Photo Courtesy © Fox Searchlight Pictures

Sunshine (2007)

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Written by: Alex Garland

Starring: Cliff Curtis, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, and Mark Strong.

Everyone needs a little bit of sunshine in their lives. I know I do, since good Sci-fi is so hard to come by these days. Of course, by now it’s no secret that I’m a hardcore science fiction freak (notice I said freak and not geek, there is a difference). It’s also no secret that I love Danny Boyle and everything he puts on film, and on a CD. Which brings me to Sunshine, Danny Boyle’s latest attempt at revitalizing a seemingly forgotten genre.

This time he’s tackling “Science Fiction;” a couple of years ago he managed to do something similar for zombie films with 28 Days Later. The film opens with a chilling monologue by the ship's resident physicist, Cappa, played by Cillian Murphy, 50 years into the future as Icarus II races to the sun on a last chance mission to save the dying star. Our brave crew is now entering unknown territory and the constant reminder of the failure and disappearance of the Icarus I mission is making everyone very uneasy. The ship’s bomb is meant to cause a disruption and the eventual decay of what scientists call a "Q-ball, a super symmetric nucleus, left over from the big bang that is disrupting the normal matter of the sun” (according to the Sunshine page on IMDB).

Seven years earlier, Icarus I departed from earth to perform the task that was going to save humanity from the dying sun. For reasons unknown the mission was lost along with the whereabouts of the crew and any chance to contact the ship. As Icarus II approaches the unforgiving sun they stumble on a distress signal that was sent seven years earlier by the failed Icarus I mission. Curious to find out what happened to the failed mission the crew starts to make the necessary preparations to intercept Icarus I and its valuable payload (figuring that two bombs are better than one). This is the point in the movie where the pace takes a drastic change and the director puts into play all of the elements he’s been building up. Suddenly you are thrown into a non-stop thrill ride with an unforgettable climax.

Another interesting tidbit from the IMDB Sunshine Trivia page, and one that ultimately shapes how you view the movie: “Alex Garland wrote the film as a "love letter" to psychologically-minded science-fiction, and also a film about atheism and "meeting God.” He and director Danny Boyle differed in their interpretation of this aspect of this film, but found this did not affect the content of the movie. Garland remarks that they had reached "the same two interpretations that could be made from the world around us.” Playing God and fighting forces that we do not understand are the underlined themes that lead us to the film’s climax. It is therefore important to understand the symbolism of the name Icarus and the role that good and evil play in the movie. Most critics criticize the movie for its disappointing ending but I can guarantee that if you see the film with an open mind then you will love the ride. This of course is the key to enjoying the film—after all, it is science fiction.

Sunshine opened to only 10 screens in the U.S. on its opening weekend. Unfortunately, this is something that continues to happen to Danny Boyle’s movies. But we can take comfort in the fact that the movie grossed a whopping $242,964 dollars that first weekend (per screen average). Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of that accomplishment: per screen average for Spiderman 3 was $315,545 on 318 screens and Shrek 3 grossed $384,110 on 408 screens. Let’s hope that these impressive numbers give the movie a wider release here in the U.S. I can’t wait for the next Danny Boyle feature, until then I will gladly enjoy the series of sci-fi movies that will get green-lighted thanks to the success of Sunshine.

Juanmarcos@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Focus Features

Evening

Directed by: Lajos Koltai

Written by: Susan Minot and Michael Cunningham

Starring: Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close, Toni Collette, Natasha Richardson, Claire Danes, Hugh Dancy, Mamie Gummer and Patrick Wilson.

“Your mother had a whole life. She sang at my wedding. She raised two girls. We can't know everything she did. We are mysterious creatures, aren't we?”

So Meryl Streep’s Lila says to Toni Collette’s Nina in Evening. Nina has just asked Lila about something mentioned by her dying mother, Ann (played by Vanessa Redgrave). While Nina and her sister Constance (played by Redgrave’s real daughter, Natasha Richardson) struggle to put their differences aside, Ann slips in and out of memory into that of a fateful weekend when she was much younger. In these past scenes, Ann is played beautifully by Claire Danes, who manages to convey the awkwardness of being an outsider in a world of upper crust socialites, but still mysteriously manages to seem like the very picture of grace.

Ann has been invited to a lovely mansion on the Eastern coast for the wedding of her best friend Lila (wonderfully played by Streep’s own daughter, Mamie Gummer). During the course of her stay, Ann finds her affections torn between her sweet companion Buddy (Hugh Dancy) and hunky family friend Harris (Patrick Wilson, a good actor sadly under-used once again as “the hot guy”). Suffice it to say, the weekend will end in tears—and even tragedy. At one point, a character says, “there are no mistakes.” But while Lila makes a choice and lives with it, Ann finds herself reliving her choices the way you might keep picking at a scab, even as she’s lying on her deathbed. There is a lesson to be learned there for any of us who have had trouble letting go of past mistakes, whether it is something you should not have said, a person you should have never bothered with or any of the other infinite number of bad decisions that we as human beings make all the time. It is also a lesson for those of us like Nina who are afraid to make a definite choice, to take a step solidly forward, for fear of choosing the wrong path.

Novelist Susan Minot has adapted her own book along with Michael Cunningham, the author of The Hours. Aside from sharing several cast members (Danes, Collette and Streep) with the film adaptation of The Hours, the movies share the device of shifting back and forth through time. Sadly, it doesn’t work as well this time around. In The Hours, the transition between stories, years and continents was elegant and fluid. In Evening, I felt jarred every time the story cut from the present to Ann’s past. However, that is the only thing that I think kept a very good film from being a great one. (Well, okay, I also thought that Glenn Close as Lila’s mother was still playing her character from The Stepford Wives. But in retrospect, perhaps that makes sense.)

Director Lajos Koltai is possibly better known as the cinematographer for films like Malena, Sunshine, and Being Julia (as well as one of my all-time favorite films, Jodie Foster’s Home For the Holidays), and along with D.P. Gyula Pados, has created a film that is gorgeous to look at. Of course the film is also gorgeously acted, considering that some of our most talented actresses are playing roles in the film. Danes is glorious, Redgrave commands your attention throughout, despite being bedridden in every scene, and Collette, as damaged daughter Nina, wins your heart. But lest we forget that there are boys present, I direct you to the outstanding performance of Hugh Dancy. It’s the first time that I’ve seen him in a film and I have to say that he managed to impress me quite a bit with his complex and heartbreaking work as Buddy. By the time you read this, Evening will probably have slipped out of theatres, but if it’s still playing near you I definitely recommend it as a refreshing oasis in the current desert of summer blockbusters.

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Photo Courtesy © Focus Features

Talk to Me

Directed by: Kasi Lemmons

Written by: Michael Genet and Rick Famuyiw

Starring: Don Cheadle, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mike Epps, Cedric the Entertainer, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Elle Down, Taraji P. Henson and Martin Sheen.

Writer-director Kasi Lemmons has the singular achievement of being the first black woman to have made three films—three films that have played in theaters and have been released worldwide that is. The fact that this is fact in the year 2007 is a sad marker of how far the film industry still has to go, and yet, it is also a clear indication of just how remarkable (and talented) Lemmons is. Her three films to date, 1997’s Eve’s Bayou, 2001’s The Caveman’s Valentine, and most recently, Talk to Me, are all original and poetic films whose images stay forever engraved in your mind. Mention Eve’s Bayou and I see a beautiful close-up of a young Jurnee Smollett crying while Terence Blanchard’s moving score sweeps in; talk to me about The Caveman’s Valentine and I see a haggard Samuel Jackson walking through Bryant Park: just say the words Talk to Me and I automatically see Don Cheadle’s face as he confronts an audience of white people on live television…

Lemmons’ films leave a mark because she infuses every bit of herself into their stories, into getting them made and seen, and Talk to Me is no different. The movie tells the story of Petey Greene, played by Don Cheadle, an ex-con turned radio disc jockey in 1960s era Washington D.C., and his manager, Dewey Hughes, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film focuses on their relationship and Greene’s rise to success from the penitentiary to one of the most popular and influential radio DJ’s of the time, all within the context of the tumultuous 60s, with the civil rights movement, riots and the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. all serving as emotional backdrops. The result is a movie that is both irreverent and political, offering social commentary (without judgment or preaching) that is as relevant today as it was then.

Don Cheadle has been churning out award-winning performances for over a decade now and his turn as Petey Greene will deservedly reward him with many a nomination in 2008. Cheadle’s Petey is brash, funny, smart and most of all, completely relatable, the latter which is the integral piece to your connecting with both the character and the story. The film’s success lies entirely on how convincing he portrays Greene and he succeeds in spades—by the end of the film you will find yourself longing for a man like Petey, a man who “tells it like it is,” to come in and lead a new revolution today. Chiwetel Ejiofor is just as terrific as Dewey, the “brains and numbers” behind Petey’s rise to fame. I first saw Ejiofor in Stephen Frear’s Dirty Pretty Things, a performance that was not easy to forget, and since then he has risen to become one of the more interesting young actors working today. With a cast that is pretty hard to beat, and a story as interesting and as relevant as Petey’s, Talk to Me is just another example of how good a film can be when Kasi Lemmons is at the helm—hopefully it will also serve as her first mainstream hit.

Lily@picturesandframesmagazine.com

DVD'S:

Billy Wilder’s Ace in the Hole (a.k.a. The Big Carnival)

“I don’t make things happen, all I do is write about them.”

After 1950’s twisted classic Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder made a film that was an even darker tale. The film, released originally as Ace in the Hole, and later re-released as The Big Carnival, flopped. Both times. Its tale of a cynical journalist whose motto of “Bad news sells best” must not have set well with the audiences of 1951. After 56 years, the film seems absolutely prophetic, as, sadly, today that slogan seems to sum up the world of journalism to a T. Wilder’s noirish drama was finally released on DVD this month—and how! A Criterion Collection 2-disc set, which features a scholarly commentary by Neil Sinyard, several archival interviews with those involved (as well as one with admirer Spike Lee), and a 1980 documentary focusing on Billy Wilder. The set even includes a newspaper-style insert with essays and artwork.

Kirk Douglas plays Chuck Tatum, who shows up one day at an Albuquerque newspaper office, selling himself as a $250-a-week journalist who can be had for $50. Tatum goes in like gangbusters and gets himself hired, despite admitting to being fired from other papers in the past for adultery, drinking and his wild ways. The rat-a-tat-tat dialogue brings to mind another movie about reporters, His Girl Friday. That’s pretty much where the comparisons end, though. Tatum is on his way to cover a rattlesnake hunt somewhere in New Mexico, when he stumbles onto something bigger—a cave-in that’s trapped a man under a mountain. Unlike Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant in Friday, who wanted to get the scoop and save a man’s life, Tatum can only see the exclusive, the big story, and returning to his old desk in New York. The trapped man’s wife, played by Jan Sterling, has also got more on her mind than her husband’s safety. Between the two of them and the sheriff Tatum manipulates, there are few bright spots in Wilder’s vision. If you aren’t afraid of the dark though, it’s a fantastic bit of cinema, propelled by a powerhouse of a performance by Kirk Douglas.

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

“Battlestar Galactica” (2004 – 2008)

Starring: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Tricia Helfer, James Callis, Grace Park, Katee Sackhoff, Aaron Douglas, Michael Hogan, Tahmoh Penikett, Kandyse McClure, Alessandro Juliani, Nicki Clyne, Bodie Olmos, Leah Cairns, Paul Campbell, Michael Trucco, Kate Vernon, Lucy Lawless, Dean Stockwell, Matthew Bennett, Callum Keith Rennie and Richard Hatch.

(My wife and I decided to write this review together since we are both obsessed with the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica.”)

“Battlestar Galactica,” a truly epic sci-fi TV show in the making and you’re just in time to catch the dramatic series conclusion. The 4^th season of BSG is scheduled to begin at the end of this year; for hardcore BSG fans, the 4^th season will unfortunately be its last (that frakkin’ sucks). The silver lining for the rest of you is that this is an opportunity to catch up with the first three seasons and be ready for the last one. Although the first two seasons went quietly unnoticed at our house, I decided to give the show a try right at the start of the third season. It was during the midseason break that I got a chance to catch up with the first two.

I have to admit: originally I wrote it off as just one more sci-fi drama, like the many “Star Trek” and “Stargate” spin-offs. Fortunately I was able to see that I was missing a great show and now I am all caught up and ready for more. I remember growing up watching the great Lorne Greene as Commander Adama, Dirk Benedict (pre “A-Team”) as Lt. Starbuck, Richard Hatch, the only returning cast member of the original series, as Capt. Apollo, and a very deceptive, sad little man named John Colicos—the Baltar of the time. Of course there was a cheesiness factor to it but the great characters, witty humor and interstellar story lines kept it from becoming pointless and outdated. Even with that in mind I can honestly say that this show blows the original “Battlestar Galactica” out of the water.

It’s only fitting that we share with you a couple of reasons why we love the show and why we think it will also become one of your favorites (hopefully). Although the survivors aboard the BSG face a cosmic power struggle, there is always a genuine sense of hope when the credits roll at the end of each episode. The writers succeed in balancing the threat of pending doom with insights into what drives the whole of humanity and what keeps us united, namely, love. In typical sci-fi fashion, the lines between good and evil are blurred, and Cylons (the bad guys) intend to end the human race in service to God. In case you were wondering, Cylons are a race of robots created by man, who then rebelled and are bent on destroying all men. To make matters worse, the newest models look like you and me, which makes for very interesting TV.

There’s action, drama, mystery, humor, and superb special effects in each episode, coupled with fine acting and great story lines. It will make you wonder why you’ve gone so long without it. We can honestly say that this is one of the best TV shows that we have seen in a long time. Not since Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” have we felt so satisfied and excited about a sci-fi show, and we can only hope that you will come away from it feeling the same way.

Juan Marcos Percy

Marta Canaan

MUSIC:

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Lucy Wainwright Roche’s big leap of faith

From elementary school teacher to full-time folk singer, Lucy Wainwright Roche makes a grand debut with 8 Songs.

By Katie Gradowski

If you were to run into Lucy Roche in the checkout line, you might confuse her for any other aspiring Brooklynite—an optimistic 20-something, rolling into the big city and settling into the ups and downs of post-graduate life. Unless you caught her last name, that is—Wainwright and Roche, respectively—and unless you happened to run into her at the Living Room, where she regularly performs for a growing coterie of devoted folk-rock fans.

As the youngest member of the Wainwright family clan (her parents are folk singers Loudon Wainwright and Suzzy Roche, and her siblings are Rufus and Martha Wainwright), Lucy Roche is a strong and surprisingly unpretentious new voice—crystal clear vocals, a witty ear for lyrics, and a warm sensibility that comes from years of sitting around and listening to guitars being strummed. After a few ups and downs, Lucy is back in the family groove, touring in Europe and releasing her first album this spring. That album, humbly titled "8 Songs,” offers an exciting glimpse of a singer coming into her own. She agreed to meet with Pictures and Frames to tell us a little bit about the new album:

Pictures and Frames (P&F): Before we talk about the album, I wanted to talk a little bit about what came before it—that is, teaching elementary school. What prompted you to start teaching? How did you get into that?

Lucy Wainwright Roche (LWR): I’ve always loved working with kids, and I was a serial babysitter my whole life. Then I went to college at Oberlin, which happens to be the world’s only liberal arts school without an education program. So I didn’t major in that, I majored in creative writing, and after that, I moved to North Carolina and got a job teaching there. Then I moved back to New York and decided I was going to get my master’s in education. I was really set on being a teacher and had sufficiently gotten rid of any notions of musical things. I came back up here, taught second grade for a year, started my master’s program, taught third grade, and this year finished my master’s program.

P&F: Why did you decide to stop?

LWR: My cousin died when he was 19, that spring, and my brother Rufus wrote a song about him, and asked me in August if I wanted to learn it and come sing a show with him in New York. I went to the rehearsal space where Rufus was working with his band and everybody, and we rehearsed. They were going off on the road for a few days and then coming back to New York. And he said to me one night after the rehearsal at like, 10 pm, he was like, “What are you doing for the rest of the month?” And I said, “Well, I’m babysitting and tutoring” and he was like, “The bus is leaving at 2 a.m. this morning. I think you should come. I think you should blow off your work for the week and just come for the week.” And I went for a week, and they asked me if I wanted to stay for a month, and I stayed for the whole month. And I loved it; it was just magical. I spent most of my childhood on the road; I think that’s why it was so magical. It reminded me of what it was like to be on the road.

P&F: One of the things that is really clear in your performances is that you’re completely at ease on stage, and you have a very natural connection with the audience. Do you prefer live work to studio work?

LWR: It’s funny, I was a very shy kid, and not a natural performer at all compared to my siblings and my parents. I never wanted to get onstage. I never wanted to do any of that stuff when I was younger. And I still feel like the same person as that was, but it turned out that when I actually got up on stage—I had such a mental block about it, when I said yes to my first show, the thought of it made me cry. But when I actually had to get up there, it turned out, I think, that I had watched so many shows with so many people, and I was like “Oh, I can do this.” I’m pretty much onstage…pretty close to what I’m like talking to other people, I think. I don’t know any other way to do it. I’m not very “cool” onstage because I don’t really know how to keep it in. I just have to be myself, otherwise I’m sunk.

P&F: You come from a family with a pretty lengthy history in the music business. How has growing up around musicians affected your own perspective as a songwriter and a singer?

LWR: I think there are upsides and downsides to it. Sometimes I see people perform and I get this feeling like, they really came to music in their bedroom by themselves, discovering it like this foreign rebellious thing that was so amazing. And I love watching that, and I sometimes lament the fact that I didn’t come to it that way. It was just everywhere.

But I did have a very personal relationship with music. I was seven when I got my first cassette player, and I was completely obsessed with it. So I did have that personal relationship, but it’s not the same as people who came to it all by themselves, and are like, “Wow, no one in my family sings. That would be different.” In my family I was the rebel because I went to college and got a master’s degree and was going to have a real job. Everyone was like, “Wow, you’re really a rebel.” And now I’ve kind of given in to the ranks.

P&F: Can you tell me about being a kid and being on tour?

LWR: I was on the road with my mom and my aunts, who are a band called the Roches. It wasn’t a big tour—we weren’t on a tour bus, there wasn’t a whole lot of money behind it. We were in a van with my mom and my two aunts, and my uncle was the road manager a lot of the time, and then my grandmother came and sold CD’s. And I loved it; it was my absolute favorite thing. The people weren’t always in a good mood, but a lot of time they were. We laughed a lot. I think when you’re a kid and the adults around you are really really laughing, that’s always really fun when you’re a kid. It’s just infectious. It was like I had everything I needed in the car, and it was awesome.

P&F: When you were a kid, did you see yourself growing up to be a musician?

LWR: No. People always used to say at the shows, I’d be running around, and they’d say “Are YOU going to be part of the Roches?” And I’d say “No! Absolutely not.” I think I thought I was part of the Roches when I was really little—I was at all the rehearsals and all the shows, I was surrounded by it—but as I got older, I really did not self-identify as a musician at all. I was always really into singing, but I didn’t think I would grow up to do it.

P&F: As both a Wainwright and a Roche, you have to do double duty. Do you ever feel like you have to compete?

LWR: I don’t feel like I’m competing with my siblings or my parents, really, I feel like they’re in such different places that it feels so foreign to me to be competing with them. And the other thing about the siblings and the kids is that we’re so different. We’re blessed with difference. All three of us—Rufus, Martha and me—are so different from each other. People aren’t necessarily going to be fans of all of us, because we don’t overlap that much in terms of what we sound like. That I think is great because if that weren’t the case, we’d be sunk.

P&F: When you’re putting a song together, how does it start? Do you start with the music or the lyrics? How does it come together?

LWR: Mostly I start with the guitar. I guess I sort of start with the music, but often they come together. I rarely come up with the beginning of something without holding the guitar. A lot of times I’ll finish something without the guitar, like driving, I’ll finish something in my head, but I usually have established the beginning of it with the guitar.

P&F: What are some of the obstacles in terms of songwriting?

LWR: I think self-censorship is an obstacle. I think this happens to a lot of people in a lot of different jobs, where you produce something and then you look back at it and you’re like, “That’s disgusting.” But actually that’s gotten better as I’ve let it go more. You can’t take yourself too seriously, otherwise you’ll get caught up in what you’re trying to do and you’ll try to fix it. And you can’t—it’s like things come and go, and you have to let them be. I’m definitely still learning; I’m not an expert.

P&F: What are some of your major influences?

LWR: This is a very interesting question. I always think, “What am I going to say about that question?” In a way, it’s almost like for other people to decide who I remind them of. In terms of who has influenced me, I don’t know who’s influenced me. Obviously my family members must have, because I’ve listened to them my entire life and I’m a fan of theirs. So I’m curious who I remind people of, in terms of what has rubbed off on me.

What I listen to really varies. I love all my family members, and I also love Irish music, or traditional Celtic music. This girl Kate Rusby, she’s a great singer and I love her. I’ve never seen her perform, but I really want to. I love Patty Griffin, I love the Beatles. I’ve never been much of a snob about music.

P&F: Going back to the album, there’s such a strong rural connection. You talk about rural Indiana and Ireland, all of these beautiful, nostalgic places. Is there something about the countryside that inspires you?

LWR: One of the songs that talks about that is “Next Best Western,” which I didn’t write. But I went to school in Ohio and was incredibly struck by being in the country. I grew up in New York City, so I was totally obsessed with cornfields and all that, the Amish were fascinating to me. I spent so much time driving around in the country. That’s what I love about that song—it really captures that highway thing.

P&F: Do you have a favorite song on the album?

LWR: The first song, I would say. It was a song that wasn’t done until the day we recorded it. I wasn’t really sure if I liked it at all. I was unsure about it and tentatively put it on the record. Whereas the other ones, I was like, “Yeah, I can get behind that 100%.” And once it was on there, the others I started to get tired of because I’d been so gung ho about them for a while. And then suddenly I was like, “I like that the record starts with that song. I’m glad I finished it.”

P&F: I wanted to ask you about that song. Listening to it—it’s a song about two people standing on opposite sides of the bridge, and helping one person across. And listening to it, it actually took me five or six times before I realized that one person doesn’t get across…that you’re actually singing, “Can’t” instead of “Can.” Where does this song come from?

LWR: It’s funny, because it’s hard to enunciate “Can’t” without sounding silly. Just for the record, the word is “can’t”—which of course changes the entire song. It’s about really wanting someone to be able to do something that you think they can do, and you want to be like, “Come on, just do it.” But you sort of know it’s never going to happen, they can’t do it, and that is sometimes one of the hardest things to accept, I think. That it’s not possible. It’s a no go.

P&F: If we were to pull out your iPod, what would the top five songs on it be?

LWR: That’s a good question. I would say today, the song that is number one is the song “Gone for Good” by the Shins. And that’s because of one line in it, the line “You want to jump and dance, but you sat on your hands and lost your only chance.” I have had one foot in this music business and one foot out for a really long time, and today happens to have been the day when I was really like, “You know, I have to get in with both feet or get out.” And I woke up this morning and thought of that song for some reason, and I heard that line and was like “Ding!” So that happens to be today, something that’s been on my mind a lot.

P&F: What do you think is next for you? Do you think you’re going to keep doing this?

LWR: I think so. I’m not someone who, like, the only thing I could do happily is perform. I think there are people like that—and I think there are people like that in my family. I don’t think I’m one of them, but I do think I have to see where it goes. So at this point, I’d have to say I’m in with two feet.

Elliott Yamin – Elliott Yamin

If you watched season five of “American Idol,” then you’re probably familiar with Elliott Yamin—he made it all the way to the top three. In my honest opinion, Yamin gave season five winner Taylor Hicks and season five runner-up Katherine McPhee a run for their money in the vocal department. With a voice as passionate and as commanding as Yamin’s, how could you not expect to hear good things from him in the future? Fast forward several months later and he’s back in the spotlight with a self-titled debut album.

Elliott Yamin is an 11-song opus that straddles the line between R&B/Soul and adult contemporary Pop/Rock. It features the production of Stargate, Josh Abraham, DJ Lethal, Derek Bramble and Michael Mangini. Yamin also co-wrote five of the 11 tracks. His debut does an excellent job of demonstrating his versatility with infectious up-tempo numbers (“Movin’ On” and “Alright”), tender ballads (“Wait For You” and “One Word”), MOR-pop (“Take My Breath Away”) and classics (“A Song For You”). The album is also a showcase for his excellent voice. He possesses a soulful, expressive voice of great range. His timbre and phrasing have hints of Donny Hathaway (“A Song For You” and “Train Wreck”) and Bobby Caldwell (“Movin’ On” and “Wait For You”).

As for subject matter, Yamin’s songs focus mostly on the many facets of love. There’s devotion (“Wait For You”), infatuation (“Take My Breath Away”), celebration of the joys of love (“One Word”), being careful with your heart (“Train Wreck”), commitment (“I’m The Man”), and knowing when to leave well enough alone (“Movin’ On”). Yamin breaks away from matters of the heart on two songs with great effect. “Find A Way” is a song about people struggling to make it but eventually prevailing while “Free” is an inspirational tune about being steadfast in your quest to achieve your dreams. His lighthearted handling of heavier material, however, does make you hope that he’ll delve a little deeper in future releases.

At 11 songs, Elliott Yamin may have benefited with the addition of a few more up-tempo and socially conscious tracks. Aside from this, Elliott Yamin is a solid first effort. His is a promising and refreshing talent in an industry inundated with mediocrity. Yamin may not have won “American Idol” but if he keeps singing the way he has on this album, he’ll win over the hearts of millions across the globe.

Markell Williams - Music Critic

Johnette Napolitano – Scarred

For years, Johnette Napolitano has explored some of the gloomier aspects of life with L.A. rock band Concrete Blonde. On Scarred, her first widely released solo disc, she delves into even darker territory.

I have to start off by admitting that sometimes I can be a very bad listener. I’ll get an album, put it on my iPod and then listen to it as I ride the train, with a book in my hands. Most of the time I’ll find myself really getting into about half the songs on the album. Then there are those that really make you listen more carefully. Scarred is a bit like the latter, only it grabs you and will not let go. In fact, at points, it is as visceral as a punch in the gut. It may even steer you into some of the lesser-visited corners of your own heart and soul.

From the opener, “Amazing” to “Crazy Tonight,” to the staggering title track, I found myself having those extraordinary (and rare) moments you experience with music when you think, “yes, that’s exactly how it feels… Is it possible that no one else has ever put that feeling in a song?” I wonder if that’s what bonds listeners to artists—some sense of solidarity, the recognition of something we thought was felt solely by us. Which also means that while I find the experience of listening to Scarred mesmerizing and even cathartic, you may not. I certainly feel that even if the listener can’t identify with the darker elements, they’ll definitely appreciate Napolitano’s gutsy style. With 10 originals and covers of Coldplay’s “The Scientist” (originally heard on the soundtrack to Wicker Park) and Lou Reed’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” this is brilliant, strong and solid rock and roll. All in all, Scarred is an impressive statement from an artist who is fearless and true. 

Rick@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Travis – The Boy With No Name

First it was “Battleships.” Then it was “Closer” and the insanely catchy (if you haven’t seen the music video that accompanies the song click here: Selfish Jean - Travis) “selfish Jean”, followed directly by “Colder.” The current non-stop, all-encompassing, sing-a-long favorite: “My eyes.”

“As each day goes by, it makes way for another/We discover that we're not alone/And each day we try, the best we can to recover/All the feelings that we left below

Welcome in, welcome in/Shame about the weather/Welcome in, welcome in/

You will come/It's a sin, it's a sin/Where birds of a feather, are welcome to, land on you/

Ya Ya Ya/Ya Ya Ya/You've got my eyes/We can see, what you'll be, you can't disguise/And either way, I will pray, you will be wise/Pretty soon you will see the tears in my eyes…”

If you’re a Travis fan then you know the predicament that you can get into when trying to pinpoint exactly what it is about this Scottish foursome that works so well. Their music is both melancholy and hopeful, can comfort you when you feel like utter shit, and then lift you up to happiness levels that mirror those found in goofy Skittles commercials.

Travis released their first album, the Steve Lillywhite produced Good Feeling, in 1997, years before Coldplay, Keane and Snow Patrol and the slew of other British pop bands hit the mainstream airwaves. They released three albums after that, 1999’s terrific The Man Who, 2001’s unforgettable The Invisible Band and 2003’s equally memorable 12 Memories. Apart from a greatest hits collection entitled Singles released in 2005 (which featured the new track “Walking in the Sun”), The Boy With No Name marks their first full-length release of all new material in over four years…and it is well worth the wait.

In the four years since their last album members of the band have gotten married, had kids and turned into bonafide adults, all of which should in theory have placed their band and music on the backburner and yet The Boy With No Name is Travis best album to date. There is something for every kind of Travis fan on it—from the joyous dance-numbers like “Selfish Jean” and the thoughtful ballads such as “Under the Moonlight,” “Out in Space” and “Big Chair,” the album features a cornucopia of addictive melodies and brilliant choruses. Chris Martin once described himself as a “poor man’s Fran Healy,” and while I don’t think that the statement is necessarily true, it is clear just how much the Travis front man and principle songwriter has influenced Martin. Healy writes and sings about love, loneliness, relationships, death, bliss and simple fun in a way that feels so completely honest and true. The naysayers have always slighted Travis for this, for not being cool/serious/unconventional/(insert favored pretentious word here) enough, and yet that is precisely what endears them to so many. Their music fits every occasion, every moment that life throws your way…listening to Travis is like breathing in fresh air in a world filled entirely of smog—you feel more alive with every new song.

Lily@picturesandframesmagazine.com

BOOKS:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows – J.K. Rowling

It’s needless to say that Harry Potter is sacred ground. From college classes offered on the series to serious global debate on the minutia of the narrative, J.K. Rowling’s fiction, originally told as a bedtime story to her children, stands in a lone class, primarily defined by the ubiquitous statement, “Don’t ruin the ending for me.” Hence, for those readers out there who did not, as this reviewer did, wait in the midnight line, rush home after the credit card swipe and pour through at least the first 100 pages, I refuse to sully your experience. I’ll say this much, however—neither good nor evil definitively wins. In fact, it’s balance that claims triumph, and appropriately Rowling leaves her readers on a note of uncertainty.

In understanding the brilliance of this collection, and particularly of this last edition, it’s imperative to note that Rowling holds class as a children’s literature writer unafraid to tackle the issues of death, darkness, anger, fear and angst with an even hand. She, unlike so many others, does not condescend to her readership but rather mines these territories with an adult perspective and grants that perspective to children. Instead of skirting absence, loss and fear, Rowling, from the very first, has always faced these troubles head on, though perhaps her courage went unrecognized until she killed off Sirius Black in The Order of the Phoenix. After this bold move, however, it was undeniable in terms of narrative that Rowling much more approached the ground of classic children’s literature á la the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales, or in the modern scene, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, rather than the plethora of trill that copycats (and purely light-hearted classics) Ramona, Madeline or Eloise.

While she is not a particularly original thinker, Rowling owns the talent of innovative juxtaposition. By amalgamating pieces from Arthurian legend, Tolkien and Lewis, among others, she creates from a puzzle of literary influences an understandable picture. This, beyond her capacity to engage darkness in a thematically honest way, is perhaps Rowling’s greatest brilliance. In making ideas accessible, particularly those which would remain relegated to the fantasy genre, she allows for dialogue among both children and adult readers about certain ethical and moral concerns: Is slavery proper, even if the slaves are considered sub-human? What is it to be a good human being? What is the responsibility of the media?

If the greatest value of art is not that it produces happiness but produces growth, then that certainly is what the whole of the series has accomplished. Take, for example, the idea that an entire generation of youth has been shaped by Harry Potter. For many pre-teens and teens now, the first book that defined their love of reading was Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (known as the Sorcerer’s Stone here in the States). The influence then of Rowling’s implicit criticisms and her concepts of morality will flow onto these children, and as is the case for all of us, will remain an entrenched marker of their cultural and social understanding.

Noralil@picturesandframesmagazine.com

The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure and Your Body Is Changing by Jack Pendarvis

The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure

Many sad-funny incidents occur to a loner, local want-to-be author named Willie Dobbs who does not own a car, is paid off my his father-in-law to leave his wife, is abducted by a cop, thrown into the house of an eccentric who likes to eat soup, is in love with his lesbian sister-in-law and does not, fortunately, die by the end of the story.

Your Body Is Changing

Abandoned by his mother and left in the hands of negligent pseudo-intellectuals, teen Henry Gill comes of age during road trip with a pernicious and delusional religious fanatic and suffers with his forked tongue the “I know not yet what moderation is” blues.

To find out if these sentences actually relate to the collections in any way shape or form, you’ll just have to read them both.

For more information on the writer, visit www.jackpendarvis.blogspot.com.

Noralil@picturesandframesmagazine.com

FICTION:

Photo Courtesy © cityofsound.com

Away From the One You Love

By Markell Williams

There isn’t a day that goes by

When you don’t cross my mind

I’m beginning to know what

Beyonce’ was feeling in “Crazy In Love”

I just won’t be bouncing around

In some wildly colorful dress like the video

I thought I saw you the other day

When I was walking into work

So I sped up my pace

To try to catch you

But the realization hit that it

Was only someone who closely resembled you

Saddened but not defeated – I went on

Guess this is the result

Of being away from the person you

Love for so long

You just jump at the thought

Feeling or sensation

When something or someone

Reminds you of the one you love

It must be the torture

Of being so far away

But there’s comfort in knowing

That distance between won’t be so great

Soon the two of you will be

Closer than close

© 2006 Markell Williams

Markell Williams is a singer, writer, lyricist, poet, artist, sometimes dancer, and performer. He’s an aspiring renaissance man. Since a very young age, his dream has been to be someone who can do a number of things well, and hopefully make a difference while doing them. He’s a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology. Currently, he works as a user experience analyst for an insurance company. He resides in Rockville, MD, a suburb of the DC Metro Area.

Photo Courtesy © Jeanne Lopez

Untitled

By Jeanne Lopez

They used to bind the feet of women,

tightly, in white linen

like the corpses of Egyptian dead

because the bodies of their daughters

needed to be altered,

needed to be something men would wed.

Mothers knelt and kneaded them they’d wrought,

straining hands and fingers taut

and shaped love out of a little girl,

bending flesh and bone like warming wax.

None come in this world will last

to the rigor of their form unfurl.

Cords twine as webs down women’s backs

tightening distended flesh

in the bindings of a rich mans wife,

knowing life is short and hard to breathe

and girls are sold with enmity,

slack-jawed angels cut to match his tie,

beneath heavy-hearted casualties

bent by times insistency:

Change can only come from suffering.

Indiscretions mounting over time;

things taken that I thought were mine;

the heartache of our passing time is deafening.

They used to bind the feet of women;

it wasn’t their decision.

Humanity’s a hostile conversation.

SPOTLIGHT:

Photos Courtesy of © www.kellymacdonald.com

Kelly Macdonald

Kelly Macdonald was born on February 23, 1976 in Glasgow, Scotland. Her interest in acting started in her youth, when she joined an amateur dramatic club. She left home at 17 to live with a friend and later found work as a barmaid. It was during this time that she answered a casting call that would lead to her role in the 1996 Danny Boyle film Trainspotting. Her debut performance is an impressive one, playing the underage girl who seduces Ewan McGregor’s Renton at a local hot spot. Though Macdonald’s performance was celebrated, her co-stars gained far more recognition from the film. As a result, she temporarily returned to working as a barmaid. Her next performance, however, garnered much critical acclaim. In Stella Does Tricks (1996), Macdonald plays a teenage prostitute working to turn her life around. This portrayal led to several roles in larger films.

            In 1998, Macdonald starred in two period pieces, Elizabeth and Cousin Bette. In the latter film, she plays the daughter of a nobleman whose family fortune is slowly disappearing. However, the young girl is far more interested in the love and romance she does not have. Playing sweet and innocent on the surface, opposite Jessica Lange’s title character, Macdonald convinces us with her schoolgirl charms. But once the opportunity is presented to take Bette’s supposed lover, Macdonald is silently devious.

            One of Kelly Macdonald’s great resources as an actor is a powerful pair of eyes. She’s the kind of actor who holds your glance, not just from the beauty of her eyes, but the depth of expression she can present with them. From the simplest moments to the most emotional, she seems to let us into her thoughts through what have often been called “the windows into the soul.”

            The following year, Macdonald had supporting roles in films such as Splendor and The Loss of Sexual Innocence. In 2000, she starred in one of the most uniquely charming films of her career, Two Family House. In a rare leading role, talented character actor Michael Rispoli plays Buddy, a man who buys a two family house in 1956 New York. Buddy wants to turn the first floor into a bar and live upstairs with his wife. However, he first has to get the previous tenants to vacate the second story home. Kelly plays Mary, a young pregnant woman whose husband is about to find out that her baby is not his—in fact, the father is a black man, something which causes Mary to be an outcast. Despite the prejudice of others, Buddy does what he can to help Mary who has been left by her husband to care for her newborn child. Kelly’s performance is touching and often with great humor, and that performance earned her an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Female Lead.

            In 2001, Macdonald joined the impressive cast, which included Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Jeremy Northam and Emily Watson for Robert Altman’s posh murder mystery, Gosford Park. Told through the eyes of the servants, Gosford Park is a delightfully intelligent film that depends just as much on its superb cast as it does on its brilliant script. Macdonald plays the role of Maggie Smith’s maid, and ends up being the only one at Gosford Park to ever find out the truth behind the mystery. The clever satire also shows the traditional ugliness of the “upstairs/downstairs” hierarchy of the old-fashioned relationship of the English master and servant. Macdonald more than holds her own against Maggie Smith’s acid tongued countess, not to mention a powerful ensemble of noteworthy actors. She plays the role with just the right touch of innocence and tender kindness to make us wonder how she can possibly survive in the harsh and unforgiving career of servitude. But in the end, it’s Macdonald who stands out in the crowd.

Kelly Macdonald co-starred in the 2003 BBC mini-series, “State of Play,” alongside Bill Nighy, John Simm and James McAvoy. She played a journalist working alongside her colleagues to try and uncover the mystery behind a murder, and how it may relate to a prominent politician. That same year she played Dierdre in the romantic crime comedy Intermission. Dierdre’s boyfriend, played by Cillian Murphy, has decided to breakup with her as a sort of test. However, when she starts dating an older, much more mature (and married) man, her ex-boyfriend feels the need to disrupt her new affair. Macdonald is charming as ever, and delivers an honest portrayal of a young woman looking for a man who knows what he wants out of life.

            In 2005, HBO Films made one of the finest films that I have seen in recent years. The name of the picture is The Girl in the Café, and one of the key ingredients to its greatness is its two stars (reunited once again): Billy Nighy and Kelly Macdonald. Nighy and Macdonald play off each other the way great actors do when given extraordinary material and an equally passionate and gifted co-star. Quite simply put, it is a magnificent experience, and Kelly Macdonald is largely responsible. Nighy and Macdonald meet in a café. He is a terribly shy, workaholic politician and she is something of a lonely outsider. They begin a sudden romance, which is very sweet and simple. When Nighy leaves for a few days in Iceland, where he will attend the G8 summit, he asks Macdonald to go with him. Along the way, their simple romance becomes more complicated as the issues being discussed amongst the world leaders provide Macdonald with an opportunity to speak her mind. Like in most of her performances, and perhaps even more so, it is impossible to take your eyes off Macdonald in The Girl in the Café. If she isn’t making you fall in love with her, she is making you admire her. Ultimately, her courage in the face of adversity to stand up and be heard is what keeps her in the memories of both the audience and the film’s characters alike. For her performance in The Girl in the Café, Macdonald was nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Emmy for “Best Actress in a Made for Television Movie.”

            In recent years Macdonald has starred in A Cock and Bull Story (2005), as well as Nanny MacPhee (2005), and the upcoming Coen Brothers picture, and 2007 Cannes festival favorite, No Country for Old Men (2007). She continues to take on a variety of interesting roles, giving breath-taking performances, and further ensuring that when audiences see Kelly Macdonald’s name in the credits, they are guaranteed to see something wonderful.

David@picturesandframesmagazine.com

Select Kelly Macdonald Filmography:

Trainspotting (1996)

Stella Does Tricks (1996)

Cousin Bette (1998)

Elizabeth (1998)

Splendor (1999)

The Loss of Sexual Innocence (1999)

Two Family House (2000)

Gosford Park (2001)

State of Play (television, 2003)

Intermission (2003)

Finding Neverland (2004)

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

The Girl in the Café (2005)

A Cock and Bull Story (2005)

Nanny McPhee (2005)

No Country for Old Men (2007)