Entertainment - Wednesday, February 3, 2010 9:00 - 4 Comments
Axe Cop: The Web Comic Written by a Five-Year-Old
Looking for the latest and greatest thing on the world wide web? Look no further than the surprisingly interesting web comic, Axe Cop! He’s a cop…with an axe! And supposedly, he’ll chop your head off. He and his rag-tag group of strangely-powered sidekicks fight against the evil forces of enemies such as Pretzel Head, Telescope-Gun Cop, and of course, Stinko. If this sounds like something written by a five-year-old, it is. Just this December, Ethan Nicolle, a 29-year-old graphic novelist took to illustrating the imaginative, badass, and oftentimes random musings of his five-year-old brother, Malachai. The result is a twisting and turning madness of crimefighting awesomeness. “Sign up here, we have a gang of DINOSAURS to kill.”
Ethan’s only other major contribution to the world of graphic novels is Chumble Spuzz, and while I know there are a lot of you Chumble Spuzz fangirls out there, I’m going to say that the real draw to Axe Cop is the whimsical nature of the story. Ethan has described the process (which you can watch a video of with the most annoying music, here) as quizzing Malachai as to what happens in the story and then illustrating whatever he says, no matter how outlandish it may seem. This is perhaps why Axe Cop’s partner, Flute Cop, irrevocably mutates into Dinosaur Soldier, then Avocado Soldier, and most recently, Avocado-Unicorn Soldier. I’m waiting for guacamole soldier. Om nom nom.
Entertainment - Monday, February 1, 2010 10:00 - 0 Comments
Japanese Cult “Horror” Film Hausu Playing At IFC Center
When speaking of Hausu, a certain Jim Ridley has said, “Run. Wake your neighbor. Slap your children. Eye your cat with suspicion.”
I don’t know who Jim Ridley is or why he said that, but it’s possible that he was just in a stupor from having seen the underexposed and underrated 70’s Japanese cult movie, Hausu. It’s like a wonderful, horrific overload of Japanese campyness, cheap blue-screen effects, and fake blood that leaves you in a state of comatose, and understandably, you may accidentally say some weird things.
When you get right down to it, Hausu is a movie about 7 Japanese schoolgirls who are killed by a doom house controlled by a kitty. An evil kitty. What makes it so amazing is that it simultaneously calls to mind crazy Japanese shit, The Evil Dead 2 and Scooby Doo. This first clip (above) is a good indication as to whether you have the refined cinematic tastes necessary in order to truly enjoy this masterpiece.
Entertainment - Thursday, January 21, 2010 13:44 - 1 Comment
Samurai Celebrate 100 Years of Kurosawa
As far as classic Japanese directors go, Akira Kurosawa is by far the most well-known and accessible. He was the first Japanese director to be recognized internationally, and while some question how “Japanese” his movies were, he’s undeniably a master storyteller who deserves some props every once in awhile. It’s been 100 years since the man fell out of his mother’s nether regions, and though there were a few years there where he was slacking off and “teething” or whatever, he spent the majority of his life after that making classic and truly memorable movies for all of humanity. That seems to be due cause for Film Forum to initiate a six-week long retrospective of his movies, the schedule for which can be found here. Let’s think of this article as a Kurosawa film guide to help you pick out some of the best ones to go see. Continue…
Entertainment - Tuesday, January 19, 2010 13:20 - 5 Comments
“I’m With CoCo” Says “CoCo NoNo GoGo” to NBC
While Conan O’Brian may be in California right now, paying little mind to a group of 35 pale people with clever picket signs assembled into a tiny metal square in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, his “army” of inexplicably devoted followers steadfastly shouted derivatives of the three or four chants you expect to hear at a rally or protest type event in support of him. Not to affect any contract regarding Conan’s show (according to the members interviewed), just supporting the man himself. The group, which formed to protest Conan’s eviction from late-night television rallied cries like, “What do we want? Conan! When do we want him? 11:30!” However, as they had orders from the Facebook group to be civil, they were not unwilling to accept Conan at 11:31 if that was what it came down to.
If you are unfamiliar with the situation, but don’t want to ask anyone about it because then they’ll think you’re not “in the know” and probably never talk to you again because your friendships are all based on the depth of your pop-culture savvy, then fear no more. Conan O’Brian recently took over hosting the late-night talk show no one really cares about, “The Tonight Show,” and was then fired after less than a year, because the show that Jay Leno, the previous host, created to fill the void in his wallet was terrible and failed commercially. (I was going to post a link to a horrid performance by Jeff Dunham on Jay Leno, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. No one deserves that.) That’s because Jay Leno is woefully boring, and Conan O’Brian is at least interesting enough to establish a fan-base under the age of 60. So Facebook protest-groups formed in all major cities (and also in some that weren’t LA and NYC) and protested yesterday. Your friends may have even been there. If so, they’ll probably tell you it was “totally awesome, man.”
Continue…
Entertainment - Thursday, December 17, 2009 11:18 - 23 Comments
The Top 10 Movies of 2009
As you think back on the movies you saw last year, your mind might just roll through a disgusting wave of Michael Bay ’splosions and unfortunate Sandra Bullock movies, but I’d like to remind you that you still saw some good movies, and even if you haven’t, they still exist. We’re only going to look back at the movies that have already come out, so for all you who are just itching to complain about how Avatar isn’t on the list, first of all it wasn’t released yet, and second of all I’m currently scowling at you.
10 Artificial intelligence ai download. Still Walking
I promised not to put too many foreign films on the list, so how about just this one? This is the latest film from the genius Japanese director, Hirokazu Koreeda (Nobody Knows and After Life, a personal favorite). This understated, restrained family drama was given an infinite number of comparisons to Yasujiru Ozu’s Tokyo Story for this movie, which carries about the same cultural significance of comparing an American movie to Citizen Kane. He takes most of his influences from documentaries, so check it out if you’re into that sort of thing.
Entertainment - Monday, December 14, 2009 14:02 - 5 Comments
The Lying Down Game
Ed. Note: Since finals begin this week, Local will be functioning on a lighter posting schedule from now until the Spring semester starts up Invasion of the body snatchers download. Aside from the Top 10 lists, most content will revolve around helping you procrastinate. Below, the first installment of games you can play instead of studying.
“The Lying Down Game,” is like “The Crying Game” with fewer pre-op transsexuals (spoiler alert) and more lols. The aim is to take a picture of yourself lying prostrate on the ground in the most awkward places possible. It is described on the group page as ‘Parkour…for those who cant be arsed’ which is British for lazy. Damn those British.
It’s a deceptively simple idea which has infinite entertainment potential. Take for instance this photo, which I think transcends the superficial realm of internet memes, and becomes an absurdist interpretation of landscape photography.
If you wish to become a Lying Down connoisseur, commend artists on their impeccable form or the particularly awkward nature of their placement.
It’s also a rare meme which began on Facebook instead of 4Chan, so you don’t even have to recognize that little part of you that dies whenever you realize that you’re taking pleasure in the excrement of /b/ tards. Then again, as someone who knows about far too many memes as it is, I’m mostly dead on the inside already.
Entertainment - Wednesday, December 9, 2009 11:15 - 0 Comments
Liv Ullmann Talks “A Streetcar Named Desire”
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For the minority of people who don’t follow Scandinavian cinema, let me give you a run-down on who Liv Ullmann is. She was a huge cultural icon in sixties and seventies art-house cinema due to her insanely stoic and moving performances in Ingmar Bergman’s films, and was awarded all kinds of “best actress I’ve ever seen in my life, man” awards by various organizations who like to give out awards like that. She is a pretty big humanitarian and also helped to create Ingmar Bergman’s lovechild while Liv was married to someone else. After continuing on past Bergman’s death to direct her own plays and films, she is directing A Streetcar Named Desire with Cate Blanchette as Blanche over at BAM. Yes, it’s almost entirely sold out, but you can try and get some of the limited availability tickets by calling.
Ullmann gave an Artist Talk at BAM for this play, and even though I haven’t been able to score a ticket, seeing her talk is a performance in and of itself. Unlike any other Artist Talk you’ve ever been to, which have all been retroactively made lame compared to Liv Ullmann’s, this was not a glorified version of Inside The Actor’s Studio with James Lipton. Instead, Liv Ullmann proved that she actually has important things to say or is at the very least passionate about what she has to say. As she sat and spoke on the set of Streetcar, she would get up and illustrate whatever performance she was speaking about by acting it out herself.
Continue…
Entertainment - Friday, December 4, 2009 10:04 - 0 Comments
Nerd Rock: The Mountain Goats and Final Fantasy
Universal soldier download.jasperjournal.com/jaspergallery/d/448-3/mountain_goat_1_5609_travel_alberta.jpg” alt=”" width=”322″ height=”207″ />In keeping with Suri’s penchant for suggesting musical events, here is an entry which could be placed near the other end of the journalistic digestive tract: a show review! This past Tuesday at Webster Hall, The Mountain Goats came and rocked the PBR out of a room full of hipsters with songs about planting grapes and going into a creationist museum after huffing paint. Opening for the admittedly nerdy band was an equally nerdy band called…wait for it…Final Fantasy.
On Campus - Wednesday, December 2, 2009 16:33 - 5 Comments
NYU Student Goes A Week Without Facebook, Becomes Bored
Entertainment - Friday, November 20, 2009 12:00 - 7 Comments
Yo Dawg, We Heard You Like Bad Lieutenant!
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.
