Five more feature films of great interest and their links, lovingly chosen to get you through the continuing travails of the coronavirus.
Review
Book Review: “Murder and the Movies” — So Cinematic, the Spectacle of Death
Our awareness of our delight in the homicidal temptations presented by film is itself a kind of twisted comedy that the critic is all too aware of.
Film Review: “Vinyl Nation” — A Visit to Vinyl Heaven
“Every record can have its own unique sound, depending on who has owned it, who’s touched it, where it’s been. That’s really important to me.” This movie makes you realize that these things should be important to you, too.
Opera Album Review: A Leading Master of 17th-Century Venetian Opera Struts His Stuff
Lovers of Baroque opera will welcome this release: the first recording — and a very accomplished and communicative one —of an important opera by a pioneer and master.
Film Review: “The Devil All the Time” — Bad Things Happen, Over and Over Again
This may be the year’s best ensemble cast, and that goes a long way towards making this multi-layered melodrama accessible and compelling.
Book Review: Crime and Espionage — to the Sounds of Jazz
There’s a larger story to tell about black composers and musicians breaking into the film and TV business, but its only lightly touched on here.
Book Review: Two Glimpses of Caribbean Culture in a Year without Carnival
A pair of recent books help keep the glorious spirit of Carnival alive.
Jazz Album Reviews: Strong Discs from Pianist Chick Corea and Bassist Eric Revis
A pair of beauties: an Eric Revis quintet album and a solo excursion from Chick Corea.
Film Review: At the Toronto Film Fest — “Apples,” An Eerie, Airy Slice of New Greek Weird Wave
What comes through most resonantly in Apples is its envisioning of a society starting over, and its suggestion that a clean slate, accepted honestly, might not be the worst thing.
Opera Album Review: Who Knew? Brazil’s Finest Opera is in Italian
Antônio Carlos Gomes’s Lo Schiavo (The Slave) receives its first major recording — and stakes its claim in the repertory.