Entertainment - Friday, November 20, 2009 12:00 - 6 Comments
Yo Dawg, We Heard You Like Bad Lieutenant!
Those who have seen the original Bad Lieutenant may be understandably skeptical of the idea that anyone could truly remake a cinematic experience which features Harvey Keitel’s penis onscreen for twenty minutes. But I aim to assuage your fears with factoids, anecdotes, and perhaps even datums. It’s easy to imagine how this movie could go wrong. It stars Nicholas Cage, so that is reason alone to go see Bad Lieutenant: Port Call of New Orleans, but that’s not the only dubious casting choice made by this new version. I assume you all know Xzibit from the MTV show Pimp My Ride, right? Well he’s in it. I know, I’m as confused as you are, but in any case it means you’ll have to hear people say things like this at the theaters: Yo Dawg, we heard you like Xzibit, so we put an Xzibit in yo movie so you can watch while you watch!
First of all, this movie isn’t being remade by Roland Emmerich or someone like that. No, this is being done by the man I often refer to as “the most badass filmmaker of our time,” Werner Herzog. When this guy makes documentaries, he goes to Antarctica with just a cameraman or hangs out with freaking bears. It’s safe to say that with a history of casting ensembles for his narratives consisting entirely of dwarfs, or the famous mental institution patient Bruno S. (who supposedly needed several hours of screaming before he could do a scene), working with Nicholas Cage should not have been an issue for Herzog. Well…maybe still a little bit of a challenge, honestly.
Entertainment, Featured - Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:45 - 1 Comment
The Weezer Snuggie!
In the age of torrents and viral marketing, bands have had to think of increasingly clever ways to get people to buy their albums. While it’s certainly no Dick Towel, I’m still giving Weezer some credit for coming up with an objectively badass marketing campaign. It’s called the Weezer Snuggie, and yes, it’s a real product. Now you can listen to Weezer and work on your night cheese at the same time!
If you’re unfamiliar with the Snuggie (or the near identical Slanket), then shame on you. The epitome of laughable products, the Snuggie is a blanket with arms attached (aka a backwards robe) for those too lazy to actually put clothes on. Weezer created a hilarious infomercial for their version of the Snuggie, a product you can order for the low low price of $29.99. And they’ll even throw in their latest album, Raditude, for free! Did you catch the part where they sold you their album? Tricky. Infomercial and more after the jump. Continue…
Entertainment, Featured - Monday, November 16, 2009 11:00 - 18 Comments
Top Five “We’re All Going To Die” Movies
With this weekend’s release of the critically acclaimed 2012 movie proving to be a groundbreaking departure for Roland Emmerich, we bring you a cute little top five list of all the greatest apocalypse movies. Because, if we’re all going to die tomorrow, you should at least have in mind the best movies to reference, so you can go down looking culturally hip. Keep in mind these are Apocalypse movies, which all differ in very nitpicky ways from disaster movies, post-apocalypse movies, and dystopia movies, so I wouldn’t be compelled to include things like Children of Men. As a side note, there aren’t any Roland Emmerich movies on this list. Weird.
5 – Gojira
AKA GODZILLA! It’s the movie that spawned nearly every giant monster killing rampage ever, so how could it not be on the list? So maybe it does give everyone in the world a terrible idea of what Japanese Cinema has contributed to the world, at least it’s still better than Cloverfield. This movie is still such a cultural phenomenon, that to this day we still have movies hearkening back to the genre created by that lovable lizard, such as Big Man Japan.
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Entertainment - Friday, November 13, 2009 12:23 - 0 Comments
Impressing Dates With Fancy Movies
Do you want your dates to think you’re classy and impressive based solely on the high-society-esque, semi-pretentious events to which you take them? Don’t want to have to back it up by actually talking? Never fear, that’s why movies were invented! Not just any movies; no, we’re talking about “aht” and “filums” and all that good stuff. Here’s a round-up of some upcoming “refined, cultural movie events,” ranging from the very “dense” work of Ingmar Bergman to light physical-comedy! All this, and you can even check out the first female director ever. Indubitably!
City - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 11:42 - 0 Comments
TV Producers Share The Secret to Developing a Hit Show
Have you ever wanted to have real-live television producers tell you how to make a hit television series? To reveal the ingredients of the proverbial secret sauce they slather upon their scripts to serve up a delicious television sammich? Well, instead of doing that, why don’t you just sit back and let me tell you what they would say instead.
Cencom, the independent media forum geared towards giving students like us excuses to hear marginally important people tell us how vastly important they are, assembled a crack panel of executive producers and got them to give us the secret code to success which was previously thought lost to humanity.
The three panelists were Jace Alexander (worked on Burn Notice, Rescue Me, House), Sarah Condon (worked on Bored to Death, Sex and the City, Flight of the Conchords, Entourage, and I’m Kind of a Big Deal: The Animated Series), and Victor Nelli Jr. (credits include Ugly Betty, Scrubs, My Name Is Earl, The Office, and…The Bernie Mac Show?), the three of whom spent some time blowing everyone’s mind by outlining the nearly ineffable key to television success, and then fielding few questions. Secret to eternal success, happiness and fame in the television business after the jump.
Entertainment - Friday, November 6, 2009 16:30 - 0 Comments
Mike Birbiglia and Mates of State Sing a Song About Oatmeal
Last night Mike Birbiglia had a show over at Town Hall, and unlike normal stand-up comics who would invite a decidedly less talented comic to go on as the opener, he had the Mates of State. If none of you are familiar with them, just think of the indie pop-duo you vaguely remember from high-school and you’ll be all set. Anyway, if the viewer was unfamiliar with Birbigs, as they call him on da streetz (and by “da streetz” I mean twitter), they might have thought it was weird when an awkward looking “olive-garden Italian” guy came onstage.
In fact, there are probably a few things people need to be prepared for if they’re going to see this guy. The first is that you have to understand that even though he’s a guy who’s pretty hip with all us awkward humor-lovin’, This American Life watchin’, whitewashed hipsters, if you go see him perform, you’re going to be sitting next to people who resemble your grandparents. That’s just the way it is. But if you’re the type of person who would find that juxtaposition comically awkward, then Mike Birbiglia is probably one of your favorite stand-up comics. You know how some comics will include some kind of universally pleasing anecdote about their life just so people will clap about it and he can go into a vein of relevant comedy, like “So anyway, I just got married…” or “So anyway, I’m a cancer survivor…”? Well Mike Birbiglia is the kind of guy who would instead say, “So anyway, I ironed my pants tonight…” and it elicits pretty much the same response.
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City - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 11:47 - 1 Comment
A Horde of John Cusacks Recreate the Boombox Scene From Say Anything
We all know the iconic scene from the 1989 classic teen-romance film, Say Anything, where Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) holds his boom box stalwartly above his head as those romantic lyrics of devotion play in the background, “Your Eyes, something something something, Your Eyes.” So, on Tuesday, a bunch of Lloyd Doblers got together, became the Lloyd Dobler Mobler (seriously?), and formed a recreation of this scene all day, in at least five different locations. In fact you may have passed by them if you were in Washington Square around 10:30-11:00 a.m. yesterday morning.
Or perhaps you saw them when they were covered as a fluff piece for “Fox and Friends.” Just kidding, no one watches “Fox and Friends.” When they performed in Times Square, the Mobler consisted of almost twenty guys with trench coats and boomboxes, and one random chubby dude with a bongo. It turns out he was part of the band that got to play, whose singer looked like Mark Wahlberg, and incidentally was not the band Say Anything, which might have actually drawn a crowd larger than the number of Lloyd Doblers present. However, it’s refreshing to see, in such a consumerist society, that people are willing to take a moment out of the day to pay homage to a moment in romance wherein a man refuses to give up on a girl, even after she refuses to answer nine phone calls in a row. In fact, when I asked Max Hambleton why he gave up his Tuesday to imitate such a romantic gesture, he quickly responded, “I was paid to be here.” Video after the jump.
Featured, On Campus - Friday, October 30, 2009 16:33 - 1 Comment
How to Avoid the Village Halloween Parade
Scenario: It’s 5pm on Halloween freshman year. You’re putting on the sluttiest pumpkin costume you’ve ever worn, and you’ve planned the best.night.ever. at the parade, where you’ll meet up with that cute guy on your floor who has been giving you looks in the elevator ALL semester and maybe even go “all the way” with him, instead of waiting twenty-eight days, like you usually do. Flash forward seven hours: you’re being trampled on by a drunken homeless man with reindeer horns on while mascara runs down your cheeks which are hot, red and soaking wet from your happy holiday tears. What went wrong?
Answer: you went to the Halloween Parade. The Greenwich Village parade is often described as “one of things you TOTALLY have to do at least once in your life”, and usually when people say that, it’s something that will traumatize you and make you wish you’d never done it, like growing a neck-beard. So now that you’ve had this horrible experience, how can we make sure it never happens again? Look no further, as I’ve compiled a helpful guide of The Three A’s of Avoiding the Evil Parade That Plagues the West Village Each Halloween.
Entertainment, Featured - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 7:11 - 10 Comments
Top 5 Most Horrifying Horror Movies In the History of the World
If you’ve ever wanted to read about the most controversial topic of all time, look no further. A “Top 5 Horror Movies” list is something two people could argue about forever. And on the off-chance that they agree on something, they’re probably soulmates. I think eHarmony should actually use that as their only dimension of compatibility. Who cares about “emotional temperament” and “social style”? I just want to make sure my life partner has made an accurate assessment of Cat People.
So for Halloween we thought it would be a spooktacular treat if we made one of these controversial lists. Something to get your Goolish Grapes in a twist before horror movie prime-time is over. So without further ado, here is NYU Local’s (but really just Dan’s) top 5 horror movie countdown: Continue…
Entertainment - Friday, October 23, 2009 7:36 - 2 Comments
We’ve Sawed it All Before
If it’s Halloween, it must be Saw. Really? Must it? Couldn’t it be something else every once in awhile? Not this year, apparently. If you’re an attentive pedestrian, you’ve probably already noticed all the neat little posters making the roman numeral VI out of a soon-to-be mutilated prisoner, and if you don’t know what that means, then you’ve probably never seen a Saw poster in your life. On Friday (which is NOT Halloween) we’re all being treated to the highly anticipated sixth entry in the Academy Award winning Saw series. I’m pretty sure we’ve gotten to that point where even the 13-year-old Saw Fanboys have admitted the series is just about dead (even though Saw 7 in 3D has already been greenlit), but why should we just get rid of such a groundbreaking franchise?
So hello, NYU. I want to play a little game. It’s high time for your innovative minds to rally together and find a use for Saw. Some experts have thought of taking the crossover route, but why not go all the way with this sick perversion of a Rube Goldberg project and make it into a reality show hosted in the dark dungeons of Bobst? I don’t know about you guys, but I’d be pretty psyched to watch America’s Next Top Horrible Mutilation.
