Pop Culture Buzz

Classic comedy director Harold Ramis (”Caddyshack”, “Groundhog Day”) will release a biblical comedy called “Year One” this summer and the trailer has already started generating good buzz. The plot follows a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers named Zed and Oh (Jack Black and Michael Cera) who are banished from their primitive village. Soon after the two bafoons set off on an epic journey through the ancient world meeting various characters from the Old Testament.

The film also features Paul Rudd and David Cross, who play Cain and Abel, Hank Azaria as Abraham, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (aka McLovin) as Isaac, and Oliver Platt as a High Priest. Based on an original idea by Ramis, and a screenplay by “The Office” scribes Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg (the same guys who are writing the new “Ghostbusters” movie), “Year One” is scheduled to hit theaters on June 19th 2009.

I have high hopes for this high concept bible story farce. If history has proven anything in Hollywood it’s that you need good timeless jokes to pull off a risky gimmick like this. Let’s just hope that the trailer doesn’t give away all the real funny stuff.

“Happy Up Here” is the first single to be taken from the Norweigan duo’s forthcoming album titled “Junior”, and it sounds like not much has changed in the Royksopp camp. Their new album is going to feature contributions by new pop pioneers Lykke Li and Robyn amongst others and is due for release March 23rd, 2009. If this chirpy, downbeat track is anything to go by, it should be something to look forward to.

Franz Ferdinand’s latest rock dance epic album is super catchy and has already made a place into my “Best Albums of 2009″ list. The video for their second single “No You Girls”, off of their third studio album titled “Tonight Franz Ferdinand”, is an instance crossover dance floor gem. I will be seeing this hot Scottish band at the Coachella Music Festival in Southern California in three weeks and just watching this video gets me all jazzed up! Take a look below:

Horror’s prodigal son returns with “Drag Me to Hell”, Sam Raimi’s first directing gig within the genre in over 15-years. Sam Raimi created the “Evil Dead” series as well as the “Spiderman” films so movie geeks all over are pretty familiar with his work. His new picture is based on a script written by Sam and his brother Ivan.

“Drag Me To Hell” tells the story of Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, Professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). When Christine disallows an old woman an extension on her mortgage payment, to prove she is able to make tough decisions to her boss, she is attacked by the old woman while getting into her car, and has a curse set upon her, threatening to send her to Hell for eternity. Sounds like a bloody good time!

* STAR

Many of you already know that I am a horror movie geek. Sometimes the genre can put out original pieces of work, including remakes. For example the “Dawn of the Dead” remake from 2004 is one of the most intense and unrelenting horror films of recent memory, and it was bloody great. Some people call this brand of slasher picture “horror porn” for its gratuitous images of carnage and gore, but if done right it can be terrifying. Unfortunately the latest reimagining of the popular “Friday the 13th” series relies solely on unimaginative death scenes to keep you in theater seats, and it doesn’t work at all.

This remake is clumsy and all over the map, at best. In the first portion of the film we get the first two original “”Friday the 13th” films combined to tell the origin story of Jason Voorhees. In the second half we just watch as Jason chases people through the woods. Most of this would be forgivable but the death scenes come off as uninspired and silly. It may sound horrible but I was hoping for more shocking images and over the top gore. Instead we get more pot smoking, naked girls and nasty sex talk then original chills and bloody spills.

I wasn’t expecting high art or even a masterpiece of modern horror cinema from this movie, but I was hoping for some old school reliable Camp Crystal Lake scary fun. The choppy editing and redundant feel make this one of the most terrible modern horror remakes ever filmed. After seeing pitch perfect remakes of “The Hills Have Eyes” (2006) and “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (2003) it made me sad to see one of my favorite villains of all time get such a crappy vehicle to reintroduce him to a whole new generation of horror fans. At this rate the only reason why a sequel to this film would be made is because of the huge opening weekend numbers it generated. If they do make another one of these I hope it is nothing like this train wreck was.

“Love etc.” is the new single by English electronic dance music innovators Pet Shop Boys. It is scheduled for release today, 16 March 2009, on Parlophone Records. It is the first single taken from their tenth studio album “Yes”, which is released on 23 March.

The single was co-written by Pet Shop Boys with hit production team Xenomania who also produced the track. Pet Shop Boys describe the single as “a post-lifestyle anthem which sounds like nothing we’ve done before.” The music video below was directed by Dutch animator Han Hoogerbrugge.

Warner Bros. is bringing Stephen King’s landmark horror novel “It” to the big screen! Many, many people are afraid of clowns. Many of us developed this phobia after reading Stephen King’s “It”, or by watching the 1990 ABC miniseries. (Yes, I was one of them, and I still can’t look at a picture of Tim Curry as Pennywise without shivering). As a fan of the book, and a lover of gory horror films, this is great news!

Dave Kajganich (who is also creating a “Pet Semetary” remake) has been hired pen the script, which follows a group of kids called the Losers Club that encounter a creature called It, which preys on children and whose favorite form is that of a sadistic clown called Pennywise. When the creature resurfaces, the kids are called upon to regroup again, this time as adults, even though they have no memory of the first battle. The novel is set in 1958 and 1985, though the feature version will be set in the present day.

“It” was the best-selling book of 1986 and in 1990 was turned into an ABC miniseries that starred John Ritter, Harry Anderson, Tim Reid, Annette O’Toole and Richard Thomas. Tim Curry played Pennywise. The 1990 ABC miniseries was a pretty loose adaptation of King’s novel, which has long been considered unfilmable.

Of course, Warner Bros just recently released a similarly unfilmable story (you might have heard of it — a little film called “Watchmen) into theaters, so they must feel as though they can tackle anything. And who knows? Maybe they can. Personally, I’ll be too busy hiding under my bed at the thought of seeing “It” again to find out.

*** 1/2 STARS

By the mid-eighties masked vigilantes have been outlawed and rising Cold War tensions with the Soviet Union threaten a devastating nuclear war. Also, due to the American victory in the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon has been elected to his third term as President. This complex, multi-layered mystery adventure, is set in an alternate America in which costumed superheroes are part of the fabric of everyday society and are like normal people and have no super powers.

Based on the 1986-1987 comic book series “Watchmen” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the film adaptation stars Patrick Wilson (”Night Owl”), Jackie Earle Haley (”Rorschach”), Billy Crudup (”Dr. Manhattan”), Malin Akerman (”Silk Spectre”), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (”The Comedian”). The plot follows a group of former vigilantes (or “super heroes”) as tensions heighten between the United States and the Soviet Union while an investigation of an apparent conspiracy against them uncovers something even more grandiose and sinister.

For those that were afraid that Hollywood would screw with the brilliant storyline of the graphic novel, I am glad to report that this film faithfully grapples with the book’s multi-layered storyline and fascinatingly messed up characters. The most pleasant surprise in the movie adaptation of “Watchmen” is the pop-art fusion set off by placing human-like superheroes in a “real’ world that is vividly eye popping. Zack Snyder’s sprawling film stays faithful to Moore’s tale of flawed heroes, cleverly trimming and reshaping it to retain essential plots.

Forget what you know about superhero movies, this epic adaptation is something else entirely. “Watchmen” is a must-see art film that is visually rich, provocative and a blatant reminder that we live in a culture of fear, paranoia, and revenge. This is a landmark film for a genre that has always depended on family themes and cartoonish realities. This movie is by no means light entertainment or for children, but it will impress, amaze and keep you gripped to your seats. Against all odds, Snyder has directed a movie that should satisfy die hard fanboys while engaging adventurous newcomers.

Dan Black was born in London and now resides in Paris. He decided to cover Biggie Smalls’ classic “Hypnotize” and was able to shed an entirely new light on the song. With musical melodies written for the hook and verses the song plays as an epic pop song rather than one of the most noted hard rap songs in history.

Dan Black’s incredible Notorious BIG song cover “Hypntz” and his other hot single, the electro anti-love gem “Yours”, are pure pop gold. The Parisian-based-Englishman Dan Black was hailed as one of “the” pop talents to watch out for in 2009 by critics across the board. If you watch the videos below you can see what all the buzz is about.

Dan Black’s highly anticipated forthcoming debut album “Un” will be released this summer and is currently being recorded in an 18th Century cellar under Dan’s apartment in Paris. Check out both videos from Dan Black below:

“HYPNTZ”

“YOURS”

“OBSERVE AND REPORT”

“17 AGAIN”

“PLANET 51″

“MUST READ AFTER MY DEATH”

“PUBLIC ENEMIES”

French electronica duo Daft Punk has been signed to write the original music score for “Tron 2.0″ or “TR2N”, Walt Disney’s upcoming sequel to the groundbreaking 1982 animation cult hit. Daft Punk’s members (who’s real names are Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, thanks Wikipedia!) have been involved in various films before, but “Tron 2.0″ will be their first complete feature film score.

The film, scheduled for a 2011 release, is helmed by Joseph Kosinski and will star actors I have never heard of; Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett. According to news reports, the sequel will play as the “next chapter” after the first film.

As a fan of both the original “Tron” film and of all of Daft Punk’s work this news set my mind spinning. The one and only complaint is that I have to wait until 2011 to hear even a sample of this presumed masterpiece. I have to admit the idea of a “Tron” sequel did have me scratching my head, but this new addition to the mix has just brushed away any doubts that I may have had before, this film is going to kick major ass, especially if they release it in 3-D on IMAX!

Kelly Clarkson is back in her top form with the Dr. Luke/Max Martin instant hit “My Life Would Suck Without You” from her 4th studio album called “All I Ever Wanted”. Even though her last CD titled “MY December” didn’t catch on with fans Clarkson still knows exactly how to make a pop gem. Where Clarkson really makes “Suck” her own is in the final chorus when she hits a few astronomically high notes. This is the artist that fans know and love and her return to the music scene after a few rough years is just what radio needed.

CHECK OUT KELLY CLARKSON’S NEW MUSIC VIDEO HERE:

GRADE: B+

Will Ferrell is an executive producer of “Eastbound,” which stars doughy Danny McBride, the Buddhist drug dealer in “Pineapple Express,” the pyrotechnics guy in “Tropic Thunder” and Ferrell’s costar in the upcoming “Land of the Lost” — as Kenny Powers, a former big-league, big-star ballplayer whose career, ignited in a moment of rookie glory, has come crashing to earth in ashes with an inflated ego and fleeting talent.

Depressed but hardly chastened, Kenny Powers returns to his small home town in the South, where moves in with his brother’s family and goes to work as a substitute P.E. teacher at his old middle school. The problem is that Kenny is a legend in his own mind even though he is sleeping in his brother’s guest room. Kenny also tries to rekindle the spark with his old girlfriend who just happens to teach at the same school and is engaged to the nerdy principal.

McBride is hilarious as the blustery, foul-mouthed Kenny, too clueless to figure out that he’s his own worst enemy. The show itself is squirm-inducing, inappropriate comedy of the highest order, and that is what makes it so fresh. After watching just 3 epsiodes of “East Bound & Down” I am hooked. This pay cable show is already better than most shows on primetime that consider themselves “comedies” such as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Two & Half Men”. If you love the crude humor of films such as “Tropic Thunder” then you will enjoy this scathing comedy, check it out if you have HBO!

WATCH A TRAILER FOR “EAST BOUND & DOWN” HERE:

If you are a fan of Simon Pegg comedies such as “Hot Fuzz” and “Run Fatboy Run”, or of British humor in general, then this movie may be right up your alley. “Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel” looks like a cross betwen “Dr. Who” and “Shaun of the Dead” which gives it a lot of promise to become a hysterical hit!

“FAQ” stars Chris O’Dowd, Marc Wootton and Dean Lennox Kelly who play three social outcasts; two geeks and a cynic. These “three ordinary blokes” may hold the fate of the entire world in their hands when they discover a rift in the space-time continuum in the gents’ of their local pub. Anna Faris stars as a girl from the future who sets the adventure in motion. The film is a co-production between HBO Films and BBC Films which Lionsgate will distribute scheduled for a release in for this Spring.

WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW: