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What are the similarities between Dante Alighieri and Steve Buscemi? First time writer and director Hue Rhodes may be the only one. Loosely based on Dante’s “Inferno,” “Saint John of Las Vegas” follows a reformed gambler’s trip to his own personal “hell” as he is led on his first investigation of insurance fraud. However, though the performances are uniformly strong, only viewers who are already deeply familiar with Dante’s poem will be able to understand...
Dispatched to guide John on his first mission is Virgil (Romany Malco), an A-list fraud buster who takes his job very seriously. The two embark on a trip to Las Vegas, John’s own personal Hades, with its endless gambling temptations...
Aside from that somewhat unfair assumption, it’s also clear that the first-time director and writer tried a little too hard with his adaptation of a staple of classic literature. He throws in random voiceovers that attempt to be insightful, but instead prove to be more distracting than helpful. There are also frequent flashes of clips that come without warning and are at first hard to decipher—are they dream sequences, flashbacks, or glimpses of things to come...
This variety makes Hynes’ newest album, “Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You,” difficult to classify. It is too emotionally charged to be relaxed, but too relaxed to be emotionally moving. Hynes has settled down from the first Lightspeed Champion album, 2008’s “Falling off Lavender Bridge,” in which quiet and underwhelming music masked angry self-loathing lyrics. However, “Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You” is a confused record. It is comprised of angry break-up ballads...
...contrast, “Madame Van Damme” lacks any of this musical intrigue, and without it the focus falls on the lyrics. The chorus of “Kill me baby / Won’t you kill me,” is somewhat charming at first, but when it is repeated for the final 55 seconds, it loses its resonance and feels trite...