Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: In Concert
Metallica’s Lars Ulrich wore a purple jacket as he introduced one of 2016’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Deep Purple. He testified to the life-changing impact they had when he attended their 1973 Copenhagen concert at age 9. A plausible rendition of the band was on hand for endless thank yous and to perform “Highway Star.” The documentary covering the 2014-’17 inductions includes performances by Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and many other stars.
Doctor Detroit
Let’s see: original theme song by Devo, a performance by James Brown, Rick James’ “Super Freak” spinning at a dance club and an original score by Lalo Schifrin? If nothing else, Doctor Detroit is a good musical time capsule of 1983. The comedy stars Dan Akroyd as a dweeby professor pulled into the criminal underworld. Boasting a few funny lines and some dated ethnic humor, Doctor Detroit is a showcase for Akroyd at his goofiest.
Jasper Jones
Jasper Jones is an engaging coming-of-age story containing everything. Set in 1969 in narrow-minded small-town Australia, the protagonist, Charlie, experiences the usual tremors of first love. But the nerdy 14 year old also witnesses his parents’ marriage dissolve and racism against the family of his Chinese best friend and is drawn into a murder investigation involving a mixed-race teenager, the titular Jasper Jones, whom the police have pegged as the killer.
Basmati Blues
Scientific researcher Linda (Brie Larson) is such a peppy person that one imagines birds starting to sing as they fly past the window of her lab. Linda’s scheming boss (Donald Sutherland) dispatches her to India as the bright face of Rice 9, the handy new Frankenfood his transnational conglomerate is introducing to the subcontinent. The musical comedy Basmati Blues is more “Glee” than Bollywood despite the colorful setting. There is cultural misunderstanding and—naturally—romance.
