Came across this, it just launched today. Looks pretty cool… I subscribed… hope it turns out to be good. Check it http://www.moblogic.tv/

Something I’ve found out about and been into this past year is watching favorite old movies in the theater. Not necessarily old like time wise (though some are), just movies that aren’t too recent. There’s just something nice about watching my favorite movies on the big screen, especially now that I can appreciate them (Titanic? I’m so there). These are playing at the Big Newport, but the Regency South Coast are doing flashbacks also on Wednesday Nights. Among some of them coming up are 2001: A Space Odyssey, Trainspotting, Point Break… you catch my drift. You can check out the Regency’s flashback listing here.

For the last couple years I have been informally taking pictures, mostly music related stuff. It’s a sweet hobby.. and I love that I can call it a hobby. I’ve decided not to accept compensation for anything photo related I do, keeps the projects very fun. The other artistic endeavors I am involved with, like my day job, are also fun. I’m sure you can relate, when you’re getting paid things are just different.

Anywho.. let me get down to business right quick.

I was asked to take photos of Oderus Urungus (front man of Gwar) tomorrow morning. I’m not going to lie, I am not a die hard Gwar fan… in fact I heard about Gwar for the first time when they were featured in one of my favorite movies, Empire Records, and frankly thought they were supposed to be comical. With that said, I’m not taking tomorrow lightly, I am very excited to have the chance to take pictures of this guy… supposedly it’s going to be a once in a lifetime sort of event. The pictures are being shot during a commercial he is shooting, they’re for use in HM Magazine, a mid-sized indie rock print zine.

I will post some stuff as soon as I’m allowed to.. Wish me luck!

Ok. I was going to write an Oscar rundown-sorta-thingy. I’ve scrapped that idea because it was way, way too vitriolic and down right mean spirited. I also thought it may alienate myself from some readers and/or contributors. I also figured it may make me look somewhat old. I’m 27. I already look older than I am, so I don’t need to go out of my way to sound old too.

Fuck it. I can’t resist.

Here’s the short and skinny: The Oscars, for the past decade at least, have been absolute shit. And the fact that in what I consider an amazing year in cinema, there’s a movie like Juno nominated for Best Picture, just goes to show what I’m saying. It has a fucking Thundercats reference for fucks sake. If I want Thundercats references, I’ll go to Hot Topic. It seems that each year, the Academy consistently misses the point of making movies. Okay, that’s unfair. They get it right sometimes, although from what I’ve researched, they have not been getting it right recently.  

Last year, The Departed won Best Picture. Not only was it a remake, but I believe it was one of Scorsese’s worst films. This was the same year that Children of Men came out, probably one of the most briliant movies I’ve ever seen in my life. Let’s go the year before that, shall we? Crash. It has my vote right now for Worst Movie Ever To Win Best Picture Oscar. It was cool when Robert Altman did it. I loved when Paul Thomas Anderson did it. When Paul Haggis did it, it made me laugh. Oh, and I got the “racism is bad” point about 10 minutes into the movie… thanks. I could go back further… remember Shakespeare in Love? Yeah, it beat out Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line, two of the best war movies EVER produced. Million Dollar Baby? Fuck dude.. I thought Sideways kicked it’s ass, as far as nominees go. Now, 2007. Whew! Great year for movies. Seriously, it was a good one. Probably the best of this decade over all. SO WHY THE FUCK IS JUNO NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE?! Why not Knocked Up while you’re at it (which I thought was way sharper and original, while also having more pure heart. Plus an R rating.)? It’s also up for Best Original Screenplay, written by Brooke Busey, which I can kind of see it winning. But didn’t it already win that award last year? Oh, my fucking bad. That was Little Miss Sunshine. Well, it still rips off another neo-hipster classic, Napoleon Dynamite, which also won Best Original Screenplay. Fuck, my bad again! That was never recognized for anything by the Academy. Dude, I’m soooooo not wizard right now! Is anyone picking up my super sardonic drift here?

So, here’s why Juno bugs the shit out of me:

1. It’ll probably win best picture. The writer at andthewinneris.blog.com says it will, and that dude is not only an Academy member, but he also has predicted past Oscar ceremonies with uncanny ability.

2. It’ll definitely win Best Original Screenplay. Brooke Busey is the writers name. I know her credit is listed as Diablo Cody, but her name is Brooke Busey. She was a writer/blogger at Minnesota’s liberal weekly rag.. similar to OCWeekly/LAWeekly.

3. The script sucks farts out of my ass, “honest to blog.” Seriously. Say “honest to blog” to me and I’ll fuck you up very, very badly. The whole “homeskillet…” scene aside, there are still a dozen lines that made me cringe. FUCK. I know I’m the minority here. But that’s why I’m writing this with fervor. The WeSlipAway mission statement says that you may not agree with what we say… I’m trying to push that boundary.

Maybe if Juno hadn’t been up against decent, although stoic Oscar fare such as Atonement, and Michael Clayton, it would look good by comparison.

OH YEAH! I forgot about two of the best movies I’ve ever seen: No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood. How can you compare those two against a movie filled with vapid indie-rock references and, most chillingly, a misogynisticly pro-life message. Not to mention the shittiest dialogue I can remember from recent memory.

Here’s my Top Ten of 2007:

1. There Will Be Blood

2. No Country For Old Men

3. Zodiac

4. Once

5. King of Kong

6. Rescue Dawn

7. Talk to Me

8. Hot Fuzz

9. Sweeney Todd

10. Tie: There Will Be Blood, No Country For Old Men.

Please, let’s discuss some movies here.

–josh may(hem in the)hood.

Tank Abbott and Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson used to share something in common. That was raw, unadulterated talent. That was in the early 2000’s and now Tank is a relic, meanwhile Kimbo, helped by Bas Rutten and Randy Couture, has traded in the empty boatyards and nondescript suburban Miami backyards for the topsy turvy world that is the EliteXC. Tonight, Feburary 16, 2008, the two brawlers hit the mats with their minds on breaking each other’s jaw. Kimbo Slice, fighting in front of a 7,000 person home crowd at the University of Miami, the internet fighting sensation, in just his third MMA bout, dropped Tank three separate times before lading the punch that would send Tank face first into the canvas. Tank got pwned hard in this fight. Find it on youtube… see for yourself.

As much as I was looking forward to the EliteXC fights featuring Tank vs. Kimbo, I was quickly reminded of the epic battle going on in Hollywood at the present. At fight that seems to have run its course and has sprung a full fledged victory. Blu-Ray VS. HD-Dvd. I don’t like either player… but it’s a victory for movie fans everywhere. The format war is over. Blu-Ray is here to stay it seems, HD-DVD is going the way of the Laserdisc. Makes me want to buy a PS3… although with Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid IV coming out, I probably would’ve anyway. Now it just makes sense to ALSO buy movies for that platform. Are you the reader, happy with this decision?

Aint It Cool News dropped this bomb late last night. Your HD-DVD’s just became beta.

 I read this book solely because it’s been made into a movie starring Michael Cera (and all his awkward greatness). 

And I can honestly say it was just okay. Like a 6-7 out of 10. I should’ve known something was up when both of the title characters’ names started with the same letter.. or that it’s a teen novel (but Holes was good, wasn’t it?). It’s something along the similar lines of Juno (in my opinion), where you expect it to be great.. but it’s only just okay for what it is. 

I hope the movie is better than the book (even though that’s rarely the case). 

I hate documentaries/films like this that are here to expose shit but end up telling me things I already know. 

Wal-Mart is a shitty corporation (not like you weren’t aware).