The Good.The Bad and The Queen
by The Good, The Bad and The Queen
Every once in a while, established musicians collaborate. And when you take the vocalist of Blur, the guitarist from The Verve, the drummer from Fela Kuti's
band and the bassist from the Clash, and put them all under the direction of Danger Mouse, producer for Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley, you end up with one of the most
promising supergroups since the Traveling Wilburys. And they share their name, The Good,The Bad and The Queen, with their recently released debut album.
Each of these members brings a piece of his background to the table, melding 20 years of Britpop, West African rhythm and contemporary hip-hop perfectly. The project is mostly influenced by vocalist Damon Albarn, the former Blur frontman and the de facto leader of the team.
The instruments used and genres spanned on the album can be summed up in two words: diverse and exciting.
Reign Over Me MOVIE
Zach White
Adam Sandler has finally grown up. The 40-year-old comedian/actor/singer has not sworn off his antics of old (case in point: 2006's Click), but Sandler — who gave a generation of boys enough persian slang to last a lifetime — has more range than our still-resentful parents might give him credit for.
In his latest film, Reign Over Me, Sandler plays Charlie Fineman, who is, err, not so fine (there's nothing like a little name-character paradox). His inability to cope with the loss of his family in the 9/11 attacks has led Fineman, once a successful dentist, to suppress his pain to the point that he no longer acknowledges his past. Long-haired and gruff (it even looks as if Sandler accumulated some acne for the part), Fineman wheels through New York City side streets on a go-ped, while music-blaring headphones act to shield him from the outside world.
When Fineman is hailed down by his old dental school roommate Alan Johnson, who
has some problems of his own, Johnson feels obligated to lend support. The obligation becomes a friendship; the support, mutual; but as they get closer, Johnson (the always solid Don Cheadle) must face the task of getting Fineman psychiatric help.
The film is the first to give insight into the small-scale
effects of 9/11. It strikes a healthy balance;heavy, but never overbearing;funny in parts,but there aren't any tallywhacker jokes.Most importantly, it's genuine,not contrived,as many of the Hollywood tear-jerk dramas have the tendency to be.
★ ★ ★ ★ Ian Stanford
ALL RATINGS ARE OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE STARS.
18 $\rightarrow$ JAYPLAY 03.29.2007