Avatar ...for the third time

My original review Dec. 18, 2009 in TMR Zoo
http://www.tmrzoo.com/?p=6076

It's 1:08 PM on Sunday morning, the last day of February 2010.

Release Date: December 18, 2009
3rd viewing: February 27, 2010

It was $12.50 to get into Imax...all showings in Reading, Massachusetts selling out today, about 71 days after the film was released. Think how incredible it is for a film to sell out 3 shows on a Saturday in February on its 71st (or so) day of release - and the worldwide estimate close to two and a half billion dollars.

Looking at the credits it is clear that a James Cameron film is an industry unto itself.

11:43 AM Sunday morning, 2/28/10 I'm thinking about new things to say about this movie.
Every time you view it you see something new. I missed that there's a fellow loaded in with Sam Worthington's character in the space pods when the movie opens. Look underneath Jake Sully's space travel pod (straight out of Lost In Space) to see a fellow upside down underneath him. Also look deep into the space ship...Cameron's attention to detail takes one straight out of the original 1933 King Kong co-directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong_%281933_film%29

I'm processing more ideas from the IMax viewing last night to take the current review to places where I took THE DARK KNIGHT two years ago. Maybe Cameron will take a cue from the Batman series and make the sequel even bigger and better? Wouldn't that be a trip? And as the script in Avatar has numerous weaknesses one can see how it had to take a back seat and merely open the door for the special effects. Still, a tighter and leaner film script a la The Wizard of Oz could have made the film even more special. One thing I came out of my third viewing feeling: no one can deny this is a spectacular piece of filmmaking.

My original review Dec. 18, 2009 in TMR Zoo
http://www.tmrzoo.com/?p=6076

Here's my AMG review of Tommy James HOLD THE FIRE cd re-published on Vibe985.com
Outside of repackages and live albums, original music from Tommy James is far too limited for an artist of his stature. 1980s Three Times In Love contained the sublime title track which hit the Top 40, while 1990s Hi-fi on Aegis Records and 1995's A Night In Big City remain treats for hardcore fans. Hold The Fire deserves a better fate, and the team-up of James with James "Wiz" Wisner leads to some very creative moments. "Isn't That the Guy" has a great hook, a terrific hook, and some modern sensibilities, but may be a bit too avant-garde for adult contemporary radio. Read more:

http://www.vibe985.com/music/albums/843065

REVIEW OF TOMMY JAMES BOOK;

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51A8jE828YL._SL160_.jpg

Tommy James interview March 5, 2010 Friday night 7 PM http://www.wincam.org

Joe Viglione's reviews of Tommy James material - in reverse alphabetical order

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ALBUM REVIEWS

Hanky Panky
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:d9fpxq95ldje

It's Only Love
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:f9fpxq95ldje

I Think We're Alone Now
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hxfoxql5ldae

Gettin' Together
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:g9fpxq95ldje

Cellophane Symphony
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wxfoxql5ldae

TOMMY JAMES SOLO - Post Shondells

TOMMY JAMES solo l.p.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:fxfpxql5ldse

Tons more Tommy James' reviews on my First Impressions page
http://joevigfirstimpressions.blogspot.com/2005/02/tommy-james-song-reviews.html

SHONDELLS SOLO
http://www.mp3.com/albums/33396/reviews.html
Hog Heaven
The first mistake was not to call this band the Shondells, since that is who this band is and was. The second lapse was that they named the group and the album Hog Heaven, as dreadful a moniker as Lee Michael's drummer Frosty's group, Sweathog, who appeared around the same time. OK, so Peter Lucia came along to co-write "Wilma Mae" after Mike Vale and the boys cut "Fanny Mae" on the second Shondells album, but Lucia rode the wave during the heyday and co-wrote some Shondells album tracks. While Tommy James was producing Alive 'n' Kickin' or playing with Elvis Presley's bandmates, one would think his former musicians would want to prove their value and flex some musical muscle. Covering and co-writing a tune like "Bumpin' Slapcar Mama" was not the kind of work which could compete with Tommy James' gospel masterpiece "I'm Comin' Home" or "Draggin' the Line," both of which charted. James is not even mentioned on the various thank yous -- quite conspicuous in his absence (Peter Lucia showed up in 1976 to sing on James' In Touch album, though). The album opens with a blues rocker that could be considered watered-down Sweathog, so maybe the similarity in names wasn't a coincidence. That is not the direction ex-Shondells should be taking. "Glass Room" has more personality; it is psychedelic, with Peter Lucia's voice showing considerably more prowess than ex-members of Alice Cooper or Mott the Hoople could ever muster. It is when the band floats into a country bag that they really lose their way, and "Bumpin' Slapcar Mama" is very out of place here. Not as charming as "I'll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle," which Big Brother & the Holding Company gave the world when they found themselves without Janis Joplin. "Prayer" is interesting, maybe because it is emulating what Tommy James did on both his Christian of the World and My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar albums: a little gospel and a little country. The big difference is that James knew enough to separate the two, and despite this song's pretty and musical approach, Hog Heaven shifts gears three times in four songs. Change that total when you get to the almost seven-minute-long "Happy"; the quasi-reggae basement rock sound completely swipes Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" and is further evidence that the band was dabbling with sounds and not knowing where to go. Without a strong enough personality or driving force, they didn't get the opportunity to stretch and make their mark. Tommy James, on the other hand, had no such dilemma; his solo efforts were fully focused and remain an underappreciated body of work. His presence on Hog Heaven is sorely missed, as his ex-bandmates drift from the boogie sound of "Pennsylvania" to the long ballad "Come Away." "Come Away" sounds like it was lifted off the third Velvet Underground album, which is certainly a step in the right direction. Had Mike Vale and Peter Lucia explored the possibilities they play with in the songs "Glass Room" and "Come Away," they would have had a more cohesive and articulate rock statement. Despite their myriad flaws, the ex-Shondells surpass the efforts of other groups who lost their focal point, most notably the Spiders From Mars (ex-Bowie) and Flint (ex-Grand Funk). ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide

Joe Viglione's Malden Entertainment Hotline for February 26, 2010
This is my monthly column in the Malden paper which gives odds and ends that won't fit into my weekly essays on Malden area musicians/arts/entertainment people

Happy Birthday Preacher Jack February 12

FOX PASS CHARLIE FARREN and more

http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/fun/entertainment/x267280622/Malden-Entertainment-Hotline-Locals-invited-to-birthdays-celebrations-record-release-parties-and-a-Haitian-relief-benefit

Charlie Farren's MYSPACE
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=91319972&blogId=490509656

More Writings

W. Fraser Sandemose - 3 Beatles Books

The newest, “Beatles Books: From Genesis to Revolution,” is a jaw-dropping bibliography on 1,400 of the published titles … fourteenhundred! Ask a Beatles fan the question, “How many books do you think are currently in-print on the Beatles” and you’ll get varying responses … hundreds … 700 … 900 … but this number is mind-boggling, and will continue to go up just as movie fans will continue to purchase tickets to Avatar in 2010.

As a long-time book critic I tend to put Beatles books in three categories, GREAT as in Geoff Emerick and Howard Massey’s superb “Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording The Music of The Beatles”, The Beatles own biography on Chronicle Books or any of George Martin’s titles, especially “All You Need Is Ears” and his discussion of Sgt. Pepper. Then there’s the books that are good, and then there are the dreadful tomes that miss the mark.”

http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/fun/entertainment/arts/x1631826574/Canadian-Beatles-author-calls-in-to-Soap-Box-on-Winchester-s-WinCAM-Feb-12

Emmy Cerra
http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/fun/entertainment/x1090838207/Emmy-Cerra-to-release-Tinderbox-Local-artist-drops-latest-album-at-All-Asia-Feb-6

Harriet Schock
http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/fun/entertainment/arts/x1685913070/WinCAM-Harriet-Schock-gets-on-the-Winchesters-Soap-Box

Buzzy Linhart
http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/fun/entertainment/arts/x925450290/WinCAM-Buzzy-Linhart-debuts-new-radio-show-in-Winchester

Air Traffic Controller
http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/fun/entertainment/x1566713138/Gaining-control-of-the-airways-MTV-finds-Malden-area-band

Joey Voices
http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/fun/entertainment/x626053402/Joey-Voices-carry-through-Malden-and-beyond

Extreme

Extreme makeover: Cherone's band is back with best album ever

http://www.wickedlocal.com/winchester/fun/entertainment/arts/x1157499486/Extreme-makeover-Cherones-band-is-back-with-best-album-ever

Stay tuned:
Music/Film Journalist Joe Viglione
P.O. Box 2392
Woburn, MA 01888 U.S.A.
Varchives@varulven.com

http://www.wickedlocal.com/malden/search?q=joe+viglione&submit=Search

Rock Journalist Joe Viglione

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Avatar - Third Viewing, this time in Imax

Extreme makeover: Cherone's band is back with best album ever