lily putts

Music Poll

Today is the last day to vote in the music poll at left. Adam Lambert created the most controversy at the AMAs, but it looks like Lady Gaga wins the popularity contest. And if you like her, read on...


Free Downloads

Today is also the last day to cash in on Amazon's free $3 mp3 credit that you can use on any music -- your choice! Click here for the offer.

Thanksgiving is behind us -- so it's time to kick up the Christmas holiday spirit. This week's new offerings are all holiday-related:

• Lady Gaga is leading the poll at left -- and she has a free Christmas song at Amazon. Click here or her image above to download Christmas Tree.
• Thanks to Oprah, you can download Andrea Bocelli's and Mary J. Blige's duet on "What Child Is This" and Sugarland's "Silent Night" for free -- until tomorrow at midnight. Click here.
  
• Amazon also offers up the Sampler Claus with 7 tracks from legends such as Frank Sinatra and Mahalia Jackson. Click here for the free download.
• Who doesn't love monkeys? Well one of the most famous of them all -- Curious George -- has a free holiday Amazon download. Click here.
• Jars of Clay cover Christmas, too -- click here for their free Amazon download.
• And here are three more free Christmas songs from Amazon: Hark, the Herald Angels Sing by Carola, O’Carolan’s/Welcome Christmas by Alison Brown, Why Can’t it be Christmastime All Year by Rosie Thomas

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon
• Fuse.tv
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• Walmart

Notes:

• Click on the chart to enlarge.
• Following its record-breaking first weekend, first-place finisher The Twilight Saga: New Moon brought in $42.5 million over the three-day (Friday through Sunday) weekend -- and $66 million over the 5-day holiday period -- driving its cumulative 10-day total to $230.7 million.
• Overall, the box office raked in an all-time Thanksgiving weekend high of $278 million over the 5-day period.
• Reviews of 2012, Precious and Fantastic Mr. Fox can be found by clicking on the Film Reviews archive image at left.
  
• All figures are industry estimates. Actual figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, ew.com, Variety, AP

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Based on Roald Dahl's book of the same name, Fantastic Mr. Fox is made with puppets, miniature props, old-fashioned stop-motion animation -- and wild imagination and skill by Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums). Anderson, who directed, co-wrote and co-produced, has given us one of the best movies of the year -- and one that, along with Pixar's Up, certainly tops the crowded animation field. But the animation alone is not what makes this film such a winner -- it also has a terrific story -- as Mr. Fox tries to put his wild days behind him and become a responsible husband and father. But will he be able to pass up the temptation of one final risky adventure? Of course not -- and you'll be glad he didn't as we are introduced to a wide-range of colorful supporting characters along the way.

The great voice cast includes Oscar winners George Clooney (in the title role) and Meryl Streep (as Mrs. Fox) -- along with Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson. It's a must-see, and a lot of fun for the older kids on up. There's a lot to feast on in this witty and wonderful Thanksgiving treat. [Rated PG; opens wide today]

Grade: A


Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Not a remake of 1992's Bad Lieutenant (starring Harvey Kietel), but rather a re-telling of a story of a good cop gone bad. This time around, Nicolas Cage stars as Terrence McDonagh, a New Orleans police sergeant, who starts out as a good cop, receiving a medal and a promotion to lieutenant for heroism during Hurricane Katrina. During his heroic act, McDonagh injures his back and later becomes addicted to prescription pain medication -- and street drugs. This addiction leads him into the dark world of police corruption -- in what should be viewed as serious drama. Unfortunately, in the hands of director Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn), the film takes on too much bizarreness for its own good and becomes quite laughable at times.

Cage sure has had a strange career path. After his Oscar-winning turn in Leaving Las Vegas, his film choices and bad acting in movies such as Knowing have left many film-goers scratching their heads. Many critics are applauding Cage's performance here -- and there are moments where I too was impressed. You could actually feel his character's physical and emotional pain with each contorted move he makes on the screen. But Cage also overacts in too many scenes -- and the results are completely over the top. Adding to my dissatisfaction of the film was my bad luck in viewing an early screener with an incorrect aspect ratio. At least that was the excuse given for why my audience saw the boom mic move overhead in scene after scene. It was truly distracting -- and laughable.

All the negatives aside, there is still a compelling story here. I just wish Herzog toned down the bizarreness a bit -- and reigned in Cage. Look out for the great comic actress Jennifer Coolidge (Best in Show) in a dramatic role as the drunk wife of McDonagh's father. She certainly proves she has great acting range. And that's more than I can say for Cage. Also stars Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer. [Rated R; opens today]

Grade: B-


Note:

• Now there are two ways to reach the archive of all film reviews. Click here or the icon at left for the alphabetical listing of all reviews.

American Music Awards

The 37th Annual American Music Awards were held last night at the NOKIA Theatre in Los Angeles. Here's a recap:

• The ceremony was less about giving out awards (only a fraction were handed out on the air) and more about the performances.
• There were 18 performances in total during ABC's three-hour telecast -- with four by alumni of FOX's American Idol -- Adam Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry (with his band, Daughtry).
• The most controversial performance was by last year's Idol runner-up, Adam Lambert. Luckily he closed the show -- because the adult subject matter was better suited for the late hour! Click on Lambert's image above to view the performance.
  
• Taylor Swift continued her amazing run this year by winning the most awards -- five -- including Artist of the Year.
• The late Michael Jackson won four awards -- and now has a record 23 lifetime AMAs -- more than any other performer.
• A complete list of winners can be found here.
• The telecast was watched by 14.2 million viewers -- the largest overall audience for the show since 2002.
  
• And don't forget to voice your opinion on who had the best performance of the night by voting in the poll at left!

• In honor of the holiday week, Amazon is offering a free $3 mp3 credit that you can use on any music -- your choice! Click here for the offer.
• You can download the Beastie Boys' Doublecheck Your Head album for free here.
• This offer comes from across the pond -- so hopefully you can download it in the States, too. Available exclusively to readers of The Independent online, Navigator and Reveal records present a compilation of 30 tracks of the finest new music around, all free to download. Click here.
  
• This one could be interesting -- download a free 6-track Buddha-Lounge sampler from Amazon here.
  

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon
• Fuse.tv
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• Walmart

Notes:

• Click on the chart to enlarge.
• The vampire romance The Twilight Saga: New Moon sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday.
• The No. 1 domestic debut for Summit Entertainment's New Moon was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for Twilight, the first in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's novels.
• New Moon placed third on the all-time domestic chart behind last year's $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight and 2007's $151.1 million haul for Spider-Man 3.
• Reviews of 2012 and Precious can be found here.
• All figures are industry estimates. Actual figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, ew.com, Variety, AP
  

Flaming Lips

If you have never seen the Flaming Lips live, I suggest that you do if they ever perform nearby. I was lucky enough to see the band at a Philadelphia stop last year. There's nothing quite like watching frontman Wayne Coyne come out into the audience inside a bubble -- reminiscent of a giant hamster ball (see right).

Well now the band has a crazy new video that is getting increasingly hard to find on the Web. It's naked bodies galore as everyone bares all to run, cycle and chant around the forest in the video for "Watching The Planets." And what do you know -- the hamster ball returns! Here's a link to view (WARNING -- adults only please!).

Free Downloads

This week's new offerings:

• Get Bon Jovi's new single "We Weren't Born to Follow"from Amazon here.
• From Amazon, you can also download Dolly Parton's live version of her hit "Jolene" here.
  
• Taylor Swift and Darius Rucker made history last week at the CMAs. But there were plenty of other nominated country stars. Well now Amazon is giving you the opportunity to download a free song from the nominated CMA artist of your choice! Click here for details.
  
• Also from Amazon, download "Fly Me Away" from Annie Little here.
• Download "Racing Lights" from the band Stars of Track and Field here.
  

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon
• Fuse.tv
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• Walmart

Notes:

• 2012 crushed the worldwide box office, grossing an estimated $160 million at the foreign box office and an estimated $65 million domestically for a total haul of $225 million.
• Reviews of 2012 and Precious can be found here.
• Click on the chart to enlarge.
• All figures are industry estimates. Actual figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, ew.com, Variety

2012

Let me start off by saying that I love a good big-screen disaster movie. Sure, you have to suspend reality, accept the fact that there will be cheesy acting, laughable spoken lines and plots with huge holes -- but you're bound to be entertained by some fun action and special effects, right? Well that's with a good disaster movie. 2012 is not a good disaster movie -- it's just a disaster.

Clocking in at nearly two-and-a-half hours, the film feels longer than the actual three years we have left to live -- that is if you believe in the Mayan lore that the world will end on December 21, 2012. Director/co-producer/co-writer Roland Emmerich is a master of the genre, but 2012 does not live up to his past successes (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow). Why? Where do I start? Miscasting, a bad script, limited action, sub-par special effects, ridiculous ethnic stereotyping and the movie's unnecessarily long running time are all factors.

Starting in 2009, an academic researcher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) leads a group of people in a fight to counteract the apocalyptic events that were predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar -- and are suddenly proving right with scientific support. Luckily, the U.S. Chief of Staff (Olive Platt) and President (Danny Glover) believe him -- and they start an international effort to plan for the inevitable. Too bad the plan can only save a small fraction of the world's population. How on earth will they decide who should be saved? And can they pull it off in such a short amount of time?

Flash forward three years and we meet Jackson Curtis (John Cusack), an unsuccessful science fiction book writer who now works as a limousine driver. In formulaic fashion, Curtis is estranged from his wife and his two kids. On a trip to Yellowstone, Curtis stumbles upon a whack-job radio jockey (played by Zombieland's Woody Harrelson) who convinces him that the end of the world is truly going to happen. And you guessed it -- Curtis now has a chance to redeem himself with his ex-wife (Amanda Peet) and kids -- if only he can save them from the disaster quickly ensuing all around them. I'm sure you can guess the ultimate outcome.

For the most part, the cast members seem to be cringing with each line of ridiculous dialogue. Danny Glover's performance is downright laughable. And John Cusack (Say Anything, Being John Malkovich, Serendipity), who has found success in so many different genres before, is ill-suited for action-adventure. He is not convincing as a strong lead in peril -- but how can you blame him? It must not be easy to act -- or react -- to things that aren't really there, but added later by today's technology. Sadly, the computer-generated special effects fall mostly short. Except for a few thrill rides in flight, the images look fake. Studios need to step it up now that audiences expect more-realistic effects. To sum up -- just in case we really only have three years to live -- don't waste your valuable time with this ridiculous film. [Rated PG-13; opens today]


Grade: C


Note:

• Click here for an alphabetical archive of all movie reviews -- including last week's review of Precious -- which opens wider today.
  

After a one-week break to bring you all that Pearl Jam news, free music downloads are back here in the weekly MusicMonday column. This week's new offerings:

• Walmart has a free Carrie Underwood song for download here. Code: CHANGE.
• Singer/songwriter Matt Wertz has made an entire 17-track album available for free download. Click here to get If it Ain't Broke - Live from Seattle.
• Amazon is offering a free Veteran's Day album -- with songs from bands in our armed services. Click here for the download.
• Amazon also has a country sampler with the likes of Willie Nelson and Lyle Lovett available for free download here.

• AbsolutePunk
• Amazon
• Fuse.tv
• Spinner
• Stereogum
• Walmart

Notes:

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Clareece "Precious" Jones is an obese, illiterate 16-year-old living with an incredibly vile mother (Mo'Nique) in 1987 Harlem. Precious already has one kid (and you'll be horrified when you learn why the child has Down Syndrome) -- and she's pregnant again. Kicked out of her high school, she is invited to an alternative school -- where she hopes to finally move her life in a new direction. A better life -- that for now, she's only been able to fantasize about in her daydreams.

Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe is excellent in the title role as the teen whose hopes and dreams have been continually squashed due to her troubled home life. How is it possible that this girl even has dreams and a sense of humor after enduring so much physical and verbal abuse? Mo'Nique is superb as the worst mother on the planet -- she makes Mommie Dearest Joan Crawford look like June Cleaver. For any actress to pull this off would be amazing -- but for a comedian to do so is nothing short of a miracle. The rest of the supporting cast is also top-notch. Kudos to Mariah Carey for abandoning her real life glitz and beauty in a smaller, but strong role as a social worker. Finally, Glitter is deservedly behind her. Meanwhile, I didn't even recognize fellow singer/actor Lenny Kravitz until the credits rolled. All of these stars transformed so much for their roles -- it's truly a wonder to behold. Paula Patton (Idlewild) rounds out the fine cast as the teacher of the alternative school.

Warning -- this drama, expertly directed by Lee Daniels (Shadowboxer), is NOT an easy movie to watch. But you'll be glad you did because it will remind you that no matter how bad you may think your life is, someone always has it worse than you. And hopefully it will remind you that the human spirit is so strong -- it can prevail over any horror -- if you only let it.

• Click here for an alphabetical archive of all movie reviews.

Pearl Jam, the greatest American rock band, wrapped its four-night gig in Philadelphia this past weekend -- culminating with a Halloween show that was the LAST event ever at the famed entertainment arena, The Spectrum. Here's a recap:

• Yours truly sat out the opener, but attended the other three nights -- and thanks to fan club seniority, had great floor seats!
• The band played a total of 131 songs over the four concerts -- including 103 different songs.
• Of the band's total 110 studio album tracks, they played 83!
• Set lists for all nights can be found here.
• The three early shows clocked in around 2.5 hours each, with the final show a whopping 3.5 hours.
• Rumored guests for the final night were just that, rumors. Maybe Bruce Springsteen would have been there if he didn't attend the funeral for his cousin and road crew member earlier that day. And maybe Elton John would have been there if he wasn't in a London hospital recovering from the flu and an E. coli infection. Whatever the reasons, when you're a band of this caliber, you don't need guests to make the night memorable.
• Highlights for the final night including hearing "Bugs" and "Sweet Lew" for the first time live.
• And let's not forget it was Halloween night -- so in the spirit of the holiday, the band came out dressed like Devo and performed "Whip It" -- it was truly a classic moment -- which was captured by a fellow fan in this video here.
• As the band was in their final Spectrum encore performing Neil Young's "Rockin in the Free World," red, white and blue balloons and confetti fell from the rafters -- captured in the video here.
• Comcast-Spectacor and Live Nation representatives presented the band with Spectrum seats, bearing plaques commemorating their finale at the historic venue. Click here for more on the venue's history.
• For the Philadelphia Inquirer's coverage -- including a photo gallery -- click here.
• For coverage from Rolling Stone -- including another look at the Devo homage, click here.
• For coverage from Billboard, click here.
• My reviews: I continue to be amazed at how well the band is able to pull off integrating their new songs with the old. With other bands, you'll feel the crowd energy slip down when bands don't play their hits and try to feed you new tunes. But that is not the case with Pearl Jam. Every song -- whether old or new -- is savored by the strong fan base. And each night only built in terms of fan and band energy, so my final concert grades are as follows ~ 10/28: B+, 10/30: A-, 10/31: A. Not too shabby when you figure I'm pushing 50 total concerts by the band.

Note:

• A special thanks to @DirtyFrankDahmr for some of the supportive information.
• The free music download section will be back NEXT week. Click here for last week's list.

Notes:

• Reviews of Where the Wild Things and Amelia can be found here.
• Click on the chart to enlarge.
• All figures are industry estimates. Actual figures are released on Monday.
• Sources: Nielsen EDI, ew.com, Variety