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Written by McClatchy-Tribune
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Thursday, 16 August 2007 |
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VARIOUS ARTISTS
“High School Musical 2” 2 stars
The Disney music machine has been a monster operation in recent years. From the productive halls of Mickey Mouse headquarters has emerged a legion of the era’s pop heavyweights — figures such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake and Hilary Duff.
Few recent Disney projects, though, have scaled the heights achieved by “High School Musical,” the TV movie. The accompanying soundtrack of squeaky clean dance-pop was the stealth smash of ‘06.
In a kids’ entertainment industry teeming with releases, “High School Musical” — time-tested bubble gum with a modern feel — has been described by some parents as the one CD they can tolerate for extended stretches.
If the new album sounds a lot like the not-so-old one, there’s a reason for that. Striking while the iron is hot, “HSM2” enlists the same songwriting and production team to construct these peppy tracks. The cast, led by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, remains intact, as do the timeless teen themes: first crushes, summer breaks, the jocks-making-nice-with-the-geeks. There are touches of the hip-hop-tinged, midriff-baring dance sound that dominates today’s singles charts, but it has been run through a Disney processor that filters out the menace while preserving the energy.
The music isn’t high art, but as far as chintzy, catchy pop goes, the album a masterpiece.
Brian McCollum
MATT NATHANSON
“Some Made Hope” 3 stars
There’s not much in the way of studio gimmicks or elaborate production techniques on this pop-rocker’s second major label effort, his sixth studio album overall. With his strong, passionate voice and heart-on-sleeve lyrics, Nathanson doesn’t need any special tricks.
Born in Massachusetts but nowadays a resident of San Francisco, Nathanson is quite the cut-up in concert, but on “Same Mad Hope,” he stays on the serious side with tunes that deal with love in all its crazy glory. Sometimes it’s love that smacks you upside the head (“Car Crash”) and sometimes it’s love that’s pure intoxication (“Come On Get Higher”).
“Bullet Proof Weeks” and “All We Are” lean more to the quieter, folkier side and are both especially beautiful, with Nathanson’s tender vocals reminiscent of Ryan Adams and Dave Matthews.
Martin Bandyke
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DVDS
GOD GREW TIRED OF US
Rated PG. 3 stars. 90 mins.
Three Sudanese “Lost Boys” flee their homeland because of the tumultuous civil war and embark on a journey to the United States. Brad Pitt executive-produced this film and Nicole Kidman narrates.
WILD HOGS
Rated PG-13. 2 stars. 100 mins.
John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, Tim Allen and William H. Macy are middle-aged biker buddies who “head out on the highway, looking for adventure.” With Marisa Tomei and Ray Liotta.
VACANCY
Rated R. 2 stars. 85 mins.
A couple checks into a rundown motel where they watch slasher videos that appear to have been shot in the same room they are staying in. With Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson. R (violence, profanity, adult themes)
FRACTURE
Rated R. 3 stars. 113 mins.
Courtroom thriller starring Anthony Hopkins as an engineer who defends himself in an attempted murder trial that the prosecutor believes to be an open-and-shut case.
TAXI DRIVER: LIMITED COLLECTOR’S EDITION
Two discs. Rated R
“Are you talking to me?” asks New York City cabdriver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) to nobody as he begins to grow more isolated and more prone to violence. Director Martin Scorsese’s brilliant and bloody urban drama from 1976, co-starring Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel and Cybill Shepherd, comes out in a bonus-filled new edition, including an introduction by Scorsese and much more.
THE FUGITIVE: SEASON ONE, VOLUME ONE
Not rated
It was the one-armed man, honest. David Janssen stars as Dr. Richard Kimble in this immortal TV series from 1963 about a man wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. After escaping from prison just before his scheduled execution, Kimble tries to find the real killer. Fifteen episodes from the first season are here, featuring Barry Morse as Lt. Gerard, Kimble’s pursuer. Guest stars this season include Robert Duvall, Leslie Nielsen and Jack Klugman. There are no bonus features.
THE SHAKESPEARE COLLECTION
Five discs. Not rated
The DVD debut of a two-disc special edition of Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version of “Hamlet” is the highlight of this Bardian box set. (It’s also available individually for $26.99.) Branagh, who directs, wrote the screenplay and stars as the Danish prince, is ably assisted by an all-star cast including Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Derek Jacobi, Jack Lemmon and Charlton Heston. Also in the set are “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1935), with the unlikely cast of James Cagney, Olivia de Havilland and Mickey Rooney; “Romeo and Juliet” (1936), starring too-old-for-their-roles Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer; and “Othello” (1965), starring Laurence Olivier and Maggie Smith. Abundant bonus features accompany most of the films. | Only registered users can write comments.
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