Passing Glances

Just a few quick "takes" :

 
"Lincoln" the movie directed by Steve Spielberg is quite involving. It deals primarily with Abe's fight to have Congress pass the 13th amendment abolishing slavery. Daniel Day Lewis portrays Lincoln as a quiet and calm and assured politician - and above all - wise. Its a strong performance. The Civil War is winding down and passing this amendment would put a period on the war. The film boldly dramatizes the importance of its passage beyond the issue of freeing the slaves. Tommy Lee Jones will get an Oscar nomination as will Lewis as will the movie as will Spielberg.

Saw an obscure English film 'Toast" - what a wonderfully odd ball movie. Its been showing up on some of the premium channels like HBO, Cinamax and the like. Do a search. Its worth the time.

The latest Broadway cast recording of the recent 'Evita" revival is a big SO WHAT! Why bother. The actress playing Eva Peron sings like Minnie Mouse. Ricky Martin sounds good because he can sing BUT he does not display an ounce of character in his numbers.

Jason Gould has an EP out that is sterling. I downloaded it from Amazon,com. It is a mere 5 bucks and worth so much more. Gould is Barbra Streisand's son! Yes! And when you hear him sing, you will believe it. His tone and sensitivity to the 5 beautiful songs are masterful. Why has he been hiding his talent? Was he afraid of comparisons to his superstar mom? Was he embarrassed to be thought of as the child of privilege getting a break. Well, talent will out. Apparently, Barbra had nothing to do with this effort. And even if she did - so what? I look at it this way. He's joining the family business. His father, by the way is that very good actor, Elliot Gould who began his career in Broadway musicals. So, it runs in the family. I love this EP. It is absolutely mesmerizing.


Speaking of music, check out anything by singers John Pizzarelli, Jamie Cullum, Kurt Elling and vintage warblers Morgana King, Chet Baker and Abbey Lincoln.

I watched 'The Voice" for the first time ever today - DVR'd. I do not think I'll watch it again. It is so sad what passes for singing on this show. Nuance, subtlety, genuine emotion and authenticity are totally absent in all these contestants. Its all about the POW factor. An hour of POW by overly eager wannabees is so damn hard to take. Oy!

To end on a positive note for today - let me recommend 3 TV series all in their last episodes for this season - Boardwalk Empire, Homeland and Treme. They are GREAT GREAT GREAT! If you want to see them from the beginning, they are available on Demand, Netflix, DVD and through your local library.