Published 2004-03-24T00:00:00Z”/>
DVD/21 GramsUniversal Studios
With strong acting and a riveting storyline, “21 Grams” is unlike any movie out there today.
What makes this movie so unique is the way the plot unfolds out of order.
No, it’s not like the film “Memento,” where the story starts from the end and finishes at the beginning. Each scene seems almost randomly shuffled like a deck of cards.
The story concentrates on the lives of three people who, under tragic circumstances, are united.
There is a college professor (Sean Penn), who is given a second chance at life; a woman faced with ultimate tragedy, played by Naomi Watts, who gives the best performance of her quickly growing career; and an ex-convict (Benicio Del Toro), whose devotion to his faith is tested when the unspeakable happens.
All three actors deliver strong performances that make this movie worth seeing. Even if the random order of scenes grows confusing, you are still able to recognize the emotions the characters go through.
The jumbled scenes make the movie anticlimactic, but “21 Grams” will be one movie experience you won’t soon forget.
<em>–Matt Shotland</em>
CD/Anthony HamiltonComin’ from where I’m from
Arista Records
Some may be sleeping on Anthony Hamilton, but others just may be waking up and listening to the soulful gospel and old school R&B sounds of Hamilton’s raspy vocals.
His music talks of his hard-earned lifelong lessons of growing up in the ghetto and the ups and downs he went through in his relationships.
On “Mama Knew Love” he sings a love letter to his mother, who was the backbone of the family and was there for him when times were tough and things seemed like they were never going to change. On the single “Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens,” he’s trying to get his mack on with a girl who’s playing hard to get. He tells her she needs to realize that the love she’s been looking for all of her life is staring her right in the face.
Hamilton does a rewarding job of painting a clear picture of what it means to be man who will do anything to make his woman feel like a queen on the single, “Charlene.” Hamilton never holds his breath on “Comin’ From Where I’m From.” Instead, he tells it like he sees it and feels it.
<em>–Cherre Stoneham</em>
Game/Battlefield VietnamEA Games
With Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 still months away from release, PC gamers have been foaming at the mouth to play something more exciting than Spider Solitaire and Yahoo! checkers. Battlefield Vietnam fills this need with intense shoot-’em-up action.
Vietnam is the sequel to the popular Battlefield 1942, which introduced a teamwork dynamic that sent players around the map to capture enemy bases. Vietnam follows the original formula of rewarding players by doing more than just shooting at the enemy.
Vietnam also incorporates a ton of vehicles, including cars, tanks, boats, helicopters and airplanes. While inside many of the vehicles, you can turn on the radio and blast rock ‘n’ roll hits of the ’60s like “War,” “Wild Thing,” “I Fought the Law” and “Somebody to Love.”
Crawling around the jungles of Cambodia and Vietnam as a North Vietnamese or American army soldier alongside 63 of your best friends and worst enemies was never this fun.
<em>–Brian Kennedy</em>
CD/ConstantinesShine a Light
Sub Pop Records
Constantines’ sophomore album, “Shine a Light,” is a mix of classic punk and calmer melodies.
The title song is a softer ballad with short bursts of anger. The whole CD has an ’80s feeling to it. “Insectivora,” with its awesome guitar strums, is probably the calmest song on the album. “Goodbye Baby and Amen” is also a tranquil sound that people wouldn’t expect to find on a punk album.
The album is not all unintelligible screaming. There’s no bleeding of the ears from loud, obnoxious music on this album. The songs make sense, and the lyrics are good.
The Toronto band has been compared to everyone from The Clash to The Ramones, but still manages to maintain its own signature sound.
If you like punk music, then you should definitely try Constantines. The music is not solely punk, which is good. There’s a range of different sounds to please any listener.
It’s a surprising album, which breaks the punk stereotype and breaks new ground at the same time.
<em>–Richard Gehrels</em>
CD/Michael Franti and SpearheadEveryone Deserves Music
Artist Direct BMG
Michael Franti and Spearhead’s “Everyone Deserves Music” is a breath of fresh air compared to mainstream hip-hop’s lyrics and concerning issues.
The 1990s established Franti as a protest-music icon in which his work has always purveyed messages of social injustice and racism.
The latest disc has this as well but in a more graceful, emotionally positive composition.
The song titles speak for themselves with such names as “Pray For Grace,” “Feelin’ Free” and the album’s title track. The sound incorporates synthesized acoustic guitar and rock chords with Franti’s sensual voice, resulting in reggae, hip-hop funk.
While the album may seem somewhat cheesy on first listen, its fresh perspective leaves a glowing, pure trace of funky beats that will brighten any listener.
<em>–Helene Hogue</em>
CD/YellowcardOcean Avenue
Capitol Records
With the winter rainy season on the way out and spring time fast approaching, it seems that the music of the time should fit as well.
Yellowcard’s album “Ocean Avenue” is just the right amount of sunshine and angst to get you through the springtime fever.
The name might sound familiar, because this band has received national exposure through MTV with their title track.
The rest of the songs are catchy, but some of them could be mistaken for one of their other punk/pop peers such as Simple Plan.
However, it’s tracks such as “Breathing” that periodically set the band apart with their sparing use of the fiddle in a song about painful love.
Yellowcard, however, does fall into the standard pop/punk tradition of writing a song about an absentee father. It’s version is titled “Life of a Salesman” that puts a new twist in the tired concept.
Though it’s nearly impossible to come up with all new musical material, Yellowcard has managed to put their own brand on musical standbys.
Warning: This album is catchy, and once it’s in your stereo, you might not want to take it out until you’re sick of it.
<em>–Valerie Lum</em>
