My Prerogative

Is it bad that I head the beginning of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" on the radio today and initially confused it for "Humpin' Around?" My mind must be going.

The new Alejandro Escovedo album is pretty interesting. On one hand, he's the same, sometimes heartbreaking, always great roots rocker. On the other hand, the John Cale production is about as un-roots rock as it gets. One song even sounds a bit like, um, Prince.

I saw "The Squid and the Whale" today, which is a great script that doesn't overstay its welcome as a film. 81 minutes! Now that's my kind of caught-in-the-crossfire-of-a-divorce movie.

Also recently saw "Nine Lives," which is a treat for all those who stupidly predicted they wouldn't even be able to find five good roles to fill out the Best Actress slot. This has nine (!), and none is on-screen for more than ten minutes or so. Also saw "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," which is great to look at but not quite as good as the last one; "The Weather Man," which seems to be saying 'accept mediocrity, especially if it pays you a million a year;' "Lord of War," a nice cynical movie about the arms trade; "Tell Them Who You Are," a doc about legendary cantankerous cinematographer Haskell Wexler; and "Network;" still great after all these years.