Blog: Category Archives
“Elsewhere” Archives
- J. Lincoln Hurst on Michel Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind:
...with Be Kind Rewind, he’s found the perfect conduit for his particular brand of homespun magic—a movie that revels in hands-on craftsmanship and the unifying, communal aspects of cinema.
- Slant on Jason Statham’s upcoming heist film, The Bank Job:
Regardless of his limited acting range and penchant for choosing the goofiest projects available, Jason Statham is pretty awesome, and The Bank Job marks his finest work in years, mostly thanks to the absence of a gimmick to help prop up his performance.
Read some more reviews at GreenCine or watch the trailer.
- IGN reviews Appleseed: Ex Machina:
[Shinji] Aramaki-san and the producers of Appleseed and Appleseed: Ex Machina have certainly outdone themselves with this sequel.
You can read my review of the previous Appleseed movie here.
- Microsoft has released a beta version of Internet Explorer 8—click here to start downloading. The big news this time around is that IE8 finally complies with web standards, and it does so by default (none of this meta tag madness that was proposed a few weeks ago).
- In other browser-related news, the “Acid3” standards compliance test has been released. Not surprisingly, no browser gets a passing score. However, as Dave Hyatt points out at Surfin’ Safari, it’s not that bad. That, and the latest builds of Safari 3 are faring pretty well with the test.
- Somehow, I totally missed that David Gordon Green (George Washington, All The Real Girls, Undertow) directed Pineapple Express, the upcoming stoner comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. Suddenly, it’s become something of a must-see for me.
- Michael Leary on Southland Tales:
If this film were a book it would have become a classic, a Snow Crash, Vurt, or Neuromancer sort of classic.
Man, I have got to see this: to the Netflix queue it goes!
- The Autumns’ new CD, Fake Noise From A Box Of Toys (listen to some songs on MySpace), is now available for ordering from Bella Union.
- Jeffrey Overstreet on Syndromes And A Century:
I’m dizzy with joy. I’ve just had one of those rare experiences at the movies. It only happens about once a year, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all. It’s that giddy feeling that I’ve just seen something which will become an all-time favorite, something I can’t wait to see again soon, and again, and again. And I can’t summarize what’s great about it, because it’s a vast, mysterious, and beautiful work.
- I love me a good small caps, and so I find this I Love Typography article by Alec Julien fascinating. An excerpt:
Small caps are uppercase glyphs drawn at a lowercase scale. A common misconception—unfortunately reinforced by most word processing programs as well as by CSS on the web—is that a small cap is just a regular capital letter scaled uniformly down to a smaller size. In actuality, a proper small cap is a carefully crafted glyph that differs in significant ways from a uniformly-scaled-down capital letter.
- Also on the typography tip: “A Font We Can Believe In”, which is all about Barack Obama’s use of the font Gotham in his campaign materials.
- Vanity Fair has a very nice look at The Force Unleashed, the upcoming Star Wars video game:
It is being billed as the ‘next great chapter’ in George Lucas’s space saga, one that, according to the project’s art director, Matt Omernick, ‘aims to convince players that, “Oh my God, I’m actually, finally, in a Star Wars movie.”’ And not only that: it will be a Star Wars movie with a life of its own.
Watch the trailer here.
- Brett McCracken asks “Can’t Old White Men Just Get Along?”:
As our rapidly changing country pushes forward in the midst of recession and uncertainty, the last thing we need are a bunch of aging white men quibbling over potty mouths and conservative cred. In the globalized, digitized, Darfur-burdened world we now inhabit, there are bigger fish to fry. And that is one reason why the majority of Americans (and almost all young Americans) are voting for Democrats these days.
- Sally Shapiro will be releasing Remix Romance Vol. 1, which will feature remixes of every track from Disco Romance by the likes of Junior Boys, The Cansecos, and Juan Maclean—more details here.
- Watch the trailer for The Battle of Red Cliff, the upcoming John Woo historical action epic starring Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro. I’m with Grady Hendrix: the trailer looks pretty good, if a little on the generic side. Here’s hoping Woo can recapture some of the magic.
- Watch the trailer for Mongol, the Oscar-nominated Genghis Khan biopic starring the great Tadonabu Asano.
- Also courtesy of Twitch, the new trailer for An Empress And The Warriors, the Tony Ching-directed martial arts epic starring Donnie Yen, Kelly Chen, and Leon Lai.
- And finally, Twitch reviews CJ7, the latest from the crazy mind of Stephen Chow. CJ7
is his loving tribute to Hollywood’s Cinema Of Spectacle, particularly the sci-fi genre. You’ll find a lot that’s familiar in the film, and that’s not a particularly bad thing because a Stephen Chow movie is almost like a movie-buff’s trivia game. CJ7 is clearly made in the mould of films like E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Batteries Not Included, and other such films.
- Brett McCracken on Lost‘s fixation with time and fate:
I don’t know what is going on on Lost (I never really have), but I do know that it is still the most consistently thought-provoking show on television.
Renae and I watched the third season on DVD while she was in the hospital, and I totally agree. Every time I thought the show had become gimmicky or sunk to self-parody, something happened that had me captivated all over again.
- Paste Magazine lists “The Art House Powerhouse 100”, the 100 most powerful folks in the world of independent cinema.
- Andy Whitman on the commercials from the 2008 Super Bowl:
Every year I am mystified by the marketing genius of Madison Avenue. Yesterday was no exception. We saw a girl sitting on a mountaintop strumming an acoustic guitar and singing a nondescript tune about something or other. What any of it had to do with Doritos is beyond me. We saw the most vicious racial stereotyping ever. God help you if you’re Indian, Chinese, or Mexican. They are coming to steal our women.
My wife and I only watched snippets of the game—we watched Discovery’s MythBusters marathon instead—but based on what I did see, I totally agree.
- Also on the Whitman tip: he’ll be speaking at the 2008 Cornerstone Festival. Buy your tickets now.
- From the New York Times:
...according to design experts, [Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama] have left a clear blueprint of their personal style—perhaps even a window into their souls—through the Web sites they have created to raise money, recruit volunteers and generally meet-and-greet online… The differences between hillaryclinton.com and barackobama.com can be summed up this way: Barack Obama is a Mac, and Hillary Clinton is a PC.
For the record, I absolutely love the look, feel, and atmosphere of Obama’s site.
- Art, Worship, and the Bible:
No wonder non-Christians often remark on the ugliness of our churches—an ugliness that is off-putting to anyone sensitive to beauty. [Christians] have forgotten that beauty is not achieved, as some argue, just to draw people into the church, but because it is a form of praise to the God who designed and created magnificent mountains, delicate flowers, and our beautiful children.
Via
- PopMatters reviews Cinematic Titanic: The Oozing Skull:
This is outstanding stuff, the kind of rapid fire revelry that sends a satiric chill down your funny bone. While it’s hard to top the artistic triumph that was Mystery Science Theater 3000, what’s clear is that none of the former participants have lost an ounce of their wonderfully witty edge.
- Also from PopMatters, a review of Groundhog Day: 15h Anniversary Edition. I saw this movie so many times in high school, and I still love it.
- Christianity Today has posted their “10 Most Redeeming Films of 2007”:
It’s interesting to note that six of our ten choices are all based on true stories. Maybe that just goes to show that some of the best redemptive stories—at least the ones that move us the most—are those that are really true.
- The new Autechre album, Quaristice, is now available for download from Bleep. The MP3 release contains individual track artwork by The Designers Republic. There’s also a limited edition release that has a bonus CD and comes
in a Designers Republic styled, photo-etched, 0.4mm steel slipcase with foil blocked inner gatefold wallet.
- Sean Sperte offers up a nice introduction to my favorite CMS, ExpressionEngine.
- Also on the ExpressionEngine tip, Khoi Vinh is porting Subtraction over to EE and has posted some initial thoughts:
Compared to what I’m accustomed to, ExpressionEngine is quite elegant. And fast. It’s also a lot of fun. Why didn’t I do this sooner?
- The latest Twitch-O-Meter lists “five of the best-packaged DVD releases ever”.
- Eric Meyer has given his ultra-useful “reset.css” stylesheet, which allows you to remove all default browser styling and start over from scratch, a reset of its own.
- I hope that The Ross brings 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days—which won the Palme D’Or at the 2007 Cannes festival—to Lincoln soon, and here are two reasons why.
- Brett McCracken reviews Cloverfield:
Cloverfield packs a wallop, in part because it takes our media-obsessed curiosity and slaps it in our face. We are increasingly prone to gawk, to see what the fuss is about, to be ‘in on’ whatever gruesome or unlikely anomaly is out there to be recorded. This is why Cloverfield‘s cryptic ‘what is this about’ marketing campaign worked so well. We have to know. We have to look. We must be a witness. People will want to see how it all went down… It’s entertainment.
- EA responds to that piss-poor Fox News piece on Mass Effect—which you can watch here (just try to keep your lunch down). Not surprisingly, things are at a bit of an impasse.
- Speaking of video games, I have a feeling that Star Wars: Force Unleashed is going to be the game of 2008—if these videos are any indication, that is.
- Watch the English-subtitled trailer for The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, courtesy of IGN.
- TUAW gives a sneak peek of Delicious Library 2.
- Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment, possibly due to a drug overdose. He was 28 years old. Rest in peace. Cinematical and GreenCine Daily have begun posting retrospectives.
- The 2008 Oscar nominations have been announced. Personally, I hope No Country For Old Men, Ratatouille, and There Will Be Blood (even though it hasn’t come to Lincoln yet) clean house.
- PopMatters reviews Eric Matthews’ The Imagination Stage:
Matthews is an unusual figure in contemporary music, conservatory-trained but versed in 1960s and 1970s pop and film music, a solo composer and arranger who is nonetheless committed to live, organic sounds. Though it was created alone, The Imagination Stage is by no means a bedroom recording; it contains all the expansive possibilities of the studio, combined with the eccentric personal vision of the home-recording artist.
The Imagination Stage will be released by Empyrean Records on 1/22/08.
- Portishead Announce First Tour in Forever. Of course, all of the dates are on the other side of the Atlantic.
- The Library of Congress just released over 3000 vintage photos onto Flickr. More info here. Via
- Has Internet Explorer Just Shot Itself in the Foot?:
No matter what great leaps forward the Internet Explorer team make from now on, the majority of developers won’t use them and the majority of users won’t see them. By doing this the Internet Explorer team may have created their own backwater, shot themselves in the foot and left themselves for dead.
If this comes to pass, it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving browser.
- 20 recent films that portray Christianity in a positive light:
Now, I don’t think [Steven] Greydanus is claiming that these films qualify as profound spiritual explorations. But they do stand in stark contrast to the claim that “Hollywood” (as if that was just one company, united under Satan) is operating under a mandate to slander and destroy Christianity.
Quite a few good ones on there. The first film that immediately came to mind was Junebug, though it’s not exactly a “Hollywood” movie.
- “Is Huckabee Confused About the Proper Role of Christianity and Politics?”:
Christians cannot, and when they are sensible do not, expect pagans and non-Christians to submit to Biblical law in those areas where one must be a Christian to ‘buy’ the arguments.
- So, just how many of you out there needed to change into a clean pair of pants when you saw Apple’s new MacBook Air? I don’t understand why folks are grousing about it’s lack of processing power, expandability, etc. People interested in ultra-portables aren’t concerned about performance; they’re concerned with portability (duh!)—and, I bet, the “cool” factor. Also, why am I not surprised that Greenpeace wasn’t placated with the MacBook Air’s eco-friendly status?
- Remember that Chocolate trailer I wrote about earlier? The good folks at Twitch now have a subtitled version. Still as kick-ass as ever.
- Speaking of Twitch and trailers, they’ve also got an English trailer for CJ7, the latest from madcap genius Stephen Chow.
- Pop lovers rejoice! According to their MySpace page, The Lassie Foundation are currently writing and recording new material for an upcoming single.
- “Ongoing Incarnation” by Philip Yancey:
Did Jesus visit this planet as an accommodation to human failure or as the center point of all creation? Duns Scotus and his school suggested that Incarnation was the underlying motive for Creation, not merely a correction to it. Perhaps God spun off this vast universe for the singular purpose of sharing life and love, intending all along to join its very substance.
- This is a few weeks late, but ah well: watch “Scotch Mist”, a live recording of Radiohead performing In Rainbows, in its entirety, on New Year’s Eve.
- Pitchfork reviews Club 8’s The Boy Who Couldn’t Stop Dreaming:
...it’s a warm, tender-hearted acoustic pop record, one that emotes through simplicity and gut-punching melodic turns rather than stagy histrionics.
You can listen to the album, in its entirety, here.
- Jeffrey Overstreet lists his favorite films of 2007:
I’ll revisit them because they’ve made me think. They’ve challenged me with mysteries and questions and provocative metaphors. They’ve taught me to consider how the world looks to my neighbors. They’ve expanded my understanding of the power of art. And they’ve caused me to reflect on my own life and how much I have to learn. They’ve brought me joy, they awakened my conscience, and they broke my heart.
- 10 Things Christians and Atheists Can (And Must) Agree On:
The war that’s coming between the fundamentalist Christians and the hard-core Atheists probably won’t be the most violent of the holy wars. But it has the potential to be the most annoying.
Make sure to pay attention to the little graphics strewn throughout, especially the one concerning Catholics and excorcisms.
- Azure Flame Reloaded reviews Mamoru Hosoda’s The Girl Who Leapt Through Time:
If the first half of the movie was enjoyable for its light-hearted comedy, then the second half rounds it out with this more thoughtful and poignant style, illustrated by the changing relationships between the characters, and rounded off with an interesting twist.
Bandai will be releasing the film here in the States, though no release date has been announced.
- You might have seen this article on Pitchfork concerning Son Lux, the latest signing to Anticon: Andy Whitman has more.
- And speaking of Whitman, “TTL SHT and Human Beings of Infinite Worth”:
There is, in fact, a not-so-subtle competition at work among many reviewers to write the snarkiest, most biting reviews. It’s virtually the first and only commandment of the music website Pitchfork. But it’s hardly limited to Pitchfork. It’s everywhere. It’s the basis for most standup comedy. It’s what often establishes “hip cred.” It’s snobbery as an art form, and when it’s done well, there is an undeniably delicious appeal. Who doesn’t like to feel superior to somebody else? And wittily superior at that? ...There’s only one problem: as a Christian, I’m not supposed to behave that way.
- Saint Etienne have a new song on their MySpace page entitled “This Is Tomorrow”, and it’s as lovely as you’d expect. Stereogum has more...
- Let’s see… head down to SXSW to meet up with the EllisLab gang and see a preview of ExpressionEngine 2.0 firsthand… or stay in Lincoln to see the birth of my son. Ah, the choices we all face…
- I always love the designs that Garrett Murray does for his blog, Maniacal Rage, but I think the latest is one of the best. I love the color scheme, the icons, the typography—everything, really.
- Apple has just released a new version of the Mac Pro that packs eight processor cores, up to 3.2 GHz. Some are conjecturing that this means even bigger things for the upcoming Macworld Conference & Expo.
- Jeffrey Overstreet wonders, “What would you rather do? See a great foreign film, or jump in a volcano?”:
Once in a while, a great work of art gives us a great opportunity to explore and discuss timely questions about morality and spirituality. But, more often than not, when I see this happen… either on a national or international stage… I find very little discussion at all amongst Christians. Christians don’t tend to show up at that table very often. It’s discouraging, because if something that offends us shows up, boy howdy… we come running to the table with our protests.
- Pantone has picked PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris as the color of 2008:
Combining the stable and calming aspects of blue with the mystical and spiritual qualities of purple, Blue Iris satisfies the need for reassurance in a complex world, while adding a hint of mystery and excitement.
- Shawn Blanc offers up a detailed overview of Transmit, my favorite Mac FTP client. (This is part of his series of articles on “Some of The Greatest Software Available For Your Mac”.)
- Watch the trailer for Snow Angels, the latest from David Gordon Green.
- This isn’t exactly surprising, but still very cool: BioWare is reportedly working on Jade Empire 2. Bring on the wuxia this time around, I say!
- Cabel Sasser has just posted his 2007 Cabel Yay! Awards. And I missed this the first time around, but he saw an in-progress cut of WALL-E a few months ago:
...the movie was amazing, daring, funny, and thoughtful, also offering one of the most memorable first acts of any film I’ve ever seen. That’s all I’ll say about that.
- U.S. album sales fell 9.5% in 2007, while the sale of digital tracks increased 45 percent. The best-selling album of 2007? Josh Groban’s Noël, which sold around 3.7 million copies.
- Portishead—remember them?!?—are set to release a new album in April 2008. They recently played a series of concerts, and thanks to the beauty of the Intertubes, several clips are now available for your viewing pleasure. Initial reactions: it’s unmistakably Portishead, albeit in a weirder form.
- What do Arcade Fire, Feist, Studio, and Iron & Wine all have in common? They’re all on the list of Aaron Elastic’s favorite albums of 2007.
- Twitch reviews Makoto Shinkai’s 5 Centimeters Per Second:
While Shinkai’s latest… does not quite raise him to the current level of the great master it definitely represents a huge step forward and is exactly the sort of film that you would expect to come out of Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli on one of their better days.
- Also from a Twitch: an interview with Pen-Ek Ratanaruang on Ploy and his other films.
- Paste Magazine recently pulled a Radiohead, letting folks choose how much they wanted to pay for a subscription. A move that, at least in part, seemed to have worked: the magazine has apparently picked up another 30,000 subscriptions.
- AngryApe interviews Miracle Fortress (whose Five Roses album has at least one of my fave songs of 2007) and reviews a recent performance.
- I don’t obsess much over search engine optimization—I think folks oftentimes pour way too much time and energy into “influencing” Google et al. rather than let things happen organically. But SEOmoz’s “Rewriting the Beginner’s Guide” series has been really interesting, especially the most recent installment, “The Basics of Search Engine Friendly Design & Development”.
- Mass Effect has gone platinum. Not that I’m surprised, it’s a great game (albeit with a few flaws here and there). I beat it earlier this week and am currently on my second go-around.
- The Pitchfork fellows know their way around the snark, as evidenced by their list of the 20 worst album covers of 2007. The Hayseed Dixie, Ted Nugent, and Perry Farrell covers are especially noxious.
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