Mr. Woodcock

There are certain movies you only get to see if you have a 12 year-0ld son and this is one of them. Mr. Woodcock makes life miserable for the fat losers in his gym class. One of them grows up, goes away and writes a successful book, only to come home to find out his mom is going to marry Mr. Woodcock. There are some funny moments (mostly because as a teacher myself, Mr. Woodcock actually does the things we can only dream about in the faculty room), but I would wait for the DVD, of course. I will say Billy Bob Thorton plays the character to perfection. Light entertainment.

The Illusionist

This movie was in my Netflix queue and I finally got around to watching it. I would give this movie a 7/10. The story line was interesting and kept one guessing through out. Just like a good illusionist...you know you are being tricked but you just can't quite figure out how it's done. It was a little plodding in places and lots of guys with beards but entertaining for sure. Edward Norton was excellent.

BRMC-In Concert

I attended the BRMC concert last week at Water Street Music Hall. Although it wasn't well-attended, the show was very solid. I believe this show was an add-on as BRMC played NYC the night before and were playing Philadelphia the night after, and the Rochester show was not originally on the tour schedule. In any event, I enjoyed the opportunity to finally hear a band I've been into since I heard Love Burns on their first CD. American X was excellent but I'm trying to figure out the Love Me Tender Elvis cover. I was teaching about Elvis the next day in my History of Rock & Roll class so maybe it was for me. Anyway, if you like Jesus & Mary Chain, or a heavy guitar bluesy feel...then you might want to check out BRMC.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club-Baby 81

I've been listening to a lot of BRMC in the past few days, as I'm gearing up for the local concert tomorrow night. Baby 81 is their 4th record, the title referring to a baby who survived the tsunami and had 9 sets of parents claim him. While I'm looking forward to hearing some of BRMC's older stuff like Love Burns (the first song that made me notice), I am looking forward to hearing Berlin, All You Do Is Talk, Weapon of Choice, Took Out A Loan, and 666 Conducer from the new record. I love their bluesy, Jesus & Mary Chain, guitar-driven sound. Check them out.

U2-Popmart DVD-Live in Mexico City

This is a re-release of the VHS version. It is a 2-dvd set. For me, all the extra stuff on disc 2 is interesting...stories about The Lemon, Sarajevo, Making of Last Night on Earth video, screen savers, wallpaper, and some other stuff I haven't checked out yet. I saw this tour from the front row in Toronto...probably one of the few concerts that would have been better viewed back from the stage. I need to take this DVD to my friend's house and watch on a widescreen plasma. While U2 had previously incorporated a multimedia spectacular into their live shows (Zoo TV), Popmart seemed to overwhelm the musical experience at times. Still, an amazing visual concert experience with the world's largest TV screen, a lemon mirrorball, and graphics that were constantly coming at you. The irony of this supermarket concept was lost on many and still doesn't seem to quite fit the U2 image. However, it's still U2 and by the time this concert was recorded, U2 was in good form for this tour and the songs from POP are better than most give credit.

Superbad

Ok...my 12 year-old son (almost 13) talked me into taking him to this movie. For some reason, I thought it was going to be like Napoleon Dynamite. It was a nice movie about friendship but of course it was buried under all the alcohol, sex, and profanity. McLovin and his police friends offered some comedic relief but it was not a good choice to take my son to this movie. Of course, it did open the door to have discussions about making choices.