Pershing, the sophomore album by Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, shows that it is possible for sugary sweet lo-fi pop to not come with a puckered aftertaste. The songs charm in their sound, although not always the subject matter, but there is not a moment where SSLYBY crosses the line between enjoyment and annoyance.

The reason for this is that not a single band member pushes the envelope, with no solo sounds lasting beyond a few seconds. There are plenty of little hooks strewn across songs like “Oceanographer.”

The album’s sound is grounded in that of indie-rock, and while the guitar work is not fuzzy, there is a subdued feeling throughout, especially in the lyrics.

The song “Think I Want To Die” doesn’t evoke thoughts of jumpy pop, but what is delivered hints at bad feelings with a bouncy smile.

At worst, Pershing is a clean, unmemorable pop album. At it’s best, it’s a light and easy-going record that serves well in the background.

In other words, this isn’t a love/hate album, it’s more of a like/casually dislike effort.

Tapes ’n Tapes made a statement and grabbed some fame with The Loon, their 2006 debut. Walk It Off, the Minneapolis-bred but Brooklyn-inspired band’s second album makes well … a mess.

There is no “Insistor,” the single that moved listeners and propelled Tapes into whatever the indie-rock equivalent of stardom is. That song stood out, something that no song from Walk It Off does.

That’s this album’s style: clarity and a mix of songs scrapped in favor of blended music. Whether its instruments faded into the mix, or songs not staying loud or soft as they did in The Loon, this album features attempts at advancing the band’s sound.

It’s not a diverse collection of songs — it’s a collection of songs including diverse little bits.

While no songs are wasted, none are that memorable. As a transitional record, “Walk” works, but the results are not the kind that make you hum, jump or play air guitar. If you have the patience for repeated listening, Walk It Off can grow on you. If you don’t, there’s no huge loss in skipping the record.

Recently released on DVD, Becoming Jane turns the tables on the beloved author as the audience sees Jane Austen’s story, not her characters. Austen is known for writing well-recognized novels including, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Mansfield Park, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. The movie opens in an 18th century English countryside village. Austen (Anne Hathaway) is a spunky, intelligent woman who loves to write. She constantly performs skits at family and friend parties, where they are always well received until she meets her equal in stubborn and intelligent Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy). This relationship closely mirrors Austen’s characters Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.

Best known for The Princess Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada, this is Hathaway’s first major historical film, and she does a superb job. With classic looks and a believable British accent, Hathaway fits perfectly in the role. Her co-star, McAvoy, steals the movie with good looks and a devilish, charming personality. With a smirkish smile and witty comments, McAvoy often steals shining moments from Hathaway.

Based on the novel by Ian McEwan, Atonement tells the tragic love story of Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy) set in a pre-World War II countryside. Friends since childhood, rich Cecilia and servant Robbie experience the trials and tribulations of growing up while their feelings intensify for one another.
However, their future together is torn apart when Cecilia’s younger sister Briony (Saoirse Ronan) unexpectedly eavesdrops on the couple in a private moment. With an overactive, childish imagination, Briony wrongly exposes Robbie as a criminal, forever changing the future between all three people. Though Briony feels remorse and realizes the consequences of her actions as she gets older, it is hard to sympathize with.

Though the movie remains almost true to the novel, the novel’s pace is much faster and more interesting than the movie. There are numerous scenes in the movie that drag on for minutes, making the movie seem dull and uninteresting. There are war scenes that show actors and actresses aimlessly walking around, not knowing for what they are looking. If the pace were faster, the movie would give justice to the book and actors.

Still, the acting and costumes were the saving points of the movie. With first-class acting by Knightley and McAvoy, the characters they portrayed seemed alive. Every bad thing that happened to the couple was conveyed with enough sadness and passion to make a cold heart open to feeling.

After years apart, Cecilia and Robbie find their way back to one another. However, when there appears to be a happily-ever-after ending, something unexpected is revealed, changing the meaning of the movie for the audience. Atonoment is a good movie to rent on a rainy day, but not one worth keeping in a DVD collection despite its numerous Academy Award nominations and wins.