Nas Is Like...Good Again?

I wonder what Nas thinks about his legacy. Does he sit in his favorite chair, press play on Nastradamus and turn the volume up, nod and think to himself, "This shit is underrated"? Does he ever wish that the crowds at his shows chanted for "You Owe Me" alongside "New York State of Mind"?

Judging from his recent output, my guess is no. Nas has more momentum (or at least goodwill from his core fans) than he's had in ages based on last year's "Nasty," this year's "The Don" and a few memorable guest appearances like "Triple Beam Dreams" with Rick Ross. None of these songs could possibly be made with hopes of siphoning from Drake's fanbase.  Nas just doesn't care anymore. He's making music for himself. Or maybe he's making music that he hopes gets his critics off his nuts. Either way, we win.

And now we get "Daughters." With a title like that, Nas fans naturally expect the worst – some pandering nonsense rap that reeks of hypocrisy considering the tone of the overall body of his work. But God's Son actually delivers one of the best conceptual songs of his career. He raps with real emotion about the trials of raising a daughter in our modern Internets age, and he actually makes sense.

Bravo, Nas! Now just make sure the rest of Life Is Good matches the quality of your singles. Then the discussion will turn to whether you can put together two classic albums in a row.






This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

SFIFF55: Wu Xia Attacks from Many Angles

Photo by We Pictures Limited. Courtesy of San Francisco Film Society.

Plot? Who needs plot?

Nearly all the great kung-fu flicks of the '70s and '80s featured thin plots revolving around revenge. Cast a charismatic hero with fists of fury and a villain with evil written all over his face, then hire a great choreographer: you had yourself a possible classic on your hands.

Now that the "advancement" of technology and special effects are such a crutch, the audience needs more. Your shaky cam makes us sick. Your CGI-assisted stunts make us yawn. Unless you're really raising the action bar (everyone take a moment to salute The Raid: Redemption), plot is a must. So thank god for director Peter Chan and screenwriter Aubrey Lam, who delivered the excellently layered Wu Xia to the San Francisco International Film Festival for Friday and Monday screenings.

Synopsis time: Liu Jinxi (Donnie Yen) is a man living a modest life in 1917 China with his family of four. After Liu heroically thwarts a robbery by one of China's most wanted criminals, a particularly astute private investigator named Xu Baijiu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) starts checking into Liu's past.

Like any good cop, Xu must deal with his deep-seeded quandaries about the philosophies of law and justice while pursuing information about Liu. His investigation mimics the audience's viewing experience – he picks away the petals of Liu just as we slowly figure out what this film is really about. As a result, Wu Xia remains unpredictable without resorting to a series of forced red herrings.

Final verdict: It's not scheduled for any more SFIFF screenings, but you should definitely see it if it pops back up in U.S. theaters or DVD/blu-ray.

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

C&D's Top 10 Kanye West Songs

UPDATE: mrbucky made a fancy Yeezy playlist. Listen away!

Does any rapper – nay, musician – nay, person – in the world garner as many opinions as Kanye West?

The answer: Only the President, Kim Kardashian and, of course, Tim Tebow.

The reason: He's put together a string of this millennium's most beloved (and best-selling) albums, he has a penchant for drinking one too many on nationally televised award shows and, at the end of the day, god-dammit he's killin' this shit.

So when One Week One Band tried its hand at ranking West's top 10 songs, we naturally had to respond with rankings of our own.

A few details, then straight into the list: Only songs from Kanye's five studio albums were eligible – so no non-album remixes, freestyles, Watch the Throne cuts or G.O.O.D. Friday freebies. Four of us participated (Big O, Crystal, mrbucky and Trey), each submitting a top 10, with #1 being worth 10 points, #2 worth nine, etc. To prevent outliers from making too big a dent in out aggregate list, songs that made two lists got an extra point, and songs that made three lists got two extra points.

Amazingly, not a single song made all four lists. And our top 10 actually has 11 songs, since there was a tie for number 10.

1. Diamonds from Sierra Leone Remix (27 points, made 3 lists): Though the original version seems to be a missed opportunity to shine light on the issue of blood diamonds, the remix certainly makes up for it. Shirley Bassey’s “Diamonds Are Forever” swirls into a pulse-quickening beat, resulting in a majestically haunting sound that captures the very essence of Ye’s lyrics: I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless til I seen a picture of shorty armless. -Crystal

2. Gold Digger (24, 3): I realize that the over-played-ness of this infectious track diminishes its cool in some folks' eyes, but if you aren't smirking when this track plays... then your soul is as dark as Old Scratch himself. -mrbucky

3. Power (21, 3): It's like Snap looked into the future and knew the most important musician of 2010 would catapult its concept to a whole other level. -Trey

4. Lost in the World (18, 2): Auto-tuned Bon Iver + an urgent techno track + a Kanye flow that includes Michael Jackson scat should by all means be a mess. Instead we get an insanely emotional and powerful cut that represents living in our oft-confusing modern times. -mrbucky

5. Touch the Sky (17, 2): The moment that uplifting brass hits, a big smile creeps across my face. No one can resist a Curtis Mayfield sample. Produced by Just Blaze, Ye compliments the cheerful beat with equally cheerful lyrics. “Touch the Sky” is a fitting title for this feel-good song. -Crystal

6. Flashing Lights (14, 2): The rise of symphonic strings with hypnotic bass and synth claps results in a head-bobbing favorite that begs to be played over and over. Combine that with lyrics about a fame-hungry lady and a music video featuring the curvaceous Rita G murking Ye in the trunk with a shovel?! Perfect. -Crystal

7. All Falls Down (11, 3): What rapper hasn't lamented female materialism on wax? But how many are willing to look in the mirror without stepping off the soapbox? Also: I bet Lauryn Hill wishes she had cleared that sample. -Trey 

(tie) 7. Jesus Walks (11, 2): While most modern name-checkin'-the-big-JC songs fall into the Stryper category, KW manages to make this militant confessional-esque song, well... incredibly cool. We should also note just how much balls it took to release such a non-secular hip-hop track when this came out. -mrbucky

(tie) 7. Spaceship (11, 2): Straight flipping the slavery angle on some robotic George Jetson shit.  Haunting use of some dixieland shit. -Big O

10. Good Life (10, 1): Relax your mind and let your conscious be free. Erick Sermon said it, but Yeezy and T-Pain epitomized it on this baller anthem. Kinda makes you wonder if the people complaining about Watch the Throne's occasional excess had ever listened to Kanye before. -Trey

(tie) 10. Get 'Em High (10, 1): Ye invited Common and Talib Kweli on this track and still shined brightest. This is where he arrives lyrically IMHO. -Big O

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

New Lords of the Underground and Rampage: Tales from the Crypt

Dust fills whatever air the cobwebs don't occupy. You could cut the smell of mothballs with your index finger. There's a coffin in the room. A coffin in the room!? Who keeps coffins in their house? It has to be empty, right?

*Creak* What the...?

*Creak* What was that?

*Creeeeeeeeeeeeak* Oh my GOD THAT COFFIN IS OPENING WHAT IS IN THERE A VAMPIRE OR ZOMBIE OR-

Oh. It's just some rappers from the '90s rising from the dead for another shot at hip hop glory.

The first faces to emerge are a group of guys likely unimpressed with Jay-Z's constant references to moving the Nets to Brooklyn – New Jersey's own Lords of the Underground. Some of their more rabid fans may be familiar with their 2007 album House of Lords, but the last time I saw these guys they were promoting their third album Resurrection on the goddamn Ricki Lake Show in 1998. That was a shocking and horrible experience for someone who regarded their 1993 coming our party Here Come the Lords as prime evidence of the superiority of early-'90s rap. (A belief I maintained until a recent conversation with Big O where he made some derogatory comments about LOTUG. I listened to that album again, and now it's hard to forgive some of the album filler's simple ryhmes and bland topics. A handful of songs still knock though, especially "Chief Rocka.")

So now a new LOTUG track makes its way into the hip hop MP3 blogosphere. It's called "Say Yeah," and the group (or maybe just Mr. Funke – my ears don't detect any trace of Doitall) actually sound improved. Long-time collaborator K-Def cooks up a nice piano-laced, boom-bappy beat, and lines like "kicked out of Paris / Too many croissants, yo" bring a smile to my face. The drab hook is sure to keep this off any Best of 2012 lists, however.

Hulkshare download via 2DopeBoyz


Next up is Rampage. You may know him as the guy who grabbed cameos on the "Flava In Ya Ear" remix or "Woo Ha! (Got You All in Check)" – that's because he's one of the great beneficiaries of hip hop nepotism, blessed to call the über-talented Busta Rhymes his cousin. Rampage had a pretty hot single in 1997 called "Wild for Da Night" that was primarily gassed up by a sinister beat and classic Busta chorus. Rampage works best as a sidekick – Rampage:Memphis Bleek :: Busta Rhymes:Jay-Z.


Now, out of seemingly nowhere, Rampage comes out with "Zig Zag Zig" featuring Biggie's ol' buddy R.A. the Rugged Man. Busta's cousin relinquishes the mic after one verse, turning it over to the more-capable Rugged Man. R.A. sounds fresh despite dropping '90s New York rap references like "I was born pissed off, I stay hatin' / I walk the streets lookin' like I'm Onyx with the mad-face invasion."

Zig Zag Zig feat R.A The Rugged Man by Felony Muzik

I wouldn't expect these fellas to spend too much time outside of their basement wood tombs. But these songs were at least a ray of light when wading through post after post of boring blog rap.

Check these guys out in their early '90s prime:

Lords of the Underground – Flow On (Pete Rock Remix)


Rampage – "Wild for Da Night"


This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Rappers That Justin Bieber Can Eat on the Mic

Singing makes Justin Bieber tons of cash. But the kid would obviously rather be rapping. He's dropping YouTube freestyles, rapping live on hip pop/R&B stations and guest flowing on Chris Brown's horrible rap album. Hilarious, right?

The funniest thing about it is that he's not that bad. His breath control is solid, and his content can be pretty funny – like when he dissed Tom Brady for stealing his haircut. He is susceptible to simpin' (rapping about his girlfriend, he says Personally I think she is perfectly perfect. *Barf*), but he's still better than a lot of rappers.

Which brings us to the point of this post: To list the rappers that Justin Bieber could smoke on the mic RIGHT NOW. Go!

Mac Miller
Drake
Big Sean
Lil' Wayne
Lil' Mama
Lil' Bow Wow
Lil' B
Lil' Cease
OJ da Juiceman
Will.I.Am
Will Smith
Wiz Khalifa
V-Nasty
Soulja Boy
The guy in that Rebecca Black song
Cowboy Troy
Lupe Fiasco
Kid Rock
Kid Cudi
Kid from Kid 'N Play
KRS-One
Meta World Peace
Allen Iverson
Chris Brown
Andy Samberg
Andy Milonakis
Abed from Community
The bros from Far East Movement
Evidence from Dilated Peoples
Everlast

Feel free to add to the list!

Tom Brady vs. Justin Bieber from Kenny Mayne

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

The Throne Is Safe: Jay-Z & Kanye West in San Jose

Photo cred: www.mercurynews.com

When I decide I want to see a movie, I avoid all trailers, reviews and interviews with the stars so that I enter the movie as ignorant as possible. Same goes for concerts – I haven't looked at a YouTube concert footage or setlist for the Watch the Throne Tour since I bought my tickets for the December 14 San Jose stop a few months ago.

So imagine my surprise when the spotlight comes on and Kanye West is wearing a leather kilt.

I won't go as far as to say he pulled the look off, but Yeezy and Jay-Z's phenomenal aptitude for rapping overshadowed any odd fashion choices. (Jay was in his standard all-black-everything streetwear, if you're curious.) It also overshadowed the moving stages, sporadic fireballs and Tron-esque laser lighting.

Have you performed "Gold Digger" on Def Jam Rap Star? Or tested your "Big Pimpin'" flow at a karaoke bar? If so, you know that rapping like these two guys is not easy for even a short amount of time. And yet these guys came out and performed for over two hours with no backup. They didn't even lend a hand to each other, and both pulled off the entire performance without so much as a wheeze or gasp.

The only negative of the performance was the lack of collaborators. Songs like "All of the Lights" and "No Church in the Wild" had recorded versions of Rhianna and Frank Ocean, respectively, on the hook. You obviously can't bring Rhianna on the road just to sing a few hooks (and you know Beyonce is not having that), but bringing somebody along to handle these moments would have been nice.

Best moment: Jay-Z performing "Public Service Announcement" and "U Don't Know" – two Just Blaze-produced album cuts – back to back.

Playlist:
H.A.M
Who Gon Stop Me
Otis
Welcome to the Jungle
Gotta Have It
Where I'm From
Nigga What, Nigga Who
Can't Tell Me Nothing
Flashing Lights
Jesus Walks
All Falls Down
Diamonds from Sierra Leone
Public Service Announcement
U Don't Know
Run This Town
Monster
Power
Made in America
New Day
Hard Knock Life
Izzo
Empire State of Mind
Runaway
Heartless
Stronger
On to the Next One
Brush Your Shoulders
I Just Wanna Love U
That's My Bitch
Good Life
Touch the Sky
All of the Lights
Big Pimpin'
Gold Digger
99 Problems
No Church in the Wild
Niggas in Paris x3

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Rap Power Rankings 11.30.11

The definitive word on rap's movers and shakers.

1. R. Kelly "Shut Up" - The King of R&B is back, y'all, and he's got some words for you haters who said his career was over after throat surgery. Most of those words are "shut up" repeated several times, but there are others too. But seriously, this track features Kellz in fine form, keeping the focus on his golden voice over a minimalistic but building beat. But even if the beat sucked and throat surgery left him sounding like the lead singer of Nickelback, this track would still be great due to some of Kelly's boldest lyrics of his career: Every boy, every girl / Every child around the world / From the nineties up until today / Was made off me.



2. Common "Sweet" - Many moons ago I used the C&D podium to make fun of Fox News for calling Common a gangsta rapper, even though he's been Charmin double-pleated soft for years. You could literally take the Finding Forever CD to the office and use it to wipe your ass instead of the cheap, rough toilet paper they buy to save a few cents per roll. But maybe I owe Hannity and O'Reilly an apology, because Com is talkin' tough on this track. The verses are standard (but well-executed) brag rap, and there is no hook unless you count Common denouncing "sweet" rappers with non-rhyming insults like You ain't no muthafuckin' Frank Sinatra, lil' bitch.

It's totally the pot calling the kettle black, but at least it sounds good.



3. Yelawolf featuring T.I. and Slaughterhouse "Hard White Remix" - If only more of his Shady Records debut album Radioactive sounded like this. Yelawolf invites some friends to jump on the remix to his ode to the club, and everyone is doing their best Usain Bolt impression on the mic. And it sounds glorious.

Hulkshare link

4. Juvenile featuring Rick Ross "Power" - It's kinda weird to hear a song called "Power" after Kanye used the title for his single just a year ago. But Juvenile proves worthy of the subject matter, evaluating what exactly determines power until concluding that it basically comes down to breeding (Check the DNA samples you can find it in the blood). Rick Ross sneaks into the second verse, allowing a single HUUNGH to announce his presence before spitting his Bawse-isms.

Hulkshare link

5. The Bold & the Beautiful - Thanksgiving provided some relief to the various beefs enveloping nearly every character - some of the relief long-term (Ridge and Thorne), and some of it obviously temporary (Hope and Steffy, Taylor and Brooke). But it only took a couple of days for the Logan girls to stir up trouble: Donna and Justin announced their divorce, Brooke and Steffy bickered and Katie is on the brink of another heart attack after walking in on an innocent hug between her husband Bill and nemesis Steffy.

6. Gravediggaz "The House That Hatred Built" - Prince Paul, aka The Undertaker, recently let loose this demo that he says is the first song he, RZA, Too Poetic and Fruitkwan recorded together. It would have fit in nicely on 6 Feet Deep. And that's high praise coming from someone who spent every night of a 1994 vacation pumping the album through headphones while being sure to keep the content hidden from the rest of the family.

The house that hatred built ( Unreleased Gravediggaz demo 92 ) by DJ Prince Paul

7. Pusha T Fear of God II - Most of the good songs were taken from the original Fear of God mixtape, but this is still worth checking out. The best of the new batch is the intro, "Changing of the Guards." Rico Beats provides a grand backdrop, Diddy briefly introduces the lead man and Pusha Ton spends the next two minutes rapping, warning a nameless rapper *cough*Drake*cough* that The fans fell for your act / I tell you break a leg / Then gun shots goin' off that'll awake the dead.

Hulkshare link

8. Rick Ross "I Love My Bitches" - Ross is the only rapper I can tolerate trickin' on the ladies. When he's in a good mood, he's like a black St. Nick, promising his many bitches that they'll never have to fly coach - plus he'll provide all the Benzes and Bentleys they can drive. Ross is still at his best, however, when he's thinking about himself: Am I really just a narcissist / Cause I wake up to a bowl of lobster bisque?

Hulkshare link

9. Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire "Lou Ferigno's Mad" - Best new rapper of the year award, hands down. You know how some talented, well-respected rappers can put together a whole career without a rhyme that's really memorable? (Think Black Thought.) Well, that's not a problem for Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire. This song has plenty to choose from:

I cracked the hourglass and pissed on the sands of time / Fuck how long it takes, y'all gonna gimme mine

I don't do features on the strength of some dap no / Gimme some fuckin' money / The fuck you think I'm rappin' for?

I ain't no muthafuckin' role model / Fuck these lil' n****s / I only rap to get my wallet bigger


10. Black Star "You Already Know" - I can't give this song the complete thumbs up, because, ya know, it still has a verse from Talib Kweli. But Oh No lays down a beat that sounds like a B-side to one of the group's Rawkus singles, and the guys ride it nicely. Black Star has a presumably free mixtape called Aretha Franklin on the way soon.

Hulkshare link

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Five Six New Flavors on the Beat

If you're going to riff on one of rap's most iconic videos, you better come correct. And that's just what Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire and some of his best rap friends do over a throwback posse-cut remix to the jaw-dropping "Huzzah."

Witness perfection:



While the cast of "Flava in Ya Ear" primarily stuck to tales of lyrical supremacy (save LL's odd ode to lady wrangling), Despot, Heems and Kool A.D. of Das Racist, Danny Brown, El-P and eXquire are all over the place - as are their video antics. I just can't choose my favorite part: Killer Mike standing behind El-P and four bored girls while examining the barrel of an AK-47, or Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire dropping Catcher in the Rye references while slapping a porn star on the ass.

Also hard to choose my favorite line: Kool A.D.'s "Worst rapper on this track / Third coolest" or eXquire's "Fuck the throne / Watch the project bench covered in pigeon shit."

Here's the "Flava in Ya Ear Remix" video just in case you're 16 years old:


This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Monsters, Tough Guys & Guts in SF

Photo courtesy of Joshua Lim Photography

Art exhibit at a high-fashion women's clothing store? I thought it was going to be a nightmare. I would have put money down that the gallery would be either a bunch of abstract nonsense or a collection of yawn-inducing still life.

Wrong and wrong again! The collection at RGB shop+gallery was nothing short of awesome. And that comes from someone fresh outta Comic-Con.

The show is called Monsters, Tough Guys & Guts, and that's about the best four-word description you could possibly give this display of multi-surface massacre. Monsters laying waste to cities. Tough guys decapitating monsters and… other tough guys. Guts everywhere. And there's even some good ol' anti-establishment works that late '80s-era Cube, Dre, Eazy, Ren and Yella would surely outbid everyone for.

My favorite part is a three-piece sequence of tough guy dominance by Zejian Shen. On top, an armored cyclops warrior on a horse slices all three heads of a bat-wielding troll as blood sprays out to the edge of the paper. On bottom, a scuba diver stabs a killer octopus. In the middle, the two victors from the top and bottom meet and high-five while the warrior lugs around one of the decapitated heads. All three images are set on a white background, and the only color is a sunset red that marks the warrior's armor, the scuba diver's accessories, the octopus and the three-headed troll's blood.



Those pieces are a little outside of my financial range, but I did buy another really cool one from Amanda Carmel: A large horizontal water color of a city being destroyed by a huge purple octopus firing lasers from its eyes. It's going to look great over my dinner table.



Bay Area dwellers can see Monsters, Tough Guys & Guts at RGB shop+gallery in San Francisco until September 1. There might be a closing party, too – check out rgbsf.com for details.

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Return of the Heavyweights

Many have had a greater impact, and some have had more influence. But no rap group has displayed greater technical rapping ability than Freestyle Fellowship, the collective of Aceyalone, Mykah 9, P.E.A.C.E. and Self Jupiter.

And now, 10 years after their meager last group effort and solo albums of declining quality, it looks like they're back to rappin' their asses off. "We Are" is the first song off of the group's upcoming full-length The Promise, which better be good if it's going to reference the group's chant from its legendary debut tape: "We will never fall the fuck off, we promise."

Freestyle Fellowship - 'We Are' by DeconRecords

The album will feature production from Black Milk, Eligh and Exile. Hopefully with an emphasis on Black Milk.

(H/T to Potholes in My Blog)


This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

SDCC 2011: Robert Rodriguez Brings Focus Back to Art

Robert Rodriguez is on a mission. A mission he made abundantly clear at Comic-Con's Hall H: He's going to fill in the gaps that Hollywood skips.

For instance, take the first announcement of Rodriguez's news-heavy panel. Where is the movie featuring what Rodriguez called a "badass Mexican in space"? (Sorry, Edward James Olmos, your role in "Battle Star Galactica" doesn't count for being a TV show and not particularly badass.) Rodriguez will rectify that glaring hole in the cinescape with Machete Kills…Again, which will follow the green-lit and Earth-set Machete sequel, Machete Kills.

Second sequel announcement: The next long-awaited installment of Sin City with Frank Miller is closer than ever to starting production. Tentatively titled A Dame to Kill For, the script is in development and could be shot this year. And it might be in 3-D. *cringe*

Rodriguez was just getting warmed up. He's also starting up a new production company called Quick Draw Productions, where he and other like-minded filmmakers can develop, finance and green-light movies all in one place. That sounds great, but want to know what we think the real reason behind creating the new company is? To bust out its new logo – a gold skull on top of two golden pistols.



Now that looks like a company that makes movies I want to see! Which leads us to the two Quick Draw films Rodriguez plans on putting out in the next couple years.

First: A new Heavy Metal film. Rodriguez said he was a big fan growing up, and on a whim asked if the film rights were available. They were, he purchased them, and now he plans on giving it the full "Robert Rodriguez stays true to the source material" treatment. He's even leaving a spot open for a fan to participate (open now at www.amd.com/heavymetal), since the magazine was also based on audience submissions.

Second: A series of films based on the art of Frank Frazetta. Specifically, the first will tackle the 1983 Frazetta-Ralph Bakshi collaboration Fire and Ice, then he'll move on to a film based on "The Death Dealer." Rodriguez promised to bring the paintings to life, creating a film that "looks like it was shot inside Frazetta's paintings." And who better than Rodriguez to take on the task?



This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

SDCC 2011: Our Top Con Moments

 

We were all walking back from enjoying some QT C&D time together with dinner and drinks on SDCC Sunday night and as we made our final stroll in front of the Convention Center-- laughing, busting eachother out, recalling different solo adventures or shared experiences-- Crystal thought it would be a great idea to drop a co-op post that talks about our fave moment of SDCC.  Wanna hear it?  Here it go...

OMAR:  This is always a tough thang to isolate just one experience in all of the epic craziness that I tend to find myself in at SDCC, but to go out and just pick one...it would have to be my chance encounter with DC Entertainment President- Diane Nelson.  I rarely find myself all tongue tied or dare I say the word star-struck.  And I was a bit of both when Diane gracefully strolled by me to sitdown for one of the DC: New 52 panels.

Diane was super cool when I approached her for a pic together-- she actually came off a bit embarrassed and surprised that I asked which made me even more happy.  We often find ourselves running after the story with the creators but how fucking dope is it to actually get up-close-and personal with the DCE Prez through a whole damn panel?!  Thanks Diane!

CRYSTAL:  I haven't been to Comic-Con in years mainly because I never have the funds in time to score tickets. Thankfully this year I'm part of the Comics & Dakine family and we had a blast so really the entire Con was my favorite! But since I am here to pick just one, I shall.

I'm a little bit of a Mass Effect fanatic and Saturday during the early evening Betty and I were at the BioWare base. There were several highlights within this one stop: I got to talk to BioWare's David Silverman and several others on the BioWare team, I got a sneak peak at Star Wars: The Old Republic, I met the voice actress for Mass Effect's FemShep, Jennifer Hale. The pinnacle though was when suddenly and unexpectedly, Michael Hogan, aka Captain Bailey aka COLONEL TIGH OF BATTLESTAR GALACTICA arrived at the party. Hell yes.


TREY:  I experienced a bunch of Comic-Con moments that qualify as awesome (Robert Rodriguez panel, the hilarious "Always Sunny" and "Childrens Hospital" panels), but only two that qualify as my favorites:

1.  On my very first night of Comic-Con, I joined Big O and Betty for an open bar preview of THQ's Darksiders 2. When I arrived, O and Betty were already asserting their questionable influence over Darksiders 2 developer/artistic badass Joe Mad by ordering him beer after beer after beer. This (among other unmentionable things) loosened Joe up for an interview with Betty as well as a walk-through Joe was scheduled to preside over in about 15 minutes. THQ's PR guy wisely came by and pulled Joe from our grasp.

But that's not the best part! That came during Joe's aforementioned walk-through, when he repeatedly dissed our admittedly loud (and possibly rude) booth for not being able to handle our drinks. Whatever, Joe, don't lump me in with those two freaks!

2.  I accompanied Crystal during the Mass Effect "march" (it just went around the block). I couldn't quite get into the chants ("Mass Effect! Mass Effect!" and "Bioware! Bioware!"), but then the march leader said something that struck me as weird - "Safety first! Safety first!" I was pretty sure I just didn't hear the words right, but it sounded like a funny thing to say during a march to promote a video game. So I got behind it 100%, being sure to enunciate: "SAFETY FIRST! SAFETY FIRST!" A few other clowns got behind it, too.

Turns out we were supposed to be saying "Save the Earth!" Close enough.


BETTY:  Whilst attending a 501st costuming panel (Dressing to Serve the Empire), one of the attendees waltzed in late in a complete Cher costume: black thong leotard, fish nets, big curly wig, and a mic. All 6'4 of her.  We were trying not to stare, but she definitely stuck out as a sore thumb. Of course, she plopped down right next to me.

As the FAQ session began, she suddenly stood up and asked the panelists, "How do one go about making and submitting for a Chewbacca costume?" There was silence.

I said, "Please leave the room, rebel scum. You don't belong here." 

She immediately sat down and quizzically looked at me. "I don't understand," she muttered, turning red. "I thought this was a Star Wars panel." I shook my head and responded, "No, this is for the Imperial. I suggest that you leave. Now." Confused, but obedient, she walked swiftly out the door. There were chuckles and applause upon her departure. You just don't mess with the Imperial.




This writeup was posted by:
big O

Read the full story

SDCC 2011: Prometheus, In Time and Rise of the Planet of the Apes

20th Century Fox looks like they have some pretty cool sci-fi films up their sleeve - and some big names to star in them. Now they just need to work on the whole presentation thing.

The studio sent Charlize Theron, Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and performance-capture specialist Andy Serkis to Comic Con's Hall H on Thursday to speak with moderator Damon Lindelof, but the discussions winded up looking like bad late-night TV, with the stars doing their best to appear grounded yet really, really cool. Five or 10 minutes of fan questions per film could have breathed some life into the session, but instead we were forced to watch Lindelof put on a BFF act with every goddamn guest on the panel.

Prometheus Will Be Very Good
Lindelof started things off by introducing a preview of Prometheus, a film he co-wrote and Ridley Scott directed. Lindelof quickly brought out star Charlize Theron, who joked that she was attracted to the role by the incredibly large amount of money offered to her to play it. That got some laughs, but from there Lindelof just did his best to show the audience how chummy he is with Theron. Can't really blame him - it must be rare for the nerdy screenwriters to be accepted into Hollywood's elite star class.

Theron then fumbled a "surprise" live stream of Scott and Prometheus co-star Noomi Rapace from Iceland. Scott immediately got defensive about comparing Prometheus to the Alien films, saying his new film shares a bit of Alien's basic DNA but ends up being "completely different."

Scott also revealed that he filmed Prometheus in 3-D but - and this is the highlight of the panel for me - rarely delved into CG. Hallelujah! Said Scott, "If you can do it live, it's always better." Please, Hollywood, take notes!

Prometheus is in theaters in summer 2012.



Justin Timberlake Won't STFU
After a few quick questions with In Time director Andrew Nichol, Lindelof brought Timberlake and Seyfried front and center, although Timberlake only shut up long enough for Seyfried to eek out a sentence or two. Lindelof ran through some of the same questions he had for Theron, and Timberlake straight up copied Theron's joke about being attracted to the role by a paycheck. Zzzzzz.

As for the actual film, it's based on an interesting idea: Genetic engineering has "improved" to the point that no one ages past 25. But once you hit 25, you only have a year to live unless you can accrue more time from others. So time replaces dollars and cents as currency. From there on out, society's rule enforcers chase Timberlake and Seyfried around for a crime they didn't commit and opens the door for misplaced romance to ruin yet another quality film idea. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on this one.

In Time is in theaters October 28.



Tech Talk with the Ape Che Guevara
Lastly, Lindelof talked shop with Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt and CG star Serkis. The conversation centered mostly around Serkis and his ability to act like a non-human while being filmed with a gigantic camera helmet on his head. I'll grant that the technology is amazing. BUT…it still looks like a cartoon, just like every CG-centric film ever made.

At this point, even Lindelof seemed a little bored, but a couple of clips kept the audience awake. Some scenes of the great ape revolution in San Francisco were especially cool, as the apes kicked human ass with an utter lack of mercy. As a huge fan of the original Planet of the Apes and a few of its sequels, I know I'm going to get sucked into seeing this, just like I did with the shitty, shitty Marky Mark and Tim Burton version. Luckily, there's no way the new Apes can be any worse than Burton's take.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is in theaters August 5.

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

SDCC 2011: Film District Panel

Film District rolled out a star-studded group in Comic Con's massive Hall H to promote its upcoming films Drive and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, including Guy Pearce, Carey Mulligan and Ron Pearlman. (Katie Holmes, starring in Don't Be Afraid, must have been grounded again.) But Don't Be Afraid writer/producer Guillermo del Toro stole the show from all of them.

There were trailers (Drive, which garnered a Best Director win and Palme d'Or nomination for Nicolas Winding Refn, looked especially cool), banter and plenty of pleas too go see the movies. You can read about those things other places. For now, just read some of del Toro's best quotes completely, presented context-free below.

"After 40 years, anything that bulges is welcome."

"If they touch you in a place that feels wrong, you say. 'No.' You say, 'No, get the fuck away from me!'"

"I just wanted to meet this insane mother fucker."

"Those little fuckers never give up."

"He's the fucking man. Don't fuck with that guy."

"He has a giant ballsack. He needs a wheelbarrow to to carry it. And his wife is right there with him. She probably has a giant ballsack too."

"I'm not a guy who likes psycho killers with potato peelers and shit like that."

"Monsters, to me, are a living, breathing 'Fuck you.'"

One other bonus quote from Guy Pearce - with context!

Fan: "Was filming Memento confusing?"
Pearce: "I can't remember."

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is in theaters August 26.

Drive is in theaters September 16.

This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Rap Power Rankings 05.19.11

The definitive word on rap's movers and shakers.

1. Common - Common's lambasting last week at the hands of the Fox News LOL crew gave him the single biggest boost in street cred in rap history. One moment he's granola-munching hippie spoken word artist and Queen Latifah's love interest in Just Wright; the next he's too gangsta for the White House? Time for a new album with a lead-off single collaboration with Rick Ross! *hhunngh*

2. Killer Mike Pl3dge - Despite the amazing singles ("Burn" and "Ready, Set, Go"), I had my doubts about Pl3dge after seeing a video of Mike sporting a non-stop shit-eating grin while recording in the studio. But then I listened. My bad, Mike. This collection of focused, smart and powerful calls to arms is one of your best yet.


3. The Rapture - Oaktown is in the house! The O.G. (Oldest Grandpa) behind those helpful and omnipresent warnings about Judgement Day's arrival on May 21 is based right here in Oakland. I'm hoping our close proximity means Jesus accidentally raptures my heathen ass too.


4. The Bold & the Beautiful - All the conniving got put on hold while Thomas and Brooke were eating poison berries and sharing the same hallucinations. But now they're back and everyone's either keeping a secret or trying to get their forbidden freakiness on.


5. Luther Campbell for Miami Mayor! - Luke has been jawing on Twitter about his mayoral for awhile now, but I laughed it off until I saw a recent poll showing him in third place. Not only that, but the top two are steady hatin' and shutting him out of Spanish-language debates. Aw HAIL NAW. Vote for Luke! www.luke4mayor.com

6. DJ Quik The Book of David - It's a DJ Quik album - of course it's great. Beyond that, Quik attempts to resurrect some music careers that were buried long ago: Suga Free (yes!), Bizzy Bone (eh) and Jon B. (LOL)


7. Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi Rome - You say Danger Mouse, I roll my eyes. But then this fool goes out and collaborates with Italian composer Daniele Luppi to create a Spaghetti Western soundtrack - the undisputed best film genre ever. Bravo!

8. Arnold Schwarzenegger - Do you think Maria Shriver and her kids are ditching Arnold for his infidelity and lies, or for his taste in mistresses?

9. R&B - I know, I know - this is a rap rankings list, how dare I mention R&B? But let's venture outside rap just for a moment to appreciate the great stuff coming out lately: Charles Bradley's No Time for Dreaming (Actually, there is time for dreaming, as I slept on this January release.), Raphael Saadiq's Stone Rollin' and this new song by Sleepy Brown.


10. Jerome R. Corsi, Ph. D - This guy's book was just published Tuesday. Whoops.


This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

SFIFF54: 13 Assassins Journeys into the Mind of a Maniac

It slices! It dices! 13 Assassins is a post-millennium samurai film and, like any such film worth its weight in celluloid (or bandwidth, since it's currently available on demand from your cable company), it has plenty of severed limbs and splatters of blood. But what sets iconic director Takashi Miike's take apart from the rest (and the looming shadow of Kurusawa) is a really mean villain.

Seriously, this guy is one hugely demented asshole.

More about him later. First, the pretty straight-forward plot: Set in 19th Century Japan, peace reigns and the country's samurai are either rusty or inexperienced in real combat. One character even comments that "Swords are only good for cutting radishes." Of course there's one guy who can't be happy with all this peace and happiness, the aforementioned villain Lord Naritsugu (Gorô Inagaki). His whole life is a one-man campaign to make enemies and bring back an era of war. Unfortunately, as the Shogun's adopted brother, no one is in a position to challenge him.

Seeing disaster in the country's future, one of the shogun's advisors secretly hires bad-ass old samurai Shinzaemon (Kôji Yakusho) to assassinate the rogue lord. Shinzaemon finds 12 other warriors to join him and sets a trap for Lord Naritsugu and his 200-guard traveling party for a Seven Samurai-like grand finale.

There are a lot of cool things going on here, like the strategic chess match between Shinzaemon and Naritsugu's right-hand man Hanbei and the principled battle between protecting the greater good and protecting one's master. But what makes this film memorable is the unflinching treachery of Naritsugu. Free to do as he pleases, all his actions are based on one-upping the heinousness of his previous act. A guest at a wealthy man's home, Naritsugu decides to rape his hosts daughter-in-law then murder her husband, hacking away at his neck until the head chops off. Later we find out that he murdered a woman's entire family, then turned her into his personal plaything. I'll avoid the spoiler here, but let's just say that "cruel" doesn't do him justice. As viewers, we're clearly supposed to hate this guy, but deep down you have to appreciate that level of evil.


This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story

Movies with Balls: High Plains Drifter

http://theclinteastwoodarchive.blogspot.com

Pretty much any Clint Eastwood film qualifies as a Movie with Balls (no Bridges of Madison County), but we're kicking things off with his first attempt at directing a Western - High Plains Drifter.

As great as the Western genre is, most follow a fairly standard template: The protagonist is on a mission, kicks a lot of ass, runs into trouble and looks beat, overcomes the obstacle and finally wins the day. No matter how cunning and bad-ass the hero/antihero is, he's gotta be knocked down before he can kill the villain, collect his spoils and leave a busty woman behind to ride into another town and do it all over again.


http://theclinteastwoodarchive.blogspot.com

High Plains Drifter, not so much. While the film starts off in a familiar way, with Eastwood (billed as The Stranger, capitalizing on his Man with No Name days) riding into the town of Lago under the watchful eye of the paranoid local residents, it veers off into something preternatural. It's not clear what The Stranger is doing in Lago, besides having his way with the local floozy and getting his drink on. None of his challengers can lay a hand on him. And is the guy getting whipped to death in the flashbacks supposed to be The Stranger's friend, brother or what?

High Plains Drifter offers up a few clues along the way, then comes roaring to a close. After spending most of the film making a mockery of this town full of pansies and dispatching anyone who disagrees too ardently with his methods, The Stranger allows a group of mercenaries to ravage the place. Then, as the town's weak-willed men submit and their women weep, The Stranger returns with whip in hand, fires blazing behind him and revenge by the cruelest possible methods on his mind.

Once The Stranger has rendered his full judgement on Lago, all that remains are decimated buildings, a despondent citizenry and a dwarf named Mordecai serving as both mayor and sheriff.

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 sets of balls




This post was written by:
Trey

Read the full story