Rock n Roll Hoochie Link

I’ve been at My Bloody Valentine (I’ll report back post-haste) so sorry about the lack of post yesterday. In honour of my having to go and see The Rocker tomorrow, it’s time to revitalise the hair metal punnage.

Cinema’s great one-scene wonders.

David Morse. No, the great David Morse, talks through his film roles.

Gareth McLean asks a question I’d love to know the answer to, why is Top Gear so popular?

Pedro Almodovar says you can’t blame him for the alleged dearth of Spanish cinema in the UK.

Konami says compatability is the key when it comes to these musical video games.

All hail Exile in Guyville.

Pizza from a vending machine?

Graphic novels and Hollywood.

Gas prices are hitting the indie rockers too, you know…

Josh Brolin as Snake Plissken? I can dig it.

Keep up with Ricky Gervais’ movie blog here.

School of Rock 2 is looking likely.

New fiction from Alice Munro!

Here’s an interview with agit-punk genius Saul Williams.

PopMatters reviews Primavera.

The first ever song on NME Radio was Muse… only one way to go now I guess.

The new Massive Attack record is coming soon. Hands up if you’re ‘meh’.

Why do bands give themselves unprintable names?

Finally, a Soviet Winnie the Pooh, anyone?

DVDs This Week – June 23

Pick of the Week

Pixar Short Film Collection – The genius of Pixar is well-known by this point but their true wonders come in their peerless shorts. The utter, beguiling, cosmic brilliance of this collection will have you either rushing to rewatch their multiple feature masterpieces or frantically drawing cartoons on the road to a new career in animation. Actual, real-life genius.

Also Out

Pushing Daisies: Season 1 – A fest of quirk to be sure but hugely enjoyable in the right dosage and featuring a truly charming performance from Anna Friel. The rest of the cast is also very good and, given the shocking lack of comedy around on US TV right now, it’s up among the funniest things you can see.
Penelope – Christina Ricci as the girl with a snout who ensnares the lovable James McAvoy who loves her for who she is. Not seen it yet but it’s on the list.
Satyajit Ray Collection – Regarded widely as the most important director in Indian movie history, I’ve seen nothing of his work but the acclaim he attracts is enough to have me interested.
Rambo – Over-violent and lacking in any winking charm, this is a pretty awful piece of brutal ‘heroic’ violence. Any political comment gets lost in the bruising battles.
My Blueberry Nights – Wong Kar Wai, the genius behind Chungking Express, works in the English language for the first time. Avoided by me due to the presence of Jude Law, my absolute filmic nemesis.
The Boss of it All – Lars Von Trier goes for an office-based comedy and, again, I’ve not seen it. But I am intruiged to see what the mischievous git will do.
Syndromes and a Century – Slow but breathtakingly beautiful Thai story with two gracefully intertwined stories. Not for all, but a really rewarding experience.

Political Weekend

UK

Our new key political enemy in the UK? The Grey Squirrel.

Gordon Brown is pleading for help from oil-rich nations on nuclear energy in the UK.

29% of secondary schools in the UK have sexual health clinics.

Labour is careering towards financial disaster.

Apparently we are also leading the world in arms sales.

MPs want money for second homes.

Brown’s plans for eco-housing are being attacked as just hot air.

The Anglican church is divided over the recent marriage of two gay priests and leading bishops will boycott the Lambeth conference

Could the intense criticism of Brown from the Conservatives backfire?

Stagflation in our economy will not be like it was in the 1970s.

World

Unicef say children have been targeted in the war in Haiti.

155 people have died in a typhoon in the Philippines. A ferry, carrying 700, has been hit by the disaster.

Brazil, and the mystery of the not-so-undiscovered tribe.

Violence in Zimbabwe continues and seems to have been meticulously planned.

White Link, I Wanna Link

Mercury Rev will return with two new records.

Josh Modell finally takes in Raging Bull.

Is Chinese Democracy finally upon us?

Wired has a piece on the Metallica reviews scandal.

Cody Chessnutt could be returning – inspired by Obama.

Chuck Bass in short-shorts.

Weezer adding more to the Rock Band party.

Is bottled water on the way out?

Here’s Jim DeRogatis’ top ten records of the year so far.

In Treatment has been renewed.

Inglorious Bastards may be split in two.

Link Rose

Slate reviews Michelle Obama’s appearance on The View.

Best songs of the year so far, according to The AV Club.

The Boondock Saints gets its tribute as a cult gem.

10 screenwriters to watch.

Kiss no like Radiohead.

The next addition to the Spears clan has arrived.

PopMatters has a feature on George Melies.

Which TV catchphrase has entered your lexicon?

Lethal Bizzle talks about his Download experience.

Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III tops a first week million.

Madchen Amick is joining Gossip Girl.

Man Man provide a Guest List.

A red band for The Wackness is up.

Cool Ghostbusters tee!

Mercury Rev’s next record will be a free download.

No More Linkoes

Is Daisy Lowe to become the Lauren Conrad of the UK?

Ellen Burstyn and Ellen Page in same film. Ellen-world begins to implode.

James Blackshaw is picking up yet more acclaim.

Joan Rivers tears Russell Crowe a new one on Loose Women.

Billy West is interviewed riiiight… here.

Wow. Total hatred for Californication from The AV Club.

14 songs you should never play in a bar.

You can download the new Primal Scream joint for free.

Entertainment Weekly has a sneak peek at the graphic novel from Method Man.

NY Magazine profiles Dash Shaw.

Margot & the Nuclear So-Sos are preparing two new records.

Anarchy in the U.Link

So the great Stan Winston died yesterday.

The Deerhunter game is going online.

Just a political note, Al Gore formally endorsed Obama today. A little late but he’s did it.

The next Hulk movie may be put to the fans for guidance.

Spoon dropped by Daytrotter yesterday and Herman Dune checked in today.

Why aren’t McFly considered a serious rock band?

Here’s a piece about Journey’s resurrection. They never went away in my mind.

Check out these learning t-shirts.

This unseen poster for Teeth is… make up your own mind.

Sam Raimi has reportedly signed on for a Denis Lehane adaptation.

PopSugar, the blog network that The BETH works for, is featured in Time Magazine’s fifty best websites 2008.

Here’s an interview with Silver Jews-genius David Berman.

William Hurt is joining the cast of Damages.

Len Wiseman is to direct the Gears of War film.

Rockaway Link

Puns this week are pun-k songs… I have to stop this.

Here’s a list of movies that sparked protests. Nothing for Hottie and the Nottie though…

Sci-fi author Lewis Shiner is putting all his books online for free.

Mogwai’s genius debut, Young Team, is reissued and adored.

Which industry provides us with the most misleading advertising.

Supposedly, MIA is retiring…

Newsweek interviews Abigail Breslin.

The New Yorker has fiction from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Here’s an interview with Rhett Miller from the Old ’97s.

Here’s a list of the top twenty-five TV/movie hookers.

Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, is not loving the fame game.

The last ever Richard & Judy Book Clubbers have been announced.

Is Google making the world stupid?

Lil Wayne has gone to bat with Al Sharpton.

Rain is coming to our screens.

DVDs This Week

Pick of the Week:

King of Kong – One of the best, or at least most entertaining documentaries of last year, this chronicle of the battle between the two best Donkey Kong players in the world, Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell, is a titanic struggle between good and evil. Mitchell comes out as a coniving and cowardly villain and Wiebe a lovable sad-sack and it’s their stark differences that create this Shakespearean battle. Well worth a watch even if you couldn’t care less about Donkey Kong.

Also Out:

Jumper – The pretty awful looking Doug Liman vehicle which I mentioned in the Region 1 picks briefly last week. It’s saved for me by Rachel Bilson being in it but from what I gather from reliable source Tom, this is just headache-inducing SFX foolishness.
Peep Show: Season 5 – Still probably the most consistently strong sitcom on British television behind The Mighty Boosh, this one proves further proof that Mitchell and Webb are great performers when someone else writes their material.
Californication: Season 1 – I’ve written about this a couple of times on the site and why not? It’s foul-mouthed, dirty fun but occasionally manages to side-step the limitations of its sex-comedy roots to provide some really sweet moments of pathos to go along with the ride.
Definitely Maybe – I’m yet to see this but a guy I work with who is a notorious misanthrope who said this was a very passable romantic comedy which translated means that this is some sort of rom-com genius.
WAZ: Extreme Sleeve Edition – I honestly couldn’t care much less about this terrible looking film but what the hell is an Extreme Sleeve?
Semi-Pro – Will Ferrell tries to be Ron Burgundy as a basketball player and Woody Harrelson sucks the life out of the comedy by acting like he’s in a serious, Ron Shelton-without-the-comedy sports movie. Half funny, half depressingly awful.
Mouth to Mouth – Another early Ellen Page curio in which she goes all GI Jane with the hair playing a young girl seduced by a cult. It look vaguely interesting.

Review: In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Sometimes is really lovely to watch a film so unashamedly romantic and sweet that all you want to do after watching it is smile and hug anyone close to you. Think of Say Anything, the touchstone of lovely romantic cinema without cliché, and you have a strong touchstone for In Search of a Midnight Kiss. There are some lovely scenes of two-way dialogue between Scoot McNairy and Sarah Simmonds as Wilson and Vivian. The two meet after Wilson posts an acerbic advert to find a misanthrope on Craiglist and go on a half-day date around Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.