New releases: This week's CDs, DVDs, video games
A soundtrack album that should have been buried in a rabbit hole, Spike Jonez keeps it real and reverent, and MLB gameplay that requires no testing for performance enhancers. Here are your new releases for Tuesday, March 2.
MUSIC
Almost Alice , various artists: Apparently compiled by a Hot Topic employee, the soundtrack for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is a confusing muddle of the good (Robert Smith, Owl City, Franz Ferdinand), the bad (All-American Rejects, Shinedown, Motion City Soundtrack), and the completely awful (3OH!3, Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz, Avril Lavigne).
Hillbilly Bone, Blake Shelton: In the title track, Shelton name drops Conway Twitty in what is sure to become a radio-friendly, pop country NASCAR anthem. Still, something tells me the late, great Harold Lloyd Jenkins would be spinning in his grave for receiving props amid such wannabe honky tonk nonsense. The song implies that "we all got a hillbilly bone down deep inside, no matter where you're from." If that's the case, you'll have to excuse me while I call my health care provider to see if they cover having such unwanted growths surgically removed.
Smoke & Mirrors , Lifehouse: Fans of uninspired, cookie cutter grunt rock have been waiting for this album for nearly three years. The wait is over and it's gotta be great! Why else would the record label have pushed the release date back four different times in as many months?
The Pursuit, Jamie Cullum: Not sure which way to go with this Brit singer-songwriter who specializes in "blue-eyed soul" and "jazz pop." I suppose he gets points for collaborating with Dan the Automator and Pharrell. But there's no denying his laser-guided appeal aimed at the Starbucks-soccer-mom-after-one-too-many-margaritas demographic.
DVD
Where the Wild Things Are: Director Spike Jonze refuses to soften the darker underpinnings of Maurice Sendak's classic children's tale; staying true to its original intent while broadening its scope and scale.
2012: Disaster porn. It's not just a disturbing adult film niche anymore.
Ponyo: Take The Little Mermaid, change the mermaid to a goldfish, add voice talent from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, and Cloris Leachman, put Oscar-winning animation director Hayao Miyazaki at the helm, and you have Ponyo. Highly recommended for any parent who has seriously considered selling their children to a Third World sweatshop after one too many viewings of The Backyardigans.
Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey!: Finally, all the lingering unanswered questions from the first Curious George movie will be answered.
GAMES
MLB '10: The Show (PSP, PlayStation 2, PlayStations 3): Major League Baseball's Spring Training preseason starts today. Coincidence? Now you can get a jump on the action, say, by recreating another season wherein my beloved New York Mets fail to make the playoffs despite having the roster to do so.
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360): The original Bad Company was a fun, if not particularly groundbreaking, first-person shooter that had you playing as a member of a wise-cracking four-man combat squad. As any great sequel should Battlefield: BC2 retains all the aspects that made its predecessor enjoyable; namely, a fast-moving action story with a potpourri of weapons at your disposal. Then it ups the ante with pristine graphics and a single-player mode for all you wolf packs of one.
Lips: Party Classics (Xbox 360): All the fun of Rock Band or Guitar Hero, without the pesky plastic peripherals. Lips is essentially Xbox 360's rec room karaoke franchise that usually focuses on contemporary Top 40 hits. This time around they're featuring genre-spanning crowd-pleasers such as the B-52's "Love Shack," "I Think We're Alone Now" by Tiffany, and, well it wouldn't be a party without the Village People's "YMCA."