It’s been five long years since Brit-pop-jazz musician Jamie Cullum has released a new album.  Whenever any artist or band takes such a long amount of time to release new material, this leads to discussion over whether or not an artist or band has decided to call it a career.  Thankfully, for his fans, Jamie Cullum has finally put that uncertainty to rest with an album that, much like his American counterpart, Peter Cincotti, has moved far from his jazz roots.  Cullum has, instead, opted for a more radio friendly—and at times, experimental—album that may leave even his most hardcore fans scratching their heads in bewilderment. 

Cullum starts off ‘The Pursuit’ with a cover of the classic Cole Porter song, “Just One Of Those Things.“  Perhaps the manifest function of this cover is to remind audiences that while his new album is anything but jazzy, he hasn’t forgotten his roots.  There is another soft jazz style song in “I Think, I Love” for fans of his softer sound.  This one is perfect for a romantic evening.  His poppier sound is not bad, either.  The best of the poppier sound comes in the form of “Wheels”, “You and Me Are Gone”, and “We Run Things.“ The truly ear catching track of the entire album is not so much the cover of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music”, which seems to be garnering so much attention.  Rather the real oddity of this album is the Jamiroquai-esque, 7-minute plus “Music is Through.“  This song is perfect for a dance club.  And considering his previous work, a song of this nature was a huge risk for Cullum.  It is anything but what his fans have come to expect.  The cover of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop The Music” is far less of a risk than “Music is Through.“  He makes his rendition of the song his own, and believeable at the same time.  The only low points of this album lie in the melancholy, introspective, “If I Ruled the World”, and “The Move On Song.“  The latter of these songs is available only on the standard edition of the album. 

The separation of the two editions is a major factor that could also affect sales of the album.  Unlike so many other bands and artists that release albums with multiple formats (and little difference between them), Cullum has released this new album in two editions with noticeably different setups for the bonus material.  This includes the bonus tracks on both editions.  The single disc edition includes a trio of songs different from those on the deluxe edition.  It also includes just a pair of music videos. The deluxe edition, on the other hand, includes a full extra dvd that includes a five-song live set from the Montreaux Jazz Festival, and a pair of songs not on the standard edition.  Ultimately, what this does is it forces fans to have to make a decision what they really feel is most important to them.  Some fans may even say that instead of having to choose between the two, they may just wait until the album is re-released with everything on one large set.  This, along with the general lack of publicity for the new album, has the potential to lead to sagging original sales for this release.  Regardless of the outcome, Cullum’s fans have an album that is a solid listen from start to finish.

Kenney Chesney, Keith Urban, and the rest of the eye candy country crooners out there have some new competition.  His name is Josh Turner.  Turner’s been around for a while. But with his fourth album, ‘Haywire’, Turner has officially tossed his hat in the ring, vying for the affections of female audiences worldwide.  Whether it’s his look, or his music, Turner has grown in popularity over the years both with male and female audiences.  Now, with ‘Haywire’, he may have cemented his place in the limelight alonside the rest of the top pop star-like country stars.  The album, in large part, seems to be aimed at female audiences. But it’s also an album that men can enjoy, too.  “Why Don’t We Just Dance” is a prime example of this.  It’s a fun, uptempo song for couples, that even men won’t be ashamed to admit they listen to.  And for the couples out there, Turner’s got a great Marvin Gaye-esque piece in “Lovin’ You On My Mind.“  This song is perfect to set the mood on a romantic night such as Valentines Day, an anniversary, Christmas, or even a birthday.  Men take note of this.  About the only song on this disc that is not directly aimed at women is “Friday Paycheck.“  This one is a song to which both men and women can relate.  And, much like his debut album so long ago, Turner contunes to show his faith.  This time around, he closes out the album with a song displaying his faith, instead of opening the album with it.  “The Answer” is a wonderful gospel song that doesn’t even come across as some preachy gospel type of piece.

For the longest time, country music has never been considered pop music.  But in recent years, stars such as Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, Rascal Flatts, and a handful of others have paved the way for country artists to join the ranks of mainstream pop.  Now, Josh Turner may have finally joined the ranks of those stars thanks to ‘Haywire.‘  Since men can use it to set a mood, and women will enjoy it any time (and they’ll swoon over his looks and bass heavy voice), ‘Haywire’ may be considered Turner’s real breakthrough record.  The only downside to this record is that it is presented in two separate formats, much like so many cd’s and DVD’s.  And the deluxe edition of the album offers very little incentive to buy, again, much like so many other cd’s and dvd’s.  The deluxe edition includes 4 bonus tracks, two of which are just live tracks, and the other two being “rarities.“  It also includes the ability to download a small amount of other material.  Again, this is nothing new.  So while ‘Haywire’ may be Turner’s breakthough record, fans would be better off buying the standard edition so they don’t go haywire paying too much for a not so deluxe edition.

Peanuts is without a doubt, one of the greatest comic strips ever created.  And the tv specials that were spawned from the strip are equally enjoyable to this day.  But among the over forty specials created, there is one glaring special that should not have been made.  The special, in question, is ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.‘  This special originated from an off-broadway play.  Yes, a musical.  And it shows throughout the special.  Charles Schulz did not create this one.  Even if audiences didn’t know off the bat that Schulz had not written this piece, it would become quickly evident that he hadn’t.  This special was originally created by a man named Clark Gesner, in the 1960’s.  According to the bonus feature included in the DVD, “Animating A Charlie Brown Musical”, it wasn’t even until roughly twenty years later this the play was made into this tv special.

The bonus featurette is about the only major positive to this DVD, sadly.  While there are some funny jokes here and there throughout the different segments—this was not one continuous movie.  It was just a bundle of separate skits—the fact that Gesner tried to literally adapt the comic strip to the stage, and then to the small screen, made this one of the lesser enjoyable Peanuts peices.

The only thing that made the bonus feature worthwhile was that producer, Lee Mendelson did try to defend the strip.  As a result, he gave audiences a little known fact in that Black Eyed Peas member, Fergie, (a.k.a Stacy Ferguson) was a member of the Peanuts gang in the 1984 speacial, ‘It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.‘  The reference was made in Mendelson’s attempt to defend ‘You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.‘

The bonus featurette included in this dvd made the dvd worth buying for true Peanuts fans and collectors.  But unlike so many of the Peanuts specials that have been released in recent years, this is one of the few that lacks any bonus special(s).  So all audiences really get with this new dvd is the one special, with no bells or whistles.  Just Clark Gesner’s off-broadway play animated for television.  So even if audiences are avid fans and collectors, this is a special that will sadly likely find itself spending more time on a DVD rack than in a DVD player.

Twenty Years.  That is a long time for any sitcom to be on television.  But somehow, Matt Groening and company have survived contract talks, and other obstacles, keeping The Simpsons new and fresh for twenty-one seasons now.  And in celebration of its surpassing twenty seasons, 20th Century Fox has released The Simpsons complete twentieth season roughly eight years ahead of when it would normally have been released.  It seems 20th Century Fox tends to put out one season of this hit sitcom per year.  And while 20th Century Fox may be celebrating a milestone for this show, its twentieth season is anything but worthy of celebration.  Much like most of the show’s seasons after Season Eight, this one has perhaps only a small handful of episodes that truly stood out.  Among them were the likes of “Take my Life Please”, “How The Test Was Won”, “Eeny, Teeny, Maya Moe”, and “Coming to Homerica”.  The remainder of Season Twenty’s episodes feel more like filler than anything else.  Even this season’s Treehouse of Horror was lackluster at best.  The only portion of this year’s TOH that as worthy of praise was the Charlie Brown spoof, “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Millhouse”.  The writers even go so far in this as to make fun of the sound of the adults talking in the Peanuts specials.

Another negative aspect of this box set lies in its very packaging.  While 20th Century Fox is finally on the right track with its packaging of the Simpsons box sets, it’s still a problem.  The problem with the packaging is just how tightly the discs are put into the set.  The discs are so tightly packed that one can’t help but worry about damaging them with scratching and general surface marring when removing and inserting the discs.  This is something that 20th Century Fox has been doing for a few seasons at least.  Perhaps Fox should take a cue from HBO in how they boxed all five seasons of the classic hit sitcom ‘Get Smart’.  Its packaging both saves space on DVD racks, as well as protects the DVD’s themselves.  The Simpsons box sets only do the prior.

The only real positive to this box set is the “Where’s Waldo”-esque collage of Simpsons characters.  When removing the box itself from its outer covering, fans can open the box wide and look at the vast array of characters created by Groening and his staff over the show’s incredibly long run.  The collage of characters even includes the original Simpsons family, and characters from every season up to today.  Something as simple as the packaging collage can lead to even bigger discussions on the creativity of the show’s writers, among other things.  But sadly, that, again, is about the only true positive to Season twenty of The Simpsons.  Now twenty-one seasons in, one can only wonder just how much longer the show can go on.  At this point, only time will tell.  But what time has already told is that Season twenty of The Simpsons is one that fans can leave on store shelves and watch online at least until it comes down in price if they plan on buying it.

When he took the helm of ‘X-Men 3’, Brett Ratner single-handedly buried the X-men franchise. Joel Schumacher did the same to the Batman franchise in ‘Batman and Robin’ and ‘Batman Forever’. Now, director McG has done the same thing with the Terminator franchise in ‘Terminator Salvation’. The movie starts very abruptly, and fails to fully explain the plotline from there on. The only real backstory that audiences get in this movie comes when the human-like terminator, Marcus, reaches Cyberdyne. There is no mention of what happened between the end of ‘T3’, and the beginning of this movie, years later in 2018. That, along with a general lack of music to help set the mood throughout hindered this movie in a large way. There was music in the movie. But there was so little of it, that it made feeling any excitement next to impossible.

To his defense, at least the story makes fleeting references to John Connor’s mother Sarah, and even his father, who turns up in this movie, only in much younger form. McG uses Kyle tastefully, save for the very end of the movie, which sadly plods on almost as slowly as the rest of the movie. The scripting leaves audiences wondering if Kyle, or even Marcus, would do what they expected. These drawn out expectations only serve to make for a movie that is far too long, and at times somewhat over dramatized.

In his defense, there is one saving grace to ‘Terminator Salvation’. That saving grace is the general cinematography. Those who have seen the first three Terminator movies were shown a much darker, more ominous future than what is presented here. This time out, the movie kind of feels somewhat like Mad Max. The “badlands” type of feel gives audiences a more realistic feel than some overly dark war scene such as shown in ‘T2’. Sadly, though, that is about the only truly shining point to a bore of a movie. Hopefully, now that the rights to the franchise are being sold, another director will take the reigns of what could become a whole new chapter in this franchise, and give it new life.

Author Dan Brown has made a name for himself with his books centered around professor Robet Langdon. Brown’s fans have come to know Langdon as a globe trotting intellectual counterpart to Indiana Jones in a manner of speakiong. The only difference between the two is that in Brown’s works, Langdon doesn’t get the girl. And thanks to Langdon’s trek across Euope in ‘The Da Vinci Code’, Dan Brown has become a household name. But now, in the big screen rendition of his first book, ‘Angels and Demons’, Langdon’s recent adventure has hardly risen to expectations. The resulting harsh critiques are not fully justified, though. This story is entirely different from that of ‘The Da Vinci Code.‘

‘Angels and Demons’ is controversial, but only to a certain extent, as it is a tech-based murder mystery. Yes there is a direct tie to religion. But because so few audiences know about or pay attention to the current search for the alleged “God Particle”, the use of this as a basis for the plot may very well turn many audiences off. The controversy over whether Jesus had a child is much more hard hitting worldwide than how the big bang really happened (or if it happened) to most people. With this in mind, we have the importance of why ‘The Da Vinci Code’ was released before ‘Angels and Demons’. Had the movies been released in tandem with the books, audiences would likely have given ‘The Da Vinci Code’ far less of a chance both on bookstore shelves and in theaters.

The subject matter of ‘Angels and Demons’ isn’t the only factor that may have led to less than spectacular reviews. In the three books about Langdon, Brown is still struggling somewhat with the pacing of his story. This story is a very fast paced work. Because of the plot, it has to move fast. But it moves so fast that it is easy to get lost. It’s the exact opposite of ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in that the latter moved extremely slow. So while the story is interesting in ‘Angels and Demons’, its pace makes the story somewhat difficult to follow. This, combined with the tech-based plot are what have made the story difficult to enjoy. But on the other hand, if this story had been at all similar to ‘The Da Vinci Code’ it would have likely fared far worse than it did. And now, as a result of the mostly lackluster reviews, and ticket sales, one can’t help but wonder if Ron Howard, and his team of writers will attempt a big screen rendition of ‘The Lost Symbol’, or will that book remain ‘lost’.

Classical music, and rock are generally two forms of music that are not associated with one another. But there is one band that has managed time and again, to make classical music appealing to the masses who would otherwise not listen to it.  The band in question is Trans Siberian Orchestra.  TSO has been doing that musical mash-up since its inception.  And now, after an extremely long wait for the band’s new album, TSO has finally released its fifth album, ‘Night Castle.‘  This album is not a Christmas album. Though for fans of the band’s Christmas renditions, a “rocked up” rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, aptly titled “Nutrocker”, is included as a bonus track on the album’s second disc.

The rest of the album is a touching story about family, friendship, love, and the triumph of the human spirit set against the Khmer Rouge conflict.  If there is one thing that TSO does better than any other band, it is telling a good story.  And, ‘Night Castle’ is no different.  The irony of the album is that the castle in question that Lieutenant Cozier discovers is mentioned for a very short time.  But Erasmus, the man that Lt. Cozier meets in the castle, plays an integral role in how the story unfolds, even though the meeting of the two men is so short.

While the band making its own renditions of classical songs is nothing new on this album, every song fits perfectly to each act.  ‘Night Castle’ is the band’s longest opus to date.  But in listening to the album, it could easily be seen how the band could perform the album in its entirety on stage.  Considering the length of the story, though, performing the show on stage again and again would get rather tiring for the band.  The longest song on this opus clocks in at just over ten minutes.  One other song on the album clocks in at just under ten minutes.  Those two songs, and the overall run time of the album aside, TSO has yet again crafted a work that will please both fans of classical music, and fans of TSO.

Time heals all wounds.  Such an adage hopefully applies to Creed.  After taking some years apart, Scott Stapp, and his bandmates in Creed have reunited for what is possibly the band’s strongest album to date.  Guitarist Mark Tremonti is actually getting far more time this time around, than on the band’s previous trio of albums.  It makes this album somewhat similar to Alter Bridge.  And Stapp himself is taking center stage on the album as lyrically, the entire album comes across as Stapp airing his personal demons.

Songs such as “Away in Silence”, “On My Sleeve”, and “The Good Fight” are just a few examples of Stapp trying to show that he has been to the bottom of the barrel, and is still trying to make his way back up.  “Away in Silence” is perhaps the softest, and most emotional song on the album.  According to interviews, Stapp said that this song was about how his wife nearly left him because of how bad off he had gotten himself.

Fans of the band’s heavier sound won’t have to worry about this album’s overall sound despite the likes of the aforementioned songs.  Overall, ‘Full Circle’ has more of the heavy sound started on ‘Weathered’ in the likes of “Bread of Shame”, “Suddenly”, “Fear”, and the album’s lead single/album opener, “Overcome”.  These songs are more “testimony” from Stapp, lyrically.  But musically, they are some of the heaviest songs that the members of Creed have written in their time together.

Some critics have said and written that despite the overall heavier sound of this album, there are no “radio friendly” songs on the album, and that this could hurt the album.  That could not be farther from the truth.  The album’s title track is perhaps the most peculiar song on the record, making for a song that will make fans, both new and old sit and listen.  And then there is the ballad-esque “Away in Silence”, and even “A Thousand Faces” that could easily be used as radio singles. 

Radio singles aside, the combination of songs on Creed’s fourth album has made for an album that shows perhaps the band has indeed come full circle.  There is material for fans of the band’s softer side, and plenty for the band’s harder edged side, and even music for those in the middle.  Regardless of which sound fans will be able to tell that this album has definitely come full circle..  Now, fans of Creed can only wait and hope that this release will prove Creed truly has come full circle itself, and will now be able to manage multiple projects without self destructing once more.

The Wizard of Oz is one of the greatest films to ever grace the silver screen.  It has transcended generations for seventy years now.  In celebration of that anniversary, Warner Brothers has released a 70th anniversary edition of this “wonderful” movie.  This new edition of “Oz” is outstanding both as a box set, and standard dual disc DVD.  The standard double disc set is impressive, and well worth the money.  It is chock full of extras, including featurettes such as “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:  The Making of a Movie Classic”, and “Memories of Oz” (which was a special aired by Turner Classic Movies) among so much more.  For those people who are much more avid “Oz” collectors, Warner Brothers has also released a box set loaded with plenty of extra memorabilia.  This box set, along with the standard double disc DVD are mirrored by a blu-ray edition, as well.

For those who are just fans of the movie (and who isn’t), the standard double disc edition is a wonderful addition to any movie library.  Its primary featurette, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:  The Making of a Movie Classic” is the best of the included features.  Narrated by famed actress Angela Lansbury, it gives an in depth history lesson on the making of the movie.  Among the tidbits of information included in this feature was the trouble involved in merely casting the movie.  A hint for those who didn’t know this:  Almost all of the cast that audiences have come to know were not the first choices for the roles.  This includes Judy garland.  Shirley Temple was actually the first choice for Dorothy.  The primary feature is not the only one narrated by Lansbury.  She also narrates another miniature film history lesson in the trailers originally used to promote the movie.  Before each trailer, she gives audiences a background on each trailer, explaining the importance of how each trailer was made. 

Another nice feature added to this set was in the audio vault feature.  It includes old radio show pieces that promoted the movie.  Each one is one more piece of the overall history behind the movie.  It gives fans an even larger look behind the scenes at just how big the movie was, and how much went into promoting it.  Along with these radio shwos are some deleted scenes, including the full original dance scene by Ray Bolger when Dorothy first meets the Scarecrow.  It helps audiences appreciate just why that scene was shortened. 

The Wizard of Oz is by and large among the greatest movies in the history of Hollywood.  It is a movie that has transcended generations, and will continue to do so for probably seventy more years or more.  That is the main thing that is echoed throughout the special features of this outstanding DVD.  And while this will likely not be the last time the movie is re-issued, it will continue to be a movie worth buying on every anniversary to come.

Based very loosely on the popular children’s book, the movie adaptation of the book takes more than its share of liberties. But being that the original book is so short, the only way to make the movie work was to change so much around.

The changes start early on as Max actually physically runs away in the movie, rather than running to his room, and escaping into a fantasy world. This adaptation makes the Wild Things’ island a real place, rather than make believe. While this adaptation was a stretch, making the Wild Things’ island a real physical place made for some beautiful cinematography. The scenes throughout Max’s adventure were outstanding. It was “wild” (pun fully intended) to see winter on one side of the island, spring on another, and even a desert on another part.

Along with the cinematography, those who created the Wild Things are to be applauded as well. It is next to impossible to tell if they were actually physical characters, CGI creations, or a combination of both. Carol, and the other Wild Things are very reminiscent of Jim Henson’s famed Muppets in how they were made. It would be no surprise if those who craeted the the Wild Things perhaps worked for Henson at one point in their careers.

Carol is a very good mirror image of Max in this story. His actions, and belief that he is misunderstood, are much like Max, which explains the bond formed between the pair. When Carol feels that he’s been deceived and betrayed by Max, that is kind of how Max feels about his own life back at his own home, which led him to run away to the island. There is a point in this movie involving Carol that would validate it receiving a “PG” rating. It might lead some younger audiences to be somewhat scared. The Wild Things themselves are not scary. But them talking about eating their king, and the scene between Carol and Douglas could have helped that rating along.

The big screen adaptation of this classic children’s book tells a wonderful story of friendship and family. The overall story is more than a little different from the original book. The cinematography and character design are a plus to the movie, too. Despite all of this, it is unlikely that the movie will manage to be a hit for later generations. It may set a certain bar for its storytelling, and production values. But considering certain darker elements of the story, it likely won’t be a hit for later generations, unlike the book from which it was adapted.