bridge - OpenEd

SECTION D
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2015
Tour the
home of
Mr. Las
Vegas
Wayne Newton
throws open
his gates to
visitors 3D
SARA BAYER
MOVIES
LIFELINE
JEFF KRAVITZ, FILMMAGIC
RUMOR PATROL
Kaley Cuoco’s recent announcement that she and Ryan Sweeting
ended their marriage has
tongues wagging — are she and
her ‘Big Bang Theory’ co-star and
ex, Johnny Galecki, heating up
again? Nice theory, but it’s one
the actors have debunked. The
two stars, who broke up in 2010,
took to Instagram to set the
record straight: “So sorry to disappoint, but no home wreckers
or secret flings going on here. Me
and @sanctionedjohnnygalecki
are just the best of buds Leonard and Penny will just have
to suffice!!!,” Cuoco wrote. wrote
Galecki: “No scandals / home
wreckers / pregnancies here, y’all.
Just profound friendship.”
THEY SAID WHAT?
THE STARS’ BEST QUOTES
“You can be successful for three
or four years. Accidents happen.
But careers take hard work.”
— Taylor Swift in the November
issue of ‘GQ’ magazine
SPIELBERG
BUILDS A
‘BRIDGE’ TO
COLD WAR ERA
The
master
of stories
adds
to his
mythos
Read
the
review,
2D
TODD PLITT,
USA TODAY
Brian Truitt
@briantruitt
USA TODAY
F
NEW YORK
or a few weeks filming
the new Cold War
drama Bridge of Spies,
British actor Mark
Rylance would show
up in the morning to
find director Steven
Spielberg already hard at work
after yet another sleepless night.
One day, Rylance inquired
about the cause of the Oscar-winning filmmaking legend’s insomnia. Spielberg’s reply: “Because
I don’t know what this film is
about yet.”
Of course he knew what the
film (in theaters Friday) was
about. He’s Steven Spielberg,
after all. But it was that
moment when Rylance, an
Emmy nominee for PBS
Masterpiece’s Wolf Hall,
saw the director as akin to a
classic Greek playwright:
“When most of us are dreaming, his soul won’t rest because
he’s searching for some essential thing.”
Spielberg’s hunt to tell a variety of great myths, iconic plot lines
v STORY CONTINUES ON 2D
MICHAEL THOMPSON, GQ
STYLE STAR
Rachel Weisz
looked stunning
at a screening
Thursday of
‘Youth’ at the
BFI London Film
Festival. The
actress chose
a strapless
lamé
gown and
black satin
minaudière,
both by
Lanvin.
Compiled by
Cindy Clark
KARWAI TANG,
WIREIMAGE
USA SNAPSHOTS©
Learning by video
Student test scores show
the most effective
educational videos last
2 minutes
or less
Source OpenEd.com, a teacher resource
website. Data based on a million quizzes.
TERRY BYRNE AND PAUL TRAP, USA TODAY
JAAP BUITENDIJK, DREAMWORKS
Tom Hanks and Amy Ryan become targets in Bridge.
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Lovato’s ‘Confident’ stride
DEMI LOVATO
Confident
eegE
POP
DOWNLOAD Confident,
Waiting for Ya, Father
Five albums in, pop stars are
finally hitting their strides.
Taylor Swift earned some of the
best reviews of her career for the
ubiquitous 1989, which continues
to set records nearly a year after
its release. Selena Gomez showed
restraint and maturity on her
just-released Revival. Fellow exDisney star Demi Lovato continues the No. 5 winning streak
with her latest: Confident,
a loud and adventurous stride into
new musical terrain, albeit one
that lacks the precision of her
peers’ efforts.
The album gets off to a, well,
confident start with the blaring
horns and pummeling drums of
the raucous, rousing title track, on
which Lovato declares her dominance: “I used to hold my freak
back / now I’m letting go / I make
my own choice / Yeah, I run this
show.” Unlike most of her con-
temporaries, Lovato has longinfused her pop with rock ’n’ roll
grit, which helps explain the electric-guitar riffs on Cool for the
Summer.
While its limp attempts at
being provocative emit little heat
(Katy Perry endorsed same-sex
flings more cleverly on 2008’s I
Kissed a Girl), Summer still is one
of the catchier songs on the album, whose other potential radio
hits are harder to identify.
Kingdom Come, almost inevitably, will be serviced as a single at
some point, if not solely for its
guest star Iggy Azalea.
The gloomy EDM track is
reminiscent of Azalea’s own
smash Black Widow, although the
Aussie rapper’s seeming rush-job
verse here isn’t quite as fun. Lovato aims for the dance floor on the
similarly hypnotic but forgettable
Old Ways, and further switches
things up on thunderous anthem
For You, channeling Lady Gaga in
what may as well have been a Born
This Way B-side.
Whether a stripped-down ballad (Stone Cold) or R&B-flavored
smackdown (Waiting for
Ya), Lovato’s powerful pipes
are always dialed up to the
glass-shattering max. While
she unarguably has one of
the strongest instruments
in pop right now, the
23-year-old also suffers
from an affliction best
described as “Jennifer Hudson Syndrome.” Like
Hudson, Lovato
can’t resist the urge
to add one
more riff or
belt to every
song on Confident just because she can.
Particularly on
album closer Father, written
about her estranged late
dad, the song’s
HOLLYWOOD
RECORDS
heartbreaking lyrics could
have packed a bigger punch
had she scaled back on the
vocal somersaults.
It may seem trifling to fault
an artist for singing too
well, but a little subtlety
can go a long way. Still,
Confident is overall
an assured step
forward for Lovato, who should
only hone her
sound and style
by the time
album No. 6 rolls
around.
Patrick Ryan
MORE MUSIC REVIEWS
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