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PJ Harvey, Gorillaz, Sharon Jones, World's Smartest Dog   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Monday, December 27, 2010 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

 

 

PJ HARVEY drops the "Last Living Rose" from the upcoming Let England Shake.

GORILLAZ are streaming The Fall in return for your address.

SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS: The Current is streaming their full set from Rock the Garden.

DAVID GRAY stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

PUNCH BROTHERS play a short set on Mountain Stage.

THE BANGLES: It's getting almost impossible to find this version of their cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter," but worth it.

GUIDED BY VOICES: Robert Pollard tells Spinner the secrets to the band's success.

GRIZZLY BEAR: Daniel Rossen talks to the NYDN about scoring Blue Valentine and the the band's next album.

THE TOP 10 of 2010, according to NPR's Ken Tucker.

THE DOORS responded to Florida's pardon of Jim Morrison.

IN MEMORIAM: Bands We Lost In 2010. Also, the NYT mag celebrates Alex Chilton and Bobby Hebb. Plus, add R & B singer Teena Marie to the list, dead at 54.

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: It was not a Merry Christmas at your local coneplex. The Top 12 movies made 142.1 million bucks. That's a lot less than the 259.9 million in receipts last Christmas... but then again, Avatar was only in its second weekend.  But it's even less than the 179.6 in receipts from Christmas 2008, when the big movie was Marley & Me. So ouch.  Little Fockers tops the chart with 34 million, and $48 million since opening Wednesday, but that's not the 60 million many expected it to make.  Worse, the Jack Black-led Gulliver's Travels opened in seventh place, with 7.2 million against a reported 115 million budget.  However, True Grit came in second with 25.6 million (and 36.8 million since opening), about ten million above tracking estimates.  Tron Legacy dropped to the third slot with 20.1 million on a 54.3 percent drop that seems steep, but likely expected, given that its primary appeal would be to men of a certain age who ran out to see it immediately. Tron Legacy has grossed 111.3 million worldwide against a 170 million budget, so it ought to turn out alright at the end. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader dropped to the fourth slot with 10.8 million, only dropping 12.8 percent, despite losing 200 screens.  Its worldwide gross of 192.9 million against a 155 million budget looks good, though the franchise's future likely remains in doubt.  Yogi Bear rounds out the Top Five with 8.8 million, with a disappointing 36.8 million total against an 80 million budget.  Below the fold, The Fighter and Black Swan had small enough drops to keep their awards buzz percolating.

TRON LEGACY was a disappointment, primarily because Disney had decades to discern the flaws in the ground-breaking original cyberspace opera, but failed to correct them.  Moreover, the admittedly stunning 3-D action sequences were occasionally shot and edited in a way that made them difficult for the viewer to follow, except as beautiful spectacle (and they were that).  However, you do get Jeff Bridges playing several versions of his Flynn character, including one that melds Jeff Lebowski with Obi-Wan Kenobi.  And Olivia Wilde looks awfully sharp as a program, so I didn't exactly feel cheated... just a bit disappointed.

TRUE GRIT, otoh, was not a disappointment at all, despite the Coen Bros. leaving most of their quirkiness at home.  Jeff Bridges, to his credit, made no effort to recall John Wayne's version of Rooster Cogburn, while leaving no doubt as to how much he likes to pull a cork.  Similarly, Matt. Damon. will remind no one of Glen Campbell as LaBoeuf, but puts a nifty spin on the character.  However, this is really a coming out party for Hailee Steinfeld, whose Mattie Ross entirely transcends Kim Darby's take in the original.  That's no offense to Darby; it's more of a commentary at how much Hollywood has improved its craft over the past few decades, when it chooses to rise to an occasion.  The same could be said of the production design, art and set direction, costuming and cinematography -- and I just did.  True Grit was not a movie that needed to be remade, but if Hollywood's remakes turned out as well as this one, few would complain about the recycling.

LINDSAY LOHAN: The ex-Betty Ford staffer who claims Li-Lo assaulted her earlier this month will drop her criminal complaint and refuse to cooperate with authorities.  The woman could face criminal action and a civil lawsuit for violating HIPAA.

DANIEL CRAIG & RACHEL WEISZ were photographed laughing and holding hands over the Christmas weekend in the southwest English countryside town of Somerset.

RYAN REYNOLDS & SCARLETT JOHANSSON took an official step to divorce. Reynolds filed the papers.

HUGH HEFNER got engaged to girlfriend and Playmate Crystal Harris, in a May-December-60-years-later romance.

GINNIFER GOODWIN got engaged to her boyfriend Joey Kern.

COURTNEY COX and her Cougar Town costar Brian Van Holt were inseparable at the show's holiday party.

2010'S MOST CHARITABLE STARS, according to Do Something.

THE TOP FILMS of 2010, according to the Washington Post, the Village Voice and L.A. Weekly.

IRAN: Many critics say a number of personnel changes by Ahmadinejad have to do with the growing influence of one of his closest aides.

AFGHANISTAN: A potential attack against the US Embassy appeared to be thwarted Friday as a joint Afghan and international military patrol killed two men during an operation in Kabul. Meanwhile, American-led NATO forces have claimed gains in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, but a strategically vital part of Afghanistan's east, at the crossroads of Highway 1 from Kabul to Kandahar and along roads out to the provinces of Paktia and Paktika, has proved stubborn.

CHASER the BORDER COLLIE has learned the names of 1,022 individual items -- more than any other animal, even the legendary Alex the parrot.

A RARE AFRICAN LION CUB was born at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Wisconsin. It's the Circle of Life.

SEVEN SMALL DOGS are in quarantine at the city-county animal shelter after their 98-year-old owner's toes were eaten as she slept.

SYLVESTER the FERAL CAT: A Christmas story.

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