Highly simplistic storyline made into a damn good "B" movie! Preston's wife Emily has an affair with Jonathan and from there on, EVERYTHING goes wrong! At times, this movie has that "L.A. Confidential pulp-type" feel to it which make it quite right especially when Preston goes to visit a private investigator. He turns out to be, well, let's say, not too conventional in his techniques. A non-Hollywood ending which, of course, will give it that "flop" status. Could be better but I must commend Jon Bokenkamp on his efforts. Flick stars Luke Wilson, Norman Reedus, Dennis Farina & Mili Avital. Worth a watch!

Imagine an oceanside bar with the sound of glasses and murmur in the background. A piano under a solitary blue spotlight and an old RCA ribbon microphone in front of a classy-looking femme fatale. Get the picture? Well, this is what comes to mind when you listen to Butler's new CD. Not as pristine as Diane Krall but as bluesy as Billie H. Three cuts have string accompaniment which turns out to be a BIG plus! Thumbs up to producer Bruce Barth! MaxJazz has a way to release excellent CD's one after the other! This CD, Butler's second for MaxJazz, should receive some nominations in next year's awards! Highly recommended!

OK! What is this?? A CD that is mainly THICK blues with folk and boogie touches! But check out these musicians: Ribot, Mehldau, Ndegeocello and..um..AND ORNETTE COLEMAN??!! WOW!! The first cut, humourously titled, "Richard Pryor Addresses A Tearful Nation", is comparable to Leon Russell as a guest vocalist in Direstraits' "Love Over Gold" CD. Cut two reminds you of Tom Waits quirkiness. Other artists that come into mind while listening to the rest of this CD include Jimmie Dale Gilmour and Randy Newman. As the CD progresses, cut eight sounds like a 1930's torch song...you sorta imagine Clint playing the piano! Ha! Nevertheless, Joe Henry has to get the attention he deserves!

I'm blown away! I've worked in the record business for 22 years now and I would've NEVER guessed that this stupendous CD could come from BOCA RATON!!! Huh??? Chris Carrabba is a master at what he's doing! (and I thought I knew the local scene-HA!) From the get-go, this CD wraps around you like a warm, comfortable blanket on a cold wintry day! Musically smooth and lyrically heart-wretching! Anyone who fancies Costello, Prefab Sprout, Lloyd Cole or Willy Porter should pick this up NOW!!! A big, loud "Hurrah" to the hometown boy!!

Siobhan de Mare(Mono) and Robin Guthrie(Cocteau Twins) combine their efforts in this new project, Violet Indiana, and the result is sensational! Though I am a big Elizabeth Frasier fan, it is comforting to be able to "understand" what the lyrics are!From the get-go, the CD sounds more like the more mellow side of Portishead with "Air Kissing". After that, you've got two songs ("Busted" & "Sundance") which are produced blandly and lack the necesary hooks. Things really mellow out after the third track but that's good because it seems the more downtempo the song is, the better it sounds! Unfortunately, by the time you reach halfway the CD, it all becomes a drone because every song is produced identical. So...my advise: listen to the songs individually (and not the whole CD) and you'll really like this collection.

10 minutes into the movie "Clay Pigeons", a song played that blew my socks off! That song was by OLD 97's! Soon after that, I owned all their releases! BUT...here we have a completely different story. We have the stereotype. The major label picks up the innovative group and tries to convert it into a money machine! No!!! This is not about the love of money! It's about great songs & artistic freedom! It took a while for Elektra to pursuade this group to change but the day is here! From their traditional hell-raising rockabilly sound, I count ONE track! Nice retro-looking cover but it falls apart from that point on...

Few bands strike big from the get-go and Llama may be another example of an excellent group ignored by the lack of promotion. This CD is excellent MOR material which is so hard to find these days. Reminiscent to Dave Matthews, Hootie & the Blowfish and Willy Porter, Llama comes across with an array of tunes colorfully mastered with electro-acoustic guitar and mandolins. Additionally, and for example, "Three White Cars", features an organ (sounds like a Hammond B-3) and old analog synth topped with an early 70's jam session. Eclectic yet conservative. Should appeal to all age groups.

Director David Koepp has a frightening track record: A blockbuster smash movie OR an excellent flick that gets ruthlessly ignored...no in-betweens! Tom Witzky (Bacon) is too "ordinary" until sister in law, Lisa, hypnotizes him and makes him a "magnet" to the unknown. His son, Jake (Cope), already talks to ghosts not seen by anyone until Tom begins to see, feel, and hear what Jake does. Tom's wife, Maggie (Kathryn Erbe), is oblivious to all of this. Members of the neighborhood has a well-kept secret that is not about to re-surface any time soon until Tom flips out and supernaturally gets all the answers. Great film that was ignored because of the similarities with "The Sixth Sense". Personally, I feel this flick is creepier! Worth the buy!

Soundtrack from well-anticipated film include seven songs and 7 tracks for the score. The songs all include PALE 3, which are very reminiscent to the acid jazz/trip-hop sounds in the likes of Portishead, Mono, Massive Attack, etc. The third song is spoken(!) by the movie's actress FRANKA POTENTE (Run, Lola, Run).The additional songs (with Pale 3) feature guest vocalists Skin (Skunk Anansie); Louise Rhodes (Lamb); Alison Goldfrapp (Goldfrapp), Beth Hirsch, Anita Lane and 12 rounds. Very ethereal sounding collection.

"The Woman in Me" is what I call the "Cinderella" story of a release. Virtually ignored by the POP market, this CD features TRUE country that somehow managed to generate sales over 11 million (last I checked). With the follow-up selling around the same amount, you can only wonder how GOOD this CD REALLY is! Well, it's flawless! You won't find sugar-coated sellout tunes like "You're Still The One" but instead some great roots music which makes you wonder how this Canadian and her (ex?) rock-producer Mutt Lange could have come up with this!