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Icon music review: ALICIA - Alicia Keys

Not Keys’ finest work by any stretch of the imagination. Still, there are enough good tunes and her smooth vocals to recommend it.
Posted by Fred Steiner on Monday, September 28, 2020

Reviewed By Craig Hoffman
American singer-songwriter and actress Alicia Keys is out with her seventh studio album Alicia (stylized all caps) in 2020. This comes after a number of delays due to COVID-19. Keys has received numerous awards in her fantastic career, including 15 (competitive) Grammy Awards. 

The artist was the host for the Awards show in 2019 becoming the first woman in 15 years to do so. She repeated the feat in 2020 in addition to singing a soulful tribute to the late NBA legend Kobe Bryant.

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Icon book review: Where the Crawdads Sing

There is much depth in this book; it's worth the cost of purchasing it rather than waiting for it to come around to you
Posted by Fred Steiner on Friday, September 18, 2020

Review by Robert McCool
The book's title is all the introduction it needs. Anything more would be superfluous.

I waited over a year for this book to become available at my local library. There's a reason for that. It's that much in demand. Rightfully so.

There are books that are so perfect that I feel my ability to comment on them is inadequate to do them justice. “WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING” (Random House, IBSN 978-1-9848-2761-6) by Delia Owens, is such a book, a book about isolation and loneliness.

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Icon movie review: Black Panther

It's a film worthy of celebration for generations
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, September 17, 2020

The news of Chadwick Boseman’s death at the age of 43 – coupled with the knowledge that he privately suffered from colon cancer for a number of years – shocked many in the film community and anyone who had been a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

One of the MCU’s greatest strengths is that it was able to deliver fan-pleasing experiences across multiple movies in the extended film canon. 

Arriving relatively late in the Avengers/Thanos story arc, Chadwick Boseman catapulted to superstardom when he took the role of Black Panther and appeared in Captain America: Civil War. Two years later, he headlined the Black Panther solo film.

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Icon book review: The Devil in the White City

This is a thickly paced book, at the speed of steam
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, September 10, 2020

Review by Robert McCool
Welcome to the White City - Chicago in 1890-1893.

It's been a while since I've written a review, as my wife had an emergency back surgery and an extended stay in the hospital that has kept me busy doing other things than writing.

But even as immediate as my time has been recently this book has been on my mind quite a bit. Once again, it comes recommended by a member of the Ada book club, and is justified as a good read.

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Icon movie review: Memento

Nolan’s inventive style of telling the story reconfigures the film into something new entirely
Posted by Fred Steiner on Thursday, August 27, 2020

Review by Wilson
If you’ve been paying attention to worldwide theater re-openings, you know there is one movie whose release date seems to be tumbling perilously into the future, Christopher Nolan’s newest film TENET.

Nolan (INCEPTION, THE DARK KNIGHT) is known for his ability to turn seemingly-complex plots into high-caliber entertainment. In anticipation of his newest film, I thought it would be appropriate to revisit my favorite film of his: MEMENTO.

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Icon music review: Such Pretty Forks in the Road - Alanis Morissette 

This Alanis Morissette album is a masterpiece, beautiful and surprising
Posted by Fred Steiner on Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Reviewed by Craig Hoffman
Such Pretty Forks in the Road is the ninth studio album by Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress Alanis Morissette. It is Morissette’s first studio album in eight years. Morissette had been working on the album since at least mid-2017. But it was worth the wait.

Morissette was scheduled to embark on a world tour for the 25th anniversary of her 1995 album Jagged Little Pill in 2020, during which she would perform songs from her entire career, including songs from Such Pretty Forks in the Road. 

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