You would think that a spoof titled Superhero Movie would have some potential. Afterall, how many superhero pictures have their been over the past decade? The genre has practically owned Hollywood and audiences since the first X-Men film streeted.

But this may mean that the time is ripe for a spoof or a work of deconstruction (Watchmen). The Weinstein Co. and Dimension Films is behind Superhero Movie, which really looks like it’s goofing on the first Spider-Man movie, more so than the genre itself. The film from producer David Zucker (he of “Naked Gun” fame) and director Craig Mazin (both the bad “Scary Movie 3” and the worse “Scary Movie 4” were largely his doing) stars Leslie Nielsen as the “Uncle Ben” character as well as Sara Paxton, Drake Bell and Jeffrey Tambor.

Ripe with potential this trailer just comes of as meh. Even Hancock with Will Smith and going back further any incarnation of The Tick seem to goof on superheroes much much better.

New Orleans’s Bonerama have teamed up with rock outfit OK Go to record an iTunes only EP You’re Not Alone that will be available on Feb. 5. That’s the start of Mardi Gras and all proceeds from the sale of the EP will go to benefit members of the Crescent City’s music community.

“New Orleans is one of the last places in America where music is truly a fundamental part of everyday life,” says OK Go singer Damian Kulash. “People get together on the weekends and parade through the streets just playing songs; 12-year-old-kids learn funk on the tuba; everyone dances. Life elsewhere in the world simply isn’t as celebratory. If we allow the culture of New Orleans to die by leaving its musicians marooned around the country, America will have lost one of its great treasures.”

Hard to believe but this August mark the three-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Three years! My god, they haven’t even begun to rebuild in some places. It’s really just a tragedy and though sales of this EP might not amount to much of anything, it’s always great to see other musicians trying to help out.

On You’re Not Alone, Bonerama lends its trombone and trumpet swagger to three cuts off of OK Go’s album Oh, No. Those tracks are: “A Million Ways,” “It’s a Disaster” and “Oh Lately It’s So Quiet.” There are also covers of David Bowie’s “Rock N’ Roll Suicide” and Bobby Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” which features vocals from Al Johnson.

Johnson is one of those musicians who lost everything in the flood and he is best known for writing the Mardi Gras theme song “Carnival Time.”

We were hoping to have some links to some of these songs, but alas, the EP doesn’t seem to be up at iTunes yet and neither of the bands’s website or Myspace pages have any of their work together. Pretty lame if you ask me. As soon as we find something on this we’ll update.

Bonerama is on tour, with those dates after the jump. They’ll also be performing on Letterman Feb. 11 with Damian Kulash . MORE »

Looks like it was taken from Empire Magazine’s upcoming spread on the movie or possibly another one.  It was found via AICN and first surfaced on Myspace.  Indy looks like he’s about to open a can of whoop ass on Cate Blanchett’s Commie-pig and her thugs.  I love that he’s got that hangdog “why me worry” expression on his face.

 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls opens on May 22.

First there was Anna Karenina tragically getting her head cut off by a train. After polishing off that novel, I always wished I was around for someone to committ subway seppuku; alas, that hasn’t been the case so far.

So, tragic deaths aside, much of what passes for entertainment on the subway these days is reduced to homeless dudes looking for a meal ticket, college dudes strumming their guitars to the soothing sounds of Dave Matthews. Is it too much to ask for some originality out of our buskers these days? I mean why not fire baton twirling or midget juggling or how about “Thriller” reenactments?

Well one out of three ain’t bad. Except you have to live in London.

A Transport for London spokesperson said: “There are clearly occasions, like this, when everyone enjoys being entertained by some talented people.

“There are other occasions where inconsiderate behavior can spoil a journey for other passengers. Our message is simply that a little consideration to your fellow passengers can make a real difference to everyone.”

What gets to me though, is that this video’s production values are way too high. Multiple camera angles makes this seem wholly planned and approved by the Tube. Is spontaneity too much to ask for? Sigh.

So better or worse than the Phillipino inmates or Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and their posse in Thirteen Going on 30? And yes, I’ve seen the movie and um, yes I sorta have a soft spot for it. Oy vey.

Showtime has teamed up with internet TV provided, Brightcove, to allow Emmy voters to stream full seasons of their signature shows like Brotherhood, Weeds, Dexter and Californication.  The move aims to forego the traditional process of mailing out screeners of their shows.  Now, voters will be able to simply enter a passcode (hint, hint can anyone dig one up?) at: http://sho.com/foryourconsideration and you’ll be able to watch any of their shows at their leisure. 

Now, this isn’t necessarily the first step in the right direction, but would consumers pay a small fee to access this content as opposed to getting leeched from their cable provider?  I think I would, but I would also gladly sit through commercials for the opportunity to watch these shows as well.

Showtime series will be available beginning Feb. 15 and continue streaming through the summer (which includes the Emmy season’s June balloting and August judging).

“This year’s Primetime Emmy campaign initiative was driven by a goal to create a new and unique way for voters to view Showtime’s eligible programming anywhere in the U.S,” said Richard Licata, Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications for Showtime. 

Not available to regular old consumers, but this seems to be a step in the right direction to push for internet television.

When news first broke of actor Heath Ledger’s death, there was a lot of speculation regarding the chain of events. Did the masseuse call Mary-Kate Olsen after she found the actor’s body? How the hell did he die? And thanks to the rush of news information did the world find out before his family did? Seeing as how everybody knew a mere two hours afterwards, I’m guessing that’s a tasteless yes to the last question.

As to the first one? Well 23/6 got their hands on the incident report from that day and some of those questions have been answered, though in a made up police incident report.

I guess it’s not too soon to be making jokes at Ledger’s expense.

Interesting article by George Hart (via: Kottke) regarding food pairings. Mr. Hart investigates if it is possible for three food substances to be incompatible when all three are together, but when only two of the three are paired they produce a sublime taste.

It’s an interesting theory and one I think all chefs or foodies would be interested in.

There are many ways to interpret this “going together” but an example solution would be three pizza toppings—A, B, and C—such that a pizza with A and B is good, and a pizza with A and C is good, and a pizza with B and C is good, but a pizza with A, B, and C is bad. Or you might find three different spices or other ingredients which do not go together in some recipe yet any pair of them is fine.

I learned of The Incompatible Food Triad problem from the philosopher Nuel Belnap when I was a graduate student in the late 1970’s. He mentioned it in discussion while we were at a dinner together. In the intervening years, I have occasionally passed it on it at various dinners to my colleagues and graduate students, always without success. Recently, (at a wonderful dinner in southern Spain with a colleague, two graduate students, and a vast platter of tentacles and mysterious seafood,) I realized it has been twenty-five years with zero progress. It was time to start getting serious about finding a solution! First, a Google search found no references at all. Three billion web pages, and none discuss the question. Then I contacted Prof. Belnap to see if he had found a solution in the intervening years. He tells me that has made no progress either. He also informed me that he learned the problem from the philosopher Wilfrid Sellars over a dinner, and that he suspects Sellars is the originator but can not be sure.

According to the article, no progress has been made in this philosophical food theorum. Many have tried, as you would see by scrolling down on the page, but many have failed. So, are there any food combinations that you think might work in this problem?

Tom Brady’s foot cast (yup, the name of next season’s fantasy football team seeing as how Mike Vick’s Rape Stand is only funny to a small number of people) and The Patriots’s run for perfection aside, one of the hallmarks of Super Sunday are the commercials and the television shows that debut after the game.

Will any of the commercials this year become instant classics?  Can’t say for sure yet?  We’ve got some of our favorites, but the always dilligent Gawker staff have compiled their own list of 25 memorable commercials from years past.  No real surprises, ahem Mean Joe Green at number 1, but still always nice to stroll down advertising lane.

Our favorite has to be Terry Tate Office Linebacker.

Basically, we’ve been preparing for the return of Lost for the better part of two months.  Just obssessing over its return.  Watching videos, reading interviews, talking with friends, tracking spoilers and clues all the stuff you’re supposed to do for addictive television.  I’m just hoping my excitement for the show’s return doesn’t let me be dissappointed.  The LA Times poses 48 more questions (get it?  get it?) we still have before the show resolves itself.

48. Will the WGA strike permanently disrupt the original plan to end the series with three seasons of 16 episodes apiece?

47. What is Charles Widmore’s association with the Dharma Initiative?

46. Who were those guys in the icebound monitoring station at the end of Season 2?

45. What is the significance of Claire’s baby?

44. Will Rose’s cancer return?

43. Will Sun survive her pregnancy?

42. What’s the meaning behind that crazy mural painted inside the Swan Station?

41. Where exactly is the island located?

40. What gets worshipped at the temple Ben mentions near the end of the third season?

MORE »

Coming Soon got their grubby mitts all over the upcoming comedy Leatherheads.  We’ve got George Clooney and John Krasinski as two early 1920’s pro-football players and Renee Zellweger as a female sports writer.  The Clooney also did directing duties on the film, which opens April 4.

I’m not much a fan of the word zany, but this thing has zany written all over it.  It looks almost like a screwball comedy from the 50’s or something.  Even though I didn’t think much of the Coen Brother’s divorce comedy, Intolerable Cruelty, it really cementing just how solid Clooney’s comedy chops are.  He might not be underrated, but I think when it comes to comedy he certainly is underappreciated as his name is never in discussion of comedy actors.

Anyone who can make me laugh just by raising their eyebrows is a-okay in my book.  Poster after the jump. MORE »

Probably the apex of internet film making rest on the shoulders of a bunch of guys who dress up like Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, The Doobie Brothers and other 70’s/80’s soft rockers.  With the help of trusty Hollywood Steve, the tell the “true” stories behind some of your favorite soft rock hits.

It’s all pretty absurd fun, especially if you’re a fan of music, VH1’s Behind the Music or um, Kenny Loggins.  Welcome to Yacht Rock!

What’s become a mini-cultural phenomenon started with JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair and Lane Farnham for the venerable LA instituition Channel 101.   It ended after a 10 episode run, but thankfully they were able to get together for another episode of Yacht Rock.

This time around Jason Lee makes a strong cameo as Kevin Bacon, Jimmy Buffet plays a villain and through it all we learn how the song “Footloose” was written.

Michel Gondry just went super-duper ultra-meta on us. The director, responsible for such mind benders as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Science of Sleep, continues his trend of mind bending with this latest experiment.

We’ve been following the development of his latest flick Be Kind Rewind, starring Jack Black and Mos Def.

To recap: Black and Def star as video clerks who “swede” movies once they realize all the movies in their store have been magnetically erased. How do swede something? It’s easy! Just recreate anything you want using everyday home items from scratch.

His movie comes out Feb. 22, after premiering recently at Sundance Film Festival. Gondry has taken the time to swede the trailer for his movie.

Sweded Trailer

Original Trailer