has a spot in the adult area. Resigned to spending the next week wading through 500 small print pages of adolescent drivel I scanned the kids section, and sure enough, there amidst the Dahl and Sendak, right next to the Philip Pullman sat the first two instalments of the Inheritance trilogy.

Influences
You might think that placing Eragon in the same sentence as Lord of the Rings is unfair, but this is a book that begs comparison with that epic trilogy, borrowing freely from, adapting and subverting its themes, characters and mythologies. For example, Eragon’s world has the staple races of Middle Earth: Dwarves, Elves and Urgals (Orcs) and although this is not unusual within the genre it is surprising how closely Paolini sticks to the master’s template with regard to their individual qualities. The Elves bare an uncanny resemblance to the race described by Tolkien, although in this story their maritime manoeuvrings are reversed and they sail into, rather than from the land. The Ra’zac, shadowy servants of the evil Galbatorix who are dispatched to hunt down and destroy Eragon are more than a little similar to the Nazgul.

The book also has an obligatory map of which several locations could be easily interchangeable with those frequented by Bilbo or the Fellowship, a fabricated Elvish tongue derived from Old Norse/Icelandic and the odd wistful song.

Without looking too hard Eragon also resembles the Star Wars saga, with its main character an orphaned farmhand living with his Uncle on the hinterlands of a corrupt empire. His mentor comes in the form of a grizzled Obi-Wan-like character called Brom, who teaches him the ancient wisdom and skills of a long extinct order of warriors. These plot characteristics might be explained away by proponents of universal mythology as basic traits of all epic tales, rather than conscious intellectual burglary, but it is the existence of more specific moments like the sacking and burning of Eragon’s homestead and his training via levitating stones that suggests that Paolini has more than a passing acquaintance with that galaxy far, far away. By the time that Eragon is given a sword by his mentor and taught the Jedi mind trick you’ll probably agree with me.

Another less obvious influence is the important role that that music played in the construction of the book. Paolini would use high romantic orchestral works as inspiration, playing the music as a soundtrack to his writing and a stimulus for his creative process. I also noticed that cues from classical romantic music tinge the work in the form of allusions to the works of Grieg in chapter title and the appearance of a minor character who is actually named after that most famous Norwegian.

Upon reading the book it’s not difficult to imagine the author spinning Der Ring der Nibelungen by goose-stepping proto-Nazi Richard Wagner, the symphonic works of Sibelius or the tone poems of the German Strauss as he put pen to paper. In his online biography, Paolini relates that he wrote the climactic battle sequence to the strains of Carl Orff’s secular poetic oratorio-mime Carmina Burana (which seems strangely out of place in the company of the aforementioned musico-dramatic and broad symphonic works) and one would imagine in particular, the much abused O Fortuna! served as a score to the final carnage (I think Excalibur may be another movie that lives in his collection).

The story (spoiler free)
The ancient order of Dragonriders once kept peace amongst the peoples of Alagaesia, but now they are extinct. A rider called Galbatorix, turned insane by grief and aided by the dreaded ‘Forsworn’ hunted down and destroyed them. Now he rules the Empire as King and had forged allegiances with dark forces that now roam freely across the land, opposed only by the Varden- a mysterious coalition of races, sworn to end his reign of tyranny.

The youth Eragon lives with his Uncle and cousin on a remote farmstead, ignorant to the cloud of darkness that is descending about him. One day whilst out hunting he stumbles across an amazing hollow gemstone in the remote forests of the Spine, a wild mountain range near his home. Returning home, he is unable to sell the stone to pay for food for his family, and then startled to discover that the object is in fact an egg. When a dragon is hatched Eragon is thrust into an exciting adventure, guided by a mysterious storyteller called Brom.

The good
Without doubt, the relationship between the hero and his dragon proves to be both the highlight and emotional core of the tale. To give you the name of the Dragon or much detail about it would be to spoil you, so I’ll be vague even at the cost of journalistic cohesion. The journey that takes us from hatchling and boy to Dragon and warrior-mage is incredibly satisfying, the subtle interplay between the two handled by Paolini with a deftness that belies his age. The dragon is much more than simply a steed to its rider, functioning as an equal in their partnership and it is the spiritual bond between the two that makes their relationship so heart-warming as they both grow together through adolescence to maturity.

The history of the peoples of this world as related by Brom, their languages and cultures is fascinating, and there are some great ideas thrown in, making the storytelling and pipe smoking sessions around the campfire quite memorable.

The system of magic is also nicely handled, with its incantations based upon knowledge of an ancient language. It is through the learning and mastery of this magical tongue that Eragon accrues supernatural powers that are invaluable both on the battlefield and for the manipulation of his environment.

Paolini punishes his hero with a sadistic glee reminiscent of Raimi putting Ash through the demonic beef grinder, delighting in smashing him around and wounding him at every opportunity. It’s hard not to feel some sympathy for a character who seems to be constantly recuperating from injury or lamenting some great loss or hardship. In fact, no punches are pulled when it comes to the mutilation or dismemberment of both the good and evil and the battles are pleasingly brutal with body parts flying in all directions.

The bad
The peripheral characters introduced at the start of the book feel a little undeveloped. More critically, the central mentor figure Brom, while painted as you would expect- a crotchety old man who is not to be trifled with, is not actually very likable, lacking the warmth, sparkle and charm of say a Gandalf or Obi-Wan.

Indicative of the author’s youth, the use of language occasionally lapses from the genre staple of classical English into modern slang that feels wrong in the context of the setting.

Paolini’s writing is a little inelegant at times and his attempts to paint the land of Alagaesia in the grand descriptive manner of Tolkien can feel a little forced, with no real sense of geographical cohesion as the heroes pass from one spectacular location to the next. However, his writing does improve as the story develops and perhaps some might prefer his direct style to the elegant but sometimes verbose manner of the master.

The opening chapter, which describes how the dragon egg came to be in the Spine is exciting but feels unpolished, at times lapsing into the kind of hurried excitable prose that you would come to expect from someone so young.

Summary
I still don’t know if this is a children’s book, cos Pete’s dragon this ain’t. A pile of corpses with a spear skewered baby on top or torture by flesh eating potion is likely to disturb the very young and the weight of pages is likely to put off those with a short attention span. This is probably best suited to mid to late teens or fans of fantasy in the Tolkien mold, and to that potential audience I would recommend it without reservation. It’s no Lord of the Rings or even The Hobbit for that matter, but it is a well plotted, exciting and nicely written book that provides ample entertainment in a very familiar setting (it also has lots of walking around and eating loaves).

What Paolini does successfully manage to do is leave you wanting more. Although a weighty read, Eragon is really only an introduction to the world of Alagaesia and its inhabitants and leaves you with several key points tantalizingly unanswered.

So, this might almost be ‘LOTR EU’ but the Inheritance trilogy has something weighing heavily in its favor- unlike Tolkien’s world, this one is not entombed with its creator. Paolini perhaps has another six decades of writing within him (should be wish), so therefore Alagaesia is dynamic and alive, with the concluding instalment in the trilogy not yet completed. Paolini will improve his writing skills with age, unless of course he is some early peaking enfant terrible in the Mendelssohn mold. To join the author in plundering the classics for inspiration, reviews of his second book, Eldest suggest that Eragon is not an ‘Octet’ (in the instance of the German composer a perfect early work that is impossible to eclipse), but the first work in a career that is destined for greatness. And finally, if you do get to read Eragon, ask yourself this- could a seventeen year old Tolkien have done any better?

Eragon the movie
For information on the film adaptation please read this news item.

Posted in Reviews •

Depression-ridden New York in the 1920s: The unsuccessful movie director Carl Denham gets the plug pulled on his new film by the studio, his lead actress walks out on him, and he’s got an arrest warrant on his head for stealing film production gadgets and material. While Denham prepares to set out for an uncharted island where he plans to shoot his picture, he finds a new starlet in the desperate stage performer Ann Darrow. Along with the screenwriter Jack Driscoll and the hardened sea-crew of the Venture, they discover the mysterious Skull Island, where a tribe of natives has errected an immense wall to guard their part of the island against the horrors on the other side, one of which is the mighty King Kong. And the giant gorilla’s latest sacrifice, a female human, is overdue.

Director Peter Jackson has fought for almost a decade to create a remake of one of film’s earliest classics (the original King Kong, by Merian C. Cooper, dates back to 1933). Only after the uncompared success of his The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with virtually every studio at his feet, was Jackson granted his wish. Keeping together his award-winning film crew from the fantasy epic, Jackson undertook the delicate mission of reviving his greatest film inspiration on the big screen, for an audience not exactly lacking almost unimaginable movie tales with unthinkable special effects. Also, King Kong is not a film yearning for an update, having no apparent ties (literal, symbolical, allegorical or moral) to the world today, over 80 years after the original graced the screen and revolutionized special effects trickery.

Peter Jackson has thus wisely decided to keep the story nested in the 1920s, as opposed to bringing it forward to a more contemporary surrounding. Compared with Cooper’s original though, Jackson’s film runs for just about twice the length! So unlike Gus van Sant’s Psycho for instance, which was a one-to-one remake of the Hitchcock classic, Jackson opts to expand on scenes and add new ones. One of these is obvious enough to understand: in 1933, no one needed to be introduced to the time of the depression; Jackson however rightly spends time depicting the poverty and desperation writhing through New York.

Jackson’s elaborate exposition is a two-edged blade: supporting characters such as Hayes (Evan Parke) and Jimmy (Jamie Bell) are dedicated quite a remarkable amount of screen time, only to be left out completely at the end of the film, leaving their characters hanging in the air. Jack Driscoll’s character is split up into three compared with the original: Captain Englehorn (Thomas Kretschmann), the actor Bruce Baxter (Kyle Chandler) and the playwriter Jack Driscoll (who keeps the name and the characters affection for Ann Darrow). It is the writer’s character arc that comes across the most satisfying, justifying his extensive exposition.

While the film comes across as somewhat off-beat and unsure of itself while in New York and on the Venture ship, it picks up pace and excitement once the crew arrives on Skull Island. Dazzling visuals, bristling sounds effects, atmospheric direction: everything comes together here. The tribe of natives and their primitive ritual is eerie, the witch is especially frightening. It is on Skull Island where Jackson’s love for the gruesome, the showcasing of which is his greatest strength, becomes apparent. The menacing creatures are horrifying to behold, and parts of the audience will involuntarily feel the need to look away and/or scream out in disgust during certain scenes.

The effects company WETA seems to have perfectly captured Jackson’s imaginations on screen. This also applies to the Dinosaurs roaming Skull Island. The visual effects work here is (mostly) great and the action breathtaking, but scenes such as the Brontosaurus chase feel overly long. The same problem manifests itself in Kong’s fight with the (three) Tyrannosauruses - a visual highlight of the film, yes - where the tension peaks over and over again, finding almost to no end. You can’t help but feel Jackson was compelled to show off WETA’s skill. And partly, you can’t really blame him for that, because the effects work, particularly on King Kong himself, is awe-inspiring.

King Kong is perfectly animated, his hair react to every tiny gust of wind, his eyes are deep and forlorn, his scars speak of a life of hardship and strife, and his movement is exactly that of any gorilla we’ve seen in zoos or documentaries: natural. Kong is never antropomorphisized, he never stops being a primitive animal driven by instincts, and yet his character is loveable. The film’s greatest strength is that it’s big and hairy main character resonates with the audience. And this is in no small part due to the ape’s chemistry with Ann.

Naomi Watts’ Ann Darrow is very different from Fay Wray’s legendary character. She is no longer the damsel in distress, but can take care of herself (within a reasonable frame of action), is feisty and smart, active and caring. When Ann imitates her stage performances in front of Kong in order to calm him (another of the film’s strongest moments), his reactions, from laughing to scowling to joining in on the play, and their interactions, the way they play off eachother, is astoundingly fun and sympathetic.

Much more than in the original, the relationship between Kong and Ann is two-sided. Where Kong slaughtered all previously sacrificied women (Jackson hints at this by showing their bony remains at one of Kong’s resting places), he is protective of Ann, the girl with the golden hair who is willing to fight for herself. Likewise, Ann gives Kong her trust, after he single-handedly disposes of the three Rexes. This leads to their first shared moment of something like intimacy, when they admire a beautiful sunset together from one of the island’s highest spots, in a cliché scene shown so uncliché.

Naomi Watts’ nuanced performance is one of the main reasons this relationship works on screen and comes across as believable. This is all the more impressive considering Watts’ interactions with Kong were filmed on a greenscreen stage and that she wasn’t really the the grip of a oversized ape. Andy Serkis, going a couple of sizes up following his Gollum role in The Lord of the Rings, did not stop at merely acting out Kongs movements for the motion capturing department, he was also present in all of Kongs scenes with Ann, physically mimicking all of Kongs movements. Judging by Watts’ acting, it paid off.

But this interplay is bittersweet because shortlived: Kong is brutally captured by the ship crew, a scene all the more powerful because of Ann’s desperate pleas to stop the cruelty. But profit-mongerer Carl Denham has his way, and ‘King Kong’ is displayed as the ‘8th Wonder of the World’ back in a New York theatre house. The chrome shakles can’t resist him long though, as Kong is fueled by his rageful quest to find Ann, laying parts of the city to waste while randomly picking up blondes on the street only to chuck the non-Anns away again.

It’s a chilling and tender moment when the two finally find back together on a deserted street and everything goes quiet. And yet again their moment of shared solitude is destroyed, now by the brute force of the police and military. Going on his protective instincts, Kong takes an away to the highest point he can find. Unfortunately, the final assault on Kong atop the Empire State Building is dragged to a near hideous length, but it’s here where the film climaxes with a beautiful and heart-tugging scene echoing their Skull Island sunset experience.

Ultimately, King Kong is a spectacular technical achievement with a strong emotional core that captivates the audience. But some pointless exposition, a lack of real consistency of quality throughout the film and its overlength are what keep Jackson’s work from ranking among this years’ top movies.

Posted in Reviews •

Justin Quayle (Ralph Fiennes) is an inconspicuous diplomat working for the British High Commission in Kenya. He passively fullfils his civil role and tends to his garden, keeping clear of his younger and idealistic wife Tessa’s (Rachel Weisz) efforts for the poor and helpless natives who are suffering under a corrupted regime. Unbeknownst to her husband, Tessa finds traces pointing towards a conspiracy among the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies, who seem to be misusing a part of the African nation’s population in their own, commercially-driven interests. After Tessa is assassinated at the beginning of the movie, Justin finds himself thrust out of his idleness, trying to uncover the plot that resulted in his wife’s death.

What sounds like the premise of a standard political thriller actually reveals itself as an intelligent and meditative parabol for the leading industry nations’ relations with the “third world”: Africa receives our waste while we continue to exploit it for more profit. It should come as no surprise then, why Fernando Mereilles chose to direct this film following his critically-acclaimed Cidade de deus - City of God (which garnered multiple Oscar nominations), an uncompromising look at the streets of Brazil and the social and economic struggle of the people; The Constant Gardener, and adaptation of John le Carré’s novel of the same name and Mereilles first foray into english language films, is equally social critique. Mereilles’ strength is his ability to approach the foreign cultures in all their liveness and energy. His gritty style of directing depicts the full depth of the inherent social struggles, unglorified.

The cultural richness of Kenya is accentuated with richly saturated colors that contrast against the barren landscape. The mostly shakey handheld camera perspective is personal and intimate, matching the the story’s calm narrative. The plot gains pace and momentum when Justin entangles himself in the net of lies and deceit, not only trying to find his wife’s murderers but also getting behind the nearly crushing rumours of unfaithfulness on her part. Did the African doctor she was travelling with the day she was found dead, and who is now missing, rape and kill her? Why did Tessa stow away a love letter by one of Justin’s fellow diplomats in a box with her most treasured items? The editing is non-linear, allowing for an analytical approach to the plot. Flashbacks run through the entire film, reconstructing Justin’s relationship with Tessa, showing the audience both his joys and suspicions, while Justin traces back Tessa’s work, putting his own life in danger.

The british actor Ralph Fiennes gives a strong performance as Justin. It is remarkable with how much subtlety he handles his character’s transformation from the naive and insecure gardener to a desparate man who more and more takes on the convictions and idealisms of his murdered wife. And yet it represents a logical step for Justin, the ‘constant gardener’ first uprooting the weeds in his garden, and then the injustice that befell Tessa and still befalls an entire nation. But it is Rachel Weisz, in a surprising and career-changing role, who gives both the strongest performance of the film and the highlight of her acting career so far. She’s still a cute face, but now much more than that. Weisz plays the activistic Tessa very nuanced but with all her love and energy, and in spite of clues that suggest Tessa may have betrayed her husband, we as an audience can’t help but fall for her and trust her just as much as Justin does, holding on to the slim belief that she might have loved him as much as he did her. A strong acting ensembles is completed by Danny Huston ais the easily in love fellow diplomat, Bill Nighy as an expressionless Whitehall puppet-master, Hubert Koundé as the charismatic doctor Bluhm, and Donald Sumpter as a disillusioned but watchful spy.

The Constant Gardener is undoubtedly on of this year’s best films, combining a smart script with an innovative directing style and acting performances yearning for awards into a deep and glorious cinematic experience. It’s a melancholic love story and a highly-charged political thriller perfectly balanced, a bleak tale of injustice, but hope and freedom too. And it’s a film sure to yield new results and emotions with repeat viewings. Taking everything into account, The Constant Gardener is deservedly the first film to receive the full marks in an X-Realms review.

Posted in Reviews •

In a recent conversation with X-Boarder forcesinger, I found I was having a hard time describing the music of Ken Nordine. Is it spoken word or jazz? Is he serious or playing a joke on all of us? Are we laughing with him or at him?

Well, I figure it’s a little bit of both on all counts.

Ken Nordine hails from Chicago; his deep, resonant voice may be recognizable to older X-Boarders as the voice heard in a million ’60s and ’70s commercials (Taster’s Choice Coffee in particular comes to mind). I include him in the same category as American Beat-era greats. Think: Jack Kerouac, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg… and Ken Nordine. His own unique art combines off-kilter everyman observations and anecdotes spoken over a background of beatnik cool jazz, and has to be heard to be believed. In spite of his dry manner and appearance, there’s some strange Cold War paranoia and panic bubbling deep under the surface, deep below Nordine’s deep, deep voice… maybe that’s why he was hired to voice-coach Linda Blair during filming of “The Exorcist”.

Nordine’s lyrics are gut-busting hilarious and bizarre:

………
my baby didn’t say anything
just looked at me with that special look my baby has
i looked back
with that special look i get
when my baby looks at me with that special look she gets
………

or

………
have you ever been hungry in the middle of the night?
that happens to me sometimes
and then i go raid the icebox
for example, the other night i did that
we had some leftover welsh rarebit
i found that and a couple crackers
piece of celery
and an olive and i
sat down in the middle of the night
i was very, very

hungry
………

On this, Nordine’s debut album, he experiments with faux interviews, “soundscapes”, true (?) stories, and nonsensical jaff riffs. He was a pioneer… playing with the mixing process to create atomspheric audio environments decades before Brain Eno and others. But all within his context of “Word Jazz”… telling stories to amuse and bemuse.

I first heard of Nordine in high school. A friend’s father had the original LP, and when we first heard it, we felt like we had discovered a comedy goldmine. Neither of us had heard anything like Word Jazz before — and we never would again. Ken Nordine is a one-of-a-kind treasure who, at age 85, is still producing weekly radio shows and even released his first DVD recently.

Word Jazz is not for passive listening… you’ll get the most out of it when you give it your full attention. In fact, it may be hard not to once you put it on. Do yourself a favor - check out Ken Nordine, baby.

NOTE: This album is no longer in circulation… a “Best Of” compilation was issued on CD several years ago and is now out of print, fetching more than $50 at Amazon and eBay. This compilation included all but one of the original LP tracks, which I’ve located and sequenced in the original order, with original album art… as a gift for those who know where to look.

Comments here.

Posted in Reviews •

A phenomenon that stretched over 28 years appears to have come to a halt this summer. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith completed George Lucas’ six part space saga that revolutionized the cinematic experience in 1977, when Star Wars (which later became Episode IV: A New Hope) set new standards in film and arguably started the ‘blockbuster’ genre. This first big movie franchise nurtured the largest fan base (most likely) any film series has ever had, a community now devoid of a new Star Wars movie to anticipate. But surely a franchise that has garnered millions upon millions of dollars will be reluctant to fade from the limelight completely.

So then, where exactly does the legacy of Star Wars lie? The straightforward answer: in television. Again. Star Wars ventures on the small screen are a mixed bag. When the Original Trilogy (i.e. Episodes 4, 5 and 6) finished with Return of the Jedi in 1983, George Lucas came up with the idea to produce a Star Wars television feature that centered around the Ewoks (the cuddly bear-like creatures from Episode 6), which resulted in the 90 minute film Caravan of Courage. 65 Million US viewers of the premiere and an Emmy award for special effects were reason enough to create the sequel The Battle for Endor in 1985, to equal success. On the other hand, George Lucas was also responsible for the abominably infamous Holiday Special, a TV special about the Wookies (the ape-like race Chewbacca stems from) produced in the aftermatch of the first film’s impact in 1978. Despite a large amount of viewers, the Holiday Special remains one of Star Wars universe’s most shameful chapters (to the point that George Lucas made sure it was never aired again or released on video).

History seems to be repeating itself, at least what strategy is concerned about. With the completion of the Prequels, the second trilogy, Lucas wants to continue his universe on television. The faith that new TV projects will pay off is largely due to the success of the Clone Wars series, an animated blend of anime and CGI created by Genndy Tartakovsky (Samurai Jack) detailing the epic war that broke out in Attack of the Clones (Episode 2) and were concluded in Revenge of the Sith. The three (Volume I) to twelve (Volume II) minute episodes were aired to great critical appraisal. This achievement paved the way for Clone Wars 3D and an as of yet untitled live action series, two television projects slated for late 2007. Here’s a collection of what is known so far about these two series:

Clone Wars 3D

Posted in Movies, Star Wars •

Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts
December 9, 2005

Acclaimed male vocal ensemble Cantus brought its unique magic to the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts Friday, December 9. Featuring hometown hero forcesinger, the nine-man group performs mostly a capella songs from around the world and across time, spanning styles from Latin plainchant to African-American Gospel.

At times, their music is difficult to listen to with open eyes — its magnetic pull almost forces one to drift away with it into distant, ancient, and mysterious lands. In particular, an Indian raga (”Ramkali”) convinced me I was hearing sitar, tabla, and drums when there were nothing but nine tuxedo-clad men standing in a semicircle, filling the auditorium with a spinning and dreamlike sound.

But Cantus doesn’t take themselves too seriously, either… their midwestern roots (the group is based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota) keep their approach fresh and informal. A funny little tune written by Norwegian Edward Grieg about a cold & miserable cat was acted out to the delight of the audience. And between-song patter from various members of the group kept the connection alive between the stage and the seats.

The first half of Cantus’ program featured music from around the world in a variety of styles (including a Japanese fishing song, Latin plainchant, and traditional American folk songs), while the second half was devoted to seasonal songs. We heard a Latin version of Ave Maria (not the traditional arrangement we all know), a great Spanish carol with guitar & drums (featuring forcesinger on acoustic bass guitar), and the powerful African Yoruba song “Bethlehemu” by the legendary Babatunde Olatunji. On this final song, the deep and surprising djimbe drum was used to rousing effect.

I’d encourage all of you who are Stateside to check the concert tour schedule on Cantus’ web site and make a date for the evening. Cantus is on tour 120 day per year… they’re bound to hit close to your town somewhere along the way.

forcesinger and Dave after the show

Posted in Reviews •

To escape the german bombings during World War II, the four Pevensie children are sent away from London to the safety of a country mansion. During a game of hide and seek Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy discover a magical wardrobe that leads to the mysterious land of Narnia. Upon setting foot in the dazzling new world, they are thrust into the midst of an endless winter and a great struggle between the evil forces of the White Witch and the rebelling army of Aslan (the true king of Narnia).

Director Andrew Adamson (Shrek and Shrek 2) was arguably faced with the easier task of adapting a celebrated fantasy novel compared with his counterparts Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) and the directors and screenwriters of the Harry Potter movies. CS Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is just over a hundred pages long and never bothers with any detracting side plots that are usually prone to being left out of the movie adaptation. So it has come that Adamson was not only able to savour just about every detail from the source material, he’s also added a few more new scenes to either heighten the tension (the Pevensie children crossing the frozen river) or give the story more exposition (the movie opens with German war planes dropping bombs over London) and the characters more depth (Edmund is depicted as the younger brother who suffers greatly from their father being away in the war).

Quite generally, Adamson’s direction allows the characters much breathing space, the children feel more fleshed out than in the book (in spite of these slower scenes, the movie rarely drags, thanks to the plot being so straight-foward). There’s a subtle bit of foreshadowing in the scene at the train station (when the children leave for the country side), when Peter almost longingly looks at the soldiers going off to join the war. Quite impressively, the four young actors playing the Pevensies make very good use of their screen time. This applies especially to Skandar Keynes, who handles Edmund’s straying-off-the-path with much brooding and a dark undertone, and Georgie Henley, who’s Lucy (the youngest sibling) serves as the audience’s gateway into magical Narnia. The gleaming look in her eyes when she first sets sight upon the snow-clad land is so full of innocent honesty that the viewer feels instantly transported back into his own childhood, when every new discovery was still more wonderous than the last. Also of note is James McAvoy’s Mr. Tumnus, who lends just enough warmth and friendliness to a potentially creepy role (a grown man, or Faun in this case, inviting a little girl into his house for a cup of tea and biscuits).

This new fantasy franchise (at least that’s what Walden Media and Disney are hoping it will rise to) doesn’t rely on big names from the acting trade; Tilda Swinton’s and Liam Neeson’s would be the most prominent. Swinton is set the task of portraying the film’s antagonist: the White Witch Jadis, self-appointed ruler over Narnia. She shows off Jadis’ facettes, which range from deceptively enchanting to intimidatingly fear-inducing, just fine, but the character can’t truly stand among any of film’s greatest villains. Jadis is simply not iconic enough, but much rather resonates only a ‘wicked grandmother’ vibe (though her most evil deed, at the stone table, part primitive ritual, part gleeful slaughter and humiliation, is one of the film’s strongest moments). Jadis’ nemesis is the mighty lion Aslan, who’s set with the minor drawback that Liam Neeson’s voice stands out at all times (you may find yourself reminded of Neeson’s Qui-Gon Jinn from Star Wars Episode I, a similar mentor role). On the other hand, it’s undeniable that Neeson has the right amount of gracefulness and nobility in his voice that perfectly suits Aslan.

Effects-wise, Narnia has its ups and downs. Aslan looks magnificently rendered at times (the scene where Lucy and Susan grab hold on his golden fur), but completely rushed in other occassions, especially when landscape he’s set against is computer-generated aswell. The menacing wolves (who are rightfully frightening in a couple of instances) are very convincing however, as are Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, the first talking beasts introduced, and worth more than a few good laughs. Just wait until you see a Beaver in full battle armour! The scenery, both computer-generated and filmed on location in New Zealand, is quite beautiful to behold. Jadis’ castle is coldly eerie, whereas the camp of Aslan’s forces warm and inviting, full of rich colours and dazzling creatures.

The big battle at the end of the movie (no fantasy piece seems to come without) was only sketchily hinted at in the novel, but the film readily elaborates on it, and in a quite masterful way. It’s quite a spectacle when centaurs, satyrs and rhinos clash with minotaurs, giants and dwarves on an expansive plain. Apart from this scene though, the film never comes across as truly epic, lacking the grand and awe-inspiring scale of the Lord of the Rings films and the latest Harry Potter installment. Prince Caspian, the next Narnia book to be filmed (IF this first one is a success), could provide a chance to remedy that, but all in all, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has introduced movie-goers to a maybe not gritty, but certainly family friendly and intriguing new tale full of adventure and excitement. And for that, Adamson’s film deserves to be recognised.

Posted in Reviews •

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe premieres in theaters today, opening in Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Malaysia, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the USA. Further countries will follow in the course of the next few weeks (full list here), when the first installment of CS Lewis’ epic fantasy series is unveiled on the silver screen.

Readers who have seen the movie are invited to participate in the discussion on the film in this thread in the X-Boards’ dedicated Narnia forum. Did you enjoy the film? How does it compare to the book? What was cut, what was added? Does the film work for and within itself? Are the talking beasts believable? How did the actors perform? How good are the special effects? What was your favorite scene?

You can read a variety of reviews for the film by following these links: Empire, AICN 1, AICN 2, CinemaBlend, Ebert and Roeper, Latino Review, The Hollywood Reporter, The LA Times, Entertainment Weekly, Filmfocus, The London Daily Mail, Slant Magazine. Rotten Tomatoes has amassed a list of further reviews, calculating a current average rating of 6.7 from 10 for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The X-Realms review will follow this weekend.

Depending on the movie’s success, Walden Media and Disney will provide the financial backing for the adaptation of further books in the Narnia series, with the next candidate being Prince Caspian, as it is the only other book that returns the four Pevensie children to the mystical land of Narnia.

Posted in Chronicles of Narnia •