Robert J. Sawyer – Hominids (2002)

Dec 08, 2006 by Mr. Nau Sawyer’s exploration of the accidental transfer of a modern Neanderthal physicist to our version of Earth is an interesting look at our culture and civilization from the perspective of an outsider from a contemporary intelligence that never developed agriculture. The book is well-written and very imaginative anthropological speculative fiction. […]

Winter Passing (2005)

Dec 07, 2006 by Mr. Nau The story of loss, sorrow, estrangement, and reconciliation features a gaggle of interesting characters in varying degrees of pain. With a beautiful script, a powerfully talented cast, and a sweet, lilting soundtrack, this movie delivers a full range of emotion — anger, frustration, and disappointment, as well as tenderness […]

Tsotsi (2005)

Dec 06, 2006 by Mr. Nau Set in the ghettos near Johannesburg, South Africa, and centering around a street-hardened thug and a baby he gets in a carjacking, this picture is the story of a young man’s redemption. The transformation of the protagonist brings us to a satisfying and emotional conclusion. What a beautiful story. […]

Spring Heel Jack – Live (2003)

Dec 06, 2006 by Mr. Nau This experimental live set gets miscategorized in the electronic bin, featuring over an hour of improvisational free jazz. The musical talent here is enormous, but it is certainly difficult to stay with at times. It mellows out toward the end. This is strictly for fans of extremely unconventional improvised […]

Herbert – Scale (2006)

Dec 06, 2006 by Mr. Nau Matthew Herbert certainly knows his stuff compositionally. A number of the tracks on his CD are very challenging. Unfortunately, most of the songs here are more unconventional, conceptual, and experimental than they are musical. Lacking a cohesive flow, this collection sounds like an envelope-pushing graduate student music composition recital. […]

Jeff Samuel – Step (2006)

Dec 06, 2006 by Mr. Nau This ho-hum collection of techno tracks contains a few head-nodding moments, but gets stuck trying to pull off something “interesting.” While some of the song titles are cleverly named, much of the actual music feels like it was constructed with GarageBand, which built the tracks in an afternoon. Grade: […]

The Great Raid (2005)

Dec 05, 2006 by Mr. Nau A battalion of Army Rangers and Filipino guerrillas planned and executed one of the most successful POW rescue missions in American history. It was a stunning achievement — certainly worth far more than this trudging, miscast, squandered scrap of film. The acting was deplorable and the script blew dramatic […]

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