Pop forecast
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” Bob Dylan sang. 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
movies
Big release: 300: Rise of an Empire
(March 7)
Big picture: Based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, Xerxes, this hotly anticipated sequel starring Sullivan Stapleton offers another lively re-interpretation of ancient myth and legend. It’s Greek tragedy in the age of Xbox, CGI and 3-D. Perhaps it’s only fitting the film’s composer goes by the name Junkie XL. As for the plot, remember those 300 soldiers who died valiantly? Well, it’s time for payback. This is the kind of movie where the closest thing to small talk are lines such as:“If death comes for me today, I’ll be ready”; “Seize your glory”; and, “You will be a god king.”
Forecast: 300 proved a guilty pleasure; the sequel will deliver another feast for the senses. There will be blood. There will be sex. Warships will be rowed. Men will swing swords and run with spears in slow motion. The audience will be overwhelmed with adrenalin — but then feel guilty for not keeping their new year’s fitness resolutions. If the Herculean bodies on display are any indication, everyone in ancient Greece had a personal trainer.
Honourable Mention: The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson is in a world unto his own. The Texan director has called it a world“five degrees removed from reality.”Anderson’s quirks are divisive. Detractors find him pretentious, whereas fans find him inventive. I fall into the latter category. Budapest Hotel offers the usual Anderson tropes: Colourful, hyper-detailed sets and costuming, a hipster soundtrack, a whimsical setting (in this case, a fictional European town pre-Second World War), a star-studded cast of Anderson regulars (eg. Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson) paired with a must-see addition (eg. Ralph Fiennes). The plot centres on Zero (newcomer Tony Revolori), a lobby boy at the hotel under the tutelage of the luxurious hotel’s eccentric concierge Monsieur Gustave (Fiennes), who is framed for murder.
tV
Big Event: Resurrection (Sunday, March 9, 9 p.m., ABC)
Big picture: Resurrection offers a refreshing twist on the supernatural. The dead have returned but they don’t want to eat you! Yay! The new drama is like a hybrid of Twin Peaks, Six Feet Under, Highway to Heaven and The Sixth Sense — only everyone sees dead people. The dead are far more complex than your average flesh-hungry zombie or booty-and-blood-starved vamp. Instead of longing for human flesh, they’re longing for human connection with the loved ones they left behind. The catch? When the dead return to the town of Acadia, Missouri, they look exactly like they did the day they died.
Forecast: An intriguing premise, Resurrection is mysterious but still life-affirming. You shouldn’t expect horror. Don’t confuse this series with The Returned, a French series that treads similar territory but is much, much darker. That one is also getting an American remake. Soon we’ll be seeing dead people on every other channel.
music
Big releases: Lea Michele (Louder) March 4; Drive-By Truckers (English Oceans) March 4
Big picture: The swampy alt-country outfit, Drive-By Truckers, return with their 12th studio album. Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley — founders and only remaining original members of the band — share songwriting and lead-vocal duties. Meanwhile, Glee’s Lea Michele embraces a solo career. The once buzz-worthy series is headed for its final season, so perhaps the timing is right for Michele’s first solo album. She enters a crowded female pop landscape of divas and deviants, but Michele has one thing going for her: she can really sing. No lip-synching required on her tour (and probably no twerking either).
Forecast: Michele may be louder, but she’ll still need some time to find her creative voice. The Drive-By Truckers always deliver. All aboard.
Honourable Mention: Sally Seltmann (Hey Daydreamer) March 4: Organic, imaginative indie-pop worthy of a daydream.