So, I was able to sit down for a couple of years and pump out a book. It’s got little to do with movies.Download and read “Thank You, Goodnight” right HERE for free.
And now, you can follow me on TWITTER under the name: Stipp
THE UNIVERSE: THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO
Forget about your DARK KNIGHT Blu-ray as the benchmark against which you’ll judge any other disc as The Universe: The Complete Season Two is absolutely breathtaking.
One of the things that you notice when you settle in to this collection of 4 discs is that the programs that you used to watch as a kid which sought to explain the nuances of the universe are now completely irrelevant. What this series does, in 18 episodes, is to redefine how you spatially think of outer space.
I never was one who paid much attention to my science teachers when it came to this subject as I was, and still am, a visual learner. The fundamental problem with space, you see, is that it is very much based on factoids, theoretical assumptions and basic math. I’m not much for any of those things. What this series manages to do, in an arresting visual style, is contextualize the science and make it understandable to anyone who can sit in front of the television and watch the images and listen to the narration. This series has quickly become one of my favorites as nowhere else has there been a show that mixes the abject vastness of space with the kind of sensibility that understands that not everyone is an Einstein. The program introduces topics usually reserved for those with a scientific bent but it does so with a casual narrative style.
If you have to have the kids inside watching a show this summer you couldn’t do more perfect than The Universe.
The product description:
As the orbiting Hubble’s final makeover makes headlines, consumers who look to the stars may be wishing for their very own ultra-powerful space telescope. This July, A&E Home Entertainment invites home audiences to peer deeply into the cosmos with THE UNIVERSE: THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO BLU-RAY EDITION. A hi-def, visually-arresting journey across the galaxy, this 4-disc collector’s set features all 18 dramatic and original episodes from one of the top-rated series on HISTORY — and exclusive programming — for $79.95 srp. It’s the next best thing to having a deep space telescope in your living room – and a must-have for anyone with a Blu-ray player
In THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO, HISTORY ventures outside of our solar system in another epic and high-definition exploration of the universe and its mysteries. With strikingly realistic computer re-creations, armchair astronomers will travel to the edge of the unknown: visit strange and unfamiliar worlds in “Exoplanets,” prepare for the worst in “Cosmic Collisions,” and uncover the secrets of our own galaxy in “The Milky Way.” And that’s just the beginning: more mysteries are unveiled as “Dark Matter” is demystified; take a front-row seat for the ultimate light show with “Supernovas,” and find out more about “White Holes” which, unlike black holes, actually create matter.
BRUNO – Arizona Screening
I remember seeing BORAT for the first time at the San Diego Comic-Con years ago. The expereince of getting tickets to see then film and then being one of the first people in the world to review it was a delight in knowing that this film was genuinely going to become a favorite with a lot of people when it was going to be released months later.
Fast forward 3 years and now we get Sacha Baron Cohen’s second iteration at cinematic immolation: BRUNO. Based on one of the characters he used in Da Ali G Show, Bruno was a character that played seek and destroy against mavens in the fashion and glamor arena. What made Bruno so great is that it shared some of the elements with Borat. The character mirrors the shallow, desperate affectations of those who deal in the industry of beauty and he isn’t above a few of the more physical pranks that Sacha is now known for.
To this end, I have FREE passes to see the Arizona screening of BRUNO on Tuesday, July 7th at 7 p.m. at the Tempe Marketplace in Tempe.
If I need to sell this movie any further you best let the fans get to these and then wait to hear from them about why you should’ve seen it in the first place. Shoot me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com to let me know if you want to go.
THE PROPOSAL – A Product Placement Correction
I am reminded, every so often, of Frances ‘Chainsaw’ Gremp from SUMMER SCHOOL. You may recall, from this paragon of a film, that Frances had sunglasses that were constantly breaking. So, with a little prodding from Shoop Frances rattled off a missive to Cool Dudes Sunglasses to let them know how he felt. At the end of the letter writing campaign, and many pairs of free sunglasses later, Frances exclaims, “Power of the pen!”
Every now and then I get such a moment and am reminded of how small the Interwebs are. Last week I made mention of a rather stark, at what I thought at the time, product placement. Alaskan Brewing Company was featured prominently throughout a few scenes in THE PROPOSAL and I made mention of it in my review.
Lo and behold I heard from someone at Alaskan Brewing. A very, very nice letter made its way into my inbox and I was set straight about what was NOT a paid promotional placement. An excerpt:
We have spoken with a few of the other businesses shown in the film and it’s my understanding none of those companies paid for product placement either.”
No one could be more shocked than I was when I learned that nary a penny traded hands for what amounts to some of the best free advertising this side of the Rio Grande. It’s nice to hear when some companies are just the lucky receipients of the marketing lotto. Hopefully this translates into some actual sales or, at the very least, awareness of the brand as THE PROPOSAL hopes to build on what was solid word-of-mouth and pretty enjoyable film, all things being equal, as it heads into its second week at the box office.
TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN – Review
It’s the cinematic equivalent of putting on your fat pants before downing a soft roll of raw cookie dough.
For all the talk of how empty this movie will make you feel after you endure it’s 149 minute run time there is no question after seeing it that Michael Bay is a master of blowing things up real good. To say he is a master of the pyrotechnic technique would under emphasize the level of destruction he manages to bring to this summer film. He manages to fill every last inch of screen with shrapnel, smoke or action when there’s action to be had and that’s why it’s everything that a 13 year old boy could want in a film directed squarely at them.
This film has to make money. It is designed to generate money. It’s sole purpose, it’s raison d’etre, is to put paying customers in seats in exponential numbers. Once you synthesize this, examining the film as a grand economic exercise helps to put things in the proper perspective.
What should be apparent by the time our young Shia LeBouf (Sam) makes his way to college, leaving his gear head of a girlfriend Megan Fox (Mikaela) back to tend to the home fires, is that this movie isn’t concerned with a coherent plot. It wants excuses to get loud, get dumb and get some kinetic action going at every opportunity. To wit, we’re given Hong Kong at dusk. There is an operation going on with a couple of our human heroes, Tyrese and Josh Duhamel, tracking down Decepticons through the highways and byways of the crowded city. Logic would follow, wouldn’t it, if you having an all out battle of robots made out of metal all over the world that there would be more than just a couple of Internet nerds vying for the hearts and minds of conspiracy theorists who seem to believe that robots walk among us? No, and you would be silly for making such an assumption as the film wants us to believe that this is a secret that has been perfectly kept across multiple continents during multiple skirmishes with Michael Bay-ian level action. However, I’m fine with this.
I’m fine with the movie wanting me to believe this is all very routine and certainly I’m fine with a dweeb like Shia ditching his girlfriend at the first taste of college life, coincidentally being paired up with a roommate who is the head of the robot conspiracy movement. You could hurt your mind just trying to explain all the happy coincidences, all the completely improbable things that just don’t make any sense whatsoever. Again, to illustrate the point, remember the very real auto accident that put Shia’s performance in this movie in jeopardy? It’s almost laughable, and it is, to see the exact moment in the film when this happens. Without so much as an explanation as to how he ends up with a hand wrapped in gauze with no discernible explanation of where it came from and we’re just led to believe this is all part of the world these characters inhabit, where gauze is readily available even in the middle of the desert. I started to feel insulted at this point but then I remember what this movie is supposed to be about and it helped put everything in perspective. The irony that the original kids show, along with the likes of G.I. Joe, was an ancillary extension of the marketing campaign for the Transformers toy line and that this film is basically a meta extension of that, isn’t lost on me. In fact, I am surprised no one else mentions this as a way to explain why else this movie works as a cinematic achievement.
And make no mistake, this movie is absolutely an achievement. The level of dedication that Bay has placed in making a film that you can’t help but admire for its technical prowess, it’s effects are dumbfounding in more than a few ways, should absolutely explain why this movie is poised to be a fiscal juggernaut. The effect For all the talk of artistic integrity director Michael Bay has succinctly distilled his ability to take the mundane into something exciting and the way he places ordinary people into extraordinary situations is brilliantly executed on the screen. Summer blockbusters are not made out of the charity to help others and while there is a metric ton to bemoan about this ultimately tepid film Bay has the formula down. You can make fun of Carrot Top all you like but when he’s relaxing in his zero edge pool while you’re stuck pushing paper inside a gray cube who is the real winner in the equation?
The mechanical problems with this film are many. The excruciatingly boring characters that LaBeouf, Fox, Turturro, et al., play are all expendable in my eyes; it shows you what a gimpy script by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman turned in, they could have all died a sinister death by robotic means and I wouldn’t have cared. The running time is just unnecessary as any 5 year-old with safety scissors could have trimmed enough time off this movie to make it endurable. And the ultimate leaps of time and space are embarrassing; when one moment you have robot cars wheeling through a city street and, the next, battling in the middle of a forest there is no need to consult a map as you just aren’t supposed to think about these things.
Ultimately, TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is everything that show business is supposed to be about: creating a spectactle by any means neccessary, ensuring the fiscal health of the studio that helped to finance it by attracting the largest audience possible. Bay is an absolute capitalist and this film is an homage to the best, and worst, parts of what makes America great.
Oh no! Just when you thought it was safe to hang out at the Quick Stop…
TALLADEGA — When a filmmaker wants to depict America’s legendary rugby coach in a film, only a legend actor can handle the job. Forever Strong shines a light on Highland High’s Coach Larry Gelwix. How good is he? His teams are 361-9 in the last three decades. He’s brought 18 of the last 24 National High School titles back to Salt Lake City. Who could dramatically play such an imposing figure behind such figures? Gary Cole took the whistle.
Edric has been writing music (off and on) since the early nineties. He wrote and directed a musical, The Pushcart War, based on Jean Merrill’s wonderful novel. He has written and/or arranged a number of songs for various friends – some commissioned, some as surprises. He loves acting in community theatre, and is inspired by the music of Stephen Sondheim, Jason Robert Brown, Adam Guettel, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. He is also happy to finally return his Happiness Board to the Internet. Check out the link on his web pages.
Legendz foretell of a mighty duo, born in the frozen North. Two neighborz and friendz will unite to form “Gödz Pöödlz” and battle the Mazterz or Song Fu for glory and bragging rightz! Gödz Pöödlz are Rüss Rögers and Röd Dürre. Rüss Rögers was once a member of “Kit and Kaboodle” (still available on iTunes) and currently performs in “Rusty’s Rocking Jamboree!” Röd Dürre wrote and performed with the Goth Rock Godz “Sear”, and last year Röd won the Coor’s Light “Take the 4:53 to Happy Hour” songwriting contest! Remember, the heaviest of metals are soft!
Hi, my name is Steve Chatterton, the quintessential one-man-band singer/songwriter net-based recording project. Mom always said I marched to the sound of a different drummer, but she never mentioned which one. Dad had a fondness for bagpipes. Fortunately, neither of them have any direct influence on my music. Specializing in quirky little guitar-oriented pop songs about bugs, the Scooby gang, pirates, palindromes, superheroes, old movies, infectious diseases, imaginary friends and sideshow freaks, I guess you could say I pretty much write love songs. I’m a cheesy bastard at heart. I’m a stay-at-home dad who’s looking to find more time in the studio when my youngest starts school in September. I have an ever-expanding back catalog (at least 3 albums worth & counting) I’m dying to share with the world one download at a time.
Johannes “Jutze” Schult (from Germany) likes to live in a dream world where there has been no Grunge and where he is a talented singer. Sometimes his little folky pop songs find their way into the real world. Here they suffer from his hoarse voice and the do-it-yourself home recording production, struggling to appeal off and on beaten musical paths.
In the far off land of Chandler, Arizona, where the rivers flow with sand and cacti, our leader and master, the Lord of Our Lady Gwynyth, guitar and microphone in hand, called for the greatest musicians in the land to assemble a rock and roll group like none other. Unfortunately, they were cut off on the road, and the Jalapeño Habañeros made it there first. With The Rogue Bohemian on saxophone and The Boxcar Bassist on bass and keyboards, the Lord was pleased. Now, they roam the streets of Chandler, playing epic songs and rocking faces, much like Bon Jovi. Unfortunately they are paid in change, and often get thrown into the street, also like Bon Jovi. Their lives have intertwined, and the era of the Jalapeño Habañeros has begun. Be prepared.
The Scribbles are one of the most popular ukulele-based trios in their entire 6th grade class. Oh sure, there is the rumor that Peter Choi hates them. Meh. He’s a hater. Ha ha. The Scribbles formed last November when they all agreed on the name. After that they bought some instruments and started writing songs and stuff. So far, they’ve played a handful of shows around their hometown of Springfield, MO. Everyone’s favorite song seems to be “The Robot Song”. Maybe it’s because robots really are taking over the world, or maybe because Connor wears the robot suit during that song and that’s pretty funny. Thanks to MySpace, they are now friends with really cool people like The Beatles and Weezer and Tom. They’ve said some really nice things like “iloveyouguys:D” and “thanx for the add:).” Oh, and by the way, Peter Choi, The Scribbles still luv u.
Gorbzilla is a musician/band teacher in Mid-Michigan. He has been in a few bands over the years, most notably as the bass player/vocalist for the band “Satin Jones” and the guitarist/vocalist for the band “Jimmy Likes Pie”. The proud father of two future rock maniacs, Gorbzilla has been writing music for the past twenty years, and is currently working on his first musical Beer ““ Finally a Musical for Men based on the Haiku by Patrick “Horkmeister” Sweet entitled, “I Think I Threw Up”. He has been happily married for eight years, and is looking forward to this competition.
Darrell Maclaine has been devouring comedy songs and interesting music ever since he was old enough to know better, and is taking part in this competition essentially as penance for the amount of free music he has obtained via the previous rounds. He plays piano and keyboard bass as one fifth of oddball UK pop group The Directors (another fifth of the group, Mathew Cornah, possesses both more instrumental expertise and a much better home studio than him and will inevitably be press-ganged into contributing to his entries), and has decided to exercise his rusty songwriting muscles in the most embarrassingly public way possible.
Berg and Jerry are a small suburban acoustic group comprised of Andrew Berg (Lead Vocals, Melodica and, maybe, eventually the Ukulele) and Jerry Geleff (Guitar and Backup Vocals). Mid-summer ’08, Berg and Jerry began writing songs together and since then… well, basically nothing. As rookies to this competition, these guys hope to at least make one good song, and entertain at least one person (*fingers crossed*). Berg and Jerry have a fun ska/indie/punk acoustic sound and often try to write clever witty lyrics. So listen, laugh, and something else that starts with an “L”, because Berg and Jerry are ready to slightly attempt to be THE MASTERS OF SONG FU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Denise lived in a grey house in the city of Austin. Her favorite pastimes were playing piano, polishing her guitar, and tormenting the geeky programmer boy who lived there. His name was Michael, but she never called him that… Isn’t that a wonderful bio???
Lex Vader was born to a single mother who worked as silicon tycoon’s personal assistant. When she died of poor hygiene, Lex was sent to an orphanage where he showed interest in organizing races and laser fencing. After being recruited into a religious order, he spent the next few years between several of their private schools. In his final year, Lex lost his hand in an argument with a professor over Kryptochlorians. Despite this, Lex was able to achieve a successful business career and even a knighthood. Tragedy struck, however, when a former classmate’s arctic home caught fire during a business lunch, scarring half of Lex’s face. At this point, Lex’s behavior became erratic. When he managed to buy SithCo, the cult that schooled him, he was shunned by the corporate world. No longer taken seriously, Lex started an evil empire and now moonlights with his evil emotronic alternapop band.
Caleb became a software engineer instead of a musician because the type of music he likes best went out of style at the end of the 18th century. Self-taught in music theory, he is more comfortable writing a four-part instrumental fugue than he is writing a verse-chorus-bridge song. After discovering the likes of Weird Al, Dr. Horrible, and especially Jonathan Coulton, he realized that “modern music” can be fun too. Now he is on a quest to update, expand, and diversify his musical knowledge and experience. In addition to singing, he plays a whole family of recorders (not usually all at once) and baroque flute, pretends to play keyboard, and most recently, ukulele. He also uses virtual MIDI instruments because a real orchestra costs too much.
Hailing from a small town in Southern Minnesota, Richard Clayton Spring has risen above the norm, blossoming into a beautiful butterfly of acoustic guitars, pianos, synths, electronic beats, and vocals ranging from the softest of whispers to the yelp of the Great Wolf. The only style of music Richard can’t write incredibly is generic pop music, or else he would be in a limousine drinking champagne with Lady GaGa. But he has acquired an auto-tuner, so he’s working his way there.
Parsons is a 20-year-old student from California. She can leap small buildings in a few bounds. She fears large fish, but for some reason not sharks or whales. Parsons always makes the same New Year’s resolution: to survive to see the next year. So far, this has worked well for her. Parsons comes from an impressive songwriting pedigree: her older brother wrote the song “Blue Moon” in 1934, managing to overcome his crippling dyslexia and the fact that the song was written 51 years before his birth. Parsons’s songwriting influences include Beethoven, The Beatles, and Weird Al. Her sense of humor comes from The Simpsons, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and her frequent injections of concentrated doses of Vitamin K. Parsons hopes to go far in this competition. If she doesn’t emerge victorious, she will be forced to turn to Operation Omega. Nobody wants that to happen.
Melissa and Ian are two amateur musicians with a longtime love of composing and performing classical music. Whether this is useful or relevant for a songwriting competition remains to be seen. They are eagerly awaiting the “Write a song in the style of an obscure Baroque composer” round, ’cause somebody totally told them there would be such a round and why would someone lie like that?
When two musicians marry one another, it’s a wonderful thing. When a multi-instrumental songwriter marries an amazing vocalist, it’s even better. Bud (oldest of three, one insane sibling of each gender) was born and raised in sunny San Diego, CA ““ a drummer first, guitarist second, and just about everything you could imagine third through last. Christin Joy (youngest of four, with 3 older brothers) was born and raised in beautiful Annapolis, MD ““ with the voice of an angel and the compassion to match; she is quite a wonderful singer and writer. The Perfect Place is a Husband/Wife duo that enjoys writing and performing music in their spare time. While their main area of expertise is theologically minded, they have been known to get a little silly from time to time. Masters of Song Fu should prove to be an interesting challenge, one we await with eager anticipation. Woot!
His Name Is Legs is a newly-created rock band comprised of guitarist/vocalist/Song Fu veteran Hazen Nester and bassist Cameron Accola, who collaborated with Nester on two of his previous entries. Born out of a mutual love of Rush and talented musicians in general, His Name Is Legs pledges to provide listeners with an eclectic array of sounds designed to stimulate and elevate. What makes this band unique is that neither Accola nor Nester have ever met each other in person.
To Whom It May Concern: Caleb didn’t want to write his own bio (musicians, eh?) so I will do the honours. After peddling his wares leading the criminally unnoticed Yay For Squares (
With only two members, the name may be misleading, but that seems to be a theme here. Austin Morley and Jeremy Pudak have been playing music together for several years now, and have never really settled on a genre or a name. In their younger days they would draw on rock influences like Rancid or The Ramones. In recent years, they have settled into slightly quieter influences like She & Him and Bob Dylan. Jeremy has always had a talent for the guitar, but Austin was not so lucky and decided to stick with a bass guitar. Austin & The Pudaks will be rocking your face off, but may not actually be in a rock genre. Be careful, as exposure to this amount of awesome has unpredictable effects.
Derrek J. Thompson is an irresponsible and unimportant song-writer and all-around creative type that lives in the middle of nowhere. His hobbies include sleeping and performing Bach at old-folks homes. He plays keyboards in a band called Anthropophobia but they don’t seem to be going anywhere. He hopes to become more disciplined with his creative endeavors as a result of Song Fu.
Over the twelve years since young-ish midwesterner Travis Norris first picked up a guitar, he has played and written music in a wide variety of genres ranging from rock that a-billies, metal of a medium or heavier weight, “outlaw” country (aka “the good kind”) and “frosty” jazz (not a real subgenre). Left to his own devices, something like “U2 meets Jonny Lang meets various two-to-three-hit-wonder bands of the ’90s indie/alternative scene” is what you’ll usually get. Travis’s instrumental talents range from lead guitar, 2nd lead guitar, rhythm guitar, auxiliary guitar, and bass (sorta). He can also drag and drop drum loops like you wouldn’t believe. He comes to this competition armed with three electric guitars, a neglected bass, an Ebow, and absolutely no fan base or public recognition. So be nice, eh? I hear he’s real sensitive when people that aren’t him make fun of him.
Summer days are long. And often hot. Sometimes stormy. Who wants to venture out onto the surface of the sun when you can kick back with some cool lemonade in even cooler air conditioning with a big ol’ batch of DVDs from RiffTrax. If you’re not familiar with RiffTrax, here’s the nutshell version – they’re downloadable Mystery Science Theater 3000-esque audio riffs of movies that you sync up to your DVD, with the comedy provided by MST3K alum Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, & Bill Corbett. Ah, but there’s a clutch of films now hitting stores (and available on RiffTrax.com) where you can buy the DVD with the RiffTrax commentary track included – no syncing, just easy comedy for those sweltering days. The RiffTrax edition films currently on offer are 
The first time I ever encountered a Lite Brite – you know, the light-bulb, black paper, and colored peg wonder of childhood – it was during play time in kindergarten. Like most kids, I was fascinated, and soon moved on from the structured pattern paper to just sticking the pegs in wherever the hell the whim dictated. Like most things nowadays, the Lite Brite has gone 3-D with 
Ever since seeing the original trailers long, long ago, I’ve been eager to lay my hands on the video game derived from one of my favorite childhood films, Ghostbusters. Well, after laying hands upon it (and then playing it), I found myself enjoying the experience of this video game iteration of 
However, if you’re a casual gamer, a fine game is the Nintendo Wii version of 
I continue to delight that Sony seems intent on finishing their chronological release of the Three Stooges shorts with the release of 
Erase memories of Michael Bay’s sound & the fury approach to your 80’s childhood by revisiting the original epic battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons with the new special edition of 
Producer Michael Bay does what he does best with his reimagining of 
The title of the album says it all – Spinal Tap is 
Season 3 & 4 have been available on Blu-Ray already, but fans can now backfill with the release of 
The laughs are more strained and are more often than not merely groans elicited by “they did what” moments, but fans are sure to snap up 
Although my interest was certainly piqued, I in no way expected to be as swept up as I became in HBO’s miniseries on the political life of our 2nd president, 
Commemorating the 25th anniversary of his death, 
Not quite as fun as the first season, the sophomore outing of 
We all saw it in school, but 
I think we’re just now starting to get the distance necessary to effectively dramatize the ground events of the Iraq War, and the first project that feels like it’s accomplished the task is HBO’s 
I think Disney may be trying to give us a hint that perhaps we should all venture outside and do something this summer, as they’ve dropped a trio of their aspirational sports flicks on Blu-Ray – Shia LaBeouf in 
On the heels of the DVD release of Michael Bay’s new Friday The 13th, Paramount drops another batch of special editions from the original “run”. First up is the standard def deluxe editions of 
The pilot itself was anticlimactic, but I can’t fault the score by Bear McGreary. You can give a listen to the score to 
I know, it sucks when you don’t live in New York or LA.
No, I haven’t been able to see this documentary about all the lovely things that go into making our meals but word’s been good for this movie and now you can feel free to talk directly to the director himself. Now, I’m still on the fence about how “interviews” on Twitter can be effective but if any of you give this a whirl and find it useful please let me know. The information for this follows below…
There’s a moment in the movie when you realize that basing a review on its actual mechanics would be a fish/barrel situation.
