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Birdman touches many cinematic erogenous zones, making it a guilty treat – a smart one – for cinephiles. Alejandro Iñárritu’s showbiz takedown is also the best theatrically-set movie since, well, maybe forever. OK, not forever, but probably since All About Eve…
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Such a Tease
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Elvis returns to Hawaii from the Army and proceeds to shake things up with a bunch of girls, his flustered parents and the local tourism industry. Notwithstanding the King’s undying charisma, Blue Hawaii is a disappointing lark, especially since it contains no great songs and lacks a great fem… |
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Chet Baker was bodaciously gifted. The James Dean of Jazz had his own style of cool, West Coast Swing. Plus, he was supermodel handsome. Ethan Hawke – the moviestar who plays Chet Baker – isn’t nearly as handsome as Baker was, even allowing for Hawke being in his 40s, playing a music idol in h…
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The real Chet does real Born to Be Blue
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This paean to lost licentiousness in the face of fascism won eight (8!) Oscars, losing out only on Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (both to The Godfather for Pete’s sake). The movie that made Liza more famous for her talent than her…
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Sexy Brilliance.
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Cadillac Records features truly great music, sexy antics and charismatic portrayals of legendary performers, yet it somehow leaves you blue. Unlike listening to the blues, watching its performers indulge in the proto rockstar life is vicariously wild yet unsatisfying to the soul. I suppose th…
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Muddy & The Stones - "Baby Please Don...
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‘Quit singing and jam’ remains my reaction to many Cream songs, including from their defining album. So it’s less than optimal that this rockumentary focuses on Disraeli Gears’ lyrics, lyricists and singing. David Fricke’s commentary is terrific however. More to the point, their music ser…
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Sunshine of Your Love 4 R&R HoF Induc...
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There are classic albums. Then there’s the original classic album – Elvis Presley – the first Rock-and-Roll album to top the charts and the one that introduced its King to mainstream America. Thus this 49 minute documentary tells much more than the story of an album. It documents a seminal m…
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Classic Album Covers Start Here
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Who’s Next fans – and who’s not – will be delighted by this 50 minute documentary. More celebratory than insightful, it also suffers from a few omissions. However it’s all good when Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle marvel at how their benchmark album came into existence. Long…
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Genius at work with his synthesizer
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Visually scintillating, musically avant-garde, dramatically turgid: This biopic of two cultural giants goes down like Brussels sprouts instead of foie gras. IOW, it takes effort to work through the two hour running time, when it should feel like savoring a rich delicacy. Pity, since Coco & Igor…
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Great design barely trumps turgid drama.
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