In My Opinion...

(Don't like my opinions? Send me yours at twoblueflames@hotmail.com)

Music:

Hanson "3 Car Garage"
True Fanson's Paradise, Not For NonFans
By Rachael Robinson

This CD is exceptional for the ages these boys were at the time. All of their CDs are, but if you found "Mmmbop" to be whiny and repetitive and bubblegummy, do not buy this CD looking for refuge from this type of sound, because it is even more noticeably present on this CD and yes, my friend, there is another version of THE song, with three "m"s and one "bop", just like on the "Middle of Nowhere" CD, but even younger and more high-pitched. The CD is overall quite impressive though, especially if you're a fan, but even if you're not, you have to give them a little credit for writing these songs. "Tin Soldier", an adaptation of the famous children's story of the one-legged tin soldier and the ballerina is so sweet it will give you cavities, but ingenious nonetheless, and not without musical merit as well. It was originally released in Tulsa as an Indie CD and there are still real copies of it, with the original title "Mmmbop" floating around on ebay from time to time. This is probably the closest thing anybody with a 4 or 5 figure income without a savings account will ever get to owning the original though. Needless to say, I have it. *smile* Enjoy.

Hanson "Live from Albertane"
Rockin Outta Pop EVER So Slowly
By Rachael Robinson

One day, these boys will be in the rock category, not pop/rock, but ROCK, as in Johnny Lang, The Black Crowes, Matchbox20 (beFORE they went soft), Nickelback... Those meat and potatoes rock bands. The ones who don't use fancy stage tech and tons of synthesizing equipment on CDs... These boys belong there, they just haven't quite made the full transition now. This CD, I believe, was caccoon stage 3... Where they showed the whole world, however many would actually listen with open minds, that they are capable of making a sound that is definitively rock and also proved something else I already knew. These boys are soooo much better live. Watch for remakes of classics like, "Money" and an original song found nowhere else called "Ever Lonely". Someday, they'll be there, rocking the music world, popular or not, and I'll still be here, saying, "I told you so." Remember me and my wise words. You'll see...

Movies:

A Walk to Remember
(Shane West / Mandy Moore)
By Rachael Robinson

No, I'm not a Mandy Moore fan. And I'm over 17. I don't really know what made me want to see this movie. Maybe I watch too much MTV and this has caused me to be a bit more sympathetic toward Mandy. Or maybe Shane West just has a magnetic charm I had previously underestimated.

Several things in this movie deserve applause:

First of all, Mandy Moore isn't a terrible actress, especially for a 17-year-old, blonde pop star of 5"10 who models for Neutrogena adds and hosts MTV shows on the side. Her performance was sincere and I even found myself liking her as a person a lot more by the film's end.

Second: Yes, she plays the classically unhip "invisible girl", but they made no efforts to seriously "dork her out" with big glasses or pocket protectors and didn't make it a caricature of every stereotypical teenie movie "nerd girl". She wasn't over-the-top geeky. She was simply plain Jane... Bangs, brown hair, all one lenghth, brown eyes, plain cltohes that were baggy and a bit too old for her, no makeup... And she doesn't care what people think of her. She's just doing her own thing, like it or not, which brings me to my next point.

Thirdly: The following things are absent (thank GAWD) from the movie all together: Prom, a big makeover transformation, her sudden overnight popularity due to the fact that she's dating "the most popular guy in school", cheerleading, football games, "the bet", Carson Daly, "The Party", over the top "good and evil" cliques, tons of teenage sex, Britney Spears, and after-school-special-ish messages of "Don't do drugs" and "Sex before marriage is wrong".

However... There's always a down side. I HATE the ending. I can't say a whole lot without totally giving it away, but it becomes pretty obvious at a certain point in the movie when everything is going perfect with the new couple's relationship that something is very, very wrong and now they'll have to overcome this in order to come out with a "happy ending". It wasn't terribly predictable. Maybe a little cliche. Soap operas love this kind of thing, and so do prime time dramas.

Even the ending couldn't totally ruin the movie. They managed to do it in a different way, and it's not one of those "of COURSE they lived happily-ever-after" endings. It's bittersweet. You'll just have to see for yourself.

Overall, it's a decent chick flick, but kinda left a weird aftertaste. Just a LITTLE off the mark. I always like the books better, and I'm sure this one will be no exception because when the movie is just ALMOST there, you get the impression that there was a lot more to the story and they just couldn't get it all across with the right amount of believability and sincerity still intact in just 2 hours.

I'm getting the book. ;)

Video / DVD:

Head (The Monkee Movie) - A Tale Like No Other
By Rachael Robinson

This is now one of my favorite movies. If you're looking for more of the innocent hijinx from the show, this movie might not be for you. If you're not a fan of the Monkees, but you're into the whole 60's thing of not making any sense due to being on hard drugs for most of the decade, or if you're an obsessed fan of the Monkees and looking for many different ways to obsess, then this movie is definitely for you. The plot is really muddled, but was intended to be anyway. It starts out with Davy, Micky, Mike, and Peter running from a mob of people, onto the Brooklyn Bridge and committing suicide over the edge and into the water below. The music is good. Songs written by Peter Tork, Carole King, Mike Nesmith... Watch for cameos by Annette Funacello, Frank Zappa, Jack Nicholson (he helped write it). Good cinematography, good songs, good movie. Didn't do well at the box office due to promotion issues and lack of similarity to the show. Developed a cult following in later years.

Hanson "Live at the Fillmore"
(I didn't write this one)
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com

Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, the Grateful Dead... and Hanson? If the idea of the young pop-rock phenoms taking the stage at San Francisco's fabled Fillmore Auditorium--where Hendrix, Joplin, and so many other immortals once bathed in the spotlight--should strike you as sacrilegious, well, perhaps you're selling Hanson short. For while brothers Isaac (guitar), Taylor (keyboards) and Zachary (drums) Hanson are boys, they are certainly not a "boy band"; the teenyboppers who packed the Fillmore for this June 2000 show may swoon over their wholesome good looks, but Hanson eschew choreographed dance moves, fancy duds, designer haircuts, and the other boy-band trappings in favor of (gasp!) their music.

For one thing, the Hanson brothers are real musicians; augmented by a bass player and second guitarist and keyboardist, they offer ample evidence in the course of this 12-song concert that they can both play and sing (especially Taylor, who handles the lion's share of the lead vocals) like seasoned rock & roll pros. And while their self-penned songs may not exactly change the world, Hanson has a knack for filling them with irresistible hooks, from the opening "You Never Know" through "MMMBop," the hit that started it all, and other, more recent numbers like "If Only" and "This Time Around" (entertaining videos for the latter two are principal among the DVD's bonus features). They also throw in a cover of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," a nod to the '60s that shows that Hanson was fully aware of the Fillmore legacy. It all makes for a righteously groovy experience, dudes. --Sam Graham