A recent wave of violent incidents in Mexico have an unusual and somewhat humorous cause: emo kids. Apparently other musical subcultures in Mexico have not taken kindly to the recent influx of emo kids, so the rockabillies, punks and metalheads have taken to physically attacking their somewhat wimpier, emo-loving, long haired, eyeliner wearing counterparts.
If this was just clashes between music cultures it would be an hilariously wussy throwback to the mods vs. rockers fights of mid-sixties England. Unfortunately this story, as all funny news stories tend to, comes with its seriously disturbing side. Apparently the attacks on these annoying but harmless emo kids partly stems from homophobic reactions to their long hair and androgynous clothing.
While this specific problem is something for the policina and Mexican machismo culture to deal with, it reminds us how powerful musical genres can be in cultural anthropology. Not only does music speak to core values and beliefs of different sub-cultures but it can single handedly shape them. So many of us in college, when asked what kind of music we listen to, respond “Everything,” when in fact most of us do tend towards a specific genre or style of music. Even someone like me, who really does listen to everything, can find similarities bin the styles of country music and electronica I prefer. I don’t think that we should let music define and divide us, but it can be interesting to look at the musical artists you actually do enjoy listening to the most, and see what commonalities they share, because it’s probably quite a few.
I was all set to give my Netflix queue some much needed maintenance. Maybe rate a few movies, browse my past rentals. I have my Wes Anderson inspired Pandora station playing (its very Donovan and Kinks heavy at the moment) and I just finished reorganizing my DVD collection so I’m in the mood for some hardcore movie sorting. And now, of all times, Netflix.com is down. I don’t care if they apologize for my inconvenience! I want to waste time on Netflix now. I already checked the Onion and McSweeneys so my options for Internet time wasting are all tapped out. Thank God for Wikipedia. Roald Dahl’s biography here I come!
So MTV has announced that they have banned Gnarls Barkely’s newest music video, a 90’s throwback clip for the song “Run.” Despite their popularity (and the fact that the video features the ubiquitous Justin Timberlake) Gnarls Barkley has been unable to fight back at the claims that their video may indeed cause seizures. That’s right, no sex or violence in the “Run” video, but there are some flashing lights and some spinning black and white spirals. Health concerns. That’s a new one.
More interesting than that seemingly ridiculous reason to ban it, is this question: why bother banning a video on a channel that no longer plays music videos?
Check it out for yourself here. (Warning: May cause seizures and/or engender even more animosity towards MTV)
So I’ve watched the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull preview for the fifth time, adding another tally to the 200 million other views it’s gotten. I still haven’t come down on either side of the fencepost. On the one hand, we have the fact that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have both turned into middle aged hacks that like nothing better than to rape my childhood memories and churn out average blockbusters (War of the Worlds, all three Star Wars prequels) which are merely mid-day shadows of their former towering achievements. On the other hand, it’s Indiana Jones. For me, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a perfect movie; the tone is brilliantly controlled, the acting and dialog are impeccable and the story moves quickly but with a keen attention to detail. Plus, its really freaking awesome. It got robbed at the Academy Awards. Sure, it won four technical awards but it was beaten for the big prize by Chariots of Fire. How lame is that? That movie is only remembered now for its soundtrack and through sheer force of British stubbornness.
I’m a big fan of Indiana Jones, and not of the variety that thinks any deviation from the original is a poor one. I love all three Indy movies, even Temple of Doom, but I’m still nervous about this new one. And all because of the three ugliest little letters in the English vernacular: CGI. Ugh. Doesn’t it just make you sick? I don’t dislike Computer-Generated Imagery outright. I think it is an essential tool in modern special effects that has made possible adaptations of fantasy novels and comic books that otherwise would have been unthinkable. (I suppose it works on original ideas too, but you wouldn’t know it from Hollywood’s last six years.) But these eyes are tired of seeing sleek, digitally-created special effects that look just just real enough to keep us watching but not real enough to make us say “WOW.”
Great adventure movies, like the ones in the Indiana Jones series, succeed because they fill the viewer with childlike wonder. They stupefy us with their fabulous set pieces, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. But its the situations that should be fantastic not the visuals. Indiana Jones, no matter how face-meltingly ridiculous the plot, is rooted in reality. Sure, when he lands a punch the soundtrack goes of like a firecracker; yes, I realize that a man’s heart will never leap out of his chest, no matter how many times I say “Kali Ma”; and I do remember that the spirits floating out of the Ark of the Covenant look incredibly fake by todays standards. But it’s the aura of reality that matters, and CGI just doesn’t cut it. I want living, breathing crowds and actual location shooting. It’s why Chewy will always look more real than Jar Jar; because one was created by an adding machine and one by a sewing machine. Filling Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with a bunch of computer graphics will sully the intention of the series; to celebrate (and admittedly poke fun at) the adventure serials Lucas and Spielberg adored as children. (See, I’m not the only one who thinks an obsession with childhood entertainment can be healthy.)
So that brings us back to the trailer in question. My first viewing elicited a solid, meh. The thing looks OK. It certainly doesn’t seem to be a train wreck; Ray Winstone and Cate Blanchett both look great, and Harrison Ford’s face seems to be holding up pretty well (honestly, that may be the one place I would approve of a little computer-generated tweaking). The story isn’t mentioned at all, as the trailer seems to be operating on an engine powered solely by nostalgia. That’s not a bad move for this particular franchise. But then, at the 1:16 mark, that shiny, polished CGI monster pokes out its perfectly honed little head. An explosion in some sort of warehouse threatens to shatter my heart with splinters of digitally created wood. But its over quickly and not so intrusive. I suppose the little guy isn’t so bad. CGI certainly does ease the process of making … oh god, would you look at that mess it’s made on that car chase scene at 1:25. Bad CGI, look what you’ve done. What an incredibly Plastacine-looking cliff’s edge. And that horrible tower on top of the Central American pyramid? For shame!
So it looks as though my fears have been somewhat justified. Rebooting a series almost 20 years after its last installment was challenge enough, but bringing a film in under time constraints with a star in his 60’s and keeping the legions of fans happy in our cynical world where people can air grievances to the entire world on the internet? It would have been nice to see a modern big-budget action movie try to make a go of it without computers, although at this point that seems a task even Indy wouldn’t attempt. I mean who wants real snakes when you can use fakes?
By Cecilia Razak
Today Oscar is 80! That’s old, and, as Jon Stewart pointed out, automatically makes him eligible for the Republican nomination. We at StudLife are pleased to bring you blow-by-blow update action, for those of you who, like me, have no TV set at home, and are too lazy to find a bar that isn’t showing sports. Scroll to the bottom to see the minute-by-minute, or stick with us up at the top as we reveal and make snarky comments about the winners, all in real-time!
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Alexandra Byrne, for “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.” The First Speech is mercifully and stunningly brief. This bodes well for the rest of the night.
Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
“Ratatoullie”! I’ll confess, I filled this in before they announced it. Although, honestly, I had a last minute crisis of faith that “Surf’s Up” would upset. We know how the Academy loves penguins. Brad Bird is adorable. Two deserving birds have won in a row!
Best Achievement in Makeup
Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald, for “La Vie En Rose.” French accents make acceptance speeches endearing and unintelligible.
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Michael L. Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Wood for “The Golden Compass” I know, we were all hoping “Transformers” would win something, but no dice.
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” Steven Sondheim was clearly never intended for “wrap-it-up” music.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Javier Bardem for “No Country for Old Men.” It’s the attack of the foreigners! (Finally, the Academy escapes from its incestuous pool.) Bardem has a thick Spanish accent, and one completely unlike the terrifying one of “No Country.” In Spanish, he called out to his mother: “This if for you, mother, [and several other people] and Spain!”
Best Short Film, Live Action
Philippe Pollet-Villard for “Le Mozart des pickpockets.” Another non-English acceptance speech. The republicans are clearly falling down on the job. The immigrants are here stealing all our jobs!
Best Short Film, Animated
Suzie Templeton, Hugh Welchman for “Peter & the Wolf.” Prokofiev finally gets his due from the Academy.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Tilda Swinton for “Michael Clayton.” Tilda is most famous for being unfamous and oddly androgynous. “Oh, no,” she moans at her first moment at the microphone. She then compares Oscar’s buttocks to her agent’s.
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Joel Coen, Ethan Coen for “No Country for Old Men.” Joel didn’t waste his time at the microphone, since it is cumulative. These guys have at least one more coming.
Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Karen M. Baker, Per Hallberg for “The Bourne Ultimatum.” I hope I get to see more “Bourne Ultimatum” action at the podium. Hopefully less Seth Rogen action, though.
Best Achievement in Sound
Scott Millan, David Parker, Kirk Francis for “The Bourne Ultimatum.” I told you there would be more! Let’s cross our fingers for editing. The three sound mixers dedicate their Oscars to the recently deceased Paul Huntzman.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Marillon Cotillard for “La Vie En Rose.” Excited French English again! Excited bouncing breathless vaguely inarticulate French English!
Best Achievement in Editing
Christopher Rouse for “The Bourne Ultimatum.” Firstly: Yes! We predicted this at least several times here at StudLife. We are pleased. Although, we would have liked to see what would’ve happened if the fictional character “Robert James,” whom the Coen brothers created, had won. Ethan would have sneaked up in Groucho Marx nose-and-glasses, and feigned a British accent.
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
“Die Fälscher” Thanks to the Academy for seeing these movies and picking one through their ridiculous screening process that excludes all reality and other viewers.
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová for “Falling Slowly” Glen says his bit and Marketa steps up when the music blares on. I want to run up and hug her, but I would probably get charged with assault. UPDATE: Marketa has been allowed back on stage to give her thanks! Fortunately, she’s articulate enough to pull it off. She makes the 837th foreign winner to make a quaintly accented and over-excited acceptance speech.
Best Achievement in Cinematography
Robert Elswit for “There Will Be Blood.” Merited. Enough said.
Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Dario Marianelli for “Atonement.” Lovely music in Atonement. Everyone said it would win. It won. I am shocked. Are you shocked?
Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Cynthia Wade, Vanessa Roth for “Freeheld” Presented to the ladies by troops in Baghdad. Who casted those presenters? They have no charisma. They had one job to do.
Best Documentary, Features
Alex Gibney, Eva Orner for “Taxi to the Dark Side” This one should have been presented by either someone in a taxi or Robert DeNiro.
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Diablo Cody for “Juno.” Predicted and predicted. Ms. Cody, with her sprawling arm tatoo, is adorable and dedicates her Oscar to the writers. Like those guys haven’t won enough Oscars as it is.
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Daniel Day-Lewis for “There Will Be Blood.” No! Not Daniel Day-Lewis! Someone pinch me, I must be having-known-this-since-day-one. He’s incredibly articulate, and so quiet and soft it’s hard to believe he could do what he did. Deserved, wonderfully deserved, and bravo for Mr. Day-Lewis, who says he wishes his son and partner H.W. Plainview was accepting the award with him.
Best Achievement in Directing
Joel Cohen, Ethan Coen, for “No Country For Old Men.” Martin Scorsese’s bemused look at the mention of the brothers’ first amateur film (”Henry Kissinger: Man on the Go) says it all.
Best Motion Picture of the Year
“No Country For Old Men.” The brothers are back again. They must be bored of it by now. Wait–did Joel just–yes, he yawned.
Excellent Oscars! Fun for everyone! Thanks for joining us here at StudLife for our super-exciting blog-tastic event. And all clocking in under three hours! Sort of. Goodnight, and good luck.
Here are the minute-by-minute updates:
7:20 As we begin, we wonder what Hannah Montana–er, we mean Miley Cyrus–is doing at the Oscars.
7:23 Daniel Day-Lewis is too nice, soft-spoken, and be-earringed to’ve played that heartless character in “There Will Be Blood.”
7:30 Ellen Page is humble and deadpan, just like we knew she would be.
7:36 About four minutes until the show starts, Regis Philben wades his way into the audience, and Jack Nicholson proves that you’re allowed to wear sunglasses inside because the sun never sets on the land of the cool.
7:42 The Oscars, they begin. When has Jon Stewart ever not been funny? And how glad are we that the Writers’ Strike is over?
7:45 “Norbit was nominated! Isn’t that nice? Too often the Academy ignores movies that aren’t good.” Jon Stewart knows he’s funny, and laughs at his own jokes almost as hard as we do.
7:57 Our first Montage! Hooray! Who can live without montages?
8:04 Katherine Heigel is wearing enough make-up to make us really believe her pat, pre-scripted lines about how vastly important face-spackel has been through the ages.
8:09 Amy Adams sings well in a refreshingly un-over-produced song and dance number. We at the office wonder whether she’s lip-syching, since she’s so in tune and we all know we can’t sing, so she shouldn’t be able to, either.
8:24 I’d forgotten Jennifer Hudson existed. She also can’t pronounce Javier’s poor, butchered name.
8:31 Oscars salute to binoculars and telescopes! This montage, which we were just subjected to, is what we would have been subjected to if the Writers’ strike had continued past this hallowed date. Thank god we escaped that bullet.
9:00 Confirmed: the president of the Academy has no comic timing. World shocked.
9:01 Miley Cyrus is back. For some inexplicable reason.
9:03 Obligatory musical number #2. Yawn #12
9:18 Forest Whitaker presents best actress. I love when they show a particularly embarrassing and painfully out-of-context scene, and then cut to the actor, who invariably looks pained.
9:27 Colin Farrel, probably most musically callous person Academy could find, presents touching indie-singer-songwriters from “Once.” They clean up nicely, although Glen Hensard’s guitar could use some TLC.
9:31 Even while saying trite Academy-scripted self-indulgement, Jack Nicholson still manages to sound creepy.
9:34 Long (and we mean long) obligatory “what we’ve picked for the last eighty years to be allowed to be called ‘good movies’ in the form of Best Picture.” We at the office want to see the “should have won” reel.
9:43 In the vein of “who should have won over the years but inexplicably didn’t,” the Academy pulls its “here’s how we’re going to sheepishly atone for that” and gives out a lifetime achievement award to Robert Boyle, Hitchcock’s art director. He was due, even if I didn’t know he was still alive.
9:55 Song and Dance number, #3. The singer isn’t breathy enough for us here at StudLife. We vote a quotient of at least 5.89 percent breathier.
9:59 The only thing that’s aged about John Travolta is his hairline, but, through the miracle of Scientology, he has miraculously remained in, if not in peak, then Saturday Night Sniffles shape.
NOTE: we here at StudLife have been going by the international clocks on our walls, which are all at various levels of veklemptness, including the one which gives ST. Louis time, apparently. We apologize, and are now stepping into our De Lorean to travel back in time. Current correct time: 9:56. Take all times above, and subtract ten minutes, if you are so imclined to be actually minute-to-correct-minute.
9:58 If they continue to encourage the epically untalented Cameron Diaz by letting her do things in front of audiences, when will she ever learn?
10:01 Spike Lee is sitting behind Paul Dano. Spike Lee, until you’ve re-relevanted yourself, please don’t sit behind Paul Dano.
10:02 Everyone’s favorite part of the Oscars! The moment we’ve all been waiting for! It’s finally here! The dead-guy reel! There was actually one face I didn’t forget died this year. Heath Ledger should be on it for the next few years.
10:09 Amy Adams grins ecstatically and answers her own rhetorical (and obvious) questions about whether music matters by nodding her head, as if letting us in on an important secret.
10:27 Is it just us, or is the sound getting a little wobbly? The music is all out of wack; Harrison Ford sounds like he’s nearly seventy.
10:31 Helen Mirren reminds why she’s fabulous.
10:42 Is Martin Scorsese wearing Joel Cohen’s Groucho Marx eyebrows? Oh, no, those are his.
So HD-DVD is dead. Toshiba announced they will stop production of their High Def HD-DVD players, clearing the path for Sony’s Blu-Ray to become the new standard format. I mean, they have the support of their Sony Playstation 3, which plays Blu-Ray movies, and the support of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, whose announcement that they would stop selling HD-DVDs put the final nail in the coffin containing Toshiba’s hopes and dreams. But are we, as a society, really ready to change?
I love movies and even so it took me a few years to switch from VHS to DVD. Why would I want to invest in a technology that doesn’t change my experience greatly (only resolution and storage space) and will probably be outdated in a few years? Sure DVDs were worth the investment and the market for home theaters has exploded ever since, indicating that a new format is needed to keep up with the High-Def TVs we put on the wall and the surround sound systems we’ve hidden behind the couch. Exactly my point. With the market still growing and with movie watchers ever becoming more housebound, what’s to prevent a new technology coming along at anytime? Sure I may sound like an old coot, but Blu-ray feels a lot like Laser Disc to me. I’ll pass for now. But then again I see all my movies for free.
What does it say about our culture that the latest nude photos of a troubled young starlet actually gains her some respect? Maybe that’s too big of a question to lay at the feet of these photos of Lindsay Lohan, taken by photographer Bert Stern. The pictures, running this month in New York Magazine, attempt to recreate the famous snaps Stern took of Marylin Monroe just weeks before her death of an apparent barbiturates overdose. They featured Marilyn in a very candid atmosphere, nude, covered only with very sheer fabric. Not only did it give everybody a look at what the Kennedy brothers enjoyed weekly, but it showed everyone some of the last days of an iconic, and eternally troubled, movie star.
Now Lohan surely isn’t to Marilyn Monroe status yet. Even before her untimely death, Monroe was THE sex symbol for all of America. Lindsay Lohan serves mostly as a warning for other talented, young girls entering show business. We all remember her immense weight loss, transforming her from ridiculously hot to simply ridiculous. I for one thought her boobs were gone forever, lost to the skeletal, coke-addled partier that she had become. But she’s begun to overcome the difficulties of her family problems (stage mom and dad in jail, sounds like the Lifetime movie is just around the corner) and gotten herself into a semi-successful rehab program. She’s looking healthier despite the fact that her choice in roles is not. (Last year’s I Know Who Killed Me leads the Razzies with 9 nominations.)
So what do these nude photos do other than show off her newly reconstituted flesh? It does that very well, reminding us all that she was one of the prettier young women in Hollywood. The more lasting impression these photos left me with was that they represented a new stage in her career, and hopefully in our consumption of pop-culture. She took a chance; she could have further alienated the public, she could have brought up icky memories by replicating the photo shoot of a star with her own sad story that ended tragically, or it could have solidified her image as a skank. But I think that chance paid off. Cliche has it may sound, the photos are classy and are a make great strides towards solidifying the transition from her Disney days. And instead of creepy, morbid feelings, the kind you get whenever Britney Spears dances at the MTV awards or flashes her chacha to the paparazzi, this photo project seems to evoke hope for a new generation of starlets. They show that these Hollywood downfalls don’t have to end in tragedy. They show that people, even those blinded by flashbulbs, can learn from their mistakes. They show a confident actress who’s willing to put her career on the line to gain back even a tiny amount of respect from the public who has chewed her up and spit her out. And they show a supremely hot celebrity in the nude. I’ll take that over candid snaps of Britney’s cooch any day.
On the heels of the WGA agreeing to a new contract, George Lucas announces that Star Wars is returning to the big screen in 2008. On the 15th of August, Lucasfilm will release Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a computer-animated adventure expanding on the already bloated Star Wars universe. This feature film will stand on its own but will also help to launch a half-hour animated television program that will air on Cartoon Network and TNT. The show will explore multiple storylines taking place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, and is in no way connected with the Genndy Tartakovsky shorts shown on Cartoon Network between ‘03-’05 (other than they are both about exactly the same thing).
So more Star Wars. That can’t be all bad right? I mean, despite the fact that everything George Lucas works on has gotten progressively worse since The Last Crusade, I love Star Wars. (Let me be clear on this, Revenge of the Sith was not “pretty cool” or “alright,” it was a travesty on every front, offering only a decent light saber battle which was still worse than the one with Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon and Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace.) And beyond loving the saga, this show will cover the only part of the new trilogy I was ever really interested in. The Clone Wars offers an opportunity for Lucas to redeem himself and his lagging franchise. Sure it’ll be kid focused, but it’s a cartoon so that should be less offensive than it seemed in live-action. The animation (you can see clips here) looks similar to that Ninja Turtles movie that came out last year but with better creature design.
Chances are this movie and show will both be disappointments, if only because the hype will assuredly be gargantuan once again, and even the slightest shortcomings will be ripped wide by rabid fans looking for Sith-like revenge. But I suggest we all pretend the prequel-trilogy never happened. If you ignore that, imagine how exciting it would be if, 25 years after Return of the Jedi, an animated movie exploring unknown stories featuring some of our favorite characters and introducing new ones graced theaters and televisions. This still could be good. Just don’t let George Lucas anywhere near it.
Well the first hurdle has been successfully stumbled over. I finally settled on a name for the Cadenza blog. Sure Inter-tainment isn’t that catchy, and it certainly isn’t very clever, but its comfortable and non-specific. Plus, Blog Jammin’ was already taken. So here we are at the outset of what should be a beautiful friendship. In that spirit, let’s all go on a group outing. My suggestion? How about hitting up AMC Theater’s Best Picture Showcase on Saturday the 23rd? You get to see all five Oscar contenders in a row plus you get all the popcorn you can shove in your face during the 12 hour running time (there is no word on bathroom breaks but I have to assume…) Now it does cost $30 and 12 hours is a long time to be anywhere, but if you wear pajamas and bring a pillow it’ll be just like home except you get to see all of the movies nominated for Best Picture, which, for once, are all worth seeing. You and all your friends can pile in the car and drive out to West Olive theater, the closest one to campus showing the special feature, and check it out. That is assuming you have friends. You are the type of person who reads the Cadenza blog and tends to spend entire days in a movie theater.
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| Artist: | The Cure |
| Track: | Close to Me |
| Album: | Head on the Door |
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