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The 14th Bahrain International Music Festival which took place last year in November 5-11 brought in musicians from France, Palestine, Oman, Egypt and Iraq. I was only able to watch the performance oft he Manama Singers and Orchestra with their Haydn Imperial Nelson Mass and the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra.

Overall the performance was great. It was held in the newly built Cultural Hall. I can say that the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra with its conductor, Leif Sundstrup gave the best performance in the week long event. The Manama Singers also did an excellent job with their conductor Alistair Auld who is the formost conductor in the island kingdom.

There were several important guests, dignitaries and musicians alike. The President of the Royal Society of Music, Mr. Carrillo said that the performance made by the Royal Oman Symphony Orchestra was the best musical performance he has ever seen. The event was a success if their aim is to improve Cultural life in Bahrain. For a country with not much history in music, the Bahrain International Music Festival seems remarkable to have succeded with many people who attended.

Mario Van Peebles is one of the few consistantly working African American directors who actually makes films that remind us of where the African American people came from and what contributions they made to American society and history. NEW JACK CITY, POSSE, PANTHER – they all had a tough story to tell about the African American experience in America. Some of them made for great film going experiences (NEW JACK CITY, PANTHER) and others didn’t (POSSE) but all strived for an honesty not present in the films of Van Peebles’ other contemporary in the media spotlight Spike Lee.

BAADASSSSS! is no different and it marks his most personal and best film to date. The story concerns the trials and tribulations of his father Melvin as he faught to make his ground breaking film SWEAT SWEATBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG, which ushered in the Blacplotation film movement.

Van Peebles does not hold back. He shows both the creative genius of his father as well as the stuborn egomaniac that some would thing abused his children. Van Peebles was bold to play his own father as was his father who placed the title character in the landmark film but like the film so boldly states “he is the only man who can bring this story to light because he lived it” (or thereabouts).

Having made NEW JACK CITY and PANTHER Van Peebles is no stranger to controversial subject matter and BAADASSSSS! pushes the buttons even further but also shows a man trying to break down the walls that the Hollywood Studio system wanted to wall him behind. Melvin was a man who wanted to show the world the “real” experience of the African American and other minorities in this country in a system that only wanted to see African Americans portrayed as comic foils for the main “white” characters of the film.

He even went out of his way to have a minority crew (that would learn by doing) and put his own money into the film, as well as use non-union labor – all which would have been unthinkable at the time.

The truly scary revelation of this film is how true it was then and how true it still is today as the Hollywood “machine” still underhires minorities and still wants the standard “comedy” from many directors/actors/producers of those minorities. In this, Van Peebles is still fighting the same fight his father faught almost forty years earlier. There have been some advances to corect this but forty years is a long time to still be doing “baby steps.”

Magadheera Movie Review – Watch the Beautiful High Quality Trailer

With as many as 720 prints, the much anticipated Telugu movie Magadheera is set for a grand release today, the 31st of July, in as many as 1500 theatres worldwide. You can watch the beautiful high-quality trailer of Magadheera by clicking on any of the links on this page.

Chiranjeevi’s son Ram Charan Teja and Kajal are the lead pair in this picture that explores the curious notions of reincarnation and death. Magadheera is an action-based romantic thriller that promises to suit audiences of all classes.

The movie was shot mostly in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Interestingly, midnight shows at Tirupati have been banned by Congress leaders in an effort to stem the black-marketing of tickets. There has been tremendous buzz about this film for months leading up to today’s release.

Magadheera Movie Review – Watch the Beautiful High Quality Trailer

So what are the leading critics saying about Magadheera?

TeluguCinema.com calls Magadheera “5 stars – spell-binding and very excellent…..He has now become the master of commercial movies…..The film looks grand, all because of this art director!….Producer Allu Aravind should be praised for pumping money extravagantly into the film with confidence on the project…..Rajamouli’s grand vision, great art work, superb visual effects and graphics , top-notch camerawork and performances in this episode alone are worth tons of praises…..”

Sifi says “4 Stars – The film also has its visual grandeur…..He grips the scenes with his superb dialogues and getups…..Dialogues are fine and synchronies with the episodes…..Interestingly, any regular audience would find some striking similarities between Maghadeera and Arundhati”

Sira Sri writes “The much awaited ‘Magadheera’ has arrived. It has created huge expectations by the virtue of its posters, trailers and above all the music. Finally let us see if it has reached those expectations. The movie scores 4/5 by the virtue of technical values and adventurous attempt. It would have scored bigger if the first 44 minutes were also dealt well with sensible comedy and treatment. Verdict: It’s good to watch the film as soon as possible.

Sounds like a winner to me. Can’t wait to see it while munching on some buttered popcorn and sipping a refreshing drink.

Magadheera Movie Review – Watch the Beautiful High Quality Trailer

Polarity/1, the multi-genre artist best known for bold, honest, hard-hitting songs, has released a brand new instrumental record titled ‘Music From the Other Side’. The new CD continues the opinion-filled musical legacy of Polar: fitting to the title, the album consists of smooth, jazzy tracks much different from louder albums like ‘Yankin’ The Food Chain’. Proving that this album is no less diverse than his others, Polar once again shows his ability to spread his talent over a wide variety of genres; his music has been incorporated by dance theaters and documentarists, including Danny Schechter’s feature-length film documentary ‘In Debt We Trust’ and Battery Dance Company’s 26th Annual Downtown Dance Festival last year.

‘Music From The Other Side’ is the soundtrack for a dance performance by Lisbon’s Quorum Ballet, fusing the style and art of the dance of Lisbon and New York. A collaboration of choreographers Daniel Cardoso, Jonathan Hollander and Thaddeus Davis, artistic directors of Quorum Ballet, Battery Dance Company and Wideman/Davis Dance, respectively, this dark, moody, erotic and aggressive album explores the theme of oppression, which has always been an issue for the people on both sides of the Atlantic. The thought-provoking record examines the roles of the many different characters in life, including the instigator, the oppressor, the oppressed and the observer.

The most impressive song on the album is the vocal version of “Fulano de Tal,” which is included as a bonus track. Also noteworthy is the exotic, media-infused sound of “Land O Debbies.” The entire albums feels like the fusion of every type of media coming together to blend spooky, unique melodies that echo through every track. What really drives the record, though, is the steady, trance-like beat that is impossible to ignore.

As with all of his albums, on ‘Music From the Other Side’ Polarity/1 proves his ability to keep listeners engaged for every song, as they are never quite sure of what to expect next. Just as his name suggests, Polarity/1’s music certainly is composed of “conjoined opposites”; jumping from instrumentals to upbeat drumming, and from rapping to slow, soulful lyrics, Polarity/1 truly is 1 of a kind.

http://www.polarity1.com

http://www.myspace.com/polarity1music