18.2.07

Casino Royale - The Score

Bond is back! After a four-year hiatus, 007 hit the big screens last year much to everyone’s delight. And following the movie, the score was released and achieved equal success with fans and critics alike. This is composer David Arnold’s fourth venture into the Bond-verse, along with his regular collaborator and conductor, Nicholas Dodd. And while Bond was dramatically re-worked and re-booted for Casino Royale, the soundtrack isn’t any different from the previous Bond scores.

Arnold captivates action as we find out in African Rundown and Fall of a House in Venice by not only mimicking the pace on-screen but by also using native percussions in African Rundowns. If you are just listening to the soundtrack and not watching the movie, you know that this is taking place in Africa. Intricacies like these add a whole new aspect to each track, capturing the moments on-screen, yet individually emanating a unique element of their own. This soundtrack encompasses nearly all of the classic Bond moments — from the action, the cars, the gadgets to the lighter moments — making it an overall decent score.

One thing that it does lack, which I was hoping they would add, is the Chris Cornell track, You Know My Name. Instead, it was released as a separate single, a shame really because it is a worthy track especially in a James Bond album. Only hardcore Bond enthusiasts or score fanatics would appreciate this album, which is quite good.
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The Chappelle Show

Before getting his own show, Dave Chappelle played minor parts in many Hollywood blockbusters as the token black comedian. It was in 2003 that Comedy Central decided to bank on the young star's comedic talents by giving him his very own stand up show — the aptly named Chapelle’s Show — and the results are hilarious to say the least.

Co-created by Neal Brennan, each episode of Chapelle’s Show is also co-written by him and Chappelle. Between the two of them, they have written most of the first season’s skits. The format of the show is very traditional as Dave begins with a stand up routine in front of a live audience. The rest of the skits are then shown to the audience and instead of a traditional laugh track, the show supports the laughter of the audience present. This gives an authentic and realistic feel to the act.

Popular skits include Frontline and Charlie Murphy’sTrue Hollywood Stories (a parody of many television newsmagazine programes like 60 Minutes). There is one where Eddie Murphy’s real-life younger brother takes a not-so-conventional look at Hollywood’s other side and another that includes crazy character sketches such as Clayton Bigsby (a black man who is a white supremacist).

This first season box set comes with commentary tracks on some episodes by Brennan and Chappelle, who offer insight into the show’s insane sketches. The show is a treat for all those who like Chappelle’s style of comedy, which is a blend of Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy
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