Post by Talon Karrde on Feb 13, 2006 23:19:40 GMT -5
Every week, G-POP.net strives to bring you a variety of entertainment. We work to achieve this goal even though exhaustion from digging through two feet of snow threatens to overcome us. Here's what's new for this week:
The Color Purple: The Musical - Melissa Minners reviews the soundtrack of the new musical based on the classic novel and award-winning movie of the same name.
Excerpt: "The Color Purple began as a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker. The novel tells us the tale of Celie, a black woman who struggles to survive a world filled with hurt and hate and emerges triumphant, finding her own voice and a life worth living. What gives Celie the strength to persevere the power of love. Alice Walker's novel was adapted into film by Steven Spielberg starring Whoopie Goldberg as Celie and an ensemble cast that included Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and Margaret Avery. Performances in that film were so incredibly powerful, and the story so uplifting, that if one had never read the novel, they were prepared to run out to the local bookstore just to purchase a copy of their own. Now, years later, the award winning novel and landmark film is followed by a musical version produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, and Quincy Jones. The music and lyrics are written by the talented team of Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. The role of Celie is taken up by LaChanze, with an ensemble cast that includes Elizabeth Withers-Mendes, Felicia P. Fields, Kingsley Leggs, Rene Elise Goldsberry, and more."
Something From the Nightside - Ismael Manzano reviews the supernatural novel by Simon R. Green.
Excerpt: " I was lured into purchasing this book simply by the title; it just caught my attention, and when I read the description on the jacket, I had to read through it. Something From The Nightside, by Simon R. Green, is one of those rare and entertaining books that feels like it should have been a movie because it reads like a movienot an easy thing to pull off. The story follows John Taylor, half-demon, private eye, and former resident of The Nightside, a hidden part of London where every form of unimaginable are real and coexist under a sunless sky. John is running from a past he no longer wants, running by hiding away in the real world, taking clients as they come, finding lost things for people and just plain trying to pay the bills.
The Wood: The Movie and What it Meant to Me - A Turn Back the Clock article about The Wood (starring Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, and Sanaa Lathan) by Jon Minners.
Excerpt: "I remember the first time I saw The Wood. It was a Christmas Eve night and I was as sick as a dog, laid up in bed and very upset when I was going through channels and The Wood was the only movie I caught that had just started. Noting that Omar Epps and his Love & Basketball partner Sanaa Lathan were in the film, I had decided to give it a look. Neither actor has steered me wrong in the past; no reason that they should start now. I had never been happier to be sick before in my life. I discovered a true gem of a film, one that I would end up seeing as many times as Love & Basketball, well, not really as much. Love & Basketball reminds me of the woman I love, but The Wood ranks right up there as a classic. It is a film about love, but more importantly, it is a film about friendship. While Girlfriends is the hot UPN show that says you can always get by with the support of your friends, The Wood was the film that made it ok for men to share that same bond and still be men."
Wildwood Road - Justine Manzano reviews the horror novel by Christopher Golden.
Excerpt: "I'm going to go out on a crazy limb and say that, in my humble opinion, Christopher Golden is the newest Horror/Supernatural master! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system I can explain that I have just completed Wildwood Road by Christopher Golden, and if that's not a review in itself, I don't know what is. I could probably stop typing right now, but what kind of article would that make? Wildwood Road isn't the first book of Golden's that I've read and hopefully it won't be the last. His Supernatural thriller, The Boys Are Back In Town, was reviewed by me in an early edition of G-Pop and, naturally, it got raves. So why did I love Wildwood Road? Let me count the ways"
P.J. Olsson - Beautifully Insane - Melissa Minners reviews P.J. Olsson's latest album.
Excerpt: "Gazing at the cover photo of Beautifully Insane, one might think that P.J. Olsson is a Rick Springfield look-alike. Olsson plays a guitar and sings, but the similarities end there. P.J. Olsson's music is hard to completely pin down shades of rock and roll mixed with psychedelic funk is my best attempt. Taking a look at the flip side of the CD case, the picture of the smiley face guy in a uniform gives you a clue of what you might be listening to. The titles of the songs Visine, Medicated, The Whistle Song might give you another."
Punch Out - A Turn Back the Clock article by Ismael Manzano, discussing the classic Nintendo game.
Excerpt: "And, ladies and gentlemen, this is one of those reviews that I truly love, one of those reviews that allow me an excuse to revisit my past. You see, when my lovely sister-in-law decided to do some spring cleaning a few years ago, one of the things she decided she no longer had room for was her old Nintendo game system. I took it, of course, but was disappointed to learn that sihe did not haveamong her collection of gamesMike Tyson's Punch Out. Well, the other day, my not-so-lovely brother-in-law, unearthed his old 1980's Punch Out game and he offered it to me. I was ecstatic. It wasn't the same game I played as a kid, but I figured it would be close enough."
Badseed's Bottomline is all new: Badseed's Bottomline #358: Bored of the Same Old Thing.
If you love poetry, you should check out our Original Writing Poetry Section. Perhaps after reading a few, you will be inspired to send us some. If so, send your submissions to submissions@g-pop.net. We're always looking for new talent.
And don't forget to check out our message boards at gpopnetwork.proboards31.com/index.cgi. Sign up and chat with us! Tell us how you feel about our articles! Tell us what articles we should be writing! We want to hear from you!
The Color Purple: The Musical - Melissa Minners reviews the soundtrack of the new musical based on the classic novel and award-winning movie of the same name.
Excerpt: "The Color Purple began as a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker. The novel tells us the tale of Celie, a black woman who struggles to survive a world filled with hurt and hate and emerges triumphant, finding her own voice and a life worth living. What gives Celie the strength to persevere the power of love. Alice Walker's novel was adapted into film by Steven Spielberg starring Whoopie Goldberg as Celie and an ensemble cast that included Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and Margaret Avery. Performances in that film were so incredibly powerful, and the story so uplifting, that if one had never read the novel, they were prepared to run out to the local bookstore just to purchase a copy of their own. Now, years later, the award winning novel and landmark film is followed by a musical version produced by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman, and Quincy Jones. The music and lyrics are written by the talented team of Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. The role of Celie is taken up by LaChanze, with an ensemble cast that includes Elizabeth Withers-Mendes, Felicia P. Fields, Kingsley Leggs, Rene Elise Goldsberry, and more."
Something From the Nightside - Ismael Manzano reviews the supernatural novel by Simon R. Green.
Excerpt: " I was lured into purchasing this book simply by the title; it just caught my attention, and when I read the description on the jacket, I had to read through it. Something From The Nightside, by Simon R. Green, is one of those rare and entertaining books that feels like it should have been a movie because it reads like a movienot an easy thing to pull off. The story follows John Taylor, half-demon, private eye, and former resident of The Nightside, a hidden part of London where every form of unimaginable are real and coexist under a sunless sky. John is running from a past he no longer wants, running by hiding away in the real world, taking clients as they come, finding lost things for people and just plain trying to pay the bills.
The Wood: The Movie and What it Meant to Me - A Turn Back the Clock article about The Wood (starring Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, and Sanaa Lathan) by Jon Minners.
Excerpt: "I remember the first time I saw The Wood. It was a Christmas Eve night and I was as sick as a dog, laid up in bed and very upset when I was going through channels and The Wood was the only movie I caught that had just started. Noting that Omar Epps and his Love & Basketball partner Sanaa Lathan were in the film, I had decided to give it a look. Neither actor has steered me wrong in the past; no reason that they should start now. I had never been happier to be sick before in my life. I discovered a true gem of a film, one that I would end up seeing as many times as Love & Basketball, well, not really as much. Love & Basketball reminds me of the woman I love, but The Wood ranks right up there as a classic. It is a film about love, but more importantly, it is a film about friendship. While Girlfriends is the hot UPN show that says you can always get by with the support of your friends, The Wood was the film that made it ok for men to share that same bond and still be men."
Wildwood Road - Justine Manzano reviews the horror novel by Christopher Golden.
Excerpt: "I'm going to go out on a crazy limb and say that, in my humble opinion, Christopher Golden is the newest Horror/Supernatural master! Okay, now that I've gotten that out of my system I can explain that I have just completed Wildwood Road by Christopher Golden, and if that's not a review in itself, I don't know what is. I could probably stop typing right now, but what kind of article would that make? Wildwood Road isn't the first book of Golden's that I've read and hopefully it won't be the last. His Supernatural thriller, The Boys Are Back In Town, was reviewed by me in an early edition of G-Pop and, naturally, it got raves. So why did I love Wildwood Road? Let me count the ways"
P.J. Olsson - Beautifully Insane - Melissa Minners reviews P.J. Olsson's latest album.
Excerpt: "Gazing at the cover photo of Beautifully Insane, one might think that P.J. Olsson is a Rick Springfield look-alike. Olsson plays a guitar and sings, but the similarities end there. P.J. Olsson's music is hard to completely pin down shades of rock and roll mixed with psychedelic funk is my best attempt. Taking a look at the flip side of the CD case, the picture of the smiley face guy in a uniform gives you a clue of what you might be listening to. The titles of the songs Visine, Medicated, The Whistle Song might give you another."
Punch Out - A Turn Back the Clock article by Ismael Manzano, discussing the classic Nintendo game.
Excerpt: "And, ladies and gentlemen, this is one of those reviews that I truly love, one of those reviews that allow me an excuse to revisit my past. You see, when my lovely sister-in-law decided to do some spring cleaning a few years ago, one of the things she decided she no longer had room for was her old Nintendo game system. I took it, of course, but was disappointed to learn that sihe did not haveamong her collection of gamesMike Tyson's Punch Out. Well, the other day, my not-so-lovely brother-in-law, unearthed his old 1980's Punch Out game and he offered it to me. I was ecstatic. It wasn't the same game I played as a kid, but I figured it would be close enough."
Badseed's Bottomline is all new: Badseed's Bottomline #358: Bored of the Same Old Thing.
If you love poetry, you should check out our Original Writing Poetry Section. Perhaps after reading a few, you will be inspired to send us some. If so, send your submissions to submissions@g-pop.net. We're always looking for new talent.
And don't forget to check out our message boards at gpopnetwork.proboards31.com/index.cgi. Sign up and chat with us! Tell us how you feel about our articles! Tell us what articles we should be writing! We want to hear from you!