The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely
Third Man, 2008
**** out of 5
Many successful musicians have what could politely be called follies; vanity projects which have the faithful shaking their heads ruefully and hoping for the next proper release to arrive all the sooner. Some of the more notable examples of this leave-of-senses taking include both of Lou Barlow’s Sebadoh side projects, Folk Implosion and Sentridoh. As well, we have Bill Wyman’s classic WTF moment with Je Suis Un Rock Star? And finally, any solo project by a member of The Who could be considered the grandest of follies, especially those releases featuring the atonal singing of patented exploding drummer Keith Moon.
So when The Raconteurs made their appearance a couple of years back with 2006’s Broken Boy Soldiers, it looked pretty much like just another piece of ego trippin’. Jack White, by now a global colossus with the dynamic duo White Stripes, teamed up with his old mucker Brendan Benson and a rust-belt rhythm section to get some kicks laying down Detroit rock city riffs. This allowed White to escape the relentless glare of the spotlight while simultaneously letting him pretend to be “one of the gang”, which is something he doesn’t get when it’s just him and a silent, lead-footed drummer out there on the nation’s stages.
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The sheer greatness that is Iron Man can be summed up in two words: perfect casting.
As brilliant but flawed industrialist Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr. single-handedly elevates director Jon Favreau's superhero pic from good to great. Putting his bad-boy image to good use, Downey as Stark is a debaucherous, sharp-tongued businessman who's redeemed after seeing the error of his ways.
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Iron Man - Billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is captured by terrorists and told he must construct a weapon for them if he wants to survive. Instead he builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes. When Stark learns of an evil plot that could resonate around the globe he dons his suit and becomes Iron Man, intent on making up for past misdeeds by saving the world.
Continue reading "New in theaters - May 2, 2008" »