CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Any movie starring Frances McDormand is probably worth checking out, and "Laurel Canyon" is no exception.
Playing the antithesis of her “Almost Famous” mom, here McDormand is Jane, a music producer with a younger rock star lover who is still living the rock & roll lifestyle that her son, Sam (Bale), has spent his life trying to escape. At the outset of the film, Sam has accepted a residency in California and is returning to his hometown with his fiancée, fellow Harvard med school grad , Alex (Beckinsale). Upon arriving in LA he discovers that his mother, who he expected to be living in her beach house, has given the beach house away to her recent ex and has moved back to liberal Laurel Canyon where she is also producing the album of Ian, her new boyfriend's, band. Sam and Alex have little choice but to temporarily stay with Jane while they find alternate housing.
Initially Alex, left to herself and her graduate thesis while Sam begins his residency, is clearly intimidated by the freewheeling, pot smoking atmosphere enjoyed by Jane and Ian. Gradually, however, the lure of a previously unfathomed life with all its freedoms begins to draw her in. As Alex discovers her hidden bohemian, Sam is finding a soulmate in fellow resident Sara, played by Natascha McElhone. Sam and Sara spend many hours talking during their daily commute and develop an obvious sexual attraction that they initially attempt to ignore.
In "Laurel Canyon" writer and director Lisa Cholodenko of “High Art” fame examines familial and sexual politics with a light hand and much humour. Eventually the unnatural situation begins to unravel, as Alex falls hard under the spell of Jane’s hedonistic life, leading to one titillating scene that will, for better or worse, become this film's hallmark.
While each of the four main characters seems fairly easy to read at the outset, they show surprising depths as the story progresses. Cholodenko is careful to not make anyone the good or bad guy, and the audience is able to comprehend how the characters got to this point. If there is a moral center here, it is Bale as Sam representing the common, “average” man and with whom the audience identifies.
Cholodenko keeps a fairly defined grasp on her characters and the situation until the vaguely disappointing ending. Up till then however, "Laurel Canyon" is an entertaining and perceptive study of artists and intellectuals colliding, with complex family histories thrown in to add another level of dysfunction.
With straightforward camera work and an intriguing soundtrack, including unexpectedly well-done original songs sung by actor Allesandro Nivola as Ian, this film has an audience-pleasing quality that is well earned, despite it’s not-quite-resolved ending.
Overall Rating: B-
Currently scheduled for a limited US release on March 7, 2003.
Initially Alex, left to herself and her graduate thesis while Sam begins his residency, is clearly intimidated by the freewheeling, pot smoking atmosphere enjoyed by Jane and Ian. Gradually, however, the lure of a previously unfathomed life with all its freedoms begins to draw her in. As Alex discovers her hidden bohemian, Sam is finding a soulmate in fellow resident Sara, played by Natascha McElhone. Sam and Sara spend many hours talking during their daily commute and develop an obvious sexual attraction that they initially attempt to ignore.