Knut is dead! Thursday midday.

“Knut is dead! Thursday midday.” That’s what an anonymous handwritten fax threatened today at the Berlin Zoo. What made it even worse is that the target is completely oblivious to any danger; he just kept rolling around in the dirt in his cage and chewed on his friend’s fingers. Knut is a [...]

Virginia Tech shooter’s martyr manifesto

So what was Cho Seung-Hui, the Virginia Tech gunman, doing for 2 1/2 hours between shootings? He was mailing a package to NBC headquarters. The package contained a video and a profanity laced martyr’s manifesto with self-photography of Cho posing with a variety of weapons. Here’s a clip of the video that [...]

Any excuse to ban books: the Virginia Tech Shooting

Cho Seung-Hui (pictured left), a 23-year old Virginia Tech senior originally from South Korea has been identified as the gunman who chained up classroom doors at Norris Hall (VT School of Engineering) and shot the students inside. Witnesses who huddled in upstairs classrooms said they heard loud cackling the entire time. Two hours earlier [...]

Blades of Glory — movie review

Blades of Glory is unabashedly funny stuff. Just imagining Will Farrell and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) carving and twirling in ridiculously revealing costumes is giggle worthy, but there were a lot of truly hilarious scenes.
Jon Heder plays beyond innocent if not metrosexual Jimmy MacElroy, adopted by the always uncomfortably comical William [...]

Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 — movie review

Way back in high-school, Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 and Black Lizard served as my introduction to 1970’s Japanese exploitation cinema. I was a bit reluctant to review this film, lest my opinion be clouded by rosy glasses and nostalgia. But, having gone back to the film again, I believe I’m prepared, and my love [...]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force colon Movie Film for Theaters — he said, she said — movie review

The main motley crew consists of an oversized “Happy Meal”: whiny egotistical Master Shake, levitating sleeve of french fries and voice of reason Frylock, and a naïve little raw meatball named Meatwad.

San Francisco International Film Festival ‘07 April 26th

Just a heads up. The San Francisco International Film Festival starts April 26th. This year marks the festival’s 50th Anniversary (The SFIFF is the first American film festival to actually hit that mark), and one of their best film lineups yet. After just a cursory check of their screening list I’ve noted at least five [...]

I wonder…

… if gay ducks also mate for life.

… what happened to the cell phone battery brain cancer scare? I thought for sure that was the foolproof solution for overpopulation.

… if people are getting ruder, is that why BMWs are becoming more popular? Hmm, it’s a little “chicken and the egg”.

… why the harshest [...]

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black — music review

In Britain, there’s no escaping Amy Winehouse, the saucy crooner with the nouveau-retro backdrop. She’s finally being welcomed to the States with open arms with her album Back to Black debuting at #7.
Raised by jazz musicians and inspired by Salt -n- Pepa, Winehouse is sultry oldschool kitch with a hardened criminal-esque edge. To [...]

You’ve Been Under a Rock!

Okay, in case you’ve missed out on some juicy celebrity gossip, here’s all you need to know to catch up quick:
Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel have the same taste in men. Rock-hard Ryan Reynolds called off his longtime engagement to Alanis Morissette in February and has quickly moved on to Scarlett Johansson who says things [...]

Ooh, I want to see this! Danny Boyle’s Sunshine

I’m surprised that ensemble astronaut films are pretty rare. I mean, what better setting for a bloated, mismatched cast, ridiculous storyline, tons of CG and lots of bass? That’s right: Space. The Right Stuff and Armageddon weren’t too shabby revenue-wise, proving that Americans will see just about anything. (I [...]

The untold Easter story starring Satan

So you thought Easter was about celebrating Jesus’ resurrection with chocolate eggs, marshmallow bunnies and glazed ham, eh? Well, I’m here to inform you of the true origin of Easter.
I always knew that Easter was based on a Pagan custom, but I wanted to learn more. Curiosity led me to [...]

Rio Bravo — guest movie review

Rio Bravo, directed by Howard Hawks (Bringing Up Baby, The Big Sleep, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), is one of the most well-executed movies I have seen in a long time and is now one of my favorite westerns. It was enjoyably stylized right down to the poster art. I enjoyed it from maybe about [...]

Strange Circus — movie review

Given my reaction to Sion Sono’s Suicide Circle (you can read the rather embarrassing review here), one might be surprised I went out of my way to view another film by him. To be honest, I’m not the type to dismiss a director for a single bad run. And you know what? I’m [...]

Ten “Grindhouse” Films Worth Watching

With the arrival of Grindhouse in the theaters today, a lot of lists are coming out with “Grindhouse” films recommended by professional critics. Some of them are actually pretty good. But, for the majority of them, if you look closely at the lists, you’ll realize the recommenders never actually saw the films listed. Some of [...]

ANIME REVIEW . Afro Samurai Director’s Cut

The other day Funimation dropped us a preview copy of their upcoming Director’s Cut of Afro Samurai. Now, being a preview disc, the copy I viewed was pretty rough around the edges — by no means a production grade — but it did give me a nice idea as to the special features that will [...]

Alanis Morissette - “My Humps” Video

This comes to us from three time guest reviewer, Greg. Alanis Morissette takes a stab at the current state of the American music industry. It’s pretty smart and very funny. Check it out below:

DVD [Early] REVIEW . Dora-Heita (aka: Alley Cat)

Directed by Kon Ichikawa, from a wonderful script (long since thought abandoned) by Akira Kurosawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, Masaki Kobayashi, and himself, Dora-Heita is not so much a throwback as a realization of a lost treasure. Proudly sporting its classic sensibilities on its sleeve, the film is jam packed with everything you’ve come to expect [...]