Monday, March 16, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Indian Idol And Gorkha Nationalism
In September 2007, Prashant Tamang from Darjeeling in West Bengal won Indian Idol, a TV show much similar to its American and UK counterparts. The contest, in its final stages was a shock to many in India as both finalists were from the Northeast of the country (the runner up, Amit Paul hails from Shillong), away from the metropolitan cities of the plains, and while Prashant's win may not have had families in Chennai and Mumbai glued to their seats, his victory was hugely celebrated in Darjeeling, Sikkim and Nepal itself, where street parties lasted well into the night in the capital, as Nepalis and Nepali speakers celebrated the success of one of their own.
Musical Success and Politics In West Bengal
Tamang's musical success may have brought with it a political awakening to the Nepali speaking people of West Bengal, long seen as belonging to the periphery sections of Indian society: "the multi-racial Nepali community had united like never before to vote for Tamang, with the marginalized Indian-Nepali community seeing an opportunity to 'prove' to the rest of the country that it did count" (Himal Southasian, Apr '08). Indeed, a radio presenter in Delhi sparked riots in Siliguri in West Bengal after making derogatory comments on Tamang's ethnicity. With this new rise of Gorkhali (a name that loosely describes inhabitants of the hills of Nepal and parts of India) nationalism, the quest for a separate state of Gorkhaland, independent of West Bengal has definitely been given a fresh impetus.Read more: "Indian Idol And Gorkha Nationalism: Darjeeling Singer Prashant Tamang Inspires Calls For Gorkha State" .
Musical Success and Politics In West Bengal
Tamang's musical success may have brought with it a political awakening to the Nepali speaking people of West Bengal, long seen as belonging to the periphery sections of Indian society: "the multi-racial Nepali community had united like never before to vote for Tamang, with the marginalized Indian-Nepali community seeing an opportunity to 'prove' to the rest of the country that it did count" (Himal Southasian, Apr '08). Indeed, a radio presenter in Delhi sparked riots in Siliguri in West Bengal after making derogatory comments on Tamang's ethnicity. With this new rise of Gorkhali (a name that loosely describes inhabitants of the hills of Nepal and parts of India) nationalism, the quest for a separate state of Gorkhaland, independent of West Bengal has definitely been given a fresh impetus.Read more: "Indian Idol And Gorkha Nationalism: Darjeeling Singer Prashant Tamang Inspires Calls For Gorkha State" .
Lose Dairy Fats and Keep Robust Flavorful Indian Recipes
People who appreciate protein-packed, flavorful dinners are often fans of Indian cooking. What they do not realize is just because it did not come from a drive thru window does not mean it is any lower in fat and calories. Although regional recipes vary, much of the cooking is done in ghee a clarified butter. Also then fats are added in some form such as cream, in coconut milk or in whey a by-product from their cheese-making of panner.Other components adding fat or calories can be nuts and cooking oils for frying items and spices when preparing their signature recipes. Calories are then kicked up even more when dishes are accompanied with rice, naan and sweet chutneys. But within their 28 states and 7 unions all recipes end up different and can have exceptions to the rules.
Even non-vegetarians eat dishes loaded with vegetables in their curries, fish or chicken dishes, they are sourced fresh from local bazaars or farmers markets. The spices have almost medicinal purposes: Turmeric has highly anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to reduce the spread of psoriasis; cumin aids in digestion. This along with the fact they don't super-size their meals like Americans keeps the daily diet in check. Sometimes just reducing the amount of sauces, condiments and breads you consume with the meal will trim added calories and fat.
A chicken tikka entree is boneless skinless chicken marinaded in a varying array of flavors. This is not served in a sauce - it's just the chicken which is quite good. Roti breads are a far smaller serving size than the naans and are made with chapati flour which is a blend of wheat and malted barley flour. Salads are often available in a lively assortment of fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs and/or seafood.Read more: "Low Fat Indian Cooking: Lose Dairy Fats and Keep Robust Flavorful Indian Recipes.
Even non-vegetarians eat dishes loaded with vegetables in their curries, fish or chicken dishes, they are sourced fresh from local bazaars or farmers markets. The spices have almost medicinal purposes: Turmeric has highly anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to reduce the spread of psoriasis; cumin aids in digestion. This along with the fact they don't super-size their meals like Americans keeps the daily diet in check. Sometimes just reducing the amount of sauces, condiments and breads you consume with the meal will trim added calories and fat.
A chicken tikka entree is boneless skinless chicken marinaded in a varying array of flavors. This is not served in a sauce - it's just the chicken which is quite good. Roti breads are a far smaller serving size than the naans and are made with chapati flour which is a blend of wheat and malted barley flour. Salads are often available in a lively assortment of fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs and/or seafood.Read more: "Low Fat Indian Cooking: Lose Dairy Fats and Keep Robust Flavorful Indian Recipes.
Kings of Leon: Profile of the American Band
Until the release of their latest LP, Only By the Night, Kings of Leon were steadily gaining a widening audience since their debut record, Youth & Young Manhood, was released in 2004.
Widely considered one of America's most talented bands of the modern music era already, with three successful albums under their belts, they then released Only By the Night. Their fourth album has propelled the band to superstardom, with a sellout arena tour and plaudits flooding in from the music press in addition to their best sales to date for an album.
Sex on Fire
'Sex On Fire' was undoubtedly the indie-rock anthem of the summer of 2008 and continues to receive considerable airtime. It is an explosive track that grabs you by the jugular and does not let go for a few minutes. The track has forever changed the fortunes of the Followills, already a very popular band. They have, however, acquired thousands of new fans with its release, which has also, inevitably, alienated the fans who consider them to have "sold out", a familiar gripe when a band's success becomes huge.
The new album is arguably their strongest to date, a tall order given that all four are excellent records. 'Sex On Fire' is complemented by an album free of any filler tracks, with particular mention for 'Use Somebody', 'Crawl' and 'Be Somebody'. The album takes the listener through a range of emotions, musically and lyrically, with Caleb Followill, the lead singer, penning some outstanding material.
The listener is taken from the haunting opener, 'Closer' to the uplifting, punch the air type tracks, 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody'. '17' is the tale of the decadent attraction for a 17 year old, whereas 'Be Somebody' showcases the band's ingenuity, where Caleb wails "Given the chance I want to be somebody...open the door it's going to make you love me".
Kings of Leon on Tour
The relentless touring that the band undertake with each album is one of the major reasons for their now stratospheric success. For anyone who has seen them in concert, KOL usually make a resoundingly successful impression, putting on awesome live sets.
They are now viewed as the kings of indie cool (no pun intended), taking over the mantle from their friends The Strokes, as well as that of saviours of rock music in general. From 'Red Morning Light' to 'Taper-Jean Girl', 'On Call' to 'Sex on Fire', Kings of Leon just keep getting better and betterRead more: "Kings of Leon: Profile of the American Band: Success Brought by Only by the Night, Sex on Fire & Live Sets.
Widely considered one of America's most talented bands of the modern music era already, with three successful albums under their belts, they then released Only By the Night. Their fourth album has propelled the band to superstardom, with a sellout arena tour and plaudits flooding in from the music press in addition to their best sales to date for an album.
Sex on Fire
'Sex On Fire' was undoubtedly the indie-rock anthem of the summer of 2008 and continues to receive considerable airtime. It is an explosive track that grabs you by the jugular and does not let go for a few minutes. The track has forever changed the fortunes of the Followills, already a very popular band. They have, however, acquired thousands of new fans with its release, which has also, inevitably, alienated the fans who consider them to have "sold out", a familiar gripe when a band's success becomes huge.
The new album is arguably their strongest to date, a tall order given that all four are excellent records. 'Sex On Fire' is complemented by an album free of any filler tracks, with particular mention for 'Use Somebody', 'Crawl' and 'Be Somebody'. The album takes the listener through a range of emotions, musically and lyrically, with Caleb Followill, the lead singer, penning some outstanding material.
The listener is taken from the haunting opener, 'Closer' to the uplifting, punch the air type tracks, 'Sex On Fire' and 'Use Somebody'. '17' is the tale of the decadent attraction for a 17 year old, whereas 'Be Somebody' showcases the band's ingenuity, where Caleb wails "Given the chance I want to be somebody...open the door it's going to make you love me".
Kings of Leon on Tour
The relentless touring that the band undertake with each album is one of the major reasons for their now stratospheric success. For anyone who has seen them in concert, KOL usually make a resoundingly successful impression, putting on awesome live sets.
They are now viewed as the kings of indie cool (no pun intended), taking over the mantle from their friends The Strokes, as well as that of saviours of rock music in general. From 'Red Morning Light' to 'Taper-Jean Girl', 'On Call' to 'Sex on Fire', Kings of Leon just keep getting better and betterRead more: "Kings of Leon: Profile of the American Band: Success Brought by Only by the Night, Sex on Fire & Live Sets.
Joe Satriani - A Brief Biography
Joe Satriani, or 'Satch' to his fans, began his musical life towards the mid-70's, where he formally studied music with various jazz musicians. He also began to teach, his most famous student being another guitar playing master, Steve Vai. Others have included Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and Alex Skolnick of Testament.
Solo Albums and Touring
Satriani released his first solo album in 1986, titled Not of this Earth. But it was with his second album, Surfing with the Alien that Satch found commercial success.
Two years later, Satriani released Flying in a blue Dream, leading to several of the tracks being used for movies and commercials. This was followed by The Extremist in 1992, which contained one of his most famous tracks, Summer song.
The late nineties saw the release of Crystal Planet, and then Engines of Creation, which was Satriani's most experimental album to date, using drum loops and electronic sounding layers.
The millennium saw the release of Strange Beautiful music and Is There Love in Space?, two more traditional albums, but still treading new ground and expanding Satriani's already wide-ranging sound.
Super Colossal hit the shops in 2006, an atmospheric and warmer sounding album than its predecessors, it was followed by a 20 year anniversary edition of his 1987 hit record 'Surfing with the Alien'.
Numerous live DVDs have also been released, highlighting some of Satriani's incendiary live shows and diverse back-catalogue.
Satriani also has a long standing endorsement of Ibenez guitars, and has several signature models.
Collaborations and the G3 Tour
Satriani has collaborated with numerous artists over the years. In 1996 he established the G3 concert, a tour comprising of himself and two other guitarists. The 1996 line-up included Satriani, Satriani's old student Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson. The tour has been successfully repeated several times, calling on the talents of guitarists such as John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert. Satriani is always present as one of the guitarists on the G3 tour.
Recently, it has been revealed that Satriani is to collaborate in a project with several musicians including Michael Anthony and Sammy Hager, previously of Van Halen, and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The band, named Chickenfoot, will release its debut album sometime in 2009Read more: "Joe Satriani - A Brief Biography: An Introduction to One of the World's Greatest Guitarists" .
Solo Albums and Touring
Satriani released his first solo album in 1986, titled Not of this Earth. But it was with his second album, Surfing with the Alien that Satch found commercial success.
Two years later, Satriani released Flying in a blue Dream, leading to several of the tracks being used for movies and commercials. This was followed by The Extremist in 1992, which contained one of his most famous tracks, Summer song.
The late nineties saw the release of Crystal Planet, and then Engines of Creation, which was Satriani's most experimental album to date, using drum loops and electronic sounding layers.
The millennium saw the release of Strange Beautiful music and Is There Love in Space?, two more traditional albums, but still treading new ground and expanding Satriani's already wide-ranging sound.
Super Colossal hit the shops in 2006, an atmospheric and warmer sounding album than its predecessors, it was followed by a 20 year anniversary edition of his 1987 hit record 'Surfing with the Alien'.
Numerous live DVDs have also been released, highlighting some of Satriani's incendiary live shows and diverse back-catalogue.
Satriani also has a long standing endorsement of Ibenez guitars, and has several signature models.
Collaborations and the G3 Tour
Satriani has collaborated with numerous artists over the years. In 1996 he established the G3 concert, a tour comprising of himself and two other guitarists. The 1996 line-up included Satriani, Satriani's old student Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson. The tour has been successfully repeated several times, calling on the talents of guitarists such as John Petrucci and Paul Gilbert. Satriani is always present as one of the guitarists on the G3 tour.
Recently, it has been revealed that Satriani is to collaborate in a project with several musicians including Michael Anthony and Sammy Hager, previously of Van Halen, and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The band, named Chickenfoot, will release its debut album sometime in 2009Read more: "Joe Satriani - A Brief Biography: An Introduction to One of the World's Greatest Guitarists" .
The Genius of Music Duo Billy Joel
Billy Joel and Elton John began performing in 1993, at a concert in Philidelphia, with a historic summer stadium tour of the United States. The concert idea under the Face to Face name was born.
The music duo has since become one of the longest-running repeat concert tours in music history.
In 1997, the pair came together for concerts in Japan and Australia. Three years later, they would perform Goodbye Yellow Brick Road at Madison Square Garden for Elton John's TV special One Night Only.
In 2001, 2003 and 2009, the duo reunited for sold-out Face to Face tours. The 2003 tour alone grossed about $50 million from only 24 shows.
Face to Face Bigger Draw than Billy Joel Tickets
The duo's winning formula is their concert set list and the quality of the performances honed by these music icons over decades of writing, entertaining and recording.
The two men often stage Face to Face concerts with them performing together at the show’s opening, their individual performances forming the core of the concert and them reuniting to perform together for encores of their most popular individual hits such as Elton John’s The Bitch Is Back and Billy Joel’s Piano Man.
Each member of the duo also takes turns on verses and choruses from each of their biggest hits, including Billy Joel’s My Life and Elton John’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.
Bennie and the Jets, Crocodile Rock Among Favorites
Given the span of each musician’s repertoire, over several generations, they can freely sprinkle their biggest hits throughout the concert. For example, during their first Face to Face tour, the youngest song was the title track from Billy Joel’s 1993 River of Dreams album. He also performed 1988’s smash Allentown.Read more: "The Genius of Music Duo Billy Joel & Elton John: Pair Continues Staging Sizzling Face To Face Concert Tour.
The music duo has since become one of the longest-running repeat concert tours in music history.
In 1997, the pair came together for concerts in Japan and Australia. Three years later, they would perform Goodbye Yellow Brick Road at Madison Square Garden for Elton John's TV special One Night Only.
In 2001, 2003 and 2009, the duo reunited for sold-out Face to Face tours. The 2003 tour alone grossed about $50 million from only 24 shows.
Face to Face Bigger Draw than Billy Joel Tickets
The duo's winning formula is their concert set list and the quality of the performances honed by these music icons over decades of writing, entertaining and recording.
The two men often stage Face to Face concerts with them performing together at the show’s opening, their individual performances forming the core of the concert and them reuniting to perform together for encores of their most popular individual hits such as Elton John’s The Bitch Is Back and Billy Joel’s Piano Man.
Each member of the duo also takes turns on verses and choruses from each of their biggest hits, including Billy Joel’s My Life and Elton John’s Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.
Bennie and the Jets, Crocodile Rock Among Favorites
Given the span of each musician’s repertoire, over several generations, they can freely sprinkle their biggest hits throughout the concert. For example, during their first Face to Face tour, the youngest song was the title track from Billy Joel’s 1993 River of Dreams album. He also performed 1988’s smash Allentown.Read more: "The Genius of Music Duo Billy Joel & Elton John: Pair Continues Staging Sizzling Face To Face Concert Tour.
The Beatles Songs
Beatles fans can take heart to know that despite the Fab Four not recording music together in decades, several lost tracks may one day be found or released.
Five songs in particular perplex Beatles followers with their exact origins and where these tracks may be found.
Swanee River
The song was likely recorded during The Beatle’s stay in Germany in 1962, however, Swanee River has never surfaced.Read more: "The Beatles Songs and the Missing Five: Detective Work of 1960s Music May Uncover Lost Fab Four Tunes.
Five songs in particular perplex Beatles followers with their exact origins and where these tracks may be found.
Swanee River
The song was likely recorded during The Beatle’s stay in Germany in 1962, however, Swanee River has never surfaced.Read more: "The Beatles Songs and the Missing Five: Detective Work of 1960s Music May Uncover Lost Fab Four Tunes.
Save The Last Dance For Me is a 1950s tune that The Beatles recorded for the album Get Back however, that album was never released. Instead, many tracks recorded at those sessions were released on their Let It Be album, but Save The Last Dance For Me was absent.
Save The Last Dance For Me was originally released by The Drifters in 1960 and was often sung by John Lennon during The Beatles' Liverpool and Hamburg days.
Child Of Nature
This song first emerged during the Esher sessions and was likely written by The Beatles in India because of the line “on the road to Rishekesh.” Child of Nature was never recorded by the band and John Lennon later used the melody for Jealous Guy.
Three recordings of Child of Nature are currently known. The first is a demo recorded by George Harrison’s home in 1968. The second was recorded the following year with Harrison singing back-up vocals and the third was made just a few weeks later at Apple Studios.Read more: "The Beatles Songs and the Missing Five: Detective Work of 1960s Music May Uncover Lost Fab Four Tunes" -
Save The Last Dance For Me was originally released by The Drifters in 1960 and was often sung by John Lennon during The Beatles' Liverpool and Hamburg days.
Child Of Nature
This song first emerged during the Esher sessions and was likely written by The Beatles in India because of the line “on the road to Rishekesh.” Child of Nature was never recorded by the band and John Lennon later used the melody for Jealous Guy.
Three recordings of Child of Nature are currently known. The first is a demo recorded by George Harrison’s home in 1968. The second was recorded the following year with Harrison singing back-up vocals and the third was made just a few weeks later at Apple Studios.Read more: "The Beatles Songs and the Missing Five: Detective Work of 1960s Music May Uncover Lost Fab Four Tunes" -
James W. Coates reviews on music
A nomad at heart, James W. Coates has been combining his passion for music, writing and traveling ever since his father packed the family into a green station wagon and embarked on a 21-day Canadian adventure from St. John’s to Victoria, the AM radio playing the entire time.
During his teen years James played piano and guitar, sang in choirs and solo but during adolescence, learned he played the radio the best and dismissed his aspiration to be Top of the Pops.
James soon teamed up with a DJ friend who spun at local clubs and supplied music for weekend sets. An avid seeker of new music, he devoured everything he could get at the local record store.
Fresh out of high school, his itchy feet brought him to a small village in Togo, Africa where he set up camp for several months before returning to the comforts of his native Canada.
After he completed a Bachelor of Arts at Laval University in Quebec City, he set out to explore more of the world. With adventures in North America under his belt, he again strapped on his walkman and returned to Africa, this time a small city in Benin.
His varied writing and teaching career has brought him from Europe to Vietnam and many places he had never heard of before setting up home.
Along the way he discovered exciting new music from different parts of the globe. Combining his love of music and writing, James got his first print assignment to cover the Summer Music Festival in Quebec City where he cut his teeth interviewing acts as diverse as Newfoundland’s Great Big Sea and New York’s Antibalas.
During his teen years James played piano and guitar, sang in choirs and solo but during adolescence, learned he played the radio the best and dismissed his aspiration to be Top of the Pops.
James soon teamed up with a DJ friend who spun at local clubs and supplied music for weekend sets. An avid seeker of new music, he devoured everything he could get at the local record store.
Fresh out of high school, his itchy feet brought him to a small village in Togo, Africa where he set up camp for several months before returning to the comforts of his native Canada.
After he completed a Bachelor of Arts at Laval University in Quebec City, he set out to explore more of the world. With adventures in North America under his belt, he again strapped on his walkman and returned to Africa, this time a small city in Benin.
His varied writing and teaching career has brought him from Europe to Vietnam and many places he had never heard of before setting up home.
Along the way he discovered exciting new music from different parts of the globe. Combining his love of music and writing, James got his first print assignment to cover the Summer Music Festival in Quebec City where he cut his teeth interviewing acts as diverse as Newfoundland’s Great Big Sea and New York’s Antibalas.
Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior
It’s still the dawn of the New Year but the growing list of great albums to be released in 2009 makes getting up in the frosty morning more interesting.Read more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody A.M." - Junior, to be released via Astralwerks, was written, arranged and produced by the duo comprising of Svein Berge & Torbjørn Brundtland. This time around Röyksopp enlisted several guest vocalists to add to their wistful electronic landscapes in addition to their own vocals.
The Knife’s Karin Dreijer-Andersson and Scandinavian singer Anneli Drecker have lent their pipes to the new disc as has Swedish dance/ pop one woman show, Read more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody
The Knife’s Karin Dreijer-Andersson and Scandinavian singer Anneli Drecker have lent their pipes to the new disc as has Swedish dance/ pop one woman show, Read more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody
Röyksopp Junior Tracklist
Happy Up Here
The Girl And The Robot
Vision One
This Must Be It
Röyksopp Forever
Miss It So Much
Tricky Tricky
You Don't Have A Clue
Silver Cruiser
True To Life
It's What I WantRead more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody .
Happy Up Here
The Girl And The Robot
Vision One
This Must Be It
Röyksopp Forever
Miss It So Much
Tricky Tricky
You Don't Have A Clue
Silver Cruiser
True To Life
It's What I WantRead more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody .
Two other tracks from Melody A.M., "Eple" and "Poor Leno”, quickly became chillout classics and featured on numerous compilations in the early years of the decade. Bouncing off the success of that album, the duo went on to remix tracks by Beck before returning to the studio to cut their follow up album.
Junior follows The Understanding, an album that did away with the more nocturnal aspects of their previous efforts in favor of a more traditional approach to song structure and a sound closer to pop than chill or downbeat. The Understanding spawned the UK top 40 hit "Only This Moment" which also made No. 18 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play in the US and "What Else Is There?" which peaked at number 8 on Billboard's Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.Read more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody.
Junior follows The Understanding, an album that did away with the more nocturnal aspects of their previous efforts in favor of a more traditional approach to song structure and a sound closer to pop than chill or downbeat. The Understanding spawned the UK top 40 hit "Only This Moment" which also made No. 18 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play in the US and "What Else Is There?" which peaked at number 8 on Billboard's Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.Read more: "Röyksopp Releases Third Album Junior: Electronica/ House Act Follow up The Understanding and Melody.
Race to Witch Mountain
The new Disney film "Race to Witch Mountain" is, I'm told, not a remake of the 1975 Disney film "Escape to Witch Mountain," but rather a high-tech re-imagining of the book "Escape to Witch Mountain," by Alexander Key. It's a theme-park ride of a movie, filled with whooshings down tunnels, screechy car trips in the desert, extraterrestrial beings and a requisite person who keeps talking about "science fact." Given enough popcorn, kids should find it diverting; adults may be less than enthralled.
All this whooshing around tries vainly to offset the movie's central problem: Nobody here has a personality. Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock), a character who didn't exist in the earlier movie, is a cabbie and an ex-con trying to make a living in Las Vegas. On a busy day on which some sort of alien-life convention is under way at Planet Hollywood, two mysterious blond teenagers appear in his cab. They are siblings Sara (AnnaSophia Robb, a ringer for the "Freaky Friday" vintage Lindsay Lohan) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig), and they are from another planet. We know this because they talk in monotone without contractions, and because they don't have iPods.
Though Johnson is making strides as an actor, he's still a fairly laconic presence, so much of the movie is three people speaking robotically (never a good idea, even when William Hurt and Kevin Costner do it) and racing about to save the kids from government experimentation and get them back to their spaceship. This is not as thrilling as it might be, even when scientist Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) and a cute Disney-movie dog are tossed in. Garry Marshall, as an eccentric UFO specialist, brings a bit of a spark, as does a grumbling Cheech Marin as a perplexed auto mechanic.
As with many PG movies, you wonder exactly what age group this is aimed at: Young grade-schoolers may be frightened by all the guns, head-bashing (hey, it's what The Rock does), darkness and peril; older kids may scorn the Disney-fication of it all. But those fond of the original may enjoy spotting a few homages (the actors who played the original kids, Kim Richards and Iake Eissinmann, appear here as a waitress and a sheriff), and as kid fare goes "Race to Witch Mountain" is fairly innocuous.
All this whooshing around tries vainly to offset the movie's central problem: Nobody here has a personality. Jack Bruno (Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock), a character who didn't exist in the earlier movie, is a cabbie and an ex-con trying to make a living in Las Vegas. On a busy day on which some sort of alien-life convention is under way at Planet Hollywood, two mysterious blond teenagers appear in his cab. They are siblings Sara (AnnaSophia Robb, a ringer for the "Freaky Friday" vintage Lindsay Lohan) and Seth (Alexander Ludwig), and they are from another planet. We know this because they talk in monotone without contractions, and because they don't have iPods.
Though Johnson is making strides as an actor, he's still a fairly laconic presence, so much of the movie is three people speaking robotically (never a good idea, even when William Hurt and Kevin Costner do it) and racing about to save the kids from government experimentation and get them back to their spaceship. This is not as thrilling as it might be, even when scientist Dr. Alex Friedman (Carla Gugino) and a cute Disney-movie dog are tossed in. Garry Marshall, as an eccentric UFO specialist, brings a bit of a spark, as does a grumbling Cheech Marin as a perplexed auto mechanic.
As with many PG movies, you wonder exactly what age group this is aimed at: Young grade-schoolers may be frightened by all the guns, head-bashing (hey, it's what The Rock does), darkness and peril; older kids may scorn the Disney-fication of it all. But those fond of the original may enjoy spotting a few homages (the actors who played the original kids, Kim Richards and Iake Eissinmann, appear here as a waitress and a sheriff), and as kid fare goes "Race to Witch Mountain" is fairly innocuous.
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