REVIEW 4

Country Strong

Country Strong (originally titled Love Don’t Let Me Down) is a 2010 drama film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Garrett Hedlund, and Leighton Meester. The film was directed and written by American filmmaker Shana Feste. It premiered in the United States on January 7, 2011.

Pauline Kael complained that Meryl Streep made a career out of seeming to overcome being miscast. What would she have made of Gwyneth Paltrow in Country Strong? Her character, Kelly Canter, is a hard-living, tantrum-throwing, alcoholic country diva let out early from rehab, so that her husband-manager (Tim McGraw, real-life husband of Faith Hill) can orchestrate a comeback tour.

Even a Paltrow fan (I remain one) would have to concede that her willowy frame and perfect skin do not betray a lifetime of vodka-swilling and throwing up in hillbilly bars. Nor is her thin, reedy voice something that could ever realistically fill a stadium with anything other than baffled jeering, but we’ll let that slide. There’s just too much getting in the way of this performance working, charming and game though Paltrow often is.

Garrett Hedlund, who plays Kelly’s sponsor/lover/protégé, has roughly the opposite problem: he can really sing, but his faltering charisma isn’t helped by a straggly, bum-fluff beard that looks applied with Pritt Stick.

It’s telling that the happiest scene in the film is the one where Gwyneth sings to a 10-year-old leukaemia victim – a sure sign that we’re wallowing in whiny solipsism elsewhere.

There’s also a baby quail she keeps in a small wooden box, which occasionally cheeps, “Metaphor! I’m a metaphor for broken femininity!”, or would if it could. The kindest thing that can be said for Shana Feste’s film is that it fails quite endearingly.

As a whole it is quite interesting and good film.

RENDERING 16

Georges Moustaki, Poetic French Singer, Dies at 79

The author of the article is Maïa de la Baume. It was published on 25 May, 2013, in The New York Times. The article provides the information about Franch singer and songwriter Georges Moustaki, who dies at 79 of emphysema.

In the beginning of the article the author tells us about Georges Moustaki. He wrote hit song “Milord” and won wide popularity in France for his lyrics and melancholy ballads. However he died on May 23, 2013.

Maïa de la Baume points out that his death prompted an outpouring of emotional tributes. He was called a hugely talented artist whose popular and committed songs have marked generations of French people. The author adds that Moustaki belonged to the generation of French singers, who composed many of their own songs, writing lyrics with a poetic sensibility.

Further the author gives the reader some information about Moustaki's career. According to the text he began as a songwriter and wrote about 300 songs. His 1st hit “Milord” he wrote for Mrs. Piaf.

What is more Mr. Moustaki first performed as a pianist and singer in Brussels and Paris, but his career took off after he met Mr. Brassens, who became his mentor, and fell in with singers of the Left Bank, including Mr. Brel and Juliette Gréco. Mr. Moustaki’s songwriting career peaked in the 1960s and ’70s with a song “Sarah”. He also pursued a solo career. He recorded his last album in 2008 and announced later that he could no longer sing because of his emphysema.

Well, Georges Moustaki was a great Franch singer and songwriter. He had lots of fans. I'm sure that Franch people are proud that he was their countrymen.

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Mad King Stalks the Stage, Ready to Shock

The author of the article is Steve Smith. It was published on 24 May, 2013, in The New York Times. The article provides the information about a choral work for tenor, baritone, choir and orchestra called Cantata Profana.

In the beginning of the article the author describes a usual situaton for any inquisitive musician, when too much curiosity about disparate pieces and few opportunities to play them all within a single ensemble. The group of students from the Yale University School of Music and its Institute of Sacred Music presented both vocal and instrumental works, early music and modern fare.

Then the author tells about an imposing traversal of Peter Maxwell Davies’s “Eight Songs for a Mad King,” a harrowing 1969 portrayal of King George III’s descent into madness, based on poems by Randolph Stow and melodies from a mechanical organ the king once owned. And also Smith describes John Taylor Ward's performance, who stalked the stage in a robe and pajamas, expertly booming and screeching through the work’s disjointed reminiscences.

Steve Smith points that  the players all made efforts to enhance the nervous mood of the performance through gesture and expression, and the climactic moment, when the king grabs a violinist’s instrument and smashes it onstage, retained its sense of shock.

In the end of the article the author tells that the program opened with Mr. Davies’s “Seven Renaissance Scottish Dances”, and representing Handel, a favorite of King George’s, was a blithe account of the Trio Sonata in B flat, in which Mr. Ashworth, the artistic director of Cantata Profana and another violinist, Holly Piccoli, played with diligent attention to period style. 

In conclusion I would like to say that the music of Cantata Profana is quite unusual and so unique. To my mind it is very difficult project, demand accuracy and coherency of all members. I'm sure it would be interesting to listen for people who are fond of misic.

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Across the Miles and Years, a Gathering of Hip-Hop Beats

The author of the article is Jon Caramanica. It was published on 24 May, 2013, in The New York Times. The article provides the information about the event, which was called United States of Bass.

In the beginning of the article the author tells that part of the Red Bull Music Academy series of performances, which has been flooding the city with dance music for the last few weeks, it offered both a tactile dance-floor experience and a history lesson. There was DJ Magic Mike and his Miami bass, Egyptian Lover and his Los Angeles electro. DJ Assault, from Detroit, played ghettotech; Scottie B, from Baltimore, played Baltimore club. Chicago was represented by two generations: DJ Funk and his classic ghetto house, and DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn playing modern juke.

Caramanica adds that this bill could have served as an opportunity to parse the fine differences among the sounds, though often the bass led with such intensity that to do so in the moment felt meaningless.

The author also says that DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn played a masterly set of juke music, which is fast, clean, precise and neck-snapping. DJ Funk had the most in common with DJ Assault, who’d earlier brought his vulgar, irresistible ghettotech — the sound of Detroit strip clubs in the late 1990s — to the main stage. According to the article DJ Magic Mike is a pioneer of Miami bass music, the low-end-intense hip-hop subgenre that has the advantage of having some national hits, like those by 2 Live Crew. 

Then the author points out that the current norm, most of the D.J.’s used the computer program Serato, meaning they didn’t have to bring a crate of vinyl, except Egyptian Lover, who mixed directly off records handed to him one at a time by an associate.

What is more, the lone straight-ahead rapper on the bill was Big Freedia, from New Orleans. The father of all the scenes and sounds represented at this show, Afrika Bambaataa, was one of the D.J.’s who reached far and wide, bridging funk and electro and soul and Krautrock and plenty more, setting the table for hip-hop’s eclecticism. 

Well, I'm sure that United States of Bass is a real treasure for music experts. There they can see legendary bass producers and DJs. I guess it may be useful for the beginner or amateur in musiс.

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Mike Will Made It is the answer to all your R&B-related queries
The author of the article is Michael Cragg. It was published on 24 May, 2013, in The New York Times. The purpose of the article is to give the readers some information about possible Miley Cyrus' decision to join a famous strip-club.
The writer states that Like a lot of urban producers nowadays, Mike Will Made It – AKA 24-year-old Atlantan Michael Williams – likes to clear up any confusion the listener may have vis-a-vis whose work they're hearing as quickly as possible. 

Then the author asks "who made this beat?". He states that we might be wondering, while enjoying Ciara's langorous newie Body Party. "Mike Will Made It" comes the Auto-Tuned answer within the first 10 seconds.

The author tells us that it's a sonic stamp that's become ever more familiar over the last 18 months, with Williams's forward-thinking productions for the likes of Lil Wayne, Cassie and Rihanna showing that not all modern R&B has to incorporate identikit bass drops and one-finger synth riffs.

Further the writer points out that as with his primary influences, the Neptunes and Timbaland, Miley is not afraid to adapt to who he's working with, whether he's crafting ridiculous bangers for Kanye West (Mercy) or swampy slow jams for Jeremih (773 Love).

Then the writer reports that it's this versatility, alongside a fusion of disparate influences – trap-style drum claps, vintage Prince synth textures, and the exaggerated strings of horror film soundtracks – that's helping Mike define the sound of R&B in 2013.

Further the author states that having landed Miley's first break in 2007, aged just 18, after sending beats to Gucci Mane's A&R, Mike made his mark four years later with the relentlessly aggressive Tupac Back by Meek Mill. From there, he produced hits for 2 Chainz (No Lie) and Juicy J (Bandz A Make Her Dance), while cultivating a close partnership with Auto-Tune aficionado, Future.

The author points out that it's Miley's work with Juicy J and Future that represent the two sides of Mike Will Made It's coin. The popping beats and frenetic drum claps of Bandz A Make Her Dance have been credited with popularising "strip club" rap. It's a claim he's mildly annoyed about, but only because he reckons he's a step ahead of all the other producers he's been bracketed with. "They're not changing the game, they're not trend-setting like I am," he sneered to XXL this year. After all, it was Mike's specific "strip club sound" that Rihanna wanted for her last single Pour It Up.

In conclusion the writer say that Miley's space-age slow jams with Future, meanwhile, have come to define his more recent output and have led to his run of incredible productions for female vocalists. Lifting Ciara out of the dumper with the brilliance of the aforementioned Body Party, he's also created the yearning swirl of Do You Know What You Have? for Brandy, as well as Kelly Rowland's ludicrous cunnilingus anthem, Kisses Down Low. Rumours suggest he's also producing a number of songs for Miley Cyrus's could-actually-be-amazing forthcoming R&B album. With a new rap-free EP, #FuckVerses, in the works, his move into pop's bosom is almost complete.

To my mind, this article is really worth reading. Having read about a possible Miley Cyrus' decision to join a famous strip-club, I was really impressed. It is really great by the fact that rumours suggest he's also producing a number of songs for Miley Cyrus's could-actually-be-amazing forthcoming R&B album. 

REVIEW 3

Day for Night

Day for Night is a 1973 French film directed by François Truffaut. It stars Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Léaud. The film is named as Day for Night, which is the equivalent English expression.

The Plot: The directer named Ferran shooted a sentimental film called "I want you to meet Pamela". The filming was lasted for 6 weeks. During this time, members of shooting, having different characters, expectations and the certain places in society, had numerous conflicts. They were Alexandre, former diva Séverine, young heart-throb Alphonse and a British actress, Julie Baker who is recovering from both a nervous breakdown and the controversy leading to her marriage with her much older doctor. The conflicts had different cause including love, jealousy, fatigue and stress. However all these people were united by a common passion - a cinema, and for the sake of making this film they were ready to make any sacrifice.

So, the film “Day For Night” shows a good example of making a movie. All conflicts, the failure of the actors and other studio peripeteias are in reliable hands of the director, the owner of the creative process.

It is a very interesting detail that the Director of the film in the movie “Day For Night” is François Truffaut himself. We contemplate a director in a role of director. It can tell us about real methods of Truffaut's work.

What is more, I like most of all the scene with a cat and also Jacqueline Bisset's playing. She is gorgeous. Truffaut openly mocks of himself. And also I have a great desire to visit the set, as I still think that everything is shot in a real interiors.

To my mind “Day For Night” is one of the best Truffaut's films. It is practically plotless, impressionistic, light and optional. This movie, showing the horrific shooting, is filmed with tenderness and kind irony to all what is happening. This is a very rare characteristic for the works in such genre, where satire and sarcasm dominate.

Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen

Summary 45-50 chapters

Dashwood family learns that Lucy and Edward get married. When Mrs. Dashwood sees how sad is Elinor, she finally realizes how strong her daughter's feelings for Edward, and regrets that she didn't pay enough attention on her misfortune. However, the next day Edward arrives and tells himself that it is his brother Robert married Lucy, but not he. Edward says he was trapped with Lucy, as he stoped to love her for a long time ago, and she broke her engagement to marry Robert, who becomes very rich now. Edward proposes marriage to Elinor and she accepts it. In the end Edward becomes reconciled with his mother, who gives him 10 thousand of pounds. It also establishes, as far as possible, the relationship with Fanny. Elinor and Edward get married and move to the parish house in Delaford.

Meanwhile, Willoughby's aunt gives him his part of the inheritance due to his prudent behavior and beneficial marriage. Willoughby understands that a wedding with Marianne may produce the same effect on the old woman, and if he behaved like a gentleman, he may have received love and money.

Over the next two years Mrs.Dashwood, Marianne and Margaret spend most of their time in Delaford. Marianne matures and in the age of nineteen she decides to marry a 37-year-old Colonel Brandon. Despite of the fact that before she considered a marriage to a man, who was older for 20 years, is impossible and repulsive; gratitude and respect which she feels for the Colonel grow into a strong love. Colonel's house is near to the parish where Elinor and Edward live, so Elinor, Marianne and their husbands can often see each other. The sisters continue to maintain close ties with their mother and Margaret at Barton Cottage, and the families live happily ever after.