Newspaper Page Text
*
Wednesday,
October 4,
2006
n
t „,reel
PEAL
WITH GEORGE HAWKINS
“All The King’s Men”
MPA A Rating: PG 13
Running Time: 120 minutes
Starring: Sean Penn, Jude
Law, Anthony Hopkins,
Kate Winslet,
Mark Ruffalo and Patricia
Clarkson
IL**-
ML <#
It seems like the
bayous and backwoods
of Louisiana are a prime
breeding ground for
larger than life characters
with superhuman stories.
"All the King’s Men”
attempts to tell the story
of once such individual,
but falls flat as a mediocre
remake that leaves rich
characters and storylines
dangling like Spanish moss.
The film is based on
a 1947 novel by Robert
Penn Warren that was
a thinly fictionalized
account of the rise of
Louisiana statesman Huey
Long, named Willie Starks
in the novel.
In the current wave
of ska, there are a handful
of great bands that are
just now getting national
attention. One of them is
Westbound Train.
The group, which is
from Boston, signed with
Tim Armstrong’s Hellcat
Records around the same
time as Atlanta’s The
Heart Attacks.
Like label mates
The Aggrolites, the
band is well-schooled in
Jamaican music and the
history of ska.
“Transitions”, which
is their third full-length
album, came out a little
over a week ago and does
not seem out of place
next to Prince Buster and
The Specials in my music
collection, and that says
a lot.
The first song on the
album is “Please Forgive
Me”, which is a great
song for someone to hear
Ar&Sbfmmm
From the mass of
“hicks” rose Starks
(Sean Penn), a small
town treasurer evicted
from office by corrupt
politicians for objecting
to their corruption.
It’s only after the
death of several children
as a direct result of
corruption that political
strategist Tiny Duffy
(James Gandolfini) enters
the picture and convinces
Stark that he should run
for the most coveted seat
of state political power...
governor.
So Stark begins to
make the rural rounds of
dirt poor sharecroppers
and lower middle class,
saying basically whatever
Duffy tells him to say.
It’s at one of these
speeches that young
reporter Jack Burden
(Jude Law), sent down by
a big city paper to cover
small country man with
the big voice, meets up
with Stark and reveals to
him the possibility that he
might be being used by the
Duffy and the incumbent
to split the votes of the
country people.
After Stark is turned
onto to the fact that he’s
being used he becomes
a political dynamo,
inciting large groups of
people with the fact that
“if you don’t vote, you
don’t matter” and “nail
if they are curious about
this band.
“Good Enough” is
another strong track, as
it shows off the talent of
vocalist Obi Fernandez.
This song has a strong
reggae vibe comparable
to some of the genre’s
earliest records.
The band then shows
how versatile they are by
going back to traditional
ska on their next track,
“For the First Time”.
Up next is the true
test for any ska band,
an instrumental. “The
Test” sounds like it was
recorded in a dingy
Jamaican studio, which
is probably the point of
the song.
The next song
brings reggae back to
the party with “Sorry
Mama”. This tale of
motherly advice is
a beautiful track ife.
that does not seem vj
out of place on
this fairly eclectic
album.
Then we get to the
Westbound Train song
that won me over as a
fan, “I’m No Different”.
It is more rocksteady
than reggae, and it is the
'em up,” referring to the
big city politicians.
Stark is consequently
elected, taking Duffy with
him as a reminder of how
he had been a pawn and
political advisor/mistress
Sadie Burke (Patricia
Clarkson).
He also takes Jack
Burden to advise him on
matters concerning the
media and basically serve
as an educated confidant
and window into high
society (Burden’s family
is old money).
As the years go by
and Stark has to fight
corrupt state politicians
while trying to make good
on the promises to the
people he made during
his campaign, he finds
himself becoming more
and more like the people
he blasts in his speeches.
Stark uses Burden to
try to blackmail influential
Judge Irwin (Anthony
Hopkins), who just
happens to be Burden’s
godfather and mentor.
Stark also tries to
align himself with the
Stanton family; primarily
Anne (Kate Winslet) and
Adam (Mark Ruffalo),
the children of one of the
most celebrated governors
in the state’s history.
It’s this last political
chess move that proves
disastrous for Stark in the
end.
In 1949, the first
version of “All the
King’s Men” was filmed
and garnered three Oscar
wins including Best
Picture, Best Actress in a
one song that I think can
win over the most picky
ska fan.
From the opening of
this song, which sounds
like it should belong on
a Motown album, to the
amazing lyrics, this is one
of the best songs of the
year. The simple chorus
of “There’s a whole
world dying, and I’m no
different” is a powerful
statement that puts a lot
of so-called political
anthems to shame. To
hear it live is even more
powerful than to
listen to it on the The song “Soul song that is a throwback
''Gone''
Photo courtew of bloß.livedoor.jp
Westbound Train is one of the top bands in the ska genre. After a couple of smaller label releases, they finally hit the big
time with “Transitions”, which came out on Hellcat Records.
wHHHI, ***■ ’Hm - ilPi
Photo courtesy t>f Rottentomatoe\ com
Sean Penn greets a few rabid fans in his new film "All the King’s Men”. He turns in a hor
rible performance as character based on a famous politician named Huey Long.
Supporting Role and Best
Actor in a Leading Role.
The film was wonderfully
cast and included some
of the biggest names of
the day.
The 2006 remake,
although there are few
similarities to the original,
is an obvious attempt
to beat the deadline for
the upcoming Academy
Awards with a proven
story and a cast full of
stars. But the film is
obviously miscast and
overall poorly done.
Penn is dreadful in
his role.
Although his
performance is not too
horrible, it’s obvious
that he forced himself
into a role that he was
completely unsuited for.
During Starks’
famous speeches, Penn's
exaggerated hand motions
especially the rhythm
section.
“The Runaround”
starts out with the classic
“Now I said listen baby”
and goes on to say that
“You’ve got me runnin’
round baby, while you are
giving me the run round.”
“Seven Ways to
Sunday” is probably the
second best track on the
album, and is a real treat to
hear live. This song, which
asks how life should be, is
another great showcase of
soulful vocals and a very
talented band.
and body language seem
to belong to someone else
and tend to make him look
epileptic, if any thing.
The bottom line is
that Penn’s performance
just doesn’t capture the
persona of Willie Starks/
Huey Long.
Law’s performance
isn't much better. Even
though he’s been cast in
roles that required a southern
accent before (including
1997’s “Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Ev il"),
he has never mastered it and
his accent cuts in and out.
The rest of the acting,
or at least what we get to
see, isn’t bad.
Winslet. Ruffalo,
Gandofini, Hopkins and
Clarkson actually could
have brought the quality of
the film up exponentially.
Unfortunately, thanks
to the incompetent direction
Revival” lives up to its
name, as it is an instrumental
with a toaster (a DJ talking
over the track). This one
is a little more keyboard
driven than “The Test”.
"I Feel Fine” sounds
like a Burt Bacharach tune
in a good way. It has very
uplifting vocals. I can't
help but compare this
band to The Aggrolites,
who are a favorite of
mine. This song proves
that they are almost as
talented and less macho.
The next track, “Fatty
Boom Boom", is another
of Steven Zaillian. these
characters aren't explored
even a fraction of the
amount they are in the novel
or the 1949 film version.
Because of this gaping
discrepancy, it’s easv to
assume that the reason
these small roles were
filled with such big name
actors is... Oscar. That
simply won't happen
The only reason to
spend time on this film is the
quality of the aesthetics.
The cinematography,
music, costuming, set
decoration and other
things make this film a
relative pleasure for the
senses.
However, even looking
and listening to the film
gets old after two hours.
GRADE: I)
is not alive to appear on
guest vocals, because for
whatever reason this song
reminds me of him.
"When 1 Die" is less
depressing than it sounds
and “Travel On”, the
final track, is a mellow,
reggae sounding tune.
Overall, this band has
the potential to be very
good for a long time.
On Saturday night,
1 saw them open for the
Silence
continued on page 7