US – Friday, March 12
The week's releases
Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.
 
Back in the trenches
Steven Spielberg makes strikingly vivid, breathtakingly poetic movies about some of the most terrifying conflicts in the history of man. The filmmaking aesthetic he pioneered with “Saving Private Ryan” — and continues to perfect in HBO’s new WWII miniseries, “The Pacific” — was born out of a desire to translate as honestly as possible his conversations with veterans on their combat experience.
 
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Guardian of poor taste?
When British newspaper The Guardian wanted to illustrate their article on the Vatican’s gay sex scandal, they used this photo of Cardinals lining up for the pope’s blessing. The picture, however, has nothing to do with the actual Vatican scandal — except to imply that the pope is running some sort of old-white-guy sex ring.
 
Is nothing in her life real anymore?
When we first read that Heidi Pratt was firing husband Spencer Pratt as her manager, we thought, “Yay! Heidi’s new face is finally doing something right!” But then we found out that although she did fire Spencer, it seems like she’s replacing him with psychic Aiden Chase to take the reigns on her “career” — and then we got scared.
 
Pattinson: A vampire in Brooklyn
Robert Pattinson has been playing Americans so often that he has forgotten how to talk like a Brit. In his latest, “Remember Me,” the “Twilight” heartthrob stars as a soulful young New Yorker attending NYU, but he insists he didn’t need any help sounding like a native. “I’ve never had a dialect coach or anything,” Pattinson says. “Ironically, I’ve only had a dialect coach for this film I’m doing now, which I’m doing in an English accent. I guess I’ve forgotten how to do an English accent.”
 
Updated 23:41, February the 10th, 2009
 

On set with ‘Survivor: Tocantins’

Contestants need to beat the heat to beat the competition

Survivor secret

Contestants have access to Cactus Juice (a combination of sunscreen and bug repellent) and essential medication (such as malaria pills), but no other toiletries or personal items.

 

 “Survivor” returns to Brazil for its 18th season, but it’s not the tropical Brazil from “Survivor Amazon.”

Instead, “Survivor Tocantins” takes place in brutal high desert conditions that make equatorial African Gabon, which hosted last season, seem even more like Eden.

On the morning production began last fall, temperatures were around 110 degrees, and it was brutally hot — even for those of us standing under a tent, waiting to watch the 16 contestants be marooned and have their surprising first vote based only upon their first impressions of one another. After that, contestants had to hike for hours to their camps as the heat only got more intense. But at least they’ll have torrential downpours to cool them off, along with a river. The Rio Novo will host many of the challenges and flows past both tribes’ camps.

The cast includes the show’s youngest-ever contestant, Spencer Duhm, a 19-year-old “Survivor” super-fan who almost didn’t make the cast, as he was subbed in at the last minute. SWV singer Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George and Bear Naked granola founder Brendan Synnott are also competing, and could have their pre-existing fame or fortune held against them.

Unlike Gabon’s cast of good and evil players, nearly all of them are likable; I found only a few to be annoying, like bus driver Sandy Burgin, who told me she’s “a hyper-in-my-diaper, unmedicated ADHD adult.” There’s also Benjamin “Coach” Wade, who compared himself to Jesus during our conversation. But even Jesus might have difficulty adapting to Brazil’s environment, from the heat to the bugs, never mind the even more challenging situations that the producers construct. Those are what really make it difficult to survive “Survivor.”

— Andy Dehnart is a TV critic and editor of RealityBlurred.com.

 
 
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MMMpod
The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.
 
 
 
Metro Life Panel