Luke Wade and his band, No Civilians, have slowly but surely been making a name for themselves in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But with Wade's widely praised audition on the season premiere of NBC's The Voice, he may just be ready for the big time.
Wade sang Otis Redding's "That's How Strong My Love Is," a good choice for the soulful singer who describes himself as "Ray LaMontagne with the showmanship of Bruce Springsteen."
Almost immediately, all four coaches — Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani — turned around their signature chairs to get a better look at the person behind the distinctive voice. After a standing ovation and a few minutes of playful arguing between the coaches, Wade ultimately chose Pharrell.
In a promo video, Wade says that he chose to go on The Voice to try and gain more exposure for himself and his Fort Worth-based band. He also hopes that a win on the reality show will allow them to travel to shows a bit easier instead of continuing to put 50,000-100,000 miles on his car every year.
As luck would have it, Luke Wade & No Civilians are scheduled to perform — for free, no less — at AT&T Performing Arts Center's Patio Sessions on Thursday, October 9, alongside Kirk Thurmond. They will also perform at the Magnolia Motor Lounge in Fort Worth on October 10.
The career of actor Chris Hemsworth is a curious one, as it feels like he’s a huge star (mostly from playing Thor in Marvel movies) and not at the same time, with most of the non-MCU movies featuring him in a lead role failing to become big successes. But he still has a certain presence about him, which is why he’s being given another chance to prove his star power in the new thriller, Crime 101.
Hemsworth plays Davis, a talented thief who knows how to get what he wants without resorting to violence. When a job early in the movie turns slightly sideways, it makes him think twice about working with his handler (Nick Nolte), who seems to prefer someone with a stronger touch, like the up-and-coming Ormon (Barry Keoghan).
Davis is the main character, but two others who come into his orbit get their own subplots. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a slightly schlubby LAPD detective who’s convinced he knows the pattern of an unknown thief that likes to hit places close to Highway 101. Sharon (Halle Berry) works for a high-end insurance agency known for working with ultra-wealthy clients, the types who might be a great target for a thief like Davis.
Written and directed by Bart Layton, the film has a decent propulsion to it that comes with most crime thrillers. Davis and Ormon represent the yin and the yang of criminal approaches, and and it’s interesting to see the juxtaposition between the two as their simmering rivalry heats up over the course of the film. When the film commits to actually showing its crimes, it has an excitement that’s worth watching.
Unfortunately, Layton displays a real lack of focus, taking the audience into subplots with each of the three main characters that prove unnecessarily distracting. Lou’s marriage problems may explain his disheveled appearance, but there’s no need to see him deal with them with wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Sharon’s troubles with her male-dominated company prove slightly pivotal, but still don’t merit the time put into exploring them.
The most baffling subplot is Davis pursuing a relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he randomly meets. At different points in the movie, including many of his interactions with Maya, Davis seems like the most uncomfortable, antisocial person in the world. And yet he somehow morphs into a suave smooth-talker who’s able to convince anyone to do what he wants at other key points, making it unclear exactly what kind of person he really is.
Hemsworth does relatively well in the lead role, but he’s still missing that certain something to make his character, and therefore the movie, truly compelling. The rest of the cast is fine, too, but each of them seem to be putting in just the minimal amount of effort to make the film watchable. Ruffalo and Barbaro come off the best, but with the talent in the cast (11 Oscar nominations and one win), they could have been used better.
Crime 101 has most of the ingredients to be another great entry in the genre, and it succeeds when it actually decides to deliver on its promise. But too much of the film is spent on things that have no real bearing on plot or character development, leaving the movie in the middle of the pack.
