Radcliffe continues to deal with evil
Here’s what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week. Movies Big release: The Woman in Black ( Friday)
Big picture: Daniel Radcliffe has put down Harry Potter’s wand for good, but he’s still battling dark and sinister forces.
In this adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel, which has also seen life as a popular stage play, Radcliffe plays a young lawyer who journeys to a small, English village to settle an old widow’s affairs. The catch? Her house and the whole community are being tormented by a vengeful spirit — the titular Lady in Black — dead set on snatching the lives of young children, just as her own was once taken in a tragic drowning.
Forecast: My guess? The Lady in Black ends up being Lord Voldemort’s daughter, driven by some twisted anti-- Potter vendetta. Sure, the book didn’t end that way. But Potter, after all, is moviemaking gold. With no new Rowling adventures, I expect many inexplicable “Potter” plot twists in pending films: Batman’s nemesis in next summer’s final Christopher Nolan film? Draco Malfoy; in the upcoming Three Musketeers remake, Curly is cruelly abandoned for Dumbledore; Hermione is added to the hero roster on The Avengers, etc. TV Big première: The Voice (Sunday, NBC/CTV, following the Super Bowl)
Big picture: Last summer’s surprise hit, The Voice, returns for a second season — this time singing a true siren song. Its unstated goal? To lure competitor, the good ship American Idol, to the proverbial rocky shore and a ratings grave. Idol has already seen its ratings drop off this season, and The Voice’s return may not improve its luck. For those have been dying to again watch Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, and company, judge singers with a blind eye, while sitting in bulky, futuristic, swivelling chairs best suited for the Starship Enterprise, your suffering is at an end.
Forecast: The Voice will hit higher notes than American Idol.
Am I the only one tired of the hyped-up rivalry between these two shows? May I propose a new, one- time show, American Voice Survivor, in which the judges and hosts of both shows are marooned on an island in two tribes, competing in musical challenges until one show is left standing? My guess on some of the hypothetical, ensuing drama? Less than 30 minutes after arrival, Steven Tyler descends into a Colonel Kurtz-like madness (its easy, when you’re already halfway there), and assumes a one-man military rule; Jennifer Lopez and Christina Aguilera sing themselves hoarse trying to out-diva one another in a nearly perpetual song and dance-off (leaving the others to build fires, shelter and gather food); Ryan Seacrest is lost at sea after he thinks he spots a mermaid; The Voice’s Carson Daly gets eaten by a jungle cat; Adam Levine gets eaten by Cee Lo. Music Big release on Tuesday: Leonard Cohen (Old Ideas)
Big picture: Hard to argue with the Canadian legend, still conjuring his musical magic at 77 years young. In Old Ideas, Cohen confronts his own mortality, with dense lyrics steeped in his unique brand of philosophy, spirituality and self-awareness. The fact that this is Cohen’s best work in years indicates that, although he may be at ease with the passage of time, he has far from finished bestowing his poetic gifts upon us. The diverse instrumentation and musical styles (from hymns and blues to rockabilly twang and Gypsy jazz) will please fans tired of Cohen’s recent dalliance with synthesizers and other electronic sounds. Many critics are making comparisons, in theme and style, to Bob Dylan’s 1997 renaissance album, Time Out of Mind. But Cohen is his own man, and his otherworldly, deep, rumbling voice — so unmistakable — still sounds like it can move mountains (at the very least, it will move hearts).
Forecast: Cohen may have Old Ideas, but they’re damn good ones. TV may have The Voice, but Cohen IS The Voice.