as much as i stuck by my "he's still jimmy brooks" mantra, after listening to his critically-acclaimed debut thank me later, i've decided that mr. drizzy is one of our generation's most interesting rappers. a very huge statement after only a mixtape, an ep, and countless collabos, but with an album so bi-polarly melancholic and hedonistic, it is hard not to admire his budding genius. what drake does best is combine the alienating yet rhythmic moodiness of modern youth with his well-preserved struggles with fame in order to create a rap album laced in sexy, electro r&b elements, reminding one of bedroom follies and glossy weed sessions at the same time. my favorite track is "the resistance" which is a trance-like ode to anyone who wishes on a star and realizes that star may be too bright to withstand any sense of normalcy. i'm actually considering buying this album, that's how good it is. as the monkees said, "now ima believer."
for months i've been seeing sense and sensibility playing on the movie channels and i always said, "i'll watch it someday..." but never did. well since it was showing last night and i've lately been in this heavy jane austen mood (emma is currently my before-bed read), i decided to watch and i'm so glad i did. kate winslet & emma thompson are amazing as the totally-opposite yet totally-lovely dashwood sisters looking for love in their own ways. even hugh grant was not-so ickily charming as their horrid sister-in-law's younger brother. with a hilarious supporting cast, a gorgeous late 18th century british country setting, and the typically careful direction by meditative genius ang lee, this mid-90's gem taught me so much about life: what you can get away with, and what you can't.
the sexily gen-x stephen dorff, the surprisingly cute elle fanning, chateau marmont, pools, award shows, eating in hotel beds, millennial hollywood decadence. all from the brilliant mind of sofia coppola, whose kept me waiting for cinematic beauty since the 2008 miss dior cherie perfume commercials, her bubblegum ode to the french new wave.
one of the most colorful movies i've ever seen, ran, this 1985 3-hour epic loosely based on lear and set in feudal japan, was one of kurosawa's last movies though proved that as he was losing his sight, he could still do fucking amazing work. i try watching it every time it's on tv, even if i just mute it and listen to music. honestly, the colors are enough.
beyonce proves that her art-pop appearance in gaga's "telephone" extravaganza wasn't a fluke in this ode to 1950/60's housewife perfection. however where cute references seem entirely natural to ms. germanotta, it seems almost too forced in b.b. homemaker's hands. it just proves kitsch (the unofficial word of 2010) is finally stepping its way over into the mainstream for better or for, gulp, worse.
even if corporate greed and degradation is not your thing, the timeless power-synth score is the best of the 80's. add retro michael douglas, sober charlie sheen, a dopey darryl hannah, metropolitan art deco, some of the best lines written about american capitalism, and you have a modern morality play that will never go out of style.
