The Cure is a short film that captures the intensity of emotions that often accompanies the end of a romantic relationship. The film runs about six minutes in length but says a lot in that short amount of time.

Done completely in a voice-over narration with a score, The Cure details one woman’s solution for stopping herself from obsessing over an ex-boyfriend. The director chooses to display the events leading up to and following the woman’s decision both in black and white and color, creating the desired dramatic effects. Liberty is also taken with the score. Instead of the usual piano and violin score, it is a strong guitar arrangement.

The choice to have the film narrated lends a deeper look inside the mind of the woman, letting us perhaps better understand her decision. Had the film been characters acting out the events through dialogue, I feel a lot of the intensity of The Cure would be lost.

I really enjoyed the cinematography. There are some daring angles and then the back and forth between color and black and white. I liked that the score used guitar, rather than piano and violin. But at times, it does tend to distract from the story since it is such a heavy score. Still, I found The Cure to be a really strong, intriguing film.

The Cure was inspired by an article about people’s obsession with lost loves and how that can lead to rage and despair. Finished in January 2006, the film traveled the festival circuit for the next year and a half. It won two awards from The New York International Independent Film & Video Festival: Best Short Film-Romance, Genre Award and Best Short Film, Screencraft Award.

See the whole film online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSSrHFCGxQM.

For more on the film, visit www.jafripictures.com. The Contact Us section has links to IMDB and to a MySpace page. Writer/Director Ryan Jafri is working on his next project, No Man’s Land, which he hopes to begin production on within a year. If you’d like to contact him, you may do so at ryjafri@jafripictures.com

The Breeders @ Magic Stick - Now that Kim Deal is done until the next big Pixies reunion tour, her and her sister Kelley are resurrecting that little project that came out of nowhere in the early 90s. If we had to hear “Cannonball” one more time when we were all in school, we were gonna go to Frank Black himself and plead for a Pixies reunion back then. The band is out supporting their new album Mountain Battles, released back in April. Tickets are $18 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com.

SATURDAY

Light In August @ Jacoby’s - If your head is still ringing from the thunderous techno sounds at the Movement festival this weekend, this may be your remedy. The local trio Light in August is based out of Royal Oak and brings a laid back, almost jazzy vibe at times with tracks like “Cloudy Beginnings” and “To Be Alone.” After forming only last summer, the trio (consisting of Ian Teeley, Jack Henry and Alex Wand) are gearing up to record their first EP, Places, due out sometime later this year. From the material we hear on their MySpace page, you can also hear eastern influences thrown into the mix as well.

The band’s pop-rock sound is influenced by classics like the Beatles, as well as alt-rock luminaries Wilco. But influences don’t stop there and are widely ranged; lead singer Ian Teeley grew up a metalhead, while guitarist Alex Wand studied the sitar in India in the past. It has to be an interesting mash-up of influences. The band is opening for Desolation Angels and Woodman. Tickets are $5 and available at the door.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers @ The Palace - Now that Petty has gotten the short tour for his first band, Mudcrutch, out of the way (which included a boatload of shows at the Troubadour in Hollywood); Petty is ready to tour again with the band that pays the bill. After it seemed like every older person in America loved his Super Bowl halftime show (the rest of us kinda just shrugged and went back to our beers), Petty is gonna be out on the road playing all of the hits over the past three decades. It’s a surprise that this isn’t sold out, but could be by showtime. Tickets range from $55 to $99.50 and are available at www.palacenet.com

Bobaflex @ Harpo’s - After seeing these guys at Rock on the Range a couple weeks ago, you would have thought these guys were headed straight to the big time. But reality sets in as the West Virginian band toils around in the lower to middle pack of the rock world. Opening is the Bangkok Five, who harassed Art repeatedly to listen to their CD at Rock on the Range, but is told they might be just all right. Tickets are $15 and are available at www.ticketmaster.com.

After their mini-tour went through Ann Arbor, El-Paso prog-rock group, The Mars Volta brought their “Evening with…” set to Detroit in the midst of their formal U.S. Tour. Playing in front of a jumpy crowd of around 2,200, the band launched into a two and a half hour set with relied heavily on the band’s latest album, The Bedlam In Goliath.

As the band has evolved over the years, the once brainchild of former At The Drive In members Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez, the live version of the band has grown into a 8 member sizzling collection of players that fuse Latin, jazz, hard rock and blues into their fiery brand of music. As the band came out for the start of their 150 minute (!) set, lead singer Bixler jumped around and contorted his body in numerous positions to the adoring fans. A lot of the fire of the new songs is owed to new drummer Thomas Pridgen, who savagely worked the drum kit throughout the entire set.

The band touched on a lot of new material, such as “Wax Simulcra” and “Metatron,” which blended well with the older material, such as the Amputecture material “Viscera Eyes” and “Day of The Baphomets.”

In the past, the Volta has been a band that has either wowed the crowd, or left them puzzled. A lot of that will depend on your knowledge of the band and the appreciation for the musicianship dished out by the band. If you’re a fan just coming to hear the hit “The Widow,” odds are you may be disappointed. The band has developed a challenging, but highly satisfying sound that takes the listener off in many different directions. This was the longest set this reviewer has seen the band play over the years, and it may have ended up being the most thought out and exciting one yet.

Hopefully, you did not miss this set. The Mars Volta will be spending the summer in Japan, Australia and Europe before the return to the U.S. in September to play Austin City Limits in Austin, TX.

The 9^th edition of DEMF/Movement is the 4^th paying edition, but with that price, it brings bigger names from the electronic music world to Detroit. Headlining Saturday night at the festival will be Moby, which perhaps could be the biggest name in the history of DEMF. The New York DJ will be putting together a rare DJ’ing set; which will probably be better because his live non-DJ’ing sets are often goofy and shaky at best. Hip-hop occasionally makes small appearances at DEMF and the first night brings old-school rhymers Newcleus and Pete Rock joining the masses downtown.

Night two features regulars Richie Hawtin and Carl Craig, with New York indie underground rappers the Cool Kids getting a lot of exposure for the possible breakout group of the festival. The final night of the festival brings electronic stalwart Josh Wink and local favorite Kevin Saunderson to the mix as well.

Movement '08 marks the third year that local Paxahau Promotions has handled the event and after numerous public squabbles about the festival from people like Carl Craig and original founder Derrick May, Paxahau has resurrected the festival from certain financial ruin. Who could forget a few years back when the founders were at the gates of the festival, asking for donations for the next year’s event? With Paxahau’s savvy planning involved, Movement is still a low-priced, much bang for your buck electronic event that rivals festivals in Europe.

Pre-parties begin Friday night, with the last after-party going through Monday night. Even though techno fans have moved beyond glowsticks and pacifiers, get out and learn what the kids are into these days as Movement keeps going strong and moves towards its second decade.

Single day tickets are $25 at the door, Weekend Passes are $40, and are available at www.wanttickets.com. Tickets are also available at Record Time in Roseville. For more information on the festival, check out www.myspace.com/detroitmusicfest.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Written by: David Koepp, George Lucas

Rated: PG-13

Release Date: May 22nd, 2008

Early on in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Mutt Williams (LeBeouf) asks Indiana Jones (Ford), “Whaddya, like 80 years old?” As humorous as the line was, it had me thinking: Just how old is Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford, and will he break a hip at some point in the movie? Even though I knew Ford wouldn’t be falling without being able to get up at any point during the movie, I was surprised that at 64 years old and with 19 years between “Indiana Jones” flicks that the cast and director would want to come back for one last run. IJatKotCS (even the acronym version of the title is lengthy) fares decently well as a summer escapist flick, but like many summer tentpole movies, it has its flaws on its way to a generally entertaining movie.

At the start, it's 1957 and we're in the midst of the first phase of the Cold War, Jones is kidnapped by KGB soldiers and Stalin adoring army member and so-called psychic Irina Spalko (Blanchett), trying to unlock the mystery behind Area 51. Mayhem ensues and Jones escapes and is approached by Mutt about the whereabouts of his mother and family friend, Professor Oxley (John Hurt). Jones realizes that the missing persons and the crystal skull everyone is looking for are all intertwined, which leads Mutt and Jones into South American jungle to unlock the mystery behind the City of Gold. Meanwhile, Spalko and the rest of the Russians are looking for the crystal skulls because they believe it can lead to mind control over Americans and the rest of the world.

A monkey wrench gets thrown into the situation as Mutt’s mother is no other than Indy’s former girlfriend Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen, her first role in who knows how long). This adds another subplot to the movie that I can't reveal but you probably already know where this is going anyway. Together, they all take on the Russians to stop their quest for domination.

Crystal Skull works best when it returns to the quirks that made the franchise so successful; Ford’s bumbling take on Indiana Jones and the adventure involved along the way. After staying out of the public light for the past few years, Ford does Jones justice when he is not trying to pull off an out of his reach action scene. At 64, his dry wit is far more appealing than swinging his whip and trying to punch out soldiers far bigger. Ford is not afraid to let the script take a swipe at his age, but less action scenes on his part would have made the film more believable. His chemistry with Allen is still good after nearly 30 years and you can tell where the ending is heading about halfway in.

Cate Blanchett does fine with the somewhat underwritten backstory behind her character and seems to be having a good time with the role, even though her casting seems a bit out of place for a big summertime action movie. She pulls off playing the almost dominatrix like Spalko with going over the edge with it. However, I am not convinced that Shia LeBeouf is the next Tom Hanks, like magazines have said in the past. Along with Speed Racer’s Emile Hirsch, the two come off as comical in trying to be badasses and should probably consider other types of roles. One can already hear the critics sharpening their knives at certain elements of the movie and ripping it to shreds. Some moans could be heard at the ending of the movie, but sometimes filmmakers are simply looking for a crowd pleaser, not necessarily to be gushed over by critics. Such is the path taken to the ending of Crystal Skull. Even though the movie has some flaws and is uneven at times, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a fun and whimsical throwback to adventure movies of the good old days.

Upon arriving at the venue, I immediately noticed the better parking situation over last year’s three mile backup to get in; this year, the backup barely stretched a thousand feet. But quickly, the familiar sights of a heavy metal parking lot take hold; plenty of Natural Ice and American Spirit cigarettes abound. After looking over the crowd for two days, it's pretty obvious what the eventual cause of death will be for a solid fifty percent of the festival goers, and it's not natural causes.

As the first band on the second stage comes on, you look at how pristine everything still is and you wonder how long it will take for this beer swilling crew to wreck the place- my initial prediction is somewhere in the 4-5 hour range (it only took 2 hours, maybe, for the second stage area to be littered in plastic beer bottles). The first band, Drive A, a Buckcherry-rip off, would be more memorable for giving out the most free stuff during the weekend than for their 25-minute set.

Billy Howerdel’s new band, Ashes Divide, seemed better suited for a darkly lit goth club than the 1 p.m. sunshine. Not bad, but not all that great in their 30-minute set and definitely not the demographic the band was looking for. Finger Eleven was the first band to take to the main stage. The Canadian band was brief, but made the most out of their time. Playing songs like “Good Times” and the massive hit “Paralyzer,” the band was a pleasant early day surprise. It looked as if lead singer Scott Anderson might have started celebrating a little early, but the band had seized their moment.

If there was a band that seized the moment more than any other at Rock on the Range ’08, it was the Australian band Airbourne. The band played to their AC/DC influence, and won the crowd (and myself) over with their half hour set with fun no-brainers like “Cheap Wine and Cheaper Women,” and “Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast.” Lead singer Joel O’Keefe even nailed the high pitched wail of Brian Johnson. Some people may complain that the band sounds too much like their influences, but it’s a brand of rock we don’t see much of these days.

As Airbourne seized the day, Killswitch Engage took their usual spot as the court jesters of the festival circuit. Killswitch gave ROTR a little taste of the full on metal that had so far been avoided at the festival. Armed with a blow up doll strapped to his back, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz taunted the crowd, while lead singer Howard Jones wanted to see “white people collide” during songs like “Rose of Sharyn” and their ripping cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver.”