Dakota Fanning, we were positive, was about two-years away from going all Drew Barrymore on us and ending up passed out in a gutter from a three day coke binge. But that was like five-years ago when the preternatural actress first began to annoy us in movies. Since then, we’ve given up on our animosity towards her (there’s always Abigail Breslin!) and have begun to appreciate her considerable acting talents for what they are.
Fanning stars in the adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd’s 2002 bestsellerThe Secret Life of Bees. The story follows an orphaned southern girl, Lily Owens, played by Fanning and her black caregiver (Jennifer Hudson) as they end up on a successful beekeeping farm owned by the Boatwrights, who happen to be three eccentric sisters with ties to Lily’s mother (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo). While the secret to Lily’s past and her mother’s death lie right under her nose the drama unfolds as the friction between the whites in the community and the Boatwrights increase.
Sentimentalism and cultural understanding no doubt ensue. We’re suckers for these types of stories, however, and the book is supposed to be outstanding. Mom Oyster, herself an astute judge of cultural works of great significance, is quite fond of this Southern Gothic novel and recommends it highly.
Faux News aired the first of two presidential documentaries on Monday night called “Character and Conduct.” I haven’t seen the Barack Obama documentary. However, the guys over at 23/6 have condensed the video into a 60-second clip and obviously skewed it to show Faux’s bias. The “documentary pretends really hard that it’s not full of stereotypes and insinuations! Couldn’t stomach it Monday evening? We’ve got it for you in a minute.”
I know he passed on Tuesday night, but it’s still hard to believe that he’s gone. Everyone went through a DMB phase at least for a few years in high school and then in college. I can’t say I’ve listened to them much since the album after Crash, but they are consummate musicians. Leroi Moore, the saxophone player, was one of the most enjoyable parts of the band.
Here’s the band performing Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” in what would be Leroi’s final concert. Listen to the way the saxophone on the song just hits all the right moments.
Lisa Selin Davis has an interesting examination of Americans and their relationship to malls, told through the prism of Michael Townsend and Adriana Yoto. The Providence couple squatted inside Providence Place back in 2003. Intending to stay there for only a week, they ended up creating a makeshift apartment for themselves and lived in the mall for four years. They insist they would have lived there indefinitely had they not been caught. What’s interesting about the article, aside from their story, is how malls are evolving from simply gigantic collections of indoor stores to something more. The city and the suburban are becoming interchangeable. [Salon]
This might lend a new definition to the infamous Patrick Ewing Theory, that a team is better off without it’s star player; the theory is not inclusive enough. Would the world be better off after Patrick Ewing breezed through definitive historical moments?
One of the NBA’s greatest centers, Patrick Ewing, has discovered a time machine and rather than go back and change the outcome of his great (but sorta disapointing career - c’mon Knicks fans you know it’s true!) career, he decided to embark upon the greatest adventure mankind has ever witnessed. Perhaps even greater than when Bert went evil on us.
Upon inspection, Patrick realized that this unexplainable object was in fact a time machine. Unable to resist, Patrick began a journey through time, hoping to catch glimpses of the world’s most famous events. Patrick swore not to interfere, knowing that even a tiny change could severely alter the present that he had previously known. Patrick did, however, swear that he would prove that his magical journey did happen, and today, for the first time, we are privileged to see pictures from Patrick Ewing’s spectacular journey.
Patrick Ewing 1 History 0. Unfortunately, Ewing did interfere with history and things have never been the same. Where else did Patrick go? MORE »
Perhaps Things We Lost in the Firewas one of 2007’s most underrated movies, and for good reason. How the hell do you market an emotionally honest film about two adults trying to get their shit together? Steady and mature adult dramas have all but disappeared from Hollywood, which is a shame.
Susanne Bier has crafted a gut wrenching flick that picks ups in the aftermath of a family’s tragic loss. A widower (Halle Berry) invites her dead husband’s best friend (Benecio del Toro) to live with them allowing the family to cope with losing a husband/father and giving a junky the chance to get his life back on track.
It’s a simple story anchored in emotionally nuanced performances, perhaps the finest performances Berry and del Toro have ever given. It is a crime that del Toro wasn’t nominated for Best Actor for his boffo performance as a man trying to find redemption after losing the only human who ever cared about him. Watching him trying to hold on for a family he only vaguely knew and a women that despised him is a true gut-punch.
There is a moment towards the end of the film where Jerry is back at rehab, his ashen and sunken face staring into the camera from behind the blackened eyes of a 1,000 lives. He’s recounting this dream of when he’s at peace and convincing himself to take things “one day at a time.” And as he’s doing that, the rain is pouring down outside and Halley Berry finds a bouquet of roses with the note “Accept the Good.”
There are no easy endings in this life, just difficult choices that we are forced to make every single day. Though Jerry (David Duchovney) is dead from the outset of the movie, his fingerprint is all over every character. It is Jerry that permeates what everyone does, his goodness and generosity of spirit is the one thing that keeps his wife and best friend from falling into the abyss.
This film comes highly recommended, but you have to be emotionally up for it. It’s not some Saturday afternoon trifle to be watched with half-attention. It’s not the story you tell (for this is one that’s been told a million times before?) it’s how you tell the story that counts. Bier succeeds largely on the backs of Halley Berry and Benecio del Toro.
Presumably the RIAA had gotten wise to the considerable amount of music that was being hosted and played on the service, bringing it into the same tier as some of the streaming radio services that have had to pay considerable licensing fees just to stream tracks to its users.
It was thought that a site like Muxtape could only survive if it didn’t reach critical mass. Unfortunately, that didn’t really happen as the site blew up. It really became one of the web’s most popular new sites.
On their blog, Muxtape insists this is just a temporary downturn. “No artists or labels have complained. The site is not closed indefinitely. Stay tuned. Beta users of Muxtape For Bands: you are unaffected by this outage.”
The trailer for “this year’s most anticipated show” or something like that has made it’s way to the intertubes. Now that we know Tori Spelling won’t be back for the show, and we have to wonder how long Shannon Daugherty will stick around for, just a glimpse was all it took to remember that this was the show in the early 90’s.
I’m just hoping the CW uses the same theme music. I’m sure there are other people on the show worth discussing, but most likely not.
About midway through the first season they should bring back Andrea Zuckerman to run the high school paper. Just a suggestion.
The question has to be asked. It was a close race and anyone that saw it had to think “holy shit how did Phelps make up the distance at the final lunge?” That was my thought. Still, he won and on Saturday night during the relay it amazed me how many people were pumped up for that race. A swimming race, no less.
At this downtown Portland bar, people were chanting “USA! USA! USA!” at the start of the race, banging their tables during it and yelping after Phelps secured his eighth gold medal. It was a moment of pride for an American athlete the likes I have never seen in my life. Ever (born months before 1980 Miracle on Ice). Perhaps not since Michael Johnson in Atlanta 1996 has the country rallied around one particular individual, you know just to see if they’ll live up to the lofty expectations.
But did Phelps win the 100m Butterfly? At this point does it even matter? I say it doesn’t. Of course, the crowd on Saturday would have been considerably less animated if Phelps lost his previous race. But it’s an interesting conspiracy theory, nonetheless. Someone needs to call Mulder and Scully and get on this.
Curiously, Omega sponsors Michael Phelps and also created the timing system used in the Olympic Pool. It’s accurate down to the 1000th of a second, which is more accurate than the pool itself. Meaning that the pool lengths aren’t guaranteed to be even, so the race is timed to the 100th second. It goes without saying that Omega has a vested interest in the success of Phelps.
Still, who really cares? In a year or month from now no one will remember any of this, only that Phelps is arguably the greatest Olympic athlete of all time and has all but assured he will be Athlete of the Year.
I still think Mark Spitz could outswim him though, given that he swam with a mustache and a quasi-afro and Phelps is all sleek, shaved and benefits from Speedo’s swimwear technology. A debate for another day.
Former Talking Heads guru David Byrne has a new album out with producer Brian Eno. You can buy it now or stream the entire shebang. If the first single, “Strange Overtures” is any indication then fans of Byrne, Eno and Talking Heads are going to be in for a special treat from Everything that Happens Will Happen Today. The album is available in three formats: digital only ($8.99), CD + digital ($11.99) and the bomb Deluxe Package ($69.99), which includes a custom package, four bonus tracks, screensavers and a slew of other goodies.[Listen or Buy]
Proving once and for all that self-absorbed members of the intelligensia don’t make for interesting movie subjects (see: The Squid and the Whale). Here we get Dennis Quaid as a miserable college professor, who pretty much stays a miserable misanthrope, socially retarded widower, who doesn’t change or grow until the final credits dictates he has to. Not even Ellen Page, as his also miserable too smart daughter yet quick witted!, or Thomas Hayden Church as the not smart hang loose adopted brother-in-law can save this movie. Well, Page and Church try hard and their chemistry is the most interesting aspect of this misfire of a film.
Word to the marketing staff - if a movie isn’t funny and doesn’t try to be, don’t sell this to me as some sort of Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, this year’s quirky indie comedy.
Spanish Artist Carlos Lascano has a work in progress, but what progress it is. This beautiful stop motion animated feature is a blend of various techniques, which you can read more about on the artist’s website. What amazes me in looking at the work that went into this, is just how much effort it takes to make something like this happen, even at only three minutes long.
It’s also evident that Sigur Ros heightens the emotional resonance of anything. The music swells and emotes, creating a richer world than the one already created.
Carlos shot the film with a Nikon D70s and Sony HVR V1, captured with a Blackmagic Intensity Card, and edited using Adobe Photoshop, After effects CS3, Final Cut and iStop Motion on an Mac Pro from Apple. Many of the organic textures such as particles, drops, autumn leaves, etc, were carefully filmed over a green background in uncompressed full HD at 1920 x 1080.
I would love to see a feature film by Carlos. It’s unfortunate that some of the world’s best animation isn’t given the opportunity to work on a feature film level because there’s only Disney, Pixar and Dreamworks Animation and neither of them are straying from the formula. I would love to see Tim Burton start his own animation company to make a place for different animation visions. You know a company that puts out one feature film a year from artists like Don Bluth, Arthur Rankin Jr. or Sylvain Chomet.
Okay we get it. Vampires are a stand in for oppressed minority groups. Ugh. Usually this sort of thing isn’t so bad, except when they insult our intelligence to read the subtext. With this new trailer, we get an idea of what the series is going to be about. It’s clear that this series is in trouble. HBO has shown nothing in the marketing of this show that it’s going to be anything other than an obviously campy vampire romp.
A pittance too, for I could read and watch any sort of vampire show/book. Which is to say, that despite my reservations I’ll be checking this one out as well in three weeks. Call me a sucker (pun soooo not-intended). If Alan Ball’s name weren’t attached to this show, would I be remotely interested? Probably not.
It’s been an interesting ride for Travis over the last decade. When I saw live for the first time back in 2000 my first thought at the end of the show was, “damn I wonder how long it’ll be until Fran Healy goes solo.” And yet, that hasn’t happened.
There is something admirable about a band that sticks together through the mucky muck. Their first few albums were all great Britpop-rock albums, but the problem with Travis is that everything after The Invisible Band has sounded like a cookie cutter Travis album. That doesn’t mean they weren’t pleasurable records, it’s just at a certain point I’ve had to accept that Travis made a particular type of record and they weren’t going to deviate much from that template.
To be honest, I was just happy they were making records at all, after almost calling it quites in the wake of drummer Neil Primrose breaking his back in a swimming accident. Since then they’ve taken their time getting back together as a band and last year’sThe Boy With No Name served as a reintroduction. But there was always something missing from their last few records.
It sounded like they were okay with making Travis records. They weren’t hungry to make a great record. They’ve severed ties with Independiente and started their own label Red Telephone Box.
Travis knocked out a follow-up album to The Boy With No Name in a two week session and are set to put out Ode To J. Smith, so named after a song on the forthcoming record, “J. Smith” on Sept. 29 (tracklist here).
From the sounds of the first single “Something Anything” and the leaked “J. Smith” it sounds like they might have found that hunger. The songs sound edgier, more adventurous, willing to take chances and let the guitars rip it.
Has been pushed back from Thanksgiving weekend until July 17, 2009. Which sucks because the teaser trailer got us all pumped for the movie. Basically, Warner Brothers doesn’t have jack for this summer because of the writer’s strike, so they’re using ole Harry to bolster their revenues. Strange, because the winter-released Potter films did financially better than the summer-release films. “Like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writer’s strike,” said Warners head Alan Horn “which impacted the readiness of the scripts for other films, changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of.”
Yes please. That is all. Click the beauty below to enlargen her and here to go to her website and enter for a chance to win a threesome, which is sadly nothing more than watching Vicky Christina Barcelona with ScarJo and one other person. Still, that’s kinda awesome for the dudes and dudettes.
Probably going to need a little bit more than luck. MTV has four clips from the movie Soul Men, which stars the now deceased Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, along with Sam Jackson. But we won’t talk about him because he stars in every other movie.
Let’s just say there would have been a riot if Bo Jackson from Tecmo Bowl wasn’t number one. Thankfully, the good people at Complex had the common sense to do the right thing. Others on the list include Randy Moss from NFL 2K, Jerome Bettis from Madden 99, Barry Sanders from Madden 92, and Mike Vick from Madden 04. But then it got me thinking. Is Bo Jackson the obvious choice? I mean is that like having a music list with The Beatles at number one? Should we be a little more creative? Probably not, since you can’t deny greatness. And Bo Jackson was certainly great - able to break off 90-yard touchdown runs in under 5 seconds. [Complex]
You know those emails asking for money from some rich guy in Nigeria? Or better yet when some drugged out homeless dude still wearing his lunch on his stained white T-shirt tells you he’s trying to get money for a bus ticket to see his family?
I couldn’t help but think of those scenarios when I came across this website called My Cousin and John Stamos. It seems the cousin is trying to get $518 for a plane ticket to attend John Stamos’s birthday party in Los Angeles. He’s up to $340.
I just hope he brings a gift or buys some good shit. [via The Candy]
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