Reviews

The Boost

When we rave about the force of nature that is James Woods, we tend to neglect this cautionary 1988 Harold Becker tale of how cocaine destroys the careers and marriage of a silver-tongued salesman and his wife (Sean Young, with whom, notoriously, Woods had a history). We shouldn't: it absolutely rocks, with Woods in his element as a cocky crack-up waiting to happen. And then, explosively, happening. Electric.

This Month In Americana

Superior then-and-now compilation ensures the circle remains unbroken

Kanye West – The College Dropout

Premier league rap producer makes his dazzling solo debut

Roger McGuinn – Peace On You

Mixed bag from McGuinn's immediate post-Byrds career

Justin Hayward & John Lodge

Moody Blues man's mid-'70s missives, produced mostly during the group's five-year break

Jimmy Ruffin – The Ultimate Motown Collection

Hit-filled two-CD retrospective from Motown's (lost) love man

The Fall

Generously expanded reissues of 1979 debut and follow-up

Amazing Graze

Costner's career finds redemption in a superior western

Casablanca

We'll always have Casablanca, thank God. This tale of lost souls waiting out WWII in the doldrums of a Moroccan café may well be the best film ever made—the Epstein brothers' dialogue still crackles, and the central love affair between Bogart and Bergman just keeps on pulling you in. Play it again!

Holes

Quirky, intelligent kids movie about a young offenders' prison camp where the inmates have to dig huge holes in the Texas desert each day, since the warden (Sigourney Weaver) is hoping to discover an outlaw's missing gold. A great cast (John Voight, Henry Winkler, Eartha Kitt), and an utter delight.
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