Pop Culture Buzz

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe” is the second movie based on the the popular cult TV series, after the original 1998 film hit adaptation, “The X-Files: Fight the Future”.

The sequel is being directed by the television show’s creator Chris Carter and is also written by Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz. “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” is due to be released July 25th, 2008.

The movie will not deal with aliens or the intricate mythology about interaction between humans and extraterrestrials that the show built up over the years, creator Carter said to CNN. Instead, it casts Mulder and Scully into a stand-alone, earth-bound story aimed at both serious “X-Files” fans and newcomers.

A BIT OF TRIVIA:

The title is a familiar phrase for fans of the series that starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents chasing after aliens and supernatural happenings. “I Want to Believe” was the slogan on a poster Duchovny’s UFO-obsessed agent Fox Mulder had hanging in the cluttered basement office where he and Anderson’s Dana Scully worked.

GRADE: A

Alphabeat is a Danish pop band from Silkeborg signed to Copenhagen Records in Denmark and Their Danish debut single “Fascination” was a major hit in Denmark during the summer of 2007. A second single “10.000 Nights of Thunder” saw equal success, and both singles are currently on the U.K. charts.

Alphabeat’s debut album “Alphabeat” is the perfect summer charmer — chock full of sugary sweet melodies. Alphabeat’s sound is mainly retro 80s melodic pop like Roxette. For fans of bouncy pop rock this is pop masterpiece full of original material. In my opinion, this album is poised to be an international hit.

The first two singles “Fascination” and “10,000 Nights” are a gift from gay rock heaven. Alphabeat craft instant sing along classics that were born for the radio. The firecracker track “Fantastic 6″ has the sparkle and lyrical jabs reminiscent of some of the B-52’s most famous songs.

“Rubber Boots/Mackintosh” has the Scissor Sisters lead singer Jake Shear’s vocal fingerprints and influence gushing out of every glam note. The country twang and duet harmonies of Aplphabeat’s male lead singer Anders Nielsen and female lead singer Stine Bramsen on the song “Nothing But My Baby” is gloriously infectious.

“Alphabeat” is a fresh surprise that, most likely, won’t find an American audience. It is unfortunate that simple harmonies and sweet lyrics have no place on American radio. The unpretentious insanely sweet music on this album is a rare treat for people who like shiny fun summer tunes.

WATCH THE “FASCINATION” MUSIC VIDEO BELOW:

LISTEN TO THE SONG “10,000 NIGHTS” BELOW:

GRADE: F

Well folks, I waited for this turkey to come out on DVD just so I could place it on my list of one of 2008’s worst disasters. Man, is this dud a downright bomb or what? Let me save you the time and money by letting you know it gets no better than one of the chipmunks eating there own poop. Even though this is already one of the biggest comedies of all time and one of the top 5 grossing films of 2007, this film is a waste of celluloid.

The Chipmunks we all grew up with and have loved for over 50 years are completely gone in this movie. In their places are CGI lifeless modern rodents with attitude and fart jokes galore. The plot of this film is absolutely ridiculous and at times even bizarre. Having Dave played by a live action human, while Alvin and his brothers become recording stars, is creepy and absurd, even for a kid’s film.

I am baffled as to why any family or parent would go see this movie, let alone make it a 200 million plus grossing blockbuster. The state of family films is pretty dire if this is a harbinger of what is to come. What happened to the smart, silly and vibrant family films of the past? It is a sad state of affairs when a rotten gross film like this becomes huge.

“Rogue” is a 2007 Australian horror film about a group of tourists who fall prey to a giant man-eating crocodile while touring in Australia. The film stars Michael Vartan and Radha Mitchell and was directed, written, and produced by Greg McLean, who also directed the 2005 indie-Australian “horror-porn” hit, “Wolf Creek.”

I am a fan of the campy crocodile horror film genre. 1999’s “Lake Placid” starring Bridgette Fonda is another silly but gory “croc” film that has a riotous cameo by Betty White as a filthy mouthed swap inhabitant. If “Rogue” can balance the blood with the laughs then it could be another cult classic with cheesy surprises.

HOLLYWOOD LEGEND
CHARLTON HESTON PASSED ON
HE WILL NOT BE MISSED

DIGITAL UNDERGROUND - “THE HUMPTY DANCE” (1990)

JANE CHILD - “DON’T WANT TO FALL IN LOVE” (1990)

LIVE - “SELLING THE DRAMA” (1994)

MR. BIG - “TO BE WITH YOU” (1992)

TATU - “ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID” (2002)

“Toca’s Miracle” is a classic old school mash up dance track lthat aunched the mashup craze in 2000 by blending two songs (Fragma’s “Toca Me” and Coco’s “I Need a Miracle”) together to form a massive club/pop hit. Check out the current trance hit’s music video that is climbing back up the UK charts below:

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is the third installment of the “Ice Age” trilogy of computer animated films. It is slated for a July 4, 2009 release, but Fox’s Blue Sky Studios has already leaked the trailer below.

If you are a fan of this cartoon series you will remember this film marks the first appearance of a dinosaur in an “Ice Age” film (not counting the frozen tyrannosaur in the first film). According to the teaser trailer this movie will be in digital 3-D which is supposed to be the next big thing.

** 1/2 STARS

Besides “The Ruins” silly premise, the horror and gag inducing gore and intense action make this film a decent thrill ride for horror fans. This is the kind of film that will find an audience on DVD more than in theaters. Much like “Anaconda”, “The Ruins” has little substance but all the right scary movie tricks to make a cult film.

The actors and characters in this movie are pretty disposable, there is a blonde and a brunette and two hot boyfriends (their names are not important, trust me). For a horror movie, the amount of skin shown in “The Ruins” is pretty weak. The true fun in this movie comes from the dizzying over the top carnage and bloodshed.

For those of you who don’t know the obvious plot (duh!) of this film, the ancient Mayan ruins in the movie hold an evil blood thirsty secret; the plant life growing on it is alive…and hungry! Yes, you heard me right, man eating ancient plants. But what is truly kind of cool and great about this film is that most of the gore is human induced.

This movie has a lot of gore, and not just in a few scenes, but a lot. I recommend this movie to people who loved the horror movies “Cabin Fever”, “Turistas” or “The Descent”. “The Ruins” has that same campy over the top feeling those films did with enough bucket loads of blood and guts to satisfy any true horror movie geek.

WATCH “THE RUINS” MOVIE TRAILER BELOW:

1.) 21 $15,100,000 /$46,533,000

2.) Leatherheads $13,485,000 / $13,485,000

3.) Nim’s Island $13,300,000 / $13,300,000

4.) Horton Hears A Who $9,100,000 / $131,061,000

5.) The Ruins $7,840,000 / $7,840,000

6.) Superhero Movie $5,410,000 / $16,892,000

7.) Meet the Browns $3,510,000 / $37,754,000

8.) Drillbit Taylor $3,495,000 / $25,579,000

9.) Shutter $2,875,000 / $23,183,000

10.) 10,000 B.C. $2,770,000 / $89,323,000

Variety is reporting that Dimension Films, the Weinstein Co.’s genre division led by brother Bob, has commissioned the original screenwriters of 1986’s cheesy yet cute “Short Circuit” to work on a remake project about the loveable military robot who gets turned into a peace-lover after getting hit by lightning.

I was a kid when this film came out so I actually have a soft spot in my heart for the main character Johnny #5, Alley Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg. I will even admit to seeing the awful sequel, cleverly titled “Short Circuit 2″, in the theater.

If Pixar’s “Wall-E” is as big of a hit as I think it will be this summer then a robot craze is sure to follow. With the huge flux of remakes being made in Hollywood a “Batteries Not Included” re-do must be right around the corner.

JOHNNY #5 IS ALIVE!

In Jail In Gucci
The Supermodel Terror
Naomi Campbell

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK - “PLEASE DON’T GO GIRL” (1988)

UGLY KID JOE - “EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU” (1991)

MARTIKA - “I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE” (1989)

PAULA ABDUL - “BLOWING KISSES ON THE WIND” (1991)

ROBYN - “DO YOU KNOW WHAT IT TAKES” (1995)

100 OF MY FAVORITE SONGS ON A CONTINUOUS MIX WITH NO REPEATS!

PERFECT FOR CLEANING HOUSE, FOR WORK AND FOR SURFING THE NET!