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MOVIES Action thriller, R, 115 minutes. H “The Longest Ride” — These Nicholas Sparks movies tend to get jumbled into one big cliche-riddled story. This time around, we get two romances -- one set in modern times, one dating back to the 1940s -with a twist that’s so ridiculous I think we’re almost supposed to laugh. Romance, PG-13, 139 minutes. HH “The Water Diviner” — Russell Crowe’s lifetime of experience on film sets shows in his directorial debut, a first-rate post-World War I drama with a heavy dose of sentiment and
MUSIC REVIEWS a gripping storyline. He stars as a grieving Australian who journeys to Turkey to find the remains of his sons, all killed in battle. Drama, R, 111 min1 utes. HHH ⁄2 “Tomorrowland” — A girl discovers a futuristic parallel universe in this great-looking, old-fashioned, at times soaring adventure ultimately brought down by a needlessly convoluted plot, some surprisingly casual violence and heavy-handed lectures about how we’re our own worst enemy. Fantasy adventure, PG, 130 minutes. HH
AT AREA THEATERS ANACORTES CINEMAS June 12-18 Jurassic World (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 1:25, 4:00, 6:40, 9:15; Sunday-Wednesday: 1:25, 4:00, 6:40; Thursday: 1:25, 4:00, 6:40, 9:15 Spy (R) – Friday-Saturday: 1:15, 3:45, 6:30, 9:00; Sunday-Wednesday: 1:15, 3:45, 6:30; Thursday: 1:15, 3:45, 9:10 Far From the Madding Crowd (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 1:40, 4:15, 6:50, 9:25; Sunday-Wednesday: 1:40, 4:15, 6:50; Thursday: 1:40, 4:15, 6:50, 9:25 Inside Out (PG): Thursday: 7 p.m. 360-293-6620 BLUE FOX DRIVE-IN Oak Harbor June 12-17 Poltergeist (PG-13) and Spy (R). First movies starts at approximately 9:30 p.m. 360-675-5667 CONCRETE THEATRE June 12-14 Mad Max (R): Friday: 7:30 p.m.; Saturday: 5 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday: 4 and 6:30 p.m. 360-941-0403 CASCADE MALL THEATRES Burlington For listings: 888-AMC-4FUN (888-262-4386). OAK HARBOR CINEMAS June 12-18 Jurassic World (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 12:45, 3:30, 6:40, 9:15; Sun-Monday: 12:45, 3:30, 6:40; TuesdayThursday: 12:45, 3:30, 6:40, 9:15 Spy (R): Friday-Saturday: 1:00, 3:45, 6:30, 9:00; SundayMonday: 1:00, 3:45, 6:30; Tuesday-Thursday: 1:00, 3:45, 6:30, 9:00 San Andreas (PG-13): Friday-Saturday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:50, 9:25; Sunday-Monday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:50; Tuesday-Wednesday: 1:10, 3:55, 6:50, 9:25; Thursday: 1:10, 3:55, 9:25 Inside Out (PG): Thursday: 7 p.m. 360-279-2226 STANWOOD CINEMAS June 12-18 Jurassic World (PG-13): 12:50, 2:15, 5:00, 7:45, 9:20 Jurassic World 3D (PG-13): 3:45, 6:20 Spy (R): 1:00, 4:00, 6:30, 9:10 Entourage (R): Friday-Wednesday: 1:40, 4:10, 6:50, 9:30; Thursday: 1:40, 4:10, 9:30 San Andreas (PG-13): 3:30, 6:40 San Andreas 3D (PG-13): 1:15, 9:00 Inside Out (PG): Thursday: 7 p.m. – Show times subject to change
Thursday, June 11, 2015 - E15
MUSE, “Drones” — While “Drones” finds Muse peddling in trite iterations of Glenn Beck-worthy bumper sticker sentiments, musically this is the strongest and most consistent the group has been since “Black Holes and Revelations.” “Drones” rightly refocuses the songwriting on the actual songs themselves; what rise to the forefront here are anthemic choruses (“Mercy” and “Aftermath”), flashy guitar parts (the Joe Satriani-esque minor key shredding on “Reapers”), and Bellamy’s falsetto (“Dead Inside”). For now, “Drones” can be chalked up as one step forward, one step back for this British trio. If Muse is able to find a way to express its political concerns in a manner that doesn’t bash the listener over the head, it might just find a way to get both feet headed in the same direction.
A$AP Yams and moves on in style with collaborations with Mark Ronson, Danger Mouse and Kanye West, as well as Joe Fox, the homeless Brit singer-guitarist whom Rocky met outside a London studio who is his new BFF. Rocky (real name Rakim Mayers) doesn’t pretend to be anything but a scoundrel, and he’s particularly callous in his treatment of singer Rita Ora in “Better Things.” But he’s certainly a charismatic and inventive cad throughout “A.L.L.A.,” whether expressing his affection for hallucinogens in “L$D,” trading verses with Schoolboy Q on “Electric Body,” or on “Everyday,” which puts the soul voices of both Rod Stewart and Miguel to use in casting a woozy spell. n Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer
ELLE KING, “Love Stuff” — Elle King wants you to know she’s one tough chick. “I’m not America’s sweetheart,” the singer and songwriter declares midway JENNY HVAL, “Apocalypse, Girl” — As on her prethrough this brash and terrific full-length debut (followvious two albums, “Viscera” (2011) and “Innocence ing an EP). That warning comes several songs after her Is Kinky” (2013), Hval embraces aspects of popular love-’em-and-leave-’em anthem, “Ex’s and Oh’s”: “I’m music while also disregarding the limiting expectations the best baby that they never got to keep.” that come tied to such forms. Still, “Apocalypse, Girl” It’s not all one-dimensional, however. Occasionally, might be, musically speaking, her most concise collecKing lets some vulnerability break through the heavily tion of songs yet, if also the most thematically loose and tattooed surface, as on the introspective “Song of Sordiverse. row”: “I’ve no idea which direction to go.” Wild shifts, dramatic declamations and the risks that The daughter of comedian Rob Schneider doesn’t Hval is willing to take with her vocal delivery make seem to have that problem when it comes to her music. “Apocalypse, Girl” so singular. You may squirm at times, The sound is usually as big and raw as her attitude — but it is almost impossible to look away. rock spiced with healthy doses of blues and echoes of girl-group pop, with arrangements that at times make n Ian King, popmatters.com room for her own banjo playing. It’s a scintillatingly fresh take on the bad-girl rock-and-roll archetype. As ASH, “Kablammo!” — It’s 2015 and Ash is back, King puts it after telling us she’s not America’s sweetnow teetering on the brink of its 40s. “Kablammo!” heart: “But you love me anyway.” had the potential to be grossly embarrassing for all concerned, but fortunately it’s pretty much a triumph. n Nick Cristiano, The Philadelphia Inquirer There’s an admirable “All-In! Death or glory!” attitude to “Kablammo!” which proves inspiring, and also quite FAITH NO MORE, “Sol Invictus” — Faith No More thrilling. Thankfully more rebirth than retread, the first hit the charts with “Epic” at the dawn of the MTV album is an adrenaline assault with an infectious gung’80s. So it’s crazy that “Sol Invictus,” the band’s first ho spirit that deserves a hearty rock ‘n’ roll salute. album in 18 years, has landed atop Billboard’s Top 200 with a bloody, pulpy bullet. n Matt James, popmatters.com The avant-garde mix of hard rap-rock and prog — combined with singer Mike Patton’s booming, operatic SONNY LANDRETH, “Bound by the Blues” — voice and incendiary lyrics — doesn’t feel right in the “Bound by the Blues” is exactly what the title implies. same list with, say, the sound track to “Pitch Perfect 2.” Landreth doesn’t take any measures to redefine the Yet here’s “Sol Invictus”: pulsating, dramatic, ferocious, material, and aside from his explosive playing, it pretty and eerily aggressive. Same as it ever was. much hews to a traditional template. What makes “Sol Invictus” so, um, epic? Where PatThe sense of déjà vu is inescapable, thanks to the ton has had a career’s worth of personal projects — e.g., fact that many of these tracks have been covered quite frequently by nearly every guitarist who ever expressed Tomahawk, Fantomas, Peeping Tom, John Zorn sessions — this album sounds like a band work, with big meloa desire to fully bask in the blues. Whether considered a basic blues primer or simply another example of Lan- dies, ragingly precise rhythms, and frenetic complexity. Faith No More 2015 don’t eschew manic theatricality dreth’s deftness and dexterity, “Bound by the Blues” provides a clear connection to an essential musical form. (“From the Dead”), nor do they shun pop (the contagiously paranoid “Separation Anxiety”) or slick riffing n Lee Zimmerman, popmatters.com (“Matador”). But there’s noise and skronk throughout, and Patton joins in with a will on hard-core numbers A$AP ROCKY, “At.Long.Last.A$AP” — Harlem such as the jack-hammering “Superhero.” Odd-rock’s rapper and part-time fashion model gets trippy on most gorgeous voice since Bowie sounds as though it’s “A.L.L.A.,” the surprisingly psychedelic follow-up to found a comfortable home among old friends. 2013’s “Long.Live.A$AP.” n A.D. Amorosi, The Philadelphia Inquirer The album mourns the January death of producer n Brice Ezell, popmatters.com