It does what it says on the label: This is Dashiell Hammett-style LA noir — complete with period dialogue — set in a contemporary Southern California high school.
Gritty, violent, sometimes baffling, “Brick” works better than I think anyone could expect and better than it has any right to.
Unreservedly recommended to fans of film noir, detective stories and, yes, Veronica Mars.
At least two band members have a significant problem with how Lukas sings. He’ll be gone after Zayra.
Final three: Dilana, Magni, Storm
If the band doesn’t want a female lead singer (which, frankly, is the novelty they need in order not to become Velvet Revolver II), it’s Magni.
If they are open to a female lead singer, it depends on whether or not they care if she can write a song. (See above video clip.) If they do, it’s Storm.
If they are open to a female lead singer and feel they have enough songwriters as-is, it’s Dilana.
Thursday, August 10, 2006, 13:30
Section: Miscellany
Sure, I could just ask, but I think it might also be fun to track everyone automatically (including those who wouldn’t otherwise respond). The following tracks IP addresses for regions of the world, but doesn’t otherwise identify anyone. All I can tell is that someone from, say, Southern California visited.
For now, it’s just people who see this message. If I like how it works out, I’ll stick it in the sidebar to the left as well.
Click on the graphic to see where visitors to LBY3.com are from.
Update: Twenty-four hours later, it turns out I have a ton of vistors from Texas and the Northeast United States, which is kind of a surprise, but not as much of a surprise as to see that people in Israel and Japan are visiting. It’s a wacky Internet out there.
The basic concept and structure of “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” is sound — a murder trial for an exorcist, intercut with flashbacks letting the audience see the events first-hand — but they’re buried under a mess of a movie.
Strangely, this slapdash movie feels like the sort of original movie aired on Lifetime. If, you know, Lifetime aired stories about demonic possession.
In this case, the terrible dialogue, written by someone I can only assume has never actually spoken to an actual person before, almost totally distracts from the wooden acting. What sort of drugs were given to a cast that includes some fairly dependable actors to turn them into listless zombies, I can’t guess.
Absolutely skippable, especially if, like me, you think the premise and structure sound really intriguing. The reality of the final film just proves all the more frustrating, in that case.
Like a lot of Americans, The Doctor always meant Tom Baker to me, but Christopher Eccleston, had he had a longer time in the role, could easily have displaced Baker for me. Not only was Eccleston’s ninth doctor a wonderful mix of whimsy and tragedy, he also benefited from what has to be the best-written Doctor Who series to date.
While “Doctor Who” has always had its moments of screenplay greatness, never has a single season had so many grace notes, including the tear-jerker “Father’s Day,” the horror and pathos of “The Empty Child” and “World War III” and the epic science fiction of “Bad Wolf.”
The only clunker — and it’s enough of a clunker to cost it a star with me — is the terrible decision to include far-future versions of contemporary British game shows and their version of Extreme Makeover in the penultimate episode. Forget this not holding up well in 10 years, this already feels dated and stupid.
But the special effects really are (almost) comparable to contemporary American science fiction shows like “Battlestar Galactica” (which has the same problem with alien/futuristic people wandering around in contemporary clothes that “Dr. Who” does). Coupled with solid acting (even from pop star Billie Piper) and top-drawer writing, this season of “Dr. Who” is a winner for fans old and new.
Strongly recommended for fans of science fiction television shows.
