With so many films planned, I bet you’re all wondering what I’m most looking forward too at Electricity and Lust and well, I’m going to tell you. So here’s the five films I’m looking forward to most across June, July and August along with some honorable mentions. (UK release dates)
Sorry about the radio silence this week, I’ve been entertaining my little bro by taking him to Sebadoh’s Don’t Look Back performance of Bubble & Scrape and to see Southbank University. We’ll be back on track next week.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is finally uncovered by Tasha Robinson.
Creepy comic-book characters here.
A second Donnie Darko?
Gore Verbinski has received the mandate to direct the adaptation of Bioshock.
Femme Fatales. But who is the most fatale of those femmes?
Sasha Frere-Jones quips on the new Beck album.
David Chase is to direct his first feature film.
Jeffrey Lewis and his Jitters checks in on Daytrotter.
Radiohead is not too chuffed with its Greatest Hits set.
Pick of the Week: Skins Series 2 - Slim-ish pickings this week I’m afraid so Skins gets top billing. It’s probably all worth it though for the first episode which features an amazing modern dance routine by Maxxie and Bill Bailey dancing with a dog.
Also Out:
Ashes to Ashes Season 1 - A moderately disappointing follow-up to Life on Mars which is really only worth it to again appreicate the irrepressible brilliance of Philip Glenister as Gene Hunt.
Charlie Wilson’s War - Fumbled political satire with great turns from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tom Hanks but an embarrassingly bad one from Julia Roberts.
Shrooms - Irish rural teen horror movie. Looks pretty awful.
Bonnie and Clyde - A 40th Anniversary edition of the utterly-classic birth of New Hollywood.
Region 1:
The Orphanage - Solid and effective ghost story if somewhat overrated in the scare department.
Youth Without Youth - Francis Ford Copolla’s indifferently received, ambitious work.
Awwright!! We’re back on regular pop culture duty today then… puns this week come courtesy of songs by New Order in light of the new Joy Division documentary.
The AV Club interviews Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Does Seinfeld still hold up?
Jeff Bridges is underrated as hell. Here’s why…
Anthony Lane discusses Speed Racer and Turn the River.
PopMatters interviews Carly Simon.
The Guardian has an interview with Martha Wainwright.
Danny Dyer, not a fan of Orlando Bloom apparently.
Cat Power will be on the new Beck album.
The fantastic Holy Fuck have done a session for Daytrotter.
Jackie Clune comments on the Johnny Vegas incident.
Another day, another interview with Tina Fey.
Spike Lee is blogging for The Guardian from Babelgum.
Daisy Lowe and the rock ‘n’ roll IT girls.
Alex Turner may have dilemma on his hands as to which of his bands is better.
The Times recommends the ‘Asian Bjork’.
It also profiles some bands plying their trade away from the beaten track.
Neil Diamond returns.
So do The Roots, natural successors to Diamond’s crown?
As the economy falters, the art world is booming.
Richard Price discusses Lush Life and The Wire with The New Republic.
Sasha Frere-Jones is ga-ga for laser bass.
Also folks, try and keep up with Pedro Almodovar’s blog which is just great.
Salon, like everyone should, urges watching Ira Glass’ This American Life.
Slant has an interview with Errol Morris.
MUST READ - Let’s look at all the elephants in the room… including the white ones.
In that spirit, McCain has his own Rev. Wright in waiting. And he’s served time for Watergate.
There’s arguments to say though that McCain is a true conservative.
Seriously though, check the guy’s foreign policy.
How will the US accomplish success in Iraq.
Guantanamo and the destruction of the American reputation.
Obama versus Clinton. Bill, that is.
He’s edging closer to the official nomination now.
He’s using the personal touch in Indiana.
Keep in mind though the Wright scandal. Bill Maher described Wright eloquently on his season closer as a ‘prick’.
Shockingly though, even with this in the background, a policy debate has broken out in the Democratic race.
Loosely politics-focused but still fascinating, a look at human-trafficking in Moldova from The New Yorker.
Gordon’s getting jittery and the taxes are the first to benefit.
So Boris won… he’s really going to have to shed the buffoon image now, isn’t he?
David Cameron has very cheekily turned against him.
Indeed, his win could mark the beginning of Cameron’s final demise.
He must perform now though. There’s a nice note in this piece that Boris is ‘as unqualified for such a role as Livingstone was in 2000’. I’m not convinced but hell, I’ll give him a shot.
We’re going back to all-encompassing pop culture and politics links posts now. The pop culture ones will be every day and the politics ones on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. As I’ve got a new gig writing film reviews for Screenjabber, I don’t need to devote the blog to film. Enjoy the change back, folks.
The AV Club pays tribute to Alien.
The Hold Steady’s new record has a release date.
Uwe Boll is suing Billy Zane.
Everyone seems a little middling on the new Boris record. Pitchfork also has an interview with the guys from earlier in the week.
Not so with the new Portishead, greeted with almost universal acclaim.
PopMatters has a piece exploring the work of John Cage.
Vanity Fair talks to James Frey.
Esquire interviews Tina Fey.
The Guardian goes on the road with Dolly.
Andrew Kuo charts his enjoyments of gigs by The Dodos, Dirty Projectors and Hot Chip.
Roseanne Cash discusses her songcraft.
Slate briefs on Spring Books.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan talk to The Independent.
The 2008 List of Time’s Most Influential People is out. Colbert loses to Rain again.
Finally, here’s the High School Musical 3 press conference. Those eyebrows…
A new trailer for the okay-ish looking Wackness is out.
Same story as above but for The Incredible Hulk.
McKellan will return as Gandalf.
Javier Bardem has dropped out of Rob Marshall musical Nine.
My Girl is joining Tony Soprano on Loop, an unofficial adaptation of BBC political comedy The Thick of It.
Who else is getting a little fed up with viral marketing?
The Lovely Bones has halted filming after disagreements between Peter Jackson and his art director over how to depict heaven.
The Penelope Cruz/Ben Kingsley drama Elegy has picked up a distributor.
The cast of Gossip Girl are officially beautiful.
IndieWire highlights some gems from the Tribeca Film Festival.
The AV Club interviews Harmony Korine.
It also pay tribute to i Am Cuba in its New Cult Canon feature.
JoBlo has some piccys of Jim Carrey in I Love You Phillip Morris.
Roger Ebert has started a blog.
Could Jonah Hill grace the screen in Transformers 2?
Matthew Vaughn is remaking Israeli thriller The Debt.
Entertainment Weekly has a list of the top 21 bad haircuts in movies.
Hugh Jackman is talking Wolverine.
Soderbergh’s Che has been likened to Lawrence of Arabia.
Alex Gibney, the Oscar-winning documentarian of Taxi to the Dark Side fame, is making a doc on Eliot Spitzer.
David Denby reviews Iron Man and Then She Found Me.
The AV Club has a two part summer movie preview. Here and here.
Scarlett singing is getting all over the web.
Mel Gibson is coming back!!
Fernando Meirelles’ Blindness is being tipped for the opening spot at Cannes.
Philip Noyce is being linked to The Art of Making Money.
Liz Friedlander is to direct an adaptation of Tom Wolfe’s I Am Charlotte Simmons.
Latino Review has an interview with Robert Downey Jr.
SuperheroHype talks to John Favreau.
A trailer has turned up for Swing Vote.
Finally, a brief comment. If you don’t want your fifteen-year-old daughter to become a sex symbol, try not to allow her to be photographed topless and covered by a sheet. Blaming Annie Liebovitz for taking the photo makes no sense when, as a parent, you should simply specify prior to the shoot that photos of this sort are not okay. Billy Ray, it’s down to you so stop flinging guilt at everyone else. Here’s a suggestion, pick up a magazine and look at Britney Spears. Then tell your daughter to take a year off, grow-up a little and understand what will happen if they continue allowing her to be sexualised in this way. It’s more complex than these few lines, but the basic fact holds true: don’t let a fifteen-year-old girl take her top off in front of a photographer.
Further to this, here two opinions from Slate (Here and Here), one from Bonnie Fuller and here’s one from Jamie Lee Curtis.
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