
The new queen of the Portuguese folk music known as fado shines in the impressive Mariza Live in London, a 2003 concert recorded at the Union Chapel in London. The twentysomething Lisbon resident has been hailed as the successor to fado legend Amália Rodrigues; now, after two well-received CDs, comes Mariza's first filmed concert performance, and it is stunning. Mariza is backed primarily by acoustic guitar, acoustic bass guitar, and "Portuguese guitar," a 12-string instrument that looks something like a lute and sounds a bit like a Greek bouzouki; there is some piano as well, and Guy Barker's muted trumpet provides "O Deserto" with a pronounced jazzy feel. But the singer is the main attraction here, and the power and passion of Mariza's delivery on "Barco Negro" and nearly all the others in the 16-song set, including more upbeat, celebratory numbers like "Oica La o Senhor Vinho" (the introductions are in English, but the tunes are all in Portuguese) are undeniable.
To say Hollywood has had a troubled past is the understatement of the century. In Ryan Murphy’s (American Horror Story) new Netflix series, Hollywood, that past is confronted and even rewritten.
Gretel & Hansel falters due to its razor thin story and lack of characterization. It loses sight of horror’s key rule: In order to create an effective tale, characters and emotions must be emphasized.
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While prioritizing production value over substance, Flood depicts an emotionally taut family drama set during the farmland flooding of the Franco-Dutch war.
21 Bridges isn’t going to revolutionize action cinema. However, its action components are respectable. Every act is visibly clear, and as time moves forward, the film changes its conflictual rhythm.