Miracle At St. Anna by James McBride

Ever get so caught up in someone else's story that you are there? You feel yourself a participant or bystander in the action. Your heart races when danger is imminent and you're awash with relief when the group reaches relative safety. James McBride's Miracle at St. Anna does just that. Descriptions of war and beauty and human suffering that can only be experienced in one's innermost parts reverberate in the mountains and foothills of the Italian landscape. The dramatic, descriptive prose manages to maintain an element of suspense that keeps the reader/partaker feeling as though the novel is perpetually leading up to something (in a good way). The Buffalo Soldiers, like McBride's proud uncle who inspired the book, aren't simply characters, they are undeniably human with flesh that wounds and bleeds red blood, hearts that pound with joy in pleasant moments and sorrow at loss, and minds that are forced by circumstance to grapple with unholy realities. Read Miracle at St. Anna and experience an oft-ignored part of the Good War.

P.S. – Then watch Spike Lee directed movie adaptation released in 2008 with the tagline - World War II has its heroes and its miracles.

Citizen Kane

Sometimes we look at lists of the greatest anythings of all time and openly wonder why certain old films, movies, ballplayers, etc. make those lists. After watching Citizen Kane again the other night it’s still abundantly clear why it’s considered one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, film of all time. Orson Welles’ classic still holds up to the test of time and is worthy of all the praise it’s earned. Following an intrepid reporter seeking the real back story of who Charles Foster Kane was in order to create a proper story on his life we get all the information about Kane at the same time the reporter does with no extra details until the very end. There are dozens of examples of why this film is great, one of my favorites is a beautiful illustration of how distant Kane was from his second wife. The two sit at opposite ends of a room nearly a hundred feet from each other, he in his chair and she by the fireplace, with nothing but space between them, and have a conversation the only way they can, by shouting. Everything about Citizen Kane is on point. If you haven’t seen it you owe it to yourself to find a time to.

Stone Cold Wu-Tang

OK, this wasn’t a DVD, it was a VHS tape, but as a Wu-Tang movie it still merits a review. I enjoyed Stone Cold Wu-Tang for the pure entertainment value of it. The main villain kills people with his hair braid and you can’t get much more ridiculous than that. The first seven minutes are filmed in what I can only assume was a blackout since next to nothing is visible, but after that it’s fight scene after fight scene with about paragraph’s worth of dialogue in the entire movie. A few other fun facts about the movie is that the city they’re supposed to be in is completely deserted the vast majority of the time and looks a lot more like Tijuana than Tokyo (or Hong Kong, which is where they supposedly were, but I like alliteration). For some campy martial arts fun Stone Cold Wu-Tang is a winner.

Dynamite Warrior

I’m a sucker for a good martial arts flick, so when Dynamite Warrior hit my desk I was psyched to block out a few hours to dedicate to it. Unfortunately my excitement was quickly squelched by a nonsensical plotline that attempted to mix a martial arts film with a bad sci-fi flick. Set in early 1900’s Thailand, the main character attacks cattle rustlers with rockets, ends up falling for a girl, has to fight someone who’s been blessed with superhuman power from a demon, and must get the menstrual blood of a virgin, who happens to be his love interest, to break the spell. Sound ridiculous? It is. Martial arts movies should stick with the martial arts and leave the cheesy sci-fi stuff for the cheesy sci-fi movies. As Dynamite Warrior proves, the two don’t mix well at all.

Millers Crossing

I have been a fan of Joel and Ethan Coen since ‘Blood Simple’. ‘Fargo’ may have won the Oscar but ‘Millers Crossing’ is their best flick hands down.

Tom Reagan (played brilliantly by Gabriel Byrne) finds himself playing both sides of a gang war during the prohibition era. Veteran actor Albert Finney is Leo O’Bannon, an old school Irish boss that runs an entire town; from owning the mayors office and police department to having other mobsters pay him kickbacks to stay in business. The underrated Jon Polito is Giovanni ‘Johnny Casper’ Gasparo, an Italian boss that is tired of answering to Leo and thinks he can a win a war against him. This is classic noir and told so well, even people not familiar with the genre will develop a great appreciation and respect for the style. This flick is perfect from the cinematography, set design, to dialogue. You get so caught up in the double crosses, you almost forget to laugh when you hear a great line………and of those there are plenty.

I’ll never be able to say enough great things about Gabriel’s performance. Our hero has the weight of the world on his shoulders but you’d never know it. Tom stays cool in every scenario he's in and you’re left in awe at his ability to play people. This is one for the collection.

Gothic Vampires From Hell

Everyone trying to get on the music industry has felt at some point in time that it was run by vampires. Of course, folks say this in a metaphorical sense, but in Gothic Vampires From Hell it becomes quite literal as we follow four musicians attempting to navigate their way from bar band to world success but are confronted with the calamity of having a record label run by actual vampires (and sexy vamps at that!). The production value of Gothic Vampires From Hell leaves much to be desired (and we’ll ignore the fact that the band somehow became signed to a label without signing a contract), BUT, that being said, the lack of a budget can create some fantastic drinking games (take a shot whenever you hear a witch’s cackle from the 50’s during a scene where a female vamp is getting her suck on, or whenever you see one of the pumps spilling blood out of a character, and you should have a nice buzz by the end of the 90 minutes). A large plus is that Gothic Vampires From Hell is backed by a killer soundtrack, so the combination of good tunes and slight cheese makes for a fun viewing experience.

Gil Scott-Heron – The Paris Concert

There’s not much new that can be said about the legendary Gil Scott-Heron. He’s an artist who hasn’t really received the accolades he probably deserves, but in the pantheon of music history there are few greater. With his Paris Concert DVD fans get a chance to see two hours of live footage from a show he performed at New Morning back in July of 2001. The date of the show is interesting being that songs such as “Work For Peace” and “There’s A War Going On” took on whole new meanings only a few short months later after the acts of 9/11. At only 13 songs in length one might wonder how Scott-Heron manages to create a two hour show, but he does so with aplomb. This is an example of a veteran in his element. That statement not only applies to Scott-Heron, but also his entire band, who gets plenty of time to jam with solos of their own. Sadly, Scott-Heron was sent to jail shortly after this show for a cocaine possession charge, and after serving that sentence he would return to jail in 2006 on a similar infraction. He is eligible for parole in July of this year. Genius usually comes with a fatal flaw. His flaws have been revealed through his legal troubles. Let his genius be seen through his performances. The Paris Concert is great viewing for music fans of all ages.

Gil Scott-Heron – The Paris Concert will be available June 5th.

Screaming Masterpiece

With the exception of Bjork and a few others Iceland hasn’t brought a ton of musical artists to the American mainstream. The country, however, is a hotbed for unique musical talent. Screaming Masterpiece chronicles that Icelandic talent and the recent history of Iceland’s music scene. Live performance clips are interspersed with interviews with prominent artists and some beautiful shots of the country. Many of the artist interviews revolve around the music while others speak about one of the constant underlying themes of the music while Bjork and a few others address the question of nationality and what it really means to be Icelandic. Multiple genres of music are covered in this 80 minute ride through country that seems to be looking to discover itself through their music.

Crackheads Gone Wild 2

Let it be known there isn’t very much “wild” about Crackheads Gone Wild 2. There is, however, quite a lot of depressing footage of folks thinking they’re normal when they’re clearly on drugs. Though the voiceovers are at times, very rare times, funny, the main point of this film seems to be to show how delusional a drug addict can get. You have wannabe rappers of all types, people convinced they aren’t an addict because of the few things they claim they won’t do for crack, and some folks who can barely stand they’re so high. Crackheads Gone Wild 2 has the occasional enjoyable moment but at the end of the DVD you’ll more than likely just be depressed that people can live that way and slightly disgusted at yourself if you laughed at a few too many of the scenes.