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- Category: Blu-ray movies Blu-ray movies
"Heaven Can Wait" (1943)
September 2018
Is the Hero of Ernst Lubitsch’s Comedy Hellbound?
The Criterion Collection 291
Format: Blu-ray
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You’d think most people would try to avoid spending the afterlife in Hell, but Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche), after ruling out admittance to Heaven in his own mind, is afraid he won’t be accepted as a denizen of the lower depths. His Excellency the Devil (slyly played by Laird Cregar) asks him to recount his life on Earth, including the women Henry has known. And that’s the basic story of director Ernst Lubitsch’s Heaven Can Wait (1943): Henry Van Cleve’s birth, coming of age, and adult years. Scenes in Hell occur only at beginning and end, to frame a tale told as one long flashback.
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- Category: Music Everywhere Music Everywhere
Music Everywhere: JBL Clip 3 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker
September 2018
Some companies like to come up with all-new models every year; others continue to refine and upgrade successful basic designs. JBL, one of the latter, released the original Clip Bluetooth speaker in 2015. In 2016 came the Clip 2, which added waterproofing, and now we have the Clip 3, with a sturdier build, longer playing time on a full battery charge, and a rainbow of colors to choose from. JBL has eliminated a feature that some buyers might miss, but at $59.95 USD, the Clip 3 is still a legitimate choice in a very small Bluetooth speaker.
"Rubber Soul"
September 2018
When the Beatles entered Abbey Road Studios in October 1965 to record their sixth studio album, they had no other commitments to worry about -- no tours, no movies, no radio or television appearances. Over the next four weeks, the group would complete Rubber Soul, their second album to be recorded and released in 1965.
Mark Turner and Ethan Iverson: "Temporary Kings"
September 2018
ECM 2583
Format: CD
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Is music for the whole body or just your brain?
Depends on the day and your mood, I would argue.
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- Category: Blu-ray movies Blu-ray movies
"A Matter of Life and Death"
August 2018
A Blu-ray Gem from Criterion
The Criterion Collection 939
Format: Blu-ray
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Released in 1946 in the UK as A Matter of Life and Death and in the US as Stairway to Heaven, this postwar film is a unique jewel of cinema that operates on many different levels and succeeds on all of them. Its creators, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who together wrote, produced, and directed it, had been approached by Jack Beddington, head of the UK Ministry of Information’s film commission, to make a movie that would soothe the frayed feelings between the UK and the US at the end of World War II. This genius partnership came up with A Matter of Life and Death, which, below its surface of romantic comedy, explores more serious matters.
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- Category: Feature Articles & Reviews Feature Articles & Reviews
IsoAcoustics' New ISO-200 Loudspeaker Isolation Stands
August 2018
Do you get tired of reading reviews with namby-pamby recommendations that sound as if the writers have worked full time to ensure that they can find a way out of their statements at a later date? It happens all the time in the world of wine criticism (my other job). For example: “This wine has a pleasing aroma of stewed plums and candied lychees with a hint of leather and Tellicherry black peppers. Rating 88.” What does that mean?
Dave Alvin and Jimmie Dale Gilmore: "Downey to Lubbock"
August 2018
Yep Roc 2587
Format: CD
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Scratch the surface of Americana music -- the top layer that includes Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, and Jason Isbell -- and you’ll find dozens of performers whose career paths have seldom-if-ever taken them to soft-seat concert halls. These are the hardcore singer-songwriters who spend most of each year driving up and down American highways to beer joints, small venues, and the occasional festival. Better-known musicians may cite them as core influences and industry treasures, but chances are the average fan doesn’t know a thing about them.
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- Category: Blu-ray movies Blu-ray movies
"The Addiction"
July 2018
A Different Kind of Vampire Film
Arrow Video AV-152-TM
Format: Blu-ray
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Have you ever thought of Christopher Walken as a vampire, or of vampirism as an allegory for addiction? Renegade director Abel Ferrara, best known for Bad Lieutenant, had the idea back in 1995 when he created The Addiction, a black-and-white cult favorite.
