I've been meaning to post this video for quite some time but in the holiday splendor I forgot. Two days ago Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, and Diablo Cody from Juno were on Oprah and the whole time I kept asking, where's Michael Cera? Yeah he practically wears the same outfit through out the whole movie but his performance was quality. And he was in another little comedy called Superbad too. See that one Oprah? In any event, to honor the man boy I bring you one of his greatest performances to date. Now before you see it you need to understand what he's talking about. So I recommend you start with this video first.
Now note. This video is real. He actually created this video as his personal resume and sent it to various companies in NYC.
And now to Michael's spoof:
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Opposite of the Opposite of Possible is Still Possible
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Best Use of a Song in an Opening Credit Sequence
While I was walking Fitz this afternoon, my Ipod Touch sang a classic 80's song to me. Honestly, every time I hear it I automatically picture the opening credits to one of the most mind-effing movies of all time. When I got home I did a little youtube search and found the sequence. After watching it a couple of times now I've decided that there is NO better use of a song in the *opening minutes of a movie ever. Not only that, but I believe it's also one of the greatest movie sequences ever. It's just so sinisterly awesome. Do you agree?
Movie: Donnie Darko
Song: "Head over Heels" by Tears for Fears
* I must note that it technically isn't the opening minutes of the movie, but it is the first time we see the secondary characters
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
This Kid Really Likes His Glasses
From the desk of Jonathan Patrick
Alas, my writers' guild-starved television viewers! I have found yet another masterful piece of reality TV! This one is from the original reality tv: the news. It's an interview of some teenaged, frat-star-to-be after throwing a party in the land of down under:
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Friday, January 11, 2008
Arcade Fire on Fire
Rebellion (Lies) by Arcade Fire has to be one of my favorite songs of all-time. Like all-time. And on their second album, Neon Bible, they've added yet another track that in my opinion might climb up the ranks to become all-time. No, it's not No Cars Go, but rather, Keep the Car Running. Very reminiscent of Bruce for sure, but still brilliant. Check out their performance on the Jonathan Ross show. If they haven't converted you yet, this spectacle will. For your viewing pleasure, Arcade Fire:
Bonus: For the one person that doesn't own my favorite, here's Rebellion (Lies). Revel in it's marvelousness.
Rebellion (Lies)
Monday, January 7, 2008
Reviewed and/or Abused: Atonement
Don't get me wrong, the movie is great in certain respects, i.e. the acting is superb, the score impeccable going so far as to include the sound of typewriting in its melody, and the story itself is fantastic. How could it not be though, right? The book, written by Ian McEwan is heralded as one of the 100 greatest books of all time by Time Magazine. Plus there was this four minute sequence shot with one frame that puts you in the middle of the Dunkirk Evacuation that was powerful. Joe Wright, who also directed Pride and Prejudice, has a wonderful knack of making the audience feel as if they are right in the thick of it which is the mark of a brilliant director, no?
However there is something in my mind that stops this movie from becoming a future DVD of my collection. And that stoppage is the characterization of Briony Tallis. First I must preface that I've never read the book therefore I must tread lightly here, but from what I have understood from researching the story, the main character, Briony, starts off as this little 13 year old girl who witnesses something she doesn't understand and therefore makes a huge error, and in consequence ruins the lives of the two lovers played by Keira Knightly and James McAvoy. Now the title of the movie leads one to believe that the rest of her life is spent attempting to atone for the fatal mistake she made long ago. And in fact certain decisions of hers would lend itself to this theory, yet I didn't feel that she atoned or wanted too. I left the theatre wondering if she really understood what she did and whether she explored the real motivations for inventing the atrocious farce in the first place. So in essence something that was supposed to be the bread and butter of the movie, i.e. her wising up to her actions just wasn't there for me. Granted the story unfolds in a very convoluted way with a quasi shocking ending (if you haven't read the book of course) which could exacerbate my misunderstanding of Briony's real emotion throughout the film but still. If I have to go to message boards and wikipedia to figure it out then it wasn't really convincing was it?
Perhaps, though, that's the point. The lines of reality and fiction are blurred to us just as it was in Broiny's head. Therefore what one thinks is a romantic drama is in essence a morality tale showcasing the dangers of mixing fact with fiction. Either way the movie destroyed me. Mostly because James McAvoy's interpretation of a tortured soul is out of this world. Also because he had the one sole tear sliding down the face moment. Those kill me.
So go see it if you want to further discuss it with me, but trust when I say my mother and sister left saying, wha?
Ladies and Gentleman I Present to You....
For those of you that don't know I received an enormous surprise on Dec. 19th. The kind of surprise that makes you shriek and squeal and tinkle just a little in your pants. It was the early Christmas present from my parents and boy was it a doozy. I frankly never thought in my wildest dreams my parents would actually agree to buy me this wonderful treat but color me happy when they did. So without further adieu I present to you.....
Is he a handful? Absofruitly! Did I want to return him out of sheer panic 30 minutes after I got him, and then every hour on the hour for the next 24 hours? Of Course! But I stuck with it and now he is curled up on my lap as I type this post. He still has a long way to go before he reaches obedience perfection but I will say he's a keeper.
More pictures of Fitz after ther jump!
*Thanks Paige for the pics! More After the Jump!
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Gladiators....ready!
From the desk of Jonathan Patrick, Internet Provocateur
A lot has been made on this blog about the Writers' Guild and their strike and its effect on television. I am here to show the silver lining of it all. For me, the glass is half-full. With the writers on strike, that means the most anticipated show in the history of TV: American Gladiators.
It kicks off anew today at 9pm EST with a two hour premiere and then will continue on Mondays. Before I show some clips for the new show, it's only fitting that I pay homage to the original American Gladiator show.
One of my favorite scenes:
Looks like the new show will be keeping most of the old events. One of which is the Assault. This is the one where the gladiator tries to hit the contestant with a tennis-ball gun while the contestant tries to hit a target above the gladiator with various guns/toys. In the old show, if you hit the target, smoke would shoot up over the gladiator. The new show does this too. In addition, it launches the gladiator 50 feet through the air into a pool.
Please enjoy:
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In the words of everybody's favorite child of Mother Nature, the cosmic ray gathering Malibu, "Sweet!"