ESSENTIAL VIEWING THIS MONTH:
The words «highly anticipated» are often used to describe upcoming films, but it’s hard to imagine a more fitting occasion than regarding the film that arrived on December 16. And thankfully, the anticipation met the expectations. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS is a near-perfect reboot of the biggest franchise in cinema history. Director J.J. Abrams has found a terrific balance between nostalgia, affection and desire for new adventures. Unlike the most recent trilogy of Episodes I, II and III, this Episode VII has a more traditional approach. Despite taking full use of modern advantages and technology, the film still has a traditional feel and look – even though the use of CGI and visual effects is tremendously impressive. The cast – both the familiar and new faces – provide a great ensemble of entertaining and engaging characters, giving both young and old fans of the franchise someone to root for. The Force Awakens is a most welcome return to the galaxy far far away.The past decade has been a curious one for modern film making's greatest Steven Spielberg. With a peculiar mixed bag of hits (Munich, Lincoln) and misses (War of the Worlds, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Adventures of Tintin) one has been tempted to think his best days are behind him – but also reminded of his brilliance. This month’s BRIDGE OF SPIES is a stellar example of the ladder. Starring Tom Hanks, in another great turn as your ordinary everyman, who when tried is able to accomplish great things. There is also great work on display in the supporting roles, with Mark Rylance taking the major honors in a terrific turn as the main spy in question. The film is an absolute masterpiece in composition, photography and directing. Without question Spielberg’s finest since Munich (2005).
After several documentaries on major companies and big industry, director Davis Guggenheim this year turned his attention to the power of one single person. HE NAMED ME MALALA is an up close and personal portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the teenage girl from Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban for speaking out about young girls’ right to an education. It’s an accomplished piece of work, put together nicely, with beautiful animation to illustrate Malala’s childhood stories and rare footage of Malala at home with her family (where she remains a teenage girl, fighting with her younger brothers) to her entrance on the world’s greatest stages, including her already historical speech at the UN on her 16th birthday. This is obligatory viewing for youngsters in school particularly, but an important lesson for the older generations also.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING THIS MONTH:
Unlike many other major recording artists, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN has kept the amount of re-releases, bootleg material and so-called “best of” compilations to a minimum, considering his massive back catalogue. However, he has produced a few boxsets to celebrate some of his early albums. Namely, Born to Run (1975) and Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), which came in celebration of their 30th anniversaries, both with abundant accompanying bonus materials and documentaries. This month the turn has come to The River (1980). Entitled THE TIES THAT BIND: THE RIVER COLLECTION, it features the original double album (remastered of course), the originally planned single version of the album and a disc of outtakes, with plenty of never before heard songs. But the real treat is its accompanying films. The documentary on the making of the album is not as thorough as previous, but the concert film from Tampa, Arizona in 1980 – featuring one of Springsteen’s most legendary live shows, is as good as it gets when it comes to a modern rock performance.An original soundtrack by ENNIO MORRICONE is an occasion in itself. In particular as it is for Quentin Tarantino’s much anticipated epic THE HATEFUL EIGHT. It’s Morricone’s first original western soundtrack for thirty-four years, so Tarantino should almost be given an award just for convincing the now 87 year old Italian to come out of hiatus to provide the score for this. It’s an interesting collection of music. It does not smack you to the ground as an obvious masterpiece, comparable to Morricone’s more classic work, but it is still a great soundtrack that packs a punch and accompanies the mystery of Tarantino’s story masterfully. As always with a Tarantino soundtrack there are occasional excerpts of dialogue in between numbers, but Morricone’s score do not suffer one bit and the album is a terrific experience to enjoy in one full sitting.
CAGE THE ELEPHANT will celebrate their 10 year anniversary as a band in 2016. In their first decade they released four albums, including this month’s TELL ME I'M PRETTY. The rock outfit from Kentucky has been generous with their sound over the course of their previous records. They’ve dipped their toes into both funk and blues, as well as more heavy and punk influenced rock music. Their latest release is probably their most accessible yet, which only works as a positive in this writer’s opinion. Produced by Dan Auerbach from The Black Keys, it is a more straightforward and vintage sounding rock album, that builds its momentum as it goes. There is lightness to it, despite drummer Jared Champion not being afraid to really let it rip occasionally. The lyrics are more playful this time around and the vibe in general seem to be more about a good old time than anything else, with makes this a wonderful collection of tunes that strike a chord immediately and puts a smile on your face and a beat in your step.
Check out the band performing Mess Around, the first single from the album, on The Late Late Show with James Corden earlier in December.
