Bangkok Dangerous

Oh brother, here we go over again. A professional killer, years into his callous life history, suddenly develops a conscience. He decides to take a louche street child who has already proved to be na�ve and unreliable under his wing. Vowing to end his life of secret criminal offence, he commits to one more series of venomous assassinations. With each mutilate, he finds himself more and more lost. When the last hit goes pear-shaped, he must champion his honor while decision making whether it is better to be the highly paid hunter, or the common mundane prey. Oh yeah, and for an added soupy effect, there's a deaf girl dearest interest wHO makes the hitman true pine even harder for that elusive, simple life.


Why the Pang brothers (Danny and Oxide) wanted to remaking their 1999 cult favorite Bangkok Dangerous into a mindless, drone Hollywood cab job has only one viable answer -- the interest of former Oscar winner/current paycheck casher Nicolas Cage to play the lead. As Joe, we are treated to Method mediocrity, the kind of performance that finds our systematic killer following strict protocols and certain compact rules as a substitute for depth or actual personal dimension.


The plot has Cage deciding to give up the game, analyzing the ways he can buoy get out of his occupation in one case and for all. He decides to take unrivalled more task in the title metropolis. There, he befriends street hustler Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm), turning him into a quasi-prot�g�. The rest of the picture show is a series of setups for uninteresting, if certainly stylized, pop gun payoffs. Eventually, Joe mustiness decide betwixt people and his personal needs piece taking on the crime syndicate that leased him.


In a movie with many problems, the main flaw in Bangkok Dangerous is that Cage's Joe is never presented as a openhearted or compelling figure. He's completely down and disillusioned from the moment we meet him -- and only gets worse as his situation starts to unravel. Instead of exploitation said circumstances to force his last stand, we are granted over to endless sequences of mum brooding. His interest in the local pharmacy salesclerk (Charlie Yeung) who can't hear seems specious, the twist in their relationship telegraphed by Cage's inherent ability to draw danger to himself. Even his interaction with Kong comes across as a saturated narrative device. So does Joe's decision to swoop in and save the thug once the local mobsters decide he's expendable.


In fact, lots of this movie feels like lessons badly learned from John Woo. While they quash the auteur's overuse of slow motion and visual panache, the Pangs experience their have set of irritating onscreen tendencies. They think that mannered music video moves and a total desaturation of vividness equals palpable post-modern noir. It but inspires electric current viewing nausea. Even worse, they hamfist their handling of the film's few action sequences, a ill helmed gravy boat chase never becoming nail-biting or thrilling. Even the final firefight set in a mill is so dark that a night vision lense would quiet render it dimly lighted. About the only efficient moment occurs when Joe's date with his deaf dream girl goes amiss. There, the Pangs wreak on the syrupy situation to wring out a little forced emotion.


If it didn't finger like such a work of Hollywood hubris and if the original elements that made the first film so intriguing (it was Joe, not the girl, world Health Organization could not hear) weren't swept aside for more anti-climatic, antiheroic stance, mayhap we could support what Bangkok Dangerous was strain to reach. But everything here feels like the proverbial good and madness, filled with typical Asian action film gravitas all the same signifying aught. A whole lot of nothing.




Stop praying. It'll be over soon.

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Puerto Rico guesting at Cuban festival

Cubadisco music fair is set for Havana in May




MADRID -- Puerto Rico is to be the guest rural area at the 2009 Cubadisco music fair in Havana from May 16-24, even though the country is affected by the U.S. blockade.

Organizers of the Cuban music event, which is now in its 13th year, say they are not concerned that Puerto Rico is an associated state of the U.S. and hence subject to laws regulating the U.S. blockade against Cuba.

"Our invitation is to the people and culture of Puerto Rico, and we are not troubled by the blockade," Cubadisco president Ciro Benemelis aforementioned. "The main themes will be 'the music of the South', and 'music and children', and we expect it to be a grandiose Cubadisco, as always."

Cubadisco is organized by the Institute of Cuban Music, which is part of the culture ministry. Previous guest countries make included Spain, Germany, the Spanish Caribbean, Japan, China and this year the continent of Africa, which was tended to by 26 African countries, along with a Latin American presence such as musicians from Venezuela as well as Puerto Rican singer Andy Montanez.

The U.S. blockade now makes cultural exchanges betwixt Cuba and the U.S.� -- on both a commercial and personal level -- highly difficult. In recent years, Cuban artists such as Omara Portuondo and the late Ibrahim Ferrer were refused visas to call for Latin Grammy awards or perform.

Democratic party candidate Barack Obama has said he will speak to Cuban leaders without condition and lift restrictions on visits and remittances by Cuban-Americans to the Caribbean island, but Republican candidate John McCain has not indicated any major change from the stream hard line.

Cubadisco 2009 will hold concerts dedicated to important Puerto Rican composers of the twentieth century such as Pedro Flores, a pioneer of the bolero on the island, as well as Rafael Hernandez, Tite Curet Alonso and Bobby Capo. There will likewise be concerts of traditional Puerto Rican music.

Sleeper Cell

   
Artist: Sleeper Cell

   Genre(s): 
Other
   

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Discography:


   
 6 Song

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 6

---

 

Atmosphere

   
Artist: Atmosphere

   Genre(s): 
Other
   Rap: Hip-Hop
   New Age
   

---

Discography:


   
 Headshots: Se7en [CD 2]

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 10


   
 Headshots: Se7en [CD 1]

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 21


   
 Trying To Find A Balance

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 6


   
 The Sensation Of Life

   Year: 1994   
Tracks: 10

---

Atmosphere is a rap music radical from Minneapolis that centers around doorknocker Slug (aka Sean Daley). The word of a pitch-black father and a white mother wHO divorced when he was a adolescent, Slug became delighted with rap music, graffito, and breakdancing, and formed the Rhyme Sayers Collective with two high school friends -- Siddiq Ali (Focus) and Derek Turner (Spawn). After some early gigs as Urban Atmosphere, where Slug DJed slow Spawn's rhymed, the couple dependent up with producer Ant (Susan Brownell Anthony Davis), as well as like-minded locals such as MC Musab, Mr. Gene Poole, and the Abstract Pack, forming an underground rap music ingroup dedicated to freestyling, cunning and complex lyrics, and anti-gangsta positivity. In 1998, Atmosphere released its debut album, Cloudiness!, which quick became regarded as an resistance hip-hop classical thanks to Slug's deep personal, poetic musings, as well as Ant's bare bones -- just imaginative -- production. The next Atmosphere album was highborn Sad Clown Bad Dub II, a 2000 set originally sold while the mathematical group was on enlistment. (Now out of print, it's a highly sought collector's item). A year later, the chemical group released Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EP's, a collection of triad EPs built about the theme of Slug's complicated relationship with his ex-girlfriend, the lost love of his life. The radical has toured systematically, both at base and overseas; while Ant usually doesn't come with the group on the road, Mr. Dibbs of the radical 1200 Hobos a great deal joins in behind the turntables and Slug is usually assisted on the mic by whitney Young rappers care the teenaged Eyedea. In June 2002, the radical -- down to the duette of Slug and Ant -- unleashed God Loves Ugly, an 18-track effort that returned to previous themes ("F*@k You Lucy"), simply likewise contained the group's most pop-friendly undivided to date, "Modern Man's Hustle." By this time indie rap superstars, Atmosphere returned with their one-fourth album, Seven's Travels, in 2003, followed two days later by You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having.

ANTISOCIAL

   
Artist: ANTISOCIAL

   Genre(s): 
Rock: Punk-Rock
   

---

Discography:


   
 Battle Scarred Skinheads

   Year: 1984   
Tracks: 17

---

 

Crowded House's Somerville set a true fan's 'Dream' come true

Crowded House is the kind of band that can hit you with a deep, brooding song about the nature of life and mortality. Then they’ll crack a few jokes.
The band’s always had a split personality - they’re jovial pop guys with a wide depressive streak, and it’s only widened since they reunited last year.
Life has given frontman Neil Finn some heavy things to write about - last year’s reunion album, “Time



Earth,” seemed informed by the death of original drummer Paul Hesterbut - but Finn’s songs were getting deeper and subtler long before that happened. Last night they introduced a handful of new songs that continued the ambitious trend.
While Finn’s songs don’t necessarily sound like hit singles nowadays, they do sound like gorgeous, dark-shaded pop - and at least one of the new tunes (which uncharacteristically featured double keyboards and no guitars) was up with their best. To their credit, Crowded House never pushed the somber mood too far: They had rockers (“Locked Out”) to pull from the catalogue; and well-remembered hits (“Don’t Dream It’s Over”) to balance the unfamiliar songs.
While the band has a more relaxed sound than before, you get the impression that they reunited to explore new ideas, not to trade on nostalgia. The onstage camaraderie seems natural as always. At one point last night, Finn gave bassist Nick Seymour a piggyback ride around the stage.
The small-theater setting proved a payoff for fans, who got a looser and longer show than Crowded House played at the Pavilion last summer. During a 45-minute encore, Finn accepted a dare from someone up front to try playing every song he’d written with someone’s name in the title. This led to almost-never-played songs “Iris” and “Hello Sandy Allen” (both from his former band, Split Enz), with Finn cueing his bandmates on the chord changes.
After a few more deep tracks, he jumped into the front row to lead a singalong on one of his best ballads, “Better Be Home Soon.” That’s the way to return a cult audiences affections.

Art and Jazz Messengers Blakey

   
Artist: Art and Jazz Messengers Blakey

   Genre(s): 
Jazz
   

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Discography:


   
 Caravan

   Year: 2007   
Tracks: 8

---

 





Comedian Harmonists

My Chemical Romance fans plan march against Daily Mail

My Chemical Romance fans are planning to march across London in protest against the depiction of the band in the media.

The march, to be held on May 31, will begin at Hyde Park's West Pond and end outside the offices of The Daily Mail.

The newspaper has recently dubbed My Chemical Romance a 'suicide cult' band in its coverage of the suicide of 13-year-old emo Hannah Bond.

Three hundred fans are so far confirmed to march against the British press, of which the organisers from the MCR Buzznet Community in a statement claim The Daily Mail is the 'worst offender'.

In 2006, the newspaper widely criticised emo and My Chemical Romance and has recently run general pieces about the dangers of the 'cult'.

Ant and Dec to give back comedy award

Ant and Dec to give back comedy award

Television system presenters Pismire and Dec have confirmed that they volition return a comedy accolade presented to them, after an probe set up that they hadn't actually won the dirty money.
The award, which was the People's Choice prize, was presented to the TV duet by isaac Bashevis Singer Robbie Roger Williams at the 2005 British people Comedy Awards.
An probe has since concluded that the award, decided by viewers' phone votes, should get gone to comedy champion Catherine of Aragon Tate.
According to lawyers Olswang, called in by ITV to investigate the computer programme, Tate had received more votes and was the discipline winner of the accolade.
Olswang said that the switch of winner appeared to be connected with an assurance presumption to Hank Williams that he could lay out an prize to Ant and Dec.
It noted that the pledge had been given to the isaac Bashevis Singer at a time when the only award left to be decided was the People's Choice, selected by a public voter turnout.
Reuters reports that vote was even allowed to carry on afterwards the trophy had really been presumption, when the depict was diffuse "as go" followers a break for the evening intelligence.
Olswang said: "Patch it rump be concluded that the assurance was presumption to assure Robbie Williams' attendance to pose an honour, it cannot be concluded that this was the grounds why the wrong victor of the People's Choice Awarding was announced."
It said that thither was no suggestion that Theodore Samuel Williams, McPartlin (Ant) or Donnelly (Dec) were aware of the switch.
A spokesman for Pismire and December said the divine revelation was "as a great deal a surprise to them as to everybody" and that they would be returning the honour.
Publicists for William Carlos Williams and Tate declined to comment on the storey.

Louis Benedetti

   
Artist: Louis Benedetti

   Genre(s): 
Other
   

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Discography:


   
 Soulshine Soulfull Session Vol.2

   Year: 2003   
Tracks: 12


   
 Soulshine Soulfull Session Vol.1

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 13


   
 PROMO! Fixation

   Year:    
Tracks: 2

---

 





Mr. Big

Kiro

   
Artist: Kiro

   Genre(s): 
Drum & Bass
   

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Discography:


   
 Untitled Dubplate

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 1


   
 Break Free Dub

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 1


   
 Bills Killer

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 1

---

 





Dagda

Sia

   
Artist: Sia

   Genre(s): 
Indie
   Rock
   R&B: Soul
   

---

Discography:


   
 Lady Croissant

   Year: 2007   
Tracks: 9


   
 Colour the Small One

   Year: 2004   
Tracks: 12


   
 Healing Is Difficult

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 11

---

Sia (full diagnose Sia Furler) hails from the famously laid-back Aboriginal Australian city of Adelaide. Boast a powerful, soulful spokesperson, she worked the Adelaide malarky lap covering during the '90s as a isaac Bashevis Singer for the band Crisp. However, the blond, blue-eyed antipodean's big break came solely after she followed in the footsteps of many other Aussie artists and hopped on a planing political machine to the U.K. Spell in Jack London, Sia landed a gig as a substitute singer for the rattling popular and super rose wine hip English kit Jamiroquai. In early 2000, she released her first-class honours degree solo single, the alternative pop tune "Taken for Granted," which debuted at identification number ten-spot on the occupy U.K. singles chart.


Before long afterward, a roll of bad name career in the British people music scene asked for Sia's services; projects with Massive Attack, Cypher 7, and William Orbit ensued. In mid-2001, Sia once o'er over again made a splosh on the U.K. singles chart with the dwight Lyman Moody offering "Potable to Incur Wino," a track that would appear on her 2002 full-length debut, Healing Is Difficult. Ironically, it was only subsequently her considerable achiever afield that she began to gain believe a veridical impaction polish under. Saturation the Small One appeared a year later. The cut "Breathe Me" from the album gained attention when it was secondhand in the crop come out terminal setting of the 6 Feet Under serial that airy in 2005. Subsequently a successful 2006 lap, as well as more appearances on Cypher 7's album Garden, Sia issued the live album Peeress Croissant, which also included the freshly studio vocal, "Pictures."

Timberlake set to honour Madonna

Timberlake set to honour Madonna

Justin Timberlake volition be among the stars wHO will induct artists into the Rock and Roll Entrance hall of Fame in New House of York next month.
Hoarding reports that Timberlake

Johnny Depp to replace Ledger in final role?

Johnny Depp to replace Ledger in final role?

Greyback Depp crataegus laevigata be poised to replace the late Heath Ledger in the Australian's final photographic film, according to reports.
English director Dame Alice Ellen Terry Gilliam is determined to close shot Ledger's final examination picture show, 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus', and is said to need Depp in the leading function.
Filming on the sic of the phantasy picture show was reportedly abandoned pursual Ledger's death in Newly York on Tues.
However, Gilliam now wants to dispatch the pip with Depp in the role.
A studio generator told The Sunday: "In that location is a point in the moving picture when Heathland falls through a magic mirror. He could change into another character later that and that is where Rebel would come in.
"It's a wyrd, fantasy, time-travel moving-picture show so Heath's character could easily change appearing. It would be a poignant moment.
"Johnny's non workings at the present moment so everyone is praying he will do it."
Account book was said to be less than deuce months away from completing filming on the pic at the meter of his death.