Martin's heart is in the right place, returning the history of rock and blues to its rightful owners (a topic the film is very diligent about), but she's obsessed with the sexual proclivities of the subjects, not always their state of mind. While based on a true story, it's difficult to believe much of anything writer/director Darnell Martin (helming her first theatrical release since 1994's "I Like It Like That") is dramatizing in "Cadillac." It's an overheated, melodramatic motion picture, on the prowl to locate the panty-removing passion of the blues to use as a storytelling guide, buttress by a parade of famous names and their celebrated music. Paying his talent in Cadillacs and favors, Chess endured a turbulent ride of success, and with the introduction of Etta James (Beyonce Knowles), Chess found his ingénue, threatening the integrity of his unique reward system. Using artists like Waters, Walter, Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer), Howlin' Wolf (Eamonn Walker, who practically fogs up the lens in his quest to come off intense), and Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Chess built his company on a stack of top records, encouraging radio integration and the sweep of rock and roll. Sensing a perfect moment to strike, the aspiring mogul started his own record label, opening the Chess Records Studio in 1950. Trying to avoid the financial misery of his father, Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) opened a bar in a predominately African-American neighborhood, attracting the attention of struggling blues performers, including Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright) and Little Walter (Columbus Short). A musical bio-pic of the famed Chess Records blues factory of Chicago, "Cadillac" is a frustratingly thin depiction of songwriting euphoria and industry deception the film preferring to convulse recklessly to paint a crude mural of legendary artists when an old fashion heapin' of focus was in order. Most of "Cadillac Records" comes across as a miserable "Saturday Night Live" skit without the benefit of a sleep-deprived audience to feign approval. Of course the repairs were totally covered by warranty but now we're waiting to see if Cadillac will refund the $5,000 it all cost us out of pocket.Parts of "Cadillac Records" surface as warm reminders of a timeless musical era. This was much cheaper than the over-priced hotel rooms (even if we could find one). So we flew home to Orlando and rented a car for over a week then flew back to Bangor when the Escalade car was ready. And rates were out of site if they were available. It was the peak of this past fall's peak leaf season so no rental cars and no hotel rooms were available. Why didn't WE know about it? We were stuck in Bangor, Maine with a dealership with no loaners to offer and no ability to reliably estimate an ETR ("Maybe a couple of weeks"). NOW, our review of the engine: Our first real road trip in our beautiful new Escalade ended 1,500 miles away from home with bent valve lifters and broken valves on just shy of 6,000 miles: a problem that Cadillac and its dealers knew all about with GM's 420 hp V-8 gas engines. The night vision option works very well and safely. IT WORKS! It makes long distance driving so much more relaxing. Beautiful in every way, quiet, smooth, powerful, well thought out, I could go on and on. First off the car: We ordered it from scratch, waited six months and have been rewarded with a wonderful car.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |