Bill Nicoletti Reminding the World of the Philly Sound By Jay S. Jacobs Bill Nicoletti grew up steeped in the sound of Philadelphia. His hometown was one of the hubs of popular music – and in particular for soul music – for much of the 1960s and 1970s. It changed his life, both as a … Continue reading
James Madio, Ruby Wolf, Keir Gilchrist and Robert Kolodny Requiem for The Featherweight By Jay S. Jacobs There are certain people who shine so brightly in their fields and yet over the years they are not remembered. Take, for example, boxer Guglielmo Papaleo – better known by his ring name Willie Pep. Willie Pep was … Continue reading
Michael Connelly and Alison Ellwood Return to Wonderland by Jay S. Jacobs Hollywood was a pretty wild place in the early 1980s; a mixture of glitz, glamour and seediness, aging stars and young up-and-comers, gorgeous homes and run-down hoods, big business and small-time crime, nature, shopping and lots and lots of drugs. On July 1, … Continue reading
Rich Peppiatt Director Brings Irish Hip Hop to the World Through his Award-Winning Film Kneecap by Brad Balfour When I was given tickets to its Tribeca Festival premiere, I was excited to see Kneecap, even if only to hear Gaelic rap. Thanks to the manic performance of this Belfast-based trio and the frantic direction by Rich … Continue reading
Levan Akin In the New Film Crossing, Borders of All Kinds Make a Difference in Life and Love by Brad Balfour Making a crossing between borders can be a lot more than just a matter of passports and visas. Witness the situation between Northern Ireland and the Republic to the south. The same is true … Continue reading
Marisa Abela and Sam Taylor-Johnson “Back to Black” Features An Uncanny Performance as Amy Winehouse in Biopic by Brad Balfour Evoking classic R&B, the late Amy Winehouse emerged as a celebrated new star by making old music sound fresh. She possessed a deeply soulful voice which she used to sing songs of love, heartbreak, and … Continue reading
Jon Batiste and Matthew Heineman Through Award-nominated doc American Symphony Musician’s Compositional Achievement and His Wife’s Battle to Overcome Cancer are Examined by Brad Balfour In 2015, when Stephen Colbert launched his version of The Late Show – taking over from David Letterman – one of his first moves was to invite musician Jon Batiste … Continue reading
JA Bayona and Enzo Vogrincic Society of the Snow is One of the Most Harrowing films of All Time – and Chilling As Well by Brad Balfour It’s an understatement to say that I’ve seen lots of films with varying degrees of frightening circumstances informing them. But Society of The Snow was one of the … Continue reading
Matthew Vaughn Master Mash-up Movie Maker Kicks Out His Latest Wacky Comic Adventure Argylle – Starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Alfie the Cat by Brad Balfour No matter what, British director Matthew Vaughn is having a good time making movies. Besides being married to former supermodel Claudia Schiffer, he’s just seen his mega-wacky, big-budget comic spy thriller, Argylle, get … Continue reading
Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Steve Postell & Denny Tedesco Keeping It In the Immediate Family By Jay S. Jacobs It may be a bit of an exaggeration to say that the Immediate Family – guitarist Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, guitarist Waddy Wachtel, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russ Kunkel – played on most of … Continue reading
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