There's nothing better than the HOLY SHIT moment while watching a tv show or movie. As I have mentioned several times, this season of 24, the best season EVER, has had more Holy Shit moments in one season than some networks will have in their entire lifetime. HOWEVER, in a season that has had NO bad episodes and a bunch of BEST EPISODES EVER, last night's episode, the last before the 2 hour season finale next week was simply THE BEST EPISODE EVER. Why? MIA KIRSCHNER. Lurch and I popped like we had won the super bowl. What a great way to re-introduce a recurring (hot as fuck) character. I cannot imagine how Jack Bauer is going to get out of this one, However, my prediction now is Tony Alameda won't live till Season 5. And if he dies at Jack or Mandy the naked terrorist's hands, I'll cry my eyes out and be the happiest 24 fan ever.
Best show. EVER.
F
17.5.05
REVENGE OF THE BYALICK
While I compose my thoughts on the fucking awesome episode of 24 last night as well as the blow away, youll regret it forever if you missed it Kasabian gig, I direct your attention to the left of this photo in which we see the wonderful BYALICK just over the shoulder of Mr. Lucas...She's the one who gets me into all the advance screenings and such. Kudos to her!
F
F
14.5.05
EMPIRE!
In a rare quiet moment before the long anticipated (and slightly dreaded) "Week of Gigs" begins tomorrow night with Nine Inch Nails (and then two nights of Kasabian, U2 and two screenings of Episode 3), I thought I would do my best to get you up to speed on where things have been this past week or so.
I was hoping Brandt would post about the magnificent New Order gig here in New York last week, but again the task seems to have fallen on my shoulders. Having last seen New Order 12 years ago and after repeated viewings of the recent live DVDs from 1998 and 2002, my expectations were very high. I expected greatness and unlike certain bands who have a long history, I didn't want to allow them to get by just on their legendary (or Godlike) status. Happily, it took New Order about half a second to blow me away by starting their gig with LOVE VIGILANTIES and it was all uphill from there. They had such amazing presence and a ferocity to them that we were all shouting and clapping like giddy teenagers with each song. New Order ran through an amazing selection of songs from their vast history and even the new material worked well (Despite an appearance from the manly chick from Scissor Sisters on the new single JETSTREAM). And just to make the night even better, we got to hear Joy Division tracks performed for the first time in our young lives. Watching my hero Hooky, in sleevless T, mind you, belting out basslines for songs like TRANSMISSION, SHE'S LOST CONTROL and LOVE WILL TEAR US APART were the highlights of the evening for me, without a doubt. Just seeing the man throwdown on the bass and the drumkat served as a wonderful throwback to being at the front of the stage during Revenge's first and only tour a decade and a half ago and deciding at that very moment that I would be a bassist. The reason we are all here. Awesome.
Meanwhile, before you read about it in NME, yes that was me hiding in a corner of Darkroom the other night with Poontang Dorg drinking Stella and making an exchange that made me the proud owner of 4 boxes of Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies. No, Carlos D was not there. Thank fuck. Always good to see Dorg, and the addition of Stella, Thin Mints and a DJ spinning Primal Scream only makes a lovely weeknight that much lovlier. Dorg is the best girl scout connection EVER.
KICKING AND SCREAMING is a funny movie starring Will Ferrell and a bunch of kids playing soccer. It's pretty good, not a classic, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Because it's produced by the genius known as Judd Apatow, it features cameo appearances from the various actors who have appeared in his previous TV series' FREAKS AND GEEKS and my personal favourite, UNDECLARED. Anyhow, I do enjoy the recent wave of comedies from these guys aka "The Frat Pack" (Read about them at http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-06-15-frat-pack_x.htm). However, I think Mr. Ferrell needs to start getting back to the edgier stuff that's NOT for kids cause I can tell you this much, as much as I liked this film, WEDDING CRASHERS is going to kick it in the ass when that comes out.
Today saw a full day of action at the Birdcage, with a special impromptu appearance by Ash Himself. Parts for a new song were demoed, work continued on The Saintface remix (getting there, Peter, I swear), and the lads spent time fixing some computer stuff for Ash so he can go and mix THEME FROM PROPAGANDA from the long lost unreleased Hypefactor album, EXIT STRATEGIES, still sitting unmixed in various harddrives in lower Manhattan. Anyhow, the HF live set was discussed, tunes were listened to and exchanged, more strategies were plotted, the Ass Cobra real band name was pondered, and by the time this was all over with, a good day was had by all. If only we can have more fun days like this. However, there's still an album that needs to be finished...
The rest of the day involved lazy wandering around the neighborhood with Irene which led to us walking through a street fair where we witnessed Leo, Giselle, and Leo's mom buying pickles from a vendor. Seriously. For the record, Giselle looks like my more attractive younger sister Anna Poontang's less attractive younger sister. Did that make sense? Then B and I exchanged some recent CD purchases while Irene and I sat and watched the new hit from Hong Kong HOUSE OF FURY, produced by Jackie himself and featuring all the new crop of HK young stars that I like, such as Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu and some old schoolers like Tony Wong and the VERY old school Wu Ma. However, not enough of the Twin Who Looks Like My Girlfriend (observer: http://www.8660.com/twins/image/20.jpg), but good fun nonetheless.
Well there you go. Things are obviously slow and boring. Maybe things will pick up. Who the hell knows...
F
I was hoping Brandt would post about the magnificent New Order gig here in New York last week, but again the task seems to have fallen on my shoulders. Having last seen New Order 12 years ago and after repeated viewings of the recent live DVDs from 1998 and 2002, my expectations were very high. I expected greatness and unlike certain bands who have a long history, I didn't want to allow them to get by just on their legendary (or Godlike) status. Happily, it took New Order about half a second to blow me away by starting their gig with LOVE VIGILANTIES and it was all uphill from there. They had such amazing presence and a ferocity to them that we were all shouting and clapping like giddy teenagers with each song. New Order ran through an amazing selection of songs from their vast history and even the new material worked well (Despite an appearance from the manly chick from Scissor Sisters on the new single JETSTREAM). And just to make the night even better, we got to hear Joy Division tracks performed for the first time in our young lives. Watching my hero Hooky, in sleevless T, mind you, belting out basslines for songs like TRANSMISSION, SHE'S LOST CONTROL and LOVE WILL TEAR US APART were the highlights of the evening for me, without a doubt. Just seeing the man throwdown on the bass and the drumkat served as a wonderful throwback to being at the front of the stage during Revenge's first and only tour a decade and a half ago and deciding at that very moment that I would be a bassist. The reason we are all here. Awesome.
Meanwhile, before you read about it in NME, yes that was me hiding in a corner of Darkroom the other night with Poontang Dorg drinking Stella and making an exchange that made me the proud owner of 4 boxes of Thin Mints Girl Scout Cookies. No, Carlos D was not there. Thank fuck. Always good to see Dorg, and the addition of Stella, Thin Mints and a DJ spinning Primal Scream only makes a lovely weeknight that much lovlier. Dorg is the best girl scout connection EVER.
KICKING AND SCREAMING is a funny movie starring Will Ferrell and a bunch of kids playing soccer. It's pretty good, not a classic, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Because it's produced by the genius known as Judd Apatow, it features cameo appearances from the various actors who have appeared in his previous TV series' FREAKS AND GEEKS and my personal favourite, UNDECLARED. Anyhow, I do enjoy the recent wave of comedies from these guys aka "The Frat Pack" (Read about them at http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2004-06-15-frat-pack_x.htm). However, I think Mr. Ferrell needs to start getting back to the edgier stuff that's NOT for kids cause I can tell you this much, as much as I liked this film, WEDDING CRASHERS is going to kick it in the ass when that comes out.
Today saw a full day of action at the Birdcage, with a special impromptu appearance by Ash Himself. Parts for a new song were demoed, work continued on The Saintface remix (getting there, Peter, I swear), and the lads spent time fixing some computer stuff for Ash so he can go and mix THEME FROM PROPAGANDA from the long lost unreleased Hypefactor album, EXIT STRATEGIES, still sitting unmixed in various harddrives in lower Manhattan. Anyhow, the HF live set was discussed, tunes were listened to and exchanged, more strategies were plotted, the Ass Cobra real band name was pondered, and by the time this was all over with, a good day was had by all. If only we can have more fun days like this. However, there's still an album that needs to be finished...
The rest of the day involved lazy wandering around the neighborhood with Irene which led to us walking through a street fair where we witnessed Leo, Giselle, and Leo's mom buying pickles from a vendor. Seriously. For the record, Giselle looks like my more attractive younger sister Anna Poontang's less attractive younger sister. Did that make sense? Then B and I exchanged some recent CD purchases while Irene and I sat and watched the new hit from Hong Kong HOUSE OF FURY, produced by Jackie himself and featuring all the new crop of HK young stars that I like, such as Stephen Fung and Daniel Wu and some old schoolers like Tony Wong and the VERY old school Wu Ma. However, not enough of the Twin Who Looks Like My Girlfriend (observer: http://www.8660.com/twins/image/20.jpg), but good fun nonetheless.
Well there you go. Things are obviously slow and boring. Maybe things will pick up. Who the hell knows...
F
6.5.05
SITH (SPOILER FREE)
I am frustrated. I can’t tell you anything! I can’t talk about it. I can’t breathe a word of it. I feel so alone and isolated because I am the only person in my immediate circle of friends and family (minus one cousin who was not only at the same screening, but completely by coincidence, in the next fucking SEAT, true story) who has seen STAR WARS EPISODE 3: REVENGE OF THE SITH. Thanks of course to the great Byalick, future aunt, brilliant comedienne, and all around fucking great friend to again bring me to (for the last time) a STAR WARS movie weeks before it’s release. Though let me add that this only happened with the second and third films as Jon Favreau snaked me out of my EPISODE 1 screening tickets back in ’99 (last century, like him), thus leading to Byalick becoming the first Jewish chick to ever feel Catholic guilt. But I digress…
I of course, under gag orders in particular from Mattagement, will keep this as spoiler free as possible. But there I was at the Zigfield yesterday, remembering the 8 year old version of me who was pulled out of school by his mother (thanks Carol) to make sure I saw the first showing of EMPIRE in 1980. And I remembered that feeling in 1980 of wanting, no NEEDING this new movie to be IT, the STAR WARS you dreamt about for the past 3 years, because that first movie, the images and feelings it evoked, are embedded forever in our DNA. The nervous anticipation, the fear of it all going the way of THE MATRIX, and the genuine excitement of seeing new STAR WARS is very overwhelming. I’d be more relaxed being held at gunpoint at the Moscow train station. Anyway, after waiting WAY too long (almost 2 hours) for this movie to start, the lights dimmed, the curtains parted and thus began what I was hoping would be a REAL FUCKING STAR WARS MOVIE.
I was not disappointed. At all. Within minutes you could tell this was the real deal. I noticed immediately that the actors, in particular Hayden and Ewan, were extremely at ease with their roles. The first 45 minutes (aka “The part before the Sith hits the fan”) is classic happy-go-lucky STAR WARS. The witty banter, the innovative space battles, droid related comic relief, and awesome light saber action, are all here. Then it all goes to hell. I don’t mean the movie sucks, I mean the story goes tragic. Massively, and it’s GREAT. And it makes sense. And while I know a LOT about this world, there were even a few cool surprises in there. Plenty of “holy shit” moments for the old schoolers. Then it continues to go down a very dark path leading to the mother of all light saber throwdowns, some incredible Yoda action and answers to many of the questions we have all speculated about over the years.
I have few complaints, save one huge one. I’m going to hold off till after you have all seen it. But it was something I was looking forward to immensely that I had heard about. And it’s not there. And I’m pissed. It doesn’t kill the movie for me, but unless it pops up on the DVD, I’m gonna have one BIG issue with Mr. Lucas. To make sure this wasn’t a fan rumour, I went through the officially released script and read through the scene. It’s the only thing I can define as a true error on the part of the director.
I was really happy that not only did it not suck, it was REALLY FUCKING GOOD. The action was insane, the actors were more natural and gone was all the extraneous stuff of the past two movies. No fat here to be trimmed. Sith is a lean, (extremely) mean, Lucas machine that steamrolls you for two hours. This is the seriously good shit. The cheese is WAY down and the drama is WAY up. You get caught up in the drama. You feel for the characters and you especially feel like these two guys are trying to kill each other in the end. Yes, you know the ending, you know what happens, but man, getting there is a treat and a half. It was worth waiting 28 years for!
F
I of course, under gag orders in particular from Mattagement, will keep this as spoiler free as possible. But there I was at the Zigfield yesterday, remembering the 8 year old version of me who was pulled out of school by his mother (thanks Carol) to make sure I saw the first showing of EMPIRE in 1980. And I remembered that feeling in 1980 of wanting, no NEEDING this new movie to be IT, the STAR WARS you dreamt about for the past 3 years, because that first movie, the images and feelings it evoked, are embedded forever in our DNA. The nervous anticipation, the fear of it all going the way of THE MATRIX, and the genuine excitement of seeing new STAR WARS is very overwhelming. I’d be more relaxed being held at gunpoint at the Moscow train station. Anyway, after waiting WAY too long (almost 2 hours) for this movie to start, the lights dimmed, the curtains parted and thus began what I was hoping would be a REAL FUCKING STAR WARS MOVIE.
I was not disappointed. At all. Within minutes you could tell this was the real deal. I noticed immediately that the actors, in particular Hayden and Ewan, were extremely at ease with their roles. The first 45 minutes (aka “The part before the Sith hits the fan”) is classic happy-go-lucky STAR WARS. The witty banter, the innovative space battles, droid related comic relief, and awesome light saber action, are all here. Then it all goes to hell. I don’t mean the movie sucks, I mean the story goes tragic. Massively, and it’s GREAT. And it makes sense. And while I know a LOT about this world, there were even a few cool surprises in there. Plenty of “holy shit” moments for the old schoolers. Then it continues to go down a very dark path leading to the mother of all light saber throwdowns, some incredible Yoda action and answers to many of the questions we have all speculated about over the years.
I have few complaints, save one huge one. I’m going to hold off till after you have all seen it. But it was something I was looking forward to immensely that I had heard about. And it’s not there. And I’m pissed. It doesn’t kill the movie for me, but unless it pops up on the DVD, I’m gonna have one BIG issue with Mr. Lucas. To make sure this wasn’t a fan rumour, I went through the officially released script and read through the scene. It’s the only thing I can define as a true error on the part of the director.
I was really happy that not only did it not suck, it was REALLY FUCKING GOOD. The action was insane, the actors were more natural and gone was all the extraneous stuff of the past two movies. No fat here to be trimmed. Sith is a lean, (extremely) mean, Lucas machine that steamrolls you for two hours. This is the seriously good shit. The cheese is WAY down and the drama is WAY up. You get caught up in the drama. You feel for the characters and you especially feel like these two guys are trying to kill each other in the end. Yes, you know the ending, you know what happens, but man, getting there is a treat and a half. It was worth waiting 28 years for!
F
3.5.05
"I HAVE MY ORDERS!!"
My posts about television are few and far between, but my God, last night was the single greatest episode of 24. I'm not going to spoil it for you, but Kiefer took it to a whole new level last night and brought back the Jack Bauer that scared the fucking shit out of me during the first season. Props to Kim Raver for really holding her own with the Kiefer in a closing scene that had a more tension and emotion than entire runs of lesser shows. Fucking CSI could never pull this off...
The cast and crew of this show have really gotten their mojo back. Unlike last season, which seemed booked on the fly, this season is a tight machine that has kept me riveted to the screen each week. The alleged "reboot" of the show this season was a great swerve to keep the show fresh. As they've slowly brought back characters from the past back in, we've come to appreciate everyone's contributions to the previous seasons while giving new characters time to evolve. SMART.
If you have not seen this season, buy the DVD when it comes out. You'll do what I did during the first season and end up watching 5 episodes a day. Amazing, smart work that proves network television can compete with cable in terms of edge and intelligence and creative storytelling.
In other news, Thursday could possible be THE BEST DAY EVER as we are not only seeing New Order that night, but thanks to a certain publicist of greatness the sith hits the fan before my very eyes that afternoon. Truly a classic day ahead.
F
The cast and crew of this show have really gotten their mojo back. Unlike last season, which seemed booked on the fly, this season is a tight machine that has kept me riveted to the screen each week. The alleged "reboot" of the show this season was a great swerve to keep the show fresh. As they've slowly brought back characters from the past back in, we've come to appreciate everyone's contributions to the previous seasons while giving new characters time to evolve. SMART.
If you have not seen this season, buy the DVD when it comes out. You'll do what I did during the first season and end up watching 5 episodes a day. Amazing, smart work that proves network television can compete with cable in terms of edge and intelligence and creative storytelling.
In other news, Thursday could possible be THE BEST DAY EVER as we are not only seeing New Order that night, but thanks to a certain publicist of greatness the sith hits the fan before my very eyes that afternoon. Truly a classic day ahead.
F