In
this fascinating series form BBC Television, archaeologists Alex Langlands and
Peter Ginn and historian Ruth Goodman go back in time to the early 1900s to
live the lives of Edwardian farmers for a full calendar year. Month by month
they show viewers what people who really lived back then went through to not
just make ends meet, but to survive. Although they work together at a lor of
things, from harvesting strawberries to shoveling horse dung to fertilize the
fields, the chores are divided between the sexes, for the most part, with the
two guys doing the farming and herding while Goodman tens to the household
chores. Both are equally fascinating to watch, whether it’s Langlands and Ginn
learning how to mine copper to make a little extra money or Goodman trying to
get her decidedly indelicate fingers to learn the art of how to weave lace. The
show is refreshingly free of any forced tragedy or challenges; life itself in
the 1900s was challenging enough, as the three hosts learn every day. Their
joyous spirit for learning all about life in Edwardian times is infectious.
After
a seven year hiatus, the members of Garbage decided it was a good time to
regroup and see if they still had what it takes to make great music. Their new
studio album Not Your Kind Of People and subsequent world tour, captured here
on film at the Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado on October 6, 2012, prove they
do. Lead singer Shirley Manson remains the focal point of the band as she
struts the stage in a black outfit that’s both a little sexy and scary. Her
voice is strong and he commanding stage presence is a sharp reminder to all the
musical pretenders out there that you don’t need a lot of backup singers,
dancers and pre-recorded vocals to do a show; all you need is real talent. The
bonus of watching Garbage in concert on this disc, though, is getting to see and
hear he twin guitars of Steve Marker and Duke Erikson, the backbone of a band
standing ramrod straight at the height of its power.
Few
films have captured the joy, the drama and the sheer messiness of life quite
like this groundbreaking film from director Mike Leigh. It stars Alison
Steadman and Jim Broadbent as Wendy and Andy, two lower middle class English parents
struggling to make ends meet during the hard scrabble days of the Thatcher
regime. Although money is tight, the pair does their best to keep things light
and funny around the house not always an easy thing to do given the generally
negative world view of their twin daughters, played by Claire Skinner and Jane
Horrocks. Things look brighter when Andy buys a dilapidated chip van that he
thinks will change his fortune, but it’s soon pretty clear that life, sweet
though it may be at times, has other plans for Wendy, Andy and their children.
As
the guitarist and co-songwriter (with Iggy Pop) for the seminal rock band The
Stooges, Ron Asheton, who died in 2009, left a legacy that not only shook up
the music world when the band was at its height. Seeing his friends and
fellow bandmates gather to play his music before an enthusiastic crowd in his
hometown of Detroit is a lot of fun; having to sit though almost 30 minutes of
Henry Rollins yapping before the music starts is almost boring enough to make
you stoop the DVD before the first note is played. So do yourself a huge favor
and skip the Rollins and listen to the rock.
WWE
Superstar Randy Orton gets a chance to star in this solids action movie from
director Roel Reiné (The Marine 2). In the movie, Orton plays Nick Malloy, an
EMT who, while driving home from a date with his wife, witnesses a car
accident. He does what he can to save the people in the wreck, but one of the
passengers dies. Twelve months later, Malloy is set up on by a crazed killer
who makes him complete 12 increasingly dangerous tasks that he must finish within a specific time frame or innocent people will die. This sequel to the
2009 movie starring WWE Superstar John Cena, doesn’t move the original story
forward so much a pick it up, dust it off and recycle it for Orton. And that’s
fine. The role isn’t that challenging, but Orton does a decent enough job. The
only really weak link in the film is Brian Markinson’s needlessly cheesy
performance as the bad guy.
Anyone
who is looking for a perfect example of why anime films and series are not “just
cartoons” should check out this fabulous epic about Oscar, a young girl raised by
her father to be a soldier in the palace guard in the court of King Louis XVI
and Marie Antoinette. The series, released in Japan in 1972, has a throwback, hand
drawn look that really compliments the storytelling, and the attention to detail
in both the interior and exterior scenes is the equal of any Broadway or Hollywood set designer. The characters are well
designed and the scripts very well written. It’s a solid story, but there are
moments of true visual flair that raise it to the level of real art.
