Spare Change

Literally one year in the making, this is our homage to perhaps my favorite brand of cinema: grindhouse! We were inspired by the Tarantino/Rodriguez double feature venture that flopped last summer, and what was at one point only thought to be a short fixation has turned into a basic obsession of mine. So here's our trailer for the slasher "Spare Change". Awesome.

Fucking love this dude

Andy Hull of the band Manchester Orchestra has a side project called Right Away, Great Captain! that tells the tale of a sailor, or something -- regardless, it's amazing. This is an awesome cover of the Paul Simon song "Me and Julio Down By The Schoolyard" that isn't part of the overall story of RAGC but is still good in its own right.



Yaaaadig.

Right Away, Great Captain! -- Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard

J. Audio

A burgeoning Chicago emcee, this cat J. Audio is legitimately one of the stronger lyricists I've heard in a while. Here's a couple tracks for you to check out. Remember, heard it here first!

J. Audio -- Honest

J. Audio -- Wrote In a Letter

Also, a new video from Distant Pictures will drop soon -- this one a YEAR in the making. That's right.

From the Slums of Shoalin

The newest product of Distant Pictures

Step Brothers review

Here's my review, to be posted later on the Frat Pack Tribute site.



Are people getting sick of Will Ferrel? The question has certainly been asked -- in reviews, to the blogs and back again. And it is certainly a valid one: his previous effort, the basketball comedy Semi-Pro was both a box office failure and a painful watch. Seeing Ferrel lose his footing was not exactly pleasant.

So has he returned to the well in his latest farce Step Brothers? Quite possibly -- but thank the heavens he did. Re-teaming with director and co-writer Adam McKay was a step in the right direction: as was adding his newest collaborator John C Reilly. With the last piece of the puzzle obviously being Judd Apatow, the super-producer behind his two most successful films, Ferrel has set himself up for yet another box office hit.

In Step Brothers, Ferrel and Reilly play just that: two overly coddled and vastly immature 40-year-olds who become forced siblings when their single parents (Richard Jenkins and Marry Steenburgen) marry and move in together. As you can imagine, hijinks ensue. The boys use everything from fisticuffs to the disrespect of a certain drum kit to push each others buttons. Eventually, however, the two find common ground and become best friends. The premise is a proverbial breeding ground for the improvisational masterwork that Ferrel has built his career on.

As a movie, Step Brothers ebbs and flows with an uneven script: the rambunctious first act meanders into a dull second act, where a common conflict is introduced far too late. After forty-five minutes of irreverence, the attempt at compassion feels abrupt. A plot barely exists here, just more of a premise followed by a few story curves. However, the success of a movie like this has nothing to do with plot; it's all about the comic bits that are strung together. And the comic bits in Step Brothers are consistently laugh-aloud hilarious. In fact, joke for joke, the film has a better first act than even Anchorman, Ferrel's most heralded film. Had Step Brothers kept the pace...

Well, one can only imagine.

There's no question here that Reilly and Ferrel are an impenetrable force of comedy. Each scene works as a mini-exercise in improv, with the two stalwarts consistently delivering. Their chemistry is undeniable, and vastly overshadows the scenes the duo shared in Talladega Nights. There's nothing quite like watching two comedic minds work as one, especially when the two minds are as in sync as Ferrel's and Reilly's. It's easy to tell that they share the same sense of humor, the same tendencies and the same timing. Even in their weaker moments (which, thankfully, there are few of), just watching the two interact can be entertaining in itself.

Reilly and Ferrel don't get the whole spotlight, however. Taking a page from Apatows book, McKay gives each member of the cast free reign to flex their improv muscles. Steenburger really shines playing Ferrel's enabling mother. Playing Ferrel's younger brother, Derek, is the hilarious Adam Scott -- young, successful and a consummate dillweed. Frat Pack fans will recognize him as the male nurse from Apatow's Knocked Up. Rob Riggle is also great as Derek's corporate second-in-command, a blockheaded bully who yells cryptic team-spirit phonemes with desperate urgency (pow!). Also, as if we couldn't live without him, the venerable Matt Walsh delivers on a great cameo with the "Who-knew-he-was-still-alive?" Horatio Sanz. Although, on the subject of cameos, the appearance of a highly regarded Frat Pack friends falls sadly short.

Step Brothers success lies in the chemistry of the cast. Ferrel and Reilly are unwavering in their conviction, and film wins because of it. Apatow can add another notch to his belt, and Ferrel can breath a sigh of relief knowing he's still on top.

Pizza Episode 2

This is my favorite episode of Pizza that we did. Pizza is a series of vignettes we did for public access back in Mac Town, and they were lots of fun to make. Thought I'd share this one since it's the funniest one.

New Brand New!

I digs it. Means a new album is coming, too. Caaaan't wait to see this performed at Lolla.

Do yourself a favor and cop this

Two tracks from those infamous MF Doom/J Dilla/Ghostface sessions that produced some amazing music we'll probably never hear (that DOOM/Ghostface collabo is about as heralded and unlikely as Chinese Democracy at this point) have seen the light of day. Stones Throw has released a digital 12'' called Sniperlite, featuring the tracks "Sniper Elite" and "Murder Goons". And since the two songs "are taken from two sequential songs off Donuts, meant to mix together," you also get the two songs mixed as a bonus track. Don't be a fool and shell out the $2.97 for some quality shit!



Buy here

The Dark Knight

So anyway.

It's certainly one of the best films of the year, and without a doubt the best comic book movie ever made. It's The Godfather of comic book movies -- note, NOT The Godfather, but in the scope of the comic book/super hero genre, it's about as deftly made as possible. Because in all honesty, when a film is dealing with the source material of comic book fare, it's never going to be substantially effecting: the cheesy lines, cliche action sequences, yadda yadda yadda. But this film definitely pushes inborn limitations. This is as artistic as a comic book movie has ever, or will ever be. However, the inverse is true as well. The movie is fun and exciting, containing what I would call "tasteful comicness" -- because after all, it is a comic book film. Without those elements, it would just be some dude in a plastic suit chasing around some psychopath in makeup.

Speaking of that psychopath, how amazing is Heath Ledger as the Joker?



The final scene, where the Joker is hanging upside down as the camera spins around and portrays him rightside up, as he grills Batman about the lines we cross and the transformations we take was so overtly subtle I got goosebumps. I loved how they never game him a back story or any kind of explanation to his crazyness -- he was less a character and more of an entity, just chaos personified. Given him any kind of human trait would have nullified his creepiness. Also, a posthumous nod for Ledger would be nice, but an Oscar win for this performance isn't warranted. Although it was amazing.

Overall, good flick, and definitely one of the best of the year.

Such a sad life

Not going to Pitchfork. Or Rock the Bells. Not because I don't want to, but unfortunately I can barely afford rent these days -- but hey, that's why we go to college right? (IE: it better fucking be) Anyway, instead of enjoying all the amazing music happening this weekend, I guess I'll just catch the Dark Knight (which should be ill, but a shitty consolation prize regardless) and probably make another hip-hop mix. Had a blast doing that last one, so I figured I'd do Part II some time this weekend. Be on the lookout for that.

For now, I've never gotten sick of this vid, and I probably never will:



His genuine concern for the character in the movie and his penis is so life affirming. This kid should be president.

Be well.

The Air Yeezys

A Kanye West/Nike collabo. Probably cost about a billion bucks, but if they ever put these on the market (and rock 'em in some different colors), I'd more than likely save up. Just a little to sick.

I'm slightly intrigued by this...

I've always wanted to read the graphic novel that this film is adapted from, but for some reason never got around to it. I do know it's the only graphic novel to ever win the Hugo Award, so I'm sure it's as good as everyone says. The name Zack Snyder doesn't exactly tickle my fancy, but this is definitely one of the coolest trailers I've seen in a long time.

Watchmen

Watchmen Trailer http://teaser-trailer.com
by teaser-trailer

The Wackness

This is an awesome little indie starring Josh Peck and Sir Ben Kingsley. Set in 1994, Peck plays a young drug dealer getting ready for his first year of college, while Kingsley places his psychologist/best friend/mentor. Boasting deft direction, a hilarious script and a legit soundtrack, it's the kind of film I wish I could have seen in my teenage years. It's an ambitious and absorbing look at entering adulthood and the trials of self-discovery. Director Josh Levine creates a truly refreshing experience -- the kind of film that accurately illustrates owning and embracing the pain that makes you who you are. And I will say, it is slightly off putting to see a period piece set in a time I remember fairly well. This may mean I'm getting older. It may also mean that Levine managed to find the artistic feel of the early '90s -- with all the great hip-hop to boot.

It's in limited release right now, but hopefully it'll gain some wider acclaim. It's definitely a film well worthy of everyone's time.

Exploitation, anyone?

A pair of trailers to 'sploitation throwback flicks have hit the web, and they both look great. It's amazing how accurately they were able to capture the aesthetic and look of the genre, especially in the case of Black Dynamite, the blaxploitation effort. Even the actors look like they're straight out of a grindhouse. The second is a biker/road movie called Hell Ride, written and directed by a guy named Larry Bishop, a friend of Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino executive produced the flick and helped get it to Sundance earlier this year. Hell Ride gets props for having David Carradine and Dennis Hopper in the cast. Awesome. Both movies come out this year.

Black Dynamite


Hell Ride

"On the run from Johnny Law...ain't no trip to Cleveland."

Even though I liked this snazzy little edit more than his last two films combined, Wes Anderson is still great and one of America's most recognizable directors. This is an awesome tribute to his five films. Sidebar, his next movie Fantastic Mr. Fox is gonna be crazy -- a stop-motion adaption of the classic Roald Dahl children's novel with George Clooney doing the voice of Mr. Fox.

Magic School Bus? Oh, I fucks wit Magic School Bus

Hip-Hop Summer Mix, Vol. 1

Here it is, the requisite Hip-Hop Summer mix. Here's some shit that will sound best coming from your car on the way to the beach or out back at your neighbors BBQ. Enjoy, son!

1. Blue Scholars - North by Northwest
2. N.E.R.D. ft. CRS and Pusha T - Everybody Nose (Remix)
3. Guru ft. Blackalicious - Infinite
4. Brother Ali - Truth Is
5. L.A. Symphony - Broken Now
6. Clipse ft. Slim Thug - Wamp Wamp (What It Do?)
7. Pacific Division - Love It
8. Mikkey Factz ft. The Cool Kids - Rockin n Rollin (Remix)
9. Nas, RZA, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon - Verbal Intercourse
10. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
11. A-Trak and Lupe Fiasco - Mastered
12. Izza Kizza ft. Missy Elliott - Walk the Dawg
13. Souls of Mischief - '93 til Infinity
14. Wale - The Artistic Integrity
15. Andre Nickatina ft. San Quinn - Ayo for Yayo
16. Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West -- Put On

Kanye asked, so I'll listen -- Malik Yusef! G.O.O.D. Music!

Malik Yusef -- What Made Me

Pretty ill.

Pineapple Express review up at The Frat Pack Tribute site

We have the very first review for the upcoming Judd Apatow production, The Pineapple Express. Pretty sure it's the only site with one, so check it out!



Review here