Pop forecast
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” but these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture offerings is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the
Movies
Big releases: Collide, Rock Dog (Feb. 24)
Big picture: How would you raise $200,000 for a kidney transplant to save the love of your life? For Casey Stein (Nicholas Hoult), the answer is ... return to a life of crime. You know, take some odd illegal jobs — like stealing a truck full of golf balls (that are full of drugs), that force you to live life on the run from a ruthless mobster. The best thing about this flick is Ben Kingsley as Casey’s ex-boss Geran: a scenery-chewing, perpetually shirtless, gun-and-bling-toting drug smuggler. Frankly, Ben’s never looked better — and he provides much-needed comic relief. Anthony Hopkins plays the big villain — who complicates things by kidnapping the dying love of Casey’s life. “All this trouble, all this pain, for love,” Hopkins quips. His character’s no Shakespeare. Roughly 50 per cent of Collide’s scenes can be summed up as: cars chase trucks, cars chase cars, people chase cars, or cars chase people. Meanwhile, the best part of the familyfriendly Rock Dog can be summed up in five words: Sam Elliot as Fleetwood Yak. This animated outing answers age-old questions such as,“What would happen if cats and dogs could play guitar, and put aside their heated differences to form rock supergroups?” (Sadly, it’s something I’ve pondered all too often.) Voice actors include Luke Wilson and Eddie Izzard. Forecast: This is a week you should focus on catching up on Oscar films. I can’t be the only one who would have preferred an animated adult movie called: Collide: Rock Dog, about a young pup on the run from the ruthless canine frontman of his band. The climactic scene could have been an epic gang fight in a dog park adjacent to a big-city music festival. Bark, bite and bass!
TV
Big events: The Blacklist: Redemption (Feb. 23, NBC/Global); Bates Motel (Feb. 20, A&E) Big picture: A procedural on steroids, The Blacklist: Redemption stars Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen, billed as, “Husband. Liar. Father. Killer. Criminal. Spy.” Tom is recruited by fellow-Blacklister Susan (Famke Janssen), to form a supergroup of ex-criminals looking for, you guessed it, redemption. They take on legally questionable, but morally justifiable causes and cases. Meanwhile, Bates Motel begins its final season. Rihanna is booked for her own bloody shower scene, joining the cast as the doomed Marion Crane. Given Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore), has lost the safety net of his mother, one suspects the pop star’s stay at the hotel will be a short one. Thankfully, Norman still “sees” his dead mother all the time, so Vera Farmiga will still have lots of screen time. Forecast: Heading into Season 5, it’s still worth checking in to Psycho’s coming-ofage story.
Music
Big releases on Feb. 24: Dirty Projectors (self-titled), The Luyas (Human Voicing), Los Campesinos! (Sick Scenes) Big picture: Montreal’s The Luyas manage a delicate atmospheric and energetic sound balance, with a deft combination of shimmering guitar, pulsing drums and Jessie Stein’s otherworldly vocals. They sound like something Ziggy Stardust would listen to in space; their new effort also gets bonus points for being produced by talented, fellow Montrealer Jace Lasek (Besnard Lakes). I presume Los Campesinos! came up with their album title by watching a lot of recent White House press conferences? Expect more jubilant pop-rock from this orchestral, seven-member Welsh ensemble. The Dirty Projectors’ self-titled album is a unique breakup record — one that just happens to be about poetic frontman Dave Longstreth’s breakup with former bandmate Amber Coffman. Forecast: No Rock Dogs, or rock cats, will appear on any of these albums.