NOVEMBER 1 2007
AMERICANWAY 73
Misc.
NewCDs,DVDs,andMovies
YouShouldCheckOut
ByBryanReesmanandJosephGuinto
HEAR IT:
Motown: A Journey
throughHitsville
USA
, Boyz IIMen
There’s abiggreatest-
hits album froman
all-girl Britishpopgroup
out thismonth. Spice
Girls,wehear thegroup
is called. If they’re your
kindof thing, buy the
album, byallmeans.
But before you check
out, alsohavea listen to
another reunionalbum.
This one features an
all-boyband (well, they
haven’t beenboys for
awhilenow) and isn’t
a collectionof greatest
hits—well, at least, not
theband’s hits. Boyz II
Men, oneof thebest-
sellingR&Bacts ever,
has recorded songs from
theMotown catalog,
including tracksmade
famous by theTempta-
tions,MarvinGaye, and,
yes, a youngMichael
Jackson. If that doesn’t
soundperfect enough,
also know that another
Jackson,
American
Idol
’sRandyJackson,
produced thealbum. So
there’s that, dog.
HEAR ITANDSEE IT:
The FlyingClub
Cup
, Beirut
Youwere expecting
a toothless oldgypsy
right out of central
casting? Sorry, instead
you’re getting the che-
rubic ZachCondon, a
21-year-old fromNew
Mexicowho, at least
withBeirut, sounds
like amuch older,
sadder travelingman.
Fittingly for his gypsy
sound, Condon found
inspiration inEastern
Europe for Beirut’s first
album andwandered to
France tofind hismuse
for
The FlyingClubCup
.
Thismonth, onNovem-
ber 12, Condonwill play
inParis at the Inrocks
Festival andfind out if
the French areflattered
by his newmusic.
SEE IT (SMALLSCREEN):
TheAddams Family:
TheCompleteSeries
Why does this simple
sitcom seem so subver-
sive today? Is it John
Astin’s smarmy charm
asGomez?Morticia’s
slinky dress?Uncle
Fester’s radical politi-
cal diatribes?No. And
definitely not the last
one.Maybe it’s because,
whereas today’s sit-
coms aremostly about
dysfunctional families
trying to get along in
a functional world, the
Addams familywas,
in fact, a completely
functional family living
in aworld that, at least
to them, seemed totally
outer-limits nutbar. Or
something. Eitherway,
thisDVD set (to be
releasedNovember 13)
includes a featurette on
that snappy theme song
aswell as a seemingly
impossible commentary
track byThing and
Cousin Itt.
SEE IT (SMALLSCREEN):
TheBest of the
Colbert Report
We’re not sure how a
DVD collectionfilled
with comedy bits from
a topical show is going
to hold up as time goes
on. Butwe are sure that
StephenColbert and his
show’swriterswon’t
have any trouble com-
ing upwith a tagline for
the box cover. Consider
theworks of staggering
genius they’ve already
come upwith, like this
tagline about Colbert:
“America’smost de-
scribed journalist.”
And this openingquote
from the show: “Get
ready for authenticity,
voracity, and verity.
Someone’s been reading
a thesaurus! This is
The
Colbert Report
!”
SEE IT (SMALLSCREEN):
Pixar Shorts
Father-and-son office
lamps play ball, a
snow-globe snowman
seeks to escape his
confinement in order
towoo a cuteBarbie-
like doll, and an alien
fails hisUFO test. Such
is thewackyworld
of Pixar’s short films.
Theseworks date back
to 1984 and include
abbreviatedbits from
the animation outfit’s
well-known franchises
The Incredibles
,
Cars
,
and
Monsters, Inc
.
There’s also a behind-
the-scenes feature on
animation genius and
Pixar guru John Las-
seter, who, we hear,
passed hisUFO test on
thefirst try.
SEE IT (BIGSCREEN):
Love in the
Time of Cholera
The screenplay for Ga-
briel GarciaMárquez’s
classic novel could have
beenwritten inSpan-
ish, but itwasn’t. So
thefilm isn’t inSpanish,
either, which is nice if
you don’t like reading
the big screen. That
themovie stays true to
GarciaMárquez’s use of
magical realism is also
nice, as is the fact that
the studio didn’t insist
on packing the film
with big-name celebs.
Instead, Javier Bar-
dem, whom youmight
remember from
Col-
lateral
, stars alongside
GiovannaMezzogiorno,
whose name, as you
may remember from
Italian class, means
“noon.” Some of the
cast ismore recogniz-
able. BenjaminBratt
andHector Elizondo
have supporting roles,
and John Leguizamo
has a leadpart. You
don’t evenwant to
knowwhat his name
means in Italian.
